A living, vibrant tradition of goddess worship is at the heart of the Hindu religion; many goddesses are worshipped on a daily basis throughout India and the Hindu world, although most individual goddesses are seen as a manifestation of one Great Goddess (Flood 174). The Goddess is an ubiquitous figure in popular media, devotion, and academic study. In 1975, an Indian movie called Jai Santoshi Maa (“Hail to the Mother of Satisfaction”) with a small budget, largely unknown cast, cheesy, almost comical special effects, and second-rate sets became a runaway “superhit” that packed out theatres in large metropolitan areas, as well as those in smaller venues, and broke records by becoming one of the highest grossing movies of the year (Lutgendorf 11, 14). The popularity of this “cult classic” is illustrative, not only of the popular appeal of mythological movies in India, but also of the attractiveness of the Goddess. While the Sakta and Tantric traditions are the most well-known for the veneration of the Goddess, both Śaivism and Vaiṣṇavism incorporate goddesses as consorts or energies, and in fact, “almost all Hindus will revere her in some capacity” (Flood 175; see also Choudhary 2).
The presence of multiple goddess figures is notable in the earliest literature of Hinduism, the Vedas. Although the Rig Veda is dominated a few major male gods with a cast of “second-string” male gods and no central goddess figure, there is also a very strong contingent of goddesses (Kinsley, Hindu Goddesses 6). Kinsley notes seven major Vedic goddesses, including Usas, Sarasvatī, and Aditi, and nearly twenty minor ones (Hindu Goddesses 7-17). The goddess Aditi is mentioned nearly eighty times in the Rig Veda alone (Kinsley, Hindu Goddesses 9). W...
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Srimad Devi Bhagavata Purana. 3rd ed. Trans. Swami Vijnanananda. Allahabad: Allahabad Panini Office, 1922. Print.
Trotter, Robert J. “God: She’s Alive and Well.” Science News 109.7 (1976): 106+. JSTOR. Web. 7 Nov. 2013. .
Fuller, C. J. The Camphor Flame: Popular Hinduism and Society in India. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 2004. Print.
"The Goddess, whether Gentle Lady-Mother or thundering and Powerful Seductress has never really been broadly attached specifically to an animal form as much as the God was.
Drysdale, Jilian Miller. “Faces of the Goddess.” Synchronicity. Dec. 1999/Jan. 2000: 29-31. Sirs Renaissance. Web. 29 Mar. 2014.
Women are considered the goddesses of the world; but it is also true that they are not treated as it. It is human nature to try and separate and sort ourselves out into groups or is it a human characteristics. Women have been being ill-treated for many years and used just as things to fulfil the wishes of men. Considering women as goddesses is not enough to give them full women empowerment in the world. In previous time in history women held no value compared to men; their only purpose was to stay home, take care of the children and fulfill their husband wishes. In the 19th century women were expected to have certain roles to fit into and create a “normal” society.
Narayanan, Vasudha. “The Hindu Tradition.” A Concise Introduction to World Religions. Ed. Willard G. Oxtoby and Alan F. Segal. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2007.
The creative power of the sacrifice is explained. The Upanishads, and the search of a self of a man, speculation in the early Upanishads, the teaching of the Yajnavalkya, and the final goal of the Upanishads are also major topics in this book. Religious implications of Upanishadic teaching, challenge and change of Hinduism are explored. Lastly, the new Brahmanical Synthesis, the religion in the epics and puranas, late puranic religion, the full tradition, and the continuing tradition are all fully explained in this book.
Nijhawan, Amita. "Excusing the female dancer: Tradition and transgression in Bollywood dancing." South Asian Popular Culture 7.2 (2009): 99-112. EBSCOhost.
Ahimsa: To Do No Harm,” Chapter 45 in What is Hinduism: Modern Adventures Into A Profound Global Faith. New Delhi: Himalayan Academy Publications, 2007. 358-363. Print.
Fisher, Mary Pat. "Chapter 5: Buddhsim." Living Religions. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice-Hall, 2005. 150-62. Print.
In India there are many religious rituals. Some are the same as in the United States of America. They have Muslim and Christian rituals. Some of these rituals the Muslim and Christians of the United States of America participate in. Religious rituals make a huge impact on India’s culture. India’s culture would not be the same without these religious rituals. (“Indian Culture”)
Out of the 365 days in a year, Diwali, known as the “festival of lights,” is by far the most important day to celebrate for every Indian. Like much of Indian and Hindu tradition, this holiday comes with a historical background framing its significance. The history of Diwali reflects the memory of Ram shooting an arrow through Raven’s stomach because Raven kidnapped Sita. In Hinduism, ladies are highly regarded because following that event, Ram doubted Sita for her purity and gave her the Agni pariksha (the fire test). Although the test proved her purity and bravery, Sita became upset and appealed to mother earth to conceal her within. Mother earth, understanding her sorrow, accepted her. This event from the time of the gods forecasted the biggest factor to tear apart marriage in Hindu culture by investigating the theme of doubt. The profound religious meaning behind this is opaque and is further formed by uniting family and friends together to celebrate the festival of lights. Another important holiday is Holi, the festival of color, which occurs around the season of harvest. Today, it is celebrated by spreading many colorful powders on everyone participating. The deeper significance behind Holi is between the power of truth, honesty, and good karma versus evil. Lord Krishna was born with a darker skin color and his love, Radha, was born with a fairer skin tone. Once Lord Krishna had a blue skin color
Gandhi, Mohandas Karamchand. Young India, Volume 9. N.p.: Navajivan Publishing House, 1927. Print. Vol. 9 of Young India.
Vedic culture seems to have conflicting views regarding its attitude towards women, specifically its attitude towards a woman’s sexuality. This conflict can be seen by contrasting the ways in which women are treated in sacrificing rituals with how they are treated in a more intimate atmosphere, such as lovemaking, which is still often treated as a ritual in and of itself; ritual regarding fertility, love, and childbirth. To represent the roles of women in ritual, Stephanie W. Jamison has written “Sacrificed Wife, Sacrificer’s wife, which is a description and evaluation of women’s roles in ritual and hospitality in ancient India.
The Sanskrit version of this pasuram is Sri Alavandar’s slokam “na dharma nishtOsmi na chaatma vEdi na
Sri Nandanandana, “Preaching in India’s Northeast For Cultural Preservation” VaiShnava News February 21, 2003; Retrieved information Dec. 9,2003 http://www.vnn.org/world/WD0302/WD21-7837.html