School of Hinduism (Lesson-3)

Why do we ring a bell in the temple? The ringing of the bell produces what is regarded as an auspicious sound. It produces the sound Om, the universal name of the Lord... There should be auspiciousness within and without, to gain the vision of the Lord who is all-auspiciousness...

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Why do we blow the conch (shankh) as part of worship (pooja)? When conch is blown, the primordial sound of Om emanates. Om is an auspicious sound representing the Truth behind the world. Om is the universal name of the Lord.

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A kalasha is placed on all important Hindu rituals. It is a pot filled with water with mango leaves kept at its mouth, a coconut placed over it and a thread tied around its neck. The water in the kalasha symbolizes the primordial water from which the entire creation emerged. The leaves and coconut represent creation. The thread represents the love that "binds" all in creation. The kalasha is therefore considered auspicious and worshipped...

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Meaning of fasting in Hinduism: Fasting means 'Upavaas' in Sanskrit. 'Upa' means 'near' and 'vaas' means 'to stay'. Upavaas means 'to stay near the Lord'. Purpose of not taking food was to free oneself from the time consumed with preparing food and resulting effects like dullness and agitation. So we either eat only fruits, light food or no food at all, thereby making our mind free, alert and pure, only to spend time in devotion. Staying near God... Upavaas...

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Lord Shiva is also worshipped as Pashupati, literally Lord of the beasts and symbolically He who Controls our beastly passions... Shiva as Pashupati is worshipped in Pashupati Nath Temple in Kathmandu, Nepal.

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Lord Shiva is also called Vrikshanath. Mythology says that when Shiva meditated, from the heat of his austerities, tapas, rose every herb, shrub, grass, creeper and tree... Shiva became lord of all vegetation, Vrikshanath... I think closeness with nature is a unique feature of our Hinduism...

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Lord Shiva is also called Bhuteshvar, meaning "Master of the Elements"... There are five elements, the bhutas: earth, air, light, water and ether...

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"Under a great banyan tree, seated on a tiger skin, facing the south, dakshin, Shiva revealed all secrets of Yoga to seekers... He charged no fee, dakshina, and so his students called this great cosmic teacher 'Dakshinamurti'..."

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Shiva wandered in cremation grounds amidst the blazing pyres... Smearing His body with ash, bhasma, He became 'Bhasmeshvar', the lord of ash. "Every joy, every sorrow, every birth, every death, everybody, every mind, every event, every god and every cosmos, will end up in its own funeral pyre. After every fire only ash will remain. Why then be excited, why then be frustrated? Let me just be, exist in eternal equanimity, Vairagya." Shiva was at peace...

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Lord Shiva is also called Ekavratya, who lives by his own rules; Vaidyanath, the supreme physician; Somnath, keeper of the sacred plant Soma; Chandrashekhara, saviour of the moon; Jvareshwara, lord of fevers; Hara, the ravisher; Shankara, the benevolent one, a kind god...

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When Shiva went to marry Parvati, the bride's parents were shocked to see the groom with matted hair, ash smeared face, snakes around his neck and riding a bull. They called off the marriage. After Parvati ji's prayers Shiva transformed into the most handsom person ever seen, the personification of beauty... Lord Shiva is also called 'Sundaramurti'...

- Rahul Tiwary

Previous Posts: (1) School of Hinduism (Lesson-1) ; (2) School of Hinduism (Discussion-1 on Lesson-1) ; (3) School of Hinduism (Lesson-2)