Spirituality and Relationships

[JD1stTimer]

I have been meditating today and I came upon a startling realization... I am looking for an incarnation of Laxmi and either when I become an avatar of Vishnu then she will appear in my life and I will recognize who she is and she will understand it when I tell her and we will be joined, or else I will meet her and she will help me become an avatar of Vishnu. Anyone who understands more about Hindu religion please help me with this.

[JD1stTimer]

Sorry, just wanted to perhaps make this more noticable to those with more insight or who would know someone who knows. Also I went to someone in person who I think could help and told her I was looking for Laxmi. She said the next time she goes to India she will bring a small brass idol of Her back for me. What should I do with it once I get it? I am fairly confused.

[40oz]

hmmm...sounds interesting, wish I could help.

[JD1stTimer]

Who does your avatar represent, 40oz?

[sarah louise]

I find the whole idea rather absurd.

Even if someone brings you an idol of Laxmi, prayers to her will not turn you into a living incantation of Vishnu.

If you are interested in Hinduism look more into what is required to live according to Sanatana Dharma and forget trying to become a god.

[JD1stTimer]

I didn't say I was looking for an idol of Laxmi, though a friend who knows more about this came to the same conclusion when I said I realized through meditation that I need a Laxmi. I was under the belief that I will find the true Laxmi, not an idol. But when my friend goes to India she will bring one for me. At any rate, will Sanatana Dharma help me find the Laxmi I'm looking for?

[sarah louise]

I didn't say I was looking for an idol of Laxmi, though a friend who knows more about this came to the same conclusion when I said I realized through meditation that I need a Laxmi. I was under the belief that I will find the true Laxmi, not an idol. But when my friend goes to India she will bring one for me. At any rate, will Sanatana Dharma help me find the Laxmi I'm looking for?

Laxmi was the consort of Vishnu in several of his in incantations. She is revered variously for preserving wealth, peace and harmony within the homes where she is worshipped. Some see her as supreme Godness as well and relate her power to spiritual purity.

Why is it that you think Laxmi can make you an 'avatar' of Vishnu?

Sanatana Dharma is the world-view and philosophy of Hinduism.

[JD1stTimer]

Okay, I guess I understand. I didn't really mean that I would literally BECOME Vishnu, just develop more of the qualities of Vishnu. I had a power surge and my surge protector got blown out and my computer's power supply died, which is why I took so long to reply. Anyway, further meditation has convinced me that I am stuck in a certain rather unfortunate state because I have no companion in this world. I live in a big empty house with myself and my thoughts. Oh, and some dogs. Anyway, I don't think there's a local guru, although with a large university nearby there could be. There is an ashram, but AFAIK it's just a place where young neo-hippies live communally.

[sarah louise]

Well it really sounds like you need a girlfriend to me, rather than a guru. Maybe doing something that brings you into physical contact with others would be more profitable than excessive meditation.

A yoga class might be a good place to meet likeminded people.

Namaste :hippy:

[JD1stTimer]

Oh, there's no doubt about that... lol. Anyways, things have been pretty cool since I got that little statue. I'm gettin' them big checks where I work, $11.00/hour. Lol, sad to say but that's a fairly coveted figure in my workplace... that's about the most you can get without being a manager! Anyway, for thirty bucks or so it hasn't been bad, if anything it's still a cute little mantle piece to burn incense in front of. I'm looking at the girls where I work, and I could probably bring home any of them I really wanted to if I give it some effort and attention. vis a vis eating a good diet, exercising regularly, making sure to always talk to them and ask how their day is going, etc. I'm having trouble deciding who to pursue... in a way it kinda reminds me of my search for trustworthy connections in the workplace...

[Coelho]

Anyways, things have been pretty cool since I got that little statue. I'm gettin' them big checks where I work, $11.00/hour. Lol, sad to say but that's a fairly coveted figure in my workplace... that's about the most you can get without being a manager! Anyway, for thirty bucks or so it hasn't been bad, if anything it's still a cute little mantle piece to burn incense in front of.

Well... just please dont make the mistake to believe that it was this little statue that changed how the things in you life are. No man-made statues, amulets, artifacts, wherever, has any power in itself by itself. (Catholics, it also include your "saints").
The only way to give true power to such things is by the use of real witchcraft, enchantings, and such, things which are definitively not wholesome (to say the very least).
So, please take this beliefs with a grain of salt. :thumbsup:

[JD1stTimer]

Oh, of course!!! Right now I am facing a $600 loss of income in October. So to be sure I don't worship this little thing. It's just some kind of token know what I mean?

[colour]

stand on Reason, man. your mind is your closest friend but can be your worst enemy if you condition it with rubbish babble like divine whatever...no offense or anything...

[sarah louise]

Oh, of course!!! Right now I am facing a $600 loss of income in October. So to be sure I don't worship this little thing. It's just some kind of token know what I mean?

Now that just might be the royal bitch, biting you on the bum (aka Laxmi's karma). You see, engaging in random cultural appropriation and inviting a goddess into an unsuitable home can be a costly expercise.

Laxmi is revered in many homes to influence the prosperity of those who dwell within the house. However laxmi will not accept worship from slovens or the lazy and by laxmi's standards all westerners are idle slovens. She is not an easy route to money and requires much more than incense to bring you positive fortunes.

I'd never invite Laxmi in, there is no way she would accept my housekeeping.

[danish]

What it appears to be about is the fact that your soulmate will help you become the avatar of Vishdu.

Becoming the avatar of Vishdu is simply an explanation that you in her virtue of life shall acomplish the aprehending due of you becoming the best person you can be and hence see the avatar of Laxmi which is believe yes to have greater powers in helping you achieve richness.

But remembering the templates of Hinduism you shall not retrieve this richness out of modern wealth but rather out of wealth on life as you need to have your true mate beside to achieve the visions of Laxmi.

Im babbling because im high but i hope these quick explanations is of help else im just sorry for the babbly... take care

[JD1stTimer]

Yeah, I think you understand what I am getting at here, Danish, and sarah_louise, that is a remarkable thing to say that all Westerners are too lazy and slovenly for Laxmi. You know nothing about my life and many other Westerners so you shouldn't judge us all by your own standards of housekeeping and work ethics... anyway, thanks for all good advice I am really trying to develop in relationship areas but progress is slow and difficult. I just will continue pressing forward. :)

[Coelho]

Heres a very interesting thing i found about worshipping statues.
Its from ZHUAN FALUN-The Fifth Talk (http://www.falundafa.org/book/eng/zfl_new_5.html)


Letâ??s say thereâ??s somebody who wants to seek a Buddhaâ??s help, but who is a Buddha? Even doing that is hard. If you donâ??t believe it, let me spell it out. When the first person goes up to an unconsecrated Buddha statue, bows to it, and pays homage, things suddenly fall apart. Tell me, how many of the people who go to seek a Buddhaâ??s help do that to achieve a True Fruition? Way too few. So what motivates most people to worship a Buddha? Getting rid of bad fortune, resolving adversity, and getting richâ??thatâ??s what theyâ??re after. Are those things in the Buddhist scriptures? Thereâ??s absolutely nothing like that.

If a Buddha worshipper wants to get money, once he bows before a Buddha statue or a statue of Bodhisattva Guanyin or of a Tathagata and says, "Please, please help me get rich," uh-oh, a complete idea forms. Since what he sends out is aimed at the statue it gets on it instantly. Objects in other dimensions can expand and shrink, and once the idea gets on that object, the Buddha statue will have a brain, and itâ??ll be able to think, but it wonâ??t have a body. Then other people come to worship it, they worship and worship, and that gives it some energy. Itâ??s even more dangerous if the worshippers are practitioners. From the moment they start to worship it itâ??ll gradually start to get energy. So it forms a tangible body, but the tangible body is formed in another dimension. After itâ??s formed, it exists in another dimension and is able to know a bit of the truths of the universe, so it can do some things for human beings, and it can build up a little gong that way. But the help it gives comes with strings attached, thereâ??s a cost. It moves around freely in that other dimension and controls ordinary people at will. And that tangible body has exactly the same look as the Buddha statue. So thatâ??s how a fake Bodhisattva Guanyin or a fake Tathagata comes into being through worshipâ??theyâ??re created by peopleâ??s worship, and they look the same as the Buddha statues and they take on a Buddhaâ??s appearance. The mind of the fake Buddha or fake Bodhisattva, as it turns out, is just rottenâ??itâ??s after money. Itâ??s created in another dimension, itâ??s able to think, and it knows a little bit of truth. It doesnâ??t dare to do seriously bad things but it does dare to do some little bad things. And sometimes it helps people. If it didnâ??t help people it would be totally evil and itâ??d be killed. So how does it help people? Maybe someone prays, "Please, please Buddha, give me a little help. So-and-so is sick in my family." "Sure, Iâ??ll help you." It will ask you to put money in the donation box, since it has money on its mind. When you toss lots of money into that box itâ??ll help the person get well quicker. It has some energy, so itâ??s able to control an ordinary person from other dimensions. Itâ??s even more dangerous if someone with gong goes to worship it. Letâ??s see, what does this practitioner pray for? Money? Think about itâ??what does a practitioner want money for? Even praying to get rid of bad fortune and sickness for your family is an attachment of affection for your family. You want to control other peopleâ??s fates, but everybody has his own fate! If you worship it and murmur, "Please, please help me get a little richer." "Alright"â??itâ??ll help you. Itâ??s just itching to have you ask for more money. The more you ask for, the more things it can take away from you. Itâ??s a fair deal. Thereâ??s plenty of money other people tossed into the donation box, and itâ??ll let you get some. How will you get the money? You might find a wallet out of nowhere, or you might get a bonus from your company. It will go to any trouble to get you the money. But it canâ??t help you for nothing, can it? No loss, no gain. It gets some of your gong since it wants gong, or itâ??ll take away your elixir or other things that youâ??ve cultivated. Thatâ??s what itâ??s after.

Sometimes these fake Buddhas can get pretty dangerous. A lot of our practitioners whose Third Eyes are open think that theyâ??ve seen Buddhas. There was somebody who said that a group of Buddhas came to a temple one day and that one of the so-called Buddhas had such-and-such name, and he led the group. The guy talked about what yesterdayâ??s group was like, what todayâ??s group is like, and how that group just stayed for a while and left, how another group came on its heels, and so on. So who are they? Theyâ??re exactly the type I talked aboutâ??they arenâ??t real Buddhas, theyâ??re fake. Thereâ??s quite a lot like them out there.

If a temple has that problem itâ??s even more dangerous. When a monk worships it, itâ??ll take charge of himâ??"Arenâ??t you worshipping me? Itâ??s obvious youâ??re worshipping me! Well, donâ??t you want to cultivate? Iâ??ll take care of you. Iâ??ll arrange your cultivation." So itâ??ll arrange things for you, but where will your cultivation take you? No discipline in the heavens will accept you now that youâ??ve cultivated according to its arrangements. It arranged your cultivation, so youâ??ll be under its guidance from here on out. Then wonâ??t your cultivation be a waste? Iâ??d say that nowadays itâ??s hard for human beings to attain a True Fruition through cultivation. This kind of thing is pretty common. When many of us see Buddha-light in well-known mountains and in famous valleys, most of it is something like that. They have energy and can show themselves. But a true Great Enlightened Being would never show himself so rashly.

There were fewer of those so-called "earthly Buddhas" and "earthly Daos" in the past, but there are a ton of them now. When they do bad things Heaven will kill them, and theyâ??ll rush to those Buddha statues when they know their lives are at risk. Great Enlightened Beings donâ??t just go and disrupt the laws governing ordinary people. The greater the Enlightened Being, the less likely heâ??ll go against the laws for ordinary peopleâ??he wonâ??t even break them the slightest bit. After all, he canâ??t just suddenly smash a Buddha statue with a thunderbolt. Thatâ??s definitely not something heâ??d do. So when it runs and gets on a Buddha statue heâ??ll leave it alone. It knows when its life is at risk, so it runs away. Then is the Bodhisattva Guanyin you see the real Bodhisattva Guanyin? Is the Buddha you see a real Buddha? Itâ??s hard to say.

[JD1stTimer]

Very interesting. I tend to think we are all the Buddha, at different levels of development. Not just Buddha though, Christ, Rama, Krisna, whatever you call it. Same deity, different cosmology. At least to me it seems that only the cosmologies change to fit the culture in which a religion is embedded.

BTW, things have been going much better for relationships lately. I have four young women I hang out with a lot, two would have gone romantic for me if they weren't already attached to someone far away. Two of them go out of their way to talk to me as often as possible, and they act all giggly and so forth. I don't really know how to proceed from here, this is the tricky part for me and I've never even kissed a girl although I'm nearly 30. I don't want to go to my death bed a bachelor. :(

[hazetwostep]

JD i respect your journey for truth... that search is always to be honored.

my personal thoughts are that nothing outside of you can bring you what you desire. all you truly need is within you. that changes the journey from one of finding something lost to simply realizing that you already have it and just need to tap into it to utilize it.

[JD1stTimer]

Update. I have finally made out. It was so much fun. I went on a blind date to a Hank Williams III w/ Assjack and Those Poor Bastards. After the show we went to her place and talked about Hoffman discovering lysergic acid, we talked about Aldous Huxley, Alex Jones, a local community radio station, sustainable living, gardening, getting off the grid, she seemed like the female version of myself!!! But she's black, how fun of a twist is that?! And she doesn't like Obama the way most of my friends do, so she's thinking outside the box. We ended up open-mouth kissing and cuddling for about 45 minutes. I didn't have protection, so I didn't try to hook up. Unfortunately not much has happened since then, that was Feb. 20th. I have seen her a few times, and we kissed a little once, but she's been telling me she's sick and has yeast infection and once she wanted me to come over after work, so I cancelled hanging with my friends to go to her place, and she was too busy studying to do anything fun. Now her phone is turned off I think. Oh and her most prized possession is a 1st edition Webster dictionary. My most prized possession is a replica of the 2nd edition. How freaky is that?