Religious Sculptures

Figurines are beautiful and religious sculptures even more so, as they are crafted with special care to exude a kind of divinity that you relate to the gods or goddesses. For instance, Buddha statues normally have him in the meditative position with calmness on his face that is unparalleled to any other. Buddha’s teachings have reached far corners of the world today. Many non-Buddhists also have his sculptures at homes or offices for the kind of emotions and peace they evoke in those who see it. These statues are used as decorative centre pieces or even to enhance the beauty of landscaped gardens. While, there is no doubt that this enlightened master has made a difference in millions of lives through his teachings, many stories about him are still unknown. Read on for two of his subtle teachings that can be implementing in our day to day lives.

The Master mostly walked barefoot, and in his long journeys passed many dwellings. Once he was passing through a village. A man approached him and offered some water to drink. Buddha sat under a tree nearby and as he drank the cool water in the summer heat, the village man saw that there were many thorn wounds on the Master’s feet. He asked why he is walking barefoot. The master kept silent with a smile on his face. He then asked Buddha, “Doesn’t it hurt? The wounds do give you pain when you walk, don’t they?” Buddha replied in affirmative, but added, “But even though they do hurt sometimes, I do not suffer. While the hurt is inevitable sometimes, the suffering is by choice.” Upon hearing these deep words the man realized that he was dealing with an enlightened being.

Another story that can be relevant in today’s world is that of Buddha and a hater. It goes something like this:
Buddha was once passing through a village and a man came in front of him and started abusing him. He claimed that the Master’s teachings were useless and that he should stop all this ideas he has about changing the world because he can’t. He told Buddha that he was not welcome and said many other cruel things. All throughout this episode the Master didn’t say anything but intently listened to every word with a serene smile on his face. This irritated the hater even more so, and after saying a lot more he finally stopped talking. Once he was silent Buddha simply asked him if he was finished and whether he could leave and be on his way. The man was taken by surprise. He was stunned and said, “Didn’t you feel bad about all that I said? How can you be so cool and want to just carry on without so much as a word in anger?” To this the Master replied, “In the last village I visited, many people from the village came to meet me with flowers, garlands and other offerings. I simply did not accept them, so they just had to take them back.” The man quickly realized what the Master meant and fell to his feet in remorse.

Religious sculptures like that of Buddha can be quite enriching, if you remember the various teachings when you lay eyes on them.

Religious Idols

These days there are many of us who have Indian friends and colleagues that we wish to gift something special to, but have no idea what will be appreciated. Knowing of their religious standing or practices is not enough to go out and buy a religious gift, at least for a Hindu. After all, there are more than a 100 million gods that are worshipped in the religion. You might be better off casually asking the recipient what his favorite religious idols are. Chances are you will come across names like Ganpati or Ganesh, Krishna, Saraswati, Shiva, Vishnu, Rama Sita, Natraj, Lakshami, Kali, Bal Gopal, and Balaji. An ideal gift would be to find a beautiful statue and present it on the special occasion. Most religious Hindus love being gifted gods’ idols and statues, to keep in their prayer room or at focus places within the house for decorative purposes.

All the gods and goddesses in Hinduism have legends and stories about them that have been passed down from generation to generation. In fact, if you search the internet, you can find quite a few interesting stories about each of the names mentioned above. One of the most common stories told is about Lord Vishnu and the mighty demon King Bali that made all the gods in heaven apprehensive of the universe’s future. The story goes something like this:

There was once a Demon King named Bali. The king was said to be a true devotee of Lord Vishnu and spent many hours a day in prayer. The Lord was once so pleased with his devotion that he had made him invincible in the battle field as a reward. The King had realized the boon he had been given and started taking undue advantage of this by defeating all gods in battle. All the gods in heaven worried about his growing strength and wondered how he could be distracted or controlled. At last Lord Vishnu came to the rescue, by disguising himself as a common human being in the form of a dwarf Vamana. King Bali was always known as a generous king and prided himself for being so. Hence, when the dwarf asked the mighty king for space which could be covered in three steps, he gladly agreed to oblige against the warning given by his Guru Sukracharya. Soon Vamana grew so large that in one foot he touched the entire Earth, another foot touched the heavens and then King Bali did not have a third foot to provide so he bowed his head to Vamana who then put his third foot on King Bali’s head. However, being worshipped by Mahabali and his ancestor Prahláda, he conceded to them the sovereignty of Patala (netherworld).

Such stories make the various Hindu religious idols all the more appealing. Plus, once you take a look around at the many varieties of statues available in the market, you will be tempted to pick up an idol or two for your own home.