Although my thoughts have always tended to lean towards Hinduism and/or eastern philosophy in general - it's only in the last couple of years that I'm really beginning to more deeply embrace Hinduism specifically, and more in depth.
From the time that Hurricane Katrina hit here in the states, it helped to spur a personally deepened sense of spirituality and to inspire me to want to ask more questions about what it means to live, to die, what happens "inbetween", etc. (I hope that Hurricane Katrina served as an equal impetus for many other people as well - wondering to myself if the tragedy of the event wasn't perhaps related to or ~meant~ to serve as a greater spiritual awakening).
For a short while, i was attending both Hindu and Buddhist services - to see which philosophy spoke louder to me. One aspect of Buddhism that is hard for me to identify with is the "impersonal aspect". If i'm correct, Buddhism seems to place less value on the concept of a divine intelligence that controls the universe. In contrast, Hinduism makes my heart sing, i feel like jumping while I'm in my seat, it's like when you ping a tuning fork with your finger, you get a sort of constant vibrating "whir" - that's what i feel when i think of Hinduism - in short - (as if it wasn't obvious) a child-like giddish excitement. I am naturally drawn to the conceptof Bhakti Yoga (with the understanding that even within Hinduism, there are many divergent paths to whatever is believed to be "enlightment", such as Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, etc..) - to me, the concept of devotion and surrender to God makes perfect sense.
I find that after various exposures to Hare Krishna and my local hindu temple here in Nashville, I am most closely drawn towards Kali. There has been quite a lot of synchronicity that has drawn me to her, circumstances and situations that occurred that left no room for doubt, in my mind, that devotion to Kali is the right path for me at this stage of my spiritual development. I feel so honored and blessed for Kali to grace me with her presence - beyond words!!
I find it very interesting that with all of the Gods and Goddesses available for worship in Hinduism, and with Kali being far from the most prolific of Goddess' (outside of Kolkata) - inspite of that - I find myself drawn - to her. This makes me naturally wonder, just what goes into being drawn to worship of a particular God or Goddess. What is it for you that drew you to the deity that you worship. I would love to hear these things. I would love to talk about the aspects of Kali that I adore and find most meaningful, the aspects of Hare Krishna that i adored, the aspects of both that i find personally unappealing, etc.
I won't bore everyone with the specifics of my personal sychronicities (just yet). I'll first wait to see if there's any interest for others on the board to discuss this topic (which by no means, need be limited specifically to Hindu deities). I am excited to be part of a group that doesn't simply dismiss events as "random coincidences" and is open to the concept of synchronicity - especially when it seems to make perfect sense on so many levels.
Om Krim Kali 😀
Andy
Hello Prashna
I wonder now what you are going to tell me that I 'obviously believe'.
Sunanda xxx
No Sunanda,
I am not going to tell you what to believe.
I have more productive things to do.
GoodBye.
Prashna
Yes. It's entirely my fault that the thread got right off the subject of deities. (Prashna didn't begin it, just replied.) Real apologies about that.
Deities! Deities! I'm sure they haven't all fled or got plain fed up? 😉
V
Hi V,
Thank you for stating that. It needed to be said and from you. Sunanda appeared to think that I was equally responsible for hijacking this thread.
Deities?
I am sure you realise as I do, that they do not even exist!
Regards.
Prashna
I am sure you realise as I do, that they do not even exist!
.... as nor should a concept of blame ...
Deities?
I am sure you realise as I do, that they do not even exist!
Regards.
Prashna
Who says so?
Hi Sunanda,
"Goodbye".
Hm, not the best way to complete a post?
Hi Sunanda,
"Goodbye".
Hm, not the best way to complete a post?
Perhaps you could try something along the lines of:
Goodbye! (Goodbye!) Goodbye! (Goodbye!) We’re sad you’re leaving this thread.
Goodbye! (Goodbye!) Goodbye! (Goodbye!) You’ve blessed us many days
Goodbye! (Goodbye!) Goodbye! (Goodbye!) You’ve blessed us in so many ways
Goodbye! (Goodbye!) Goodbye! (Goodbye!) we hope you’ll be happy every day
Goodbye! (Goodbye!) Goodbye! (Goodbye!) We’re sad you’re leaving this thread.
In the spirit of being light-hearted, two Brit TV comedians, Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, finished each show with:
Goodbye. Goodbye!
We're leaving you, tatty-bye;
Goodbye!
Tra-la-la-la-la,
Tra-la-la-la-la! (repeated) 🙂
More seriously, I hope all actually stick around, and we could compose lyrics along these lines? --
"Stick around? Say Hallo?
I don't know why you say GoodBye, I say Hallo?
Hallo, Hallo!
I don't know why you say 'GoodBye', I say 'Hallo'!"
(permission to semi-quote not granted yet from McCartney)
Hi venetian
Thank god or whoever, that we can always laugh and smile through.
In the spirit of being light-hearted, two Brit TV comedians, Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, finished each show with:
Goodbye. Goodbye!
We're leaving you, tatty-bye;
Goodbye!
Tra-la-la-la-la,
Tra-la-la-la-la! (repeated) 🙂More seriously, I hope all actually stick around, and we could compose lyrics along these lines? --
"Stick around? Say Hallo?
I don't know why you say GoodBye, I say Hallo?
Hallo, Hallo!
I don't know why you say 'GoodBye', I say 'Hallo'!"
(permission to semi-quote not granted yet from McCartney)
Hi V,
Who's McCartney?
And is it his hallo or halo that you are celebrating.
Sub-space continuum is slightly distorted across this vast distance!
Regards.
Prashna
Goodbyeee, goodbyeee, wipe the tear baby dear from your eyeeee.....
It was from WW2 I believe - could even have been WW1.
So, guys, now that we've all exhaled and inhaled and exhaled again....any more on deities, whether they exist or not. (What's that I hear? Oh, just Ma chuckling away behind the arras!)
Love
Sunanda xxx (a deity in her own right, believe it or not. - Sunanda Devi, sister of Ananda Devi who turned into a Himalaya.)
But the thread really was on deities. 😮
I can kick that one off again for sure. I'm the least materialistic person you are likely to find, but when needed I've done mantras to - not Lakshmi, by that name, and I do think there was a 'science' behind it, but Lakshmi by another name ... but I got cheques coming through the door almost from nowhere.
I'd posit however that there is a 'science' behind any practice that you have to tune into. Then deities - IMHO Ascended Masters - are invoked, and help you. But this would fit the Hindu concept too.
Edit to add: Posts have cross-posted. Prashna, McCartney was once a deity in the West. First name being Paul.
V - my post should have had a question mark after 'any more on deities'.
And on the subject of St Paul Macca, he has to be another Goddess devotee. After all, didn't he write the words 'When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me'. (Which reminds me of a bad time in my life a few years ago when I found myself with a tune going round my head. I had to follow the intro in my mind until I came to those very opening lines....and carried on to the punchline: 'Let it be'. I took that to be one of those little signs we're so keen on - well some of us are! Feathers and suchlike!:FIFangel:)
Om Mata. Om Kali.
Lots of love
Sunanda xxx
Hi Sunanda,
Macca, a Goddess devotee? Not for me to judge.
I slightly doubt it in the real sense, however.
I didn't quite get the title or author, but there's a book around which had rave reviews, which is definitive on what the Beatles meant in this or that song, what inspired them, where they were, and the whole low-down on lyrics. If I see the book again I could look it up on "Lady Madonna". But Macca did tend to take unimportant things (to him) he just came across and suddenly write whole lyrics out of it.
For example, the famous "Yesterday" is something he got in a dream (the melody), but in the dream the words were "Scrambled eggs..."
V
Hi Sunanda,
Macca, a Goddess devotee? Not for me to judge.
which is definitive on what the Beatles meant in this or that song,
V
Ah! Paul McCartney, of the Beatles fame no doubt.
Not a rave on this side of the galaxy.
Birgit Nilsson or Kiri Te Kanwa, now! Let there be singing!
<a class="go2wpf-bbcode" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href=" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birgit_Nilsson "> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birgit_Nilsson
<a class="go2wpf-bbcode" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href=" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiri_Te_Kanawa "> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiri_Te_Kanawa
Regards.
Prashna
Hi Sunanda,
Macca, a Goddess devotee? Not for me to judge.
I slightly doubt it in the real sense, however.
I didn't quite get the title or author, but there's a book around which had rave reviews, which is definitive on what the Beatles meant in this or that song, what inspired them, where they were, and the whole low-down on lyrics. If I see the book again I could look it up on "Lady Madonna". But Macca did tend to take unimportant things (to him) he just came across and suddenly write whole lyrics out of it.
For example, the famous "Yesterday" is something he got in a dream (the melody), but in the dream the words were "Scrambled eggs..."
V
Oh dear, V. I was only joking!:022:
xxxx
Hi Sunanda,
Macca, a Goddess devotee? Not for me to judge.
I slightly doubt it in the real sense, however.
I didn't quite get the title or author, but there's a book around which had rave reviews, which is definitive on what the Beatles meant in this or that song, ...
V
Hi V,
As I wrote before, I am no Beatles afficionado. But possibly you are thinking of this book:
Way Beyond Compare: The Beatles' Recorded Legacy, 1957-1965 (Paperback) by John C. Winn (Author) ISBN-10: 0972836209 .
Out of print but available from here:
Or possibly
The Unreleased Beatles: Music and Film (Paperback)
by Richie Unterberger (Author), ISBN-10: 0879308923
Regards.
Prashna
No, it's a highly-acclaimed book, which I think has "sixties" in the title. The most detailed examination of all the Beatles' lyrics and how the songs got written. Circumstances, meaning, history, etc. Who played what instrument, and such. It'll have its Indian slant too - where George Harrisong gets into Indian styles!
You guys forced me to look it up! I was thinking of "Revolution In The Head" which can be found here along with mixed reviews:
Namaste....I would love to discuss the Scriptures.
Hi Katyayani888,
Do feel free to post. If there's something in particular you would like to discuss, maybe you could start a thread?
Kind regards,
Shankar.