to Parvati: Rudraksha

[Guest guest]

, "parv108" <parv108:

 

"We wear the eyes of Rudra that sees the whole manifested

existence when we wear a rudraksha"

 

Oh Parvati ji! This really gives me goosebumps! i will never look at

my beloved Rudraksha Mala in quite the same way! It is Shiva! It is

Shiva! It is Shiva! OM.

 

Om Namah Shivaya!

muktimaa

 

 

 

 

 

>

>

> Day 6 Q/A feedback

>

> Kumari said:

>

> Swami gives a nice translation of the Gayatri Viddhi verses. I

> would like to know why the Gayatri Viddhi goes after the worship

> is started since the mantras are declarative, and purify all the

> three bodies and beyond. One would think we would start our

> puja with this set of mantras first.

>

> Swamiji says:

> First we want to welcome the Gods and Goddesses and tell

> them who we are and what are planning to do. Then we

> commence the process of doing it.

>

> Kalachandra says:

>

> I have a question about the Arati to Sri Ramakrishna. I offer

light,

> water, cloth, flower and fanner (I don´t know the name) with the

> mulamantra. There are anny mantra? Is the same mantra Shiva

> Puja:

> Light: Om agnir jyoti...

> Water:  mulamantra +ganga ganga snanam samarpaiami ( I

> must ti chant before: Om Gange ca jamune caiva godavari...

> Cloth: mulamantra + vastram samarpaiami

> Flower: ete gandapuspe+mulamantra ( in this flower I can to do

> prarthana and dhenu mudra with Om puspa maha puspa...

> Fanner ?

>  

> When  I offer the camphor ?After the what? What mantra? This

> mantra Shiva Puja advanced? Or these mantras are only to

> Complet Puja?

> There are anny mumber rounds in this offerings. (4 in feet, 2 in

> heart, 1 in face, 7 around?) or this is not necessary?

>

> Parvati says:

>

> First we will distinguish between Shiva puja and arati.

>

> When you do Shiva puja you will do all of the offerings (pgs.

> 23-27) beginner shiva puja book with the given mantra in the

> book.

>

> Ex: cloth: mulamantra + vastram samarpayaami

>

> You can substitute Ramakrishna's muula mantra for Shiva's

> muula mantra.

>

> You will follow the instructions for the mudras as written in the

> beginner shiva puja book. Ex: Page15 when purifying the water

> use ankush mudra.

>

> When purifying the flowers (pg.16 beginner shiva puja) you will

> do prarthana mudra and dhenu mudra over the flowers. You do

> not do these mudras during the offerings at the end.

>

> The camphor offering comes after the incense and the mantra

> is in the Advanced Shiva puja book page 15. You will recite the

> aaraatrikam mantra and wave the camphor after offering the light

> and incense in the beginning of the puja.

>

> Now for ARATI.

>

> Arati is a song and dance of praise. In the arati you will offer

> incense, light, camphor, cloth, fan, flower plus other items which

> you may or may not have but we will discuss later. When you

> offer these items in arati you do not say the mantra. You can sing

> Shiva's arati and offer these items as you dance, sing and ring

> the bell.

>

> One way to do the offerings during arati is to wave the articles in

> a clockwise rotation 4 times around the feet, 2 around the heart

> and 3 around face and 7 around whole deity.

>

> Hope this helps.

>

> Kaliananda says:

>

> There is no question at this time I just wanted to

> share the thought that as I read the transliteration

> of "om payah prthivyam .........." - "om Earth is a

> reservoir of nectar, all vegetation is a resevoir of

> nectar, the divine atmosphere is a reservoir of

> nectar, and also above."

>

> I could not help but thinking of Beloved Mother Shree

> Maa's song - You grant the best of all the worlds (Oh

> Dark Night Mother). The divine nectar is everywhere,

> waiting to flood our being, if only we would wake up.

>

> May all perceptions shine forth with the sweet taste

> of nectar for us.

>

> Parvati says: Thanks for sharing this sweet verse. It is true that

> the divine nectar is everywhere perhaps that is why Maa is

> always reminding us to "wake up" in so many ways. That is why

> she came to this earth plane, to remind us of who we are.

>

> Q: May I ask please if these mantras may only be recited

> in puja? May they be recited prior to japa? !

>

> A: Yes. These mantras may be recited prior to puja.

>

> Nanda

> asks:

>

> Why rudraksha ? Is there a

> special reason why we offer Rudraksha to the deities as part of

> ourofferings. What is the significance to wearing Rudraksha and

> being gifted rudraksha by Maa and Swamiji ?

>

> A:Defining the sanskrit and meaning of the word rudraksha may

> help answer some of your questions:

>

> Lord Siva is also known as Rudra. The meaning of the name

> Rudra is traceable to the Vedas.

>

> The word Rudra means asru trayate. Rudra asru trayate. Asru

> means tears and trayate means to take away. Rudra who takes

> away the tears of pain or suffering.

>

> Now let's look at the word rudraksha:

>

> Ru means to cry, pain, suffering

> dra means to take away, stops

> aksha means eyes or whole entire manifestation

> Rudrasksha could mean that which takes away the tears,

> suffering, or pain

> Rudraksha could mean the eyes of Rudra which sees the whole

> manifested existence.

> We wear the eyes of Rudra that sees the whole manifested

> existence when we wear a rudraksha.

>

> Legend has it that Lord Shiva once entered a profound state of

> meditation for the benefit of mankind for a very long time. When

> he finally emerged from this state and opened his eyes, the

> deep joy, peace, and love he felt for the human race was

> expressed with sacred tears which ran down his cheek and fell

> to earth. Each tear generated a rudraksha tree whose tiny fruits

> are born of the tears of rudra—the Lord Almighty Himself.

>

> Knowing that the Rudraksha takes away our tears of suffering

> and pain why not offer this auspicious seed. Wearing

> Rudrakshas offer protection and remind us of the divinity which

> resides within and without this creation.

> If you were gifted with a rudraksha from Shree Maa and Swamij

> consider it a great blessing. You can either wear it around your

> neck or use it as an offering in your puja.

>

> FYI found this on the web:

>

> Botanically, the rudraksha tree is known as Elaecarpus ganitrus

> Roxb. These trees grow in very few places in the world including

> the Himalayas of India and Nepal, as well as in parts of

> Indonesia. They are large trees with a wide silhouette whose

> flowers bloom annually. The rudraksha berry varies in size (3-40

> mm; 1/8 to 1½ inches).

>

> It has smooth light green skin and pulp much like a green

> grape. Lodged within the pulp is a single round seed which has

> a rough surface and a hole running through it from top to bottom.

>

> It is these seeds which are the rudraksha beads. Each seed

> also possesses fron 1 to 21 vertical lines running down its

> surface, like the longitude lines on a globe. These lines are

> known as mukhas, or facets, and are natural formations of the

> seed. Seeds with one vertical line are known as ek-mukhi (one

> facet); those with two lines are dwi-mukhi (two facets), and so

> on. Each rudraksha has a spsecific meaning depending on how

> many faces it has.

>

> There is more information in the Devi Bhagavatam and Shiva

> Puranas about Rudrakshas.

>

>

> Kalachandra asked: (about purification of the maala.)

> In this moment we need perform a japa ?

>

> Parvati says: No. We do not perform japa when we purify our

> maala. We just recite the mantra to our maala.

>

> Ramya said:

> We pray to our rosary to help us!

> Why? Because our rosary holds all energy within it as its intrinsic

> nature.

>

> By saying the mantras with love and concentration - we become

> one with the Divine Mantras. That helps us to manifest this

> divinity in all our actions, thoughts and words -- we can attain

our

> ideal of

> perfection (dharma). To attain this we gather adequate

> resources (artha), invite only desires that help us attain our

ideal

> (kama) and acheive moksha (liberation). Isn't it interesting that

> we are praying to our mala here to give us

> perfection? With prayers to Her to help all Her children come

> soon to Her and rest at Her Divine Feet!

>

> Parvati said: Thanks for sharing your inspiration and insight

> about the maala and how it helps us attain the four objectives of

> life. You are right that all of our prayers and effort help us come

> closer to Her.

>

> Henny asked:

> one question: are you supposed to actually take up your mala

> and hold it in your right hand when you start reciting these

> mantra's? And when

> you have finished reciting, what do you do with the mala?

>

> Ramya said:

>

> I wear the mala around my neck, so i just take it out and hold it

> for the duration of these three verses and then put it back. I have

> seen other people, who have malas in bags, take them out and

> hold them and then put the malas back in the bag. Whatever is

> most comfortable for you!

>

> Parvati said: I have seen both ways also. Also, I have seen

> people who wear their maala and then touch it while it is around

> their neck and recite the mantra for the maala. I agree that

> whatever works best for you is best.

> Thanks for asking the question, Henny.

>

> May Lord Shiva continue to bless us and the universe with

> peace.