Hari Bol,
I had a strange site at a devotee's house this week. The central altar had Ganesh, Siva Nataraj, LInga and Murugan. And to my suprise had Radha Krishna off to the left very elaborately dressed in ISKCON style. So I asked what was up and he said that he could not worship Radha and Krishna so he worshiped Siva very opulently and prayed that Radha and Krishna would accept his service through Lord Siva. I didn't want to say any thing as this was a very elderly devotee who was a Prabhupada disciple, but I have to wonder if it was a mixing of rasas. Has anyone seen this before?
I had a strange site at a devotee's house this week. The central altar had Ganesh, Siva Nataraj, LInga and Murugan. And to my suprise had Radha Krishna off to the left very elaborately dressed in ISKCON style. So I asked what was up and he said that he could not worship Radha and Krishna so he worshiped Siva very opulently and prayed that Radha and Krishna would accept his service through Lord Siva. I didn't want to say any thing as this was a very elderly devotee who was a Prabhupada disciple, but I have to wonder if it was a mixing of rasas. Has anyone seen this before?
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Baton Rouge
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Re: Strange Sight
Wed, June 27, 2007 - 3:53 AMHaribol!
I wouldn't know about rasas mixing, but I don't think this was ever done (or authorized) by any acharya previously (in any of the Vaishnava sampradayas). I think all Vaishnava acharyas recommend offering respects to Lord Shiva, as the best of devotees of Lord Krsna...but I've never heard of worshipping Lord Shiva in the presence of Radha Krsna. In fact none of the Goswami's temples have this. They have temples of Shiva that exist in proximity where they offered Him their respects...
In south Indian temples, there is a concept of parivara devatas, or "families" of deities. In temples with Lord Shiva as the main deity, Goddess Parvati, Kartikeya, Ganesha, and some minor deities would be the "parivara" and their deities would be in the precincts of the main shrine, in the same temple. For Lord Vishnu's temples, the "parivara" usually includes expansions of the Lord (Nrisimhadeva, Sudharshan, Dasavataras, Lakshmi Devis, with acharyas and alvars). So Lord Shiva isn't in the parivara of Lord Vishnu and vice versa. My suspicion is that the mantras for worship and offering are entirely different. Also, worshipping Lord Shiva in the presence of Lord Vishnu doesn't make sense. My guess is that Lord Shiva Himself wouldn't want such a thing...
I hope I didn't offend anyone with my rambling. If I did, I humbly apologize.
Hare Krsna!
SriRKd -
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Re: Strange Sight
Wed, June 27, 2007 - 8:57 AMjust to add here, lord shiva is sometimes worshipped in the presence of radha krsna (or giriraja) as is the case in a prominent temple in mayapur / navadwipa. they worship the shiva lingam and giriraja side by side. and they are gaudiya vaisnavas. i believe the standard is that as long as u are worshipping radha krsna as supreme, u can worship the best of the vaisnavas :) (lord shiva) in his form without harm. many iskcon temples even have shiva lingams in their temples, vancouver and spanish fork are 2 temples that do this.
vaisnavanam yatha shambhu -
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Re: Strange Sight
Wed, June 27, 2007 - 4:05 PMIndradyumna Swami worships a shivalingam with nandi along with his Radha Krishna deities and shilas. Also in the HariHara temple in Mayapur there are several shiva lingams along with a gopal deity. The Iskcon temple, Goloka Dham in Germany also has a shivalingam. I also believe the plan for the new San Diego temple includes a pavilion for lord Shiva that will include Shiva Parvati, ganesh and a Shivalingam. -
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Re: Strange Sight
Fri, June 29, 2007 - 6:46 AMthat is true vijay ji. badrinarayana prabhu told me that himself :)
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