Our Virtual Ashram

[Kirran]

Then I have it wrong on my altar My dancing Shiva is to the left of Ganesha on one side, but on the other side sitting Shiva is to the right of Ganesha.

Maya

Where did you get your sitting Shiva from? I'd like one. I'd also like a Lord Murugan, but that seems more difficult.

 

[Maya3]

Where did you get your sitting Shiva from? I'd like one. I'd also like a Lord Murugan, but that seems more difficult.

A friend of mine got him in India. I´m sure you will be able to find him in Indian stores, or online.

Maya

 

[Kirran]

A friend of mine got him in India. I´m sure you will be able to find him in Indian stores, or online.

I'm in one of the more Pakistani British cities as it happens. But I'll look online

 

[Vinayaka]

Then I have it wrong on my altar My dancing Shiva is to the left of Ganesha on one side, but on the other side sitting Shiva is to the right of Ganesha.

Maya

There is no such thing as wrong, but you know that. There is a tradition, and then slightly less traditional. In this case, I'm guessing it imitates the layout in the temples. You encounter Ganesha first as you circumambulate.

 

[Vinayaka]

Where did you get your sitting Shiva from? I'd like one. I'd also like a Lord Murugan, but that seems more difficult.

Murugans are harder to find. Is there a South Indian section in London? That would be the place. Or here.. but shipping might be expensive. Muruga Statue (Brass) [MURUGA] - $11.00 : Minimela.com, The Himalayan Academy eStore

 

[Kirran]

Murugans are harder to find. Is there a South Indian section in London? That would be the place. Or here.. but shipping might be expensive. Muruga Statue (Brass) [MURUGA] - $11.00 : Minimela.com, The Himalayan Academy eStore

$78.27 shipping. Ouch. Cheers for the link though.

I'll try and check out some shops next time I'm in an 'Indian' city. Maybe there's somewhere in a nearby city, like Leeds or Liverpool, I could travel to.

 

[Vinayaka]

$78.27 shipping. Ouch. Cheers for the link though.

I'll try and check out some shops next time I'm in an 'Indian' city. Maybe there's somewhere in a nearby city, like Leeds or Liverpool, I could travel to.

Whoa! That's a lot. You can make a small vel, which is often used as a replacement for Murugan. A jeweller would probably do it, in silver, for not much. Doesn't Skanda Vale have a shop?

 

[Kirran]

That's a good idea, I'll look into that.

Not as far as I'm aware. I don't live in that area anymore anyway, as it happens.

 

[Maya3]

There is no such thing as wrong, but you know that. There is a tradition, and then slightly less traditional. In this case, I'm guessing it imitates the layout in the temples. You encounter Ganesha first as you circumambulate.

I do, one of the nice things with Hinduism

I will leave mine the way it is, my large Ganesha sits on a raised platform next to my large Lakshmi.
I have smaller ones of each but they are sitting on the sides.

Maya

 

[StarryNightshade]

With initiation, comes rules, and one of them given to me by my diksha guru was to wear tilak everyday. I usually can't wear it everyday, due to living arrangements, but I'm going to wear it to work today.

Also, it seems like nobody had brought anything to the ashram in a while, so here is some Saag Paneer (one of my favorites! )

 

[Aupmanyav]

I do not like paneer, and cheese is costly in India, however, Fenugreek-Paneer is a favorite dish in Kashmiri feasts, must because of vegetarians. We first fry the paneer pieces. My suggestion to wife to first soak the pieces in salt/green chili water has never been accepted. You may try that and let me know the result.

 

[Maya3]

Maya runs inside and sits down in front of the Paneer.



Maya

 

[Aupmanyav]

What if it is a goat-meat Kofta. Another fav. with Kashmris. Malai kofta is just a replacement like Jack-fruit is for meat. I like the dishes. Can do without paneer.

A story of a Jodhpur king who was a Vaishnava. His cousin, the Bikaner king was visiting him and it was a Tuesday, so no meat. The Chef prepared the jack-fruit dish and placed it before the Bikaner king after he had drunk a lot of wine. The Bikaner king liked the dish but kept asking 'where are the bones?', 'where are the bones?' (Haddi kahan hai?).

 

[Chakra]

I was a fan of paneer but I do not eat it nowadays. I do savor the taste of palak paneer.

 

[ShivaFan]

Check out this nice "Hanuman Ring" from Thailand! Got it on eBay... thought I would add it to our ashram in "spirit form".

I am wearing it right now, gives protection.

These are popular in Thailand and come as rings and pendants. This Hanuman is in the Thai style from the Ramakien (รามเกียรติ์, "Glory of Rama", sometimes also spelled Ramakian) which is Thailand's national epic. These are the styles of the mask worn in Thai dance that reinacts the Ramayana from India, called Khon Masks:

The Ramayana is famed in many countries, actuall today all over the world.

 

[Maya3]

I like it! We can all take turns wearing it!

Maya

 

[Aupmanyav]

Like Obama's Hanuman pendant,

 

[StarryNightshade]

A friend of mine sent me this really nice video.

 

[Aupmanyav]

Very nice video. The next video "Vedic Wedding" also is nice. But there was no 'kanya-dana' by the father of the bride. 'Sa[ptapadi' was there but no going around the fire seven times. But then, perhaps the rituals of Gaudiya Vaishnavas are a bit different. We sat from 11 pm to 5 pm for the marriage. There were three intervals for tea (It was cold, February). When we were not doing the parade, we were covered with shawls. The onlookes had brought out their quilts and were watching the proceedings. My wife's maternal uncle was a practicing priests. He kept on shouting at the priests of our two families to do the right rituals and pronounce words correctly.

"For example see below verse from Rigveda where the invocation says “hotAram tva vrunimahe agne vishvebhir A gahi devebhir havyadAtaye | hotAraM tvAvRuNeemahe || (Rigveda 5.026.04) O Agni, come with all the Gods, come to our sacrificial gift: We choose thee as Invoking Priest.

Hence kanya-dana does not mean “donating a bride” it rather means ‘the groom is choosing a bride’. Also the groom further gives an explanation why he is choosing a bride. He says that he is choosing a bride “so that he can make the Gods feel happy, so that he can make the society feel happy, so that he can make the bride feel happy, so that he can beget children lawfully (dharma praja).”
Hindu marriage tradition – the real meaning of kanyadana

 

[Kirran]

I thought you'd all enjoy a picture of one of the cows up on the farm.