The Swami Narayan Experience
The Swami Narayan Temple in Stafford gave an instant feeling of opulence and grandeur at least at first sight. I actually missed bringing my camera along as the light was perfect and the marble-carved outline of the temple complete with fluttering pennants made a pretty picture. It was a welcome change from the South Indian style temples that have tall gopurams that no one walks under (the entrance is always through some side door). But when something looks too good to be true, it usually isn’t. The separation of men and women for removing the footwear should have rung a bell or two.
But the height of it all came when men and women were separated by a velvet rope during the aarti. I kicked myself later for not walking out then but not having been to the Swami Narayan temple before, I was curious to see who resided behind those closed doors. I was disappointed to find out that ordinary swamis are worshipped in this temple and frankly I am no fan for god-men. There might be a case made for those who worship other ‘gods’ that they after all exist in human form as well e.g. Ram, Krishna, and to an extent Ganpati. But personally, these ‘gods’ are merely human forms that manifest certain qualities that we worship and as long as you do not literally worship these ‘gods’, you can be excused for giving in to the ‘god delusion’.
But praying to swamis and god-men is something that me and the rest of my family cannot digest and I might add that the rest of my family is much-more god-friendly that I am lately. To me, these individuals may have proven to be spiritual gurus for certain people who had the fortune of being wealthy and influential. Perhaps these ‘swamis may not have even preferred the temples that are built in their name but now they exist and they have literally replaced gods. But I guess, to each his own and of course, I will exercise my displeasure by never visiting the temple again. To make matters simple, the temple seemed to actively support gender discrimination that I vehemently oppose. It is an aspect of Hindu religion that I have always disagreed with and thankfully, in most temples that I have visited it doesn’t exist. So the temples that choose to indulge in Middle-Age behavior will not receive my respect. And that’s that.
“The Swami Narayan Experience” [Short URL: http://www.ipatrix.com/?p=1731] was published Monday, November 27th, 2006 at 3:49 pm by Patrix, filed under Religion, and tagged as cult, discrimination, Hinduism, Houston, Religion, sect, Stafford, swaminarayan, temple, women. Both comments and linkbacks are closed.
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The temple priests from the sect aren’t allowed to go near women, so that murti worship remains “pure.”
3 years ago replyI marvel at the workmanship of the London temple and like the food in the cafe, but these issues really disturb me. I haven’t seen men and women being separated during an arti, but maybe it’s because I’ve been at the wrong time.
The swaminarayan temple that I have been to did not seperate the men and women. It probably must have been
3 years ago replya divider so that people stand on either side of the rope
and get a good view of the lord and the aarti.
MumbaiGirl, actually I too was quite impressed with the temple structure and its intricate although mechanical carvings but the whole gender discrimination put me off and am afraid, I can’t return.
Bloghopper, Nope! In fact, there was an explicit sign that said that women are not allowed beyond that point when the aarti is in progress. Saw that as we were departing.
3 years ago replyI fully agree with Patrix. Hinduism is not far behind Islam in Gender discrimination. And , the priests, less said the better. Swamis and gurus are the greatest fraud played on the Hindus. Pity even in 2006 people believe in these gurus. I feel sometimes that Hindus are the most week minded.
3 years ago replyThat’s very strange! The only temple I visit is the one in Bridgewater in NJ, and there’s no divider between men and women…but I agree with you, praying to god-men doesn’t strike my fancy either.
3 years ago replyKumar, Hindus may not be the most ‘week minded’ (sic) but like in any religion, we have our share of nuts. Since there are so many of us (Hindus), the proportion of nuts is going to higher too. The reverence of swamis and gurus start off on a note of respect for being spiritual leaders but then gradually transcend into worship. That is the part I am uncomfortable with.
Vi, is the Bridgewater temple a Swami Narayan Temple? The divider between men and women is put up during aarti times only, I guess.
3 years ago replyI think it is beauty of Hinduism that God-class is not exclusively defined. Good human beings, be it Rama, Krishna, Sai Baba, or MK Gandhi, can be considered by gods by their followers and still there is no retribution. It is in resonance with the basic philosophy that everything is manifestation of God, and He and His forms are not separate. I wouldn’t personally pray to god-men but I don’t see why should I bother by those who do.
Separation of man and woman, in my view, cannot be considered discrimination unless one group has more rights/opportunities than others. Do you call it discrimination when there are separate gents- and ladies-toilets? If men and women pray and remove footwear in different places, that’s just (strange) custom, but not derogatory or discriminatory by any means, IMO.
@Kartik: I don’t see why believing in guru is sign of week mind? Can one not respect and follow any person, be it parent, teacher, boss, book, idea, philosophy, role model, or spiritual guide, if one finds said guru’s ideas useful? Lastly, while I am well aware of women oriented discrimination in Hinduism, I would refrain to make blanket statements like “not far behind Islam” without really knowing what Islam states for women. If you do know, then our measures of relative severity of discriminations is way off-scale.
Via Desipundit.
3 years ago replyI my 200 words comment has been eaten by the word verification javascript. :(
3 years ago replyAshish, your comment was stuck in the moderation queue. Anyway, I appreciate your thoughts and if I may clarify, I never intended to deny any person the right to choose the way they worship or whom they choose to worship. I made a personal decision and I think my post also made it clear that *I* am not comfortable with such form of worship and hence will not go to such a temple.
Regarding gender discrimination, I fail to understand how you cannot see the obvious discrimination. The toilet separation is a different matter as it pertains to an individual’s right to privacy based on certain agreed-upon customs. By placing the women behind the velvet rope and also behind the men while worshiping the deity, it implies a second-class status. Even children were not spared in this separation. I didn’t agree with Karthik’s comparison with Islam either because the severity of discrimination, as you mentioned, is less but nevertheless exists.
3 years ago replyCouldn’t have read this at a more opportune moment. I had stopped by a Hindu temple in Singapore yesterday and was very disturbed by a sign that read ‘Tourists are not allowed beyond this point’. To me it was sheer discrimination and yes I know there are religions who have gender discriminations and the like and I do not support any of that crap either. But to bar people from entering a place of worship based on sex, color of skin, race or whatever is ridiculous and primitive. I being Indian by origin of course did not have any problems from entering. But then technically speaking I too was a tourist and should have been stopped. They might as well say non-Hindu or foreigners are barred. It disgusted me so much that I refused to go inside the temple and left. I cannot be more angry about that right now and reading this makes me even more mad.
3 years ago reply