Temple and Human Body
bhattathiri | 27 June 2004, 11:53pm
Our temples are built, strictly following the rules of Agamic Text. A temple can be compared to the human body, every key fragment of a temple represents an important part of human body. The main parts of a temple are Garbhagrahamm - a stead containing the image of God, The Vimanamn - a stucture over the Garbhagrahamm, Ardhamandapam - a corridor in front of the Garbhagrahamm, Prakaram - a pathway around the Garbhagrahamm, and The Gopuram - the main gateway of the temple.
Indian temple is only a reflection of the physical form of the human body. According to the Tirumular "our body is a temple". The great cosmos is reflected in the human body. The Garbhagrahamm is the most important part of a temple. Like a flame radiates heat, The image in the Garbhagrahamm becomes a storehouse of spiritual power from which flow a stream of grace to the soul of a devotee by concentrating on the image with appropriate mantras. According to the latest scientific theory, the sound once produced never dies. The hymns rendered our
great saints before the idols remain immortal by Divine grace. It is to preserve the sound waves that the Garbhagrahamm of our temples are so cleverly built. The position where the main deity is installed is compared to the forehead of human, where Lord Siva's third eye is situated. That's why kumkum and vibhoodhi ( the holy ash) are put on the forehead.
The Vimanamm over the Garbhagrahamm attracts holy powers from the cosmos, like our nose attracts pranavayu (oxygen) from air. In all Siva temples the Garbhagrahamm of the Goddess is found in the place where heart has its abode in the human body. The big finger of the leg is an important part of the body where in all the nerve systems of the body end there. Those who know acupuncture can very well appreciate the importance of the big finger of the legs. It is a custom in Hindu way of life that one should salute a saint by laying down his body on the earth and by touching the tip of the big fingers of the legs of the saint. This is the reason why Raja Gopuram is considered as the gross body of the Deity installed in the Temple and devotees unable to visit the Temple simply consider the Raja Gopuram itself as the Deity and offer their obeisance from wherever they are.
Generally, Raja Gopuram consists of an odd number of stories - 3, 5, 7, 9 etc. Three represents the three states - waking, dream and deep sleep - in which we gain all our experiences. Five indicates the five senses through which we experience the outer world; seven signifies, the mind and intellect in addition to the five senses; and nine represents the above seven to addition to ego and heart (not the mechanical organ `heart' in our gross body).
The significance of entering through the Raja Gopuram is that when one visits a Temple, one should turn his antakarana or inner equipment (consisting of the five senses, mind, intellect, ego and heart. through which he experiences the outer world), toward the Deity installed in the Temple and attempt to merge with the Deity
A temple is the house of God and a place of worship for all. Although God is omnipresent and His worship can be done in all places, still His presence is felt more in a temple than anywhere else.
The temple provides an environment, which helps human to commune with the Divine. By constant and regular worship performed by the devotees of the temple, holy vibrations are created and maintained there which help people. Indeed, measurements and proportions are crucial to the proper construction of a Hindu temple. Like the mandalam, the Hindu preoccupation with mathematics originated with the Vedic sacrificial altar. For example, in order for the temple to face east, its width must be a perfect multiple of the fraction three-eighths. This is only the simplest of the necessary calculations. The outer dimensions of the temple must also satisfy five other equations relating to stars, planets and the passage of time. Just as the mandalam brings order to a degenerate world, careful mathematical measurements express the structure of the Universe.
The Garbhagraham is dark, and its walls are largely undecorated. This starkly contrasts the exterior of the temple, which is often highly ornate and replete with thousands of sculpted images.
The simple darkness of the sanctum reflects its function as a "womb house," one of the meanings of Garbhagraham. A second possible interpretation of Garbhagraham symbolism is that God resides in each individual. The mandalam is a pattern of powers in the likeness of the human body, and the deity dwells in the Garbhagraham at the center of the mandalam. The logical extension of this symbolism is that God exists in each person in a very real sense, ideally.
As devotees work their way from the exterior of the temple to the sanctum, they shed the influences of the material world and find their center of being. They become one with God.
In temple ritual, the Garbhagraham is seen as the "seed" of the temple. In the rite of gharbadhana, a pot containing precious stones and other ritual items is buried below the Garbhagraham.
The seed symbolically germinates, growing directly upward through the center of the sikhara, the spire positioned directly over the sanctum and reaching towards the heavens. The sikharam, also referred to as the Vimanam, is highly symbolic as well and deserves its own treatment.On the vimanam rests the kalasam. The kalasam can be thought of as the roots of an inverted tree, whose trunk runs along the cosmic axis of the temple and whose branches reach down toward Earth.The representation of the Hindu temple as an upside-down tree encourages devotees to invert themselves and find their true roots, thus becoming a temple themselves. By transforming himself or herself into a temple, the devotee invites God to take up residence within.
In a way, humans are born upside down-they are rooted in the material aspect of the world. Just as devotees find their true centers by making their way toward the Garbhagraham, devotees also find their true origin by gazing up toward the kalasam. The unity of the Garbhagraham and kalasam is reflected in the anatomy of the kalasam itself, which on many modern temples contains two structural motifs recognized as lotus flowers.Through its rich symbolism, the Hindu temple facilitates the ascent of man toward heaven and vice versa-matter flows up while spirit flows down.
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