The Jain 1998 07

Author(s): Amrit Godhia, Pradip Mehta, Pravin Mehta
Publisher: UK Jain Samaj Europe

Page 49

10dh anniversary pratishdha mahotsana
wity of Temple
by Mahatma Gandhi
"To reject the necessity of temples is to reject the necessity of God, religion and earthly existence."
Temples and images remind us to renew our renunciation and dedication from day to day. They remind us:
"Do not forget the original of the idol." I know of no religion or sect that has done or is doing without its house of God, variously described as a temple,
a mosque, a church, a synagogue, or an agiari.
There are millions whose faith is sustained through these temples, churches and mosques. They are not all blind followers of superstition,
nor are they fanatics, superstition and fanaticism are not their monopoly: these vices have their root in our hearts and minds. To reject the necessity of temples is to reject the necessity of God, religion and
earthly existence.
We, the human family, are not all philosophers. We are of the earth, very earthy, and we are not satisfied with contemplating the invisible God. Somehow or other we want something we can touch, something which we can see, something before which we can kneel down. It does
not matter whether it is a book or an empty stone building which satisfy others, and many others will not be satisfied unless they see
something inhabiting these empty buildings.
So I ask you to approach these temples not as if they represented a body of superstitions. If you approach these temples with faith in them, you will know that each time you visit them you come away purified, with
your faith more and more in the living God. It depends upon our mental condition, whether we gain something or do not gain anything by going to the temples. We have to approach these temples in a humble
and penitent mood. They are so many houses of God.
God of course, resides in every human form, indeed in every particle of His creation, everything that is on this earth. But since we, very fallible mortals, do not appreciate the fact that God is everywhere, we impute special sanctity to temples and think that God resides there. And so,
when we approach these temples, we must cleanse our bodies, our minds and our hearts and we should enter them in a prayerful mood, and ask God to make us purer men and women for having entered
His portals.
MERUL SHAH
(Age 9)
Pr47&
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