Lust, devotion, money & sex rule the roost in Kerala
Immediately after the swearing in of Narendra Modi as Prime Minister for the first time in 2014, there were reports about attacks on Churches in New Delhi. The then Catholic Bishop Conference of India president Cardinal Cleemus, former chief of the Indian Navy Admiral Sushil Kumar Issac, and former director general of police (Punjab) J F Ribeiro declared that Christians were the persons behind the attacks on the Churches; it turned out to be a mentally challenged Christian. It is not known whether the three gentlemen made any amendments to their charges.
If the minority communities’ places of worship or hospitals, or educational institutions are vandalized, hell will break loose. But if the Hindu temples are the targets, nothing will happen in India other than shouting innocuous slogans. This is secularism at its peak.
Leaders of the Indian National Congress think that Hindu devotees are village idiots and their memory is short. In 2018, when the followers of Sanatan Dharma staged peaceful agitation at Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa Temple following the decision of the Pinarayi Vijayan-led CPI(M) government to escort women of bad reputation, namely Kanakadurga, Rahn Fatima, Bindu Ammini, to the Sannidhanam (sacred place) atop Western Ghats in Pathanamthitta district with police protection, public outbursts knew no bounds. Thousands of devotees recited hymns in praise of Lord Ayyappa, seeking the divine intervention to safeguard the divinity of the temple, as women of menstruating age are prohibited by customs and tradition from entering the holy shrine.
The police, under orders from Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, unleashed brutal force against the devotees and charged them under various charges of the Indian Penal Code. The three controversial women were fed beef and parotha before they were taken to the Sannidhanam with armed cops acting as security guards. The only political outfit that staged a protest march across the state was the BJP. Though the then Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee chief K Sudhakaran declared that he would stage a fast unto death to protest his bête noire Vijayan’s move, a call from his signora who stays at 10, Janpath, made him backtrack from his earlier decision.
Cut to 2025-the same Indian National Congress staged a demonstration to express their solidarity with the devotees. But what stood out was the refusal of the Congress leaders to utter the word Hindu even once during the demonstration or public meeting held at Pandhalam. Congress insiders say that they were under strict orders from Madam Signora not to say the words Hindu or Sanathan Dharma during the rally and speeches. We cannot expect anything more from this Roman Catholic woman who was dumped in India without paying the country even a single rupee as an import tariff. For the lady, Hindu means a daily newspaper published from Mount Road in Madras by the Iyengar Swami of Mylapore.
The last one week was agog with reports about the arrest of Unnikrishnan Potti, a former parikarmi (last grade helper) of the chief priest (Melshanthi), who swindled gold, copper, and silver from Lord Ayyappa Temple at Sabarimala. Besides stealing the metals and precious stones from the temples, Potti was an expert in money laundering and had paid loans cutting across caste, creed, and religion at usury rates. He had also invested a portion of the money he swindled from the Holy Shrine in real estate.
Jayaraman Namboodiri, a former chief priest, has come out with a startling disclosure that Potti alone would not have done this heinous crime. “He was aided and supported by powerful and mighty persons in the Travancore Devaswom Board (the Government of Kerala department that controls the temples, especially major temples across the State) and also leaders of a major political party,” said Nambooditi.
Gopal Krishnan, former chief vigilance officer of TDB, says that what Potti has done during his tenure was nothing compared to the dacoity undertaken by TDB officials and ministers. The needle of suspicion is pointing towards former minister in charge of temples, Kadakampalli Surendran, and former TDB chief A Padmakumar. It is expected that Potti, who is being grilled by the SIT, is likely to spill more beans, which would put the CPI(M) glamour boys in trouble.
What has baffled the devotees and non-believers alike is the revelation made by C K Guptan, former president of TDB, that he was approached by a powerful section of the Thanthri (head priest) family with offers of one crore rupees as a bribe if he lifted the ban on the entry of Mahanaru Kantanaru from the sanctum sanctorum of the holy shrine. Mohanaru Kantaruru was prohibited from entering the temple premises when he was caught red-handed and with his veshti down in the company of a notorious call girl from a high-end apartment in Ernakulam. But neither the media nor the police took note of the revelation by Guptan, son-in-law of former chief minister and CPI(M) general secretary EMS Namboodirippadu. In addition to this disclosure, a probe held by K Padmakumar, the then DIG of Kerala Police, had found that the antecedents of Mohanaru Kantararu were not in synch with the character expected of the Thanthri.
Pilgrims worshipping at Sabarimala had told PGurus that they were shocked by the greed and avariciousness shown by the Thanthri and Mel Shanthi at the precincts of the temple. The Thanthri always sits on a chair and distributes “prasadam” after accepting the Dakshina from the devotees. No need to add that the quantity of “prasadam” depends on the weight of the bunch of currency notes that exchange hands. While the Thanthri is doing brisk business outside the sanctum sanctorum, the mel shanthi collects his dues from the devotees and offers them the sandal paste and flowers that had been “blessed” by Lord Ayyappa.
Each Mel Shanthi comes out of the temple premises after his year-long tenure with cash bundles worth Rs.15 crore to Rs.20 crore, while the Thanthri walks home with three to four times that amount. The devotees should understand that neither the Thanthri nor the mel shanti is are superman with divine powers. The Thanthri has no business in the temple premises other than ensuring the smooth functioning of poojas and homam. The Mel Shanthi’s job is to perform poojas and homams in time and then to withdraw to his cabin after each day’s job. They do not have any supernatural powers or are in communication with the Lord. Next time, when you drop in to a pub or bar for a couple of sundowners, no need to get shocked by the presence of Mel Shanthi or Thantri, who too are there to empower the soul with spirit.
Most of the devotees are under the notion that the more they pay the Thanthri and Mel Shanthi, the more the blessings they get from the Lord. If the money the devotees offer these two gentlemen are diverted to institutions like Akshaya Patra of ISKCON, Sadguru Jaggi Vasudev’s Isha Foundation Ashram at Coimbatore, or to the Chinmaya Foundation, millions of poor children could be fed three times a day. The Thanthri and Mel Shanthi of Sabarimala, Guruvayur, and other Mahakshetrams in Kerala have made the temples into ATMs or milch cows. The Mel Shanti and his associates lend money at usury rates while the gold ornaments and jewelry of the idols are flicked by the likes of Unnikrishnan Potti!
Even as this is being written, comes the report that Lord Krishna Temple at Guruvayur has been robbed of gold, ivory (weighing more than 500 Kg!), and red lucky seeds (Manjadikuru). The Guruvayur Temple too has a head priest, chief priest, and deputies to the latter. B V Kumar, former director general of the Directorate General of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), known popularly as the super sleuth of India, is of the view that Gods have disappeared altogether from temples in Kerala as they fear they would be smuggled out of the temple premises by the cabal of priests and officials.
Interestingly, no political parties except the BJP in the State have demanded the dissolution of the Devaswom Boards. Both the LDF and the UDF take turns in pilfering the resources of the temples. All temples owned by private individuals and trusts function smoothly without any scams or scandals. The government-run temples have become an extension of taluk offices or motor vehicle departments, or registration offices, which are cesspools of corruption. There are trade unions affiliated to major political parties in all these temples.
The Thanthris are in the forefront in robbing these temples. Many years ago, this writer came across the Thanthri Kantararu Maheswararu, the senior Thanthri of Sabarimala Temple, paying a visit to Lord Ayyappa temple at Mahalingapuram, Chennai, and minting money by the second by blessing the devotees. Unfortunately, the grand old Thanthri passed away in 2018 at the age of 90, leaving behind his wife, a son, and two daughters. Maheswararu is a priest who made money through Bhakthi, an art, and his son and grandchildren are no different.
Recently, it was reported that the Vaaji Vahanam (Lord’s vehicle), a horse atop the flag staff (Kodimaram) at Sabarimala, went missing. When devotees made a demand for a probe into the disappearance of the Vaaji Vahanam, present Thantri Rajeev Kantararu disclosed that the vahanam was with him only. How can the horse made of gold, platinum, and iridium was taken away by the Thanthri remains unanswered.
Well-known author of yesteryears Kesava Dev once wrote that lust and sex were the most sought-after things in Kerala. The Thanthris head priests, temple administrators, are proving through their actions that Dev was right.
Melputhur Narayana Bhattapadar (1560-1646), the Bhaktha Kavi who authored Narayaneeyam (hymn in praise of Lord Krishna), had written that the presence of the Lord in the temple town makes it a divine place. “Hantha Bhagyam Janaanaam” (how lucky the people in this town are!), wrote Melputhur in the first stanza of the celebrated work Narayaneeyam. Had Melputhur been alive today, it is doubtful whether he would have retained the sloka Hantha Bhagyam Janaanam in Narayaneeyam… The Sanatanis should approach the United Nations or the International Court of Justice seeking redress from robberies, swindling, and dacoities of Hindu temples.
Note:
1. Text in Blue points to additional data on the topic.
2. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.
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