Donation - Who needs your money. A must read?

March 13, 2009

It was a Thursday on the first day of this year. I knew how it feels for a Sai devotee. New Year always brings lots of new hopes and since the first day was a Thursday, I was very excited and happy and felt that this is definitely going to be a good year. In the evening I went to Sai temple, did pooja and offered some money in the hundi of the temple.The next day, I heard about an old friend whose father died 5 years back. I haven't heard about her since then. I didn't know that she had to abandon her study due to the financial crisis. She joined a beauty parlor to support her family. She has a younger sister who was physically challenged. I was shocked to learn about her story. She was a very bright and ambitious student and she had lots of dreams about her higher education. I really felt bad. I tried to help her and offered her financial help so she can resume her study. But it was too late. She couldn't accept my offer as she had discontinued her studies long back as she had to support her family.Later in the day I remembered an article about Shirdi Sai Sansthan becoming the second richest temple in the country just behind the temple of Tirupati. There were talks of enormous amounts of money collected by the temple as donation or offerings by people. I wondered how much of that money is actually utilized and how much of that money remains idle not serving any purpose. People donate hundreds of crores of rupees every year to various temples and spiritual organizations without even caring how much of that money would be utilized.This incident made me realize that there are definitely better and even more practical ways of utilizing the money which we want to donate. And this can be achieved if we look around the place we live and identify the needs of the people. Because India is a land of contrasts, we can always find people who are in greater need of goods and financial assistance than us. For example we can support the education of a kid of a poor family, pay for the medical bills of the person who cannot afford it, feed poor people or donate our money to an organization which is actively involved in social work and not just sit on piles of money. Most of the famous Temples are already very rich and practically they do not need any money at least for a couple of years.There is no better sight in the world than seeing the face of a small child who cannot afford education and who has just been given a notebook and other accessories by you. If you think you have very little money to help, you can save that little money and add onto it till it becomes significant enough to bring a change in a needy person's life. You can even save a fixed amount of money per month and use it later when you see someone really needs it. If you look around carefully, you will find lots of opportunity where the money can be utilized.Donation is not a formality to please our lords but it's a way to support and appreciate a noble cause. The responsibility lies on us to plan well and donate the money very carefully as it belongs to our Sai. We give full attention to our SAI who is sitting inside a temple but we often ignore SAI who lives in each and every human soul in this world. Let us make judicious use of our assets to spread happiness in the lives of people who need it most. PS: Article published in Samarpan Jan 2009 Edition.You can read more of such articles at

http://gallery.spiritualindia.org/spiritual-resources/samarpan/Samarpan_Jan2009.pdf.html

Gurur Brahma Gurur Vishnu Gurur Devoh Maheshwar; Gurur Shakshat Parambramha Tashmai Shri Gurur Veh Namah" May the Merciful Sri Sai Baba always shower His grace on us and our families and remove our problems and anxieties by giving us all - strength , goodluck, success and happiness with peace of mind. Sai bhakt, Deepa H Blog dedicated to Shri Shirdi Saibaba : http://debu7366.blogspot.com/ Listen to Radio Shirdi Sai : http://sairadio.blogspot.com/

For free Sai Satcharitra books: http://www.saiseva.omsrisai.net/store/index.php

Saibaba temple directory: http://www.omsrisai.net/saitemples.php

March 13, 2009

Dear Lord Sai Devotees,

A noble thought. That is what Lord Sai has said in Lord Shri Sai Charit. See Me in every person.

With the grace of Lord Sai, we try to follow this principle. But please remember that any Sansthan needs money to run, and to do some good work for huminity. I do not know about many temples or other Sansthans etc, but I do know that in Shri Lord Sai Sansthan at Shirdi, every penny received from the devotees is well spent on huminity. To be honest with you, the organisations which I have personally come through, two of them Shri Sai Baba Sansthan, Shirdi, and Shri Ram Krishna Mission (a Sansthan started by His Holiness Shri Swami Vivekananda ji Maharaj) are doing very good work for the humanity. Both the Sansthans are running educational institutes and hospitals for poors. I remember one incident which touched my heart. One my friend from Australia went to India recently, and visited Hardwar. He took a rickshaw and asked the rickshaw puller to take him to all the temples in Hardwar. Rickshaw puller obliged and took him from one temple to another. In

the end, when he finished his trip, he stood with joined hands to my friend and said, Sir, you have seen all the temples of Gods and Godesses in Hardwear. If you can spare ten minutes I will take you to my temple which I regards very high. My friend was surprised that which one temple is left? He has seen nearly every temple in Hardwar. Any way, he agreed, and poor rickshaw puller took him to a hospital run by Shri Ram Krishna Mission. He said, Sir this is my temple. When myself or any family member becomes sick, we come here. And Swamis as well as workers here treat us with respect, and we get medicines and treatment for free which we can no otherwise afford. My friend was with full of tears.

And please remember this would not have been possible if devotees like yourself and me would not have been giving donation to these Santhans.

My point is that, while we should give great thought to what our great friend and a devotee of Lord Sai has just said, but please do remember that good Sansthans like Shri Sai Baba Santhan Shirdi and Shri Ram Krishna Missions are doing excellent jobs for humanity, and they are so honest that they keep account of every single penny. Whenever I have sent any donation to any of these two organisations, I have always received receipt with the blessings of Lord Shri Sai Nath Bhagwan and/ or Shri Thakur Ji Ram Krishan Paramhansa ji Bhagwan.

May Lord Sai bless us all and give us Sadbuddhi.

Dr. Yatendra Sharma

Perth, Western AUSTRALIA

--- On Fri, 13/3/09, Deepa <debu7366 wrote:

Deepa <debu7366 Donation - Who needs your money. A must read? Received: Friday, 13 March, 2009, 9:10 AM

Donation - Who needs your money. A must read?

It was a Thursday on the first day of this year. I knew how it feels for a Sai devotee. New Year always brings lots of new hopes and since the first day was a Thursday, I was very excited and happy and felt that this is definitely going to be a good year. In the evening I went to Sai temple, did pooja and offered some money in the hundi of the temple.The next day, I heard about an old friend whose father died 5 years back. I haven't heard about her since then. I didn't know that she had to abandon her study due to the financial crisis. She joined a beauty parlor to support her family. She has a younger sister who was physically challenged. I was shocked to learn about her story. She was a very bright and ambitious student and she had lots of dreams about her higher education. I really felt bad. I tried to help her and offered her financial help so she can resume her study. But it was too late. She couldn't accept my offer as she had

discontinued her studies long back as she had to support her family.Later in the day I remembered an article about Shirdi Sai Sansthan becoming the second richest temple in the country just behind the temple of Tirupati. There were talks of enormous amounts of money collected by the temple as donation or offerings by people. I wondered how much of that money is actually utilized and how much of that money remains idle not serving any purpose. People donate hundreds of crores of rupees every year to various temples and spiritual organizations without even caring how much of that money would be utilized.This incident made me realize that there are definitely better and even more practical ways of utilizing the money which we want to donate. And this can be achieved if we look around the place we live and identify the needs of the people. Because India is a land of contrasts, we can always

find people who are in greater need of goods and financial assistance than us. For example we can support the education of a kid of a poor family, pay for the medical bills of the person who cannot afford it, feed poor people or donate our money to an organization which is actively involved in social work and not just sit on piles of money. Most of the famous Temples are already very rich and practically they do not need any money at least for a couple of years.There is no better sight in the world than seeing the face of a small child who cannot afford education and who has just been given a notebook and other accessories by you. If you think you have very little money to help, you can save that little money and add onto it till it becomes significant

enough to bring a change in a needy person's life. You can even save a fixed amount of money per month and use it later when you see someone really needs it. If you look around carefully, you will find lots of opportunity where the money can be utilized.Donation is not a formality to please our lords but it's a way to support and appreciate a noble cause. The responsibility lies on us to plan well and donate the money very carefully as it belongs to our Sai. We give full attention to our SAI who is sitting inside a temple but we often ignore SAI who lives in each and every human soul in this world. Let us make judicious use of our assets to spread happiness in the lives of people who need it most. PS: Article published in Samarpan Jan 2009 Edition.You can read more of such articles at

http://gallery. spiritualindia. org/spiritual- resources/ samarpan/ Samarpan_ Jan2009.pdf. html

Gurur Brahma Gurur Vishnu Gurur Devoh Maheshwar; Gurur Shakshat Parambramha Tashmai Shri Gurur Veh Namah" May the Merciful Sri Sai Baba always shower His grace on us and our families and remove our problems and anxieties by giving us all - strength , goodluck, success and happiness with peace of mind. Sai bhakt, Deepa H Blog dedicated to Shri Shirdi Saibaba : http://debu7366. blogspot. com/ Listen to Radio Shirdi Sai : http://sairadio. blogspot. com/

For free Sai Satcharitra books: http://www.saiseva. omsrisai. net/store/ index.php

Saibaba temple directory: http://www.omsrisai .net/saitemples. php

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March 13, 2009

Dear Sairam,

I do agree with some good souls in mandhir administration, but with infiltration of political personalities in board of trustees, can we expect pure administration with 100% honest utilization of devotees contribution.

Please read the article in Indian Express for misappropriation of temple funds, including Shirdi Sansthan.

http://www.indianexpress.com/oldstory.php?storyid=63233

Let devotees decide what course of action to be taken for the best utilization of their holy contribution.

Jai Sairam,

Sivanandam

The State of Religion

Posted: Jan 23, 2005 at 0000 hrs IST

FOR a week now, the BJP and the VHP have been crying themselves hoarse on the Tamil Nadu governmentâ€™s plans to take over the Kanchi mutt, read directly control the muttâ€™s finances and oversee its non-religious functions. Before such plans come to fruition though, the Jayalalithaa regime would need to work on several grey areas.

Primary among them is the fact that much of the mutt assets are in the names of technically independent trusts that control the various arms of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam. The actual figures are still under wraps, but some estimate that the trusts control about 70 per cent of the mutt wealth.

The official list of institutions controlled by various mutt-affiliated trusts include 209 welfare centres, 43 hospitals and healthcare centres, 110 associated mutts and community centres, 15 Vedic education institutions, one deemed university and 11 higher educational institutions.

According to the trust deeds, the muttâ€™s actual direct involvement in the trusts is limited to the mutt pontiffâ€™s nomination of the trustees. The trusts function as autonomous bodies, with trustees and members responsible for all financial and administrative actions, at least on paper. The mutt head calls on the trusts only for â€˜â€˜spiritual guidance and special pujasâ€™â€™. All of which means that the Jayalalithaa government will have to split some fine legal hairs if it is to take over the trusts along with the mutt. â€˜â€˜It managed to freeze 183 bank accounts of various trusts only because the step was said to be in connection with the Sankararaman murder case. But legally, there is no way the government can hope to take over the trusts, per se,â€™â€™ says a senior mutt lawyer.

In the eventuality of a takeover, government nomineesâ€”led by a special officer, most likely a senior IAS officer, with lesser bureaucrats in key functionsâ€”may control and manage the temporal functions of the mutt, including fund disbursal and accounts. But there could be a ruckus if they attempt to tinker with the spiritual concerns of the mutt or if the government tries to appoint a new spiritual head for the Peetam.

By tradition, there are ritualsâ€”like the daily puja for the Chandramauleeswaran idolâ€”that only the Shankaracharya or the junior pontiff can and must perform. The Kanchi Shankaracharyas have either carried this idol with them whenever they travelled out of the mutt, or entrusted it to their spiritual heirs for that period, thus ensuring unbroken continuance of the daily ritual.

When Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati was in jail for a couple of months following his arrest on November 11, 2004, the daily pujas of the Chandramauleeswaran were performed by the junior pontiff, Vijayendra Saraswati. When he was arrested soon after the Shankaracharya was released on bail, the idol went back to the pontiff, who is upholding the daily ritual now at his camp in Kalavi.

Multiple trusts are said to control up to 70 per cent of the wealth of the Kanchi mutt. If the Jayalalithaa government aims to take these over, along with the Peetam, some very fine legal hair-splitting would be necessary

While there is no way the government can hope to dislodge the Shankaracharya from his spiritual role, his financial functions are another matter altogether. Jayendra Saraswatiâ€™s predecessors kept away strictly from temporal affairs of the mutt, but the present Shankaracharya has been in direct control of the muttâ€™s financial functions, famously with a direct and indirect assets base running into several hundred crores. The seer was even known to personally lead negotiations for real estate or other acquisitions, besides being central to all key decisions in the mutt. A government takeover could mean the end of the financial role-playing for the muttâ€™s most controversial Shankaracharya.

Been there, done that. At â€˜taken-overâ€™ Vaishno Devi, Tirumala and Shirdi, revenues are up, so are charges of politicisation

The price of pietyRajeev P.I, Tirupati

THE government takeover of the Sri Venkateshwara temple in Tirumala, Tirupatiâ€”the second richest religious institution in the world after the Vaticanâ€”is a case of the legislature and the judiciary prevailing over a sacred tradition gone to seed. Since at least the 15th century, the Mirasis, a priestly class of Brahmins initially limited to four families and later including over a dozen, were in absolute control of the temple and its riches. Their reign came to an end with a Supreme Court verdict in 1996.

The process began in 1985, with the then Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N T Rama Rao asking a committee headed by Justice Chella Kondiah to study means for better maintenance of Andhra temples. The committee asked the government to do away with the traditional rights of Mirasis in all temples. The state followed it up with the Andhra Pradesh Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Act of 1987, effectively halting all rights in cash and kind that the Mirasis enjoyed.

Prior to government involvement, the Tirumala temple was in the control of two branches of the Mirasis. The Archaka Mirasi took care of pujas and rituals, the Gamekar Mirasi prepared and distributed the prasad, the famous Tirumala laddoos. In return, they had a right to a share of the prasad and the donations.

The enormous wealth of the Tirumala temple has increased substantially in the years after the government takeover. But the Devasthanam is under fire for complete politicisation and corporatisation With the temple growing richer by the dayâ€”Lord Venkateshwaraâ€™s crown alone is now estimated to be worth about $5 billion, and the templeâ€™s donated gold reserves weigh well over 15,000 kg at any given timeâ€”the Mirasis prospered well beyond their counterparts elsewhere. According to Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) sources, by the time the government stepped in, the Mirasi families were jointly raking in about Rs 4.5 crore every year just as their share of prasad sales.

Even as the cash continued to pour in, very few of the Mirasis were known to exert themselves in temple affairs in any way. Prasad-making was sub-contracted, while pujas and rituals were handed over to employees hired to stand in for the Mirasis. That is eventually what did them in: When the Mirasis moved the Supreme Court against the state government decision against their â€˜â€˜hereditary rightsâ€™â€™, the court said there wasnâ€™t anything hereditary about hiring out their jobs.

Most of the Mirasis have since turned to business, many have set up homes abroad. The place of their paid stand-ins has now been taken by full-time priests hired as government employees under the TTD. They are screened for their scholastic and ritualistic competence by a committee of religious scholars from both Andhra Pradesh and elsewhere before selection.

The 400-odd prasad-makers, who stood in for the Gamekar Mirasis, are now waiting for a Supreme Court verdict on their claim to be regular TTD employees.

However, that is not the end of the Mirasi story. The community is reportedly attempting a comeback to the Andhra temples; sources say Chief Minister Rajasekhara Reddy is not averse to the idea, especially if they can be accommodated in the present system. The Tirumala temple, which is governed by a sperate TTD Act, however, will remain out of bounds for the Mirasis unless the government brings in some drastic amendments. In the years since the TTD took over, the temple has grown substantially in amenities, reach and activities. Some 30,000 students throng its 12 collegesâ€”including the SV College in Delhiâ€”and its Veda schools churn out 600 scholars annually. Its Dharma Prachar Parishad is strongly into spiritual propagation in various parts of the country, and it has a string of charitable schools, hospitals and other institutions.

But the TTD has also drawn flak for its complete politicisation, and is often accused of turning the temple into a soulless corporate body. The TTD is headed by a 14-member board. Ten of them are state government nominees with a two-year tenure, the remaining are bureaucrats taken in as ex-officio members. Invariably, almost all the board members are either full-time politicians of the ruling party, or industrialists. The current chairman is an MP, T Subbarami Reddy. Two of the board members are MLAs, five are industrialists. The only exception is a senior physician, whom the chief minister reportedly wanted to be included.

Three senior IAS officials function under the board, one as executive officer effectively functioning as the COO, and the other two as joint executive officers heading the administration and temple affairs respectively. There are now 12,000 regular employees at TTD.

Temple of boomPawan Bali, Jammu

THE devotees discovered it 700 years ago, the government much more recently. When the Jammu and Kashmir government took over the Vaishno Devi shrine at Katra on August 31, 1986, it was one in the line of many such takeovers all across India. Nearly 20 years later, itâ€™s an oft-quoted success story.

When complaints of misappropriation of funds and lack of facilities started pouring in, the stateâ€”under Presidentâ€™s rule thenâ€”moved in swiftly. Governor Jagmohan passed the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Ordinance and the Shrine Board was set up in August 1986. Later, the Ordinance was ratified by the Cabinet but the baridars (traditional pujaris, who collected the offerings) went to the Supreme Court. The court ruled in favour of the state, giving the board complete power over the shrine.

The change of guard is reflected on ground in a growth, economic as well as in pilgrim turnout. In 1986, 1.3 million pilgrims visited the shrine. The number went up to 6 million in 2004.

After the government took over, a 14 km pucca track to the shrine was constructed and another Rs 250 crore spent on improving the infrastructure and setting up 2,000 bed-residential centres and 15 catering outlets.

Earlier, the shrine was managed by baridars, while the civic facilities were looked after by the Dharmath Trust. This private trust pocketed all the rentals and royalties.

In the new state set-up, the governor was the ex-officio chairman of the board that has nine members nominated for three years. The administration is carried out by bureaucrats. The shrine, which rakes in Rs 90 crore every year, is the lifeline for Katra town (population: 30,000). As additional CEO, Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine, Rohit Kansal says, Jammuâ€™s tourism industry depends on it. â€˜â€˜In all, the shrine is pumping in over Rs 10,000 crore annually into the state economy,â€™â€™ says Kansal.

Last year, Vaishno Devi became the second temple complex after Tirupati to launch its own university. A Sanskrit Gurukul and a spiritual elevation centre is also coming up. The next big thingDevraj Dasgupta, Pune

EVEN Sai Baba, the gentle saint who cured ills and brought succour to hundreds, could not have foreseen that he would one day become a profitable government enterprise. The Sai Baba Sansthan, Shirdi, a memorial to the revered saint, is now controlled by the government following apprehensions of financial irregularities.

With devotees spanning the globe and funds growing by the day, the Sansthan is now a cash-cow whose activities are overseen by a trust packed with politicians. Sitting on cash reserves totalling Rs 200 crore, the Sansthan runs a big hospital, a 560-room lodging facility besides several schools. A nursing and medical college is on the cards. The government took over the reins of the Shirdi Sansthan on August 24, 2004, after passing a bill in the state assembly. The move, apparently, was taken to streamline functioning of the Sansthan and provide better accountability.

To achieve the objective, the 16-member Sansthan trust is now headed by Jayant Sasane, a two-time MLA from Srirampur in Ahmednagar district. The numbers are made up by several powerful MLAs who could not be accommodated in the Maharashtra cabinet for a variety of reasons. The committee supposedly comprises experts from fields like medicine, accountancy and administration, a claim that has been challenged in Bombay High Court. Among the critics of the takeover is D M Sukhthankar, former Mumbai municipal commissioner and the last managing trustee of the Sansthan to be appointed by the charity commissioner before the government took control. â€˜â€˜The motive was three-fold: jobs for heavyweight politicians, patronage for contractors and direct access to funds,â€™â€™ he alleges. â€˜â€˜The government of the day has made it into a corporation that will never go into losses.â€™â€™

As Sukhthankar notes, a seat on the Sansthan is a privilege worth coveting. Among other subjects, the trust decides on multiple contracts awarded for the day-to-day functioning of the temple: From civil construction to purchase of medicines to prasad cooked for thousands, the contracts they involve is worth lakhs of rupees.

However, government officials say there is a check mechanism to avoid major financial irregularities. For example, the donations or sponsorship for any major development plan has to be cleared by a scrutiny committee of the Bombay High Court. â€˜â€˜Donations cannot be given to firms or trusts run by kith and kin of trustees so easily,â€™â€™ says an old-timer of the Sansthan.

Sources in the temple town also believe that politicians now on the trust have a certain accountability to the local population since they are elected members of the region. â€˜â€˜Earlier, managing trustees had no connection with Shirdi. Whether it was a doctor from Mumbai or a retired bureaucrat, they were least bothered about Shirdi or local criticism,â€™â€™ says one resident.

While Sukhthankar ruffled quite a few feathers with his tough administration as head of the Sansthan for six years, managing trustees preceding him were mostly people close to political bigwigs in the state. In fact, Sukhthankar himself allegedly got the post of managing trustee because of his rapport with one Sharad Pawar

--- On Fri, 13/3/09, Yatendra Sharma <sharmay1953 wrote:

Yatendra Sharma <sharmay1953Re: Donation - Who needs your money. A must read? Date: Friday, 13 March, 2009, 8:22 AM