Hinduism is the world’s oldest religion with about 900 million people following this religion. 95% of the world’s Hindus live in India. Hindus call worship puja. Hindus worship in many different ways. An example of this is that they worship at home. Hindus normally worship alone as it involves making personal offerings to the god. Most of Hindu homes have a shrine where Hindus gift things to their god and this is also where Hindus pray to their god. A shrine is a room with pictures or statues of their gods. Another way Hindus worship is at a Temple. There are different areas of the building because each area has a different symbolic meaning. Family and friends normally worship together so they can communicate to their gods about issues they are having and so that their gods can help them. Every 12 years Hindus make the pilgrimage to bathe in the river Ganges which is the holiest river. Hindus also try to make pilgrimages to other holy sites in India so they can be close to their gods.
Other ways Hindus worship include:
- They ring the bell to wake up the gods so that they know they have arrived
- They take off their shoes to show respect because if they want to respect their god they need to respect their temple which is the area where they visit their god.
- They give fruit and flowers. They do this because the smell of flowers pleases the god. Also, flowers symbolise happiness, and purpose of life.
- Milk and water get poured over temples/statues so that they keep the statues clean
- They mark the forehead with ash. They do this as it is very scared and they apply it every day to keep evil or negative thoughts away.
- They sing and chant they do this because music is the use of voice or instruments to produce sound effects that are pleasing
Each god has different meanings. A few examples of different types of gods are Hanuman. Another example is Ganesha. He destroys anything that is evils so that everything is positive. Every religion in the world is unique and different from others. This means that each religion worship differently. For example, Christian worship praises God in music and speech, and prayers. In New Zealand, Hindus follow most of the traditions but our distance from India means that Pilgrimages to holy sites are not as easy. New Zealand cities have a number of Hindu temples where followers can worship.
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Hindus celebrate many festivals. Every Hinduism festival is celebrated with the same amount of energy as in many other countries just like India.
A few examples of festivals Hindus celebrate include:
- Diwali
- Makar Sankranti
- Maha Shivaratri
- Holi
- Ram Navami
- Raksha Bandhan
- Krishna Janmashtami
- Navaratri
Two of the major festivals for Hindus are Diwali and Holi. Diwali is a significant religious festival which is the festival of light. Hindus Pray and celebrate across the world every autumn. It is celebrated for 5 days. The festival is celebrated by millions of Hindus. It is associated with Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity, which marks the beginning of the financial year in India. It is a time for brothers, sisters, family and friends to come together and celebrate. Diwali is about good over evil and light over darkness.. Diwali is celebrated by family getting together and doing a firework display. Throughout the 5 days, families and friends share sweets and gifts. It is also traditional for their homes to be tidied and for them to wear new clothes.
Another Major festival for Hindus is Holi. Holi is a religious festival which is celebrated all over the world. Holi is the festival of colour which is the festival of celebrating good over evil. Holi is the most vibrant of all Hindu festivals. Holi welcomes the spring season to Hindus. On the day of Holi kids and adults play with colours, meet new people and create new fresh beginnings.
Before the festival can be Celebrated it involves a list of things they do:
- Preparing the Holika pyre- people start collecting wood and other inflammable things for the bonfire
- Holika Dahan- After sunset, people gather around and pray
- Playing with colours- people apply colours to one another and have fun!
- The special feast- t is a sweat made by every family during Holi
- The after-party After a fun day the clean themselves then go visit family and friends for the festival
References
- https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hinduism
- https://www.history.com/topics/religion/hinduism
- https://www.learnreligions.com/introduction-to-hinduism-250673
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6419499.stm
- https://hindu-academy.com/
- http://www.dummies.com/religion/spirituality/eastern-religions/hindus-worship-at-shrines/
- http://hindumandirmn.org/
- http://krishna.org/how-to-install-deities-and-start-worshipping-at-home/
