Some other interesting aspects of Hinduism are the 4 castes, the 4 stages of life, and Puja. The four castes are Brahmins, which are Priets, Kshatriys, which are rulers are warriors, Vanishyes, which are merchants, farmers, and artisans, and sutras/shudas, which are unskilled laborers. There is also another sub category where the outcasts and untouchables go. They are usually people who deal with the dead and garbage and are therefore looked down upon. (see first picture on left) Then there are the 4 stages of life. They are student, which are people learning, householder, which are married people who work and raise a family, forest dweller, which are grandparents helping with grandchildren and who focus on spiritual matters, and Sannyasin, which are people who give up all worldly attachments. (see second picture on left). All people of the Hinduism faith must fall into one of the four casts and one of the 4 stages of life. I find it interesting that people have to be in one of those four categories for both the casts and stages of life. I don't see why someone can simply be unmarried without a job just living freely. Why do they have to have a specific role? I also think the four casts should have some gray area. what if someone is not quite a priest, but is not as low as a ruler or warrior? I, personally, do not think a religion should tell people that they need to fall in a specific role. People should encouraged to be unique and different. On a totally different note, i find Puja very interesting. Puja involves many steps, which lead to a person having Darshan and having an intense climati
c moment with their divine deity. Some of these steps are similar to other religions, such as chanting/praying, giving gifts to the deity, and the drinking and touching of holy water. However, some are very unique, such as ringing of the bells, anointing the deity, marking the third eye, and touching the fire and then your eyes. I like how Puja incorporates so many different things and rituals. They manage to be unique and yet relatable, which is very difficult to do. There are examples of deity's decorated and worshipped to the left and below. I think decorating a deity is overall a very significant and powerful way to worship a god, and i think these steps of Puja are some of the most interesting aspects of Hinduism.
I like the last picture--interesting to see religious worship in someone's living room. (By the way, in providing attribution, you should cite not Google images, but the actual page the image comes from).
ReplyDeleteYou have some interesting ideas, but keep pushing your thinking. When you ask a question, e.g., Why do they have to have a specific role?, don't just raise it, but try to answer it. From the Hindu perspective, for example, what might be said in having such clearly defined roles? And how would you criticize that argument.