Hello! Some questions.

[TravisJC]

Hello everyone,

I would first like to start out by saying this is my first post on the forums and I'm very happy I stubbled upon this forum because I have much to learn about Hinduism. I have plenty of questions but most of them pertain to Lord Shiva. When I first started learning about Hinduism I was drawn to him, very closely. I may be asking very basic questions but to someone like myself I am learning these very basics.

I have been reading online that having a Shiva lingam in your house is allowed, while I have also read that it is not. After looking through some threads on the forum I read that only certain initiates of Lord Shiva may preform puja to a shiva lingam. How does one become an initiate of Lord Shiva, do I have to go to a certain school etc? I live in Southern California and I don't know how hard or easy this would be to achieve.

Also, I do not want a shiva lingam considering how new I am to Hinduism and puja in general; however, I'm in the process of getting a Lord Shiva murti. My question being that would it be a good idea to preform a puja to shiva lingam but instead it be a murti? I'm not sure whether or not that makes sense but I hope it gives at least a good idea of what I am thinking.

Lastly, can someone recommend a little booklet with common Lord Shiva mantras etc? Maybe even to Parvati, Lakshmi, etc.

Thank you for all who have or intend to help me in this process.

 

[Valjean]

Welcome, Travis.
Why this preoccupation with lingams?

 

[Kirran]

Murtis are generally more powerful than a lingam, If you're starting out, I'd recommend getting a picture of Lord Shiva and doing aarti to him in that.

Mantras are cool, and they have power, but remember that they're ultimately etiquette. Guru used to say the easiest and simplest mantra was 'I love you, my Lord'. That's the point of it.

Having said that, if you want a mantra to chant you could learn the Triyambakam:

Aum Triyambakam Yajamahe
Sugandhim Pushti Vardenam
Urvarukamiva Bandhanat
Mrityor Mukshiya Mamritat
Aum Shivaye Namaha

 

[TravisJC]

Welcome, Travis.
Why this preoccupation with lingams?

Thank you, good to be here. About the preoccupation, to be honest with you, I have no idea! When I look into any puja to Lord Shiva all I can find is abhishek. Do most devotees of him put most of their emphasize on that?

Murtis are generally more powerful than a lingam, If you're starting out, I'd recommend getting a picture of Lord Shiva and doing aarti to him in that.

Interesting, like I mentioned above I see so much emphases on abhishek that I don't really find anything else. In a daily puja, I could simply follow the same routine which would be to share my love towards him and offer milk, honey, and curd etc?

Thank you for the responses!

 

[Terese]

Hello! Welcome to the forum TravisJC! I was once like you, stumbling on this lovely forum in hopes of learning about Hinduism

Hope you find some answers! We got some lovely Saivites here

 

[TravisJC]

Hello! Welcome to the forum TravisJC! I was once like you, stumbling on this lovely forum in hopes of learning about Hinduism

Hope you find some answers! We got some lovely Saivites here

Thank you for the welcome! I have already read some interesting and insightful posts by you Terese. Good to be here.

 

[Aupmanyav]

Guru used to say the easiest and simplest mantra was 'I love you, my Lord'. That's the point of it.

Aum Triyambakam Yajāmahe
Sugandhim Pushti 'Vardhanam' <--
Urvārukamiva Bandhanāt
Mrityor Mukshiya Māmritāt
Aum 'Shivaya' Namaha <--

People keep small/medium size lingams in their puja, perform daily 'abhisheka' - or worship framed images and murtis. A very pleasant exercise. Burn incense and apply its ash in a dot or in one line or three, do whatever is OK in your environment. I would not go into what is correct or incorrect according to books and sects. Like Kirran said, even 'I love you, my Lord' is a valid prayer. Nothing is prohibited, it is between the deity and the devotee. I come from a Shaiva family. I am a bit of rebel and do not hesitate to chart my own way. Welcome to the forum.

Perhaps this will help: Shiva Puja - Wikipedia

Ravana Stotram: One of the most beautiful prayers of Lord Shiva. It is supposed to have been written by the Rakshasa king of Lanka, Ravana, one of the greatest devotees of Lord Shiva, who abducted Mother Sita and fought with Lord Rama to fulfill his destiny.
Shiva Tandava Stotram - Wikipedia

 

[Kirran]

Interesting, like I mentioned above I see so much emphases on abhishek that I don't really find anything else. In a daily puja, I could simply follow the same routine which would be to share my love towards him and offer milk, honey, and curd etc?

Thank you for the responses!

Personally I chant while doing aarti (waving a flame, basically) to the four aspects I have enshrined. Sometimes I sing bhajans as well.

Really, I personally think the best thing you can do as you're starting off is just make sure you dedicate time every day, before bed or before dinner or something, where you talk to God (Shiva, in this case). Just whatever is in your mind, offer it up with sincerity. Talk from your heart, and listen. If you have that established then you can do puja or japa or atma-vichara or whatever you like as well.

 

[Vinayaka]

Hello everyone,

I would first like to start out by saying this is my first post on the forums and I'm very happy I stubbled upon this forum because I have much to learn about Hinduism. I have plenty of questions but most of them pertain to Lord Shiva. When I first started learning about Hinduism I was drawn to him, very closely. I may be asking very basic questions but to someone like myself I am learning these very basics.

I have been reading online that having a Shiva lingam in your house is allowed, while I have also read that it is not. After looking through some threads on the forum I read that only certain initiates of Lord Shiva may preform puja to a shiva lingam. How does one become an initiate of Lord Shiva, do I have to go to a certain school etc? I live in Southern California and I don't know how hard or easy this would be to achieve.

Also, I do not want a shiva lingam considering how new I am to Hinduism and puja in general; however, I'm in the process of getting a Lord Shiva murti. My question being that would it be a good idea to preform a puja to shiva lingam but instead it be a murti? I'm not sure whether or not that makes sense but I hope it gives at least a good idea of what I am thinking.

Lastly, can someone recommend a little booklet with common Lord Shiva mantras etc? Maybe even to Parvati, Lakshmi, etc.

Thank you for all who have or intend to help me in this process.

In my view a lingam is a murthy, so I don't know what you mean here by murthy? Lingams, puja, and all that stuff about it going wrong, I personally consider as superstition. Perhaps for a really advance practitioner, if he/she got the mantras mixed up, stuff could go wrong.

My sampradaya is Saiva (Saiva Siddhanta Church, based in Hawaii) and we follow fairly orthodox Tamil Saivism. For introductory Saivite stuff, with all the basics, I'd recommend their new book Path to Siva. It covers all the basic stuff.

As far as I'm concerned, anyone can do a simple puja. To be a temple priest you need advanced training. In my sampradaya, initiation to Siva puja simply means you're obliged to do it every single day, not just that you have permission to do it.

Welcome to this forum, and to the Hindu DIR. Hope you can get something out of it.

 

[Kirran]

In my view a lingam is a murthy, so I don't know what you mean here by murthy? Lingams, puja, and all that stuff about it going wrong, I personally consider as superstition. Perhaps for a really advance practitioner, if he/she got the mantras mixed up, stuff could go wrong.

I assumed the user meant murtis of the more anthropomorphic forms of Shiva, like Yogiraj and Nataraj.

R.e. stuff going wrong - I do think a certain degree of caution regarding certain more intense aspects is sensible. Nataraj is a powerful vibe, and a strong murti of Nataraj isn't going to be good if you have a non-tranquil environment.

 

[Vinayaka]

I assumed the user meant murtis of the more anthropomorphic forms of Shiva, like Yogiraj and Nataraj.

R.e. stuff going wrong - I do think a certain degree of caution regarding certain more intense aspects is sensible. Nataraj is a powerful vibe, and a strong murti of Nataraj isn't going to be good if you have a non-tranquil environment.

I needed clarification, as anything can be used as a murthy. Other common examples of non-anthropomorphic things are the Vel and the Trident.

As to Nataraja, all that is assuming the person is properly invoking, which is a big assumption. Personally, I see His Dance as a very friendly Dance, and have never worried about it. But yes, there can be the factor of accellerated karma. For me, that's generally a good thing, especially if you understand it as a good thing. For example stuff (like nosebleeds) happens at Kauai where Nataraja is truly invoked. Home shrines are another matter to me, much lesser in their power.

 

[Kirran]

I needed clarification, as anything can be used as a murthy. Other common examples of non-anthropomorphic things are the Vel and the Trident.

As to Nataraja, all that is assuming the person is properly invoking, which is a big assumption. Personally, I see His Dance as a very friendly Dance, and have never worried about it. But yes, there can be the factor of accellerated karma. For me, that's generally a good thing, especially if you understand it as a good thing. For example stuff (like nosebleeds) happens at Kauai where Nataraja is truly invoked. Home shrines are another matter to me, much lesser in their power.

Yeah, fair enough.

An example - there was a devotee of SV who once had a murti of a very fierce form of Mother. I don't remember which, but the murti was of the goddess in the process of killing this demon in the form of a buffalo. He used to keep this murti just near the stairwell, at the bottom of which he'd be having lots of people round and all these different vibes would be there, and that was magnified by this powerful murti so his life was all very ups-and-downs. On one occasion he brought the murti to SV, and Guru had a look at it. He asked the devotee 'So are you the goddess, or are you the buffalo?' Then he told him he was going to do him a favour and not give the murti back.

 

[Vinayaka]

Yeah, fair enough.

An example - there was a devotee of SV who once had a murti of a very fierce form of Mother. I don't remember which, but the murti was of the goddess in the process of killing this demon in the form of a buffalo. He used to keep this murti just near the stairwell, at the bottom of which he'd be having lots of people round and all these different vibes would be there, and that was magnified by this powerful murti so his life was all very ups-and-downs. On one occasion he brought the murti to SV, and Guru had a look at it. He asked the devotee 'So are you the goddess, or are you the buffalo?' Then he told him he was going to do him a favour and not give the murti back.

For us, it's Shakti in all forms doing that sort of thing, so we never worship Shakti independently of Shiva. But that's just us. Personally, I would never worship 'fierce' forms of anything, other than Bhairava, and I'm a bit careful around that.

 

[Kirran]

For us, it's Shakti in all forms doing that sort of thing, so we never worship Shakti independently of Shiva. But that's just us. Personally, I would never worship 'fierce' forms of anything, other than Bhairava, and I'm a bit careful around that.

I guess your carefulness around worship of Bhairava is what I'm talking about in all of this, but applied to other aspects. Nataraj can be a bit like that as well. Worshipping lingam or trishul or Yogiraj is more chilled. Murugan is a little fierce too

 

[Vinayaka]

I guess your carefulness around worship of Bhairava is what I'm talking about in all of this, but applied to other aspects. Nataraj can be a bit like that as well. Worshipping lingam or trishul or Yogiraj is more chilled. Murugan is a little fierce too

Depends on the devotee, and we're off topic. I hope the OP returns to ask more, clarify more etc. Else we have been of little use.

 

[Jainarayan]

Welcome.

I have been reading online that having a Shiva lingam in your house is allowed, while I have also read that it is not. ... Also, I do not want a shiva lingam considering how new I am to Hinduism and puja in general;

What, you no want to invite the Lord in? Seriously, in my opinion it's perfectly fine. It better be, because I have two tiny lingams in my shrine, as well as Nandi. One set is jade, the other set is brass.

My question being that would it be a good idea to preform a puja to shiva lingam but instead it be a murti?

Whatever rocks your socks, that you feel OK with and you get a good vibe from. I think the Lord will let you know what's a no-go.

Lastly, can someone recommend a little booklet with common Lord Shiva mantras etc? Maybe even to Parvati, Lakshmi, etc.

Google is your friend. "Shiva mantras" - Google Search

 

[Jainarayan]

all that stuff about it going wrong, I personally consider as superstition.

Where have you been all my life?

 

[sayak83]

Hello everyone,

I would first like to start out by saying this is my first post on the forums and I'm very happy I stubbled upon this forum because I have much to learn about Hinduism. I have plenty of questions but most of them pertain to Lord Shiva. When I first started learning about Hinduism I was drawn to him, very closely. I may be asking very basic questions but to someone like myself I am learning these very basics.

I have been reading online that having a Shiva lingam in your house is allowed, while I have also read that it is not. After looking through some threads on the forum I read that only certain initiates of Lord Shiva may preform puja to a shiva lingam. How does one become an initiate of Lord Shiva, do I have to go to a certain school etc? I live in Southern California and I don't know how hard or easy this would be to achieve.

Also, I do not want a shiva lingam considering how new I am to Hinduism and puja in general; however, I'm in the process of getting a Lord Shiva murti. My question being that would it be a good idea to preform a puja to shiva lingam but instead it be a murti? I'm not sure whether or not that makes sense but I hope it gives at least a good idea of what I am thinking.

Lastly, can someone recommend a little booklet with common Lord Shiva mantras etc? Maybe even to Parvati, Lakshmi, etc.

Thank you for all who have or intend to help me in this process.

The link below should help
Lord Siva and His Worship

I also recommend read svetasatara upanisad which seems to be the earliest theological understanding of Siva as Supreme God.

Holy Upanishads: Svetasvatara Upanishad

 

[TravisJC]

First of all, thank you for all your responses. I greatly appreciate them.

I needed clarification, as anything can be used as a murthy. Other common examples of non-anthropomorphic things are the Vel and the Trident.

This is exactly what I meant! I guess I have a preconceived notion that abhishek puja is reserved to only initiates and shouldn't be performed by people like myself. I'm not where I got to thinking this but you hit it spot on.

As far as I'm concerned, anyone can do a simple puja. To be a temple priest you need advanced training. In my sampradaya, initiation to Siva puja simply means you're obliged to do it every single day, not just that you have permission to do it.

Okay, thank you so much for this. I understand it much better. Greatly appreciated.

Whatever rocks your socks, that you feel OK with and you get a good vibe from. I think the Lord will let you know what's a no-go.

I'm thinking of possibly ways to perform my puja to Lord Shiva, thank you so much for your response. It's good to know that theres not one way but rather my own.

 

[Vinayaka]

This is exactly what I meant! I guess I have a preconceived notion that abhishek puja is reserved to only initiates and shouldn't be performed by people like myself. I'm not where I got to thinking this but you hit it spot on.

Okay, thank you so much for this. I understand it much better. Greatly appreciated.

I'm thinking of possibly ways to perform my puja to Lord Shiva, thank you so much for your response. It's good to know that theres not one way but rather my own.

Some schools do follow more regimented ways, and have more rules. We're just so incredibly vast. The Hindus here are a sampling of that vastness. Within Saivism itself there are several schools.

Best wishes at invoking Hiss presence into your life. I'd also recommend getting to a temple it there is one nearby.