Hanuman the monkey god

Hanuman,

The monkey god

Hanuman was born as a vanara, a monkey like species in the northwest of India. He is considered a reincarnation of Shiva, but this is speculated theology. Hanuman grew up in the forests he lived around and learned how to battle in trees and climb very well. He came to be known in the Indian epic the Ramayana where he is chosen to aid Rama in his fight against the evil demon king Ravana.

post war

after the war with Rama is over, Hanuman journeys to the Himalayas where he wished to continue his worship to the gods. He instead writes Hanuman Ramayana with his nails on the mountains. When Maharishi Valmiki, the author of Ramayana comes to visit Hanuman he grows dissatisfied of his own version, Hanuman sees this and destroys his version. for the majority of the final version of the book favors Hanuman and what he stands for. He is favored for his humble ways even though being a powerful god.

He is worshiped almost everywhere and the biggest statue is located in Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean. Temples dot the Indian forests majorly in the Maharashtra, the state in western india where he was born. (14 temples are considered his holiest places a list for these temples can be found here) http://tinyurl.com/297b65j

Modern sightings

Due to his immortality as a god many have said they have seen him in every forest around the world. the "monkey man" factor has made him something like an urban icon for the thrill seeker and a devoted Hindu worshipper.

People like the Delhi monkey man have been called reincarnations of Hanuman. Here is a video of him climbing ruins.

note: this man has been called Hanuman not only, because of his impressive climbing skills but also his ability to connect with monkeys.

Check out Devotees throng Golden Temple on occasion of Baisakhi

Check out Devotees throng Golden Temple on occasion of Baisakhi

Hindu Marrige- By Amalia

This video clip shows a traditional, present day Hindu Wedding. Hindu weddings are usually extravagant, planned on a day with a good zodiac sign, and require a lot of preparation. According to the Hindu Marriage act passed in 1955, men must be 21 or older and girls must be 18 or older in order to marry. This law was created to protect children's rights and prevent polygamy.

Hindu wedding cerimonies are very similar and different to the ceremonies in the western world. Both include special grooming (hair, dress, cosmetics, massages), feasting, giving away of the bride, exchanging vows, and playing fun games. Hindus have a lot of unique rituals that are vital in the wedding ceremony. The fire ceremony, which sanctifies the marriage, star gazing, where the couple is reminded to become steadfast, like stars.

In Hindu culture, marriages are arranged by the parents of the bachelor and bachelorette, even if the couple isn't in love. Sometimes, you can even be arranged to marry your cousin. This is very different from Western culture, where marriage depends on true love, and the person you are in love with is almost always not an immediate relative. In India, having a boyfriend or girlfriend as a teen is uncommon, unlike the average American teen. Also, many times in Western culture, the parents may not even know or approve of the person that their son or daughter is marrying. Despite the fact that they can't choose their life partner, the divorce rate in India is a low 1.1% in comparison to the United States' 50%.

In Hindu culture, it is custom for the girl's family to take financial responsibility for the wedding. That means paying for entertainment and the rituals and purchasing new appliances for the girl's family. But along with all of that, the girl's family must pay a large sum of money to the boy's family. This is called a dowry. Although dowries are outlawed in India, 99% of all marriages include them. Because of the financial burden weddings cause for the parents of girls, many families are aborting their daughters during pregnancy. But besides the economical unfairness of the dowry, dowries are increasing a death risk for girls. Here is a video showing the dangers of a dowry:

Overall, Hindu weddings are a joyous occasion for everyone taking part in the ceremony. It is considered dharma (a duty), and one of the four main aspects of life.

A Sikh Festival in the Golden Temple in Amritsar

This video shows a Sikh Festival called Baisakhi at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India. Every year on April 13, thousands of devotees come to this holy place to celebrate the harvest and the beginning of the Sikh New Year. This is a special festival for farmers. This has been going on since 1699. There is a lot of feasting, dancing, music, and fairs-almost like a carnival. They dress up in there finest clothes. Some rituals they perform on Baisakhi are bathing and cleansing in the waters by the temple. Also, they attend special prayers in the Golden Temple. There the Granth Sahib (the holy Sikh scriptures) is bathed with milk and water, placed on a throne, and read. A sacred pudding called Karah prasad is distributed. In the afternoon is when they start their celebration. Then they do daily chores for the gurudwaras (Golden Temple). This is a sign of goodwill for man for the Sikhs. The Baisakhi last two day.

Picture
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.topnews.in/files/Golden-Temple.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.topnews.in/golden-temple-symbol-communal-harmony-2235919&h=370&w=570&sz=61&tbnid=YK-hsuu5uwuQrM:&tbnh=87&tbnw=134&prev=/images%3Fq%3DGolden%2BTemple&zoom=1&q=Golden+Temple&usg=__5w3a3viaW-gVgGzvjYBZCrQjDwE=&sa=X&ei=BVIGTc6hEIHWnAelpqDpCQ&ved=0CCwQ9QEwAA

Viedo

http://videos.sify.com/throng-Golden-Temple-on-occasion-of-Baisakhi-ANI-watch-Devotees-watch-kenqObgcijg.html

Yoga

Yoga

Yoga is a sport that originated 3000 years ago in India. The basic Yoga pose, which is cross legged on the ground, holding your hands up in the hair and saying “OM” over and over again was found engraved on Indus Valley seals thousands of years ago. However Yoga isn’t anything like any other sports such as lacrosse, soccer or football, it doesn’t only require the ability to move fast using your lower body strength and legs. Instead Yoga links one to their spirit and trains the body, breath and mind. It allows one to focus on themselves and concentrate and develop new strengths, flexibility, stamina and most importantly the awareness of your body and breath. Even though Yoga may not be considered a sport to everyone, it is, but in completely different ways, in a lot of ways its better than other sports because your using different techniques and trying something new with a different part of your body each day, but in soccer or lacrosse its consistent running and use of lower body strength when in yoga its everything. The name “Yoga” fits its purpose perfectly, the term actually means to “unite” and that’s exactly what people are doing when taking part in Yoga. It allows you to unite your body, mind and spirit all into one.

Here is an Indus Valley Seal that the basic yoga pose was originally discovered carved into the stone.

Here are the basic poses that are still used today in Yoga. However, the lotus position is the one that was found among a lot of the Indus Valley Seals unlike the tree,triangle and cobra which were used later on. The full lotus position is the same but your hands are raised not resting on your knees.

Thread of Yoga DVD trailer best documentary on sacred India
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Vesākha

Vesākha, also known as Wesak or Vesak, is a Buddhist holiday celebrated in Sri Lanka and the South East Asian countries of Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Indonesia.

Many people think of this event as Buddha's birthday, but it actually celebrates the birth, enlightenment, and death of Siddhartha Gautama, or Buddha.

This holiday is probably the biggest and most important on the Buddhist calender

This image symbolizes the candles on the street lit for a

ritual march that happens at night.

Vesākha is a holiday that seems to be a lot about giving. Along with prayers, the special day includes releasing caged and captured animals back to nature, giving money and gifts to the poor, marching in candlelight, and attending ceremonies at Buddhist temples.

A golden statue of Buddha on the holiday

People marching

Vesākha is based on a lunar calendar. In Theravada countries it falls on the full moon Uposatha day (typically the 5th or 6th lunar month). In China it falls on the 8th day of the 4th on the Chinese Lunar Calendar. In the western world the date changes year to year but is always in April or May. This year it falls on May 27th for us.

Vesākha is a truly fascinating and important holiday for Buddhists in every country.

by: Julia Mandel

The Jain Temples of Palitana

The city of Palitana (above) contains the most sacred temples in the Jain religion. The city is

located in the Shatrunjaya hills, in the state of Gujarat, India. Some people consider Palitana the

Jain equivalent of what Mecca is to Muslims. Every jain, at least once in his or her lifetime, must

travel there if the wish to attain Bhavya status. Bhavya is the jain equivalent of moksha or nirvana. This

important city has had 16 renovations done to it's temples. All of these 1250 temples in Palitana and the

surrounding hills are made of marble, and in them there are over 27,000 idols of their gods.

Some pictures of "Derasars"(jain temples)

An Educational Video