RE: Devotion and Love in Hinduism
Is it not also true David that Shiva is also portrayed dancing? And one of his titles is Lord of Dance.
It is not also true that the Temple dancers were called devadasis ("servants of GOD"). They have emulated Shiva for thousands of years. In addition to dancing these women honour the dieties and convey the divine feminine energy to male worshippers through the sacred act of creation e.g. the cosmic dance of sexuality.
Perhaps you and Cub could enlighten us further on this type of love and devotion in Hinduism.
ORIGINAL: Principled
Principle without love is an iceberg.
Love without principle is a wobbly jelly. 😀Judy
Love that Principle
I would add that love is creation and creation is love when it has principle and pure intent and David did weave his article with love.
Love beyond measure
Kim xx
RE: Devotion and Love in Hinduism
ORIGINAL: Principled
Principle without love is an iceberg.
Love without principle is a wobbly jelly. 😀
Love that image, Judy. Icecream and jelly are a good combination in my book 😀
Princple and love are necessarily entwined and perhaps necessary for our own growth. How do we chart our development but by reaching certain goals that we have mapped out in our spiritual development.
Another image that comes to mind is a plant growing upwards. Without a cane to guide it up it would just spread haphazardly around without any sense of order, i.e. it would not have a strong identity. Development of that identity is helped by giving it structure. I'd suggest that our individual identities are strongly influenced by the princples we hold dear to ourselves. But if we live only by the letter of form and structure, do we cease to recognise ourselves as the plant and instead assume the shape of the cane? 😮
Cub
RE: Devotion and Love in Hinduism
Interesting topic, Kim. I'll start another thread.
Venetian - happy for you to start another thread on Santoshi Maa, if you've got some more thoughts. Not sure what else I can say on the academic idea of how divinities come to be created. It makes no difference to me that She may have arisen from celluloid, as it's Her presence in the moment that moves me. (Thinking about Her on Friday, I found myself moved to tears of joy, and I haven't prayed to Her in years.) She comes from the same divine source as the other deities in the Hindu pantheon. Her different characteristics lend Her an individual voice, but that voice is a vehicle for distinguishing Her from other deities for me. I'd suggest that God has subdivided itself into all the deities just to have endless fun in taking centre stage in a play.
Perhaps you're familiar with the Krishan leela story of Bramha taking away the Gopis from Krishna for a whole year? It was only a second in Bramha's thinking of time - He was testing Krishna to see what He would do without all his playmates - but Krishna merely assumed their roles and continued his merry dance for the human year. Again the theme of endless dance . . .
A final thought: I wonder if divinities arise where there is a need in society. The poor abused married daughter-in-law is a continuing story in modern Hindu life, both in India and elsewhere where Hinduism has spread. Perhaps Santoshi Maa and her story came about to lend courage and support to these brave women who would otherwise take it as their lot in life to accept their everyday torture?
Cub, xx
RE: Devotion and Love in Hinduism
ORIGINAL:
Santoshi Maa
David and Cub you raise some very interesting aspects!
I had never heard of Santoshi Maa. However, I have heard people like her appearing before people. E.g Sai Baba and also I have heard of reports of other people appearing before people in dream state and people gaining great fortitude, faith, power and strength from praying to pictures and images of ordinary people that have touched their lives in same way. Some being complete strangers.
I myself have been amazed at similar developments and agree with the question about the evolvement of deities. It is a fascinating subject and I feel links in with archetypes too.
Love beyond measure
Kim xx
RE: Devotion and Love in Hinduism
ORIGINAL: Sacredstar
Is it not also true David that Shiva is also portrayed dancing?
Just in brief, 'Shiva' isn't an historical personage, so this isn't about a person dancing.
The gods and goddesses of Hinduism are all very different and details, with each aspect being symbolic of some form of Cosmic Energy. So the "dance" represents some reference to physics in the Hindu system - and then of course he has more then two arms and holds a severed human head! [&:]So it's not literal!
Before Bollywood music and dance in Hinduism wasn't really those things at all. They were both completely ritualistic - at least music was, I know. It wasn't, in other words, directly anything to do with entertainment, fun, letting go, etc. In fact it's only a few centuries ago that music was ever really played outside of temples.
There's a big difference between "dance" as a Westerner means it today, and utter 100% ritual.
P.S. Also:
>>"e.g. the cosmic dance of sexuality."
I think seeing sexuality through religion all over the place is somewhere we've been a dozen times, chiefly re Jesus,and I've offered my thoughts before.
V xxx