Questions and Answers
Why do Hindus light a lamp?
There are multiple reasons why do Hindus light lamps in front of gods and on other occasions. In most Hindu homes, a lamp is lit at least once or twice daily before the altar of gods, especially in the evening. Some Hindus light a lamp all day and night and never let it go off. It is called Akhanda Deepa (an incessant lamp). To know the reason why do Hindus light lamps, we have to know first on which occasions they do so. Hindus light a lamp on the following occasions: 1. Before or after Puja. 2. In opening ceremonies.…
Why are Water Drops Made to Drip on a Shiva Linga?
There are many reasons behind why are water drops made to drip on a Shiva Linga, and why do we pour water on it. Hindus worship Lord Shiva in the form of a linga mainly. In almost all of the temples where a Shiva Linga is installed, there is mainly a copper vessel hanging over the linga, and water/milk drips over it at a regular interval. Also, devotees pour water and milk on it. Many people wonder why are water drops made to drip on a Shiva Linga only and not on other idols of Hindu gods. Scriptural or religious…
Why are there 108 beads on a mala?
A Japamala (mala) or rosary is a string of prayer beads that people of various religious traditions use to count mantras or the number of recitations of the name of God. Most of the Hindus use a Japamala with 108 beads. But why are there 108 beads on a mala? Actually, there are not 108 but 109 beads in a mala. The extra bead serves as a start point and endpoint for counting the repetitions of the mantra or the name of God. This bead is called Meru/guru bead. It is often larger than counting beads. Most of the people…
What is the Color of Lord Shiva?
If you search on the Internet “What is the color of Lord Shiva?,” most of the results will show that the color of Lord Shiva is white, but if you look for the images of Lord Shiva, most of the images depict Lord Shiva as blue in color. This has caused a great deal of confusion among Hindus whether Lord Shiva is white or blue in color. What is the Color of Lord Shiva? A. In Shiva Purana, there is a story of a female named Chanchula. When she reached the abode of Lord Shiva, she saw him. The description…
Why do we name baby on the 12th day of his/her birth and why the family where the baby is born do not lit diyas or worship for 10-11 days and on the 12th day sprinkle holy water?
Why do we name baby on the 12th day? This question was asked by a reader. The naming ceremony (Namkaran Samskar) is one of the 16 samskaras in a Hindu’s life. It is performed on the 12th day after the birth of the child. The following are the reasons why we name baby on the 12th day. 1. In a Hindu family, Sutak is observed for 11 days after the birth of the child. During these 11 days, Hindus don’t go to temples or do pujas in the home. The newborn is not brought out of the house. The mother…
Why don’t Hindus cut hair/nails on Saturdays?
Since my childhood, I have been hearing from my parents that we should not cut hair or nails on Saturdays. You should not shave also on this day. When asked why they used to tell me that it brings bad luck as it brings anger of Planet Shani (Saturn) upon us. We lose money and peace of mind in our life. It is believed that cutting or trimming hair on Saturday reduces life by seven months. This belief is very common among Hindus, and hence, most Hindus do not cut hair or nails on Saturday. The answer seems reasonable for…
Who is the most powerful deity in Hinduism?
It is considered bad to compare the deities with each other. Each Hindu deity has its powers and is great in its field. Still, it would be interesting to know who is the most powerful deity in Hinduism. There are three main deities in Hinduism viz. Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. These three deities are considered as powerful than all other deities. Hence, Lord Dattatreya, who is also known as Trinity and is a combination of those three deities, is termed as the most powerful deity according to Hindu mythology. But in Bhagavad-Gita, Lord Krishna says that he is the most…
What Language Do Hindus Pray In?
Most of the Hindu scriptures, prayers, and mantras are written in Sanskrit. Sanskrit was considered as the language of Gods. Sanskrit was the only language used during ancient times, but later on, many languages were born out of Sanskrit and as per the necessity of time, many scriptures and prayers were also composed in other regional languages. As Hinduism is mainly concentrated in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and few other countries, the prayers were composed in the languages spoken in those countries. Therefore, we can say that Hindus pray in Sanskrit as well as local languages like Hindi, Marathi,…
Why Do Hindus Say “Ram Ram”?
The meaning of the name Ram is “one who pleases”. Many Hindus greet or say farewell to each other by saying “Ram Ram.” The other religious words are also used to do so, e.g., Jai Mata Di, Om Namah Shivay, Jai Ram Ji Ki, etc. But the majority of the people use the word “Ram Ram.” There could be many reasons behind it. This custom of greeting each other could be more than a thousand years old. Hence, it is hard to find out what is the exact reason, but the following could be the reason behind why Hindus say…
How to write the word Hinduism in different languages?
The word Hinduism is spelled and pronounced differently in different languages. In this article, we would try to spell Hinduism in all the languages of the world. Afrikaans – Hindoeïsme Albanian – hinduizëm Arabic – الهندوسية Armenian – Հինդուիզմ Azerbaijani – induizm Basque – Hinduismo Belarusian – індуізм Bengali – হিন্দুধর্ম Bulgarian – индуизъм Catalan – hinduisme Croatian – hinduizam Czech – hinduismus Danish – hinduisme Dutch – hindoeïsme Esperanto – hinduismo Estonian – hinduism Filipino – Hinduism Finnish – hindulaisuus French – hindouisme Galician – hinduismo Georgian – ინდუისტი German – Hinduismus Greek – Ινδουισμός Gujarati – હિંદુ Haitian…