Exploring Hinduism

Blog Post 2: The Temple of Shri Shirdi Saibaba

The Sri Shirdi Saibaba Temple is located in Flushing, Queens. It is one of the smaller and less known temples in a neighborhood where there are not only 4 other temples within blocks of one another, but also a Gurudwara (the Sikh place of worship) and 2 Churches. It is situated on a quiet road and is enclosed in 10,000 sq. ft., two stories tall with a basement. What is impressive about the temple is the structure. Unlike the houses that are right next to it the temple, it has a beautiful structure on top, resembling steps, but like a conical dome. When I asked the temple priest what the structure was called, he told me it was called a “gopurum”.

Within the temple the walls are a soothing color of white, and behind enclosed doors there sits an enlarged idol of Shri Shirdi Saibaba. One can see this idol through the large circular glass panels on the door. There is a small seating area, and two tables where the devotees leave the “prashadam” the food and offerings they made to the deity through the priest, and now these offerings are considered holy. People who are exiting the temple help themselves to these refreshments. Another important rule of this temple, like all other Hindu temples is to remove ones footwear outside the temple. Men as well as ladies are also asked to refrain from wearing jeans to the temple, and are requested to come in the traditional clothing (Though i did not see this rule being enforced).

The main deity which the temple priest was conducting the “pooja” to was located on the first floor. Here the people to yet another idol of Saibaba and prayed to him while the priest said the various chants. A few older ladies joined into the chants as well. The priest then came and gave “tirtam” which is hoy water to everyone present, which everyone drank and then bowed to the deity. Many women then chose to start singing “bhajans” in praise of Sai Baba, there was a lot of repetition in these chants.

The temple was established in 1994 by a few devotees inside a house, and then slowly expanded and became quite well know. The temple has numerous special events during the year. One of ones coming up are Ugadi, Ram Bavami, Tamil New Year, Pradosham (Shiva Abishekam) and Satya Narayana Vrita Katha, Navratri, Vijayadashmi and the Baba Mahasamadi Day. On a daily basis, the temples offers 4 important “Artis” which are the chants and dedication to the deity. They are called Kakad Aarti, Madhya Aarti, Dhoop Aarti and Shej Aarti. These are performed at 8:30 a.m. , 12: 30 p.m. , 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. everyday. On Thursdays from 7-9pm and on Sundays from 11:30 a.m- 1:30 pm. the temple offers special bhajans to the deity in the devotion hall on the second floor as the larger idol is only used on special occasions.

Not much was disclosed to me about the administrative structure of the temple apart from there being a priest who come on a rotation basis for a period of 3 years-6 years. There are numerous volunteers ranging from teenagers to old women who come by the temple and help with running the temple. One group of women, on the day I went there, were making garlands from baskets of flowers which were going to be used in the upcoming week for the deity.

The visit ended with some prashad from the table on the first floor, some really delicious sweet rice from one of the devotees.

When I spoke with Pandit Keshavan, I asked him how the temple here was different from temples in India. His answer was two part. First he addressed the physical aspects of the temple. He said that the temples here were smaller, they were dedicated most importantly to one deity. He said in India, even if the temple was for one important god, smaller shrines were built within the temple complex which had various other deities which the devotees could offer their prayers to. He said that the temple complex in India could extend to a couple acres of land, usually donated by the towns richest people, or the local people collecting to buy the land for the community. He also said that temples were not simply a place of worship, but also a hub for cultural programs such a music and dance, where many people would come and attend them. Another important structure that he said existed in India, predominantly South India was the construction of a large bathing area for the people. This area was specially dedicated to the temple, and was holy water, where people would take a dip after their prayers and on special occasions.

On the cultural aspect of things, Panditji said that in India, one doesn’t have to make a concious effort to make time for religion. As in when they feel they should go to the temple, they go. They offer their prayers and some offerings (coconuts, sweets etc.) and get the blessings of the gods. Temple activities keep happening and are not panned around a person’s work schedule as it is done here. Here he said, the temple makes an effort to ensure that most of their “homas” and important celebrations are held on the weekends so that people are able to visit the temple. He also noticed that people spend only a certain amount of time 15-30 mins at the most and sometimes leave halfway through the ceremony. He equates coming to a temple to a meeting which one keeps in their planner.

On the hymns and chants, he says that those are the same as the ones that are in India. He says that many saints and gurus have complied these chants and hymns into books which are where these chats are read from, and if pronounced wrong they loose their significance. Hence as a pandit, one has to make sure they chant correctly. He does however mention that Saibaba loved bhajans, and these bhajans are not the same, people make them up as they go, some are the same, some are altered. It is all sung in the praise of Shri Saibaba.

The Tamil New Year was celebrated on the 14th of April. Tamil is the major language of two states in India, Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry. It is also a major language in Sri Lanka. Lots of Tamil speaking communities live in Malaysia, Singapore, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand. The Tamil people follow the solar calendar, and the new year is on the first day of the month “Chitirai”, which would be close to the 13-14 of April in the Georgian calender. (Tamilcanadian.com)

On Tamil New Year, the “puja” began with a “homa” to the Sun god. Lots of dairy products which included ghee, milk, and yogurt were poured into the “homa” fire. There were also many devotees who chose to give sari’s, small pieces of jewelery(both gold and silver) and long leaf like grass into the “homa”.  There were two priests who were robed in “Dhoti’s” which were saffron. They also had the white thread that signified they were Brahmin.  These priests were constantly chanting verses from veda’s and ended with a “swaha” after every recitation. When they said “Swaha” they poured the dairy products, or water, or threw flowers and offerings into the fire pit.

When I asked one of the devotees why this even was being held, they told me that the New Year marks the beginning of harvest season. This puja/homa was conducted in order to please the Surya Bhagvan for the blessings he has bestowed on the people and their harvest. She also said that in India, this festival is celebrated over the course of three days. On the first day, the people pray to the sun god. On the second day the prayers are offered to the rain god for the water it has provided the farmers. On the third day animals they graze the field and help in tilling the field are worshiped. They are decorated in colorful clothes and a red paint (kumkum) is appied to their foreheads along with turmuric (haldi) and a sandlewood paste called “chandan”. The woman also said that lots of food is made during these three days, and there exists a special book which a mother gives to her daughter during the time of marriage that instructs the woman what she should make on each specified day. The book also tells one what pujas must be performed at the home shrine.

The temple atmosphere was relaxed and people were chanting, talking and watching the homa. Everyone was dressed in their very best clothes as someone said that on this day people should wear new clothes. Later on there was a luncheon for all those who had come where someone explained to me that the food on that day must consist of all four flavors of the pallet. The sweet, the sour, the trat and the bitter. She told me that was how one’s life and experiences throughout the year was explained through the food on the beginning of the year.

The major differences from what I noticed by both talking to people at the temple was that it was now fit into one day so everyone might come and visit. Sometimes people said that if the New Year feel on a weekday, the homa would take place on the weekend so that everyone who wanted to come, could easily come and spend the say in prayer and immerse themselves in community without missing work. So this adaptation of changing the days was the only major difference.