Gods and Goddesses of Nainital

Those who love God and his angels, the gods and goddesses and engage in their service whenever opportunity permits, do not miss out on anything of their own needs. Like a loving parent, God does not give us all we want but He gives us what we need. These are provided with ease by Him and the gods. From time to time, there are special gifts from them, by the love and grace of the Lord. Every year, during one of the months of monsoons called Savan, village fairs calls melas in local language are held near Siva temples across several towns of northern India. I had described a visit to one in an earlier post. I rarely visit the temple itself on such Mondays because there is long line outside the temple. My own belief is that if you carry the love of the Lord in your heart, one does not have to visit a temple for it. God is everywhere. I just convey my greetings to the Lord from a distance, from a place where just the roof of the temple is visible because of the trees. Goin...

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Himalayas,_Kedarnath_and_Neelkanth_peaks_from_Ukhimath,_Rudraprayag.jpg T he Almighty, beyond comprehension of finite minds has been referred to by an infinite number of names through the universe, wherever intelligent life capable of worship of the Infinite Lord exists. One of these names, popular in South Asia is Shiv (Shiva). The almighty beyond form and comprehension has also been worshiped in an infinite number of forms in the universe, some human, for the Lord everywhere has an infinite number of faces and forms too Some hold that for ease of worship of human devotees, who wish to visualize the Lord in human form, the Lord appeared as the sage Shankar in Himalayas. Others hold that having attained the most advanced stage of yoga through worship of the Lord known as Shiva, the sage Shankar merged his soul and identity with Lord Shiva and was then known as Shiv Shankar. The true mysteries of Almighty are not known fu...

Image courtesy of:   https://pixabay.com/en/india-nainital-lake-hill-station-2714556/ While God is everywhere in the universe, in different parts of it, one sees his power in different names and forms. In Nainital it is as Naini Mata, the lovely goddess of the pristine Himalayan Lake of Nainital, a daughter of the most majestic of lakes on Earth, Mansarovar, higher up in the Himalayas from where she draws her water through underground water channels. It is so believed by many, although not yet verified by modern scientific methods but believers need no such proof. My own work in life has spanned from modern science and technology to the spiritual side of life through social, educational and philosophical work. While in one area of activity, I try not to mix in the other for clarity for just as one does not talk of one’s home affairs in office, one does not talk of office work at home for best life practices. However segregation of activities requires the use...

My mother’s name was Nand Rani Malhotra (1924-1999) but except for official purposes all knew her by just her home name of, Nando. One of the most significant phases of her life was spent in Nainital and she loved this town, as did the people of Nainital who met her then in the fifties and knew her simply by her home name of Nando. The more humble of Kumaon who came to know her closely said she is a Devi but to me she was just mother. She lived a simple life of a housewife serving her family with full dedication but simultaneously she did not miss an opportunity to serve anyone she came across. In Nainital she contributed her opinion to the leading voices of the town urging them to retain the best of customs and unique heritage of the town that the British had created and left. Some of these continue until this day. She was a spiritual lady who loved Lord Hanuman keeping a fast in his honor and to thank him every Tuesday most of her life. She also had huge faith in Sikh G...

SATTAL, the seven lakes near Nainital town F or places to visit in Nainital town check http://www.uaoa.in/top-7-places-to-visit-in-nainital/ The entire surrounding distric of Nainital is full of beautiful lake destinations to visit. It  is one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Many who hear of it wish to visit. The present blog is confined largely to spiritual and other special interests from Nainital but an interested tourist can find a large amount of information useful to a tourist on the Web. One Excellent website for this information is h ttp:///nainitaltourism.com http://tripadvisor.com is another site where you can find exhaustive reviews by public of individual locations that you happen to choose for the visit for cross checking Many of my own reviews would be found on that website.. If you wish to visit Nainital head straight to this comprehensive website for most all information you might need for the trip. It would be wise to skip the rainiest of mo...

Among the various single word mantras for meditation and chanting, the divine name Ram is one of the most excellent and easiest to practice. In my mystic travels through Nainital District in the summer of 2007, I learnt a particularly beautiful and rhythmic way to recite this mantra. Its effects were magical. Some of those effects have been described by me in another blog devoted to spirituality. This recitation was recently recorded by me in three YouTube videos so as to make them available to any interested person. One of them is as shown with this post. Ancient records describe that Ram was also the favorite mantra of Lord Hanuman a divinity revered highly in Nainital, India and all over East Asia. Ancient recorded descriptions of Hanuman ji vary from nation to nation. It is because, no human can fully know or understand the divine and therefore all human words about Him and His Angels are approximate attempts. However, through love and devotion, one can sense H...

Humans err in trying to find the worthiest among rich and famous. They are just like many among us, many are just better at feathering their nests, often by exploiting other humans. The worthiest of humans may more easily be found among simple hermits and others living in quiet isolated abodes. No wise and compassionate human can accumulate a huge amount of wealth and be proud of that when there are millions of children suffering from hunger or malnutrition. Saint Kabir has stressed this point. Only a few humans can find contentment in the simplicity of a hermit. Most must continue to strive in the world for needs they perceive as essential for themselves and their families. But all can strive to reserve a portion of their time and energy to serve the world around them. It is only then that one becomes deserving of help from the Universe. Little can be achieved without such help. Our very breath comes because the Universe cares for us every moment of our lives. It is be...