Why Do People Go To Temples

"I feel relaxed there".
"I get peace there".
"I go there to connect to God".

Above kind of responses are not uncommon to a question "Why Do People Go To Temples".

Typically, someone goes to a temple.
Closes her eyes.
Meditates on (chants) a Mantra or a prayer.
Experiences that distractions disappear.

Actually meditation done there helps to concentrate on breath. Hence it becomes more rhythmic.
The resulting feel-good effect there helps to connect with one's inner 'self'. 

Then why isn't the same phenomenon possible everywhere else other than the temple itself?

A reason may be we don't choose to make it possible at the place/s of our choice. Some make it impossible for their own selves to believe in doing so. We force it on our own selves to believe that the God¹ is present residing in the sculpted idol inside the temple. Or that the God¹ is in the stone neatly installed under a tree where people visit with flowers to worship.

In some cases the story might be that some saint had meditated there in past. So the story-teller begins worshipping the site at times for vested interests of playing politics or making business out of it. Story-teller's disciples continue it. Thereafter passer-bys join the queue and make it bigger. Eventually a temple gets constructed at the site. More the passer-bys, more the story-tellers! And more visitors  get added to the passer-bys that leave their trails and tails.

Actually, some benefit does occur in the process. At least some people do visit such places with 'belief' and some with blind 'faith' though. But their good intentioned meditation (even that of a goon visiting) must be helping them clean up their auras that in turn must be leaving trails of positive energy at 'the site'. It is resonance of such positive energies that surely must be accelerating cleaning up of the aura of other visitors.

So, why do I visit such places although I do so rarely. I do visit them irrespective of their origin of place, caste, creed, nationality. It is for the benefit of the possibility of positive auras accumulated there.

But before exercising that option I do consider practising it at my current place of 'being' myself in real-time anytime for any amount of time without waiting for a Muhurta or an agent to advocate doing so.

Footnote:
1/ God I believe is some omnipresent subtle energy of highest nature and level. It chooses to manifest itself in various forms and shapes that an ordinary may be able to (but doesn't) see, touch and feel in the material world around and in the nature itself. God exists there-and-then in the form of 'that' helping person/soul when one gets or gives a Hearty-and/or-Soulful experience in a given moment or situation .

Also read a few relevant blogposts hereunder:

कधीतरी सापडेल का शोधता-शोधता ?
I am afraid ! What do I do !!
Fearful-Of-Death-of-Birth
Do you exercise your choice meaningfully
Do You Ask Right Questions ? 
Overworked? Tension? CPU of the mind hung-up?
No Time? Micro-Meditate ! 
Talk In Order To Listen ! 
Eternally Happy !
What You See Isn't What's Made
Am I 'Short-sighted' or 'Long-sighted'? 
Deity is in the eyes of the beholder
Forgive Or Don't? 
Simplicity Of Theory Of Relativity
The Business Of Businesses
Experienced A Delightful Payment !
Beware Of Political-Presentations

Fearful Death-Of-Birth !

Imagine anxiety and fear of a typical interviewee:

Sir, what's my profile and what will be my pay?
I am employing you 'To Borrow My Worries' and your annual-pay will be 'A Lakh of Dollars' dear: replies the businessman.
The Interviewee: But how can a small business afford such a pay package?
The Businessman: That's your first worry!

Imagine anxiety of a typical mother of a patient when Doctor asks:

Which news would you like to hear first, I have a bad news and a very-bad news for you? 
Patient asks for bad news first.
Doctor says: Your lab-test results show you have 24 hours to live.
Patient: Only 24 Hours! Oh My God!! Can there be any worse news than this?
Doctor: The very-bad news is I've been trying to reach you since yesterday.

Jokes apart. 
Fear has power to pull one down from all the previous achieved happiness and achieved goals in one shot.

At spiritual level as Saint Gondavlekar Guruji says, anxiety and worry is like termites. One can't see it eat anything.

Termites are evident only in the form of a destroyed book or cloth. Similarly, effect of anxiety and fear can be seen only in the form of destroyed faith and confidence in one's own self and thereby in terms of an undeserved outcome or a failure.

In fact if studied scientifically as well as spiritually, in longer run
- the so-called failure as also success turns out to be relative, and then,
- one accepts 'whatever happens, happens for good' at the end of putting in best efforts.

In longer run many 'windows-&-doors' of opportunities do open unless one succumbs to termites of anxiety and fear in the interim.

Hence not allowing fear to be in the vicinity should be one of the most important goals, in fact should be a top order of goal of everyone.

And so far, that was about managing fear for material goals.

Ultimate, the choicest of all goals, is to manage mother-of-all-the-fears: The Fear-of-Death.

It's about empowering one's own 'self'.

It's about training one's own 'self' on domain knowledge of a beautiful spiritual thought reflected in various versions of a poem that I came across sometime somewhere:

Looking at the horizon, someone by the side of the sea exclaims, "Oh, the Ship is gone !" just while on the other side of the horizon someone rejoices, "Wow, the Ship has arrived !"

That's where it's the 'Death of the concept of birth' and vice versa.

That inspires me to give a little poetic touch-n-tip:

Life-Boat for Fear-of-Death !

Why do you cry "Oh, S/he is gone !"
Let someone rejoice, "Wow, S/he is born !"
On the day this thought is borne !
Fear is gone with a gift of New Dawn !!

I am afraid ! What do I do !!

I am afraid ! What do I do ?: Flex Muscles !!

In spite of being among top-10 percentile, he wasn't able to get through top companies in campus placement. He was preparing for third round of interviews.

Gripped by fear he was anxious about whether he will get through.

As a first-aid mechanism to tackle the situation, I reminded him to be coffee-bean like by gaining strength from his own achievements against difficult conditions in past. A coffee-bean adopts to tough conditions of boiling-water by getting assimilated in it along-with it's own color and taste, unlike a carrot in it that gives-in it's toughness.

It's like arousing self-confidence by meditating on actionable-facts from one's own successful encounters or that of a role model instead of day-dreaming on imaginary fears. Although sounding like 'flexing muscles' deceptively to scare a dog away, it's useful.

Like in an eu-stress kind of situation that pumps in adrenaline to create positive pressure for productivity, one does gain energy by a couple of de...ee...ep breaths followed by 'flexing' and imagining positive outcome.
It's important however to be prepared to accept failures, if any, gracefully.

Finally he did get through, more because of his own commitment to 'flex-n-fight' rather than 'flight' away.

In hindsight, the latter job did turn out to be better in terms of both the profile and the package than the first two that gave him a miss.

What do we fear about?

As per REBT research, one tends to expect for herself the following. 

1/ A positive outcome in each situation, 

2/ Good treatment from everyone, 

3/ Fairness and ease in life. 

And then s/he begins fearing imaginary 'gap's vis-a-vis expectations as above.  S/he fears accepting reality and facts as challenges. 

For instance, had the so-called failure allowed anxiety and fear to take berth in place of faith and confidence, the interviewee might have missed berth in the latter job as well.

I remember a song in Marathi language 'Athshey-khidkya-navshey-daarey' meaning '800-windows-900-doors'. Life offers many opportunities except for those who choose to see and fear dead-walls in place of 'windows-&-doors'.

A caution: First-aid kind of flash-in-pan mental games such as above can't substitute being prepared for a given situation.

In 1980s, I had used a practical mechanism to be prepared to tackle fear of interviews. On most holidays during my first job I used to appear for various interviews. I was conscious to not be arrogant nor over-confident of course although I didn't need a corresponding job. 

In fact, I was confident since I had nothing to lose. It was like experiencing 'windows-&-doors' before even needing those.

Preparedness in general is like having a passport in terms of
- trained-mind in place to stay positive even in an unfavorable outcome,
- intrinsic knowledge of a given situation.
- alternative plans as well as risk management plans as a part of corrective mechanism

Preparedness helps steadfastly moving ahead with calculated risks of adverse consequences, if any.Thereby it helps mitigate fear  Being prepared to what all might happen in the 'interim' and as an 'end' while sailing makes one take steps consciously and confidently. It enhances chances of success. In fact, thereby it breeds enhanced-confidence in each subsequent situation.

It's prudent to take inner-view in light of the above before and while tackling a tough situation be it an interview or otherwise.


What's the learning? 

There is a structure in the above process.

In fear there is a negative structure that one climbs down a dark valley. 

In 'being prepared' there is a positive structure. One gets luxury of time that brings in patience. With patience comes poise that helps one climb up a mountain towards Sunrise. 

Which structure to use is about exercising choice.

So relax and train mind on these powerful thoughts.

Be prepared.

Gain positive energy by a couple of de...ee...ep breaths followed by 'flexing' and imagining positive outcome.

And then fight the situation out.