On Friday as we were walking home from yoga, one of the yoga teachers came out of the yoga centre and asked us if we wanted to come see a new temple which was just opening. The teacher said that it was the third and final day of celebration and the official opening. When we arrived in the large temple we realised that there were more than 1000 people attending. Because 1000 people couldn’t fit in the temple there was a great, massive pavilion. We looked around a while as we waited for the main temple to empty a bit because there must have been three-hundred people in the main room. The yoga teacher showed us around while we were waiting. He showed us the fire and how many times you needed to walk around it. It is one of the amazing things about Hinduism, that instead of being annoyed if you go into their temples, they are happy that you join in their rituals because they think it is respectful. When the temple began to empty, we went inside and looked around. Everyone was leaving as they began walking down the road carrying coconut offerings. We rang a large bell and our yoga teacher explained that the bell would create a vibration to alert the gods that we were there. Then a priest handed us a coconut offering and we joined the procession with the coconuts in beakers on our heads. As we walked our teacher explained that the walk was to pay respect to the gods. So we were walking along the road barefoot with coconuts on our heads and cars behind us honking to get past. As I said before, it was amazing that people just smiled instead of shoving us from the procession. When we got back our teacher told us that we had done something for the gods and now they would look out for us.
It was an unforgettable experience.
P.S. Sorry that there aren’t any pictures.
The Suttonses in Bangalore 