“I need money for my annual trip to Ajmer, to thank Gods for their mercy throughout their year.”
“Well… travel, food, lodging and boarding expenses, coconuts, flowers, sweets for the temple and chaddar for the Dargah, cash for the donation box, fees paid to so-called guides and middlemen … amounts to a neat sum, and your offerings are resold to pilgrims several times.”
“We cannot scrimp on the Almighty”, she looked offended.
“I don’t see myself as stingy, but what we get in exchange is a year full of conflicts, unrest, burning cities and states. It is time to ditch the Gods and work on ourselves. Look into the mirror and decide what needs to change, rather than praying for the world to be a more peaceful place.”
https://girlieontheedge1.wordpress.com/2019/12/18/its-six-sentence-story-thursday-link-up-86/
P.S.
Ajmer is a town in Rajasthan, India with a Muslim Dargah (frequented by people of all religions) and the Pushkar Temple – both held in high faith.
Chaddar is an ornate shawl offered at the dargah by devotees.
Reena Saxena 
Well said.
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Thank you!
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Thanks for sharing!
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Excellent six with a very important message.
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Thank you, Lisa!
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These are great comments and I agree- you make a very good point. If people truly worked on themselves to achieve that which they pray for, well that isn’t ditching God, but doing what we’re meant to; keeping our god given candle burning.
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Thank you, D.Avery! Wishing you a Merry Xmas!
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Good point at the end. Prayer is powerful regardless of accouterments. Facilitating lasting change is far more difficult than making an annual pilgrimage. For some, participation in a large scale event serves as an acceptable substitute.
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Thank you, Denise!
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That should be the point, not religion, but a relationship with the G-d of your understanding, so you can have that help working on yourself.
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Fully agree. Thank you, Mimi!
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Like surly clerks in a small shop, it’s not the wares that are deficit, it’s the presentation that should drive a reasonable person away.
The failing of all organized religions, imho, lies in the fact that they set themselves up as middle men between two points in reality that do not require one.
(Like health clubs and health, the purveyors of religion are all about making sure the members do not believe they can do it themselves and stop paying their dues. With good intent, we become as ‘healthy’ as we might be without the storefronts and mirrors and coaches)
imho, of course lol
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There is a coach for everything – writing a book, publishing, selling, selling your soul… There are no death coaches because people cannot claim to have experienced it 🙂 Religion occupies the vacant slot offering Nirvana for a price.
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Mamma jused to say, “You can’t outgive God.” Great use of the cue.
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Thank you so much, UP!
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