When you go to a temple follow this

Go to any temple only when your inner mind tells you to go and not because others are going with you. You need to have an urge to meet the God in his temple. Therefore enter the temple with humility and honesty. Remove your footwear outside and don't keep looking back whether someone is stealing your shoes. Then touch the tortoise or Nandi outside the Shiva Temple that is because we need to leave our pride and ego outside before entering the temple.

Ring the bell which gives out a lovely sound and capture those sound waves which will balance your chakras and when you stand with folded hands in front of the God, just close your eyes and ensure that your focus is only on taking darshan of God and nothing else matters now. Feel the resonance of the positive waves and vibes coming from the idol and keep receiving those waves and vibrations throughout your visit to the temple. Put the donation into the donation box and keep the flowers, fruits or whatever offerings you have brought for the God as Naivedya in front of the idol or handover to the priest.

Always see the God in the eyes but with humility and connect with the God's divinity and serenity. If it is the Shiva temple touch the Shiv Linga with your hand and pray, put a bowl of water or mil on the Pindi as your offering and humbly keep your head before the Shiva Linga or prostrate in front of the idol in complete surrender. Always take Teertha and prasad given by the priest in full devotion and then complete circumambulation around the temple without speaking with anyone, your darshan is complete only after you are back in front of the God. Give charity amount to the temple trust office and obtain receipt for the same.

?Darshan in a temple means focusing on the deity which one believes as the representative of the omnipresent Cause of all. Such a focusing gives ample time for looking inwards to improve one’s state of attitude. The proper way of Darshan commences right from the entry into the temple. The prostration to take place at the flagstaff. The next place to have Darshan is of divine devotees and then goddess and finally the god.?Darshan refers to a simple act of seeing the deity in you. You have to understand that the deity is not a supreme being but a part of you and you can achieve the same if you can realise the godliness within you.

There is no specific way of Darshan. Every person can perform this as per his understanding. The secret is to be as comfortable as possible and keep your mind clear of all affairs. That way you can concentrate on the darshan. For my personal recommendation, when i go to a temple, i simply stand in front of the deity, folding my hands and I look at the deity, just look. You will glean something out of this activity after some time. It might not happen the first time, but with regular exercise, you will start talking to the deity as if It is your friend. Just pour your heart out or let him tell you what he wants.?

They will allow to take Darshan of Meenakshi Amman Its fact also every year one British family from England visit the temple to take Darshan of Mother Goddess Meenakshi. There is a most interesting story. Connected between British collector and Meenakshi Amman. British Collector named Rous Peter was appointed as Collector of Madurai from 1812 to 1828. Though a Christian by faith, he respected all faiths including Hinduism and also honored local practices. Collector Peter was the temple administrator of the Meenakshi Amman Temple and conducted all his duties with sincerity and honesty and respected the religious sentiments of all people. Collector Rous Peter respected and treated people of all faiths equally and this noble trait earned him the popular nickname ‘Peter Pandian'

Goddess Meenakshi Amman Temple was situated between Collector Peter's residence and office. Everyday he used to go to the office by his horse and while crossing the temple, he got down from his horse, removed the hat and his shoes and crossed the whole path on his foot. Through this small gesture he expressed his reverence to the Goddess! One day there was a heavy downpour in Madurai city and River Vaigai was in spate. Collector was sleeping in his residence and was suddenly disturbed and woken up by the sound of anklets and he left his bed to find out from where the sound had came. He saw a small girl wearing pattuvastrams (silk garments) and precious ornaments and addressing him as 'Peter come this way'. And he came out to follow her and was running behind the little girl to find out who she was!

As he came out of the house and was running, he was shocked as he turned to see behind him, his residence (whole bungalow) being washed away by the flood waters of River Vaigai! He turned to follow the girl but she disappeared into thin air! He saw that the girl ran without any shoes and was wearing anklets. He believed that his devotion for Mother Goddess Meenakshi had saved his life. Later, he wished to give a gift to Lord Meenakshi Amman & consulted the priest of temple and ordered for a pair of golden shoes for Goddess Meenakshi Amman.

It is thus that the pair of Paadukas consisting of 412 rubies, 72 emeralds,and 80 diamonds were made and donated to the temple. His name was sculpted as "Peter" on sole of the shoes. Till this day the pair of Paadukas are known as 'Peter Paadukas'. Every year at the time of 'Chaitra Festival', Utsava moorthy of Goddess Meenakshi Amman is decorated with the Padukas. He also wished that after his death he should be buried in a position that enabled his eyes to face the temple. It is interesting to note that Rous Peter’s grave is positioned the way he wished while the other graves faces the other way. This is the incidence that had happened 200 years back in 1818 and for all those who have faith and belief Goddess Meenakshi had been benevolent with her blessings.

When we go to a temple or we are in the presence of an enlightened being, we intend to absorb the divine energy that they emit. This is what I understand by the word darshan. What is the meaning of this? Is it like a shopping window, “I want to see?” No. What most people do not understand is, when you say “I see you,” when you say “I behold who you are,” the experience, the image of the other, is happening within you. If energy forms are powerful enough, they are capable of imprinting themselves upon your system.

If you are too full of yourself, if you are too identified with things that you are not, then nothing goes in; the image just bounces off your eyeballs. But the less you are, if there is nothing much of you, this image, if it is properly taken in, imprints itself and grows within you. This is why people want to behold the divine for a moment. Once you see something, even if you close your eyes, it is there and if you behold something with a total willingness of wanting to take that imprint into you and if you reduce yourself, then this image grows and becomes a live process; it has become a part of you. When you will allow it to become the whole of you is just a question of when you will make yourself into nothing.

Devotees claim because of their god or goddess, their business is working wonderfully, their family is functioning very well – everything in their life is going fabulously. This is because in some way, they are taking an imprint. A superior machine is working for you, and suddenly, you experience a different level of functioning altogether. Unfortunately, inspired by other religions, people have started praying in temples too. Telling the Creator what He should do is the most idiotic thing. None of us has the intelligence to create even a blade of grass. Then who are we to give daily advice to the one who created such a phenomenal existence? You only behold – you do not ask your divine entity for anything. You are not willing to settle for anything less than the best – you want Him. You do not want anything less than becoming divine, so you want to take an imprint of the Divine within yourself.

Darshan is not about listening to some great talk. But how to make you behold? Either I must sing or I must speak. Because I am not good at singing, I speak. Right from the moment you first sit with me, I have been saying, “Just be with me.” That means being in darshan. This is not a complex philosophy that you have to understand. Simply behold so that the energy imprints itself, because I don’t come and sit here as a person. I have arranged myself in such a way that there is a certain level of vibrancy that is worth getting an imprint of. If darshan has to happen, you have to take the maximum input into you. If you are so meditative that you are absolutely not there – you are an empty house, that is a great way to behold. But if you are in a house-full state, then it is best that you behold with utmost love and tenderness because this is when the imprint of what you see is deepest. Om Namah Shivay