On saturday i went on a trip to a Hindu Temple in Hemel Hempstead. Its was really cool- and for all those that are interested it was given to them by George Harrison, the Beatle. But anyhow, its was really nice. We went to see their worship, Darshan (well its said like that i doubt thats how its spelt) and we met the people, a few Hindu monks, and they fed us and taught us a bit about what it means to be a Hare Krishna etc etc. I did enjoy myself and the people were lovely but there were elements i struggle with. Take for example Darshan. Darshan is the daily worship in which Hindu's come to the temple to 'see and be seen by God'. That idea i really loved when i heard it, but in practice what it seemed to me to be was a bunch of people looking at a statue. They come round with certain elements as symbols such as fire and water and a flower and offer them to you as an acceptance of the blessings God has for you- that i loved too. The principles of Hinduism really struck me; they strive to respect people and the environment, to consider the consequences of their actions, to see God in everyone and everything and be grateful for that. To use what you have to honour the God who gave it to you- the unlimited, unimaginable, loving God. But in practice it lost its appeal to me. Everythng becomes literal. They worship a statue as the vessel of God ( i have a very limited understanding that therefore if i am wrong pls correct me and take no ofence) and so they treat it like a person, they wake the statue up in the morning, dress it in different clothes, offer it food and drink and close the curtains to put it to bed. i didnt get why that was needed. in a religion in which the principle seem all empowering, to me, the practice seemed to complicate the matter. But it got me thinking about me and my understand of God- do i complicate the matter in order to understand it? have i lost the principle- Love the lord your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind and love others as you love youself.