CandyQane
Visiting a Hindu Temple? 6 Things You Should Be Aware of Beforehand
- June 8, 2020
- , 10:51 pm
- , Travel
Hey Y’all!
Now I know what you’re thinking, “why would you be going to a Hindu temple if you’re not Hindu?” And you’re right, I’m not going there for worship, but I have always been intrigued by religions outside of Christianity, and it certainly doesn’t hurt that architecturally, the temple is a sight to behold.
So what was it like? Well I’m glad you asked…
While vacationing in England, I was looking into what activity to do for the day when I set my sights on a picture of the Hindu temple and it piqued my interest. So one mid afternoon, my friends and I decided to go see it in person. We had no clue where we were going. We actually got lost on the way there because public transportation, at least from the direction in which we started our journey, didn’t stop exactly outside of the temple. So after approximately 20 minutes of bobbing and weaving through traffic and alleyways (no exaggeration- lets just say Google Maps can’t always be trusted), we could see the promised land ahead.
Hindu temples are referred to as Mandir. Baps Shri Swaminarayan Mandir is nestled in a small town in Neasden, London. As a matter of fact, Neasden is a suburban area outside of the city, which hides itself from tourists.
Take Note
1. Admission into the temple is free of charge.
2. If you are 16 years of age or under, you must make sure that you are accompanied by an adult or else you will be denied entry.
3. It is important to note that food, drinks, bags larger than a wallet, phones and cameras are prohibited inside and will be confiscated before entering the building.
4. You’d also be surprised to know that if you are chewing gum, you will be demanded to spit it out as chewing gum in the temple is a sign of disrespect.
5. Additionally, as one might suspect, they have a very strict dress code. If what you’re wearing doesn’t fit into their guidelines, you will be given a wrap to cover the necessary area(s). We found this out the hard way which resulted in one of my friends being given the wrap due to her skirt not being long enough to fully cover her knees.
6. Because it is a sacred space, shoes aren’t to be worn within the building.
After our belongings were safely stowed away, we were handed a ticket (sort of like the ones provided at coat check), and cleared to enter the temple.
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As soon as we stepped foot into the entrance, we noticed a room on the left side containing numerous cubbyholes for visitors to leave our shoes. At first, I wasn’t so keen on taking off my shoes to walk barefoot, but the temple was impeccably clean- which eased my mind. Inside, we found numerous rooms dedicated to worship, each more beautiful than the next. One significant feature to note is that each room was filled with so much character through their use of color. It was then explained that Hindu temples are extremely colorful not because of design preference but because of many different reasons- one of which, is that it helps to keep a person cheerful. Once we were satisfied with our self guided tour throughout the temple, we reclaimed our shoes, collected our belongings by the front gate where we initially entered the premises and proceeded to wander the grounds.
During our visit, we were made aware that there were 1200 exact replicas of the mandir across the globe. We were also told that if we thought this temple was a beauty, we should definitely try to go to Robbinsville, New Jersey as there we would find the largest and most grandeur Hindu temple the world has to offer.
Strolling through the grounds was therapeutic because not only did it turn out to be a beautiful day (it had rained earlier), but the atmosphere was incredibly peaceful, which in part, lends itself to the spectacular views, and the sounds of the water surrounding the temple along with the chitter chatter of birds in the distance. It was as if my friends and I were relaxing in our very spacious and well manicured backyard as there wasn’t a crowd of people to distract us from the beauty that was within those gates and it left us alone with each other and our thoughts.
Whether or not visiting a Hindu temple is on your list of places to go, I say do it. You don’t have to convert religions, but you may very well end up enjoying your experience.
As usual, thanks for taking the time to check in with me.
Xoxo,
CandyQane 💕