Life as a Hindu in Fiji.
Are there rules on praying to God? My paternal uncle’s son, my first cousin has a son born. Wow. Congrats…..
I am of Indian descent born in Fiji Islands in the South Pacific. My forefathers and foremothers were brought to Fiji in 1800s. And along with them they brought their beliefs and culture which is still strong to date. I follow Hindu religion rituals and pray to God every day. Our praying means going to the temple in our house and replace the brass bowl of water with fresh tap water and light a clay lamp filled with coconut oil (Diya) and then pray to God using mantras. This is my daily routine for the last 8 years or maybe more. My strong belief… that all the good things I have come from my faith in God and daily praying. After all the bad times I had in life.
Now my nephew is born and we are banned from praying for the next 5 weeks. Nooo….. This would mean breaking my daily routine and BELIEF. How can I survive? Really I am so into praying and relying on God that this restriction feels awkward and depressing.
Come to think of it. We all somehow believe in the Almighty. And have our own methods of praying to God. Whichever religion we belong to. Now with a new family member arriving, our clan is dirty and not fit to pray. What nonsense is this? How realistic. Come to think of it. No going to temple in your house or anywhere. No lighting of diyas. No chanting of mantras.
Please note, at least 30% of Fiji population are Hindu and strongly believe in this ritual.
Anyway, I decided to break the ritual and be loyal to God. I silently without letting my clan members know continued with lighting the Diya and praying daily. On the 3rd day, my father unexpected arrived at my house and saw the light in the temple. You should have seen his disappointment as if I had committed a crime. He did not stay and immediately left.