Some scientific explanations to Indian traditions & customs- The actual reason why they were brought into place and how have they changed now.. Part-2

1) Why do we have to go to temples? Why are men asked to remove their shirts inside the temples? And women are expected to be in their traditional dresses? A very basic question, God is everywhere, so  why temples?

I'll have to write a seperate blog on this :) Hats off to our ancestors for having these concepts inside their brains..

#1 Initially, temples were really really small.. And later they were made really really huge, an influence Buddhism had on our kings.. But the flip side of it, people went to temples everyday, kept their diabetes and obesity in check.. seriously!

#2 Temples were built according to the Agama Shaastra, which was the science of building temples. The dimensions, ratios, the shape, infact everything about the a temple were related to spiritual concepts. Like the pillars and the Gopurams were usually 7-storied, indicating the seven births a human took. The Garbha Griha (The inner most sanctum sanctorum) is usually kept dark, in resemblance to the womb and it was an indication that the Garbha Griha is our heart and the God is our soul. The outer prakaaraas are an indication of the outer world. The whole construction is meant to say that : Deep within you, the god resides in your aatma sthaana as the aatma. Besides, the pillars were full of sculptures, to inspire people about various great saints and devotees of God.

The Dwaja Stambha was meant to indicate that we leave all our shortcomings, all our desires at the outer of the temple and walk towards God, as our humble selves. So, there's so much to it than mere architecture

#3 The temples catered to the five human senses-

•   Sight- The carved artistic excellence found in the Vigraha of the Lord, the carved pillars and the temple pond, the deepaaradhanaa- all of this is meant to refresh our sight
•   Sound- The sound of the bells within the temple, the musical instruments, the vedic chants- all these sounds give us a lot of positive energy
•   Smell- The sweet smell of incense, of the flowers are to cater to our nasal fancies
•   Speech- People usually say silent or loud prayers, and inside a temple, people generally speak out more positive words.
•   Touch-  One tends to touch the deepa, the prasaadam and apply it to one's forehead or eat the prasada.

So a temple is meant to refresh the five senses

#4 The level of Positive energy within a temple is at its maximum. Yes, and thats primarily because of the temple architecture. There's this scientific concept of Corona Discharge- Sharp ends tend to attract positive ions and the blunt ends tend to attract negative ions. The same concept is used in a lightening arrestor. The Vimana of the temple gopuram is made of copper, and its pinnacles are very very sharp. The Vimana being a conductor and its ends being very very sharp attract loads of positive ions. And the diety is placed exactly beneath the pinnacle of the Vimana, and hence all the positive energy is directed towards the main diety. The next question you'll ask me is: the diety is made of granite. My answer: before a kumbhabishekam is done, a small rectangular pit is dug at the spot the diety will be placed within the sanctum sanctorum. A Yantra carved on a copper sheet that is sanctified with lots of mantras, are buried in that pit along with precious stones and metals. The centre of the idol is placed exactly on top of this rectangular pit. So folks, its all about conduction of positive energy.

The more prayers and vedic mantras that are chanted, increases the flow of positive energy and we call that as Saaniddhyam, meaning, you'll feel the presence of the Diety in that temple.

#5 Men are asked to remove their shirts to expose their torso to all that positive energy and women are asked to wear gold/metal ornaments so that they are receptive to all those positive ions also.

So, if you are really really upset about something and you need a change, I bet a proper temple is the best place to be in to cheer up yourself.

#6  God is indeed everywhere, temples are just an assertion that yes, god does exist amidst us. Building a temple and digging a pond is considered very meritorious. Reason: it offers employment to so many people for years together ( Ok, we build temples using cement now and it still continues to offer employment) and after the temple is built, there are a number of people who are dependent on being employed in the temple.

2) What is the speciality thats tagged with Vedic Chants?

I found out this answer in an article, that was a write-up on Kanchi Mahaperiyava's speech.

The space around us is filled with atoms. Atoms occupy every place in the universe. When we speak , the atoms vibrate with each other in a particular frequency and the sound is thus propagated from one mouth to another. This frequency of oscillation disturbs atoms in the sorrounding environment too, which includes ourselves. Its a proven scientific fact that positive words differ in frequncey with negative words. The same is the case with positive thoughts.

The Vedas are filled with divinity and when someone chants it, the sorrounding atmosphere gets charged with all the positive frequency. It affects the minds of the people , and as it travels it has the capability to affect even the atmosphere. Chants that are spoken aloud with complete faith have their own magical effect.

This change in frequency can change our minds, and if that is possible, anything is possible. That is the power attributed to Vedic Chants. Vedic mantras when chanted with faith, are like magical incantations., they bestow the one who chants with all prosperity and well being.

That is exactly the reason we are asked to speak positively, always..!