Results 1 to 10 of 10

Thread: Pooja Room & Other Things @ Home ..

  1. #1

    Pooja Room & Other Things @ Home ..

    Hello All, This is my 1st post ..

    My name is Ravi .. I'm an IT guy working in Melbourne .. Big believer in our philosophy & happy that I correct myself constantly, as & as I get knowledge on our Hindu Dharma ..

    Wanted to get fellow members opinion on below topic ..

    We have a Pooja room, where we go & do Pooja everyday, listen to Pravachans etc ..

    I enjoy a glass of Scotch, once in a while, sitting in my Home-Theatre room ..

    What do guys think abt this !! .. Am I contradicting myself, with two different set of practices in the same house !! ..

    Let me know your opinions, so that, if I'm doing anything wrong, I can correct myself ..

    Thanks In Advance ..

  2. #2
    Join Date
    September 2007
    Location
    Canada
    Age
    70
    Posts
    7,191
    Rep Power
    5038

    Re: Pooja Room & Other Things @ Home ..

    Vannakkam Ravi: Welcome to HDF. Various sampradayas and school would have different takes on this. Some art total tea totalers, some would accept alcohol in real moderation. I don't thing any Hindus would approve of getting drunk-stupid smashed.

    We Hindus generally don't have absolute rules on things, although some schools are far stricter than others. Most don't even attempt to try to tell others how to live.

    So it's up to you. Personally, I would have doubts that anything anyone here might say would change your mind anyway.

    Our house is a booze free house, not that that should matter.

    Aum Namasivaya

  3. #3
    Join Date
    October 2012
    Location
    Bhaarath
    Age
    51
    Posts
    1,113
    Rep Power
    1502

    Re: Pooja Room & Other Things @ Home ..

    Namaste Ravi,

    All I know is, our stomach is a Havan Kund. The food we consume are the ones that we put in the Havan Kund.

    So answer to your question depends upon your destination and you choose your destination.

    I am attaching couple of links for you read and take decision.

    www.satyahopes.org/Rituals/Food_Prayer.html
    www.hinduism.co.za/food.htm

    A Havan is a sacred purifying
    ritual (yajna) in Hinduism that
    involves a fire ceremony. It is a
    ritual of sacrifice made to the
    fire god Agni. After lighting a
    Havan Kund (sacrificial fire),
    objects such as fruits, honey, or
    wooden goods are put into the
    sacred fire.If there are any
    spirits that are evil around you
    or even inside you they get
    burned off in the sacred fire.It is
    believed that this sacrifice will
    bring health, happiness, luck and prosperity.


    Quote Originally Posted by Ravi_Shanker View Post
    Hello All, This is my 1st post ..

    My name is Ravi .. I'm an IT guy working in Melbourne .. Big believer in our philosophy & happy that I correct myself constantly, as & as I get knowledge on our Hindu Dharma ..

    Wanted to get fellow members opinion on below topic ..

    We have a Pooja room, where we go & do Pooja everyday, listen to Pravachans etc ..

    I enjoy a glass of Scotch, once in a while, sitting in my Home-Theatre room ..

    What do guys think abt this !! .. Am I contradicting myself, with two different set of practices in the same house !! ..

    Let me know your opinions, so that, if I'm doing anything wrong, I can correct myself ..

    Thanks In Advance ..
    Anirudh...

  4. #4
    Join Date
    December 2007
    Age
    63
    Posts
    3,218
    Rep Power
    4728

    Re: Pooja Room & Other Things @ Home ..

    Welcome to the forums, Ravi !

    OM
    "Om Namo Bhagvate Vaasudevaye"

  5. #5
    Join Date
    April 2012
    Location
    London, United Kingdom
    Age
    30
    Posts
    561
    Rep Power
    792

    Re: Pooja Room & Other Things @ Home ..

    If you are asking whether drinking in a environment where you have a temple and god-related materials around you is a contradiction --- then the answer is two-fold.

    1) Philosophically? No. God is everywhere. What difference does the temple make? What difference do the images make? They are for you, not for God. If you went and drank in a different room, who are you fooling? If you drank in a different building, country, state, world or even universe, what difference does it make?You haven't left God behind in the temple room. You may drink wherever you like.

    2) Practically? Yes. Depending on the individual it may be a good character and discipline-building exercise to refrain from these things when around such environments to build good energy there, a clean pure atmosphere, respect between devotee and God, and the foundations for a genuine Bakhti to start developing. Though we must be careful to not pull the wool over our eyes and be divine in the temple room and miserly outside that space.

    All in all, it depends on you and your approach to spiritual self-development.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    July 2010
    Location
    The Holy Land - Bharat
    Posts
    2,842
    Rep Power
    5499

    Re: Pooja Room & Other Things @ Home ..

    Namaste Ravi,

    Quote Originally Posted by Ravi_Shanker View Post
    Am I contradicting myself, with two different set of practices in the same house !! ..
    Welcome to the forum.

    There are no contradictions. You are doing what keeps you sane. A good mental health is your biggest asset and stay the course. Some day you will give up one or the other.

    Quote Originally Posted by Ravi_Shanker View Post
    Let me know your opinions, so that, if I'm doing anything wrong, I can correct myself ..
    The very act of coming to the forum and asking for other people's opinion means that intuitively you know that somewhere there is a disconnect between your cravings and your spiritual side. Until the spiritual side refines itself and gets elevated to a level where your cravings don't have a hold on you, go for whatever helps you to keep the mental balance. The only opinion that counts is your own. So, what do you really think, and what do you want to do?

    Pranam.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    March 2012
    Location
    Pacific NW
    Posts
    205
    Rep Power
    1329

    Re: Pooja Room & Other Things @ Home ..

    Namaste Ravi_Shanker Ji,

    This is my understanding.

    We have Sthula Sarira (Body), Sukshuma Sarira (Mind) & Karana Sarira (I, Self) . We will need healthy Body , healthy mind and these two need to be connected for advancement in yogic life. Alcohol , Marijuana , opiates etc.. , disconnect the mind from body. Also they could harm the body, and make you take harmful decisions due to inebriation.

    Again , there is nothing sinful in drinking -as long as you are prepared for the effects.

  8. #8

    Re: Pooja Room & Other Things @ Home ..

    Thank You One & All ...

    All answers really helped me think in more broader way .. There is no RULE, that what is applicable or what is not ... There are places where we offer BALI to our Gods, which is indication that whatever we do is your giving Almighty ...

    I'll try & get clarity & if I'm unable to, will give up bringing into home ...
    There's a saying "If in doubt, don't do it ... "

    Thank You Again, opened up my thinking ...

  9. #9

    Re: Pooja Room & Other Things @ Home ..

    Quote Originally Posted by Ravi_Shanker View Post
    Hello All, This is my 1st post ..

    My name is Ravi .. I'm an IT guy working in Melbourne .. Big believer in our philosophy & happy that I correct myself constantly, as & as I get knowledge on our Hindu Dharma ..

    Wanted to get fellow members opinion on below topic ..

    We have a Pooja room, where we go & do Pooja everyday, listen to Pravachans etc ..

    I enjoy a glass of Scotch, once in a while, sitting in my Home-Theatre room ..

    What do guys think abt this !! .. Am I contradicting myself, with two different set of practices in the same house !! ..

    Let me know your opinions, so that, if I'm doing anything wrong, I can correct myself ..

    Thanks In Advance ..
    Namaste Ravi Shanker ,

    What I can gather from your question is that you may feel guilty about drinking the scotch or there is a debate at home. I feel that if you go pray and then right after go get a drink it defeats the purpose and weakens the positive energy. It really depends on what your goals are and what level of consciousness you want to obtain. Through prayer what do you want achieve? Remember they are different levels of prayers, selfless prayers (ex. I want to achieve moksha) and prayers which as for material possessions (ex. I want a sports car). Often times non veg is frowned upon but we as a society often forget about drugs such as alcohol and nicotine (smoking) all of which are "socially accepted" thus, not grouping them with the extreme such as cocaine etc. The correct answer to this really depends on what spiritual plane you currently exists at and which spiritual plane you want to ascend to. Through multiple births we correct ourselves so we can ascend to higher worlds. Basically, my friend if in your heart you feel some remorse listen to it and don't ignore it will never misguide you. The reason why things such as alcohol are considered taboo (at the churning of the ocean the Asuras picked the God of Alcohol) is that they affect your mind, body and behavior. In order to achieve oneness with the divine we must do good actions, speak good and "think" good. In order to maintain/achieve such a mindset we must eliminate things which distract us from this oneness with the supreme. Things which stimulate the Indriya senses are urged to be controlled. Those who say there is nothing in our scriptures which speak against alcohol are speaking of falsehoods; to falsely propagate the scriptures is adharmic ; the Gita, Guru Granth Sahib and many other scriptures mention many times of its pitfalls. I don't want to post these quotes as they may offend others. I do not judge my friend. If you live by the principles of think good, speak good, do good and eat good you will surely obtain the supreme’s graces. I don’t want to step on any toes but I feel if a question is asked it should be truthfully answered. My friend if you don't let it intoxicate your mind you should be okay but eventually all those who find the Lords Grace discard such things. Spirituality is a process its road is full of many twists and turns; you my friend are headed in the right direction. To question the intent of your actions is to look beyond illusion and towards the divine.

    -divnelight

  10. #10

    Re: Pooja Room & Other Things @ Home ..

    Quote Originally Posted by Ravi_Shanker View Post
    Thank You One & All ...

    All answers really helped me think in more broader way .. There is no RULE, that what is applicable or what is not ... There are places where we offer BALI to our Gods, which is indication that whatever we do is your giving Almighty ...

    I'll try & get clarity & if I'm unable to, will give up bringing into home ...
    There's a saying "If in doubt, don't do it ... "

    Thank You Again, opened up my thinking ...
    Namaste Ravi_Shanker,

    My friend you have the right mindset. "If in doubt don't do it" Your spirituality is blossoming. In terms of offering Bali to God I believe Krishna states in the Gita that any offering where an animal is killed will not be accepted by God/a person cannot reach his grace. So, let us think about this in terms of what Hinduism preaches, which is "nonviolence" to others which includes animals. Say if we slaughter a goat and we offer it to God. We are in-fact killing a life (everything has a soul everything is divine). How can we ask God for something when we kill in his/her name? The beauty of our path is that it is ever evolving and highly scientific. The Rishis would sit and contemplate and make adjustments so if it at one point in time some members of society felt it was accepted to conduct animal sacrifice they would teach otherwise. From my understanding "some" paths used (still do) to kill animals to dispel negative energy or to become kings. Today this can be done in a less violent by the use of limes which draw away the negative energy. For example, when someone purchase’s a new car they place 4 limes under the tires and run over them. This process is meant to dispel negative energy and protect the car and driver. In addition, some scholars believe when references are made to animal sacrifices in the scriptures they are mistranslated and actual animals were not kill but little idols of them were used. When we look around at the great teachers of our time whether they are Hindu or Buddhist or Sikh they all preached nonviolence “do not kill animals, do not harm others”. In instances where war would happen every effort was made to reach a nonviolent solution (ex. Mahabharat Krishna tried several times to find a nonviolent solution because he knew the loss life would be tremendous.) The happiest people on this planet are Rishis, Sants and Gurus they live life of devotion and nonviolence to achieve such peace within ourselves we should model ourselves after them.

    Often times I would argue with my mother( I still do ) She would often say "Well others are doing it!" and I would often reply back “MOM just because others are doing it, it doesn't make it right!" So we can apply this same logic to act of "bali" Yes others perform bali, just because they are performing it, does it make it right? The way to God is with love and devotion if we kill in his/her name we can never reach his/her grace. Ravi_Shankar when we question things around us/our actions as you are doing we are looking to ascend ourselves you are on the right track my friend.

    -divnelight

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. Replies: 2
    Last Post: 02 December 2013, 04:50 AM
  2. Setup of POOJA ALTAR
    By ravrajsharma in forum New to Sanatana Dharma
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 28 April 2012, 02:28 AM
  3. Himalayan Academy - things I don't agree with
    By Divine Kala in forum New to Sanatana Dharma
    Replies: 55
    Last Post: 14 January 2012, 03:18 AM
  4. Vedanta Sutra - read this translation
    By Mohini Shakti Devi in forum Vedas & Brahmanas
    Replies: 12
    Last Post: 03 May 2010, 11:58 AM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •