Why Worship in Temples is necessary? Do we need to worship the Lord in temples? What is the main reason behind worshipping in temples? Here is an explanation on it…
God permeates the entire universe, but skeptics ask for a proof about His existence. He cannot be seen by us but He witnesses all our acts. An unscrupulous man, relying on his sagacity, may presume that if he commits a misdeed within the four walls no one will know about it.
The incident may go unnoticed by human beings, but the Almighty will be aware of it. A ruler once announced a valuable gift to any one who revealed God’s presence to him. While everyone stood baffled, a little girl told him: “I shall offer 12 gifts if you can tell me where He is not present”.
Likewise, the grand old poet-evangelist, Avvaiyar, on her pilgrimage, once took rest in a dilapidated temple and stretched her legs towards the deity. Parvathi (in Heaven) was annoyed at her attitude, as She mistook it for defiant attitude.
Despite Lord Siva’s explanation that it could not be intentional, Parvati appeared before her and asked how she could show disrespect to the Lord. Her reply was: “Please indicate a place where God does not pervade and I shall stretch my legs in that direction”.
Sri Kripanandavariar, in a discourse, referred to the usual question of why devotees should congregate in a temple. If God is everywhere, is it not enough for one to sit in his house and offer worship? The temples are abodes of God. The Sun’s heat does not burn a cloth but only dries it. By focusing the Sun’s rays through lens, the cloth can be set ablaze. At the converging point, the heat is great. Likewise, within the temple, the consecrated idol reveals its powers directly and helps a devotee to meditate.
Nayanars and Azhwars had sung God’s praise in their hymns and had made images talk. The devotional outpourings of great saints are in Sanskrit and Tamil. These are the eyes of our religion. They lay emphasis on charity and people are asked to donate liberally and instantaneously for causes like temple construction. The sacred hymns, like Thevaram, should be kept alive by honouring the experts who recite them, and inviting them to sing on occasions like marriages.