7. The Temple

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Download PDF: PCT-007 The Temple

  • Hindus worship in the temple. They also worship at home.
  • One Indian word for temple is ‘mandir’. The mandir is the home of God.
  • The centre of the mandir is the shrine, which contains the murtis.
  • The murtis are sacred statues of God, or of different gods and goddesses.
  • Some temples have just one murti; others have many different murtis.
  • The priest worships the murtis. He treats them as if they are very special people, like kings and queens.
  • Every day he (or she) will bathe them, put on new clothes and offer them arti (see photo-card number 8) .
  • Many worshippers come to see the arti. In some temples, there are six arti ceremonies every day.
  • There are many things to notice inside a temple:
    • A place to put shoes (you cannot go in without taking them off)
    • A bell next to the door in the main hall
    •  The shrine at the front of the main hall
    • Sometimes smaller shrines at the sides
    • Priests who do the worship
    • The room where priests prepare for arti
    • Pictures and posters of saints and the different deities
    •  Hindu symbols, such as the Om sign
    • Holy books, like the story of Rama & Sita and the Bhagavad Gita
    • A kitchen for cooking, for the murtis and for guests.
    • Prasada – holy food (which is vegetarian)
    •  Holy water (which was used to bath the murtis in the morning)
  • Temples are sacred places. They should have a special atmosphere – peaceful; a place where we can pray, think about life or just be with ourselves.
  • Sometime, like on festival days, the temple is very busy. There is an atmosphere of celebration.
  • There are other holy places also. Most of them are in India.
  • Many Hindu people in Britain visit India. They visit relatives. They also go on pilgrimage, visiting holy places.
  • The most important holy places are (1) Varanasi (connected with Shiva) (2) Vrindavana (where Krishna lived) (3) Ayodhya (the capital of Rama).
  • Some rivers are also holy. Most important is the river Ganges. Hindus believe that it came down from heaven.