16 Mondays

November 8, 2003

This is the story of the worship to be performed on sixteen

consecutive Mondays.

One day Bhagawan Bhutanath, Lord Shiva, as the Lord of all Beings,

went to tour the sansar (the world of objects and relationships)

along with his beloved wife Parvati. They were traveling, seeing

many different lands, when they came to the city of Amaravati. There

they saw a great shining city, and they took shelter in one

particular Shivaloya, a temple of Lord Shiva.

One day Parvati had a desire to play "chalsar", an Indian dice game.

While Shiva and Parvati sat enjoying this game, a Brahmin pujari

walked into the temple. Parvati stopped and asked the priest, "Who

will win this game?"

Without hesitation or much thought the pujari immediately

responded, " Shankarji. Shiva will win."

After a short time Parvati did in fact lose the dice game and she

became very angry. She thought that it was because of the Brahmin's

prediction that she had lost the game. Shiva advised Parvati to

remain calm and to control her anger, but Parvati would not be

easily appeased. Her anger grew into a great rage and she cursed the

Brahmin who had said she would lose the game. Parvati cursed the

Brahmin that he would suffer from leprosy.

The Brahmin priest was immediately attacked by the disease, and he

became very sad and was filled with great pain from the leprosy that

developed. Many days passed and the priest suffered a great deal. He

thought, "For what karma have I received such a curse from the

Divine Mother? What will I ever be able to do to get her grace once

again?" In this way his mind was extremely agitated, and his body

pained.

One day that Brahmin priest went into the Shiva temple, where he saw

a most beautiful heavenly nymph. This beautiful and shining angelic

lady was an Apsara, a celestial maiden who serves the Gods. Standing

before the pain stricken priest, she gave him the following

instructions: "With all of your energy and devotion to the greatest

extent of your capacity, perform the vow of Shiva's worship on

sixteen consecutive Mondays. All of the pain and suffering that now

afflict you will completely dissolve if you worship Lord Shiva with

pure devotion."

The radiant Apsara then proceeded to tell the poor afflicted Brahmin

exactly how to perform the puja. "In the early morning of each

Monday you will bathe and wear a pure white cloth on your body. At

the time of cooking you will take a pound of pure white wheat flour,

mix with gur and ghee and fry. Offer this 'Churma' along with a ghee

lamp, as well as gur, beetle nut, a sacred thread, sandal paste,

some grains of rice and flowers. With these items especially, you

will worship Lord Shiva. You will adorn the blessed Lord Shiva with

three lines horizontally and with one mark in the center, and after

this you may also take prasad just as you have offered to Shiva.

Recite his mantras, sing His songs, perform the fire sacrifice, and

other forms of worship for the Lord.

"Completing your worship to Lord Shiva in this way for sixteen

Mondays, on the seventeenth Monday you will take ten pounds of pure

wheat flour, mix with ghee and gur and fry. Offer this 'Churma' to

the great Lord Shiva with all of your devotion and love. You may

then partake of the prasad, sharing in the blessings of Lord Shiva.

If you observe all that I have instructed, you will certainly be

freed from all pain and suffering, and you will soon attain the

highest graces and good fortune."

Finishing her discourse, the Apsara rose up and ascended into the

heavens. The Brahmin was completely amazed by this vision, and with

full faith, he observed the sankalpa of sixteen Mondays in every

detail. Every Monday he wore a pure white cloth, and chanted the

worship of Lord Shiva, offering the appropriate offerings. Following

this vow, he was freed from his disease and sorrow. He became a well

known, wealthy man and loved and respected by all of the people of

the kingdom. He taught the worship of Lord Shiva to many people, and

continued to inspire the people of his community to serve the Lord

with truth and joy.

One day that Brahmin priest returned to the temple where Parvati had

first cursed him. Parvati was amazed to se that the Brahmin was

healed of his disease. When Parvati learned of the power of the vow

of sixteen Mondays, she quickly went to her son Kartikeya to share

with him this wonderful secret of the regular worship of Lord Shiva.

Kartikeya shared the secret of this worship with his friend. This

friend had no wife and desiring to marry, he at once make the

sankalpa, or spiritual promise, to observe the vow of sixteen weeks,

praying for the blessing of a good marriage. After completing his

vow of worship for sixteen Mondays, the man left his native land and

traveled to another Kingdom. Arriving at this new land, he heard

that the King had made a very strange public declaration. That King

had promised his daughter's hand in marriage to the one who be

chosen by his elephant. The King's elephant would place a garland of

flowers around some man's neck, according to divine understanding,

and that man would become the husband of the princess.

The traveler went to witness this betrothal ceremony, as he had

never heard of such a curious way of fixing a marriage. The elephant

looked at all the men assembled for the occasion, and then put the

garland around his neck. The king happily gave his daughter in

marriage, and the traveler became a member of the Royal household.

It was some years later, that the King's daughter found out that her

husband had been chosen for the marriage after he had performed the

vow of Lord Shiva's worship for sixteen Mondays for that purpose.

She was eager to have a son, and decided to perform the vow of Lord

Shiva's worship for sixteen Mondays in order to have a beautiful son

who could become a king. The wife did this vow with such devotion

and love that Shiva was pleased, and she gave birth to a wonderful

son.

When the child grew up, he desired to become the king of a nation,

and therefore, he also took the vow of Lord Shiva's worship for

sixteen Mondays to become a good king. When his vow was complete, a

messenger came from another King asking whether he might like to

join with his daughter to become his wife. He was very happy when he

heard of this proposal, and he immediately consented, and the King

performed the marriage in a gay fashion. The King was delighted to

have completed his responsibility to his daughter, and being an old

man, he left his body just a short time following the marriage. The

young man then inherited the throne.

Immediately after taking over the duties of the kingdom, the new

King asked his wife to gather together all of the ingredients for

Shiva's puja. But his wife passed this order to one of her servants,

who prepared everything for the worship. While doing the puja, the

King received a message which was as follows: " If the King would

not leave that insolent wife, then his lineage would be finished."

Upon hearing this message, the King was extremely pained and filled

with wonder. He asked the ministers what was the matter, and what

should he do? The ministers advised him to leave the wife or he

would face ruin. Because the wife had not obeyed the King's order to

get ready his puja, but instead had asked her servant to do this,

such a wife would only cause him problems. The King again asked the

ministers what he should do, and they quickly told him, "Leave the

Queen!"

The queen was very sorry when she was exiled from the palace. She

wandered on her way, but no one would give her shelter. By this time

her status was reduced to a beggar. Her cloth was torn and she had

no shoes.

She tried to seek refuge with an old man, but she was chased away.

Then she asked for help from an old servant who was washing dishes,

but she was scared away. The queen had no place and was cold and

frightened. A milk man took her to a nearby Shiva temple, where she

told the priest her whole story. He had deep compassion for the poor

woman, and he gave her refuge in his temple. But whatever the queen

touched became ruined. Worms came into all of the food that she

touched, and at this the priest was extremely pained.

Then he told the queen to appease Lord Shiva by observing the vow of

sixteen Mondays. He explained to her the entire process, and with

great faith and devotion the queen followed this advice of the

priest.

On the seventeenth Monday, the King heard a divine voice telling him

to search for his wife. Then he sent ambassadors to search

everywhere for the exiled queen, and finally they came to the temple

where she was residing. Learning the whereabouts of his beloved

wife, the king immediately went to that temple to find her.

When the King learned how the queen had performed the vow of Shiva's

worship for sixteen consecutive Mondays, then he was very happy, and

he went to the temple priest to do him service and honor in thanks.

The priest listened to the King's story, and blessed them both.

When the King and Queen returned to the capital all of the subjects

of the kingdom welcomed them both with great love and devotion. Then

the king gave the people many gifts, and always worked hard at their

service. With the grace of Lord Shiva the King and Queen had

beautiful children, enjoyed many years of comfort and happiness in

their Kingdom, and ultimately went to the Shivaloka.

This is the story of the vow of Lord Shiva's Worship. Whoever will

read it with devotion, or listen to it with one pointed attention,

at the time of worship on Monday, will be blessed with health,

wealth, the cessation of all disturbances, and the fulfillment of

all desires. This is the promise of Lord Shiva. OM NAMAH SHIVAAYA.

November 8, 2003

Sarada,

I like stories, but I'm simple. For me, there were too many "ifs"

coming from God. If you this I will that, if you this I will that.

If you don't do, I wont and if you don't do I will.

It was a good story for a conditional God. I haven't known Siva to be

this conditional, but the stories that are created by man are amazing.

May Siva always bless me with simple vision, My Lord of Simplicity and

Love. God is not conditional, Man is.

Jai Maa! Kelly

Sarada <sarada_saraswati > wrote: This is the story of the

worship to be performed on sixteen consecutive Mondays. One day

Bhagawan Bhutanath, Lord Shiva, as the Lord of all Beings, went to

tour the sansar (the world of objects and relationships) along with

his beloved wife Parvati. They were traveling, seeing many different

lands, when they came to the city of Amaravati. There they saw a

great shining city, and they took shelter in one particular

Shivaloya, a temple of Lord Shiva.One day Parvati had a desire to

play "chalsar", an Indian dice game. While Shiva and Parvati sat

enjoying this game, a Brahmin pujari walked into the temple. Parvati

stopped and asked the priest, "Who will win this game?"Without

hesitation or much thought the pujari immediately responded, "

Shankarji. Shiva will win."After a short time Parvati did in fact

lose the

dice game and she became very angry. She thought that it was because

of the Brahmin's prediction that she had lost the game. Shiva advised

Parvati to remain calm and to control her anger, but Parvati would not

be easily appeased. Her anger grew into a great rage and she cursed

the Brahmin who had said she would lose the game. Parvati cursed the

Brahmin that he would suffer from leprosy.The Brahmin priest was

immediately attacked by the disease, and he became very sad and was

filled with great pain from the leprosy that developed. Many days

passed and the priest suffered a great deal. He thought, "For what

karma have I received such a curse from the Divine Mother? What will

I ever be able to do to get her grace once again?" In this way his

mind was extremely agitated, and his body pained.One day that Brahmin

priest went into the Shiva temple, where he saw a most beautiful

heavenly nymph. This beautiful and shining

angelic lady was an Apsara, a celestial maiden who serves the Gods.

Standing before the pain stricken priest, she gave him the following

instructions: "With all of your energy and devotion to the greatest

extent of your capacity, perform the vow of Shiva's worship on

sixteen consecutive Mondays. All of the pain and suffering that now

afflict you will completely dissolve if you worship Lord Shiva with

pure devotion."The radiant Apsara then proceeded to tell the poor

afflicted Brahmin exactly how to perform the puja. "In the early

morning of each Monday you will bathe and wear a pure white cloth on

your body. At the time of cooking you will take a pound of pure white

wheat flour, mix with gur and ghee and fry. Offer this 'Churma' along

with a ghee lamp, as well as gur, beetle nut, a sacred thread, sandal

paste, some grains of rice and flowers. With these items especially,

you will worship Lord Shiva. You will adorn the

blessed Lord Shiva with three lines horizontally and with one mark in

the center, and after this you may also take prasad just as you have

offered to Shiva. Recite his mantras, sing His songs, perform the

fire sacrifice, and other forms of worship for the Lord."Completing

your worship to Lord Shiva in this way for sixteen Mondays, on the

seventeenth Monday you will take ten pounds of pure wheat flour, mix

with ghee and gur and fry. Offer this 'Churma' to the great Lord

Shiva with all of your devotion and love. You may then partake of the

prasad, sharing in the blessings of Lord Shiva. If you observe all

that I have instructed, you will certainly be freed from all pain and

suffering, and you will soon attain the highest graces and good

fortune."Finishing her discourse, the Apsara rose up and ascended

into the heavens. The Brahmin was completely amazed by this vision,

and with full faith, he observed the sankalpa of

sixteen Mondays in every detail. Every Monday he wore a pure white

cloth, and chanted the worship of Lord Shiva, offering the

appropriate offerings. Following this vow, he was freed from his

disease and sorrow. He became a well known, wealthy man and loved and

respected by all of the people of the kingdom. He taught the worship

of Lord Shiva to many people, and continued to inspire the people of

his community to serve the Lord with truth and joy.One day that

Brahmin priest returned to the temple where Parvati had first cursed

him. Parvati was amazed to se that the Brahmin was healed of his

disease. When Parvati learned of the power of the vow of sixteen

Mondays, she quickly went to her son Kartikeya to share with him this

wonderful secret of the regular worship of Lord Shiva.Kartikeya shared

the secret of this worship with his friend. This friend had no wife

and desiring to marry, he at once make the sankalpa, or

spiritual promise, to observe the vow of sixteen weeks, praying for

the blessing of a good marriage. After completing his vow of worship

for sixteen Mondays, the man left his native land and traveled to

another Kingdom. Arriving at this new land, he heard that the King

had made a very strange public declaration. That King had promised

his daughter's hand in marriage to the one who be chosen by his

elephant. The King's elephant would place a garland of flowers around

some man's neck, according to divine understanding, and that man would

become the husband of the princess.The traveler went to witness this

betrothal ceremony, as he had never heard of such a curious way of

fixing a marriage. The elephant looked at all the men assembled for

the occasion, and then put the garland around his neck. The king

happily gave his daughter in marriage, and the traveler became a

member of the Royal household.It was some years later,

that the King's daughter found out that her husband had been chosen

for the marriage after he had performed the vow of Lord Shiva's

worship for sixteen Mondays for that purpose. She was eager to have a

son, and decided to perform the vow of Lord Shiva's worship for

sixteen Mondays in order to have a beautiful son who could become a

king. The wife did this vow with such devotion and love that Shiva

was pleased, and she gave birth to a wonderful son.When the child

grew up, he desired to become the king of a nation, and therefore, he

also took the vow of Lord Shiva's worship for sixteen Mondays to

become a good king. When his vow was complete, a messenger came from

another King asking whether he might like to join with his daughter

to become his wife. He was very happy when he heard of this proposal,

and he immediately consented, and the King performed the marriage in a

gay fashion. The King was delighted to have completed

his responsibility to his daughter, and being an old man, he left his

body just a short time following the marriage. The young man then

inherited the throne. Immediately after taking over the duties of the

kingdom, the new King asked his wife to gather together all of the

ingredients for Shiva's puja. But his wife passed this order to one

of her servants, who prepared everything for the worship. While doing

the puja, the King received a message which was as follows: " If the

King would not leave that insolent wife, then his lineage would be

finished."Upon hearing this message, the King was extremely pained

and filled with wonder. He asked the ministers what was the matter,

and what should he do? The ministers advised him to leave the wife or

he would face ruin. Because the wife had not obeyed the King's order

to get ready his puja, but instead had asked her servant to do this,

such a wife would only cause him problems.

The King again asked the ministers what he should do, and they quickly

told him, "Leave the Queen!"The queen was very sorry when she was

exiled from the palace. She wandered on her way, but no one would

give her shelter. By this time her status was reduced to a beggar.

Her cloth was torn and she had no shoes.She tried to seek refuge with

an old man, but she was chased away. Then she asked for help from an

old servant who was washing dishes, but she was scared away. The

queen had no place and was cold and frightened. A milk man took her

to a nearby Shiva temple, where she told the priest her whole story.

He had deep compassion for the poor woman, and he gave her refuge in

his temple. But whatever the queen touched became ruined. Worms came

into all of the food that she touched, and at this the priest was

extremely pained.Then he told the queen to appease Lord Shiva by

observing the vow of sixteen Mondays. He

explained to her the entire process, and with great faith and devotion

the queen followed this advice of the priest.On the seventeenth

Monday, the King heard a divine voice telling him to search for his

wife. Then he sent ambassadors to search everywhere for the exiled

queen, and finally they came to the temple where she was residing.

Learning the whereabouts of his beloved wife, the king immediately

went to that temple to find her.When the King learned how the queen

had performed the vow of Shiva's worship for sixteen consecutive

Mondays, then he was very happy, and he went to the temple priest to

do him service and honor in thanks. The priest listened to the King's

story, and blessed them both.When the King and Queen returned to the

capital all of the subjects of the kingdom welcomed them both with

great love and devotion. Then the king gave the people many gifts,

and always worked hard at their service. With

the grace of Lord Shiva the King and Queen had beautiful children,

enjoyed many years of comfort and happiness in their Kingdom, and

ultimately went to the Shivaloka.This is the story of the vow of Lord

Shiva's Worship. Whoever will read it with devotion, or listen to it

with one pointed attention, at the time of worship on Monday, will be

blessed with health, wealth, the cessation of all disturbances, and

the fulfillment of all desires. This is the promise of Lord Shiva. OM

NAMAH SHIVAAYA. To from this group, send an email

to:Your use of

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November 8, 2003

Namaste Sarada!

Thank you so much for this gift! Reminds me of "The Greatness of

Saturn", an upaye for Sade Sati.

Astraea

, "Sarada" <sarada_saraswati>

wrote:

> This is the story of the worship to be performed on sixteen

> consecutive Mondays.

>

> One day Bhagawan Bhutanath, Lord Shiva, as the Lord of all Beings,

> went to tour the sansar (the world of objects and relationships)

> along with his beloved wife Parvati. They were traveling, seeing

> many different lands, when they came to the city of Amaravati.

There

> they saw a great shining city, and they took shelter in one

> particular Shivaloya, a temple of Lord Shiva.

>

> One day Parvati had a desire to play "chalsar", an Indian dice

game.

> While Shiva and Parvati sat enjoying this game, a Brahmin pujari

> walked into the temple. Parvati stopped and asked the priest, "Who

> will win this game?"

>

> Without hesitation or much thought the pujari immediately

> responded, " Shankarji. Shiva will win."

>

> After a short time Parvati did in fact lose the dice game and she

> became very angry. She thought that it was because of the Brahmin's

> prediction that she had lost the game. Shiva advised Parvati to

> remain calm and to control her anger, but Parvati would not be

> easily appeased. Her anger grew into a great rage and she cursed

the

> Brahmin who had said she would lose the game. Parvati cursed the

> Brahmin that he would suffer from leprosy.

>

> The Brahmin priest was immediately attacked by the disease, and he

> became very sad and was filled with great pain from the leprosy

that

> developed. Many days passed and the priest suffered a great deal.

He

> thought, "For what karma have I received such a curse from the

> Divine Mother? What will I ever be able to do to get her grace once

> again?" In this way his mind was extremely agitated, and his body

> pained.

>

> One day that Brahmin priest went into the Shiva temple, where he

saw

> a most beautiful heavenly nymph. This beautiful and shining angelic

> lady was an Apsara, a celestial maiden who serves the Gods.

Standing

> before the pain stricken priest, she gave him the following

> instructions: "With all of your energy and devotion to the greatest

> extent of your capacity, perform the vow of Shiva's worship on

> sixteen consecutive Mondays. All of the pain and suffering that now

> afflict you will completely dissolve if you worship Lord Shiva with

> pure devotion."

>

> The radiant Apsara then proceeded to tell the poor afflicted

Brahmin

> exactly how to perform the puja. "In the early morning of each

> Monday you will bathe and wear a pure white cloth on your body. At

> the time of cooking you will take a pound of pure white wheat

flour,

> mix with gur and ghee and fry. Offer this 'Churma' along with a

ghee

> lamp, as well as gur, beetle nut, a sacred thread, sandal paste,

> some grains of rice and flowers. With these items especially, you

> will worship Lord Shiva. You will adorn the blessed Lord Shiva with

> three lines horizontally and with one mark in the center, and after

> this you may also take prasad just as you have offered to Shiva.

> Recite his mantras, sing His songs, perform the fire sacrifice, and

> other forms of worship for the Lord.

>

> "Completing your worship to Lord Shiva in this way for sixteen

> Mondays, on the seventeenth Monday you will take ten pounds of pure

> wheat flour, mix with ghee and gur and fry. Offer this 'Churma' to

> the great Lord Shiva with all of your devotion and love. You may

> then partake of the prasad, sharing in the blessings of Lord Shiva.

> If you observe all that I have instructed, you will certainly be

> freed from all pain and suffering, and you will soon attain the

> highest graces and good fortune."

>

> Finishing her discourse, the Apsara rose up and ascended into the

> heavens. The Brahmin was completely amazed by this vision, and with

> full faith, he observed the sankalpa of sixteen Mondays in every

> detail. Every Monday he wore a pure white cloth, and chanted the

> worship of Lord Shiva, offering the appropriate offerings.

Following

> this vow, he was freed from his disease and sorrow. He became a

well

> known, wealthy man and loved and respected by all of the people of

> the kingdom. He taught the worship of Lord Shiva to many people,

and

> continued to inspire the people of his community to serve the Lord

> with truth and joy.

>

> One day that Brahmin priest returned to the temple where Parvati

had

> first cursed him. Parvati was amazed to se that the Brahmin was

> healed of his disease. When Parvati learned of the power of the vow

> of sixteen Mondays, she quickly went to her son Kartikeya to share

> with him this wonderful secret of the regular worship of Lord Shiva.

>

> Kartikeya shared the secret of this worship with his friend. This

> friend had no wife and desiring to marry, he at once make the

> sankalpa, or spiritual promise, to observe the vow of sixteen

weeks,

> praying for the blessing of a good marriage. After completing his

> vow of worship for sixteen Mondays, the man left his native land

and

> traveled to another Kingdom. Arriving at this new land, he heard

> that the King had made a very strange public declaration. That King

> had promised his daughter's hand in marriage to the one who be

> chosen by his elephant. The King's elephant would place a garland

of

> flowers around some man's neck, according to divine understanding,

> and that man would become the husband of the princess.

>

> The traveler went to witness this betrothal ceremony, as he had

> never heard of such a curious way of fixing a marriage. The

elephant

> looked at all the men assembled for the occasion, and then put the

> garland around his neck. The king happily gave his daughter in

> marriage, and the traveler became a member of the Royal household.

>

> It was some years later, that the King's daughter found out that

her

> husband had been chosen for the marriage after he had performed the

> vow of Lord Shiva's worship for sixteen Mondays for that purpose.

> She was eager to have a son, and decided to perform the vow of Lord

> Shiva's worship for sixteen Mondays in order to have a beautiful

son

> who could become a king. The wife did this vow with such devotion

> and love that Shiva was pleased, and she gave birth to a wonderful

> son.

>

> When the child grew up, he desired to become the king of a nation,

> and therefore, he also took the vow of Lord Shiva's worship for

> sixteen Mondays to become a good king. When his vow was complete, a

> messenger came from another King asking whether he might like to

> join with his daughter to become his wife. He was very happy when

he

> heard of this proposal, and he immediately consented, and the King

> performed the marriage in a gay fashion. The King was delighted to

> have completed his responsibility to his daughter, and being an old

> man, he left his body just a short time following the marriage. The

> young man then inherited the throne.

>

> Immediately after taking over the duties of the kingdom, the new

> King asked his wife to gather together all of the ingredients for

> Shiva's puja. But his wife passed this order to one of her

servants,

> who prepared everything for the worship. While doing the puja, the

> King received a message which was as follows: " If the King would

> not leave that insolent wife, then his lineage would be finished."

>

> Upon hearing this message, the King was extremely pained and filled

> with wonder. He asked the ministers what was the matter, and what

> should he do? The ministers advised him to leave the wife or he

> would face ruin. Because the wife had not obeyed the King's order

to

> get ready his puja, but instead had asked her servant to do this,

> such a wife would only cause him problems. The King again asked the

> ministers what he should do, and they quickly told him, "Leave the

> Queen!"

>

> The queen was very sorry when she was exiled from the palace. She

> wandered on her way, but no one would give her shelter. By this

time

> her status was reduced to a beggar. Her cloth was torn and she had

> no shoes.

>

> She tried to seek refuge with an old man, but she was chased away.

> Then she asked for help from an old servant who was washing dishes,

> but she was scared away. The queen had no place and was cold and

> frightened. A milk man took her to a nearby Shiva temple, where she

> told the priest her whole story. He had deep compassion for the

poor

> woman, and he gave her refuge in his temple. But whatever the queen

> touched became ruined. Worms came into all of the food that she

> touched, and at this the priest was extremely pained.

>

> Then he told the queen to appease Lord Shiva by observing the vow

of

> sixteen Mondays. He explained to her the entire process, and with

> great faith and devotion the queen followed this advice of the

> priest.

>

> On the seventeenth Monday, the King heard a divine voice telling

him

> to search for his wife. Then he sent ambassadors to search

> everywhere for the exiled queen, and finally they came to the

temple

> where she was residing. Learning the whereabouts of his beloved

> wife, the king immediately went to that temple to find her.

>

> When the King learned how the queen had performed the vow of

Shiva's

> worship for sixteen consecutive Mondays, then he was very happy,

and

> he went to the temple priest to do him service and honor in thanks.

> The priest listened to the King's story, and blessed them both.

>

> When the King and Queen returned to the capital all of the subjects

> of the kingdom welcomed them both with great love and devotion.

Then

> the king gave the people many gifts, and always worked hard at

their

> service. With the grace of Lord Shiva the King and Queen had

> beautiful children, enjoyed many years of comfort and happiness in

> their Kingdom, and ultimately went to the Shivaloka.

>

> This is the story of the vow of Lord Shiva's Worship. Whoever will

> read it with devotion, or listen to it with one pointed attention,

> at the time of worship on Monday, will be blessed with health,

> wealth, the cessation of all disturbances, and the fulfillment of

> all desires. This is the promise of Lord Shiva. OM NAMAH SHIVAAYA.

November 8, 2003

I just sat down to ask more questions and a peer sat down next to me

telling me story of Jesus in her heart. She always thought Jesus was

really in her heart, the physical heart and lived her life that way

for 35 years, truely believing what others taught her. Then she saw

on TV, they had taken a baboons heart and put it into a human. How

could Jesus live in the Baboon heart? is what she thought. She was

crushed, after all, the sunday school teachers told her, Jesus is in

her heart and she took it literally. How crushed she was at 35 to

know Jesus didn't live in the physical heart. Her faith in that

thought caused her alot of heartache to know what she believed all

this time was not true and that Jesus living in the heart was a

metaphor for the spiritual heart. Some might call her stupid, but

really it's extreme innocense.

Here I was sitting down to ask questions reexamining my original

thought about stories like these that Sarada told and Maa gives me a

peer to tell me a story, right out of the blue. Story's are nice but

they can mislead the literal minded. Who would think a 35 year old

innocent lady would be that literal? Well, many are literal like

that from simplicity or having extreme faith in a comment that wasn't

true.

How many literal minded devotee's think Shiva is that conditional?

How many Rishi's really thought Shiva was that conditional? Would

God tell a King to exile his wife? Good heavens No. She was

innocent too, the wife, doing what a Queen does. She was being a

perfect Queen, delegating to the servant and God decided to punish.

This seems to be a very close correlation to the fire and brimstone

Christianity where God was an Angry and Punishing God. I had no idea

Hinduism followed suit and had fire and brimstone, this story was an

eye opener for me.

I love stories that give insight to nature and God and humans. Many

people can see stories from different angels and it's all relative.

Personally, I could not follow a Rishi who taught that God was

conditional. I'm assuming these stories come from Rishi's. Here are

my questions about religious stories:

1. If Rishi's wrote them, Who or what defines a Rishi?

2. Why do people need God to be conditional or superstitious?

3. Isn't the idea of good/bad a morality issue and based off superstition?

4. Was there a period of time, a yuga where the Rishi's told stories

like this for a reason? Was it power-over to keep people in-line to

teach that God was a angry and punishing God?

5. Why do humans need God to be Angry and Punishing? Why would a

Sage teach others that? Is he really a Sage if he does? Or is he

really a Rishi if he does? Does he tell stories so that some will

discard it for higher truth and some won't? Is it a test?

5. Aren't we supposed to be getting past conditional love and if so,

Why do we love stories like this? What is the attraction?

6. Are stories like this supposed to show the imperfect nature of

God? To show us that God is no different than us on all levels?

After all, sending anyone away for an innocent mistake is violent and

all these characters in this play think they are practicing ahimsa?

7. If the 'spell' parvati casted on the brahmin was on purpose, Could

she be considered our Ishta? What is Maa in this form an example?

Don't you think the Brahmin belived her like my friend thought Jesus

was really in her physical heart? Don't you think the innocent

belief in someone elses curse is what manifested such disease, the

beleif that the Curse was real? Illness can be psychosomatic, so

hearing a wish from anyone can make a curse very real if the person

is literal to beleive it. Maybe the Brahmin was literal.

So, my main question, is Why do we believe these stories? What do we

get from them? Are they complex parables? I like simple parabales

like what Rumi talks of, or Ramakrishna, but when stories show God as

angry, conditional and punishing that is definately a questionable

Rishi. I even told my Guru I don't trust many Rishi's because they

are superstitious.

If we believe stories like this, then the aids patient must have been

gay or the herbalist must have been a devil worshiper. Why do we

like these stories?

Brian McKee mentioned certain things keep him up at night. Examples

like these stories keep me up and so this is why I ask many

questions. I'm sincerely looking for insight to why the devotee's

need God to be conditional and Why that is their Goal?

Namaste,KellySarada <sarada_saraswati > wrote:

This is the story of the worship to be performed on sixteen

consecutive Mondays. One day Bhagawan Bhutanath, Lord Shiva, as the

Lord of all Beings, went to tour the sansar (the world of objects and

relationships) along with his beloved wife Parvati. They were

traveling, seeing many different lands, when they came to the city of

Amaravati. There they saw a great shining city, and they took shelter

in one particular Shivaloya, a temple of Lord Shiva.One day Parvati

had a desire to play "chalsar", an Indian dice game. While Shiva and

Parvati sat enjoying this game, a Brahmin pujari walked into the

temple. Parvati stopped and asked the priest, "Who will win this

game?"Without hesitation or much thought the pujari immediately

responded, " Shankarji. Shiva will win."After a short time Parvati

did in fact lose the