A tale of two temples

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A tale of two temples

By Satish Chandra Bhatnagar

 

Some events may fade away in their intensity. Of course, you can

never forget them. This one happened five weeks ago during our brief

stay in Houston, Texas. It was a Sunday morning and we decided to

visit the newly opened (BAPS) Swaminarayan temple nearby. BAPS

stands for Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan

Sanstha, which is a devotional organisation that has made headlines

due to construction of scores of beautiful Hindu temples all over

the world. I sure was taken aback with awe the moment I saw the

Houston temple from a distance. Its exterior is made of pure white

Turkish limestone and the interior of pure white Italian marble.

Above all, it is made with pure white love of the devotees that

defines itself. It is a monument of BAPS dedication to the Hindu

heritage and its lineage of gurus.

 

When I guessed its cost $27 to be million, the manager said it was

only $7 million! Labour being voluntary, its cost was not included.

On reading its literature, I learnt that the organisation traces

itself to the period 1800. The present Shri Pramukh Swami is the

fifth guru in succession. The location of the temple is on the bank

of an aqueduct on a 20-acre parcel of land. Besides the best Indian

gift shop that I have seen, the temple complex has a large community

centre and a small gurukul. The architecture of the temple takes

one's breath away. The carving on over 130 pillars and 70 sections

of the ceiling is stunningly unique! Not even a square inch of the

surface is left uncarved without a motif. There is high-tech

illumination at night and other media projections.

 

Living in the post-9/11 period, I simply asked the question: Are

there enough measures to protect this temple from defacing,

vandalism and acts of terrorism? Any beautiful object attracts

extreme social elements. One adores the beauty as divine, while the

other abhors it out of sheer jealousy. I said it was time that the

Hindu temples spread total awareness of the Hindu Shastra, and

shatru in their philosophy of thoughts and actions. If you cannot

protect and fight for your beliefs, honour and treasures, then you

simply do not deserve to hold them.

 

The architecture of the temple takes one's breath away. The carving

on over 130 pillars and 70 sections of the ceiling is stunningly

unique! Not even a square inch of the surface is left uncarved

 

After a couple of hours, we set out to visit the Houston Arya Samaj

Mandir (temple), situated about 10 miles away. I was acquainted with

its founder and resident priest. It was not easy to find the place,

though it was off a major street. Since I was still in the mental

frame of Swaminarayan temple, it was natural to draw comparisons.

The time being about 1 p.m., the weekly Sunday havan (sacrificial

fire) was over, but its organic fragrance was still in the air. The

temple has a big hall for Sunday gatherings. It seems the building

is minimally used during the week. We were the only visitors in the

temple.

 

Also, the temple has a place for outdoor havan congregation and a

Montessori school for kids. Besides a few pictures of the early

leaders of Arya Samaj, there was nothing visual about the temple. To

a large extent, the austerity of Arya Samaj temples is not very

different from the Muslin mosques. There are no idols in them as

Arya Samaj has shifted tilt away from idol worship. The temple is

located on a 5-acre lot. It is the result of a Mahajan family's

devotion to the ideals of Arya Samaj that was founded in 1875 to

rejuvenate the Hindu religion.

 

I asked the question; Where does Arya Samaj stand in its mission of

cleansing the Hindu religion? Today, the Arya Samajis are only

described by the ones who perform the havan everyday and recite

sandhya (a collection of Vedic mantras) twice a day. At one time,

Arya Samaj spearheaded the movement against social evils like dowry

and Hindu caste system. There is no identifiable agenda today. There

are ten cardinal principles of Arya Samaj on personal beliefs and

social conducts and these are as solid as the Ten Commandments. But

even great ideas need propagators.

 

However, my thoughts were buffeted by these two temples. The BAPS

temple is a visual treat in architecture. I share its heritage and

its creation filled me with a pride. The other temple is an integral

part of my being as I grew up around Arya Samaj. Nonetheless, I

don't feel upbeat about the future of Arya Samaj. No organisation

can sustain, flourish and expand without a clear mission consistent

with the changing times. Most importantly, it needs periodic

infusion of new member: men and women, young and old from other

belief systems too.

 

Such are my thoughts that seem to be clamouring for an outlet since

long.

 

(Contact www.aryasamaj.com for more information on these temples.)

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