HINDU MANNERS, CUSTOMS AND CEREMONIES
Introduction
India is basically a country of religion. Here every aspect of life is governed by religion. As Indians have been living on the mercy of the nature, the elements of the nature have become part of the religion in this country. Farmers, who from sixty percent of Indian population, are basically religious and conservative in outlook. Apart from it, there is death of education in Indian village society and it makes people more religious. As Gillin and Gillin have said, “the social field of religion may be regarded as including those emotionalized beliefs prevalent in a social group concurring the supernatural plus crest and behaviours, material objects and symbols associated with such beliefs prevalent in a social group concurring the super natural plus crest and behaviours, material objects and symbols associated with such beliefs”. All the writer and sociologists, who have defined religion, have agreed in the common faith in the existence of some superior power in the core of the religion.
Almost all aspects of life are influenced by religion, which is an important part of the culture and civilization. In India, the forms of religion at the national and local levels are different. At the national level there is Hinduism derived from the philosophical system of India, which is called dharma. At the local or village level, the form of religion is different, which includes various elements of small tradition. Thus the national form of religion is based on classical customs and traditions, while the local forms are dominated by the elements from small tradition.
Indian religion contains a worldly outlook and regulations and influence of the world form a part of the religion. As such religion contains views about magic, sorcery, taboos, spiritualism, concept of dead, ancestors, mythological stories and so on. Hindu religion of dharma is based on the theory of rebirth, and the various worlds or lives. It is also based on the theory of karma and various results thereof. The sin is the root cause of pain, while good deeds lead to progress. These beliefs are more found in the rural society. All aspects of life in rural society are governed by the religion and religion provides answer to all superstitions. Rural religion is very strong with a worldly outlook and it covers various aspects of the life. Numerous fasts and prayers are much more in practice among the villages than the urban population.
Various methods of worship-prayers, sacrifice and rituals-are the practical aspects of religion, more practiced in the villages. God is treated either as having a form (sakar) and without a form (nirakar). Prayers are performed to placate gods and goddess at various places of worship, like temples or in family temples, as a duty in the practice of religion. Sacrifices, as a religious practice, includes giving away of alms (grains, clothes, cash, etc.). Animals are also sacrificed in order to placate god and goddesses. Rituals, as religious activities, are performed in order to maintain religious and social purity.
The earnest desire of ever human being is to be spared of problems in the life. He will like to be ever immersed in happiness. The acquisition of spiritual knowledge is necessary for attaining the eternal bliss. It will enable to him to gain wealth, wisdom, and also to safeguard them. He seeks relief in fasts, prayers, worship, traditional Hindu Dharma customs and ceremonies. Man is a sociocultural being and society is both natural and necessary for man. As such all religious activities are subject to social control. Society is a harmonious organization of human relationships and the individuals in a socio-religious group have to live up to the prescribed norms of conduct and the society has to exercise a certain control over its members called social control.
In social control of an individual, the factors notable are the influence exerted through public opinion, coercion, social suggestion, religion, appeal, tolerance or any other method. Influence may be exercised by the society, the family, the church, the state, the club, the school, the trade union, the sermons and preaching in religious congregations (sateye sang).
Social control differs from self-control in as much as the latter is from within, while the former is from outside. When an individual controls himself-his impulses-not because of certain coercion exercised by some other individual or group, but because of his own will and self realization, he is said to have practised self control. It is the individual’s own attempt to guide his own behaviour in accordance to some previously developed ideal, goal or purpose. Self control, out of one’s own realization, is real and permanent. Man, from birth to death, is undergoing the process of socialization and his behaviour is being controlled in numerous ways. The essence of all religions, the goal of all scriptures and the objective of all aspirations is to remain wedded to virtue adhering to the moral law. The customs regulate the birth and death ceremonies. Diet, dress, manner of speech, marriage, education and a host of other matters are controlled by customs. These customs and procedures become a part of man’s life and man gets adjusted to the society. There are various agencies of social control, which exercise regulatory influence over the behaviour of the individual. The formal means of social control are law, education and coercion, which are meant for the society as a whole, but for the individual, with whom we are concerned, informal control can be exercised thus:
BELIEF: Belief is a conviction that a particular thing is true. It is the belief in the existence of an unseen power; the belief in Nemesis, the Goddess of Vengeance; the belief in the existence of hell and heaven and the belief in the immortality of soul.
The belief in the existence of an unseen power leads a man to right action (Karma) because he believes that his actions are being watched by an unseen power. The belief in reincarnation keeps the man away from wrongful acts because he believes that in order to have a good birth in next life, he must do good acts in this life. The belief in Nemesis also regulates man’s behaviour because he believes that he will be punished for his sins, here and now. The fourth belief in the existence of hell and heaven influences a man to virtuous acts and avoid sins in order to go to heaven or avoid going to hell after death. Heaven is a place full of luxuries, fairies and romance. Hell is a place of terror, miseries and torture. The last belief in the immortality of the soul leads a man to avoid such actions as will cause pain to the souls of the deceased ancestors. Beliefs are powerful influences on human actions. They are vital for human relations. Beliefs may be true or false. They may be founded on factual or faulty evidence, but the question of their validity does not necessarily determine their effectiveness as social/ self controls. We act with as much determination from false beliefs as from factually sound ones. Social suggestions (life examples of great men) or ideologies (Fascism, Leninism, etc.) are social control methods for the society as a group, but for the individual, some other means are:
FOLKWAYS: Folkways are the recognized modes of behaviour which arise automatically within a group. They are the behaviour patterns of everyday life, which arise spontaneously and unconsciously in a group. They are, in fact, the habits of the individual, which become common to a group. They are the foundation of the group culture, socially approved with some degree of traditional sanction. The Brahmins shall not take meat or the Jains shall not take curd, are some of the habits, unconsciously followed.
MORES: Mores are like folkways, with a philosophy of social welfare attached. They have moral sanctions and are thought to be good for social benefit. They relate to the fundamental needs of society more directly than do the folkways. Mores are always moulding human behaviour. They restrain an individual from doing acts contrary to social welfare, In society, there are innumerable mores viz., monogamy, prohibition, endogamy, antislavery, anti-sati, etc. Mores control man’s behaviour in society to a very large extent.
Customs: customs are the long established habits and usage of the people. They are those folkways and mores that have persisted for a very long time and have been passed down from one generation to another. They arise spontaneously and gradually. There is no constituted authority to declare them or to safeguard them. They are accepted by society. They are socially accredited ways of acting. They are socially prescribed modes of behaviour. Their violation brings social disapproval. They are followed because they have been followed in the past. The customs are so powerful that no one can escape their range. They bind men together and regulate social life to a great extent. They are held so sacred that any violation is regarded not only a social crime, but also a sacrilege. In primitive societies, customs were powerful means of social self control but in modern times, their force has decreased.
CEREMONIES: Religion exercises a powerful influence upon man’s behaviour in society. Religion is an attitude towards superhuman powers. It is a belief in powers superior to man. It expresses itself in several forms like superstition, animism, totemism, magic, ritualism and fetishism. In every religion beliefs and practices differ, but still religion pervades practically in all societies. Hindu religion assigns great importance to Ceremonies, for example, at the time of birth, marriage and death. Mantras are recited, even without understanding their meaning. Religion makes people benevolent, charitable, forbearing and truthful. All religious ceremonies are observed with a view to make people content with their lot, obedient to their elders and remain wedded to virtue adhering to the moral law.
ART & LITERATURE : Art and literature influence the imagination and exert control on human behaviour. The great epics Ramayana and Mahabharata are of great social value, and give us information about customs and ceremonies, as they existed in the epic period.
PUBLIC OPINION : Public opinion has a great influence as a means of social control, particularly in village society; where people are known to each other personally. One cannot dare neglect a custom or a ceremony, because of the fear of a social boycott. Ceremonies performed after death of a Hindu, howsoever disliked, are still performed, so that public recognition (opinion) is not degraded.
The greatest contribution of the Hindu philosophy to human thought is its conception of Dharma, which governs Hinduism, the system of living, in its social, religious and all other aspects of life. It appears to be synonymous with the western concept of religion, which embraces every kind of supernatural belief, but Hindu Dharma is a law of nature, which enables man to attain supreme bliss of life. It is the living experience and leads man to ultimate reality. It is not supernatural belief but a way of rational thinking. It consciously aims at achieving the highest perfection of human life through Moksha (salvation, liberation). Dharma, according to Mahabharata, is created for the well being of all creations. All that is free from being harmful to any created being is ‘Dharma’. It protects all, preserves all and it is that principle that is capable of preserving the whole universe, being the right order.
According to Dr. R.K. Mukherjee, “Dharma like Brahma, in Indian thought, is a notion of many sided import. Metaphysically speaking Dharma is Rita or the cosmic binding order, the eternal truth holding its sway over universe, in the words of Kautilya’s Arthashastra. Dharma practice is the law of altruism, complete, balanced and practical, as embodied in the eight fold path and based on the laws of unity, continuity, metapsychosis and transience” .
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