Visit to a Hindu Temple, Musings on Reincarnation, and Other Irreverent Reflections

Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Robbinsville, NJ 

4 December 2016

Winter Larry took four of us on a quick detour today, to the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Robbinsville. No photography of the indoor structure is permitted; to catch a glimpse of the inside, follow this link, or, better still, go see it for yourself, because each carving and inlaid stone was done by hand.

Winter Larry (Jewish) Rajesh (who is Hindu but not of this particular denomination) and I (atheist) went inside. They stood by the entrance while I took my shoes off and walked around the mandir. Despite by irreverence, two of my favorite structures are the products of religious devotion:  Gaudi's Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, and this place, twenty minutes from home.

The temple stop was early on in our trip southeast.

We had a tailwind much of the way out, which is how Winter Larry rolls, which is the opposite of how the Hill Slugs roll.

On Imlaystown-Hightstown Road, Winter Larry admired a soaring vulture. As we turned onto Emely's Hill, he mused that he'd like to come back as a bird. "I'll come back as a mouse," I said. "I've killed too many." Larry was confused about why I'd come back as a mere mouse. I said, "What's a mouse ever done to anyone? Humans are awful. We hate each other. We kill each other. Why do we assume that humans are the highest animal? Maybe I should come back as a house cat."

Upon further reflection, I added, "Or a mule. I want to come back as something that can't reproduce."

Our break was at the Wawa in Jackson. Across the street, from deep within the woods, we could hear gunshots. Then there was a boom that sounded like an explosion. For a while after that, there was silence. I half expected to see smoke and hear sirens. Instead, the shooting resumed.

Winter Larry zig-zagged us back to Cranbury, doing his best to hide us behind trees.

As we waited at a light to cross Route 130, I saw a parked tractor-trailer across the highway. Emblazoned on the side, in blue capital letters, was "JESUS IS LORD."

I said to Rajesh, "The Hindus have their hand-carved marble, but the Christians have 'Jesus is lord' on the side of a truck. Jesus for the win!"

Jeff H added, "Murica!"

Rajesh said, "Whatever gets the message across."

"Geez," Jeff said. "Here we are being sarcastic, and Rajesh is being the voice of reason."

"It's a different means to the same end," Rajesh offered.

"He hasn't been in New Jersey long enough," I suggested.

Anyway, you all should go see the temple, for the artistry and the devotion put into it, no matter which imaginary friend* you pray to.




(*It's my blog and I'll be an asshole if I want to. I'm definitely coming back as a cockroach.)