The Almighty Metaverse

Renowned for its spiritual and cultural heritage, India attracts millions of pilgrims and tourists from all over the world every year. Whether it is the beautiful evening aarti on the banks of the Ganga River at Varanasi or the soulful Sufi vibes at the Ajmer Sharif in Rajasthan, these places represent the diverse religious traditions and practices that have flourished in the country for centuries. What if, there comes a time shortly when all these iconic spiritual places in India can be visited from wherever a person is, without the need to travel miles to visit them?

Virtual Temple Run

A couple of months ago, ISKCON Dwarka Delhi temple launched a virtual temple visit experience using the digital world's new technology metaverse for the first time. You can now have the darshan of Shri Shri Rukmini Dwarakadheesh from the convenience of your home, transcending the world even beyond the internet. All you have to do is visit the metaverse of ISKCON Dwarka, select your avatar, understand certain controls to enter the temple metaverse, and just experience the feel of the ISKCON temple sitting at your home. Shri Gaur Prabhu, the senior manager of ISKCON, Dwarka, mentions that now more than 80 countries’ devotees connected to the centre can do the darshan at home, visit the book centre, contribute and support the centre through donations, and perform various services to the Lord. “Currently, a limited version has been launched, and gradually, there will be an opportunity to connect with many detailed dimensions in it,” he said.

Spirituality Meets Technology

As spirituality is going the digital way, a tech startup VOSMOS, which has its metaverse, is also looking forward to offering users a virtual temple experience that blends technology and spirituality. The project, which is at an initial stage, would provide 360-degree temple tours, basic activity tracking, auto walk and idol-focused landing, interactive ritual participation, seamless booking and donations and user ID implementation, told the CEO Piyush Gupta.

VOSMOS has created a thorough 360-degree walkthrough that gives a tour and highlights the features of the temple. After the walkthrough loads, a walk or navigate function quickly brings visitors to the focus point, placing them in front of the designated idol inside the temple. Customers and users can worship the idols through interactive features including ‘prasad animations’, ‘flower showers’, and ‘aarti’. “By transporting devotees into temple premises regardless of their location, this innovative product offers an immersive experience. Features like Auto Walk and Idol-Focused Landing ensure easy navigation within the sanctuaries, allowing worshippers to concentrate on their devotion. The Interactive Idol Engagement feature adds authenticity by enabling devotees to virtually perform traditional rituals and make offerings. The platform will enhance the experience of devotees with live streaming and recording of rituals, offering devotees the flexibility to participate in real-time or revisit ceremonies at their convenience,” Gupta said.

Currently, VOSMOS has the technology ready but is not yet associated with any real-time temples. Another platform MetaGod Creators, securing the phase 1 mandate for Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir Trust, plans to launch a metaverse platform for the temple's south wing. This initiative includes digital fundraising, influencer marketing, and immersive digital activities using VR and AR. It also involves media buying for ad spaces at iconic global locations.

Darshan in your comfort

The metaverse temple tours aim to provide the feel of the physical temples in a virtual world. Regardless of your age or your medical condition, you can easily do the darshan of God in your comfort. Mamta Mathur, a mother and teacher from Delhi, says, “After the age of 40, various illnesses start affecting the body, but the mind doesn’t age as quickly. There’s a desire to visit the four sacred places. Connect these journeys to your life journey. When boundaries are considered, online pilgrimage emerges as an excellent option, ensuring not only a safe and healthy journey but also protection from various risks. So, my 60-year-olds, “Don't stop the movement of your body but let the pace and energy of your mind flow, let it resonate.” Shri Gaur Prabhu also mentioned that the metaverse of ISKCON Dwarka has garnered special interest from devotees living overseas.

ISKCON Dwarka launched the metaverse on the special occasion of Janmashtami this year, allowing thousands of devotees to immerse in the experience of darshan, Aarti, and donation at the comfort of your home. All these services are still available at the metaverse of the temple with additional services on their way.

Environmentally friendly

It’s true that the large number of people visiting temples and other religious sites in India, especially from all over the world, can contribute to carbon footprints. The carbon footprint associated with travel arises from the transportation methods used, including flights, vehicles, and other modes of transportation. The metaverse temple tours can help in cutting down these carbon footprints. “It significantly reduces the carbon footprint by eliminating the need for physical travel to religious sites, thereby contributing to an eco-friendlier approach to religious ceremonies. This practice minimizes transportation-related emissions and conserves resources that would otherwise be utilized for travel,” says Gupta.

GenZ loves it

Generation Z has been all hearts for visiting temples in the metaverse. Razi Ahmed, a Gurugram-based working professional, says, “The idea of visiting famous religious places in the metaverse itself sounds very fascinating. If we imagine possessing the ability to explore intricate architecture, witness traditional ceremonies, and even interact with virtual representations of historical artefacts, it all sounds relaxing yet exciting being experiencing it from the comfort of our own space.” Similarly, Priyadarshini, a PR professional, believes that it is a gaming-like experience, which she would love to explore further in the future.

Peace of temple missing

Akshara Gurbani, a working professional in the Influencer Marketing Industry, believes that the teerth yatra or the feeling of being at the holy place is something unparallel to what we can have in the metaverse. “People visit such places because of the aura and the positive vibe there. The feeling of belongingness before God, the experience of ringing bells, the bhakti and shraddha that people have. Those vibrations that are there when you ring a bell at a temple cannot be compared to something that we create in the metaverse.” Disha Popli, an ISKCON devotee and a teacher, shared her experience of visiting the temple metaverse. “While I felt a sense of awe at the digital rendition’s faithfulness to the real counterpart, the ambience lacked the tangible serenity that I associate with visiting the physical ISKCON Dwarka. The metaverse experience couldn’t replicate the subtle fragrance of incense or the soothing resonance of devotional chants.”

Absence of actual prasad

Many devotees who truly found the temple tour experience engaging found that virtual tours couldn’t get them the real-time prasadam they visit the temples from far-away places. The ‘animation prasad’, suggested by VOSMOS in their product, couldn’t excite many devotees.