Monday, September 24, 2012

Priest and hygiene

Recently in one of our local temple visits, my son wanted to use the restroom right after entering the temple. As a child who goes to school here, he is very particular about washing his hands with soap and water everytime he uses the restroom. Anywhere we go, the cleanup supplies are always around in the restroom and it reinforced the practice in him. Most of the public facing organizations such as restaurants display a notice that their employees must wash hand before exiting the restroom. The health inspectors in US are particular about such regulations to govern public health.

In this visit, when we entered the restroom, a priest in the temple walked in as well. We exchanged courtesy smile and he walked right into a stall. When we were done and washing our hands, the priest walked out without any care to even step near the washbasin. My son and I exchanged puzzled look and wondered why he didn't wash hands before leaving the restroom. We continued on to the temple. The same priest was conducting poojas, distributing theertam and thulasi to devotees. My son was grossed out and didn't want to receive anything from him. I was pretty saddened to see such disregard to basic public health. So many things are wrong with this picture. We simply stayed away from that priest and returned home.

What would you do in such a situation?

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