Guest guest Posted January 22, 2003 Report Share Posted January 22, 2003 Dear Bhaktha Its great that you are attracted towards Sri Matha Keep up the spiritual quest Pray to the Divine Gurudeva Sri Gurudeva Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. He will definitely answer your sincere prayers. He is the God himself. You will feel His blessings. Keep doing Sadhanas K.Chandramouli Chennai Shahan here, the latest newbie, saying 'hi' to everyone. I'm very happy to have discovered this group, as I have so many questions about the Devi. I'm part Indian on my dad's side, and though I'm officially Hindu, my father's not exactly the religious type, though he's 'officially' Shakta. My mom's a Chan Buddhist, and yep, not religious either. A couple of years ago, I got interested in my 'roots', so to speak, after a painful episode in my life forced me to question a lot of things around me, including my religious (at that time, virtually nill) beliefs. At the risk of sounding cuckoo, I 'found' Kali (whom my dad usually only worshipped when he really needed something, hehehe). Since then, I've travelled back to India (currently in the Philippines, now, though I call UK and Mallorca home) and read up on a lot of the literature. I even forced my dad to teach me devanagari, only to later discover that though it allowed me to read written Hindi, it didn't do much to help me understand Sanskrit... so irritating! It's been a long haul, many trips, books and seminars, and much flesh burned off my feet at the Ramakrishna Maath in Calcutta (they don't let you wear slippers, but some of the attendants there do) and I'm still learning a lot. I know I still have a long way to go, and I hope to make friends here while I continue to do so. prem, jyoti, shantih & ananda Shahan Catch all the cricket action. Download Score tracker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 22, 2003 Report Share Posted January 22, 2003 K. Chandramouli ji, Thank you for your kind response! It does, however, raise a dilemma I've been having: In (my father's) Shakta tradition, images and worship of the guru is forbidden in the puja mandir. Not only that, but pictures of family members, and ancestors are also banned. Supposedly, this is because nothing and no one may come before Maa. In my own place, I do keep images of Ramakrishna, Yogananda Paramahamsa, Shirdi Baba, Chinmayananda and Devi Ananda Dayi Ma. I do not dare, however, keep them ON my altar (out of respect for my dad's wishes, w/c is strange, I admit, as he's not really religious), though they are in the self same prayer room (his concession to me). I have a few Nepali neighbours who insist that this is consistent w/Nepali Shakta tradition, and further insist that keeping the pictures of these holy ones in my puja mandir (though NOT on the altar) is still wrong. The vast majority of Hindus here (in Manila, Philippines) are Sindhis, however, and are great proponents of Guru Nanak ji (no, they're not Sikhs). To them, therefore, NOT keeping images of guru/s ON the altar, is disrespectful to the ancient lineage of gurus. It's gotten to the point that I now hesitate to let my Hindu guests even SEE my puja mandir! It seems to me, therefore, that Hinduism is divided not so much into Shakta, Shaiva, Vaishnava, etc., but rather, one of: 'Guru is God' vs 'Guru is not God'. I sort of fall in between: Gurus are necessary in that they are vital keys that HELP to broaden our understanding of God, but indeed can never BE considered God, though they are filled WITH the light of God (as are we all). The respect that is their due, therefore, is in that understanding alone: that they are IMBUED WITH the divine, and not in the belief that they ARE the divine personified. Any comments on this? love, light, peace & joy Shahan PS: I truly hope this posting offends no one's tradition. , K Chandramouli <krishnamouli> wrote: > > Dear Bhaktha > > Its great that you are attracted towards Sri Matha > > Keep up the spiritual quest > > Pray to the Divine Gurudeva Sri Gurudeva Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. > > He will definitely answer your sincere prayers. He is the God himself. > > You will feel His blessings. > > Keep doing Sadhanas > > K.Chandramouli > > Chennai > > > > Shahan here, the latest newbie, saying 'hi' to everyone. > > I'm very happy to have discovered this group, as I have so many > questions about the Devi. > > I'm part Indian on my dad's side, and though I'm officially Hindu, my > father's not exactly the religious type, though he's 'officially' > Shakta. My mom's a Chan Buddhist, and yep, not religious either. > > A couple of years ago, I got interested in my 'roots', so to speak, > after a painful episode in my life forced me to question a lot of > things around me, including my religious (at that time, virtually > nill) beliefs. At the risk of sounding cuckoo, I 'found' Kali (whom > my dad usually only worshipped when he really needed something, > hehehe). > > Since then, I've travelled back to India (currently in the > Philippines, now, though I call UK and Mallorca home) and read up on > a lot of the literature. I even forced my dad to teach me > devanagari, only to later discover that though it allowed me to read > written Hindi, it didn't do much to help me understand Sanskrit... so > irritating! > > It's been a long haul, many trips, books and seminars, and much flesh > burned off my feet at the Ramakrishna Maath in Calcutta (they don't > let you wear slippers, but some of the attendants there do) and I'm > still learning a lot. I know I still have a long way to go, and I > hope to make friends here while I continue to do so. > > prem, jyoti, shantih & ananda > Shahan > > > > > > > Catch all the cricket action. Download Score tracker > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 27, 2003 Report Share Posted January 27, 2003 Dear ShahanJi Guru bless us and show ways to the Almighty. The Almighty for the sake of Moksha for every jeevan come to the earth. One of such Avatar is Sri GuruDev. Sri GuruDev came to this earth for the sake of Salvation and for our Hindu Dharma. He practiced all the ways to reach the God and said all are true. I strongly believe Him. This is my view and suggestion Do whatever you feel is good (way of worship). Do Bhakthi on Her. Sri Matha will clear all your doubts and give us Her Divine Blessings and Ananda. Only Bhakthi is important. Warm regards Chandramouli Chennai " shirovi <shirovi " <shirovi wrote:K. Chandramouli ji, Thank you for your kind response! It does, however, raise a dilemma I've been having: In (my father's) Shakta tradition, images and worship of the guru is forbidden in the puja mandir. Not only that, but pictures of family members, and ancestors are also banned. Supposedly, this is because nothing and no one may come before Maa. In my own place, I do keep images of Ramakrishna, Yogananda Paramahamsa, Shirdi Baba, Chinmayananda and Devi Ananda Dayi Ma. I do not dare, however, keep them ON my altar (out of respect for my dad's wishes, w/c is strange, I admit, as he's not really religious), though they are in the self same prayer room (his concession to me). I have a few Nepali neighbours who insist that this is consistent w/Nepali Shakta tradition, and further insist that keeping the pictures of these holy ones in my puja mandir (though NOT on the altar) is still wrong. The vast majority of Hindus here (in Manila, Philippines) are Sindhis, however, and are great proponents of Guru Nanak ji (no, they're not Sikhs). To them, therefore, NOT keeping images of guru/s ON the altar, is disrespectful to the ancient lineage of gurus. It's gotten to the point that I now hesitate to let my Hindu guests even SEE my puja mandir! It seems to me, therefore, that Hinduism is divided not so much into Shakta, Shaiva, Vaishnava, etc., but rather, one of: 'Guru is God' vs 'Guru is not God'. I sort of fall in between: Gurus are necessary in that they are vital keys that HELP to broaden our understanding of God, but indeed can never BE considered God, though they are filled WITH the light of God (as are we all). The respect that is their due, therefore, is in that understanding alone: that they are IMBUED WITH the divine, and not in the belief that they ARE the divine personified. Any comments on this? love, light, peace & joy Shahan PS: I truly hope this posting offends no one's tradition. , K Chandramouli <krishnamouli> wrote: > > Dear Bhaktha > > Its great that you are attracted towards Sri Matha > > Keep up the spiritual quest > > Pray to the Divine Gurudeva Sri Gurudeva Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. > > He will definitely answer your sincere prayers. He is the God himself. > > You will feel His blessings. > > Keep doing Sadhanas > > K.Chandramouli > > Chennai > > > > Shahan here, the latest newbie, saying 'hi' to everyone. > > I'm very happy to have discovered this group, as I have so many > questions about the Devi. > > I'm part Indian on my dad's side, and though I'm officially Hindu, my > father's not exactly the religious type, though he's 'officially' > Shakta. My mom's a Chan Buddhist, and yep, not religious either. > > A couple of years ago, I got interested in my 'roots', so to speak, > after a painful episode in my life forced me to question a lot of > things around me, including my religious (at that time, virtually > nill) beliefs. At the risk of sounding cuckoo, I 'found' Kali (whom > my dad usually only worshipped when he really needed something, > hehehe). > > Since then, I've travelled back to India (currently in the > Philippines, now, though I call UK and Mallorca home) and read up on > a lot of the literature. I even forced my dad to teach me > devanagari, only to later discover that though it allowed me to read > written Hindi, it didn't do much to help me understand Sanskrit... so > irritating! > > It's been a long haul, many trips, books and seminars, and much flesh > burned off my feet at the Ramakrishna Maath in Calcutta (they don't > let you wear slippers, but some of the attendants there do) and I'm > still learning a lot. I know I still have a long way to go, and I > hope to make friends here while I continue to do so. > > prem, jyoti, shantih & ananda > Shahan > > > > > > > Catch all the cricket action. Download Score tracker > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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