Gurudevan’s concept of the Temple

In connection with Prathishta of Goddess Sarada, grand conferences and festivals were conducted for four consecutive days. Shree Narayana Guru introduced original and novel perceptions about temples, departing from traditional ideas on the subject. He shunned tantric rituals. There is no similar temple in India. Here, he established an architecture that was simple and different. For the first time in India, a temple with windows and ventilation was devised. The Guru installed a deity which was traditionally symbolic and aesthetically perfect. The highest standards of hygiene were introduced to maintain the place as a modal to other temples and temple worshippers. The opening of this temple was uniquely marked by the inspirational ceremony of a guest of hymns in praise of the mother Sarada. The Guru himself wrote Janani-navaratna Manjari, nine Gems in praise of the mother. It is not necessary to build temples in the old style by spending a lot of money he ordained. Further, he also advised not to spend money on festivals and fireworks.

In temples, there should be spacious rooms where people can sit comfortably and take part in discourses. There must be schools attached to all temples. There should also be amenities attached to the temples to train children in various trades. The money that comes to the temples as donation must be spent in such a way that the poor people benefit from it. It is not desirable to make ponds near temples for the worshippers to take bath. It is not possible to keep the ponds always pure. Therefore bathrooms are to be constructed with an arrangement of small pipes so that the water will fall from above the head. From these words, we can clearly understand the progressive nature of Gurudevan’s concept of the temple.

In line with these thinking of Guru, the devotees in Ahmedabad also constructed a temple depicting the same model as the one in Sivagiri. The activities are undertaken here include:

• Daily Pooja
• Evening Deeparadhana
• Weekly Pooja
• Devotional Songs and Discourses
• Distribution of Prasadam to Devotees
• Special Poojas
• Monthly Pooja on Chathayam day