Religions of India

In Religions of India, my favorite topic was about the Hindu gods, and festivals celebrated in India. Something that was attractive about Hinduism is the variety in that religion. Almost everything is colorful and exciting. The religion itself can almost be tailored to fit a person’s needs. The festivals are attractive to people outside the religion, and more appealing to people who have learned about Indian culture. The Hindu Gods are all unique with specific traits that appeal to different people. The festivals often attract large crowds of people wo often join together in making music and dancing and celebrating. I hope to show just how colorful these two major parts of Hinduism are.

To name all of the gods and goddesses in Hinduism would be a feat. There is a god for just about everything. Gods in Hinduism are not the same as the Christian God, In Hinduism Brahman is the sacred, and everything in the universe including humans and gods is made of it. In Hinduism gods are almost considered the highest caste because one could technically be reincarnated as one. This differs from Christianity because Christians view their god as one deity that humans were modeled after and is the only thing that is sacred.

The first god in the Hindu trinity is Brahma, the creator. He is probably the least worshiped god in all of Hinduism with only one well known temple. He has four heads facing each direction. He is thought to be the creator of the universe. His consort is Saraswati, the goddess of wisdom. Next in the trinity is Vishnu the preserver, one of the most followed gods in the Hindu universe. He is known for keeping balance in the universe. His followers are often referred to as Vaishnavites. Vishnu is married to Lakshmi, the goddess of good fortune. Two of his avatars are also very popular among Hindus, Krishna and Rama. Krishna appears in the Bagavhad Gita, where he gives advice to prince Arjuna about his holy duty. Rama is in the epic known as the Ramayana, where he must defeat the demon Ravana and rescue his wife. Shiva the destroyer is the third of the trinity, and is also one of the most popular gods. In western cultures a destroyer might be viewed with fear bit in India Shiva is loved and celebrated. He is also the god of dance and rebirth. His wife is Parvati the goddess of love and fertility.

The gods of the trinity are not the only important gods, and there are many gods who are more popular than those in the trinity. The most recognized and popular oh the Hindu gods is Lord Ganesh the elephant headed god. He is the son of Shiva and Parvati. He is in love with the goddess Lakshmi, even though she is devoted to Brahma. He is the god of overcoming obstacles and there are many stories about his appearance. One story of how he got his elephant head says that Shiva was away from home for a while and when he returned he found Ganesh in bed with parvat. He did not recognize him so he chopped off his head. Parvati became very upset and explained that ganesh was shiva’s son. In order to remedy the situation shiva agreed to replace Ganesh’s head with the head of the first animal he came across, which happened to be an elephant.Hanuman is the monkey, and is also the god of strength. He is said to be so strong that he was able to lift an entire mountain. He appears in the Ramayana where he helps Rama in his quest to defeat Ravana. One of the most popular goddesses is Durga, the mother goddess. She is sometimes shown with the flag of India because she is sometimes considered Mother India. Durga is the patron goddess of mothers and is thought to oversee childbirth. She has two sides to her personality, a loving side and a strict and fierce punishing side. The next goddess is Kali who is sometimes considered Durga’s sister and sometimes as her alter ego. Her name literally means “the black one”. She is very fierce and carries many weapons, wears a skirt of severed arms, and a necklace of demon’s heads. The city Calcutta was named after her and one of her most famous temples can be found there. Because kali is vampire like and loves the taste of blood many of her rituals include a blood sacrifice. She often represents female empowerment therefore she is very popular with women of this generation.

There are many different Hindu festivals celebrated throughout the year. From Holi to the Kumbh Mehla, festivals in India bring people together to celebrate their religion. Festivals in India often attract large crowds of people both followers of the religion and also spectator. They create an environment of positivity, and the atmosphere is said to ward off negative energy.

One of the first festivals of the year is Holi.