Videos of the Hinduism Festivals - Research Paper Example

? 17 July Video I Video Summary This video covers Hinduism. Diwali is the Festival of Lights. The homes are illuminated to guide the goddess Laxmi to them. The family wears new clothes and gets together in the prayer room where they first pray to Lord Ganesha to get free of all obstacles and then to Goddess Laxmi to get materialistic as well as spiritual prosperity. Gods in the Hinduism are like a board of members. Any one can be called for help any time depending upon the need of the hour. The coins are washed in milk and marked with vermilion dots, as they are the insignia of the Goddess Laxmi who is the goddess of abundance. The prayers are confirmed by marking Tikka, i.e., a red mark of vermilion on the foreheads. The goal of the narrator as a Hindu is to illuminate ignorance and become more spiritual. Discussion Questions 1. What cuisines are traditionally prepared at Diwali? 2. Why is Diwali celebrated at the end of year? 3. How many days does Dilwali continue for? 4. Is celebration of Diwali a means of spiritual revival for the Hindus? 5. How different is the celebration of Diwali between India and elsewhere? Strengths and Weaknesses a. I think that the video presented the topic well as whatever the narrator says, the video displays images with that. For example, when the narrator says that everybody gets into the prayer room, the video shows everybody assembling in it. Likewise, the coins are shown being washed in milk and being applied vermilion upon as the narrator explains what is happening. In addition to that, the accent and dialect of the narrator is such that each and every word is understandable. Secondly, the audience gets the complete concept of the Festival of Diwali as well as the underlying beliefs of the Hindus related to this event in a video of just 2 minutes and 4 seconds. Not only this, the video explains that the concept of gods in Hinduism is like a board of members, so that the audience does not get confused when the video shows the family first worshipping Lord Ganesha and then the Goddess Laxmi. b. It is a good video to show to those who do not know what is Diwali because it explains the concept of Diwali, shows a family praying upon and celebrating Diwali, discusses the significance of different gods and goddesses in Hinduism, and explains the reason Hindus illuminate their homes at this Festival. c. I had to do some further research to understand Diwali as this video did not discuss everything related to Diwali. One weakness of the video is that it only projects the perspective of the narrator. It would have been better if different family members were invited to express what meanings they associate with the event, though considering the time constraints, it seems justified. d. This video is useful for students and people belonging to all categories as all people in the video are dressed modestly, and there is no offence whatsoever. e. This video shows how Hindus get united at the Festival of Diwali and pray and celebrate it together. This spreads the message of tolerance, unity, and mutual harmony and understanding. Video II Video Summary This video covers Buddhism. The video shows paintings of the 500 disciples of Buddha in the North East India from the V century. In Sanskrit, they are called as Arhats. These disciples were intercessors and messengers of Buddhism. The idea was that they were enlightened while living among common people. These 100 paintings were compiled between 1854 and 1863. The paintings were intended to project Buddhist catechism. The essence of Buddhism is that materialistic world is deceptive and everything is in transition. The paintings depict the everyday lifestyle of the Buddhist disciples, their comfortable interaction with people as well as animals, and present a holistic picture of their culture. The paintings show everything from murder, wars, suicides, and fire breakouts to daily activities of the Arhats in a peaceful environment. Discussion Questions 1. What was the socioeconomic system of the Arhats? 2. Where are the descendants of the Arhats? 3. What mythical animals did the Arhats believe in and why? 4. What did the shower of water oozing from the head of the Arhat in the painting signify? 5. Do the paintings sufficiently reflect the Buddhist catechism? Strengths and Weaknesses a. The video presented the topic well. Although not all paintings could be clearly seen, yet the audience gets a holistic understanding of the culture and activities of the 500 disciples of the Buddha. The dialect of the narrator and the sound is such that every single word can be easily comprehended. There are no background noises that interrupt the speech. Another strength of the video is that it sufficiently describes the culture of the 500 disciples of the Buddha. From the way they lived, to the clothes they wore, the way they interacted with one another, their activities and fantasies, their way of observing their religion, and their interaction with nature and its elements, everything is portrayed in the paintings that are not only shown in the video, but also explained as the images go by. b. It is a good video to show to those who are new to the topic because it not only discusses the elements and individualistic features of paintings, but also describes the whole concept, the historic era of Buddhism, and the meanings of the different elements of the paintings. c. I had to do a little bit more research to understand the topic as I could not see all paintings in the video. I searched for the images of the 100 paintings to have a thorough look at each and every painting. One weakness of the video is that it shows the narrator speaking for a considerable part of it. Since the topic of discussion was the 100 paintings, it would have been better if the video showed as many paintings as possible rather than few. The narrator could speak as the images were reflected one after another. d. This video is useful for the students of high school and college, as well as adults as an introductory video to the culture and lifestyle of the 500 disciples, and the Buddhist catechism. e. This story helps teach tolerance and understanding by showing how the disciples practiced their religion while living amongst others that did not. The video tells that the disciples served as messengers of the Buddha. They tried to inculcate this understanding in people that it is possible to practice Buddhism as the disciples were just normal people like the rest. Read More