Spencer Overstreet and I went to the Bharatiya Hindu Temple in Lexington, Kentucky. In the past I have visited many temples, so the set up was not odd for me. I was surprised that the worship space was incredibly small for the size of the temple. Previously, temples I had been to were rather large in the space and had life-sized deities. As I looked around the room on the right backside of the room there were these weird statues that I did not recall ever seeing before, and at the center of the room Ganesh was placed on the floor, while the other deities were behind him lined up on the island platform. Religion was present throughout the room on the left side of the room Saraswati, Durga and on the center platform, there was a Mahayana, which is the god for Jainism, then Krishna, Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma, and a few others. On the front right side of the room, there was a cow, and two other deities.
When we first walked in, it was slightly awkward, but I did not feel as out of place and confused as Spencer was because of the fact that it is a familiar space. The priest was doing prayers to the gods at first, and then it was dead silence until a family came in with a baby boy. Until this point, Spencer was confused slightly, as immediately when I walked in I started to walk around the room and looking at the deities. I am not sure if she felt like we were suppose to be doing more, or speaking, I could not quite grasp her experience compared to mine. In the middle of the room on the floor there was a silky bed spread of some sort, which most Indian functions, prayer rooms, or temples have on the ground. I mention this, because it was the first thing that brought me into the mentality of feeling a home in a sense. The feeling of the beds...
... middle of paper ...
...hink about what is odd that is going on or even something I should question when I am practicing Hinduism, because it was hard for me to fall out of this natural mindset I obtain while hearing prayers or looking at the deities. In the sense that the text and the way everything was performed did match up with the text, but it is hard for me to look at it in a textual sense, as it is natural and those things do not matter, and still do not now that I have read them. It is just what you do, and that is what is peaceful about it, everything about the day seemed to drift away, and I was felt extremely happy when I left. Orthopraxy, doing these rituals will always remain close to me, and the memory of doing rituals and prayers is not something you forget how to do and my mind drifts to the same place it did when I was a child. The action of doing, but not your thoughts.
In my Catholic high school, our theology class visited a spiritual space each semester. Synagogues, temples, centers, and mosques were included. The most memorable of these visits was a trip to the Sri Venkateswara Temple in Penn Hills. At first, I was in awe of the décor—large, intricate murals and statues filled the space, and there were flowers and incense holders in every corner. The tour guide, a Hindu doctor and author, then occupied my interest. He described his belief in pantheism, a view that the Universe is divine in all respects. It was so interesting to hear about a belief contrary to the monotheist, dualist one I was brought up in. It made just as much sense, it was simply explanation of life and its meaning.
the deities and attempt to explain the psychological necessity of these rituals. An examination will be made of the typical forms of rituals, and cite their effects,
In the gruesome novel, All Quiet On The Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque, tells a story of a young boy named Paul Bäumer that fights in World War I as a German soldier. Paul is the protagonist and the narrator for most of the novel. The reader can see, through Paul, the horrors of war. Critics agree that the novel is believable. “Paul's story is the realization of the horror of war…” (Tighe 60). The setting of the novel is in the trenches of the Western Front in France and in Germany. There are numerous cultural aspects going on within this anti-war novel. Remarque accurately portrays the culture aspects of, male roles, family relations, the economy, and historical references to life during World War I in Germany and France for the soldiers on the Western front during the last two years of Word War I between 1916 and 1918.
As the sunrises over the crisp fall horizon, followers begin to surround the sacred space in anticipation for what is about to take place. The sacred space is soon surrounded by people who are dressed in the sacred colors, some wearing necklaces of their totem, while others wear headdresses that adorn with their sacred symbol. People begin to drink, play music, and prepare a banquet feast for each other, creating a festival atmosphere in hope that today’s ritual will be a success. As the ritual gets set to begin followers begin to crowd into the sacred space, surrounded with pictures and names of those who have reached greatness. As the ritual begins, music is played in order to bring everyone together and prepare for the events that are about to unfold. It is now that the followers have a very simple focus, to aid in the success of the ritual. Those who celebrate the ritual take there places in the middle of the sacred space, with the followers surrounding them; now that the ritual has begun the celebrants begin to perform and focus on certain actions in order connect themselves with the transcendent sacred. The followers who look on begin to aid by chanting, allowing themselves to also transcend. In hopes that the ritual was a success, everyone does their part until the last second of the ritual is completed, it is only then that it can be decided if the ritual was a success and they can either celebrate or grieve by signing in their most sacred song, bonding them once again with each other.
I was very nervous to visit the Hindu Mandir. However, once I got there, I saw how beautiful and amazing it really was. It was so beautiful that I thought that I was in a museum instead of a place of worship. It was absolutely nothing as I expected it to be at all. While I was in the Mandir, I felt a sense of honor and serenity and at peace while looking around at all the beautiful art. In addition, I learned many different things because of this visit about Hinduism. The visit made me learn things that I would have never learned if I did not go on the trip. I learned about what a Mandir is, a Mandir functions, the history of Hinduism, their beliefs, and their festival celebrations.
The actual building itself appears similar to a castle. The architecture had royal features due to the triangular points on the top of the building. There were three open doors; one big main entrance in front, two small side doors, and all the guests entered through the main entrance. Once I walked in, a big gold Buddha was centered in the back surrounding multiple iconic religious statues. There seemed to be about a hundred religious statues highly dazzled in silver or good.
In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticus Finch says, "Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit em', but remember it's a sin To Kill a Mockingbird." This quote demonstrates Atticus's firm belioef in the Golden Rule. The Golden Rule is to treat others how you want to be treated. Atticus follows the Golden Rule throughout the novel, including while defending Tom Robinson, a local African American accused of raping Mayella Ewell. Due to Atticus's firm belief in the Golden Rule and the fact he must live with himself before others and tries to teach his children the right thing to do, it makes sense for him to defend Tom Robinson.
At 9:55 a man referred to as an usher greeted me and handed me a program. The room I entered into next was large and had an aisle down the center separating the seating. There were eight chairs seated side by side in each row and fifteen rows in total on each side of the aisle to provide comfortable seating for 240 people. I took a seat amongst the rest of the youth in the second row from the front of the platform. On the platform at the front of the room sat various instruments, a large podium and multiple speakers. There was a large, rectangular opening in the center wall at the back of the platform where a large tub with steps, referred to as the baptism tank, was located. Beyond the tank was a large wooden cross hanging on the wall.
Every religion embodies a plethora of recognized rituals that are significant to its teachings. Customs exclusive to each religion can include acts such as: attending a weekly mass, praying five times a day at specified hours, celebrating the transition from childhood to manhood, along with endless others. The similarity shared amongst all religious rituals is that the follower of faith must believe whole-heartedly in what he/she is doing or saying. Dhikr, or the remembrance of God, is a ritual based in Islam that does not receive the attention it deserves from mainstream Muslims, and is highly under appreciated for its value (Robson 238). Its myriad versions allow it to be very personal, whereas other rituals are more structured, which is
Meditation is an age-old practice that has renewed itself in many different cultures and times. Despite its age, however, there remains a mystery and some ambiguity as to what it is, or even how one performs it. The practice and tradition of meditation dates back thousands of years having appeared in many eastern traditions. Meditation’s ancient roots cloud its origins from being attributed to a sole inventor or religion, though Bon, Hindu, Shinto, Dao, and later, Buddhism are responsible for its development. Its practice has permeated almost all major world religions, but under different names. It has become a practice without borders, influencing millions with its tranquil and healing effects.
At last I arrived, unmolested except for the rain, at the hefty decaying doors of the church. I pushed the door and it obediently opened, then I slid inside closing it surreptitiously behind me. No point in alerting others to my presence. As I turned my shoulder, my gaze was held by the magnificence of the architecture. It never fails to move me. My eyes begin by looking at the ceiling, and then they roam from side to side and finally along the walls drinking in the beauty of the stained glass windows which glowed in the candle light, finally coming to rest on the altar. I slipped into the nearest pew with the intention of saying a few prayers when I noticed him. His eyes were fixated upon me. I stared at the floor, but it was too late, because I was already aware that he wasn’t one of the priests, his clothes were all wrong and his face! It seemed lifeless. I felt so heavy. My eyes didn’t want to obey me. Neither did my legs. Too late I realised the danger! Mesmerised, I fell asleep.
I decided to visit a Hindu temple because the Hindu religion was the religion that I knew the least about and was interested in. This assignment gave me an opportunity to learn more about this religion and what their worship services and rituals were like. The temple that I went to was called BAPS Shri Swaminaryan Mandir and it was located in Lilburn. As soon as I walked in, I was amazed by the beautiful architectural design of this Temple. It seemed like it took a lot of hard work and dedication to make the place what it is now. While I was at the temple, I watched the Hindus perform an ancient Vedic ritual called the Abhishek, a ritual bathing to honor the murti of their God.
It was magnificent. The first thing to catch my eye was a monstrous chandelier that hung from the 50 foot ceiling. It was awe inspiring. As my eyes surveyed the room, it was hard to miss the antique maple pews that provided seats for approximately 300 people. Plush emerald green carpet was the grounding to the room. It's path led directly up to the stage which was home to a variety of items. The band, pulpit, arid baptismal were the most obvious. Above the stage was a huge dome, it was colored in shades of blue, mauve, white, and several other soft accents. A bright light was right in the center of its point. Our gazing was soon interrupted when the official greeter returned. This time she was quick and to the point. She collected our cards and informed us that service was about to begin. Within a matter of minutes, a middle-aged man stepped up to the pulpit and asked us to stand.
As I have mentioned in the above paragraph that I always had a dream to go visit the Hindu temple, so I decided to visit Hindu temple for my experience project. It is way that is giving me an opportunity to learn and find out interesting things about the Hindu practices. By just visiting to this temple I can find out many differences in between mine and Hindu culture. I have watc...