My First Visit at the Hindu Temple Essay

One of the most striking was my grandfather’s temple in the small town of Mahoba where my father grew up. I spent a great deal of my childhood here, thus the pastel pink walls, intricate flower designs, and open layout immediately sparked flashbacks. I remembered the lenghas, traditional dresses, I would pick out to wear even though they were much more formal than the usual attire. I remembered waiting until no one was looking to sneak over to where everyone removed their shoes to try on my mom’s high heeled sandals. I remembered seeing my Dada, grandfather, leading the poojas, religious services, and feeling proud seeing how respected and genuine he was.

Every Culture has a set of rituals that they partake in, that are often constructed over a long period of time. Simple Actions, and special moments contain so much meaning and make everlasting memories. All rituals despite the locations they originate from, or the location they are carried out in contain the same components, they are repetitive, symbolic, remind a certain group of people about their values and beliefs, and these rituals commemorate a significant moment. For example christians commemorate the birth of christ by attending mass, and many other cultures celebrate this moment in many different ways that have in depth symbolic meaning. In the book “Guests of the Sheik” by Elizabeth Warnock Fernea rituals play a major role. Fernea’s husband Bob is an anthropologist studying the occupants of a small village named El Nahra and their culture. Fernea has documented her experiences, and adventures, and her perspective of the many rituals that the townspeople participate in such as, Ramadan, Muharram, weddings, and pilgrimages. In Muslim culture pilgrimages are immensely important and can even lead to an elevated status. Such as the pilgrimage to Mecca. Fernea is able to participate in a pilgrimage to Karbala with a couple of the towns women she had befriended. The Pilgrimage to Karbala is a symbolic, and cultural ritual in the aspect that it is reenacted every year, and is full of symbolic meaning, commemorates an important occasion and reminds a culture about their

However, it is hard to practice religion due to judgment from other races and the location of the temple is further from home. Another reason is the person might not have the items needed for the rituals. One thing that I observed about my Vietnamese and Chinese communities is that the temple is a safe place for the community to practice their religious beliefs. However, it is exclusive with other communities due to religions are not a melting pot, where it might accept and possibly absorb some ideas, but language and ignorance become a barrier that some could not overcome. There is a quote in the narrative by Elk that I found relevant to the present culture; Elk wrote, “Indeed, he observed the way in which we fearfully, anxiously, shape our whole lives by religious, political, cultural, and personal labels and names – all of which function as a buffer zone of security between ourselves and the experience of life” (8). From what I gather from the quote is we form our identity around our religion and political and cultural

Dr. Spencer: well Brian firstly this is one of the most well-known ceremonies in the Far East it comes from the Hindu religion but it is not similar to the Indian fire burials by the river

Driving up to the snow dusted gravel road that lead to what would be my first temple experience, I couldnʼt help but feel overcome by nerves. For the most part, I consider myself to be a well versed and culturally competent person. Anything related to the Indian culture such as food, fashion or religious deities has long stirred fascination within me. I couldnʼt tell you exactly what I wouldʼve expected from such an experience, I myself was raised without any such religion, so when approaching someone elseʼs you tend to be somewhat skeptical. My feelings of doubt and disbelief quickly dissipated upon first entering the temple. For me, I couldnʼt have come away with a higher feeling of pride and gratitude at the kindness that was shown both my classmates and I.

When I first pulled up to the Won Buddhist Temple, it was sort of what I had expected. Being that the original Buddha was a human, I did not expect an elaborate building, such as the Hindu temple. I did not have a clear picture in my mind about what the temple would look like, but I did picture a smaller and simpler-looking building. One of the most pleasantly surprising aspects I noticed at the beginning of the visit was how those at the temple were of all different ages, races, and genders. Seeing this made me more excited for the service because it showed that the teachings were something that appealed to a wide range of people.

They bought land when it was cheap and were able to get Visa’s for several architects from India to design each temple in the likeness of the ones located in India, much smaller scale of course. The attention to detail was impressive as no two are alike. The colors inside each temple and the adornments of the gods and goddesses were stunning. Hindus typically come and pray for something that is going on in their lives. People would touch as they walked around each temple numerous times. Many brought food and flowers for offerings. One temple had six gallons of milk in front of it. The Goddess of knowledge was my favorite. Students like to come to her during

For my second site visit I went to a ceremony with Karma Thegsum Choling Columbus (KTC). The ceremony was the Chenrezig Sahana which contained different prayers and meditation. The ceremony took place in the basement of the Congregation Tifereth Israel’s Synagogue because their old meditation center was burned down. Regardless of that they still have been able to continue all of their regular programs out of the synagogue. In this paper I will be discussing my experience at the KTC as well as some of the information that I learned about.

A Hindu temple contains a very different religious experience compared to what I 've previously experienced in the past. Perhaps the most obvious difference comes from just how individual it can be compared to a group service for example. While there is a portion of the service that is led by a priest for the vast majority of your stay the experience is really upon you and you alone. While there are traditions to follow it 's still a unique experience. During my attendance at the Hindu temple of Atlanta I almost assuredly didn 't follow all of the customs and traditions but nevertheless, did my best to at least not offend my hosts. The experience was alien compared to anything else I 've ever experienced in this capacity and to be honest

I visited “Hare Rama Hare Krishna” temple, located on Clark and Lunt, founded by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. A temple is a place of worship for followers of Hinduism. The important aspect of a Hindu temple is that it not only focuses on communal worship but it also serves as the home of God; most temples “enshrine Vishnu, Shiva, or the Goddess and their encourages.” Although it is not mandatory to visit a temple, it is considered to be a vital role in the Hindu community.

The temple has several of the various Hindu deities that I saw, though Ganesha is their main focal point of at the temple. The temple was painted the to match the climate of Utah. “Granite Goddesses Sri Lakshmi and Sri Saraswathi adorn the entrance of the main sanctum giving special importance to wealth and learning, the main quests of Hindu immigrants to USA”(Skantharajah 33). The addition of a parking lot is probably unusual nowadays for a Hindu temple.There is a cultural center directly attached to the Sri Ganesha temple. Removing shoes is not required to enter the center, only for the main temple as I learned.

There are other commentators that cite the Aarti ritual originated in the process of illuminating a murti who was located deep in a dark cave shrine of Mandir (a hindu temple). For all believers can see the sacred image of the god, priest must shine the deity from head to toe, while the believers worshiped and sang. Over time, this practice has become Aarti ritual that is practiced today. According to londonmandir.baps.org › Worship, during the Aarti ritual, priests uses various other items as water, flowers, incense, and a white cloth. All of these articles represent the five elements of the world. Space is represented by the white cloth, the air by the wisp, the light by the flames, the water, and the earth by the flowers– and symbolises the offering of the whole of creation to the Deity during the Aarti

Traditional Hinduism regards yoga as mindful and spiritual. It is still seen as the core of Hindu teaching (Doniger, p. 116). A classical interpretation of the importance of yoga was all about control – the breath, the mind, the spirit, the body – literally “yoking” that leads to spiritual growth and well-being. This is still regarded as an important part of modern yoga practices because controlling your breath with movement allows for ultimate control. What remains consistent between classical yoga and modern, recreational yoga is that it is about discipline. In traditional Hinduism, the discipline comes from the different yoga paths – yoga of action, yoga of meditation, and the yoga of devotion (Doniger, p. 118). In modern yoga, the discipline

From the Hindu Temple and Yoga service, surprisingly, the people I interviewed had a lot of similarities in their thoughts and responses. For Hinduism, rituals consist of visiting the Hindu Temple to chant prayers and participate in events such as singing Kirtans, songs in praise of God. Radhika Ramesh and Raje Sathasivam both stated they attend Hindu rituals because it helps them to connect with their religion and their community; most of the devotees can converse in Indian language and connect with each other since people share the same heritage and culture. Through this connection, I feel the dimension of ritual and aesthetic are the most important to the interviewees. The ritual dimension is evident as families or individuals can

Bhagsunag Temple: This is a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is a revered temple among the Gurkha platoon villages in Dharamshala. The waterfall in the vicinity is a stupendous view.