With rituals getting digitized, you can now book your Pundit Online!

• With e-commerce apps flooding the market in fields ranging from furniture to medicines to even booking a maid, it was only a matter of time that one jumped to religious services
• A priest recites prayers in front of a phone connected to a house miles away from Skype or another social networking platform
• There's an advisory board that helps in recruiting pundits and the selected candidates go through specified tests; a process that clears any doubts of minting money by taking advantage of people's ignorance

Is your mother ill? Has your career come to a standstill or is it a simple marital tiff? Fret no more! For all problems in the life of Hindu, there's a Pooja with sacred mantras that can be performed to bring in peace, wealth, and prosperity.

Every year, there are thousands of rituals performed in India by priests for their temple devotees. There's a difficulty in life and no way out of it? Don't you worry, a guru will come to your rescue with a garland! But what if you don't have the luxury to summon the disciple of the higher power, who will rescue you now? Put your worries to rest! Be it staying in UK, USA, Canada or any other part of the world, Indian start-ups now have the power to book an online pundit for you at your convenience. After all, would it be any different if that garland turns into your phone and the guru now virtually guides your hand through the ritual?

Let's talk money

A few years back, one could never imagine a situation where a priest recited prayers in front of an iPhone connected to a house miles away through Skype but then don't tough times call for some tough measures. Though in our case these measures provide employment opportunities and create a thriving start-up atmosphere all around the country.

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Some of the companies cashing in on this idea are onlinepurohit.com, wheresmypandit.com, panditforpooja.com, and bookmypandit.com. Each charging from a mere $10 to a good $500 for a package. Savvy NRI's don't mind shedding few currencies till the time they are promised a good outcome from these rituals. After all, why would you mind? The vibrations produced during the pooja are similar and the sound of the priest travels at the same speed whether it's through air or through a mobile phone with a good internet speed.

Hinduism is the faith-laden arena that's filled with unscrupulous Gurus. The online priest booking app's pride themselves on this matter as they only hire Pandits who hold a degree in Vedas/Astrology and have an experience of 4- 5 years. There's an advisory board that helps in recruiting them and the selected candidates go through specified tests; a process that clears any doubts of minting money by taking advantage of people's ignorance. These details and the scarcity of genuine pujari's in the locality of an NRI makes him bet his money on the online system.

Proponents of the idea

With e-commerce apps flooding the market in fields ranging from furniture to medicines to even booking a maid, it was only a matter of time that one jumped to religious services. India has a huge number of citizens, who worship Gods and Goddesses more than any other nation, which makes the idea of booking a priest even more lucrative. This digital twist on one's faith is a welcoming change for many, as more and more citizens are migrating to different countries in the search of jobs or for pursuing higher education.

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These online portals have numerous reasons that go in the favour of their business such as the need for many Indians settled abroad to keep their roots in place and their traditions alive. This feeling calls in for a pundit online to help them do their 'Griha Pravesh' (Housewarming) or even their marriage. Companies offer more than 150 kinds of pujas, typically covering almost any event in person's life, who is a Hindu by birth or has opted Hinduism as their faith. Some services are also customised depending on your convenience or crisis.

What more can a company ask for than few happy customers? There are a number of people who come back with positive feedbacks. The positive feedbacks come due to the professionalism with which the pundits perform the pooja's, guiding the devotee at each step of the pooja, using traditional material and sending in a to-do list a day before the entire ritual.

Lastly, it all boils down to the authenticity one sees in a guru which gives a feeling of solace to a person in sickness and in health.

– by Karishma Vanjani of NewsGram. Twitter: @BladesnBoots

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