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Published: March 6th 2009
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The temple compound issue came around again for me last night. We were inside the temple grounds, where we saw the Dance performance. This night was to be a Classical Indian Flute Music performance. We were sitting on a cushioned platform in front of what is the stage area. The musicians were doing sound check and about to start when the power went out in the whole city. Not unusual. Hardly anyone was there. While waiting for the power to go back on we laid on our backs and looked up at the beautiful night sky.
I saw my first Indian UFO. I was looking at Orion and noticed movement of what I thought was a satellite. It was moving in a straight path, dimly lit, when it seemed to pass, jerk slightly left, then right and then glow as bright as the moon. Then nothing. It was gone. Probably was a satellite making re entry and breaking up. Don't know, and it was impressive. I was talking to Annya about it when I was interrupted by a well dressed Indian Man in his late 20's or so. He said "excuse me sir, I feel it is my duty to
tell you that you are being disrespectful." I said " Oh, please tell me how." He said this is a Temple and you are laying on your back, that is disrespectful.
Now a number of people were doing this, and some Indians were also eating popcorn waiting for the performance to start. The young man told me how this is a sacred place and classical Indian music is Divinely inspired. Soon, the power was on and he excused himself to go and Video Tape the performance. Now, I had seen a flyer about the performance and it said absolutely no recording would be allowed. Seems he was with the band. Found out later, his Dad was performing this night and he was to perform the next night.
During the performance I watched a number of times as he checked his text messages and shared them with a western woman who accompanied him. He was sitting right next to me. I wondered why it is O'K to check your mobile phone during a sacred performance and thats O'k, and looking up at the wonders of a night sky is not ?
This led to a conversation about the
differences between cultures. What do we in the west consider sacred and how is that expressed? What does an average Indian consider as sacred and how do they express it ? I don't know the answer. I do know that he told me that " It is my duty to tell you this."
It reminded me how woman used to have to cover their heads when entering a Catholic Church and how men had to remove their hats.
Now just this morning I decided to take a photo you will see here , of a request asking Europeans not to enter inside this Temple. Within the courtyard where I took the picture a couple of young Indian men came walking into the courtyard as I walked out. They had there shoes on like I did. They said to me, Hey you have to take your shoes off. Now, Annya studies here Dance class here, Yoga classes are held here and I have been inside this area a number of times. No one takes there shoes off that I have seen in this area. Closer to the Temple , yes, everyone does. There are even motorcycles parked inside this
area. So, I am having an experience. I am certainly wanting to be respectful, it just feels like something else is going on. Maybe I'm just paranoid.
It is bothersome that some religious traditions create such feelings. Its wrong for me to do something and not wrong for an Indian ? Whats up with that ?
The next day after writing this we went back to the Temple for more classical Indian Music. The young Indian man I met the night before was performing. He smiled and nodded at me as I sat up straight to listen. Thru the flyer I found out he is the son of the previous nights led performer and he and his brother are becoming very popular.
The music was incredible.
The next day we went to the Brahman Temple. Now we had to take our shoes off before entering. A number of businesses have locker areas available to leave your shoes and bags, ect. For a fee of course. We enter the temple area and are waiting to pass security check with a guard and we are met by a young man who says come this way, here take these
flowers. He hands us a piece of a old newspaper with fresh cut flowers on top. I know from visiting other temples that he wamts to be our guide. He never says anything like that to us. He escorts us past security and gives a very good tour of the Temple. I am happy he has done so, because we would have missed some important parts that looked off limits and were not.
After touring the Temple and offering some of the flowers he tells us now we have to go make a Puga or prayer at the Lake. He takes to the lake and hands us off to another fellow who gives us more flowers and is blessings us. Annya is then taken to one side and me another and we are prayed over and told to make prayers for our Families and for peace, prosperity, ect. We then take the flowers to the water and he splashes water over us and says we can now remove Karma. Of course we have to give money to their Brahman charity to do this. It reminded me of the Catholic Churchs idea to sell indulgences. The idea that you can
buy some kind of dis compensation for your sins.
Maybe this is how religions are the same, but different. Anyway it was bittersweet for me. I enjoyed the Temple and the prayers and the Lake and felt power and energy there. I did not like the push for money. I made a donation because I think it will help pay for some meals for poor families. Of course I also had to pay my guide and the fellow who led me in prayers was waiting to be paid. When he began I told him I will not pay. He said No want money, only help charity if you want. I held him to his word. Annyas prayer guy was more vocal. Hey pay me he says. She ends up giving him 50 rupees.
So, what does it all mean? People are the same. They are religious in there own way. They have particular rules you are to follow and music dissolves everything into bliss if you just listen. Same same, just different.
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Hannah
non-member comment
Religion rules
Hi Richard and Annya, I'm enjoying your blog and your views of India. I saw a bumper sticker the other day that said "Religion ruled over the Middle Ages". You're seeing connections in India with the C Church of the middle ages. Without these bodies that need to be fed, there would be no one to practice religion. So as long as money = food, people will want it with religious fervor.