Temple Trip

A couple days ago we went to visit the largest Mosque in India, a Hindu Temple, and a Sikh Temple.

To get to the mosque, Jama Masjid in Old Delhi, we had to wade through a sea of people (as we do to get to anywhere in India), vendors, ankle-breaking holes in the path, good smells, bad smells, mysterious puddles, half nude children, and any number of other interesting things. This is more or less always the case here but this was one of the places that seems slightly more interesting than the markets and little streets where we usually venture.

Like the Agra gate, there was an unpleasant looking amount of stairs, but it wasn't quite as treacherous as Agra. The steps at this place were made for human feet rather than goat feet. It's just a looming presence at the top of the stairs. Like God him/her/itself is sitting there watching you make your way up the stairs through more people and puddles. Unlike Agra, we were not attacked on the steps by vendors from all sides. It's less hostile, which is nice. Once inside it's a massive courtyard, surrounded by just as massive stone walls. This also sums up many of the sights in India.

If I remember correctly, there is room here for over 1000 worshipers. I was kind of hoping to hear the call to prayer (azan, thanks Moody for the correct word) while we were there but we would have had to leave if we did. All foreigners, women, and children are required to leave the mosque when it is time for prayer. Some mosques allow women to pray also but I think it just depends on where you are.

If you were not properly attired at the entrance, they had brighly colored mumu things for you to cover yourself with. (No shorts, skirts, bare shoulders, etc...this is the general rule for India most of the time anyway.) We were required to wear our Indian clothes for this trip just to avoid these sort of things, and we did remove our shoes.

One of the most interesting points of this stop was that they are the keepers of some of Prophet Muhammad's relics- a RED hair from his beard, a foot print, a sandal, and passages from the Quaran written on 1000 year old deer skin. If I was somewhere else I would question their legitimacy but I assume they have been put to the test before.

The little hobblety man came out to open the door to the mosque replica where they are kept and all the women and children that were in this little nook came rushing over to see. Mr. Hobbles shoo'd them away since they hadn't paid for this honor. There was one woman looming over my shoulder either praying or reciting the whole time and she was not shoo'd very far. It was pretty cool to see stuff that was so old and that could cause a massive event of some sort if misplaced or mistreated or something along those lines.

It definitely seemed like an awesome place to shop but for better or worse I didn't bring any money with me. Plus, we were trying to not lose Lalit in the hordes of people, and I was trying to check and make sure our photo happy companions didn't get too far behind or get run down by an enthusiastic rickshaw. (Only the bicycle ones were here. There's no room for autos in there.)

Next we went to visit the Lakshmi Narain Temple. This was one of my favorite places that we've been to. We had to go through a metal detector, as we usually do, wash our hands, and take off our shoes. I'm starting to get attached to the feel of cold marble and warm stone under my feet. This place was the opposite of the mosque. Few people, shiningly spotless, quiet. The mosque has it's own peace and many people are praying but this place was much smaller to begin with.

This temple is home to some of the most amazing pristine statues and shrines EVER. The Hindu trinity (Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva) is the most prominent theme, but Hanuman, Ganesh and the rest of the family are represented as well. On the walls there are pictures depicting the Ramayana and Mahabharata, passages in English and Hindi (or maybe Sanskrit? I dunno.), statues on most available surfaces. There is a monk-looking person sitting at every statue, which is in it's own little room. They will kindly accept donations for the deity of your choice. All of the main gods have a designated day that their followers will worship. I don't know how a family decides who their specific top god will be but once that is established they know on what day they will practice whatever ritual it is that they do.

There are also several places that explain the significance of the swastika, which is eeeeeeverywhere. People of course associate this with horrible things, but that's only because horrible people borrowed it from the Hindus (and flipped it the other way) and sort of ruined it for the rest of the world. Originally the symbol represented a “prayer for success, accomplishment, and perfection in every walk of life, under the guidance of the Almighty.” It's sort of a shocking symbol for most people, but once you've been in India for a few weeks you don't think much of it anymore.

On the way out, after gathering my shoes yet again, I picked up a pamphlet and these are a few quotes that I like from it:

Swami Vivekananda at the International Congress of Religions in 1893- “I am proud to belong to a Nation which has taught the world toleration and universal acceptance. We believe not only in universal toleration but accept all religions as true.”

(My favorite thing about Hinduism, by the way.)

From the Vedas-

“Remove the darkness of our ignorance and open our eyes to see Truth and Reality.”

“May good come to us from the entire Universe.”

And my favorite- “There is One, which the wise call by many names.”

This is a highly recommended stop for anyone visiting Delhi. If you're feeling overwhelmed by the constant everything in the rest of the city, just go here and sit for a while.

On the way back to the car I saw the cutest (and tallest) security guard I've seen the whole time. He smiled at me for several minutes. I love him.

Our last visit for the day was to the Sikh temple, or Gurdwara. Before I tell you about the place, I'll tell you about the faith. It's much less well known in the US, and I just happen to have a handy little book given to us by the man who was watching over our shoes.

The word Sikh means “disciple.” They believe in one god, teaching of 10 gurus, the Sikh holy book, and one must take Amrit (baptism.) If you have heard of the Golden Temple in Amritsar, it is a Sikh temple.

Now I will quote directly from my booklet because it sums it up nicely:

The basic postulate of Sikhism is that life is not sinful in its origin, by having eminated from a pure source, the True One abides in it. Thus sayeth Nanak:

O my mind, thou art the spark of the Supreme Light; know thy essence.

Not only the whole Sikh philosophy, but the whole of Sikh history and character, flows from the principle.

The Sikh do not recognize the caste system nor do they believe in idol-worship, rituals, or superstitions. The gods and goddesses are considered non-entities.

This religion consists of practical living, in rendering service to humanity and engendering tolerance and brotherly love towards all.

It advocates optimism and hope.

Any man or woman of any nationality, race, or social standing, who adheres to the principles of the faith has a right to receive baptism.

A woman is considered to have the same soul as man and she has an equal right to grow spiritually and to attend religious congregations and recite divine hymns in the Sikh temple. She is also eligible to participate and perform all ceremonies including baptism.

Dowry and divorce are not permitted.

It is forbidden to erect monuments over the remains of the dead.

On marriage- “They are not wife and husband who only sit together. Rather are they wife and husband who have one spirit in them.”

In every Gurdwara there is a community kitchen to provide food to all devotees, pilgrims, and visitors. It is a symbol of equality, fraternity, and brotherhood. It is there that the high and low, the rich and poor, the learned and the ignorant, the kings and paupers, all share the same food sitting together in one row.

Now that your lesson is over I can tell you about my visit.

We took our shoes down to the room of foreigners shoes and covered our hears with our scarves. Men, women, and older children all cover their heads at the temple. You can identify a Sikh man by his turban. The way the turban is wrapped is dictated by which region he comes from. (I'm pretty sure that's the deal.) We walk through a little pool of water to clean our feet before walking up to the temple and the massive pool in the center of it. I don't remember the exact details all that well but the Sikh who came there many years ago found many diseased people and had them all drink from this pool, and the diseases went away. People come and drink or throw water on their heads from the pool as a sort of blessing. There was giant coy and catfish things in there. There are 2 giant cloth-covered flag poles which are supposed to be higher than the golden dome so that Sikhs can find their temple from far away. There was a guy at the TOP of the flag pole replacing the cloth. All the way from top to bottom...just dangling up there.

As always the floors were marble, the arches were awesome and it was a nice calm place. On the way out of the inside part of the temple where people were silently praying (other than the sunrise to sunset chants on the speakers) we were given a little handful semolina pudding (aka Cream of Wheat!) and it was a super tasty little treat. It wasn't runny, it was just a little doughy scoop. I thought it would be weird but I will be making it when I get home because it was awesome. Just my little dollop was enough to be comfort food. You accept it with your right hand, I assume because of the general rule that in India the left hand is the “bathroom” hand. I don't think it has any other religious significance but I could be wrong.

We also saw a ridiculously cute baby with one of those tiny fountain ponytails coming out of her head.