Religion in India

One of the things that most interests me about India is the religious tolerance that is seen across the city. I enjoy seeing Mother Teresa's picture hung next to Hindu gods, they are both adorned with strung flowers. In morning mass you hear adhan (Muslim call to prayer) and four other times through out the day. In the morning, people are quietly filing into the mosques and washing before prayer. As you walk down the street you see small Hindu alters to Shiva and Kali with people leaving garlands/offerings and lighting incense. There are people peddling strung flowers to be bought as offerings. There are holy cows that wonder through the street that sometimes stop traffic.

Today we went to see Belur Math, a Ramakrishna Hindu temple and monastery that was started by Swami Ramakrishna ion the late 1800s. I enjoyed visiting my first Hindu monastery. It was beautiful to see the 40 acre compound along the bank of the Hoogly River.