Hinduism Research Paper

Hinduism encompasses all aspects of life of for those who choose this religion’s followers. From daily activities to architecture, everything is related back to the ideals and traditions of the Hindu faith. The field trip to Temple, Texas to visit the Hindu Temple, Omkara Mahaganapathi Devasthanam, enlightened me on the traditions and aspects of Hinduism granting me a greater understanding on the Bhagavad Gita. The architecture, at first, only seems to differ from churches, temples, or other religious buildings in looks as do all churches. However, how the temple was built and specifically with what it was built makes it very different from other religious buildings and centers. The entire temple was constructed using granite because of the …show more content…
The deities are arranged from left to right according to their relative importance and power. The first deity in the Sanctum is Shakti. She enables Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva to carry out their roles of creation, preservation, and destruction respectively in the universe. She is the consort of Shiva who comes next in the Sanctum. Shiva is the destroyer of evils. This temple worships the formless form of Shiva known as Shivalinga which symbolizes masculinity and femininity and thus the duality of life and the need one has to decrease that duality in order to achieve singularity. Following these two deities came the main deity of the temple, Omkara Mana Ganapathy. This deity, also known as Ganesha, is the son of the Shiva and Shakti. Hindus pray to him for protection and the ability to overcome the obstacles they face as they grow. His name derives from the combination of Ganeaha and Omkara to represent the supreme manifestation of Om. Om symbolizes God, audibly representing the waking, dream, and deep sleep state and the interaction of Brahman and Atman all in one …show more content…
According to Monism, which Hinduism classifies as, only God exists; nothing else exists. Everything exists in a constant dream state, more specifically in Brahma’s dream which can also be seen in the metaphysical world of Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita. Brahman is the self of all and Atman is the self of one. The goal of the soul is to connect to Brahma and achieve Moksha (liberation), until that happens one goes through samsara. Samsara is this cycle of existence and suffering. Samsara goes through three phases: creation through Brahma, preservation through Vishnu, and destruction through Shiva. Monism and samsara are the two fundamental aspects of Hinduism that explain and allow for reincarnation to take place. The soul, which exists as a state of consciousness, passes from one body to the next on its journey to achieve Moksha. This is why in the Bhagavad Gita Krishna tells Arjuna it is alright for him to fulfill his duty at the cost of the human lives of his relatives because the soul is divine and does not die with the body. Krishna also represents the last fundamental concept of Hinduism that there are many manifestations of one God. Krishna, in this case, is a manifestation of Vishnu. There are