Texting to a higher plane
by Paul Miller
[from John Thackara's excellent Doors of Perception newsletter]
"Connecting on a spiritual level with one's deity or deities of choice can be difficult and time-consuming. That is, unless you're a subscriber to BPL Mobile, in which case you can send an SMS puja (prayer) to your provider and have prayers recited for you at a popular Bombay temple during the annual Ganesh Chaturthi festival". Ashlee Vance of The Standard reports "that for just 51 rupees ($1.10) subscribers can avoid the hassle and aggravation of temple queues and text Ganesh instead. More than 5,000 devotees of Ganesh have tapped into the service".
Lydia Howland
But the best bit is.... Ganesha replies! I can say this with some authority because I'm on his text mailing list. It was his birthday last week and he sent me a puja via text reminding me and wishing me health and happiness.
If you don't believe me you can ask Bobby because he saw it too! Deity text wars: Hindus 1 - Christians 0.