to Linda- to Henny: thanks and choices for taking it slowly

[Guest guest]

Dear Linda,

 

thank you for your kind words, perhaps it is not my place to advise

anyone where sadhana is concerned because I just stumble along

myself, you know, falling down and getting up again. But, since you

are asking: the Saptashloki Durga is the text where Devi very kindly

condenses the sevenhundred verses of the Chandi into seven verses,

all taken from the longer text. For instance, verse 1 of the

Saptashloki (which means seven verses) is the same as the second half

of verse 55 and the first of verse 56 of Chapter 1 of the Chandi,

verse 2 is verse vs 17 of Chapter 4 and so on. A Seedha Path is a

much longer recitation in which all seven hundred verses of the

Chandi are included (and a few other texts as well). So perhaps that

would be a bit much in your circumstances. I personally see no reason

why you should not take the Saptashloki Durga (p.34-37 in my copy)

and focus on that for a while until you feel comfortable with it. It

is a beautiful text, and it contains the mantra Shree Maa has given

us for this year's mantra sankalpa (vs.3). So, you could even just

focus on this verse, and recite it and meditate on its meaning until

it has become very familiar. You could even just take this verse and

recite it with devotion in the morning, at midday and in the evening,

so your mind will realize that these are times to be quiet and sing

the name of God.

 

Please don't be to hard on yourself, feel free to play with Her. We

all do what we can in our own circumstances. 'All you need is love',

Swamiji said in a post recently, and that, dear sister, we all know

you have plenty of,

 

Henny

 

 

, nierika wrote:

>

> Dear Henny ~ it is so wonderful to read a longer post from you.

You have

> always served others by example, at least me, since I can only

speak for

> myself. I appreciate very much what you had to say about Sanskrit,

as I have longed

> to really learn it, yet don't know how or where to begin. I can't

afford the

> cost of all the cds required by The Sanskrit Institute for their

course of

> study. One of my problems in doing any of the pujas, I think, is

that I read

> the verse in English first, then the translation, so it's like I'm

saying it

> twice, and it takes twice is long, and because of my symptoms I

become

> discouraged and fall behind the group; sometimes I just give up.

So this gives me a

> new start, with the permission to recite the English only for

awhile.

>

> Also is the Saptashloki Durga the same think as doing the Seedi

Path of the

> Chandi by itself, and would you mind, if you know, just reviewing

these for a

> devotee who is eager but who is easily discouraged. I think I will

start with

> one of these or go back to the Durga Puja Beginner, since I have

the book

> (not sure about the CD ... I know I have all the tapes for the

regular Chandi

> Path, but again, I feel overwhelmed. Thank you for always being

such a clear

> light. Jai Maa , Jai Swamiji

> ~ Linda

>

>

> Henny wrote:

>

> ...don't be concerned about the brilliance of your Sanskrit: the

> wonderful thing is that it will get better all by itself if you

> recite regularly. Even if you do not study formally, regular

> ...repetition breeds familiarity with the meaning as given in

> Swamiji's translation. But also, I remember Swamiji has said that

it

> is really about the intuitive meaning of the words, and I believe

> Chandi Maa will teach you Herself if you devote yourself to

> recitation, and the text will take on a special meaning for you.

> If you have a copy of Swamiji's translation, which has the

> sevenhundred verses and the various 'limbs' etc. , there are (at

> least) two ways to go about it: since you already know the

> Saptashloki Durga well, you could build from there...

>

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