So Navratri, the 9 day goddess festival, starts this weekend. It's a great time to reconnect with your faith heritage, if that was a thing you were interested in, and god knows this week is gonna be real testing for our mental health

i was doing some reading as part of study to figure out how best to jump in, and i came across the Devi Kshama Prarthana, or the forgiveness prayer, from one of the many Durga pujas out there

and this line stuck out to me - Aavajanam na janami, na janami visarjanam, Poojam chaiva na janami, kshamyatham Parameshwari.
"I don't know how to welcome you, nor how to send you away. I don't know how to worship you, nor even how to pray. Oh Mother of all, forgive me"

here's the full thing with someone else's translation - http://www.hindupedia.com/en/Devi_Kshama_Prarthana_Stotram

it's actually a really lovely sentiment that is repeated time and again through the scriptures- "look, i only kinda vaguely know who you are, and the priests won't share your secrets or chants, and i can't do the puja, but look, you understand where i'm going with this"

Hinduism, without the hyper-nationalism and othering and cultural baggage, is incredibly welcoming to the idea of devotees just kinda making their own path forward as best as they know how.

because really, what makes any given thing sacred or holy? the faith of the believer. your relationship with the divine can be as proscribed and structured as you need it to be, and there is room for the entire spectrum

Rama the stern and loving king. Krishna the flirtatious lover. Hanuman the best friend who never lets you down. Balakrishna the divine baby that you care for. The Goddess as Mother, Wife, Daughter, Sister, Self-manifested, Creator.

So you want to figure out a way to get into Hinduism? It is daunting as hell. Anywhere you look, there are millions of chants and mantras and prayers, lots of pujas requiring flowers and rice and powders and all the accoutrements

And wait, who do i believe in, and how many gods are there, and where do i even start?

To be honest? you don't need any of it. You're worrying about the color of your curtains without having built your house. And in Hinduism, that house is you.

In the Upanishads there are four statements we call "Mahavakyas", or great sayings. Two of them are relevant here- the first, "Aham Brahmasmi", or I am Brahman. I am divine. I am part of the whole of everything. I am creation and destruction and the path between and through.

the second- Tat Tvam Asi. Thou art that. "That" being the essence of creation itself. The energy that drives this universe, that gives rise to life, that is everything and nothing. That is who you are. In the eternal electricity grid, you are a lightbulb that shines out bright.

and when your bulb goes out, that energy isn't lost. it is merely redirected to a new lightbulb, so that you may continue to shine.

But like, that's philosophical hinduism. scholar nonsense. Practical hinduism with gods and prayers and gatherings and pujas is all a big part of the system, and a huge part of the culture. lighting candles on Diwali. Dancing on Navratri. throwing colors on Holi

so the question is, how do you want to do this? Are you looking for an inner peace of mind? a stable core to draw energy from? or are you looking for a reason to celebrate who you are and where you came from? All are valid expressions!

At the very least, here's a place you can start while you think about this. Take a seat. preferably on the ground, with your legs folded (ahem, 'indian style') and back straight. If you can't, sit in a chair or whatever fits your accessibility needs.

Close your eyes. Take a deep breath. Hold it for a few seconds. Exhale as fully as you can. so much that your body slumps over like a deflating balloon. And then take another deep breath back in and repeat. Do this for 10 repetitions at first.

and then go up to like 30 seconds. a minute. 5 minutes.
And when you are comfortable with that, which could take a lot of time to be honest, try this. When you exhale, verbalize Om. Your mouth is rounded to release the air, the vowel elongates to stretch, and then close with m.

just that. Om, 11 times. count it with your fingers, or a rosary, or with dice or almonds or whatever.

And from there the world is open to you. add this to your daily routine in the morning after you get up and handle your business. or before you go to bed. 5 minutes to recenter yourself. 108 times if you have a mala and wanna be traditional. whatever fits your life.

there are lots and lots of mantras that you can cycle in to your chant. the name of a divinity. the famed Gayatri mantra. Om Namaha Shivay.

Slowly you can add to your practice. Get an idol of a God you like. or a rock that represents that divine essence. or a focus point of whatever kind to give your mind something to point towards. You can get a divo or candle or incense and light it as you begin.

you can start to learn longer prayers for the gods that speak the most to you, like the Hanuman Chalisa. or the basic prayers every Hindu eventually knows, like Guru Brahma, or Tvameva mata, or whatever your cultural background aims you at.

maybe your grandmother used to sing songs about Murugan or Ayyappa or Ganesha that you half remembered and want to learn again.

The most important thing here is that if you try to go from zero to full on hyper vedic 3 hour pujas every day with full on chants of the upanishads and whatever, you're gonna crash and burn. Don't do that.

Hinduism, and really every faith tradition, is best approached at your own pace. God was there when you didn't care, and is happy to wait for you to find your way back however long it takes. They're probably more appreciative if you're enjoying yourself, though =)

And that is a good place to bring this one to a landing. Tomorrow we'll talk about other ways you can engage with the faith. Till then, Hari Om, and back to doom scrolling =)

(hilariously, this entire thread had nothing at all to do with navratri)

Oh, and my DMs are always open and i'm happy to answer questions or offer assistance to the best of my ability.