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Re: praying other deities...

From the Bhakti List Archives

vasan • January 23, 1998 


I must have missed most of the discussions pertaining to "praying the other
deities". I thought I will share my own experience relating to this topic.
Until the last 13 or so years, I was in the habit of praying to the other
deities. I am not sure of the exact time, but when my parents had their
SamAshrayam at our home in India, our acharya (we were Swayamacharya's, and
our acharya was Nadadhur Raghavacharyar) gave us the Ashtakashara and Dwaya
manthram. It must have been around this time, when praying to other deities
did not give me any internal satisfaction. So much that to this day, when I
visit a temple that is a non-Vishnu one, although I go in and pray or
prostrate to the deity, I come out with an empty feeling. And its for this
reason I avoid going to these temples or praying. I must confess, that my
relatives do pray to the other deities, something I have learned to accept.
I was always puzzled why I get this satisfaction praying to HIM. Maybe, its
as simple as taking the right path, or some kind of a guidance that the
atman imparts to the person called srinivasan.
I was wondering if others in the group have had a similar experience.
One other thing, how does one react when you enter a temple which houses
Gods other than Sriman Narayana. Is it an insult to other gods if u do not
to enter their sanctum sanctorums to worship, or do u have to do it, for
the mere reason of being there?
adiyen
srinivasan