India – a country incredibly known for the faith the citizens hold in their deities and their cultural and religious systems is now facing a huge transformation due to the advent of the rise of technology. By employing tech-driven solutions, a new generation of religious services companies is reaching out to India's sizable unorganized market and assisting a generation of believers who are pressed for time.
Yogi Adityanath, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, opened a virtual reality booth at the recent Kumbh Mela, a month-long mass pilgrimage in Prayag, where enthusiastic pilgrims may wait in line to experience the wonders of the Kumbh via virtual reality (VR). The event was just one of several services provided by Bengaluru-based firm Kalpnik, which is providing a "immersive and Interactive experience" to help close the gap between believers and their faith. Despite being valued at an astounding $30 billion according to numerous media sources, the religious products and services market is still very disorganized, dominated by small, dispersed companies, and ready for technological disruption.
This is just one of them, a lot more studies have also revealed how reality is being replaced by virtual models and designs, mobile phones have turned into priests and that is where the chanting comes from. Looking at some more case studies justifying or possibly creating a topic of discussion and deliberation: According to TechCrunch, there is more than $100 expenditure on Sri Mandir -an app curated for people who are not able to reach temples or want to offer last minute prayers, donate something to the temple their faith resides in or simply have a glance of their deities.
According to Mr. Trivedi , an Indian who’s residing outside the nation, “Sri Mandir just translates rupees into dollars and costs a whole lot of money, which makes it an ultra-premium app, not for everyone with a low budget.”
Up next, we also have VedicBrahman.com, the country's first multifaceted website dedicated to serving religious services. It offers a one-stop shop for all religious requirements and needs. Through this portal, certified Vedic Brahmans from the sacred city of Kashi (Varanasi) can perform a variety of Vedic rites right at your door.
According to the founder on Business Finders India, About 70 Vedic Brahmans are on board, and they periodically visit large towns to carry out ceremonies. Additionally, Piyush- the founder stated that roughly three of them receive monthly salaries. In response to a question concerning the services they offer, Piyush said that they presently deal with important ceremonies such as Puja for Home and Housing, Business Puja, Children and newborns, Engagement and Wedding Puja, Puja Festival, Devta Puja, Paath, Havan/Homa Puja, Navgrah and Astronomical Puja and many more.
These are just some cases wherein technology has noticeably taken over our hearts. It has also unquestionably changed our customs and cultures. Even though there are many advantages, it is crucial to view these changes critically and take into account how they might affect cultural values and customs. We can make sure that our cultures survive in the digital age by finding a balance between adopting new technologies and protecting our cultural legacy.