My mum retracts her legs and covers her feet when she watches the images of gods on TV. She prays when she sees the ‘Thivarthanam’ or oil lamp/light offering to the deities. She does so each morning as she listens and watches Astro’s Channel 201 that features devotional songs, prayers and rituals conducted in temples in Malaysia. The program is a repeat. Same time, all week. Same time, all week my mum steadfastly prays and is reverent.

I too pray when I see the images of gods. I say a quick prayer when I drive past temples along roads, highways and/or anywhere. I used to go to my Durga temple every Tuesday morning. There is a bond to the goddess and the temple, which is inexplicable but very comforting. Even after I moved to KL from PJ, the long hike and battle with traffic from the city centre to SS3, did not deter me. Sadly, the pandemic did. While the temple is now open to followers, my current responsibilities make it a little difficult to continue my visits to the temple.

To me praying is a personal connection/conversation with my gods. I say what’s in my heart. In a way that I want to. I don’t know mantras or hymns. What I do know is, at my happiest, it’s my gods that I say thanks to. At my saddest and most challenging, it’s my gods that I bare my soul to. For the daily, every day activities, I am grateful to my gods. I never had a structured religious education at home. With my parents, it was more show and tell, and observe and learn as you go. There were no formal classes, either. I think my siblings continue to pray to numerous deities. Some are more religious. I’m not sure if I’m more or less devout. I have faith but I also have questions and doubts.

As for rituals, I never quite knew what to make of them. I’ve always perceived rituals as the many grand sacraments associated with puja or prayers in the temple – the preparation/bathing of the gods, offerings, mantras, music and role of priests. They seem somewhat commercially-driven. Ironically, it didn’t dawn on me that I too have been performing rituals, albeit on a much smaller scale, when I pray to my gods at my altar, in my home and wherever I am.

‘It can be argued that what defines a Hindu is not the god that he or she worships but the rituals and lifestyle that he or she follows. There is often a great deal of overlapping and little distinction between religious and secular life, with prayers, initiations, ceremonies, festivals and rituals taking up a large chunk of a Hindu’s daily routine and life[1].”

Hmm…

“Puja (worship) of the gods consists of a range of ritual offerings and prayers typically performed either daily or on special days before an image of the deity, which may be in the form of a person or a symbol of the sacred presence.  Bathe, light oil lamp, incense stick and pray to all the gods present[2].

I do these daily.  

On top of that, every Monday and Friday morning, I light ‘sambrani’ and pray to my gods to take care of my husband and me, my mum, my family, friends and everybody, rooms in my home, the front door, balcony, my computer, fridge, cooker and pantry. I acknowledged how praying and rituals have been and are so intertwined in my personal life. Admittedly, I felt humbled.

“In its more developed forms, puja consists of a series of ritual stages beginning with personal purification and invocation of the god, followed by offerings of flowers, food, or other objects such as clothing, accompanied by fervent prayers[3].”

I do these at festivals like Pongal, Ganesha Pooja and Deepavali in my home. Not so much, the fervent prayers.

My readings reiterated that prayers and offerings to images is not idol worship but a recognition that God is in everything. I learnt that offerings become sacred through contact with gods’ images/altar/temple. They are then received/used/eaten as the grace/’prasada’ of the divine.

Religious scholar A.L. Basham wrote, “The most important religious acts of the Hindu are performed within the home. The life of the individual is hedged with sacraments/rites/rituals of all kinds, which accompany him from cradle to grave, and from conception to long after death; for rites are performed while an unborn child is still in the womb to safeguard its safety; and an ancestor is cared for in the after-life by special ceremonies performed by his descendants.” True.

I wondered if I’m one part the gods I pray to and the rites/rituals I follow. And the others, the people I love and care for, principles I abide by, experiences gained and lessons learnt from work, family and friends. Hmm…