On Friday, April 15, 2011, a few of my classmates from World Religious Movements and myself went to a Hindu and Buddhist temple. I have never experienced anything like it. It was life-changing and eye-opening to see two of the religions we had been studying about come alive and experience them first hand.
Before entering the temples are shoes had to be removed. The first thing you notice when you walk in is the strong scent of incense that is almost unbearable. As we were walking up the stairs to the Hindu temple we could hear the sound of chanting and bells. A family was having a ceremony, kind of like a dedication, for a child. They were saying prayers, burning incense, and offering food to a god or gods. There were many monks and priests present washing the bodies of the gods (idols). There were also many women preparing flowers for the celebration of the god's (Rama) birthday the following day. You could feel the presence of something dark there and after leaving I felt as if I was coming down with something.
After eating and resting in the van for a little bit on our way to the Buddhist temple I felt a bit better. We arrived at the temple 45 minutes early or so, so we decided to check out a few nearby cathedrals. The first cathedral we entered was actually a monastery for practicing monks, who pray seven times a day and only speak at meal times. The time we had arrived the monks were finishing up their noon prayers and the sound of their voices reverberating and echoing throughout the cathedral domes was absolutely gorgeous. I was speechless. After they finished up and left the sanctuary one of them came over to talk with us. He told us a little bit about the monastery and invited us to come back again, but before he left he asked that the door latch behind us, which was a little weird. But we weren't supposed to be in there.
The other cathedral we stopped at was a Polish Roman Catholic Church. It was absolutely beautiful and the organist was their practicing for the Easter service, and the sound of him playing echoed throughout the domes as well. It was beautiful. We were welcomed there as well and were allowed to take photographs, but before leaving he asked that the door lock behind us just as the monk had asked earlier. I guess we weren't supposed to be in there either, but somehow God opened the doors for us. We were all glad He did because are spirits were lifted and we were ready to face the darkness inside the Buddhist temple.
For the first part of our visit at the Buddhist temple we sat on the floor talking with a Buddhist nun. Several times she tried to get us to say a chant with her and was proselytizing us; it was very frustrating. It was very interesting to hear her story and learn more about a Buddhists beliefs from a personal standpoint. When we were done talking with her she took on a tour of the building. (Now to the whole point of me writing this). She took us up into a back room were there was a shrine for some sort of demon God. The spiritual oppression in that room was strong I thought I was going to be sick and pass out. I don't really even know what was said while we were up there. All I knew was that I wanted to get out of there. I have never felt physically oppressed by the spirits and it was a scary feel. I don't understand how she can be at peace while worshiping something so evil. I was happy to leave.
Overall, it was an eye-opening experience and I am glad I went, but I feel sorry for the many souls that are lost in the darkness of false religion.
Earlier the next week, Dr. Eby (World Religious Movements prof) held his weekly Bible study with students on campus. He had shared about the trip with the students and when he was finished a girl said to him, "so you were the ones." Dr. Eby was like what? The girl explained to him that during the middle of her chemistry class someone asked to stop class a pray for our class because they had a few friends on the trip. We are not sure what they prayed for, but they prayed around the time the doors to those two cathedrals opened for us and when the the nun was trying to proselytize us. WOW! This is totally a God thing! God knew where we were and what was happening! He definitely came through for our class! I am excited that I was able to be a part of it!
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