Important Hindu Aspects

Banyan Tree

The Banyan Tree- The Banyan Tree is a very symbolic plant in Hinduism.  It is capable of surviving and growing for centuries and is compared to the shelter given by God to his devotees.  It is commonly used in worship, rituals, and festive sacrifices.  It is referenced to in many scriptures and symbolizes longevity and the Brahma.  The stems are even reffered to as the home of the gods and spirits.  This tree, along with the Allahabad, represents a conection between the human realm and the realm of the heavens.  It shows the undefinitive overlap of the worlds and helps man perservere in the human realm.

Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat-  Angkor Wat is not necessarily a religious object, but more a temple to the gods made by man.  Angkor Wat is the remains of large city, the capital of the ancient Khmer Empire, in Cambodia.  All that remains are the Hindu temples.  The temples are perfectly aligned with the stars so that the temples align with the constellation of Draco during the spring equinox of 10,500 B.C.  This is very odd, for this astronomical even happened much earlier than the construction of Angkor.  Other than this odd coincidence, the temples were simply meant to help the king of the Khmer guide his people to salvation.

Caste System Diagram

Caste System-  The caste system is a very unfortunate part of Hinduism.  It is the separation of people based upon race, family, life, and rank.  There are basic castes, which are divided by color, and sub castes, which are diveded by family, life, and rank.  The basic castes go as follows from greatest to least.  White- Brahmins (priests or teachers, Red- Ksatriyas (warriors and rulers), Brown- (farmers, merchants, artisans), Black- Sudras (laborers), Untouchables (polluted laborers).  In the subcaste system, people are divided into their families, their gender (male over female) and their age (more respect for elders).  Personally this is not an important part of Hinduism.  Yes it does exist in the western world to as socio-economic classes, but this is more extreme.  It separates by race, gender, and family, three things that mean little in the west unless you take into consideration inheritance for family.  However, due to the strict traditionalism of Hindus, this system will most likely be around for a while.

Shruti and Smriti-  Shruti and Smriti are the two literary sources of Hindu culture.  Shruti is that which is heard, and Smriti is that what is remembered.  These two combined lay down the laws of Hinduism which dictate the social, economic, and spirtual lives of all Hindus.  Notice how written is never said.  The Hindu culture, while kept in scriptures, is often saved through the teachings of gurus.  This is what creates variation between regions in India, regarding festivals and worship.  Shruti and Smriti are the absolute structure for Hinduism.  Without this passing of knowlege, through The Vedas and oral teachings, Hinduism would have withered away long ago.  

Varanasi on the shore of the Ganges

Varanasi- Varanasi is one of the oldest cities in the world and is an important holy city for Hindus.  Varanasi has about 1,500 temples, palaces and shrines, and recieves about  one million religious pilgrims each year.  The city’s banks are lined with ghats, or steps, that lead into the Ganges in order to bathe.  Many Hindus believe that to die in Varanasi releases one from the cycle of samsara and enables them to enter heaven.  Varanasi is a unique place for Hindus.  It has no connection to the gods, other than the ganges river, yet it is one of the most holy places on earth for Hindus.  This is important because it shows that, while the human realm is not the best, it is one of the few realms where feats like these can be both achieved and enjoyed.

Hindu Baby Rituals

Jatakarma

Karnavedha

     Hindus have many rituals for a new child, from before conception to when they are old enough to go to school.  The rituals start soon after marriage, where a conception prayer will be recited.  This is to help the newly weds fulfill their duty as Hindus to continue the Hindu race and produce a baby.  Then, during the third month of the pregnancy a ceremony called the Punsavana, or fetus protection, is performed.  This is done in the hope of a strong physical growth for the fetus.  During the seventh month of the pregnancy, the Simantonnyana is performed.  This is similar to a baby shower in the west.  This is to help keep a heathy state in both the mother and the child, for Hindus believe that the mental state of the mother affects that of the unborn child.  Once the child is born, Jatakarma is performed.  This is to welcome the child into the family and the world, and is done so by putting honey in the child’s mouth and whispering the name of God in their ear.  Other rituals include the naming ceremony (Namakarna), the child’s first trip out (Nishkarmana), and the child’s first taste of solid food (Annapransana).  The next major ceremonies are the Karnavedha and the Mundan.  The Karnavedha is the ear-piercing ceremony.  This is done on both boys and girls and is considered a type of acupuncture.  The Mundan is the first haircut and symbolizes the removal of impurities.  The final ritual as a child is the Upanayana, or sacred thread ritual.  Three strands of sacred thread, representing the three vows (to respect the knowledge, the parents, and the society)  are given before the start of formal schooling.  These rituals help guide a Hindu child into the complex world of Hinduism without overburdening them with gods and reincarnations.  They help connect the child to the religion personally, so they are not just an idea they are a personal experience.

The Magh Mela: An Infamous Hindu Pilgramage

A man prays while bathing in the Ganges

The Magh Mela is an annual festival held at the meeting of three sacred rivers, or Allahabad.  Two of them are physical, the Ganges River and the Yamuna River, and one is an invisible, heavenly river called the Saraswati River.  According to Hindu legend, this convergence is where Brahma preformed the first fire sacrifice.  In the months of January and February, this place is especially sacred.  Each year during this time, thousands of pilgrims travel to Allahabad to wash away their sins and increases their chances at escaping samsara.  Allahabad is also thought to be one of the four holy sites where a few drops of immortal nectar fell to Earth.  This “accident” occurred when the gods and demons were fighting over a jar filled with the nectar and a few drops spilled down to Earth.  This sight is one of the few connections Hindus have to the heavenly realms.  Sites like the Allahabad give Hindus both reassurance, due to the masses of people, and a spiritual connection to the gods.

Sanskrit Dramas

An ancient depiction of the battle between the
monkey warriors and Ravana's men.

In the Sanskrit scriptures there are two great dramas, The Ramayana, and The Mahabharata.  The Ramayana is fantasy, and The Mahabharata is believed to be a real, historical account.  The Ramayana is a story about a king, Rama, who is kicked out of his throne unfairly and banished to the forest.  He is joined by his wife Sita and his brother Lakshmana.  They ironically end up living happily in the forest.  Their happiness ends abruptly when Ravana, king of the man-eater race, or Rakshasa race, hears about Sita’s beauty and decides to kidnap her.  Rama, full of both grief and anger, decides to rescue his wife.  He forms an alliance with a race of Varnaras, or monkey people.  The Varnara general, Hanuman, eventually finds Sita on the isle of Lanka.  Rama ordered his army to throw boulders into the ocean, and the miraculously floated.  The monkey warriors then built a bridge out of the floating rocks.  The armies then met outside the city gates and waged war on Ravana’s men.  Rama’s army recieved the upper hand and slayed many of Ravana’s sons.  At the end of the battle, Rama kills Ravana and is reunited with Sita.  They return to Ravana’s capital, led by the light of the Divali, and free everyone from Ravana’s misery.

A Kuru attempting to strip Draupadi

The Mahabharata is a much longer, 110,000 verses, and more realistic story than The Ramayana.  The Mahabharata is about the struggle for the throne between the five sons of the previous king, Pandu, and their cousins, the Kauravas.  Pandu was the second oldest of three princes.  The oldest, Dhritarashtra, is blind and unfit for the throne, and the youngest was the son of a maidservant and was not royal enough to be king.  Therefore Pandu was crowned king.  But Pandu died of a curse while his sons were still young.  Due to the traditional rules of succession, the throne should have been passed to Pandu’s sons, lead by Yudhisthira.  Since they were still minors, Dhritarashtra acted as a regent.  However, as the sons and Kauravas grew up, the Kauravas grew resentful.  They felt that it was their throne, for their father was acting as king and was oldest of the three princes.  So the Kauravas, also known as Kurus, planned to kill the Pandavas, along with their widow mother Kunti, by burning them alive.  The Pandavas were however tipped of their plan and escaped the burning palace through a tunnel.  Now, since the Pandavas were aware of their traitorous thoughts, sought refuge in the forest.  The blind king, feeling sorry for his sons’ actions, gave the Pandavas half of their kingdom.  This half was by far the worst, but with the help of Krishna they turned it into a flourishing kingdom.  Jealous of Yudhisthira’s fame, Duryodhana (leader of the Kurus) forced his father to arrange a gambling match between the Pandavas and the Kurus.  Duryodhana rigged the dice.  Yudhisthira lost everything.  Then, one of the Kurus tried to strip Draupadi, wife of the five brothers.  Luckily Krishna protected her by supplying an endless supply of sari.  None of the warriors attempted to help the girl, which gave them bad karma and lead to their future failure.  However, even after this mistreatment, the Pandavas were faced with their defeat and banished to the forest for thirteen years.  They were supposed to remain incognito on the final year.  If they were discovered, they had to remain for another twelve years; if they remained hidden, they were allowed to reclaim their kingdom.  The Pandavas remained in the forest for the alloted time and remained incognito.  They went to reclaim their kingdom, but the Kurus refused.  So the two groups of cousins fought for eighteen days.  The Pandavas were victorious, but had very few soldiers left.  Yudhisthira was crowned emperor, and his empire flourished for thirty years until the Pandavas retired into the Himalayas and left the throne to their grandson.

Krishna and Yudhisthira riding into battle in the
Mahabharta.

These two stories, while very different in content, both have the same significance in Hinduism.  While neither of them are religious texts, they both enforce Hindu beliefs.  In the Ramayana, dharma and the classic victory of good over evil play an important part in the story.  The Mahabharta, since it is a longer and more complex peice, has many different values intertwined.  These include: good over evil, karma, dharma, and reincarnations.  Both of these stories use fantastic tales of tragedy and betrayal to enforce the Hindu beliefs.  They but the idea of a belief into a real life (to some extent) situation.

Hindu Festivals

A Diwali Fireworks Show at the Golden Temple, in
Armritsar, India

Hinduism has many festivals, most if not all based upon religion.  Three important festivals are Diwali, Holi, and Navarti.  Diwali, or the festival of lights, is among the most well know Hindu celebrations.  The festival lasts five days and, while the tales vary depending upon the region, celebrates the victory of good over evil.  Diwali is celebrated in October or November and honors Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity.  Many people start new business endeavors; some even build a small shrine in their house dedicated to Lakshmi.  It is adorned with money and pictures of luxuries, such as cars or houses.  Doors are left open and buildings are laden with lights, traditional oil lamps, to guide Lakshmi into the buildings.  Since Lakshmi is granting wealth and prosperity, many Hindus gamble and spend profusely during Diwali.  Fireworks are very common during the festival, although many dislike the fireworks due to their polution and safety hazards.  Also, it is tradition to exchange gifts.  While common gifts used to be sweets and dried fruit, the gift exchange has developed into a shopping craze, and many believe that commercialism is corrupting the religious aspect of the festival.  

A large mass of purple, blue, and yellow people; a normal
sight during the Holi festival

Another famous festival is Holi.  Holi originates from the tale of a king’s son, Parhalad.  Parhalad was a dedicated worshipper of Vishnu, and his father, Haranyakashyap, wished he would give more devotion to him.  One day he asked his son “Who is the greatest, God or I?”  Parhalad responded “God is, you are only a king.”  Haranyakashyap was furious, and decided to kill his son.  He tried to throw him over a cliff, trample him with elephants, poison him with snakes, and kill him with soldiers.  None of these tactics worked.  So the king went to his sister, Holika, for help.  Holika agreed to kill the king’s son and sat in the center of a fire with the boy on her lap.  Holika had been given the gift of fire immunity by the gods and assumed that the boy would burn and she would survive just fine.  However, because she had used her power for evil, the gods punished her.  She burned in the fire, while the faithful praying Parhalad was protected by Vishnu.  Hiranyakashyap was killed by Vishnu and Prahad became the new king.  In order to celebrate this tale, many different traditions take place.  Many Hindus burn large bonfires, to commemorate Holika’s burning.  But the most popular tradition is the colorful celebration.  For the entire day, Hindus will throw colored powders and paints at each other, strangers and friends alike.  All traditional separations are broken, even the caste system.  Holi celebrates the equality of human kind, no matter your age, race, class, gender, or caste.  

A traditional dance preformed during Navaratri

Another important Hindu festival is Navaratri.  Navaratri, meaning nine nights, is a festival that celebrates Durga, the mother goddess.  Durga destroyed the demon Mhishasura after a incredible battle lasting nine days and nights, hence the importance of the number nine.  The festival lasts nine nights, hence the name, and is celebrated by communities dancing and having nightly feasts.  Many Hindus try to visit their parents for Navartri to celebrate the motherhood of both God and man.  It is a time for women to shop for new clothes and gold jewelry, and many of the gold vender are open much later during Navartri.  The festival is also celebrated by filling painted earth pots with water or a lamp.  The water symbolizes the transitory properties of Hinduism, while the flame represents the everlasting power of the divines.  

These three festivals share many aspects.  First of all, they all celebrate the victory of good over evil.  In Hinduism, the constant battle between good and evil is a very important aspect.  In the cruel samsara, the gods are the only thing keeping evil at bay.  So Hindus must worship these gods to keep at their work.  Also, many festivals are very commercialized.  This is partially the religion, and partially the mercantile system.  Like Christmas, Hindu festivals are rapidly becoming tainted with commercialism.  However, they are all specific to certain gods or deities.  They all represent different times, emotions, and goals.  This is both a repetitive and varied pattern, much like the Hindu gods that are honored in these festivals.

Gods and Deities

Shiva

     While there are many Gods in Hinduism, Shiva is among the most important.  Shiva is the god of destruction, but not in a negative sense.  Hindus believe that everything is destroyed eventually, and this is done by Shiva.  In order to pave way for a better world, parts of the previous world must be destroyed.  Shiva is both good and evil, and is appointed to combining contradictory elements.  Shiva is known for untamed passion and an extreme behavior.  He is sometimes resistant to all human pleasure, other times indulgent.  His only control is his wife, Parvati.  She balances his emotions and allows him to both be resistant to pleasure and a lover, within his marriage of course.  Shiva is primarily represented as a man, although he is sometimes shown as half man half woman, split down the middle.  The woman half is his wife Parvati.  Shiva always has a blue face and throat; his body is either white or blue.  Shiva’s figure contains much symbolism.  His third eye represent wisdom and insight, and is also the source of his wild energy.  This eye is covered by three white lines drawn with ash, or vibhunti.  These lines represent Shiva’s world changing behavior, his great godly power, and his wealth.  Shiva wears a cobra necklace and holds a trident.  The necklace represents his power over the dangerous creatures in the world, and his power of destruction and recreation.  The snake sheds it’s rough, old skin in order to have new, smooth skin.  The trident represents the three categories of Hindu worship, and the three main gods that control the samsara cycle. 

Vishnu

Another important God, maybe even more vital to the Hindu cycle, is Vishnu.  Vishnu is the god of preservation and is the protector of the universe.  His duty is to uphold Dharma in the universe and balance good and evil.  Vishnu is represented as a four armed human, each hand holding a symbolic items.  The items go as follows: A conch (which emits the sound “Om”), representing the sound of creation, a chakra (or discus) which symbolizes the mind, a lotus flower, symbolizing glorious existence and liberation, and a mace, which represents mental and physical strength.  He is often seen next to Lakshmi, his loyal consort.  Many Hindus believe that Vishnu is the best God of all the Gods, and that the other Gods are much weaker and unimportant.  Some even solely worship Vishnu; this is called Vaishnavism.

Saraswati

Another less known goddess is Saraswati.  Saraswati is the goddess of knowledge, music, and the arts.  She is linked to learning and the arts, mainly music.  She is both regarded as a consort to Brahma and as an individual deity who irradiates ignorance and grants wisdom to those who worship her.  She is still prayed to today by students wishing for her help in their academic studies.  Saraswati is normally depicted as a woman with white skin and four arms.  In two arms, she holds a veena, an Indian guitar, and in the other two she holds objects such as prayer beads, a lotus blossom, a vessel of water, or a manuscript.

Main Beliefs

        One of the cornerstones of Hinduism is Dharma.  Dharma in Hinduism means duty, or virtue.  Dharma is force that drives the earth.  It makes the plants grow, the sun rise, and the people be moral.  First mentioned in the Vedas, Dharma is the most powerful force in this world.  Dharma also refers to one’s own force; one’s personal duty and expertise.  This is decided by your gender, age, and social status.  Dharma is not considered as a single force, affecting all of these things, but as separate forces for the world and the people of the earth.  This force must be accorded with, or else one will have bad karma and be born into a bad realm.  Dharma is considered a service to all of humanity and the gods, and to go against this service is one of the worst wrongs a Hindu can do.

The Trimuti, or three main gods of Hinduism.
From Left to Right: Brahma, Vishnu, and
Shiva.

Another important aspect of Hinduism is the idea of Brahman.  Brahman is similar to God, but not identical.  Brahman is the power that holds the universe together, and acts upon everyone and everything, even if that person does not worship Brahman.  Some Hindus worship different deities of Brahman, but there are all from the same source.  These deities of forms of God are unlimited; God has unlimited power therefore can take up and unlimited amount of forms.  Some Hindus worship God as a king, others as a parent-like figure, others as a beautiful woman.  Each person sees God in a different form.  There are three main types of Hindu worship classified into the three popular Hindu denominations or deities, Vaishnavas, Shaivas, and Shaktas.  Vaishnavas worship of Vishnu and his incarnations.  Vishnu’s purpose is to restore and uphold dharma and the universe and is the most popular Hindu denomination.  Shaivas worship Shiva, whose duty is to destroy the world, so it can be recreated.  Shiva, who is portrayed as a man, is known to have untamed passion.  He is the most extreme god, but is also wise in his actions.  Shaktas worship Goddess beings, mainly Lakshmi, Parvati, Sarasvati, Durga, and Kali.  Some of these beings are good, some are bad.  They all are portrayed as a woman like figure and represent different benefits/disadvantages in the human realm.

To hold together traditions such as Dharma and Brahma, there are teachers called Gurus.  Gurus teach Hindu traditions by example, and passes his knowledge on to disciples hoping one day they will become Gurus and teach the next generation.  Gurus are highly revered in Hindu society and can even become the center of devotion.  Gurus are the only passage of tradition, and if the Guru dies the successor takes over.  If there are multiple successors, they both take position as Guru and traditions are multiplied.