Holy Time for Washington Hindus

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Faith - Holy time for area HindusStory of Rama sparks bright celebrationBy

Andrea Useem

Special to The Examiner

Published: Thursday, October 13, 2005 12:22 AM EDT

http://www.dcexaminer.com/articles/2005/10/12/features/faith/71faith13hindus.txt\

Priest Ramsneh Tripathi, seated at right, oversees offerings of milk and other

gifts to Shiva during the eighth day of Navaratri on Monday at the Rajdhani

Mandir in Chantilly. Navaratri, or "nine nights," is a celebration that kicks

off the Hindu religious season, which culminates with Diwali, "the festival of

lights" on Nov. 1. Brig Cabe/Examiner

October this year brings together not only the Jewish High Holidays and the

Muslim month of fasting but also a season of Hindu religious festivities,

starting at the beginning of this month with Navaratri, or "nine nights," and

stretching until Diwali, or the "festival of lights," on Nov. 1.

 

Hindus in the metro area - a population some 100,000-strong - will mark the

holidays with song, dance, worship and socializing, local religious leaders

said.

 

Just as Christmas and Easter mark events in the life of Jesus Christ, so this

month's Hindu holidays are woven around the dramatic 2,300-year-old story of

Rama, a divinely incarnated king who overcame obstacles to establish a reign of

peace in India.

 

According to the lunar calendar that Hindus follow, the holidays kicked off Oct.

2 with the beginning of Navaratri, which is associated with goddess worship,

dancing and fasting.

 

Fasts and fire

 

Ramsneh Tripathi, a priest at the Rajdhani Mandir, or temple, in Chantilly,

explained the connection between the holiday and Rama, whose wife was kidnapped

by the demon Ravana and spirited off to an island.

 

When Rama went to fight Ravana, Tripathi said, he fasted for nine days and

called upon the goddess Durga - who represents divine female energy - to help

him.

 

"Just as Rama fasted and prayed to Durga for wisdom during his battle, so we

should also fast and pray to ask for what we need," said Tripathi.

 

Many observant Hindus will stop eating garlic and onions during Navaratri.

Others will go further, avoiding wheat, rice and beans, and eating only fruit

and some vegetables during the holiday.

 

The nine nights of Navaratri culminate in Dussehra, or the "10th night," when

Rama slew the demon Ravana and rescued his kidnapped wife.

 

Ramesh Khanna, a retired volunteer at the Chantilly temple, said that in India,

Hindus mark Rama's victory by erecting 40-foot effigies of Ravana and his demon

family, which are then burned.

 

Because of fire codes in Virginia, volunteers at the Chantilly temple built a

modified form of the Ravana effigy - some 15 feet to 20 feet tall - that they

burned in Wednesday's Dussehra celebrations.

 

"Everyone claps and cheers," Khanna said. "We all remember that if you are evil,

this is what will happen to you."

 

But for Madhavi Jodhpurkar, a mother of two from South Riding, the burning of

evil Ravana has a more symbolic meaning.

 

"It's a story of good triumphing over evil," said Jodhpurkar, who grew up in

Manassas.

 

"God took a human form in Rama, and he represents all that is good in us.

Ravana, who we are burning, represents the mind, and how easily we are

distracted from divine truth."

 

Such different interpretations of a single holiday are common in Hinduism, in

part because the religion developed over thousands of years in a large and

diverse country.

 

"Each region of India celebrates holidays according to its own subculture," said

Ram Singh, a Northern Virginia research scientist who helped found the

Association of United Hindu and Jain Temples of Metropolitan Washington, DC,

which brings together 13 different temples and religious organizations.

 

"Hinduism has unity in diversity - we may celebrate differently from one

another, but all the gods and ideas are the same," he said.

 

But all these different holiday traditions will converge in early

 

November with Diwali, the biggest holiday of all. It marks the triumphant return

of Rama and his wife to mainland India, where they established a golden age of

civilization, said Sonia Chopra, a media volunteer at the International Society

for Krishna Consciousness, or Hare Krishna, temple in Potomac.

 

"Rama returned to India in the evening, so people welcomed him with lamps -

that's why Diwali is called the 'festival of light,' " said Chopra. "It is light

vanquishing the darkness."

 

While Diwali has a religious significance, it has also become a major social

event for the Hindu community.

 

Area Hindu organizations, under the umbrella of the Association of United Hindu

and Jain Temples, are planning to host a massive Diwali celebration at the Show

Place Arena in Upper Marlboro on Nov. 5. Chopra said up to 15,000 people are

expected, including many non-Hindus drawn by the food, music and shopping.

 

"Our lives are so hectic and busy," said Chopra, a Great Falls resident who

immigrated to the U.S. in 1985. "Diwali is a great time for us to get together

with our children and friends to share memories."

 

(Mis)understanding Hinduism

 

Though some 2 million to 3 million Hindus live in the United States, few

Americans know much about the religion - and what they do know is often wrong,

according to area Hindu leaders.

 

"People often describe Judaism, Christianity and Islam as the 'three great

monotheisms,' but many Hindus also believe in the oneness of God," said Anuttama

Dasa, director of communications for the International Society of Krishna

Consciousness and president of the

 

Hare Krishna temple in Potomac.

 

Hindus, however, believe that God may take on many different forms.

 

"Hinduism is very democratic. You can worship whatever you want. But there is

only one supreme power," said Ram Singh, who helped found the Association of

United Hindu and Jain Temples of Metropolitan Washington, DC.

 

Madhavi Jodhpurkar, whose parents emigrated from India to the U.S. when she was

a child, said it also bothers her when Hindu stories - such as that of Rama -

are described as "myths."

 

"All these stories are true for us, just as the story of Jesus is true for

Christians," said Jodhpurkar.

 

Suhag Shukla, legal counsel for the Hindu American Foundation, said that as she

grew up in the U.S., she was always proud of her religion - until she studied

the subject at her public school.

 

"I wanted to die of sheer embarrassment," recalled Shukla, who now lives in

Florida.

 

"The textbook took Hindu practices out of context and said that we worship

animals."

 

In fact, said Shukla, Hindus recognize the divinity of all beings, including

animals.

 

As Hindus grow more numerous in the U.S., they are becoming more organized, said

Shukla, and one goal is to change the way Hinduism is taught in public schools.

 

Andrea Useem

 

faith

 

Hindu holiday season

 

Oct. 2-11: Navaratri, or "nine nights," for fasting, dancing and goddess

worship.

 

Oct. 12: Dussehra, the "10th night," commemorates the triumph of good over evil

in the epic Hindu poem "The Ramayana." At area temples, effigies of an evil

demon are burned.

 

Nov. 1: Diwali, the "festival of lights," marks the return of the good King Rama

to India. A massive regional celebration of the holiday is scheduled for Nov. 5

in Upper Marlboro.