Holy Culture!!

Hinduism is a religion dating back as far as 2000 BC (no, that is not a typo!)... in a country where civilization dates back as far as 7000 BC. Christopher Columbus arrived on the scene in America more than 8000 years later!!! So here's a place with some serious history. Nearly 85% of India's population practice Hinduism, with the remaining 15% mixed of Catholic and Muslim.

Our driver, Harish, has been eager to take us to a temple in the city so we can learn more about his religion. Schools and businesses were closed this week in observance of Mahatma Gandhi's birthday, so it seemed like a good time to check out a temple.

Harish took us to the Iskcon Temple... an amazing temple built on 8 acres in the middle of the city. We parked the car, took off our shoes (bare feet only on the temple grounds!) and headed up to the entrance. Cameras are not permitted, but I did have my cell phone (shhhhh!) and snapped a few pictures when I could. Here you see Harish and Andrew, hand in hand, walking up to the temple...

Just the sight of them walking barefoot, Harish so proud to be giving us this introduction to his sacred world, was terrific.

The outside of the temple complex is quite impressive...

After a thorough security screening (including an in-tent pat down and airport type scanning equipment)... we were inside the complex.

A 150 rupee donation (about $4 US) got our whole group a pass which is basically a fastpass, allowing us to bypass the throngs of worshipers waiting in long lines to enter the temple. As if we did not stand out enough already!

The kids were enamoured by the entire experience. Seeing this worship up close, being part of it, really took your breath away. Check out the murals painted on the ceilings. The camera phone does not do it justice at all! By the way... the things that look gold, are GOLD! WOW! We got our own private Puja (which means daily worship) and were completely included in all of the rituals. Of course, we certainly did not blend... in fact we were asked by many people "Which country?" One of the high priests gave us his "card" and told us to give him a call on his "mobile" to set up a private tour of the temple. I thought Harish would fall over. Anyway we plan to do that when my Mom comes to visit!

It was on this day that nearly 200 worshipers at a temple in another city in India were killed in a stampede. This happens often in India, where the sheer volume of people just gets impossible to manage safely. Still, it was probably our favorite day in India so far. Taylor turned to me at one point and said, "Mom, this is actually so exciting!" It was not as if we were tourists at all, it was like we were inside a National Geographic photo.