Hinduism An Indian Religion - 1265 Words

Many religions have well-known rituals to the general public, however, one of the most revolutionized and modernized rituals would be yoga from Hinduism. Hinduism is an Indian religion and it is the third largest religion in the world (Esposito, 310). Hinduism is culturally and regionally embedded religion compared to other religions. Hinduism indicates the amalgam of spiritual traditions originating in South Asia (Esposito, 310). For this report, I visited the Durga Temple located in Fairfax to observe the temple s prayer hall, the statues of deities and puja. I also had an opportunity to interview one of the congregants from the temple named Nikki about Hinduism, the myth of liberation, symbols, traditions and rituals, and the impact†¦show more content†¦That symbolizes complexity in Hinduism because it has layers of meanings. All over the halls and walls of the temple I noticed the signs stated Keep this temple clean! Please take off shoes here! It is very evident that the cleanliness of the temple is important because all the congregants and priest sits on the floor to pray and carry out rituals. It is a hygienic issue if people do not take off their shoes. Also, Nikki stated that in Indian cultures in general take off shoes before entering a house or a temple because they want to keep worldly things outside instead of bringing in the filthy matters. It is also showing respect to their gods to take off shoes before entering the temple. Taking off shoes not only keep the places clean for the people to pray but also it should be understood it as an act of a solemn manner with great respect. In the prayer hall, I have noticed a lot of statues of deities and designated shrine for certain gods. Nikki stated that this is transcendent yet complex because all the statues indeed have different representations which explains the complexity, however, all the deities and gods are one god that manifests itself in many different ways which explains the transce ndency in Hinduism. And one of the symbols of Hinduism that I am familiar with is Om. It is pointing to the seed sound of the universe – the first sound of the universe. And as such it points to the transcendentShow MoreRelatedHinduism Indian Predominan Religion Essay966 Words   |  4 PagesIndia’s predominant religion is Hinduism, and though the approximate date of which it was lain down is unknown, Hinduism was established and founded by the Aryans, who arrived in India at approximately 1500 BCE. 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