On our first full day in Delhi we took “the plunge”, ate our
first Indian meals, (will write about food later) and walked through the
streets of Old Delhi. Old Delhi’s streets are even narrow than the ones in the
Main Bazaar. A couple of us newbies followed the trip pros through the streets
dodging rickshaws and motorbikes all the while bumping and jostling with the many
pedestrians. Stores sell spices, clothes, cloth, jewelry, cookware, dishes,
street food and numerous other necessities. (In the entire 36 days in India I
visited a total of two small grocery stores – big box does not exist!) The
streets were decorated with what look liked Christmas garland strung from store
to store to create a tunnel channeling the mass of humanity. Initial
observations reminded me of a colony of ants each with their individual agendas
designed to serve the good of the group.
The next day we split into smaller groups to visit the
various tourist sights. My destination was the Lakshmi Narayan Mandir Hindu
temple. Built by Industrialist GD Birla in 1938 it was one of the first temples
to have no restrictions on caste. Hindu scripture is posted on the wall with
English translations. The temple is typical of contemporary Indian architecture
and is surrounded by a park with theme park type amusements designed for
children.
Hinduism is based on four “Vedas” and “Upanishads” which are
sacred scripts dating back 5,000 years to the Aryans. Some of the better known
Gods (there are many of them) are Vishnu the Preserver and his consort Lakshmi
goddess of wealth. Ganesha with his elephant head is invoked at the beginning of
any new task and Hanuman the monkey god who is called on for courage and fortitude.
We were surprised to see reverse swastikas decorating many
areas of the buildings. We learned that long before it was a symbol of Nazi dominance
in the 20th century (the pattern was reversed by the Germans) the
swastika dates back 8,000 years as a symbol of Aryan civilization and culture. The
Aryan’s swastika is a symbol of implied prayer for success, accomplishment and
perfection guided by the almighty. Languages such as Japanese, Chinese, Greek
and Latin are thought to have derived from the swastika base.
The visit to the Lakshmi temple was the first time I
experienced cultural differences of men and women. An Indian was handing out
leaflets explaining Hinduism. The guys I was with were each handed one and I
was bypassed. This happened several times in India in different settings. A
huge culture shock to my western sensibilities, which I chose to accept without
becoming the ugly tourist!
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| Lakshmi Narayan Mandir. Gandhi attended the first puja (ritual prayer). Celebrating the temple's lack of caste restrictions. |
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| A building within the complex, Note the Aryan swastika on the columns. |
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| The gardens behind the temple. |
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| Vinnie & Butters in the "theme park" area of the garden |
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| A colorful mosaic in the temple garden. |
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