The Tiniest Garden Mandir

[Fireside_Hindu]

Namaste,

So here in CA, it's a really popular thing to buy these miniature landscapes with tiny gazebos and park benches. As a lover of all things miniature, I wanted one, but they were between $75 and $150. So I decided to make a special one myself using old candle holders and containers I bought from thrift shops, took apart, re-assembled and spray painted. Add some lights, some plants, a few of my miniatures and tada! - The tiniest garden Mandir to Kali Maa.

(And yes, those are tiny ceramic kittens and unicorns hiding in the bushes)

 

[Terese]

I love it! And i bet she does too!

 

[Moody Giraffe]

That is so amazing! I love the creativity that went into it.

 

[rocala]

Great work, well done.

 

[TravisJC]

Such a beautiful mandir for Kali, I bet she loves the time and effort you have put into it!

 

[Fireside_Hindu]

After a long dry spell due to some health issues I decided to start doing regular daily Pooja at my home shrine. I felt a bit rusty, but it was just what I needed and I took the opportunity to offer the deepa, incense, kumkum and vibhuti to my Kali Maa in her little outdoor shrine. So now I guess I have two home shrines. One inside with my Lakshmi and Ram Parivar and an outdoor one with Kali Maa =)

 

[Shantanu]

After a long dry spell due to some health issues I decided to start doing regular daily Pooja at my home shrine. I felt a bit rusty, but it was just what I needed and I took the opportunity to offer the deepa, incense, kumkum and vibhuti to my Kali Maa in her little outdoor shrine. So now I guess I have two home shrines. One inside with my Lakshmi and Ram Parivar and an outdoor one with Kali Maa =)

I am curious to know how is it that you do not get confused with worshipping so many different gods, like Kali, Lakshmi and Ram. Is it because Hindu gods are not jealous gods and know each other in your conception?

 

[Fireside_Hindu]

I am curious to know how is it that you do not get confused with worshipping so many different gods, like Kali, Lakshmi and Ram. Is it because Hindu gods are not jealous gods and know each other in your conception?

I went through a phase where my shrine was very crowded and as my sadhana has deepened and I've learned more I gradually began removing statues from my shrine, because I was in fact getting a little overwhelmed and confused.

Right now I have it down to MaaLakshmi, Ram Parivar (in my home shrine) and the Kali Maa outside. I'm thinking moving forward the outdoor Kali will not get daily pooja, to avoid overwhelm, but I wanted to do it at least once to kind of "invite her home".

So in the end I'm left with Lakshmi and Rama. I guess I avoid confusion by being able to bare in mind that 1.) God is not jealous and 2.) At least in my tradition where Shakti is the ultimate, Rama represents an earthly, approachable form of the divine - an emanation - and Shakti is the source. So there's no conflict.

 

[Shantanu]

I went through a phase where my shrine was very crowded and as my sadhana has deepened and I've learned more I gradually began removing statues from my shrine, because I was in fact getting a little overwhelmed and confused.

Right now I have it down to MaaLakshmi, Ram Parivar (in my home shrine) and the Kali Maa outside. I'm thinking moving forward the outdoor Kali will not get daily pooja, to avoid overwhelm, but I wanted to do it at least once to kind of "invite her home".

So in the end I'm left with Lakshmi and Rama. I guess I avoid confusion by being able to bare in mind that 1.) God is not jealous and 2.) At least in my tradition where Shakti is the ultimate, Rama represents an earthly, approachable form of the divine - an emanation - and Shakti is the source. So there's no conflict.

Thank you for explaining this. I think from the guna consciousness view point a person can often worship several gods at the same time, for example one might wish to worship Ganesha to remove obstacles to divine acts and Ram to guide on dharma for establishment of ones rights against evil, both of these being sattvic attributes. Similarly, from what I understand of Shakti concept worshipping Shakti (Devi) for strength and power could go with worship of Lakshmi for wealth. But it would not make sense if one wished to worship the Shakti as a source of power and energy with Brahma for truth and knowledge for they are at different positions in the guna consciousness triad and such people just do not exist who can be both sattvic and tamasic at the same time.