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c.smith
04 May 2006, 03:35 PM
"Discuss your experiences, struggles and stories here..."

Let's start with experience.

I have been formally studying Hinduism for almost a year. The only knowledge I have is what I've acquired from the Hare Krishna's. To make a long story short, the Krishna's have not been a good fit. I've always had affection for Ganesha and interest in Siva, so that's where I'm letting things lead me now. I have read many books, many from ISKCON and many on the basics of the Hindu religion.

Struggles?

More like frustrations. I do my own little version of puja at home, not nearly like anything I would supposed one is to do. What I lack is a good guide to teach me the basics of puja and aarti (rituals). I also haven't made contact with a Temple here in town. My own social phobia has kept me away. I've tried to contact 2 Temples via the internet but haven't had replies. I know a phone call is in order. It doesn't seem that the two Temples in town are as organized as the ISKCON Temple. Krishna is all over the internet. Perhaps someone could suggest a few resources, books, etc.

Stories?

None come to mind although life has been very interesting!

Many times I don't seem to know what to ask. I guess I have one more thing to pray to Ganesha about.

Looking forward to meeting many of you through your posts.

satay
04 May 2006, 05:24 PM
namaste,
Thank you for posting and introducing yourself. We hope that you enjoy your visits here and contribute in the discussions.

Is there a particular aspect that attracts you towards Shiva and Ganesha? Just curious.

c.smith
04 May 2006, 08:23 PM
Yes - Ganesha is someone I've always felt is my friend. That's truly the relationship I have with him. Much of the devotion comes from books I've been reading and am influenced by. The Himalayan Academy's "How to become a Hindu" was of great benefit. It was also my introduction to Siva. I've also been told that half of all Hindus practice devotion to Siva. Strength in numbers? From your perspective, how does one "choose" a God?

Jade Bridge
05 May 2006, 05:24 AM
:cool: I'm glad I waited a few days to introduce myself because my intro practically mirrors that of C. Smith's. I have tried to make contact with the temple that is closest to my home via email but have not had a reply. I live in New England, and don't have many options, but I can't help but wonder if they do not take requests from "Westerners" seriously. I don't mean that as a slam but I have to be honest and say I haven't felt very welcome with the few contacts I've had.
So like C. Smith, I do pujas at home, but would like to find a temple where I could worship occasionally (especially for the big festivals).
Spiritually my background is that I was raised Catholic (although my Dad was Baptist and my Mom's always been Agnostic). I never felt an affinity whatsoever to the Christian theology, so I have to question the theory of staying with the religion you were born into. In my later years, I became involved with Pagan traditions - first Egyptian, then Celtic. While these were a far cry better than Christianity, I still felt a bit empty spiritually and it was only when I decided to "explore" Hinduism I realized this was everything (and more) that I had been searching for.

I am a devotee of Lord Ganesh and Durga Maa. I also revere Lord Rama, Lord Shiva and Lord Hanuman. I love reading The Ramayana and also The Puranas.

I look forward to many discussions, but I do have one pressing question I hope someone has an answer to. I will soon be moving to a new home...my very first home that I will own, and I would very much like to have the home blessed by a Hindu priest. I know car pujas are performed, but are home pujas done by priests? Thanking anyone who can answer this for me :o

satay
05 May 2006, 09:00 AM
Yes - Ganesha is someone I've always felt is my friend. That's truly the relationship I have with him. Much of the devotion comes from books I've been reading and am influenced by. The Himalayan Academy's "How to become a Hindu" was of great benefit. It was also my introduction to Siva. I've also been told that half of all Hindus practice devotion to Siva. Strength in numbers?

Neat!



From your perspective, how does one "choose" a God?


I believe that it is not "us" that choose God or a God...it is "he" who does the choosing or perhaps it is our karma I couldn't say for sure but I know for sure in my case, I didn't do any chosing...

Born in a hindu family, I have been an atheist my whole life until only a few years ago when out of the blue...life changed forever (or so it seems at this point)...

Lord Shiva is very kind and gentle. He accepts "all" bhaktas (asuric or satvic nature makes no difference), he is easily pleased, he is the destroyer of all karma and all evil forces, he chooses to live in this mortal world only for jagad kalyan and for no other reason...requires no rituals in return or no elaborate pujas and mantras or bhakti...he gets pleased with a little offering of a flower.

shivam

satay
05 May 2006, 09:04 AM
:cool: I'm glad I waited a few days to introduce myself because my intro practically mirrors that of C. Smith's. I have tried to make contact with the temple that is closest to my home via email but have not had a reply. I live in New England, and don't have many options, but I can't help but wonder if they do not take requests from "Westerners" seriously. I don't mean that as a slam but I have to be honest and say I haven't felt very welcome with the few contacts I've had.
So like C. Smith, I do pujas at home, but would like to find a temple where I could worship occasionally (especially for the big festivals).
Spiritually my background is that I was raised Catholic (although my Dad was Baptist and my Mom's always been Agnostic). I never felt an affinity whatsoever to the Christian theology, so I have to question the theory of staying with the religion you were born into. In my later years, I became involved with Pagan traditions - first Egyptian, then Celtic. While these were a far cry better than Christianity, I still felt a bit empty spiritually and it was only when I decided to "explore" Hinduism I realized this was everything (and more) that I had been searching for.

I am a devotee of Lord Ganesh and Durga Maa. I also revere Lord Rama, Lord Shiva and Lord Hanuman. I love reading The Ramayana and also The Puranas.



namaste and welcome to the forums!

without the devotion to Ma Durga it is said that no one gets mukthi! :)



I look forward to many discussions, but I do have one pressing question I hope someone has an answer to. I will soon be moving to a new home...my very first home that I will own, and I would very much like to have the home blessed by a Hindu priest. I know car pujas are performed, but are home pujas done by priests? Thanking anyone who can answer this for me :o

Yes, I have seen this i.e. there is a puja that one can get performed before moving into a new home. You will have to contact a priest of your local temple. He should be able to guide you.

Devibhakta
05 May 2006, 12:42 PM
I too would like to welcome Jade Bridge and C. Smith. I arrived at this point just a few weeks before you, and relate to your intros.

My own thoughts on choosing a god: before I realized that what I was feeling and intuiting was an approach to the Supreme Goddess, I was searching in places like Wicca, mariolatry of the RC Church, the Father-Mother of Mormonism, and various new age things. I felt that Goddess was missing in our spiritual life, but never was able to give a name to Her. I believe it was really the Goddess leading me to Her side by showing me evidence of Her influence in western culture, then finally bringing me right to the doorstep. When I discovered Shaktism, I knew what I had been looking for was found. Since then, it's been a journey of discovery that will last long after the initial euphoria.

I enjoy this website because the folk here seem to be more accepting of differences than some other places. So enjoy!

satay
05 May 2006, 12:51 PM
if you guys don't mind telling me I would like to know how you found this site on the net...

Devibhakta
05 May 2006, 01:40 PM
if you guys don't mind telling me I would like to know how you found this site on the net...

I saw Singhi Kaya's invitation in e-sangha.

c.smith
05 May 2006, 03:55 PM
I found a link to this site while browsing the hindunet forums. What I especially like about this forum is that there aren't too many categories to choose from as is the case with hindunet. It's much easier to determine where one should post.

Thank-you for all the encouragement and support that I've been finding here. I'm having a difficult time adjusting from spending nearly all day chanting and reading about Krishna to studying about rituals and Lord Shiva. It's like being in grade school all over. There is so much to learn. In terms of ISKCON, I did benefit from some of my interactions there but many of my more serious questions went either unanswered or were not answered to my satisfaction. I would often hear "That's how things work in the material world, things are differnt in the spirtual world". Example - I had asked a "Spiritual Master" why we just didn't pray to Vishnu (instead of Krishna), since Krishna is the 8th incarnation of Vishnu. I was told that Krishna came before Vishnu and is superior to him, he just decided to be the 8th incarnation because things are different in the spiritual world. It just didn't make any sense. When I then asked which in the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva is superior, I was told it was Vishnu. What ever happened to Krishna here? I'm feeling a little lost as a result - I had started making some progress spiritually and socially, and now I'm changing direction. Perhaps somehow this ties into another post of mine - "How does one "choose" a God"? I appreciate the replies that I've been getting.

Thanks to all for your patience and understanding as I try to sort through all of this. I liken it to learning another language. Although I know how to speak, I just don't know how to speak the language that I need to be speaking in.

Jade Bridge
06 May 2006, 04:17 PM
I found this site because you, Satay, sent me an email at the Hindu Net message boards telling me about it :D