Temples to me serve a good source of blog worthy material. Just a realization this Sat morning.
I have seen my fair share of temples large and small, monastaries, cathedrals and churches, even a mosque among places of worship and have come to realize that above all they represent a sanctuary to most folk from the maddening life on the street outside. It is a respite in the chaos of everyday life before it is their gateway to something esoteric.
On a recent visit to a Hindu temple I made the following observations -
1. Priests - species who is devoted to a business transaction involving Archanas or special Puja's and vanishing right after; some can be seen loitering with no specific direction; some sit outside the little diety alcoves and hand out CA nuts as a prasadam - a holy bite size snack in the form of almonds or raisins or fruit; some will also be generous and provide b2c blessings i.e. from god to individual customers by settling a silver cup on the devotees head and then following up with a thimble sized liquid deposit on the upward palm of devotee, consisting of water, rose petal and if times are good a dash of saffron. This water in most cases has been prepared (like a recipe) by the rinsing of a miniature idol of one of thousands of dieties (or a large one depending on what sort of traffic a particular temple might see in a day), and chanting set of predesigned prayers to yield a potent brew thought to transfer some of the lord's wisdom to the consumer. This is what I think - any relation to reality is based on the consumer's own belief.
2. Devotees - these come in as many types as there are regions in India - most tend to be Hindu though - although Hindu religion is very accomodating and would not mind a non Hindu appearance (a rare Caucasian or African American will make a cameo with a friend or spouse to explore a new world) - whatever that means in a day and age where present company included enjoy the bovine delicacies as much as the next non-Hindu or imbibe on every opportunity that presents itself. So going back to the visting gallery of local yokels one sees a large variety shaped by what industry is hiring in the US. Therefore as I took a mental snapshot I came up with heavy preponderence of South Indian representatives; close to 70% followed by some belonging to the central parts of India in the form of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan with a small minority of north Indian heritage.
Thusly the preponderence of language and dress styles as well as BO hits you with all its force reminding of a crowded local train in erstwhile Bombay. This amalgam of scents is interrupted by a strong fragrance of camphor and burning ghee melded together with marigold and some local variety of flowers that have just made their way in to the premises.
There is no pulpit and preacher in a Hindu temple and the devotees are happy to preach to each other during their part godly and part social encounters. It can be quite noisy depending on where on earth you are and what time of day it is or if it is one of the holy days on the calendar.
As I try to make my way toward the Ganesh Murti I am accosted at my knees with a toddler trying to make a beeline to something that excited him at the other corner of the building. Entangling myself I proceed to shove / coax the family to keep moving which includes our young kid (who is forming her own opinions on the idea of God and Worship and things metaphysical) toward the Ganesh who is patiently awaiting the next batch of visitors.
So much for temples but what about bunkers you ask? Well from ancient times where man has sought the shelter of a place of worship to hide from invaders and foes, from atrocities and anguish, so it is to the present day.
There is news of super rich folk building bunkers to save their butts from any manner of attack worldly or otherwise. Special businesses have made a killing promoting the idea of a sanctuary with stock piles of food and water and ability to withstand a megaton blast. For most common folk the temples (or their place of workship) will continue to serve as that gathering point and a refuge if the worse does come.
As the saying goes most good things in life are free!
I have seen my fair share of temples large and small, monastaries, cathedrals and churches, even a mosque among places of worship and have come to realize that above all they represent a sanctuary to most folk from the maddening life on the street outside. It is a respite in the chaos of everyday life before it is their gateway to something esoteric.
On a recent visit to a Hindu temple I made the following observations -
1. Priests - species who is devoted to a business transaction involving Archanas or special Puja's and vanishing right after; some can be seen loitering with no specific direction; some sit outside the little diety alcoves and hand out CA nuts as a prasadam - a holy bite size snack in the form of almonds or raisins or fruit; some will also be generous and provide b2c blessings i.e. from god to individual customers by settling a silver cup on the devotees head and then following up with a thimble sized liquid deposit on the upward palm of devotee, consisting of water, rose petal and if times are good a dash of saffron. This water in most cases has been prepared (like a recipe) by the rinsing of a miniature idol of one of thousands of dieties (or a large one depending on what sort of traffic a particular temple might see in a day), and chanting set of predesigned prayers to yield a potent brew thought to transfer some of the lord's wisdom to the consumer. This is what I think - any relation to reality is based on the consumer's own belief.
2. Devotees - these come in as many types as there are regions in India - most tend to be Hindu though - although Hindu religion is very accomodating and would not mind a non Hindu appearance (a rare Caucasian or African American will make a cameo with a friend or spouse to explore a new world) - whatever that means in a day and age where present company included enjoy the bovine delicacies as much as the next non-Hindu or imbibe on every opportunity that presents itself. So going back to the visting gallery of local yokels one sees a large variety shaped by what industry is hiring in the US. Therefore as I took a mental snapshot I came up with heavy preponderence of South Indian representatives; close to 70% followed by some belonging to the central parts of India in the form of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan with a small minority of north Indian heritage.
Thusly the preponderence of language and dress styles as well as BO hits you with all its force reminding of a crowded local train in erstwhile Bombay. This amalgam of scents is interrupted by a strong fragrance of camphor and burning ghee melded together with marigold and some local variety of flowers that have just made their way in to the premises.
There is no pulpit and preacher in a Hindu temple and the devotees are happy to preach to each other during their part godly and part social encounters. It can be quite noisy depending on where on earth you are and what time of day it is or if it is one of the holy days on the calendar.
As I try to make my way toward the Ganesh Murti I am accosted at my knees with a toddler trying to make a beeline to something that excited him at the other corner of the building. Entangling myself I proceed to shove / coax the family to keep moving which includes our young kid (who is forming her own opinions on the idea of God and Worship and things metaphysical) toward the Ganesh who is patiently awaiting the next batch of visitors.
So much for temples but what about bunkers you ask? Well from ancient times where man has sought the shelter of a place of worship to hide from invaders and foes, from atrocities and anguish, so it is to the present day.
There is news of super rich folk building bunkers to save their butts from any manner of attack worldly or otherwise. Special businesses have made a killing promoting the idea of a sanctuary with stock piles of food and water and ability to withstand a megaton blast. For most common folk the temples (or their place of workship) will continue to serve as that gathering point and a refuge if the worse does come.
As the saying goes most good things in life are free!
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