The Clip That Lit the Fire

A video featuring Sunita Ahuja, wife of actor Govinda, recently went viral after her comments about Brahmins and pooja payments ignited a social media storm. Speaking on Namaste Bollywood, Sunita casually questioned why priests charge for rituals — suggesting that religious services shouldn’t involve money.

It was meant to be a light comment, perhaps. But it struck a raw nerve. Because beneath that statement lies a deeply ingrained mindset — one that glorifies devotion but devalues the people who sustain it.

The Entitlement in the Name of Faith

Let’s be brutally honest.
People don’t expect their electrician to fix a fan for free.

They don’t expect their driver to work without a salary.
But when it comes to a Brahmin performing a pooja, suddenly, everything must be “selfless service.”

As if the priest’s child doesn’t need school fees.
As if the priest’s home doesn’t need rent, food, or light.

This expectation isn’t spirituality. It’s exploitation disguised as devotion.

The Forgotten Reality: No Support, No Security

Here’s the part no one talks about — priests in india get no government support.
There are no pensions, no social security, no healthcare schemes for them.

Many temple priests across india live on meagre donations or dakshina, struggling to feed their families while performing rituals that the rest of society claims to revere.

Contrast that with state-funded subsidies for multiple other religious groups — often at scale — while Hindu priests are left to fend for themselves in the name of “service.”

So when someone like Sunita Ahuja says “why pay Brahmins,” it’s not just a comment.
It’s an insult to centuries of tradition, and to every man who’s carried those mantras forward against all odds.

Faith Has Value — And So Does Labor

There’s a dangerous hypocrisy at play here.

The same society that won’t blink before paying ₹50,000 for a wedding decorator or ₹10,000 for a dj somehow hesitates to pay a priest ₹2,000 for a pooja that takes hours of preparation and years of learning.

The irony?
The very same ritual that people consider “holy” is made possible by the very man they refuse to pay with dignity.

If faith has meaning, then the hands that preserve it deserve respect — and remuneration.

The Misunderstood Modern Mindset

This debate also reflects a deeper social sickness — the selective modernity of the urban elite.
We want rituals, but we don’t want religion.

We want blessings, but we don’t want to pay for them.
We want “positive energy,” but we look down upon those who perform the very rituals that create it.

It’s not progress. It’s pseudo-modernism — a shallow rebellion against tradition dressed as rationality.

No Work Should Be Free — Especially Holy Work

The priest doesn’t just chant sanskrit verses. He performs an emotional and spiritual service — guiding families through births, deaths, marriages, and festivals.

To ask him to do that for free isn’t humility. It’s humiliation.

When you call a Brahmin for a pooja and refuse to pay, you’re not saving money.
You’re cheapening your own faith.

The Deeper Hypocrisy: What We Choose to Value

We live in a time where actors charge lakhs for two hours of appearances at religious events.
Influencers make reels about devotion and earn sponsorships.
And yet, the priest who actually conducts the ceremony is expected to survive on gratitude.

That’s not devotion. That’s moral bankruptcy.

Faith Deserves Fairness

The problem isn’t with Sunita Ahuja alone. She’s just a reflection of a larger cultural blindness — one that refuses to see that faith is also labor, learning, and livelihood.

India’s Brahmins, priests, and temple workers aren’t asking for luxury. They’re asking for basic dignity.

The solution is simple:

If you don’t want to pay, don’t call them.
Do your own rituals. Chant your own prayers.

But don’t insult those who dedicate their lives to preserving the very culture you profit from posting about online.

Final Word: Respect Is the Real Offering

True spirituality isn’t just about rituals — it’s about recognition.

If you can pay everyone else involved in your ceremony, pay the person who sanctifies it, too.
Because without him, your “faith” is just performance.

The next time someone says Brahmins shouldn’t charge for poojas, remember — God may forgive free worship, but dignity doesn’t come free.

Respect. Pay. Stop the hypocrisy.