Fun Size (because I'm absolutely not offended if you don't read the whole thing)
1. Went to the Hindu temple! Blessed by a Brahmin priest!
The Temple
My first full day in India! We had breakfast which in India is Roti (flat bread), Dal (a kind of soup that you dip the Roti into), and chutney. We eat all this with just our right hand. Indians believe that the left hand deals with all the functions below the belly button and therefore, you should not feed yourself with it. The breakfast is very good but definitely not what I'm used to.
We went to the temple together which was amazing! The temple we went to was huge! Most are not this large. We had to take off our shoes and walk in an elevated sidewalk to the actual temple. We accidentally bought special passes which initially meant that we got the best spot to see the alters. The first level had an altar that was set back into the wall with incense burning and several other people praying. The people who did not have the special pass had to be behind a waist-level gate and quickly pass by. People in this line were donating money and putting their hands in a prayer gesture to their foreheads. Some people even lifted their children to do it. It was amazing to watch people but I felt bad that the people for whom this is a religious and devotional practice were not able to spend more time in front of the alter. Then we went to the next level of the temple which was another altar. It was a very similar set up except with the Brahmins actually fanning the incense towards the altar. The Brahmins are the Hindu priests. They are all part of the upper caste and are all men. They look like the men below except with a piece of fabric across their chest and the fabric is a peach color. The men also have shaved heads except for a pony tail in the back.
(Sadly no one is allowed to take pictures so I have no photo evidence of this amazing place). After each altar you go back outside and you can press your head to the stone and put ashes on your forehead. By each altar there is a flame burning that has been blessed. You put your hands over the flame and then put it over your face to purify thoughts. That honestly was my favorite ritual I experienced. We finally went into the actual temple which was a huge room. The closest thing I can compare it to is a Catholic cathedral in that it was marble and ornate. However, the decor and meaning is very different. There are groups of people all sitting in the middle of the room on the floor with the altar in front of them. Since we had the special pass we actually got a blessing from a Brahmin. He was very nice and I found him very easy to talk to which was not what I expected. I always expect religious leaders to somehow be so different from me but I really appreciate when I can connect with one especially when it's so far from home in a religion I'm not that familiar with. We all put our right hand (quiz! why the right hand?) in a bowl with flower petals and he asked for our names. He said the blessing and then we repeated Hare Krishna with him. We then moved in front of the altars and watched the Brahmins perform the ceremonies. Then they threw holy water on us and it was really cool to be hit with a few drops. When we came around the other side, the Brahmin who blessed us asked where we were from and what we were doing in India (in a very friendly way). He explained to us that it is his belief that the temple is peaceful because there is no uncommitted sex, no drugs, no alcohol, and no meat. Cool thing about the temple as well is that they actually provide free lunch meals (Mid-Day Meal Programme) to all the government schools in Bangalore. This is a huge deal because school attendance is a challenge for the Indian school system and studies show that these meals increase child nutrition and school attendance. The temple also gives free food as you leave. They actually give it to you in a bowl that is made out of a leaf so that when you're done you just put it on the ground!
Found some pictures online!
The big room!
One of the altars
Oo! I found the link if you're interested! :
http://www.iskconbangalore.org/
1. Went to the Hindu temple! Blessed by a Brahmin priest!
The Temple
My first full day in India! We had breakfast which in India is Roti (flat bread), Dal (a kind of soup that you dip the Roti into), and chutney. We eat all this with just our right hand. Indians believe that the left hand deals with all the functions below the belly button and therefore, you should not feed yourself with it. The breakfast is very good but definitely not what I'm used to.
We went to the temple together which was amazing! The temple we went to was huge! Most are not this large. We had to take off our shoes and walk in an elevated sidewalk to the actual temple. We accidentally bought special passes which initially meant that we got the best spot to see the alters. The first level had an altar that was set back into the wall with incense burning and several other people praying. The people who did not have the special pass had to be behind a waist-level gate and quickly pass by. People in this line were donating money and putting their hands in a prayer gesture to their foreheads. Some people even lifted their children to do it. It was amazing to watch people but I felt bad that the people for whom this is a religious and devotional practice were not able to spend more time in front of the alter. Then we went to the next level of the temple which was another altar. It was a very similar set up except with the Brahmins actually fanning the incense towards the altar. The Brahmins are the Hindu priests. They are all part of the upper caste and are all men. They look like the men below except with a piece of fabric across their chest and the fabric is a peach color. The men also have shaved heads except for a pony tail in the back.
(Sadly no one is allowed to take pictures so I have no photo evidence of this amazing place). After each altar you go back outside and you can press your head to the stone and put ashes on your forehead. By each altar there is a flame burning that has been blessed. You put your hands over the flame and then put it over your face to purify thoughts. That honestly was my favorite ritual I experienced. We finally went into the actual temple which was a huge room. The closest thing I can compare it to is a Catholic cathedral in that it was marble and ornate. However, the decor and meaning is very different. There are groups of people all sitting in the middle of the room on the floor with the altar in front of them. Since we had the special pass we actually got a blessing from a Brahmin. He was very nice and I found him very easy to talk to which was not what I expected. I always expect religious leaders to somehow be so different from me but I really appreciate when I can connect with one especially when it's so far from home in a religion I'm not that familiar with. We all put our right hand (quiz! why the right hand?) in a bowl with flower petals and he asked for our names. He said the blessing and then we repeated Hare Krishna with him. We then moved in front of the altars and watched the Brahmins perform the ceremonies. Then they threw holy water on us and it was really cool to be hit with a few drops. When we came around the other side, the Brahmin who blessed us asked where we were from and what we were doing in India (in a very friendly way). He explained to us that it is his belief that the temple is peaceful because there is no uncommitted sex, no drugs, no alcohol, and no meat. Cool thing about the temple as well is that they actually provide free lunch meals (Mid-Day Meal Programme) to all the government schools in Bangalore. This is a huge deal because school attendance is a challenge for the Indian school system and studies show that these meals increase child nutrition and school attendance. The temple also gives free food as you leave. They actually give it to you in a bowl that is made out of a leaf so that when you're done you just put it on the ground!
Found some pictures online!
The big room!
One of the altars
Oo! I found the link if you're interested! :
http://www.iskconbangalore.org/
Ah, that sounds amazing! That temple is huge! Sounds like you had a really neat experience. :)
ReplyDeleteI have finally acquired posting power, be warned...
ReplyDeleteThis is all very cool, I believe India was a very good pick for you