Today after visiting a different KV school, we went to Lotus Temple and Iskcon. Both are temples but of different religions. Lotus Temple is a Baha'i House of Worship. The Baha'i religion invites people of all religions and races to worship the Creator of the Universe and to express the love between God and man. Everyone is welcome to pray at the temple. Poonam (our host), Jen, and I visited this afternoon and were struck by the beautiful architecture of the building: the structure looks like a lotus! When you enter the temple you must take off your shoes and be silent. There are ivory benches to sit on where people pray. It is a very peaceful place.
After we left the temple, we were taking pictures outside the temple and came across an Indian family who wanted to take pictures with Jen and me! (I think because they don't see many tall, white, blonde-haired Americans). I felt like a celebrity! Suddenly a crowd surrounded us and everyone was getting pictures with us. My cheeks hurt from smiling so much.
After visiting Lotus Temple, we went to Iskcon, a Hindu temple. ISKCON is short for International Society for Krishna Consciousness. People come to worship Krishna and sing the Hare Krishna mantra. When we arrived, we were lucky enough to witness a service with the Pandits (priests). First we had to take off our shoes and wash our feet and hands before entering the temple. Right outside the temple was a statue of Sri Garuda Deva. When you enter into the temple, there are brightly colored pictures on each wall with three gold doors at the front of the temple. When the service began, the Pandits came out of the curtains and rang bells, sang, fanned the statues, and put sweet-smelling flowers on each statue. Another Pandit went to a table off stage and began making Panchamrita, which is a mixture of milk, honey, sugar. Followers cup their hands and the Pandit pours the Holy water into their hands for them to drink. The length of each service is up to the individual: some people stay in the temple for an hour or more, other people spend less time praying. Most Hindus visit temple on Saturday or Sunday to worship.
One last note about Hinduism: since many people practice this religion in India, it is impossible to find beef in the form of a hamburger, etc. All hamburgers are buffalo meat. This is because in the Veda (the Hindu Scripture) the cow is considered the mother of all mankind by providing milk to people. Since the cow is a sacred animal, it is unthought of to slaughter this animal for food.
I hope you learned something about Indian religions! These are just two of the religions that make up the diversity of the Indian people. Sikhs, Jains, Christians, and Buddhists are also represented in this diverse, but unified country!