SanathanaDharma

SanathanaDharma.com

Introduction

History of mankind has shown that man cannot live without God. ‘If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him!’ decleared Voltaire. Belief in God, in a cosmic Power or cosmic Law, in a superhuman Spirit or Being is basic to all cultures. It is as it were, in the very blood of mankind. Once this fact is recognised, it becomes irrelevent whether thie belief has been brought about by man’s awe, wonder and fear of the powers of nature, or by the teachings of god-men who are supposed to have had mystical experiences of that God.

Man is human and not divine! This is so, atleast, as long as he is conscious of his frailties and impulses. It is exactly because of this that he turns towards the Divine in times of need. Though the Divine transcends all temporal limitations, man the human, needs a temporal set-up that can help him to visualise the Divine or establish contact with it. This is precisely where a symbol or an image or a place of worship comes to his rescue.

All religions have their sacred places, places of worship. All words which denote such places of worship, etymologically speaking, mean more or less, the same thing. ‘Devalaya’ means a ‘house of God’. ‘Temple’ and ‘Synagogue’ mean a ‘building for religious exercises’ and a ‘house for communal worship’. A ‘Church’ also means the same thing. A ‘Masjid’ is a ‘place of prostration before God’.

Brief History	Symbology	Construction	Essential Parts	Iconography	Religious Rites & Ceremonies
Arts & Crafts	Devotees	Priest	Society	Epilogue

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