Guest guest Posted January 4, 2007 Report Share Posted January 4, 2007 Namaste, I live in the Bay Area, and attended a Durga Puja ritual last March at the Devi Mandir, which was really wonderful. I have for a long time been interested in studying with Shree Maa, which was only spurred on by this experience... what is the best way to get started? Shanti -Sundari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 5, 2007 Report Share Posted January 5, 2007 Hi Sundari, Well, people are generally advised to learn the Shiva (beginner's) Puja or Durga Puja to begin with. Other practices, such as scripture recitation (path) can be added according to your desire or instructions from Maa or Swamiji. These can be ordered through the website www.shreemaa.org All the books and scriptures are very reasonably priced. Since you are in the area, you can probably receive some personal instruction on the performance of the basic pujas from someone nearby (Nanda, for instance ). But you can get a head start by downloading the files of an online class in the Beginner's Shiva Puja Nanda did a couple of years ago. It explains a lot! You'll find it in the Files section of the page. May the blessing of the Guru always be with you. Good to meet you! Jai Maa! Chris , Sundari <erin.johansen wrote: > > Namaste, > > I live in the Bay Area, and attended a Durga Puja ritual last March at the > Devi Mandir, which was really wonderful. I have for a long time been > interested in studying with Shree Maa, which was only spurred on by this > experience... what is the best way to get started? > > Shanti > -Sundari > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 6, 2007 Report Share Posted January 6, 2007 Thank you everyone for your thoughtful and welcoming responses! I really, really appreciate what you're saying about a sadhana that is simple, yet stretches and challenges. I am amazed and awed by the rich devotion that is so clearly evident in the (many, many!) emails put forward on this list. And it's funny that you mention the mahamrityunjaya mantra - it's one of my favorites, and seems to sometimes be on continuous loop on my lips! Maybe I'm a member of the prayer club already, and just don't know it yet. I only create time to do a full Kali puja occasionally, though, and doing Durga puja and/or Shiva puja even weekly in addition to my daily prayers (sometimes I only get a chance to say them during the morning and evening commute!) would be a wonderful addition. I have those books and have used them before... using them frequently would certainly increase my comfort with them and the mantras therein - thanks for suggesting that as a starting point. I should give a little background on myself - I have been a devotee of Maa Kali (she is my ishtadevi, especially in Her form as Maa Kamakhya - perhaps that's why I was given the spiritual name of Sundari) for several years now. I'm fortunate that my academic studies weave with my spiritual intention and allow me to travel to India and study Sanskrit. I primarily work with SHARANYA: The Maa Batakali Mandir in San Francisco, and my worship has been a mix of East and West. My being drawn to Shree Maa has to do with a few things - a kind of yearning to be in her presence, to sit at her feet; feeling that there is a kind of... shakti... that is waiting to be awakened in me and others through working with her; wanting to feel more deeply into the Hindu traditions, as most of my friends in India now call me a Hindu, though I don't necessarily claim that for myself. I long to perform traditional pujas in and with community, complete with all of the Sanskrit, and to gain fluency with them so that my heart is free to soar through the language. Sanskrit mantras have such power for me - it's indescribable. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about! A small note to the Devi Mandir - it would be fantastic if Swamiji and/or others would create a "Kali Puja for Beginners" book. I know there are many in my community of Kali devotees that would find this a very welcome and useful tool (though presumably such a thing could be more or less easily created by substituting some mantras from the Durga Puja for Beginners book, if someone was familiar with all of the mantras - yes?). shanti saa'ham, Sundari On 1/4/07, Nanda <chandimaakijai > wrote: > > Namaste Sundari, > > I live in the Bay area too! So nice to 'meet' you in this forum. > > The best way to get started (in my humble opinion) is to start with a > sadhana that is simple, yet stretches my limits ever so gently. What > inspires me ? Which aspect of God am I drawn to - the divine > Mother/father/or something else ? Or perhaps, it is the formless aspect ... > Or perhaps it is Shree Maa herself that I am drawn to ... > > Maa and Swamiji always recommend us to start with one of the beginner > pujas - Beginner Shiva or Durga. We had an online class on the beginner puja > sometime ago (almost 2 years ago) but the transcripts are available to > anyone that needs more information on this simple, yet requiring some > understanding , spiritual practice ... Please inform if you are interested > and I will be glad to email you a copy. > > A few other quick ways to get started > > 1) Join the Prayer Club and pray for others - chant the Mahamrityunjaya > mantra 21 times every saturday. If you would like more information, please > email _prayer_club > > 2) Join our group sankalpas. Shree Maa recently suggested to us a practice > involving 10 mins of meditation and about 20-30 minutes of chanting > different texts 4 times a month (approximately). Please let me know if you > would like more information on this sankalpa. > > Welcome to the group and look forward to your questions and posts. > Jai Maa > > Nanda , Sundari <erin.johansen wrote: > > > > Namaste, > > > > I live in the Bay Area, and attended a Durga Puja ritual last March at > the > > Devi Mandir, which was really wonderful. I have for a long time been > > interested in studying with Shree Maa, which was only spurred on by this > > experience... what is the best way to get started? > > > > Shanti > > -Sundari > > > > > -- ------- erin (AT) erinjohansen (DOT) com www.erinjohansen.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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