Tag Archives: saiva

Return of “The Shatkona” blog by another Western Hindu

Posted on July 22, 2011 | 1 comment

The Shatkona - A Westerner On The Hindu Path

The Shatkona blog

I am very pleased to tell you about the return of “The Shatkona“, a blog from a fellow follower of the Kailasa Parampara of the Nandinatha Sampradaya. The blog was previously deleted by the author, and therefore removed from my list of blogs by Westerners following Hinduism. It is now back with a number of interesting articles.

The author had stopped blogging due to the illness and death of a close relative, which he writes about on the blog. I am happy that he is now able to move on and continue his blog.

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Visiting the Shree Ghanapathy Temple, Wimbledon

Posted on April 15, 2010 | 3 comments

Shree Ganapathy Temple, Wimbledon

Last week we were visiting my father, who lives near London. To make the visit into a pilgrimage I wanted to visit a Hindu temple. When previously visiting my father we have gone to the extremely impressive Swaminarayan temple. This time I wanted to visit a Saivite temple, and because Lord Ganesha has special meaning to all of us, we visited the Shree Ghanapathy Temple in Wimbledon.

As on previous occasions when we have attended Hindu temples in the UK we were made to feel welcome. I think that any Westerner can be assured of a welcome in any Hindu temple in the West when just “turning up” for an Aarti service.

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Shaivite Hindu Symbols: The Trishula

Posted on October 14, 2009 | 12 comments

Statue of Lord Shiva holding the trishula

Statue of Lord Shiva holding the trishula

A blog commenter recently suggested that I write about the symbols of Shaivism, the sect of Hinduism which sees Lord Shiva as God. Many of the symbols are not known or misunderstood by Westerners, so this is a good idea. In writing these posts I will also understand the symbols better myself.

I will start with the trishula (त्रिशूल), Shiva’s trident. Shiva’s trishula is the three pointed spear or trident, which Lord Shiva carries. The trishula has many symbolic meanings. As a weapon the trishula represents Shiva’s ability to destroy evil. The three points represent the acts of creation, preservation and destruction. To Shaivites, Lord Shiva fulfils all three of these roles. The three points also represent the three gunas or qualities which are exhibited in the physical world, rajas (dynamic enerjetic), tamas (negative, inactive, stagnant) and sattva (uplifting, balanced, perceiving).

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Himalayan Academy Master Course, Initial Impressions

Posted on December 10, 2008 | 7 comments

The Himalayan Academy master Course Books

The Himalayan Academy master Course Books

I previously wrote that after completing the Chinmaya International Foundation’s “Foundation Level” e-vedanta course”, I was not going to continue with their advanced course but take the Himalayan Academy’s Master Course. I thought it might be useful to give some first impressions of the course, though I have been following it for just over two weeks, so it is a very early impression. I have not even completed my first self-assessment yet!

I ordered the books and the self-assessment PDFs, which are sent via email. When I ordered the books I had thought that they seemed rather expensive, but when they arrived the size, weight and sheer quality Continue reading →

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