the priest....

thola kavi said.

शान्तिद्विजः प्रकुरुते बहुदीप शान्तिं
तत्रत्य बालवनिता मदनार्ति शान्तिं
पक्वाजय पायस गुलैः जठराग्नि शान्तिं
कालक्रमेण परमेश्वर शक्ति शान्तिं.


shaantidvijaH prakurute bahudeepa shaantim
tatratya baalvanitaa madanaarthi shaantim
pakvaajya paayas gulaiH jaTaraagni shaantim
kaalakramena parameshvara shakti shaantim

The brahmin who is engaged for pooja in a temple is called Shanti..Shanti also means satisfaction, or finishing off too

So the Vikatakavi of Kerala, Tholan, Himself a Namboodiri says so

The young brahmin engaged for Shanti in a temple perform the following Shantis..
He extinguishes or does Shanti for all the oil lamps in the temple.. because he can take home the oil saved
He gives satisfaction or Shanti to the amorous desires of all local girls.
He satiates or give Shanti to the fire of hunger arising in his stomach by drinking the ghee, eating the fruits and gulping the Payasam made as naivedyam for the deity.. eating to his hearts content.. and even more.
And finally, by his lack of interest and avariciousness, the poojas are not done properly, and the power of the deity faces a shanti.. or depletion..

How many shanti kriyaas.. ?
This slokas comes in some Chakyar Koothus and Koodiyattams.. Written perhaps five to six centuries ago..
But the Shanti Dvijas appear to be of the same quality today too.

one year package versus green channel of three days.

नरकाय मतिस्ते चेत्पौरोहित्यम् समाचर।
वर्ष यावत्किमन्येन माठापत्यम् दिनत्रयं॥७०
विष्णुशर्मणः पञ्चतनत्रे मित्रभेदात्।
narakāya matiste cetpaurohityam samācara|
varṣa yāvatkimanyena māṭhapatyaṁ dinatrayaṁ||70
viṣṇuśarmaṇaḥ pañcatanatre mitrabhedāt|

This ia a very thought provoking career guidance, from panchatantram.. 
If you want to get entry into hell within a year, you start practising priesthood. 
 If you want a faster shortcut to reach  hell just in  three days, you take up the presidency of a monastery.

Purohitaas or priests, should become role models in the society for the marality and high value they preach. 

 But the dicturm that the picture of a  gourd drawn on a paper will not be good for a side dish, is most appropriate in the lives of most presets, of whatever hue they are. 

Simply they assume the role of the representative of the God and in time no sin is taboo for them. 

So the path to hell within say a year is assured for them.. 
But the priests have to depend on the tythe or daskhina they get from consumers(devotees)  and they start their atrocities in a phased manner judy waiting till  reasonable stability is attained.  

But in the case of a person who becomes a Madaathipathy or head of monastery the means for corruptions are right under their noses from the word go.  So their journey to hell can be assured just in a dizzy pace...

This is not to say that all priests and heads of monasteries are corrupt and insincere to their ordained duties. 

 This is rather a  warning to the aspirants to such hallowed seats to be very sensible and conscientious.

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