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Faith As We See It

"When I look back at my own childhood and my upbringing, my parents would always worship the gods and goddesses. They attached meaning to things they found in nature. My mother would wake up early in the morning and worship a basil plant we kept. It was considered very sacred. Sometimes I would see my mother worshiping a stone--just a simple stone picked up on the banks of the river would have so much meaning. Every being is the manifestation of the divine. It is really amazing that I believe that. "When you go to India, every building, every town, you will see a shrine, even a few stones placed at the side of the road will be an icon. As Hindus, we don't see difference between the divine and ourselves. My faith is that if you accept your stone or plant as a God, and into your heart, then it is the divine for you. If you don't have faith, then it is just a simple insignificant object." --Annapurna Pandey teaches anthropology at UCSC, as does her husband, Triloki. She also instructs in women's studies and has been a lecturer there since 1995. Continue the photo essay. [ Santa Cruz | MetroActive Central | Archives ]