India, July 27 -- Reports about the pilferage of donations to Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, about money being stashed away by the very people who were appointed for counting the contributions of devotees, have made the faithful wonder: If this could happen in Lord Ram's own house, is God powerless? Why did He not prevent it?

This question needs a thoughtful answer, not slogans from either side of the belief-unbelief divide. The answer that we get in our scriptures is much older than any temple ever constructed.

Lord Krishna in Bhagavad Gita (13.23) says about the Supreme:

upadrashtanumanta cha bharta bhokta maheshvarah,

paramatmeti chapyukto dehe'smin purushah parah.

The Supreme Lord who resides in this body is the observer and the permitte...