I don't often visit temples. But when I have an opportunity to, I'll normally do so. I'll go in quietly, sit at the back on a chair, and just be there for a while. I'll observe what people do. I may not always understand everything I see them doing, but then I don't need to know why they do it, as I'm not a member of the club. I don't believe what they believe. I'm just sitting in their place of worship and prayer, and feeling a sense of presence that can come from that.
I went to a Hindu/Hare Krishna Temple today, which is not far from where I live. I saw many images of their deities, all dressed in bright gaudy colours, many with glittering flashing lights around them. People seemed to do a lot of touching, pouring water over objects, ringing the bell hanging from the ceiling. People brought offerings and wanted them blessed, which always resulted in some of what they’d brought being given back to them. I have always had no need for such practices. But I felt welcome to be there, as long as I showed my respect, and in this case, removed my footwear, which I have no problem doing. I had chosen to have my head covered the whole time, with something that looks like a cross between something Jewish and something Muslim.
I went into a Sikh Temple after this, and where there was food being given out to anyone who went up for it. People had tied scarves made of nylon around their head in a kind of temporary symbolic resemblance of a turban I suppose. I did see one woman wearing the hood of her jacket as her covering, but everyone had their head covered with something, which seemed to be the most important aspect.
After I’d finished my food somebody came over to tell me that I wasn't allowed to be there wearing what I had on my head. I had to wear a bit of nylon instead. I nodded politely at this without saying a word.
And that for me is religion; making something essentially meaningless, important.
I was a visitor. I'd covered my head, just as I would if entering a synagogue, a mosque, or any other house of God. And yet the material my covering is made from surely shouldn't be an issue should it? It did make me smile a bit that someone would be so affected by what it was made from as to actually make me feel that all are not welcome, unless they are prepared to wear the right hat.
Well… that's okay, I don't need to. I was just looking. The food was nice though.
This is not a criticism of how they choose to do it. What they believe is what they believe, and they have a right to believe it. I may not feel the same way, but then I'm not there trying to be accepted into the club.
Compared to how I feel when in nature; sitting still, listening to the birds, watching the squirrels, doing my own thing. It's so much more accepting. That's my kind of temple, and in this temple, a hat is just a head covering, and always acceptable, no matter what it’s made from.
I went to a Hindu/Hare Krishna Temple today, which is not far from where I live. I saw many images of their deities, all dressed in bright gaudy colours, many with glittering flashing lights around them. People seemed to do a lot of touching, pouring water over objects, ringing the bell hanging from the ceiling. People brought offerings and wanted them blessed, which always resulted in some of what they’d brought being given back to them. I have always had no need for such practices. But I felt welcome to be there, as long as I showed my respect, and in this case, removed my footwear, which I have no problem doing. I had chosen to have my head covered the whole time, with something that looks like a cross between something Jewish and something Muslim.
I went into a Sikh Temple after this, and where there was food being given out to anyone who went up for it. People had tied scarves made of nylon around their head in a kind of temporary symbolic resemblance of a turban I suppose. I did see one woman wearing the hood of her jacket as her covering, but everyone had their head covered with something, which seemed to be the most important aspect.
After I’d finished my food somebody came over to tell me that I wasn't allowed to be there wearing what I had on my head. I had to wear a bit of nylon instead. I nodded politely at this without saying a word.
And that for me is religion; making something essentially meaningless, important.
I was a visitor. I'd covered my head, just as I would if entering a synagogue, a mosque, or any other house of God. And yet the material my covering is made from surely shouldn't be an issue should it? It did make me smile a bit that someone would be so affected by what it was made from as to actually make me feel that all are not welcome, unless they are prepared to wear the right hat.
Well… that's okay, I don't need to. I was just looking. The food was nice though.
This is not a criticism of how they choose to do it. What they believe is what they believe, and they have a right to believe it. I may not feel the same way, but then I'm not there trying to be accepted into the club.
Compared to how I feel when in nature; sitting still, listening to the birds, watching the squirrels, doing my own thing. It's so much more accepting. That's my kind of temple, and in this temple, a hat is just a head covering, and always acceptable, no matter what it’s made from.
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