There are three distinct aspect of Hinduism: the temples, the philosophy and the satguru. It is very fortunate that in the last two decades Hindu temples have nearly circumferences the world. There are temples in Europe, in North Amerca, in South America, Australia and Africa and throughout Southeast Asia. The Hindu temple and stone images in it work as a channel for the Deity, for the Gods, who hover over the stone image and, in their subtle ethnic forms, change people's lives through changing the nerve currents within them through their dharshana. People come to a sanctified temple and go away, and in that process they are slowly changed from the inside out. They have changed because their very life force has changed, their mind has been changed and their emotions have undergone a subtle transformation. The temles of Hinduism are magnificent in their immensity and n their ability to canalize the three worlds, the first world of Physical, outer existence and the inncer second and third worlds.
Hindu temples are not centered around a priest or minister, though there may be a holy man associated with ta temple whose advice is cautiously and quietly sought. There is no sermon, no mediator, no director to guide the worship of pilgrims. The temple is the home of the Deities, and each devotee goes according to his own timing and for his own particular needs. Some may go to weep and seek consolation in times of sorrow, while simultaneously others will be there to rejoice in thier good fortune and to sing God's name in thanksgiving. Naturally, the sacraments of name-giving and marriage and so forth are closely associated with the temple. One has only to attend a Hindu temple during festival days to capture the great energy and vitality of this ancient religion.
In its second section, Philosophy, Hinduism has influenced the deep religious thinkers of all culture through known history. There is net a single philosophy which can be labeled "Hinduism". Rather, it is a network of many philosophies, some seeming to impertinently contradict the validity of others, yet on deeper reflection are seen as integral aspects of a single, radiant mind flow. In the area of philosophy mus be included the enormous array of scripture, hymns, mantras, devotional bhajana and philosophical texts which are certainly unequaled in the world.
In the natural order of things, temple worship precedes philosophy. It all starts with the temple, with this sacred house of the Deities, this sanctified site where the three worlds communicate, where the inner and outer mesh and merge. It is there that devotees change. They become more like the perfect beings that live in the temple, because the voice of the Deity, writing down what is taught them from the inside, and their writings, if they are faithful to the super-conscious message of the God, become scripture and make up the philosophies of Hinduism. The philosophies then stand alone as the voice of the religion. They are taught in the universities, discussed among scholars, meditated upon by yogis and devout seekers. It is possible t be a good Hindu by only learning the philosophy and never going to the temple, or by simply going to the temple and never hearing of the deeper philosophies.
Hinduism has still another section within it, and that is the Guru-- the teacher, the illuminator, the spiritual preceptor. The guru is the remover of darkness. He is one who knows the philosophy, who knows the inner working of the temple, and who in himself is the philosopher and the temple. The guru is he who can enliven the spirit within people. Like the temple and the philosphy, he stands alone, apart from the institutions of learning, apart from sites of pilgrimage. He is himself the source of knowledge, and he is himself the pilgrim's destination.
Should all the temples be destroyed, they would spring up again from the seed of philosophy, or from the presence of realized man. And if all the scriptures and philosophical treatises were burned, they would be written again from the same source. So Hinduism, cannot be destroyed. It can never be destroyed. It exists as the spirit of religion within each being. Its three aspects, the Temple, the Philosophy and the Satguru, individually proficient, taken together maker Hinduism the most vital and abundant religion in the world.
