I am Heathen: , "I am Thor's man", he is my fulltrui. I venerate the ancestors, I worship the Gods, I toast them all, I am proud to be Heathen. I've wrestled with my relationship with the Hindu deities after I stopped practicing Hinduism and calling myself Hindu. The reason I "left" Hinduism and Hindu practice is because I no longer held with the theology, reasons for some of the rituals, all the do's and don'ts I was encountering from all those internet pundits (see the thread about the self-important Heathens). I have my own upg of practicing Hinduism and Heathenism, and worshiping the Gods, no matter what anyone else says... you feel what you feel. My new favorite diagnosis of all these people, Hindu and Heathen alike is the Dunning-Kruger effect. In short, their own overblown overcompensation for what they really don't know. But I am sort of digressing.
Very lately I am feeling a calling by the Hindu deities and a sort of distance from the Aesir and Vanir. People say the Gods have much more to do than micro-manage our daily affairs, and I can accept that. I'm finding myself wanting to set up a Hindu shrine and display their images again along with the Aesir and Vanir.
I'm still not entirely on-board with Hindu theology: the idea that all things emanate from one ground of being, i.e. Brahman, and that Brahman manifests as any one deity (Shiva for Shaivas; Krishna for Vaishnavas; Devi (the Goddess) for Shaktas. Or the Hindu concepts of an afterlife, though I believe karma is very much akin to wyrd and orlog. I've become a semi-hard polytheist and see all the Gods as individual entities, though many of the Gods may be attributes of a main deity. For example, the handmaidens of Frigga may be Frigga herself in different roles. Hinduism flat out states that Durga, Kali, Uma, Sati are aspects of Parvati (Devi), Shiva's wife. Rama, Krishna, Narasimha are aspects (avatars) of Vishnu, and so on.
I am very much drawn to Shiva and Parvati (the Divine Mother and her aspects as Durga and Kali), Lakshmi, Hanuman, Saraswati; less so to Ganesha, Krishna and Rama though I have always venerated them. I have no issue with reciting their prayers (slokas) and mantras. In fact, I sort of miss the Sanskrit prayers, and strangely I miss going to the temple I used to go to. I am still not on-board with performing the rituals most Hindus perform: daily pujas, which can be very involved, and nama japa. I just never derived anything from the repeated chanting of a deity's mantra, e.g. om sri krishnāya namaha (I bow to/salute/hail Lord Krishna). I'd rather offer water, a candle, incense, a flower, a sweet, etc. with a few prayers and call it a day.
Is it possible that the Gods of both pantheons are saying that it's cool to turn to both for filling my spiritual life?
Very lately I am feeling a calling by the Hindu deities and a sort of distance from the Aesir and Vanir. People say the Gods have much more to do than micro-manage our daily affairs, and I can accept that. I'm finding myself wanting to set up a Hindu shrine and display their images again along with the Aesir and Vanir.
I'm still not entirely on-board with Hindu theology: the idea that all things emanate from one ground of being, i.e. Brahman, and that Brahman manifests as any one deity (Shiva for Shaivas; Krishna for Vaishnavas; Devi (the Goddess) for Shaktas. Or the Hindu concepts of an afterlife, though I believe karma is very much akin to wyrd and orlog. I've become a semi-hard polytheist and see all the Gods as individual entities, though many of the Gods may be attributes of a main deity. For example, the handmaidens of Frigga may be Frigga herself in different roles. Hinduism flat out states that Durga, Kali, Uma, Sati are aspects of Parvati (Devi), Shiva's wife. Rama, Krishna, Narasimha are aspects (avatars) of Vishnu, and so on.
I am very much drawn to Shiva and Parvati (the Divine Mother and her aspects as Durga and Kali), Lakshmi, Hanuman, Saraswati; less so to Ganesha, Krishna and Rama though I have always venerated them. I have no issue with reciting their prayers (slokas) and mantras. In fact, I sort of miss the Sanskrit prayers, and strangely I miss going to the temple I used to go to. I am still not on-board with performing the rituals most Hindus perform: daily pujas, which can be very involved, and nama japa. I just never derived anything from the repeated chanting of a deity's mantra, e.g. om sri krishnāya namaha (I bow to/salute/hail Lord Krishna). I'd rather offer water, a candle, incense, a flower, a sweet, etc. with a few prayers and call it a day.
Is it possible that the Gods of both pantheons are saying that it's cool to turn to both for filling my spiritual life?
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