The Value of Gold in Hindu Culture

[brag]

Gold plays an important role in Sanatana Dharma/Hindu culture. Gold is offered to the deity that rules the water, the sea and ocean. Gold is placed in infants mouth to increase the immune system of the infant as he/she grows, etc. Some of the important sacriments may require the offer of gold as a part of the ceremony. The dying is given water washed in gold and the juice of tulsi leaves. What about others?

[sapodila]

Everybody owns gold today..........it can easily be aquired for a few affordable dollars. Back then "GOLD" was wealth. It represented status. Only the "well-to-do" rich figures owned gold. I think that's the reason why gold was offered in every ritual by "rich" Hindus who could afford it.

[brag]

Can one of the moderators change the word from God to Gold in the post by sapodilla.

[sapodila]

Can one of the moderators change the word from God to Gold in the post by sapodilla.
Thank you BRji......I edited!

[Mivo]

Gold is used for some grah puja's and funeral an grand parents give gold as gifts for the new born grand child
I love receiving and giving gold as gifts. Some pundits ask women to wear a piece of gold jewlery before sitting down to do puja, I guess long ago our grand mothers always had some sort of jewlery on

[brag]

My mother always insisted that I wear some kind of gold jewelry, saying you look naked without jewelry. Since I am not fond of jewelry, I decided to please her and wear only a gold neck chain with an Om pendant she gave me. Now I wear a silver chain with a Sai Baba pendant which my sister gave me when the one my mother gave me got lost while bathing at Mayaro some years ago. Oh how I felt so badly when the sea took my mother's gift away. But then I remembered that God gives and God takes.

[Mivo]

there are so many different pieces of gold today, even the white gold is popular and a good investment since it does not loose its value

[Triniboy108]

According to Lemurian Scrolls by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, Chapter 4 verse 56:

"We had a gold substance that came from the ground, and silver too. Of this we made jewelry to decorate the physical body and make it look like that of the Deity and devas. This gold and silver could be seen, even in the Third World, glowing. The people in the surrounding countryside would dig it out of the mountains, find it in their rivers and streams and bring it to us. As was our custom, we kept one third of it in the temple and fashioned jewelry for their bodies from the other two thirds. We prided ourselves in this skill, of which we had many. This gold and silver jewelry made by us carried the darshan from the monastery wherever it was taken. Walking through the monastery and temple, one could see large piles of gold and silver here and there, and in the Third World, each monastery and temple could be easily distinguished because of the vast quantities of gold and silver it contained. It glowed there as a marker of the destination point so that Deities and devas would know where to come."

Lemurian Scrolls is an illustrated, clairvoyant revelation of man's untold journey to Earth from the Pleiades millions of years ago, and the struggles faced through the eras as souls matured into their ultimate destiny and Divinity.

An online copy of the book can be found at: http://www.himalayanacademy.com/resources/books/ls/

[brag]

It is said that gold can be extracted from the waters of the sea/ocean, and that sea baths are considered gold baths. Baba says that when we bathe in the sea or ocean we should not immediately wash off the sea water on our skin, but let the sea water dry on our skin, as it keeps our skin and bodies healthy. The body needs five kinds of bath says Baba--wind bath, sun bath, water bath, mud bath and ash bath.

[sapodila]

Thanks..... I am reminded of a very special bath that I should perform on a wednesday early morning.......now I have to go look for sea salt. God bless Wolfie for the forum..... that we are being reminded through our forumites, what is of importance to us.

[brag]

Yes, sap, the forum provides us with a safe place to share some things we learn or hear. We don't know how it profits anyone, but we do our duties in helping others by sharing. Some people may call it ..., but they have the prerogative of throwing it out immediately or puting it on their library shelves for a later review.

[Mivo]

The price of gold has gone up significantly. I agree the forum is a place to learn and share ones knowledge in so many ways, also I have met some wonderful folks over the years we share a nice friendship and bond

[serenity]

So would u say the importance or rather, the preference of using brass utensils for offerings stem from the importance of gold? ie as a substitute used by poorer folk who cant afford gold? Or is brass significant in itself?

[brag]

Don't some Hindus offer little gold tortoise, fish, and other water life forms to the river when they go for Ganga Dhar?

[Mivo]

Don't some Hindus offer little gold tortoise, fish, and other water life forms to the river when they go for Ganga Dhar?
Brag I've never heard of this before, only hear of offering coins, rice an flowers

Seren I think the brass is significant in itself regardless of being rich or poor

[brag]

I myself never knew this before, but I witnessed my sister in law making the offering when she and my nephew, a pundit, were visiting me on the day of Gangar Dhar some years ago. She did her puja behind my home on the river bank.

[brag]

I believe that certain metals are not encouraged in Hindu religious ceremonies, and it may have to do with the kind of radiation they give out, but I am not exactly sure what material is best. I will have to ask my nephew. For example, a havan kund should be made of a special metal or clay but not iron. The temples of India provided much wealth to the foreign invaders thousands of years ago when they were plundered and/or destroyed--the same as in Mexico and the Americas.

[sapodila]

When in Trinidad, check out the museum in Waterloo.......tell them the direction DRaja.

Metal holds an important position in both religious and everyday life for the Indian people. The Silpastrastras (art text about metal working) goes into great detail about the composition of alloys used to cast both sacred icons and mundane utensils. Panchaloha (an alloy of five metals — copper, gold, silver, lead, and zinc) is widely used to cast icons and murtis because of its auspicious nature.

Metal working is deeply infused with religion. In fact, before an artisan even begins a project he prays for guidance to Tvastram, the son of Visvakarma, who worked with copper, brass, and other metal alloys. Even in the household, metals have religious significance, from icons in the family temples to cooking utensils. Hindu religion forbids the use of copper for cooking; thus in a Hindu kitchen we could find primarily brass tools, whereas a Muslim kitchen would boast mainly tinned copper.

[brag]

I went to the museum earlier this year, but it was closed due to some holiday. I wondered why special arrangements were not made to have such a museum opened on certain holidays.

[sapodila]

You would think that it will be open especially on holidays, because that's when people are visiting. Who runs that place..........volunteers?

[Mivo]

The museum is run by the maha saba with only one person

[Mivo]

here is a link to the museum
http://www.indianmuseumtt.org/

[brag]

I wonder if they have a section on Indian jewelry. I like watching and studying Indian jewelry, although I don't wear jewelry myself.

I hope someday the original jewelry of our ancestors would be preserved. My mother had the most beautiful silver jewelry, covering her entire arm from wrist to elbow, but they were all melted down and made into new forms.

My grand parents had the most beautiful Indian jewelry which they passed down to their children, and I wished they had preserved the pieces in their original forms or placed in a museum.

I have a feeling if a call was made to preserve Indian jewelry, we would get a good response, and even buy some pieces for a museum. But again, in Trinidad it could be a risky proposition.

[sapodila]

I am proud to say that the bayra on my right wrist is ONLY 67 years old... my Dadimaa's :) . I know that the great "Boycott" staged by Ghandiji forced people to create and become maufacturers of everything from cotton to capsule. I keep wondering about my Par Dadimaa's Gatha and my Nanny's sil and de okhri and musar......Oh shoots and Dadi's big copper tingy before dey buldoz de land :? geez..........you see how alyuh does get me started. :lol: Nice link Mivo Didi..........an ah see uncle Tibs is de prez of dat place :?

[Mivo]

Brag there is a section for indian jewlery with a limited selection, all in all they are hoping more ppl would donate as time goes by
Sap I visited the muesum in May, my family lives close by there
They have a copper in the yard, my nannie had a couple of those an one of my aunts in Rio aquired one

[sapodila]

Aye Mivs...ah hav some family close by dey too...... and look meh surprise to see who started all dis...... the lady who use to make the dhahi and sell in de village....... is she tanty Kungi bye chance? expect ah pm from Draja.............Yuh village have another lil somting somting in de works to be proud off and do respond to Drajaji's pm... thanks.

[brag]

What is a copper tingy? Excuse my ignorance. I believe I once saw a large copper vessel in someone's yard, but did not know what it was used for, and I did not ask. We had an "okhrey" when I was small.

[Mivo]

No Sap is not tanty kungi. I will definetly respond to draja's pm
Yea Brag the copper is a large vessel which was put under the spoutin(sp) to catch rain water, before they had pipe borne water

[brag]

Sap, just think that you can have four of the five baths (water, sun, wind and mud) recommended by Baba just by bathing in the sea. The ash bath is very messy indoors. It is best in an outside bathroom (the old fashioned ones.)

[Babygirl]

Another symbolism is the coconut - the three layers symbolize the three layers of our being. We offer our selves to God when we offer the coconut in havan.

As for me I think the most important thing we can offer God is our love. To me, God is love. :)

[brag]

Does anyone know the significance of placing gold at seven doors of the body as part of the cremation ceremony, and not at the other two?

Recently at the cremation ceremony of my cousin on the banks of the Caroni river, I noticed that the family placed a tiny gold piece on the mouth, nose, eyes and ears of the dead body. I was only accustomed to seeing a gold piece placed on the mouth before the cremation begins.

[Falcon]

from a totally ignorant point of view I would suppose that it's because those seven doors as you call them represent the sense where stuff goes in, and the other two are places that represent getting rid of waste? I dont suppose you'd want to desecrate the gold........I dont understand the custom so I hope I didnt offend anyone with this analysis.

[brag]

No offence at all, Falcon, as I am just as ignorant about some Hindu customs and their significance as many others. Your explanation seems to make sense, but I also wonder why gold is used and if gold is intended to dazzle the soul in a symbolic way and prevent it from re-entering the dead body. Some Hindus believe that the soul tries to re-enter the dead body, and hence cremation of the dead. I will ask some pundits in Trinidad next week.