Have Priests Gurus And Swamis Hijacked The Bhakti Movement?

People go to the temple for "darshan." They have statues and pictures of Gods in your home, so that they can pay their respect to God every day. People name their children in the names of Gods, so that in calling our their children's names, they are also speaking out God's name.

The same people also participate in havans, keertans and the so called satsang. And people have priests come over and perform ceremonies of which they know nothing about - either before or after the ceremony. Much of this is driven by priests, gurus and swamis (PGS).

Why?

Because Indian culture is big on Bhakti Yoga.

But, is this what Bhakti was intended to be? According to Wikipedia, "it was initially considered unorthodox, as it rebelled against caste distinctions and disregarded Brahmanic rituals, which according to Bhakti saints were not necessary for salvation. " Those Brahminic rituals have now been replaced by rituals prescribed by these PGS.

So these PGS have merely taken the place of Brahmins. Like Brahmins, they have become the intermediaries between lay people and God; this intermediary role is exactly what the Bhakti movement sought to eliminate. People blindly do what the PGS tell them to do. In fact, not only have the PGS replaced Brahmins, in many instances they have replaced Gods themselves. So, for many people, the GPS's word is God's word; there are statues of PGS in their homes. And, temples have been dedicated to PGS.

Maybe we need another movement - of how to reconnect to God without intermediaries. But people have to use religion in better ways. Just sitting and praying, and hoping that the world, society and human beings will improve is going to merely replace these PGS with someone else.