Tag Archives: hindu

Karma

My roommate’s parents were both born in Indian (she was born in the United States) so she sat down with me in my apartment and explained some folklore that she learned from her parents. Her relationship to the folklore isn’t necessarily that she truly believes in it, but that’s an important part of her culture.

“We believe, or like, in general, not like I’m a crazy person…bad things happen to you because you’re paying for deeds that happened from your previous life/your previous birth. And so, shit happens now because you did something bad in a previous life. It’s also like karma.”

Q: Is karma related to reincarnation?

“Karma means you pay for every deed. So, this is a form of karma.”

Q: What would be an example of karma?

“Well, the way we interpreted it was when my dad got sick, it was because in a prior life or a prior form he had done something bad and this was… he was paying for it now.”

Q: How widespread is this belief?

“Pretty universal in Hinduism”

Q: Where did you first learn about karma?

“From my parents. It was one of those principles I grew up with. So, it was like, don’t be mean to people, because it’s going to come back and bite you. What goes around comes around. That’s how it started, because when you’re little you’re like ‘What is reincarnation, I don’t know’ And then when you learn about reincarnation…it’s applied on a larger scale

 

 

Radha and Krishna

“So, um, a lot of Hindu culture and mythology surrounds the stories of Radha and Krishna. Krishna is the ideal image of masculine perfection, with wit, charm and flirty ways and stuff. He loves Radha, who is married to another man, but he cannot help but flirt with the other ladies of their town either. Their love represents love that transcends boundaries of society and marriage but is eternal and strong. There are many songs and dances about these two and they’re two of my favorite gods to study.”

The informant said that she heard many variations on the love story as a child, but each one had this basic structure. It is fun and playful story about an illicit love, but it is also important because the characters take on great significance for the Hindu religion. The informant said that Krishna was supposed to represent the feminine side of God, and Radha the masculine. Sometimes they are even referred to as one God instead of two. I think this is one of the many differences between Christianity and Hinduism, because in Christian texts and stories, men often take on the prominent role, and God is depicted as a man. I think that the blending of the masculine and feminine deities indicates a willingness to give women as well as men large roles in the religion.

Proverb – India

  • “Ud Jag Musafeer bhor bhai ab rain kaha jo sovat he Jab chidia chug gai khet tub pachtowe kaia horat hai”
  • Get up early so that you don’t waste your time sleeping because then the sparrows will get to your crops before you do.

My good friend from when I lived in Illinois is very religious and involved with the Hindu community.  Both of her parents grew up in India and later moved to the United States.  She told me of this proverb that her parents often say to her.  The proverb is telling people that sleeping is a waste of time.  There is a lot of work to be done, and if the work is not finished it will be ruined.

It is well known that the Indian community has very high expectations for there children.  The immigrant parents who made something of themselves, and are now able to send their children to good schools, expect that their children succeed as well.  The children are expected to me doctors, lawyers or engineers.  The entire time that I was friends with Ridhi, her parents were very strict.  She always had to do extremely well in school; and A minus was not good enough for her parents.  After school she played lots of sports and in each sport she was required to succeed.

Therefore, it is clear why Ridhi heard this proverb many times from her parents when she was lazy and did not want to get out of bed, or wanted to watch TV all day.  Her parents had faced prejudices in their early experiences of getting jobs, so they felt their children would have the same difficulties.  In other words, if their children did not get the job done, it would be filled by someone else, the sparrows.  It is important to notice that in the proverb the sparrow is chosen.  The sparrow is not an intellectual or well liked bird, it is a pest.  Therefore, the proverb notes that the job will be done by someone else, but moreover, someone less qualified.

In conclusion, this is a proverb that every person she hear.  It is very true.  Success does not come to people who “sleep in”, it comes to those who work for it and earn it.

Festival – India

My elementary school friend, Ridhi, is Hindu.  Her parents were born and raised in India.  Despite that Ridhi, was born in America she still is very involved in the Hindu culture, participating in all the festivals and traditions.  One of these traditions is Holi.  Holi, or the festival of colors, celebrates the coming of spring.

I actually remember her celebrating this holiday.  I remember because the next day Ridhi would come to school with paint all over her.  The night of the festival they first start a big fire that everyone gathers around.  Then all the friends and family get together and throw powdered color over themselves and each other.  They all wear white so they all end up full of color.

The throwing of the powder is supposed to represent play between the gods, Krishna and Radha.  This festival was popularized because Lord Krishna was famous for playing pranks on Radha.  Since Holi is the celebration of the coming of spring, it is the celebration of rebirth and starting over with a fresh start.  This is represented by first the buring of the old with the fire.  The fire essentially gets rid of all the old, and leaves behind ash, which will help new things grow.  Then they throw color all everywhere.  This throwing of the color could represent the throwing of seeds for planting.  They throw the seeds to make new things grow.  Lastly, the fact that the powder is brightly colored is important.  The bright color represents the fresh new things that will grow.

Festival – India

My elementary school friend, Ridhi, is Hindu.  Her parents were born and raised in India.  Despite that Ridhi, was born in America she still is very involved in the Hindu culture, participating in all the festivals and traditions.  One of these festivals is Diwali.  It is the festival of lights in the Indian-Hindu culture.  This festival takes place to bring forth the New Year.

Many ceremonies and traditions are involved in this festival.  The first is the prayer, or puja, to the goddess of prosperity, Lakshmi.  The purpose of praying to this specific goddess is to invite her into the house. Supposedly she will cleanse the house of all of the previous year’s “dirt”.  After cleansing the house she will leave it open to the bringing of prosperity.

During this festival, Ridhi’s family makes traditional Indian foods such as roti, chola and dal.  They also dance traditional Indian dances with their family and friends.

Another tradition in this Hindu festival is to put many lights outside the house.  Essentially these lights, light up the house, therefore making it easy for the goddess, Lakshmi to find and then cleanse.  Another “light” tradition is the setting off of fireworks. This tradition is obviously more modern, as fireworks are a need invention.  However, I believe that the fireworks are another form of lighting up the house so that goddess Lakshmi can find it.