Religion:
Nepal is a secular country, so declared by the parliament on May 18, 2006. There are different religions practiced in Nepal such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, Jainism, Sikhism, but the majority of people in Nepal worship Buddha and follow Hinduism. Before the movement of 2006, the country was officially a Hindu kingdom, but religious tolerance was seen within the country. We can say that with a Hindu majority since the old times, religion was never an issue of disturbance in Nepal, but a thing to preserve and celebrate.
There five Dhyani Buddhas are: Vairochana, Akshobhaya, Rathasambhava, Amitabha and Amoghasiddhi which represent the basic elements i.e. earth, fire, air, water, and ether. Hindus also worship Vajrayana Buddhist deities include Mahakala and Bajrayogini.
Hindu Nepalis worship ancient Vedic gods i.e. Brahma, Vishnu and, Shiva- the creator, the preserver, and the destroyer. People pray in temples to the phallic symbol of Lord Shiva (Shiva Linga) and Shakti, the dynamic female power, is highly feared and admired.
The Hindu Nepalis celebrate all occasions and believe in all gods and goddesses. The Mahakali, Mahadevi, Bhagabati, Ishwari are some of the names of the goddesses. Kumari the virgin goddess represents Shakti, Ganesh the luck, Hanuman for protection, Saraswati for knowledge, Lakshmi for wealth, Krishna believed to be the human incarnation. Hindu holy scripts i.e. Bhagavat Gita, Ramayana, Mahabharat, Vedas, Upanishads, and other holy scriptures are read by pandits on occasion.
Customs:
Nepal is diversified in terms of customs which go back to the Hindu, Buddhists or other religious traditions. The rules of marriage are quite different. The traditional marriage is where the parents select the life partner for their child after they come of age.
Cow: Hindus don’t eat beef because they worship cow and it is the national animal of Nepal. One more reason is Nepalis believe much in pure and impure. ‘Jutho’ is the material or food touched directly or indirectly by another’s mouth is considered as impure. Even the women are considered impure until the fourth-day purification bath. Nepal is a partial society where men go out for work and women are housemakers. Nepal has also divided into rural and urban regions. Thus, the people who live here are agrarian and modern as well.
