The trip to the Hindu Temple was a brand new experience for me. Once again, there were the features of the temple that appeared in some of the other places we have taken trips to. The downstairs was a social area which we have seen a social area in all the visits except the basilica. There were people there who came to pray and worship just as in all the other visits. The thing that really separated the temple from the other places was the upstairs where all the worshipping and statues of the gods were kept. Walking up the stairs and seeing the statues full of decoration and all the golden color around just shocked me. I was definitely not expecting to see so much color or the statues being so decorated and dressed up.

The statues of the gods and how they treat them amazed me as well. That they bathe some of them weekly or once a month really struck me as how they treat them almost as being a real person. They dress them up, change the clothes, use jewelry, and give them baths. It is not like other religious traditions where statues are placed as just decoration and are not meant to be worshipped. It almost seemed as if it was the exact opposite of the other religious traditions we have studied. It seemed the only major similarity was they believed in one God as well.

Finding out that Hindus only believed in one God was the biggest piece of knowledge that I learned at the temple. With all the names of the gods I assumed they were all seperate, not that they are all different forms of what the one true God could take or has taken. It made me curious to think about if the Hindu God was the same God that Jews, Catholics, and Muslims believe in. Until this trip, I believe that Hindus believed in many gods and I was glad to find out that I was wrong before keep going on with my life having wrong information.