Saraswati Puja 2021

 

Temple: Om Hindu Mondir. ROME – 16 February 2021

Despite the difficulties and restrictions, the Hindu community tries to move forward, with all possible precautions.

It is not easy, but this is also a sign of the dark times we are in.

Postponed, for now, the large crowded prayers (puja), a memory of the past, the believers meet in the temple with masks and in small numbers.

I have decided not to abandon them, because these photographs will remain as a testimony of this pandemic that has upset our society.

And celebrating it with Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, wisdom, and learning, seems like a nice way to me.

Because it's with knowledge, art and children that it's possible to think about a restart.

 

We will remember these images for a long time...

 From Wikipedia:

Saraswati is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, wisdom, and learning.
She is a part of the trinity (Tridevi) of Saraswati, Lakshmi, and Parvati. All the three forms help the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva to create, maintain, and regenerate the Universe, respectively. The earliest known mention of Saraswati as a goddess is in the Rigveda. She has remained significant as a goddess from the Vedic period through modern times of Hindu traditions.
Some Hindus celebrate the festival of Vasant Panchami (the fifth day of spring, and also known as Saraswati Puja and Saraswati Jayanti in so many parts of India) in her honor, and mark the day by helping young children learn how to write the letters of the alphabet on that day. The Goddess is also revered by believers of the Jain religion of west and central India, as well as some Buddhist sects.
The goddess Saraswati is often depicted as a beautiful woman dressed in pure white, often seated on a white lotus, which symbolizes light, knowledge, and truth. She not only embodies knowledge but also the experience of the highest reality. Her iconography is typically in white themes from dress to flowers to swan – the color symbolizing Sattwa Guna or purity, discrimination for true knowledge, insight, and wisdom. In Bihar and Jharkhand, Vasant Panchami is commonly known as Saraswati Puja.
On this day, Goddess Saraswati is worshipped in schools, colleges, educational institutes as well as in institutes associated with music and dance. Cultural programs are also organized in schools and institutes on this day. People especially students worship Goddess Saraswati also in pandals (a tent made up of colorful cloths, decorated with lights and other decorative items). In these states, on the occasion of Saraswati Puja, Goddess Saraswati is worshipped in the form of an idol, made up of soil. On Saraswati Puja, the idol is worshipped by people, and prasad is distributed among the devotees after puja. Prasad mainly consists of boondi (motichoor), pieces of carrot, peas, and Indian plum (ber). On the next day or any day depending on religious condition, the idol is immersed in a pond (known as Murti Visarjan or Pratima Visarjan) after performing a Havana (immolation), with full joy and fun, playing with abir and gulal. After Pratima Visarjan, members involved in the organization of puja ceremony eat khichdi together.

• Jhulan Purnima Puja 
• Durga, the Great Goddess