Hinduism In Life Of Pi

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In Life of Pi, written by Yann Martel, Pi has always been a Hindu, but ventures to find other religions, such as Christianity and Islam, while still actively following the Hindu religion. While on the lifeboat, Pi has to choose between breaking his religion and survival. Throughout the entire book, Yann Martel proves to the reader how Pi values Hinduism in everyday life. Yann Martel also displays Pi Patel’s impression of Hinduism. When Pi gets lost at sea, he needs food for survival but being a Hindu he has vowed to never harm an animal. Pi states, “A lifetime of peaceful vegetarianism stood between me and the willful beheading of a fish” (Martel 231). As a reader can tell, Pi has a difficult decision whether to behead the fish and have …show more content…
The reader can assume that Pi adores Hinduism for its vivid colors. The text states, “I am a Hindu because of sculptured cones of red kumkum powder and baskets of yellow turmeric nuggets, because of garlands of flowers and pieces of broken coconut, because of the clanging of the bells to announce one’s arrival to God” (Martel 59). Hindus celebrate a holiday called Holi in February or March, depending on the calendar that year it celebrates the arrival of spring with a festival of colors (“Hinduism” 56). Hindus wear a colored marking on their forehead that represents the third eye. The third eye can see spiritual truth and focus on Hindu meditation. The marking is made up of dots and lines. The red dot is made from sindoor and are called Bindis. The white lines are made of sacred white ash and are called tilaks (Pendergast 1229). In Pi’s story he compares a Dorado's coloring to a Hindu’s marking. The text states, “I laid hands on so many fish that my body began to glitter from all the fish scales that became stuck to it. I wore these spots of shine like tilaks, the marks of colours that we Hindus wear on our foreheads as symbols of the divine” (Martel

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