Guest guest Posted January 15, 2004 Report Share Posted January 15, 2004 Hi Rohini, Agree with most of what you've shared with us in regards identifying with Ishta Devata, thank you. Hinduism is not a religion as such (as is commonly interpreted). Sanatana Dharma is a "Way of Life", the "Eternal Way" or "The Eternal Path". Om Namah Shivaya Sy , "Rohini W" <rohininj@h...> wrote: > I had signed up for this website a few days back and have been going thru > the emails between the learned members of this group. > > Frankly, I am just getting to know the properties of rudraksha. Recently, > when I had gone to Mata Vaishno Devi, I had the opportunity to speak with > the priest at the shrine. He explained to me that the the more involved you > get into the intricacies of the Hindu religion, the more confused and lost > you will get. > > The simple formula that he told me was as follows: Out of the millions of > Hindu Gods, choose one form that you feel most comfortable with. There is > ONLY one god who has appeared in different manifestations. > > God made Man, Man made religion! > > A simple mantra like Om Namah Shivaye is all one needs, if one chooses to > worship Lord Shiva. Wearing Rudhraksha Mala makes one feel closer to Lord > Shiva because we have been told through the Puranas that Rudraksha beads are > the favorite bead of Lord Shiva. If we had been told otherewise we would > have believed otherwise. It all depends on what we believe and are > comfortable with. > > Think of Maharishi Valmiki. He used to be a thief and steal. One day he had > a change of heart and was given the mantra RAM, RAM. However being a thief > and with his own perception, he interpreted that as MRA, MRA... which if > pronounced as a mantra sounds like RAM,RAM.... > However through his single minded devotion and faith, he performed tapasaya > with this "changed" mantra and invoked the blessings of Lord Ram and went on > to become one of the Maha Rishis. > > If one is blessed with Rudraksha, he can worship Lord Shiva in whatever form > he or she feels comfortable with. The key here is single minded devotion > and faith in what you are doing. > > By adopting this attitude, I think one can become less entangled in the > intricacies of Hindu religion which even the most learned have not fully > understood......and focus more on becoming one with his or her creator and > be fully liberated! > > May God Bless Us All > > Rohini > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 15, 2004 Report Share Posted January 15, 2004 Good evening, Namaskar, I am new on this list and would like to introduce myself shortly. My name is Christina. I live in Berlin. I am a psychologist by profession and a student of Jyotish, HIndu Astrology. Most important, I am a devotee of Lord Shiva and a follower of Shri Ramana Maharshi, beloved Arunachala Shiva. One reason why Sanatana Dharma is so unique and wonderful is the vastness of truly amazing images offered to the seeker, the many lovable Gods and Goddesses. That makes it easy for the beginner on the spiritual path to choose a Deity of his personal liking and than make a connection through ritual and japa, which eventually develops into Bhakti. For a beginner it is easier to develop feelings of devotion for God in, say the sweet form of Lalu, Baby Krshna, or the beautiful form of Parvathy Devi than to a formless impersonal God. As vasanas (mental tendencies) get burned off and the mind of the seeker becomes purer, the love for his deity also gets stronger and stronger. He starts to develop detachment (vairagya). The world becomes less interesting then his inner life. In the end, when he cannot stand to be separated from his Beloved for a single moment, he will at last surrender the ego, which is keeping us all in bondage. Surrendering the ego means to be able to say to your Ishta Devata from the depth of your heart: you are everything I am nothing, your will will be done not mine, just never let me be separate from you. From that day on you will be with your Ishta Devata always. All Gods are one and we are not apart from them Other Sadhakas follow the path of Jnana, the direct path of Lord Shiva. By taking control over the mind and tracing it back to its source through atma vichara (self enquiry), the original I-thought and its hybris, ego with its illusions, the agent of our suffering. Hinduism is vibrant and alive. It lives in the people of India. Wearing Rudraksha,I am always reminded of Lord Shiva. So during the day, when the mind gets caught up in mundane things more easily, Rudraksha reconnects me to Lord Shiva and I can carry on with my Sadhana. Om Namah Shivaya Christina On Jan 15, 2004, at 23:47, syzenith wrote: > Hi Rohini, > > Agree with most of what you've shared with us in regards identifying > with Ishta Devata, thank you. Hinduism is not a religion as such (as > is commonly interpreted). Sanatana Dharma is a "Way of Life", > the "Eternal Way" or "The Eternal Path". > > Om Namah Shivaya > Sy > > , "Rohini W" > <rohininj@h...> wrote: > > I had signed up for this website a few days back and have been > going thru > > the emails between the learned members of this group. > > > > Frankly, I am just getting to know the properties of rudraksha. > Recently, > > when I had gone to Mata Vaishno Devi, I had the opportunity to > speak with > > the priest at the shrine. He explained to me that the the more > involved you > > get into the intricacies of the Hindu religion, the more confused > and lost > > you will get. > > > > The simple formula that he told me was as follows: Out of the > millions of > > Hindu Gods, choose one form that you feel most comfortable with. > There is > > ONLY one god who has appeared in different manifestations. > > > > God made Man, Man made religion! > > > > A simple mantra like Om Namah Shivaye is all one needs, if one > chooses to > > worship Lord Shiva. Wearing Rudhraksha Mala makes one feel closer > to Lord > > Shiva because we have been told through the Puranas that Rudraksha > beads are > > the favorite bead of Lord Shiva. If we had been told otherewise we > would > > have believed otherwise. It all depends on what we believe and are > > comfortable with. > > > > Think of Maharishi Valmiki. He used to be a thief and steal. One > day he had > > a change of heart and was given the mantra RAM, RAM. However being > a thief > > and with his own perception, he interpreted that as MRA, MRA... > which if > > pronounced as a mantra sounds like RAM,RAM.... > > However through his single minded devotion and faith, he performed > tapasaya > > with this "changed" mantra and invoked the blessings of Lord Ram > and went on > > to become one of the Maha Rishis. > > > > If one is blessed with Rudraksha, he can worship Lord Shiva in > whatever form > > he or she feels comfortable with. The key here is single minded > devotion > > and faith in what you are doing. > > > > By adopting this attitude, I think one can become less entangled > in the > > intricacies of Hindu religion which even the most learned have not > fully > > understood......and focus more on becoming one with his or her > creator and > > be fully liberated! > > > > May God Bless Us All > > > > Rohini > > > > > > To send an email to: > > > > > > > Links > > • > / > > • > > > • Your use of is subject to the > > Monsoonhouse Int. Kovalam/Kerala contact: christianecameron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.