Describe the main features of a specific place of Hindu worship

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Ronald Wai

  1. i) Describe the main features of a specific place of Hindu worship

When we first arrived at the temple we saw that it was very small, not even close to the traditional 50 metre-sized structures of India. This is because Hong Kong is a very crowded place, especially in the city, so the builders had to make the best of what space available. The whole mandir was about 20 metres in length and 10 metres in width.

One the west side of the mandir there was a large spire on top, made to resemble a mountain. In ancient mythology, the Gods lived in mountain caves. As mandirs are the homes of Gods today, mandirs are all made to look like the mountains that the God’s homes once looked like.

Because of the lack of space, the gate to the temple was unable to be built facing the rising sun. Temples are always built facing the sun because then the sun will shine on the temple from front to end throughout the day. This represents purification and enlightenment.

As we entered the gate, we found a flight of stairs leading up the temple. This is symbolic of our status as compared to God- as God is above us, we must travel up to Him. This is a symbol of God’s power and authority over us.

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When we reached the top of the stairs we saw that there was a small shrine dedicated to Hanuman. The builders of this temple chose Hanuman to be the guardian of this temple, because unlike other temples this mandir is dedicated to not only on aspect of Brahman, but three. Again, this is because of the lack of space in Hong Kong. The three aspects of Brahman portrayed in this temple are the trimurti- Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. In this mandir, the priest chose not to have the vehicles of the Gods as the guardians, but chose Hanuman, probably ...

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