The Hindu pantheon has some 330 million gods and goddesses, and more get created, dissolved or forgotten with the passage of time and peoples’ changing preferences in terms of belief. The whole process in a way simulates the cosmic cycle of creation and dissolution. So why would someone like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reportedly well-versed in the ways of Hindu reeti-rivaaz or rituals, be “shocked” or “upset” that a temple was built in Rajkot, Gujarat, where his ‘idol’ in the form of a bust was placed prominently so visitors could invoke him there?
It has not been unusual for people to build temples to a newfound love they deify or to exalt a new form of god or goddess with attributes that might bring salve to their suffering arising from contemporary challenges. And so we had fans of actress Khushboo celebrating her as a deity in a temple built in Trichy, Tamilnadu. Jai Santoshi Ma, a version of Durga or Shakti was portrayed in a hugely popular film of that name with temples springing up all over the country with Jai Santoshi Ma as deity. And who can forget the ‘Visa’ Hanuman Temple in Andhra Pradesh, created for desperate visa seekers?
The redeeming feature of Hindu belief is its uncanny resemblance to a kaleidoscope: there are myriad shapes and colours and they keep changing; it is impossible to keep track of every ‘movement’ and ‘shade’ that happens. Today, you are a deity. Tomorrow, there might be no trace of your ‘sacred’ past! And yet another day, lo and behold, you are back!
A satsangi asked a fellow satsangi whether he should place his guru’s photo on the family altar among the gods as this was what his beloved guru had suggested to him. His friend advised him: “Of course, you must, but make sure you also place the photo of your worst enemy!” This remark only reflects the eclectic nature of a Hindu household’s sacred space – you have images of gods and goddesses (not just Hindu but also drawn from other faiths), and photos of your parents and other loved ones if they have passed on. When you bow your head before a Kartik idol or a Shiva replica, do you exclude the snake that is part of their representation or ‘delete’ the mouse that is the vaahan of Ganeshji?
Gautama Buddha did say, “Don’t make temples for me” but there is no such injunction in Hinduism. The more, the merrier. In the domain of personal belief, Modi cannot arrogate to himself the right to forbid people from invoking this deity or that, even if it is made in his likeness. Nor can he tell people which deity they ought to worship. It is a matter of personal choice. In the same vein, we can go a step further and say that while it is not incumbent on Modi to express his displeasure at or forbid people from deifying him, it is also not his turf to forbid anyone from say, burning his effigy or smashing his temple. The universe is indifferent to whether you believe in this or that; it carries on, regardless.
Here’s an anecdote that might add the right flavour to the above perspective: The capital, Delhi, is renowned for being the city that showcases the grand ruins of seven dynasties. At the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the mansion built to house the then British Viceroy – the mansion that is now Rashtrapati Bhawan – someone remarked, “Oh what a magnificent ruin this too shall make one day!”
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