Kali_Upasaka

Success/Failure are materialistic terms used by materialists as an yardstick to measure material things. I do not think if we can use it to measure anything spiritual.

What are the basics in Spirituality? 1. It is something which is not materialistic. 2. It does not confer on you money, fame and other worldly possessions. Then why do people turn toward Spirituality? The most basic emotion of any human being is FEAR. As Bhatruhari put it 1. In wealth is the fear of poverty, 2. In knowledge the fear of ignorance, 3. In beauty the fear of age, 4. In fame the fear of backbiters, 5. In success the fear of jealousy, 6. In body is the fear of death. Everything in this earth is fraught with fear. We can always add more fears like losing the loved ones etc. Fear and Love are the two basic emotions. There could be human beings who do not know the emotion of Love, but there is no human being who does not know fear. Sorrow and other feelings are only derivatives of Love and Fear. That is why we always emphasize the Abhaya Mudra or giving relief from Fear. The concept of Nishkamya Karma and Saranagatha Bhakthi which is the main message of Bhagavad Gita shows us how to conquer FEAR.

You can get the original Vedas and translations here. http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/ A collection of sites about Vedas. http://www.dmoz.org/Society/Religion_and_Spirituality/Hinduism/Religious_Texts/Vedas/

I also know many Swamijis of Gowdiya and other sects who are not at all materialistic. I have the highest reverence for them. I was quoting the example of Swamijis only to stress the point about not being spiritual even while being a Sannyasi/Swamiji. What are the basics in Spirituality? 1. It is something which is not materialistic. 2. It does not confer on you money, fame and other worldly possessions. I am sure there is more. So let us put on our thinking caps and post. No quotes please. Some original thinking.

Forget about Swamijis. This raises a question whether you can be spiritual while living in the material world. Yes. We can. Then how do we go about it? That should be the central point of this discussion. All of us know Gita and what it teaches. But how do we apply it in our lives? Not by quoting the Gita. But by applying the basics.

Janaka Maharaja is the only individual who has been mentioned specifically as a person who was a Raja but a Rishi in spirituality. He was an exception rather than a rule. Therein lies his greatness. We do not expect our Swamijis to go in tatters. The disciples would feel very bad if their Gurus went around in tatters. But you need not have a fleet of Rolls Royces or wear designer wear. Attachment. Just see the the reaction of the Swamijis when the promised amount for the lecture is not delivered. Or when the lose their Omega watch.

I do not understand why we have to go to Wikipedia or any of the Swamijis for finding out what Spirituality is. There can never be a standard definition which is applicable in all cases. For example take the case of 1. A social aware individual who is committed to the welfare of the poor and spends his entire life working for their benefit. There are many whom we have never heard of because they shun publicity. They are not religious. But they do not care for creature comforts and spend their life time in tribal areas and shanty colonies. I have met some of them. Are they not spiritual? They are. 2. A person who talks a lot about spirituality, gives lectures on scriptures, can quote from scriptures. But travels only in an air conditioned car. Wears clothes, slippers and other personal things which only the very rich can afford. They stay in the best hotels and have the best food. Many a time these are Sannyasis also. Very publicity conscious. All of us would have met at least one such individual. Hinduism seem to be proliferated with such people. Are these individuals spiritual? NO. By no stretch of imagination can they be called spiritual.

This is a good topic for discussion. I would like to suggest changing the topic to Materialistic Vs Religious Vs Spiritual people. All of us would have seen very religious people who are quite materialistic. Being religious does not make one spiritual. Especially in a ritual oriented religion like Hinduism, one is considered religious when you perform the necessary rituals. Our aim is to become spiritual. I am not talking about the different definitions of spirituality in the various schools of thought. Mukthi, Kaivalyam, Shivaloka, Vaikundam, merging with the lord or serving Krishna or what ever you believe in. All these are spiritual goals. How do we define a Materialistic person? He is one who has not even thought of any of the above things. He is only bothered about Wealth, Success, Fame etc. The moment one starts thinking about any spiritual goal, his journey starts. He ceases to be a purely materialistic person. Is the topic worth a discussion?

I had Dharshan at the temple about 30 years back. That is why I was able to recall immediately. But I had to check up the name of the temple.

Books on specific Tantras, Puranas etc. are available in English. And recent research on subjects in Hinduism. But when it comes to specific worship (Upasana) of a particular Deity, not many books are available in English. Such books are available in Hindi, Bangla, Tamil and other Indian languages. And originals in Sanskrit. Some of them do get translated to English. But with limited copies. Since your question is about Upasana, let me check up my library. I have collected thousands of books in all languages over the years. I think I have a book on Ganapathi Upasana. I will get back to you within a week.

No. You can not. Ganapathyam or the worship of Ganesa as the Supreme Diety was one of the sects along with Saivism, Vaishnavism, Saktham, Souryam (worship of the sun) and Kaumaram (worship of Skanda). It declined later. But the different forms of Ganesa do exist. Ganapathyam had a a number of Tantrik texts laso. Most of the Ganapathyam texts have been lost. Ganesa is a Vaidic deity. The Ganapathy Atharvaseersham that I mentioned earlier is from the Atharva Veda. Many of the 32 forms like Heramba Ganapathy, Ucchista ganapthy are Tantrik. I am sending you the link to an article by p.m. Please see that. That is an authoritative article. The books written now are about the popular worship of Ganesa. So you need to be careful about your choice.

This tree is a native of the amazon. It is not native to India. It is in the threatened species of plants. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/57539/ http://www.thefloweringgarden.com/couroupita.htm It does grow in Florida, U.S. The best way is to check with the local botanical sources. The local botanical garden may have one. But then you may not be able to import the seeds because of the present restrictions on importing foreign plants.

There is a temple in Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu with a three tiered structure. This temple has standing, sitting and reclining postures. Vaikuntha Perumal Temple

This is grass. We do Archana with more than 32 kinds of leaves and grass to Ganesha. Then with different kind of flowers. But Durva is a speciality for Ganesa. We say durva Yugmam samarpayami at the end. You had asked about a flower shaped like a yantra. I have not come across that. But there is a flower which is called kaman gola/Naga linga Pushpam. It has got a Linga with a thousand headed snake guarding it. http://www.flowersofindia.net/catalog/slides/Cannon%20Ball%20Tree.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Couroupita_guianensis

Sorry, I could not respond earlier because of the time difference. It was night in India. Now kshama has explained most of the things. dhyana sloka is the prayer which describes the Deity. Since you do not have any particular form in mind, please visit http://www.siddhivinayak.org/index.asp The site of the Siddhi Vinayak temple, Mumbai. Have a virtual dharshan. You can download the picture of the Deity. The site also contains a lot of information about Ganesa worship. You can download Ganapathi Atharva Seersha from there and recite it daily. But I found their transliteration difficult to read. You can try this and also google for it http://www.scribd.com/doc/2199553/Ganesha-Atharva-Sheersha Durva Grass is special for Ganesa. That alone is sufficient. I do not know whether it grows in Slovenia. Check it up. http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2699176990101979459pgYtQh Never never use Basil (Tulsi) leaves for Ganesa. Please post if you need any clarification.

There many forms of Ganesa. Many pictures and whole galleries are available. It is not the Mantra but the Dhyana Sloka which determines the form you worship. Have you decided a form? A list of sites about Ganesa. http://www.dmoz.org/Society/Religion_and_Spirituality/Hinduism/Gods_and_Goddesses/Ganesha/

There are two kinds of Puja which are in vogue. 1. Kumari Puja - The rituals and mantras depend on Sampradhayas. The age of the girl matters a lot. The caste of the girl also matters. Generally it is like what sambya has given. Performing Kumari Puja in the Khamakya temple is considered very good. 2. Suvasini Puja - This is for married women. It is also called as Sumangali Puja. Performed on a group rather than an individual. Rituals depend on Sampradhayas. The worship of Kumari in Nepal does not fall in the same category. The Nepalese Hindus follow Guru Matsyendranath sampradhaya. Their beliefs and practices are different from the common Indian Hindu. Kumari is considered an incarnation of Devi. The rituals and beliefs in this respect are part of Vajrayana Buddhism. It is similar to the incarnation of Dalai Lama and other important Lamas. Vajrayana Buddhism and Hindu Tantrism overlap and merge in many respects. The followers of the great Padmasambhava and Guru Matsyendranath share a lot in common. We do talk about Cina Tantra. An article about Kumari Devi. http://www.visitnepal.com/nepal_information/kumari.php

You make an outrageous statement which is an insult to Motherhood. And now you justify it with an attack on Sakthism. I had said This is a quote from William Makepeace Thackeray or Emerson. When did these people become Sakthas? If you google this you will find that it is a Christian belief. An example http://www.swedenborg.org/odb/sermon_detail.cfm?sermonID=3553 The Vedas say Mathru Devo Bhava. Hinduism and all religions of the world accept the sanctity of Motherhood. The only exceptions are some sects of a religion where women are considered slaves and property. Krishna Consciousness is not one of them. You seem to hate the Sakthas so much that you do not mind denigrating all the Mothers of the world to say something against Sakthism. This is not Sakthism Vs Vaishnavism. But an attack on the sacred institution of Motherhood. Your statement is an insult to Motherhood. And also women in general. Talking about the name of the father read the story of Sathyakama Jabala in the Upanishads.

Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children. ~William Makepeace Thackeray This quotation has been attributed to Emerson also. I never thought some people could hate their Mothers so much. Sad.

Everyone is supposed to have his own conception of GOD. Mother is GOD in the eyes of a Child.

The effects of past karma is mitigated by the Grace of GOD. This is believed by all the Hindu philosophical schools except Purva Mimansa which does not believe in GOD. The past karmas can be burned away by GOD. But it is also believed that some of the Karmas called Pratabdha karmas have to be endured. But even here when and how the effect takes place depends on GOD. Just to take an example. You have to suffer a loss of $20,000 being a debt incurred in the past life. GOD can mitigate it in many ways. 1. You are born a millionaire. So the loss does not affect you. 2. The loss occurs just after you have won a lottery or a huge bonus in your job. 3. The most important point. GOD gives you the mental make up to take the loss with equanimity whatever may be your financial circumstances. The mental strength to bear the consequences of past karma is given by GOD. Surrender to GOD and take everything as his will and pleasure. It is not necessary to go onto a spiritual path to get the grace of GOD. GOD is available to anyone. The Bhakthas or devotees believe that GOD is partial to his Bhakthas. So we recite sthudhis and stotras to please GOD and get mitigation from the effects of past Karma.

Of all the Prayogas, the Marana prayoga ( Killing ) is the most difficult. It is almost impossible to find a Tantrik who will use this prayoga because of the consequences of such an action. In the 1920s there was a famous murder case in the Madras high court. Here the heirs of a big Zamindar were murdered by family members. It came out during the trial that the murderers had tried for years to use black magic to kill the heirs. They did not succeed. In the end they did the murder themselves with the help of accomplices.

The moghul rule was nearing its end when the Britishers came to India. We do thank the British for many things. But saving us from Muslim rule is not one of them. The British did not unite India. When we got independence there were more than 400 kingdoms or Native states as called by the British. In fact the secret agreements that the British entered into with many of these Kings did lead a lot of problems later.

You call the oldest Philosophy of Hinduism as a farce. There are millions of Hindus following Purva Mimansa. You do not accept the other systems of Philosophy like Sankhya, Yoga and others. This is the reason why I wrote about this discussion about Neo Hindus right from inception. Purva Mimnasa people could call acintya bheda abheda as neo-Hindu since it came at least a thousand years later. When the goals are not the same how can the paths be the same. The goals of the different Philosophies and even Sampradhayas with the same Philosophy are different. Mukthi, Moksha, Vikundam, Siva Logam, Swargam et al. Then most of the people pray to GOD for material benefits. Just look at the threads in this forum. Who are we to say that what is correct and who is correct? Is this not a doctrinaire approach? Then there are millions of Hindus who do not belong to any Sampradhaya. There are Gods/Goddesses who do not belong to the Puranic lore. Do we say that these are not Hindus? The same argument has been used for the last two hundred years by the Christian Missionaries to convert Hindus. They tell the tribals and Dalits that their Gods and practices are not accepted by the caste Hindus. By dividing the Hindus into Neo_Hindus and many Gods/Goddesses as Demi_Gods or worse, and questioning the very existence of Hinduism we are helping the Christian Missionaries in their conversion. The Ramakrishna movement has been acting as a bulwark against the onslaught of the Christian missionaries in India. As it is in the West yoga is now generally being accepted as different from Hinduism. But in India it is considered part of Hinduism and most of the Hindus think it to be part of Hinduism. May be this would please some members but not the vast majority of the Hindus who live in India. I am a Indian Hindu and proud to be an Indian and a Hindu. We do have a Bhakthi called Desa Bhakthi.

Ganakastadhyayi (Windows version) http://www.taralabalu.org/panini/