Sacrilege At The Mahabodhi Temple

by Rohan Parker

Buddhists around the world know of the Banyan tree, which resides in a quite village in northeast India, and is a load stone for Buddhist pilgrimages. It is under this tree, around 2,500 years ago, a young monk named Siddhartha Gautama gained enlightenment through meditation, and became the Buddha. Every year the Banyan tree (which is actually a pipal) and the temple adjacent are visited by thousands of pilgrims who believe the site to be the most holy place on earth for Buddhists It is the goal of many Buddhists to visit the site at least one time in their lives.

That site, titled the Mahabodhi Temple, has seen some very unsavory practices occur in the last few decades. The area is now known for its crime, corruption and ongoing sacrilege; relics have been stolen, hoodlums harass pilgrims - especially female ones, and the beggars who rummage through the garbage that is piled against the temple will actually attack visitors. There are even con artists who pose as monks and sell supposed leaves off the holy Banyan tree.

According to many Buddhists, the site became this way because of governmental interference. Almost 60 years ago a law was passed in India that determined that the site be managed by a nine-member committee whose numbers had to have a Hindu majority, a notion that has struck both Buddhists and those compassionate to their plight as being completely preposterous.

Investigations into the actions of the committee have found that millions of dollars in donations have gone missing, and are still unaccounted for. Idols and statues that have, according to the committee, gone missing, have later been seen in Western homes and museums. Just last year an affluent Thai Buddhist donated a luxury SUV to be used in aid of temple upkeep. This SUV now resides in the garage of the temple committee’s chairman, Jitendra Srivastava, though he says it is strictly used for temple related work.

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