The Mandir Research Paper

Hinduism is known as the world's oldest religion. According to ISKCON Educational Services (2004), it is hard to construct a timeline because Hinduism has no identifiable human founder or specific origin in history. It is so old that its past goes into pre-history. It is extremely diverse with the Hindu people being more interested in the meaning of events than in providing first hand records. There is also no clear-cut divide between history and myth.

The question of origin- In order for us to completely understand Hinduism, we must first understand that this a philosophical system of beliefs. To give a definite origin of Hinduism would be very hard to address because there are no known origins. There are no beginning points or a name of a founder. Hinduism can be traced all the way back to around 1500 B.C in what we now call India and has a lot of different beliefs, philosophies and views that contradict each other. All Hindus believe in one God, a supreme being known as Brahma. Brahma is an entity believed to live in every single facet of reality and existence throughout the whole universe. Brahma is both impersonal and unknowable and is often believed to exist in three separate forms: Brahma, the Creator, Vishnu, the Preserver, and Shiva, the Destroyer.

1. What practical steps could be taken to build a relationship with a follower of this worldview who might be a co-worker, neighbor, etc?

Religion through art form provides us with a vision into a realm of heavenly beauty. Religion provides us with a sense of spirit fulfilment. It is only through worship and devotion that we feel connected to God. The practice of devotion and worship takes place in churches and cathedrals. It is these places that help us gain knowledge and a deeper more spiritual meaning of God. The churches and cathedrals are the very foundation of religious practice and devotion to God in my opinion. They are known as temples, ceremonial places, and are places of worship to God. However it is the claim that ‘art museums in the modern period fulfil some of the same functions as cathedrals and churches have done in the past’, which challenges contemporary

Although neither region experienced tremendous stability, the early states of China and modern-day India consistently followed their own styles of state-building practices. These powerful states in East and South Asia, respectively, used quite different methods of state-building, with their techniques greatly mirroring their different levels of desired interaction with outsiders. While the Chinese focused on state-building from within, the empires of modern-day India were more open to outsiders and their potential contributions to Indian society.

Those that oppose upholding the Second Amendment should consider the following scenario: It is the middle of the night, an armed intruder breaks into a home in a well-lit residential neighborhood; the intruder knows the home owners are home, and despite this knowledge, illegally enters the home. The father, awakened by the noise, listens for a second and realizes that someone has broken into his home. Concerned for the safety of his family, the first thing the father does is dart straight for his shotgun, and checks the bedrooms of his children. Assured that his children are safe the father proceeds to the common areas of the residence and spots the intruder in the living room.

Unlike many modern day religions, there are no clear origins of Hinduism. Hinduism is a fusion of various Indian cultures and traditions that over time molded into a religion. Its main roots, however, are in the Indus Valley civilization which was located in what is today known as northwest India and eastern Pakistan between 2500 and 1500 B.C.E, along with the Aryan culture and religion which existed between 1500 and 500 B.C.E. This dates back almost 4,000 years, which makes it one of the oldest religions to date (“Hinduism Influences”). The term Hinduism, however, wasn't always used to describe the religion. The word Hinduism is derived from the Persian word that refers to the Sindhu River in northwest India, and was adopted as a way to refer to the people of that region. By the end of the 19th century, however, the British Colonial Administration began to use the word Hinduism to describe the various religious beliefs and practices of the majority of India's population (“Hinduism Origins, Hinduism History, Hinduism Beliefs.”).

In comparing Buddhism and Hinduism there are many factors to consider. There are many similarities between these two religions. While looking at both, although Buddhism was formed as a response to Hinduism, you see that both don’t have a primary god they worship. Adding on to this each religion also has religious leaders. The differences are also very obvious as well such as Buddhism having a very prominent founder while Hinduism doesn’t have a primary founder. Although both religions believed in reincarnation, Buddhism believed that your goal is to reach a state of enlightenment whereas Hindus used a caste system where the person can only be moved up a caste after dying.

The archives found in the area depicts that the people of the Ur district worshiped many Gods. However, it can be deduced that the major God that the people of Ur worshiped was the Nanna or the Moon God. As mentioned above, the city of Ur was divided into two areas, namely, common district and the sacred place. The sacred place has a large monument or massive brickwork which is called the temple of Sin or the god of the moon. This monument was erected by the king of Ur about 4000 years ago. The temple was made in a series of platforms, one platform on top of another. The people of Ur assumed that the God lived at the third platform. In the common district, there were a large number of marketplaces, schools, libraries, homes and conveniences.

To get from South India to South Florida, normally, a person would need to travel roughly 15,117 km or 9,394 miles. Being that it is hardly just a hop, skip, and a jump away, members of the South Florida community, who are also a part of the Hindu community, desperately wanted a place where they could feel close to their motherland and yet remain near their newfound homes. To ensure this dream would become a reality, devotees gathered funds and support from friends and families to build what would later be known as the South Florida Hindu Temple. Interestingly, this temple, dissimilar to many others in the country, was built strictly from love and charity. All of the funds used to create the holy place

While we were meditating he told us to count every breath that we make and if we start to think of anything start back over at 1. So we closed our eyes and began to meditate. While we were meditating things kept irritating my face, for example a string of hair, but the thing is before we started meditating wasn’t anything bothering me. Isn’t that ironic? After a while it went away when I stop thinking about it; I truly think it was a figment of my imagination. We meditated for at least 30 to 45 minutes. He hit the dung 3 times to let us know the meditation was ending. When I opened my eyes I felt so calm and relaxed as if I had no worries in the world. It was so peaceful. The guy who led meditation opened up the floor for questions, but I really didn’t have any questions to ask because I was so calm and I had already asked all the questions that I needed to know when were outside. So we ended the question part and he let us take pictures. We went outside and put our shoes back on and walked around to the back so he could explain the statues to us. He allowed us to go inside the Vietnamese temple and take a look around and it was the biggest temple I have ever seen. He told us about what goes inside there. The Buddhist people that speak English go inside the temple that looks like a house and the ones that don’t goes inside the big one. We took pictures of the building looked around. They welcomed us to come back if we wanted but I really had enjoyed myself.

I explained that it was my first time at a Buddhist temple so I was a bit unsure of what I was supposed to do. A lady, named Bindhu, quickly introduced herself and was very eager to help me. She walked me around what is called the Main Ashram Room, which is primarily the most used part of the building. Bindhu walked me around the Main Ashram Room and explained what each room was used for. We saw the Kriya Vedanata Library, which holds numerous Buddhists texts and scriptures. She explained that this was a popular meeting spot for people to come and discuss the history of Buddhism and different texts they are reading. The next room we saw was a large space similar to what a church hall looks like. This was the Kriya Vedanata Meditation Hall. This was lacking any type chairs for the people to sit in. At the front of the room, there was an altar. Bindhu explained that various meditation sessions and conferences occurred in this space. She also explained that this was where my meditation session would occur. Next we visited the Kriya Vedanata Kitchen and Dining Hall. Bindhu explained that the people of the temple get together here to cook and serve meals as a means of togetherness and to enjoy one another’s company. After my tour, Bindhu escorted me back to the Kriya Vedanata Meditation

The line chart illustrates the percentage of American and China births and how these rates changed from 1920 to 2000.

When first pulling up to this synagogue, I was surprised by the shape of the building. It had a circular shape design to the building with beautiful brick on the side. I am Catholic and attend my Catholic church every weekend, so seeing a building which such different structure made me realize how different some religions are. My church looks like an average church someone would picture and

I decided to visit a Hindu temple because the Hindu religion was the religion that I knew the least about and was interested in. This assignment gave me an opportunity to learn more about this religion and what their worship services and rituals were like. The temple that I went to was called BAPS Shri Swaminaryan Mandir and it was located in Lilburn. As soon as I walked in, I was amazed by the beautiful architectural design of this Temple. It seemed like it took a lot of hard work and dedication to make the place what it is now. While I was at the temple, I watched the Hindus perform an ancient Vedic ritual called the Abhishek, a ritual bathing to honor the murti of their God.