• Tag Archives Vishnu

  • True North

    Posted on by Charles Comment

    Beltane                                                     Beltane Moon

    Went outside a moment to look at the stars.  A clear, calm night.  Darkness may blanket the earth, but in the heavens the lights are on.

    Right now ursa major hangs upside down, pouring its contents over polaris and down to earth.  As I continue to wonder and ponder reimagining faith, I’ve looked into a Buddhist sect that worshiped the north star.  Hokusai, the early 19th genius of the ukiyo-e print, followed this belief, which originated in China.

    The north star does not move; aligned with earth’s axis it sits over the north pole and is the center point of this time lapse photo. (above)  Since it did not move, and since the other stars seemed to rotate around it, especially ursa major, some Chinese believed it was the center of the universe and transmitted its messages through ursa major.

    We nod toward the same sentiment when we talk about our true north, our pole star.  Gazing up at polaris, seeing the stars pointed at it, knowing the revolution ursa major is always in the process of making, I could imagine the north star as the center, the hub of meaning.

    One of the virtues of a pagan perspective lies in its simple access to wonder.  Stare at the north star, imagine its constancy, see its relation to, say, vishnu, to your need for a still, calm place at the focus of your soul and embrace it as the message the universe has offered, high up in the darkness, a light that holds its place.


    📂This entry was posted in Commentary on Religion Faith and Spirituality Reimagine. Reconstruct. Reenchant. 📎and tagged

  • The Largest Hindu Temple in the USA

    Posted on by Charles Comment

    Beltane                                    Waxing Planting Moon

    The largest Hindu temple in America is in Maple Grove.  Who knew?  I dare  you to find it there, though it’s a big place, set on 80 acres and rising high above the plowed fields to its south.  The location makes it intriguing as it sits next to farms and has a large marshland on its property.  This was my fourth visit to the temple, the first since Indian sculptors finished all the smaller temples, 21 in all, and since the carvings have come almost all the way down the temple facade pictured here.  Not a usual sight in Minnesota.

    The Woolly’s met there tonight and heard a presentation on Hinduism by Dr. Sane, the founder of the Children’s Hospital and the energy behind the development of the Hindu Mandir of Minnesota.  We then had a fine Indian dinner served by a temple cook.  Great desert, as usual, but the best nan I’ve ever had.  Worth coming back for the food.

    After the meal we adjourned to the main room of the temple which has smaller temples built inside housing the living statues of various Hindu deities. (Sri Durga) The main temple deity is Vishnu and he has the largest temple.  He faces the large ceremonial doors which, when opened, shine the light of the rising sun on his body.  Shiva, Lakshmi, Ganesha and Saraswati also have temples.  Each temple has the superstructure of a particular temple located somewhere in India.

    All during our presence in the main temple area, Hindu priests with the Brahmanic thread, shirtless and shoeless, chanted prayers, offered pujas and lit incense.  The smells of the incense transported me to Singapore where my sister Mary and I celebrated Diwali by visiting a couple of temples, shopping in Little India and watching the fire walking in the early am hours of a November morning.

    This mandir incarnates the global cosmopolitanism that cities across the world have begun to display.  We’re lucky to have it here.


    📂This entry was posted in Commentary on Religion Woolly Mammoths 📎and tagged