Of Japanese Temples and Indian Palaces (and vice versa)

Coming from India you are not expected to be surprised by places of worship in other countries.
More so - being surprised about places of worship in Japan is not what I expected.
Japan was about Cars, latest gadgets, computer games, comics (manga ;-) - if you know what I mean) and the other Hi fi stuff. (Thats what my Indian Media told me).

What strikes you about Japanese Buddhist temples and the the numerous
Shrines is the grandeur, the amazing campuses surrounding it , the tradition which is still preserved and the amazing gardens.
Almost every temple has an atmosphere which is simply breathtaking,
be it the 50feet+ tall trees which line up the Hein shrine in Mt. Fuji
(a Temple built to appease the Volcano Mt. Fuji - I heard that the Gods were'nt impressed by the temple .. Mt Fuji had its biggest eruption almost immed after the temple was built in the 8th century and has never had that big an eruption till date;-)).

Or be it the amazing terrace gardens in Kiyomizudera temple o

Or the garden in Narita-san temple

Or the Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion, Made :Largely of gold)

And well here is the twist...

The Japanese Palaces (The Nijo Castle - Home of Shoguns for E.g.) pale in comparison with the Japanese Temples
(and any comparison with the Indian Palaces, make the Japanese Palaces even more smaller in stature).
I dont mean it as an Insult, but to be honest it looks like the Japanese rulers had a very ordinary life (at least in terms of buildings) when compared to their Indian counter parts.

and come to think of it,

Its the exact opposite of what can be said about Indian Temples and the Indian Palaces.
Indian Palaces are biiiigg, luxurious, absolutely breathtaking but the Indian temples
(most of them, at least) start and end at almost at the same Place.

Come to think of it (again ;-)).

This probably speaks about the Indian and Japanese way of life.

While the Japanese Kings/Rulers were content building good palaces (good but not necessarily breathtaking), they just built and preserved amazing places of worship and others places for the common man.

The Indian rulers on the other hand built amazing palaces and other stuff for themselves but hardly did built anything for the conman man.
(Of course in a country as big as India, there are gonna be some exceptions to this rule, but then they remain that - 'exceptions!!').

and come to think of it....(ok,ok, for the last time!!).

Things haven't changed.

(Or has it..... Yes, it has says my mind ... the Kings have become Cabinet ministers and MP's now!!;-))

Now, thats a BIG change (sarcastically!!)