Temples

May 15, 2006

Om Namah Sivaya

It is essential that a devotee needs to be pure both internally and externally. This is why many Hindu Temples have strict rules; For external purity : people need to have a bath, they need to wear clean washed cloths and need to wash their feet properly before enter a Temple. For internal purity : people should only eat Pure Vegetarian food for the whole day, drinking and smoking prohibited and most importantly just after the entrance of a temple there is a place called Pali Pedam, literally means sacrificial place, people should try their best to leave behind mental impurities and ego before they proceed to worship the deity.

Tirumantiram by Rishi Tirumular (verse 2214):

Enemies of Thoughts For God

In their bewildered thoughts

Are the lions three (lust, anger, greed)

In their bouncing thoughts

Are the jacklas four (mind, intellect,will and egoity)

In their sensory thoughts

Are the elephants five(taste,sight,touch,sound,smell)

These the foes (internal and external)

Of the contending mind.

Sri Ramakrishna's saying : 'In the path of Bhakti, self-control comes of itself and it comes very easily. The more one's love of God increases, the more insipid become the pleasures of the senses'.

A typical Hindu temple is really the projection of our body and mind. In a big South Indian Hindu temple, the huge tower represents the mind, you could see many dolls of gods and demons all over it, this represents good and evil thoughts in our mind. The tower gate is our mouth. Just after the tower gate you could see a tall pillar, this is called Flag tree, but it actually represents the Spinal column (spine), you could see 32

marks: our spine is formed of a series of 32 bones called vertebrae.

During festival season, a flag of the deity will be raised at the top of the tree (represents Sahasrara where one can realise God) and from there a white rope goes round the marks to the bottom of the tree, this represents Sushumna nadi (through which Kundalini travels up during Spiritual progress).

Sri Ramakrishna's saying : 'Characteristic of God-vision is that a great spiritual current rushes up along the spine and goes towards the brain. If then the devotee goes into samadhi, he sees God.' 'Unless the Kundalini is roused, spiritual awakening never takes place.'

There are six special rooms in a temple, representing six Chakras, Muladhara, Svadhishthana, Manipura, Anahata, Vishuddha and Ajna. The main deity is dark in colour and no sunlight could enter the room. The room represents our heart and the deity represents Atman (which is identical to Siva). The dark colour represents we couldn't see Siva due to Avidya (ignorance) and the lamp in the room (you can't really see the deity without it) represents we need to kindle the lamp of True Knowledge (Jnana) in our heart to realise God.

Tirumantiram by Rishi Tirumular (verse 1823):

Jiva is Siva Linga

For the Bounteous Lord

This heart is the sanctum holy,

The fleshly body is temple vast

The mouth is the tower gate;

To them that discern,

Jiva is Sivalinga;

The deceptive senses but the lights that illumine.

Commentary : This fleshly body is a unique temple; the mouth is its tower gate; and the heart is the holy sanctum for the Bounteous Lord. For those who can vision, jiva is the Siva linga, and the senses the illuminating lamp.

A great devotee : Vayilar Nayanar was a Siva Bhakta lived in South India more than 1000 years ago. He constructed temples mentally and did Manasic (mental) worship. He built the temple of non-forgetfulness, lit the shining lamp of Self-illumination, bathed the Lord in the waters of immortal Ananda (bliss) and worshipped Him with the elixir of supreme love. Thus he obtained salvation. Here is the life of a Para Bhakta, a supreme devotee. He had transcended the stage of idol worship. He had attained great purity of heart and clarity of inner psychic vision so that, without the aid of a symbol and without the help of rituals, he could raise his mind to the sublime heights of the Abstract.

Sivaya Namah

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