Importance of Temples by Swami Chinmayananda

[Excerpts from commentaries, letters and articles written by Swami Chinmayananda]

God, the Lord, is All-pervading, but to invoke Him, we need an Altar. Even though Narayana pervades everywhere, He can be directly contacted in a temple. The Temple is a place conducive to ‘fine-tuning’ your mental equipment in order to receive the Divine Message.

Monuments to inspire generations

In every country, it is a general practice to have monuments that represent great national heroes. These monuments act as reminders and inspire the generations to live up to the ideals set by these heroes. 

Since ours is a spiritual culture, drawing sustenance and strength from the spiritual ideals lived and demonstrated by the avataras, it is our tradition to preserve and cherish the sacred idols of avataras in TEMPLES, for the idols represent the ideals they lived. TEMPLES served as holy halls of retreat for the masses. Their architecture provided an effective medium where the creative arts were fostered, and education for the cultural revival of the country was made available.

As a devotee visits a temple and, in the true spirit of devotion, kindled by the epics and Puranas, is inspired by the vision of the idol, he feels a thrill of joy and inner peace in spite of the prevailing tensions around. It need hardly be emphasized how much more temples are necessary these days. 

They would serve as “speed-breakers” to soften our hectic blind rush forward in life. They would also serve as sources of inspiration and solace during times of depression and disappointment, which are mostly beyond our control. Building temples was, therefore, considered a sacred activity in ancient times, as sacred as any other community service.

Monuments of our culture

Temples are the monuments of our Culture. They are social centres that must become places of cultural revival. A temple is a place of reverence (Sangam) where the love of the mind and respect of the intellect (Ganga and Jamuna) join together. 

Temples should function as the very heart of the community, responding most sensitively to society’s changing needs. In the past, the “Houses of God” stood as intelligent guards protecting the community’s needs. Therefore, they were extremely respected, revered, and devotedly served by the grateful community members. 

Their love, care, and enormous sacrifice in building these edifices of beauty and grandeur eloquently speak volumes of their loyalty and gratitude. These are to be generated in their hearts by the secular and sacred service rendered by the temples.

Growing glory of divine presence

A Temple becomes famous not because of its elaborate architectural beauty or dimensions. When a large number of devotees continue to visit year after year, day by day, the center gathers a growing glory of divine presence. 

Within a community, such temples declare the beauty and culture possessed by the society. Temples are where large masses of people congregate and thereby develop a RHYTHM, at once loving and divine, in their thoughts and actions. 

For centuries, temples and worship of the Deities held Hindu society together, providing a common bond of love and devotion and creating a great sense of pride and brotherhood among them. Temples are community inspiration centres from which spiritual ideas and thoughts are spread out into the community.

Idol-worship

To revive a true interest in the Temples, we must gain a clearer understanding of the significance of their “Divine Representations” (Deities) and how each one suggests an aspect of the Infinite Self within. 

No piece of stone in any temple can provide for the devotee his life’s goal of achieving happiness and peace. But, without an idol, self-improvement ‘is impossible’. The method of superimposing a meaning upon an object is the technique called IDOL-WORSHIP. 

The idol is the means; self-discovery is the goal. To confuse the means with the goal is the Grand Trunk Road leading to sorrow. The idol serves the spiritual aspirant as a springboard to heave himself out of samsara and plunge into himself. 

The IDOLS in temples are to remind the devotee of the IDEAL, the Supreme. To the earnest devotee, the idol appears as a living embodiment of his Lord. All “poojas” are techniques by which you learn the art of putting the mind where the hand is working. However, it is necessary to remember that the idol is NOT God but represents God.

A place to discipline the mind

TEMPLES are only places to discipline one’s mind. The mind must be perfectly tuned to receive the message of the Divine. Temple visits and worship should elevate the seeker’s mind and help him keep it on a higher plane. 

A temple successfully fulfils itself in a “bhakta” when he comes to inquire about the nature of Godhood, his nature, the structure of the world, and the relationship between these three. 

At “this” moment, the integrated personality of the “bhakta,” though physically standing in front of the “sanctum sanctorum,” has grown to such a stature that he no longer can be contained within the confines of any Gopuram….

A mental gymnasium

Just as a gymnasium is for the science of health, the temple is for the science of Reality. Temples are gymnasiums for the mind. You have to go there and apply your mind to it. Remember that it is a mental gymnasium. Surrender the mind in devotion unto Him. He will purify it and return it to you immediately. You must go to the temple and tune up yourself in order to get the message of the Divine.

In India, we don’t build a temple because we have money or we can collect money. It is always ordered or commanded by an Acharya. When an Acharya decides what deity or deities should be installed in the temple, thereafter, there is no difference of opinion amongst the public. 

The community members build temples through a temple-building committee. But every such temple committee fulfills the wishes of a Guru or of an Acharya. 

The Guru accepts the plan, sanctions the administrative setup, decides upon the altar to be raised, and generally lays down the tradition to be followed by that DEVASTHANA. He watches over its conduct and appoints one or two of his people to the Executive Committee to be his eyes and ears in the day-to-day affairs and conduct of the temple.

A center for love

COMMUNAL SHRINES must be maintained with love and dignity by all the members of the local communities. In an atmosphere of love and discipline, members must come to pray, sing, and discover solutions. 

The place must be buzzing with activities all through the week. Teach our growing children to dance and music, using different rhythmic and melodic instruments. We can have classes in our vernacular. CHYKs, Balavihars, and Devi Groups can meet on various days at various times. Drama can be taught to BV and CHYK members.

Religion brings out the best in man by helping him shed his animal passions, which have lingered in his mind and have evolved through the animal stage. This self-purification is gained through everyone’s devotion to the Lord, through meeting and interacting in a common place like a TEMPLE, which serves more than the modern concept of a community Hall. 

Temple has to serve as a total school for growing children. MAY WE USE THE TEMPLE IN THE CREATIVE FIELDS OF MOULDING THE CHILDREN AND THE YOUTH OF OUR COUNTRY.