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Worship of God Through Images
There is a notion in the minds of many people that Hindus are idolatrous because they usually use images to worship God. This is not at all correct. Images are no other than various “symbols” of God’s (Ishvara’s) power and glory. Through such tangible symbols a Hindu tries to establish contact with the intangible Ishvara. Just as a photograph of a person’s father is not his real father, but only reminds him of his father, so also an image symbolising some powers or glories of God is never considered by a Hindu to be God Himself. It only helps him to remember God. The image, which is a symbol, acts like a link between God and His worshipper. When through such adoration ad worship the worshipper establishes mental communion with God, worship ends. Then there is no more need for images. That is why Hindus often discard the images after worship and immerse them in either lakes or rivers.
Images are made of various materials, such as clay, stone, wood, pure metal or metal alloys. Usually less expensive clay or wooden images are discarded after worship. Images made of more expensive and durable material are repeatedly used.
The Indo-Aryans used fire as the symbol of God during the Vedic period. Since God is present everywhere, anything existing in the universe can be chosen as His symbol. They chose fire, the dispeller of darkness, the symbol of purity, the giver of warmth, as the symbol of God.
It is in the very nature of true love to want to offer to the beloved what is most dear to the lover. During worship the Vedic Aryans used to offer to God browned butter, oats, sesame seeds, fruits, and other foods they were fond of. After the offering was consumed by fire they had the psychological satisfaction that God had accepted their offering. Yet they were fully aware that God never really needs any food. God, being perfect, is not wanting in anything. They also knew that they could not offer to God anything which did not already belong to Him.
This ancient tradition of worshiping God by using fire as His symbol is still followed by some Hindus, although various other forms of ritualistic worship were later introduced by sages in the post-Vedic period. The highest form of worship, however, is mental worship or meditation, where no external symbols or images are used.
Some images used by Hindus to worship God have several arms, or more than one head. The images also have different colours. To portray God’s various powers many arms are used, each arm symbolising a different power of God. Some images have one hundred, or even one thousand arms, to indicate that God has infinite powers. For the same reason, Hindus sometimes put more than one head on images. The blue colour of an image indicates the unfathomable and infinite nature of God. Similarly, other colours may symbolise other aspects of God.
Ritualistic Worship
As mentioned above, mental worship or meditation is thought to be the best form of worship in Hinduism. But the vast majority of worshippers may not find mental worship that appealing or easy to perform. The scriptures prescribe external ritualistic worship for such worshippers. Through ritualistic worship they gradually make spiritual progress and become ready for mental worship or meditation.
In order to keep the body and mind alert during worship, the worshipper is advised not to worship with a full stomach. Therefore, some worshippers fast until they have finished their worship. But such fasting is not obligatory. Those who are unable to fast can take a light meal such as a small quantity of fruits and milk before worship.
In external ritualistic worship the worshiper uses flowers, water, light, a hand fan and a piece of cloth as symbols of the five elements which, according to Hinduism, constitute this entire universe. Different foods and other kinds of gifts are also offered to God.
The worship starts with purification. Every item used in the worship has to be purified by the thought of the worshiper. Holy words associated with God, called mantras, are chanted by the worshiper along with thoughts of purification such as “May the flowers be pure and holy; may the water be pure and holy.” In this manner he purifies every item used for worship. Then he purifies every part of his own body. After that he has to think of the divinity present in himself. He prays to God that, by God’s grace, his inherent divinity becomes manifest and thus he may become fit to worship God. According to Hinduism, only a person who has been able to manifest his inherent divinity can really appreciate and adore God. The worshiper then offers flowers to God as a symbol of his love and devotion. He offers food and other gifts, and last of all he presents the symbols of the five elements to God as though to make the statement that he cannot offer to God anything that does not already belong to Him. By using those five symbols he offers the entire universe to God. This offering is called Arati or Aratrika. The worshipper also prays to God for the well-being of all the creatures in the world, as well as for his own spiritual illumination. Throughout the course of this worship, the worshiper has the opportunity to constantly think of purity and holiness. As a result, though repeated ritualistic worship he gradually becomes holy; because what one thinks, that one eventually becomes.
Animal sacrifice in ritualistic worship
In some forms of Hindu ritualistic worship, particularly those influenced by the disciplines of Tantra, animal sacrifice is sometimes permitted. Keeping in mind the important scriptural injunction, “Do not commit violence to any being,” one may wonder how the sacrifice of animals, no matter how infrequently, can be allowed by Hinduism.
Not only animals, but all forms of life are sacred to Hinduism. It does not encourage violence towards anything. Hinduism considers every food impure because it is directly or indirectly connected with violence. For instance, food grains such as wheat and rice have life in them. The same is true for other kinds of food, animal or vegetable. Eating them is no other than destroying life or committing violence. Even honey, which seem such an innocent food, is acquired by robbing bees of the fruits of their hard labour. For these reasons, Hindus are expected to offer whatever they eat to God first, either mentally or ritually, in order to purify that food.
According to Hinduism, any food offered to God with love and devotion is sanctified by God. It becomes free from defect or impurity. A Hindu is supposed to eat only sanctified food for his physical and spiritual well-being.
In ancient times most Indo-Aryans ate meat with certain restrictions about which animals could be killed and eaten. Rather than recklessly butchering animals and eating their meat, it was considered better to sacrifice the animal as an offering to God and then eat that sanctified meat. Any meat from animals not offered to God would be treated as inedible. In this manner some restraint was imposed on the wanton killing of animals for human consumption. In addition, animal sacrifice in the presence of God was supposed to be interpreted as killing the animality or lower nature of the worshiper in order to manifest the worshiper’s higher nature or inherent divinity.
It should be clearly understood that even though Hinduism sometimes allows animal sacrifice, it never encourages it. Even the scriptures of Tantra allow other symbols, such as a pumpkin, ash gourd, squash or any other fruit, to represent the worshiper’s lower nature or animality. Such symbolic fruits can be sacrificed instead of animals in the presence of God.
In today’s India, animal sacrifice is very rare. The vast majority of the Hindus are vegetarians and they do not want animals to be killed for any reason. The small number of Hindus who eat meat buy it from butcher shops as is done in the West.
Hindu Religious Festivals
There are numerous major and minor festivals in Hinduism. The same religious festivals are not observed in all parts of India. Deepavali, or Diwali, and Mahashivaratri are two major festivals observed all over India. Deepavali is also called “the festival of lights.” Holi or Dol Purnima is another important festival observed during the advent of spring all over northern and eastern India. In eastern India, particularly in Bengal, Durga Puja, Kali Puja and Sarasvati Puja are the most important festivals. Durga Puja lasts for four days. In the northeastern part of India, particularly in the state of Assam, Bahag Bihu, Kati Bihu and Magh Bihu are the major festivals. Ganesh Puja or Ganesh Chaturthi is a major festival in western India. In southern India Deepavali, Navaratri and Pongal are the important festivals. Navaratri lasts for nine days. Northern and central India also observe Navaratri as a major festival.
In Nepal one of the major Hindu festivals is Bhratri Dvitiya, or Brother’s Day. This festival, also known as Bhai Duj, is also very popular all over northern and eastern India. In addition to these festivals, Janmashtami, Ram Navami, Raksha Bandhan, Ratha Yatra, Chhat Parab, Vaishakhi and the birth anniversaries of various saints are observed in different parts of India.
The minor festivals are too numerous to mention. Every country in India has its own special minor worships or festivals. During some of the major festivals, such as Deepavali, Navaratri, Durga Puja and Bhratri Dvifiya, gifts are exchanged as is done during Christmas in western countries.