Sri Meenakshi Temple in Madurai, Tamil Nadu
Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India
Hotel Northgate, room 308
Sri Meenakshi Temple in Madurai, Tamil Nadu
I finally changed back today from a non-tourist to a tourist. I made it to Sri Meenakshi Temple, the principle tourist site in Madurai.
The temple was not what I expected. Within the gopura gates, I imagined an open courtyard with temple buildings scattered about. Instead, the temple is a covered stone labyrinth of corridors leading to dozens of temples. It is hard to believe that it was built five hundred years ago yet it is still a fully intact, very large building.
Temples are used for worship, so they are not really historical sites in India. Rather, they are part of a continuum of the existence of the temple. The temple has been used continuously for centuries for its original purpose, as a place of worship. Hindus do not think of them as historical; rather, they are a living part of their religious practice.
Every few minutes I am approached by a beggar in the temple. They point to their mouth and stomach and ask me in English for money. I smile, press my hands together in front of my chest, and am suddenly rendered into a completely stupid person. For some reason I cannot understand what they want: perhaps I am deaf; perhaps I don't understand their English. I am suddenly a stupid foreigner. This is the way I like best for handling beggars; playing extremely dumb. They seem to give up the quickest when I act like that. The beggars in the temple do fine for money; there is a steady supply of Indians and foreigners alike who give them money, so I don't feel guilty about not reaching in my pocket every five minutes. I would be bothered twice as much by the other beggars if I were seen handing out money.
I first had a glimpse of understanding of the fervor of Hinduism at the Temple of the Rats near Bikaner. Everyone rushed forward to have flames from an oil lamp waved in front of their hands, and to receive some of the holy food from the temple. I did not have an idea of the intensity of the religious beliefs of Hindus until that moment.
I do not understand Hinduism on an intellectual level. The worship of so many stone idols does not make sense rationally. The closest I can come to identify with it is to compare it to the canon of Catholic saints. I had a reverence for certain saints who seemed to have a lived a virtuous life. However, I never identified with the devotion that fervent believers worshiped Catholic saints, so the parallel with Hindu gods only carries me so far.
However, if I look at statues of Hindu Gods on a level other than intellectual, I see something. They are very vivid images. On a subconscious, symbolic, visceral level they make a deep impression. On a non-intellectual level, they are very powerful: human and animal figures that appeal to deep within the psyche. I identify with their incarnation of human feelings - love, anger, strength, desire. They appeal on a subconscious, perhaps Jungian, level, to the symbols that underlie all human consciousness. I can see how humans could worship such symbolism.
Instead of one story, like Christianity, they tell a thousand stories; and there are a thousand Hindu gods. So they also appeal to a person's need for story, for narrative.
Sri Meenakshi Temple in Madurai, Tamil Nadu
