33,000,000 gods plus 1

I have always been told that the Hindu religion has 33 million gods.  After visiting India, I am convinced there is at least one more.  Materialism is the god that I most identified among the people that I met and encountered.  It seems that many young people work long hours and strive to have careers, all for the love of "things".  And not only things, but many western things such as western brand name clothing, jewelry, and technology.  I was surprised to find western style gyms and work-out centers in almost every neighborhood.  Many western stores and restaurants can be found in the bigger cities, such as Bangalore.
As I made my own observations, I couldn't visibly see the outward expressions in day to day life of Hinduism, Islam, Animism, or Christianity.  I didn't find religion to be a main focus of most people living there.  They were busy with their every day lives.  Chase explained how their religious practices had been absorbed into their every day lives.  He saw it as almost impossible to separate the two - religious practices and every day life. 


We lived in an area where Ganesh, the elephant god, was a primary focus of the Hindu religion.  There was a large statue of Ganesh on a main road where we turned to go into our neighborhood.  After reading some about this god, I came to understand that he is their god of good fortune.  When they go to make offerings on holy days at the temples, he would probably be the first god to receive praise.  One such temple was in our neighborhood.  Behind the iron bars and commercial looking front, there are ancient temple grounds where worship to gods with no ears, no life, and no hope holds them captive. They revere cows as gods, which is why they are allowed to freely roam about on city streets and really, where ever they choose.  Actually, there are many things of nature that they consider gods - including wealthy human beings.

Front entrance to the temple area.  This is where there would be a line going down the street on holy days.  People would be waiting their turn to make offerings to their gods.  They would be dressed in their finest and carrying small gifts for the gods.  The women would have their hair adorned with fresh flowers. 



This is the side view where you can actually see the ancient temples.  Yes, that is modern day play equipment along side these age old temples.




An obviously ancient tree that is revered and to which offerings are made

 There is a primarily Muslim neighborhood where you will find many followers of Islam living.  There is a large mosque there.  The call to prayer can be heard over a loud speaker, very clearly, five times each day.  There were a few more beggars outside the gates of the mosque because giving alms to the poor is one of the expectations of Islam.

My children kept running into Tibetan people while at the mall or in shops or restaurants.  There were some monks around the city, but the number was relatively few.  Because they are studying Tibetan and are familiar with what to look for to identify Tibetans, they were able to interact with and connect with several Tibetan Buddhists during the few weeks.  It was fun to see them using their language skills in real life situations and they loved it.

Surprisingly, there is quite a bit of Christian influence in Bangalore.  I was there during Christmas and although the commercial side of it all heavily outweighed the true meaning of Christmas (much like in America), there were still hints of the Christ-child seen throughout the city.  Several of the small stores and shops had large stars hanging outside their business and for sale.  Believers would buy these and hang them outside of their house in honor of the Christ they had come to know.  There would be other little subtle hints of those who love Jesus such as a sticker on the inside windshield of a rickshaw that simply had His name or a praise phrase for all who rode along to see.  There were Christian gatherings, pageants and plays, and evangelical gatherings advertised publicly, billboard style. 

There is a Christian bookstore in Bangalore.  Even though it is well hidden away, down a long, dark hallway and up a flight of stairs, it is still there.  They carry a lot of Bibles, newly published Christian books, and Bible aids such as commentaries.  They have the Word in several languages but mostly English and Hindi.  They carry items that the local church would need to teach their children and serve their congregations - western style!

I enjoyed going to church with a friend to worship one Sunday.  The church was about a 45 minute rickshaw ride away and met in a very nice hotel.  It had been planted by westerners who have a church in another Indian city.  The church had an local Indian pastor and an Indian praise team.  They piped in the sermon via satellite and once each month, the Indian pastor did the teaching live.  The praise team was live and they did western style praise and worship.  During the service, they had a break where they served coffee, tea, and breakfast cookies.  For those of you who know Compass...I kid you not!! If I had closed my eyes, I would have thought I was at Compass for all the near likenesses.  They have life groups and child care there on site, too.  About half of the attendees were westerners.  It is a great place for ex-pats who are hungering for western style worship, but I'm not so sure it meets criteria for being an indigenous church that will reach locals.

NGO's (non-governmental organizations) who are willing to help improve India's water, sewage, and trash systems, as well as education, and business leadership skills are needed.  Medical care and hospital sanitation is improving in large cities, but there is still a great need in villages and smaller towns. Mid-wives would help improve the mortality rate and be useful, not only for birth, but for childcare and healthy living education. There are some impassioned young people who are working in anti-slavery/trafficking ministry.  There is a very large need for this work there.   Mostly, there is a great need to take the gospel to India to the masses.  Jesus is the answer.