About Maha Shivaratri
Maha Shivaratri is celebrated throughout the country; it is particularly popular in Uttar Pradesh. Maha Shivratri falls on the 14th day of the dark half of 'Margasirsa' (February-March). The name means "the night of Shiva". The ceremonies take place chiefly at night. This is a festival observed in honour of Lord Shiva and it is believed that on this day Lord Shiva was married to Parvati.
On this festival people worship 'Shiva - the Destroyer'. This night marks the night when Lord Shiva danced the 'Tandav'. In Andhra Pradesh, pilgrims throng the Sri Kalahasteshwara Temple at Kalahasti and the Bharamarambha Malikarjunaswamy Temple at Srisailam.
...as a very important day. Diwali; the word itself meaning “row of lights,” is another prominent Hindu holiday and occurs on what we know as New Year Eve—December 31st. It is a festival lights in which last for a five days. The lighting of candles signifies the welcoming of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. Gambling is a norm on Diwali as it is seen as a way of assuring good luck for the upcoming year. The fourth day of Diwali is especially significant as it is the beginning of the lunar month of Karttika. On this particular day many celebrate religious customs to signify the New Year according to the Vikrama calendar (“Religion Facts,”n.p).
First, a long time ago temples have become a figure and old tradition in Hindu worshipping. However, when these temple worships began is undetermined. Some forms of Hindus consider the temple as a symbol of a “higher reality.” For example, Sri Vaishnava community believes that the consecrated image of Vishnu in the temple is making a presence and he wants to be attainable. On the other hand, some of members reject the concept of worshipping images. According to the Oxtoby University Press, “…. members of the recent Brahmo Samaj and the Vira Shaiva movements-reject images altogether. (Oxtoby p.296) When the devotees enter the temple for their visit the essential part is to walk inside one of the enclosures. The formal act of worship can be fulfilled by archana and can also bow down to the deity. Archana is where priest praises the deity by reciting his or her names. (Oxtoby p.297) In addition, every so often the devotees can go to the kitchen to buy or get free for prasad. In the book, “A Concise Introduction to World Religions,” prasad is defined as: “a gift from the deity, especially food that has been presented to the god’s temple image, blessed, and returned to the devotee. “ (Oxtoby p.320) Furthermo...
Out of the 365 days in a year, Diwali, known as the “festival of lights,” is by far the most important day to celebrate for every Indian. Like much of Indian and Hindu tradition, this holiday comes with a historical background framing its significance. The history of Diwali reflects the memory of Ram shooting an arrow through Raven’s stomach because Raven kidnapped Sita. In Hinduism, ladies are highly regarded because following that event, Ram doubted Sita for her purity and gave her the Agni pariksha (the fire test). Although the test proved her purity and bravery, Sita became upset and appealed to mother earth to conceal her within. Mother earth, understanding her sorrow, accepted her. This event from the time of the gods forecasted the biggest factor to tear apart marriage in Hindu culture by investigating the theme of doubt. The profound religious meaning behind this is opaque and is further formed by uniting family and friends together to celebrate the festival of lights. Another important holiday is Holi, the festival of color, which occurs around the season of harvest. Today, it is celebrated by spreading many colorful powders on everyone participating. The deeper significance behind Holi is between the power of truth, honesty, and good karma versus evil. Lord Krishna was born with a darker skin color and his love, Radha, was born with a fairer skin tone. Once Lord Krishna had a blue skin color
There are two holy days in the Hindu religion named Diwali and Holi. Diwali is a festival of lights, and is India’s biggest and most important festival of the year. It is mainly celebrated in the months of October and November. This festival is a great time for family to get together and be together. Holi is another festival that family gets together. Holi is a festival of colors. Holi is a holiday where they get together and dance, play, and bring joy onto their home. Depending on the region, some cover their body is many different colors to celebrate the day.
Saivism is a pan-Hindu religion that focuses on the traditions of Hinduism that worships the deity Shiva (or sometimes his consort and power, Sakti), practiced widely across India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Saivism is also the oldest form of Hinduism worship. Like Vaisnavism, Saivism has obtained many varieties of ritual practices and ideologies, though it has leaned more towards ascetic ideals. An important myth in the tales of Shiva is the story of Daksa, which is told in the Mahabharata, where we learn that Shiva was originally excluded from the vedic sacrifice, and conceivably a deity from outside the pantheon, but came to be accepted as a god. Many can interpret the myth as a metaphor for the development of Saivism. As Shiva is outside the vedic fold, so are the traditions and practices that are connected with him, and as Shiva makes his presence known, so are the Shivic traditions that are incorporated into vedic ideology and practices.
...ny reasons for going on a pilgrimage. Some of these include remembering special people (saints); to fix the mind on God; for spiritual development; for purification and atonement of sins; for meeting holy people to get guidance; to perform religious rites; and for self-reflection. Not all Holy sites are in India. As Hindus have migrated they have established their own sacred places wherever they live (ISKCON Educational Services, 2004).
According to mythology majority of the people worship Lord Shiva as a divine mercy god and his wife Parvathi as Adi Parasakthi who are known as Universal parents. Akkammavarlu (local deities) are the seven daughters of Lord Shiva, who are named as ‘Peddakka Pailadi’, ‘Chinnakka Sridevi’, ‘Raddanapu Kuranji’, ‘Kaanthanala Kaamakshi’, ‘Ontiki Sutthani’, ‘Pettu Poojakshi’, ‘Kadaguttu Nagamma’ are represented for seven lokas Devaloka, Gandharva loka, Swarga loka, Swarna loka, Vaikunta loka, Nagaloka and Indra loka respectively and came down to the Earth.
Hindu thought sharply contrasts Western thought. A central theme in the Hindu religion is following one's dharma, which is an individual's "spiritual duty" (McCrae October 30 2003). This duty is "not bounded by a law code, and there is not one path to salvation" (McCrae October 30, 2003). Because there is no law code, morality is ambiguous. Its definition is unique to each individual. In The Mahabharata, fate (which works interchangeably with dharma) presides over what is traditionally right.
This is a custom to remember the ancestors. As aforementioned, Hindus believe that the departed will return to earth if they are not given a proper send off, same goes for not being properly worshipped. The method of ancestor worship is based on getting the dead into heaven and eventually to rebirth. “The dead remain in the status of ancestors for only three generations, then they move up to the rather vague groups of heavenly creatures…The three generations of the deceased form a ladder with rising status, but decreasing proximity to the survivors” (Michaels 145). The ritual worship of ancestors takes place during scheduled intervals. Most commonly, deceased relatives are prayed for and to on a daily basis. “In a certain respect, they are even more dangerous than the gods: they are closer to the house, they are dissatisfied, they always demand respect,” Michaels ascertains on page 146. The concept of liminality definitely comes into play through ancestor worship. The Hindu religion recognizes that the dead exist on a threshold of sorts between the world of the living and the world of the dead. It also realizes that through the prayer and ritual practices, relatives of ancestors can utilize the power of liminality and send their forefathers into
The god Shiva is linked with both the battle goddesses. According to the book Religions of the World, seventh edition, written by Lewis M. Hopfe, (class book) Shiva is the god of death destruction and disease. Kali is Shiva's consort. Kali excites and empowers Shiva. When Kali is in one of her blood frenzies, she entices Shiva to join. Kali and Shiva exchange the destructive energy that builds between each other. Kinsley writes, "…she entices Shiva himself to dangerous, destructive behavior." Durga is seen as Shiva's wife. Durga's effect on Shiva is like an energy sucking sedative. Instead of giving power to him, as Kali does, she drains the power from him making him relax.
The festival remembers the prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son when God ordered him to. God appeared in a dream to Ibrahim and told him to sacrifice his son Isma’il. Ibrahim and Isma’il set off to Mina for the sacrifice. As they went, the devil attempted to persuade Ibrahim to disobey God and not to sacrifice his beloved son. Ibrahim drove the devil away. As Ibrahim prepared to kill his son God stopped him and gave him a sheep to sacrifice instead.
This festival falls in the month of February and signifies the beginning of the lunar year. This ten day festival is also known as the 'Phousnyi" among the local people. The foremost ritual of the festival is Kizie, in which they take a few drops of the rice water from Zumho (top of the Jug) and carefully put them into the leaves and place them at the three main points of the post of the house by a women. Next morning all the young men of the village get up early in the morning and take a bath in the village after which they adorn themselves with the new shawls. This ceremony is known as "Dzuseva". The main charisma of this festival is that the Thekra Hie, in which the youngsters of the village gather together for singing and dancing to the tunes of the traditional music and the participants make fun and enjoy themselves with the rice balls and plates of meat. Haunting is an another important excitement of thia festival. The major part of the ceremony falls on the eighth day when the gate pulling or the bride pulling is performed. This festival also includes beer drinking and merry making. All these works ceases during the ten days of feasting and song. It is no wonder that Nagaland is called as the ‘land of
Diwali, the festival of lights, is one of the important and widely spread holidays celebrated in India. It is a celebration of lights, and for many, it is truly a sensory experience; some families decorate their houses with all sorts of lights and open up to the neighbors, sharing their love and their food.
Srinivasa Ramanujan was one of India's greatest mathematical geniuses. He made contributions to the analytical theory of numbers and worked on elliptic functions, continued fractions, and infinite series.
In the Hindu religion there are three main gods, apart of the triumvirate, and those are: Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. The god Shiva is important in this triumvirate because he is the destroyer of the world. Shiva is the destroyer, but he also has many other complex roles and many of those roles tend to contradict each other. The god Shiva has many names and is the god of various aspects of life including yoga and dance. Shiva has gained a large following in the Hindu religion and those that follow him are called Shaivas.