Darsan Blog post

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In Darsan by Diana Eck I learned a lot about Hinduism and the importance of sight within the religion. For the Hindu, sight is a gateway to worshiping deities, holy men, and holy places. For the Hindu, when they are in the presence of a significant Darsan they not only get the opportunity to see God, but they also get the opportunity to present themselves to God. 
I also learned about the Hindu worshiping technique of the Puja. During the Puja, the worshiper will take their murti (Image or icon of a deity) and they will bath it in milk and cover it in honey or ghee. These are poured on the murti because it is considered the best they can offer. The murti will also be covered by flower petals as well. This part of the ritual reminded me of the reading we did about Afro-Caribbean religions and that only the best parts of the animals were cleaned and offered to their deities. 

Durga Puja 2018, Kumari Puja | Durga Puja 2018, Kumari Puja | Flickr In total, I enjoyed learning about the Hindu religion and it made me think about how much I take my sight for granted. I spend a lot of time on YouTube, and I have the ability to open myself up to the world and to see things from a different perspective, but I often just return to things that I am used to. I will try and explore different cultures and different things in order to get a better understanding of the world in the big picture.

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