How should you see God in a temple?

Whenever we visited any temple, my Amma always said ” Meera, don’t directly look at God’s face, start from his pada or feet.”. She must have told me a million times especially when she visited Tirupati that by the time she started from Lord’s feet and got to his Mukha or Face, they would have pulled her and dragged away from the Lord.

Of course, in other Sri Venkateshwara temples, we can stand in front of the Lord as much as we want and follow the rule that is mentioned below. I definitely follow this rule when I visit our SV Temple here in North Carolina. Lord Venkateshwara is just mesmerizing. Each visit, we come back with so much joy and keep reminiscing about him until our next visit.

Again, this is not just applicable to Lord Venkateshwara, any temple you visit, no matter which God it is dedicated to, follow these simple rules. The words are self explanatory so not posting any explanation.

ಪಾದ ದರ್ಶನಂ ಪಾಪನಾಶನಂ
ಕಟಿ ದರ್ಶನಂ ಕಾಮನಾಶನಂ
ನಾಭಿ ದರ್ಶನಂ ನರಕ ನಾಶನಂ
ಕಂಠ ದರ್ಶನಂ ವೈಕುಂಠ ಸಾಧನಂ
ಮುಖ ದರ್ಶನಂ ಮುಕ್ತಿ ಸಾಧನಂ
ಕೀರಿಟ ದರ್ಶನಂ ಪುನರ್ಜನ್ಮ ನಾಶನಂ
ಸರ್ವಾಂಗ ದರ್ಶನಂ ಸರ್ವ ಪಾಪ ನಾಶನಂ ||

Pada Darshanam Papanashanam
Kati Darshanam Kamanashanam
Nabhi Darshanam Naraka Nashanam
Kantha Darshanam Vaikuntha Sadhanam
Mukha Darshanam Mukti Sadhanam
Keerita Darshanam Punarjanma Nashanam
Sarvanga Darshanam Sarva Papa Nashanam ||