Religious Tolerance and Hindu Rituals Assignment

Religious Tolerance and Hindoo Rituals - Assignment ExampleThis is often not the road that is taken and misconceptions are often bothowed to turn community against certain theologys and beliefs. Ignorance regarding religious beliefs is most often the reason for mickles antagonistic attitudes in relation to people of other faiths. This paper shall look at a religious ceremony of Hinduism and reassess a a few(prenominal) ideas about the religion that were proven to be misconceptions after it. Religions like Hinduism are often considered to be identical to or even perceived as variations of Satanism. This is the result of various misconceptions that arise out of religious credulity in people of other religions (Robinson, 2006). People of other religions tend to think of Hinduism as a religion where idols are worshipped in a very simple manner. This is however, not true. According to the ceremony that I attended, which was to worship the Goddess Durga, an idol is what the Godde ss reveals herself as to the devotee. The goddess assumes the form that the true devotee wishes to see her in and this becomes a type of the love that God holds for the true devotee. The importance of this can be seen in the care and devotion with which the statue of Durga is make before the festival of Durga Puja begins (Durga Puja Preparation, n.d.). Apart from the philosophical and theological reasons that are offered for this form of worship, it excessively allows the devotees to converge at a particular spot. It enables people to understand the fact that Hinduism is not a religion but a culture that is a part of a society of people. It is not a compendium of rules regarding conduct and worship. This is unequivocal from the fact that there is no single text that is considered to be the most important one. No somebody is considered to have laid the foundations of this religion either (Das, n.d.). All of these factors combine to transform Hinduism into a culture of a society ra ther than a conventional religion. The worship of idols and the use of music are factors that cause people to conceptualize of Hinduism as a religion that is a mystic one that is similar to orientalist conceptions that Western civilization holds about the Indian subcontinent. This is however, not true. The music and the idol, apart from being symbols of social togetherness and a shared culture, besides enable people to concentrate their minds on the idea of god. This can be done through an entry into the atmosphere that is created by the combination of the different aspects of the festival. The ritual turns the festival into an opportunity for people to connect with god. A large part of Indian music is non-secular and this results in the fact that it is a part of the Durga Puja. Investing all of ones trouble in the idol of Durga enables the devotee to dissolve his existence into a summation with the Goddess. The idol thus serves the practical purpose of giving the devotee an obj ect to focus his or her attention on (Jayaram, n.d.). My understanding of Hinduism was radically altered after the ceremony as many of the common misconceptions concerning the religion were proven to be false following it. The deep philosophical tenets and the practical side of the religion were open during the ceremony and this led to a change in the perceptions regarding the religion and its practices. The social aspect of the religion also changed my perception regarding it as it enabled me to place it in a context where it is a part of everyday life. Misconceptions regarding