What is Hinduism says the following about temples:
"The Hindu temple and stone images in it work as a channel for the Diety, for the Gods, who hover over the stone image and, in their subtle etheric forms, change people's lives through changing the nerve currents with them through their darshana. People come to a sanctified temple and go away, and in that process they are slowly changed from the inside out. They have changed because tier very life force has changed, their mind has been changed and their emotions have undergone a subtle transformation."
While the book does say later on that Hinduism is dependent on any of three foundations of temple, philosophy, and guru and just one is enough to embody the religion. However, it seems the temple contains a special experience that is fundamentaly central to understanding Hinduism. As a Zen practitioner, I focus and value direct experience over ideas/beliefs/authority. We say that the teachings are like a finger pointing at the moon, where the moon is the truth, not the finger. So in order to understand Hinduism, I suppose I really need to visit a temple. What do you guys think? Is there a good directory of temples in the USA I could visit?
Thanks, -Liang
Bookmarks