Guest guest Posted December 25, 2009 Report Share Posted December 25, 2009 Stuck here in a Nursing Home,I'm taking the time to pursue my sadhana. I do japa on my mala every morning, and pour consecrated water on my parad-metal Shiva lingam every Monday. I get the catalogs from ISKCON's Krishna Consciousness, and spend probably too much money on Chinese-made murthies, kirtan CDs, and religious texts. (Garnering nasty comments from born-again nurses and aides.) I've pretty much determined that, while I like and respect Lord Rama, and feel warm feelings for Sri Krishna and Radha, I am really NOT a Vaishnava by temperament. But I feel the same sense of bhakti for murthies (just mostly of Goddesses and Ganesha), and like the idea of the kind of mental gymnastics the Vaishnavas seem to apply to Krishna, I just apply it to Kali/Durga and the Mahavidyas myself. I get particularly upset when some ISKCON writers say things like, " there are two kinds of devotees: Vaishnavas and Demonic. " Or when all of the Devas outside of Krishna's direct sphere are referred to as " demi-gods, " unworthy of worship. Do the Shaktas have an equivalent resource for obtaining images and sacred paraphernalia, and can someone suggest a school of teachers of Shakta lineage with a similar kind of intellectual rigor as the Gaudiya parampara? -- Len/ Kalipadma Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 26, 2009 Report Share Posted December 26, 2009 For murtis: www.exoticindiaart.com They are not inexpensive, but they have a substantial collection of murtis and books, and shipping is free. They are apparently having a sale right now of 25% off everything, which is pretty good! It can be difficult to find good primary Shakta sources, even reliable translations of tantras, because so much is transmitted orally rather than made available in books. You might enjoy starting with Arthur Avalon/Sir John Woodroffe's work, still an important set of classics and heavily devoted to Shaktism. I enjoy Devadutta Kali's translation of the Chandi, and his commentary, and I have enjoyed reading other translations of this text (Coburn, Swami Satyananda Sarasvati, and others). There are several tantras in translation that can help shed light, with commentaries by various authors. There are lots of secondary texts available... these have their drawbacks and limitations but they're a good place to start. Devi Bhakta created a list that is quite helpful: http://www.amazon.com/Shaktism-Hindu-Worship-Divine-Mother/lm/17SX2T24MNOH1 But Shaktism is so much more about practice than about theory, I've found. That's hard for me to admit, as an academic and brainy type. I found that my thirst for knowledge covered up a dearth of practical experience and actual daily practice. Once my true gurus were revealed to me, I had to own up to this fact, and then a whole new world opened up. Simple daily practice has given me so much that I couldn't have gotten otherwise. The quote that kept coming back to me was from Shakespeare: " There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy. " This may have nothing to do with your situation... I only share this because it might help someone else out there who is reading this. shanti, jai MA kamesvari -kulasundari Sri Kamakhya Mahavidya Mandir www.kamakhyamandir.org Facebook: http://doiop.com/kamakhya Twitter: http://twitter.com/kamakhyamandir On Thu, Dec 24, 2009 at 5:24 PM, BlackLotus <kalipadma108 wrote: > > > Stuck here in a Nursing Home,I'm taking the time to pursue my sadhana. I do > japa on my mala every morning, and pour consecrated water on my parad-metal > Shiva lingam every Monday. I get the catalogs from ISKCON's Krishna > Consciousness, and spend probably too much money on Chinese-made murthies, > kirtan CDs, and religious texts. (Garnering nasty comments from born-again > nurses and aides.) > > I've pretty much determined that, while I like and respect Lord Rama, and > feel warm feelings for Sri Krishna and Radha, I am really NOT a Vaishnava by > temperament. But I feel the same sense of bhakti for murthies (just mostly > of Goddesses and Ganesha), and like the idea of the kind of mental > gymnastics the Vaishnavas seem to apply to Krishna, I just apply it to > Kali/Durga and the Mahavidyas myself. > > I get particularly upset when some ISKCON writers say things like, " there > are two kinds of devotees: Vaishnavas and Demonic. " Or when all of the Devas > outside of Krishna's direct sphere are referred to as " demi-gods, " unworthy > of worship. > > Do the Shaktas have an equivalent resource for obtaining images and sacred > paraphernalia, and can someone suggest a school of teachers of Shakta > lineage with a similar kind of intellectual rigor as the Gaudiya parampara? > > -- Len/ Kalipadma > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 27, 2009 Report Share Posted December 27, 2009 Hey, Len, Good to hear you are out there. Long time no post --and i understand that compelling forces are at work. Much healing to you. >I get particularly upset when some ISKCON writers say things like, > " there are two kinds of devotees: Vaishnavas and Demonic. " Or when >all of the Devas outside of Krishna's direct sphere are referred to >as " demi-gods, " unworthy of worship. Bah humbug to them! >Do the Shaktas have an equivalent resource for obtaining images and >sacred paraphernalia, and can someone suggest a school of teachers >of Shakta lineage with a similar kind of intellectual rigor as the >Gaudiya parampara? One source would be the Amma store of Sri Karunamayi, https://secure25.securewebsession.com/karunamayi.org/AmmaStore/home.php And anther Amma store for Mata Amritanandamayi http://store.theammashop.org/leworship.html You could also try searches for murthies, puja items, etc. jai Maa Max -- Max Dashu Suppressed Histories Archives: Real women, global vision http://www.suppressedhistories.net Sacra Vulva, new poster: http://www.suppressedhistories.net/sacravulva.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 30, 2009 Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 Namaskar sri len ji! How are you!! You have been in my thoughts and prayers often. So good to see a post from you. Peace and healing for the new year. I have purchased some items from Exotic India myself and I have found them pleasant to deal with. I got on their newsletter and I enjoy many of the posts that they send out. I have not purchased a lot from them, some of the items I really want are out of my budget. Luckily, where I am I have the opportunity to obtain what I need in stores. I hope that the new year brings you many blessings and I look forward to your posts! Jai Maa! pr , " BlackLotus " <kalipadma108 wrote: > > Stuck here in a Nursing Home,I'm taking the time to pursue my sadhana. I do japa on my mala every morning, and pour consecrated water on my parad-metal Shiva lingam every Monday. I get the catalogs from ISKCON's Krishna Consciousness, and spend probably too much money on Chinese-made murthies, kirtan CDs, and religious texts. (Garnering nasty comments from born-again nurses and aides.) > > I've pretty much determined that, while I like and respect Lord Rama, and feel warm feelings for Sri Krishna and Radha, I am really NOT a Vaishnava by temperament. But I feel the same sense of bhakti for murthies (just mostly of Goddesses and Ganesha), and like the idea of the kind of mental gymnastics the Vaishnavas seem to apply to Krishna, I just apply it to Kali/Durga and the Mahavidyas myself. > > I get particularly upset when some ISKCON writers say things like, " there are two kinds of devotees: Vaishnavas and Demonic. " Or when all of the Devas outside of Krishna's direct sphere are referred to as " demi-gods, " unworthy of worship. > > Do the Shaktas have an equivalent resource for obtaining images and sacred paraphernalia, and can someone suggest a school of teachers of Shakta lineage with a similar kind of intellectual rigor as the Gaudiya parampara? > > -- Len/ Kalipadma > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 30, 2009 Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 Look into www.amma.org and www.karunamayi.org for miraculous solutions. ________________________________ BlackLotus <kalipadma108 Do the Shaktas have an equivalent resource for obtaining images and sacred paraphernalia, [....] -- Len/ Kalipadma Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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