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Archive for April, 2007
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Garden
“May the great wind breathe purification upon you, May the Waters rain immortality upon you, may the Sun warm your body with blessing, may Death show you mercy! Do not perish! -
Japanese Garden
“Oh truly conquering, curse averting powerful plant, backward turned, you and all plants have I invoked…” -Atharva Veda -
Buddha
One of my favorite lectures on spirituality is Alan Watts who once stated that Buddhism can be viewd as Hinduism prepared for export. All the rituals and complications were pared away leaving just the essence. I’ve always liked that perspective and I think there is a great deal of truth to it. This Buddha in [...] -
Chandi Path
The main piece of traditional literature for Durga is called Chandi Path; about 700 verses that tells the story of Durga. It contains many famous mantras and is in its entirety considered to be one big long mantra. In this temple in Varanasi you see the Chandi Path enscribed on the walls of the temple…a [...] -
Durga and the Tiger
Durga always rides on a tiger, whom you see poking his head out on the left. Traditionally, Durga is powerful and she holds weapons in two of her hands, while two others offer blessings and protection. Symbolically, she represents purity because she was created from the combined power of all the gods and goddesses. [...] -
Durga Aarti
This photo was taken at the end of a five day yagya for the ten forms of the Divine Mother (Dasa Mahavidhya). The murti is that of Durga who exemplifies both power and purity. -
After Abishekam
The final part of the abishekam involves pouring scented sandalpaste over the small murtis and then they are decorated with fresh flowers. -
Feeding Brahmins
I know that i have posted before on the importance of food and particularly the feeding of Brahmins as a part of every yagya. So recently we sponsored a rather huge event at a school for young brahmin priests. In most cases becoming a priest is a family tradition although not all male members of [...] -
Five deities
Some traditions that date back to the saint Adi Shankara focus on the worship of five deities; the Sun, Moon, Ganesha, Vishnu, Shiva, and the Goddess. In the following photo taken at the conclusion of an abishekam, you see a crystal Shiva lingam in the center, and a crystal Ganesha in the upper left. The [...] -
Prayer