MANDIR

• Hindu temple: place of worship

• Dedicated to one or many Hindu deities

• Japa - Individual silent or soft repetition of mantras

Delhi: Largest Hindu Temple Complex

London

Krishna Temple, Utah

PUJAS (Prayers, Songs, Rituals)

• Create shrines in temples, in the home, and in outdoor public spaces.

• Priests perform puja at sunrise, noon, sunset, and midnight.

• Visiting a temple every day or even regularly is not mandatory so many worship at home.

FAMILY SHRINE

• A photograph of god/gods, flowers, fruits, incense, perfume, a bell, an oil lamp, scripture

HOLIDAYS: DIWALI (A Row of Lights)

• Hindu New Year (October or November)• Decorate streets and doorways with small clay

lamps in anticipation of the coming of Lakshmi (prosperity and good fortune)

• Lasts for five days• Clean homes, decorate floors with floor

paintings made of rice flour• Wears finest clothes & offers gifts to neighbors

CHAITRA (HOLI)

• Spring festival (March or April) celebrating coming of Krishna

• Bonfires lit in the evening to empower the sun as it moves to longer and warmer spring hours

• Sing and dance all night and extinguish fire with water at dawn

• Water colored with dyes are thrown at each other, eat holiday foods and sweets

• Lasts for 3 days

SYMBOLS: AUM

• Means yes or will be• Said in the beginning of mantras or Hindu

texts and at the end of reading the Vedas

SRI YANTRA

• 9 interlocking triangles (4 upward: masculine and 5 downward: feminine) meet at a point representing the interlocking of the two and representing all creation

THE SWASTIKA

• Good fortune, luck, well-being

THE LOTUS

• Represents beauty