Hindus also believe that rivers are sacred due to their idea of the river is meant to have purifying and healing powers. An ideal resting place after death and cremation is in water. A good example of a sacred river is the Ganges.
Sacred time
If a God has shown themselves or done a particular deed at a place then not only is the space important but so is the time. Hindus celebrate these times by having festivals, which are sometimes particular to one area or one temple.
Hindu festivals are based on the lunar calendar. In modern India, there are sixteen officially recognized holidays, although there are many more holidays than that. Most festivals are annual, but some happen on a longer cycle. The festival of Kumbha Mela, when millions of Hindus gather at the confluence of the Ganges and Jumna rivers takes place once every twelve years.
A sacred time is usually to do with a sacred space. During the god's or goddess' festival, the statue will be paraded through the streets. There are also some larger festivals which are held throughout all India and are the highlights of the year. Three of the main ones are:
The feast of Holi – Holi or Holikotsava is a festival that occurs around March and is celebrated over two days. On the evening of the first day bonfires are lit, normally in a public place. On the second day people throw coloured powder and water at each other. The first day the actual Holi day, the second day is called Dhuleti or Rangapanchami. Rangapanchami was originally the fifth day as the festival used to
be spread over five days and so it was called Rangapanchami because in earlier times it was celebrated till the fifth day of the fortnight.
The feast of Dasara - Is held in September and celebrates the defeat of the demon Ravana by Rama, which is told in the Ramayana, one of the great Hindu stories. The actual feast is in honor of the Goddess Durya, who helped Rama defeat the demon. Hindus celebrate this by reenacting stories from the Ramayana.
The feast of Diwali – This festival is the celebration of New Year and is held in October. Presents are given out and the cities are alive with light, fireworks being the favorite. It is a festival of light, and is held in honor of Vishnu and his wife, Lakshmi. Lakshmi is the god of prosperity and is said to visit well lit homes with her prosperity.
Sacred persons
Hindus have their own system that puts people into different classes. The system is called the caste system and is used to keep village life running smoothly. The caste system started from simple classes like traders and warriors. The first four established classes in early Hindu history were: Brahmins (priests), the kshatriyas (warriors), the vaishyas (traders), and the shudras (the commoners). Rituals and ceremonies in the temple are done by the priests (only men can become priests), and in the household the worshipping is done by the women.
A class or basic group of the caste is called a jati. It could really be called an extended family, made up of around one thousand families. This group all does things in much the same way; same customs and occupations, marriages confined to the same group, they pray and worship the same way and even prepare food and eat it in the same ways. The people all know where they stand on the social scale, low or high. For example a laundry man would be low down on the social scale whilst priests are quite higher up.
Jatis are grouped into the varnas, which are the Brahmins, the kshatriyas, the vaishyas and the shudra. The Indians who aren’t in any castes are called untouchables and are meant to do all the unwanted dirty jobs and are not given much respect. Mahatma Ghandhi fought for these people and gave them the name of harijan, ‘the people of God’. Now days India’s law prohibits people treating these outcastes as untouchables.
Bibliography
Worksheet handed out - HINDUISM
Internet sites- Uwacadweb.uwyo.edu:
Hinduism—Stages of Life
Hinduism—Time and worship