Sri Ganesha Hindu Temple of Utah

(All photos courtesy of the website for the Sri Ganesha Hindu Temple of Utah)

Last Thursday, I had the opportunity to visit the Sri Ganesha Hindu Temple of Utah as part of the 2020 SLC Interfaith Roundtable Events. The evening consisted of observing a prayer ritual to the deity Dakshinamurthy in the main prayer space, followed by a brief dance performance in a cultural auditorium and then a short discussion and Q&A with leaders of the Hindu temple regarding Hindu beliefs. My knowledge of Hindu beliefs is extremely limited, so I was excited for a chance to gain additional insights and perspectives from my Hindu neighbors.

Pooja - Prayer Ritual

When I walked into the temple, I was greeted warmly and instructed to remove my footwear before entering the temple prayer space.  Coming from a Western, Christian background, walking into this space seemed very much like stepping into a foreign country - more specifically, India.  The prayer space itself (pictured above) was a big open room with a simple tile floor and on the walls were various sanctums to different aspects of Hindu deity.  The largest one in the back of the room was of the Hindu deity Ganesha, which is a deity with an elephant head, one of the most prominent among the Hindu deity and the namesake for the temple in Utah.  Ganesha is seen as the remover of obstacles, patron of arts and sciences and deva of intellect and wisdom.

On this particular evening, one of the priests was leading a pooja - or prayer ritual - to the deity of Dakshinamurthy. an aspect of the deity Shiva as a guru/teacher of wisdom.  The prayer ritual consisted of about 20 individuals or so seated on the floor chanting a mantra for the deity. The group was led by a Hindu priest who seemed to be guiding the chanting.  (Refer to this Youtube video for an accurate representation of the chanting I observed)  The statue was initially without any of the ornate decorations shown in the picture above.  

The priest anointed the statue by pouring various things directly onto its head, such as milk and coconut water as well as offering fruit such as bananas (There is apparently a drain below each statue to absorb the liquids). After a while, a curtain was brought to block the view of the statue from the participants while the priest cleaned the statue and re-decorated it in the ornate decorations, very similar to as pictured above. The deity was then revealed and chanting resumed as the priest waved a small flame in front of the deity.  A small milk cap with some sort of cream was passed among the participants who each rubbed a small portion of the cream on their foreheads.

At first, I just observed the worship from a distance and looked around the room at the other deities. There were a few other individuals who seemed to be offering their own personal devotion to separate aspects of deity. I was told that I was welcome to sit with the participants of the prayer ritual, so I sat down toward the back.  At one point the priest came around and sprinkled water on everyone, including me, which caught be a bit off guard. 

Overall, I felt fortunate to have been invited to participate with them in their worship.  While I did not understand the words being chanted and this form of worship was completely foreign to me, I felt a sense of reverence and awe for their beautiful form of personal devotion.  I caught a glimpse of how such meditative chanting can help someone truly lose themselves in the worship and come away with a renewed focus and determination in everyday life.

Polytheism

Perhaps one of the greatest criticism that Hinduism faces from the West is their belief in multiple deities. Indeed, Hinduism is said to have as many as 33 million gods - many of which are different aspects and incarnations of the same deities.  One of the leaders of the temple explained this using an example of a parent who plays many different roles, each of which is a manifestation of the same being.  In his example, a father may at times be a provider, a protector, a disciplinarian, or a giver of consolation and comfort.  Similarly, with Hindu deity, all represent different aspects or manifestations of deity that we can relate to in different ways through different points in our lives.  The main three deity of Hinduism are Brahma (the creator), Shiva (the destroyer - as in destroyer of ego or destroyer of evil), and Vishnu (the preserver) - all of which are seen as manifestations of Brahman, or the ultimate reality underlying all phenomena. God is seen in Hinduism to be manifest in all things, or in other words that all things are a manifestation of God.  And if all things are a manifestation of God, then this promotes an attitude of peaceful co-existence, because to harm others would then be to harm God.  And if each individual is a manifestation of God, harming others is really harming yourself.

While Christianity diverges from Hinduism on the beliefs in multiple deities (beyond the Trinity or members of the Godhead), it ultimately does not seem that different than the belief that God manifests himself in different roles - the Creator, the Father, the Provider, the Deliverer, the Redeemer, the Savior, the Judge, and the Comforter.

I don't know that I personally believe in any of the specific traditional representations or images of God from Hinduism, Christianity, or any of the other pantheons of gods. But I see a great deal of beauty in seeing all beings as manifestations of the divine.  We are all in a sense, the "creator," the "destroyer" and the "preserver" of our own lives. And we are all interconnected in meaningful ways and ultimately, I support any belief system that promotes awareness and love for others and discourages discrimination and division.

Idol Worship

Another criticism Hinduism faces is idol worship. Hinduism uses physical objects such as statues representing various deities in their personal devotion and worship. The leaders of the Sri Ganesha temple explained that the prayer ritual I observed represented inviting the deity to be present with them through the anointing of the statue with various items, welcoming the deity, conversing with the deity about their struggles, and wishing the deity well as the deity departs. In the case of the prayer ritual to Dakshinamurthy that I observed, this is inviting wisdom and learning and the dispelling of ignorance from our lives. When the priest waved a candle in front of the newly revealed, decorated deity, each of the participants seemed to extend their arms toward the light and then gesture as if pulling the light into themselves. 

The statue itself used as the tangible object for devotion is a sanctuary where the deity may come to dwell but is not in itself seen as the actual deity.  One of the leaders pointed out that at the end of certain worship ceremonies, the statue used is discarded or thrown away as a reminder that the statue is merely a representation of deity and a place where deity may come to dwell but it is the deity being revered in the ceremony - not the statue.

Christian traditions vary from many Eastern traditions in their form of devotion and the use of tangible objects of devotion. Christian traditions do not often worship with physical statues of deity, but they do build beautiful, spacious, ornate buildings and decorate them with the finest materials and artist renditions of God in the form of paintings, mosaics, crosses, or statutes. Most Christian traditions also use tangible objects such as bread and wine which, depending on the belief system, either physically become or are representations of the broken body and blood of Jesus. 

All of these physical items are means of inviting deity to be a part of our lives - inviting further light into our lives.

Other commentary and final thoughts

After observing the prayer ritual and then a few traditional Hindu dances performed by a few members of their community, one of the leaders of the temple shared some general explanations on Hinduism, the rituals observed and common questions they get.  Much of what I've written above comes from explanations they provided during this time.

I found a few additional comments they made to be interesting.

First was that one of the men explained that the nickname "Hindu" is not technically accurate. The term "Hindu" was a derivation of Sindhu, a local name for the Indus River in the north-west of India. "Hindu" does not appear in the Vedic texts (scriptures). So they are technically "Followers of [some words in another language I didn't catch apparently meaning ancient Vedic wisdom]." I couldn't help but draw certain parallels to the faith tradition of my upbringing and how "Mormon" is just a nickname, but the more proper term is "members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."

The second interesting comment was that Hinduism is the only major religion to worship female or feminine aspects of deities.

The third interesting comment was on a Vedic text which indicates that there are four people we must come to love in life - mother, father, guru (teacher), and guest - and if your enemy were to knock on your door in need, he is to be treated with the hospitality you should offer to any invited guest.

The last interesting commentary was really a series of comments on how Hinduism was not just based on some crazy stories but supported by archaeological and scientific proof for their claims, such as carbon-14 dating on a sunken city or Dwarka built by Lord Krishna (eight incarnation of Vishnu). He also spoke of how Hindus have always known more about astronomy than the rest of the world (such as the Earth being round) and the science is slowly catching up to their understanding of the universe. He talked something on how the position of Jupiter influences the patterns on tree rings on Earth.  And then there was a discussion on the sacredness of cows and how the US pharmaceutical industry is finally becoming aware of the medicinal value of cow dung and cow urine (See here for one actual such study).  

What I drew from these final comments is that the main drivers in our worldviews and beliefs are how and where we were raised and the frameworks we were given to interpret our experiences in the world.  Each religion, political party or other faction seems to have their own set of facts and evidences that "definitively prove" their view or "definitively prove" that the other's view is false. Despite our best intentions, we can and do selectively choose which evidence to look at and which to ignore. I think, however, that as we try to consciously make efforts to break down the barriers of "us vs them" and the need to always be right, we have so much that we can learn from those with different perspectives, including those perspectives that we disagree with and may conflict with our current worldviews. 

Final Thoughts

One man I talked to described Hinduism as more than just a belief system or set of teachings but that Hinduism is "a way of life" - one that is different and personalized for each member of the community.  

As I drove home, I found it interesting to turn off of "Hindu Temple Lane" and then shortly thereafter turn onto "Temple Drive" (1300 West), named after the Jordan River LDS temple (the two temples are less than a mile apart). As I passed in front of the LDS temple, I thought of how very different the rituals being performed there were to what I had just observed, but how the intent and purpose was the same - to invite more light into our lives. While my shifts in beliefs dictate that I will never again be welcome in the LDS temple, I am grateful for many of the lessons I learned from the "way of life" of my upbringing that I carry with me in many ways as I explore other ways of life. I feel fortunate to have caught a brief glimpse of another such "way of life" at the Sri Ganesha temple this last week that adds to and enriches my own understanding of the world.