Hinduism and Visualization

By -

 


    Dasan and Puja are important parts of Hinduism as discussed in Diana Eck's writings in Darsan: Seeing the Divine Image in India. During these rituals the image of god is deeply connected to spirituality as you envision the god in which you are praying to. Not only do you envision the god you are worshipping in that moment, you also have physical idols or some sort of physical imagery to guide you to do that. There are shrines and statues used to help us visualize the deities we worship. Even during religious festivals, hindu religions are very sight oriented in how they must be decorated and celebrated. Diwali must have bright colors and lights and is often associated with gold, the biggest factor of a Holi celebration is throwing the dye on each other, filling the area with color. Specific colors represent specific things and must be used to celebrate particular festivals. Sight is a sense heavily leaned on for the Hindu religion

    Interestingly enough, however, I learned about a group under Hinduism called the Arya Samaj, which is vastly different from this idea. Rather than worship idols and deities or specific gods, they pray to the concept of god. For them, there is no visualization of a god, only themselves and their connection to god. I thought that this was insanely interesting, considering the stark contrast to the usual norm of Hinduism. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Amidst the Pandemic

By -
Image
I think having the opportunity to take Smells and Bells and then experiencing a worldwide pandemic came with good timing. Oftentimes, we’re so rushed to get from one one place to another that we miss out on what happens around us. We’re so accustomed to the lifestyle of being busy that it has become the norm for many of us. However, the pandemic has forced us to slow down. We’re now appreciating everything that we had previously taken for granted and noticing things in our surroundings that we have never noticed before.  Take this quarantining/social distancing as an opportunity to be more aware of what you experience through the senses. I don’t think my senses have necessarily heightened over the past 5 weeks, but I am actively making the choice to pay more attention to what I see, hear, touch, taste, and smell. I like going on nature/mindfulness walks and basking in the sunshine out in my backyard. This morning, I could hear a faint noise from the wind, hear the birds chirping, f
Read more

Food in the Afterlife

By -
Image
In Religion in the Kitchen: Cooking, Talking, and the Making of Black Atlantic Traditions , Perez talks of Ashabi and her grandchildren providing food offerings to their ancestors. This immediately reminded me of the practice of food sacrifice in early China. I've taken Chinese language classes for about 7 years now and in one of the lessons, we learned about food as well as the history of food in Chinese culture. Ashabi and her grandchildren would give food offerings to their ancestors every day. This included nine beverages (coffee, liquor, and water mixed with sugar and molasses) and nine square pieces of coconut topped with red palm oil and guinea pepper. The offerings would also include whatever food was dropped on the ground. In their house, food dropping on the floor signified more than it would in common American households. It signified that the ancestors wanted that food and had willingly made it fall to the floor. They also used dishware that had been chipped which was
Read more