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Thread: Need Direction Towards God

  1. #1

    Post Need Direction Towards God

    So, I've read the Upanishads (or at least some of them, it was an English translation and I'm not sure if it was all of them) and also the Bhaghavad-Gita without any commentaries (also translated into English). I'm now familiar with how we are all God, everything is God, and that various incarnations of God are worshiped in Hindu faith. I'm new to this faith and find it attractive. I was hoping one or more fellow users of the forum might provide info on the different incarnations of God that I might seek guidance from and/or worship to improve my life in this lifetime and future ones.

    OmAspie

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    Re: Need Direction Towards God

    Some starter info on incarnations of Narayana (Vaishnava sect):

    The dasavataras (Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narasimha, Rama, Krishna, Parasurama, Balarama, Vamana, Kalki), Hayagriva, Satyanarayana, Venkateswara, Varadaraja, Oppiliyappa, Thottadrinatha, Ranganatha - are all manifestations of Narayana. (Please see http://www.108divyadesam.com/ ).
    jai hanuman gyan gun sagar jai kapis tihu lok ujagar

  3. #3

    Re: Need Direction Towards God

    Quote Originally Posted by Viraja View Post
    Some starter info on incarnations of Narayana (Vaishnava sect):

    The dasavataras (Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narasimha, Rama, Krishna, Parasurama, Balarama, Vamana, Kalki), Hayagriva, Satyanarayana, Venkateswara, Varadaraja, Oppiliyappa, Thottadrinatha, Ranganatha - are all manifestations of Narayana. (Please see http://www.108divyadesam.com/ ).
    I guess maybe I came off knowing more than I do... I don't know who Narayana is nor the differences about the different sects. I do not know any Sanskrit (I'm guessing that's what words such as dasavataras are in). I sadly speak only English and could really use the help of a BASIC intro to lead me in. Why would I be interested in Hinduisim if I'm a US born English speaking have no heritage in it? Well, I feel it has the truth.

    Thanks for your help.

    Namaste.

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    Re: Need Direction Towards God

    Quote Originally Posted by OmAspie View Post
    I guess maybe I came off knowing more than I do... I don't know who Narayana is nor the differences about the different sects. I do not know any Sanskrit (I'm guessing that's what words such as dasavataras are in). I sadly speak only English and could really use the help of a BASIC intro to lead me in. Why would I be interested in Hinduisim if I'm a US born English speaking have no heritage in it? Well, I feel it has the truth.

    Thanks for your help.

    Namaste.
    I did not realize you didn't know who Narayana is.

    Basically, Hindu deities are classified into 6 sects, but out of these 6 sects, only 2 are practiced by majority of Hindus today - Shaivism and Vaishnavism.

    Shaivism and Vaishnavism both stress on bhakti marga (realizing god through devotion) although other paths of realizing god such as 'karma yoga', 'jnana yoga' are equally potent.

    If not going into the philosophy, foundationally, both Shaivism and Vaishnavism are similar in the sense they both have their set of deities who are prayed to.

    According to Vaishnavism, Lord Narayana is the Brahman (another term to denote the 'souls' of all living beings). According to Shaivism, Lord Shiva is the 'Brahman'.

    According to Vaishnava school of thoughts, Narayana took 9 incarnations (10th one to come at the time of dissolution of earth) for the upliftment of mankind. This is the list given within paragraphs in my response 1. Related to Narayana, there are many other deities in Vaishnavism, and also saints are worshipped. These deities include Lakshmi, Hanuman, Garuda, Sudharshana, and acharyas include the 12 Alwars, and many other devotees of the lord of modern times such as Tukaram, Jayadeva, Namadeva and so forth. Also, there are sub-sects within Vaishnavism such as Gaudiya Vaishnavism, the Madhwa sect and the ISKCON movement. According to Gaudiya Vaishnavism and ISKCON, Krishna is the Brahman and Narayana is one of his expansions/manifestations. The most prominent Gaudiya Vaishnava saint, considered to be an incarnation of Krishna is Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Some Madhwa saints include Madhwacharya, Akshobya theertha, Jaya theertha, and Sri Raghavendra.

    According to Shaivism, Lord Shiva did not take/does not take incarnations. Other deities of Shaivism include Parvathy/Sakthi/Durga, Skanda (also known as Murugan), Ganesha, Dakshinamoorthy (the lord of planet Jupiter), Kalabhairava and so forth. Like 108 divya desams for Vishnus, there are also numerous temples dedicated to Shiva such as the 12 Jyotirlingas. Some Saivite saints include the 63 Nayanmars, Thirumoolar, Agastiyar and so forth. You can visit Shaivam.org to learn in detail about Shaivism and its saints.

    Pranam.
    jai hanuman gyan gun sagar jai kapis tihu lok ujagar

  5. #5

    Re: Need Direction Towards God

    Quote Originally Posted by Viraja View Post
    I did not realize you didn't know who Narayana is.

    Basically, Hindu deities are classified into 6 sects, but out of these 6 sects, only 2 are practiced by majority of Hindus today - Shaivism and Vaishnavism.

    Shaivism and Vaishnavism both stress on bhakti marga (realizing god through devotion) although other paths of realizing god such as 'karma yoga', 'jnana yoga' are equally potent.

    If not going into the philosophy, foundationally, both Shaivism and Vaishnavism are similar in the sense they both have their set of deities who are prayed to.

    According to Vaishnavism, Lord Narayana is the Brahman (another term to denote the 'souls' of all living beings). According to Shaivism, Lord Shiva is the 'Brahman'.

    According to Vaishnava school of thoughts, Narayana took 9 incarnations (10th one to come at the time of dissolution of earth) for the upliftment of mankind. This is the list given within paragraphs in my response 1. Related to Narayana, there are many other deities in Vaishnavism, and also saints are worshipped. These deities include Lakshmi, Hanuman, Garuda, Sudharshana, and acharyas include the 12 Alwars, and many other devotees of the lord of modern times such as Tukaram, Jayadeva, Namadeva and so forth. Also, there are sub-sects within Vaishnavism such as Gaudiya Vaishnavism, the Madhwa sect and the ISKCON movement. According to Gaudiya Vaishnavism and ISKCON, Krishna is the Brahman and Narayana is one of his expansions/manifestations. The most prominent Gaudiya Vaishnava saint, considered to be an incarnation of Krishna is Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Some Madhwa saints include Madhwacharya, Akshobya theertha, Jaya theertha, and Sri Raghavendra.

    According to Shaivism, Lord Shiva did not take/does not take incarnations. Other deities of Shaivism include Parvathy/Sakthi/Durga, Skanda (also known as Murugan), Ganesha, Dakshinamoorthy (the lord of planet Jupiter), Kalabhairava and so forth. Like 108 divya desams for Vishnus, there are also numerous temples dedicated to Shiva such as the 12 Jyotirlingas. Some Saivite saints include the 63 Nayanmars, Thirumoolar, Agastiyar and so forth. You can visit Shaivam.org to learn in detail about Shaivism and its saints.

    Pranam.
    Thanks for the wonderful intro. Looks like I have some more reading and digging to do! Simple question also, but why might one choose one sect over another. Well, I imagine most people don't choose, but are rather born and raised believing in a certain sect. But if a person had a choice, like I do, how might that person go about making that choice. It seems awfully important to make it right, although I seem to remember something either in the Upanishads or the Bhaghavad-Gita about many paths... Namaste OmAspie

  6. #6

    Re: Need Direction Towards God

    Namaste Om.

    Here's one plausible way.

    One could start off by finding an ishta roopa which is a favourite form or one that appeals to one's heart. Praying/seeking His/Her help/guidance will bring forth His/Her compassion and benevolence.

    It's like finding a companion in the playground when one has joined a new school.

    Usually, shri Ganapati, is the form which non-Hindus recognize and who leads the new Hindus into the fold.

    You might hear/ see/read Shri Ganapati being addressed by many other names like Vinayaka/Ganesha etc.

    OR

    Do you have a temple near your place? You could visit it to get a feel of the place. It can be overwhelming at the beginning. It's a welcoming place.

    Good luck!

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    Re: Need Direction Towards God

    If you are searching for a particular form of God to help guide you in the beginning, I know many who are new to Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism) find Ganesha (Elephant headed God) appealing.

    I would recommend you find a book that describes the histories and attributes of various deities. The more you learn, the more you'll notice that you gravitate toward one or the other. I can't recommend a specific book, as I came to Hinduism by a different road. But do an internet/amazon search. Perhaps someone who knows a respectable publication that describes the various deities can comment here for you.

    Try not to let the number of personal deities overwhelm you. There are hundreds of personifications of God in Hinduism. There are a core of "popular" ones that you will learn about first and from there, you will learn the names of many others. Don't feel like it's a race either. If you are actively searching, eventually God will lead you in a manner that you will understand the best.

    Best of luck!
    "God will not have his work made manifest by cowards."
    ~Ralph Waldo Emerson


  8. #8

    Re: Need Direction Towards God

    Quote Originally Posted by ShriBala View Post
    Namaste Om.

    Here's one plausible way.

    One could start off by finding an ishta roopa which is a favourite form or one that appeals to one's heart. Praying/seeking His/Her help/guidance will bring forth His/Her compassion and benevolence.

    It's like finding a companion in the playground when one has joined a new school.

    Usually, shri Ganapati, is the form which non-Hindus recognize and who leads the new Hindus into the fold.

    You might hear/ see/read Shri Ganapati being addressed by many other names like Vinayaka/Ganesha etc.

    OR

    Do you have a temple near your place? You could visit it to get a feel of the place. It can be overwhelming at the beginning. It's a welcoming place.

    Good luck!
    Quote Originally Posted by Jodhaa View Post
    If you are searching for a particular form of God to help guide you in the beginning, I know many who are new to Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism) find Ganesha (Elephant headed God) appealing.

    I would recommend you find a book that describes the histories and attributes of various deities. The more you learn, the more you'll notice that you gravitate toward one or the other. I can't recommend a specific book, as I came to Hinduism by a different road. But do an internet/amazon search. Perhaps someone who knows a respectable publication that describes the various deities can comment here for you.

    Try not to let the number of personal deities overwhelm you. There are hundreds of personifications of God in Hinduism. There are a core of "popular" ones that you will learn about first and from there, you will learn the names of many others. Don't feel like it's a race either. If you are actively searching, eventually God will lead you in a manner that you will understand the best.

    Best of luck!

    Thanks to both of your great ideas I bought this:




    on Amazon.com

    Its a 52 card deck with all different Hindu Gods and Goddesses that has info about them and their mantras, etc. It should come in a couple of days and it will hopefully inspire me to find my ishta roopa! (I hope I used that term correctly)!

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    Re: Need Direction Towards God

    Vannakkam: I think one of the best things to do rather than reading is to go to a Hindu temple. It will help 'cut to the chase' so to speak. You can find Hindu temples by using google maps, and the 'search nearby' function and search for Hindu temples.

    This takes the intellect partly out of it, and puts more feeling into it.

    Aum Namasivaya

  10. #10

    Re: Need Direction Towards God

    Quote Originally Posted by Eastern Mind View Post
    Vannakkam: I think one of the best things to do rather than reading is to go to a Hindu temple. It will help 'cut to the chase' so to speak. You can find Hindu temples by using google maps, and the 'search nearby' function and search for Hindu temples.

    This takes the intellect partly out of it, and puts more feeling into it.

    Aum Namasivaya
    I will have to look and see if there are any temples nearby me. Thanks for the advice!

    Namaste,
    OmAspie

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