Field Trip for my World Religions Class

Lord Ganesh and Other Faces of God

            After years of ignoring the divine in my life, I am again a devout member of the church I grew up in.  Other than this particular religion, I have not explored other ways of answering the unanswerable, so visiting another sacred space was a huge step out of my comfort zone.  I worried about what to wear, hairstyle, and frankly, I worried about being brave enough to actually show up.  I finally dragged an old friend with me, and I am so glad I did.

            The Sri Ganesha Temple in South Jordan is a small, square building that is easy to overlook in the shadow of the huge, tall Mormon temples in the valley.  Once the road to the temple curves toward the building, the cone makes it obvious which building is sacred.  Strings of colored lights seem out of place to one raised in this predominately Christian society—what are Christmas lights doing on a Hindu temple?  The lights add to the visual appeal of the temple, which is important to devotees of Brahma.

            Immediately inside the temple is space for the earthly activity and government of the religion.  An office, a bulletin board, signs directing visitors where to store shoes all speak to the physical necessities of keeping any group of people organized.  Religions all have some form of government, as religions are full of mortal, imperfect people.  Perhaps humans need physical governance now but will overcome the need for formal organizational structure when enlightenment is reached.

            The temple itself is ornately decorated, colorful, almost overwhelmingly cluttered with visual stimuli.  Red, gold, flowers, statues, paintings—everywhere the eyes fall, there is something to capture the attention.  Icons are surrounded by offerings of all sorts, including money and candy. 

            The smell of incense is pervasive, clinging to clothes and hair even after leaving the temple.  To an American woman, accustomed to smelling nothing but cleaning products and filtered air, the strong scent can feel overpowering.  It is not unpleasant, however, and definitely strengthens the impression that this is a holy space, set apart from the regular world.

            The shrine of Lord Ganesh is set apart by stairs and walls.  The regular folk among the devotees do not enter or touch the shrine.  The priest has been trained and taught and is now worthy to enter the shrine, making offerings and chanting to the Lord in behalf of the followers.  The chanting in an unknown language, along with ringing bells, fills the ears. 

            At the feet of Lord Ganesh are bowls of fruit and nuts, given as an offering to God.  These offerings may be given to devotees by the priest, allowing them to taste the food intended to persuade the Lord to treat the humans favorably.

            Fire is also offered to Lord Ganesh, and the priest then offers a plate of fire to devotees wishing a blessing.  They pass their hands through the heat of the flame, then cup hands over the face or head, bringing the heat toward the body and allowing the smoke to rise carrying messages to God.

            Everything in the temple and the service is designed to engage the senses and focus the mind.  Sight, smell, sound, taste, and touch are all drawn to God, aiding in focusing the mind and leaving the outside world behind.  Keeping all five senses busy helps prevent wandering minds and daydreaming.

            This is opposite my own religion, where distractions are removed as much as possible, keeping the surrounding space calm and bland so as to allow the congregants to focus their minds on God.  Two distinctly opposing methods have the same goal—to focus the mind and bring thoughts to God.  The differences are more similar than I had thought.

            I was fascinated to learn the Buddha was a Hindu.  In fact, the Buddha is a manifestation of the Hindu God.  Disparate religions arising from the same root or stemming from other religions is not unusual to me.  Christians, Jews, and Muslims all look to Father Abraham as a presiding leader in their religions.  Why not Hindis and Buddhists looking to the same gurus in their religions?

            I am intrigued by the sacred spaces of religions not my own.  I am interested to explore the means of focusing thoughts in further field trips, and perhaps finding more similarities to than differences from my own beliefs.