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Thread: DEVI ICONOGRAPHY IMAGE HELP

  1. #21

    Re: DEVI ICONOGRAPHY IMAGE HELP

    So, is this not good enough for you? She is holding a Lotus, but it is not exactly nilotpala, so what? It is a Lotus

    Shiv-Parvati-Ganesh
    Shiv-Parvati
    Shiv-Parvati -- mUrti - nilotpala
    Last edited by smaranam; 03 February 2015 at 09:22 PM.
    || Shri KRshNArpaNamastu ||

  2. #22

    Re: DEVI ICONOGRAPHY IMAGE HELP

    Quote Originally Posted by smaranam View Post
    Namaste


    **Note the diference between worshipping Shakti Devi as a stand-alone devatA versus as a consort of the ShaktimAn.
    VaishNav and VedAntins always recommend worshipping Lakshmi WITH NArAyaN, never as stand-alone Lakshmi.
    The stand-alone Lakshmi puja is for bestowing material benefits (which is more popular and common) or may fall in the shAkta category, but the Lakshmi which accompanies NArAyaN is His alhAdini, and worshipped together will take the sAdhak further on the spiritual pAth towards NArAyaN, and bhakti will grow. It will be nishkAm (without expecting fruits of actions), nischhal (pure, free of any ulterior motives).


    om namo bhagavate vAsudevAya
    Namaste smaranam
    Who are these vedantins that you talk of? Are you saying Nishkama bhakti is not possible if one worships shakti alone? So are you saying shaktas worship Mother only for material benefits? I worship Sri chakra (which was worshipped by Narayana himself in Kanchi) for love and devotion to the feet of Devi Lalitha. So my devotion is lopsided and yours is higher? In this context i would like to tell you about Shri Devi Gita. Where Narayana and Lakshmi along with devas worship the world mother and she enlightens them about bhakti too and she makes it a point that love and devotion towards her assure mukti. Please understand that you have woven your world around Narayan while people like me around the mother. So kindly dont hurt us with your unsolicited innuendos. Bhakti depends not on the worshipped form but on the bhava that is offered. A lot of people worship Balaji and offer money in his hundi for material benefits. That doesnt make their devotion superior. It is due to ignorance that people think of shakti and shaktiman are independent. They are one and the same and neither has any substratum without the other. Dont judge others and dont stereotype others lest the same will happen to you too.

  3. #23
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    Re: DEVI ICONOGRAPHY IMAGE HELP

    Quote Originally Posted by smaranam View Post
    So, is this not good enough for you? She is holding a Lotus, but it is not exactly nilotpala dala, so what? It is a Lotus
    Namaste Smaranam Ji,

    Please do not get offended by what I say but I must explain.

    I do not know why it is a Nilotpala nor did I decide
    by myself so,I read somewhere that the Devi has many attributes and one of them is a blue lotus.
    If the scriptures say it is blue then it has to be blue only,there can't be a green,brown or black lotus.

    If the scriptures say that a certain Deva is in Ghana Shyama varna
    (complexion) that Deva has to be in Krishna/NeelaMegha varna,we can't paint that deity say in orange or VIBGYOR color.IMHO it is inappropriate to deviate from established teachings.

    Whatever the Dharmic scriptures say has to followed without challenging them.

    (Apart from the Lotus there are many other important (& subtle) parameters to decide whether an image is conforming to the Shastra or not)

    Anyways,thanks for the links but my search for the Devi's image continues.

    He dances in the golden hall of Chidambaram, Let us worship His rosy anklet girt Feet.

  4. #24

    Re: DEVI ICONOGRAPHY IMAGE HELP

    Quote Originally Posted by karaka View Post
    Namaste smaranam
    Who are these vedantins that you talk of? Are you saying Nishkama bhakti is not possible if one worships shakti alone? So are you saying shaktas worship Mother only for material benefits? I worship Sri chakra (which was worshipped by Narayana himself in Kanchi) for love and devotion to the feet of Devi Lalitha. So my devotion is lopsided and yours is higher? In this context i would like to tell you about Shri Devi Gita. Where Narayana and Lakshmi along with devas worship the world mother and she enlightens them about bhakti too and she makes it a point that love and devotion towards her assure mukti. Please understand that you have woven your world around Narayan while people like me around the mother. So kindly dont hurt us with your unsolicited innuendos. Bhakti depends not on the worshipped form but on the bhava that is offered. A lot of people worship Balaji and offer money in his hundi for material benefits. That doesnt make their devotion superior. It is due to ignorance that people think of shakti and shaktiman are independent. They are one and the same and neither has any substratum without the other. Dont judge others and dont stereotype others lest the same will happen to you too.
    Dear Karaka,

    You have misunderstood me. I was EXCLUDING the shAktas from this as the exception, and certainly not hurting them (and you). Please read what I wrote carefully:

    3 scenarios
    a) Worship of Lakshmi alone by general households who desire good prosperity in general -- not as a spiritual practice e.g. Diwali Lakshmi Puja

    b) Worship of Lakshmi-NArAyaN - generally VaishNav and Advaita practices AS adhyAtmic sAdhanA

    c) Worship of Lakshmi or other Devi forms as a Shakti UpAsak, I also said "unless you are a Shri VidyA upAsak" "or they may be a shAkta"

    I hope the meaning of the word "unless" and "or" is understood. You see I did take the shAktas into account as a third category and was clearly not refering to that group here. I was only referring to the occasional puja of type a) Now this does not mean that households performing or attending the prosperity Lakshmi puja will not also have serious spiritual practitioners. They could be just doing this puja for the family, AND THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT EITHER. Please see the blue highlights in my quote below:

    Quote Originally Posted by smaranam View Post
    **Note the difference between worshipping Shakti Devi as a stand-alone devatA versus as a consort of the ShaktimAn.
    VaishNav and VedAntins always recommend worshipping Lakshmi WITH NArAyaN, never as stand-alone Lakshmi.
    The stand-alone Lakshmi puja is for bestowing material benefits (which is more popular and common) or may fall in the shAkta category, but the Lakshmi which accompanies NArAyaN is His alhAdini, and worshipped together will take the sAdhak further on the spiritual pAth towards NArAyaN, and bhakti will grow. It will be nishkAm (without expecting fruits of actions), nischhal (pure, free of any ulterior motives).
    Have also heard of the analogy of the stand-alone Lakshmi as the Lakshmi entering your house from the back door, who may leave anytime (associated with material wealth in any form unless you are a Shri-VidyA upAsak), whereas the Lakshmi-NArAyaN pair enters through the front-door, never to leave.

    om namo bhagavate vAsudevAya

    To answer your question, "which vedAntins?" I had heard about "back-door and front-door Lakshmi" in a lecture on meaning of Shri Sukta by a good follower of the ShankarAchArya school-paramparA. She is a close family friend and that is how I was invited to it.
    || Shri KRshNArpaNamastu ||

  5. #25

    Re: DEVI ICONOGRAPHY IMAGE HELP

    Quote Originally Posted by karaka View Post
    Bhakti depends not on the worshipped form but on the bhava that is offered. A lot of people worship Balaji and offer money in his hundi for material benefits. That doesnt make their devotion superior.
    Of course, I agree with you! In fact I have always said this - all along -- and people who know me here and have read my posts will second that.

    BG 4.11 ye yathA mAm prapadyante tAmstathaiva bhajAmyaham |
    mama vartamAnuvartanta manushyAh: pArtha sarvashah: ||

    As people surrender to Me I reciprocrate accordingly ; everyone follows My path in all respects, O son of PRuthA

    EDIT: However, the form DOES matter, and does make a big difference. To the bhakta. Since every bhakta is different in nature they worship different forms.

    By the way, I am not putting material benefits in some 'low' category either. There is nothing wrong in it -- people do what they have to do till they get to a point. Our dharma does not condemn any stage --- dharma artha kAma and moksha, not in reverse sequence. Artha and kAma abiding by dharma will help you lead a dhArmic life and eventually lead one to moksha.
    Last edited by smaranam; 02 February 2015 at 06:32 AM. Reason: see EDIT
    || Shri KRshNArpaNamastu ||

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