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of the temple. If he was sick he went to the temple, if he was unhappy he ran to the temple; even if he was happy he ran to the temple to give thanks. If something good happened in the family he went to the temple with fruits and flowers; if there were problems he would go to the temple to pray. For him the temple was all and everything. All his hopes, expectations and ambitions revolved around the temple. However poor he was, he kept the temple decorated with gold and silver and all sorts of jewels.
Today we think all that extravagance for the temple is mad. How stupid, when people are dying of hunger, that new temples are being built! Stop this! Make hospitals and schools; let the temples be opened up for refugees, let them be used. Because we have forgotten the real use of temples they have become useless. We think, "Why should gold and silver and jewels lie in temples when people are starving to death?" But it is worth remembering that only such hungry people have given the gold and diamonds to the temples; whatsoever they felt to be the most valuable, they gave to the temple, because whatsoever they had known of great value in their life, they learnt from the temple. There was nothing which would sufficiently repay their debt, so whatever they had they gave. Whatsoever was done was done for a reason, because nothing can continue for thousands of years without good reason. The invisible fruits of the temples' influence were continuously being received. There were clear and conscious benefits to being near a temple.
Man always forgets. Whatever is very high and of value we forget; whatever is trivial and commonplace we remember continually, twenty-four hours a day. We have to make an effort to remember God, but our desires and passions don't need to be remembered, they are there all the time. Going downhill is easy; going uphill is always difficult.
So the temple was built in the center of the village so that during the day one could go there as frequently as needed. It kept the search alive. Very few of us naturally remember what we are looking for; most of us only feel inspired when we actually see things. When there were no airplanes,
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