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Thread: Safe hindu practices for the unitiated

  1. #1

    Safe hindu practices for the unitiated

    Namaste!

    First of all, I'm not a hindu (formally).

    I'm a westerner, meat eater and not a celibate. And I can't change that in the moment for familiar reasons. But I love hinduism as a whole and I recognize its truths. I studied advaita, the lives of saints, some scriptures, meditation, and many other things. But my relashionship to hinduism is in the moment only on the philosophical side and almost nothing on the practical/ritualistic side (wich I consider of great, or even greater importance).

    I've been reading some books about the tantras and I'm convinced that they are the presiding hindu shastra for this kaliyuga. And also I got that the Guru is of primal importance in this tradition.

    In the place I live there are no temples or gurus to get initiation.

    In some places of the tantric texts it's even said that without a guru, mantra japa, puja, and other rituals are innefective and can even be malefic to the practitioner.

    I've been all my life reading the phylosophical aspects of Hinduism, but I can't practice it integrally for the reasons above stated.

    I want your opinion on what is safe for me to do at the moment, without a guru, and eating meat.

    For example, I tried offering my food to god before eating, but sometimes it contains meat, so I don't know if this would displease de Deity.

    I tried doing it for Matangi Devi, because I've read that even chandalas can worship Her and offer Her meat and wine so I thought She wouldn't have any problems with this. But still I'm always unsure if I am doing the right thing for lack of guidance.

    The great saints of India like Sri Ramakrishna and Anandamayi Ma advise that one should chant the Lord's name that please you the most. So this is the only spiritual practice that I found safe to be doing at the moment, but still I think it's too little for what I could do.

    Namaste.

    Ps. I'm not a native english speaker, sorry for any mistakes.

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    Re: Safe hindu practices for the unitiated

    Vannakkam: Do you have a basic shrine, or even a place where you can sit quietly. There are certainly lots of 'safe' practices, but the definition of safe may vary from school to school.

    You can chant Aum, or do a Ganesha puja.

    Just a question for more information ... Are you still living at home, is that why you have to eat meat?

    Aum Namasivaya

  3. #3

    Re: Safe hindu practices for the unitiated

    Namaste, and welcome aboard!

    I don't have a lot of answers to your questions, I just wanted to suggest that even though you are eating meat, you can still offer food to god, just not the meat. Offer some fruit to the deity, or if any of your meals don't contain meat then offer them, and the ones that do have meat don't offer. That's what I do. I have found over time the desire to eat meat has naturally fallen away.

    Also, your English is excellent. I would not have known it was not your native language had you not said something.

    Pranam.
    Om Namah Shivaya

  4. #4

    Re: Safe hindu practices for the unitiated

    Quote Originally Posted by Eastern Mind View Post
    Vannakkam: Do you have a basic shrine, or even a place where you can sit quietly. There are certainly lots of 'safe' practices, but the definition of safe may vary from school to school.

    You can chant Aum, or do a Ganesha puja.

    Just a question for more information ... Are you still living at home, is that why you have to eat meat?

    Aum Namasivaya
    I don't have any shrine, and the only place I can sit and meditate is my room. The only images I have are the ones I can see in the computer screen.

    Yes, I'm living at home with my family, and everybody here eats meat and they would not let me be a vegetarian.

  5. #5

    Re: Safe hindu practices for the unitiated

    Quote Originally Posted by fem_phoenix1109 View Post
    Namaste, and welcome aboard!

    I don't have a lot of answers to your questions, I just wanted to suggest that even though you are eating meat, you can still offer food to god, just not the meat. Offer some fruit to the deity, or if any of your meals don't contain meat then offer them, and the ones that do have meat don't offer. That's what I do. I have found over time the desire to eat meat has naturally fallen away.

    Also, your English is excellent. I would not have known it was not your native language had you not said something.

    Pranam.
    Thank you!

    I will do what you suggested!

    Pranam.

  6. #6

    Re: Safe hindu practices for the unitiated

    Another thing I do is mental puja.

    I sit everyday at 6 o'clock (because of sandhya time) and imagine the Deity in front of me, and I do the 16 steps of puja I searched online like washing the feet, etc. After worshipping in this way I imagine the Deity entering my heart and staying there, and then I meditate on it like that for some time while chanting His name.

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    Re: Safe hindu practices for the unitiated

    Namaste Ekam,

    You have a lot of questions ! Let me try to answer them one by one.

    Quote Originally Posted by Ekam View Post
    First of all, I'm not a hindu (formally).
    Though it helps being formally initiated as Hindu but once you adopt Hindu way of life, you are considered a Hindu.

    I'm a westerner, meat eater and not a celibate.
    That is no criteria to judge if one is a Hindu or not. A great majority of Hindus are meat eaters and not celibate. However, if by "meat", you mean "beef", there is a real problem because Hindu community is very much sentimental about it though slowly people have started rationale behind such hue and cry on beef eating. For present, I would advise you to move towards any other type of meat which is acceptable in Hindu Dharma.

    I've been reading some books about the tantras and I'm convinced that they are the presiding hindu shastra for this kaliyuga. And also I got that the Guru is of primal importance in this tradition.

    In the place I live there are no temples or gurus to get initiation.
    I feel you have got attracted to tanra just because of your attachment to meat-eating and not being celibate. Celibacy is only for the Brahmachaaris which is very difficult to follow and I doubt if even 1 % of Hindus can sicerely adopt the life of a Brahmachari.

    If you ask me, I have some genuine doubts over the path of tantra as the common Hindus normally don't adopt this path. This path is not considered safe unless you have the guidance of a true Guru.

    In some places of the tantric texts it's even said that without a guru, mantra japa, puja, and other rituals are innefective and can even be malefic to the practitioner.
    Of course ! This path is full of dangers, as far as I know.

    I've been all my life reading the phylosophical aspects of Hinduism, but I can't practice it integrally for the reasons above stated.

    I want your opinion on what is safe for me to do at the moment, without a guru, and eating meat.
    If you ask me, I would advise you to be like a non-sectarian Hindu first. See, when you join a sect, you have to follow the way of life they tell you. Do what a common non-sectarian does and keep learning until you find a true Guru which attracts you to His path. What does a common "good religious" Hindu do ?

    a) Believe in divinity of everything within and outside us. Everything is divine.
    b) Respect the life of every being. Don't hurt anyone/any being unless it is necessary for your survival or for protecting dharma.
    c) Get ready in the morning by taking bath etc. and pray to his/her chosen deity or many deities whatever attract him/her. He has no qualms in worshipping Lord Shiva, Vishnu, Goddess Durga. Lord Ganesha etc. together. In my pooja place, I have pictures of my Guru/Param Guru, Shiva-linga, images of Lord Vishnu and his other avataras, Mother Goddess in her various forms, Lord Ganesha and many more.

    I was a meat-eater (not beef) for more than 45 years of my age. I left it only a few years back. I am a married man.
    d) Celebrate Hindu festivals like Deepavali, Holi, Durga Pooja, Maha ShivarAtri, Ganesh Chaturthi, etc.
    e) Adopt Hindu way of greeting people. Hindus fold hands together for greeting anyone. Most Hindus touch the feet of their parents, elder brothers, elder sisters etc. for seeking their blessings and if they themselves are elders they bless their younger ones by keeping hand on their head and saying, "Khush raho" (Be happy), "Chiranjeevi ho" (May you live a long life), "Safal ho" (May you be successful) etc.

    f) Do not keep any feeling of animosity towards other religions. Hindus go to the worship places of other religions with same respect and take care that the people of other faith are not offended. You will find many Hindus visiting dargahs of Muslims, Churches etc. with full reverence. They see the same God everywhere.

    Just go this way for a few years. Slowly, you will achieve higher spiritual planes and a time will come when you will meet your true Guru. Till that time, just relax and enjoy Hindu way of life.

    OM
    "Om Namo Bhagvate Vaasudevaye"

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    Re: Safe hindu practices for the unitiated

    Namaste ekam,


    Its better to offer non veg or whatever you eat to GOD than offer nothing. There is a saying in India "Its better to have a blind husband than no husband"e :P
    Anything that takes you towards God is dharma and anything that takes you away from God is adharma because only God is “param dharma” . Bhakta Kannappa who was Arjuna in his previous birth used to offer meat to Lord Shiva everyday.Yet the lord gave him liberation.
    Its not just Matangi devi ,any God or Goddess accepts any offering as long as it is done with love,respect ,understanding and devotion.Since God is the paramatma in your heart He would know that you aren’t in a position to offer veg food so He wouldn’t fret and fume over it because He has better things to do than discourage a neophyte
    You may not offer non veg to a deity whose prana pratishta has been done but you can offer it to a picture. Use the mantra “Brahmarpanam Brahma havih” from the bhagavad gita and also your own heartfelt prayer describing your inability to offer veg food.
    Coffee is an intoxicant yet i have it early morning because i need to stay alert while doing my japa. Coz what is important to me is my japa not coffee. If i dont have coffee id sleep and i would either skip japa or do it inattentively.
    So that is why “time place and circumstance” is to be considered in devotion. What is congenial to my devotion may not be for you. And this is very personal and you are the best judge for it. If you think after offering meat you are not able to focus on your japa then you can stop it. If you think you are doing your japa with even more enthusiasm then you can continue with it.
    . Of all the names of God i feel Rama Ganesha Shiva Gauri and Durga are potent. But then to each his own. So you can chant the name of any god you like but make sure you understand everything about Him/Her before you do so because name chanting is not mantra chanting and it needs to be accompanied by emotions which you will get only after reading their leelas.


    Now coming to the mantra marga..Its difficult to recommend a mantra for i don’t know what exactly you want from this worship or which form of god you like the most
    If intelligence and expansion of your mind is what you want you can chant the sarasvati mantra “om aim hreem dheeem mahasarasvatyai saum swaha”
    Or just the shiva mantra HAUM
    If you want a peaceful family life with no fights with enough food to eat and ever flowing money use the Gauri mantra aum hreem gaum gaureem geem swaha(this works trust me)

    And always add ganesha mantra GAM to everything mantra you chant if you want early ensured success in your japa. If you want your mantra to fructify after 10-15 years and that too with no guarantee then you can ignore ganesha

  9. #9

    Re: Safe hindu practices for the unitiated

    Pranams, Ganeshamylord

    Thank you so much for your answer. I'll do as you say.

    You said:

    "Its difficult to recommend a mantra for i don’t know what exactly you want from this worship or which form of god you like the most."

    At the moment my greater wish is to obtain spiritual guidance from God in any form. I'm always anxious by the fact that life is so short. I always ask myself If I'm doing the right thing in His eyes or just spending this lifetime in vain.

    Without God I am lost, nothing in this world has meaning apart from Him. I wanna feel his presence around me. I want to develop my bhakti for Him. I want Him to be with me always in every step I take. I want to secure that He will be with me in times of distress.

    The interesting fact is that He has NEVER left me, and my life is blessed in so many ways. But I always have this fear of separation, this fear that I'm not good enough to be his son, that I'm doing something wrong, and that He will not be with me when I need.

    It feels like I'm doubting Him even when I have no logical reason for that. I want to erase these doubts and strengthen my faith. I want to have the faith thet God is always with me and that my life has meaning and purpose.

    Namaste.

  10. #10
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    Re: Safe hindu practices for the unitiated

    Quote Originally Posted by Ekam View Post
    Another thing I do is mental puja.

    I sit everyday at 6 o'clock (because of sandhya time) and imagine the Deity in front of me, and I do the 16 steps of puja I searched online like washing the feet, etc. After worshipping in this way I imagine the Deity entering my heart and staying there, and then I meditate on it like that for some time while chanting His name.
    Vannakkam: This is precisely what I do while travelling, in hotel rooms. Brahmin priests whom I know do this while travelling as well.

    But I must add a word of caution about receiving advice on here. Many will want to give you advice, but often it comes from a sectarian POV, according to the advice giver. If you try to listen to everyone, you'll undoubtedly get confused. You will need to do some sorting, based on some intuitve sense of what makes sense to you, or not.

    It reminds me of an elderly aunt of mine, who quipped, at a cousin's wedding, "My advise is to not listen to anyone's advice. Listen to your heart."

    There are others who hesitate to give any advice at all, unless specifically asked.

    Best wishes.

    Aum Namasivaya

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