[Advaita-l] Re: Recent debates

[Vidyasankar Sundaresan]

>
>One should first learn the upanishad(s) that belong to ones shakha.

Strictly, this holds true only for learning to recite the upanishat from a 
properly trained reciter. If one is only going to read it as a printed text 
or in translation, then no specific order is required. If the reading is 
going to be under somebody's guidance, then that person can decide the order 
in which to proceed.

> >  prabhuji is it indispensable for smArthAs to do *shiva panchAyatana
>pUja* or nitya devatArchana before undertaking upanishad studies in a
>traditional manner??  I was told by one of vedic pundits that apart from
>sandhya vandanam one should perform vidhi pUrvaka nitya devatArchana before
>persuing studies in vedanta.  Pls. clarify.

Siva pancAyatana pUjA is one of the ways to do this worship. In this case, 
Siva is conceived of at the center, with Ganapati, Surya, Vishnu and Devi 
surrounding. But this is not the only way. You can place any of the other 
four at the center, depending on your ishTa-devatA. It is best to learn the 
details properly from a guru before doing so. One can do everything 
mentally, without any external accessories, by reciting and understanding 
the SivamAnasapUjA and other similar stotra-s.

Vidyasankar

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