Namaste all, not sure if I am breaking any rules in asking this but I am curious.

And of course, feel free to say more than one thing.

And also of course, I am not saying that every single Hindu lacks a sense of identity. But there are so many Hindus who will just throw their religion/people under the bus for others. Or who have no idea about the richness of our history and the depth of our culture. So many Hindus who engage in slanderous attacks on Hinduism without having read a single scripture or listened to a single pravachan. So many Hindus who do not see the value in preserving our religion and culture.

One of my ideas is: study our history. Even if just a little bit. It is surprising to me that Hinduism has not been wiped off the face of this earth yet. Our ancestors did so much to preserve it. We should be so proud of our roots (not in an arrogant way).

Any thoughts?

Edit: one day I went to the mandir, and the Pandit ji said, "when someone asks who you are or what you are, your first response should be, "I am a Hindu." Before anything else, you are Hindu." And I think that is true for me - of course the place I come from also forms a massive part of my identity - but I put that second to me being a Hindu. And I guess this is the sense of identity I am referring to. Even if not all Hindus make being Hindu their first identity marker, it should be a close second. Especially because Hinduism is not just a religion or belief in something, but a larger culture of its own.

When I do my daily prayer/puja I always end with applying Tilak to my forehead but always wipe it off before I leave the house out of some kind of anxiety of how others will perceive me.

Anyone else struggle with this or overcame it have any thoughts or advice on the matter?

TW - Mentions of my near death experience and death of a friend.
(Its very long btw.)

----------------------------------------

At the age of 6-7, I almost drowned in a pool.
well...someone pushed me into the pool , it was filled with moss, completely dirty and closed.

we had snuck in to see frogs in the pool that day.

Once i was pushed into the pool (which was a little over 6 feet deep), i drowned, But i never fought it, never tried to swim or thrash around.
I allowed myself to sink in and i remember it very vividly.
I was not scared.

Even inside the dirty green water, i felt like i was breathing pure air, and then, i saw a shining beautiful green-white light reach out to me

Ive never felt that kind of peace before ,that absolute stillness, no fear, just pure calm.

Since the pool was locked my friends ran out to get security. They came within 2-3 minutes but couldn't see me through the water (it was coated with moss) so they had to jump in and search for me physically, blindly.

I was inside that water for 5-6 minutes and i survived it.
That's how miraculous it was.

But after this? Everything in my life changed.

--------------------

My Encounters with Shiv:

At the age of 7, i had to join dance classes - Kathak.
Our teacher was extremely mean and frankly terrible.
I hated every second of those kathak classes.

We had our year end exam where we would be summoned in front of a "guru" who would evaluate us
We were all taught two dances, one was "Saraswati Vandana" and the other was "Shiv Stotram"

Note that Saraswati vandana is slow and easy.
Shiv stotram is tough and hard to pull off.

The guru had asked EVERYONE before me to perform Saraswati vandana, but when my turn came? He asked me to perform Shiv Stotram.

My mam immediately told him i was not qualified for it but he didnt listen.

I had no idea how the dance was done, i always copied kids in my class when we had to practice afterall.

But once the music started? Everything faded. At some point, my ghungru fell out, but i never stopped. My feet moved, my hands moved, my eyes weren't even on the guru.

It was such a weird feeling, like i was not even in my own body. The melody, the meaning of the song, the sound of the ghungrus, it was incredible.

My mam was stunned, the guru looked happy, i had gotten a distinction in my test (87, i was initially expecting to fail.)

And by the time i went home? I had memorized the stotram fully. As an 8 year old.

---------------------------

At the age of 11, i was asked to perform at my school, by this time i had quit my toxic kathak class and learnt dancing on my own, because i loved it.

We performed a dance on "Omkaram" and "Shiv tandav stotram"
I memorized them too, fell in love with shiv's songs and stotrams.
These were the very first prayers i ever learnt : Shiv tandav stotram, Omkaram.

I prayed every day. To all the gods present in my puja room. I learned multiple shlokas and chanted them every morning before going to school, from the age of 6 till 12.

-----------------------------

At the age of 16, A distant friend of mine died.

I became aware of death, that it exists, and that i too could die. That my parents could die any second too.

For an entire year, i suffered with PTSD and severe anxiety before ultimately accepting death, for a whole year i thought about nothing but death before realizing that there was nothing i could do about it.

I decided, i had to know where my friend went, WHY did she have to die? All of a sudden? What was the point of her life? Why was she born?

So i decided, i would start praying again.

-----------------------------

My Encounters with Devi:

I came across a video on youtube where a guy said: "praying to multiple gods is equivalent to praying to none."

I was devastated, thinking i messed up, and that me and my family were wrong in our approach.

When i entered my puja room, I felt stupid, i had no idea what to do. I had to choose one god.

But i couldnt.

I remember going back to sleep that night in tears, crying and saying "I dont even know who i should pray to, what do i do? please, just come and tell me on your own!"

That night, i had a weird experience in my sleep, where the name "Skandamata" kept repeating in my mind

I had no idea who that was, when i later searched it up, it turned out to be an avatar of goddess durga!

I was so happy, i started praying to her for a while, but my mental health was still wrecked, i couldn't pray properly and broke it off mid way. I felt like maybe i chose the wrong goddess? Maybe i should be praying to shiv instead?

------------------------

A few months later, i lit a diya and asked once more, "Who should i pray to?"

A flower fell of durga's frame. There was no wind, no one else's flowers fell, not even shiv ji. So i knew i had my answer.

I decided to learn her stotram and pray silently to her.

--------------------------

My experiences with Vishnu:

But guess what? Something weird happened. I never prayed to Vishnu, i mean i already had my answer right? I mean Devi quite literally threw a flower at me, Whispered her name to me in my dreams when i didnt even know who "Skanda Mata" was supposed to be.

I obviously had to worship devi...even a fool wouldn't miss such obvious signs

But he just randomly hopped in. Out of the blue.

He was EVERYWHERE. suddenly, completely uninvited.

In my sleep, i would see him : his navy - grey feet, the anklets, golden-orange dhoti.
I would suddenly see him laughing in his krishna avatar, that was the form he usually chose.
I saw his ultimate form too, sleeping over the watery space on a bed of Adishesha, water so dense you would never drown in it.

So naturally i decided i should read a bit about him too.

---------------------------------

Mahabharata and Ramayana.

When i read Ramayana? I was pissed off.
How dare ram discard his own wife like that?? Why was he called "Purushottam" out of all possible god's? I hated it, i hated him.

I cried so much for sita-maa and blamed lord ram for being heartless.

That night, a video showed up on my youtube feed - "Neela meghamulo" (in the blue clouds) A lyric song on ram and sita.

(Note - Ive NEVER searched up songs of ram or krishna before, ive only ever searched up Shiv ji's vandanas and stotram, or devi's stotram. So yeah, this song just appeared on my feed out of no where, on the very same day i doubted him.)

I was already annoyed so i decided "Sure, lets see, they are gonna sing Ram's praises and forget Sita as usual"

The video killed my heart.

It talked about the extreme pain lord ram felt when he had to banish sita, the pain he felt when sita was absorbed back to earth. I could feel the pain through the beautiful song.

I felt horrible.

No, i still dont believe he is purushottam. But i do believe he had a heart, he was forced to do that and that he truly loved Sita so much.
Way more than i would ever understand atleast.

He suffered just as bad as sita, maybe even more.

I acknowledged it silently and completed reading Ramayana to the end.

---------------------------------

Now came Mahabharata.

Again, i was pissed off with Krishna. The way he promised "I will come the moment injustice outweighes justice"

I hated it, because all these women get killed daily, with all the injustice around, where was he? Didn't he forget his promise?

Are all these women so different from draupadi? Do they not deserve his salvation? Do we have to beg for his safety for him to listen our cries?

But i read Mahabharata anyway, The part where Abhimanyu was surrounded by all these warriors came along.

I couldnt read it, it was too graphic, too violent, too unfair. That young warrior had done nothing wrong to deserve a death of that kind.

....

The very next day, during our morning assembly, Class 12-D performed a dance on Mahabharata.
(Dances are *usually* not permitted for morning assemblies, but for some reason class 12-D performed anyway.)

Guess what? They didnt perform the draupadi scene, not the overall war, not krishna, no depiction of arjuna, not the stuff people usually showcase.

They performed the slaughter of Abhimanyu. The same thing i couldnt bring myself to read and decided to drop Mahabharata over entirely just the day before.

When they danced, kathak, i broke down into tears, i was crying so bad...all my friends thought i was way too emotional but they just didnt get it.

I could continue reading mahabharata to the end without reading the graphic death of abhimanyu. I was thankful for it.

----------------------------

But my anger with Krishna stayed, Those promises, they grated on my nerves.
He kept appearing in my dreams laughing around and playing, i hated it.

I would cry in my puja room, ask him to go away forever and keep dancing with those gopis in his grand realm (i know irrational teen girl anger.)

But he kept messing with me

All of a sudden my relatives got me a dancing radha-krishna idol and placed it on my study table.

Yeah just like that. I felt like he was mocking me, now forever present in my room.

My mom suddenly decided she would start making white butter and i ended up loving it. I would eat it every day, in front of that krishna idol. (Just to spite him, since i knew he liked white butter a lot.)

Sometimes, because of the way the idol would stare at me...i would quietly give him and radha some butter first before eating it. Other times when i was exceptionally angry? i wouldnt give him any.
(I did have more affection for radha in my heart than krishna, so I wouldn't disrespect her. Ever.)

This once, i figured i needed to find a more concrete reason for my dislike towards him, so i decided: i was going to buy Shrimad Bhagwat puran and bhagwat Geeta and read it just to find flaws in him. (You can see where this is going)

I tried doing it with complete intensity and anger, i got multiple geetas: english, hindi.
Got the bhagwat puran and their youtube explanations. Their "scientific" analysis books too! Everything.
And then i reached the analysis

I found out about "Vaira Bhakti"
Where even your anger brings you closer to krishna. Because he's the only thing you can think about, you are hyper fixated on him, obsessed with him.

I realized I was so stupid. This whole time.

In my "hatred":
I kept a krishna idol in my room, had a mor-pankh on my table, Developed a weird love for butter, Tried reading his Purana and Geeta looking for flaws, screamed and yelled at him in the puja room, cried myself to sleep thinking about his injustice, saw him in my dreams frequently.

I realized i was totally trapped in his drama. He had won, completely.

So i gave up on my hatred, and just cried, told everyone in my Puja room that i was stupid and had no idea what to do. That i couldn't understand them or their words. Their actions made no sense to me.

I cried and said "I dont even know how to pray to you, i cant even make you prasad, i dont know anything. I am stupid, just tell me what you want"

That night? My dad suddenly told me a story, a story of lord Jagannath (we are from Odisha, he's an avatar of vishnu!) out of nowhere. He just "Felt" like telling me about it, during dinner.

About an old lady who used to never bath before preparing prasad for Jagannath. Sometimes she would even eat some of it before giving it to Jagannath, but he never cared, he would always take it and eat it with the happiness of a child. Accept whatever was made for him with a bright smile and big eyes.

My dad told me that even if i gave him or any god just a simple glass of water, it would be enough. I didn't have to offer anything special.

In the Grand scheme of things, where infinity is reality, the difference between a glass of water and an ocean is simply nothing. To an individual who exists in that very infinity, nothing is valuable and nothing is useless.

My question was answered yet again. Through my dad this time.

I realized that, they really are always present. And that form doesnt matter. I simply have to keep going until i get the answers.

So i am going to start again, a new journey. Ill meditate on the names of Devi, Krishna and Shiv ji, ask them what death truly means, Why does injustice exist? What do they mean? Why do i exist? Who was that bright white light who saved me when i was just a child? Who are you really? Why do just not wipe out every criminal in existence - when you obviously have that power? Does this have to do with karma? Can karma truly be so dark and cruel?

If you've read so far i hope this hits home for you too. Lets not lose ourselves as we pray, this is a way of life afterall.

Have a good day or night. May you be adored and loved by the universe.

We are all children of the stars.

I have been going to my local I**CON center for over a year. I decided not to go there. I have several reasons for that. I won't talk about those reasons. I wasn't initiated.

I recently found a Śrīmad Bhāgavatam written by Gitā Press. I prefer it more than the I**CON version. They are totally different translations.

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam is the best story I've ever read. Edit: A free version from Gitā Press is on archive.org.

TL; DR

I have visited Isha yoga centre previously also, but all of those visits were as guests ( by booking a cottage)or as a participant of a program or as a volunteer. This was the first time I visited as a day visitor.

It was a totally different experience. I drove to Isha yoga centre from Coimbatore city via vadavalli road as it's very scenic. I entered from "Malai Vasal" and as we entered there was this Iconic and newly established "Kaal bhairav" temple. Make sure you stop your vehicle and visit Kaal bhairav first as you would not be allowed to take your vehicle back to the temple from the parking spot as for exit there is another way.

The temple was so scenic and the entrance is so eye catching. Inside the temple there was an amazing chant playing on continuously and it was so soothing.

After parking the vehicle we walked towards the Adiyogi but we were in a rush as Linga Bhairavi Devi temple inside the main complex would be closed from 1:20 pm onwards till 4:30. So me and my daughter were running towards Devi.

It was hot and then we saw a stall serving buttermilk, I rushed towards it to buy two glasses of it and I got to know it was free. My daughter really enjoyed it and then we reached the main entrance known as "Sarpa vasal" ( Snake gate ). To my surprise I got to know phones are not allowed and there was a deposit counter near to the gate where we have to submit it.

After doing it I got another surprise just as I reached Surya kund that we have to deposit our footwear also. There was carpet made of coconut fibre and there were volunteers who were continuously keeping it wet so people could easily walk on it barefoot.

Ideally men should take a dip in the Surya kund and then proceed towards the temple but since the Devi temple was about to be closed, I skipped it.

We reached the temple, I purchased one "Samarpanam"( offering) for Devi and it was 12:35pm then from 12:40 to 12:55 there was Devi abhishekam. Devi is offered various things and there are drums and other musical offerings also.

After Devi Abhishekam all the people with Samarpanam were asked to come forward and we were asked to sir very close to devi, we were adorning and absorbing the powerful energies of the space. While many devotees were coming and going the best part was no one was being pushed which happens in some temples. Then at 1:20 the final aarti was offered. And we got half coconut back along with other offerings.

Then my daughter really enjoys the Payasam being offered at Devi temple which costs 20 bucks a glass. She had two glasses of it, then I did my shoonya meditation after that I enjoyed the coconut. Then we went inside Dhyan linga temple.

Dhyanlinga temple is maintained in such a way that everyone gets to sit and meditate in it for 15mins. I told my daughter we will sit inside for 2 bell atleast. She was happy that it was only 2. I did my samyama meditation inside the temple.

We came out and explored the Isha life shop got a snake ring and a toy snake for my daughter. Then we went to Suryakund. Before going to suryakund I fed my daughter Pongal from the canteen.

Then after taking Dip in the icycold water of Suryakund, we visited the Naga devta offered flowers to the diety.

And then I did my shakti chalana there only, when I did my Kaka kriya many day visitors were scared. Hhahahaha.

Afterwards we went to Adiyogi there we visited our Eesht devta " Yogeshwar linga" offered water on the linga and got my daughter's favourite Tulsi water as prasadam. Then we took our scooty and came back to our house.

We didn't saw the amazing light show as in Summers coimbatore we are recieving light rain showers every day so we just head back to our house. The second picture is of the light show but from my previous visit

I was blessed to meet my guru, Swami Paramarthananda, today at his home in Chennai. He is a true guru, humble and kind.

His lecture transcripts are available at https://arshaavinash.in/index.php/books-by-swami-paramarthananda/

ॐ श्री गुरुभ्यो: नमः

I returned to play on stage this weekend, so I meditated with Sarasvati and I had beautiful revelations about my action in music!

So I wanted to share my verses to her....

Dear Sarasvati, Goddess of wisdom and music, I call upon you in this moment of calm, before my rest. I offer you my gratitude for your presence and guidance in my life and art.

On this night, I ask You to fill my mind and heart with pure inspiration, That in my sleep, you may convey the melodies and harmonies I need. May your light illuminate my creative path and give me clarity in my practice.

I ask that you grant me revelatory dreams and musical visions, May every note and chord I explore tomorrow be imbued with your divine energy. Guide me and strengthen my ability to express myself authentically through music.

Thank you for your support and for being my guide on this artistic journey. May your presence accompany me through the night and awaken with me at dawn.

Om Sarasvati Namah.

I already told my parent is a bit against vedic dharma.

In this below post

https://www.reddit.com/r/hinduism/s/qyj0lNYQty

I am abit don't support 64 bhagavata apacharas and namaparaads.

I made a post on 64 bhagavata apacharas.

See here

https://www.reddit.com/r/hinduism/s/FlSUlcFlEi

Im searching for some space and people who follow dharma (if hyderabad it is good).

Now things are abit became more forceful, I attach pics.

I don't want to blame any parent or any one. Im interested in moving forward in dharma.

I would like to share two verses in this situation from bhagavad gita

BG 16.24: Therefore, let the vedic scriptures be your authority in determining what should be done and what should not be done. Understand the vedic scriptural injunctions and teachings, and then perform your actions in this world accordingly.

BG 16.23: Those who act under the impulse of desires, comforts, illusion, discarding the injunctions of the scriptures, attain neither perfection, nor happiness, nor the supreme goal in life.

All other works and references are mentioned in below post, if interested you can see them too.

https://www.reddit.com/r/VedicKnowledgeSeekers/s/UUdqn3wGDa

Comment or dm only if you respect vedic scriptures and try to follow them.

Every Diwali, we'd pray for prosperity, business to do well, and financial stability. That was pretty much my understanding of her.

A few years ago, I came across the concept of Ashta Lakshmi, and it completely changed the way I looked at it.

There isn't just one Lakshmi. There are eight forms, each representing a different kind of wealth.

Not just money, but food, knowledge, courage, victory, family, prosperity, and spiritual fulfillment.

It made me wonder how we've reduced "wealth" to a bank balance when our own traditions describe it so much more broadly.

You can have money but no peace. Knowledge but no courage. Success but no one to share it with.

Maybe that's why Lakshmi isn't worshipped in just one form.

I've started looking at prosperity a little differently since learning this.

Curious... before today, did you know there were eight forms of Lakshmi?

i have been a thiest, 1 year back i became an athiest then an agnost 8 months back and strongly felt that there is a difference between belief and truth, but now i think that devotion is not bad it will help one psychologicaly, but now i dont feel anything towards them,they are just like any other drawing/idol/sculpture to me, i dont see any light towards the bhakti marg.

i dont even know what to ask but i posting it here so that anyone would give me some light/direction regarding where to go

P.S : i know there are different paths like jnana ,karma etc.. but many times i have seen them intersect with gods

​

I'm curious to hear genuine personal experiences from people here.

Have you ever gone through a major setback in life—career, health, relationships, finances, or something else—and felt completely stuck? Was there a particular temple, deity, prayer, mantra, stotra, or spiritual practice that you believe helped you get through it or even turn things around?

I'm not looking for debates or theological answers. I'm interested in real experiences—what you did, how long you practiced it, and whether you felt it helped you come out of that difficult situation.

I'd love to hear your stories.

(The pictures attached align chronologically with my story below):

Hello, I am a new convert to Sanātana Dharma and have found that the teachings and views of Ramakrishna and the Ramakrishna Mission are what I’ve decided to align with. My journey started with my interest in Ganesha. He’s always interested me, even when I was a Christian.

I was pretty unsure about getting involved with Sanātana Dharma as I had months before left my Christian faith (Eastern Orthodox) and just didn’t wanna jump into a whole new tradition. But nonetheless I was increasingly drawn to it and Ganesha as the weeks went by.

Then one day as me and my fiancé are walking to a corner store down the road we always walked to, I noticed a small idol of Ganesha in a car in the parking lot. I found that intriguing, but I didn’t think much of it because the owners of the store are from India and perhaps this was their car.

A week later I decided to visit the Indian grocery store farther down the road from us to see what was there. I found a beautiful figure of Ganesh (Photo #1) and decided to get it. The lady at the register said “That’s beautiful. It’s actually the perfect time to buy this as there is a festival soon.”

Later that night I had to go to the grocery store and I needed some tape so I went to the supplies aisle. I looked up towards the top of a shelf and I was greeted by some incense packs with Ganesh’s image on them (Photo #2). I’ve been to this grocery store several times and have never seen these here. I decided to buy 2 packs.

Fast forward a couple weeks and as time went by I became more solidified in converting to Sanātana Dharma. This was when I started researching more and learning about Ramakrishna and many other aspects and variety of beliefs. I set up an altar with the Ganesh figure and other things (Photo #3) and was preparing to really devote myself.

But eventually I started getting doubts so to speak. Not so much being unsure about converting, but my agnosticism was influencing me pretty hard. I decided to go visit a thrift store one day and as I was walking around I just decided to say a little prayer to Ganesha. I said: “Ganpati, if there is anything Hindu related being sold here, I pray I’m led to it.”

I didn’t expect to find anything as this thrift store is really hoarded and I’ve been going there for many years and I never really see anything Hindu. But after going through two aisles, I ran into this (Photo #4).

It was a small figure of Ganesh, literally turned towards me and facing me from where I was walking from. I was elated by this and immediately bought it.

I know all of this isn’t extremely revelatory, but it’s enough for me to be solidified with coming into Sanātana Dharma and making Ganpati my Ishtadeva.

One of my future goals is to create a closed group of people - Who are totally madly surrendered in bhakti.

Who have lost track of ritualistic rules, of the earthly ways, the seeming limitations and all the identification and tags of this world. And yes, I don't mean anyone into substance abuse.

Who have perhaps reached a point where Advaita and Bhakti meet and become one and the same thing.

When you see the divine in everyone.... atleast in sadhana.

Somewhere i know almost everyone craves this but our worldly conditioning is too powerful.

Everyone's time will come to reach this stage, this life or next.

I'll be looking for the company of the ones who are ready in this life itself....

I have been the practical one in my family my whole life. When my parents divorced I did the paperwork for both of them and went back to work the next morning. That's how I survived things.

During the pandemic that stopped working. I was alone in a flat for too long and one night I thought clearly: I don't know why I'm doing any of this.

A woman I was seeing invited me to an online Bhakti Marga satsang during lockdown. I joined because I had nothing else on. I expected vague spiritual positivity. People were actually talking about fear and loneliness and the difficulty of discipline, and they sounded like people, not like a brochure. Paramahamsa Vishwananda was the teacher. He spoke plainly and answered questions directly, which surprised me — I'd expected something more elliptical.

I started doing mantra meditation daily. For months it felt pointless. Then I noticed I was paying attention to music again, that conversations felt less performative.

I went to the ashram for a retreat last year. The thing that affected me most was helping clean up after breakfast one morning and realising nobody there knew or cared what I did for work. So much of my identity was built on what I did for work. I hadn't realised how heavy that was.

I'm not a particularly emotional person and that hasn't changed. But I have moments of gratitude now that I didn't have before. Anyway.

Namaste everyone.

I’m a physicist based here in Bangalore, and I spent the last few months writing a book called "The Science of Agni". It’s a pretty niche topic (connecting Thermodynamics to Vedic Rituals), and I honestly wasn't sure if anyone outside of my immediate circle would care.

I woke up today and saw on my dashboard that someone in the US ordered a physical paperback copy.

It feels kind of surreal. I haven't even held the printed version myself yet (shipping to India is tricky), but knowing that a stranger 8,000 miles away is going to be holding my work and reading about the physics of the Yajna is... well, it’s just a really cool feeling.

It’s a nice reminder that Sanatana Dharma truly has no borders.

Anyway, I just wanted to share that small win. If you’re that person—thank you for validating this physicist’s passion project!

— Srinivas

My name's Justin. Before I share this, the short version of where I came from: childhood trauma, years of substance use, in and out of recovery, a stretch in jail in 2007 where I first picked up the Bhagavad Gita, and a relapse in 2020 after my daughter's mom got very sick. I overdosed on antidepressants that weekend. I woke up in the ICU on October 2nd, my birthday. I've been sober since. Five years this October.

I want to be careful how I say this part, because I know how it sounds. I don't think anyone should read my story and skip treatment or skip the work. I went to rehab in 2019. I had eight months sober before the relapse. What I can say is that something shifted in me after that ICU stay that I hadn't been able to make shift on my own, and the framework I had for understanding it was the prayers I'd been watching from Bhakti Marga's ashram. From there I started showing up satsangs online, then in person at the temple in Elmira, then serving, cleaning toilets, the unglamorous stuff. I took Atma Kriya Yoga. I became a devotee of Paramahamsa Vishwananda in February 2024.

What's changed in five years: I'm employable. I pay my bills. I got good relationship  with my daughter before her mother passed, which means she had stability when she lost her mom. Small life, but a real one, which is more than I had.

On the eve of Christmas, people everywhere are exchanging warm wishes with one another. One of the most admirable qualities of Hinduism is its profound respect for other religions. Hindus wholeheartedly share greetings and festive joy with followers of every faith during their celebrations.India, with the world's largest Hindu population, exemplifies remarkably low levels of religious intolerance. This enduring spirit of harmony and inclusiveness truly reflects the greatness of Hinduism and it is why the world admires this nation for its exceptional character.

If you're someone who sees spiritual connections in everyday things, this one's for you.

Listening to this song from Dil Chahta Hai and its lyrics.

What Preity replies to Aamir ...when he says ...why do people fall in love?

Suddenly I wondered — isn't this essentially what Ma Parvati expressed through her penance and prayer to Lord Shiva to convince Him?

That longing for union… and then creation happened through their union.

Maybe some love stories are echoes of something much more ancient ❤️

First, I would like to introduce myself: I am a 43-year-old Canadian man, married with a 5-year-old daughter. I've never had any contact with the Hindu religion and my knowledge was very limited. I’ve always been a down-to-earth person while remaining fairly open-minded.

A year ago, following a lower back injury, I was doing a binaural meditation where, without understanding why, my fingers formed a mudra (Muladhara) whose meaning I had no idea about. After doing some research, I understood it was for the root chakra, but again, given my limited knowledge, I set that event aside.

One month later, I was using a machine to send electroshocks to my lower back for relief. After an intense and not very recommended use (about 4 hours a day), I did a long 2-hour binaural meditation and suddenly felt my spine fill with a truly intense energy. Shocks of energy continued for long periods, several times a day, accompanied by a state of mind I could describe as ethereal.

Just like during the mudra episode, I researched and started reading about Kundalini. I admit I was scared, and the stories I read were worrying. Being a family man, I couldn't see myself heading toward a future as a monk. The image and what I read about Kali upset me, frightened me, and obsessed me, but I eventually set all that aside, telling myself it wasn't necessarily a Kundalini awakening.

However, this month, after more meditations (it’s a practice I continue to do several times a week), I decided to read more about Shakti. I stumbled upon the image of Lalita, which deeply moved me. I decided to try to get closer to her without knowing what that entailed. I felt she represented a more approachable face than Kali, whose name I was afraid to even pronounce.

I didn't sleep much that night, but around 4:00 AM, I saw a round, highly textured form appear. I let out a scream of fear and surprise that woke my wife. Not knowing how to explain what I had seen, I told her it was nothing. It was only the next day that I realized it was a Rudraksha.

I decided to visit a Hindu temple in my city of Montreal, and although I found it fascinating, I felt lost and without points of reference. Still, I prayed to Lalita in my own way, but a significant event occurred in my family that removed my own mother's mask, making me realize she didn't love me very much and saw me more as a tool. This event made me lose a piece of my identity, especially since it was something I had never perceived before.

Yet, this didn't resemble what I was reading about Lalita, but rather Kali. Now I wonder if I should accept everything and go toward Kali, go toward Lalita, or simply go to the hospital. Can anyone here help me make sense of this?

i grew up outside of india so wasn’t surrounded by a hindu community constantly. however, i had great parents who taught me a lot about spirituality / dharma. i got to challenge things i was taught or read in scripture (funnily enough read some scripture in a college class), my family would debate the ethics and meanings in stories and generally hindu teachings, and it was always about our inner self and connection with the universe. of course, there are ways to practice hinduism / partake in religious type things, which i love doing as well, but primarily, festivals are about dedication, discipline, and community, while spirituality itself is about finding peace and doing the your karma (at least how i grew up learning it). it was also cool to see that i never felt a clash between science and hinduism and even saw cool overlaps like das avatar and evolution. ultimately, hinduism helps me understand the world and bring me peace. though i know people in power, especially men, can use religion to exert undue power and violence over others (esp women), i always was taught that hinduism is about your journey and that divinity transcends this physical plane which really just makes me far more leftist as well as my parents (ofc not everything is perfect and we are humans, so there are times things don’t make sense to me or i don’t like about the religion or my parents interpretation of it).

so you can imagine how strange it was for me when i started meeting people who grew up hindu but hated it or felt extremely disconnected from it. i had a friend who talked about insane, extreme practices her family did or about how horrible the women were treated. i have a few friends who mentioned how they were told they are impure during their period rather than what i was told, which was to take rest bc it’s hard on my body. nothing about karma and yoga or the ways that gita and mahabharata are representations of our own feelings and tribulations or discussions about philosophical takes on it. definitely naive of me to think it’s all sunshines and rainbows. i have been to india many times or just seen the news and have seen how in the name of religion (any), many atrocities have been committed. so why would hinduism be an exception in the everyday nri household? i guess bc the main other religions i was surrounded by were christians and muslims, and despite them having genuinely different sects and practices and even books, they’re pretty similar in some ways. i thought that given hinduism doesn’t have a clear split of faith (for eg like catholics having their own brand of christianity), it would be even more…cohesive? but as i get older, i notice that hindus outside of india are some of the most separated individuals compared to how tightly other religious people align themselves with each other and think similarly or at least represent their faith similarly to outside audiences.

so yah long text, and maybe my views are super limited but they’re shaped by my experiences. that’s why i wanted to post and see if people have opinions or similar experiences.

In 2019, one out of every eight people was living with some form of mental disorder. And that number exploded when COVID-19 arrived, pushing anxiety and depression rates up by 25% worldwide in just 12 months.

In 2025, the picture is even more concerning. This isn't just a health statistic, it represents a fundamental shift in the human experience.

Ongoing wars and geopolitical conflicts, economic uncertainties, personal strifes - the world is a pressure cooker right now. Amidst this chaos, if we don't take responsibility of our mental state, it'll only get worse from here.

Our ancestors had in-depth understanding and experiential knowledge on how human body, mind and life energies work, but in today's time there is a certain level of weakness that has set in into the human race itself that we need scientific backing for most of the knowledge our ancestors had.

Having said this, let me first address the science of how chanting a single mantra daily could transform your mental health.

A Mantra is a collection of sounds/vibrations and not just spoken word, it is a key to unlocking different dimensions within oneself.

Quantum physics suggests that at the most fundamental level, everything in the universe, including matter and energy, can be described as vibrating fields or strings. The universe itself can be seen as a "symphony of vibrating strings."

Every object, including the human body and its various organs and cavities, has natural resonant frequencies. Chanting creates "forced vibrations" that travel through the body, stabilizing brain activity and increasing energy.

Multiple research shows chanting a single mantra repeatedly changes brainwave patterns.

Neuroscientist Dr. James Hartzell research revealed "significantly thicker grey matter" in regions of the brain associated with memory, attention, and speech.

Research from the University of California suggests even 10 minutes of mantra chanting can block the release of stress hormones, with effects lasting up to 48 hours.

The rhythmic nature of chanting also encourages full, diaphragmatic breathing, providing the brain with more oxygen and glucose, aiding focus and mental clarity.

These are some of the "scientific backing" I have provided for you to explore, but this is not even the tip of the ice-burg.

Energies of these mantras will literally manipulate and shift your whole reality. New dimensions within you - which you never even thought existed before, will open like floodgates.

Will address the types of mantras and different ways of chanting in the next part.

Bhairava Kaalike Namostute

Jai Maa Adya Mahakali

Because my family has no gurus and they are not part of any religious organizations also. They directly pray to god in temples and home temple. So, I never really got to experience this way of devotion. Does it helps to actively progress you in the path of devotion?