Temple.......a Pius place......our place of worship.......our holy place........a place where we go to get answers to some unanswered questions....chahe wo questions kitne bhi stupid ho!!!....a place where we go to connect to HIM.......a place where we go and say Hello to bhagwaan ji......
Today I happened to, unexpectedly, visit a temple, with a close friend and his mother. Continuing the childhood tradition, even today Prasaad is a big motivation for me to visit temples...... I don't know if anyone else has observed this........Temple's Prasaad is always tasty!!!!....If we make the same thing at home, it is never as tasty as it was in the form of Prasaad..!!! Be it Sooji ka Halwa, Chana, Chironjee dana, Meethe chawaal, or Sweets bought from shop.....!!! Bhagwaan ke charanon mein rakhte hi usmein ek alag taste aa jata hai..:-) A divine taste...:-) Has anyone else experienced this????????
There are many temples which are famous for their prasaadam.... Tirupati Laddu being one of them...... I am sure most of the readers of this piece of literature, who have tasted Tirupati Laddu, are its fans!!!...
Prasaad prasaad karte karte bhuk lag gayi.....:-) !!!! Sight smell and thought of food stimulates hunger...!! Will take a short snack break before scribbling ahead...:-)
:-) :-) Bhook shaant huyi..:-) ....... They say- Aadami ke dil ka raasta uske pet se hokar jata hai.....!!! Kyu bhai??? Why only aadmai?? Auratein khati nahi hai kya.??? I agree that some girls are "calorie conscious", but sabhi aisi nahi hoti..!! Some women are also Bhojan Premi....!!! So, the saying should be modified as- Har insaan ke dil ka raasta pet se hokar jaata hai- *Terms and conditions apply...!!
Now that the hunger pang is satisfied, lets continue with Bhakti....!!! The temple visit made me observe many things. Some special puja was going on. 3-4 iyengar pandits, chanting mantraas non stop..!!!!
Before writing further, I would like to announce a Disclaimer....
"This blog post is only a representation of the writer's observation and the manifestation of that observation, as perceived by the writer's brain. The writer of this blog herself is a staunch believer of God and she respects eachc and every person's beliefs. She does not intend to hurt anybody's religious feelings or beliefs."
Continuing my observation, I kept wondering,when and from where did the Pandit begin..??? thanks to CBSE curriculum, which made me study Sanskrit for 4 years, I do pick up a few words of shlokas and mantras, but only when chanted slowly..!! This Roller- Coaster speed was all going bouncers...!!! It reminded me of a story by Harishanker Parsai (noted satirist and humorist of modern Hindi literature), which talked about the same issue. The lead character in the story belonged to Pandit Caste but did not know even the ABCDs of mantras and shlokas. People, by default, assumed him to be a good Pandit and asked him to perform a puja......!! all he knew was gayatri mantra and Ganesh mantra..!!! He began the puja...
" Om bhur bhuva swaha, tat savitur vareniyam bhargo devasya dheemahi, dhiyo yo nah prachodyaat.......Vakratunda maha kaya, surya koti sam prabha nir vighnam kuru me deva, sarva kareshu sarvada......Om jack and jillum, went up the hillum, to fetch a pail of waterum......jack fell downum and broke his crownum...jill camum trembling afterummmm....swahaa...!!!.."
People just kept nodding their heads, bowing in front of, god with respect and faith; without even trying to understand what mantras are being chanted by the Pandit....!!! They blindly considered everything to be sacred and pious !!!! Pandit kya bolte hai, kabhi samajh nahi aata..!! Greek and latin hi sahi, mantra hai....!!!! Bhagwaan ji khush ho jayenge aur aashirwaad denge...!!! WHAT A BELIEF....!!!!
One more ritual followed in the South Indian temples, which I keep waiting for is the aashirwaad giving hood…!! I don’t know its technical term though….!!! It is like a crown/cap ( Usually Silver metal) which the Pandit keeps over our heads for a few seconds, chants some mantrs and gives blessings.
Yahan par bhi discrimination……!!!!!
Just because my aunty took an Archana ticket, the ‘cap’ was kept for half a minute over hers and her son’s head. For others, it was just a ‘Touch and go’. Was this ‘Extended Duration Aashirwaad’ the Archana ticket effect……?? ??
God never discriminates…..!!! It is us humans who discriminate in HIS name…!!!!!
Reminder of the DISCLAIMER…!!- ‘No offense against any pandit or religious teacher!!! My due respects to all of them…..’
Some people perceive God as a friend and talk to HIM casually, with an open heart. It makes them feel light hearted. :-) I too have similar perception of God. But then, that’s my perception and belief. Each person has his/her own set of beliefs. My humble respects to all of them…..!!!!
Ultimately the message conveyed is the same- “ Faith on God does WONDERS….!!! So, Believe…!!!!.”
Thus, the Surprise temple visit came to a tasty end, with the prasaad…:-)
We started driving back, thanking God for the blessings and planning the menu for dinner….and still wondering what did the Pandit chant ..!!!!
Before dinner…..Dairy Milk Shots Cheers..:-) :-) Cheers to the temple visit…!!!!...Cheers to the faith on God……!!!!.... Cheers to the happiness which we had in our hearts after the temple visit…..:-)
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