A bit about the Hindu Gods

Hindu Gods and Goddesses

The area I am in is predominantly Hindu and they have many festivals and many Gods.
I thought I would mention just a few to peek your interest.

Shiva God of the universe. Draped in serpents and bearing a 3rd eye on the forehead. Nandi, his trusted bull escort.

Ganesha is a chubby, smiling elephant headed god. Son to Shiva and Parvati. Invoked before every undertaking (except funerals). He is seated on a lotus flower. His image is often placed above temple gateways, shops, and houses. He is regarded as the god of learning, lord of success, prosperity and peace. (The city I am in is world renown for making plaster cast Geneshas.) His friend is the rat, who is always with him.

Vishnu is in charge of keeping the world in order, restoring and protecting. He is blue skinned and has 4 arms.

Krishna is one of the most important Avatars. He is the hero of the Bhagavad Gita (famous Hindu story) He proposes 3 routes to salvation(moksha) Self-less action(karmayoga) knowledge (Jnana) and devotion(bkakti). He has many faces, the most popular is as a cowherder.

Durga is a fierce female deity, and is an aspct of Parvati (Shiva's wife) also known as Kali, Mahadeva. Called the Great Goddess

Lakshmi is the goddess of loveliness, grace and charm. Also the goddess of prosperity and wealth.

Hanuman is the monkey God, featured in the story Ramayana. He is Rama's chief aid in the fight against the demon-king. He is the acrobat and wrestler. As protector for Rama and Sita, monkeys in India find sanctuary in temples across India.

Saraswati is the most beautiful goddess, wife of Brahma. She has white complexion and sits on water lily or peacock, playing the lute or sitar. She is the goddess of purification and fertility. She is also the inventor of writing, queen of eloquence and goddess of music.

Khamdenu is the scared cow. He recieves devotion through respect shown to all cows all over India. Not sure where the origin began....said the Brahma created cows at the same time as Brahmins so that they could have ghee (clarified butter) for their ceremonies. To this day cow dung and urine are used to purify houses. In fact it keeps the insects at bay. Killing or harming of cows by any Hindu is a grave offence. The cow is referred to as mother of gods.

HOLI festival is not one of the gods but it is a festival that is coming up next week. It is celebrated on the full moon to mark the beginning of Spring. They decorate a tree and then on February 28th they will set it on fire. They will spend the day bombarding everyone on the street with colour.........water, paint and powder is thrown at everyone. Very colourful

Enough for now Stay well everyone!!

Namaste

Love Beth