Ridiculously Rich Temple

This Padmanabhaswamy temple in Trivandrum is ridiculously rich. Remember the recent gold haul valued at crores of rupees found in the cellars of the temple. Every temple or religious place is full of irrationality and corruption. However this temple is ridiculously irrational. They want all men to remove their clothes and clad themselves in a dhoti (loin cloth) and a plain upper cloth (angavastram) before entering the temple premises. Women too have to clad themselves in a dhoti though they are allowed to have their upper attire intact. I asked why one be not allowed inside barefooted but in a dress of one’s choice. Someone tried to convince me that cladding in a dhoti was traditionally and culturally maintained on the principle that all were equal before god. I wondered if that was a symbol of equality or discrimination. A forceful implementation of a religious diktat is discriminatory as it implies recognition of only one viewpoint. This means exclusiveness. Then what right the god or his priests have to impose a uniform dress code? It surprises me why the god didn’t decree people come to his temple in their birthday suit.