HINDUISM 108 WITH GANESH

  Link to companion podcast episode The four Vedas, composed between 1350 and 900 BC, are the most ancient religious texts of a religion that is still practiced, and the Vedas themselves are still in active use. The Sri Rudram, part of the Yajur Veda and the most prominent prayer to Lord Shiva, is recited around the world every Monday evening from Vedic times to this day.   The Rig Veda (“Rigveda”) (~1350 BC) is primarily composed of hymns to Lord Indra, the god of thunder, lightning, and rain who we can think of as a clean-shaven version of Zeus, and other deities who are no longer around today.   The Sama Deva (“Samaveda”) (~1000 BC) mainly contains hymns to deities, Soma (Intoxication) and Agni (Fire) figuring prominently.   The Yajur Veda (“Yajurveda”) (~1000 BC) exists in two versions, Black (“Krishna”) and White (“Shukla”), their core content being the same and the main difference being that the Krishna version commingles shlokas and commentary, wh...

Click table to enlarge The worship of Bholenath is of course the paramount activity, but dalliance with the Navagraha can be a fun "side quest" within the Sanatan Dharma framework. Yogananda has confirmed in his autobiography that certain astrological gems can bring some relief in various life areas to devotees. I would caution folks, however, that bad karma must be "paid for" in one way or another, so although a gem may delay or temporarily ease some negative aspects of life to smooth things out, in the end you will have to pay the price. If interested, get your Vedic (Jyotish) astrology chart done, and pay attention to which planets are "malefic" or "debilitated" in your chart. If malefic, you can wear the stones of their enemies. If debilitated, you can wear that deity's stone on the appropriate finger, as well as elsewhere on your person. In my case, I purposely wear the stones of my malefic planets so that I can burn through my bad karma...

While the other Goddesses in the "Big Six"** receive regular individual worship, we often only see Parvatiji as an accompaniment to Bholenath, if She is even depicted. That is going to change now, in a big way. When we talk about power, do you know whom in the Big Six has the most power? Parvatiji's Sanskrit name is "Shakti", quite literally 'Power', and She is glorified as the energy and engine behind everything that exists and is in motion. You do the math... Below are some protocols for what we will see in our beloved Devi's temple. Initially I had wanted to do a full-service temple, but I now realize that the language and pronunciation barriers will be impracticable to surmount for busy American professionals and students, the target demographic, and so we will switch gears to double down on our core competencies and what we can offer devotees with authority. Services will be either simple one-to-few-word beej mantras and otherwise entirely in En...

                                                                   The Upanishads, along with the Vedas and the Puranas, are the second of the three central texts of Hinduism, written around 600 BC. The version referenced here is the popular translation by Swami Prabhavananda (Signet 1948). They represent a unique approach to spiritual achievement. Where the Vedas promote specific mantras and rituals, and the Puranas relate the educational legends of our various deities, the Upanishads are a primarily philosophical text focused exclusively on the attainment of the One Higher Intelligence. Renounce the world, meditate on your Third Eye, think of nothing else but God, and repeat the mantra ‘OM’ until you reach a state of Eternal Bliss. This is the core of what is in the Upanishads, repeated over and over, in different...