http://www.puja.net/wordpress Jyotish (the astrology of India) presented in a series of non-technical conversations with leading practitioners. Fri, 21 Nov 2008 08:09:52 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en “The lofty resplendent Lord is prompt to listen, decked with blue radiance, as if on his nose and chin, giver of wealth, whether coming or not coming to worship. May He with unparalleled might destroy all opposing evil forces and violent elements as soon as manifested.” - Rig Veda http://www.puja.net/wordpress/the-lofty-resplendent-lord/ “O twin divines, light and life, endowed with strength, ever young, ever true, munificent, acceptors of homage, may you associated with the divine wind and its waves enjoy the nectar of bliss, together with them, offered at the close of day.” - Rig Veda http://www.puja.net/wordpress/o-twin-divines/ “O divine leader, accept our reverential homage and provide for us adequate food. May you measure out the viands before us. May you guide us to overcome all those who are our enemies in conflict. Favorablely inclined towards us, may you lighten up our life, day by ... http://www.puja.net/wordpress/accept-our-reverential-homage/ ​ “May the cloud-bearing, rapidly-moving winds armed with spear-like lightning, dispellers of obstructive forces, showerers of rain, restless and praiseworthy and accompanied by the divine speech, hear my praise. May you, swift and liberal divine winds bestow upon us prosperity and long life.” - Rig Veda http://www.puja.net/wordpress/liberal-and-divine-winds/ “Bounteous are these rays like fire - priests, multicolored and offsprings of cosmic vital energies. They provide hundredfold treasures to the friends of mankind and prolong their life through countless precious rewards.” - Rig Veda http://www.puja.net/wordpress/rays-like-fire/ “May the adorable Lord, the invoker, the exhilarator, ever true, most-wise, and ordainer be in our thoughts whilst we are in your presence. He is the source of strength, with lightning as His chariot and with lustrous flames as his hair manifests His glory on the earth.” - Rig Veda http://www.puja.net/wordpress/with-lustrous-flames-as-his-hair/ Lakshmi is the goddess of abundance in all its various forms; family, food, wealth, beauty, happiness, etc.  This podcast recounts some of the different stories of her birth and her role in the universe as the Divine Mother.  She is the wife of Vishnu but doesn't always get along with ... http://www.puja.net/wordpress/79-lakshmi-goddess-of-abundance/ “The devotees kindle love for the adorable Lord, who is self-radiant the unprecedented invoker and the protector of people through His own excellent designs.” - Rig Veda http://www.puja.net/wordpress/kindle-love/ “The adorable God is our medium if devotion and is the supreme guide of our sacred deeds. He knows the course of all events as they proceed. The adorable Lord, medium of devotion, immortal, divine carrier of enlightenment and cherisher of our dedicated actions, inspires the devotees with divine wisdom.” http://www.puja.net/wordpress/our-medium-of-devotion/ “May our hymns exalt the divine fire so that his glory may be magnified and become manifest for the purpose of bestowing abundant food and riches.” - Rig Veda http://www.puja.net/wordpress/exalt-the-divine-fire/ November is the month for Subramanyam; son of Shiva and brother of Ganesha.  He is known by many different names, Skanda, Murugan and Subramanyam being the most common.  The images of him always include the vel (spear) and a flag (dwaja) with a rooster on it. During some preparation for this ... http://www.puja.net/wordpress/subramanyam/ “The recite repeatedly the gratifying praise to the great fire-divine manifested during the cosmic sacrifice. May he, who is endowed with his own radience, hear us. May the imperishable fire-divine, endowed with divine radiance, hear us.” - Rig Veda http://www.puja.net/wordpress/the-great-fire-divine/ “Give strength, O radiant sun, to our bodies; give strength to our sons and grandsons; that they may live long; for you are the giver of strength.” - Rig Veda http://www.puja.net/wordpress/o-radiant-sun/ “The first born rays of divine light, manifested by the prime source of universal illumination gliding everywhere and dissipating ignorance issue forth like the Dawn, daughter of the Sun, and diffuse ambrosial imperishable food amongst Nature’s bounties.“ -Rig Veda http://www.puja.net/wordpress/the-first-born-rays-of-divine-light/ “O resplendent Lord, the heaven and earth bear divine nectar for you, as a mother bears the embryo. O showerer of benefits, the priests pour it out for you and purify it for your acceptance.” - Rig Veda http://www.puja.net/wordpress/heaven-and-earth-bear-divine-nectar/ When people ask me if the yagyas “work” it is always very difficult to know what to say. In the largest sense it is like asking how you can measure spirituality. I am not sure there really is a way, at least objectively. One is always limited ... http://www.puja.net/wordpress/proof-positive/ Ayyappa is a unique form of the divine because he is the son of Shiva and Vishnu!  This story has so many twists and turns; clever demons and the even more clever devas who defeat them.  No episode in the vedic tradition is quite like this one with buffalo headed ... http://www.puja.net/wordpress/ayyappa-the-son-of-shiva-and-vishnu/ “He surpases all measures in His brightness, and far exceeds Nature's forces; for none may be his equal.  He is more vast than heaven and earth together, or the widespread spacious firmament." -Rig Veda http://www.puja.net/wordpress/the-heaven-and-earth-bear-divine-nectar/ In this episode Penny Farrow describes the different limbs of Jyotish and how each measures and gauges karma.  Topics include the three skandas or major divisions; astronomy, mundane for nations, hora for individuals.  There are also six limbs of jyotish which further divide the knowledge of jyotish; observational astronomy (gola), ... http://www.puja.net/wordpress/12-the-limbs-of-jyotish/ “Adorable and powerful resplendent Lord, you are great and magnificent, overcoming adversaries by your prowess; you alone are the ruler of all the world. May you help us in fighting against our adversaries and give safety to the whole world.” -Rig Veda http://www.puja.net/wordpress/give-safety-to-the-inhabitants-of-the-world/ ​ “You cherish the performer of the sacred deeds like pools of water, deep and full.; or like a careful herdsman who cherishes the cows, or like milk cows that go well guarded to the pasture, or like water brooks that reach the lake.” -Rig Veda http://www.puja.net/wordpress/the-performer-of-the-sacred-deeds/ “The resplendent Lord is the devourer of evils, destroyer of the clouds of ignorance. He is the demolisher of strongholds of evil tendencies and inspirer of virtuous acts. He comes speedily, as if mounted on his cosmic chariot urging his horses to move towards us.” -Rig Veda http://www.puja.net/wordpress/devourer-of-evils/ “O bounteous Lord, a guide to the right path, make me the guardian of the people, a monarch of men. Make me a holy sage, the lover of spiritual bliss, and grant me the wealth that last for long.” http://www.puja.net/wordpress/a-guide-to-the-right-path/ “Descend to us, riding as if in your cosmic chariot, for verily this celestial elixir of devotional love is for you. May you unyoke your dear horses near the places of worship for the worshippers solicit your presence here.” -Rig Veda http://www.puja.net/wordpress/descend-to-us/ One of the features of the vedic tradition is that the divine is considered to be close, approachable, and responsive. So close, in fact, that they “live” in the heart space of the deity. The pujas and yagyas are performed with the intention of invoking the divine ... http://www.puja.net/wordpress/invocation-3/ “When we think of you O Lord, may you speedily come in your chariot as if, drawn by long maned and sleek-coated steads, and be seated on the comfortable cushions of our heart.” -Rig Veda http://www.puja.net/wordpress/when-we-think-of-you/ "Our praises caress the mighty lord, the cherisher of the devotional love, as cows lick their calves." -Rig Veda http://www.puja.net/wordpress/our-praises-caress/ We always sponsor a large scale yagya in Kanchipuram for the nine day festival called Navaratri.  This video presents the 2008 yagya along with selections of the yagya mantras from each of the nine days. http://www.puja.net/wordpress/navaratri-durga-mantras/ The reasons that people do yagyas and the benefits that they experience are widely varied.  Some people have very specific experiences during the day, during meditation, etc.  Others feel a general sense of support and protection.  Some people find that they notice nothing much, although over time it seems that ... http://www.puja.net/wordpress/yagya-results-what-to-expect/ A simple and traditional Ganesha Puja is performed by Seetharama Shastry. As he performs the puja, the Sanskrit text is displayed and a closeup of the hand movements are shown in a video inset. If you's like to view a copy of the text in pdf format, please ... http://www.puja.net/wordpress/ganesha-puja/