ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the case of the Shree Siddhivinayak temple and its extensive digital presence. It focuses on the Live Darshan’s meaning and history, introducing the communications company’s involvement and impact on the digitization of Hindu temples. A central element of convergence culture is its participatory nature. This idea contrasts the notion of passive media consumption. The chapter presents the Live Darshan feature of temple websites as its main case study, exhibiting both the aforementioned power of infrastructure and distribution mechanisms, as well as undercurrents of bhakti. Sri Naga Sai temple was established in 1939, and was the first Shirdi Sai Baba temple in Tamil Nadu. The chapter discusses the many forces involved in Hindu temples’ adoption of digital media, revealing how they serve as agents of the divine in reaching out to their devotional publics.
