The purpose of this article is to provide a reflection on the trip to the Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago. After a brief introduction to the context, the Watercress tool will be used to highlight my observations. In our study of Hinduism, the class visited the Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago (HTGC). This active temple is a place of worship that serves thousands of devotees as they pay homage to a wide range of idols and spiritual deities. Taught as one of the oldest religions in the world, it accepts all religious belief systems and God. In fact, the Temple is designed to accommodate any deity and include the practices and rituals of devotees. Our volunteer tour guide explained Hindu theology this way. There is a god identified as Para-Brahman. This god expressed his energy or power through three vessels called Trinity. This Trinity is represented by the deities of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Each deity has a purpose and a function in the ordering of all things. Brahma is the creator, Vishnu is the preserver and Shiva is the destroyer, purifier or redeemer. Vishnu manifests himself through various incarnated avataras to preserve the good. The Rama incarnation is the ruling deity of the temple. Furthermore, our guest explained that good or bad karma ends with the death of a person, but the soul or atman continues into the next existence. This cycle would continue until the alman dharma produced enough good karma to elevate the atman to salvation or Mosksha. Furthermore, as the guide prayed to the sun god on our behalf, he verbally honored each member of the team as a god. When asked what type of text or holy book the religion uses to support its rituals and practices, the guest mentioned four. Commented at... middle of paper... I've run into barriers for the same reason. Acceptance of all belief systems and gods pushes the ethical stance of many people. For me, I could sense and see the attempt to include my belief system, but accepting it all kept me in the ethical position... when using the EMIC/ETIC portion of the WTR CRESS tool, I can confidently say that c 'It was no discomfort or inconvenience. I was simply amazed by the scope of religious practice and the ease of acceptance of deities. When I used the Suprise portion of the WTR CRESS tool, I noted my surprise at being greeted like gods while the volunteer guide prayed to the sun god. I was also surprised by the number of gods and idols present in the temples. Furthermore, the idea that there was a sacred text available for every god, including rituals and religious practices, was incredible.