When devotion becomes a transaction, would you feel God close?

I was born and raised in this chaotic, vibrant city, Mumbai, with my mom hailing from Dadar and friends and family rooted in Lalbaug and the surrounding area. I am 22 and, in all honesty, I have never visited ‘Lalbaug Ganpati’ and would never want to because I don’t really think ‘God’ resides anywhere where faith is used as business. In a world where spirituality is supposed to be the great equalizer between all hierarchies of people. Where the divine is accessible to the rich and poor alike. I have seen numerous news stories and stories about friends, and it feels ironic to see people wait for more than 12 hours in the heat, rain, and crowd, while VIPs skip the line only because of their money or connections. 

“A leaf, a flower, a fruit, or even water, if one offers to Me with devotion, I accept it.” (Gita 9:26) 

This isn’t just Lalbaug. From Tirupati’s paid darshan to Ujjain’s Mahakaleshwar “packages,” Christian shrines where donations fast-track relic viewings, Shirdi’s VIP Line or Hajj brokers selling premium access, feels like a service and way to make easy money, like a front-row concert ticket. When devotion becomes a transaction, would you feel God close? Ask yourself. As a human, I’m wrestling with this. Through stories of divine interventions and saints across religions who rejected spiritual profiteering, I’m searching for what faith means, but at least I am not blinded by fools in the name of faith.

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The VIP Culture: A Snapshot of Unequal Devotion 

Lalbaug cha Raja, one of Mumbai's most revered Ganesh pandals, draws over 1.5 million devotees daily during the festival. People forgot why Lokmanya Tilak started all of these. It was supposed to be a gathering to plan against the British, not something written in our Vedas it has no spiritual aspect as such. One social media post even quipped, "Don't visit Lalbaug cha Raja if you don't have Rs 100 crores in your pocket," igniting debates on how celebrity status or wealth overshadows genuine piety and now how Ambani have made it a business hub, and ironically, millions of people are dumb to realize. Just ask yourselves, the Ganpati idol at home is different than the one from Lalbaug or any other place like that? Personally, I am glad I have not fallen for this blind faith. Being in Mumbai, yet not visiting, even though I can get VIP darshan easily for me. 

Philosophical View: Does commercialization weaken belief in God? 

Now, to the heart of the matter: If God is omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient, why does accessing "Him" require a fast-track ticket, or why do we have to bribe to see him? As the Holy Bhagavad Gita reminds us, “He who is satisfied with whatever comes by chance… who is free from envy, and who is steady in success and failure, is never entangled” (Gita 4:22). The True divinity, then, lies in detachment, not in financial transactions.  

“My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.” (Matthew 21:13) 

The Bible also critiques this imbalance, reminding us that faith cannot be reduced to trade. “No one can serve two masters… You cannot serve both God and money” (Matthew 6:24). Here, commercialization is not just a distraction but a distortion by pulling believers away from the essence of God, which is love, humility, and devotion without greed for power or money.  

However, commercialization doesn’t erase God, though, but it only tests human perception of Him, and many of us are failing after seeing the VIP Culture places like Lalbaug. As the Gita says, “Whenever righteousness declines and unrighteousness increases, I manifest Myself” (Gita 4:7). Here, the real challenge lies within us: do we allow money and PR to cloud our faith and understanding, or do we rise above it and rediscover God in simplicity, truth, and selfless devotion? 

Saints Who Stood Against the Business of Faith: Their Messages Echo, But Do We Listen? 

The Bhakti and Sufi movements in India were led by saints who boldly challenged ritualism and commercialization, preaching direct, dedicated devotion. They weren't just critics; they lived the change, urging people to see God within, not in paid practices or malpractices. Yet, centuries later, we often ignore their calls. 

1. Kabir Das: A weaver-saint who mocked pandits and mullahs for turning faith into a trade. "If by bathing in the Ganges sins are washed away, what about the fish?" he quipped, opposing dogma or we can say ‘Doglapan’ in genz and emphasizing inner purity over external shows. His Dohas still ask: Why pay for what God gives freely? 
2. Guru Nanak: Founder of Sikhism, he rejected caste, rituals, and priestly monopolies, traveling to expose hypocrisies—like at Mecca, where the Kaaba "moved" to teach that God is directionless. His message? "There is no Hindu, no Muslim"—unity over division, devotion over donation. 
3. Tukaram: A Marathi saint who faced Brahmin backlash for accessible bhajans. He sang against empty rituals: "What use is a pilgrimage if the heart is impure?" God, in legends, vindicated him, showing faith isn't a business still people who followed him are now prey of that. 
4. Bulleh Shah: The song “Bulla ki jana mai kaun?” inspired by his poetry and later composed as a song by Rabbi Shergill, tells everything. 
5. Ravidas: A cobbler-saint who defied caste-based exclusion, teaching that God favors the humble. When priests barred him, a miracle revealed his true devotion, challenging the "business" of hierarchy. 

There are more, but what's the point of explaining to those who are blind? These saints spread a message of reform, often facing persecution & various punishments, yet divine signs supported them & people. As usual, still blinded. The one who told them God is everywhere, God is the supreme being, is now a ‘God’ made by his followers. 

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Why Do We Still Fall Blindly? Your Turn to Realize 

Even with all the teachings, VIP lines continue, temples collect wealth, and faith often feels commercialized. Is it just convenience, social pressure, or have we forgotten that God values sincerity over show? Me writing this blog might or might not make a change, but I did my part. We cannot make a person understand who doesn’t want to. 

“For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.” (1 Timothy 6:10) 

This blog isn’t about questioning anyone’s shraddha or personal devotion—faith & opinions is sacred and deeply individual, I have no say about it. It’s about the systems and people who misuse God’s name for profit (Jio Ads, Celeb PR), turning spiritual spaces into marketplaces with VIP lines and paid privileges and creating a discrimination between people opposing God’s ideology. It’s about those who commercialize faith, exploiting believers, and the rest of us who often follow blindly, accepting these practices without pausing to ask: Does this truly align with the teaching that God gave us? 

Think about it—has a heartfelt prayer ever felt stronger than a paid ritual? Saints opposed this “business,” and even the divine seemed to stand with them. So maybe the real question isn’t whether God is present in these places, but whether we are searching in the right way or mindset. 

The answer lies with you. Try visiting a quiet shrine, pray simply, and notice the difference. Faith isn’t about buying—it’s about becoming. The real change starts within. Whether God "exists" in these commercialized spots is subjective topic here. For me, true divinity thrives in unmonetized moments of reflection, not paid privileges just to see God.