Sri. M. Shankar Menon
Retired Director of Agriculture (1961)
What a grand idea, Mother conveys in these five simple words! Like the Upanishads of yore, Mother’s words are pregnant with suggestiveness, grandeur and beauty. What sweet memories arise in our hearts as we speak of the word home, and what sublime thoughts picture before us when we hear the word Temple!
A temple is a place of worship. It is the place where we hold communion with the divine. It is the home of God. We go there and surrender to the will of divine. We pray not only for ourselves and those near and dear to us, but also for the common good of all, and we come out with a sense of satisfaction, hope and above all of peace.
There are temples big and small, ancient and modern each with a story of its own. They have all been constructed with idea of housing the divine, and they have the splendour and glory due to divinity. Some of our temples are marvelous in their designs and exquisite in their workmanship. The sculpture and carvings and paintings of our great temples are masterpieces of art. We have our temples spread out throughout the length and breadth of our country, from the snow-bound peaks of Himalayas in the north, to the Cape Comorin in the south, as living monuments of our culture and civilization.
We associate our temples with everything that is elevating and beautiful. We have the chiming of the bells heralding the approach of dawn. We have music and the ringing of bells as the worship proceeds. We smell the incense proceeding from the shrine. We have garlands and flowers arranged in all their beauty giving out sweet fragrance; and above all we have the crowds of worshippers making their way to the sanctum sanctorum to have the darshan of the deity. Such is the picture of a temple.
Mother tells us to make every home a temple! Are we to take this in its literal sense and put up new constructions or remodel our homes so as to convert them into temples? No by no means. It may not be possible or feasible for every one to put up new constructions. But it is possible for every one to create the atmosphere of a temple in every home by carrying out in our practical daily life the high principles Mother has taught us. A temple stands for certain high ideals and principles like truth, purity, love and dedicated work. If we could enshrine all these high qualities in our home and make ourselves living centres of truth, love and the high principles Mother stands for, we may feel satisfied that we have done Mother’s bidding. The temple of God is within us all. It is also everywhere. Oh! Mother Divine, pray help us all to realize this truth.