The Hindu Temple of Atlanta has a number of priests who perform various rituals following a daily, weekly, and monthly schedule.  A popular ritual is the Saturday morning bathing of the main temple deity, Shri Venkateswara.  The temple has several other deities in separate shrines, including Lakshmi, Bhudevi, Durga, Ganesh, Nava Graha, and Hanuman.  One Saturday morning when I visited, the doors leading into the Venkateswara's shrine were closed.  People were worshipping at other shrines or sitting on the floor talking.  A tape of Sanskrit chants was playing on a speaker system, and several priests were performing rituals inside the closed shrine.  Then, a priest opened the doors to Venkateswara's shrine and clapped his hands.  Most of the worshippers immediately turned their attention towards the Venkateswara shrine and lined the sides of the foyer leading into the shrine so that everyone could see the clothed sculpture.  The lights in the foyer of the shrine were off, so the bright lights illuminating Venkateswara appeared even brighter.  About forty people were present for this ritual.  The priests brought out flowers for all of us to touch, and then they decorated the deity with them.  One priest asked the sponsors of the ritual on this particular Saturday their names and astrological information, which he inserted into the appropriate portion of the chants while the other priests served the deity.  These sponsors also took turns waving the yak's tail before the image.  The priests closed the curtain between the shrine and the foyer for a moment during the ritual then presented the burning flame to the deity.  On this occasion, I had to leave before the end of the ritual.  On other occasions when I have visited this temple, priests have been serving the various deities, irregardless of the presence of any devotees.
 

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     Last updated by Steven Ramey
     4 March 1999