The Temples of Ancient Wisdom -Part Two

While growing up all these years(I assume you have spent quite a few years before accessing internet, and therefore this post), you would have definitely visited a number of religious buildings and monuments, where you are convinced Gods reside. Let me have the freedom to assume, all along these years, you would have visited places and monuments spreading across different religious verticals, beyond your own.

So think of it, these are places to pray, to meditate and to connect to God. Peace, is what you are supposed to find here. But, have you ever thought of or heard of a place of God, where they actually teach you a form of combative fighting? One of the deadliest in the world! If you still haven't figured it out, I am talking about Shaolin temples.

There are numerous Buddhist temples all around the world, and nowhere else is martial arts taught. The founder of Buddhism, Gautam Buddha himself is the most perfect symbol of peace. Then what made Shaolin Temples teach one of the deadliest arts to its disciples? If you follow my blogs closely enough, you know where all this would lead to. Exactly, India!

History books talk about a Bodhidharma who is believed to have started teaching KungFu in Shaolin Temples, in a way, the actual creator of Shaolin Temples  as we know them today. His story of how he reached there and started teaching Kung Fu and martial arts is yet another interesting matter demanding further analysis. The point here, however, is that he was an Indian who lived in 5th century CE.

Bodhidharma himself was an Indian of the then ruling class who migrated to China in search of peace and spreading Buddhism. The question here is, what made him teach Kung Fu at a place designated for prayers and Godly connect. Did he get influenced by something he was used to seeing back home? Were fight forms taught at Indian temples as well?

Hello and welcome to the second part of my previous post on The Temples of Ancient Wisdom. The earlier installment was liked, appreciated and re-shared by many on various social media platforms. So, thought of writing a second.

Kalaripayattu: One of the oldest fighting system in existence, Kalariyapayattu is now mostly practiced in Kerala, and parts of Tamil Nadu. This was first documented in 11th century CE, but has been practiced in India since long back. 

Whats fascinating is, Kalariyapayattu is practiced at Kalari, or places where it is a norm to first meditate and then start practicing, Whats even more fascinating is that this art is still taught at many temples of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Other prominent styles of fighting, like Mall-Yuddha, primarily made famous by Bheem in Mahabharata were also practiced and taught by sages and saints of ancient India. So, temples in ancient India were not averse to fighting styles and their practice in the premises.

Interestingly,  Kalaripayattu is still taught in the Indian Shaolin Temples, thus completing the full circle, in a way.

But, this brings us to question, were ancient Indian temples much more than a mere place of worship?

Centers of art, culture, science: While you are planning your next trip to any place in India, do make it a point to visit the Sun Temple in Konark, Orissa.

Though no more a working temple, the temple was developed primarily to worship Sun and all the sciences associated with the movement of earth round the sun. 

As per the locals, there was a huge magnet kept in the center of the temple which had bind the entire temple structure together. This was a unique marvel in itself, as the temple was using the magnetic fields to bind the entire huge structure together without binding them physically. However, the magnetic fields turned out to be so strong, that they would easily deviate and confuse ships and cargos on their way passing near Konark. The Britishers then removed the magnet, and a part of the temple collapsed. As its a practice not to pray in broken temples, the temple was closed forever for worship.

So, while there is a big circular structure which would tell you the exact time based on where the sunshine falls in which weather, there are also depictions of a camel and a lady wearing a gown with a handbag on the walls of the temple, stuff which Indians had not even heard of in those times.

Even the temples of Khajuraho depict sexual activities in various forms on their walls. Here, we should remember, in ancient times, even sex was considered a part of education and was taught in schools. 

Ajantha Cave Temples depict the beauty and antiquity of the art and knowledge of those times, where the temples were not only designed for worship, but also to learn and study various forms of art.

A number of temples in the southern part of India depict various forms of dances, like Bharatnatyam etc on the walls. It was only in these temples, that these dances were nurtured and improved by the practitioners. 

Temples as liberal banks: What would you do if you were living in ancient times and had lots of money out of some business, in your possession?

Keeping it at home was still unsafe as someone might steal it. So, people used to deposit them at temples, the temples serving as liberal banks for general public. Though, they maintained accounts of all those who deposited their money and gold at temples, the temples also provided loans to the needy for their business and other activities. Needless to say, as it was deemed temple's money, the interest rates were practically nil and only a nominal transaction fees was deducted.

As the temples always had part of King's army, practicing various combative forms, it was considered very safe to deposit the money at these temples, as no one would be able to steal it from there.

Art and Imagery inside the Temples: Though I have already written about the art and illustrations inside ancient Indian temples above, it is important to note that the art and imagery wasn't random.
The images could be classified based on the dimensions when they were completed:

Chitra: The images were three dimensional and complete.
Chitrardha: The images were engraved in half-relief
Chitrabhasa: Images that were two dimensional and were mostly images and paintings

Another way of classifying the images would be by their expressive form when completed:
Rudra/Ugra: Images that were mostly meant to terrify, or induce fear. They would have wide eyes, carry weapons. These were mostly worshiped by soldiers before setting out for war, or after any calamity or widespread disease. These were mostly built outside the villages.

Shant/Saumya: These images were serene, and expressed peace and love. These images would carry flowers, and eyes will be narrow, and would carry some or the other icons of love, peace, knowledge, music. These were mostly constructed inside towns and villages.

Symbolism: In all my previous blog posts, I have emphasized heavily on predominant symbolism viable throughout Hinduism.. Be it the imagery of Gods like Shiva, Ganesh or the divine Goddesses or the symbols like Om or Swastika, or even the carriers of Gods, the Vahanas. Think of it, temples are the physical embodiment of all such symbolism spread across the entire premises of the temple.
As per Vedic scriptures, a temple based on ancient Vedic principles, is a symbolic reconstruction of the entire Universe and its symbolic imagery. The temple is the depiction of Hindu philosophy and its principles.
Most ancient temples would have a huge, splendid door, but would rarely have strict boundaries or walls. Instead, the ancient temples would have huge open spaces inside, where the devotee, being an individual, a couple or even a family may take their own time to get into the temple premises and then eventually seek for the God.
The entire structure itself is a huge symbolism of the world, where from outer world of sin, Asuras and Rakhasas, one enters through the gates into the central core of the temple, or the Brahma pada. And then spiritually and psychically lifting oneself up a symbolic space marked by the pyramidal structure transcending into the vertex peak.

The Six Important Constituents of an ancient Vedic Temple: A Vedic Temple primarily has to be comprising of six important constituents:

The Dome and the Steeple: The shape of the dome may vary from region to region, and is quite different as we move from the southern parts of the Indian peninsula towards their northern counterparts. The shape of the steeple, is often in the form of the Trishul of Shiva, and mostly symbolizes Mount Meru.

Inner Chamber: Garbha-Griha, where the image or the idol of the principal deity is kept. The chamber is mostly closed for the visitors and general public.

The Temple Hall: Large Vedic Temples have halls and chambers where people can sit and meditate. The hall is usually decorated with paintings and images from scriptures and Gods and Goddesses.

Front Porch:  This place is marked mostly by a temple bell hung from the high ceiling of the temple roof. Devotees strike the bell before they enter and while they exit. To know more about why we strike the temple bell, read The Temples of Ancient Wisdom

Reservoir: Most of the Vedic temples were constructed on the banks of some or the other river. If water was not available in vicinity, a reservoir was built to store fresh water. The water was used not only to clean the temple premises, but also to clean oneself before entering the temple.

Walkway: It is considered a holy practice to walk around the central idol clockwise seven times. This is called walkway and is constructed in every temple with a comfortable width where people can walk easily.

Jabaldarshana Upanishad states:

शिवमात्मनि पश्यन्ति प्रतिमासु न योगिनः |
अज्ञानं भावनार्थाय प्रतिमाः परिकल्पिताः || ५९ ||
- जाबालदर्शनोपनिषत्

This means a yogin perceives god (Siva) within himself,
Images are for those who have not reached this knowledge. (Verse 59)

The verse principally states that ideally, a person who has submitted himself completely to the devotion of the lord, or who has learnt the art and patience to meditate peacefully and with complete single-mindedness would never need an idol or an image to pray and connect to the Lord. That person is able to worship even without being surrounded by the walls of a temple. But those who haven't realized that state or height of meditation need imagery or idols in temples to worship. That is the reason, many temples have big corridors or huge passages without the idols or images where people can sit peacefully and meditate. For others, there is the very idol itself.

Because ancient Indian temples were built strictly on Vedic guidelines, thats why there would always be a common lineage of principles and attributes which they would build their temples around. Of course while there were differences between the temple building styles of north India as well as South India, the very basic foundations and principles were very much similar and binding to each other.

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The Temples of Ancient Wisdom

Namaste!!
Feels great as the blog crossed 10000 views last week and in a way completed a milestone! All thanks to all of you, who read and liked the posts and the content of the blog. I am really grateful and humbled and would once again like to thank all of you.
Imaginations sometimes run wild and I tried fiction for the first time in my last post-The 14th Year. Thankfully, there were a few positive comments and people asked me for a sequel. Some of you were able to notice that it, in fact, was re-presenting the Laxman-Surpanakha story in a new Avatar.
I hope to write more on the same lines some day, but let us reserve that for later and get to the topic straight away.

Some years ago, when my father was based in Varanasi, I had the chance to visit the Kashi Vishwanath temple for the first time in my life. I was only 9 then, and had only witnessed the slightly newer and more "blazing" temples like those of Birla's and J.K.'s, which are mostly built of white marbles, and shine brightly during the evenings and nights.
For the first time I witnessed a temple built in slightly older times. The kid in me was disgusted by the water and  pieces of flowers and leaves lying all around the temple premises and me being forced to remove slippers and walk barefoot. All of a sudden I blurted out "This temple is so dirty!".  My father snapped back "You shall never call a temple dirty!". I wanted to ask why, but sensing the mood my father was in, a better sense prevailed inside me, and I decided to postpone the question in the wake of my own health benefits.. Never knew I would eventually find the answers to my questions.

The knowledge of Ancient Vedic Men was of such high degree,  the customs they popularized and inbred among the people in their daily lives was of highly scientific and logical nature. A highly scientific marvel like Aum is remodeled to be an important religious symbol, while the Gods are attributed with Vahanas akin to their individual divinities. It is but very obvious then, that the places where the Gods reside, the temples are deemed to be resplendent of similar scientific and symbolic imagery, which not only appeals to the devotee's sub-conscious, but also helps him meditate peacefully.

The Architecture-The location and The Garbhagraha:
It is a mighty known fact that most of the ancient temples were designed to be more than mere places of worship and meditation. The Vedic temples were built strategically at places where the positive cosmic energy is in abundance because of the magnetic and electric fields.

The main idol is always located in the core center of the temple, known as the Garbha-Griha. As a matter of fact, first the idol is placed at its position and then the temple is built around it. The Garbha-griha is chosen to be the place where  magnetic waves are the strongest. As a practice, some copper plates, inscribed with Vedic Shlokas are kept beneath the main idol. Copper absorbs the magnetic energy and radiates positive energy to the surroundings. This specific attribute of copper makes it useful in curing arthritis by wearing it in bracelets.

As a person revolves around the main idol in a clockwise direction, he receives the positive energy radiated from the copper, and this, gradually helps him, in meditation and maintain a good health on a regular visit. In a way, the temples were designed as "Public charging sites".

The pyramidal shape:
The particular pyramid shape of these temples serve manifold purposes. However hot or humid the entire surroundings may be, one could never feel hot inside a temple. A tall, gradually narrowing structure, along with water being poured all across the floors keeps the inside of the temple premises cool, and the magnetic fields stronger(heat reduces magnetic energy).
In the year 2005, an article was published in the Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge. A group of scientists in Bangalore took containers of various shapes and placed various food items in it. As days passed, it was observed that the container which was pyramidal in shape demonstrated the slowest decay out of all the containers.
Various temples use flowers to further keep the atmosphere inside light and comfortable, to negate the effects of moistness. These flowers and fruits get decomposed as slowly as possible because of the pyramidal structure.

The Bells:
 As per legends, the bell sound is to ward evil forces away. A well designed bell, if struck, produces long strains of AUM.
Symbolically, the body of the bell represents time. the tongue of the bell represents Saraswati. Striking the bell would mean the message of Saraswati, which is knowledge and wisdom itself, being spread all over.
Scientifically, a temple bell is made up of a variety of metals, just in the correct proportion. When struck properly, a bell sound lasts for at least seven seconds, and touches the seven healing centers, or the Chakras   in the body. It also unites the left and the right part of the brain. As soon as one hears the bell, all pre-thoughts are emptied, or in a way, it wakes one up before entering the temple itself.
The bells also dont allow any insect to remain inside the temple. The reason, why even the oldest of temples wont have any insects or pests inside them.

Dhwaja:
Another inseparable ingredient of any Vedic temple, Dhwaja or, the Flag, serves purposes more than mere symbolisms of a number of legends. The color of the dhwaja, red or orange, symbolizes the fierce energy of the sun. As the flag flutters, thanks to its very peculiar spear shape, it symbolizes sun's life-giving glow. As the flag flutters, it also symbolizes great wisdom and bravery together.
Scientifically, the flag acts as a conductor to transfer the energy from within the Garbha Griha to the entire atmosphere, thus radiating positive energy all across. It also acts as a lightning rod which saves the temple structure from lightning.

As per legends, the pillar holding the Dhwaja, the Dhwaja-stambh represents as a connect between heavens and earth. The stambha symbolizes the Holy Trinity, Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh. The flag when seen by a devotee from a distance, informs him about the deity being worshipped within the temple and sometimes, even the rituals are symbolized by the Dhwaja.

The ingredients of worship: Lets take a step back from here, ie. the temple premises, and have a look at whats all happening inside the temple. Even under scorching sun and intense heat, the insides of the temple are still pretty cool. Water is being sprayed continuously and devotees are lighting up incense sticks, striking bells, and offering flowers to the deity. Lamps are lighted all over, which emit talismanic low light. Add to that the positive vibes which are already present all around.
All these ingredients of a 'perfect' worship create a state of trance, where from the point a devotee enters the premise, he enters into a state of trance and is almost hypnotized in the entire settings of the temple. His mind is now singularly focussed on devotion, and the body is absorbing positive energy. According to the very scientific Vedas, this is the state of trance when a man himself becomes God. Its only then,  it is said, that one could build a temple inside his heart and can meditate without even needing one temple.

I wont say that each and every older temple of India has been built keeping the same concepts and ideologies in mind as stated above, but every temple that's based on Vedic notions, follows the same architecture and model as stated by the Vedic principles
Neither did I try to comprehend nor find any logical reasoning to why certain temples allow animal sacrifice. I personally feel that's an incorrect practice and should not be encouraged in the name of religion.

Its nothing lesser than a colossal tragedy with what happened in Uttarakhand a few days back. Thousands of innocent souls lost their lives and we all must pray for their souls to rest peacefully.
However, one cannot take away the fact that only Kedarnath temple kept standing along with the central sanctum, primarily because they were based on Vedic foundations and the calamity couldn't shake it's very foundations.
Hoping that our governments take some lesson out of this tragedy and embrace the state with better disaster management facilities

People go to temples to wish for money, success, luck, and what not. But, this was not the primary reason for which these temples were built. The temples can help you attain a better health and peace of mind, and guide you towards spirituality. Sadly, modern day pundits have made temples an easy way to earn money, promising people of their wishes being fulfilled, but a temple visit would not serve such a purpose. Go there for your betterment, not to trade your time for your wish.

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