to beloved sister Henny: Beginner Puja – Day 17 – Series Finale

April 5, 2005

, "henny_v_i" <HvI@S...> wrote:

>

> "hopefully this little

plant is going to surprise me with a beautiful flower one day"

Dear sweet, humble sister Henny,

YOU are one of the lovliest fragrant flowers within the Celestial

Garden of Delight, and Lord Shiva is smiling in Holy acceptance of

this beautiful fragrant offering--so beautifully scented with humble

sincerity.

Jai Maa! Jai Swamiji! Jai Ramakrishna Deva!

From the heart of your sister,

muktimaa

> Dear Nanda,

>

> Thank you for your answers to yesterday's questions. You said it,

> having reached the end of our journey, we are also at the beginning

of

> a new one: the actual doing of the puja. And this new journey

brings

> with it new questions. So, at the end of the series, I'll slip in

just

> one more:

> I have acquired some sindoor today and have tried to apply it as an

> offering, and this is the question: how do you avoid getting the

stuff

> all over your clothes and how do clean your pinky (which I used to

> apply the dot with) so you won't get your garland and bell etc.

etc.

> all red? Or is it just me?

> Anyway, at the end of the series, I want you to know I am very

> grateful for this wonderful seed that has been given me. And now I

am

> going to cultivate this tender sprout that has come up: I am going

to

> water it by practicing this puja until it is in my blood and I am

> going to enrich the earth by looking up all the stories behind

Shiva's

> names and behind the names of all the deities to whom we are

offering.

> I am going to give it air by practicing japa and I am going to let

it

> grow in the sun's light by opening my heart and hopefully this

little

> plant is going to surprise me with a beautiful flower one day.

>

> I bow to Lord Shiva, white as jasmine,

> I bow to Shree Maa and Swami Satyananda Saraswati,

> I bow to you, Nanda,

> and I bow to all who have made these lessons such a valuable

> experience,

>

> with love,

> Henny

>

And, as you do, you realize you forgot--- In

(AT) (DOT)

> com, Nanda <chandimaakijai> wrote:

> >

> > Dear All,

> >

> > This is IT! We have reached the end of our journey – the study of

> the theory of puja , and the beginning of a new one – the actual

doing

> of the puja.

> >

> > I would like to wrap up with a few topics. I still have a few

open

> questions from the old posts that I will get answered in a few days.

> >

> > Cleaning the puja area. Preparation for the next day.

> >

> > At the end of the day, when you are ready to wind down business,

you

> would clear your puja area. This means you would remove flowers,

any

> offerings, rudraksh and the cloth that you offered during puja. You

> would also remove the water (give it to a plant if possible), and

make

> your altar as clean as possible.

> >

> > Remember we dispose old flowers and akshat under the foot of a

tree

> on in running water if possible. If you offered fruit, you could

share

> it with friends and family as prasad.

> >

> > Oh one thing, Swamiji suggests that we chant the Gayatri mantra

(Om

> Bhur Bhuvah Svah ... pracodayat ) when we start the cleaning. This

> means your could either chant it once before you start OR like Maa

has

> suggested elsewhere you could keep this mantra going while you

> complete this task and prepare for the next day.

> >

> > It is all up to you!

> >

> > Final Exams

> >

> > Write a thesis in 10,000 words (you can write it in Dutch, Henny

if

> you prefer) on Shiva Puja Practice and its impact on World Economy

> from a Socio-political-religious perspective. (Alright Alright Just

> Kidding!) ...

> >

> > I was looking through Rosie's bio on the group and in that she

> mentions "Maa had asked me to learn Beginner Siva Puja. Then after

I

> learned the puja, she asked me to write down WHY I do puja. I tried

> very hard to find a nice and concise statement that summed up their

> teaching, but truly, I kept feeling that I do puja because they do

> puja and because they asked me to too."

> >

> > So taking a leaf from Rosie's book, can you email me

> (chandimaakijai ) WHY you do puja ?

> >

> > I will take your responses, compile them into one post and also

send

> it off to Maa and Swamiji.

> >

> > We will get their blessings to our responses, as a way of

clarifying

> our goals and commitment to our puja.

> >

> > When things don't go as planned and we want to take refuge, we

can

> go back to our reasons why we want to do puja,

> >

> > And take heart in the fact that we have shared them with Maa and

> Swamiji and they have blessed this endeavor.

> >

> > So think on this carefully - WHY do I want to do Puja? - And send

it

> to me by Friday 8th 5 PM Pacific Time.

> >

> > Also if you are not comfortable sharing your "WHY" with the

group ,

> do let me know and I will not include it in my post, but will

forward

> only to Swamiji.

> >

> > Where do we go from here?

> >

> > Well, I speak from personal experience here; it is amazing how

much

> we learn when we try to explain the practice to others. So if you

> benefit from your practice, I would humbly request you to try to

> teach/explain the Beginner Puja to a friend. You will then find

your

> own questions getting answered in the process.

> >

> > So one thing you could do is to share the learning.

> >

> > Another thing we could all do is to expand our puja. This means

> learning mantras that expand our current practices. And we can give

> ourselves some time in the next few weeks/months - and learn

> intermediate or advanced techniques that we can add to our pujas.

> >

> > Lots of possibilities and thankfully we have our Gurus to guide

and

> inspire us.

> >

> > I bow down to Shree Maa and Swamiji for making this forum

available

> for our growth.

> >

> > I bow down to you, dear readers , for your satsanga.

> >

> > Jai Shiva

> >

> > Nanda

> >

April 5, 2005

Ah Muktimaa,

my garden is now watered with tears of joy. Thank you for your

generosity,

with love,

Henny

, "muktimaa" <muktimaa@a...> wrote:

>

> , "henny_v_i" <HvI@S...> wrote:

> >

> > "hopefully this little

> plant is going to surprise me with a beautiful flower one day"

>

> Dear sweet, humble sister Henny,

>

> YOU are one of the lovliest fragrant flowers within the Celestial

> Garden of Delight, and Lord Shiva is smiling in Holy acceptance of

> this beautiful fragrant offering--so beautifully scented with humble

> sincerity.

> Jai Maa! Jai Swamiji! Jai Ramakrishna Deva!

> From the heart of your sister,

> muktimaa

>

> > Dear Nanda,

> >

> > Thank you for your answers to yesterday's questions. You said it,

> > having reached the end of our journey, we are also at the

beginning

> of

> > a new one: the actual doing of the puja. And this new journey

> brings

> > with it new questions. So, at the end of the series, I'll slip in

> just

> > one more:

> > I have acquired some sindoor today and have tried to apply it as

an

> > offering, and this is the question: how do you avoid getting the

> stuff

> > all over your clothes and how do clean your pinky (which I used to

> > apply the dot with) so you won't get your garland and bell etc.

> etc.

> > all red? Or is it just me?

> > Anyway, at the end of the series, I want you to know I am very

> > grateful for this wonderful seed that has been given me. And now I

> am

> > going to cultivate this tender sprout that has come up: I am going

> to

> > water it by practicing this puja until it is in my blood and I am

> > going to enrich the earth by looking up all the stories behind

> Shiva's

> > names and behind the names of all the deities to whom we are

> offering.

> > I am going to give it air by practicing japa and I am going to let

> it

> > grow in the sun's light by opening my heart and hopefully this

> little

> > plant is going to surprise me with a beautiful flower one day.

> >

> > I bow to Lord Shiva, white as jasmine,

> > I bow to Shree Maa and Swami Satyananda Saraswati,

> > I bow to you, Nanda,

> > and I bow to all who have made these lessons such a valuable

> > experience,

> >

> > with love,

> > Henny

> >

> > And, as you do, you realize you forgot--- In

> (AT) (DOT)

> > com, Nanda <chandimaakijai> wrote:

> > >

> > > Dear All,

> > >

> > > This is IT! We have reached the end of our journey – the study

of

> > the theory of puja , and the beginning of a new one – the actual

> doing

> > of the puja.

> > >

> > > I would like to wrap up with a few topics. I still have a few

> open

> > questions from the old posts that I will get answered in a few

days.

> > >

> > > Cleaning the puja area. Preparation for the next day.

> > >

> > > At the end of the day, when you are ready to wind down business,

> you

> > would clear your puja area. This means you would remove flowers,

> any

> > offerings, rudraksh and the cloth that you offered during puja.

You

> > would also remove the water (give it to a plant if possible), and

> make

> > your altar as clean as possible.

> > >

> > > Remember we dispose old flowers and akshat under the foot of a

> tree

> > on in running water if possible. If you offered fruit, you could

> share

> > it with friends and family as prasad.

> > >

> > > Oh one thing, Swamiji suggests that we chant the Gayatri mantra

> (Om

> > Bhur Bhuvah Svah ... pracodayat ) when we start the cleaning. This

> > means your could either chant it once before you start OR like Maa

> has

> > suggested elsewhere you could keep this mantra going while you

> > complete this task and prepare for the next day.

> > >

> > > It is all up to you!

> > >

> > > Final Exams

> > >

> > > Write a thesis in 10,000 words (you can write it in Dutch, Henny

> if

> > you prefer) on Shiva Puja Practice and its impact on World Economy

> > from a Socio-political-religious perspective. (Alright Alright

Just

> > Kidding!) ...

> > >

> > > I was looking through Rosie's bio on the group and in that she

> > mentions "Maa had asked me to learn Beginner Siva Puja. Then after

> I

> > learned the puja, she asked me to write down WHY I do puja. I

tried

> > very hard to find a nice and concise statement that summed up

their

> > teaching, but truly, I kept feeling that I do puja because they do

> > puja and because they asked me to too."

> > >

> > > So taking a leaf from Rosie's book, can you email me

> > (chandimaakijai ) WHY you do puja ?

> > >

> > > I will take your responses, compile them into one post and also

> send

> > it off to Maa and Swamiji.

> > >

> > > We will get their blessings to our responses, as a way of

> clarifying

> > our goals and commitment to our puja.

> > >

> > > When things don't go as planned and we want to take refuge, we

> can

> > go back to our reasons why we want to do puja,

> > >

> > > And take heart in the fact that we have shared them with Maa and

> > Swamiji and they have blessed this endeavor.

> > >

> > > So think on this carefully - WHY do I want to do Puja? - And

send

> it

> > to me by Friday 8th 5 PM Pacific Time.

> > >

> > > Also if you are not comfortable sharing your "WHY" with the

> group ,

> > do let me know and I will not include it in my post, but will

> forward

> > only to Swamiji.

> > >

> > > Where do we go from here?

> > >

> > > Well, I speak from personal experience here; it is amazing how

> much

> > we learn when we try to explain the practice to others. So if you

> > benefit from your practice, I would humbly request you to try to

> > teach/explain the Beginner Puja to a friend. You will then find

> your

> > own questions getting answered in the process.

> > >

> > > So one thing you could do is to share the learning.

> > >

> > > Another thing we could all do is to expand our puja. This means

> > learning mantras that expand our current practices. And we can

give

> > ourselves some time in the next few weeks/months - and learn

> > intermediate or advanced techniques that we can add to our pujas.

> > >

> > > Lots of possibilities and thankfully we have our Gurus to guide

> and

> > inspire us.

> > >

> > > I bow down to Shree Maa and Swamiji for making this forum

> available

> > for our growth.

> > >

> > > I bow down to you, dear readers , for your satsanga.

> > >

> > > Jai Shiva

> > >

> > > Nanda

> > >

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