Yesterday I went to a gorgeous little temple in Changi Village. The Sri Ramar Temple. The scenic drive with the Changi waters on one side and the airport runway on the other side was itself a beautiful peaceful preclude to an audience with the divine. The temple itself appears quite nondescript from the outside and deceptively so. There is no tall gopuram and my friend Harish and I drove past it before we realized that probably we needed to U-turn. Upon entering the temple you see a few buddha shrines with chinese joss-stick holders on the left under the alamaram. That is the beauty of Singapore. Indian temples are a cultural melting pot where not only Indian practices flourish but that of other races and religious influences overlap. This necessarily reflects the community within which the temple operates and its diverse population that it serves.
The temple had a huge 21 feet hanuman. And it was a joy to behold him. Tall, mighty and black inside the temple compounds. Yesterday was also the first time I broke a coconut in the temple. The act of breaking the coconut is symbolic of dashing one's ego. The ego that separates one from god and other men. It was only on my 2nd try that the coconut shattered. But it was a grand feeling. We also lit a lamp for Hanuman and the 9 planets and committed to a Hanuman Jayanthi Puga on 27th Dec.
My mom also told me that my uncle NVV was a huge devotee of Ramar. I had never prayed to him. This was really my first visit to the temple. The Hanuman and the Shiva Lingam in the temple spoke the strongest to me. I will visit the temple again and see how my connection with the temple evolves. Unlike the other temples in the city this temple has a more humble and accessible feel to it. And the priests also seemed to have a strong connection to the devotees who come. In fact one of the priests even gave me his handphone number so that I could give him my parents' natchathira details for the Hanuman puja. Wonderful !!!!
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