Invitation to World Religions

140  CHAPTER 4  Hinduism

turn, the gaze of the deity’s image is believed to confer blessings on every person who comes into its presence. In many ways, the act of darshan is often the most meaningful experience for Hindus. Today, most Hindus go to a local temple or on pilgrimage to a sacred site for darshan. For this reason, the temple is a central religious and cultural institution in Hindu religious practice. Temples generally house two different kinds of icons. The first type is the main image (or images), which resides at the center of the temple. These images are usu- ally made of stone and are permanently fixed in the shrine. The second type of icon is the processional image, typically cast from an amalgam of five metals. Smaller and more mobile than fixed images, processional images are brought out of temples on special platforms or chariots for temple festivals and are usually adorned in elab- orate costumes and jewels. Hindus gather for a darshan in the presence of the divine form embodied in these mobile images. Although both types of icons are made by human hands and are constituted of material substances, while the icon is being worshiped it is understood not to be merely stone or metal but the very body of God. In temple rites, deities are treated as royal guests. Temple worship usually in- volves sixteen different offerings. Of these, the most significant is the eighth offer- ing, which involves pouring auspicious substances over the icon. These substances might include scented water, milk, and sandalwood paste. After the ritual, the deity is adorned in ornaments, textiles, and flowers. The temple rituals end with a waving of lamps before the image. For Hindus, this is the ideal moment for darshan. Divine images can also directly convey religious teachings. For instance, Nata- raja, Lord of the Dance, is one of the most iconic forms of Shiva (see the photo on p. 106). In his dance, Nataraja represents what Shaivas call the Five Activities of Shiva, which can also be understood as the five principal manifestations of divine energy: creation, preservation, destruction, illusion, and liberation. Forms of Worship The Sanskrit word puja is commonly used to describe worship in Hinduism. In its simplest form, puja involves making some offering to the deity (such as fruit, in- cense, or flowers). The deity is then believed to partake of the devotion inherent in the offering. The material aspect of the offerings left behind is thought to be infused with the deity’s blessing.

Puja can be simple or elaborate. Along with material items, offerings can consist of washing or clothing the image of the deity, greeting it, prostrating oneself before it, and similar gestures. Puja can be offered almost anywhere—before a home shrine, at a temple, at pilgrimage sites, by sacred trees or rivers, at roadside shrines, or within temporary structures specially made for a specific rite. Rituals may be car- ried out as an expression of love for the deity, in a rite of passage, in celebration of a holiday or festival, when asking for blessings, in order to create an atmosphere of peace and harmony, or in propitiation of the gods in times of trouble. Ritual occa- sions are ideal for maintaining and strengthening community ties. PROPERTY OF OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS