Show A TEMPLE RITES AND ceremonies BY WHICH THE IDOL IS HONORED A complex institution over which the high caste exercise supreme ai receiver tru tee and their methods the hindmo temple of any size or pie is a complex institution it is a group of buildings within one or more walls it possesses certain pi iv illges granted by native rulers in days glae by and still respected by the pies ent government it enjoys what may almost be termed a royal revenue from houses lands and offerings and it possesses hoards of treasure trea sute in jewels gold and silver vessels and coins the property is in the hands of trustees who are j elected or who claim an hereditary right to the office these have power over an enormous wealth under unscrupulous trustees jewels have disappeared or been replaced with glass pots of silver and gold coin have been refilled with copper rich lands have been let at a nominal rent to their relatives and offerings intended for ane temple have been appropriated personally occasionally a trustee is prosecuted for his dishonest practices but it is not often that he is punished the erection of the hindmo templo is the work of a slow system of evolution some holy man perhaps dies on the spot or he has an ecstatic vision of the god in one of the incarnations the space is invested with sanctity and an image et up to the deity the landowner straightway auids a small shelter over it to propitiate the god in his favor the ground around the edifice is nest with a fence by and by the ched is removed and something more pretentious and lasting erected the dewan or prime minister of the province makes a pilgrimage to the shrine and leaves a rich offering in the hands of the Brah mons who have instituted themselves as receivers trustees and ministrants mini more pilgrims come offerings in kind as well as in jewels and money pour in and new buildings are erected courts halls galleries a tank pillared platforms walls gateways a 1 towers slowly grow around the shrin the center point of the edifice othi shrines of affiliated deities may group near the original but the malas is always the same it holds the image of tho deity to whom the temple is dedicated and it is the scene of daily ceremonies at all risks it must be jealously guarded against the intrusion of any but the twice born when clive took the temple of the largest in southern india and a powerful stronghold in those days 2000 fierce stood before the door of the Mulas declaring that the europeans should only pass in over their dead bodies their superstitions were respected and clive left the fanatics in possession in preserving the integrity of the sacred shrine the hindmo has something more to consider than his religious scruples the restitution of the divine or maneric essence is a very expensive and intricate process requiring large sums of money for its different rites at vellore there is a handsome temple which was desecrated years ago by the mo hamm edans they killed a cow in the Mulas the building now stands empty and unoccupied and the european may go into outer and inner court as he pleases the Mulas is u small hall richly decorated with carvings it contains nothing but a stone dais on the face of which is a tortoise tor toisa in outline the image rested formerly on the tortoise there is a small gutter around the platform which conducted the sacred water used for the ablutions of the idol into a reservoir outside pilgrims drank of this water eagerly in belief of its miraculous powers of healing and purification the temple would probably be used again by hindmo worshipers if money were forthcoming sufficient to restore the divine essence the idol is not usually made of wood or stone it is molded in an amalgam of five metals gold silver brass copper and lead in size it is smaller than the human figure it is not called a swami until the mastric essence has been infused yato it by the proper ceremonies these are performed by the brahmans Brah mans who claim the power of placing the essence in any object animate or inanimate that they choose sometimes the object is a man the chief trustee or he is then said tu be divine and is called swami and moreover ia worshiped as a god the daily ritual which concerns only the idol takes place inside the shrine at intervals during the day no worshipers are present except those who are taking part in the function the image is tended in every minute particular as though it were a living human being nothing ia omitted it ia washed with water from the sacred tank it is dressed and fed it is supposed to take pleasure in the company of the dancing girls it deeps and wakes and finally is put to bed during its toilet hymns of praise are sung lamps are lighted camphor and incense burned and ia frequently introduced part of the revenue of the temple pays for all of this and a great many brahmins Brah mins find their occupation and their living in it the ritual of the festival is much more imposing the image is covered with plates of gold and loaded with jewels it is earned in procession upon a huge car surmounted with a throne of silver it may now appear before the eyes of all and it makes a slow and magnificent journey around the outer courts of the temple which are open to all casts and through the town offerings in land and in money and jewels are received the dancing girls are to be seen their charms enhanced by rich alk and gold they are the daughters nd wives of the god children rf the devil the value of their charms goes to swell the offertory considerably chambers journal |