I have been travelling, with New Delhi being my immediate setting. The city hasnt changed much, although i havent gotten to see much of it either.
One thing that is common to here and Bangalore and to all other places in India, is the rituals that are associated in the name of god. One of them of great intrigue has been the ‘footwear removing’ ritual outside our temples.
Over the weekend i was in Madurai, and at the Meenakshi Temple, they just dont charge you anything. Leave your footwear behind. Come back and pick it up. At other places, they dont charge you anything, but then there is a notice http://healthsavy.com which stares you in the face, “temple management is not responsible of taking care of your footwear”.
Supposing somebody came in with brand new Nike footwear, where do you think his heart & mind will be, (if he has left the footwear behind, that is !), even whilst he is inside the temple ? I saw a similar scene on the way to the hotel from the airport. A pilgrim, praying with his footwear in his hand.
Well, if God couldnt stand our footwear in our feet, do you think he will appreciate it in our hands. What all we do, in the name of God !
**A pilgrim, praying with his footwear in his hand.
hmmm shows how much respect he has for God 🙂
Keshi.
A thoughtful post. Osho had a miser friend who puts one footwear on one corner and the other on the other corner. No one is gonna take one footwear. He claimed that he’s the only guy who prays whole heartedly while everyone else’s heart is torn between the footwear and the God!
LOL, thats a funny picture. There is hardly a way to get around this, is there?
I had a friend who threw each of his shoes in a different corner of the shoe heap so that if a thief wanted to steal the shoe, he wouldnt be able to find the other one very easily !! Smart, I say !
-PeAcE
–WiTh
—GuNs
Kavi: Nike money is more worth when you go to temple just for peace. If you lose that peace for Nike, wat can I say. Back home, you never know what you will lose when you keep things safe in your bag.
Nike and prayer together shows how faithful he is to god and his belongings.
LOL! This footwear loosing is a big problem!
Nowadays most of the temples have a separate footwear stand where tokens will be given for the footwear you leave there.
But I always wondered what will these people do with the stolen footwear? I have never seen a “second-hand” footwear shop anywhere in the city. SO what is the use of this stealing?
And these slippers (unlike cars) don’t even have any parts which can be sold separately!
hello kavi sar!
Yes, cant imagine the hassle. Does the people who steal come barefoot from home or theyre jst completing the cycle?
hmmm..good ques
Hi,
Amazing thoughts written natural with mast picture!!
I hope your shoes were safe.
God has come next to footwear!! I have seen many of my well known have missed footwear many times in temples.
when you go to a temple or mosque you have to take off your shoes..okay, make sense.. one way to avoid losing your fav shoes is by separating them..