Hindu Paganism & What It Means To Me

What is Hindu Paganism and what exactly do I mean when I say that is what I practice?

Well, like any other pantheon in paganism, if you ask 10 of them the same question you're going to get 12 different answers. Meaning, not everyone views each practice the same way and that is perfectly fine. These are my reflections of hindu paganism and they are also subject to change.

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Hindu Paganism [also has been called Indopaganism and Shakti Paganism amongst many other names, there seems to be no one name we all agree on] to me is paganism with the practice of Hindu deities. Now this can vary depending upon a person's personal preferences [try saying that 5x fast] but overall, the hindu gods have a stronger connection to us then any other gods. Just like those who follow the Norse, Greek, Celtic, Egyptian, etc. deities, we follow the Hindu pantheon.

The two who have the strongest relationship with me are Ganesha, the remover of obstacles and Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, prosperity, and abundance [thus my name, Ganshmi]. At first when I was studying paganism, I thought I was called upon by Aphrodite and it wasn't until I received a reading that Lakshmi was calling me. I was very much taken aback but after listening to the reading, I realized that this was true, and my own hypothesis is that Lakshmi was using a goddess I knew that was similar to her to begin drawing myself to her. Needless to say, it worked.

Now this is not to say I go to the hindu temples and worship there, [which I honestly could, there is one by my house by only a 15 minute drive but I sadly do not have the time to go and worship in the temple at this time] I worship in the comfort of my own home. Furthermore, I do not take on any hindu customs at this time. I follow my day to day just like any other American would. However, I do try to celebrate some of the hindu holidays such as Diwali, the festival of lights and Ganesh Chaturthi, Ganesha's birthday. Though I am still researching and figuring out what is best for my worship and what pleases my deities, I feel that it will come in due time.

The trouble now is that I am still in the closet in my home, thus my worship is extremely limited. Currently I am reading up on my deities, as well as many more in the hindu pantheon, and it is believed that just by reading up on them and learning them is honoring them. I am able to read at work and online without having to worry about people asking what I am reading. I also am able to make or buy specific candles for my deities and say my mantras to them that I learned during Philly Pagan Pride Day 2015. Om Shreem Heem Lakshmieh Namaha and Om Gaum Ganapataya Namaha [I might not have spelled these correctly]. I have not played with herbs as of yet, but have used some pictures and crystals. I find that they know my situation and understand my circumstances.

And that is the general overview of my hindu paganism. I know this will continue as I develop and grow, so stay tuned!

love & light, Ganshmi

Meet Me, Ganshmi

Greetings My Loves!

My name is Ganshmi and I will be writing a blog post on anything that comes to mind. Here you will find current events, holiday topics, struggles with being in the broom closet, health and diet, and much more. This will be more of an actual blog but will be mostly related to pagan like ideas. 

Now for a little about me. I am female that is 24 years young living in New Jersey and am living in an 'in the closet' type situation for the time being. I am mainly out of the closet except to family members of mine and my boyfriend's. We live with his mother at the time being but plan on looking for houses beginning in 2016 (super excited about that by the way) in our area. I have been a practicing pagan for a year now (yes, baby pagan) but according to my past lives, this is not something new to my soul, just new to me until I begin remembering again. I do not have free reign to practice apart from candle magick and meditation, which for now is fine. I however am part of a coven that lets me celebrate the holidays and has become a family to me in such a short time frame.

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 I did not discover paganism by any sort of flashing light or some great beautiful goddess smacking me on the head. One day my boyfriend and I were walking around Princeton (by the college part of the town) because we had never done something like that before even though we live pretty close to the town. We did a little window shopping and when I spotted a book store, I wanted to check it out. I just obtained a new job and had a lot of free time to read books. Upon browsing, I came upon Babayaga by Toby Barlow and instantly knew I had to have the book. After purchasing it, it took me about a week with the free time I had to finish it. It peeked my interest with finding the witch who was not so good while there was another that was. There's also a love story and the detective becomes a flea! Oh it was so good haha. But then I had a thought, and this thought changed my entire world. Do witches exist today?

That question led me to do a simple Google search asking the same question. I found the words 'wicca' and 'paganism' amongst the top searches and began doing my research. I briefly heard of the word 'pagan' before but had no idea what they actually meant. Upon reading definitions of what they were, I began doing more research: what do they believe? how do they worship? what is magick and why does it have a 'k' at the end of it? etc. and found upon reading, I felt I agreed more with the idea of paganism and wicca then I ever had with christianity. Now I am not saying christianity is wrong, but it never settled well with me. A god that loves everyone regardless of their sins yet cannot accept gay marriage though we are created in his own vision? That thought was the strongest against my beliefs, being a form of pansexual (not exactly sure what to call my sexuality at this time) and if I ever fell in love with anyone other then a male, I could not get married to them. That and the church I did not agree with because I felt them to be greedy. You were judged for throwing in little money, or no money at all, even if it was a choice between food for your family and the salary of the priest.  I felt you could worship the lord anywhere, it did not have to be inside the church on a Sunday morning.

Then I began researching groups in my area and went to find online discussion groups such as WiccanTogether and PaganSpace, which I still am active on, and WitchVox where I found a few covens in the area who do public classes. Thus my research began to take off and I was in the mindset of transforming my spirituality. My family is super religious so I chose not to tell them for the sake of having a relationship with them, although my mother might come around. I do not know if I will ever tell them at this point, but I was sure I was not going to tell anyone and yet I have told my closest friends about my new founded religion. They have been surprisingly supportive and it does help that most of my friends now are pagan.

But this post is already long enough and I shall describe exactly what I do and what I practice at a later date. Thanks for reading!
Love & Light, Ganshmi