A Tale Of Two Temples

[Shivani Devi]

Namaste.

In Australia, seeing a Hindu temple is a rare thing. We do have quite a few spread around...but seeing a Siva temple is an even rarer thing.

Now, imagine it...when one street in the same obscure suburb called Minto NSW, gets two Siva temples run by different societies directly alongside each other...and they have competed against each other for attendees for many years now and often with hostile words and rhetoric:

http://www.trueindia.com.au/temples/...i-shiva-mandir
http://www.muktigupteshwar.org/

Now, Sri Shiva Mandir was there first and the congregation is/was mainly comprised of Fijian Indians, while Mukti Gupteshwar came about a year later, mainly comprised of Hindus from the sub-continent.

Each temple has tried to 'outdo' each other to be the 'best Shiva temple'...I mean, Mukti Gupteshwar wasn't always the home of the '13th Jyotir Lingam' when I learned there are only 'sposed to be 12 of these things.

Whenever one temple dedicates a statue, the other has to get an even bigger and better statue to dedicate...

One can only imagine on Shiva Ratri, a misplaced Shiva Bhakta is going to stand in front of both temples going 'eeny...meeny...miny...mo'.

So, if one wants to go to a temple, how do they know which temple is the 'correct temple' to go to? I have been inside both quite a few times and I don't have any feeling or preference for one over the other...in fact, I hardly get any devotional feelings whatsoever when I am there...thus I haven't been there for about 4 years now.

It's mostly all about show and everything is just too 'showy'. Give me a small hut with a picture and a candle inside, I guess...not polished marble, brass fittings, silk, precious gems and blinding lights...but maybe I am just focusing way too much on the 'obvious' to the exclusion of the 'oblivious'.

What are your thoughts?

Aum Namah Shivaya

[Shivani Devi]

As a footnote (I was just reminded about). Minto is the suburb in which I grew up, about 1km away from that place and way before any Shiva temples were ever built there...I was also reminded that I am the 13th Jyotir Lingam, just as Jesus is the 13th disciple.

Shiva seems to be amused by all this attention, but totally unmoved by the lack of devotion...He wonders which temple to go inside as well...so it's not ONLY me, assuming I am not Shiva, then it would only be me, wouldn't it?

One would expect this kind of thing to happen in India with a Billion Hindus and limited land/space and the actual requirement for this, but it's, well, these temples are built to sit thousands of people, when only a hundred or so ever show up at any given time...

I guess it is totally amusing...

Aum Namah Shivaya

[Earth Healer]

What a piece of work is man...

It really is amusing and totally unnecessary, isn't it? Seems like doing puja at a home altar would be more satisfying for you.

[Vinayaka]

Most likely one was a splinter group from the other. Happens a lot actually. But to build right across the street seems a bit overdone. The closest I've seen it before is a couple of blocks. The good thing for the pilgrim who likes the rush rush rush method to temples is that it's not much distance to the next temple, in this case.

[Shivani Devi]

I'm wondering how the local Council could have ever allowed this to happen in the first place.

[~sati~]

It's astonishing how we can turn almost anything into a competitive rat race ..even exploit the divine if we have to ..what's even worse is that it goes against the very nature of mahadeva himself .... I might not have the knowledge that many of you possess but if I'm not mistaken the very nature of Shiva cannot be limited ..he is eternal , ambivalent ...can pomp and decoration truly win him . Maybe the minute they started the whole jazz they already lost the real cause of building a temple in the first place. Many might not agree with me but I guess it boils down to this why bother limiting something that is truly limitless ... It's like trying to contain the universe that contains you .

[Vinayaka]

The more temples the merrier. When you have immigrants from 20-30 different states in India plus the sugar diaspora places, there is a lot to compromise to build one temple. Language, nature of rituals, etc. can be difficult, because everyone brings their village mentality, ethnocentricity with them. So there is more harmony with more temples, not less. As far as across the street goes, much of that has to do with zoning, and if all the land in that area was zoned multi-use for example, then there's not much the local authorities could do.

Yes, at the very deep level its all God, and the same God. But out here in lower consciousness, if one group speaks Marathi, and the other group speaks Hindi, you can't even have a meeting, let along work together to build something.

There is one group at the temple I go to who I wish would just go build their own temple. There would be fewer problems all around.

[Shivani Devi]

Namaste.

I would have to respectfully disagree with you, Vinayaka - but there isn't stopping anybody from doing anything they want to these days if they have enough money, public backing, political support and total persistence and dedication.

Think about it, regardless of the zoning laws, why would a group of people build a temple right next door (not across the street), bloody next door...on a road...Eagleview Road...which is pretty much semi-urban/rural land UNLESS they were trying to outdo and show up the temple next door to it?

You are correct in one way though, the more temples there are, the more a bhakta is going to go "may as well just stay home, meditate and achieve god-realisation that way instead" so if anything, all of this outward show towards Shiva just assists in turning the mind inwards to one's own reality where these kinds of things simply do not exist.

In my reality, there are no temples on Eagleview Road whatsoever, because I refuse to attend them due to this.

Aum Namah Shivaya

[Vinayaka]

Quite honestly, I'd have to hear all the background information from both sides before making any judgement. Sometimes as divorce is better for all sides. In our coastal city, I went to 13 temples in one 3 day jaunt. 4 or 5 call me back. The rest, nah.

But I respect the right of anyone to differ.

[Shivani Devi]

Namaste.

Of course you need to hear both sides of the story and I am not partial to one Mandir over the other... we have only two Shiva temples in Sydney...both 40kms out of Sydney...both in the same street and next door to each other when the whole urban and sub-urban area is about 200 square kilometers...nothing strange there....nothing at all....nope.

...and just how many Jyotir Linga are there again? lol

Still, they all seem happy about it, so they can do whatever they like - none of my business...I just thought it was totally overdone and ridiculous, but my thoughts, concerns and opinions are totally irrelevant to anybody.

I already go to a Shiva temple and there's only one devotee there...me! do I really need more than that?

Aum Namah Shivaya