NEPAL GIRLS IN MASS HINDU
KANYA PUJA PRAYER CEREMONY
KANYA PUJA PRAYER CEREMONY
www.bbc.co.uk -
More than 11,000 girls have taken part in a mass Hindu prayer ceremony
in western Nepal, which organisers say is one of the biggest of its kind
ever to be held in the country. The traditional Kanya Puja ceremony
honours girls as incarnations of the Goddess Bhagawati. It included
girls from different ethnic communities and castes. Organisers say the
aim is to dismantle the caste system and spread a message of equality
and social harmony. Many girls taking part in the ceremony at Ramnagar
in Nawalparasi district wore school uniforms and performed Hindu
devotions and chants.“It is our Vedic tradition to offer Puja (Hindu devotions) to girls who are regarded as incarnations of Goddess Bhagawati,” festival organising chief Bharat Raj Poudel said. He added that the Puja was being done in a manner to bring about “social revolution” by ensuring a more inclusive society and discarding discriminatory caste traditions such as “untouchability”.
“We
want to do away with ethnic discord,” Mr Poudel said. Nepal has
recently witnessed ethnic unrest amid heated debate over the composition
of a new constitution. Members of parliament remain divided over the
issue. Some ethnic communities, mostly from indigenous groups called
Janajati, have called for the country's provinces to be demarcated along
on ethnic lines. They have also opposed what they have described as the
domination of high-caste Hindus - such as Brahmins and Chhetris -
within “the body politic”. The Kanya Puja is to be followed by the
two-week-long Mahayagya - another Hindu ritual which is typically
performed by priests using fires to carry out symbolic sacrifices.The main objective of the Mahayagya, according to organisers, is to preserve Hindu traditions, philosophy and values of life. Priests from neighbouring India have been invited to this programme. Formerly a Hindu kingdom, Nepal was transformed into a secular republic six years ago.
WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?
Worship
of the Goddess goes back at least 4,000 years in India, and further
back to the Vedic times. Durga is the Goddess of the universe, and
Parvati, the wife of Lord Shiva, is a form of Durga. She has up to 64
different forms, with different names for each form. Each form
represents a different pastime, power, or aspect of the Goddess. Some of
the names of these forms of Durga are Ambika, Bhadra, Bhadrakali,
Aryadurga, Vedagarbha, Kshemakshemakari, Naikabahu, Bhagavati,
Katyayani, and others, such as Sati, which means chastity. In her
gentle aspects she is worshiped as Kanya, Kamakshi, or Mukamba. Uma
(Parvati) is the maiden name for the consort of Lord Shiva. She
represents matter (prakriti). ... Durga is the personification of the
material energy, in which all materially conditioned living beings are
absorbed in thoughts, actions and identity. ... She is also the
personification of wisdom and knowledge. Her energy permeates the
universe.Stephen Knapp (Śrīpad Nandanandana dasa) :
“Shiva and Durga: Their Real Identity”
http://www.stephen-knapp.com - http://www.stephenknapp.info/
http://www.stephen-knapp.com/shiva_and_durga.htm
Published by dasavatara das - "Vedic Views on World News"
http://www.vedicviews-worldnews.blogspot.com.ar/
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