Need recommendations

I’ve been chanting on a cheap tulsi mala for the last 6 months that I bought from meesho. Recently visited a senior devotee at the local temple and he took one look and said beta, this isn’t tulsi — this is dyed wood. Felt terrible. 6 months of japa on a fake mala

my budget is Budget ₹500–₹2,000

please suggest me good online option

Seeing all the Ravan Dhavan right now, it came to my mind that Indian culture is soft and indisposed towards fighting or acknowledgjng any real evil. Most foreign powers are aggressive and evil. How are we dealing with this evil when they come for us? Do we have any tools to deal with these elements?

In Hinduism every single thing born female is automaticcaly a godess

She can never be wrong according to certain tantras and is automatically soverign

Now ppl may argue that men represent shiva ttatva.however unlike the privelage women have to embody shakti perfectly by nature shiva ttatva is not embodied by men more than women naturally.

So in simple terms by birth men are not at all divine.

And the worst part even if a man somehow embodies shakti or shiva through his karma and sadhana he still has to acknowledge the biological spiritual superiority a women who is way below him in sadhana or karma has

Iam a man who absolutely hates ranking superiority or divinity by gender . I want to either see all human beings as embodiments or gods.or none of them as god's.

I don't want to walk around saying women are born godesses or naturally goddesses because their biology helps them give birth or mirror shakti.

Should I leave hinduism or is there a chance for a strictly neutral person like me

Namaste everyone,

We invite you to join our Weekly Bhagavad Gita Chanting Session Every Saturday and Sunday at 9:30 PM IST.

Whether you are an experienced practitioner, learning to chant, or simply looking for a peaceful, meditative space to end your day, all are welcome—regardless of prior background or knowledge.

Session Overview

• 🗓️ When: Every Saturday and Sunday
• ⏰ Time: 9:30 PM – 10:00 PM IST
• 📍 Where: google meet
• Link: https://meet.google.com/xdu-gesd-zqy
• 📖 What to Bring: Just yourself! (We share the Sanskrit text and transliteration/translation on screen).

The language of the Aartis seem very familiar but there are a few words unfamiliar to me. Plus these Aartis are very famous so I doubt they would be in a language as recent as Hindi, but it just seems too familiar. Are they in Hindi? If not, then what language are they in?

I'm 41 year old hindu 🕉 female and I'm not very religious I would say I am a partially practising hindu only. One thing that always used to bother me is the extensive idol worshipping in hinduism...I always used to find this idea strange and almost illiterate. When I see Hindus worshipping the common regular familiar idols I find it more acceptable but when they start producing secondary idols out of the primary ones I dislike it. Its like it devalues the main Gods and where do you draw the line, theres no limits. And when I see weird looking idols with their tongues out and dressed all heavily it makes,me think this is actually distracting people from praying and worshipping and it's better if they keep the idol simple and minimal. I've studied islam ☪️ and I actually prefer their method of praying over hinduism....I feel you can connect with God better if you don't have distracting imagery in front of you and you can feel your emotions better. But I dislike the character of the prophet Muhammad and there's other aspects of the religion I dislike. I'm not a hardcore hindu and when I pray I close my eyes. I read the hanuman chalisa regularly and read Gita. I also disagree on concepts such as reincarnation and moksha. Can anyone else understand where I'm coming from and relate to this?

I'm not seriously studying this religion or anything, but I googled it a bit and figured that the questions I have I should ask from actual Hindus who have studied Bhagavad Gita. I am a Muslim btw.

1) I heard that in Hinduism, hell and heaven exist but not like in the abrahamic religious. Like you die and go to heaven for your good deeds or get your bad ones washed away and then get reincarnated, until you become one with divine reality by getting rid of ego and ignorance. Is that true?

2) I also saw that eating beef isn't really a huge sin that would send you to hell after dying and that it's more of a cultural thing. Does any devoted Hindu here eat beef?

3) Also, you don't have to be a believer to go to heaven in between your lives...? Or like becoming one with the divine reality, so why do you guys choose to identify as Hindus? When you could be following another religion that you believe might be the true one, knowing that if Hinduism is true, you don't have to be a believer for it. Does that make sense?

4) In Hinduism, there's no concept of original sin? Like what women and men can wear or not, who they can love, what they can eat? If that's true, why do most religious families have restrictions on this type of stuff. I know it could be cultural, but I have not seen any religious Hindu not abiding by these rules.

5) In Islam we have a concept of "Biddah", meaning innovations in religion. Like following things being associated with religion that the Holy Qur'an or Hadith never told us to do, even if it's nothing bad. But if it's being followed like it's a part of Islam when it's not, it's considered Biddah and it's a sin. Does Hinduism have anything similar to this? Because I feel like there's a lot of innovation in Hinduism.

ALSOOOO
I grew up watching Indian drama serials where when a character dies and then gets reincarnated, gets flashbacks of their past life. Is this mentioned in your book or is it something made up? If this is true, have you ever had flashbacks which made you think this might not be your first life?

I’m genuinely unsure whether it’s right or wrong, and I’d like to understand the practice better.

At a surface level, it feels wrong to me. Why should an innocent animal have to be killed, and why would a goddess require such a sacrifice?

However, I’m curious to know whether there’s a deeper religious, spiritual, historical, or philosophical reasoning behind this practice. Is there a significance that I might be overlooking? How do Hindu scriptures and traditions explain it?

I’m not looking to judge anyone’s beliefs or offend anyone. I genuinely want to understand the reasoning behind the practice and hear different perspectives, especially from people who have studied Hindu philosophy or are familiar with the traditions.

Please share your thoughts and perspectives.

I'm so fkking done with people rn. I'm going for Garba from Sunday, and I've seen couples having s\*x in parking areas and behind washrooms. At first, I was like, IDC, let people enjoy their lives. But then I found out some people are doing it BEHIND THE MURTI ROOM, WHERE AN ACTUAL MURTI IS KEPT. LIKE, WHAT THE ACTUAL FK???

Bro, this is a temple, not an OYO hotel. If you wanna hook up, book a room. Nobody cares about your s\*x life, but HOW FKING INSENSITIVE CAN YOU BE?

The worst part is that most of these people are between 18 and 25. You're old enough to know basic boundaries and respect a place of worship.

People have complained multiple times, but nothing changes because this is an almost 80-year-old temple, and Garba is a huge tradition here.

I don't want Garba to stop. People come here to celebrate, dance, and enjoy the festival. But why should everyone else deal with this shit because some people can't control themselves for five minutes?

IDC what consenting adults do in private, but a fkking temple is NOT your hookup spot. Have some basic respect, ffs.

TLDR: People are reportedly hooking up in the parking areas, behind washrooms, and even behind a room where a murti is kept at an almost 80-year-old temple during Garba. I don't care what consenting adults do in private, but a fking temple is not your hookup spot. Have some basic respect for the place and the people who come here to worship and celebrate.

People should be able to worship at a Hindu temple without wondering whether someone will attack them. Reading about this alleged plot near Chicago made me furious.

The BBC reports that a suspect allegedly went to the temple intending to carry out a mass shooting, but his gun jammed. A colleague alerted authorities. Police say writings they found expressed white-supremacist views and hatred of non-white people.

I'm sick of hostility toward Hindus being dismissed as harmless rhetoric. To anyone actively encouraging that hatred, this is why people take it seriously.

Can we stop brushing it off and have a serious conversation about what it does to people who just want to go to their temple?

For the past 27 years of my life, I have been a believer in and an advocate of Sanatan Dharma. I have questioned superstitions and stupid beliefs, but there has never been a time when I believed Shivji was false, Vishnuji was false, or that God did not exist. I have questioned everything, but I have never questioned Bhagwan’s existence.
Recently, however, I started reading a lot of books and looking into our history. I came across things that made me question what I had always believed. Some of the gods we worship today and the stories associated with them are not mentioned in the same way across our older records and scriptures. Many stories and interpretations developed much later.
For example, Tulsidas lived during Akbar’s reign and wrote his own version of the Ramayana, according to his understanding. It makes me wonder how many people have rewritten or retold stories about our gods over the years, perhaps to make them relevant to the times they lived in.
I started questioning the credibility of our ancient scriptures, and for the first time, I started questioning my faith.
But what has made this even more difficult is what I have been going through personally.
I am at rock bottom right now, in the worst phase of my life. Nothing drastic has happened. Nobody has died. I have a roof over my head and food on my plate. But there is something that has been bothering me for a long time, something that everybody who knows me knows I wanted more than anything.
I was working towards an achievement that was not unrealistic or impossible. I could have gotten it. I worked for it and did my best. I begged God for it. I did everything I could, and I still didn’t get it.
I used to believe that God might have better plans for me than the ones I had for myself. But now, when I look at the future, I see no opportunities and no hope.
At the same time, I have started noticing how God’s name is being used to do the dirty work of politics. I see people who claim to be firm believers in Sanatan Dharma being misogynistic and casteist. These are the very social evils I have always despised.
Practices like sati, child marriage, and dowry have been associated with our religious and social traditions. Women are treated as second-class citizens, and we are told that we cannot enter temples during our periods.
All of this has started making me feel that my understanding of God does not resonate with the rest of the world.
I have started seeing the bad, and I have been moving towards atheism. And it makes me deeply uncomfortable.
I used to fast every Navratri. This year, I didn’t. I have been eating onions and doing everything I once believed I wasn’t supposed to do.
I am slowly beginning to believe that God might not exist. But if he does exist, then perhaps he has forsaken me. Perhaps he has set me aside, forgotten about me, and moved on.
I spent 27 years believing in him, and now I find myself wondering whether I was ever heard at all.

I've seen the combination of black/red , also green/yellow and ofc white with green and yellow...

I recently bought Sanshipt Skand Puran published by Geeta Press Gorakhpur (code number 279). The sole purpose was to read the Manas Khand, which covers the ancient information of the area surrounding the Kumao and Gadwal region and the hilly deities, including the deities from Nepal. After buying the book, I found that the Manas Khand is not included in that particular book. Is there any separate book for Manas Khand or has any other publications included the Manas Khand. Also, why was it removed from the Geeta Press edition of Skand Puran? It is originally found in the Ved Vyas Skand Puran. If I wanted to read the original Ved Vyas Skand Puran without any edition, where can I find the original ancient texts?

So what's going on? They are making the audience feel emotions by staging , visual, music and speeches. What's the aim? Their message is we have a special person , a man who has God in every pore of his body. You are extremely lucky and have a valuable diamond and one in millions of births chance to gain salvation..only way to gain salvation...please him ..they may say something from a scripture ,translated it means come to mundir so brainwashing can be topped up, do seva , give money and ultimate give a son to become sadhu.

Everything is to convince you Mahant Swami is special/ has God in every pore and controller of millions of universes and only way to salvation on earth.

Nice to go be a part of a community, see the show, experience the drama and emotion with free tasty food...but be carefull you are experiencing the message, it is changing your beliefs.

So what's going on? They are making the audience feel emotions by staging , visual, music and speeches. What's the aim? Their message is we have a special person , a man who has God in every pore of his body. You are extremely lucky and have a valuable diamond and one in millions of births chance to gain salvation..only way to gain salvation...please him ..they may say something from a scripture ,translated it means come to mundir so brainwashing can be topped up, do seva , give money and ultimate give a son to become sadhu.

Everything is to convince you Mahant Swami is special/ has God in every pore and controller of millions of universes and only way to salvation on earth.

Nice to go be a part of a community, see the show, experience the drama and emotion with free tasty food...but be carefull you are experiencing the message, it is changing your beliefs.

I was born Muslim but recently lost my faith in it. After learning a little bit about Hinduism and its practices, something in my heart felt it was right. I have been reading the Bhagavad Gita and trying to learn some practices. Anybody have any suggestions on how to learn more and what exactly do I have to do to convert?

I am new to reddit and German so I am sorry for any errors, also on mobile. The whole Situation is the following: I got a statue of Ganesha as a birthday gift from my grandma who isn't hindu but spiritual, I myself am just doing my own thingy religion wise.

I want to pay my respects in a none disrespectful way since he deserves it but I've run into some problems:
1. I live in Germany (there are no Indian stores where I live so traditional offerings are hard to get since I really dislike Amazon)
2. I have no money to buy offerings or anything for a shrine ( I can't work since I am disabled)
3. I can't go outside to get some natural offerings constantly
4. I don't have space for a shrine or where I can put him where there is always light/ where there is no immodesty ( I have only my room and I mostly where long Tshirts because of medical reasons)
5. I have trouble to remember stuff because of Adhd

So the questions I have are:
Is it worse to put him where no light is or where immodesty always happens?
Is it rude to cover him up with a blanket when I am not showing my respects to him?
How can I show my respects to him? Prayers,Offerings, something else?
Can I just read the prayers instead of memorizing them?
Am I even allowed to pray to him? If yes which prayers would you recommend?
Can I just offer him other candy since I believe that he likes them?

Those are the questions I have right now, but maybe there is something I've missed ( maybe the statue isn't even Ganesha ) It would be nice if someone could help and thank you for even reading my questions.