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Thread: More on Temples

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    More on Temples

    Hari Om
    ~~~~~

    Namaste,

    This post was inspired by the first temple post of Yaruki. I thought perhaps a few words on the temple itself, as we can share ideas on this…

    Please pitch in as you wish. My visitations to the diversity of the madirs is limited in the USA. Those in India can really lend a hand here and add value. As always please correct any blemishes you see in my posting.



    When we look at a temple what does one see? Northern India style called nagara, And in the south dravida, and some are combinations of both and called verara.What soes this mean? The nagara are the curvilinear towers we see. The dravidya are the truncated pyramids ( 4 sided) and the 3rd type is a combination of both. Are there other structures, sure as shown as the modern temple above.

    They employ geometry of the square, [the 4 sided, as this is kendra in Joytish and the 4th house is a moksha house], the circle or 360° and infinity and octagon ( 8 sided, a moksha house and spiritual house in Jyotish). One will also see the numbers of the building Blocks of time within the structures e.g. blocks of time (60, 108), the yuga cycles, etc. [more on these proportions later.]

    The styles do in fact point to the different regions in India.Here's a great site: http://www.indiantemplesportal.com/

    Well what are these temples modeled from ? According to the Sthapatya Veda (the Indian tradition of architecture), the temple should mirror the cosmos. ( simple eh?). This is Vastu Sastra knowledge.

    We know temples as, well temples, yes? They are also called Mandir (some write mandira); they are called Devalaya or the house of Devata. Some call the temple prAsAda प्रसाद of pleasing appearance, of offering, yet a gracious gift ( what can have more Grace then Blessings from the Divine?).

    This prAsada when we think of it can be the offerings given during homam and puja… yet originally it was considered a mental state of the sage, the muni, the ones connected with the Divine - ones 'grace' in the mind.

    VimAna - some write vimAnam or tower…what is of interest to me is 'mA'
    to measure, as the VimAna is a 'proportioned structure'. This is also known as the garbhgrha, the inner sanatorium of the temple where the main deity e.g. Siva, Visnu, Devi,etc. resides.

    The Devalaya represents the Supreme is His/Her cosmic form. So bhu loka (earth) forms His/Her feet. Satloka some call Brahmaloka forms His shika [sikha or shikha] or tuft of hair at the crown of the head. Like that the other loka forms various parts of His body as outlined in the Vedas/Upanishads.

    Its also interesting to note that the temple represents Meruparvata or the golden mountain described in the shastras. This is considered the center point of the universe.

    So we have the Universe (Macroscopic) and we have the temple made of stone and this is the microcosmic…and with the microcosmic, so is the purusa ( the person, the family of man). Various parts of the temple is then named as body parts e.g. the pada or foot , jangha or shank, the griva the neck ( some write gala), the nose or nasika.

    The garbhagrbha is the heart of the temple. How many times have you read of the space in the heart? How many times have the devata suggested look to the space in the heart? Here we find the antaryamin [antar or within , the interior + yamin or guide] - the in dwelling Lord, both in the temple, and in the purusa, you.

    Let me stop and let others that frequent these great places add their ideas and thoughts. I know I would have great interest in someone outlining the pranapratistha or in the infusion of life force into the murthi's.


    [ more as usual if there is interest ].


    pranams
    Last edited by yajvan; 10 November 2007 at 07:59 PM. Reason: spelling corrections....
    यतस्त्वं शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṁ śivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

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    Re: More on Temples

    Quote Originally Posted by yajvan View Post
    Hari Om
    ~~~~~


    Let me stop and let others that frequent these great places add their ideas and thoughts. I know I would have great interest in someone outlining the pranapratistha or in the infusion of life force into the murthi's.


    [ more as usual if there is interest ].


    pranams
    Yajvan: As usual I know nothing, but just go on feelings. At the Mahakumbhabhishekam (Grand opening) at our temple here, it took about 4 days of outside pujas in the yagnasala (temporary abode) to prepare everything. There were about 8 priests each in charge of various homa fires and the like. The temple was open and clean, and the murthis had been moved inside, yet it felt empty. All the vibration was outside. it was quite odd really. All the energy from the murthis that had been in use in the rented house on the property was transferred into water in kumbha pots. Ordinary devotees were allowed inside the sanctums for the only time ever, and got to oil the murthis. A great many devotees participated in this aspect. Eventually, after several more various rituals, the priests performed the eye-opening ceremony, yet still that was not the highlight. The highlight at least for me was when the energy from the kumbham was poured over the Ganesha murthi for the first time, hence transferring the temple's energy into the murthi. A secondary highlight was when they did the abhishekam to the very top of the temple. Subramuniyaswami was present, and he and the chief priest together poured the water over the whole sanctum sanctorum from the top. That was fairly spectacular too.
    There is definitely something to it. I remember an earlier ceremony called the Balasthapanam where we had to move the temple from the rented room to the new site on the land we had purchased. That too was reasonably complex. For you it would be interesting because the Sivachariya priest and the Swami present are both into Jyothish, and timing, and were often checking their watches to have things done at just the right time. But the interesting thing is I had to drive the car that contained the kumbham full of the energy from the original rented room with the priest holding it in the front seat right beside me. (Back in the day when big old boats of cars had bench front seats) The car was scintillating, and I had a difficult time concentrating and staying out of a blissful state enough just to drive. But the weird thing was that a fellow devotee who followed in the car behind had the task of carrying the murthi, which at that time was a relatively small one, about 100 pounds or so, small enough for one person to carry. He told me later that it felt as light as a styrofoam one. So indeed there is a lot of mystical energy to all this. Perhaps you can tell me which US temples you've been to. Hope you enjoyed the story from my naive mind's point of view. Aum Namasivaya

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    Post Re: More on Temples

    Namaste Yajvan,

    The modern temple pictured is in India, but it is NOT a Hindu mandir ~ it is a house of Baha'i.

    mandira simply means house or dwelling-place, and a temple (God-house) is strictly a devamandira. Although, every habitation is sacred to its inhabitant, and ones own abiding-place is equally a devamandira. So mandira generally implies a devamandira.

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    Re: More on Temples

    Quote Originally Posted by sarabhanga View Post
    Namaste Yajvan,

    The modern temple pictured is in India, but it is NOT a Hindu mandir ~ it is a house of Baha'i.

    mandira simply means house or dwelling-place, and a temple (God-house) is strictly a devamandira. Although, every habitation is sacred to its inhabitant, and ones own abiding-place is equally a devamandira. So mandira generally implies a devamandira.

    namaste sarabhanga,
    good point... one of the Baha'i mandira I frequented was in Chicago.
    God was 'in'

    यतस्त्वं शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṁ śivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

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    Post Re: More on Temples

    Quote Originally Posted by Sarabhanga

    Every habitation is sacred to its inhabitant, and ones own abiding-place is equally a devamandira.
    And prANapratiSThA of ones iSTadeva (in the garbhagRha of ones own heart) is achieved with prANAyAma and prANAhuti.

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    Re: More on Temples

    So i plan on visiting the SHiva Visnu temple in Cleveland and wanted to know when would be a good time to go. Im not a hindu i study all religions. Its confusing for me because i looked on their calender and they had all kinds of "Pujas" and i had no idea what that means. Do they ever give sermons on the Geeta the way they give sermons on the Quran in Mosques and Gospel in the church? How do the Puja services differ from one another? Do they ever serve food after services like in Judaism?

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    Re: More on Temples

    Quote Originally Posted by Sagefrakrobatik View Post
    So i plan on visiting the SHiva Visnu temple in Cleveland and wanted to know when would be a good time to go. Im not a hindu i study all religions. Its confusing for me because i looked on their calender and they had all kinds of "Pujas" and i had no idea what that means. Do they ever give sermons on the Geeta the way they give sermons on the Quran in Mosques and Gospel in the church? How do the Puja services differ from one another? Do they ever serve food after services like in Judaism?
    Namaskar Sagefrakrobatik: I took a look at their site. Seems like a North Indian style temple. A puja is a service where the priest will make offerings to the deity being worshipped that day. There will be waving of lights, flowers and food offeriengs, incense etc. Abhishekam means ritual bathing. As to when you should go, it depends on what you're studying. If you are studying devotees, then Sunday would be the best time. Most temples draw larger crowds on Sundays here in the west as that is the day more people are off work, children out of school, etc. Sundays are not the traditional Hindu holy day. Every day is. I noticed Sunday is the only day they serve a lunch (prasad). if you want to observe the rituals, go another day. On those days, chances are probably better you could talk with the priest after the puja is over. As to lectures, from my experience, in North Indian style temples, often the priest or a pandit will give a talk (sermon if you wish) but not always. Probably in Hindi, but maybe in English. In South Indian style temples this is very rare. Anyways, I hope you have a great educational outing, and please let us here on HDF know after you go. Perhaps it would be a good idea to take a notebook, and jot down questions, then ask them later on here, and someone can answer. Here at our temple we have unofficial designated 'hosts' for newcomers, and you can phone ahead to ask it that's possible. Perhaps the same applies there. Aum Namasivaya

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    Re: More on Temples

    Hari Om
    ~~~~~
    Quote Originally Posted by Eastern Mind View Post
    Perhaps you can tell me which US temples you've been to.
    Namaste EM,
    one of my favorites is Sri Meenakashi (shown here) , just outside of Houston Tx.
    Since I lived in Houston for some time, this was the Mandir I frequented most often.


    In contrast, I lived in San Diego and the temple was a store front, that was converted to a Mandir ( called Sri Mandir) and it too was a joy to go to. ( no pictures)

    I am now closer to Lakshmi Narayanan mandir... temple priest is Dr. Shukavak Dasa. He has a Ph.D. in South Asian Studies and his Master's degree in Sanskrit grammar from the University Of Toronto.




    I am now trying to frequent the temple in Malibu (shown below);
    Venkateswara (some may spell this as Venkateshwer or Venkatachalapathi i.e. Visnu) or ven+kata+eshwara= sins+destroyer+Supreme Lord.

    The traffic/distrance is a bit of a challange, yet I will get there.




    With His grace, I will have a yatra in India, 2008 and be able to see all structures and designs of the various Devalaya.

    pranams,
    Last edited by yajvan; 11 November 2007 at 12:04 PM. Reason: sp...
    यतस्त्वं शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṁ śivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

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    Re: More on Temples

    Yajvan: Thank you for sharing. I want to visit the Houston Meenakshi temple one day. My wife has been to Madurai Meenakshi. She went on pilgrimage in 1982 to many south Indian temples. I have never been graced to step on the land of Mother India. One day soon (maybe within 5 years) we are planning a pilgrimage through western USA, and I will search ahead to find each temple of each city. and plan to hit one per day. There are a few temples here (5 in Edmonton, 2 in Calgary, 1 in Saskatoon, 2 in Regina, and probably 9 or 10 in Vancouver. There's also a small one in central BC in the Okanogan. Aum Namasivaya

  10. #10

    Re: More on Temples

    Namaste,

    Visit the Sri Lakshmi mandir in Ashland, Massachusetts whenever you get a chance.



    Om purnam adah, purnam idam, purnat purnam udacyate; purnasya purnam adaya purnam evavasisyate.
    Om Santih! Santih! Santih!

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