At the front, on the outside, there are great steps leading towards the part of the mandir where the worshipping takes place, which are only used sometimes. On the top of the mandir there are little dome shapes, which have flags on them. In front of the outside stairs there is an arc, which has also been carved brilliantly. The entire mandir is made from carved marble and stone except for the haveli, where things such as the annakot festival and assemblies by the saints are held. Overall the Swaminarayan mandir in Neasden is quite an astonishing place of worshipping with some brilliant features.
THE ROLES & FUNCTIONS OF THE LEDERS IN THE MANDIR
The mandir leaders all have many roles and functions that they have to perform. Guiding people on the right path in their lives is one of them. The leaders in a mandir are considered as gurus and or spiritual guides. The roles of the saints in a mandir are important to our everyday lives and they help to lead our lives in right directions.
The mandir leaders have many duties other than the role of giving us guidance, such as their own devotion to god. They devote their lives mainly in worshipping god. They don’t have greed and they lead pure and simple lives. With the importance of their own worshipping comes the importance of giving the devotees regular speeches so that the devotees can lead similar lifestyles to theirs. However devotees wouldn’t lead lives as pure as them because there are many things influencing them, such as television. Mandir leaders can help one to attain moksha.
One of the main jobs of mandir leaders is to make sure that we are not influenced greatly by some things. To make sure of this they give us daily tips on what is right and what is wrong. By doing this they not only help us in leading better-influenced lives but by doing it they fulfil one of their functions of teaching others the right religious beliefs. The saints are always there when needed to give advice or to tell us the right things to do. The saints often tell us religious stories that have morals or meanings, so that we can use them in our lives and use them as examples of what we should do. The teachings from the saints usually come from holy books. The saints often teach us not to treat others, as you would like them to treat you and also not to be selfish.
The leaders of mandirs have to be true gurus and they must:
- Be a realised soul or an advanced one in the spiritual path.
- Have a special capacity for guiding the devotees or students according to their fitness.
- Be unselfish and motiveless.
THE ROLES & FUNCTIONS OF THE MANDIR
Mandirs play many important roles for people in the local community. The mandirs are all there for a certain reason and that reason is to give us a place to worship. Although we can worship god in our ghar mandirs, it is not the same as worshipping and praying to god from a mandir or temple. I think that if there were no mandirs in the world then many people would not worship god as much as they do now.
Most people only go to mandirs for special occasions, or the important festivals and if the mandirs were not there then the people wouldn’t care about the festivals as much. This cannot be a good thing because if that were the case then the importance of these festivals would drop. To succeed on the spiritual path you need to be a proper devotee to god and that can’t happen unless you take part in some religious festivals or occasions if not all of them. This is because taking part in the religious festivals is part of worshipping god.
The temples and mandirs are also there to make us look forward more to worshipping God. This is because when we do go to the mandirs we often dress up nicely and in some cases we even go to mandirs or temples as part of social gatherings with our friends or family. Going to mandirs as part of social gatherings isn’t the right reason to go to them, but this does sometimes happen to many of us. In a way the mandirs act as attractions to go and worship god, which means that a mandir in our lives is necessary. With the mandirs being there it gives a reason to go out on a weekend day. This can give us an extra outing and the prospect of worshipping god may me more enjoyable to us.
The mandirs and the temples have a function of filling us with enlightenment. When we see the features inside these mandirs we often fall in awe and astonishment, as they are so beautiful. When we visit a mandir we often leave filled with plenty of enlightenment and wisdom. This enlightenment or wisdom comes from either the leaders of the mandir or by us seeing the murtis and all the wonderful features. This enlightenment that we attain can make us want to visit the mandir and to worship god more often. In a way the mandir has the function of making sure that we do worship and pray to god.
I think that without mandirs in the world, our lives would be very dull and our lives wouldn’t be fulfilling. The mandirs give a place for people to celebrate a major festival and also a place for people to go to get away from the rest of the outside world. You can go to a mandir to attain inner peace and excelling on the great spiritual path, which leads to god.