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Thaipusam is a Hindu festival celebrated mostly by the Tamil community. The word Thaipusam is derived from the Tamil month name Thai and Pusam, which refers to a star near the location of the moon during the festival. The festival commemorates the occasion when Parvati gave Murugan a spear so he could vanquish the evil demon Soorapadman.
As per Hindu traditions, the south celestial sphere is consecrated to the ancestors (Pitri). Hence, the moment when the Sun transits from the north to the south celestial sphere is considered to begin a day of the ancestors. This moment is considered sacred, necessitating the performance of special religious rites.
Prana pratishtha (IAST: prāṇa pratiṣṭhā) is the rite or ceremony by which a murti (devotional image of a deity) is consecrated in a Hindu temple.The Sanskrit terms prana means "life" and pratishtha means "to be established."
(There are various other actions done to show respect to the Brahmanaas, like washing their feet etc. during the course of shraaddha). Since this is one of the more important and noble " Saṃskāras " (rituals meant to cleanse the mind and soul) that the Hindu sages have envisaged, it is imperative that the performer of the ritual [ 6 ...
By the 1970s, the religious groups and cultural associations started working together to create Hindu "temple societies." These societies formed in metropolitan areas with large Indian American populations such as Atlanta , Boston, Chicago, Detroit , Houston , Los Angeles, New York, Pittsburgh , the San Francisco Bay Area , and Washington D.C.
It is done on a variety of occasions and settings, from daily puja done in the home, to temple ceremonies and large festivals, or to begin a new venture. [4] A priest determines the timing of puja by consulting the pancanga (ritual calendar), which indicates auspicious dates and times for religious ceremonies. [5]
[6] [7] In formal Nigama ceremonies, a fire may be lit in honor of the god Agni, without an idol or image present. In contrast, in Agama ceremonies, an idol or icon or image of a deity is present. In both ceremonies, a lamp (Diya) or incense stick may be lit while a prayer is chanted or a hymn is sung.
The primary responsibility of members of the priesthood class is to conduct daily prayers at the local temple and officiate Hindu rituals and ceremonies.A pujari assumes that all visitors to their temple wish to bear witness to a darshana, an auspicious vision of the murti, the temple idol, that serves as a representation of a given deity within the sanctum sanctorum.