Durgaputra

Have a spare coconut next time. So that if one is bad, the other one can be used. It is a good skill to tell if a coconut is bad or good by flicking it with a finger. A good coconut will have a clear ringing tone- try this on a husked coconut.

You can get a pujari to do navagraha puja and havan/homa at home.This will be easier and take less time..

We never relied on books to carry forward our traditions. The written part is only one component. They were passed down via Guru Sishya parampara or through families, There may never have been one single version of this prayer.. there are many versions. The important part is not which version, but as to how one is envisioning these Devathas in ones palm.

You can have it tied in pure silver with or without caps. This will make it durable  and easy to keep clean.

There is no response from the  moderator..I have posted my Yahoo! messenger details to my profile.You can send me an IM with your details.

I had posted my email so you can send your birth details,but the moderator seems to have deleted it. I will wait for the moderator to reply as to what alternatives they have.

Thank you so much! How do I send you my birth details?

 

I live in US, if I light a lamp in my apartments the fire alarm will go off. I dont have gandha and dhoopa also. Naivedya I can make - I make kheer and sheera as Devi likes it.

India Divine does not seem to have a personal/private message  facility any more. Fire alarms are mostlysmoke detectors.I dont think a lamp would do it( a lamp should not be smoky- you should trim the wick/pull it in  then). Else, you can do it in the kitchen, where anyway there would be some heat. You can use natural scents/attar for gandha. Dhoopa may be a bit of a problem with smoke detectors- you can use akshata( whole rice grains coloured with tumeric powder) and say this is a substitute for dhoopa.

Namaste!If one has a desire to worship the Devi, it often shows even in ones dreams as visits to temples etc. Do not take up mantras based on someone telling you to do this over this or any other internet forum. Mantras are given in a particular order(krama) based on ones nature by a Guru. Keep doing what you can. A simple pancha upachar puja is good to start with. Gandha, Pushpa, Dhoopa, Deepa & naivedya is the right order. Be patient. At the right time, the Devi herself will appear as a Guru(in human form).

Your grandfather may have been given that mantra- you should wait until one is given to you.

If you can send me your birth details, I can try and tell you(through PM) when that blessed event will happen.

They definitely still do.Only, the people involved do not have the spiritual maturity to recognise this. People ascribe  it to luck and the like and often are egotistic enough to think "I did it" or "I deserve it and hence it happened". In Kaliyuga, more people are un-awakened than in previous ages, hence this perception.

Namaste. The mantra says "Klesha hastaaya". Why would Surya bhagavan have kleshas or afflictions in his hand ? I dont say that this makes this unauthentic, but it means there could be some problem with it.It is good that you are trying to understand the meaning, but the task may be more than a bit beyond you( and me as well:-)). Chakra( I guess pronounced as Sha-kra) would be Indra.Chakra ( Ch as in Chain and not as in Chateau) would be a wheel- could refer to Sudarshana. Each mantra is used for a particular purpose.Not all mantras are used generically to get close to the Devatha. Some of them are for a prayoga. I suggest you do not take this up without more information on what this is for. Websites may not be the best place to get that information.

The prayoga would depend on the mantra. Either it can be done via a sankalpa OR infusing the mantra into some material and giving it to the patient. What it is, would differ from mantra to mantra.Only some have the facility for adding the name in the body of the mantra itself. The mantra is the body of the Devata himself and hence unless the prayoga would be in a different manner.I dont have particular information on how to use this mantra.

Dear Dhruv,

Every mantra is not suitable for everyone. For you it can have done good. For the person who asked the question, it can do good OR cause 'trouble' by bringing out the bad karma in order to destroy the bad karma. Hence it needs to be done under the protection of a Guru. Your personal experience is hence not easily extensible to others. It depends on the state of the person who is chanting it. This is the traditional knowledge for the Navarna mantra.

For sadhana- doesnt your own Guru parampara require you to take diksha for each sadhana ? The navarna mantra is not one to be trifled with in any case.

Dear Neelkanth,

The mantra given by Dhruv should not be chanted without initiation. Mantras should not be picked up from books and started. They should be recited under the guidance of a Guru.

Dear Dhruv,

Why are you asking people to chant mantras which need initiation ? Are you giving them initiation ? If so and you are taking the responsibility, then it is different.

Kaisersose,

In your post, you seem to equate Detachment and Renunciation. Both are complementary and are not the same. There is no confusion between what is needed for a sanyasi or a grhasta.

Detachment is for the householder as well as the sanyasi. One can live in a palace surrounded by a harem and all comforts and still be detached. there is no need to go to the forests- so say the sastras. Even the Bhagavat Gita prescribes detachment from the fruits of ones actions and describes it as karma yoga.

Renunciation is for the sanyasi- where one gives up the world and its objects externally. Renunciation without detachment is not good since one can still be attached to things. Going to a forest and thinking of ones family does not give moksha.

These are not modern concepts. Every human is to strive for the four purusharthas and there is no prescription to wait till vanaprastha or sanyasa ashrama to strive for moksha. This striving starts from ones brahmacharya ashram.

Coming to celibacy- not every path sees celibacy as a pre-condition for siddhi or moksha. If you dont want to be celibate, then one can choose a path that does not need you to be so. In this great sanatana dharma, the divine one has shown different paths for different kinds of people.

Indeed there is nothing wrong with bigamy or polygamy or polyandry. The condition is that one must keep all these spouses happy.... AND THAT is the trouble. Keeping one spouse happy in this day and age is difficult enough.

I cant imagine why a real tantrik would come on TV and do such a thing. Why a real tantrik would even want to reveal themselves as one is beyond me.

This is just another stunt to gain publicity. After all it is not like one is given a certificate of being a real tantrik....

This is very similar to the methods used by Christian missionaries to convert people.

These are tourist videos. The Naga sadhus to my knowledge do not accept women as sanyasis. These are other paramparas who do. Using the word Yogi in the true sense- of course there are lots of women yogis. It is considered extremely auspicous for a Devi devotee to have a woman Guru.

Dear Bhattathri,

nice post- Thank you! you could have started your own thread instead of using the original thread of the warmonger who claims to support ISCKON

Why would I go around discussing my sadhana with strangers ? You are free to draw your own conclusions. It is Her nature to delude and free one from delusions. From your tone, it does not appear that we will have any fruitful discussion. Let me withdraw. Namaste.

Are Divine beings really 'male' OR 'female' ? You will have all such ideas if you go by the surface meaning only. It is important to go below the surface with Sadhana.

Sonic Yogi,

Your knowledge of Sanskrit is as flawed as your interpretation of Hindu "theology".

Where do you draw your inane and ridiculous conclusions about Her devotees from ? How many such people do you know ? Do you really know anything about what they do or do you rely on third and 5th hand reports or rumours for your conclusions ? Have you done a statistical study or relied on good old prejudice and inane "purports" which employ circular logic and rely on the readers absolute ignorance of Sanksrit ?

I understand enough Sanskrit to realise that the so called purport is quite different from what Bhagavat Gita and Srimad Bhagavatham themselves say. Your narrow view of "Godhead" is not even acceptable to all vaishnava like Sri Vaishnava or followers of Sri Madhavacharya. So your "purport" is also not universally accepted.

Feel free to believe what you believe in- but spare us your intolerance and prejudice.

I am no expert, but I believe it means personal preference.

Hi DurgaPutra

 

If you ask me questions, I can reply. But instead of answering some plain simple questions from me, you give me some book references, I would be pissed off; which is why I replied in that manner.

 

Well let me tell you, no being can ever be considered supreme without creation legend. That creation legend is in the name of Mahalaxmi in Markandeya Purana. Mahalaxmi created this universe. She created Vishnu, she created Brahma, Laxmi, Saraswati and everyone else. The scripture was organized in terms of two portions. The first was the exploits of Chandika and Chamunda. The second section is where the secrets of the first section are revealed. Sage Markandeya tells the king that the being that emanated out from the bodies of all people is Mahalaxmi. But it is not as if she was created by them; it is she who existed from the beginning of time; It is she who created all of them in the first place. She is primeval energy of all, who was manfest in them as their energy. And when required for the purpose for killing of Mahisha, she emanated from their bodies.

 

The two sections should always be read together. They should never be read separately. What they have done is to separate the two portions. They have taken the first portion out, modified the name of Narayani into Ambika at most of the places, interjected voluminous and huge praises of Durga in between and are passing it of as a separate Devi Mahatmya scripture. Some versions do include the Mahlaxmi portion, but the huge and voluminous praises interpersed in between make it very difficult to connect the first portion with the second portion. And the second portion of Mahalaxmi now looks like a separate Vaishnavite insertion into an otherwise Saivite scripture.

 

Take a version of Devi Mahatmya or Chandipath that includes the Mahalaxmi portion (many versions do not include the Mahalaxmi portion), remove the voluminous and huge praises of Durga, isolate the two portions, remove and replace the name of Ambika with Narayani and read the two portions together.

 

It is all plain simple common sense. No one has ever applied such simple common sense because is has been accepted ever since they saw some seals in Harappa that Saivism and Shaktism predate Vaishnavism. So no one has ever thought on whether Vaishnavism predates Saivism. The minute it is proven that Vaishnavism predates Saivism, all historial models ever posited across the world will collapse, because all those arcaheological sites of India, one of them dated to 13000 BP, belong to Indo-European people.

 

The book has been sent to a professional critique in US and it has been suggested that the book be targeted not at historians but all people because almost anyone would be interested in reading the book. So I am posting here to get the reaction of common people.

 

Thanks

Dear Prthvi,

I see that you are reading this like a story and trying to take what you think is an exclusive Vaishnava view on this. This is not the view of those who use this text for religious practice OR know this text well. You understand the words - maybe- but you do not understand the story. I do not see any Vaishnava OR Shaiva OR any such sectarian position in the Devi Mahatmyam. You really are missing the wood for the trees. The vedic religion, predates any of the modern sects. Have you bothered reading any of the Vedas and tried to understand ?

The US guy is right in that - if you want to sell books, then any controversy will do and this is the right path. But if it is the truth that you are bothered about, then I dont think you are on the right path. I personally find your conclusions hillarious, especially when you insist that we will not understand your research. The example you quoted is clearly a bit of wild speculation, since you dont seem to understand it.

Especially since I saw your wonderful assertation that "OM" is owned by Vaishnava:rofl:, I am not going to waste my time on pointless discussion with you....

Prithvi,

So you have a direct connection to the ones who wrote these books- and you have understood the language and the meaning of all these texts that you have referred to in full before you comment ? You must be a Rishi then- pray- give us direct enlightenment then.

If you are talking as a mere historian, you lack the insight to explain these texts. If you are talking as a spiritual person, then does history matter so much as the eternal truth ? You cannot pretend to be one and then talk about the other. Talking of history-where do you have these texts' original versions that you refer to ? When where are they and how do you know they are authentic ?

If no one in India knows about this- is this again something we ignorant natives need to depend on some mysterious wise men from the west to reveal to us in all their wisdom ?

This entire thread again seems to have been the old argument couched in specious 'historic' terms.

Sonic Yogi,

ROFL. Yours is the funniest post I have seen in a long time. Congratulations on your inadvertant humour. Where you got from the translation to the purport is beyond me. Where you got from "gana" to demon and where you got from Her destruction of evil forces to destruction of Her devotees is beyond me. As a lioness defends her cubs, She defends Her bhakta against all evil. From the Sanskrit, could you explain where you got this ridiculous purport ? Or would you say that if any image frightens you then it is that of evil?

Think back to the vision of Vishnu/Krishna that Arjuna had(Vishvarupa). As kala- time, He/She does destroy everything that is created- so does this make Vishnu/Krishna unfit to be worshipped ?

If we are going to trade quotations, we can do that all year long. But there is no wisdom in that. Hence I cant be bothered.

If you truely are a Vaishnava- She is Vaishnavi. She is vishnu maya as well as She is Shivaduti/Parvati or Kali.

Spend more time in japa, samkirtan- get rid of all rancour and go beyond the words to the spirit. It is all well and good to call ourselves Vaishnava, Shaiva, Shakta- the question to ask ourselves is - do we really deserve to call ourselves any of these ? Do we use these as words of wisdom or merely, in our ego; to set ourselves apart from those who are as divine as we are.