by Smt Narayanan
Most of us know what a temple is. Temple is a place for worship. Everyone knows this.
There is a saying which reads: “Do not reside in a place where there is no temple.” People used to say and follow this saying in those days. Some of the current generation also follows it.
Why they say this? Someone may not like worshipping any God. He may say that he can stay anywhere. But it is said that one has to stay where there is temple. Why it was said so?
When we decide to buy or rent a house to stay, we look for
facilities available around the house. We see whether we have shops, transport
facilities, schools, playgrounds etc., near the house.
.
In those days they used to see whether there is a temple or not. Why? If temple is there, all facilities will come definitely.
Yes it is true. How? Is God going to bring it?
Temple is a first business centre you can say.
How is it possible?
When a temple rises in a village or a town, first thing comes is a flower shop. It would give jobs to two or three persons.
Next, coconut and fruits shops come slowly.
When people start coming to temple, they search for food. So, we need a restaurant which starts slowly.
Next we need a place to stay, relax and worship and have prayers for 2 or 3 times. So, the next need is accommodation.
Then when all this start, we need children’s toys and groceries, since we are used to do all shopping in one place. It saves times for us. All shops which are required for households start coming slowly and steadily.
When we see temple in centre and all shops and lodges have come, there would be competition. More shops and lodges come to cater to the needs of the visitors.
Next, the shop owners and workers need to stay. They start building houses for them. They develop a colony which grows to a village, town gradually.
The important thing to notice is that the temple board seeing the crowd coming to the temple decides to do big function for a week which is called as Utsav or Jatra. The business grows. More shops and more motels come in resulting in more people deciding to stay in the village or town.
So, we can see a small village which had a small temple becomes a big temple over a period of time and then become a city. It gives a lot of job opportunities and plenty of business
Now we can see why in those days people said to stay where temple is there. A small village become a town and then a city. You can look at the history of many temple cities and verify this fact.
On the other side, as we worship and realise God, many Mahans or Saints will visit the temple. They bring good waves and culture to the people living over there.
Now the temple becomes a centre of attraction for others to visit.
Now, we know that temple is not only a worshipping place but it is a business place also. It helps a lot of people to survive. So, in our culture, people insist on temple as it not only develops devotion, discipline and culture but also aids in survival of the people around the temple.
If we go to a shopping mall, there are no good waves and no Bhakthi. But when we go to a temple, it develops Bhakthi and gives good waves. At the same time, it provides places for shopping. Now, one can understand why our elders said not to stay in a place where there is no temple. You can also decide which is more important- a shopping mall or a temple.
To conclude, a temple is very important in every village so it helps in developing the village and assisting the villagers to survive and progress in life.
Sriom
