classmate (Banned! 4804 days 7 hr 31 min 50 Sec): DAKSHINA: It is tradition to provide dakshina, a monetary fee 0r gift to a priest given at the completion of any rite. Dakshina is also given to gurus as a token of respect for their spiritual blessings. *
27-01-10 - 10:31:56

classmate (Banned! 4804 days 7 hr 31 min 50 Sec): Purity and its opposite, pollution, are vitally important in Hindu culture. Purity is of three forms -- purity in mind, speech and body, 0r thought, word and deed. Purity is the pristine and natural state of the soul. Impurity, 0r pollution, is the obscuring of this state by adulterating experience and beclouding conceptions. *
27-01-10 - 10:33:03

classmate (Banned! 4804 days 7 hr 31 min 50 Sec): In daily life, the Hindu strives to protect this innate purity by wise living, following the codes of dharma. This includes harnessing the sexual energies, associating with other virtuous Hindu devotees, never using harsh, angered 0r indecent language, and keeping a clean and healthy physical body. Here are several ways purity is preserved in Hindu culture. *
27-01-10 - 10:34:05

classmate (Banned! 4804 days 7 hr 31 min 50 Sec): PURITY AND FOOD: Purity is central to food and nutrition, as the nature of one's nourishment deeply affects the entire physical, mental and emotional nature. One cooking food for others would never taste of the dish from a spoon and then put the spoon back in the pot. If food is to be tasted while cooking, a small portion is placed in the right hand. Similarly, one would not touch the lips to a water vessel that is also used by others. Nor would one offer something to another from which one has taken a bite 0r a sip. *
27-01-10 - 10:35:10

classmate (Banned! 4804 days 7 hr 31 min 50 Sec): FLOWER OFFERINGS: One does not sniff flowers picked for offering to the Deities; even the smell is for the Gods, not for us. Flowers that fall to the ground should not be offered. *
27-01-10 - 10:36:09