Jai Mata Ji! Happy Navratri!

[Vinayaka]

These Gods were created by Brahman

Just for starters ... please re-study Brahma and Brahman. They are two entirely different concepts. FH has given good advice.

 

[Poeticus]

If it confuses you so much perhaps you need to take a step back from it for a while.

What he needs to do is to stop being such a nuisance. Ya'll shouldn't have replied to his posts with such serious, thought-out answers. He's like the plague. He'll just continue to reply with non-sequiturs. Don't wanna take my word for it? Well then, have a look at this thread: http://www.religiousforums.com/forum/same-faith-debates/152947-confused-about-sikhism-hinduism-differences.html.

I shall repeat in layman terms: for the love of the gods and all that is holy, desist.

 

[Jainarayan]

IST would not do. The time has to be calculated according to the coordinates of the place where is is residing (lattitude, longitude).

Oh I know... I was just joking. A couple of years ago I went nutzz trying to figure out when Lakshmi Puja was. And God(dess) forbid I should have checked the local temple calendar.

Four things have to be mentioned in detail during a ritual: Who is conducting it and for what purpose, location, and time. Just like any other invite.

Person: name, father's name, grandfather's name, Gotra (genealogy);
Location: Continent, country, state, city/Village;
Time with all necessary factors as shown below:

"In Vedic astrology, meaning "five attributes" of the day. They are -
Tithi - Ending Moment (EM) of elongation of the Moon, the lunar day, the angular relationship between Sun and Moon (Apparent Moon minus Apparent Sun). One Tithi equals 12 degree difference between Moon and Sun.
Nakshatra - EM of asterism of the day, that is, the stellar mansion in which Moon is located for an observer at the center of the Earth. One Nakshatra equals 13 degrees:20 minutes. There are 27 Nakshatra in 360 degrees.
Yoga - EM of the angular relationship between Sun and Moon (apparent Moon plus Apparent Sun). One Yoga equals 13 degrees:20 minutes. There are 27 Yogas in 360 degrees.
Karana - EM of half of a Tithi. One Karaṇa equals 6 degree difference between Moon and Sun.
Var weekday the seven weekdays." (Wikipedia - Panchangam)

It helps the Gods and Goddesses to come early and well prepared for the necessary action.

I think all that stuff is pretty interesting. I barely have a grip on the calendar. Not having been born Indian, I have no idea what my gotra would be; I assume my varna would be Vaishya, though I like to think I'd be Kshatriya, since I tend to think of myself as a warrior of sorts.

 

[Jainarayan]

what I meant was that the pictures are 'random' because we have never heard of God taking these forms/these forms communicating with one another

Have we forgotten this (though I know it's a Vaishnava belief)?

 

[ronki23]

Have we forgotten this (though I know it's a Vaishnava belief)?

That's Brahman or a metaphor of Brahman e.g all deities are one

And as I said earlier, if Hinduism is a myriad of beliefs, what unifies them? Why do Sikhs,Buddhists and Jains say they aren't Hindu? From what I see it is the Vedas that makes Hindus Hindu but the Vedas rarely mention our Gods and Geeta,Mahabharat and Ramayan are not Vedas!

Some Sikhs worship Durga but from what I read online they shouldn't / majority don't as Guru Gobind Singh wrote Chandi di Var himself

 

[Aupmanyav]

These Gods were created by Brahman and serve beneath him. Sikhs call God Waheguru, mainstream Hindus call him Brahman, Vishnuvaites call him Vishnu, Shaivates Shiva, Shaktiates Durga and and ISKCON Krishna. So we don't know which is the main one. In Abrahamic religions he is Yaheweh [though Catholics paint him as a man] and Islam calls him Allah. I believe the Sikh,mainstream Hindu, Abrahamic view of God being a formless being is right and these deities are beings that are beneath God.

Then you did not get Hinduism. That Brahman is supreme soul is one view, there are other views as well who believe in multitude of Gods and Goddesses. That too is perfectly valid. Do not apply the Abrahamic, Zoroastrian or Sikh measure to Hinduism. And what if Ganesha borrows Krishna's flute for some time, Krishna will not object to it.

 

[Jainarayan]

That's Brahman or a metaphor of Brahman e.g all deities are one

Yes, that's the point.

And as I said earlier, if Hinduism is a myriad of beliefs, what unifies them? Why do Sikhs,Buddhists and Jains say they aren't Hindu? From what I see it is the Vedas that makes Hindus Hindu but the Vedas rarely mention our Gods and Geeta,Mahabharat and Ramayan are not Vedas!

I've heard of the Gita referred to as the 5th Veda.

Vishnu is mentioned something like 93 times in the Rig Veda, Rudra even more iirc. The puranas, tantras and agamas are also part of the corpus of Hindu literature considered scriptures. But I think now we're getting back into the "What makes Hinduism, Hinduism?" subject... a definite deviation from honoring Mother.

 

[Aupmanyav]

Not having been born Indian, I have no idea what my gotra would be; I assume my varna would be Vaishya, though I like to think I'd be Kshatriya, since I tend to think of myself as a warrior of sorts.

Your gotra can the name of the earliest forebear that you know of (male), like Johansson. Just in the way, I am Aupmanyav, supposed to be a descendant of Sage Upamanyu.

 

[Jainarayan]

Thanks. In that case I do know who was the first to hold a version of my surname, and it's really cool information for me. The ancestor's name was very close to what ours is today. He was a Norman knight in the service of William the Conqueror during the Norman invasion and Battle of Hastings in 1066 CE. The name was given to him by King William as a title, or occupational designation as a royal steward. Though we are far from royal... you'd know if you met us. My family hails from Italy and Sicily, but it's a historical fact that the Normans (who were Norse originally) added southern Italy and Sicily to their empire. I may be one of the world's shortest Vikings.

 

[ShivaFan]

Pandals in Kolkata (Calcutta) alive with excitement and festival, all for beloved Durga with pandal committees and communities competing for beautiful pandal parades, pandal puja facility and pandal "hoping" (going to different pandals).

What is a pandal? Well, it is like a "portable temple", it can move and traditionally built using bamboo bone underlayer. But today some are so elaborate and huge in siZe they practically are a building. Different communities and organizations sponsor and pay for them. No one can beat the pandals of Kolkata, no way no how.

Themes are glorious, the colors, the Bengali culture, the pujas, and most important the fantastic pandals. This year I saw on TV even a pandal with "white" (Euro) football (soccer) guys giving Namaste (Namaskar) to Durga. During celebration streets and a parade, crackers even, lights and colors.

It seems it has been too long since I was last in Kolkata, sort of missing things, and it would be fun to see the pandals. One of the famous ones is Bagbazar, has been around for 100 years. Though not as fancy as some of the ones today, it pulls in the crowd, and we fnd the traditional Bengali style Durga!
Here's a youtube video from 2013 (below).

[youtube]J2ts_pknons[/youtube]
Festive mood at the pujo pandal of bagbazar sharbojonin - YouTube

In Bengal, Mother is very important. Goddess has a unique artistic style of murti. She has EYES. The eyes of Devi are very important.

Unfortanetly I heard there was a stampede at one event, not in Kolkata but in Patna yes? Something like 32 people killed, not sure. But for the most part, these involve large crowds without incident and are very exciting and full of fun even.

Maa Durge, Maa Ambe, Maa Jagdambe, Maa Bhawani, Maa Sheetla, Maa Vaishno, Maa Chandi, Mata Rani meri aur apki manokamna puri karey.., JAI MATA DI!

 

[Aupmanyav]

Sarbojonin (for all people - Sarva janin). Patna tragedy was after a Ravana effigy burning, latest 35. Crowds in India are so huge, and the administration is lax.