Carpet or tile

[Vinayaka]

When you go to temples, which style of flooring to you prefer, and why. In India another choice is stone I guess.

I definitely prefer tile as you can clean it really well, and I like a slightly more arduous temple experience. Carpets just seem too 'soft' all around, besides the fact they get dirty.

 

[ratikala]

namaskaram vinayaka ji :namaste

stone allways if it can be afforded all the new temples here that are being built are stone or marble ,

I suppose many of the first temples that were set up on a small budget used what ever they could afford maybe tiles or even fake marble lino ,for the shrine and carpet for the hall because people sit in the floor and in a cold country I suppose they felt it was better , but when building new temples a good wooden floor prehaps for the hall and marble or stone for the shrine's

yes , even with the no shoes tradition , carpet canot be cleaned as well as stone , ...

yes , it is an austerity we can perform , if not we can bring a small mat , many temples have them anyway .

 

[Vinayaka]

namaskaram vinayaka ji :namaste

for the shrine and carpet for the hall because people sit in the floor and in a cold country I suppose they felt it was better , but when building new temples a good wooden floor prehaps for the hall and marble or stone for the shrine's

yes , even with the no shoes tradition , carpet canot be cleaned as well as stone , ...

yes , it is an austerity we can perform , if not we can bring a small mat , many temples have them anyway .

Thanks for the response. We think a lot alike. At the temple I go to, they had the wisdom to install in-floor heating under the tile. There are spots that are downright warm when it's -40 outside.

 

[KrsnaDasa]

Tile or stone definitely. It seems to make more of an authentic experience for some reason. As already said, it's easier to clean, I think it just looks better too. The temple close to my area is being renovated, the shrine right now has a carpet floor. But one of the cooks in the temple took me behind the "caution" tape and showed me the rest of the temple and I almost teared up. Marble everywhere, stone tile floors, just beautiful. I can't wait till they move the Murtis back there.

 

[Sb1995]

At the local temple they have tiles everywhere except for the seating area and then when you go onto the stage it's all tiles. But keep in mind look how large it is!

 

[Vinayaka]

I did mean the seating area. It goes without saying that where the murthis are is most likely tile. I'm just too familiar with the South style I guess, where we do sometimes 2 abhishekhams a day. You can't do abhishekham on carpet, obviously.

 

[Fireside_Hindu]

I'm going to be the difficult one and say that I actually prefer a combination of both. Some temples I have gone to (including the one back in Indy) have a tiled area and then a small carpeted area for those who wish to sit for longer periods of time. Below is a recent picture from the Indy temple, still under construction but gives an idea of what I mean: (At the moment the carpet is plastic wrapped to protect it until the temple is finished but you get the idea)

:camp:

 

[ShivaFan]

Namaste Vinayaka

I do not like carpets. Why? Because very tiny carpet mites live in there. They can get you even sick, or contribute to breathing problems. Also, we may be sitting on life forms thus building bad karma (maybe... I might be taking this to an extreme Jain Dharma level which sometimes I do that, sorry)...

So stone is very clean. Tile too... I love the feel of stone or tile to barefeet. In fact, I tile a lot of things, using normal tiles or cut stone. Parts of my interior of the house, I tiled over myself. I plan on taking out the remaining carpet, I hate it.

Temples with stone or tile floors feel holy. They just do. I think the power of the murtis or even past events of the Gods in the temple cuts "grooves" into the stone, waves, which if a "cosmic needle" touches these "cuts" it plays back like a record player. Stone can also be a residence of Divinity, as so trees and water (wells, etc.).

I like temples with stone floor, holy wells, holy trees and plants. I like temples that "breath" (e.g. let outside air in).

I like crowdef temples and the sound of feet on stone.

Om Namah Sivaya

 

[ShivaFan]

p.s. adding to my above comments, I hate Mongolian style tents with carpets in general, especially when used for religious events. I feel like the air is smothering me.

I use to buy expensive oriental carpets, still have them but rolled up and stored in storage. Pretty, but does something to the air. But as far as pretty, I think beautiful and theme based tiles have stunning effect. Think of the 16th Century tiles of Delft, Holland, the tiles of Turkey and Iran, think also of Roman mosaics of small chipped stone, think of mixed colored stone types as found in India, and also you can paint on stone or mark with colored powders or sand.

Stone, water and earth. The glue and foundation of Earth.

Om Namah Sivaya

 

[Maya3]

Floors are too hard to sit on, but it looks nice.
We have a wooden floor at my temple, it used to be a warmer more natural light wood. But they have changed it to a grey kind of sleek look. The whole temple has been renovated and redesigned. It looks very classy, but I liked it better before, it looked more home like and warmer.

Maya

 

[Vinayaka]

FS, the Indiana temple looks to be stunning when it's done.

 

[Fireside_Hindu]

FS, the Indiana temple looks to be stunning when it's done.

I can't wait

:camp:

 

[Yogi1054]

I know I should say tile or marble (but sometimes it can be a little hard on the bottom) - but even Lord Shiva has a rug to sit on!

 

[Vinayaka]

The best of both worlds can be had, and it is. Woven grass mats on tile, for those who need a softer sit. Then you can go take those mats once every few months and wash them, then once every ten years, chuck them.

 

[Revoltingest]

While I'm not a Hindu, I saw the green forum color & decided to enter here to support tile.
It looks great & lasts so long! Just be careful when it's wet.

 

[Vinayaka]

While I'm not a Hindu, I saw the green forum color & decided to enter here to support tile.
It looks great & lasts so long! Just be careful when it's wet.

Outside wet stone is worse ... India, monsoons, and slanted stone steps up the mountainside ... step lightly. (Trust me on this one.)