No matter what your religion is, you do not have to be afraid of coming to the Shiva Mandir temple…read more The people who attend services are beyond nice and even when I attend a service, other religions are mentioned and it does not matter to them what your religion is. When people walk into the temple, they take off their shoes and turn off their cellphones before going into the main room. There is a bell that can be rung for clarity of the mind (I do it for fun.) Upon walking through the main doors, Hindu believers kneel a bit and touch the ground first and then touch their head all with their hands. They do a similar action when they touch the Gods feet and the holy water. If they are holding a plate of candles and sacrificial fruits, they lift the entire plate up to make a three circular motion paths around each God. The Gods' platform on bright blue ceramic tiles is brightly lit with a beautiful sky and mountainous background. In addition, there might be lighted props, holy objects, or plants nearby and the windows decorated. During the services, I typically see a child or two walk around even though they are not supposed to. The entire room is carpeted dark red and everybody sits on the floor unless the person has difficulty sitting on the floor. In that case, foldable chairs are provided at the back of the room where mostly the elderly or disabled sit. The person who leads the service, called the Pundit, sits in what looks like a bed, but is not. While he speaks mostly English and some Hindi, there is always live music in the background with a band including a harmonium, electric piano, guitar, and drums to name a few. The music is broadcast through microphones and loud speakers and the entire room is brightly lit with many lights. There are also special people who sit up in the front, though I am not familiar as to what their roles are, but one of them is a singer while the other VIPs who wish to do the service sit and do the service. In between speeches, the band and singer(s) segues into a song. Towards the end, people are allowed to make announcements such as birthdays and events happening at the Shiva Mandir. After the end of the service, contributions are given, prays are done to a candle light, and everyone accepts a spot of milk to drink on their palm. Then, after the upbeat music is over, everybody goes down to the basement level to eat what I believe is Trinidad, Indian, and various vegetarian food and snacks prepared with soda or water and provided by volunteers who use a big kitchen and storage room to prepare it. It's like a mini-party every time I go for Thursday services, especially if it's around somebody's birthday.
The women dress in beautiful traditional sari clothes while the men either wear traditional clothes or in their semi-formal attire. I even wore a sari myself when I attended Shiva Mandir for the first time. The looks of wonderment and surprise came from some temple goers and even people who live in the block. They loved how I tried to dress in a sari. Everybody is positive and everybody has fun here and now I know why going to the temple is the highlight of my co-worker's life.
