[Advaita-l] shiva pUjA

[Sanskrit Beginner]

Namo Namah
 Thanks for your references. I have requested the local tape 
shop for copies of these recordings.
 
 Thanks also to the post suggesting I read the Shiva 
puranam.  I found a four volume series in English. Seems an 
onerous task to finish reading it all. Have not yet found any 
adbrided version yet.

 
> c) If you search our archives, you will find some nice 
posts on panchAyatana
> pUja by Sri Ramakrishnan Balasubramaniam. As he points out 
in one of those
> messages, typically shiva is invoked as somaskanda 
parameshvara (with umA
> and skanda).  Rama also wrote an article on shiva 
panchAyatana pUja.
> Typically most pUja vidhAnams will include at least one 
type panchAyatana
> pUja. You can get procedural details from there. In my 
view, taking up any
> formal pUja is a commitment and it is better to consult the 
elders in your
> family before embarking on it.

 Could not find the one by Ramakrishnan, but found one by 
Jaldhar 
http://www.escribe.com/religion/advaita/m7450.html ... gives 
a good idea of how it can be permutations and combinations. 
  I was told something like offering even a bilva with water 
to the idol of shankara was better than fasting or other 
austerities. Hence the urge to start something. The 
panchaayatana puja seems quite a formal one. Does one need 
initiation from a priest before starting this, like any other 
japa?
 I have also found from my visits to certain temples in the 
North vs. those in the South of India, that north indians do 
everything themselves, including sometime kissing the idol. 
South Indians don't seem to do that thing, and prefer a 
priest instead ... any reasons why the process is different? 
 On a perhaps related note, I have heard that buying vibhuti 
(or tripundra) from the store is not good, and that one must 
either perform yagyas at home or go to a priest and get it 
from their house. I have approached a few priests and they 
say they use the store bought ones themselves!! Is the rule 
to use an orthodox form of vibhuti a strict one?
 (thanks to Vidhyashankar for the reply on karma - helped me 
understand approximations)

dhanyavaadah: 



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