Visi a place of worship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Visi a place of worship - Essay Example I had the chance for this reason to visit the Greater Baltimore Temple located in Finksburg, Maryland not once but twice. My first visitation to the Greater Baltimore Temple was on the occasion of the Divali celebration (or Diwali as the poster at the temple said). For the Hindus, Diwali iss marked as most respectable festival and holy of the year, and it’s usually celebrated for five days. After my first visit, I was notified by the staff that there was going to be a traditional Hindu marriage on Saturday. I came back with the intention of observing the event and to carefully study on the building structure and the deities’ statutes since it was crowded (during the Divali). This paper is focused on my reflection from what I observed on my visitation to the Greater Baltimore Temple. According to the website of the temple, â€Å"In the early 1990s, several dedicated members of the Hindu-Jain community felt the need for a place of worship and to preserve our heritage for future generations† (Elfenbein, pg. 18). During my second visit, I had the opportunity to ask the elderly members in the temple some of my main concerns. For them, the temple not only serves as the worshiping place for the Hindu, but also as the meeting place for the Indian immigrants in the Washington D.C. and the Baltimore areas. Being an international student from India; therefore, I also share the same feeling like that of the Indian immigrant. For someone visiting United States from outside, she or he is most likely to appreciate the ordinary things/events that happen in her/his home and tends to form a community that represents one’s identity. During my visitation I had the chance to talk to young Indian parents about the relationship of the temple and their children. Since ch ildren are the third generation of the Indian immigrant, they are already fit in and influenced by the culture of the