Introduction by Kayla Baboolal

When you think of Hinduism, what do you think of?  Do you see a pantheon of Gods and Goddesses?  Or one Absolute Creator? The biggest misconception of the Hindu faith is that it is a Polytheistic Religion, when in fact, Hindus believe in one Absolute Creator. In ancient times, the people of the land, regardless of culture, country or creed, created stories to answer the questions that civilizations have been asking for eons: Who are we? How did we get here?   What is our purpose?  They knew instinctively that there was a great force at work in their lives.  To find these answers, men and women of spirit created a beautiful tapestry of beings to personify aspects of who they saw spirit to be. These are the Deities of the Hindu Faith. Each, an aspect of the Absolute.  In Hinduism, the Creator is seen as both masculine and feminine.  The masculine aspect holds dormant power to create, preserve and destroy: Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.  The feminine aspect holds active power to manifest all things.  This energy is known as Shakti and is represented as the consorts or brides.  It is believed that each Lord, or God, has his Shakti, for without her, he is truly impotent! The consorts to the Three, are Saraswati, Lakshmi and Shakti. From 6 to 6,000? The deities grew just as your own family would.  Some had children. Some died and where reincarnated.  The reincarnations of a primary Lord is referred to as an Avatar.  The most famous for his Avatars, is Lord Vishnu. I recall, as a small girl, sitting in the Puja room with Papa and pointing to all the beautiful pictures, and he would tell me their stories.  It is in honour of those memories that I have continued my research into Hinduism, and found ways to incorporate it further into the Island-Shamanic studies taught to me by my Mama.This site lists the aspects of the Creator I have become familiar with through Papa and those I have chosen as my personal deities.  For Lord Ganesh, Lord Shiva and all of the Goddesses, you will find more than just their story, for I have provided the Mantra, Yantra and a list of offerings to help bring their essence into your rituals. Lakshmi Mata was the patron Goddess of my Grandparents home in Trinidad, and I give my thanks for the prosperity she brought me every time I visited, for there – love overflowed.

Peace and Light

Triple aspects of Gayatri Gayatri, the mother of the Vedas, is known by three names: Gayatri, Savitri, and Saraswathi.
It is believed that she is present in all three forms within the human spirit at all times.  Gayatri mantra is not related to any particular time, place, or person.
Gayatri represents the mastery of the senses. Gayatri is the protector of the five pranas (life forces) in humans.
When Gayatri acts as protector of the life-forces, she is known as Savitri.  Savitri signifies the teaching of truth. Savitri is known in the puranic story as the devoted wife who brought her husband back to life.  Savitri is the presiding deity of the five pranas. She protects those who lead a life of Truth.
The three represent purity in thought, word, and deed (thrikarana shuddhi).  When one’s intelligence and intuition are developed by recitation of the mantra, the activating deity is Gayatri.  Gayatri is described as “the embodiment of all goddesses (Sarvadhevathaa-swaruupini)”.
[SaiBaba, 17-3-1983] The five faces of Gayatri Gayatri is said to have five faces and hence is called Panchamukhi. The five faces embody the mantra itself and are represent below:
1. Om (the Pranava).
The Pranava Principle represents the eight different forms of wealth (ashta-aishvarya).
2. Bhur Bhuvas Suvah: the unity of body, mind and soul.
3. Thath-Savithur-varenyam: (with line 4) translates to, light dispels darkness –without light, darkness will not go
4. Bhargo Dhevasya dheemahi: translates to, “Throw away the darkness.”
5. Dheyo yo hah prachodayaath: translates to, “Let the effulgence of the Divine dispel the darkness of ignorance.”.Gayatri means ‘that which saves, when repeated’! It is the torch of spiritual wisdom (jnana)
[Saibaba, 25-2-1965]   Stotra (description of the glory), dhyana (meditation), and prarthana (prayer) are all contained in the Gayatri Mantra.  The benefits of the Gayatri Mantra to your spiritual development:
Gayatri will protect your body, make your intellect shine and improve your power of speech. If the mantra is chanted, various kinds of powers will emerge in one. Hence the Gayatri mantra should not be treated casually. The attitude of surrender will grow in us as we regularly recite the Gayatri mantra. The rays of the Gayatri mantra illumine the mind and intelligence and promote knowledge, wisdom and discrimination. This Gayatri has the subtle power of removing evil tendencies and implanting virtuous habits The Gayatri promotes the acquisition of Daivasakthi (God-power).
When you should say the Gayatri “Time, like man, has three qualities: sathwa, rajas, and thamas (poised or pure or serenity, passion, and inertia). The day is divided into three parts:
· 4am to 8am and 4pm to 8pm have the sathwic (equanimous) quality;
· 8am to 4pm are rajasic (passionate);
· 8pm and 4am are tamasic (inaction).The eight hours from 8pm to 4am are used mainly for sleep. The eight hours of the day (from 8am to 4pm) are employed by all  beings, including animals and birds, in the discharge of their day to day duties and are regarded as rajasic (active pursuit). When the four sathwic hours of the morning are used for engaging oneself in good actions like worship, virtuous deeds, and keeping good company, one is sure to raise oneself from the human to the Divine level.    
It is during the sathwic period (4am to 8am and 4pm to 8pm) that the Gayatri mantra should be recited.” [Saibaba,17-3-1983]
Essentially, the morning, and evening are ideal times, but it would also work well during your bath/shower ritual.  As you clean your body, so to the Gayatri would work to clean your thought processes.  It would also act as an offering to the Goddess.
The Gayatri can also be recited before meals, effectively sanctifying the meal as an offering to the deity. As Prasad, once it is offered to the Deity through your voice in mantra, it can then be consumed, and in so doing you take in the power of Gayatri.
With gracious thanks to Saibaba, for the inspiration he gave to Mama & Papa. www.sathyasai.org/devotion/prayers/gayatri.html

The Protectress, The Warrior

According to Hindu mythology a demon named Mahishasura, earned the favor of Lord Shiva after a long and hard penance. Lord Shiva, impressed with his devotion, blessed him that no man or deity would be able to kill him and that only a woman can kill him. Mahishasur was very pleased with this boon as he thought that a woman can never defeat him. Arrogant Mahishasura started his reign of terror over the Universe and people were killed mercilessly. He even attacked the abode of the gods and conquered the heavens and became their leader.
The Defeat Of Gods After their defeat and humiliation at the hands of Mahishasur, the gods took refuge under Lord Brahma, who took them to Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu. The only solution left was the creation of a woman who possess the ultimate power to fight and defeat Mahishasur. Pure energy blazed forth from Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva – the trinity forming the pure energy of Godhood, all concentrating at one point that took the form of Goddess Durga.
Culmination Of Energies Her face reflected the light of Shiva, her ten arms were from Lord Vishnu, her feet were from Lord Brahma, the tresses were formed from the light of Yama, the god of death and the two breasts were formed from the light of Somanath, the Moon God, the waist from the light of Indra, the king of gods, the legs and thighs from the light of Varun, the god of oceans and hips from the light of Bhoodev (Earth), the toes from the light of Surya (Sun God), fingers of the hand from the light of the Vasus, the children of Goddess river Ganga and nose from the light of Kuber, the keeper of wealth for the Gods. The teeth were formed from the light of Prajapati, the lord of creatures, the Triad of her eyes was born from the light of Agni, the Fire God, the eyebrows from the two Sandhyas,ie, sunrise and sunset, the ears from the light of Vayu, the god of Wind. Thus from the energy of these gods, as well as from many other gods, was formed the goddess Durga. The  Weapons The gods then gifted the goddess with their weapons and other divine objects to help her in her battle with the demon, Mahishasura. Lord Shiva gave her a trident while Lord Vishnu gave her a disc. Varuna, gave her a conch and noose, and Agni gave her a spear. From Vayu, she received arrows. Indra, gave her a thunderbolt, and the gift of his white-skinned elephant Airavata was a bell. From Yama, she received a sword and shield and from Vishwakarma (god of Architecture), an axe and armor. The god of mountains, Himavat gifted her with jewels and a lion to ride on. Durga was also given many other precious and magical gifts, new clothing, and a garland of immortal lotuses for her head and breasts.
The beautiful Durga, bedecked in jewels and golden armor and equipped with the fearsome weaponry of the gods, was ready to engage in battle with the fierce and cruel Mahishasura. Mahishasura and his demon allies found their attention drawn from heaven to Earth, as Durga’s power moved its way towards heaven. Though confident of their power and control in heaven, the demons could not help being awestruck.The Battlefield As Mahishasura’s armies were struck down effortlessly by Durga, it became obvious to him that he was not as secure in heaven as he had thought. No demon could fight her and win. Her breath would replenish her armies – bringing back to life all of her soldiers who fell. The demons were in chaos and were easily defeated and captured. Mahishasura was shocked and enraged by the disastrous events on the battlefield. He took on the form of a demonic buffalo, and charged at the divine soldiers of Durga, goring and killing many and lashing out with his whip-like tail. Durga’s lion pounced on the demon-buffalo and engaged him in a battle. While he was thus engaged, Durga threw her noose around his neck.
Mahishasura then assumed the form of a lion and when Durga beheaded the lion, Mahishasura escaped in the form of a man who was immediately face to face with a volley of arrows from Durga. The demon escaped yet again and then having assumed the form of a huge elephant, battered Durga’s lion with a tusk. With her sword Durga hacked the tusk into pieces.
The Victory The demon reverted once more to the form of the wild buffalo. He hid himself in the mountains from where he hurled boulders at Durga with his horns. Durga drank the divine nectar, the gift of Kuber. She then pounced on Mahishasura, pushing him to the ground with her left leg. She grasped his head in one hand, pierced him with her sharp trident held in another, and with yet another of her ten hands she wielded her bright sword, beheading him. At last he fell dead, and the scattered surviving remnants of his once invincible army fled in terror.
The Website 😉www.durga-puja.org/mythology.html

The Teacher

THE DEVI OF KNOWLEDGESaraswati is the Goddess of leaming, knowledge, and wisdom. The Sanskrit word sara means “essence” and swa means “self.” Thus Saraswati means “the essence of the self.”.
Saraswati is represented in Hindu mythology as the divine consort of Lord Brahma, the Creator of the universe. Since knowledge is necessary for creation, Saraswati symbolizes the creative power of Brahma. Goddess Saraswati is worshipped by all persons interested in knowledge, especially students, teachers, scholars, and scientists.
ancillary Vedic literature consistently equates her with the goddess of speech, known as Vak. The importance of speech in Hinduism is both ancient and central. The entire creative process is said to be held in the sacred syllable OM, and the idea of creation proceeding from shabda –brahman (ultimate reality in the form of sound) is often mentioned in the ancient texts. A mantra too, which may consist of words or of sounds alone, is said to possess great power. Indeed, the mantra of a given deity is declared to be equivalent to the deity itself. To pronounce a mantra is to make the deity present. There resides in sound a potent quality, and this quality is embodied in Saraswati, the Goddess of speech.
As the embodiment of speech, then, Saraswati is present wherever speech exists. And so it is that she is pre-eminently associated with the best in human culture: poetry, literature, sacred rituals, and rational communication between individuals.
Till today, whenever a new baby arrives, grandmothers make a five pointed star-called Saraswati-sign on the newborn’s tongue with honey. The tongue, the organ of speech, is thus expected to get hitched to Saraswati’s star early enough.
In Her popular images and pictures, Goddess Saraswati is generally depicted with four arms (some pictures may show only two arms), wearing a white sari and seated on a white lotus. She holds a book and a rosary in Her rear two hands, while the front two hands are engaged in the playing of a lute (veena). Her right leg is shown slightly pushing against Her left leg. She uses a swan as Her vehicle. There is a peacock by Her side gazing at Her. This symbolism illustrates the following spiritual ideas:
Her Message:

She focuses her calm, dispassionate gaze upon the past as pure experience. The capacity to recall without anger or resentment, is Saraswati’s greatest gift to her children: the writers, musicians and creators of various art forms. All of them have fought with tradition, but their fight has been cerebral, not emotional. For without cutting away the umbilical cord, no innovative new beginning may ever be made, whether one is creating or procreating. This is the message of Saraswati.

Her Lotus:* The lotus is a symbol of the Supreme Reality, and a white lotus also denotes supreme knowledge. By sitting on a lotus, Saraswati signifies that She is Herself rooted in the Supreme Reality, and symbolizes supreme knowledge. The white color symbolizes purity and knowledge. The white sari that the Goddess is wearing denotes that She is the embodiment of pure knowledge.
Her Arms:* The four amms denote Her omnipresence and omnipotence. The two front amms indicate Her activity in the physical world and the two back arms signify Her presence in the spiritual world. The four hands represent the four elements of the inner personality. The mind (manas) is represented by the front right hand, the intellect (buddhi) by the front left hand, the conditioned consciousness (chitta) by the rear left hand, and the ego (ahankara) by the rear right hand.
* The left side of the body symbolizes the qualities of the heart and the right side symbolizes activities of the mind and intellect. A book in the rear left hand signifies that knowledge acquired must be used with love and kindness to promote prosperity of mankind.
* The rosary signifies concentration, meditation, and contemplation, leading to samadhi, or union with God. A rosary in the rear right hand representing ego conveys that true knowledge acquired with love and devotion melts the ego and results in liberation (moksha) of the seeker from the bondage to the physical world.
* The Goddess is shown playing a musical instrument that is held in Her front hands, which denote mind and intellect. This symbol conveys that the seeker must tune his mind and intellect in order to live in perfect harmony with the world. Such harmonious living enables the individual to utilize acquired knowledge for the welfare of all mankind.
* Two swans are depicted on the left side of the Goddess. A swan is said to have a sensitive beak that enables it to distinguish pure milk from a mixture of milk and water. A swan, therefore, symbolizes the power of discrimination, or the ability to discriminate between right and wrong or good and bad. Saraswati uses the swan as Her carrier. This indicates that one must acquire and apply knowledge with discrimination for the good of mankind. Knowledge that is dominated by ego can destroy the world.
* A peacock is sitting next to Saraswati and is anxiously waiting to serve as Her vehicle. A peacock depicts unpredictable behavior as its moods can be influenced by the changes in the weather. Saraswati is using a swan as a vehicle and not the peacock. This signifies that one should overcome fear, indecision, and fickleness in order to acquire true knowledge.
Her websites: 😉www.exoticindiaart.com/article/lakshmiandsaraswati/2/

A Mother’s Love

MOTHER GODDESSWorship of a mother goddess has been a part of Indian tradition since its earliest times. Lakshmi is one of the mother goddesses and is addressed as mata (mother) instead of just devi (goddess).As a female counterpart of Lord Vishnu, Mata Lakshmi is also called ‘Shri’, the female energy of the Supreme Being. She is the goddess of prosperity, wealth, purity, generosity, and the embodiment of beauty, grace and charm.
On the full moon night following Durga Puja, Hindus worship Lakshmi ceremonially at home, pray for her blessings, and invite neighbors to attend the puja. It is believed that on this full moon night the goddess herself visits the homes and replenishes the inhabitants with wealth. A special worship is also offered to Lakshmi on the auspicious Diwali night.
THE STORY OF CREATIONThe birth of goddess Lakshmi, is related to an ancient story. Durvasa the short-tempered sage once presented Indra, the king of the gods with a garland of flowers which would never wilt. Indra gave this garland to his elephant, Airavata. Sage Durvasa saw the elephant trampling the divine garland, and short tempered he was, cursed Indra for he had shown disrespect to the sage. The sage cursed Indra, that he and all the gods would lose their power because of which they had become so proud and vain. Due to the curse, the demons vanquished the gods out of the heavens.
The defeated gods then went to seek refuge to the Creator Lord Brahma who asked them to churn the ocean of milk, to obtain the nectar of immortality. The gods then went to Lord Vishnu, to seek his assistance, who took the Avatar Kurma (Tortoise) and supported the Mandarachal mountain as a churning rod, whereas the king of the serpents, Vasuki became the churning rope. The gods and the demons (under the leadership of the pious and wise King Mahabali) both helped each other in churning the ocean of milk.
Amongst the host of divine gifts which appeared from the ocean, goddess Lakshmi appeared and then chose Shri Vishnu as her consort as only He had the power to control Maya (illusion). Hence she is also called as the daughter of the sea and since the moon also appeared from the ocean during the churning, the moon is also called to be her brother.

Goddess Lakshmi is incorrectly connected only with money, popular public perception is that she is the goddess of money. This however is incorrect, as the holy goddess is also the goddess of prosperity, of divinity and purity. She is also the goddess of Brahma-vidya (divine knowledge) and one of her name is “Vidya” – which literally means knowledge.

THE LADY OF THE LOTUSThe most striking feature of the iconography of Lakshmi is her persistent association with the lotus. The meaning of the lotus in relation to Shri-Lakshmi refers to purity and spiritual power. Rooted in the mud but blossoming above the water, completely uncontaminated by the mud, the lotus represents spiritual perfection and authority. Furthermore, the lotus seat is a common motif in Hindu iconography.
Hindu gods and goddesses, typically sit or stand upon a lotus, which suggests their spiritual authority.  Shri-Lakshmi thus suggests more than the fertilizing powers of moist soil and the mysterious powers of growth. She suggests a perfection or state of refinement that transcends the material world. She is associated not only with the royal authority but with also spiritual authority, and she combines royal and priestly powers in her presence. The lotus, and the goddess Lakshmi by association, represents the fully developed blossoming of organic life.
THE OWLGoddess Lakshmi’s traditionally accepted vehicle, the owl (Ulooka in Sanskrit), is a bird that sleeps through the day and prowls through the night. In a humorous vein it is said that owing to its lethargic and dull nature the goddess takes it for a ride! She could be obtained only by those who know how to control it; how to make best use of her resources, like the Lord Vishnu. But those who blindly worship her are verily the owls or Ulookas.
TRUE PROSPERITYGoddess Lakshmi is worshipped by those who wish to acquire or to preserve wealth. It is believed that Lakshmi (wealth) goes only to those houses which are clean and where the people are hardworking. She leaves places which are unclean or where the people are lazy.   The forms of prosperity, or weath, she can bestow are wealth of:
First  ~   Crops ~  Courage  ~  Animals  ~ Children  ~ Victory ~  Knowledge ~ Riches In Uttaranchal, after the worship of the goddess on Diwali night, the Shankh or Conch is not blown. This is because the shank is also from the ocean like the goddess herself, so it is given a day of rest.

THE WEBSITES 😉hinduism.about.com/library/weekly/aa100900a.htm
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakshmi