Can temples once again shape Indian civilization?

The newly appointed CEO of the Ram Mandir Trust, air marshal Jeetendra Mishra (retd), reached Ayodhya amid media glare to take charge tomorrow. After seeking blessings from the saints, he got down to familiarize himself with the operations and personnel of the trust. We hope air marshal Mishra and his team quickly assume charge at an auspicious time. The team faces insurmountable challenges, but great resets are always preceded by greater hurdles. You may recall Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath's struggle for beautification of Ayodhya city. Many houses had to be demolished. The marathon exercise finally succeeded, and today the Uttar Pradesh government proudly claims to be the number one state in religious tourism. The shimmering success, however, suffered a dent when the donation theft at the Ram temple was unearthed. We hope air marshal Mishra will be able to firewall devotees' faith from every side. However, the real test for the team will be to establish the Ram Mandir's ancient glory. In 2003, the Archaeological Survey of India, under the orders of the Allahabad High Court, excavated the present temple site to ascertain if a temple ever existed. They found clinching evidence, a 12th century Vishnu Hari inscription. It says: At the holy site of Ram's birth place in Saket (Ayodhya) stands a grand temple dedicated to Vishnu Hari. The temple administration has established an annsatra (community feeding centre) for visitors, guests, saints and travellers. Let me mention here that many historians including Irfan Habib challenged the finding, alleging the inscription was taken from the Government Museum in Lucknow and planted at the site as evidence. The allegation fell flat in the Supreme Court and we all know the final result. The Skanda Purana and the 7th century Chinese traveller Huen Tsang's accounts also support the claims of the inscription. These accounts not only establish the legitimacy of the Ram temple's existence, but point to the attributes that make Ayodhya an abode of virtue. Kashi and Mathura have their unique qualities, too. Mathura was part of the old Silk Route. Kushan period inscriptions tell us that the treasury at the Krishna Janmasthan temple acted as a bank. Traders would deposit money or seek loan for tough trade journeys. The grandeur of Kashi was absolutely unique. The reason was that no new idea would be universally accepted till it was debated and proved in the Kashi Vishwanath temple's 'intellectual committee'. Whether it was Shankaracharya or Ramanujacharya, every philosopher had to present, debate and prove their hypothesis. The city of Vishwanath was also a great centre for astronomy, astrology, logic and medicine. Granary in the Ma Annapoorna temple situated close to Kashi Vishwanath ensured no one in Kashi city would sleep hungry. Ayodhya was the symbol of the king's conduct and international cooperation and was considered a centre of good governance. Mathura was the centre of commercial banking, sculpting, agriculture and economics even before the advent of Christ. Kashi was the seat of learning, Ayurveda and yoga. Temples like these have helped bring sophistication to our civilization and created a foundation to make it global. Temples in the south were making the same contribution towards our civilization. You may be wondering how this glorious tradition vanished. We get away by offering a lazy argument putting the entire blame on foreign conquerors. During the foreign rule, security concerns forced India's religious places in the hands of a chosen few. These people promoted narrow vision. This was the beginning of the decline of a great tradition. A question arises: is the issue limited to just the temple's grandeur and its duties and rights? The inscriptions suggest all the three cities weren't known just for the temples, but for the entire culture and civilization that these temples spawned. All the three holy cities were a confluence of various strands of culture and civilizations and cooperation in application of knowledge. Indian intellectual traditions stress on balanced life and as such along with temples they insist on following four stages in life including dharma (duty) artha (earning a living), kama (desire) and moksha (liberation). Temples provided a framework and lent strength to dharma, artha and moksha. Will air marshal Mishra and his colleagues help revive this glorious tradition? Shashi Shekhar is editor-in-chief, Hindustan. Views are personal.