Reflection of Visitation: Hindu Temple & Cultural Center of Kansas City

October 4, 2008

The Hindu Temple and Cultural Center of Kansas City is located on a spacious land in a breathtaking serene atmosphere at 6330 Lackman road in Shawnee Mission of the State of Kansas. It has a sizable parking lot enough for approximately 50 cars. Upon approaching the entrance to the temple, one is attracted to the screams and laughter of children in the playground swarming around a few swings and slopes meant for their entertainment while their parents converge around a dozen deities assembled inside the temple. As is common for the typical American child, parental guidance is always a manifestly remarkable event as one or two adults keep watch over a few rambunctious toddlers left outside to bump each other for a few hours of the day especially on weekends. 

            The roofing rim of the temple is decorated with what appears to be gold colored relics similar in kind to the golden temple in Amritsar, India. According to information contained in www.pluralism.org, the temple serves the Hindu and Jain communities of Wichita, Topeka, and the Greater Kansas City area. Work on the temple commenced on Aril 9, 1984, when, after making great sacrifices, a group of committed Indians purchased a tract of land on which the current temple is sitting on. According to the web site www.htccofkc.org, the location of the temple is close to at least 80% of the Indian population of Kansas City. Where there is a will, there is a way. The struggle to have a temple for the area came to fruition in May 1988. The Indian community of Kansas City did their best to have a place to worship and display their cultural heritage. In any case they perspired enough to ensure their revered gods and goddesses remain visible in the American landscape for many years to come.

I was ushered in the temple by a young man who at first advised me to remove off shoes. To my amazement, there was a faucet for hand washing and purification. As I proceeded further down the passageway, I was led to a man who introduced himself as Mr. Sanjeev Goyal. After handing me a pamphlet detailing the day-to-day activities of the temple, Mr. Goyal instructed me to proceed to the interior of the temple where the prayer hall was located. This is where I could observe the overall activities of the worshippers. The interior of the temple contained idols earlier mentioned in class lectures. An assortment of deities filled a semi-circle rotunda resting against the wall of the main worshipping hall holding India’s holiest of Gods and Goddesses most notably Krishna and his beautiful consort, Radha, often worshipped as an incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi. There was Laxman who is the brother of Rama, and Rama himself considered in Hinduism to be an avatar of Vishnu and his wife Sita. To the left was Saraswati, the Goddess of Learning followed by Parshvanath, a saint in Jainism. There was Durga, which the clergy explained as the mother of Ganesha, the elephant-headed deity revered among Hindus as remover of obstacles and Kartikeya, the God of war.

            Ironically, most of the devotees in the temple were women and children whose prayer etiquettes revolved around sitting directly in front of the deities while listening to arousing music in the background. For others it entailed disappearing behind a secret wall located directly behind the deities and then appearing minutes later the side of Shiva and Sai Baba, a saint from western India. One other appealing act I noted among women adherents is the application of forehead dyes of a variety of colors known as Bindi among Hindus. A lady worshipper explained to me that the forehead adornment mark is made from a concoction of red turmeric and zinc oxide and dye. Though a prerogative of married women, girls may also choose to wear Bindi. For married women, it is a promising indication of matrimony that shepherd opulence, grants happiness and offspring and elevates social standing. Also, I saw women devotees dip their fingers in a bowl-like container holding what I thought was a kind of nice smelling frankincense and other sorts of perfumeries and cologne. This type of sweet-smelling aroma was not new to me given that I am from the ‘Land of Punt’ or ‘Land of the Gods’-a connotation coined by ancient Egyptians in their travels to the Horn of Africa during the reign of Queen Hatshepsut.

My visit to the temple coincided with the preparation for Navaratri Garba- a special occasion where men and women dance to observe the defeat of Lord Rama over the historically contumacious Ravana whose effigy is burnt and blown up to pieces amid applause and ululation. Though not lit, the neon decorations on the ceilings of the temple and the beautifully colored bright fabric hanging from the edges of the walls must have been set for an occasion of vital importance to adherents of Hinduism. Right in the middle of the temple, a large bell suspended from an extended chain gracefully dangled above the assortment of idols. Beneath the bell, lay a charity box for Bihar flood relief and an idol of India’s most sacred animal, the cow.  Hinduism is a religion of many gods and goddesses. As explained by the caretaker of the temple, Mr. Goyal, a summary of the basic beliefs of Hinduism is outlined below:

1.      Belief in an all-pervasive supreme being who is immanent and transcendent.

2.      Belief in the divinity of the four Vedas, primordial hymns.

3.      Belief in universal creation, preservation, and dissolution.

4.      Belief in Karma, the law of cause and effect.

5.      Belief in reincarnation and liberation from cycle of rebirth.

6.      Belief that divine beings exist in unseen worlds.

7.      Belief in an enlightened master or Sat guru.

8.      Belief in the sacredness of all life and the practice of ahimsa.

9.      All religions are genuine paths to god

There was no congregation on this material day. Apart from a few individual adherents who supplicated and bowed down before a few idols here and there, by and large the atmosphere changed as we approached afternoon hours. Unfortunately, the caretaker was overwhelmed by the multitude of adherents, visitors, and children and so he did not have time to explain his religious and educational background. The knowledge I gained from the study of Hinduism on this material day will remain ingrained in my mind forever.