Newbie

[Guest guest]

hi, im ekansh anand (15) , living in switzerland. in past time i ve heard so many things about hinduism, vedas etc.

(i am a "hindu")

so i decided to learn(research) the teaching of the vedas and etc.but there are so many problems:

 

1.)is it ok when i read hindu scriptures in german?i can speak hindi, but can t read /images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

2.) there aren t any gurus here.can i ask (swiss-) pandits in temple.they are very different from

"pandits" in india.is a guru necassarie?

3.) how should i start?

4.)why to chant 108 time hare krishna?must i chant it loudly or can i also chant in my mind while walking on the street.

....

....

 

Thank you very much

 

 

[Guest guest]

1)ok, read in german

2)yes.. but no hurry

3)chant the hare krishna mantra, be vegetarian, associate with othe devotees

4)the name of god and god are the same thing, when you say krishna, krishna is there even if you do not see now... when your eyes will be purified you'll see... chant at low voice, whispering, in your mind.. no problem

 

thank you for chanting the name of the lord

[maadhav]

dear ekansh,

 

dhanyawad for desiring to know and practice hinduism.

it is the most valuable heritage of mankind, and we hindus happily carry the burden of propagating it to new genertions.

 

<< 1.)is it ok when i read hindu scriptures in german?i can speak hindi, but can t read >>

 

yes. however make sure the translator is not an anti-hindu.

 

besides, reading vedas is too much at this time for you.

Bhagavad gita is the 700 verse summary of the 80K verse vedas. so read it. it is well known as THE BOOK of hinduism.

see: http://www.asitis.com

 

<< 2.) there aren t any gurus here.can i ask (swiss-) pandits in temple. >>

 

if the temple is by Hare Krishnas, then yes.

however, they will help you understand gita

according to the view point of vaishnavas (bhakti yogis).

no problem about it.

 

<< is a guru necassarie? >>

 

yes, when you get very serious about understanding dharma and practice of hinduism.

 

<< 3.) how should i start? >>

 

read gita daily. a chapter daily.

keep on doing it always.

 

<< 4.)why to chant 108 time hare krishna? >>

 

the japa mala is made of 108 beads and a master bid.

the number is chosen because out of 2057 total upanishads in the vedas, 108 of them are the most improtant ones.

thus a bid of mala signifies an upanishad.

 

<< must i chant it loudly or can i also chant in my mind while walking on the street.>>

 

either way. loud at least, as much lound as you can hear is better. you can chant/sing in a melodious way, or as fast as you can. but chant clearly, with focussed mind, and listen it too.

 

see below link for general info about hinduism.

 

http://www.geocities.com/shvyaas

wishing you best.

 

[Guest guest]

nice answer madhav.. very nice... but a krsna bhakta identifies the 108 grains in the principal 108 gopis of krsna and the master bid as krsna..

 

 

but it is not essential.. so no problem.. your interpretation is not at all in opposition... only a little specialistic detail

[barney]

Hello! Ekansh,

 

Hinduism is not only Vaishnavas, it contains the Shivaites, Sakthism and many other branches. You can pick any one of these branches and the most important of all is you have to practice Dharma which itself will purify your innerself. God is Omnipresent and Omnipotent. It can be Hare Krishna or Om Nama Shivaya or even Om Sakthi. They are all one and the same. Do not worry about who but what comes to your mind and that would be your istna deva or personal God and protector. As you go along you will learn the other forms of the Supreme Being. God Bless you.

[Guest guest]

the suggestion to worship anything that comes in one's mind is not at all dharmic.. it is asuric..

 

spiritual science is a serious thing, worship "anything" and it is the same, is not serious.. especially if given to a people who's already practising dharma, sanatana dharma

 

maybe you could ask advices by him, instead of giving suggestions.. he's more advanced than you

 

[Guest guest]

I think you have takes the right step at the right time.

 

1. Learning mantras is like going to college and studying, and requires lot of effort.

 

2. For which you need a guru, time,dedication and all that.

 

3. But trying to understand the religion, the upanishads and vedas etc can be done by reading the books.

 

4. Some of the books I would recommend are

4a. The Vedas, Upanishads, Gita,and Hindu yoga books by Shri Aurobindo ( which is intellectually challenging)

4b. If you want lighter books that is easy to understand, but still the best, you can get books authored by Swami Sivananda, which are highly practical.

4c. You can read the books by Bhagvan Ramanamaharshi which can be downloaded from the net( I think Barney has posted a couple of them few days back).

4d. The Gita Traslated by Dr. Radhakrishnan.

4e. The Gita translation by Subrahmanya Bharati( provided you can read Tamil)

 

My best wises to you.

[Guest guest]

There is no single way that is only correct.

I personally feel a vibration when I go to some Siva temples, and some Murugan temples. Its an inexplicable feeling, that makes you forget yourself for a minute.

 

To feel what I mean visit arunachala and feel it.

 

Some times you feel closer to one god and you can have him or her as your ishta devatha.

 

This technique is stressed in the Meditation books written by Swami Sivananda, and the monks of the Ramakrishna order.

You just have to allow you ista devatha to "COME IN".

 

There are Saivaites who pray Lord Siva, Vaishnavites who pray lord Vishnu and avatars, there are some people who pray lord Muruga, there are some who pray godess Durga and the list is endless.

[maadhav]

<< They are all one and the same. >>

 

If "they" means devas and devis,

then krishna says in gita that he is not a deva or dev.

he says 'aham aadir hi devaanaam".

 

If "they" means all the hindus, then yes, all different hindus ae same - followers of the vedas. their sadhana and ista devataa may differ.