Topic started by visu (@ 202.9.183.164) on Tue May 14 14:27:19 .
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.

all temples come under the hinduarranilyathurai in Tamilnadu. whether the pujaris are paid salaries?. when a devotee prays, many pujaris see the arathi thatu to see how much they get. treatment differs from thatchinai to thatchinai in direct proportion. i feel they should be paid good salary irrespective on the income of temple. all temples hundis should be pooled so that salary can be paid thru that also.
i heard that sabarimala priest( after vigorous filteration) earn crores of rupees during festival. i pity the pujaris who run by cycles/foot to 5 to 6 small temples and earn only few hundred rs per month.
Even temples have disparities in our closed mind.
bloody devotee puts 25 paise in local perumal temple but put 25000 rs in vari hundi in tirupathi. oh god pl enlighten us.

Responses:

• Old responses
  
• From: Srini (@ 203.197.239.1) on: Fri Jun 14 10:05:38
  
  Visu:
  Why this sudden interest in Pujaris ? Any heart-rending news in TN of late ? I haven't been reading local news for long. There was once a sad news of a Pujari father-son hanging (somewhere in southern TN) using the same rope since even rope was in short supply.
  
  Not only Pujaris, the poor weavers of Andhra or farmers in Kerala, there are plenty of underdogs who lead a life of penury and abject neglect.
  
  I think there is an innate sadism with so many of us that we let the other person remain poor. For instance, you may be surprised to know that there was a time when Pujaris would just take whatever money you give for performing a religious rite. What used to happen was that wealthy Brahmins would still think it appropriate to pay 11, 21 or 51 and raise their hands, in return for 4-5 hrs of rigorous chanting etc. I have personally seen one of my relations who landed a temple using his own 4-wheeler, got a rite performed for 2.5 hrs and thought it appropriate to give no more than Rs.21, and this was year 2000 ! So, in as much as Govmt is responsible for usurping the rightful due of temples, we as a people are also no less culpable.
  
  We seem to breed more and more temples that are totally unsustainable in long run and God knows what happens to those Pujaris that man these non-descript temples. The concept of religiousness for Tamils has indeed defied lot of common sense.
  
  
• From: Beefeater (@ pool0065.cvx25-bradley.dialup.earthlink.net) on: Fri Jun 14 21:59:29
  
  This is a very south indian phenomenon. North Indians are more lavish when it comes to offerings, be it temple priests or even house guests.
  
  In general, if you are invited to a North Indian home for dinner, you can expect several items served generously however poor the hosts may be. With South Indians, you would be lucky to get three items, forget the dessert, even if the hosts are stinking rich.
  
  
• From: Tamil (@ 1cust165.tnt1.des-moines.ia.da.uu.net) on: Sat Jul 6 23:57:18
  
  Poojaris are poor part time tamilian priests who are not taken care of by the government, they should get attention from government. Often they do it for self satisfaction.
  
  Many belong to DMK or ADMK
  
  
• From: visu (@ 202.9.183.145) on: Sun Jul 7 01:16:44
  
  I propose the foll changes.
  1. archagars should wear some decent dress w.i.e
  2.we should use more fans/lights/ac in karpagraham
  
  
• From: Nedumudikkilli. (@ toronto-ppp219935.sympatico.ca) on: Sun Aug 4 00:36:42
  
  
  You know ppl there is a moral which say, " Kovil illa Ooril Kudiyirukka vaendam." But from my opinion it's not a good thing to have a temple in TN. Because i don't think that u ppl there need a temple...i guess u just go there to show up ..well that's what u do most of the time and the poosaris there in TN shouldn't get paid well most of them shouldn't get paid any satham [paisa]!! Why?? Well if it's so far u call it as TN then why in the world u have sanskirit roaming up the temple...i don't think ppl get that becuz all of u there don't understand this problem and even if u do u are way more scared to talk about that problem by the way there is lot of problems in TN but there is a big one ..bigger than any issues that they have in TN either politically or by other reasons is that ppl there don't cooperate and u would know that if u are living in TN sepcially..but see pals poosaris will not get paid any cents because they aren't saying those 'manthiram' in THAMIZH! And there is a way to say that and there is more than 3000 temples which has Thamizh manthiram in use..and u don't know the history dude...during pallavas time our THamizh poosaris were told to do the poosai in Sanskirit and Thamizh poosaris refused that then they brought those poosaris who spoke Sanskirit from north and they took off the land of our ppl and gave it to them ..then during Chozha Empire fool chozha's were too much into the religion and they gave more respect to Sanskirit than to their own language Thamizh! Which is one of the black mark in Chozhr and in Thamizh history. I don't mean we need to take off these ppl lands but we should make an organization to take care of these poosaris poverty and make sure they say these manthiram in Thamizh! First of all cooperate and help each others ...i mean the Thamizh in TN! Let's not change the topic anyway ...and my view is that Thamizh are fools and Poosaris suffer the poverty becuz they don't have any better organization. I prefer not to have 100 temples for 20 houses in TN because the rate of the temple is increasing which is one of the thing that poosaris get stuck with poverty. By the way Srini it's not poojari! It's poosari
  
  Heary ye all the poosaris who don't say 'manthiram' and pray god in Thamizh. This from Thamizh Poosari Sambanthar " Senthamizh Payan ariya Anthaka manthikal!"
  
  
• From: Sombu (@ adsl-81-43-29.asm.bellsouth.net) on: Sun Aug 4 08:42:24
  
  Swap archagars and poosaries among varios temples. Government control/transfer them, make punishment temples and reward temples, make them wear pants and shirts, make english as the official prayer language to please both tamil and sanskrit proponents, create wealth-adjusted rate for dakshina, make brahmin tax for dakshina, give bonuses, create a hierarchy dor gods so that the gods/priests get relative proportion of dakshina, install spotlight, fan, ac, halographic presentation of different gods, priestless temples, you press a button and you can hear pooja in the language of your choice, credit card acceptance, summer specials, senior citizens discount, one dakshina-one person, multiple discounts, delegation of pooja to an apprentice poojari if the dakshina is small, 10Rs equals 3 minutes pooja and subsequent minute costs 10 additional rs. temple rides (bbotha vahanam, garuda vahanam, etc). Make temples creative and self sustaining.
  
  

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