Puja is a worship ritual performed by Hindus to offer devotional homage and prayer to one or more deities, to host and honour a guest, or to spiritually celebrate an event. It may honour or celebrate the presence of special guests, or their memories after they die. The word pūjā is Sanskrit, and means reverence, honor, homage, adoration and worship. Puja, the loving offering of light, flowers, and water or food to the divine, is the essential ritual of Hinduism. For the worshipper, the divine is visible in the image, and the divinity sees the worshipper. The interaction between human and deity, between human and guru, is called darshan, seeing.
Arti or Arati is a Hindu ritual employed in worship, part of a puja, in which light from a flame is ritually waved to venerate deities. Arti also refers to the songs sung in praise of the deity, when the light is being offered. Sikhs have Artikirtan which involves only devotional singing; the Nihang order of Sikhs also use light for arti.
In Sikhism, a langar is the community kitchen of a gurdwara, which serves meals to all free of charge, regardless of religion, caste, gender, economic status, or ethnicity. People sit on the floor and eat together, and the kitchen is maintained and serviced by Sikh community volunteers who are doing seva. The meals served at a langar are always lacto-vegetarian.
Krishna Janmashtami, also known simply as Krishnashtami, Janmashtami, or Gokulashtami, is an annual Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of Krishna, the eighth avatar of Vishnu. In certain Hindu texts, such as the Gita Govinda, Krishna has been identified as supreme God and the source of all avatars. Krishna's birth is celebrated and observed on the eighth day (Ashtami) of the dark fortnight in Shravana Masa or Bhadrapada Masa. This overlaps with August or September of the Gregorian calendar.
Prasāda, prasadam or prasad is a religious offering in Hinduism. Most often Prasada is vegetarian food especially cooked for devotees after praise and thanksgiving to a god. Mahaprasada, is the consecrated food offered to the deity in a Hindu temple which is then distributed and partaken by all the devotees regardless of any orientation.
Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha is a Hindu denomination within the Swaminarayan Sampradaya. It was formed in 1905 by Yagnapurushdas following his conviction that Swaminarayan remained present on earth through a lineage of gurus starting with Gunatitanand Swami. As of August 2016, Mahant Swami Maharaj is the 6th guru and president of BAPS.
Deoghar is a major city in Jharkhand, eastern India. It is a holy place of Hinduism. The city is primarily known for Baidyanath Temple, one of the 12 Jyotirlingas of Shiva, one of the principal deities in Hinduism. The sacred temples of the city make this a place for pilgrimage and tourists. The city is very sacred to the followers of Hinduism.
Ayyavazhi rituals are the religious practices prevalent among the followers of Ayyavazhi. Most of them are connected with Akilam and Arul Nool and a few, though not associated with the holy books, are practiced for over a century right from the beginning of Ayyavazhi. Some practices are unique for Pathis and some others are common for all worship centres.
Dharmasthala is an Indian temple town on the banks of the Nethravathi River in the Belthangady taluk of the Dakshina Kannada district in Karnataka, India.
Jalaram Bapa popularly known as Bapa (4 November 1799 – 23 February 1881 was a Hindu saint from Gujarat, India. He was born on 4 November 1799, one week after the Hindu festival of Diwali, which is associated with his Iṣṭa-devatā Lord Rama. He is mainly worshipped in Gujarat. Thursday is the day that is associated with him in Hinduism. Images of Jalaram Bapa usually portray him as wearing white, with a stick in his left hand and a tulsi mala in his right hand. He is always dressed in simple clothes which is a symbol of purity.
The Madhya Kailash Temple is a Hindu temple in Midrand, South Africa. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva who is the formless, timeless and spaceless Supreme God in Shaivism, one of the major branches of Hinduism. The resident priest of the temple is Guru Nadarajah Sarma. It was built recently due to the increasing of the Hindu community in the area.
Kotpuli, also known as Kotpuliyar and Kotpuli Nayanar, was a Nayanar saint, venerated in the Hindu sect of Shaivism. He is generally counted as the fifty-seventh in the list of 63 Nayanars.
Langar is an institution among Sufi Muslims and Sikhs in South Asia whereby food and drink are given to the needy regardless of social or religious background. Its origins in Sufism are tied to the Chishti Order. During Baba Nanak's Udasi to East Punjab, he saw many people suffering without food due to constant war and loot in the region and established the communal kitchen (Langar) to serve everyone food and shelter regardless of any means of discrimination.
A Balmiki temple is called an Ashram, which means a hermitage or monastery. It is the communal house for Balmikis. The function of the Ashram is to serve as a center for building up devotees' commitment and for transmitting the Ramayana's message, and the focal point for the whole community to preserve their culture and traditions.
A shikharbaddha mandir is a traditional Hindu or Jain place of worship, typically featuring architecture characterized by superstructures with towers pinnacles and domes and often built of carved marble, sandstone, or other stone. While such mandirs are common in many branches of Hinduism, the use of the term shikharbaddha mandir to describe such mandirs is most common in the Swaminarayan branch of Hinduism as well as Jainism. The opposite of the shikharbaddha temple is one without a shikhara tower, i.e. with a flat roof.
Hinduism is the largest religion in Kerala and Hindu lineages together make up 54.8% of the population of the state according to the 2011 census.
Rama Navami is a Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of Rama, one of the most popularly revered deities in Hinduism, also known as the seventh avatar of Vishnu. He is often held as an emblem within Hinduism for being an ideal king and human through his righteousness, good conduct and virtue. The festival falls on the ninth day of the bright half of the lunar cycle of Chaitra (March–April), the first month in the Hindu calendar. It is also part of the Chaitra Navaratri festival in spring. Rama Navami is a holiday for government employees in India.
Ilayankudi Maranar, also known Ilaiyangudi Nayanar, Ilaiyankuti Nayanar, Ilayangudi Mara Nayanar, is a Nayanar saint, venerated in the Hindu sect of Shaivism. He is generally counted as the fourth in the list of 63 Nayanars. He is also called Marar, Maran and Mara Nayanar, names he shares with Somasi Mara Nayanar. The two Nayanars are generally differentiated by the prefixes "Ilayankudi" and "Somasi".
Hindu Temple and Cultural Center of the Rockies in Centennial, Colorado is the major Hindu Temple in the Denver, Colorado region. The Hindu Society of Colorado was incorporated in 1984. During 1996-2015 the temple was located in a former church building in Littleton. The formally designed temple opened on July 3, 2015. with Prana Pratishtha on June 5–7, 2015. The temple membership grew to include 1,500 families in 2011. The temple is non-regional and non-sectarian.
Tamil Hindus are the Tamil-speaking people who follow Hinduism.
