Religious and profane typical rituals of India

Mundan Ceremony

One of these sacred ceremonies is known as Mundan Sanskar or the first haircut of the baby. The mundan ceremony is an important tradition in India and relatives and friends are invited to bless the child.

The child usually receives his/her first mundan in either the first year or the third year of age. The priest recited sacred hymns and chants and shaves a part of the head. The barber then shaves the entire head, sometimes leaving a clump of hair at the back of the head. Some of this hair is offered in the sacred rivers in holy cities like Haridwar and Varanasi.

According to the Hindu beliefs, the hair present at birth is supposed to represent unwanted traits from the past lives. In order to make sure that the child has no undesirable qualities of the past birth in this life, the head is shaved off to ensure a new beginning and a fresh start. Some also believe that this gives the child a long life.

Holy Bathing

Indians are very religious and God fearing people. While there are varied religious activities which Indians observe, perhaps the one considered most sacred is bathing in the waters of holy rivers.

There are many sacred rivers in India, like the Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati, and so on. But the one considered the holiest is the Ganga, personified as a Goddess in the Indian mythology. According to Hindu beliefs, a holy dip in the Ganges on certain festivals, by any person, will lead to the forgiveness of all his/her sins and also help in attaining salvation. Many others believe that taking a holy dip in the sacred waters of Ganga, anytime, will have the same effect.

Namkaran Ceremony

The first thing that comes to mind after the birth of a child is choosing an apt name for him/her. Naming a baby is considered to be sacred and therefore is an important Indian tradition.

The Namakaran Sanskar is usually held after the first 10 days of a baby's delivery. These 10 post-natal days are considered to be inauspicious as the mother and child are considered to be impure. After those 10 days, the house is cleaned and sanctified for the ceremony. The mother and child are bathed traditionally and are prepared for the ceremony. Relatives and close friends are invited to be a part of this sacred occasion and bless the child. Priests are called and an elaborate ritual takes place.

Indian Funeral Traditions

The time after the death or passing away of a person in India is given a lot of importance. As per the Hindu Holy Scripture like the Bhagwat Gita, it is believed that the soul of the person who has just passed away is on its way to the next level of existence at such a time. As such, it is with an intention to help the departed soul in a peaceful crossover to that next level of his /her existence, that Indians observe so many death rites and rituals.

The basic idea behind the Indians' following all these funeral traditions is to show reverence to the deceased person. Normally during this time, all the family members share each other’s sorrows and pray, so that the soul of the deceased person rests peacefully. Though it's basically during teravih that the death rites are strictly observed, but traditionally, the death rites in Hindu religion extend up to a year.

The 3rd, 5th, 7th or 9th day after the death of the person are also important, as all relatives gather to have a meal of the deceased's favorite foods. A small amount of the food is offered before his /her photo and later, it is ceremonially left at an abandoned place, along with a lit diya. However, there may be slight variations in the way people of different religious sect observe this death rite.

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