Indian Belief in Nature and Buddhism

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INDIAN TEMPLES AND SHRINES

Indian shrines and temples or any other place are such divine places that are revered by the followers of the religion. India is particularly said to be the land of the holy places. There are so many rituals, mythological truths and beliefs and religious culture which have given birth to such diverse religions. Some can discuss for common are: Buddhism, Hinduism, Muslim, Sikhs, Christianity and Jainism. The Indian culture praises not only the god idols but also some gifts of nature. For instance:

ANIMALS like cow is highly respected in this culture. Cow is not hurt by people, rather in many pious ceremonies it is decorated and worshipped; Snake is also considered pious. In kumaon snakes are worshipped and poems are sung for them. In Kerala also snakes are worshipped.

The forces of NATURE like wind, fire, earth etc are revered too. Like- people in Ladakh believe in a religion called bon in which natural forces are worshiped; Lands and villages are worshiped in kumaon; The tribes of Tripura worship natural deities like goddesses of cotton and corn, the gods of sky and sea and the god of healing;

RIVERS are one the pious natural gifts of god. Out of many pious rivers, GANGA river is the dedicated one. This river originates at gaumukh in the gangotri and travels down in the north-Indian plain at Haridwar. The magnificent fair called ‘kumbh mela’ are held here occasionally. The water of Ganga is called ‘Jal’ and its use is mandatory in all the pious ceremonies. The ‘Jal’ can be kept in a bottle at home for unlimited time and it does not get spoil. In most of the Hindu families, ‘Ganga jal ‘has to be there at home. Ghats are the place where the pious rivers flow and on those places all type of holy rituals are held. The Ghats of Varanasi are worshiped because of rivers Varuna and Asi flowing there; in Allahabad the three famous rivers-ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati meets and that particular destination is deeply worshiped with great obeisance; Shipra river in Ujjain is also considered pious.

TREES are the most ancient natural deity worshiped in this country. Like–Sal tree is worshiped in Jharkhand; Banyan tree commonly known as ‘Bargad’ is among the oldest trees. With large thick trunk, lavish branches and aerial roots banyan has a magnificent personality of its own. On the festival of ‘Bargad Amavasya’ It is worshiped by women with tying the pious red thread ‘klava’ around it and wishing for the fortune. The celebration varies according to the regions; Peepal tree is also one of the oldest trees. This tree is basically worshiped to make God ‘Shani’ happy. People light up earthen lamps under the tree. This can be done every day but Saturday is considered more fruitful day;

TULSI is a shrub which is alike ‘ganga jal’ considered mandatory to be present in the Hindu family. This plant is believed as the goddess and worshiped every morning. Its leaves are used in the pious ceremonies but believed not to be plucked after sunset and on Sundays. ‘Tulsi vivah’ is arranged on the particular day with a black stone called ‘Shaligram’ which is considered to be equivalent of lord Vishnu.

The nine planets renowned here as ‘Navgraha’ are worshiped too. The prayers and rhymes are chanted for these planets. Besides this, there is a temple in Guwahati, Assam called ‘Navgraha temple’ devoted to these nine planets.

Let’s move deep into some of the religions of India. Among them Buddhism and Hinduism are the most ancient religions. So, let’s get positioned in an obeisance to discover the temples and shrines that are created, respected and served oblations by the devotees of god.