We went to a temple in Robbinsville, New Jersey, a half hour’s drive away. It was absolutely breathtaking.
The temple alone, housed inside a building to protect it from temperature changes, was made from about 11.7 million pounds of Italian marble carved in India. It’s something that you need to see to believe. It was completely white with stone flooring. It was easily over 60 ft tall and there were about 16 different ceiling patterns. The marble was carved with precision, depicting lifelike bodies and many patterns. White lights are installed in the ground, casting shadows over the carvings. There were at least 10 big statues of what they believe to be God’s successors here on Earth.
We were not allowed to take pictures inside the temple itself, but it was just as — if not more — ornate than the outside.
There was also a small mart, two big gyms with wooden floors that felt a little spongey, an assembly hall, a kitchen, etc. We were able to attend a short service (they are generally seven minutes long) where they used fire to worship the main statues. We learned that men and women sit separately during these services (men in front, women in back) to respect the monks’ vow of celibacy. If the monks happen to look at or accidentally touch a woman, he must observe a 24 hour fast, foodless and waterless. It is like a penance. Some men have an orange colored U shape around their bindi and this signifies their strong faith in God. The shape represents a footprint and humbling oneself. Women do not get the U shape. Once they are engaged or married, they have red vermilion in their hair parting. This sends a message to other men, “Back off, she’s taken.” Once they become widowed, the women wash off their red bindi and may get a black one instead. We ate at Monsoon, an Indian restaurant. It was small, but the food was good.
Once we got back to school, there were two parents waiting for us. They talked about the traditional clothing and brought some in, including a several meter long beautiful maroon saree. We also saw some dances and Bollywood film clips, and we learned that different regions in India have different languages. Not dialects, languages with different words and scripts. Everyone communicates through either English or Hindi. Manduir is Hindi for temple.
