Hare Krishna Mata ji's and Prabhu ji'
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada.
PAMHO!!!!!
I am looking for the Marble Statue of Lord Krishna, atleast 2 or 3 feet tall for my home. As we are renovating our house I am replacing my old temple with that of Lord Krishna's Idol. I don't want readymade statues.. I want that to be made in my own way....Kindly advise where I can get the people who work on Marble statues....
And also in my temple there are idols of Lord shiva , Ganesh ji and mataji..... I want only Lord Krishna's idol in my temple ..kindly advise what should I do.... I respect all gods and demigods...Please advise.
Lastly I have heard that Lords statue should be made only of SPEAKING STONE. What is speaking Stone??? and from where I can get it??? and what are the procedures of placing Lord in home???
Kindly advise..
Thanking u in anticipation.
Your Humble servant
Amit Mehra
Hari Bol!!!!!
Replies
Hare Krsna Prabhuji,
PAMHO.
You can order deities of marble from someone in Jaipur - I think he makes for our temples also. I know a couple of families who have got Gaur Nitai deities made from him. Will fish out the number and give you. He will take care of the speaking/ live stone bit, you dont have to bother about it.
It would be a good idea to order Radha Krsna Deities or Krsna with a calf deity. That is how I have seen in all temples. Gaudiya Vaishnavas are essentially devotees of Radharani - we pray for the mercy of Radharani to get Krsna prem - so maybe you could order Radha Krsna deities.
Regarding other deities in your altar currently - Maybe Shiva or Durga - you could donate them to a local temple nearby.
PLease take care to keep pictures of guru parampara and sad goswamis on your altar. YOu could refer to Beginners Guide to Krsna Conciousness to understand how to set up your altar. Setting up an altar has some requirements. Deities should not be at floor level - if they are , then there should be no seat higher than the deities in that room - I hope you are aware of them.
You could consult your local ISKCON temple on the installation once you have the deities with you. If you want information from me, then pls write to me when your deities are with you and you are nearing installation, I will tell you then.
Just a thought, to keep Radha Krsna deities, who will take care of them in your house? What standard of worship you are planning to have in your house? How many times arati, bhoga - frequecy of abhishek? I heard recently that it would be a good idea to take permission from guru before bringing deities in the house, because the standard of worship is slightly higher. Otherwise you could keep pictures and worship - that is simpler. Dont want to scare you - just that it is easy to bring deities in the house, maintaining them may not be that easy.
I dont want to deter you - please write back. Maybe we can work out something for you.
Haribol,
Your servant,
Radha Rasamayi DD
Hare Krishna Mata ji...
PAMHO!!!
Thank you for the awesome reply and guidance. I am sorry by mistake I posted my query twice... I thought one got deleted so i posted another one... Mata ji though i was very excited to welcome Lords Idol in my home but after a deep thought m in a conclusion that I cannot afford temple like care of Lord.. M the only devotee in my family and m working also, I cannot offer bhog 3 times in a day to Lord...sadly lord wont be happy in my home...forcefully bringing lord in home and not taking care of him upto the temple standard level.. will be a big sin. I am not scared of our sweet lord but i cannot afford to put our lord in difficulties by bringing him in my home.
Sadly i dropped down the plan. my b in future or may b when i will get retired then i guess he will be happy to come in my home and then i can give temple like standard to lord.. :(
Hari bol
Your humble servant
Amit Mehra
Hare Krsna Prabhuji,
PAMHO.
Please dont be sad prabhuji. Our dear lord is most merciful. He fulfills all our desires. Since the desire to serve Him in deity form came in your heart, He will give you and opportunity to serve Him sooner rather than later. I think for now you have taken the right call.
To explain certain things to you, it is not necessary to have the standard of deity worship that of temple standard. We will never be able to cope. What is important is to treat Them with love and care. Whatever standard of worship we set at home, we should follow diligently. Ideally, set a low standard and gradually keep on adding to the service. That way, you grow in devotion with the advent of your deities in your house. Gradually, the entire house gets tuned to taking care of the deities - They can do wonders, I have so many examples personally known to me. All the while, do what is possible and do not stretch in daily service, then you will not be able to maintain at all.
For you, from your conversations, I understand that you are not married. I pray that you marry a devotee girl prabhu, so taht she helps you in your sadhana and both of you can grow spiritually together.
My father had told me lot of times when I would feel bad that I am not able to attend temple programs due to late hours - God is not in the temple alone. YOu do so much sadhana that They walk into your house and are with you. That helped me a lot and worked for me. Even manasa puja is accepted by the lord. So till such time you actually bring youe deities home, please pray fervently and do your sadhana perfectly to the extent possible.
Haribol,
Your servant,
Rashmi