Source: www.examiner.com
HONOLULU, HI, USA, November 20, 2009: (by Sohoni Das) Thanksgiving is a way to express one’s gratitude toward our families and friends. The Hindu religion expresses thanks to our families and friends in its unique ways.
Every festival in the Hindu religion contains rituals where youngsters express their thanks and gratitude to God, their parents and the elders in the family. In Hindu religion the gesture of touching one’s feet to seek blessings is a way to show one’s respect and gratitude. Youngsters touch elders’ feet seeking for blessings and in return the elders bless them for long life and success. Evidently the Hindus also share the equal amount of respect to anyone who is old aged.
The Gita states that in order to do good karma one should be humble and grateful to the Supreme Being. The Gita also goes on to say that also teachers should be shown respect and thankfulness for their contributions. A spiritual Guru is also considered next to God.
The Hindus also believe that the various rituals in the many Hindu festivals are ways to express thanks to the God for His blessings. During many festivals, the social custom of exchanging gifts and visiting acquaintances is also a way of “thanksgiving.”
The Hindu festivals are always filled with fun and excitement. Our religion has about 13 major festivals in a year and in each festival the Hindus say “Thanks” with enthusiasm. “Dhanyabad” in Hindi means thank you and it is the least one could say for all the love and blessings showered by God.