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Forrest
09 November 2010, 08:10 PM
I'm interested in the clothing that Hinduism allows. Are there any restrictions and or clothing items that shouldn't be worn in a temple? What is or isn't frowned upon? What do you know about it?

Thanks,
Forrest

Eastern Mind
10 November 2010, 03:43 PM
Vannakkam Forrest:

About the only guideline would be modesty and loose fitting for most Hindu temples these days. However, some are more traditional than others and either strongly suggest or require Hindu attire. This would me Salwar Kameez (sp) for woman, or vesht/dhoti or long shirt and Indian pant for men. The smart thing to do would be to go to a temple and observe. Even if the temple you are looking at attending has a website, the pictures will tell a lot. In some South Indian temples, men are required to remove their shirts, but you're allowed to tie them along or around pants or veshti.

Many traditional Hindus won't wear leather, but that is changing, especially for belts and wallets. Rarely would you see a leather jacket, sweatpants, or shorts on men.

So it varies. If you name a couple of th etemples you are looking at, maybe someone here will help.

Aum Namasivaya

jasdir
11 November 2010, 12:18 AM
Are there any restrictions and or clothing items that shouldn't be worn in a temple?

Temple means Mandir
Man = Mind
Dir = Inside

Combine Both Man+dir or Mandir means "Inside Mind"

True temple is inside the mind, That is situated on our four head, between our eyebrows, the gate of this temple opens inwards,
It is also known as:
Tenth- Gate
Dasav- Dwar
Guru- Dwar or Gurudwara
Gate to Trikuti
Gate to Sahasdal-kaval
Masjid or Mukame- Allah
etc..

Every religion has its own name,

The outer temples or gurudwara or masjid etc.. are created by the "Saints" or spiritual masters as sample to show the childrens, or to devlop their desire towards TRUE INNER TEMPLE which is within the body,

So, Forrest ji, i hope now you can decide your dress Smartly

Your brother Jasdir.
"Namaste"

ScottMalaysia
11 November 2010, 06:53 AM
The main item of "forbidden" clothing would be leather. It's sad that Hindus are rejecting the ideal of ahimsa for the sake of fashion. It seems hypocritical to me to avoid eating the flesh of the cow because it is sacred and should not be killed but at the same time wear the dead skin of the same cow. I mean, there is fake leather out there - why use the real stuff?

I avoid all leather products. The two times I wore a leather glove for fencing I asked the Holy Mother for forgiveness afterwards (and quickly got a synthetic glove).

But as to avoiding specific styles of clothing: Hinduism sets no restriction on that. Even in India, Western clothes are becoming increasingly popular, especially in the corporate world. ISKCON devotees usually wear the traditional sari (for women) or dhoti and kurta (for men), and they consider these clothes to be more spiritual than regular Western clothes (although they change into Western clothes when they go out to "distribute" their "free" books).

With regard to clothing in a temple, you should wear freshly washed clothes when you go, having bathed previously. But don't let the fact that you're not wearing freshly washed clothes stop you from going to a temple, especially if you are just passing through the area for some other reason. Also, definitely make sure that you don't bring any leather items into a temple. Belts and wallets are what you need to watch out for (although the former won't be an issue if you're wearing traditional Indian clothing).