Is Krishna devotees visiting Other Temples wrong?
A girl devotee (Name hidden) asked like this:
“Hare Krishna. Master ji, i have a small doubt. Some of the Krishna devotees told me that, who ever following Krishna consciousness shouldn’t go to other deities temples (like Lord Shiva etc). Is that true? Is there any such rules in ISKCON?”
REPLY:
There is NO RULE that defines whether Krishna devotees visiting other temples permitted or not. THEY SHOULD ALWAYS REMAIN IN KRISHNA CONSCIOUSNESS. THIS IS THE ONLY RULE.
There are some reasons for telling like that. With which purpose we go to the temples of other gods is important. Krishna devotees visiting Other Temples to ask for their blessings to advance faster in Krishna bhakti is permitted.
(Why the scriptures claim many Supreme Gods that confuses my devotion to Krishna? READ HERE!)
Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and we can approach Krishna for everything. In fact, if we just worship Krishna without any prayers, he Himself will fulfill all our needs in a suitable time and manner. He knows when, how and how much to give or not.
So, we need to just follow Krishna Consciousness sincerely and without any expectations. This is what expected from every devotee.
When can we love a person deeply? Only if we focus our attention on that single person exclusively. If we love so many persons at a time, we can not properly and deeply love a single person as our attention will be diverted towards many people.
Similarly, when we concentrate in so many gods at a time, we can not put our love deeply on any god. So, we are expected to have a God that we are shown naturally by Krishna Himself according to our guna and concentrate on that god sincerely.
Because Krishna is the Supreme Lord and Source of all creations, we have accepted Krishna as our Supreme worshiping Lord. When we worship Krishna, all other gods are automatically satisfied. So, Krishna devotees visiting Other Temples for material benefits is not necessary.
(Why In India many gods are worshiped contrary to other countries? READ HERE!)
But, worshiping a single God is subject to a condition:
We should not insult or ill treat any other gods. If we do so, we will lose the support of Krishna also because, all are the creations and expansions of Krishna only. Krishna will not support our defamation of other gods. This is not a quality of a good devotee.
Whenever we get opportunity, we should show our respects to other gods also. Krishna devotees visiting Other Temples is permitted., but, when we have Krishna with us, we need not ask any material benefits from those gods. The best purpose of visiting those temples should be to pray for their blessings for faster advancement in our devotion to Krishna.
Many acharyas have honoured other gods by visiting their temples respectfully.
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu visited the temple of Visesvar (Siva).
He also various Siva temples situated in Gokarna, Vriddha Kashi, Rameswara, Tila Kanci, Siva kshetra, . He also went to the bank of the Krsna-venva River, where He visited many holy places and the temples of various gods.
Maha Prabhu also visited hanuman temple.
(I am going away from other gods after worshiping Krishna. I feel guilty. Help me! READ HERE!)
Maha Prabhu also visited Ambika-kalana temple. It is said that a copy of the Bhagavad-gita written by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu still exists in this temple.
Maha Prabhu visited even Durga temple called Siyali Bhairavi in South India.
Sri Caitanya maha prabhu visited Yameshwar or Jameshwar Temple is a very old temple dedicated to Shiva being worshiped by Yama.
Mahaprabhu visited a place known as Go-samaja, where He saw Lord Siva’s temple. He then arrived at Vedavana, where He saw another deity of Lord Siva and offered him prayers.
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu went to the bank of the Krsna-venva River, where He visited many holy places and the temples of various gods.
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu went to the Kapoteshwara Siva temple, Kasisvara temple, etc of Lord siva.
(SHOULD A KRISHNA DEVOTEE WORSHIP OTHER GODS (DEMIGODS) AND CHANT ALL THEIR MANTHRAS? READ HERE!)
At the holy place known as Skanda-ksetra, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu visited the temple of Skanda (Karthikeya, Son of Lord Siva-Parvati).
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu went to the Ramesvara Siva temple and also stayed there.
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu visited the town of Kolapura, where He saw the goddess of fortune in the temple of Ksira-bhagavati and saw Langa-Ganesa in another temple, known as Cora-parvati.
At Vrddhakola, Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu visited the temple of Sveta-varaha, the white boar incarnation. After offering Him respects, the Lord visited the temple of Lord Siva, wherein the deity is dressed with yellow garments.
Srila Prabhupada’s Spiritual Master Srila Bhakti Siddhantha Sarasvati also visited many Siva temples.
So, Krishna devotees visiting Other Temples to ask for their blessings to advance faster in Krishna bhakti is permitted and is not an offense for Krishna devotees. In fact, it will give broadminded approach in devotional life.
(Can we offer Krishna Prasadam to other gods and accept the Prasadam of other gods? READ HERE!)
Accept Krishna as the Supreme personality of Godhead. Respect and honour all the other gods and religions. This is the Manthra of this website itself.
Do not be a brainwashed devotee accusing other gods. Follow what Maha Prabhu followed.
Hope you are clear now about visiting the temples of other gods.
I too visit the temples of other gods if chance comes as a mark of honour. But, I chant Hare Krishna Maha Manthra even inside the Siva and other temples. And, I always pray for their blessings for my faster advancement in my devotion to Krishna. I always feel comfortable to do like this.
So, Krishna devotees visiting Other Temples to ask for their blessings to advance faster in Krishna bhakti is permitted.
(Two Views on Krishna’s devotee worshiping Other Gods? Which to follow? READ HERE!)