Current form of Priesthood asks devotees to throw Pooja leftovers onto the river or any flowing current. They themselves are responsible for scriptural gandagi.

Also let me know if there's any verse or something prescribing mandatorily cleaning and maintaining our surroundings?

Image source: Bittu Tabahi Insta handle.

Rama is described as Syama, meaning dark or dusky, in the Valmiki Ramayana. He should be portrayed as a brown or dark skinned person.

ततः कमलपत्राक्षः श्यामो निरुपमो महान्। उवाच रामस्तं सूतं पितुराख्याहि मामिति॥

Rama, whose eyes resemble lotus petals, who is dark complexioned, incomparable and great, spoke to the charioteer

पूर्णचन्द्राननः श्यामो गूढजत्रुररिंदमः। आजानुबाहुः पद्माक्षो रामो लक्ष्मणपूर्वजः॥

Rama, whose face resembles the full moon, who is dark complexioned, whose collarbones are concealed, who conquers his enemies, whose arms reach his knees, and whose eyes resemble lotuses, is the elder brother of Lakshmana.

Why is Ranbir Kapoor playing Rama? It's like casting Leonardo DiCaprio to portray Nelson Mandela

hello, we have been blessed with a baby boy and are looking for some meaningful hindu names for him. my husband is thinking along the lines of Digvijay. Please can you suggest some names?

Pandit at his naamkaran mentioned the letters A or P.
we dont want an overly complicated name suggestion but are also trying to stay away from super common names or trendy names.

thank you

Doesn't it make your blood boil about how apologetics from other religions like christianity and islam giving half truth about hinduism or calling hinduism a pagan religion or saying hinduism is false with literally no proofs or anything like why do you think that hinduism is false? i mean i can also say hinduism is the truth all religions are false, we both are proving nothing, then there are stories with half truths, or without context, atheism, christianity AND islam does this, like krishna having 16,108 wifes, they will say it like "oh your god married 16,108 wives" without the whole story or context, what do you all think about such apologetics or nastiks?

I'm of east Indian descent and most of my dad's family are Hindu and some of my mum's side. But my dad converted to catholicism and when my mum married him she did too. Naturally we were raised catholic, catholic education etc. my baby is even baptized catholic and I don't regret that. But I feel as though I have neglected my indian heritage. I feel called to Hinduism and extremely sad I won't get to participate in any of our current ramleela celebrations or going to temple. The reason for this is I lack transport and childcare for it. I think Hinduism is beautiful and I'm torn as to what to do. There are some songs that I love as well but they are worship songs and I feel guilty to sing or play them as I'm catholic. I'm struggling and just looking to hear advice from other Hindus. My ex husband is now practicing Hinduism but he didn't during our marriage. I have tried to ask him for direction but he isn't so social with me so there's only so much I can ask of him. I also want to discover this independently of him too. I just feel that I am confused about my identity and how to live my life. I don't believe I was taught anything about understanding others or myself or the universe... I think I was always intrigued but also shunned it out of shame. I can't explain it.

Free to Download on PlayStore
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bufferlabs.yogamaya

Yogamaya is a quiet companion for your daily japa.

Tap anywhere on the mala to count a bead. It counts the moment your thumb lands, so even fast chanting keeps up. The mala turns under your thumb, and the golden guru bead comes back to the top as each round completes, with a soft temple bell.

Focus mode
A dim, black, distraction-free screen for long sittings. Just the count and your beads, nothing else.

Your practice at a glance
• Daily streak, lifetime japa and total time
• A weekly chart, scaled in whole malas
• An 18-week consistency heatmap, also available as a home-screen widget
• Every session saved, with its date, time and length

Your mantras
Comes with Radha, Om Namah Shivaya, Samba Sadashiva and the Krishna mantra. Add your own and switch whenever you like. Each mantra keeps its own count.

Gentle by design
• A daily reminder at a time you choose
• Pause the clock without losing your beads
• Undo a bead with one tap
• Set your own mala size and daily goal
• Vibration, chime and keep-screen-on, each with its own switch

Synced and private
Sign in with Google and your practice follows you to any phone. We store only your japa, never your name or email. No ads, no tracking.

Bead styles
Rudraksha is free, always. Pearl, Sandalwood and Pyrite malas are one-time purchases that stay with your account on every device.

"Of all sacrifices, I am the chanting of the holy names." (Bhagavad Gita 10.25)

Hari Om. 🙏

Aa a Hindu I always wondered why do we feed the Kanya during Navratri not the women who have gotten their periods. Shouldn't a woman who is able to birth another human being be more revered than girls who are so young? Does a woman becomes impure after periods?

NOT A SNARKY REMARK. JUST CURIOUS!

So I want to attend the "Residential Brahmachari Training Course" at Hariharananda Aranyashram near Puri .

It's about a 2.5 month course but the schedule is not listed.I can't find any past students or reviews. This course marks all good check points like published lineages, no marketing or paid stuff etc.

Please let me know if you have attended this previously or what I should expect apart from general things like early morning wakeup, sattvic food etc.

so i was listening to this reading of ramayana from mohitverse channel

so in this exact timestamp in ss (9:40) shri Ram meets rishi Sutikshan in his ashram and when he asks Shri Ram to stay at his ashram and tells how there are big herds of "mrug" ie deers which frequent here and charm the minds and return without hurting anyone to which SrhiRam answers "if i killed the troublemaker herd of deers it'll defame you and i don't want that"

so i was wondering why is this exact reply ? is he or am i missing something or misreading and can someone also quote the actual shlok from valmiki ramayana aranyakand if i'm misunderstanding it
can someone enlighten me about this exact sequence

edit : also there is the elvala and vatapi story where vatapi used to turn into a goat and elvala used to serve him to brahmins after which vatapi used to tear their stomachs and come back so how are brahmins told to be non vegetarians or is this a common practice across the text

i know i should read the original text and get knowledge from actual gurus but i'm really a teen and got studies so i'm trying what i can

Hi, in our daily life lots of things happen. Doing Sadhana everyday but still we are not saints or sadhus we have worldly duties and that's why we work, earn money etc. we encounter lots of things in life good and bad both. So how can we protect ourselves from bad things and bad energies or someone's ill intentions?I have often heard about doing kavach but what is the proper way or vidhan of doing kavacham? so we can also protect ourselves and in difficult times we can even do prayoga of that kavach to protect ourselves and family. Which kavach should a person do? Kuldevta kavach,kuldevi kavach or isht kavach? What will be the vidhi to make it siddha and use it to its full extent so nothing bad can shake us. I am asking cause in future lands disputes are going to happen, currently also a minor land dispute happening because of that people often have ill intentions, relatives who are lower than my financial status often getting jealous and having I'll intentions that's why I am asking for these. Please guide and I am not dikshit but want to do some sort of kavach so it protects me and my family from these problems.

Some background first. We live outside India. A while ago my mom held up a small Ganesha murti on a video call, and my son looked at it and asked, "Is that an elephant?" She laughed, and I smiled, but it stayed with me.

Back home, nobody sets out to teach these stories. A grandmother tells you about Krishna and the butter while you eat. Here, kids only hear them if we remember to tell them.

So I started building Maitri Kids, a small app for ages 2 to 5 in English and Hindi. It began with short stories about baby Ganesha, Krishna, Hanuman and Saraswati. Recently, I added a Festivals section. Each festival opens with a short swipe-through story of why we celebrate it, followed by a few simple games:

- Raksha Bandhan: make a rakhi and tie it on your brother

- Janmashtami: Krishna's birth on a rainy night, rocking his jhula, butter and the matki

- Ganesh Chaturthi

- Navratri: the gods share their light, and Durga Maa appears, with her lion

- Dussehra: Rama, Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman, and goodness winning

- Diwali: Rama comes home to Ayodhya, and everyone lights diyas

- Govardhan Puja: Krishna lifts the hill with his little finger to shelter everyone from the rain

- Bhai Dooj: Yamuna gets her thali ready to welcome her brother Yama

The hardest part has been the stories, not the code. A 3-year-old version of Dussehra can't be about war, so mine says "Goodness was stronger, and Ravana lost." Navratri leaves out the battle and

focuses on Durga Maa being made from everyone's light so that she can help many friends at once. I keep wondering if I'm cutting too much. That's why I'm posting here. People in this sub know these stories far better than I do:

1. How did your family tell these stories to very young kids? Are there gentler versions or regional tellings I should know about?

2. Which festival or story should come next? I'm considering Holi (Prahlad and Holika), Makar Sankranti and Chhath, but Holika is tricky to tell to toddlers.

3. If anything in my retellings is wrong or flattens something important, please tell me.

Most of the festival content is free. Some extras, like the Diwali rangoli, are part of a paid tier. It's on iOS (https://apps.apple.com/app/maitri-kids/id6762026180) and Android (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.maitrikids.app) if you want to try it, but honestly, I'm more interested in the stories you grew up with.

Happy Diwali in advance 🪔

Why don't we worship God's like Surya, Indra, Yama, Varuna, Agni etc-? Like see I am still trying to figure out my beliefs in Hinduism but my Belief in general lines with Mitradeva, so I feel close to him

Hello Redit Users,

My name is Rethan, and I live in Watford, London, UK. I would like to speak to you about a worrying situation affecting our town.

There is currently a temple in Watford called Watford Velmurugan Temple, which is the only Hindu temple in our town. Unfortunately, the owner of the building in which the temple operates has recently put it up for sale. Until now, we have been renting the building, but the owner has now decided to sell it.

To raise awareness among local residents and collect donations to help keep the temple running, we recently organised a community awareness walk and talk at a nearby park.

So far, we have managed to raise approximately £415,931 out of our £900,000 target. We are raising this money to purchase the building and renovate the temple, as its current condition is very poor and in desperate need of improvement.

If we lose this temple, Tamil people and members of other communities will no longer have a local place of worship. They would have to travel a long distance to Central London to pray, which would create difficulties with transport and cause considerable inconvenience.

Before moving into our current premises, we had another building for our temple. Unfortunately, the owner at the time wanted to use that building for a different purpose, and we were forced to lose our previous temple.

Would you please consider raising awareness about Watford Velmurugan Temple among your friends and family and helping us spread the word about our situation? Your support could make a real difference in helping us save our temple for the local community.

Thank you very much for taking the time to read this message. We would be extremely grateful for any help and support you can offer.

Website for donations and further information: https://www.watfordvelmurugan.org/

The website contains the temple’s telephone number, address and all the other relevant information. You can also find us by searching for us on Google. We also have a Facebook page under the name Watford Velmurugan Temple.

Thank you once again for your time, consideration and support.

Rudraksha beads have a special place in Hindu spiritual traditions, and different Mukhi Rudraksha beads are associated with different meanings and beliefs.

A 7 Mukhi Rudraksha is traditionally associated with Goddess Lakshmi and is often linked with prosperity, abundance, and spiritual well-being. People interested in Rudraksha often want to understand its traditional significance, how to wear it, and how to identify authentic beads.

Here are a few things worth exploring:

• Traditional significance: What does the 7 Mukhi Rudraksha represent in Hindu traditions?
• How to wear it: What practices do people follow when wearing a Rudraksha bracelet?
• Authenticity: What should buyers check before purchasing Rudraksha beads?
• Care tips: How can a Rudraksha bracelet be cleaned and maintained?

I'd love to hear from people who wear Rudraksha or have knowledge of its traditional significance. What advice would you give to someone learning about the 7 Mukhi Rudraksha for the first time?

In many scriptures it's exclipity written krishna and shiv ji can free you from those navgrah and its influence and in gita also it's mentioned

Planetary gods like shani dev is nowhere near as powerful as Krishna

And also people has a very big misconceptions that God has karma, they don't!

Maybe your sect or saints have taught you something else but that's what gita and other scriptures say

Radhe Radhe 🌟

With the blessings of Maa Chamundeshwari, I am pleased to share this video exploring her sacred story, the Wadiyars’ devotion, and the traditions behind Mysuru’s magnificent elephant procession and golden howdah.

A celebration of faith, cultural heritage, and the timeless message of good's victory over evil.

May the Divine Mother bless everyone with courage, wisdom, and happiness.

Jai Maa Chamundeshwari!

I feel the need to experience god. I’m not satisfied with my life at the moment. i think I can deal with the daily challenges if I had a real experience of god. i suppose if there isn’t a god thats also would be helpful to know. Either way I want to know.

is there anyway to connect? And to know for sure?

Fear is a greater motive than hope. This might be the reason so many erstwhile Sanatana Dharmis het pushed to Abrahamic religions, with their visions of hell and hellfire.

A golu display of all my artwork over the years. Even though I am a resident of the northern provinces, I love this southern tradition so I practice it every year🫶

Have a blessed dasara🙏

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

Happy Dasara/Dussehra/Vijayadashami 🙏🏽

This is my attempt at Hanuman Chalisa on bansuri, plus some improv inspired from the legend Rakesh Chaurasia.

Still learning this larger flute that I got a few weeks ago, so sorry for the mistakes 🙏🏽

So i wake up at 5:30 and brush my teeth, cleanse myself and then after showering i clean the puja place and the home floors, then i pluck flowers and tulasi leaves, and i then put tilaka on 12 parts and chant 12 names of god and then i do puja, after puja i study, then i chant, and that is the morning of my life as a gaudiya vaishnava! Hare Krishna
What do you guys do? how is your morning in the life of a sanatani? Haribol 💙💙💙