A Place for Our Gods by Malory Nye

Author:Malory Nye [Nye, Malory]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780700703562
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Published: 1995-11-16T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

DEVOTIONAL WORSHIP—BHAJANS AND SATSANGS

6.1 Devotional bhajans

The format of worship at the temple is the result of a great deal of negotiation and bargaining. There is no obvious reason why the patterns of worship described above should have been chosen rather than any other forms. It is, therefore, worth asking why worship at the Edinburgh temple takes the forms that it does, and what is the significance of the various components. The singing of bhajans in particular is a very common form of worship among Hindus in Britain—there are many references to this type of devotional worship in the literature on British Hinduism. Bhajan singing is described in Leeds, Bradford, London, Bristol, Coventry, Derby, and Leicester.1 In most of these cases the singing of bhajans is usually not the only form of worship performed at the temple.

It seems clear, however, that devotional worship is common among British Hindus and that a clear pattern is emerging, in which the singing of bhajans at satsangs is becoming established as an important form of congregational worship. Another common trend is the performance of hawan sacrifices—usually following the influence of Arya Samajis (c.f. §3.2.2). These are most often performed in temples, although O’Keefe (1980: 155) in East London describes how hawans can be organised in worshippers’ homes. This tendency for hawan has not become manifest in Edinburgh—the temple does own the fire grate (kund) for the ritual, but it is rarely used. I have heard a few individuals express a hope that the ritual will be instituted once a pandit arrives, but I do not think there is much overall desire for it. This is in contrast to the Glasgow Mandir, where hawan is performed at least once a month.2

The performance of satsangs in Edinburgh has developed into a form of temple worship—it has become a tradition of activity which is firmly associated with temple life. I have already mentioned that this is not the case in other parts of Britain—Michaelson (1987:41-43) makes it clear that the performance of such satsangs in London are most usually associated with home worship and not temples. Even in Edinburgh, these satsangs are not always held in the temple—they are often held in people’s homes. But despite these caveats, there is now a firmly established tradition in Edinburgh that bhajans should be sung whenever temple worship is organised.

The bhajans take up most of the satsang in terms of the time spent, and they are also the part of the worship which participants tend to devote most effort to. I would say that participants now particularly associate temple worship with bhajan singing. A small illustration of this is the remark made to me by an occasional worshipper at the temple. He commented that:

‘at the temple all they do is just sing and play’, (he illustrated this by making a gesture with his hands to show cymbals being clapped together).

This remark seemed to him to be an indictment of the Edinburgh temple.

This is what is done most at the temple, nearly all religious gatherings are marked by the singing of bhajans at some time or other.

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