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If I know there is only one God and all are his forms, Can I worship(at temples) one avatar of His' with mantras of His another avatar/form (among Shiva, Shakti, Ganapathi, Skanda, Surya, Vishnu and Agni)?

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    while it is good to stick the the prescribed mantra for the prescribed deity, the inner feeling or bhava is more important. Supreme devotees of God feel same love for God in all His various forms and know that all mantras lead to Him. :) In fact, they do not even need to recite mantras, just the very name of their God is the most supreme mantra for them. Therefore yes, it is possible to use one God's mantra for another God, because really speaking they are One and the Same :). This is the advaitist thought !
    – Sai
    Oct 6, 2014 at 22:12
  • Are you talking of mantra or stotra?
    – user1195
    Feb 11, 2015 at 14:02
  • @moonstar2001 both
    – pbvamsi
    Feb 18, 2015 at 11:23
  • Doing purascharana of a mantra you are initiated into by a guru can be done in any kshetra but better to do in kshetras related to the particular mantra devata. Similarly with stotras. It is a testament to one's intention and ability to view all deities as skews of the one paramatma. However, if you are visiting the place with a specific desire, then worship that deity whom you are visiting for wish fulfillment. If you are initiated into gayatri, you must do gayatri before any other worship
    – user1195
    Feb 18, 2015 at 13:32
  • Yes. You can use God mantras like ganesh moola mantra, <a href="godmantras.com/2015/07/hanuman-chalisa_11.html">hanuman chalisa</a> etc..
    – user3734
    Sep 16, 2015 at 18:12

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Well even though it is a fact that God is one singular power(or shall we say, "energy") there are different form to it. Just like different kinds of energy, these various forms are invoked using different mantras. (A human cannot gain energy from fire or water directly. He needs to eat). Every mantra is made up of Bijāksharas and each of them correspond to different forms of what we call, God. Unlike our western counterparts who hold the viewpoint that God is always good, even god can have relatively positive or negative forms. That is why we have Kali/Jyeshta/Alakshmi(goddess of misfortune) and Kāli which is a non-peaceful form of Shakti.

Hence, it is better to stick on to using a mantra meant for worshipping one form to be used exclusively for that purpose. Wrong pronunciation of mantras(to be specific, Bijāksharas) may lead to the invocation of some powerful forms requiring special rituals to be kept at check. If not, the aura of the deity may bring upon mishaps.

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  • But misspelling mantras could happen sometimes without the aid of the devotee? But how can Lord punish the devotee for the mistake he had done 'accidentally'?
    – user12458
    Nov 12, 2014 at 10:31

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