How observing a visible religious activity can help you to understand the part religion plays in the life of an individual or community

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Alice-Rose Geary                                TMA - 06

How observing a visible religious activity can help you to understand the part religion plays in the life of an individual or community

When looking at the role religion plays in the life of a person or community, it is certainly helpful to observe religious activities, such as a festival. However, does observing someone taking part in a religious activity always mean that religion plays a big role in their life?

Durga Puja is a Hindu festival which is celebrated every year, and lasts approximately nine days. It’s celebrated in the Goddess Durga’s honour, to celebrate her victory over evil when she fought and killed the evil Mahishasura, restoring heaven to the Gods. This is an example of Ninian Smart’s ‘narrative and mythic dimension’, the story side of religion. She’s invoked for protection from the powers of evil.

Durga Puja is a visual source, so we must treat it with some caution. Obviously it has changed over the years, as most religious festivals have. Hindus created it to worship a Hindu Goddess, so undoubtedly it will be influenced by their beliefs.

The festival begins with the people offering prayers to their ancestors at the city’s river banks. This is called Tarpan. The Second stage is when the Goddess arrives from heaven, amidst a terrific flourish of drums. The main ritual of this stage is unveiling the face of the idol, often modelled on a popular actress. After this there is the worshipping of nine types of plants. Worshipped together, they are a symbol of the Goddess. This is followed by a day beginning with Sanskrit hymns – Sanskrit being the classical language of India, and liturgical language of Hinduism – while thousands gather as a community. During the concluding day Prasad, meaning a gift from a deity, is given out. This is normally sweets, a gift from the Goddess. The final act of this impressive festival is the immersion of the Goddess in a nearby river or lake, where the clay that made the figure was taken from, often a tearful farewell for the Hindu people, as this festival is one of the highlights of their religious year, and they give wholeheartedly to it. The statues, temples and sacred rivers are all examples of ‘the material dimension’ or external symbols of religion.

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The people of India spend a long time in anticipation of Durga Puja. Many preparations are made that require some people devoting a large part of their life to this festival alone. The statue makers are a fine example of this. All year, they are employed to create the many statues needed for the long-lasting festival. This work provides their livelihood, and great care is taken over the responsibility of the images.

The Brahmin caste are another example of people devoting their lives to the religious festival. These are seen as the highest form of Hinduism, and people can ...

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