What is the need to go to TEMPLES?

 Very good and pertinent question to current times.

All through my formative years in KANPUR, every SATURDAY my father would take us to the JK TEMPLE after he came back from the office (those days people would work for 6 days in a week)

This was a WHITE MARBLE temple, with LORD RADHAKRISHNA in its centre flanked by Hanumanji, SiyaRam (I am not sure), Shankar bhagwan and Krishna (I am not sure about this too – apologies if I am wrong)

This was owned by the JK GROUP (yeah the people who own JK TYRE, JK CEMENT etc)

Every saturday, my father would break like 10–16 coconuts to offer it to LORD VENKATESHWARA during his morning puja and we would cut the coconut into small pieces and take it to the temple for distribution. Coconut was called “GARI” in the local HINDI dialect. It became so famous that people would wait for it and everyone would know if we don’t come on one saturday.

My father sometimes would ask me and my brothers to distribute. If questioned, he would say this will train your mind to be A GIVER & NOT A TAKER.

But the best part for me would come later. There used to be an ice cream shop on the way out called VOLGA ICE CREAM.

I am not sure if it was me or my brother who asked for ice cream while returning from the temple one of the saturday’s and it literally became a tradition. We would go there every saturday come rain or shine, summer or winter. I remember even in winters, the guy would keep his shop open waiting for us, just us. No one else would buy ice, creams :).

Then we started going to HANUMAN temple on TUESDAY.

Also, another mandatory temple trip every year would be LORD VENKATESHWARA, TIRUMALA, TIRUPATHI. We would do this trip every summer vacation

This continued till 1996.

My father fell ill in 1997, took VRS moved to Chennai. I had just finished my 12th (it was a disaster). Then I moved to Bangalore to do my Engineering, my local guardian was a 2nd cousin of mine and her husband who stayed in south bangalore.

This sister of mine walk up to a VENKATESHWARA TEMPLE near her house whenever she had any free time. She would ask me to come too whenever I was around. It was a huge 11 feet IDOL and very beautiful.

I also visited TIRUPATI a couple of time during my ENGINEERING. I have also done ANGA-PRADAKSHANAM there (Circum-ambulation of the sanctum-sanctorium by rolling on the ground) with my 2nd brother.

Then my ENGINEEERING FINISHED, I went back to PUNE (my parents had moved there cause they got their FLAT out of the lease). I had to take a years break and then went for my MBA at IMT GHAZIABAD then I went to USA and where do I get my 1st job – Bangalore. This time its the cousin’s younger brother a(nd my best friend from my teenage days) who invites me to come and stay with him. He stays with his father (my periyappa / tauji – he’s a great sanskrit & hindi pundit with double doctorate and also an asthana vidwan of the Sringeri mutt the Kanchi Mutt), mother had passed away a few years ago.

I tried to refuse the offer, thinking I should not be troubling him unnecessarily, but then this cousin of mine asked me “have you started boozing or something, why are you scared to come home otherwise”. So I obliged to the request.

My cousin & I would send a lot of time at his sisters place, standing in her kitchen and eating plate full of food she would prepare for us lovingly whenever we landed at her place after our mall hopping.

So, this again prompted us to go to the same south bangalore TIRUMALAGIRI LAKSHMI VENKATESHWARA temple with her.

My cousin brother got married 1 year later. So my weekends would get boring. So I started a routine of going to this temple every saturday. evening.

2 year later, I lost my 2nd brother out of the blue to natural causes. He was just 34 years old unmarried and healthy.

This cousin brother of mine went into depression.

Once the SUTAK /THEETU period of 1 year was over, I started visiting this temple again (every saturday) now along with my mother who had moved in with me now(from Pune) it was basically to keep her engaged.

I lost my mother 4 years from then. again after the THEETU /SUTAK period of ONE YEAR was over, I started visiting this temple every Saturday.

Just before my mother’s 1st death anniversary, I got to buy my home. Just one/two months after her death anniversary I got to meet my file. 6 months from her 1st death anniversary I got married. 3.5 years from then I became a father.

I don’t think any of it was possible without the blessing of that LORD VENKATESHWARA.

Thing is we think that the IDOL in the temple is just stone, but what we don’t understand and we are not told is that that for all IDOLS in a temple a process called the PRANAPRATHISTHA is done when the idol is consecrated in the temple for the first time. They also put a lot of metal coins under the IDOL / in the foundation on which the idol is placed. This is an elaborate process to WELCOME the deity and ask the deity to stay there (inside the idol). YES THAT HAPPENS!

You can do that with deceased (dead) human beings too. In fact there’s an entire SPACE dedicated to such things by world famous author & filmmaked Richard Martini and his SPACE Hacking The Afterlife

In fact, that’s the procedure for how SHRADH is performed

So, yes there’s a DEITY inside the IDOL and is LISTENING to your prayers

Think about this – do you charge your mobile phone everyday or at least once in 2–3 days if not everyday. Why is there a need to do that, its because the batteries discharge because of usage.

Similarly, our soul also gets discharged because we are constantly busy. So THE TEMPLE is the place where the SOUL RECHARGES. It gets positive energy starting from the SOUND OF THE TEMPLE BELL, to the smell of incense to the AARATHI to the ALANKARAM / decoration to the PRASAD to the THIRTHAM everything is built to infuse & induce positivity into you mind, body & soul.

Otherwise, the soul will deteriorate. What do you think is the reason or increasing anxiety, depression, suicides crimes in the society. Cause we have forgotten to CHARGE OUR SOULS and all negative energy piles up and explodes, one way or the other.

Only GREAT SOUL I know who stayed away from going to any temple after becoming a SANYASI is RAMANA MAHARISHI.

Its said, that he ran off to TIRUANNAMALAI (TAMILNADU) at the age of 16 one day from school to see the holy mountain ARUNACHALESHWAR (LORD SHIVA).

He camped inside the temple for few weeks and once he left he setup his own ashram and never went back. He didn’t have a need to. Cause he saw ARRUNACHALESHWAR in everything around him.

Its like if you are a MOBBILE phone you need to be charged. A NUCLEAR POWER PLANT does not need to be changed isn’t it.

JAYA JAYA SHANKARA HARA HARA SHANKARA!