In Shiva temples, there are usually no doors and the deity is available all the time. In Vishnu temples, there are very clear rules of when the deity is accessible and when he is not. This is in keeping with the hermit nature of Shiva and the royal nature of Vishnu. Of course as grand temples were built and more priests appointed, the rituals became elaborate and even Shiva became inaccessible to the devotees.
The deity gets exhausted(?) by the blessings it has to give and so temple doors are repeatedly shut, giving the deity time to rest and replenish his energy. When the deity wakes up, once again he is bathed, dressed, fed and adored, before it is time for him to be seen, receive offerings and grant grace.Here the diety is usually representing the nature of living beings on earth which is involved in the cycle of activity and rest.Humans can make communication with God when they believe some one is listening to them.So God has to be awake like all others.
The last ritual of puja involves bidding farewell to the deity known as udvasana . Either the deity is put to sleep, and the doors of the temple shut, or in case of clay images, dissolved in water, an act known as visarjan, or immersion, a reminder that nothing lasts forever. Everything on this motal world has to end. And all that ends comes back the next day, or next year, with a new invocation and spirituality.
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