losing my religion
That's me in a sari...
That's me in a tem-ple...
Losing my religion.
Just kidding... still an Episcopalian, but with a much deeper appreciation for what it means to worship.
Most of the country is Hindu, but India welcomes a whole host of religions. Christians come in many flavors: Catholic, CSI (Church of Southern India, not the show), Coptic, Orthodox, Evangelical and this one:
Sorry for the blur, but I just managed to catch it zooming by at 70mph. This is a sign for the Malankara Church Coffee Estate. Finally, a house of worship for Jon Poole. Unfortunately this concept will have to remain a dream as I believe Church was the name of the man that started the coffee plantation.
But I digress... I saw many churches and the architects certainly took their cues from their ancestors who erected the most elaborate and awe inspiring temples in the world.
TINY NUNS.
For those of you paying close attention. That was a communist party flag a-waving in front of the pink church. The party in power in the state of Kerala (Southern west coast) is the CPI. Not the security company with the nightmare inducing ad campaign, but the Communist Party of India. According to Chandra, our guide, it's really Communist lite. Indian politics are bizarre--we'll leave it at that. This post is about houses of the holy.
That last church was quite a sight to behold. I am not sure what the little building with all the scaffolding around it is. We did not stop to investigate (Given our short stint in the country, I crossed churches off my "must see" list, which in retrospect was kind of stupid because these churches were sooooo full of churchy goodness. Next time.) Note the scaffolding please. All the scaffolding in southern India I saw was constructed the ancient-fashioned way from wood and rope. These people work very hard to preserve what is precious to them.
A Hindu temple can come in many forms. It could be the size of a telephone booth tucked into an alleyway in a slum. It could stand alone out in the middle of nowhere seemingly abandoned for centuries. It could take up several football fields or be lit up up like an amusement park. I saw it all. And I witnessed people streaming from each and every one. Temple is part of daily life. The temple is where people go whatever distance to meditate, to congregate, to sacrifice (of themselves, not animals or virgins). In fact, our first day of meetings with our manufacturer began with a visit to a temple where Jenny and I received a blessing. As Chandra (you will hear a lot about this guy) said many times about many things, "it is auspicious."
I would not have been smiling as happily if I had known at the time that the ashes on my forehead were made of cow dung. That was an a-ha moment. Holy Cow! So, that's where that comes from...
Here are a just a few of the hundreds (no hyperbole) of temples we saw along the way.
The final few images with all of the carvings is the Temple at Mamallapuram. It is a mystery temple. It was carved out of a boulder sometime in the 8th century. Noone knows who did it or what purpose it served. It is now a protected historical site and with all its nooks and crannies, a secluded place for newly married Indians to tuck into for a little nookie.
We passed this next temple at night along a two lane road heading towards the tide waters of Kerala (later story). I was too busy gawking to get a good picture.
The byway that we were traveling felt just like every beach road I have ever been on, except that there were hundreds and hundreds of people, young and old, walking en masse in the same direction. Let me put it to you this way... It would be like the State Fair being moved to Highway 140 heading into Holden Beach. And I swear to you when we passed, I saw a guy selling Dora the Explorer and Scooby Doo balloons. Temple is the biggest show on earth.
No matter what you think about the commercialization of a holy place, the desecration of a house of worship, the ostentatiousness of these places or the mere fact that Hindus worship a god that appears in the form of an elephant, what is clear to me is that southern Indians incorporate their spirituality into their daily life. It is where they gather as a community. It is the place where they can escape daily life, reflect, catch a little peace and quiet and renew their faith.
Now comes the part where I am supposed to wrap up this story with some bullshit about having more intention in my own religious practice, but truth be told I am writing this at 9:00 am, the time when I would be heading to church. I feel like cow dung for not being there. Pray for me.