No other religion in the world can lay claim to giving its practitioners so much opportunity to experiment,infer and evolve..Hinduism is truely composite,varied and dynamic.Many try to portray this as a weakness.I beg to differ.How would you describe a rainbow?Colourful,radiant,composite,catchy,spectacular.The rainbow has seven colours,each so distinct from one another.The same is true with Hinduism ..Hinduism allows you to think,experiment,falter,realize and enlighten,both yourself and others..
As William Blake says,"How can the bird that is born for joy sit in a cage and sing?"Each man has his own tastes,preferences,likes and dislikes.One man's food is another man's poison.With this being the case,it becomes impossible to aplly the same yardstick to everybody.
This is why Hindus worship many Gods.Each God is a way to connect to our inner self.Practice of Hinduism is in fact,a celebration of life.Each and every custom a Hindu follows has its own hidden meaning.Consider the "kolam" which decorates the entrance of evry house.It used to be drawn using rice flour in olden days.Why?
It used to serve two purposes:
2)It was drawn in rice flour to feed the ants.
Of course,we use "kolam"flours nowadays,but this is what "kolams" used to be..
In very much the same way,each and every custom Hindus follow has a meaning,a purpose,though it may seem crass and meaningless from the outset.One understands the relevance only if he goes into deep analysis.It is foolish and arrogant to dismiss something just because one is ignorant of it.As Da vinci says"Blinding ignorance does mislead us.Oh wretched mortals..OPEN YOUR EYES".
"OPEN YOUR EYES".This is exactly what one who is interested in understanding Hinduism must do.One doubt might cross your mind.This article portrays Hinduism like the media-just a medium to express ourselves.Then why are there so many customs,rituals and traditions in Hinduism?The answer is simple.True,customs and rituals are an integral part of hinduism.But,what do customs compose of..Oblations to the fire,worship of the sun(suryanamaskaram,sandhyavandhanam),worshipping the Earth,air,etc..In a cruder sense,simply nature worship..but isn't nature worship again a celebration of life?
Hindu festivals like Sankaranthi are meant to worship the sun,the yielder of light to the world.Really,what would our world be without the sun?Ayudha puja is an opportunity to pay homage to the things we use in our day to day life..During Diwlai we celebrate the victory of Ram over Raavan-the victory of Good over Evil..We burst crackers to symbolize the birth of good times and to pray that all our suffering should be reduced to nothing just like the ash that remains after the crackers are burnt..the same is true of all the festivals that Hindus celebrate.Sadly no one realises this..
Hinduism is a way of life,more than a religion..
(to be continued)
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