Yesterday we awoke in Madurai, ready to catch our train back to Chennai. Before we left, we had some time in the morning so the Davids took us to the Meenakshi Amman temple complex in Madurai. We had asked to see some Hindu temples while we were here to get a better feel for the local religion and how it influences culture here. Many temples do not allow outsiders to visit, but Madurai does.

They don't make it easy though. Lutherans are constantly examining how accessible our churches are to guests. We haven't added armed guards, metal detectors, and pat-downs to our front doors yet. And did I mention the shoes? Indians have a "thing" about shoes. We take of our shoes at the CMC for worship and chapel, we took them off last year at the St. Thomas cathedral and when we entered a music store. The Madurai temple did one better and insisted we take off our shoes and socks. Okay...

Once we were past security, David took us around the temple complex. Wikipedia has some information about the history of the temple in Hindu legend, in you're interested, but I have an easier time following Days of Our Lives. Basically, Madurai is a city approximately 2,000-3,000 years old, and the temple has existed at the center of the city in some form that entire time. The temple as it exists today has been around since the 1600s. Of particular note is the Thousand Pillar Hall, which only has 985 pillars. Another religion coming up short in its promises.

All of the towers, or Gopuram, are covered with small statues and carvings. In southern India, it is a tradition to paint these very brightly. This only began about 150 years prior.

We made our way through the temple, with Rev. David and another guide explaining what we saw. We had been warned that we could experience legitimate spiritual attacks here. This didn't happen to us, but I still felt uneasy and anxious in the temple complex. The interiors were often dark and cave-like. The Thousand Pillar Hall evoked a feeling not unlike the Mines of Moria scenes in the Fellowship of the Ring. Everywhere were stations for worshiping various gods and incarnations of these gods. They were large or small, indoors or outdoors, painted or carved. In corners, priests and gurus counseled people and shared incense. We saw prayers being offered in every direction.

In many of the halls, we saw something very foreign to western churchgoers: vendors. Men selling icons, bracelets, souvenirs and more. There were not, however, bake sales out in the front.

We left the temple and got our footwear back. Some of us used our sanitary wipes on our feet, the modern equivalent of "shaking the dust from our feet."

Journeying through the temple, seeing all the ritual and effort, witnessing the impoverished people inside and out, I wanted to asked, "What has your god done to bring you peace?" All of this time, effort, and money; wasted by a people who will only find true peace in the love of Jesus Christ.

Pray for India.

Hindu Temple, Madurai Click for more pictures