july 14: idols, a possessed woman, and those crosses that those certain Germans used

Above picture: One of the bigger, more famous Hindu temples in India.

Two of the ladies traveling with us were Hindu and wanted to go worship at the temple/be tourists. I am always game for Hindu temple visits so I went with them.

The temple was enormous. You go through inner court after innerer court after innererer court, and so on. Each court has massive idols, where you find many people worshipping them. The outer courts hold the lesser-idols, and as you proceed through the courts you reach the greater-idols.

~

Only Hindus are allowed into the innermost sanctuary. So, I had to wait outside. I did however peer through the heavily guarded entryway and saw only gold. Supposedly, the idol that resides in the innermost sanctuary is many stories high and made of gold.

I did not like the Hindu-only policy.

~

The temple was full of stands that sold offerings for the idols. The offerings include fruits, flowers, and foods. The merchants who ran the stands were cleaning up big time.

~

On leaving the temple, we came across a woman who was convulsing and shouting what seemed to be nonsense. She had a huge crowd around her. I thought she was possessed. The ladies I was with said she wasn't possessed, but had reached a state of deep spiritual-ness.

They said that when Hindus are in deep prayer they sometimes can reach a trance-like state where you receive visions. That's why all the people were crowded around her.

The ladies also said that they thought it was mostly bullshit.

Above picture: I know what your thinking, Nazis?

I saw swastikas all over the place in southern India.

On further inquiry, I learned that swastikas have been around a lot longer than Nazis. In Indian culture it is a sign of good luck.

Lesson of the day: Don't judge a swastika by its modern-day meaning.