I went to a Hindu Temple on Sun. It was a very interesting experience. They cleaned the idol of a god who's name I can't pronounce, but was told it was the same as Vishnu just under a different name (not an avatar, more an alias, of sorts). Being of a religion that frowns on idol worship, this was a whole new world for me, (I'm not wholly unfamiliar with idols. Any real Jew would be aghast if they saw my Buddha shrine, but I don't actually worship the Buddhas.) but I am completely fascinated by Hinduism. The basic concept of the religion is the same as any western tradition, they just have more deities to teach the same moral lessons. It's very cultural. The Dalai Lama says one should always practice the religion of their culture, a statement I didn't fully comprehend until now. I don't think a westerner could ever truly understand Hinduism. Anyway, the whole service was in Sanskrit. It was cool to listen to, but made it impossible to actually understand what was happening. If you've never seen this service, it is worth checking out. They pour water over the idol, followed by milk, buttermilk, yogurt, honey and orange juice. Then they clean all that off, block the idol from view and dress it. It's a bit of a shock for the more fundamentalist practitioner out there, but a cool experience for the open minded!