Unit 7 · Key Teachings and Festivals

In the Ramayana, Prince Rama is told he must leave home for fourteen years. He could argue. Instead, he goes, because he wants to keep his father’s promise. Many Hindus see Rama as a model of dharma.

Dharma is a Sanskrit word. It means duty, what is right, and the order that holds life together. Hindus believe dharma is not the same for everyone. A student, a parent and a ruler each have their own duties.

Hindu texts give many examples of dharma. Some are clear, like telling the truth and not hurting others. Some are hard. In the Mahabharata, good people argue about what dharma asks. The texts show that finding the right thing can take careful thought.

Think of Meera’s bean seed. She plants it now, and it grows later. Many Hindus explain karma the same way. The word karma means action. Hindus believe good actions bring good results and harmful actions bring harmful ones.

Hindus believe the results of karma can come soon or much later. Many believe they can even come in a future life. This is why many Hindu families teach children to be kind, honest and careful in small things as well as big ones.

The Bhagavad Gita adds another idea. In it, Krishna tells Arjuna to do his duty but not to be greedy for the reward. Many readers take this to mean: do good work because it is right, not only for a prize. Scholars call this idea acting without attachment.

Hindu texts say a full life has four aims. They are called the purusharthas. The first is dharma, doing what is right. The second is artha, earning a living and caring for a home. The third is kama, enjoying good things like music, food and love.

The fourth aim is moksha. Many Hindus believe it is freedom from the cycle of rebirth. The texts say the first three aims are good, but they should follow dharma. You should earn money honestly, for example, and enjoy life without hurting others.

The four aims show that Hindu texts do not ask everyone to give up the world. Many people work, raise families and celebrate festivals. The texts describe all of these as part of a good life when they are guided by dharma.

In the Gita, Krishna gives Arjuna a picture. A person takes off worn-out clothes and puts on new ones. Krishna says the self does the same with bodies. Many Hindus read this verse as a teaching about rebirth.

The belief in rebirth is called samsara. Samsara means wandering or flowing on. Many Hindus believe the self is born, dies and is born again, many times. They believe karma helps shape each new life.

Samsara is often pictured as a wheel that keeps turning. Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs also speak of rebirth, in their own ways. Hindu schools explain samsara differently, but many share this picture of a long journey through many lives.

Picture a bird in a cage. The door opens, and the bird flies free. Some Hindu teachers use pictures like this to describe moksha. Moksha means freedom or release.

Many Hindus believe moksha is freedom from samsara, the cycle of rebirth. They describe it as deep peace. Different Hindu schools describe it in different ways. Some say the self finds it is one with ultimate reality. Others say the soul lives forever in loving closeness to God.

Hindu texts give several ways to seek moksha. Some teach knowledge, some teach selfless action, and some teach loving devotion. You will learn about these three paths later in this chapter.

Remember the Ramayana. When Rama is in the forest, a bird named Jatayu tries to save Sita from Ravana. Jatayu is badly hurt. Rama later honors the brave bird with care and funeral rites. Many readers see Jatayu’s brave act as good karma.

Ravana’s story shows the other side. He takes Sita away by force. In the end he loses his kingdom and his life. Many Hindu tellers use Ravana to show that harmful actions bring harmful results.

Stories like these helped families teach karma long before most children could read. A grandmother telling the Ramayana could point to each character and ask, what did this action lead to? Many families still teach this way today.

Walk into a Hindu temple and you may see many murtis, or sacred images. There may be Vishnu, Shiva, Devi the Goddess, Ganesha and Hanuman. A visitor may wonder how one religion honors so many.

Many Hindus explain it this way. They speak of one ultimate reality called Brahman. They believe Brahman can be known through many forms. A very old verse of the Rig Veda says the wise call the one by many names (Rig Veda 1.164.46).

Hindus show this idea in different ways. Vaishnavas honor Vishnu as the Supreme. Shaivas honor Shiva. Shaktas honor Devi, the Goddess. Many families honor several forms at one home shrine. These traditions are all part of Hinduism.

Picture three hikers climbing one mountain. One takes a steep path, one a winding path, one a path through the woods. Many Hindus use pictures like this for the paths the Gita describes.

The Gita names karma yoga, the path of selfless action. It names jnana yoga, the path of knowledge and wisdom. It also names bhakti, the path of loving devotion to God. Yoga here means a path or discipline, not only exercise.

Different Hindus stress different paths. Some teachers say knowledge matters most. Many devotional groups say bhakti is the heart of it all. Many readers say the paths work together, like strands in one rope.

Think back to Meera’s garden. Dharma is like knowing how to care for the plant. Karma is like the seeds she plants each day. Samsara is like the seasons that keep coming back.

Moksha, in this picture, is harder to show. Some Hindu teachers say it is like the gardener no longer needing the garden at all. Others say it is like resting forever with the one who made the garden. Hindus describe it in many ways.

Many Hindus say these ideas are not just for thinking. They shape daily choices, like being honest, helping at home and praying at a home shrine. Learning the words helps you understand what Hindu classmates and neighbors may mean.

Look at a wall calendar. Diwali might fall in October one year and November the next. Why does it move? Most Hindu festivals follow a lunar calendar, which counts months by the moon.

A moon month runs from one new moon to the next. Twelve moon months are a little shorter than a sun year. So Hindu calendars add an extra month every few years to keep in step with the seasons. Calendars like this are called lunisolar.

India has several regional calendars, so some dates differ from place to place. A few festivals, like Pongal, follow the sun and fall on nearly the same date each year. Temples in Illinois post each year’s festival dates for families.

Ask a Hindu family why they light lamps on Diwali, and you may hear a story. Many say the lamps welcome Rama home to Ayodhya after fourteen years. Festivals are one way families pass down the stories of the texts.

Many festival stories come from the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Puranas. The Puranas are long books of stories about Vishnu, Shiva, Devi and other deities. They were written down over many centuries.

One festival can remember different stories in different regions. That is normal in Hinduism. A family in Gujarat and a family in Tamil Nadu may tell different stories on the same day, and both are part of the tradition.

In mid-January, a family in Tamil Nadu sets a clay pot of rice and milk on a fire. They watch until it bubbles over. Everyone shouts, "Pongalo pongal!" This is Pongal, a harvest festival.

Pongal gives thanks to Surya, the sun, for the harvest. The name of the festival is also the name of the sweet rice dish. The overflowing pot is a sign of plenty. Families also honor the cows and bulls that help on farms.

Tamil families in Illinois celebrate Pongal too, often in their kitchens and at temples. Other parts of India hold harvest festivals at the same time with different names, such as Makar Sankranti.

On Diwali night, rows of small clay lamps glow on windowsills. Children light sparklers. Families share sweets with neighbors. Diwali comes from a Sanskrit word meaning a row of lamps.

Many Hindus say Diwali celebrates the victory of light over darkness and good over evil. In the north, many remember Rama’s return to Ayodhya. Many families also worship Lakshmi, the goddess of good fortune, and clean their homes to welcome her.

Diwali falls in October or November. Jains and Sikhs also mark this time, each with their own reasons. In Illinois, many towns and schools now hold Diwali events, and temples fill with families.

On Holi morning, friends chase each other with bright powders of pink, green and yellow. Soon everyone is covered in color. Holi comes in March, at the end of winter.

The night before, many families light a bonfire. It remembers a story from the Puranas. Prince Prahlad stayed devoted to Vishnu, even when his father tried to harm him. His aunt Holika tried to burn him, but Prahlad was saved and Holika was not.

Many people also link Holi to Krishna. In stories from Braj, young Krishna plays with colors with Radha and his friends. Many Hindus say Holi is a time to forgive, make up with friends and enjoy the spring.

For nine nights in the fall, families in Gujarat dance in wide circles, clapping and turning. This dance is called garba. The festival is Navaratri, which means nine nights.

Navaratri honors Devi, the Goddess, in her many forms. A text called the Devi Mahatmya tells how the goddess Durga defeats the buffalo demon Mahishasura. Many Hindus see this as the victory of good over evil.

In Bengal, the same season is Durga Puja. Families visit tall, beautiful murtis of Durga with her ten arms. The tenth day, Dussehra, is also linked in many places to Rama’s victory over Ravana.

At midnight, a temple is packed. A small murti of baby Krishna rests in a decorated cradle. People sing and gently rock it. This is Janmashtami, the celebration of Krishna’s birth, usually in August or September.

The Bhagavata Purana tells that Krishna was born in a prison in Mathura. His father carried him across a river to safety in Gokul. Many families fast during the day and celebrate at midnight, the hour of his birth.

Soon after comes Ganesh Chaturthi. Families bring home a murti of Ganesha, the elephant-headed deity honored as the remover of obstacles. After some days, many carry the murti to water in a joyful parade.

Early in the morning, a grandmother stands at a small shrine in her kitchen. She lights a lamp, rings a little bell and offers a flower. This is puja, Hindu worship.

A home shrine may hold murtis or pictures of Ganesha, Krishna, Shiva, Lakshmi or others. Families offer water, flowers, fruit, incense and light. Many say prayers or sing. Each family does puja in its own way.

Food offered in puja becomes prasad. Hindus believe it has been blessed, so it is shared with the family. Many Hindu families in Illinois keep a shrine at home, even in a small apartment.

A Hindu temple is called a mandir in Hindi. Inside are shrines, each with a murti. Hindus believe the deity is present in the murti in a special way, so it is bathed, dressed and offered food with great care.

Priests lead worship several times a day. In arati, a priest waves a lamp in circles before the murti while people sing and a bell rings. Afterward, many people pass their hands over the flame and touch their eyes.

Seeing the murti is itself important. Hindus call this darshan, which means seeing and being seen by the deity. Many visitors come just for darshan, then share prasad and go home.

The Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago stands on a hill in Lemont, Illinois. Its main shrine honors Rama, with Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman. Another building has shrines to other deities, including Ganesha, Shiva and Durga.

Families come from all over the Chicago area. They come for weekly worship, weddings, festivals like Diwali and Navaratri, and classes. The temple helps Hindu Americans keep their traditions and teach them to children.

Visitors are often welcome. Guests take off their shoes, dress modestly, speak quietly and do not touch the murtis. It is polite to ask before taking photos. These simple steps show respect for a place that is holy to others.