Malibu Hindu Temple is owned and operated by the Hindu Temple Society of Southern California. The temple's primary devotion is Hindu god, and it is located in southern California in the mountainous region of Santa Monica. The upper complex of the presiding deity, Lord Venkateshwara, and the lower complex of Lord Shiva comprise the Malibu Hindu temple. The key believers are Hindu in the south of California, and it was built in 1981 with typical southern Indian architecture (Narayan 9).
It was necessary to follow the etiquette before entering the temple. Good etiquette and appropriate dress are important in expressing reverence for Hinduism culture (Narayan 9). On pleasant spring dawn in southern California, I walk through the curving roads of Malibu canyon to reach the Malibu Hindu temple. I gently gaze upward and grasp barrel-vaulted roof, with several gold small finials on top. The first sight is the Gopuram at the beginning of courtyard and in the middle is the shrine to the Lord Venkateshwara. The temple and adjacent building were fantastic, beautiful and very ornate. The painting of the temple was white and looking very nice. The temple surrounding was neat and tidy. Due to the fascination of the temple, I do remove my camera to take few pictures. As I go on with photographing the exterior of the temple and grounds, one devotee whispers to me that all the place are permissible but no taking picture inside the shrines. I could hear priest chatting at a distance in a white and red sash. According to the literature, I have always read that during the prayers hours, devotees do not ask questions. And so, I was not to ready to clash the norms of the temple. When I look to the front, there were sociable priests on the temple ground, who live and go about their daily activities. The priests devotes to the deities of the temples during the day and do not interact with guests unless visitors pay for specific puja (a prayer service).
As I enter the temple, I walk barefoot on the cold and clean marble floor of the temple complex. Though the soaks are optional, the visitors must remove their shoes at the entrance. There was evidence of the calmness upon entering the Malibu Hindu temple. I could feel the smell of the incense wafts sweetly through the air, introducing me to the temple’s soothing and calming aura. On my left side, I could see most women wearing a colorful Shalwar kameez or saris. Looking at the far end, on my right-hand side, is expansive subterranean room providing a space for the services and elaborate Indian traditional music recitals. An outdoors deck above features, there are more Murtis in an individual’s shrines. I was lucky enough to hear one of the priests who live on the premises chanting in Sanskrit. Similarly, I was able to witness the gifting of the holy water blessing to any worshippers present who desires one. The priest who was leading the prayer that Wednesday in a deity chamber was Samudrala Charyulu Krishnama. Samudrala is among the priests of the Malibu Hindu temple who dedicates their lives to god at the temple. Since there was less activities on Wednesday, coming on Saturday would be a significant addition to my research.
On visiting the temple on Saturday, services were taking place, and worshippers did invite me to stay and watch various activities. In addition, the devotees were willing to answer my questions about the proceeding. The first encounter was the worshippers cracking coconuts to extract the milk that would later be useful in washing deities. In the process of figuring out the way forward, I recognize my old classmate in elementary school by the name Namrata Patel. Patel’s knowledge is that am new to the temple, when she whispers that we will have to take off the shoes and walk barefoot, and also be careful when taking photographs. The statement concurs with previous encounters with other devotees and activities of my last visit. My friends insist I should visit the cafeteria afternoon to taste some Indian food. She claims that the temple kitchens offers food and small shops sell religious books and holy items. Namrata continues to educate me that Hindu beliefs do not accept cow’s leathers such as belts since they are sacred animals.
As I enter the temple, I see alters having fruits and grains in front of other deities. There is chanting of the ancient’s Sanskrit hymns, the ringing of the bells and incensing of scent fills the worship hall. Luckily enough, there is a huge crowd around the temple due to the solemnizing of the marriage getting on in the front of the deity. Priest Samudrala is presenting offering of banana, coconut, and rice, and sprinkling the statues of Krishna and his wife, Radha with holy water. The monk enrobed in toga-like garment could go from one god to next while offering incense, freshwater, prayers and flower petals. Worshippers could follow the monk praying and drawing the smoke in the direction of their faces. The smelling and chanting are soothing around the temples, and one devotee would walk in full circles muttering prayers. The scripture texts in the temple include Bhagavad Gita and Upanishad (Brunn 1408). Additionally, there is emphasizing on the work of Shankaracharya, Sri Ramakrishna, and Swami Vivekananda
During lunchtime, we go to the temple’s cafeteria with Namrata, and worshippers donate a little food. As we go for the afternoon devotion, my friend assures me that it would not be disrespectful to walk with her through the devotional area with all the statues. Even though am nervous, I do not hesitate. I walk with her as she makes circles around sculptures. There were little bowls of water, and she could touch water and then meditate for a while. I cannot remember vividly due to the anxiety, but I think she did reach the water to the base of the statues. She brings a bag of almond iirc, and there was a more massive statue in an alcove where people hands over food to a priest. Priest sing a prayer, then comes and pours water on people’s hand, and then hand some of the food for devotees to eat. According to my friend, protocols for visiting Hindu temples are pretty liberal. The Malibu temple allows one to roam around irrespective of the religion. You should also free to ask the priest or another worshipper any questions that you may have.
As we move out of the temple, Namrata hints me that now I can freely interview the priest. In my two days visits, I notice singing and dancing is part of Malibu Hindu temple cultural programs. Priest Samudrala suggests that the dances enact scenes from Krishna’s life that came to teach a proper code of ethics, protect good people and destroy the wickedness. Samudrala argues that the Hindu lifetime comprises of an interval of a quarter century. The learning takes 25 years and the 25 years involves marriage, family, and children. Consequently, one ought to earn a “title” in the next 25 years and the last 25 years comprise the renunciation; the period is for dedication to worshipping until one dies.
According to the priest, prayer, yoga, and meditation are essential aspects of the daily activities of the Hindus because the practice is the sense of a healthy mind, soul, and body. The birth and rising of the Samudrala was in the priest’s house and he was among priests who could move from Tirupati, India to Malibu Hindu temple. Tirupati is the holding site for the Hindu worshippers due to the capacity of 10000 persons visiting each day from numerous temples (Kumar 77). As the interviews go on, Bhattar, main temple’s priest shows up. Bhattar starts saying that he came to the US from Australia. He further suggests that a typical day of the Hindu’s life begins and ends having god in one’s mind. The priest performs ten common services include bathing of the statues of the goods or goddesses by the name Murtis. Hindu consist of the numerous and diverse beliefs and traditions basing on the societal norms, dharma, and karmas (Oxtoby et al. 42). It prescribes all Hindus worshippers have to follow irrespective of the class or caste such as honesty, purity or self-restraint.
Malibu priest says Radha Krishna is the combination of feminine and masculine sides of the god. Worshipping Ganesha is wide during the start of ceremonies and rituals, as the god of beginning, in the process of worshipping any deity, flowers and coconuts are very crucial. The priest uses them to wash the god during the ceremonies. In Malibu, puja ceremonies happen at the Murtis, while in India, they focus at temples (Oxtoby et al. 34). According to the priest, the conducting of the celebrations in temples can occur without the presence of the priest. The priest notes that there is a similarity in the socials and cultural practices across the place of worship on all Hinduism temples globally.
Priest Samudrala concludes by saying, despite the determination to adhere to the strict traditional schedule of temple rituals, differences arise regarding the daily, weekly and special ceremonies (Kumar 79). For instance, the Tirupati temple, puja for the Venkateshwara occurs at the 3.30 a.m., while at Malibu it happens at 10 a.m. On questioning one devotee who came on regular basis argues that he appreciate the accessibility of the Lord at the Malibu temple. On the weekdays, the temples are open to visitors between 9 a.m. and 12.30 p.m., and also, between 5 and 8 p.m., however, during the winter, the temples close to the public at 7 p.m. and visiting hours are between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Hindu wedding and culture ceremonies are expensive, elaborate, expatiate and propitiate (Brunn 1414). In the ancient times, there was significant divergence by the caste, family and customs’ traditions. Though the world is modernizing, the chief beliefs of Hindu do not change worldwide. On the contrary, the American born and new immigrants tend to embrace the Hinduism culture (Kumar 73).
Works Cited
Brunn, Stanley D., ed. The Changing World Religion Map: Sacred Places, Identities, Practices and Politics. Springer, 2015.
Kumar, Pratap P. Contemporary Hinduism. Routledge, 2014.
Narayan, Uma. Dislocating Cultures: Identities, Traditions, and Third World Feminism. Routledge, 2013.
Oxtoby, Williard G., Roy C. Amore, and Amir Hussain. World Religions: Eastern Traditions. 4th ed., Oxford University Press, 2014.
We will email this sample to you with pleasure!
Type your email