00:00 We are exploring the rich spectrum of beliefs that shape our cultural landscape.
00:06 From ancient practices to contemporary expressions of faith,
00:10 delve into the vibrant tapestry of rituals, customs and spiritual narratives flourishing in Singapore.
00:18 In this episode, I'm going to be learning about a faith that all of us would have heard of - Hinduism.
00:29 [Music]
00:35 To be honest, I know next to nothing about the Hindu faith.
00:39 Luckily, a volunteer at Sirisivan Temple has kindly offered to give me a quick tour of the place.
00:46 Any temple, the main deity is in the centre and is easily symbolised by the golden structure.
00:55 We call it the flag tree or Kodimaram in Tamil, or we call it flag tree.
01:00 And the animal of transport is the favourite animal in front.
01:04 So the bull is, we call it Nandi, is in this temple.
01:08 Lord Shiva is a family man.
01:10 Most of the Lord Shiva temple, you will see him, his wife and his two children.
01:16 So his wife is Lord Parvati or here we call it Sri Visalachi.
01:21 And then Lord Muruga is a smaller deity you can see just in front to the left.
01:27 And we always go in a clockwise manner of prayers.
01:31 So the start point is of course to Lord Ganesha.
01:35 Then we will go to the main deity.
01:38 Then if you want, you can also pray to the goddess on the extreme right of me.
01:45 As I learn more about the Hindu faith, I am quickly realising that we are barely scratching the surface of what this faith is about.
01:53 Lord Shiva, whom this temple is built to honour, is often thought of as the destroyer.
01:59 However, he is more accurately the transformer, responsible for the dissolution and transformation of the universe.
02:08 He symbolises creation, preservation and destruction.
02:14 We believe that in any form of life, there must be an end.
02:17 Somebody must do the unpopular job of destruction.
02:21 So he takes up that job.
02:24 As much as Lord Shiva is thought of as the god of destruction,
02:28 but he is also the god of dance.
02:31 There is an aspect of him that is the deity of performance of dance.
02:37 There are 108 different dance poses and they are all depicted around the temple.
02:44 It is really beautiful.
02:46 So we have had a look around this beautiful temple compound.
02:55 Now we have the privilege to speak to the chief priest of Sri Sivan Temple.
03:00 Chief priest, thank you very much for speaking with us.
03:03 So could I ask you to please explain to us what Hinduism is?
03:08 Hinduism is a big one.
03:11 In this world, Hinduism is spread all over.
03:19 In order to teach the teachings of our ancestors,
03:23 they have made every deity a pioneer and are teaching them.
03:29 Is every Hindu temple primarily devoted to one deity?
03:34 Because I noticed that here it is primarily devoted to Lord Shiva, right?
03:38 Every god has his own temple.
03:43 For Vinayaka, there is the Vinayaka temple.
03:45 For Ganapati, there is the Ganapati temple.
03:47 For Murugan, there is the Murugan temple.
03:49 We noticed that there is a lot of powders and colours that are used by Hindus.
03:54 And I noticed also for yourself, you have some whites across your forehead as well.
03:59 Could you tell us a bit about that?
04:01 In Hinduism, there are three types of powder.
04:04 We have 16 types of powder in our body and we use them to do the rituals.
04:11 Similarly, in the Vainava tradition, the same three types of powder are used.
04:17 This is called Namam.
04:19 We use the Tirunamal and do the rituals.
04:23 Thank you so much, Chief Priest. Thank you for your time.
04:25 Thank you. Thank you.
04:27 I've been invited to observe Homaam, which is a ritual of making offerings into a consecrated fire.
04:35 Are these also spices?
04:37 Spices. Special spices for special gods.
04:39 At the end of the ceremony, divine energy will be invoked into a pot of water,
04:45 which will be used later in a rite called Abhishekam.
04:49 Into the pot of water.
04:50 The holy water.
04:51 I see. And that becomes the holy water used later on.
04:54 Yes.
04:55 [Music]
05:02 [Music]
05:06 [Music]
05:10 [Music]
05:37 Abhishekam is a ritualistic bathing of the gods, with substances considered to be sacred.
05:43 The deities receive many forms of offerings, which include honey, milk, sandalwood, and holy ash.
05:52 Lord Shiva is represented here as a lingam, an abstract concept to signify his formless aspect.
06:01 I may not be able to see him, but devotees here can definitely feel him.
06:07 [Music]
06:11 Towards the end of the ceremony, the deities are dressed and presented once again to worshippers.
06:18 [Music]
06:21 [Music]
06:28 [Music]
06:31 So, Shiva Ratri is an observance for Lord Shiva that happens every month.
06:36 But in the month of Marsi, there is the Maha Shiva Ratri, the most auspicious of all the Shiva Ratris,
06:44 where they celebrate Lord Shiva.
06:46 And you can see all the devotees here.
06:48 There are lines of them going as far as the eye can see.
06:53 There's going to be apparently 20,000 people here at the temple and around it tonight.
07:00 Lots of activities, performances. It's going to be really festive, and I'm really looking forward to it.
07:06 Let's go take a look.
07:07 [Music]
07:10 This is the temple's biggest event of the year, and I am excited to be immersed in all that tonight has to offer.
07:22 But first, I'm going to have a meeting with the chairman of Sirisivan Temple.
07:27 What does it take to prepare for this particular day, this most holy day out of all the Shiva Ratris?
07:34 It is a mammoth effort because Maha Shiva Ratri is the biggest day in the entire year for Lord Shiva.
07:41 It is a night and day celebration in honour of him, and the preparation takes at least no less than two months.
07:48 You'll also be carrying a sanctified milk pot. Can you tell us more about that?
07:54 Lord Shiva actually loves bathing in liquids and so on, so milk is one of his favourites.
07:59 So you will realise that today we are expecting no less than 2,300 to 2,500 people offering milk offerings today.
08:06 And he will be bathing the whole night, from 7pm all the way to the next morning.
08:11 Back at the tent, the milk pots are blessed before the first devotees make their offerings.
08:18 So what you're seeing behind me are the first group of devotees who are being allowed into the temple.
08:25 They've been waiting for hours in the tents where I'm pointing.
08:28 There was a huge, huge rainstorm this afternoon, but they've been here, they've been waiting, and they're really excited to go in.
08:34 I'm really excited to see the ceremonies and all the activities tonight too.
08:39 [Music]
08:41 Milk, in Hinduism, is sacred. It is a symbol of purity, and therefore the best offering that Hindus can give to Lord Shiva.
08:59 So many of the devotees actually carry milk with them, which they're going to pour into that container.
09:05 It then transfers that into another vessel that the priests take to bathe the deities.
09:11 And there's a lot of milk that's being poured.
09:13 I am overwhelmed by the festivities. The sounds, smells, colours, it's indescribable.
09:26 Even the 12 Jyoti Lingams, the most sacred Shiva Lingams from across India, are represented here.
09:34 Normally, if we wanted to see all of these, how far would we need to travel in India?
09:39 Thousands of kilometres. You see, these 12 Jyoti Lingams are all over in India, north, south, east, west.
09:46 But now, the devotees get to see all 12 Jyoti Lingams in one place.
09:52 As the night stretches on, devotees continue to stream into the temple with offerings to Shiva.
10:01 And remember, they've got to feed about 20,000 people tonight, and everybody who comes gets to eat.
10:13 So, there's this performance, they're doing this chanting, this beautiful instrumental performance.
10:26 And behind them is the actual practice of devotion, where the milk is being poured over the deities.
10:34 It's really cool.
10:35 The Abhishekam will carry on throughout the night and into the next day.
10:40 Devotees here will keep vigil until 6 in the morning.
10:44 Following that, they commemorate the union of Shiva and his wife, Parvati.
10:50 But tonight, the great night of Shiva, all attention is focused on one deity, the creator, the preserver, and the god of dance.
11:02 So, it's been a real eye-opening experience for me.
11:10 Complete noob, not knowing anything about Hinduism.
11:13 And I've discovered so many wonderful things about it.
11:17 You can literally smell and taste their devotion to the gods.
11:22 The milk, the food, it's all there.
11:25 It's something you have to experience for yourself to understand.
11:28 And if you found this interesting, why not visit your local Hindu temple?
11:33 [Music]
11:45 [BLANK_AUDIO]
Comments