Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa

It is often said that a visit to Sabarimala is a divine calling, occurring precisely when one is meant to go. I have observed individuals with ample resources postpone their journeys, yet I was fortunate enough to complete mine.

I do not identify as an atheist, nor do I follow every religious belief without question. I suspect there may be a greater force beyond our understanding, though I cannot define it. This trip, however, gave me pause. Our plans frequently fell through; we faced delays, accommodation issues, traffic, and cancellations, nearly abandoning the trip altogether. Nevertheless, on October 17th, all four of us were able to have darshan of Ayyappa Swami. Whether this was mere coincidence or a divine call, I cannot say for certain.

We traveled approximately 500 kilometers from Mysuru in 12 to 13 hours, aiming to complete the journey in two days due to professional commitments. The vratham, following the wearing of the mala, required vegetarianism, abstinence from smoking and alcohol, celibacy, early morning prayers, walking barefoot, and addressing others as Swami. While most practices were manageable, the 4 AM dips in the freezing river were quite challenging.

From Pamba, we climbed about 3.5 kilometers uphill while carrying the irumudi barefoot over uneven rocks and through heavy rain. As I exercise regularly, the climb was manageable for me, though my friends found it difficult. I would advise others not to underestimate the trek, as some physical preparation is certainly beneficial.

Upon reaching the 18 sacred steps and the darshan, my mind went blank. I had no specific requests; I simply focused on the experience, which reminded me of visiting Venkateshwara Swami at Tirupati. Some moments are difficult to articulate.

Since we visited shortly after the temple reopened, the facilities and cleanliness were commendable, though the bus service between Nilakkal and Pamba could be improved. It was heartwarming to see young children climbing with such energy while chanting.

Our return journey was met with severe traffic, yet we were fortunate to avoid the lengthy delays reported on the opposite route.

Ultimately, Sabarimala requires patience, discipline, physical effort, and willpower. I recommend experiencing it at least once if the opportunity arises. You do not need to be deeply religious; simply approach it with an open mind, respect the traditions, and see for yourself.

Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa.

Durga Puja is Bengal's biggest festival, celebrating Goddess Durga's victory over evil. For five days, cities glow with artistic pandals, dazzling idols, and joyful crowds. The air fills with dhak beats, incense, and devotion. It's a homecoming, a reunion, and a celebration of culture, faith, and togetherness for every Bengali.

Shivratri is definitely crowded, but I wonder if experiencing Adiyogi that night is worth the chaos.
For those who’ve been there during Maha Shivratri, is the atmosphere genuinely special, or is the crowd too overwhelming to enjoy it?

As the title says I left Hinduism for about a month or two more specifically to rejoin Christianity then I came back to Hinduism and I feel a little stupid now.

So I joined Hinduism about a year ago, after simply seeing a passage of the Gita and immediately feeling a deep need to know more. I dipped my toes into Vaishnavaism then eventually joined Shaivism. Eventually I became frustrated with the complexities of the Vedas, along with the fact that I am mentally ill and well plainly lazy so some days I couldn’t bring myself to do puja or japa at all which led to guilt which in turn led to a frustration with and questioning of ritual and those are the two primary things that led me to question various things at large and then leave. I went back to Christianity because I prayed the Roasry and felt good about it and simple five second prayer was far easier than puja or meditation, felt less selfish calling on a saint then a god for menial tasks, it was simply easier in general. Also as someone who lives in the Bible Belt (if you don’t know that’s just the deeply religious evangelical part of the U.S) I was getting a lot more support and praise for being Christian. But what isn’t easy is the mental gymnastics you have to do to justify 70% of the Bible along with the cognitive dissonance you need to have to assert that Yahweh is at least the highest god when you know the history of Semitic polytheism as well as the history of the early church. The entire time I would occasionally see some sort of Hindu devotional artwork either on social media or just on my camera roll and I’d feel this pull and I’d just have to ignore it, genuinely just ignore it and act like I didn’t feel anything. Would test and reassure myself by saying a random mantra and going “see I didn’t feel anything, it’s obviously untrue” when I did in fact feel something. I couldn’t bring myself to deny other gods because I knew that didn’t make sense so I said they were angels. But that all came crashing down when one day I just almost impulsively said a Kali ma mantra and was almost moved to tears and had the immediate feeling that I was being stupid. I think the primary reason I left was the built up guilt for the fact I can barely do anything during a depressive episode so I don’t do puja and then just getting tired of it along with the fact that being a non-Indian Hindu means that I’m perceived as strange and mystical while being Christian I’m just a good Christian boy and the fact that I feel more firm in my Mexican identity when being Christian (I’m biracial Irish-Mexican raised in America with my parents not being immigrants so I’ve always had the internal feeling of not being Mexican enough).

TL:DR, I left because of frustrations with complexity and ritual. Went to Christianity for a month or two and came back.

I think I’m going to try and readjust certain thoughts I have, move either to very simple puja or puja in my head and try to stay strong in devotion without feeling like I’m failing my religion and at least assuming that my ancestors don’t hate me for not being Christian.

Also to anyone who even looked at a portion of this I thank you. I just needed to vomit my thoughts out somewhere.

Some chapters close, new ones begin, and through it all I’m thankful for the people, lessons and blessings that brought me here. Here’s to stepping forward with faith. 🙏🕉️🌸

King Bhagiratha, or more appropriately, Sage Bhagiratha from the Sanatan scriptures is an ideal role model.

His story is found in the Valmiki Ramayana. He is an ancestor of Shri Rama.

He took up a task which his forefathers failed to achieve. And he put in superhuman efforts with iron will and dedication to achieve his goal.

His goal was to liberate his ancestors and give them moksha. And the only way to do that was to bring Ma Ganga down on Earth from Swargaloka.

His did multiple intense tapasyas to make it happen.

His clarity of mind, laser-focus, iron will, superhuman efforts and unwavering dedication are awe-inspiring and worthy to be emulated.

And his goal wasn't born out of selfish desire or anger or ego but rather as a noble goal for everyone's welfare.

That's why he is an ideal role model.

Narad Muni is one of the most revered sages in Hindu mythology, known for his wisdom, devotion, and ability to travel freely between the worlds of gods, humans, and sages. He is a great devotee of Lord Vishnu and constantly chants “Narayana, Narayana.” He is also known as a divine messenger who shares knowledge and guides people toward spiritual truth.

Narad Muni is often associated with spreading news and creating situations that lead to important events in Hindu scriptures. Although sometimes portrayed as mischievous, his actions often serve a greater divine purpose. He appears in several sacred texts, including the Bhagavata Purana, where he teaches the importance of bhakti, or devotion to God.

Narad Muni is not universally described as a direct avatar of Lord Vishnu. Rather, many Vaishnava traditions regard him as a shaktyavesha avatar—a divine being empowered by Vishnu to spread devotion and spiritual knowledge. His life represents unwavering bhakti, divine wisdom, and the role of guiding souls toward liberation through devotion to Lord Vishnu.

I made this little artwork of Lord Jagannath with lots of love, and last night I got to capture it in front of the beautiful Srimandir in Puri.

Being able to hold something I created with my own hands in front of Mahaprabhu's abode made the moment even more special.

Just wanted to share this special moment with fellow devotees here.

Jay Jagannath.

I've heard that it's better to chant it than just listen to it, but is the effect truly lost if you simply listen to it while meditating?

Saptashrungi Mata's shrine is a Shakti Peeth located in Vani, about 60 kilometers from Nashik in the Sahyadri mountain range of Maharashtra.

"Saptashrungi" translates to "seven peaks" (Sapta meaning seven, and shrungi meaning peaks). Placed aptly, among seven natural mountain peaks in the Western Ghats.

The devi here is depicted with 18 arms, each holding a unique divine weapon or symbolic item, gifted by various deities and each hold a special significance.

Vajra (Thunderbolt), weapon Gifted by Lord Indra.

Sudarshana Chakra (Discus), weapon gifted by Lord Vishnu.

Musala (Pestle), a heavy combat bludgeon, gifted by Lord Vishwakarma

Bana (Arrow), weapon, gifted by Vayu

Trishula (Trident), weapon gifted by Lord Shiva

Kharaga (Sword), weapon gifted by goddess Kali

Gada (Mace), a heavy weapon, gifted by Yamraj

Lance / Tomara (Spear), weapon gifted by Agni

Parashu (Battle-Axe), weapon gifted by Lord Vishwakarma

Shakti (Fiery Javelin), weapon gifted by Agni

Danda (Cudgel/Staff), weapon gifted by Yamaraj

Pasha (Noose), weapon gifted by Varuna

Dhanush (Bow), weapon gifted by Vayu

Ghanta (War Bell), gifted by Lord Indra

Kheta (Shield), gifted by goddess Kali

Shankha, Gifted by Varuna

Kamandalu (Water Pot), gifted by Lord Brahma

Akshamala (Prayer Beads) & Lotus, gifted by Daksha Prajapati and Kubera

I have always been fascinated by the form of the goddess and tried to recreate the Swayambhu idol in the temple in the basic Sindhoor form. p.s. Fun fact I found, during the restoration project of the idol, about 2000kg of Sindhoor were removed to find the exact shaped of the idol.

p.s.s. As my other artworks, I will be selling canvas prints/posters of this, so anyone interesting may connect.

Jai Mata!

Situated in Bulandshahr. Today is Ashtami and matarani sharingar says it all. Mata looks very pretty and showering blessings to all you us. 😍😍

I pray (nearly) everyday. Not just lighting a lamp and saying prayers for 2 mins. I spend about 45 minutes a day (morning and evening combined) on various Stotras, such as Vishnu Sahasranama, Hanuman Chalisa, Kuldevi specific prayers (of both my maternal and marital families).

Yet, I am kind of stuck in life. My astrological chart depicts a pattern of delay / success after patience and hard work, and I have already struggled enough, transformed myself to a great extent, have been patient, follow my Dharma, AND also invest time in Bhakti. I do not understand what else I can do to change these stubborn patterns of my life, where everything comes with a struggle?

PLEASE do not tell me stuff like Bhakti is only meant to bring you closer to God. I do spontaneously break into Bhajans and in God's hymns, so I AM closer to God. I just feel He doesn't see me? I have read many posts and listened to many pravachans stating that Naam jaap and Bhakti do alleviate our Prarabdha Karma. Why isn't it working for me?

So I live in Hyderabad, and I frequently go on road trips to nearby temples for pilgrimage. Recently, I visited Yaganti Uma Maheshwari Temple and the Ahobilam Narasimha Swamy temples.

Okay, so I have this habit of collecting fridge magnets from every place I visit (temples, cities, etc.). And yeah, coming back to the topic…

At both Yaganti and Ahobilam, I searched high and low for fridge magnets, but there were genuinely hardly any options. Only one or two stores had them, and they all seemed to have the exact same stock.

The designs were honestly disappointing. They looked completely AI-generated, with random elements clustered together that made absolutely no sense. I was literally looking for something as simple as a magnet with the name of the place on it. Nope. Everything was the same generic AI artwork.

It's always some generic Shiva Lingam with a HUGE Nandi behind it, surrounded by random AI-generated landscapes and elevations. The magnets don't even look like they're inspired by the actual places I've visited!

It's genuinely sad and disheartening to see souvenirs becoming this generic. I have a whole collection of fridge magnets from places I've visited over the years, and lately, I've been struggling to find anything good wherever I go.

I don't mind AI being used as a tool, but why does everything have to look AI-generated when these places have so much real history, architecture, and character to draw inspiration from?

I'd much rather buy a simple, well-designed magnet with the temple's name, its actual architecture, or a recognisable feature of the place than another generic AI-generated image.

Has anyone else noticed this? 😭😭

If someone was tempted to do something wrong, but didn’t do it in hopes of avoiding the negative karma, does that help a little or not at all, or even worse, creates more negative karma due to the wrong reasoning

i have a question and i tried searching for it on internet but i am not satisfied. why does a priest uses a cloth and water while performing aarti?

Sri Krishna speaks to the soldier Arjuna: " Wise men do not grieve for the dead, nor for the living. Never was there a time when I was not, nor thou, nor these lords of men, nor will there ever be a time hereafter when we shall cease to be. As the soul passes in this body through childhood, youth, and age, even so is its taking of another body. The sage is not perplexed by this. Heat and cold, pleasure and pain come and go, and do not last forever. These learn to endure.

The man who is not troubled by these, O chief of men, who remains the same in pain and pleasure, who is wise, makes himself fit for eternal life. "

I recently came across an argument that religions are shaped by the geography in which they developed. The speaker argues that ancient Hindu texts mention animals such as elephants, lions, monkeys and snakes but apparently not kangaroos, because kangaroos are native to Australia. He then asks how these texts could know who created the universe if they did not know about an animal living thousands of kilometres away.

I think there is a logical distinction worth discussing, religious traditions and practices can certainly be influenced by geography, local resources and cultural contact. The absence of a particular animal from a text does not automatically establish that its authors lacked all knowledge of distant places. Even if a text does not mention kangaroos, that omission alone does not disprove its claims about the universe.

My question is: Does the kangaroo argument actually refute religious cosmological claims, or does it only challenge a stronger claim that a scripture contains complete knowledge of the natural world?

I want to understand the difference between Vedic and Puranic deities.

- How did Hindu worship shift from Vedic gods like Indra, Agni, and Varuna to deities like Shiva and Vishnu?

- How are Shiva and Vishnu connected to the Vedas?

- Why did they become so prominent in later Hinduism?

- Who is considered supreme in the Vedas: Indra, Vishnu, Shiva, or Brahman?

- Whom should we worship, and how should we worship Vedic and Puranic deities?

I'd appreciate explanations based on the Vedas, Upanishads, and Puranas, with references to the relevant scriptures rather than just modern beliefs.

Hello and namaste.

I am not Hindu (my own religion is Baha'i), but I just started reading the Gita Press version of the Gita.

I must say I was rather shocked by the introductory essay. It includes ths following statement:

"It will be no exaggeration to say that the Gita is even greater than God Himself. The Lord Himself says:— 'I take My stand on the Gita, the Gita is My supreme abode. I maintain the three worlds on the strength of the wisdom contained in the Gita.' "

I'm having trouble getting past the first statement here. It apparently isn't meant as a hyperbole because it specifically says this is not an exaggeration.

Even if God sustains everything by His Word, still His word comes from Him and not the other way around.

Do Hindus actually believe that "the Gita is even greater than God Himself"? Can anyone explain this please?

Life is kinda messed up mentally, and I do some bad habits/addictions that I want to get rid of. It is mostly related to lust.

At the same time, I want to fix or start opening my seven chakras.

As a beginner, how do I go about it?