TEMPLE FESTIVALS

Festivals provide a sense of identity and unity for each member of society regardless of family, income or position. They meld personal needs with communal awareness. The temple may be seen in a very real way as an extension of the individual. Its activities are directly related to the character and personality of the devotee. The transfer of the deity from the inner sanctum to the street, from the dark womb of the temple in the center of the city to the thronged parameters of its businesses and residences symbolizes the opening of the heart and mind of each individual through participation in this annual celebration. For a country where much of the population lives near the poverty line, these festivals enable devotees to share in the wealth and glory of their Gods. In many ways community abundance, and its consequent reflection in the wealth and grandeur of its temples and festivals, is viewed as personal abundance. It may be argued that most Hindus experience poverty differently from many in the West. For them the deities and their individual personalities are very real and approachable and the opulent celebration of the gods is a vicarious extension of the devotees themselves. The more extravagant the festival, the better it is.