3 Ways to Worship Hindu Gods

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Hinduism’s pantheon of gods and goddesses is incredibly diverse and vast in number. There are gods, goddesses, demi-gods, benevolent spirits, nature spirits and many more kinds of celestial beings in the Hindu world-view. However, the main gods are Vishnu, and Shiva or Maheshwara, and one of the most significant goddesses is Durga Let’s take a look at the ways in which these gods and goddesses are worshipped.

Vishnu

Vishnu is said to maintain the universe. Vishnu is worshipped in many temples across India, most prominently at the Badrinath temple in the Himalayas, the Puri Jagannath in eastern India and the Tirupathi temple in southern India. Just as with Brahma, reading the Vishnu Puran, the scriptures associated with Vishnu, is considered a form of worship.

When required, Vishnu is said to descend to earth in human form to weed out evil. These forms are known as avatars. The avatars themselves are often worshipped in place of Vishnu. The most famous avatar is Krishna, whose words form the Bhagavad Gita, one of the Hindu holy scriptures. Krishna can be worshipped by listening to or chanting the Bhaja Govindam chant.

Durga

Durga is a representation of Shakti, the feminine aspect of the divine. She is one of many representations which include Parvati, Kali and Lakshmi. Durga is celebrated in the Devi Mahatmayam, an ancient scripture that list various hymns and practices to worship her. She is also worshiped in several temples, the main ones being mostly in Kolkata, which has traditionally been a stronghold of Durga worship.

The main festivals of worship of Durga include the Durga pooja during Navaratri, and the associated festival of Dussehra and Vijayadashami.

Shiva

Shiva is considered the destroyer of the universe. Shiva is worshipped during the two main festivals of India’s spiritual tradition – Mahashivratri and Guru Purnima. Though there are many way to worship Shiva, the most common ways are to chant Om Namah Shivaya, or to read the Shiv Puran.

Shiva is also known as Kalabhairava, a form which is said to end the cycle of life and death for human beings. Kalabhairava is usually worshipped by chanting the Kalabhairava ashtakam.

These three gods are seen as different forms of the one divine force, and are often shown united in Hindu philosophy, and addressed as “Brahma-Vishnu-Maheshwara.” Therefore, according to the Hindu way of life, worship of these three gods is considered to equal the worship of the supreme godhead.

Ananya Mathur