Nepal’s boy ‘god’ wants to become a doctor; photographer reflects on divine subject

[rug]

Oct 5, 2011 15:37 EDT

A five-year-old Nepali boy, worshipped by many as a god, sits cross-legged with a stuffed teddy bear in his brick-and-cement home in Kathmandu. Sambeg Shakya was hailed last year by Buddhist priests as Ganesh, or the god of good fortune, since when he has led several processions of Nepal’s better-known ‘living goddesses’, also known as Kumari.

On Wednesday, skinny Sambeg, his eyes rimmed in black kohl and wearing a gold brocade dress, walked at the head of a line of nine tiny girls to another girl believed to be the bodily incarnation of Taleju, the goddess of power. The centuries-old ritual, once used by now-toppled kings who thought it would make them stronger, was the climax of the annual Hindu festival of Dasain, which lasts for two weeks and has become a major tourist attraction in Nepal. Sambeg will continue in his supporting role until he is big enough to fit in a chariot pulled by men, after which he must return to real life.

I want to become a doctor,” Sambeg, his long hair tied in a bun on top with a peacock feather planted on it, told Reuters. He is in grade one, the first of ten years in high school.

His father Bishwo Prakash said his family will help the boy pursue the studies he chooses. “He is very bright and good at learning. He does not forget what is told to him once,” Prakash said. “I am very happy that my son plays the divine role.”

http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2011/10/05/nepals-porridge-eating-boy-god-wants-to-become-a-doctor-pix/

[arcane1]

1. Religion... just when you think they've run out of stupid ideas

And to think, some claim that buddhism isn't a religion at all, but a philosophy :silly:

[Odin2005]

2. A lot of common folks that call themselves Buddhist are believers of local folk religions.

The Hindu deity Ganesha certainly has nothing to do with Buddhism.

[The Magistrate]

3. Up In the Mountains, Sir, Things get Very Strange And Mixed

[laconicsax]

4. No true Buddhist worships Ganesha?

:shrug:

[Odin2005]

5. I never said that.

I said a lot of nominal Buddhists observe their local folk religions.

[bananas]

7. Buddha is an incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gautama_Buddha_in_Hinduism

The Buddha in Hinduism is viewed as an Avatar of Vishnu. In the Puranic text Bhagavata Purana, he is the twenty-fourth of twenty-five avatars, prefiguring a forthcoming final incarnation.<1> Similarly, a number of Hindu traditions portray Buddha as the most recent (ninth) of ten principal avatars, known as the Daśāvatāra (Ten Incarnations of God). The Buddhist Dasharatha Jataka (Jataka Atthakatha 461) represents Rama as a previous incarnation of the Buddha as a Bodhisattva and supreme Dharma King of great wisdom.

<snip>

The Buddha is described in important Hindu scriptures, including almost all the Puranas. However, not all of them refer to the same person: some of them refer to other persons, and some occurrences of "buddha" simply mean "a person possessing buddhi". Most of them, however, refer to the founder of Buddhism.<10> They portray him with two roles: preaching false views in order to delude demons or others, and criticizing animal sacrifice as prescribed in the Vedas.<11>

<snip>

[Dorian Gray]

6. Yes

I was curious about that. While reading, I was thinking: "Isn't Ganesh a Hindu god?"

It's interesting.