One may ask, If God is everywhere, in everything, including inside us, why do we need to go to temples? Is it not waste of time and a distraction?

Actually, this is true, it’s a distraction and waste of time, for those, who can feel the god everywhere, in everything, including themselves. Those people are always with their inner self, that they don’t need temples, in-fact they are temples themselves.

But, for rest of us, who find it difficult to focus on inner self, or see god everywhere, temples offer unique experience. 

Because of our ‘aastha’ in given particular temple/idol/place, we find it easier to connect to our-own inner self while we are there, giving us a “special joy” which can only be experienced in the temples. I am sure, everyone of us have had that experience few times in our lives.

This “special joy” varies in-intensity, at different temples, depending upon ‘aastha’ at that place. Some may find more joy in well known tirthas like Tirupathi, Badrinath etc, than local or in-house temples, but, it’s different for different person.

So, in the early phases of spiritual development, it’s very important that we go to temples regularly where we have our ‘aastha’, and additionally, also spend at least few minutes everyday in our in-house temple too, that way we train our mind to look within, and slowly make spiritual progress.

BTW, for most, this “special joy” lasts only till we are in front of the God, and then we are back to normal self.. Think, how much fun it will be, if that ‘special joy” lasts “forever”.. that’s the final destination!