Today we had the opportunity to visit a large Hindu temple
within the city limits of
Nairobi.
Since arriving we have passed this temple
several times and always desired to go in and meet some folks there.
Nairobi has a
high Indian population, bringing with them various aspects of
India such as
food, incense, clothing and religion.
It
is the latter which interests us the most as we would occasionally encounter
adherents to the Hindu religion.
We arrived at the temple shortly after 9:00 and ironically
were welcomed warmly despite our van bearing the words “Adventures in
Missions,” clearly a Christian organization through any Kenyan eye.
As we ascended the steps towards the
entrance, we were requested to remove our shoes and proceed barefooted.
The ornate temple was very clean and housed a
few lone worshipers.
Perhaps the most
striking aspect was the detail put into the ornaments, walls, domed ceilings
and columns.
Intricate carvings adorned
both the inside and out, taking a reported one million man hours for workers to
hand carve the wood and stone.
After marveling at the architecture a small boy, who later
told us he was 11, began giving us a tour around the place.
He pointed out the gods and hallowed saints
of whom were preserved through carved images.
According to Hindus, God reveals Himself through each of those forms or
rather incarnations.
I would have to say
that after 330 million incarnations, what could possibly be left.
Nevertheless, we watched in sorrow as
adherents entered the temple and bowed before images of death hoping to receive
some manner of life in return.
We continued on to an area that sang
India’s praises
and the complex relationship she shares with Hinduism.
We watched a short video which was dedicated
to Swaminarayan, a popular founder of the sect of Hinduism with the
same name.
Apparently he lived a powerful life of asceticism, generosity, teaching
and selflessness.
Now 200 years later
his legacy lives on through a group that not only has a presence in
India,
Kenya
and
London but also
Houston,
Chicago,
Atlanta,
LA and
Toronto.
The time spent there allowed us to cross paths with some
very friendly and very dedicated people.
However, it left us broken hearted for the 1/6 of the world’s population
walking the path of destruction.
May God
grant us opportunities to share His truths with this people group.
