Skip to main content icon/video/no-internet
icon backReturn to Entries

India, Rituals of

Rituals are part of India's rich cultural heritage. Religion is one of the prime social areas in which rituals function. A ritual may be defined as a type of organized behavior. It acts as a conservative force, binding the members of community. Ritual is mainly of two types: one that is directly related with religious activities, the other being life stage rituals, which polish and refine the individual's attitude toward society. Here, the discussion centers round the first type, the rituals associated with major forms of worship in India.

In fact, due to a national transition and global communication and interaction, Indian society is now facing change, though there are limits to change. Certain expressions that are the products of age-old beliefs do not change, and these provide the distinctive cultural template for the people of India. These rituals act as mirrors, in which the behavior of the people is reflected.

Common Elements of Rituals Associated with Worship

There are certain elements of rituals that are common to all worship:Mantras, or sacred words; Mudras, or gesture; Nyas, or yogic exercise of breathing; and Bhutsuddhi, the purification of elements. These rituals are performed by the priest at the time of worship.

Mantra: It has been generally believed that mantra is sakti, sacred words that have the power to evoke deities for the welfare and protection of people. These sacred words, mostly in Sanskrit, in verse or in prose, are recited during the time of worship. They can be uttered or recited loudly or visualized mentally. These words vary according to the particular worship. They are central to the ritual traditions of India. The most sacred and common word that is uttered is “Om.” It has been said that this word encapsulates the entire essence of the Veda.

Mudras: These are gestures that act in conjunction with the sacred words. There are varieties of gestures that the priest performs, like invocation or installation of a particular deity. In the invocation gesture, the two hands of the priest are cupped together, palms upward. The installation gesture is the reverse of the above and expresses the entry of a deity. The image of a deity, be it God or Goddess, is constructed by the artisans of a specific caste who earn their livelihood by image making, but there is a particular ritual the Hindus believe converts the lifeless image into a powerful receptacle of divinity. This is known as Pran Pratishtha: The priest inducts the breadth of the deity into the image with the aid of sacred uttering. It is believed that the priest is endowed with divine power at the time of worship. In this ritual, the eyes of the deity play a very crucial and revealing role. In this consecrational ritual, the eyes are painted with a final flick of black ash. And then the image of the deity is ready for intense interactions with devotees.

Nyas: This particular action is not merely yogic excises of breathing; while performing this action, the priest meditates on the particular deity of worship.

...

  • Loading...
locked icon

Sign in to access this content

Get a 30 day FREE TRIAL

  • Watch videos from a variety of sources bringing classroom topics to life
  • Read modern, diverse business cases
  • Explore hundreds of books and reference titles

Read next

More like this

Sage Recommends

We found other relevant content for you on other Sage platforms.

close

Have you created a personal profile? Login or create a profile so that you can save clips, playlists and searches

close
close
close Signed In to profile You are signed in as:
close
Logged in Institution Institution