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Hindu Worship
14 February 2007
Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
We have just arrived in Pushkar, a sacred city to Hindus. Here, the ashes of Mohandas ‘Mahatma’ Gandhi (Mahatma is a sort of a nickname given to Gandhi – it means ‘great soul’) were scattered in Pushkar Lake, a sacred body of water said to have appeared as a part of the god Brahma, after his cremation. Here there is also a very rare Brahma temple, which is said to be stunning. Having visited this temple, we can confirm the beauty of the temple!
The last two days have been spent visiting several temples, which was both fascinating and bewildering. A major difference between Hindu rituals and those of, say, Catholics or Muslims, is the level of openness toward non-believers. A non-Catholic, for example, can certainly visit a Catholic church, and is even welcome to watch the mass, but ceremonies such as communion are strictly off-limits. Likewise, non-Muslims are not extended an invitation to Friday prayers. With Hinduism, it seems to be a different story. We were asked to participate in worshipping Rama, Hanuman and Ganesha. Mostly we didn't understand what was being asked of us: put our hands near a candle, touch the smoke pass our hands over our hair, eat bananas, eat sweets (from your right hand only!), bow towards the idols. There were other things happening in the periphery that we clearly didn't understand. At any rate, it was an interesting experience, and left us just a little bit less ignorant about Hindu matters. Really, just a little tiny bit!