Do we need a Modern Day Reformation ?

Disclaimer -In this blog I have just documented my experiences and opinions on this topic. Every is just an opinion, different people can hold different opinions 
-thank you 

In India there are 4 dhams, namely - 
•Dham of Satyuga- Badrinath, Uttarakhand.
•Dham of Tretayuga -Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu.
•Dham of Dwaparayuga - Dvaraka, Gujarat.
•Dham of Kaliyuga - Jagannatha Puri, Odisha.

All hindus dream of visiting these places before they die. I too was one of them. In December of 2023 our family decided to visit one of these temples, namely the Jagannath Temple, located in Puri. The Jagannath Temple is an important Hindu temple dedicated to Jagannath, a form of Vishnu – one of the trinity of supreme divinity in Hinduism . It has many stories and myths associated with it so I was very excited to go there. I being a very religious person had an expectation that the temple will be a very spiritual place but the truth shocked me. 

When we first arrived in Puri, I realised Puri wasn't a very developed city and its main attraction was only the temple around which most people made a livelihood for themselves. Another thing I noticed was that Hindi was rare there.  

The first sight of Jaganath temple felt grand. I had a feeling inside of me that this was going to be epic. The streets were crowded and the lines to enter the temple were endless. 
We kept our luggages in the hotel and went to get a better look at the temple. 
At that moment I took a picture of the beautiful temple. That day we couldn't enter the temple but the next day we were mentally prepared to enter the temple. 

The first thing we saw was a massive line where almost 1,000 people were standing in line eagerly waiting to get a glimpse of the lord. While we thought about how much time it would take, a Priest approached us saying he can make space for us in the middle of one of the lines where our time will get shortened. That sounded crazy to me, but we did give him the 400 ruppes for giving us a head start, 400 being a bargained price.
Even after the head start we had to stand in the line for 30 minutes. At that point I was very angry and amzed at the system that existed. But eventually we got to enter the temple. We entered slowly, with a huge crowd pushing each other, which could surely get out of hand but luckily didn't. As I entered I wanted to feel the spiritual connection to God people feel normally . But I didn't feel any. We somehow entered the temple complex, which itself was huge. Jagannath is a huge complex, covering an area of 400,000 square feet, containing at least 120 temples and shrines. We sat in the stairs for some time before going to see the main temple , but soon enough we found out about about something else. Inside the temple there was another massive line. Another Priest to us and told us, he could help us enter for ₹1000. At which point I also lost the little spiritual connection I felt. We rejected the Priest and instead walked around the complex. A thing I noticed was that every Priest there asked for money. Even as we walked around, priests asked us money for blessings. We rejected all of them and walked around. Another thing the temple is very famous for is it's Mahaprasad which was sold in Anand Bazar or the Pleasure Mart of the temple which is situated on the north east corner of the outer enclosure of the temple. This was another revelation for me, that we had to pay for the Prasad too. A total of 1500 had to be given to the people for Prasad for 4 people. After which we, after a long struggle entered the temple. The temple inside was hugely crowded with a lot of police officers controlling the crowd. We somehow managed to walk and got a small glimpse of the main sculpture. A priest with the arti walked around. But the crazy part was that he said "Paisa dallo" ( put money in Hindi). Even inside the temple instead of giving blessings they asked for money. We didn't give him any and eventually pushed our way outside. 
Outside we sat near one of the several temples for probably 40 minutes looking at the people there and the intricate design of the temple. I think at the end of the day the architect is what I will remember and appreciate as the temple seems to have just become a buisness now. 
Reason is the first victim of strong emotion. Most hindus have strong emotion for their religion so they don't speak up, but someone has to. I don't want to see my religion become a buisness. 
Over the years  the temples  have remade themselves to pander to the interests of the preists, not the people. 

The Reformation was a major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and the authority of the Catholic Church. Is Hinduism is in need of something like this ? A wake up call?

That is for you to decide. 
-neil 
Also a very happy new year to all the people who have given their time to read my blogs throughout 2023. 

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