November 2025 - Magazine - Page 118
Mi n i str i es
OUT of TIME
guidance. But internet-based tools also helped devotees join in religious rituals from
afar.
A Digital Mahakumbh Experience Centre was also set up, which used virtual and
augmented reality tools meant to take visitors on immersive, spiritual journeys that
brought mythological stories to life. Devotees who made the trek video-called their
relatives to help let them participate in digital darshan (virtual visits) of the Maha
Kumbh Mela pilgrimage. Some even symbolically immersed themselves in the sacred waters of Triveni Sangam over the internet. For a fee, you could participate in
a "digital snan (bath)" service, where an enterprising attendee dipped your photo
in the water on video.
AI is also being employed for spiritual and academic research. A study from 2022
used a large language model to compare the text of the Bhagavad Gita and the
Upanishads, a collection of older Hindu scripture. It uncovered a mean similarity of
73% between the subjects discussed in the two texts, confirming research by Hindu
scholars who studied the scripture through more traditional means. The authors say
this kind of AI analysis could reveal subtle or even hidden themes that aren't apparent through manual reading, and unlock new understandings of sacred texts.
That's the danger – when these tools are perceived as divine voices,
their words can carry weight far beyond what they should – Holly Walters
According to Walters, AI is just an extension of the ways Hinduism and technology
have already merged.
One example stems from the Hindu ritual of "aarti", where devotees offer light from
oil lamps in rhythmic circular movements before murtis while reciting chants and
hymns. At the 2017 Ganpati festival, organisers used a robotic arm to perform aarti for the Hindu god Ganesha. You can even buy inexpensive robotic murti and puja devices to automatically perform rituals in your home.
For instance, the Irinjadappilly Sri Krishna Temple in the southern Indian state of Kerala, houses a robotic elephant named Irinjadapilly Raman. "It performs rituals, accepts offerings and gives blessings just like a live temple elephant would," Walters
says. Then there's the Glory of India Temple in Delhi, part of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKON), which introduced fully animatronic mutris as
far back as ten years ago.
"These robotic deities talk and move. It's a bit uncanny from what I have seen, hon-
