Guest guest Posted August 15, 2005 Report Share Posted August 15, 2005 Om Namah Shivaya dear family! Our dear Swamiji was asked, *"what is the literal meaning of Kushandika?" Swamiji: "Kushandika has two meanings. First, it means an abbreviated (sanskipta) prelude to homa. That is, a small avahan for Agni. The second meaning comes from kush - to shine; andera - in the darkness, which refers to the series of mantras with which we begin any puja: bowing to Gods and Goddesses, washing our hands and mouth, purifying the asana, and establishing the bhava appropriate for worship. The purpose of our worship is to surrender the ego in the light of wisdom through devoted service of the Supreme. So all we perceive is peace, all that is is at peace, peace, peace, peace." [*this is found in the Devi Mandir FAQ] i hope this helps Karen and any other devotees who may have had the same question. Jai Maa! Jai Swamiji! Jai Thakur! muktimaa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 16, 2005 Report Share Posted August 16, 2005 Om Namah Shivaya dear family!Our dear Swamiji was asked, *"what is the literal meaning of Kushandika?"Swamiji: "Kushandika has two meanings. First, it means an abbreviated (sanskipta) prelude to homa. That is, a small avahan for Agni. The second meaning comes from kush - to shine; andera - in the darkness, which refers to the series of mantras with which we begin any puja: bowing to Gods and Goddesses, washing our hands and mouth, purifying the asana, and establishing the bhava appropriate for worship. The purpose of our worship is to surrender the ego in the light of wisdom through devoted service of the Supreme. So all we perceive is peace, all that is is at peace, peace, peace, peace." [*this is found in the Devi Mandir FAQ]i hope this helps Karen and any other devotees who may have had the same question.Jai Maa! Jai Swamiji! Jai Thakur! muktimaa Start your day with - make it your home page Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 16, 2005 Report Share Posted August 16, 2005 Om Namah Sivaya, Namaste Karen and everybody, My understanding is that kushandika refers to all the mantras that we say at the beginning of chanting any scripture -- it begins with "Sri Manmahaganadhipataye namaha"....until ""Om Shantih Shantih Shantih" In the Kali Puja classes on the web, Swamiji says that we say these mantras everytime (at the beginning) when we sit down to chant. I thought it is kind of like a "thank you" for the priviledge of chanting - Thanks to all the Gods, Divine Beings and the entire universe to make this moment happen - where we can just sit and worship! And our worship begins with remembering Ganapati (Sri Manmahaganadhpaytaye namaha) -- Lord Ganesh! And he is so cute that it puts a smile on our face immediately! So the beginning of our worship, is the end of all obstacles and worries - beginning of smiles and the sweetness of devotion! Also, it is so nice when we say the Shanti mantras at the end of the kushandika - it sets such a sublime tone for our entire worship - we are chanting for peace and all the Gods are with us and helping us! Karen - we are being "Instruments of His peace" :-) I think Parvati answered in another post that we can say the Mala mantras independently before we do japa. Parvati, please can you confirm this for us? Thank you so very much! Jai Maa! Jai Swamiji! May God bless us to become divine and fill our earth with pure love and be pure instruments of truth and peace. Om Shanti! Om Shanti! Om Shanti! Jai MAA! ramya , Karen <forall10q> wrote: > Thank you for this information, muktimaa. I hate to say this but I am still confused. These things are hard for me to grasp, and sometimes I don't really understand the application. When I read Ramya's post, I thought she was referring to the mala mantras. Somehow I thought kushandika related to them. Did I get this wrong? What I am trying to understand is if the mala mantras from the Shiva Puja could be used by themselves outside of puja. For instance, would it be appropriate to use these mantras before doing any japa? They don't just refer to rudraksha malas, do they? Still confused but with many 10Qs, Karen > > muktimaa <muktimaa@a...> wrote:Om Namah Shivaya dear family! > Our dear Swamiji was asked, > *"what is the literal meaning of Kushandika?" > > Swamiji: "Kushandika has two meanings. > > First, it means an abbreviated (sanskipta) prelude to homa. That is, > a small avahan for Agni. > > The second meaning comes from kush - to shine; andera - in the > darkness, which refers to the series of mantras with which we begin > any puja: bowing to Gods and Goddesses, washing our hands and mouth, > purifying the asana, and establishing the bhava appropriate for > worship. > > The purpose of our worship is to surrender the ego in the light of > wisdom through devoted service of the Supreme. So all we perceive is > peace, all that is is at peace, peace, peace, peace." > > [*this is found in the Devi Mandir FAQ] > > i hope this helps Karen and any other devotees who may have had the > same question. > Jai Maa! Jai Swamiji! Jai Thakur! > muktimaa > > > > > > > Visit your group "" on the web. > > > > > Terms of Service. > > > > > > > > > > Start your day with - make it your home page Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 17, 2005 Report Share Posted August 17, 2005 amritadaasi <amritadaasi > wrote: I thought it is kind of like a "thank you" for the priviledge of chanting - Thanks to all the Gods, Divine Beings and the entire universe to make this moment happen - where we can just sit and worship!And he is so cute that it puts a smile on our face immediately! So the beginning of our worship, is the end of all obstacles and worries - beginning of smiles and the sweetness of devotion! Start your day with - make it your home page Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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