Hinduism

Hinduism in Malaysian
 Large Scale Migration of Indians during 2nd
half of the 19th Century

British Administration and Plantation Agriculture

Malaysian Hindus: 6%
Tamils, Telugus, Malayalees,
Sri Lankan Tamils, other south Indians
Prapanca
• Creation relates with the whole universe
• Saivites: Sakhti who conjoins Lord Paramasina stirs maya (matter)
from which evolves jagath (universe)
• Vaishnavaits: during the deluge and destruction of the universe,
Narayana/Vishnu remains in the state of yoganittirai, on banayan
leaf, and Brahma would appear from Vishnu’s navel, and start
creating the universe.
• Veda: Brahman creates a golden egg (hiranya garbha), and enters the
egg. Brahman would appear and creates the world.
 .

Rites and Rituals…

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 Marriage
The marriage ceremony takes place at the bride’s home, or the
hall hired by the bride’s parents.
The marriage day and time, are fixed by the priest by
referring to the religious calendar.
A great amount of preparation takes place before the
wedding.
At the time of the ceremony, Lord Ganesha is worshiped.
The marriage ceremony is performed by the priest in the
presence of the relations of both the bride and bridegroom.
The parents of the bride welcome him as they would welcome
God, by washing his feet and
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giving him the best of everything.
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 Rites and Rituals…
• When the bride is given away by both the mother and father,
the genealogy of the bride and bridegroom is recited.

• The sacred fire, agni, the witness of the ceremony, is then lit
and many fine offerings are made while reciting mantras from
the Vedas.
• A white cord is attached to the shoulders of the couple and
seven steps (saptapadz) are taken around the fire. Each step
has a meaning – ‘one step for food, two for strength, three for
increasing wealth, four for good fortune, five for children, six
for the seasons, and seven for everlasting friendship.

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 Rites and Rituals…
• At the end of each complete round the bride is told to touch
a stone (pashana) and remain stable like the stone, that is
renouncing the attachment of her own parents and family and,
instead, loving the bridegroom’s family.

• Prayers for good fortune and peace conclude the ceremony.

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Rites and Rituals…

Funerals
Antyesti, the last rite, is a funeral oblation.

Hindus believe that bodies should be cremated and not buried.

The eldest son, or nearest male relative, lights the funeral pyre.

Outside India he may just stand by the coffin and see it pass
into the furnace.
Verses from the Bhagavad-Gita are chanted. Hindus believe that
‘as a man leaves his old clothes and puts on new ones, so the soul
leaves his body and moves to a new one.’
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Rites and Rituals…

• Thus death is nothing to be afraid of.

• On the third day after the cremation (or at any other

convenient day) the ashes of the dead are thrown into a river,
preferably the river Ganges.

• The last Antyesti rites is performed on the tenth, eleventh,

and twelfth day after cremation when offering of rice ball
(panda) and milk are made to the dead, usually by the eldest
son.

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Worship and Prayers
• According to ancient Hindu philosophy, knowledge is fruitless,
good deeds vain, and true happiness impossible without proper
ritual observance.

• Consequently, Hindu religion lays great emphasis on the

performance of numerous rituals, all observed during any of
the successive stages of a Hindu’s life.

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Worship and Prayers…

• These rituals at one time numbered over three hundred, but

they have been gradually reduced over a period of time to less
than twenty.

• Today, most Hindus observe one or more devotional obligations,

which may be performed either privately in daily rituals in a
home or communally in a temple.

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Worship and Prayers…

• Ritual Purification plays a vital part in Hindu religious

observances and is closely related to the concepts of
cleanliness and contamination.

• Hindu scriptures declare that only those who practice

cleanliness are qualified to witness Brahman.

• Purity is of several kinds and can be achieved by various means.

Physical purity has two aspects, external and internal, and can
be achieved either through the natural functions of the body
or through external cleansing, including washing and bathing.

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Worship and Prayers…

• Internal purity is achieved by esoteric techniques that

include the intoning of prescribed formulas, yogic postures,
and certain purificatory acts. These acts or rites are
designed to remove all traces of contamination that may
have come from infringing some caste regulation or
neglecting to discharge certain obligatory acts.

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Worship and Prayers…
• Devotional Ritual. There are countless forms of devotional
service. Ideally, a Hindu should make five offerings daily

• Many, however, perform their ritual once a day or, at most,

three times daily.

• Private devotions consist also of the tending of the sacred

household fire, the recitation of texts, the repetition of
mantras, meditation, and yoga exercises.

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Worship and Prayers…

• In modern times, and especially in Westernized cities,

many Hindus find it difficult, if not impossible, to give the
necessary time for these private traditional religious
requirements.

• Hence they tend to go at least once a week to their

temples, where there is usually an image of a deity in
whose honor regular ceremonies are conducted.

• These rites include the ceremonial awakening and bathing

of the deity, and an invocation of the name of the deity,
followed by a formal adoration and salutation in which the
deity s presented with garlands and water.

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Worship and Prayers…
• As an act of homage, worshipers circumambulate the image and then
offer a gift, generally consisting of rice, grain, ghee (melted butter),
spices, incense, and aromatic vapors. Next, a lighted lamp is waved
before the deity as mantras are chanted. Then follows supplication for
personal requests. Finally, the deity is dismissed, and the ceremonies
close with the chanting of appropriate mantras.

• On special occasions, such as festive days, the deity is entertained by

dancing girls and fanned by a retinue of farmers, as well as bathed,
garlanded, and robed. Wherever possible, the deity is taken into
procession around the temple or even around the streets.

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 Worship and Prayers…

Pilgrimages

• Visiting holy places is one of the main sacred duties of all

Hindu devotees desirous of pleasing the deity, accumulating
religious merit, and securing bliss in the hereafter.

• There are thousands of holy places in India, some especially

sacred to the followers of Shiva, others to followers of Vishnu;
but a Hindu need not be limited to a sectarian shrine for
purposes of pilgrimage.
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Worship and Prayers…
• All pious Hindus, in or outside India, attempt to visit one of
the holy places at least once in their lifetimes. Many devout
Hindus hope to die within the precincts of Varanasi
(Benares), since this ensures advancement at the time of
rebirth.
• The merit of pilgrimage is further enhanced if pilgrims add
self-inflicted hardships to the normal rigors of the journey
(by, for instance, performing the journey by hopping on one
foot, or going on their knees).
• Today, of course, the time spent on pilgrimage has been
considerably shortened by the conveniences of modern
travel.

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