Even before a baby is born, Hindus perform rituals and recite prayers to protect the fetus from illness or harmful spirits. The mother eats only healthy foods to ensure the newborn's well-being.
In some families, the father performs a ceremony immediately after the birth. He dips a gold pen into a jar of honey and writes the sacred Sanskrit symbol, Om, onto the infant's tongue. The symbol, which stands for truth, is written in hope that the child will be honest and speak only the truth, which is sweet as honey. The symbol looks like this:
After a little more than a week, the baby's name is formally given. Usually the name of a favorite god or goddess is chosen and whispered into the child's ear.
Within the first few years of her life, a Hindu girl has an ear-piercing ceremony. Both boys and girls have their hair cut, symbolic of renewal and the shedding of wrongdoing in past lives.
The Ceremony of the Sacred Thread is an ancient rite of passage into adolescence reserved for male members of the three upper castes, the Brahmins, Shatriyas, and Vaishyas. Like the Jewish bar mitzvah, it represents a rebirth or initiation into the religious community.
Traditionally, this rite of passage served to introduce the devotee into religious life. In the presence of a guru, or holy teacher, the young man shaves his head and dons a saffron robe. Taking up a simple walking stick, he renounces all material possessions and then receives the sacred thread. The unadorned Thread is symbolic of the interconnectedness of all things. It consists of seven strands, each of which represents a different virtue or quality. They are as follows:
1. Power of speech
2. Memory
3. Intelligence
4. Forgiveness
5. Steadfastness
6. Prosperity
7. Good reputation
The boy promises to embody these qualities, and for the rest of his life he wears the sacred thread as a symbol of his coming-of-age.
The ceremony concludes with a fire sacrifice, the most common form of ritual in Hinduism. In early times, the initiate would follow his teacher into a faraway dwelling to study scriptures and to lead a life of spiritual practice and austerity. Afterwards, he would reenter society, marry, and raise a family. Nowadays, only young men seeking to become priests or ascetics live with a guru.
Most Hindu marriages are arranged by the parents, although the children must also be happy with their chosen partner. Hindus almost always marry within the same caste, although in modern times there are increasing exceptions.
A wedding is one of the most colorful and important ceremonies in all of Hinduism. Although customs vary greatly in different regions, marriages are always joyous, momentous occasions, rich with decorations and food. In fact, some Hindu weddings last as long as three days!
The ceremony centers around a sacred fire, a manifestation of the god, Agni. Family and friends surround the couple as a priest chants Sanskrit verses. Next, he leads the bride and groom around the flames which burn in a brick firepit. Bells are sounded, and many offerings are made to the fire, including clarified butter, grains, and flowers. Each time the couple completes their circuit, the bride stands on one of the bricks. This act affirms her strength and loyalty.
Finally, the bride and groom take seven steps around the flames. These steps are the most significant action in a Hindu wedding. Now the couple is bonded for life, their union sanctified.
Since ancient times, cremation, or the burning of corpses, has been a Hindu custom. Like the marriage ceremony, the rite of passage into death centers around the sacred fire.
The funeral begins when the body is wrapped in cloth and carried away on a stretcher. As family and friends leave their village for the cremation grounds, they recite prayers to the chosen deity of the deceased. Traditionally, the eldest son lights the wood of the funeral pyre with a flame lit in a nearby temple. Prayers and offerings are made in the belief that the deceased is going through a process of rebirth, cleansed by the fire into new life. The ritual also protects the relatives from evil spirits.
The ceremony concludes when the ashes are thrown into a river. Many Hindus want their remains to be left in the River Ganges, believing that its waters will help purify their souls.