This was definitely one of the coolest experiences I've had at Ursinus. I'll start off by putting this one out there - no matter how hard we try to be "multi-cultural" or conscious of the world beyond Western culture we're still white Americans at a private liberal arts college. There's nothing wrong with this at all but I think that it's been overlooked by people wanting to 'understand' new and exciting cultures. After this weekend I've decided that there's nothing wrong with not being able to fully understand - in fact, I think it might be nearly impossible.
I had a great time at the Bharatiya Temple and I feel like I learned a lot, but I don't think I could have had such a wonderful experience if I'd been trying to understand everything going on around me and relate it to things I've been exposed to in the past. THe main thing I noticed at the temple that stands out to me now is the smell.
Most of the religious sites I've been to have no distinct smell beyond the occasional musty scent. When we went upstairs to the shrines there was a very stong perfume-y smell from the incense they burned. I think that this was so cool because the whole experience of stepping into an unfamiliar culture was a completely sensory experience. Beyond the smell there was also the sense of touch (walking around barefoot, hands getting warm over the candle in from of Vishnu), sound (the bells ringing), sight (lots of shrines, bright colors), and taste (taking the nuts from the priest). I think that having all of my senses engaged help me to feel uncomfortable enough in my surroundings (not in a bad way!) that I was able to fully experience going into an unfamiliar culture.
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