After Sunday's morning satsangh, Jenny and I decided to visit the Ganesha Temple in Flushing, Queens. We wanted to go 'burst' our coconuts and perform Puja. I think the Ganesha Temple is the only mandir in the Queens area where a devotee could walk in anytime of the day and perform Puja. Whoever thought of such a great idea, showed a great deal of vision. That person needs to be praised.
The services that the Ganesha Temple provides to the community is extraordinary. I hope that people recognized that and help in whatever way to upkeep the good works that the temple is involved in. Such excellent works need to be continued.
Understand that the single act of performing Puja helps one become more spiritual. Fundamentally, we're spiritual beings, hence, like we nourish and pamper the physical body, we must nurture our spiritual beings as well. It's quintessential to existence.
Soon after, it dawned on me that spirituality is the formula for world peace. Maybe, this idea has been thrown around before, but I never really ponder on it. Yet, peace is a very illusive goal that mankind has been trying to achieve from time immemorial. And, the common thought is that, one has to be at peace with oneself before one can be at peace with others, and the larger world. That makes plenty of sense. Have you ever been miserable? Do do remember how you treated those around you when in a miserable 'spell'? Peace!
It could be that we need to change our perspective on how we look at peace. Instead of setting peace as a goalpost, let's change it to a principle which we all have to cultivate from within and practice on a daily basis, like truth or honesty, for instance. These are qualities that we practice with others. Like truth is a way of like, peace is also a way of life.
I believe that the formula that will help us be more peaceful human beings is spirituality. Check the annals of history - great international personalities, like the Mahatma, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Dalai Lama, Mr. Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, readily comes to mind. And, there are the saints and sages. There are many others who I have no knowledge of, but still counts.
How do we become more spiritual? Simple really. First, bear in mind that the cultivation of spirituality is a process that will need our time, energy and effort to develop and grow. Be prepared, it could be a slow process as well, depending on the individual and determination.
We can become more spiritual by becoming conscious of the fact that we're not only the physical body, but something greater and that is, we're souls. That's correct. This simple act of cognizance of the soul, helps us want to practice godly qualities. This in turn, helps us become more conscious of the inner voice within us, which ultimately helps us become more conscious of the presence of a Higher Intelligence.
Performing Puja, prayers and worship to God in whatever way we choose, help us become more godly. The end result? We become more spiritual. By practicing peace, we allow our spirituality to evolve into higher beings. Eventually, peace becomes a way of life. This theory should be debated more widely and openly. I still hold that spirituality is the glimmer of hope for world peace. Let's do our part to allow peace to flourish.
So back at the Ganesha Temple, the temple is beautiful inside with many presiding deities. We performed Durga Devi Puja with the help of a Pujari. Then, we went around the mandir inside, paying homage to all the deities.
One thing that happened is that at each deity, we recited the appropriate mantras and sang bhajans. God's name and mantra should be sang loud and clear and without fear. So, one nice lady stopped by and complimented us on our singing. She wanted to know how long we were singing, and whether we were classical singers. She wanted to know which singing school and mandir we are attending. We supplied as much info as we can. We were so loud that even one of the Pujari complimented us on our singing. Most of the bhajans we sang were Shri Anup Jalota's. He's an Indian icon. I find that very sweet and somewhat proud (in a nice way) that we were complimented by Indians from India - the land of the likes of Shri Hari Om Sharan and a host of other greats. Kudos to our ancestors for passing on the rich Indian culture to us.
Then, we went to the canteen and after much deliberation, ordered the lunch special without knowing what really we were in for. And, boy oh boy! We just ate .. the rice and dahi were about the only thing we knew on the tray. I think the order of the day was the dosa, not my cup of tea.
The Ganesha Temple is expanding and I think people need to support the temple in it's many community projects, as it work to make people more spiritual. We need such a mandir in Richmond Hill, Queens, where we can perform Puja any time of the day, any day of week, and not just open their doors on Sundays and on major parbs. Peace!
Below are some photos of the Ganesha Temple.
The architecture is quite beautiful ...
The entrance of the temple ....
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