Today I have had the honour of visiting the Swaninarayan Mandir in Neasden, London with all my fellow BEd1 students. WOW! I rarely get lost for words but this is such an special place. I feel that visitng the Mandir is making me connect more with India and what it might feel like to be there.
For everyone who knows me, they will know that I am not religious. I would say I am spiritual and a believer in fate but definatley not religious. I have had the pleasure of teaching RE to infant children and ,I like the children enjoy the magic that surrounds religion.
Howeve,r I have never been able to answer why it is, that when I do visit a place of worship, I feel all goosebumpy and emotional. This happens to me every Xmas Eve when I visit my local church for Nativity, church weddings, funerals a christenings. It happens when I visit Amavarati the Buddhist Temple in Great Gaddesden and when I have stepped into various catherderals, basillicas and shrines around the world. It happened today at the Mandir. Such an overwhelming feeling, I find it hard to describe or put into words.
So it got me thinking, Whats going to happen when I get to India? The numerous sacred temples in Delhi, the Magnificent Taj Mahal, the Golden Temple in Amritsar, the Buddhist temples in Mcleodganj, and St Mary's Catholic School. Am I going to be so overcome with emotion? I have a funny feeling I will. Was I always destined to go to India? What will I really find when I get there? I know it will change me, but am I ready to be changed. The emotions I feel today have unnerved me. However as a believer in fate, I read my friend Anna's blog prior to writing my own and there she had written this:
His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama...
The True Meaning of Life:
"We are visitors on this planet. We are here for ninety or one hundred years at the very most. During that period, we must try to do something good, something useful, with our lives. If you contribute to other peoples happiness you will find the true goal, the true meaning of life".
My pending trip to India has got me worked up into such excitment, but then a little part of me thinks WHAT ARE YOU DOING. The more I speak to people about my plans the more I know its going to be an amazing adventure and the right thing to do. Fingers crossed.
Karen x
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