In this pilot episode, we take a deep dive into Hinduism. Our host Edward speaks with the chief priest of Sri Sivan Temple to understand more about the colourful and vibrant Hindu faith, and experiences Maha Sivarathri, The Great Night of Shiva for the first time.
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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]
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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]
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