Gods and Goddesses of Nainital

A view of the plains  from the road to Haidakhan NOTE: Some Modern Yoga practitioners have given the name Kriya Yoga to a different set of practices than its original meaning. Although these latter practices are perhaps beneficial, the author does not know much about them but is thoroughly aware about the original practices.  It may be noted that there is no mention of Kriya Yoga in the Bhagavad Gita and that its first recorded mention is in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. The Kriya yoga as advocated by Babaji conforms to its original unmodified definition as expounded by Patanjali. Modern students of yoga must become clear about the differences in order to avoid confusion or misdirection.  For more on this see a separate blog post at :  http://ashokmalhotra.wordpress.com/2013/09/09/truth-about-yoga/ I n an older post “Who was Baba Haidakhan” you may learn more about this holy personality of the Nainital Himalayan region of India. You will find that pos...

I just discovered a wondeful link that shows pictures of many of Nainital's Churches, Temples, Mosques etc. It is:- http://www.nainitaltourism.com/religious_places_nainital.html I was tempted to copy some of the pictures for this blog but desisted because those pictures are probabaly copyright protected. The Churches of Nainital are some of the most beautiful ones in Nainital and the Virgin Mother is an important a form of the Mother Goddess here.

On reading the posts of this blog the reader may get a little confused as to the origin of Naini Devi- the Goddess of Nainital. She is interpreted by some as the ancient Goddess Nana, others as Naina Devi the consort of lord Shiva, by many as Nanda Devi the mountain Goddess of Kumaon; some regard her as Kali or the Goddess Durga. It does not really matter in what particular interpretation you hold the Goddess because they are all the reincarnations or interpretations of the same original mother Goddess. The Hindus believe that God is infinite and with a form beyond comprehension. However in order to direct ones attention, the formless infinite God of the universe may be represented by a finite interpretation. The finite image may be male as the Lord Shiva or female as a mother Goddess. In reality the infinite God is beyond this human sexual distinction. In Hindu mythology the two aspects male and female are regarded as two parts of the same infinite power. The infinite God can al...

some trees growing in my backyard Nature provides all our essential needs. While we live, we usually end up causing some damage to nature. This is especially true of modern life that is heavily dependant on the use of energy. Large amounts of carbondioxide are released into the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels. However we can compensate for some of this damage by growing some trees. As they grow, trees absorb carbon dioxide and produces oxygen. Growing a tree expresses our love for Nature. The district of Nainital is a very green district full of handsome trees. Many residents of this district love trees and protect them while planting new ones whenever they can. I presently live in a dry province called Rajasthan. Here most residents do not care much for trees. They rarely plant any but are quick to cut down a tree that has come up on its own. Perhaps this is their nature and that is why they have been born in a dry district so that they learn to appreciate the value of...

This brief and simple article will prove beyond doubt that God exists. Even if a person is an atheist he will believe without the slightest degree of doubt, that God exists after reading this article. The most skeptical of person will be unable to doubt the existence of God after reading this article. In fact the proof is only two sentences long. This article further proves that God is our eternal father. Before we begin to prove the existence of God, we need to be absolutely clear about what we mean by God. Different persons have different interpretations and understanding of what God means. God is defined in this article as everything that exists. Since everything exists, therefore God exists. The last two sentences are the required proof of God. Since you are a part of everything there is, you are a part of God, just as everybody else is. We know that our universe is immensely large, even infinite and contains many mysteries. It is not possible for a finite human mind to understand ...

Although all Gods and Goddesses represent the same divine force, a single God or Goddess may be known by many different names. They appear in many different forms to devotees. The special name of the Goddess whose temple stood from ancient times on the banks of the Naini Lake in the Himalayas is Naini Devi. Her temple stands on the lakeside in Nainital even today. However, the image of the Goddess as well as the temple is not the original one. The earlier temple was destroyed in a landslide in the late nineteenth century. The present temple is a reconstruction. Another temple of the Goddess stands on a hillside that can be reached by a ropeway. Different devotees recognize the goddess in different ways i.e. as Nanda Devi, Goddess Durga, Naina Devi, Kassar Devi, Goddess Nana, Cybele etc. All of these names and descriptions are valid, since they are the different forms of the same Goddess. However, as Naini Devi the Goddess becomes the unique and special Goddess of Nainital b...