Tulsi Vivah and Pujas at Durga Temple, Fairfax Station VA
At first I was uncertain regarding which religious tradition to use on my paper because I was interested in exploring all of the traditions we have discussed in class. However, I decided to focus this project on Hinduism because I feel it has a lot of features that I can easily incorporate to my own religious beliefs. After locating a temple near my location, I visited it three times before actually going to the service just to get more familiar with the tradition. Then, I looked at their online calendar and decided to go on the day the Tulsi Vivah ceremony was taking place. It is important to highlight that I could not stay during the whole ceremony, and that I observed both part of the Tulsi Vivah and people doing private pujas and prayers.
The temple I chose for the project is The Durga Temple, located in Fairfax Station, VA and it is the first temple dedicated to goddess Durga in the U.S. In addition, deities such as Vishnu, Shiva, Parvati, Ganesh, Krishna, Lakshmi and some others are also housed at this temple. Besides being a place of worship, The Durga Temple holds a variety of educational and cultural activities that help people get a better understanding of Hinduism.
Moving forward into the ceremonies, the Tulsi Vivah and the pujas were held inside the temple. For the pujas people approached the different deities’ altars, where a priest guided the family through the ritual, offering of incense and coconut. For the Tulsi Vivah, an altar was placed in the center of the temple; it was decorated with red fabric, plants and flowers – it resembled a garden –. At the center, there was a portrait of Krishna and Devi – one of his wives –, a statue of Ganesh and a Tulsi plant, adorned with white cloth and flowers. Three priests were leading this ceremony; one chanted the mantras, another one assisted the main attendees – an engaged couple and their parents that prayed for good fortune on the future marriage – with the offerings, and the other one assisted the rest of the participants.
The participants were seating quietly on the floor – with the exception of seniors, who were seating on chairs –, facing the altar. There were approximately thirty people on the temple; around twenty of them were participating in the Tulsi Vivah, while the other ten were offering pujas and praying to the different deities on the temple. In addition, there were noticeably more female attendees and only two children. Most participants were wearing regular clothes, only about five people were wearing traditional Hindu outfits and they all seemed to be medium or upper working class.
The general atmosphere on the temple while performing this ceremony was respectful and joyful, as the ceremony progressed; one could feel more joy and happiness among the participants. During the Tulsi Vivah there was an extensive period of mantra chanting and pujas to Krishna and his wife. Also there was a puja to Ganesh and one of the participants told me that, even though that is not a part of the ceremony, they incorporated it because the main participants were devotees of that particular deity. In addition to that, one of the priests told the story – in Indian – of the origins of the ceremony, which commemorates the legend of Vrinda, and her marriage to Vishnu. The ceremony incorporated the use of bells, incense, food – especially bananas –, a red thread – that the priest used to make bracelets for the participants – and vermillion – which he used to paint a red dot on everyone’s forehead –. These two elements were used to represent the union between Vishnu and Vrinda, regarding the bracelet, men had to use it on their right hand while women had to use it on their left hand. The dot on the forehead was worn by both men and women
At first I decided to only observe the ceremonies; I sat down with a friend and took notes on what was happening and how people were behaving. However, my friend and I eventually became participants when one of the priests approached us to paint a dot on our foreheads and make a bracelet out of red yarn. When the priest approached us I felt happy, even though he knew we were not part of the community, he made us feel welcomed and part of the ceremony. It was an amazing moment that I will treasure in my memory.
Throughout my visit at the temple I felt at peace and welcomed, all of the participants were engaged in their own religious experience and nobody interfered with anyone’s personal experience. I was truly fascinated with the traditions this community displayed. Also, I was very surprised with the fact that, even when a main ceremony was taking place – the Tulsi Vivah –, some people still visited the temple only to pray to a particular deity.
I learned many things from visiting The Durga Temple; people that participated on the Tulsi Vivah ceremony have a strong connection with their religious tradition, and they believe that participating in this ceremony bring prosperity to their families, especially to those people who are getting married soon. In addition, the community of The Durga Temple has a great sense of sharing and contribution; The altar used for the Tulsi Vivah, as well as all the offerings were made and brought by different members of the community. Moreover, the community is extremely friendly and welcoming towards non-members; regardless of your religious beliefs, they are happy to have people visit the temple and take part in the different religious and cultural activities they offer.
The temple has two stories, the worship salon and a cultural hall; they both express the Hindu values and stories, they are both designed in a very simplistic way. On the cultural hall of the Temple, there are various posters that introduce the visitor to the Hindu religion and its deities. In addition, the Temple has its own library and they schedule cultural and religious activities such as Sanskrit and meditation classes, introduction to Hinduism and so on. Moreover, the worship salon is filled of altars for the different deities; some of the altars are decorated opulently while others are decorated in a simpler way. There are six altars that are bigger than the rest in the temple because the deities portrayed in those altars are worshipped more often (Krishna, Shiva and Parvati, Ganesh, Hanuman, Durga and Rama).
I believe that people are part of this community for many reasons. First, it allows people to reunite with others that share their traditions, both religious and cultural. Also, it gives the people a sense of belonging; it can be difficult to live in another country, and places like The Durga Temple allow people to still practice their beliefs in an environment where they feel confortable.
In addition, participating in the activities that The Durga Temple holds, aids in reinforcing the participant’s faith, and it provides children and teenagers with an environment where they can learn about their traditions even when they are far from their land. I strongly consider that being part of a religious community such as The Durga Temple has multiple positive outcomes, not only religiously but socially as well; it allows participants to share their experiences and support each other.
Written on November 27, 2012
randomwriter006 