Archive for January 2009
Simple Worship of Yantras
Posted on: January 14, 2009
The yantra can be re-energized by another purohit or by yourself at home. Here is a procedure for :
Simple Worship of Yantras
a) In the morning after having bath, start with a clear and positive mind frame.
b) Find a place on the floor in the puja room facing east where you will be undisturbed.
c) Light incense and diya (it does not matter how many you light).
d) Place fresh flowers and fresh fruits on the altar. Make other sweet offerings if you wish, such as honey, sweets, milk, curd, etc.
e) Place the yantra alongside the deity of the yantra (if you have it) and your Ishta Devata.
f) Take water with any leaf from any tree and sprinkle it on yourself followed by sprinkling on the yantra.
g) Surrender yourself and ego completely to God and chant the mantra of the yantra for 21 times.
h) Close your eyes and concentrate on the deity of the yantra to bless you in whatever endeavor you are trying to achieve.
By the way, here is the link to good information about yantras:
http://www.rudraksha-ratna.com/yantra.htm
Om Bholenath
Indra Mala Sadhana
Posted on: January 14, 2009
Copied from Rudraksha Beads Societies Club (RBSC). Message dated 12 January 2009.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rudrakshabeadsocietiesclub/message/23016
Dear Srikanth,
There are many forms of sadhana that can be done while wearing Indra Mala. Its essential to wear the mala for as many hours as possible during the day. At night, it should be taken off and placed on the altar.
For a beginner in sadhana with wearing Indra Mala, he/she must be very sure he wants to commit to performing it everyday for 365 days (one year) at least. Best to do the first year and see what happens before doing it the second year.
How soon the effects will take place largely depends on the sadhak’s karmic propensity with Indra Mala. Some see results quicker and some people get benefits later. But its worth a try. It must be done with utmost bhakti and concentration on the mantra. There are 2 Shiva mantras that you can choose from:
a) Om Namah Shivaya
b) Om Namah Shivaya Shivaya Namah Om.
Once you have chosen the mantra, you must stick to it. Its not advisable to change mantra halfway through the process.
The simplest sadhana is to firstly take a bath in the morning and wear fresh clothes. Place Indra Mala on a silver plate upon the altar. Surround it with flower garland if you can find it. On the first day of sadhana (begin on Monday), make offerings including fruit, flowers, curd, honey, sweets, milk, camphor, ghee lamp and incense. Recite the mantra 108 times with a Japa Mala. After the first day of offerings, they can be made weekly for one year (52 weeks).
During the sadhana period, many things will come and go, some insecurities become stabilized, impurities are removed and you will also gain a sense of heightened spirituality. Treat this as the most important as its like a connection with God the Divine.
Some material comforts may come but remember that this is “God’s Money” and you are only a custodian. But you can make donations to worthy causes such as orphanages, old people’s homes, feed poor people, donate to poor hospitals and to temples that are run down, etc.
Eventually things will unravel more and more in different ways. Perhaps you may even gain financial improvement BUT you must always pay debts on time and DO NOT spend unnecessarily NOR borrow money unnecessarily.
When you become well-to-do one day, you MUST look after your family, relatives and perform SEVA for your local community (do good deeds by visiting elderly people who are lonely in nursing homes, bring them food or something, sit and talk with them for a little while).
After the first year of sadhana, take a rest of a couple of months. Then if you wish to perform second year, this is an elaborate process:
http://www.rudraksha-ratna.com/showarticles.php?artid=98
In the above link, its puja for Lord Shiva. But you can substitute Lord Shiva’s murti with Indra Mala for putting on chowki (pedestal).
Hope this helps.
Om Bholenath
— In rudrakshabeadsocietiesclub@yahoogroups.com, “Srikanth Jyotula” <shreekaa@…> wrote:
>
> Dear Narasimhaji,
>
> Can you please give me the details of the sadhana and how to perform it. I
> own an indra mala and currently my spiritual levels are high and I want to
> take them to the next level.
>
> Please guide me in this regard.
>
> Thanks and regards
>
>
> Srikanth
Ganesha
Posted on: January 14, 2009
Ganesha (Sanskrit: गणेश; IAST: Gaṇeúa; 
listen (help·info)), also spelled Ganesa or Ganesh and also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most widely worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon.[5] His image is found throughout India.[6] Hindu sects worship him regardless of other affiliations.[7] Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains, Buddhists, and beyond India.[8]
Although he is known by many other attributes, Ganesha’s elephant head makes him easy to identify.[9] Ganesha is widely revered as the Remover of Obstacles[10] and more generally as Lord of Beginnings and Lord of Obstacles (Vighnesha, Vighneshvara),[11] patron of arts and sciences, and the deva of intellect and wisdom.[12] He is honoured at the start of rituals and ceremonies and invoked as Patron of Letters during writing sessions.[13] Several texts relate mythological anecdotes associated with his birth and exploits and explain his distinct iconography.
Ganesha emerged as a distinct deity in clearly recognizable form in the 4th and 5th centuries CE, during the Gupta Period, although he inherited traits from Vedic and pre-Vedic precursors.[14] His popularity rose quickly, and he was formally included among the five primary deities of Smartism (a Hindu denomination) in the 9th century. A sect of devotees called the Ganapatya, (Sanskrit: गाणपतà¥à¤¯; gâṇapatya), who identified Ganesha as the supreme deity, arose during this period.[15] The principal scriptures dedicated to Ganesha are the Ganesha Purana, the Mudgala Purana, and the Ganapati Atharvashirsa.
32 Forms of Lord Ganesha
Posted on: January 14, 2009
32 Forms of Lord Ganesha
As with the 64 forms of Shiva, 32 forms of Ganapathi are recognized in the Agamic scriptures
1. Baala Ganapathi – Red colored image of a four armed Ganesha
2. Dharuna Ganapathi – Red colored image of an eight armed Ganesha
3. Bhakti Ganapathi – Grey colored image of four armed Ganesha
4. Veera Ganapathi – Red colored image of 16 armed Ganapathi
5. Shakti Ganapathi – Red colored image of 4 armed Ganapathi, seated with his consort to his left
6. Dwija Ganapathi – White colored image of four-faced Ganesha with 4 arms
7. Siddhi Ganapathi – Golden colored image of four armed Ganapathi
8. Ucchishta Ganapathi – Blue colored image of six armed Ganapathi with his consort
9. Vigna Ganapathi – Gold colored image of eight armed Ganapathi
10. Kshipra Ganapathi – Red colored image of four armed Ganesha bearing a ratna kumbham
11. Heramba Ganapathi – Black colored image of ten-armed Ganesha with five faces, seated on a lion
12. Lakshmi Ganapathi – White colored image of eight-armed Ganesha with two consorts
13. Makara Ganapathi – Red colored image of Ganesha with a third eye, 10 arms, bearing a ratna kumbham, with his consort
14. Vijaya Ganapathi – Red colored image of 4 armed Ganesha on the mooshika mount
15. Nritta Ganapathi – Gold colored image of Ganesha in a dance posture
16. Urdhva Ganapathi – Gold colored image of six armed Ganesha with his consort
17. Ekakshara Ganapathi – Red colored image of Ganesha with a third eye, seated on a lotus
18. Vara Ganapathi – Red colored image of 4 armed Vinayaka with a third eye
19. Dhryakshara Ganapathi – Gold colored image of four-armed Vinayakar, decorated with Chaamara ear rings
20. Kshipraprasaada Ganapathi – Red colored image of six armed Ganapathi
21. Haridra Ganapathi – Yellow colored image of four armed Ganapathi
22. Ekadhanta Ganapathi – Blue colored image of four armed Ganapathi
23. Srishti Ganapathi – Red colored image of four armed Ganapathi seated on his mooshika mount
24. Utthanda Ganapathi – Red colored image of 10 armed Ganesha with his consort to his left
25. Ranamochana Ganapathi: Crystal image of four armed Vinayakar
26. Dundi Ganapathi – Four-armed image of Ganesha bearing a tusk, a garland, an axe and a gem studded vessel
27. Dwimukha Ganapathi – Red colored image of Ganesha with two faces and four arms
28. Trimukha Ganapathi – Red colored image of Ganesha with three faces and six arms seated on a golden lotus
29. Simha Ganapathi – White colored image of Ganesha with eight arms (with an arm bearing a lions face)
30. Yoga Ganapathi – Red colored image of Ganesha in the posture of a yogi
31. Durga Ganapathi – Red colored image of Ganesha with eight arms
32. Sankatahara Ganapathi – Red colored image of four armed Ganesha clothed in blue, seated on a lotus peetham with his consort to his left
Consorts of Ganesha
Posted on: January 14, 2009
Consorts of Ganesha
The marital status of Ganesha varies widely in mythological stories and the issue has been the subject of considerable scholarly review.[1] Several patterns of associations with different consorts are identifiable. One pattern of myths identifies Ganesha as an unmarried brahmacarin with no consorts. Another pattern associates him with the concepts of Buddhi (intellect), Siddhi (spiritual power), and Riddhi (prosperity); these qualities are sometimes personified as goddesses who are considered to be Ganesha’s wives.[2] Another pattern connects Ganesha with the goddess of culture and the arts, Sarasvati, and the goddess of luck and prosperity, Lakshmi.[3] In the Bengal region he is linked with the banana tree, Kala Bo.[4] He also may be shown with a single consort or a nameless servant (Sanskrit: dasi).[5]
Some of the differences between these patterns can be understood by looking at regional variations across India, the time periods in which the patterns are found, and the traditions in which the beliefs are held. Some differences pertain to the preferred meditation form used by the devotee, with many different traditional forms ranging from Ganesha as a young boy (Sanskrit: बालगणपति; balaganapati) to Ganesha as a Tantric deity.[6][7]
UNMARRIED
According to one tradition, Ganesha was a brahmacarin, that is, unmarried.[8] This pattern is primarily popular in southern India.[9] This tradition was linked to Hindu concepts of the relationship between celibacy and the development of spiritual power.[10] Bhaskaraya alludes to the tradition in which Ganesha was considered to be a lifelong bachelor in his commentary on the Ganesha Purana version of the Ganesha Sahasranama, which includes the name Abhiru (verse 9a).[11] In his commentary on this verse Bhaskaraya says the name Abhiru means “without a woman,” but the term can also mean “not fearful.”[12]
BUDHI, RIDDHI AND SIDDHI
The Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana contain descriptions of Ganesha flanked by Siddhi and Buddhi.[14] In these two Puranas they appear as an intrinsic part of Ganapati[15] and according to Thapan[16] do not require any special rituals associated with shakti worship. In Chapter I.18.24-39 of the Ganesha Purana, Brahma performs worship in honor of Ganesha, and during it Ganesha himself causes Buddhi and Siddhi to appear so that Brahma can offer them back to Ganesha. Ganesha accepts them as offerings.[17] In Ganesha Purana I.65.10-12 there is a variant of this incident, in which various gods are giving presents to Ganesha, but in this case Siddhi and Buddhi are born from Brahma’s mind and are given by Brahma to Ganesha.[18]
The Ganesha Temple at Morgaon is the central shrine for the regional aá¹£á¹avinayaka complex. The most sacred area within the Moragaon temple is the sanctum (garbhagrha), a small enclosure containing an image of Ganesha. To the right and left sides of the image stand Siddhi and Buddhi.[19] In northern India the two female figures are said to be Siddhi and Riddhi. There is no PurÄṇic evidence for the pair, but the pairing parallels those of Buddhi and Siddhi in Shiva Purana and Riddhi and Buddhi from Matsya Purana.[20]
READ THE REST AT: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consorts_of_Ganesha
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