Wishesh magazine february 2018 Wishesh magazine february 2018 | страница 163

defilement for the practitioner,
which must be overcome or
neutralized before or during
ritual procedures.
Purification, usually with
water, is thus a typical
feature of most religious
action. Avoidance of the
impure--taking animal life,
eating flesh, associating with
dead things, or body fluids-
-is another feature of Hindu
ritual and is important for
repressing pollution.
In a social context, those
individuals or groups who
manage to avoid the impure
are accorded increased
respect. Still, another feature
is a belief in the efficacy of
sacrifice, including survivals
of Vedic sacrifice. Thus,
sacrifices may include the
performance of offerings in
a regulated manner, with
the preparation of sacred
space, recitation of texts, and
manipulation of objects.
A third feature is the concept
of merit, gained through
the performance of charity
or good works, that will
accumulate over time and
reduce sufferings in the next
world.
Domestic Worship
The home is the place where
most Hindus conduct their
worship and religious rituals.
The most important times
of day for performance of
household rituals are dawn
and dusk, although especially
devout families may engage in
devotion more often.
For many households, the
day begins when the women
in the house draw auspicious
geometric designs in chalk or
rice flour on the floor or the
doorstep.
For orthodox Hindus, dawn
and dusk are greeted with
recitation from the Rig Veda
of the Gayatri Mantra for the
sun--for many people, the only
Sanskrit prayer they know.
After a bath, there is personal
worship of the gods at a family
shrine, which typically includes
lighting a lamp and offering
foodstuffs before the images,
while prayers in Sanskrit or a
regional language are recited.
In the evenings, especially
in rural areas, mostly female
devotees may gather together
for long sessions of singing
hymns in praise of one or more
of the gods.
Minor acts of charity
punctuate the day. During
daily baths, there are
offerings of a little water in
memory of the ancestors.
At each meal, families may
set aside a handful of grain
to be donated to beggars or
needy persons, and daily gifts
of small amounts of grain to
birds or other animals serve
to accumulate merit for the
family through their self-
sacrifice.
The ‘Puja’ or
Worship
Puja (worship) of the gods
consists of a range of
ritual offerings and prayers
typically performed either
daily or on special days
before an image of the deity,
which may be in the form
of a person or a symbol of
the sacred presence. In
its more developed forms,
puja consists of a series of
ritual stages beginning with
personal purification and
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