I went to a temple in a city very close to mine, I had called the temple beforehand to see if they would be willing to show me what I should do or not do and things of this nature. Also to see if it was OK if I came, of course I knew it OK and from what some non Indians here have said about their visits that they won't have a problem with it, but, of course, one still feels nervous so I called.when I arrived, there was only a little family and the priest, so I couldn't really watch what any one else was doing. The priest explained to me things like Dharma and Karma what some of the dieties were and things that I mostly knew. I don't know what to actually do at a mandir, or how to do it, or if I'm allowed to medidate or read sriptures which in don't really have much time or room for at my house
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what should I do ?
- Thread starter JField
- Start date
I was the same way a year ago. Honestly, practice makes perfect, so my suggestion would be to keep going to temple until you get the hang of it. Indians are pretty well known for being helpful to newcomers at temples.
Maybe make sure that you go during a festival where there will be more people for you to look upon while the service goes on?
Of course you would be allowed to meditate or read scriptures if you wanted to. Myself, if I arrive a little too early, I meditate in front of Ganesha or Shiva for a few minutes.
Do you know which deity was being honored or any details of the service?
Maybe make sure that you go during a festival where there will be more people for you to look upon while the service goes on?
Of course you would be allowed to meditate or read scriptures if you wanted to. Myself, if I arrive a little too early, I meditate in front of Ganesha or Shiva for a few minutes.
Do you know which deity was being honored or any details of the service?
You can just go in and sit, watch, do mostly whatever. In some temples, you can't approach or go into sanctums, but those temples will have signs. There are no rigid rules. If that temple has a website. we can probably help more because we;ll recognise its style.
Don't worry about it.
edited... Is this it? http://www.hindutemplehr.org/
Don't worry about it.
edited... Is this it? http://www.hindutemplehr.org/
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He did give me some dates for special festivals. The deities there were Hanuman, Vishnu, Saraswati, Krishna and Radha, Ganesh and they had a Shiva lingam
And thank you that is a good idea, I don't often have that much time for meditation or for reading scriptures. Of course I could just read them but I mean take time and really take it in, in a peaceful place.
Yes that's the one and he indicated that I was welcome anytime
They look quite organised, and seem to be mostly Gujarati. I like the aarti on exact time note. I see they have bhajans on Sundays, so that might be a good place to start, especially if they have bhajan guidebooks. You could ask to take a book home and do a bit of practice on your own, so eventually you can join in.
A typical visit is to walk in, ring the main bell once or thrice if they have one, and then prostrate (not full out, just knees to forehead) to the main deities. Then you could just sit in front of a favored one for awhile. If you can walk around the entire shrine do that ... clockwise. If not, it's okay. Smaller temples don't have that as an option.
There should also be a spot to put offerings like fruit or flowers. Mystically, that opens you up to receiving the deities blessings.
Best wishes.
Freedomelf
Active Member
How can you tell that they're mostly Gujarati ? And that sounds like a good idea, are Bhajans singing ? And I did see one individual walking around shrine.
Aupmanyav
Be your own guru
Elementary, Dr. Watson.
See trustees, and board of Management. Patel, Shah, Lakdavala, Joshi, Kaloji. The priest is a punjabi brahmin, perhaps from a family displaced during partition of India. His family, then, might have settled in Gujarat.
(Nainwal Khalsa is located roughly 16 miles (26 km) northwest from the border with India, and 61.8 miles (99.5 km) by road southwest from Lahore - Wikipedia)
See trustees, and board of Management. Patel, Shah, Lakdavala, Joshi, Kaloji. The priest is a punjabi brahmin, perhaps from a family displaced during partition of India. His family, then, might have settled in Gujarat.
(Nainwal Khalsa is located roughly 16 miles (26 km) northwest from the border with India, and 61.8 miles (99.5 km) by road southwest from Lahore - Wikipedia)
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Yes, sorry. Bhajans are singing. The temple had or allowed a link top the Gujarati group. That's how I knew. Any other Hindus in the area would go too, but most often an organising committee starts out with friends, and generally often friends are from the same linguistic group. But i also saw a Venkatesara (It think) on the shrine. South Indian murthies are in black granite, and North Indian style is white marble.
So do most regions in India have a dialect or language particual to that region ?Elementary, Dr. Watson.
See trustees, and board of Management. Patel, Shah, Lakdavala, Joshi, Kaloji. The priest is a punjabi brahmin, perhaps from a family displaced during partition of India. His family, then, might have settled in Gujarat.
(Nainwal Khalsa is located roughly 16 miles (26 km) northwest from the border with India, and 61.8 miles (99.5 km) by road southwest from Lahore - Wikipedia)
Yes. Languages of India - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Many Indians can converse in several languages. It's more or less organized by state, and often state names are the language names as well. Not always but often.
Kalidas
Well-Known Member
I wonder too! So there are not a lot of Hindus in my community but there are some for sure! I see them esspecially come to the grocery store on Sunday from temple. The women are in saris, the men nice clothes(no dhotis lol) somAtimes they have ash on their forhead. A few of the women even have a bindi.
I want to say hi but I get nervous or don't know how.
I want to say hi but I get nervous or don't know how.
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Say 'Namaste' and see what happens. Ask what Indian state they're from.
Kalidas
Well-Known Member
I will probably say Namaste but I don't want to ask "where they are from" i don't want to appear presumptuous. They may have been born here and I prefer not to appear pedantic.
The most popular pilgrimage site in all of India is the Venkateshwara (Vishnu) shrine at Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh in South India. It averages a million devotees per day.
So a lot of temples have Him installed here too. http://www.tirumala.org/
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Kalidas
Well-Known Member
I should specify that i don't feel any of you are pedantic. I just have a habit of not thinking about what to say and making an *** out of myself