Between God and the Devotee

 

Religion in this country was never born barefoot.

It walked wearing the sandals of power.

It ate from the plates of kings.

It slept on land gifted by believers.

It learned very early that faith can be turned into an occupation.

The Chatur Varna system did not merely divide labour, It has divided dignity.

One class became the owner of God, another became the customer of God.

The priest guarded the scriptures, the poor guarded their hope.

Then their hope became the currency & temples grew.

Donations grew.

Empires of devotion grew.

Every civilisation has had its priests.

But whenever faith begins collecting wealth, truth must begin counting money in accounts.

Bhakti taught us to surrender.

Temples became the address of that surrender.

People carried flowers, gold, silver, their savings, their grief, their dreams.

The deity accepted none of it, but humans in the temple did.

The Ram Janmabhoomi movement carried the emotions of millions, people did not merely donate money.

They donated memories, belief, identity, history.

When someone places gold before a god, they are really placing trust before another human being.

And trust is sacred if you are religious.

If allegations arise that donations disappeared, or records are incomplete, or accountability is missing, the question is not against Ram.

The question is for those standing between Ram and the devotee.

If everything is clean, why should transparency be frightening?

Why just an SIT investigation ? 

Every scripture praises satya before spectacle.

No ritual washes away dishonesty.

No slogan purifies corruption.

No temple becomes holy because its dome shines brighter than its conscience.

A person may chant God's name a thousand times.

If he steals from devotees, he has already stopped praying.

He is merely part of a performing art.

The loudest "Jai Shri Ram" cannot drown the silence of missing accountability.

In 2014, millions voted believing corruption would be fought, that governance would become cleaner,that public life would become more accountable.

The Prime Minister became closely associated with the Ram Mandir through both the movement's political significance and the Pran Pratishtha ceremony.

When an institution carries such immense national and religious significance, citizens naturally expect clarity when serious questions arise.

Leadership is measured not only in moments of celebration, but also in moments of regular scrutiny.

The silence keeps postponing the answer. 

The PM CARES Fund produced a similar debate.

Supporters defended its legal structure.

Critics demanded greater transparency because it carried the authority of the Prime Minister's office.

The argument itself revealed something larger.

Public trust without public accountability eventually becomes public suspicion.

Whether it is a government fund or a temple trust, the principle remains unchanged.

Money collected in the name of people's faith deserves the highest level of scrutiny.

Faith is no longer a private matter once it starts accepting public money.

Once devotion becomes emotional, questions become uncomfortable.

Accountability becomes blasphemy when you treat your leaders like a God

This is how democracies slowly learn to worship personalities (heroism) instead of principles.

During one government, scams were exposed.

During another, allegations become battles of loyalty before they become subjects of investigation.

Democracy begins to suffocate when faith is used to silence doubt.

The day citizens fear questioning to those who collect money in God's name, or power in the nation's name, they have not protected religion.

They have abandoned both religion and democracy.