This is contrary to Dharma. The temple is the heart of the village; it should therefore be preserved, nourished, and nursed as befits the heart. Believe that God walks about in the temple; it is His Residence. All have a responsibility to preserve the holiness of that atmosphere, which confers the joy of serving the Lord. Believe that the temple is the heart of all. The day this is done, the Madhavathwa in man will shine forth as a jewel. This is the Truth, this is the reason, for all the cost and pain incurred in the construction of temples. Village authorities or Government agencies or Bhakthas themselves must make all arrangements needed to develop spiritual discipline and wisdom. Then only can man shine forth in divine splendour. This is not all. There are some ultra-modern critics who condemn the Gopuras etc., as so much waste of money. This reveals a total absence of far-sightedness; no one with a high ideal or an upward vision will make such a remark. If you dwell upon the significance of the Gopuram, you can realise how holy, how mysterious, how revealing, is its purpose. The Gopuram beckons to wayfarers who have lost their way, and who wander away from truth, "O ye mortals! Blinded by the fog of physical attachments and self-aggrandizing urges, overcome by the miasma of worldly desires which are fleeting and false, you have forgotten Me, the source and sustenance of you all. Look up to this eternal, ever pure, ever full tower of joy. Forgetting Me, you are wallowing in grief; you are pursuing the mirage in the desert sands. Come; have faith in the Ever-lasting Me. Struggle out of the darkness and enter the realm of Light, and come to the royal road of Santhi, that is the Path of Dharma. Come, Come, O Come."

Thus does Gopala call on all, with raised hands from aloft the line of house-tops in every village.

So, when seen through this more elevated insight, gopurams can be respected as conducive to the raising of human ideals and conduct. This is the principle underlying the construction of gopurams. Such high ideals inspire these structures. This is the true meaning, a meaning which can be experienced and felt. The light on top of the gopuram is the symbol of the Light which is the refuge of all, it is the representative of the unflickering inner lamp, lit at the self-same Flame; it is the Inner Illumination, gained by merging in Hari.

Temples are as oases in desert wastes, for those who have lost their way in the hot sands of grief and greed, they are Prasanthimandirs, Santhoshasadans, welcoming you to cool joyous Peace. The gopurams are guides to stricken wanderers; they hold aloft the Flag of the Name of God; all should be thankful to them for the service.