August 18, 2025

Janmashtami, a festival full of devotion and joy, took a surprising twist at ISCKON Greater Kailash in Delhi. A devotee shared his mixed feelings on Reddit after visiting the temple. Instead of the spiritual calm he hoped for, he got caught in a storm of issues! The hot topic? A "premium membership pass" costing a whopping ₹35,500! This pass gave holders perks like separate entry without the queues, unlimited time for darshan, packed prasad, and even home delivery of prasad. Sounds fancy, right? But what about the rest of the devotees? Regular visitors had to wait over two hours just to get about one minute to see Bhagwanji. This stark difference didn’t sit well. The Reddit user questioned, "They charge ₹35.5k for a ‘premium membership pass’ – which basically gives you a separate entry, no queues, as much darshan time as you want, packed prasad, and even home delivery of prasad. Meanwhile, the general public (like me) stood in line for 2.5 hours just to get a 1-minute darshan of Bhagwanji. Understandable given the crowd, but then why are ‘premium’ people allowed unlimited time?" Adding fuel to the fire, many devotees reported no prasad was even given to general visitors in the morning! Since prasad is a key part of the temple experience, this left several hearts heavy. Many are now raising eyebrows about the bigger picture – commercialization in temples. One devotee summed it up: "When spirituality starts having VIP passes, it makes you question the purpose." This issue has sparked a wider discussion. While temples need ways to manage huge crowds, offering premium access at this price might turn sacred gatherings into exclusive parties, pushing regular devotees aside. Is this the future of our spiritual spaces? The debate continues, reminding us all to reflect on what true devotion means in today’s fast-changing world.

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Tags: Isckon temple, Janmashtami, Premium pass, Darshan wait, Temple commercialization, Prasad controversy,