The White Hindu
Last week my little brother got married. It was such a wonderful event and I’m so happy for him. His new wife is everything I could want in a sister-in-law! We didn’t have to do anything for the wedding, just show up. It was so much fun to see both sides of our family for the weekend. It was very emotional too.
The wedding ceremony took place in a Catholic church as the bride and her family are Catholic. My brother, I think, is kind of indifferent to religion. He has an easy going manner and accepts whatever comes along. He doesn’t seem to need to label himself the way I do.
I did also have a chance to talk with one of his friends that we grew up with in our cult about that experience and how it was different between girls and boys. It was a really interesting discussion.
The only weird part in the ceremony was at the end when the priest asked us all to raise our right hands to give a blessing prayer to the couple. Fine and good except the other side of the church everyone raised their right hands with their arms stick straight. In other words it looked like a bunch of people doing the sieg heil salute. Super creepy!
But anyway… Right above the altar was a large crucifix, not surprisingly. And it was kind of gruesome. I took a picture:
But as I looked at it I started wondering about the person who created it.
Someone must have sculpted this. Taken time to add every smear of blood. I wondered if the people who make Jesus statues do it as an act of devotion the way the carver of a murti might. Some of our Gods (Kali comes to mind) can look gruesome too.
Is it an act of love towards God to make these images?
Or, as a friend I was talking to about this post suggested, is it just stamped out in a factory?
New to this blog? Check out these posts:
Why Am I Called “The White Hindu”?
New to Hinduism? Learn more here:
Hinduism 101: What Do Hindus Believe?
Your First Visit To A Hindu Temple
—-
Thank you to my wonderful Patreon supporters…
- Brian Hanechak
- Amit Agarwal
- Don Moir
(views expressed here are mine alone and do not reflect opinions of my supporters. Links within the text may be affiliate links, meaning that if you purchase something I get a small commission for recommending it. I only recommend things I truly believe in)
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In