The Swaminarayan Faith

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I read a report that monkeys were taking over New Delhi because Hindu’s refused to do the necessary thing ie. have a monkey hunt. In my neck of the woods that’s how you handle a vermin problem.

That being said, I don’t think to many folks here are interested in worshipping gods with elephant heads and what not. We had a chance to do that way back in the time of the Exodus with the Eygptian gods. No going back now.
 
celina said:
That’s what I was taught. In Vedic scripture Hinduism is monotheistic. Especially the Vedas. Some people may be confused that the idea of Avatars, in Vaishnava Hinduism, is polytheistic. But it’s not. I’m a monotheistic Swaminarayan Hindu. 🙂
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This is very interesting, I’ve learned alot about Hinduism today! So it’s really monotheistic huh? Do you believe that Christians, Muslims and Jews ultimately worship the same God/Surpreme Being as you do? Why are there so many Hindu sects? I appologize in advance if I’ve missed the answers in your earlier posts.
 
Hindola Utsav

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Every year, during the monsoon months of Ashadh and Shravan (July - August) the mandirs in India and abroad are awash with devotion. The arrival of the Hindola Utsav during these months usher a new breeze of bhakti and festivity in the mandirs of India. For one whole month, the chal (mobile) murti of the Lord is placed in a hindola and pulled to and fro with a string. The sadhus and devotees sing the hindola bhajans with the accompaniment of the mrudang and cymbals. The mandir ambience is charged with the sound and fragrance of bhakti.

The festival finds its origin in the streets of Vrundavan 5000 years ago where the Gopis rocked Lord Krishna on a decorated swing. Ever since, to experience the divine joy of rocking the mighty Lord in a small swing, the hindola festival became the focus of devotion.

Even Lord Swaminarayan was revered and entertained by the devotees through their devotion. Once in Vartal, a decorative hindolo was tied to a couple of mango trees, and the devotees rocked the Lord to and fro. In response to their devotion, the Lord, while standing in the hindola, appeared in twelve divine forms and blessed the devotees. History also reveals that Lord Swaminarayan often sat on a swing tied between two tamarind trees at Laxmivadi in Gadhada.
Today, in memory of the Lord’s divine sports, the hindola festival is celebrated with joy and enthusiasm at all Swaminarayan mandirs. It is an aesthetic experience of devotion to the Lord, requiring meticulous preparation by sadhus and devotees to produce hindolas of a variety of colors, shapes and forms. The hindolas are made of vegetables,leaves, flowers, earthen pots, fruits, dry fruits, beans, rakhis, chocolates, steel dishes and cups, etc.*

Photo Gallery of Hindola Utsav, 2006, Page-1

National and International News of BAPS - March 2007

Shri Hari Jayanti Celebration, Sarangpur, India

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Thank you for sharing your faith with us, celina. And I agree, the pictures, statues and architecture are just gorgeous.

I’ve been fortunate enough to attend a nearby Buddhist temple a few times, but never been to a Hindu place of worship.
 
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