When I told my husband that I believe I'm an Omnist, he asked me if I will start worshiping rats then? I laughed at his joke, thinking that there was no such religion that worshiped rats.
Well there is actually, worshipers of the Hindu goddess Karni Mata. She was born in 1444 and lived 151 years and it is believed that she could perform miracles. In the village of Deshnoke in India, there is a temple, Karni Mata Temple, where worshipers go and give gifts to the rats at the temple, believing they are the incarnation of the goddess and the tribes people of the clan, until they are reborn again as human anyway. So, people travel great distances to feed the rats or the goddess and their tribes people in the temple.
Hinduism is a complicated religion and one I haven't touched on. I don't know for certain the exact number, but it has many gods or goddesses that different regions and people worship and believe in. Some of the Hindu's I have spoken with tell me that it could be impossible for them to know all of the gods and goddesses personally but each Hindu holds one or a few sacred to them. I do hope that in my Omnism journey, I will learn more about the amazing Hindu religion.
As an Omnist, I can't say that I will be walking along the temple in Dashnoke, nor will I be feeding or dining with rats anytime soon. But I do not begrudge anyone that believes in the goddess Karni Mata, nor her incarnation. And I do believe that the faith in the goddess and the reincarnation of the tribe is real. It reminds me that we should respect all living things, because you never know if you shall be reincarnated as a rat in the next life.
Here's a great article of the Temple with National Geographic,
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/06/0628_040628_tvrats.html
Well there is actually, worshipers of the Hindu goddess Karni Mata. She was born in 1444 and lived 151 years and it is believed that she could perform miracles. In the village of Deshnoke in India, there is a temple, Karni Mata Temple, where worshipers go and give gifts to the rats at the temple, believing they are the incarnation of the goddess and the tribes people of the clan, until they are reborn again as human anyway. So, people travel great distances to feed the rats or the goddess and their tribes people in the temple.
Hinduism is a complicated religion and one I haven't touched on. I don't know for certain the exact number, but it has many gods or goddesses that different regions and people worship and believe in. Some of the Hindu's I have spoken with tell me that it could be impossible for them to know all of the gods and goddesses personally but each Hindu holds one or a few sacred to them. I do hope that in my Omnism journey, I will learn more about the amazing Hindu religion.
As an Omnist, I can't say that I will be walking along the temple in Dashnoke, nor will I be feeding or dining with rats anytime soon. But I do not begrudge anyone that believes in the goddess Karni Mata, nor her incarnation. And I do believe that the faith in the goddess and the reincarnation of the tribe is real. It reminds me that we should respect all living things, because you never know if you shall be reincarnated as a rat in the next life.
Here's a great article of the Temple with National Geographic,
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/06/0628_040628_tvrats.html
No comments:
Post a Comment