Yes, more temples, but also Thomas...

12 December 2008. From Chennai to Tiruchirappalli

After leaving my gracious hosts in Chennai, I spent the day exploring the Egmore region, a twenty minute ride (at about 20 cents) on one of the city’s metro trains. The first stop was stunning Shiva Kapaleeshwarar Temple, which has several major towers over its entrance and important shrines. These towers feature the colorful Dravidian style, crammed with every possible image and scene from important stories of the gods. This particular temple complex is the most active in Chennai, meaning that pilgrims come here in large numbers for worship and renewal. They move from shrine to shrine, offering their flowers and asking for blessings from the priests. Music plays, with drums, bells, and festive Indian horns, announcing the various worship settings.

Generally, Hinduism is stronger in the South, not having a history of large incursions by Muslims or Buddhists. Many Hindu scholars focus here because the life of the religion shows an uninterrupted growth, and temples such as this one are gems for understanding the complexity and appeal of Hinduism.

But Christianity also has strong roots in the South. Chennai is believed to be the place that Thomas came, about 50 A.D., where he preached for twenty years before his death by persecution. The San Thome Basilica honors Thomas, and I found this church to be a peaceful respite after a substantial walk along a narrow, loud, busy street. The church makes much of its tomb of Thomas, which is described as one of only three worldwide churches where an apostle is buried. When I visited the tomb (the man’s image in the photo is a sculpture), about twenty Indian Christians were praying and soon began singing. In this chapel, as well as the other small side chapel in the church, relics from the life of Thomas are displayed, and visitors meditate on these objects.

In the evening, I boarded my train for the overnight ride to Tiruchirappalli (Trichy), which on a map looks quite close to Chennai, an awareness that speaks to the size of this country. My berth was a lower bunk, which though still a bit too short does serve its purpose. At the station prior to departure, I noticed this shrine to Mary, evidence of the Catholic presence in south India. This shrine, as well as the relics at San Thome Basilica, remind us that Hindus are not the only devotees who use images to worship. In Chennai particularly, a version of the Hindu goddess Lakshmi is often worshipped, and the careless passerby might confuse shrines to Lakshmi with those for Mary. So beneath all of the sounds and colors, images and candles, prayers and blessings, there is an amazing commonality among many, many people – seeking to personalize and identify with God, and asking for peace, hope, happiness, and forgiveness.

slp