South actress Nayantara converted to hinduism ?

Nayantara

Top southern actress Nayantara has converted from Christianity to Hinduism, say sources close to the Arya Samaj, even as she herself maintains a studied silence on the issue.

Nayantara, born and brought up as Diana Mariam Kurian, was a born Christian. She changed her name because of her foray into films.

She reportedly converted to Hinduism on Sunday morning at the Arya Samaj Temple in Chennai, the sources said, adding she has retained her name Nayantara. Some see it as a step towards her impending marriage to actor-director Prabhu Deva who divorced his earlier wife.

On Sunday morning, the actress reportedly headed straight to the Arya Samaj Temple on Waltax Road.
She went through all the religious processes as per the scriptures. All the procedures of 'Shuddhi Karma', a procedure involving Vedic purification, were meticulously followed, say the sources close to Arya Samaj.
They also added that a 'homam' or fire ritual was held where Nayantara chanted hymns and the Sankeerthan Mantra.

Incidentally, the members of Prabhu Deva's family are devotees of the Suttur Mutt in Mysore. His parents are devotees of Male Mahadeshwara Swamy.

Converting to Hindu Temple 

The sources said Nayantara left soon after the purification ceremony. A certificate of conversion to Hinduism was issued to her. The actress flew back to Kochi by an evening flight.

It is reported that her parents have expressed their opposition to Nayantara's desire to convert to Hinduism.
Her last film 'Ramayana', directed by veteran director Bapu, was completed only a few days ago.

Nayantara who plays Sita's role in the film became emotional on the last day of her shoot and even lay prostrate before all the elders in the unit, including the octogenarian director Bapu. she says her decision to convert to Hinduism is purely personal.

"Yes, I have become a Hindu and it's my own personal decision. I went through the entire ceremony with passion and conviction," she is believed to have told a friend.

ALL ABOUT THE '' HINDU TEMPLE ''

Introduction:
Unlike other organized religions, in Hinduism, it is not mandatory for a person to visit a temple. Since all Hindu home usually have a small shrine or ‘puja room’ for daily prayers, Hindus generally go to temples only on auspicious occasions or during religious festivals. Hindu temples also do not play a crucial role in marriages and funerals, but it is often the meeting place for religious discourses as well as ‘bhajans’ and ‘kirtans’ (devotional songs and chants).


History of Temples:
In the Vedic period there were no temples. The main object of worship was fire that stood for God. This holy fire was lit on a platform in the open air under the sky, and oblations were offered to the fire. It is not certain when exactly the Indo-Aryans first started building temples for worship. The scheme of building temples was perhaps a concomitant of the idea of idol worship.

Locations of Temples:
As the race progressed, temples became important because they served as a sacred meeting place for the community to congregate and revitalize their spiritual energies. Large temples were usually built at picturesque places, especially on river banks, on top of hills, and on the sea shore. Smaller temples or open-air shrines can crop up just about anywhere - by the roadside or even under the tree.
Holy places in India are famous for its temples. Indian towns - from Amarnath to Ayodha, Brindavan to Banaras, Kanchipuram to Kanya Kumari - are all known for their wonderful temples.

Temple Architecture:
The architecture of Hindu temples evolved over a period of more than 2,000 years and there is a great variety in this architecture. Hindu temples are of different shapes and sizes – rectangular, octagonal, semicircular – with different types of domes and gates. Temples in southern India have a different style than those in northern India. Although the architecture of Hindu temples is varied, they mainly have many things in common.

The 6 parts of a Hindu Temple:
1. The Dome and Steeple: The steeple of the dome is called ‘shikhara’ (summit) that represents the mythological ‘Meru’ or the highest mountain peak. The shape of the dome varies from region to region and the steeple is often in the form of the trident of Shiva.

2. The Inner Chamber: The inner chamber of the temple called ‘garbhagriha’ or ‘womb-chamber’ is where the image or idol of the deity (‘murti’) is placed. In most temples, the visitors cannot enter the garbhagriha, and only the temple priests are allowed inside.

3. The Temple Hall: Most large temples have a hall meant for the audience to sit. This is also called the ‘nata-mandira’ (hall for temple-dancing) where, in days of yore, women dancers or ‘devadasis’ used to perform dance rituals. Devotees use the hall to sit, meditate, pray, chant or watch the priests perform the rituals. The hall is usually decorated with paintings of gods and goddesses.

4. The Front Porch: This area of the temples usually has a big metallic bell that hangs from the ceiling. Devotees entering and leaving the porch ring this bell to declare their arrival and departure.

5. The Reservoir: If the temple is not in the vicinity of a natural water body, a reservoir of fresh water is built on the temple premises. The water is used for rituals as well as to keep the temple floor clean or even for a ritual bath before entering the holy abode.

6. The Walkway: Most temples have a walkway around the walls of the inner chamber for circum-ambulation by devotees around the deity as a mark of respect to the temples god or goddess.

Temple Priests:
As opposed to the all-renouncing ‘swamis’, temple priests, variously known as ‘pandas’, ‘pujaris’ or ‘purohits’, are salaried workers, hired by the temple authorities to perform daily rituals. Traditionally they come from the Brahmin or priestly caste, but there are many priests who are non-Brahmins. Then there are temples that are set up various sects and cults like the Shaivas, Vaishnavas and the Tantriks.

HOLY PLACES OF HINDUISM

For the Hindus, to visit the holy places is an act of great religious merit. Throughout India there are centres of pilgrimage, some of them very holy, others less so. Great emphasis is laid on visiting the holy places (yatra) once in a life-time for the attainment of salvation. Four of the holy places have been established by Adi Shankaracharya (a saint) and it signifies a farsightedness of vision towards national integration as they are situated at the four corners of India, making the devotees criss-cross the country.

Benares:- is the most sacred among the holy places. Also known as Varanasi and Kashi, it is the city of Shiva, having over two thousand temples and over half a million idols, most of them dedicated to Shiva and his family. It is situated on the banks of the holy river Ganga. 

The Official website of 

Shri Kashi Vishwanath: http://www.shrikashivishwanath.org/

Mathura:- on the banks of Jamuna, near Agra, is the birth place of Krishna. The atmosphere of Mathura is in direct contrast to that of Benares. Mathura represents the religion of the living, while Benaras emphasizes the permanence of death.
The Official website of the ancient and historic temple cities of Mathura;
 http://www.mathura-vrindavan.com/


Dwaraka:- in Gujarat is another important shrine. It was the capital of Krishna’s kingdom and has some very important temples devoted to hit. The city is located on the Western coast of India.

Puri:- in Orissa has the Jagannath temple which attracts pilgrims from all over India. It has an idol considered to be a manifestation of Krishna. The temple, containing idols of Balarama and Subhadra (sister of Krishna), is on the Eastern corner of India.
The Official website of Jagannath Temple Puri, Orissa, India,

Rameswaram:- from where Rama is said to have launched his attack on Lanka is in the extreme south of India. Rama is said to have installed a Shiva lingam here; hence the place is sacred to both Shaivas (Shiva worshippers) and Vaishnavas (Vishnu worshippers).
http://jagannath.nic.in/

Gaya:- on the Ganges, once a stronghold of the Buddhists, is for the Hindus connected with the death ceremonies of ancestors for which they visit the place. After the rituals are performed at Gaya the soul of the dead is supposed to attain salvation.

Ujjain:- It is called the navel of earth. It has the famous temples of Ganesha and Kal-Bhairav. During the time of Vikramaditya it used to be the capital of India. Two parts of the Skanda-Purana were said to have been written here.

Tirupathi Balaji :- Tirupati Balaji Temple is the holiest place and one of the largest temples in the world. It is situated in the Eastern Ghat in Chittoor district. This temple is dedicated to Lord Venkateshwara mean Hindu God Vishnu. It is believed that in this Kalyuga, one can get mukti only by worshipping to Shri Venkateswara at Tirupati. WWW.TIRUMALA.ORG

Haridwar:- It is another very important holy city of India. It is at the foothills of the Himalayas and is the place where the Ganga enters the plains. It is also called the ‘gateway of the Ganga’.

Other important holy places are; Ayodhya (Rama’s capital), Kanchi (Conjeevaram), Kedarnath, Somnath, Amarnath and Kamakhya.

In India there are thousands of tirthas (places of pilgrimage) visited by millions of people every year. Each is somehow special, often associated with a particular deity or saint, and offering its own particular boon or blessing.

The most famous tirtha is Varanasi, also called Benares or Kashi. It is one of seven ancient holy towns (see Important Places of Pilgrimage). There are four great dhamas (holy places), which correspond to the four points of the compass and near which the great teacher Shankara established his four main centres. Another key city is Allahabad, established on the site of the ancient city of Prayaga . It is the one of the four main sites for the twelve-yearly Kumbha Mela. The others are Haridwar, Ujjain and Nasik (as shown here).

The map below shows all the major holy places mentioned and also the main sacred rivers and mountains. Further details of most of these sites can be found in this section.

The Seven Ancient Holy Towns:
1. Ayodhya
2. Mathura
3. Haridwar
4. Varanasi
5. Kanchipuram
6. Dvaraka
7. Ujjain

The Four Holy Dhamas
1. Puri (East)
2. Rameshvaram (South)
3. Dvaraka (West)
4. Badrinatha (North)

The Four Maha Kumbha Mela Sites
1. Prayaga ( Allahabad)
2. Haridwar
3. Ujjain
4. Nasik
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Personal Reflection
> What is it that makes a place sacred?
> What experiences do you have of sacred places?
> Are there tangible differences between a holy site and other places, or are they simply imaginary?

Holy Sites for the Four Main Denominations

Vaishnavas

> Mathura/Vrindavana
> Dvaraka
> Badrinatha
> Puri (Jagannatha Puri)
> Tirupati
> Ayodhya
> Nathdwar
> Udupi

Shaivites
> Varanasi
> Kedarnatha
> Somnath
> Rameshvaram
> Chidambaram

Note: for more holy places dedicated to Vishnu or Shiva, see Vaishnavism and Shaivism.

Shaktas
> Kanyakumari
> Madurai
> Vaishno Devi
> Calcutta ( Kali Temple)

Note: there are 51 principle Shakti sites throughout India

Smartas
> Puri
> Rameshvaram
> Dvaraka
> Badrinatha

Note: these correspond to the four dhamas (most holy sites in India)

Glossary Terms
Tirtha – literally means "ford" and refers to places where one can cross from the material world to the spiritual. Many sacred places are considered gateways to the higher realms and to a higher consciousness. Some are thought to be replicas of places within the spiritual realm.