Why take the risk? Our group visited 3 different temples today. First, we went to a Baha'i Temple known as the Lotus Temple because it's shaped like an opening flower (or the Sydney Opera House).
Inside, it was all white marble, even the benches, and the atmosphere was so so quiet.
[Comment: Everywhere in Dehli is raucous with people and cars and dogs and children selling things. But the loudest of all is honking. Cricket is not the national sport, honking is. Cars honk when they're passing. Cars honk when they're cut off. Cars honk when they want to squeeze 4 cars in a 3-lane road. Cars honk to let you know the bus is too big. There is probably a language of honks, just like at home two short honks are friendly but two long honks are angry. End Comment.]
Anyway, the interior was quiet and pure white and such a welcome relief. It would be really beautiful if it was filled with Indian women wearing colorful saris.
We had a new kind of sandwich... It had meat and egg inside with a spicy green chile sauce on top.
- 2 - Theeeeeeeeeen we went to the Akshardham Temple. It's a Hindu temple built in 2005, and it's just massive. Rumors put construction costs around $100 million. It has a very intrusive security screening process... we weren't allowed to bring in any bags or electronics. I wish I could have taken pictures of the comprehensive list of items banned. (It included notebooks, notepads, diaries, metal chains, guns, alcohol, tobacco, and drunkards) Frisking was mandatory. We had to get frisked, go through a metal detector and get frisked a second time.
At first I thought this was a marketing scheme to prevent us from taking our own photos (like inside castles in Europe)... then I realized it was to guard against suicide bombers. Noticing that you're in a place that a suicide bomber might actually target is a bit chilling.
So I couldn't take any pictures inside, only this one from the gate...
There was a giant golden idol in the middle of a massive temple complex. My favorite part was the 3-D carved elephant relief running along the bottom of the main building. The interior was white marble, and every surface of it was carved with vines or patterns or gods.
Afterward, our professors explained part of the Hindu legends and stories about their gods. Do you know the reason that cows are sacred? Because they were Lord Krishna's favorite animal. He was their version of god incarnate. So as a result, cows roam around Dehli and no one can touch them.
- 3 - We went to a Sikh shrine called Bangla Sahib that was built to commemorate the second copy of the holy book in their religion. Sikh branched off of Hindu in the 1600s. This one was my favorite. We all had to cover our heads, even the guys. After we went in, and we got to hear part of the service of them putting the book to rest.
Clandestine footage from inside the temple
I didn't know much about how to tell different religions apart until today. But here it goes. Hindu women have red dots on their foreheads. Sikh men wear turbans. Apparently they can't cut their hair or beards. The little boys with turbans on are so cute! One of the fundamental values for Sikhs is service. Each temple has a food kitchen that gives away meals. The one in Dehli gives away 20,000 meals a day.
What the most amazing is how tolerant the Indian people are of religious diversity. They all can even joke about each other casually. My professor said Sikh jokes are the best, like Texas jokes.
Did my head hurt all day? Yes. Did I feel slightly nauseated all day? Yes. But was it worth it? Definitely.
No comments:
Post a Comment