CompleteMartialArts.com - Shiva Puja and Advanced Yajna
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List Price: $22.95
Our Price: $22.95
Availability: N/A
Manufacturer: Sunstar Publishing, Ltd.
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Average Customer Rating: 
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 291
EAN: 9781887472623
ISBN: 1887472622
Label: Sunstar Publishing, Ltd.
Manufacturer: Sunstar Publishing, Ltd.
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 485
Publication Date: 1999-01-01
Publisher: Sunstar Publishing, Ltd.
Studio: Sunstar Publishing, Ltd.
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Editorial Reviews:
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By worshipping Siva, we cultivate the qualities of infinite consciousness, freedom from attachment, and freedom from bondage to this world of objects and relationships. We cultivate the attitude of perceiving the intrinsic reality, not the extrinsic appearance. We identify with that which does not change, and become the witness of the changes of nature. From this perception, we act and interact with the world remembering the eternal reality. We free ourselves from pain and fear, and see them as passing states of mind, accepting the will of God. This advanced puja contains a beginners puja, an intermediate puja, an advanced puja and a complete system for fire sacrifice. The yajna is the union between the fires burning in the ajna cakra, the light of meditation, and the howan kunda, the sacrificial altar. This union allows the sacrifice of all egotism and duality.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: MAHADEV!
Comment: This book is wonderful! I have always gotten Bengali-only translations and FINALLY a very nice seller sold me this one...where I can understand everything.The Sanskrit, then transliteration then english translation. I will not be trying any of these mantras or mudras without the help of my Guru, but it a lovely book and treasure to behold, I am so excited! Thank you !
JAI JAI SHIVA!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Best Sanskrit renditions available anywhere
Comment: Though I am posting this review under the title "Shiva Puja and Advanced Yajna," it really applies to all of the wonderful books of Swami Satyananda Saraswati of Napa, California (as distinguished from the identically named Swami who wrote many books on yoga -- which are also great books, by the way). These books will probably appeal most to those who perform traditional Hindu ceremonial worship, called puja. However, this review is to call attention to another aspect of these books which is worth noting, and is indeed highly praiseworthy. Personally, I do not perform formal pujas, but I love Sanskrit and all the wonderful traditional mantras and hymns of that sacred language. I repeat mantras and recite hymns in my own informal way. As a source for Sanskrit mantras and hymns, there is nothing better than the books of Swami Satyananda Saraswati. I have taught myself to read Devanagari script, so I greatly appreciate its inclusion in these books. Above all, the script is large, clear, and easy to read. These books are typeset to allow easy reading of either the Devanagari script, or the transliterated text, while performing puja. A great deal of attention has obviously been paid to making the script easily readable, even while holding the book at arm's length. This is a huge advantage. I'm not so great at reading Devanagari that I enjoy working my way through the tiny, blurred script found in so many other books, especially Indian publications. These books, by contrast, are a pleasure to read.
The transliterations of the Sanskrit mantras and hymns follow the precision international system which uses diacritical marks. This system, originally developed by European scholars in the nineteenth century, has long been the "gold standard" for transliteration of Sanskrit texts due to the direct one-to-one correspondence with the Sanskrit alphabet. (I have been glad to see that this system has become more and more universally used for transliteration of Sanskrit.) It is here employed with great accuracy, and in a typeface of unsurpassed readability. I have many versions of some of the Sanskrit hymns and mantras in this book, and in the many other books of Swami Satyananda Saraswati, but I always choose to read the versions in Swami Satyananda Saraswati's books because I can always count on them to be the most accurate and readable versions available.
Besides the Sanskrit texts in both Devanagari script and in Romanized transliteration using the international system, one is also treated to Swami Satyananda Saraswati's highly accurate, but also energetic and enthusiastic English translations. Without deviating from the precise meanings of the texts, the Swami manages to include and convey his own love and enthusiasm for this ancient and sacred literature. I rarely look elsewhere for definitive translations.
Also, when perusing the catalog of Swami Satyananda Saraswati's books, don't be misled by the titles into thinking that they convey the full range of the contents. The books are always crammed with "extras," often mantras only peripherally related to the main topic, but in this way one gets a spectacular collection of the greatest Sanskrit mantras in existence.
For those dedicated to the performance of puja, these books are indispensible. For those who just love Sanskrit and all the wonderful hymns and mantras, these books are a treasure trove. I don't recite every mantra in ever book -- not by any means -- but there are some in every book that I love to sing and recite. And I buy all the books also just as a way of saying "thank you" to Swami Satyananda Saraswati for rendering this wonderful service to all Sanskrit lovers, and doing so in such a conscious and conscientious way. Thank you, Swamiji! We've never met, but I'm one of your silent (until now!) fans and admirers.
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Summary: This Book is a Treasure
Comment: How do I begin? This book is just packed with stuff for lovers of Shiva. It is a full system of Tantric practice, begining with worship of Ganesha and ending with a complete system of homa ceremony. Swami Satyananda of Napa Valley, CA is a master of this science, having learned it from his gurudeva, and practicing himself for many years.
The pujas (ceremonial worship) are at intermediate and advanced levels, but may be adjusted to suit individual needs. They include the one hundred and eight names, the thousand names, pranapratishta, and various nyasas, including anga, kara, samhara and bahya matrika nyasas, and pitha nyasa where the yantra is placed over the heart and the place of worship established there.
Various bits of useful and devotional scriptures are also included in this book, like Shankara's Sadhana Panchakam, Shivo Ham Shivo Ham, Rudrashtakam, Lingashtakam, and Bhava Sagara, among others.
As I said, this book is a treasure. It is one to grow with, begining small and adding more to your practice as you gain experience. For anyone wishing to learn the method of the fire offering, this is an excellent source.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Shiva Mantrams
Comment: This book is excellent, but of course only then, if one really wants to get a lot of Shiva mantrams. It's stuffed from beginning to end with one mantram after the other, each in Sanskrit, first in the Devanagari script, then in Sanskrit but transliterated and then in English. Among the mantrams one finds for instance the thousand names of shiva, the arati etc. There are few small photographs, which show mudras needed during the pujas. But if one does not know pujas from personal attendance, it's difficult to use, understand and apply those mudras. There are also a few Yantras.So the book is to recommend to everyone, who practices any form of Shaiva sadhana, independent of the philosophy. Pujas are not explained in this book, rather one gets the mantras for it. But one can use the mantras without pujas, as well.
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Summary: Details of worshipping the great God Mahadeva
Comment: The Fire Ceremony (Yajna) is an integral part of Hinduism. Yajna, which means the union of the two fires, one of internal spiritual enlightenment mirroring the ceremonial fire altar, is a core part of Siva Puja. This union is the sacrifice of an individual's egotism, duality, selfishness and other asuras. Puja means "the actions which give birth to the highest merit." By doing Puja, we practice what it would be like for God to visit our homes. The Siva Puja and Advanced Yajna book goes into the intricate details of worshipping the great deity, Mahadeva. Siva allegorizes Infinite Goodness and Continual Transformation; the literal translation of Siva is "the welfare of all objects of perception." He is inconceivably limitless and by worshipping him, we can cultivate and imbibe some of His great qualities, such as Detachment, and Infinite Consciousness. We learn to recognize that the intrinsic reality is not the external appearance and this wisdom frees us from pain and fear. Swamiji is most encouraging in his guidance and continuously helps us along in our quest for divine grace. He says, "Worship does not mean the memorization of mantras, or even the proper placement of the flowers and other objects. Worship is an attitude of respect, of dedication, of devotion to the exclusion of selfishness...." In this manner, we can all become a part of Lord Siva.
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