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Visiting Temples Temple
Rules 2. You have to leave your shoes outside temples. Shoes are not supposed to be carried into the temple in a bag or purse. You can purchase a cheap pair of sandals for temple visits. In this way you can easily slip them off and on, and you will not have to worry about them being stolen. You should not leave an expensive pair of shoes (especially brand new ones) outside a temple, unless a person guards them, as there is a good chance they will be stolen. There is usually someone who will look after your shoes for a rupee or two. In most temples it is all right to keep your socks or stockings on, but not always. 3. A number of temples are off limits to non-Hindus. Other temples may allow non-Hindus to enter parts of the temple, but not the inner sanctum where the deity is located. Temple authorities can be very strict about this and can be violent if you do not follow the rules. 4. You may have to pay a small fee to take pictures of a temple. Many times you can take pictures of the temple building, but not the deities. You should ask for permission to take pictures of the deities. You should also ask to take pictures of persons. 5. Smoking is strictly prohibited on temple grounds. 6. Persons asking for donations or a fee to take photographs may approach you. Do not blindly accept that these persons are authorized. 7. Leather items should not be taken into a temple. At Jain temples they are strictly forbidden. 8. Men and women should never touch each other in a temple and deep respect should be shown in the temple. 9. You do not have to make a donation in a temple, but a small donation will help both yourself and the temple. You can consider it like an admission fee. 10. If you take any items in a temple from a priest, such as a flower, prasada (food), or tilaka, expect to give a donation. In many cases no matter how much you give, it will not be enough. So give what you think is correct and smile. 11. It is traditional to circle the temple, stupa, or deities. This should always be done clockwise. 12. If you bow down before the deities (pay obeisances), you should bow down with your left side to the deities, not your right side. 13. If you are walking in a crowded temple room you should not walk over people to get somewhere. This is considered extremely impolite. Better to alert them to your presence and desire to get through and ask them to move, no matter how much trouble this takes. 14. While sitting in a temple, you should not point your legs towards the deities. Temple:guides,
Temple Tour, Pandas & Donations When you enter some temples, the temple pandas (Brahmin guides) may accost you and offer to guide you around the temple, especially if you look like you have some money. Sometimes these guides can be extremely aggressive. They will gladly bring you to see every deity in the temple complex and explain to you how much you, your family members, and everyone in the world will benefit if you give a large donation. Sometimes these guides receive back over 50% of each donation you give to the temple, as a cut for getting you to give. I have actually found the Brahmin temple guides to be very useful for getting information for this book, and I didn’t mind giving a decent donation to them for helping me. Giving Rs 100 to a Brahmin is a good donation for showing you around for an hour, and most guides will be more than satisfied with this, even though they may not appear to be. If they are really good, I may give more. If you know of a informationthat is not correct or if you would like to help update our listings, please e-mail us at:
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