Faces of India Part 4 – Prayers, Pujas and Piety

Prayers, Pujas and Piety-The Sanctity of All Life

This post will contain different faces of prayer, sacred ceremonies, piety and prayer in Indian life.  Everything, every event, every action is considered sacred and Divine by Indians.  Even a businessman, after receiving payment, will say a quick prayer of thanks over the bills he has been handed before placing them reverently and gratefully in the cash register.  Here are just several examples of small personal prayers or huge daily public pujas, but all reflecting the sanctity and joy felt by people for all the blessings so lovingly given to them each and every day by God.  I will post several photos full size here, but after the slideshow you will be able to view many more via the gallery.  Just click on a photo to enlarge it.

shiva decorated for festival

 

faces of piety at main ghat puja -varanassi

 

Puja for New Home

 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Puja at Main Ghat Haridwar

 

faces of piety-Aarti Puja at Shiva ghat, Rishikesh

 

making scared music

 

sacred music concert

 

Flowers Ready for Puja Offerings

family puja

faces of piety at main ghat puja -varanassi

faces of piety-Aarti Puja at Shiva ghat, Rishikesh

family puja

Flowers Ready for Puja Offerings

making scared music

Puja for New Home

Puja at Main Ghat Haridwar

sacred music concert

shiva decorated for festival

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mussoorie trip- November 6, 2009

Mussoorie trip- November 6, 2009

I am posting only a few pics here so Here is a link to the full album of pictures – in addition to the few here in the post – really worth looking at them:
http://picasaweb.google.com/ladyjane59/MussoorieAndBuddhistStupa?feat=directlink

When planning this trip I was told that Mussoorie was a 2 ½ hour drive, and so we decided to leave at 7 in the morning and figured we’d have breakfast in mussoorie No one bothered to tell me that 2 ½ hours was going directly on the main road, not taking the scenic mountain road.

Which is the way we decided to go, and although it was a full 4 ½ hour ride up winding, twisting, hair-pin curve roads, it was worth every minute of the journey. Despite the fact that my stomach protested vigorously several times and I thought I could not go another minute, the views were more than worth the price I paid. And the decision not to eat breakfast before leaving, paid off as well, because if I had eaten beforehand, I would have wound up like the lady we saw hanging wither head out a bus window, vomiting!!

It was a totally fabulous day for me, for reasons even beyond the actual trip to mussoorie, which would have been enough in itself. In addition, I had my first view of the