Ishta Devata

[ScottMalaysia]

As a Vaishnava, my Ishta Devata is Lord Krishna. However, is it all right for me to pray to Lord Ganesha, Mother Mariamman, Lord Shiva and Lord Subrahmanya? There is a Mariamman temple just round the road from my house, and I try to go each Friday.

[yajvan]

Hari Om
~~~~~


As a Vaishnava, my Ishta Devata is Lord Krishna. However, is it all right for me to pray to Lord Ganesha, Mother Mariamman, Lord Shiva and Lord Subrahmanya? There is a Mariamman temple just round the road from my house, and I try to go each Friday.

Namaste Scott,

many have opinions on this; I look to a muni that I greatly respect and 'in the know' :

He says,

"Shiva, Ganesha, Surya, Shakti (Durga, Lakshmi) etc are the limbs of Bhagavan. Any devotee of Shiva can say 'Our Shankar (Shiva) is really Bhagavan', any follower of Surya can say that 'Surya is really Bhagavan', then this is really like not knowing the whole shape of the elephant.

Some blind men took hold of an elephant's trunk and said 'This elephant it is like a pestle.' Seizing the foot one said it was like a pillar. Taking the ear one said it was like a winnowing basket. The thing is really this that the blind men having seen the elephant got stirred up in dispute. He who knows the whole form of the elephant will never say that the elephant is similar to a winnowing basket or to a pestle.

In the same way, he who has taken a good understanding of Bhagavan, he can never say that Shiva is the true form of Bhagavan or Ganesha is the true form of Bhagavan or that the four-armed form of VishhNu is really the form of Bhagavan. He who is familiar with the essence of Bhagavat (God) that all these several forms are really the separate parts or limbs of Paramatma (God). In truth worshipping any of the gods is really worship of Bhagavan. This is really the established truth of the shaastra".

- Swami Brahmananda Saraswati,Shankaracharya of Jyotir Math , on this good earth from 1870-1953


pranams

[yajvan]

Hari Om
~~~~~

Namaste Scott,

I thought to add this also:

"He alone is the best devotee who sees his Adored One everywhere. For the devotee of Vishnu the Lord is omnipresent. He should see Lord Vishnu even in the images of Shankar, Devi, Ganesh and Surya etc. Likewise a devotee of Shankar, Devi etc. should visualize his Adored One omnipresent."

- Swami Brahmananda Saraswati,Shankaracharya of Jyotir Math , on this good earth from 1870-1953

[Eastern Mind]

As a Vaishnava, my Ishta Devata is Lord Krishna. However, is it all right for me to pray to Lord Ganesha, Mother Mariamman, Lord Shiva and Lord Subrahmanya? There is a Mariamman temple just round the road from my house, and I try to go each Friday.

Namaste, Vanakkam, Scott: I would have a slightly different take. If Krishna is your Ishta, then it would be best to worship him if you could. However, that is not always possible. A Hindu temple is a Hindu temple. If the Mariamman temple is the most convenient, so be it. Here where I live, we have 4 main temples, an ISCKON temple, 2 north Indian style Smarta temples, and a South Indian style Ganesha temple. All have slightly different styles, and vibrations. I go to the Ganesha temple, which would be the most similar to the one near you, yet two other temples would be slightly more convenient. There are shrines for Siva, Murugan, and Bhairava, and the Vasantha Mandapam. There are no shrines for Krishna, etc, but there are niches for MahaVishnu, Lakshmi, Durga, Saraswati, and Brahma. None of these have pujas done to them. This temple is a Saiva temple, and won't change. There are no plans for adding deities as you see in some of the North American temples. It is a method of accommodating to everyone. Personally, I would rather see two different temples, which is what they did in Atlanta, Georgia. There is a Siva temple, and a Venkateswara temple, on the same property. Henceforth the vibrations stay clearer, as you have the Saiva priest performing in the Siva temple, and the Vaishnava in the Vishnu temple. The Smarta philosophy basically sees all the Gods as manifestations of the One God. In Saivism, the view is slightly different. Lord Siva is supreme, but Murugan and Ganesha are seen as separate dieties, having been given certain 'jobs' (areas of worship) by Lord Siva. So for a specific task like travelling, or looking for a job, health concerns, sort of worldly matters, Lord Ganesha is the one to look for to guidance. If you want to get more austere (wait til you witness Thai Poosam if you haven't already.) then Murugan is the one to approach. He is the God of Yoga in Saivism. And of course you worship Siva himself to get to the Self within.
No harm can be done worshipping at a temple of a different sect, but it is a matter of what you feel comfortable with. My Guru said " Never lose an opportunity to enter a Hindu temple." We have lots of South Indian style Vaishnavites that come to our temple. (Not to mention many others, Smartas, Shaktites, curiousity seekers) You can always tell because they stop at the niche for Mahavishnu on the rounds (circumambulation) sort of speaking. My only question is one of confusion for yourself, but hopefully that won't happen. Its like earlier points I have made in mixing two (or more) philosophies within Hinduism. If you attend this temple a lot, you will naturally be drawn to the South Indian style and by osmosis the philosophy. It could lead to confusion. Not something anyone needs. Best wishes. Aum Namasivaya

[yajvan]

Hari Om
~~~~~



.... There is a Siva temple, and a Venkateswara temple, on the same property.

Namaste,

I read this and only think, we try and divide the Infinte in two...

I think your offering to Scott is wise, yet we all should be comfortable to be able to walk into any Temple and recognize it is the home of the Supreme. If we wish to call Him/Her Siva, Krsna, Mother Divine, Durgati, Ganesha, Lakshmi, and the like, this is fine. Yet the Infinite remains whole, Full, Bhuma, so say the wise.

I say It is in space, It is in every nook and corner, in every pinpoint of space. There is no space where It is not; there is no space which It does not occupy." Risi SANATKUMARA, Chhandogya Upanishad 3.24


pranams

[devotee]

As a Vaishnava, my Ishta Devata is Lord Krishna. However, is it all right for me to pray to Lord Ganesha, Mother Mariamman, Lord Shiva and Lord Subrahmanya? There is a Mariamman temple just round the road from my house, and I try to go each Friday.

yajvan has already advised quite well on this issue in his post. I will just add a bit more :

All forms & names (of God) are just that i.e. forms & names. The form & name is the requirement within the realm of mind. God is beyond all that & whatever form & name you choose, you are worshipping the same God. If God is really God then :

a) Can he afford to be jealous ? i.e. can he be offended by worshipping any other form ? It is ridiculous. God can't stoop so low to ask for worshipping only HIM ( read, that form) ... why ? Because that would mean that God is carrying a sense of insecurity & also fear of being challenged by any other authority. ... and if that is there, is He really God ?

b) So, God cannot have any problem whether you worship one form or the other. Then why so many different forms ? That is the requirement of the individual devotee & not of God. If you are asking for Vidya ( knowledge), you worship Goddess Sarasvati, if you want all your work to be free from all troubles, you worship Lord Ganesha, if you want money, you worship Goddess Laxmi etc. Apart from these worldly requirements, there is also a need to have a human-like relation with God ( that too due to nature of mind). Some like to have Teacher-Disciple relation, some may like Mother-Son relation, Master - Servant relation, Friend-Friend relation, Lover-beloved relation etc. This psychological need of human mind also requires different forms & names as per the need of the devotee.

c) Lord Krishna is one form & name which goes beyond the worldly requirements. Here, this form comes with the wisdom of Gita & leads you towards True Reality ... liberation. If you have read Gita ( which I assume you must have being a worshipper of Lord Krishna), you would remember the verse in which Lord Krishna says, " Those who worship other devas (i.e. forms & names), worship me only but their worship is in ignorance". This "ignorance" is because of the worldly desires for the fulfilment of which a devotee worships a certain form.

d) Once a devotee learns that there is only One God & all forms & names point to the same God ... how can he choose one & despise the other ?

Being psychologically associated with one form has its benefits ... it helps in concentration & that form becomes the guide, teacher, mother, father ... to help the devotee on his journey. But that doesn't mean that one should not bow to other god-forms & names. That is sheer ignorance !