Devotee etiquette

Devotee etiquette

Short, respectful guidance for every devotee: how to enter a temple, offer prasad, speak of the Lord and His devotees. Each item is a few sentences, with where it is taught.

In the temple

Come to the temple clean

Bathe before you go to the temple, and wash your hands and feet before you enter it.

Hindu Temple of Atlanta

Dress modestly

Cover your shoulders and knees, and wear something loose enough to sit in comfortably. Traditional Indian dress is not required.

Hindu Temple of Atlanta

Leave your shoes outside

Take off your shoes and sandals before you step onto the temple floor.

Silence your phone

Switch your phone off, or at least to silent, before you enter, and leave it in your pocket.

Sri Venkateswara Temple, Sydney

Bow to the Deity properly

Offer your obeisances when you see the Deity, and offer them with both hands, never one.

Enter gently

Do not walk in suddenly. A soft sound as you enter, such as the temple bell, announces you instead of intruding.

Walk around clockwise

Walk clockwise around the sanctum or through the temple, and pause before each Deity you come to.

Hindu Temple of Atlanta

Mind your feet

Do not point your feet toward the Deity, and do not let them touch people or sacred things.

Sri Venkateswara Temple, Sydney

Sit with respect

Do not sit with your legs spread out, hold your knees, or lie down in front of the Deity.

Do not turn your back to the Deity

Do not sit with your back to the Deity.

Keep the temple quiet

Speak softly, if at all. Do not shout, quarrel or hold loud conversations before the Deity.

Do not step over anyone

Do not step or reach over people, especially someone who is sitting or offering obeisances.

ISKCON Desire Tree

Follow the rule on photographs

Many temples do not allow photos or video inside. Look for the notice, and ask if you are unsure.

BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, London

Give and receive with the right hand

Take prasāda and holy water in a cupped right hand, and avoid giving or taking anything with the left.

Hindu Temple of Atlanta

Fold your hands during pūjā

During the worship, join your palms with the fingertips touching, and keep your attention on the Deity.

Sri Venkateswara Temple, Sydney

Sit quietly after the worship

When the pūjā is over, sit calmly for a few minutes before you leave.

Sri Venkateswara Temple, Sydney

Leave the sanctum to the priests

Only the priests enter the inner chamber or touch the Deity. Do not touch the statues or the carvings.

Hindu Temple of Atlanta

Leave the temple cleaner than you found it

Put your rubbish in the bins, leave the restrooms and eating areas clean, and do not litter the grounds.

Sri Venkateswara Temple, Sydney

Serving the Deity

Offer with love, within your means

A leaf, a flower, a fruit or water offered with love is enough. Offer your best, and do not strain beyond your means.

Offer what is fresh in season

Offer the fruits and grains of the season to the Lord before you take them yourself.

Offer fragrant flowers

Offer flowers that have a fragrance, keep them in a clean vessel, and do not offer incense without a flower.

Bathe before you serve the Deity

Bathe, and wash your hands and feet, before you touch the Deity or serve on the altar.

Do not eat before the Deity

Do not take prasāda in front of the Deity, and do not eat or serve anything before it has been offered.

Speak only truth and kindness before the Deity

Do not lie, scold, or speak harshly or insultingly to anyone in front of the Deity.

Do not flatter people before the Deity

Let the Lord be the only one praised in His presence. Do not praise or flatter other people there.

Never mock any deity

Do not ridicule or deride any of the devatās. Respect every form of the divine you meet.

Honor Gaṇapati, the remover of obstacles

Begin worship by honoring Gaṇapati, who clears away the obstacles to devotional service.

Do not neglect the rules of worship

Serve the Deity with care and in order. Do not let the regular rules of worship slip through carelessness.

Keep offerings clean

Offer only food that has been kept clean and away from animals, and flowers that have been kept in a clean vessel.

Sit on a seat to worship

When you worship, sit on a mat or a seat, not on the bare floor.

Prasāda and food

Offer before you eat

Offer your food to the Lord first, and eat only what has been offered.

Cook for Kṛṣṇa, not only for yourself

The Gītā says those who cook only for themselves eat sin, and those who eat what was offered are freed from it.

Accept prasāda with reverence

When the priest gives you prasāda, accept it with your right hand and receive it with reverence.

Hindu Temple of Atlanta

In the temple, eat only prasāda

Do not bring food or drink into the temple. Eat only the prasāda that is given there.

Sri Venkateswara Temple, Sydney

Keep the food vegetarian

Prasāda is vegetarian food. Do not bring meat or non-vegetarian food to the temple.

Sri Venkateswara Temple, Sydney

Share what you have been given

Share your food fairly with others, and do not eat everything yourself.

Wash after eating, before worship

If you have eaten, wash your hands and feet before you go back to the Deity.

The holy name

Never speak ill of devotees

Insulting the devotees who have given their lives to spreading the holy name is the first of the ten offenses to avoid while chanting.

ISKCON Bangalore

Take the holy name as it is given

Do not explain the holy name away or invent meanings for it. Chant it as it has been handed down.

ISKCON Bangalore

Do not sin on the strength of the holy name

Do not do wrong thinking that your chanting will wash it away.

ISKCON Bangalore

The holy name is more than a ritual

Do not rank chanting with religious ceremonies, vows, renunciation or sacrifice. It is not one more good work to be counted.

ISKCON Bangalore

Chant with attention and faith

Chant with faith and hear the name as you say it. Inattention, or holding on to worldly attachments, takes away from the chanting.

ISKCON Bangalore

Share the holy name with those who wish to hear it

Offer the glories of the name to those who are open to them. Do not press them on people who are not.

ISKCON Bangalore

Chant humbly

Think of yourself as lower than a blade of grass, be more patient than a tree, and give respect to others without expecting it.

Guru and devotees

Respect every devotee

Honor anyone who chants the holy name, at least in your mind, and show more respect and service to those further along.

No scheming, no politics

Do not plot against others or play politics in a community of devotees. Be a friend to all and serve openly.

Do not treat anyone harshly

A Vaiṣṇava is known as a perfect gentleman. Correct with care, not with harshness.

ISKCON Desire Tree

Do not disregard your teacher

Listen to the one who teaches you, and follow what they ask. Disobeying one’s teacher is among the offenses to avoid.

ISKCON Bangalore

Be patient in your practice

Progress comes through patience. Keep going with enthusiasm and trust, and do not be discouraged by how slowly it comes.

Do not claim to know everything

Speak from what you have learned and say so when you do not know. Leave room to learn from others.

ISKCON Desire Tree

Seek guidance from seniors

When in doubt, ask someone with more experience, and listen to the answer with an open mind.

ISKCON Desire Tree

Cooperate; do not quarrel in public

Work together with other devotees. If you disagree, do it quietly and respectfully, never in front of everyone.

ISKCON Desire Tree

Let your conduct protect your teacher’s name

Be clean in your dealings. People judge a teacher by the conduct of those who follow them.

ISKCON Desire Tree

The qualities of a sādhu

A sādhu is tolerant, merciful and friendly to all, has no enemies, is peaceful and follows the scriptures. Aim for those.

Keep company that supports your practice

Spend time with people who encourage your devotion, and step away from company that pulls you from it.

Speech and mind

Speak truthfully, pleasingly and helpfully

Words that are true, kind, useful and not agitating to others are the austerity of speech.

Be simple and straightforward

Say what you mean, plainly and without pretence. Simplicity is counted among the qualities of knowledge.

Do not let anger rule you

Freedom from anger is one of the divine qualities. When it rises, wait before you speak or act.

Forgive

Forgiveness is one of the divine qualities. Do not carry other people’s mistakes for long.

Do not look for fault in others

An aversion to faultfinding is one of the divine qualities. Look for what is good in a person.

Be free from envy

Be glad for the success of others. Freedom from envy and from the hunger for honor is a divine quality.

Be gentle and modest

Gentleness and modesty are divine qualities. Let them show in how you speak and how you carry yourself.

Be tolerant when provoked

Tolerance is one of the qualities of knowledge. Let small insults pass, and do not answer every provocation.

Avoid pride

Humility and freedom from pride come first in Kṛṣṇa’s list of the qualities of knowledge.

Keep some time in silence

Silence is one of the qualities Nārada lists for a good life. Give a little of each day to it.

Daily life

Keep yourself and your home clean

Cleanliness is counted among the austerities of the body. Begin the day clean, and keep the place where you sit clean too.

Honor your parents and elders

Respect for the father and mother, and for other superiors, is counted as part of the austerity of the body.

Be kind to every living being

Non-violence and compassion for all living beings are among the divine qualities. Do no unnecessary harm.

Live simply

Simplicity is a quality of knowledge and an austerity of the body. Want a little less than you could have.

Be honest

Truthfulness comes first in Nārada’s list of qualities. Keep your word, in large things and small.

Do not covet

Freedom from covetousness is a divine quality. Be glad for what you have, and do not set your heart on what is another’s.

Give in charity

Charity is counted among the divine qualities. Give what you can, without show and without expecting a return.

See every being with respect

Nārada’s list includes seeing every soul as a part of the Supreme Lord. Let that shape how you treat people.

Keep a regular practice

A fixed daily time for chanting and reading will carry you through the days when you do not feel like it.

Begin each day with enthusiasm

Enthusiasm and firm confidence are the first of the six things that bring success in devotional service.

Be content with what you have

Contentment is one of the qualities Nārada lists. It is the opposite of always wanting more.

Scripture

Read scripture every day

Study of the scriptures is among the divine qualities. A page a day is enough to keep it alive.

Recite aloud

The Gītā counts regular recitation of the scriptures as part of the austerity of speech.

Learn from those who know

Approach a teacher who knows the scriptures, and ask your questions humbly.

Speak respectfully of sacred texts

Do not ridicule or belittle the scriptures. Disrespecting them is listed among the offenses to avoid.

ISKCON Bangalore

Holy places and days

Go to a holy place to be purified

The purpose of a pilgrimage is to become purified and to grow in devotion, not to enjoy a holiday.

ISKCON Desire Tree

Go in a mood of service

Visit with a mood of service, not enjoyment. Look for how you can help.

ISKCON Desire Tree

Be humble with the residents

Treat the devotees and the residents of the holy place with a humble attitude, in everyday dealings too.

ISKCON Desire Tree

Be clean in your dealings

Keep your dealings clean in everything, from your eating to the way you change money.

ISKCON Desire Tree

Stay in the company of devotees

In a holy place, keep the company of devotees, hear from the seniors and serve them. Do not go off alone.

ISKCON Desire Tree

Keep a neutral attitude toward animals

Do not make friends with the animals of a holy place or make enemies of them. Do not chase or hurt them.

ISKCON Desire Tree

Approach the holy place with care

In a holy place, pious acts and offenses are both multiplied. Keep your vows and daily chanting carefully, and take special care never to offend a devotee.

ISKCON Desire Tree

Ask a senior devotee for blessings before you go

A holy place is entered by the mercy of devotees. Ask someone you respect for their blessing first.

ISKCON Desire Tree

Choose a sincere guide

Go with a guide who knows the glories of the place, is pious and enthusiastic, and is not doing it for money.

ISKCON Desire Tree

Follow the queue and the customs

Wait your turn for darśana, respect the local customs, and keep the sanctity and decorum of the place.

Shri Banke Bihari Mandir, Vrindavan

Check what you may carry in

Some temples do not allow leather, phones, umbrellas or electronic gadgets inside. Look for the notice before you go in.

Shri Banke Bihari Mandir, Vrindavan

Keep the holy place clean and pure

No liquor, intoxicants or non-vegetarian food on the temple grounds. Do not spit or foul the place, and keep it clean.

Shri Banke Bihari Mandir, Vrindavan

Look after your belongings

Watch for pickpockets and for monkeys. Keep your bag closed and your valuables out of sight.

Shri Banke Bihari Mandir, Vrindavan