I believe art and commerce are not mutually exclusive. One does not taint the other. However, spirituality and money are a different matter.

Brahma creates, Vishnu sustains and Shiva destroys. I find it ironic that there are very few Brahma temples and one of them is in Pushkar.

From the temple of Brahma, I am lead down to the main ghat by a “student” (aka tout). I am given a tray loaded with spices, grains, sugar, flowers and a coconut.

He sits me down in front of a Brahmin and the priest starts to lead me in a mantra. This Brahmin is barely paying attention, is simply phoning in this puja (blessing). Eventually we get to the part where he tells me about the donation I can make to the local trust (which I knew it was coming).

The Brahmin tells me how the money is not for the priests, its for the Trust. “The priests do not take money,” he says and we go back to the blessing. Then he mumbles something about dinners and how foreigners can donate in US currency if it is easier, 1 dinner, 2 dinners, 5 dinners, 10 dinners, whatever you like and each dinners costs $20 US.

“How many dinners would you like to donate?” he asks.

“None.” I reply.

The Brahmin gets a little angry, “You live in the United States, everything you have, god has given you, your car, clothes, house. How many dinners would you like to donate?!”

“None. I am choosing to donate nothing.”

At this point in the puja, the priest has the coconut in his hand, he has murder in his eyes and looks as if he is weighing up the pros and cons of assaulting an American woman with a coconut. He drops the coconut, waves me off and leaves.

Ha! It would appear that I’ve pissed off the priest by choosing to not mix spirituality with money.

Pushkar is said to be a spiritual place with incredible energy. I can sense the power of the place when I am in the hills just outside of town. Maybe once upon a time, the temple and the lake shared the same magic. But as the greed of men surround the temple, the lake and immediate surroundings, I fear the blessings of Pushkar are harder to experience.

Do you think I’ve been cursed now that the priest didn’t finish my blessings?! Cast your vote in the comments below!

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