On altars, posters, etc.

[Guest guest]

Dear Len,

Finally getting back to you. :-D

I ended up putting my altar (which I just put up tonight) with Ganesha

facing north, since that was the only feasible place to put an altar in

our greatly overcrowded apartment! Links to pics in a minute or so.

I also printed out a small stylized picture of Ganesha and put that on

the outside of the front door to our apartment.

Mousie

At 05:43 PM 4/29/2004 -0400, you wrote:

To "Mousie":

There are different opinions about the placement of altars. It

is

traditional for meditators to sit facing the North, or the East.

Your

altar will presumably be in front of you, and any images facing you

(i.e., facing South or West).

Because Ganesha is ruler of the obstacle-producing Ganas, and some

people

see the Ganas as coming from the South (the direction of Yama, Lord

of

Death and Bad Luck), some people prefer to place Ganesha's statue

with

his back towards the South, so he can "hold back" the Ganas who

may cause

obstacles and delays. The Asia Society in New York City has on

display a

beautiful large Ganesha statue, with mischievious little Ganas

hiding

behind Ganesha.

It is also traditional to have a Ganesha statue (or at least a

Ganesha

mask) beside your front door -- he is the protector of doorways and

entrances. Don't know how your doorway guardian dragon will take

to

sharing his domain.

A poster of "Shiva's Family" should be easy enough to find on

the Web.

Shiva and Parvati with Ganesha, and often with his little brother

Skanda,

too. The vehicle creatures of each of the gods (Shiva's bull,

Parvati's

lion, Ganesha's mouse, & Skanda's peacock) can make it a pretty

crowded

family portrait!

The International Society of Krishna Consciousness, or ISKCON for

short

(often known as "The Hare Krishnas") see Krishna as the

Supreme, the All,

but they accept the other Hindu deities as "demi-gods."

They have a

catalog of books, CDs, incenses, and posters, and may have a Ganesha

poster (or Shiva Family poster) you're looking for. Try

www.vedicresource.com

and see.

-- Len/ Kalipadma