Nelson Jones

Belief, disbelief and beyond belief

God's Golden Hoard

Discoveries in an Indian temple confirm that religion can be a very effective wealth creation scheme

By Nelson Jones Published 04 July 2011 17:23

"If you want to get rich," advised L. Ron Hubbard, "start a religion". Today's news from Kerala, that archaeologists investigating the long-neglected vaults of the Thiruvananthapuram temple have unearthed treasures worth up to £12 billion, suggests that his maxim wasn't simply a reflection of 20th century cynicism. God has long been where the money is.

The Indian temple's treasuries haven't yet been fully explored, but already they have yielded up tons of gold coins, sacks overpouring with diamonds and rubies, and spectacular individual items including a six-metre long necklace. Kerala chief secretary K Jayakumar estimated the total value at 500 billion rupees (around £7 billion); while other sources put it at more than $23 billion. No-one really knows, of course, and such figures are highly speculative. But it's certainly an awful lot.

The treasure represents the accumulation of centuries. The temple dates back to at least the 8th century and for many years was under the protection of the royal dynasty of Travancore. Its position at the hub of trade routes helped it grow rich with the offerings of passing merchants and wealthy pilgrims. Much of the wealth, though, seems to have been locked away and forgotten about until a recent decision of the Indian Supreme Court ordered the contents to be itemised and secured.

Though the quoted sums may equal the entire Indian education budget, there seems little prospect of a sell-off. This is sacred treasure, after all, not just loot. The hoard may make the temple of Thiruvananthapuram officially the country's richest, but there are several others whose wealth is known to run into billions of dollars and many more whose precise holdings remain unclear.

It has also just been revealed that the guru Sai Baba -- best known for his Afro hairstyle and for performing a conjuring trick with "sacred ash" -- left behind property worth around £5.5bn when he died in April. The world's richest Christian pastor, by contrast -- Nigeria's Bishop David Oyedepo -- has to make do with a paltry $150 million, although that is enough to keep him in four private jets as well as homes in London and the United States.

In scenes strangely similar to those in Kerala, officials at Sai Baba's ashram recently decided to investigate the guru's private chambers, previously off-limits to everyone bar himself and a single assistant who alone understood the security. They found treasures of £1.6 million in rupees and 98 kilos in gold, worth almost £3 million at today's prices. But that represented only a small part of his accumulated wealth from what Gethin Chamberlain tartly described as "a lifetime of claiming to be the incarnation of God."

But why single out India? We may be accustomed to drawing a sharp distinction between things spiritual and temporal, between filthy lucre and religious transcendence, but for long as temples have existed they have proved effective as money magnets. Some economic historians argue that organised religion began as a mechanism for collecting and redistributing resources. The gods, like middlemen everywhere, would have taken their cut.

Jesus may have told the rich young man to sell all he had and give it to the poor, but the Christian churches have rarely applied that stricture to themselves. Instead, the wealthy were encouraged to ease their passage through the eye of the needle by giving (or at least leaving) their money to God. It was an offer many kings, aristocrats and bankers felt unable to refuse. Some of the results are currently on show at the British Museum's aptly titled Treasures of Heaven exhibition. Featured are bejewelled boxes, golden crosses, gilded disembodied limbs and other striking pieces of medieval bling, all designed to contain the saintly bones and other relics that for centuries formed a vital element in popular and elite religion.

As Martina Bagnoli points out in one of the essays in the catalogue accompanying the show, the precious reliquaries were not simply containers of spiritual treasures whose value was unquantifiable, they were also ways of storing up material wealth. In Mainz, a solid gold cross weighing 600lb was made in 983. Bits of it were chopped off and melted down during various emergencies over the following two centuries. By 1161 there was nothing left.

But other sacred treasures have been better preserved, and while no-one has (so far as I know) tried to put a value on every cathedral, artwork, statue and piece of real estate owned by the various parts of the Roman Catholic Church it would surely dwarf even that of the Thiruvananthapuram temple. Or, for that matter, the estimated $30 billion assets of the Utah-based Mormon Church. An even bigger -- and probably impossible -- job would be to establish what proportion of the world's tangible wealth is held by religious organisations of every kind.

After all, it pays to invest for the long term. And you can't get much longer-term than eternity.

Tags: Religion

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16 comments

Wed, 2011-07-06 13:21 — Yonmei

"You are wrong about 'mandatory' tithing. "

Good heavens, Tracy. You mean that the LDS.org website, the General Handbook of Instructions, and various prominent members of the Church - including the late President Howard W. Hunter! - have all got it wrong? Very freethinking of you to contradict all of these authorities, from which I drew the information that tithing is mandatory for active Mormons.

"As my simple calculation shows, the church, on a per-member basis, is not at all wealthy."

No wonder - when the church demands 10% of your income.

"I don't know the reason for your hostility toward the church"

I don't know why you're interpreting the plain statement of fact - that the LDS Church takes 10% of your income and you're not allowed to know what the President and the Quorum of Apostles decide to do with it - as "hostility". Don't you think that what your Church does is just and right?

Thu, 2011-10-20 23:31 — AVINASH C MANNAN (not verified)

Can any body advice some litrature on Hindu Temples and estimated value of all hindu temples in India and all over the world.I am interested to study this.

Sat, 2011-07-09 13:28 — Keir

'Jesus may have told the rich young man to sell all he had and give it to the poor, but the Christian churches have rarely applied that stricture to themselves.'

If that is what Christ taught, and churches do not obey, then they can hardly be Christian churches. Christ taught that there would be false Christians, and four of his apostles in their letters warned about their presence already in the church when they wrote. The sensible conclusion is that wealthy organisations are bogus if they claim to be Christian.

(Though how anyone can conclude that the RCC should not be wound up and its leaders given life imprisonment on account of its perpetual sociopathy is beyond human understanding.)

Mon, 2011-07-04 17:37 — john b (not verified)

Keralite temple is a bit different from many religious occasions. Was there last year, and there was genuinely no inkling amongst anyone (including the dude who led us round, who used to be a family servant but was reduced to tour guiding) that this was the Richest Temple In World.

Whether the ex-Maharaja had noted this fact and was pocketing a diamond or two every time he went to the basement is sadly lost to posterity.

AIUI, the great wealth of the Temple now belongs to the Indian State. As a fan (all things considered) of Henry VIII, the outcome here is positive.

Mon, 2012-01-30 08:13 — Dakota

I don't know the reason for your hostility toward the church, but it is groundless. I do know, from first-hand experience, of the the loving service and tireless sacrifice of church leaders at all levels. I affirm absolutely, from lifelong acquaintance with them, that none of them serves for the reasons you imply. I would never aspire to the burdens they cheerfully carry. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not run on tithing -- it runs on the faith and love of a wonderful, mutually-supportive community. http://www.homeappliancesguide.org/

Tue, 2011-07-05 19:52 — hthalljr

The $30 Billion guess for the assets of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints comes from a 1997 article in Time Magazine. The Church responded that Time's "estimates of the Church's wealth and income are grossly exaggerated. It would also have been well if they had pointed out that the bulk of the Church's assets are money-consuming assets, rather than money-producing." http://bit.ly/jSPvQ2

Suppose, however, just for the sake of argument, that by now, 14 years after the Time article, the Church's assets actually might be on the order the alleged $30 billion. Since there are 14 million Mormons world-wide, call it, for convenience, $28 B. That amounts to a net worth per membere on the order of $2,000. What's your net worth?

Seen from another viewpoint, the typical 300-member congregation would have a net worth of about $600,000. That can build one or two nice homes, but it is nowhere near enough to construct a meetinghouse for 300 people. Perhaps you can now understand why a typical LDS meetinghouse is shared by two or three congregations, and why we members rotate custodial duties. And remember, meetinghouses don't generate cash – they consume it.

No individual is getting rich off the Church. Several dozen general authorities, who give full-time service to the Church (we're talking long hours and difficult travels!) receive a reasonable living allowance, perhaps on the order of that earned by a corporate middle manager.

Locally we are organized into 28,660 wards and branches and 3510 stakes and districts. It takes 96,510 men to lead those units. Not one of them receives a dime for his services, which often amount to at least 20 hours a week in addition to a full-time occupation. Indeed, each pays a full tithe. To me, it's a miracle.

So much for the "obscene wealth" of the "Mormon Church."

Tracy Hall Jr
hthalljr'gmail'com

Sat, 2011-07-16 07:19 — Tolan (not verified)

The logic of this blog post seems to be, “Having money is bad. Christian churches that have money are not following Christ’s teachings.”

This is kind of silly logic. Much humanitarian work around the world has is done by Christian churches. And the Mormon Church’s humanitarian efforts include drilling wells in Africa, providing personal hygiene kits to refugee camps, and most recently delivering supplies and other hands-on assistance to the people in Sendai Japan. My wife happens to work in the fund-raising field and would tell you much of the assistance organizations like hers get comes through religious organizations.

Wed, 2011-07-06 01:00 — Yonmei

Tracy, one of the most notable things about the Mormon church is that God sends the Prophet divine revelations to help keep it financially secure: the most crucial of which is the repeated revelation that it is essential to a Mormon's salvation that they pay 10% of their income to the Church of Latter Day Saints - which mandatory tithing is not subject to taxation or IRS investigation at least in the US, where the majority of Mormons live.

That ten percent is on gross income - the LDS church wants 10 cents out of every dollar coming in to a Mormon household, and pays tax on none of it. Mormons are required to attend a Tithing Settlement with the Bishop each year. Each church member has a face-to-face interview with their Bishop once a year - chiefly to make sure the member is paying the full tithe. This is reckoned to bring in about 7 billion dollars a year.

Tracy, unless you're claiming to be one of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles or one of their personal assistants, you have *no idea* what the LDS does with the money it rakes in from members. You're not permitted to know, no more than any outsider is. So your claim that you know no individual is getting rich out of the LDS isn't insider information: you're just guessing, hopefully, that the money you are required to pay is being put to good use.

Wed, 2011-07-06 06:51 — hthalljr

@Yonmei,
You are wrong about "mandatory" tithing. There is none of the coercion that you imply. Yes, it is a commandment of God, but God forces nobody. Nor does the Church. Bishops are forbidden to tell members how to calculate their tithing: that determination is entirely between the member and the Lord. Yes, I gladly attend an annual brief "tithing settlement" with my bishop, where, without disclosing any details at all of my personal finances, I simply declare whether or not I consider myself a full tithe payer. I alone am the judge of that. I do this out of a very real sense of accountability to God, who has given me all that I have, even my every breath.

As my simple calculation shows, the church, on a per-member basis, is not at all wealthy.

For anyone who sincerely wants to understand what makes this remarkable community tick, I recommend this insightful essay by respected scholar Terryl Givens: "'Lightning Out of Heaven': Joseph Smith and the Forging of Community." http://bit.ly/iesNg4

Tracy Hall Jr
hthalljr'gmail'com

Tue, 2011-07-05 04:10 — kamla (not verified)

If the ex-Maharaja wanted to loot, there would have been nothing left. It is to safeguard it from British , it was hidden. Dont talk rubbish if you dont understand.

Tue, 2011-07-05 04:25 — Saravanan Mageswaran (not verified)

Nelson Jones,

Do not compare Satya Sai Baba with the religious God (Vishnu). This is unlawful. I oppose your posted message. Please know the difference between true and lie before to publish.

Tue, 2011-07-05 09:00 — sridhar (not verified)

It is straight forwarded thing
"A mother feeding a baby".
Its all about how you look at it. If you a real human being then in your mind it will be a amazing gods miracle happening that woman is giving life to a soul.
For other Fuc*****, it is all about something what they can think bad even a devil can not think of.

The same is happening here. What changed sathay sai's speaks and ackts were not discussed. How many devotees are doing good is not getting discussed. What swamy has done to the human is not getting discussed.
Every dick and harry is discussing about money money. Is india a spiritual country still ??.
No spiritual things are discussed. Not good things are discussed. Not even thought of how good things are done by sathya sai can be continued is not discussed.
what message we are planning to give it to our next generation ??

Tue, 2011-07-05 09:05 — sridhar (not verified)

I also oppose comparison of vishnu.

Because I don't even know whether he is god or not and he was existed.
Rather allah, jesus , rama all these.
Those are stories told by our good old grand mother and grand father. Not even they saw them.
So don't compare somebody who is really existed with somebody whom we haven't seen.

Tue, 2011-07-05 10:25 — sridhar (not verified)

GOD krishna was empire and ruled dwaraka. He had 16k gopikas. Among them sathya bhama , Rukmini are closest. He killed many people and he had big chunk of contribution for Mahabharata War.
Why so called GOD required wealth and Gopikas ? Why people pray him ?

Now its turn to GOD Rama. Ayodhay for which all indian fight for no reason; hand wife, kingdom, wealth and two children. Why people pray though he had maintained whatever a normal human willing to have ??
Let take Jesus, if he is god what he was doing when idiots were hanging him ?
If articles to be written, tons of data centers, GBs of storage is required.
I am not criticizing anybody but I am trying to make a point that why non- sense is discussed than sensible.
Why don't we spend in doing good ?

Sun, 2011-07-24 06:41 — Shyam Santhanam (not verified)

This is a very ignorant comparison. The money found in the temple belongs to that kingdom and the royal family. It is like the federal mint of those days. It was kept in the temple for safety. What Sai Baba hoarded was for himself and nobody else.

Sat, 2011-07-16 16:36 — Keir

'Much humanitarian work around the world has is done by Christian churches'

And at considerable personal cost, in many cases. Like the nurse in Africa who was criticised by some ignorant folk because she 'owned' a bicycle and an old typewriter, one to get to patients, and the other to order medicines. There's no pleasing some people.

But why does any religious outfit want $30 billion of its own?