After twenty five years, I visited Mathura, this time with my wife. Earlier we had a lovely time going around Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikhri. Taj Mahal was looking much cleaner, the area around much greener, the approach free of beggars, guides and horse drawn carriages. Taj is now worth seeing even a thousand times though it is only my third visit to the Taj.
From Taj we proceeded to Mathura the birth place of Krishna. I mush confess, it was not a pilgrimage but a part of a visit to a historical place. The trip from Agra to Mathura was not comfortable. We were advised to see at least three important places in Mathura, namely the Krishna Janma bhumi, Glass temple and Americal temple.
As soon as we arrived in Mathura, we hired an auto rickshah. The driver took us to the American temple and the Glass temple through a crowded and and not so comfortable road, even though we protested that we did not wish to go any further because of the bad road. We only wanted to visit the Janma bhumi before it closed for lunch.
(1) The driver, on the way explained to us that there was one special temple woth visiting and it is so powerful that if we visited it is it worth visiting five hundred temples. He called it some Behari temple. (2)He also added that it would not cost anything more than we had already agreed with him. (3) As we were near the temple he advised that we might shell out only Rs. 10.00 for a guide, not more. On the way he picked up a guide who looked like a 9th standard student. (4) We were already near the temple. The guide advised us to remove our spectacles. He reasoned that there were wild monkeys who would snatch our glasses. We could not see any monkeys except an old fellow who could hardly walk, leave alone snatch our spectacles. The guide led us into some lanes and by lanes. It was supposed to be very holy hindu temple. I could see a muslim woman walking about. (5) The temple premises wore a deserted look. If it was such a powerful temple worht visiting five hundred temples, then the pilgrims would be all over the place. It was not to be. (6) The guide showed us a garden where Lord Krishna appears in the night and plays with his girl-friends in the night. If anyone ventured to have a look at the ’Krishna Leela’ he would be either dead, turned blind, deaf or dumb. All those who ventured to look into the garden in the night were dead and were buried in the middle of the garden. However, the guide added that the neighbours could hear the sound of dancing in the garden. (7) Having succeeded in removing all our defences, he took us to the holy of holies. (8) First he asked us to wash our hands as a sign of purity. (9) Then he ’advised’ us to buy a rose garland and ushered us inot the temple proper. I could not believe if all that he said was true becuase in such a powerful temple there were no devotees and only a single ’pandit’ was sitting. (10) The pundit asked us to sit in ’vajra-asan’ position and recite some prayers he said. I could not sit in front of him as I have a knee problem. My wife immediately obeyed. She was thoroughly hipnotised already. Since I could not sit in front of him, the pundit said, ’no problem’. He dictated some prayers to my wife which she dutifully repeated after him and ended saying that she was donating Rupees ONE THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED AND ELEVEN ONLY. As soon as she finised saying, the pundit took a reciept book and wrote down the magic figure Rs. 1111/= and my wife opened her purse to take out the money. Now I objected saying that we shall not pay even one rupee. Immediately, he said ’OK no problem, just pay Rs. 511/= I said, not even one rupee. By then my wife had already taken out Rs. 100/= and paid him. She was already won over; she was completely hypnotised. I tried to raise my voice, but there was no one to take my side.
Angrily we left the temple and met the driver adn asked whey he had brought us to a place to get cheated. As my wife was taking out the money, I could see the reaction of the Pundit who was calmly eyeing her purse, her bangles and gold chains and I was reminded of many stories of how women removed their ’mangalsutra’ and given to the priests in the hope and belief that something good will happen to them.
I confronted the driver for taking us to a place where cheating was taking place. By the time it was Janma Bhumi. I decided to sit out alog with the security when my wife went in. Meanwhile I befriended the policemen on duty and narrated what happened to us. They could hold of the driver and beat him up mercilessly. By then we felt that he was part of the gang since his auto did not have a number plate. he was beaten up by the police for this too. Al last I requested the police to let him go as we still had a long way to go to New Delhi. Since the police were on duty at the Janma bhumi they did not go and confront the pundit who cheated us and we too did not pursue the matter as we had to reach New Delhi.
I am a student of Philosophy and psychology. I have read about hypnosis but never thought that my wife and I would be subjected to such a treatment by a temple ’pundit’. How they cheat us in the name of piety and religion.