On Tuesday, August 14, 2012, from 6:30-7:30pm, I visited the Hindu Temple of Toledo for an evening chanting service and aarti
(an offering of light to the deities). On the phone that morning, the priest had told me the chanting service started around 6:30, so I arrived around 6:10. There were not many people there when I arrived; I took my shoes off in the “Shoe Room” and entered the temple area.
6:10pm – As I entered, I saw the priest and two adult laypeople near the statue of Ganesh (the one with the elephant head). It appeared that the priest was performing a small, private puja (worship/offering) before the community service; however, he may routinely perform a Ganesh puja before a service. Traditionally, Ganesh is always worshipped first (because he is “the remover of obstacles”, important for success in any endeavor) in a temple puja. He was anointing the Ganesh statue (murti) and decorating it—it seemed a fairly complex process.
