The Indie Writers (Team Entity)

Hidimba Devi (Hidimbi) is a Goddess that is primarily worshiped in the state of Himachal Pradesh. She is not an orthodox deity and she is from the race of rakshashas (giants) who according to the Puranas are the descendants of the Sage Kashyapa, one of the 7 Saptarishis (according to the Mahabharata) i.e. the 7 sages who remain constant in each manvantara and the daughter of Daksha (one of the 10 manasa putras or those who were born from Brahma’s intellect) and Krodhavasha. An interesting fact about the rakshashas is that, in addition to being gifted with tremendous strength, they also have the ability, though they look ferocious and intimidating in their natural state, to take human shape and form or assume any form that they desire, and they may appear as either male or female. In more contemporary terms, they are shape-shifters. Hdimba Devi’s story starts in the Mahabharata and she is a Goddess who surfaces towards the end of Dwapara Yuga and at the start of Kali Yuga. In

Having acquired some understanding of the altar and having gained some knowledge as to how to set it up, it is now time for us to take a closer look at the other items that are used to make the altar more presentable and more acceptable or suitable for worship. Let us start with the oil lamp which is crucial to worship. The lamp is fueled either by ghee, gingelly oil or unadulterated coconut oil. Under no circumstances must palm oil or groundnut oil be used to fuel the lamp. Gingelly oil is probably the cheapest, ghee and unadulterated coconut oil are fairly expensive and therefore it is far more economical to use gingelly oil. The wick is lit prior to the Pooja being started and it is kept alight for the duration of the Pooja. Once the Pooja is over, after a reasonable time (at homes it is usually half an hour to an hour after the Pooja has been concluded) it is put out and the Pooja area cordoned off. The lamp is put out using either a flower or by drowning the wi

The traditional or orthodox Hindu rite of worship is called Pooja and ideally it should be conducted at least twice a day i.e. once in the morning and once in evening (as per the instructions given by Lord Shiva). The first Pooja was conducted by Shakti when she worshiped Shiva and in so doing the Goddess paved the way for all Hindus to worship and venerate the Gods. The morning Pooja is the most important, followed by the evening Pooja. However, if work commitments or health limitations prevent a person from attending two Poojas per day then it is best to attend or be part of at least one Pooja on a daily basis. The word Pooja itself comprises of two syllables, Poo means Joy and Ja means attain and the therefore Poojas are a means for all Hindus to attain joy and liberation. Poojas are divided into two types - Aanmatha Pooja and Parartha Pooja. The former is conducted for the benefit of the self-i.e. to attain spiritual or material rewards and the latter is conducted for t

The Goddess Tara first appeared during a battle between the devas and the asuras. The opposing forces are in constant conflict and in one of the many battles that raged between them, the asuras wrested control of the oceans from the presiding deity Varuna and poisoned the waters of the world. The people cried out in anguish and the devas heard their pleas. Indra himself ventured forth from his kingdom of heaven astride his war elephant, Airavata, to champion the human race. Indra however was defeated in the battle that ensued and his defeat posed a direct threat to the devas who were then forced to call upon the Hindu Trinity for help. In response to their pleas Shiva, the third God in the Hindu trinity descended from Mt. Kailash to save the world. The God with the matted dreadlocks consumed all the poisoned water and churned the water in his belly, separating the poison from the rest of the water. He then spat the clean water out to replenish the oceans. As a result of dr

According to the Bon faith Tonpa Shenrab was born approximately 18000 years ago in a land called Olmo Lungring. Legend has it that Olmo Lungring occupies one-third of the known world. The kingdom is described as an eight petaled lotus that sits beneath a sky that resembles a dharma wheel. There is a tall mountain with snow clad peaks, located in the middle of the kingdom, and at the base of the mountain there are four springs that flow into four sacred rivers that run concurrently in four different directions. Each spring bursts forth from four different rocks, each shaped like a different animal. The river Nara flows from a lion shaped rock and continues towards the east. The river Pakshu flows from a horse shaped rock and continues towards the north. The river Kyim-shang flows from a peacock shaped rock and surges to the west and the river Sindhu flows from an elephant shaped rock and journeys to the south. Tonpa Shenrab was the son of King Thodkar and therefore a prince by bir

Copyright © 2019 by Dyarne Ward and Kathiresan Ramachanderam

With the advent of the Christian church and post the Renaissance Period of the 16th century the “spirit” edge of the older religions had been blunted by a cultural revolution dictated by modern philosophies and the codification of preexisting myths into a comprehensive form of literature leading to a general dismissal of the spirit world as nonexistent or the product of a society that has not yet reached the pinnacle of its evolution. Often however it is the rituals and practices of these “lesser evolved communities” that provides an answer when none other exists and it only stands to reason that when there is no other scientific or medical explanation available, the answer lies in the field of the occult. Occult practitioners and black magicians continue to earn a reasonable living preying on the calamities that befall others and isolated schools continue to exist for the astute pupil who is unable to afford the inflated cost of a college education. These schools provide a means t