Religion in Nepal

Religion in Nepal

Religious structure of Nepal has a unique place in the world. All the sects co-exist with universal brotherhood. Hindu and Buddhist are visiting the same places of pilgrimages. This serves as fine examples of fellow feeling. Tolerance in religious is one of the most remarkable features of Nepal culture. Nepal never witnessed religious riots. Overwhelming majority of the population are Hindu and Buddhist, they are many religious that are followed by different ethnic groups. Most of these sects are in the form of animism. They believe in host of spirits or supernatural beings as they worshipped by their generations.

HINDUISM:
Thousands of gods and goddesses make up the Hindu pantheon. Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva are the three major Hindu gods who have their own characteristics and incarnations. Each god has his own steed which is often seen kneeling faithfully outside that god and goddess temples. Symbolic objects are carries by the multiple hands of each deity which empowers them to perform great feats. The followers of Hinduism are roughly divided into three groups i.e. Nepali speaking Hindu of hilly region, the Maithili, Bhojpuri and Awadhi speaking groups of the Terai and the Newars of Kathmandu valley. They differ in customary practices; however they have indisputable arrangement as regard to broader philosophical aspects of the religion. 

BUDDHISM:
Sakyamuni Buddha is the founder of Buddhism who lived and taught in this part of the world during the sixth century BC. The great stupas of Swayambhunath and Boudhanath are among the oldest and most beautiful worship sites in the Kathmandu Valley.
The spinning of prayer wheels, prostrating pilgrims, collective chants and burning butter lamps are some Buddhist practices often encountered by tourist. a slip of paper bearing a mantra is kept inside the wheels so that prayers are sent to the gods when the wheel is spun. Scenes from the Buddha’s life and Buddhist realms are depicted on thangka scroll paintings which are used during meditation and prayer ceremonies. Many Buddhist followers are seen performing these practices in Swayambhunath , Boudhanath, and at other Buddhist sites around the Valley.