Influence of Religion on Rural life

The life of rural people and religious practices are so mixed that it is very difficult to separate Indian rural religion from social life. Generally speaking, all social activities have some religious bearing on the other. The major rural institutions, such as family, marriage, and case are related to religion. Religion dominates the life of villagers and it is respected in the thoughts and conduct of the rural people. It is very difficult to understand the motive of rural people unless their religious background is studied comprehensively.

Influence of Religion on Rural Life

In order to understand the influences of religion on Indian rural life, it is essential to analyze various aspects of rural religion, an attempt of which is being made below:

1. Rural Gods and Goddesses

So many Gods and Goddesses are worshipped by the people in rural India. Following are the most common Gods and Goddess worshipped by the folks.

A.God and Goddesses of Hindus

• Lord Shiva is the most important God worshipped by the people in rural India. Shiva is worshipped under different names. The most famous names used for Lord Shiva are Sankara and Bholebaba.
• Hanuman the legendary figure belonging to satyug is another important God worshiped by Hindus. This deity is worshipped with the belief that Hunuman is a key figure in preventing many kinds of disasters. Like Shiva, Hanuman is worshipped by people of all castes.
• Sun God is also worshipped by the rural people, villagers worship Sun God immediately after taking bath and the devotees offer water to the Sun God.

Besides the above three Gods, other, Gods worshipped in the villages are Rama, Krishna, Agni, Valmiki, Jagannath, etc.

Among the goddesses, Durga, Kali, Lakshmi, and Saraswati are the most important goddesses worshipped by the rural people. Kali is worshipped to get rid of diseases, Lakshmi is worshipped as the Goddess of wealth and prosperity while Durga keeps away disaster and evil spirits. Saraswati is the Goddess of knowledge, and Lord Ganesha is the premise deity in the sense that this deity is worshipped on all occasions before offering prayers or worshipping God and goddess.

B. Non-Hindu Gods and Goddesses

In addition to the above Gods and Goddesses worshiped by the Hindus, there are some deities that do not belong to the Hindu religion but are worshipped by rural people such deities are Shitala Maharani who is worshipped to get rid of smallpox and other epidemics. Bhuiyan Devi and Sati Maharani etc. besides these, many saints are worshipped which vary from region.

There are many Gods and Goddesses that are worshipped by the rural people and such deities are local, the place of worship of such deities is generally out of the village.

C.  Worship of Plants, Trees, and Animals

There is a practice among many villagers to worship trees, plants, and animals, as they are considered divine, the trees, which are offered water and worshipped are Banyan, Neem, and Pipal. Tulsi plant is worshipped nearly throughout rural India and it is held in high esteem of religious considerations.

The cow is worshipped by the Hindus as the sacred mother and its dung is used for purifying the place of worship. In many places, ox and snakes are also worshipped and later as the conclusion of Lord Shiva.

2. Practicability of Indian Religion:

Indian religion is thoroughly practical and Indian people are predominantly religious-minded. The rural people of India are far more deeply involved than urban people in the field of religious activities and worship. To quote Sir Har Court Butler, “The Indians are essentially religious as Europeans are also essentially secular; Religion is still the alpha and the omega of Indian life.” Indian people are concerned to be the only of their kind who seek salvation from this earthly world and their religion provides the ladder for climbing this difficult destination.

The world is considered transitory and an appearance. Reality is an escape from the world and forms the forms which make existence in the world necessary, this observation of Olper tries to discard Indian Religion as beyond the level of practicality and declares it to be escapist other writers like Oscar Lewis prefer Indian religion as most practical and realistic.

3. Belief in Ghosts and Witches: 

Superstitions and mystic aspects of Rural Religion. The rural people believe in Ghosts and witches. There exist different ways to please them as well as rid of them, whenever a man or woman meets an untimely death. It is considered that the soul of the dead is dissatisfied and roams in the village in some form or the other. The soul of a dead man becomes a ghost and the soul of a dead woman becomes a witch. In any case of mental abnormality or reflection by a man or woman in a village is not treated as a mental disease, but it is taken as the effect of either a ghost or a witch and it is treated in a most peculiar manner by a witch doctor called ojha, who is supposed to ward off the haunting ghost or which witch with the power of magic and mantras. The techniques of these Ojhas sometime are so cruel that the affected person has to bear extreme physical torture that may even lead to his death. These Ojhas give some metallic piece to either tie around the arm or wear around the neck to keep the willing spirit away.

4. Belief in Noble Souls: 

Rural people in India believe in good souls without any discrimination and it is considered that these souls help living being in various ways. Such souls are considered to be of dead saints, it is believed that after death if the soul of a saint haunts the village it would protect the village in all respects.

5. The factor of Auspicious and Inauspicious Faith in Dreams: 

Village people believe in so many superstitions concerning the performance of a particular work and journey etc. particular days and months are considered auspicious for doing or undertaking any ventures. Local pundits are contacted to suggest an auspicious day for a ritual and these pundits calculate after consulting patra, a document, and advice the interested parties about the sense; many things like travel on Monday and Saturday in the eastern direction are considered inauspicious. 

People in rural India believe in dreams and it is in some way related to good or bad. However, the interpretation of such dreams is not common everywhere. In general, whatever a person dreams after 4 am is considered to be something related to good or bad in the future. The belief in dreams is basically due to illiteracy and superstition among the villagers.

6. Belief in Omens: 

Rural people assign much importance to good and bad omens particularly when some ritual is to be performed. Bad omens are of various types, for instance, it is a bad omen for a man on the journey if he comes across a one-eyed man during his travel. If anyone sneezes when stepping out of the house, it is considered better to wait for some time. If a cat crosses the way of a person, it is a bad omen for him. Similarly if one looks into an empty pot success is believed. But when a washer man or a dead body or even a donkey meets, it is a good omen.

7. Religious Practices in Dietary Habits: 

In rural India, food is another aspect that is related to the notion of auspiciousness and in auspiciousness. It is considered necessary to take bath before taking a morning meal and different ingredients on different days it is considered good to take beta on Sunday and curd on Tuesday.

8. Superstition and Mystic belief in National phenomena: 

Villagers in India have their own peculiar way of interpreting national phenomena. For instance, Solar and lunar eclipses are treated as the catastrophes of Rahu and Ketu (the legendary figures). It is believed that a black snake (called Shesh Naga) holds the earth on its fangs and any earth tremor and earthquake is taken as the movements of one of the several fangs or undulation of the snake’s excessive rain or no rain is taken as the effect of the rain God India’s anger. The reasons behind these beliefs are some legendary tales as well as the ignorance of the villagers.

Apart from this, the villagers have their own assumptions, about the supernatural. Thus religion in rural India is remarkably full of superstitions and assumptions. It is not escapist but practical in its message as well as its approach to the creation, function, and end of a man’s life.