Page 83 - Hinduism
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The Āgamas furnish detailed instructions regarding the planning and construction of temples as regards position, size and the measurements of the vimāna and other parts of the temple. Just as the body is a living temple of God and the heart is His shrine, so the town is modelled on a spiritual plan with the temple at the centre. In addition to the temple to the ādimurti or the chief God there may be temples for the other incarnations of God, the Ālvārs, Nāyanmārs and the Ācāryas. The whole temple is pervaded by a religious atmosphere in which work is elevated into worship and worship is raised to the philosophical and spiritual level.
The festivals conducted in a temple are for the benefit of the community as a whole and they are of two kinds, the periodic and the occasional. While the devotee seeks the mūlavar or the God within, the utsavar, as the giver of grace, seeks the devotees outside and bestows His blessings on them. In addition to the periodic festivals like those at the time of the full moon or the equinoxes, festivals may be performed at any time out of devotion or desire to ward off evils in times of drought or cosmic calamities. The duration of the festivals may vary from one to 15 or 30 days. A flag is hoisted in the temple to indicate the course of the festival; and it is lowered at the end of the same. Once the flag is hoisted, none may leave the town until it is lowered. This indicates that the festival is for the benefit of the people. It is laid down that
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