Religious Ceremony Experience

My involvement in a program called Garden State MOSAIC has allows me to experience

different religions in unique ways. MOSAIC stands for Mobilizing Our Students for Action in
Building Interfaith Community, and provides a forum for teens from a variety of religious and
ethnic backgrounds to discuss their faiths. Ive toured many different houses of worship and
witnessed sneak-peeks into the way the religion and its worshippers work. One of the most
interesting MOSAIC experiences Ive had was at the Hindu Temple in Marlboro. The building
itself is stunning, and quite surprising to find in the back parking lot behind a border of trees. The
inside of the building is even more beautiful, filled with shrines and interactive stations for
several of the major Hindu gods and goddesses (pictures were not permitted of the worship area).
As we were walking around the idols and priests that inhabited the open layout of the room, a
group of dancers entered through a back door. Our tour guide said we were in for a special treat,
as religious ceremonies such as this are unscheduled in the Hindu faith, and occur when people
have a need to pray. They were all dressed in traditional saris, with flowers and jewelry tied
around their hennaed wrists and ankles and their thick hair in long braids down their backs. It
was a group of girls, each one no more than fifteen years old. When they had filed to their chosen
shrine, they started dancing and chanting, their bare feet jingling with the jewelry as their ankles
pounded the floor. The MOSAIC group quickly gathered around the dancers, fascinated by the
display of culture and religion. It was a very interesting ceremony to see first-hand, especially
since it is so different from my own form of worship. In Judaism, idolatry is forbidden and while
we pray through song, it is never accompanied by dancing. Expressing ones faith in such a
vibrant and public way must be very impactful and spiritually fulfilling. Because of this
experience, I am able to better understand the religion and cultural practices of Hinduism.