Report On Murugan Temple Of North America

Hinduism religion is popular among the Indian community both in India and abroad. This religion has several splinter groups, which practice more or less similar religious practice. I learnt a number of lessons about Hinduism when a paid a visit at Murugan Temple of North America. At the time of my visit, I found three people in the temple. All the people present at the time of my visit were male adult probable at the age of 30s and 60s. The temple attendant was wearing a white robe whereas the rest of the people were dressed in shirts and trousers.
The temple is doomed shaped and has double images known as garbha griha and a high protective wall. The structure of the temple has been designed to accommodate to image of the deity. I observed that the image the deity is installed in garbha griha. The temple has six parts namely dome and steeple – it is the highest mountain peak and it represents the mythological ‘meru.' It has a temple hall reserved for the audience. The third part is the inner chamber also known garbha griha. The image of the deity sits in this chamber. I learned that not everyone could go into this chamber. Only the temple preacher could go inside this room. The fourth part of the temple is the walkway. The temple walkway is around the walls of the inner chamber. It is a special path where devotees walk around the deity. The fifth part is the reservoir of fresh water used for rituals. Lastly, the front porch – it is directly at the entrance of the temple. I learnt that as a devotee goes into the temple he has to ring a bell, which hangs at the ceiling of the porch.
Unlike the Christian practice where people visit the church in mass, devotees visiting the temple visited at the specified time Monday to Friday between 9 a.m., 12 p.m., and 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. During weekends and holidays, one could visit the temple from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. The temple was built and serves exclusively for prayer purposes. Although at the time of my visit no rituals were performed in the temple, I learnt from the devotees that they usually perform rituals to the deity on special occasions such as when one has a special prayer to make.
My attention in the temple was drawn to the deity. Every devotee bows before the deity and makes prayers to it. Interestingly, unlike the Christian prayers where the preacher would lead to the congregation in prayers, the devotees made personal prayers. I learned that the devotees would share their prayers with the temple preacher who would go into the inner chamber to pray to the deity. Perhaps this explains why I did not find many people in the temple. In addition, every devotee would go around the garbha griha walking on the temple walkway making his or her special prayers.
The prayers do not take long as the Christian prayers, but they may last for an hour and on special occasions, the prayer may last for many hours. I learnt that devotees do not just visit the temple without bringing gifts or sharing the gifts of grain and sweets to the beggars and the poor. I noted a lot of difference between the Hinduism and Christianity. For example, I observed that the deity was a special object in the lives of the devotees. Unlike Christians who make their prayers, to God through Jesus Christ, devotees that visited the temple could pray to the deity. Another aspect of their prayer function is that unlike the Christians, devotees wash their hands and legs in the reservoir situated inside the temple. The washing of hands and feet before the beginning of the prayer is one of the signs of devotion. The temple does not have chairs where the devotees would sit, rather a carpet. In addition, the devotees do not get into the temple wearing their shoes.
The temple prayers are not characterized with scripture reading as Christians do or reading of the Holy Quran as Muslims do, rather the devotees would make their prayers after silently speaking to the temple preacher each at time. I got a chance to speak to the temple preacher. He offered a warm conversation pointing on their beliefs. Hindus preach non-violence and protection of life. They are against sharing of blood an aspect that deprive devotees of taking any animal food. Unlike, the Christian counterparts, feeding in animal products is provided for in the doctrines.
In conclusion, Hindus conduct their prayers privately at home and in their temples. The temples have special design consisting of six chambers. The inner chamber is a sacred chamber where the temple preacher is the only one allowed to enter. The prayers are unlike Christian meetings presided over by a pastor or a preacher. Moreover, everyone makes his prayers privately in the temple unlike the collective prayer, which is a characteristic of Christian practice.