Shiva is considered to be the most powerful god in Hinduism. He is a yogi, which I like, who supposedly sees everything that happens in the world around him. He is often depicted in statues as meditating or dancing in celebration. In Hindu tradition it is said that he lives high up in the mountains as a sage, and he is both a destroyer and transformer of life. In many ways he reminds me of our Christian version of God.
So India has been very busy over the last week or so due to the flood of devotees traveling around the country dressed completely in orange. These men and women walk considerable distances along major roadways carrying large poles across their shoulders that have paper temples attached to the poles rising proudly up to the sky. And attached to each end of the pole is a metal bowl that contains (or will contain) water from the Ganges river. This water is collected by the devotees and carried to a different temple somewhere in India that is devoted to Shiva. That water, once delivered to the temple, will then be poured at the base of the statue of Shiva in honor of his immortality.
The interesting part is that many of these men and women will walk 200km or more to carry this water to deliver it to different temples (for those that measure life in miles that is 124 miles). That is a long way to walk for devotion to a god. In route to the temples, there are all these resting stations for those carrying their heavy loads where devotees can set their paper and pole temples down (note: the water can never touch the ground so they have to prop these monuments carefully up in the air). They rest their feet for a while, sleep or chat with others, and eat free food supplied by the local people in the area. It is all so interesting to me as a foreigner so Lance took a quick picture from our car so I could share it with you. Devotees making the trip for Shiva this week in India.
I have to admit....seeing all these people walking for their faith made me feel lazy indeed. I wondered how many people I knew in the US who would walk 124 miles or more for their devotion to a higher power. Interesting to think about isn't it. Trekking for your faith!
So India has been very busy over the last week or so due to the flood of devotees traveling around the country dressed completely in orange. These men and women walk considerable distances along major roadways carrying large poles across their shoulders that have paper temples attached to the poles rising proudly up to the sky. And attached to each end of the pole is a metal bowl that contains (or will contain) water from the Ganges river. This water is collected by the devotees and carried to a different temple somewhere in India that is devoted to Shiva. That water, once delivered to the temple, will then be poured at the base of the statue of Shiva in honor of his immortality.
The interesting part is that many of these men and women will walk 200km or more to carry this water to deliver it to different temples (for those that measure life in miles that is 124 miles). That is a long way to walk for devotion to a god. In route to the temples, there are all these resting stations for those carrying their heavy loads where devotees can set their paper and pole temples down (note: the water can never touch the ground so they have to prop these monuments carefully up in the air). They rest their feet for a while, sleep or chat with others, and eat free food supplied by the local people in the area. It is all so interesting to me as a foreigner so Lance took a quick picture from our car so I could share it with you. Devotees making the trip for Shiva this week in India.
I have to admit....seeing all these people walking for their faith made me feel lazy indeed. I wondered how many people I knew in the US who would walk 124 miles or more for their devotion to a higher power. Interesting to think about isn't it. Trekking for your faith!
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