Hindu Traditions

             Coming from a Hindu household,  I find it very interesting to read the descriptions of the

ancient Vedic and Upanisad texts. Even though my family and I recite certain hymns from some of the

Hindu texts, I  do not quite understand the structure and meaning behind certain sections of the texts.

Also, I have not completely comprehended the purpose behind certain rituals or religious

practices.  In "The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism", Flood introduces the practice of the exchange

of money between man and a priest.  Ever since I can remember, I always knew that when done

praying, I was required to give money to the priest and in exchange he would provide prasad (gracious

gift, usually in the form of food).  While this practice continued on each of my temple visits, I never

quite grasped the meaning behind its significance. Flood describes the ritual as a " mutual exchange... in

the social relations between man and... his priest" (78). He discusses the relationship between man, god

and priest as a "circle", in which one group's offering is the other group's gift.

            Along with Hindu practices, I found the topic of atma in "The Character of the Self in Ancient

India" to be insightful.  While atma does not have a specific definition, it can be generalized as one's

inner spirit.  Atma is once described as unchanging, but the question that arises is if one's atma is

permanent do his/her dharmic actions have no cosmic affect on the inner self?