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xAtlasx
06 July 2010, 03:33 PM
Hey guys!

I'm pretty new at Hinduism being a convert and all, but one of the things that I read on a site (I can't remember where exactly) is that a method of Bhakti, when a devotee doesn't have the funds or the space, you can sit in meditation and visualize your puja in your mind.

Ya know, sing praises visualize a ritual space in front of you offer God the flowers and pastes etc.

Is this an accepted practice?

Does anyone have any tips?

Eastern Mind
06 July 2010, 04:24 PM
Vannakkam xAtlasx:

Interesting question. The terminology 'accepted practice' can be confusing. We are just so vast, and old members on here like me are constantly reminding ourselves of that fact. What is acceptable to some may not be to others. Hinduism does not have and never will have some sort of universal moral or practice creed or set of rules. It relies on the hearts and common sense of the individuals within it to do that.

Is it acceptable practice with you? You're the one that counts.

Sounds like a great idea to me. I've heard of it, yet never been in a place or time where I needed to practice it. It shows respect towards deities. Certainly silent repetition of a mantra instead of voicing japa is done a lot.

Enjoy the sadhana.

Aum Namasivaya

Ganeshprasad
06 July 2010, 04:56 PM
Pranam xAtlasx
Welcom to the forum

The practice you are looking for i think would be Shiv Manas Puja

I like this chant check it out

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-JtdztuijY

and its meaning

http://www.ganesh.us/mantara/shiva-manas-puja.html

Jai Shree Krishna

xAtlasx
06 July 2010, 05:14 PM
Thank you guys for your quick responses, I'm learning so much all over this site! :)

Ramakrishna
06 July 2010, 09:43 PM
Namaste xAtlasx,

I have never heard of that before, but it sounds like a great practice. As Eastern Mindji said, it shows respect to God. It sounds like a great form of bhakti and shows a great desire to be devoted to God even when you don't have the funds of space to do a physical puja.

Jai Sri Krishna

Madhuri
06 July 2010, 10:36 PM
The most essential thing about Bhakti is doing service with love and devotion. The practice of bhakti does not even have to be about having an alter and deities to worship. If you spend your day with God in your mind, if you practice seeing God in all things, if you try to do your every day activities with love and humility, then you are cultivating bhakti. The point is to learn to love God. But doing so, you learn to love everything and everyone.
People have deities and ritual because it helps to build bhakti. But it is not the only method, it is not even necessary. As long as your practice is Love :)

mukunda20
07 July 2010, 03:51 AM
Namaste xAtlasx and everyone,
Manas(mind) pooja(worship) is one of the types of pooja which is considered to be one of the advanced pooja methods.
1: Manas pooja requires utmost concentration and will also help a person to improve focus.
2: Manas pooja is termed as a level higher than the normal pooja, since it transcends over the materialistic offering(where in every offering is done metaphysically).
3: Manas pooja in general gives the effect\feeling of being connected with the Paramatma because the view(inside the mind) will restricted only the Paramatma and the offerings to Paramatma( please note that i am not intending to state that normal pooja wont establish a connection, nor am i wishing to start a debate)
for the rest of the effects of Manas Pooja, one has to experience it himself\herself.
hope this helps,
Best Regards,
mukunda

kallol
07 July 2010, 03:58 AM
Hey guys!

I'm pretty new at Hinduism being a convert and all, but one of the things that I read on a site (I can't remember where exactly) is that a method of Bhakti, when a devotee doesn't have the funds or the space, you can sit in meditation and visualize your puja in your mind.

Ya know, sing praises visualize a ritual space in front of you offer God the flowers and pastes etc.

Is this an accepted practice?

Does anyone have any tips?

Dear xAtlasx,

In the path of spirituality all are uniquely positioned. We fellow travellers take suggestions and inspirations from others (including saints, scriptures, gods, nature, etc) to guide us through the maze of options.

However the end point of this journey is the knowledge of self, self and creation, creation and God. This knowledge ultimately has to be assimilated and synergised with lifestyle which required change of mental frame. So inward looking is a factor which plays a definite role.

Because any complex subject (like research work)needs devotion and faith, this subject also starts with the same - bhakti. This bhakti is built through many way - temples, gods, nature, gurus, books, meditation, puja, etc. It can be external stimuli or internal - depending upon the person as all are uniquely positioned.

So whatever way you feel comfortable to increase the bhakti - it is fine. But make sure that you supplement that with good karmas and then good knowledge.

Love and best wishes

Darji
07 July 2010, 06:18 AM
Jai Siyaram

Atlas,

As you can see there are no real straight answers on this forum, as there are no straight answers to give, so do not be discouraged. All the answers you have received are little jewels to be taken and fastened into the crown that is your faith. The more jewels you find here will in the end make a more beautiful crown in honour of Bhagavan.

I have recently been instructed in Manas Pooja, but it is Ramanandi specific, so I'm not sure if it could be of any use to you not knowing your path. I will ask the Pundit that instructed me to see if I may reproduce it either here on on my blog I am starting to document my journey and growth.

As mukunda20 states "Manas pooja requires utmost concentration" So I pray you do not have ADD :) joking a side, it might benefit you to start with some japa yoga to help improve focus, Strengthening your minds eye is the key to your manas pooja as it allows you to multitask between your minds eye and inner voice. In the end as long as you perform any form of pooja with love and devotion in your heart I am sure Bhagavan will understand the mental hicups until you learn to focus your mind.

Also, as I have found, when you are on your own learning for your self and you hit a brick wall a kind soul will be provided to help you with your next step when you are deemed ready to take that next step, do not force anything, have faith and God will provide.

Onkara
14 July 2010, 09:58 AM
This is a useful thread :) I came across this page with a guide to a simple mediation and share it here, should it be useful:

http://www.myhindupage.org/index.php/guided-meditation-internal-worship

jasdir
04 November 2010, 07:35 AM
Hey guys!

I'm pretty new at Hinduism being a convert and all, but one of the things that I read on a site (I can't remember where exactly) is that a method of Bhakti, when a devotee doesn't have the funds or the space, you can sit in meditation and visualize your puja in your mind.

Ya know, sing praises visualize a ritual space in front of you offer God the flowers and pastes etc.

Is this an accepted practice?

Does anyone have any tips?

Please try this link as my Reply:

http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/images/misc/navbits_start.gif (http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showthread.php?t=6576#) Hindu Dharma Forums (http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/index.php) > Sanatana Dharma (http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1) > Meditation (http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/forumdisplay.php?f=65) http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/images/misc/navbits_finallink.gif (http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showthread.php?t=6576) Devotion (Meditation)

Your brother jasdir.

Eastern Mind
05 November 2010, 07:26 AM
Vannakkam jasdir:

This is just a reply to inform you a bit more about how HDF operates. I noticed you were replying to an older post. Of course there is nothing wrong with resurrecting old posts, but I feel you may not be aware of how this works. In the top left corner of each post is the date of the last post. Visitors to HDF come and go, so sometime you will be responding to someone who has left and therefore you shouldn't expect a reply. The way to find even more out is go to the 'Member's list' tab where you can look up any member ever, and see when there last visit was. In this particular thread, atlas's last visit was August 5th, so its fairly reasonable to assume he won't be returning for awhile, if at all.

As I said, there is nothing wrong with responding to an older post, just don't expect a reply or even expect that the person you are addressing would read it.

Aum Namasivaya

jasdir
06 November 2010, 01:25 AM
Eastren ji, Thank you so much for the INFORMATION.

Your brother jasdir.

brahman
10 November 2010, 03:32 AM
Hey guys!

I'm pretty new at Hinduism being a convert and all, but one of the things that I read on a site (I can't remember where exactly) is that a method of Bhakti, when a devotee doesn't have the funds or the space, you can sit in meditation and visualize your puja in your mind.

Ya know, sing praises visualize a ritual space in front of you offer God the flowers and pastes etc.

Is this an accepted practice?

Does anyone have any tips?




Dear xAtlasxYes,

it is an accepted practice.

But, there is no clear boundary to explain this practice.
But, lets’ try to make a typical explanation:

Capacity to starve when there is no food
Capacity to walk when there is no transport
Capacity to command even when there is no power in hand
Capacity to communicate through telepathy when there are no mobile phones.
Capacity to live nude when there are no cloths.

In the absence of various mechanisms or objects, or aptitudes or rights, the above qualities are exhibited by persons of great will power alone.

So, we must realize that in the absence of funds or space, we can certainly accomplish 'puja in mind' if we are resplendent with will power.

Imagine, we cook in a very well equipped kitchen and eat food, which is similar to performing rituals adhering to Vidhi-sacred precept.

We also cook in a semi equipped kitchen and eat food, which is similar to performing rituals NOT adhering to the Vidhi-sacred precept.

In both cases, the tatwa of food-hunger/energy- led you to the kitchen to cook and consume it.

Then , manasa puja(puja in mind) is an exercise where you eliminate your initiative to cook or eat, satiate the tatwa of food, by generating energy , through many various means.

Well, as stated before, these are characteristic of people with great strength of mind.

well, I am late(reply), better late than never. Love:)

shambhvi
10 November 2010, 03:39 AM
Hey guys!

I'm pretty new at Hinduism being a convert and all, but one of the things that I read on a site (I can't remember where exactly) is that a method of Bhakti, when a devotee doesn't have the funds or the space, you can sit in meditation and visualize your puja in your mind.

Ya know, sing praises visualize a ritual space in front of you offer God the flowers and pastes etc.

Is this an accepted practice?

Does anyone have any tips?


Beautiful question, my Guru says your prayer is your bhaav...emotion..feelings..

Lord himself is Unconditional Love.

I feel internal pooja, visualising all the pooja in mind is wonderful BUT it has to have bhakti emotions and devotion towards the diety..

Blessed be

saidevo
10 November 2010, 06:57 AM
namaste everyone.

Here is an inspiring episode narrated in the Tamizh work 'Periya PurANam' dealing with the lives of 63 shaiva nAyanmArs.

Saint PUsala nAyanAr constructed an entire Shiva temple in his mind and fixed a day for its kumbhAbhiShekam, and BhagavAn Shiva attended it! Read this wonderful story here (story no.3):
http://www.nchtuk.org/content.php?id=168

Eastern Mind
10 November 2010, 07:52 AM
namaste everyone.

Here is an inspiring episode narrated in the Tamizh work 'Periya PurANam' dealing with the lives of 63 shaiva nAyanmArs.


Vannakkam Saidevo: This is off topic but ...I've read the Periya Puranam as you may have guessed. I find some of the stories a bit 'off' in that they deal with violence or adultery. I was wondering how you understand them ..as illustrations of points, or as actual true stories. Some of them are pretty adult in content, and I don't think I'd use too many as teaching tools. The Tirukkurral would be better for that purpose.

Aum Namasivaya

TatTvamAsi
11 November 2010, 12:23 PM
Is it acceptable practice with you? You're the one that counts.


EM,

This is not the right start to sAdhanA or Hinduism in general. It is a big misinterpretation that "one can do whatever one wishes and that is acceptable". When it comes to sAdhanA, there are specifics and for good reason. They are guides in helping us become centered. If one feels like they can have a beer and meditate at the same time, we should be wary of such folks and also warn them against such dubious behavior.

Of course, in this particular case, it is not as stark but there are traditions that are equally vital as the philosophy in Sanatana Dharma.

We must not ignore the Karma KAndA of the VedAs just to study the Jnana KAndA; they are not mutually exclusive.

This New Age gobble-de-gook of "do whatever you want" is highly dangerous and is filled with self-indulgence, not self-discipline.

Namaskar.

Eastern Mind
11 November 2010, 02:13 PM
Vannakkam TTA: I agree with you. In this case the fellow who asked the question (and hasn't been around for awhile as per my other post) asked a specific question regarding visualising when it is not possible to actually do a certain practise. For example, when I am in a terribly crowded temple crowd, and it is time to prostrate, there is insufficient room. I touch my hands to the floor, and visualise it.

I don't think I've ever said, "Go ahead and do whatever you want." There are rules to follow. I get as much disheartened at watered down SD as you do , I believe.

Aum Namasivaya