Yes but I am not a Hindu nor would I profess to be one. I have enough parts to my daily practices that I am not likely to start doing daily puja for this stone, although will certainly respect and honor it in my own way. Finding it a special box and wrapping cloth and so forth. Learning more about it was why I made this thread. However, despite my respect for these traditions, finding out the very sacred nature of this object isn't going to cause me to convert to Hinduism just in case it is somehow "not good for me". That would seem to be an overreaction to me. But I am the guest in this DIR and am asking the questions so please give your honest opinions. The fact that it brought itself to me through very unlikely channels is proof enough to me that I should be its caretaker for the time being.
Yeah, well having a shaligrama with a non-Hindu is about as irreverant as one using a Buddha statue for decoration, or whatnot. It's not an overreaction since you are posting in a Hindu thread and some of us are a little more traditional. I'm sorry if we gave you the inclination that you would ever become Hindu; this wasn't the case when I was reading through the thread.
While it is certainly a saligrama, after finding out what it was I found this section of the wikipedia article on ammonite fossils very interesting:
This is far more in line with my own practices. Do you think that unwise? As seriously as I take the reality of spirits it is hard for me personally to see this fossil as the concrete manifestation of one particular god. How would you suggest someone like me with best intentions honor this object? And given that I am a meat eater who eats now vegan half of the time, more or less, what is the procedure for purging myself of that impurity before interacting with the stone? And in the opinion of learned Hindus here how much would involvement in such paradigms of purity be necessary or even desired actions for someone who is not following a Hindu path?
It is because these shaligrama shilas appear on places of pilgrimage, such as those from Govardhana Hill in India, that they are generally revered. Places of pilgrimage have been touched by incarnations of God in various periods of time, so they are thus extra special. Just keep it in a special place, in a special box, away from the floor. Because you are a non-Hindu, it should be okay.
However, for someone who's orthodox like me, if I were to worship this shila, I would be strict vegetarian with no bad habits before I even begin doing a puja.
Just like how people can not understand why Shaivites and other Hindus worship Shivalingam, or why Muslims would adore and kiss the Kaaba (a meteorite), Vaishnavas and other Hindus also worship shilas as a connection to Lord Vishnu, because they happen to be at those tirthas, or sacred places.
