Ganesh chaturthi

When Parvati (the creator of the universe) came to know of this, she got so angry that she threatened to destroy the whole creation and create one anew. The different gods tried to pacify her but she wasn't willing to relent unless her son (Ganesha) was given back to her. Shiva then promised to bring her son back to life and went in search of a new head. He found a cow-elephant weeping at her infant's dead body. Shiva convinced the she-elephant that she would see her infant come to life again and took the dead baby elephant's head and fixed it to that of Ganesha's lifeless body. This way Ganesha was (re) born.

Shiva then blessed Ganesha and declared him superior to all other gods except Vishnu, Lakshmi, Parvati and himself. He declared that Ganesha will always be worshipped before all others, whenever anyone carries out any task, travel or puja. This is the reason Lord Ganesha is considered auspicious and is the first god to be worshipped at all times. You will find pictures or statues of Ganesha near the entrance of a house, either outside or inside, to ensure people get to see his image before leaving the house.

It all starts with the making of the idol. Just two or three months before Ganesh Chaturthi, you will find artisans all over India busy making idols of Ganesha. These idols vary in colors, shapes and sizes, from an inch to about sixty or seventy feet. They are decorated with various other accessories.

No... sandalwood paste is only for goddess Parvati, we humans use other materials. When we were young, they were made with mud. But over a period of time, as with everything else, this has also been commercialized and non-biodegradable materials like Plaster of Paris are used instead of mud. But it gives me great pleasure that with the increasing environmental concern and awareness, the original "mud" idol is making a comeback, as more and more people shun artificial materials.

The smaller idols are used for the puja at home, while the bigger ones are erected in public places. Temporary structures called pandals (stages) are created in every locality, where a huge majestic statue of Lord Ganesha is installed before the day of the festival. They are decorated with flowers, lights and the frills.

On the day of the festival, people perform pujas (prayers) at home as well as at all the places the idols are erected. It is considered a bad omen to erect an idol and not perform puja. Throughout the ceremony, hymns are chanted from the Rig Veda and other ancient Hindu scriptures, as the first reference to Ganesha is said to have been made in Rig Veda.

After ten days of festivities, it is time to bid farewell to Lord Ganesha on the 11th day. All the idols are taken out through the streets of the localities in processions. These processions can be as huge as marriage processions with a few thousand people or as small as just two or three people. The processions are accompanied with dancing, singing, and fanfare and the statues are taken to a water body nearby where they are then immersed.

Seri anwar ibrahim

Najib also hit out at the Selangor government for destroying seven Hindu temples in the country’s wealthiest state. “Isn’t that more serious? More of a slap to the Hindus than what Zulkifli Noordin said 10 years ago when he was in PAS?” he said. “They even destroyed a private temple in Sepang. That is worse, a thousand times worse than what Zulkifli Noordin has done,” added Najib.

A video of Zulkifli uttering the word “Keling”, which Malaysians of Indian descent consider derogatory, went viral recently, just days after another video was released in which he questioned an Indian trader on why Hindu gods did not prevent the man’s shop from being flooded, drawing the wrath of Hindus.

Once a lawyer for opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Zulkifli had also questioned the purity of the Ganges River in India that is considered sacred by Hindus. Zulkifli became a BN-friendly Independent MP and critical of the opposition when he was dismissed from PKR on March 6, 2010 over a police report he lodged against Khalid.

For more than 12 hours, here in a meeting in the San Diego area, I battled countless Buddhist, Shinto, Hindu, witchcraft and various other kinds of pagan spirits in Jesus name. Within minutes of beginning the meeting demons surfaced. The first demonic spirit I encountered was within a 59 year old Filipino lady. Her ancestors were steeped into Masonry, witchcraft and idol worship. This dear woman even offered food and other kinds of offerings to idols. She revealed that in her home, while growing up, she witnessed her family lighting up candles and burning incense to various demonic idols. For those in the West it seems hard to believe that in our modern day people would actually bow and worship idols.

This dear woman renounced her participation in idol worship and demonism. Furthermore, I led her to renounce the generational curses of Freemasonry and immediately, demonic spirits surfaced from within and began to choke her. In Jesus name, her husband and I began to battle these spirits and commanded them to release her. With a great amount of vomiting the demons flew out of her mouth. As these spirits were being set to the pit almost immediately numerous parts of her broken heart surfaced and spoke to me.

This dear lady has shared with me earlier that she had been adopted at birth thus not knowing her birth parents and for all of these 59 years it had bothered her greatly. The rejection, the abandonment kept her in great emotional pain. At birth she experienced great emotional trauma and deep hurt. Though she was adopted by loving parents the hunger to be accepted by her biological parents was great.

Thus her little heart at as a newborn was shattered into many pieces. These broken pieces of her heart took the pain, the hurt, the inner suffering, so she could survive, as no newborn can handle such pain and deep hurt. The fragmentation of her heart left her vulnerable to invading spirits specifically to the Freemasonry spirits that traveled through the bloodline from her adoptive parents. These anti-Christ spirits entered within her little body and enslaved these precious little parts and tormented them.

Living in simplicity

A NINE-DAY festival marking the birth of two Hindu gods culminates with celebrations at a Southampton temple this weekend. The congregation of the Vedic Hindu Society Temple will be gathering in Northam to begin their celebration of the birth of the god Rama and of the goddess Durga.

Members of the community began reading scriptures – the Ramayana – yesterday from noon to honour and remember his life. At noon today, the congregation will file past an idol representing Rama which is put in a cradle and gently rocked by people as a symbol of worship. Ritesh Bhatt, priest at the Radcliife Road centre, said Rama’s story reminds Hindus today to respect their parents.

“Rama is living in simplicity. He was going to be king but his parents ordered him to go into exile into the forest for 14 years. It was his parents’ demand and his story serves to remind us to honour and respect your parents,” he said. As part of the nine-day festival to honour the birth of Durga, the Hindu diet is restricted but it is due to end tomorrow at sunrise.

It is coincidental that the celebration of both gods is held at the same time. The Vedic Society congregation will be celebrating Durga with dancing in October too.

Hanuman Jayanti is celebrated to commemorate the birth of Hanuman, the Vanara god, widely venerated throughout India. It is celebrated on the 15th day of the Shukla Paksha, during the month of Chaitra.

Hanuman Jayanti is an important festival of Hindus. Hanuman is the symbol of strength and energy.From early morning, devotees flock Hanuman temples to worship him. The devotees visit temples and apply tilaka of sindhūr to their foreheads from Hanuman's idol as Hanuman himself was of that color.

In India Lord Hanuman is worshiped for every reason, may it be to gain wealth, health or wisdom, may it be to gain success in business or foreign trips, may it be to dominate the enemies or to win almost-lost court cases, may it be the reason to get rid of BHOOT-PRET BADHA, the fear of Ghosts and devils. Lord Hanuman in known as the “SANKAT MOCHAN”, the one who can save the native from all and any kind hurdles and obstructions of the life.

In Ramayana it is mentioned that Hanuman saved the nine planets during the war from the clutches of King Raavana. And as a favor for saving them, the planets blessed Lord Hanuman by saying that any malefic effects of the 9 planets can be averted by praying to Lord Hanuman alone.

In Maharashtra, Hanuman Jayanti is celebrated on the full moon day (pūrnima) of the Hindu lunar month of Chaitra.A special feature of Hanuman Jayanti is that according to some religious almanacs (panchāngs) the birthday of Hanuman falls on the fourteenth day (chaturdashi) in the dark fortnight of the month of Ashvin while according to others it falls on the full moon day in the bright fortnight of Chaitra.

On this day, in a Hanuman temple spiritual discourses are started at dawn. Hanuman was born at sunrise. At that time the spiritual discourse is stopped and the offering of food (Prasad) is distributed to everyone.

Lingam yoni

My Son is an ancient monumental treasurer in Vietnam. However, some statues and exhibits were stolen or had collapsed during the war or over time. Arriving at My Son, tourists may lose themselves in the vast green forest, fresh air and tranquility. After going up and down the slopes, travelers will see an ancient tower hidden behind the gravel path and bushy trees.

My Son is a cluster of Hindu temples and is surrounded by mountain ranges. In the past, My Son was a burial place for Cham royalty and a site of religious ceremonies for the kings of the ruling Champa dynasties. My Son is regarded as one of the oldest Hindu temple complexes in Southeast Asia and is a unique place in Vietnam.

Observing the My Son temples, with their sandstone exhibits and statues, tourists will see spiritual culture more often identified with India. Scientists said that the first temple was built in My Son in the sixth century. Unfortunately, a major fire reduced it to ashes. Some other temples were built to make My Son an original architectural complex. These temples are different from each other, and each has its own mysterious exterior.

Apart from the temple architecture, Hindu culture is also reflected through the relics found in My Son. They were made in the era of King Bhadravarman I, who ruled from 380 until 413 AD. A temple was built to worship Shiva in the form of lingam, which is interpreted as the God of Rebirth.

Until now, this religious culture has existed in old written records in Sanskrit. Lingam, yoni, Nadin and Apsara statues have been kept in the temples. Tourists will be amazed when seeing the red bricks used to build the temples. No one fully understands how the bricks were made, or what construction techniques were used by the Cham builders to set up these temples without any adhesives.

No matter how the temples were built, every cluster in My Son consists of the main temple of Kalan, which is surrounded by temples featuring lingam, yoni and Shiva statues. Researchers said that in front of the complex is the entrance gate-tower called Gopura, and the next is Mandapa, a vestibule for public rituals.

Next to the vestibule is an architectural work facing the north, often called the direction of Kubera - the God of Wealth. It has one or two halls containing offerings to worship the gods. The main entrance gates of all temples face the east to receive the sunlight completely. Every temple is shaped like a pyramid, which is the symbol of Lord Meru and where Hindu gods reside.

However, tourists will find some traces of Buddhism in the land of Hinduism. In the 10th century, Buddhism became the main religion of the Cham people. Sweating profusely after a tour around temples in My Son Sanctuary, tourists can enjoy a folk music program performed by Cham girls in traditional dress.

Seeing jesus

They saw the risen Savior. I asked for legions of holy angels to descend and surround them for protection. Within a few minutes, legions of these holy angels appeared to these broken baby parts. Oh, the incredible deep inner healing that took place! It was remarkable. It was stunningly beautiful to witness seeing Jesus take the pain and the hurt of all these dozens of hurting parts.

Mind you, these were babies, they even acted like little newborns –the hand movements and facial disposition revealed little newborns were present. Jesus healed these many parts and they all agreed to become one with the core’s heart. Supernaturally, her heart was put back together by Jesus and she experienced a long spiritual rest. Everyone just looked on with awe –seeing Jesus give this precious woman heavenly rest that she not previously experienced as her heart had been so deeply broken from the time she had been born.

Not only did this woman experience freedom, physical and inner healing her precious 29 year old daughter also experienced Jesus. Within a few minutes this dear lady was freed from many demons and experienced healing from dissociation. She testified of feeling many pieces of her heart being merged back together as I ministered to her. What a mighty God we serve! The rest, the healing, the deliverance was beautiful witness!

The most beloved of all Hindu gods, Ganesh and Krishna can bestow protection, greater self knowledge and worldly opportunity to those who pray to them. Through daily prayer, to and with these profound, ancient spiritual deities, loved by millions throughout the world, ones life can become imbued with greater understanding of and connection to oneself, neighbors and the cosmos. Packaged with a colorful mini book rich with tales of godly adventures, a hand-crafted pearl-white statue, fine-quality imported incense and simple guidebook to jump start your practice, this kit is a handy, portable altar and great gift item.

Hinduism in India is practiced widely as more than 80 % of total Indian population is Identifies as Hindu population. Hinduism in India involves worshipping idols of the hindu gods like; saraswati mata, lord shiva, Hanuman, lord Krishna and performing rituals that are age old. Hindus follow very old traditional customs of srauta, vaishnavism, and shaivism and have firm belief in dharma and karma. Societal norms and customs form the base of every Hindu society in India and they are very particular about their customs. Usually most of the Hindus are against animal killing and they consider it a profane act and that is why most of them are vegetarians. In fact, cow is considered a holy animal and is therefore worshiped.

Images of Hindu Gods

Hindu Gods

Thaipusam festival devotees

The Batu Caves is one of the most prominent Hindu shrines outside India. During the Thaipusam Festival, the caves see a million devotees plus thousands of observers joining the processions. The gathering is bigger than India’s itself and notably one of the world’s largest. And speaking of largest…

Unveiled in 2006, the 42.7 meter high statue is the largest of this Hindu god’s–and the second largest of a Hindu deity–in the world. Fifteen Indian sculptors collaborated to create the giant golden statue made of concrete, steel bars and gold paint. It costs RM 2.5 million and took three years to make.

A visit won’t be complete without climbing the 272 staircase to the temple cave. During the Thaipusam festival, devotees must climb these steps while carrying offerings to Lord Murugan. And not just any lightweight present–these offerings are milk containers that could be as heavy as a hundred kilo!

While ascending to the temple, you may meet some macaque monkeys. Travelers strongly advice to follow the sign on the temple and not feed them because they are not fuzzy sorts in zoos. Traveler Annie from the Philippines explains, “We enjoyed climbing the 272 steps and were welcomed by monkeys along the stairs just be careful they might grab your bag wouldn’t want to hold any kind of food which could catch their attention.”

Lord Ram is the seventh avatar of the god Vishnu in Hinduism and a king of Ayodhya in Hindu scriptures. Ram's life come from the Ramayana, born as the eldest son of Kausalya and Dasharatha, king of Ayodhya, Ram is referred to within Hinduism as Maryada Purushottama. Ram is the husband of Sita an brother of Lakshman.

Datuk Seri Najib Razak described Datuk Zulkifli Noordin today as a champion of Indian issues in Shah Alam where the Perkasa vice-president is contesting in Election 2013. The BN chairman’s defence of the controversial Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate comes even as MIC leader S. Vell Paari warned the ruling coalition recently that the Malay rights leader would cost BN Selangor in the May 5 polls.

“I’ve spoken to quite a number of Indians and they’re supporting him,” said the caretaker prime minister in a press conference at the Concorde Hotel here today. “He’s already championed some issues pertaining to the Indian community in Shah Alam, like a Tamil school and another temple in Shah Alam,” added the Selangor BN chairman.

Vell said last Wednesday that BN was risking the Indian vote by fielding Zulkifli, which he said would likely become the deciding vote in states like Selangor that Pakatan Rakyat (PR) had won in Election 2008. Zulkifli will be contesting against incumbent Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad in the Malay-majority state capital, who is seen as a progressive voice in PAS.

Vell, who is the son of former MIC chief Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu, also noted that there are some 15,000 Indian voters in Shah Alam, 31,000 in Kota Raja, 21,000 in Kapar and 17,000 in Subang, many among whom he said were angered by Najib’s selection of Zulkifli, who had allegedly insulted the Hindu community. Najib, however, dismissed Zulkifli’s actions as “history”, noting that the former PAS man had apologised over his remarks.

Images of Hindu Gods

Ganesh chaturthi

This festival has taken monumental proportions with people willing to spend as much as needed only to be able to make claims to a higher and more expensive statue in public places. The dangerous thing with all this vying for superior status is that the environment is taking a beating at the hands of us humans.

When the statues are immersed in water, they take with them thousands of kilograms of Plaster of Paris, artificial colors and a lot of other chemical waste that pollutes the water bodies in irreparable ways. But on the positive side, people are coming out to stop the damage being done, and to ensure that the celebrations add to the joys of our lives and not to the sorrows.

Ending on a sweet note, one of the best aspects of Ganesh Chaturthi are the mouth-watering sweets that are made. Dumplings made of rice flour also known as “modak” in Hindi are unique to this occasion. Ganesh is said to be partial to them. So are we! In fact, these sweets are mostly not made at other times; that perhaps is the reason they are awaited with as much enthusiasm as the festival itself.

The Batu Caves is a massive limestone hill around 13 kilometers north of Kuala Lumpur. Its interiors are home to a Hindu shrine lined with different deities. The shrine itself is located deep inside the high caverns which take 272 steps to reach. Visitors can visit the caves with a short drive through Little India and a stop at a local Batik center. “If you’re visiting Kuala Lumpur, the Batu Caves is a must see. ” Traveler David from Philippines wrote. We list the reasons why.

The caves are known to be over 400 million years old. Before it was transformed into a Hindu temple, indigenous tribes and Chinese settlers depended on the caves for shelter and fertilizer. In 1878, the caves were rediscovered by an American Naturalist. Eventually in 1891, a prominent Malaysian trader of Tamil origin named K. Thamboosamy Pillai saw the caves’ potential as a pilgrimage site. The Batu Caves is also home to some of the world’s oldest and rarest species including the begonia flower and the trapdoor spider, an arachnid resulting in over 300 million years of evolution. They survive along with more than 200 species (so-called living fossils) at Batu’s many caves. New flora and fauna are still being discovered.

Pillai saw the caves as a fitting worship site for Lord Murugan, the Hindu god of war and victory, owing to the shape of its entrance. He found that it resembled the divine spear of Murugan. Colorful statues and shrines come together with the cave’s intricate stalagmites and stalactites. The darkness inherent in cave systems, bathed with the temple lights, also add to a quiet and solemn mood, ideal for a spiritual retreat.

The Batu Caves network comprise of many caves, mainly the actual Temple Cave a.k.a. Cathedral Cave owing to its high ceilinged dome appearance, Art Gallery Caves (displaying murals and statues of Hindu gods), the Ramayana Cave (depicting the epic story through wall murals) and the Dark Cave where the Batu Caves’ species could be found.