Friday, May 23, 2014

Temple run....

It had been quite some time since I visited temples. Not that I am an atheist or something…I am a firm believer in the Almighty. But it is the crowd at the temples that makes me stay away from them. There is no space to sit and meditate and have that conversation with the Lord in peace. In most of the famous temples that we have here, you’d be lucky, if you are able to have as much as a glimpse of the Lord after those long hours of waiting. Push comes to shove, and you are out of the sanctum sanctorum even before you realise you are in.  I would rather have my quite time with my God in the tranquility of my home!

Well, at a recent visit to a temple, I was pleasantly surprised to see lesser crowd than usual and I decided to have a quick “parikrama” or “pradakshina,” which means going around the deity thrice and seeking his blessings. But very soon I realised,there would be no quick parikrama, as an elderly lady walked slowly ahead of me, presumably with a friend. “My daughter-in-law is such an awful cook, I tell you,” the elder woman complained to her friend, as the other lady nodded sympathetically, “wonder how my son manages to eat what she dishes out!”  Nice place to nitpick! “He seems to have lost a lot of weight, I remember he used to be so chubby as a kid,” remarked the friend, while the elderly lady let out a ‘tch’.  The idiom, “adding fuel to fire” must have been invented by observing someone like her friend, I assume.  As for me, I itched to just get past them. As the conversation continued, I politely asked to get ahead of them, inviting cold stares. Not that I cared!

I had not even walked half a dozen steps, when I passed a couple discussing where they should head for dinner later that evening. Good lord! That couldn’t wait till they got out of the temple? That was not the end, because next was the world’s busiest man, talking on the phone while doing his parikrama. The phone call couldn’t wait until later,I presume! So while he robotically went round the lord, he kept talking loudly on his mobile, oblivious to the fact that he was disturbing everyone else! 

A group of girl’s excitedly discussing their results were next. By the time I finished my first round, there were few new faces, and among them a couple, the wife chiding her husband for not wearing a dhoti. “You could at least wear dhoti when you come to the temple,”she said, a marked disapproval on her face. “Don’t start again,” warned the husband, as he inched past her leaving her fuming to complete her parikrama alone. Not all were like that though, some were seriously lost in their world of prayer, and I couldn’t understand how one could achieve that state of meditation amidst all that chatter!

I decided to stop right there after completing one parikrama. I had hardly been able to concentrate on praying, my mind being distracted with all the drama going around me! There was no meaning in doing something just for the sake of doing it, or because it was the norm, when the body and soul were not in tandem, each going their different ways!


I looked at the idol of the Lord as I bowed before him as I left… He must be having the last laugh! 

24 comments:

  1. Yes, these are often the sights and sounds at our temples. Or perhaps all places of worship. I am also not too much into going to temples or following rituals etc....but sometimes I do like to visit the famous temples, those with grand architecture/art/special significance/legends/myths....It is special being there. And despite the crowd at times I have been able to feel the special Presence there, thanks to the Divine Grace. It is wonderful when that feeling happens. But I agree if someone goes to the temple just as a mechanical ritual, it is better not to go there and instead search for that peaceful time with the Lord in the home itself!
    You have chosen a very important topic here to write about, Titli. Appreciate this post very much.

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    1. there is only one temple where i get goosebumps as soon as i enter it....and im suddenly unmindful of the crowd, the waiting time and all....and every time i see the deity, i have tears streaming down my face.....it is like magic, like im transported to some magical land..but other than that temple, there's not much magic happening elsewhere.

      thanks for the wonderful comment!

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  2. God must have turned into an atheist by now!

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  3. i too hate the crowd at such places that why i never visit temples until my mom literally drags me with her .. because from ancient times that was the basic need why people used to go to the temple for peace basically .. and now you will never find one ! loved the last few lines of it :)

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    1. thanks! i can imagine ankur being dragged by mommy!

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  4. hmmm Well funny I am writing one article on this only :) will post soon ..

    I myself feel people most who go, go there to show their face and to prove to themself that they are god fearing ..

    I had a funny experience myself at a Gurudwara sahib..


    its funny we say god exists in us all, yet we go to temples or gurudawara's to find him/her..


    Bikram

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    1. do post it...u made a valid point, it is just to show how god fearing they are, that they go to temples....not out of love for the god.

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  5. lol he must be having the last laugh indeed. i think a prayer can be said anywhere,you need not go to temples for that.

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  6. I also have never been much of a temple person. Also most of the temples are commercialized and crowded. Places of worship which are famous for wishes being granted are more crowded. And when I learned in moral science at school that God is omnipresent, I wondered why do I need to visit any other place to pray. PointsToPonder

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    1. yea...god is omnipresent...and the search for him should begin and end in our heart not outside!

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  7. I hate the crowd too. last time when i was doing parikrama, some aunty came with a friendly smile plastered over her face and asked me beta wat happened to ur results.. n wen i told her my exams wernt ovr yet she went on enquiring abt my clg, hws mom n wat not! i just came back aftr dat parikrama and went again in the evng as soon as d temple door opened enjoyin d solitude :) few days ltr i got to knw dat aunty was my mom's frn :D

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    1. hahahha.... do people forget why they come to temples in the first place?

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  8. I have not visited a temple for so long that now I cant seem to recall when I last did. The reasons you stated are the same. I never feel spiritual and far from feeling closer to God, I feel i am having to act in a certain way. I liked @Mahesh's commen also !! !And by the way, I too was planning to write on this topic, lets see when i do,Lazy Writer you see;)

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    1. do write on it....would love to read ur take on it

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  9. You've described the things that happen at places of worship and during religious ceremonies elsewhere. The focus is on everything else but worship/prayer. In many cases, this also applies to the priests. It's because of all this that people lose faith in places of worship, priests, etc..

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    1. oh yea, some priests too.... they are another topic altogether....!! brings to mind an incident....lemme share it some day!

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  10. Now THAT is why I do not go to temples. What was supposed to be a place where you took time out from the mundane world has become THE place where you get in touch with all the frailties of humanity.

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  11. Have experienced this so many times. I believe, when we are in a temple we are there to have a conversation with the God, but sadly, we rarely get that peaceful time. For this reason, Gurudwaras and Church are my fav places to visit and pray and of course, nothing like praying in the comfort of our own home or wherever we are with peace and quiet!

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    1. true... how irritating to have to listen to bickering of people at places like these!

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  12. Haha :) That's satire or humour or truth - call it whatever, but you've hit the nail ON the head :) Temple is a place where you catch up with everything else except your relationship with God :)

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    1. i sometimes wonder are people trying to keep god amused....? thinking.... poor god, u must be bored sitting alone all day!

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At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person..deep gratitude for those who have lighted the flame within me!! your comments will be appreciated..

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