Hinduism as a Religion of South Florida

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Fundamental beliefs
Hinduism in South Florida
Art, Symbol, Images, Cultic Objects
Distinctive Dress in South Florida
Adaptation and concession to “American” ways of worship
Forms of ritual and worship/liturgy
Major religious festivals
Conclusion
References

Introduction

Hinduism is one of the biggest religions, with a following of more than a billion people. Religion has evolved over the centuries, and the roots can be traced further than the Indus valley civilization and other civilizations of ancient times. The paper analyzes the key philosophy, various festivals, and holy days and also discusses Hinduism in Florida.

Fundamental beliefs

Hinduism has its origins in the ancient Indian subcontinent and is a way of life and living that promotes adherence to dharma or law and preaches that man is bound to his ”Karma” or fate, and this cannot be changed. The religion suggests that one pays for the sins of the previous life and suggests that eternal ”moksha” or salvation from rebirth and an escape from the wheel of life can only be attained by penance, observing rituals, fasting, and other acts of devotion. The religion preaches about practicing austerity in life, believing in non-violence, and leading a life without sins. Hinduism has more than a billion practitioners who live in India, Asian countries, and also in Europe and the USA. (Bhaskarananda, 2001).

The religion is very complicated and has several sacred and holy texts that preach the philosophy of Hinduism. There are many predominant themes in the religion, and they can be grouped as ethics and duties called as ”Dharma”, the cycle of life that includes birth, living, death, and again rebirth or ”Samsara”; the salvation of liberation from the cycle of birth or ”Moksha” and the different paths and practices used to attain salvation or ”Yoga”.

Hinduism is based on different concepts of the system of beliefs, and these include pantheism, polytheism, monotheism, monism, and even atheism. There are a number of Gods, and colorful and vivid stories have been narrated about them, and these stories can be found in the Bhagavad-Gita, the Ramayana, and Mahabharata. Hinduism suggests that it is the spirit or the soul called the Atman that is the true self of a person.

The spirit is reborn many times and may be born in different bodies that could belong to a Kshatriya or warrior, a Brahman the holy caste, or as a Sudra, the servant, and laborer. Religion has very strongly defined codes for caste and sub-castes, and these were formed by Manu, the divine lawgiver. While Brahmins were at the top of the social order and regarded as learned scholars, the Sudras were the lowest in the social order and took up work such as manual labor and others. Kshatriyas were the warrior class, while Vaishyas were the merchant class. (Bhaskarananda, 2001).

Hinduism in South Florida

Florida State in the US has sizeable followers of Hinduism. The disciples include not only Indians and people from Asian countries but also US citizens who have taken up the religion and way of life. There are an estimated 2 million Hindus whose spiritual needs are met by the different organizations that have been set up as semi-religious bodies, trusts, and human rights organizations (HAF. 2007).

While Hinduism is practiced actively by the members, these organizations provide services in the form of conducting pujas or rituals, providing priests to conduct the ceremonies, conducting meets at religious festivals, arranging for sermons by different scholars and others. Some organizations, such as the Chinmaya Foundation, also provide training and education for people who wish to enroll in different studies. The foundation also has the Chinmaya International Residential School that brings up children in an atmosphere of devotion and piety. There are a number of other organizations that provide education in spirituality, self-awareness, yoga, and many others (Chinmaya. 2007).

Art, Symbol, Images, Cultic Objects

Hinduism as such has more thousands of gods and deities, and these are worshipped in various forms across different regions. Hinduism strongly believes in idol worship, and many elaborate temples with beautiful stone carvings and statues have been created in India across the centuries for specific gods and deities. The most popular gods are Lord Krishna, Lord Rama, and Vishnu, Goddesses Saraswati, the giver of knowledge, and Laxmi, the giver of wealth and the holy trinity of Vishnu, Brahma the creator and Shiva the destroyer.

The Trishul or a spear with three forks is the weapon of Lord Shiva and worshiped as holy along with the Lingam, which looks like a Phallus. The word ”Om” is regarded as a holy word, and in many villages, a stone is worshipped with reverence because it may have a natural formation of a god’s form or because some holy legend is associated with it. The Swastika is also regarded as a holy emblem (Winthrop, 1984).

Hinduism is formed on the basis of various holy texts such as the Vedas, the Puranas, the Bhagavad-Gita, the Upanishads, Ramayana, Mahabharata, and others. The scriptures were learned by memorizing the ”shlokas” or sayings and were taught by a Guru to the disciples in a school called Ashram. There are four Vedas: Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda, and the Atharva Veda, and these provide the holy and sacred mantras or prayers that would be recited during pujas. (Basham, 1999).

Distinctive Dress in South Florida

Practitioners of Hinduism are citizens who may be working professionals, doctors, lawyers, housewives, and others. These people wear normal business clothes. However, during pujas and rituals, they are expected to wear the traditional dress of Hindus. Males typically wear Dhotis, which is a 9-yard long cloth and worn around the waist with a shawl for the top. Women are expected to wear the highly decorative and exotic saree made from silk.

Priests who conduct the rituals were saffron-colored Dhoti and shawl. The shawl may have printings from the holy scriptures. Along with the dress, Hindus may also wear the ”japmala” which is a type of garland stringed with dried Rudraksh seeds and the japmala is also used for praying and counting the number of times that the Lords name is recited. The Tulsi plant, the neem and the peepal tree are regarded as holy. The cow is regarded as a holy animal and never harmed or killed by Hindus. Many of the Hindus are vegetarians (ChiTra, 25 January 2008).

Adaptation and concession to “American” ways of worship

Hinduism as practiced in US and Europe is of lesser intensity and the rituals and worship is much lesser frenzied that the practice in India. Particularly in US and Florida, the emphasis’semphasis’s on self learning, yoga and meditation. Though religious events are conducted in different temples and organizations, there is a an attempt to conduct the discourses in English rather than in other Indian languages (Frawley David, 1990).

Forms of ritual and worship/liturgy

Hinduism has many rituals and ceremonies that need to be performed as per the Hindu calendar called the ”Panchanga”. This calendar lists the holy days on which special rites have to be performed and these include the full moon day, early in the morning, afternoon and also in the night. Hindus are expected to take a bath before offering oblations to their god. Rituals are conducted for marriage, birth, death, when a young girl matures, the Upanayanam or the tonsuring ceremony of young Brahmin boys and so on. After a person dies, a period of mourning of 10 to 12 days is observed and is called the ”Sharaddha”.

The religious rituals conducted by ordained pujaris or priests are conducted with fire and other offerings that include flowers, sandalwood, water, sweets, milk, honey and others. The Kundali or the horoscope which depicts the position of the stars and planets when a person is born is supposed to decide a persons fate and is consulted for marriages. (Chinmaya, 2007).

Major religious festivals

Hinduism has a number of festivals and while some of them are celebrated by people of different Indian States, the others are commonly celebrated. All celebrations are based on the lunar calendar and the position of heavenly bodies. Some festivals include Diwali or the festival of light, Durga Pooja when the Godess Durga is worshipped, Navaratri and Dussera when celebrations go on for nine nights, Gokalasthmi to celebrate the birth of Lord Krishna, Ramnavami to celebrate the birth of Lord Rama and many more. In addition there are special festivals to celebrate the beginning of the sowing and the harvest seasons. In Florida, the major festivals are celebrated by the followers of Hinduism in the homes and festivities, meetings and special pooja are also conducted by various Hindu organizations.

Conclusion

The paper has discussed the Hindu religion and examined the philosophy, the sacred texts, various symbols, festivals and rituals with reference to practices in Florida and elsewhere.

References

Basham, A.L. 1999. A Cultural History of India. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-563921-9.

Bhaskarananda, Swami. 2001. Meditation: Mind & Patanjali’s Yoga. Viveka Press, ISBN 1-884852-03-3.

CHiTra. 2008. Center for the Study of Hindu Tradations, University of Florida. Web.

Chinmaya. 2007. The Chinmaya Mission, Miami. Web.

Frawley David. 1990. From the River of Heaven: Hindu and Vedic Knowledge for the Modern Age, written at Salt Lake City, Utah. Passage Press, ISBN 1878423010.

HAF. 2007.

The Hindu American Foundation. Web.

Winthrop Sargeant, Christopher Chapple (1984). The Bhagavad-Gita. State University of New York Press. ISBN 0-87395-831-4.

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