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======= Understanding Hinduism =======
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Welcome to our home page. This web site is dedicated
to understanding SANATAN VED DHARMA (Hinduism).
Please make sure you take a look at the PAGES
listed on the left and the TOPICS listed below.
(For the serious student of Vedanta, by way of introduction,
the following eleven pages, from the many, may be recommended.)
Click on underscored words
- Self-Realisation
- Who am I?
- Nature of Reality
- Consciousness-the three states
- Sattwa, Rajas & Tamas
- Sanatan Ved Dharma
- Maya-Shakti-Prakriti
- Direct Path
- Soul and its Destiny
- Worship
- Hinduism-A Brief Sketch Founder of Hinduism
Index Alphabetical [Index to Pages]
Hindu Festivals 2008 < Quick access
Moon Calendar < Quick access
June 2008
July 2008
August 2008
September 2008
October 2008
November 2008
December 2008
Eclipses during 2008
Two solar and two lunar eclipses occur in 2008 as folows:
07-02-2008 Solar Eclipse (Partial)
Begins 03:19:43 UT (GMT) / Ends 04:30:55 UT
21-02-2008 Lunar Eclipse (Total)
Begins 03:00:34 UT(GMT) / Ends 03:51:32 UT
01-08-2008 Solar Eclipse (Total)
Begins 09:21:07 UT GMT) / Ends 11:21:28 UT16-08-2008 Lunar Eclipse (Partial)
Begins 19:35:45 UT(GMT) / Ends 22:44:38 UT
For more details click here Eclipse
To find current time in all countries and all major cities, click below
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/
http://www.worldtimeserver.com/
TOPICS
Topic Highlights
The following bookmarked topics are taken
from various pages highlighting some passages.
Click on underlined topic to open its page.
Swami Vivekananda wrote about
Conversion The Hindus, like the Jews, do not convert others
Toleration Toleration means that, I think that you are wrong
and I am just allowing you to live. Is it not a blasphemy to think
that you and I are allowing others to live?
NEW ENTRIES: [ New Pages ]
Religious Harmony and Disharmony
Or Religion Divides or Unites?
Swami Brahmeshananda,Belur Math
FOCUS – TOPICS REVISITEDAnger from The Mahabharata
Anger analysed
King Yudhishthira said: Anger is the slayer of men and is again their protector. Know this, O thou possessed of great wisdom, that anger is the root of all prosperity and all adversity. O thou beautiful one, he that suppresses his anger earns prosperity. That man, again, who always gives way to anger, reaps adversity from his fierce anger. It is seen in this world that anger is the cause of destruction of every creature.
Vedic Mathematics
Tutorial Vedic Maths
Suppose you want to multiply 88 by 98.
Not easy,you might think. But with VERTICALLY AND CROSSWISE
you can give the answer immediately
New contributions (Vedic Maths)
By Kevin O’Konnor
Converting Kilos to pounds
Adding Time
Temperature Conversions
Decimals Eequivalents of Fractions
Converting Kilometers to Miles
In the Vedic system ‘difficult’ problems or huge sums can often be solved immediately by the Vedic method. These striking and beautiful methods are just a part of a complete system of mathematics which is far more systematic than the modern ‘system’. Vedic Mathematics manifests the coherent and unified structure of mathematics and the methods are complementary, direct and easy.
The simplicity of Vedic Mathematics means that calculations can be carried out mentally (though the methods can also be written down).
The Real and the Apparent Man
By Swami Vivekananda, the foremost disciple of Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa
We have seen that it is the universal cosmic mind that splits itself into the Akasha and Prana, and beyond mind we have found the soul in us. In the universe, behind the universal mind, there is a Soul that exists, and it is called God. In the individual it is the soul of man. In this universe, in the cosmos, just as the universal mind becomes evolved into Akasha and Prana, even so, we may find that the Universal Soul Itself becomes evolved as mind. Is it really so with the individual man? Is his mind the creator of his body, and his soul the creator of his mind? That is to say, are his body, his mind, and his soul three different existences or are they three in one or, again, are they different states of existence of the same unit being? We shall gradually try to find an answer to this question. The first step that we have now gained is this: here is this external body, behind this external body are the organs, the mind, the intellect, and behind this is the soul. At the first step, we have found, as it were, that the soul is separate from the body, separate from the mind itself.
The Message of the Guru (Taittiriya Upanishad)
Stories and episodes (32)
A model message from a guru to a departing disciple, at the
end of his stay at the guru’s ashrama..
Good and evil By Swami Abhedananda
“Good and evil of this world of duality are unreal,
are spoken of by words, and exist only in the mind.”
– Bhagavatam, XI, ch. XXII.
Satyakama- the truth seeker Chandogya Upanishad
Stories and episodes (19)
“Who was it that taught you? Who is it that some agency other than the
human has taught you this knowledge? For no one was with you in that
wilderness except those dumb cattle and the dreary tumult of the forest,” said the teacher.
The story of Ushasti Chandogya Upanishads
Stories and episodes (20)
One Ushasti visits a sacrifice and teaches the
secret of sacrifices to the performers.
Life after death Chandogya Upanishad
Stories and episodes (21)
“Do you know where all these people go to from here after death?”
“Do you know how they return to this world again?”
“Do you know the two paths along which the dead travel?”
“Do you know why the other world does not become overfull ?”
“Do you know how in the fifth stage elemental matter becomes the
Purusha or the living person?”
The Bold Beggar Chandogya Upanishads
Stories and episodes (22)
Here is a lesson taught by a brahmachari (celibate student) to two Rishis.
He says, “You are worshipping the wind-god but you are ignoring
the same god who pervades me also.”
A String of Questions Prashna Upanishad
Stories and episodes (23)
The questions begin with the gross and the known and then dive deeper into the subtle and the unknown. The seer of the Upanishad ultimately explains the nature of the Spirit and then of consciousness in man. He describes the Purusha or the person who co-ordinates all consciousness.
Here is a typical picture of the enquiries of those times and the way they went about seeking after truth.
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Index Alphabetical [Index to Pages]
Thus Spake Yajnavalkya Brhadaranyaka Upanishad
Stories and episodes (24)
Wealth can buy convenience and comfort but not inner peace which alone is really worthy of possession.
That is the lesson taught by the Rishi (sage) here to his wife Maitreyi. The classic conversation between this extremely loving pair is admittedly very sweet and eloquent. Passages from it are often quoted. The beautiful story occurs in the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad.
Thus Spake Uddalaka Aruni Chandogya Upanishad
Stories and episodes (25)
Uddalaka Aruni is easily the most brilliant Rishi (sage) in the Chandogya Upanishad. By a number of homely illustrations he conveys to his son the subtle knowledge of the Atman (soul) and impresses upon him the fact that, in essence, he too is the Atman.
Gargi the Fair Questioner Brahadaranyaka Upanishad
Stories and episodes (26)
Balaki, the Vain Brahadaranyaka Upanishad
Stories and episodes (27)
It is the principle of the Intelligence that is the source of all things. This fact has been emphasized in this short story of Balaki and Ajatashatru. Balaki was a vain and empty-headed young man and he was taught a lesson by the learned prince Ajatashatru.
“Do you know where this sleeping man had gone during sleep? Who was it that had slept and who was active?”
Nachiketa- the Seeker Katha Upanishad
Stories and episodes (28)
A young seeker after truth dares go to the god of death for knowing the truth about the nature of the human soul and its destiny. By persistent questioning he persuades Yama to part with the mystic knowledge about the soul and the Supreme Spirit. What is more, he elicits from Yama the full course of the pathway to the realization of the great truth. It is this pathway that later developed into the more scientific Yoga school of Patanjali. This story describes the adventure of young Nachiketa.
Uma, the Golden Goddess Kenopanishad
Stories and episodes (29)
At whose desire does the mind function, who puts first the vital force into motion? This has been an eternal question. It is through the power of all this all-pervasive Spirit that everything else functions. It is beyond the reach of the senses and can only be felt like a mighty presence through intuition. It is that Spirit which is real God and not the many gods that people worship. For, the Supreme God, Brahma and the ultimate Reality are the same.
This is the teaching of the Kenopanishad and has been embodied in the allegory of Uma, the goddess of spiritual wisdom.
The Four Varnas Brahadaranyaka Upanishad
Stories and episodes (30)
The four orders of human beings,
Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaisya and Sudra seems to be quite ancient.
The Rg Veda mentions the division.
Here is an explanation of that system given in an allegorical manner. It is said here that society is complete and perfect on account of the existence of all these four divisions but much more so on account of the law which binds all and which all ought to obey.
Para and Apara Vidya Chandogya Upanishad
Stories and episodes (31)
There are two categories of knowledge, declares the Rishi of Mundaka Upanishad- knowledge of the world and knowledge of the inner world, material knowledge (apara vidya) and spiritual knowledge (para vidya). In fact both ought to be acquired and both are equally important. Nor are they mutually exclusive. One is incomplete without the other.
The Message of the Guru Taittiriya Upanishad
Stories and episodes (32)
A model message from a guru to a departing disciple, at the
end of his stay at the guru’s ashrama..
The Five sheaths Taittiriya Upanishad
Stories and episodes (33)
The spirit is, as it were, encased in five sheaths (koshas), one within the other. We first come across the gross material sheath, and then go deeper to more subtle sheaths, the last being the sheath of joy or bliss. This teaching occurs in the Taittiriya Upanishad and forms the subject of a conversation between Varuna and his son.
The Bliss of Brahman Taittiriya Upanishad
Stories and episodes (34)
Infinite indeed is that spiritual bliss. But can we get any idea of that bliss? Can we have a measure of it?
Let us suppose that there is a strong, well-built, virtuous young man. If he is a man, firm of mind and full of ambition and if he becomes the owner of this world, he enjoys full happiness. That may be counted as one unit of full human happiness. But, in comparison, what is the measure of that infinite spiritual bliss?
Upanishadic Teaching Isha Upanishad
Stories and episodes (35)
In a sense the Isha Upanishad is the essence of all Upanishadic teachings so far as practical life is concerned. It is an integral gospel. The Isha is comparatively a very short Upanishad, but every word of it is pregnant with meaning. It gives us the knowledge of Brahman (Highest Being) and advises us to cultivate a healthy and vigorous attitude towards life and its problems. It synthesizes the material as well as the spiritual aspect of life. It does not want us to neglect either since matter is spirit in manifestation. It emphasizes that true knowledge consists in the right understanding of both as also their correct relation.
Micro-waved Water – See what it does to Plants!
Also Trees have life (From Mahabharata)
Our thanks to Marshall Dudley of Knoxville, TN for sharing his grand daughter, Arielle Reynolds’ experiment with us. Both Arielle’s mother, Christina, and Grandpa have much to be proud of. Congratulations, Arielle, well done!
Below is a science fair project that my granddaughter did for 2006. In it she took filered water and divided it into two parts. The first part she heated to boiling in a pan on the stove, and the second part she heated to boiling in a microwave. Then after cooling she used the water to water two identical plants to see if there would be any difference in the growth between the normal boiled water and the water boiled in a microwave. She was thinking that the structure or energy of the water may be compromised by microwave. As it turned out, even she was amazed at the difference.
The plants were genetically identical, they were produced from grafts from the same parent plant, so that variable can be eliminated.
- One week old “clippings” Although both clippings are alive the Microwave water one is wilted and unhealthy, while the purified one is pecky and healthy
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Here’s a simple test I just read about which coincides with Walt’s comments: Plant some seeds in 2 pots. Water one with the cooled water that was microwaved and one that’s from the tap. The seeds watered from the microwaved water will not sprout. I tried this comparing microwaved water as compared to conventional heating and it’s true – the microwaved water prevented the seeds from growing! There is something to this. After having used a microwave for 15 years religiously, I finally stopped 2 1/2 years ago after doing some research. There is a wealth of info on the net about how microwaved food is chemically altered, etc. I just figured why not err on the side of caution and use other means of cooking. I use a flashbake oven which uses halogen light technology. The seeds sprouted when using water from this oven.
– Posted by Gregory
Milk reheated in microwave ovens
could damage baby’s brains
Microwave Ovens
London.- Milk reheated in microwave ovens could damage baby’s brains, scientists say, because rapid reheating can turn harmless milk proteins into poisons. And adults could be at risk from the same poisons when food such as pizzas, curries and quiches are recooked.
The warning comes from a respected team of Viennese researchers led by Dr.Gerd Lubec.
They say microwaves can turn milk proteins into a variation of amino Acids, which the bodies of young babies cannot absorb.
The report warns of Microwave Poison Risk.
Microwaved Food caries a higher risk of food poisoning than conventionally cooked meals. Yet in spite of the use of a microwave in nearly half of all British Households, 97% of people are unaware of the potential health risk, says Report in the Food Magazine.
Microwave cooking is less efficient than conventional ovens in destroying Salmonella and Listeria, and in the case of cook-chill meals, manufacturers’ recommended cooking periods may not be adequate.
Bacteria: The Magazine quotes research in the United States which discovered that the Microwaving of Salmonella infected Chicken, following Manufacturers’ cooking instructions, was unable to destroy contamination in eight out of nine cases.
Similar research carried out earlier this year by Leeds University discovered that Microwaving was unable to destroy Listeria Bacteria in five of the twenty-seven contaminated dishes that were cooked. The magazine now believes that the department of Health’s guidance that Microwaved Food is safe if reheated to 70 degree for at least two minutes is wrong. In the Leeds study, temperatures of 91 degree were required to kill Listeria.
Although the Report falls short of saying Microwaving is intrinsically dangerous, it believes that misleading instructions for precooked food, together with insufficient understanding of how the microwaving process works, are responsible for a high proportion of food poisoning cases in the home and in catering establishments.
The Microwave Association, which believes that more than 70% of households will have a microwave within year or two, is also concerned.
Mrs.Gina Field, spokesman for the Association said: “Allowing food to stand after cooking is vital, but often ignored. If cook-chill food is contaminated, microwaving will not kill the bugs. We are also very alarmed at reports that small commercial caterers are using domestic microwave ovens to cook for hordes of people.
Domestic size ovens are not designed for constant use and will become less effective if they are used repeatedly.
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Index Alphabetical [Index to Pages]
Funeral Speeches
A collection of scriptural texts about death and life
Funeral of mother
How to overcome grief
These tears, like sparks of fire, burn the dead for whom they are shed
Letter from Lord Ram Stories – Episodes
Raikwa the Cart-driver (13) Stories – Episodes
Story from the Chandogya Upanishad
Gifts and Charities – Name and Fame
Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna
Ego
If a man knows his own self, he knows other beings and God. What is my ego? Ponder deeply, and you will know that there is no such thing as ‘I’. As you peel off the skin of an onion, you find it consists only of skin; you cannot find any kernel in it. So too on analysing the ego, you will find that there is no real entity that you can call ‘I’. Such an analysis of the ego convinces one that the ultimate substance is God alone. When egotism drops away, Divinity manifests Itself.
Bhakti(Devotion) The path of Love
Nothing can be impressed on smooth glass, but when the surface is coated with proper chemicals, pictures can be impressed upon it, as in photography. In the same way, on the human heart coated with the chemicals of Bhakti, the image of Divinity can be impressed.
Worship of Images
While raising a building, the scaffolding is indispensable; but when the work is completed, no one feels the necessity of it. So also image-worship is necessary in the beginning but not afterwards.
The Destiny of Man
The digit one may be raised to a figure of any value by adding zeros after it; but if that one is omitted, zeroes by themselves have no value. Similarly so long as the jiva (individual soul) does not cling to God, Who is the One, he has no value, for all things here get their value from their connection with God. So long as the Jiva clings to God, Who is the value-giving figure behind the world, and does all his work for Him, he gains more and more thereby; on the contrary, if he overlooks God and adds to his work many grand achievements, all done for his own glorification, he will gain nothing there from.
First gain God, and then gain wealth; but do not try to do the contrary. If, after acquiring spirituality, you lead a worldly life, you will never lose your peace of mind.
FOCUS – TOPICS REVISITED
The Earliest Recorded Tsunami in History?
From The Mahabharata
Mausala Parva, Section VI
Translated by Sri Kisari Mohan Ganguli
The Prediction
Vasudeva said: This city of Dwaravati, after Arjuna’s
departure, will, with its walls and edifices, be swallowed
up by the ocean without any delay.
Forewarning About Tsunami
From The Mahabharata
Mausala Parva, Section VII
Translated by Sri Kisari Mohan Ganguli
Vaisampayana said: The widows of the other heroes of the Bhoja, the Vrishni, and the Andhaka races, lordless now, that set out with Arjuna, numbered many millions. That foremost of car-warriors, that conqueror of hostile towns, viz., the son of Pritha, escorted this vast procession of Vrishnis, which still abounded with wealth, and which looked like a veritable ocean.
After all the people had set out, the ocean, that home of sharks and alligators, flooded Dwarka, which still teemed with wealth of every kind, with its waters. Whatever portion of the ground was passed over, ocean immediately flooded over with his waters. Beholding this wonderful sight, the inhabitants of Dwarka walked faster and faster, saying, – “Wonderful is the course of fate! Dhananjaya (Arjuna), after abandoning Dwarka, proceeded by slow marches, causing the Vrishni women to rest in pleasant forest and mountains and by the sides of delightful streams.
Sunken City Off India Coast –
The City of Dwarka
Real Worship By Swami Vivekananda
It is in love that religion exists and not in ceremony, in the pure and sincere love in the heart.
This is the gist of all worship – to be pure and to do good to others. Unselfishness is the test of religion
Stone in the middle of the road (12) Stories and Episodes
And the example set by the Brahmachari taught a valuable lesson to the citizens of this kingdom. They changed their attitude from ‘taking’ to ‘giving’. This attitude they applied in their personal life, family matters, community affairs, and in their national life. Now every body was so courteous, so very thoughtful and caring for the needs of others. The kingdom prospered and became a veritable heaven on earth.Prayers and Meditations From the Scriptures of India
This is the sum of all the scriptures
There is no sight equal to learning, no austerity equal to truthfulness, no misery like passion, and no happiness equal to following the ideal of renunciation.
The secret meaning of the Vedas is truth; of truth, self-control; of self-control, freedom from all limitations. This is the sum of all the scriptures.
Purity of conduct is the greatest purity. To think of God continuously, to worship Him, to chant His name and sing His praises – this is the best way of attaining the highest good.
– The Mahabharata
Lord make me so pure and strong
That all creatures may look upon me
With friendship.
And may I also look upon all creatures
with friendship.
-Yajur Veda
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Index Alphabetical [Index to Pages]
Future History of the World From the Mahabharata
The future course of the government of the Earth.
And full of avarice and folly the whole world will have but one kind of food.
And at such a time men will seek those countries where wheat and barley form the staple food.
Both men and women will become perfectly free in their behaviour and will not tolerate one another’s acts.
And the inhabited regions of the earth will be afflicted with dearth and famine,and the highways will be filled with lustful men and women of evil repute.
And men will be filled with anxiety as regards the means of living.
Cows will be extinct
The girls will themselves choose their lords
The women will always be sharp in speech and pitiless and fond of weeping. And they will never abide by the commands of their husbands.
Women, living uncontrolled, will slay their husbands and sons.
Wedded to avarice and wrath and ignorance and lust, men will entertain animosities towards one another, desiring to take one another’s lives.
And the life of man will then be measured by sixteen years, on attaining to which age death will ensue. And girls of five or six years of age will bring forth children and boys of seven or eight years of age will become fathers.
Appreciations A selection of Letters from our readers
Hymn to Durga From the Mahabharata, Bhagavad Gita Parva
Uttered by Arjuna on the eve of the battle of
Kurukshetra between Pandavas and Kauravas
The man that recites this hymn rising at dawn, has no fear any time from Yakshas, Rakshasas, and Pisachas. He can have no enemies; he has no fear from snakes and all animals that have fangs and teeth, and also from kings. He is sure to be victorious in all disputes, and if bound, he is freed from his bonds. He is sure to get over all difficulties, is freed from thieves, is ever victorious in battle and wins the goddess of prosperity forever. With health and strength, he lives for a hundred years.
The Story of Rose Stories & Episodes (11)
The irresistible story of Rose
Growing older is mandatory. Growing up is optional.
There are only four secrets to staying young,
being happy and achieving success.
Music – The Elevating Spirit of Indian Music
Nowhere in the world has the science of Sound and Music been studied so deeply and exhaustively as in ancient India. Panini, Patanjali, Bhartruhari, Nandikeswara, Anjaneya and Bharata are outstanding among those who have contributed to the unravelling of the mystery of sound, music and creation. The ‘Sabda’ itself is classified into Para, Pashyanti, Madhyama and Vaikhari.
From where and how did Indian music originate?
The destructive effects of Acid Rock Music
Secrets of the Mala (Rosary)
The significance of the number 108
Japa may be done in three ways. They are:
1. Karmala 2.Varnamala 3.Manimala
One complete Mala of any of the above three categories involves the repetition of the Mantra 108 times. The 109th bead called the Meru or summit acts as the guide. An important rule is not to cross over the Meru on completion of a Mala but retract and do the next Mala commencing at the point of finishing the previous Mala. Thus we work back and forth from the Meru. An important interpretation of this rule is that the Meru represents the Guru or Preceptor whose importance in any spiritual discipline is unsurpassed, and he should not be crossed in any circumstance.
VirtueFrom The Mahabharata
A person may become virtuous although
he may be a slayer of animals by profession
The high and excellent virtue of women
The subtle truths of morality
That son is virtuous who realises these hopes of his parents
Virtuous conduct – What constitutes the highest virtue?
Virtue Part A & B (Virtue: Introductory texts)
Virtue Part 3 From The Mahabharata
The fowler said: It is the dictum of the aged that the ways of righteousness are subtle, diverse and infinite. When life is at stake and in the matter of marriage, it is proper to tell an untruth. Untruth sometimes leads to the triumph of truth, and the latter dwindles into untruth. Whichever conduces most to the good of all creatures is considered to be truth. Virtue is thus perverted; mark thou its subtle ways.
Virtue Part 4 From The Mahabharata
Senses. What are they? How may they be subdued and what is the good of subduing them? And how does a creature reap the fruits thereof?
Vishnu Sahasranama From the Mahabharata
1000 names of Vishnu
By uttering Vishnu’s thousand names
one can succeed in transcending all sorrow.
That man who with devotion and perseverance and heart wholly turned towards Him (Vishnu) recites these thousand names of Vasudeva every day, after having purified himself, succeeds in acquiring great fame, a position of eminence among his kinsmen, enduring prosperity, and lastly, that which is of the highest benefit to him (viz., emancipation itself). Such a man never meets with fear at any time, and acquires great prowess and energy. Disease never afflicts him; splendour of complexion, strength, beauty, and accomplishments become his. The sick become hale, the afflicted become freed from their afflictions; the affrighted become freed from fear, and he that is plunged in calamity becomes freed from calamity.
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Index Alphabetical [Index to Pages]
Doing Good
Ideals of Service and Sacrifice
Why do we do good work? Because it is a blessing to ourselves. Swami Vivekananda calls upon us to serve God in man, and gives the key to blessedness in the following words:
“We may all be perfectly sure that it will go on beautifully well without us, and we need not bother our heads wishing to help it. Yet, we must do good; the desire to do good is the highest motive power we have, if we know all the time that it is a privilege to help others. Do not stand on a high pedestal, and take five cents in your hand and say,
‘Here, my poor man,’ but be grateful that the poor man is there, so that by making a gift to him you are able to help yourself. It is not the receiver that is blessed, but it is the giver. Be thankful that you are allowed to exercise your power of benevolence and mercy in the world and thus become pure and perfect….
“No beggar whom we have helped has ever owed a single cent to us: we owe everything to him because he has allowed us to exercise our charity on him. It is entirely wrong to think that we have done, or can do, good to the world, to think that we have helped such and such people. It is a foolish thought, and all foolish thoughts bring misery. We think that we have helped some man and expect him to thank us, and because he does not, unhappiness comes to us. Why should we expect anything in return for what we do? Be grateful to the man you help, think of him as God. Is it not a great privilege to be allowed to worship God by helping our fellow men? If we were really unattached, we should escape all this vain expectation, and could cheerfully do good work in the world.”
Outsourcing – Current topics
Amazing Science
The world is discovering the fact that India is a super
power when it comes to developing IT solutions.
True Prayer
By Swami Abhedananda
True prayer is the mental and verbal expression of the highest spiritual ideal. It consists not in trying to get anything from outside, but unfolding the higher powers that are slumbering within the soul.
The Dirt of Humanity (From the Mahabharata)
The Madraka is always a hater of friends. He that hates us is a Madraka. There is no friendship in the Madraka who is mean in speech and is the lowest of mankind. The Madraka is always a person of wicked soul, is always untruthful and crooked. It has been heard by us that till the moment of death the Madrakas are wicked. (Amongst the Madrakas) the sire, the son, the mother, the mother-in-law, the brother, the grandson, and other kinsmen, companions, strangers arrived at their homes, slaves male and female, mingle together. The women of the Madrakas mingle, at their own will, with men known and unknown. Of unrighteous conduct, and subsisting upon fried and powdered corn and fish, in their homes, they laugh and cry having drunk spirits and eaten beef. They sing incoherent songs and mingle lustfully with one another, indulging the while in the freest speeches. How then virtue have a place amongst the Madrakas who are arrogant and notorious for all kinds of evil acts?
No one should make friends with a Madraka or provoke hostilities with him. In the Madraka land there is no friendship. The Madraka is always the dirt of humanity.
Resurrection From the Mahabharata
Filled with joy, he once more questioned Vaisampayana on the subject of the reappearance of dead men, saying: How is it possible for persons whose bodies have been destroyed to re-appear in those very forms?
Shanti Mantras
Om dyauh shaantih Antariksham shaantih
Prithivee shaantih Aapah shaantih
Oshadhayah shaantih Vanaspatayah shaantih
Vishvedevaah shaantih Brahma shaantih
Sarvam shaantih Shaantireva shaantih
Saamaa shaantiredhih
Om shaantih, shaantih, shaantih!
Meaning:
O Supreme Lord, Thy celestial regions are full of peace and harmony; peace reigns on Thy earth and Thy waters. Thy herbs and trees are full of peace. All Thy forces of nature are full of peace and harmony. There is peace and perfection in Thy eternal knowledge; everything in the universe is peaceful, and peace pervades everywhere. O Lord, may that peace come to me!
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Index Alphabetical [Index to Pages]
Adhyatma Ramayana
Sage Chandramas expounds the philosophy of the Atman (Self) to Sampati
Because man thinks of his body as himself, Karma becomes operative. This I-sense, which binds one to the body, is beginningless and is a result of ignorance. In itself it is inert without consciousness, but being in association with the reflection of pure consciousness, it appears conscious, just as a red-hot piece of iron appears hot and shining in association with fire. Because the body is in identification with this I-sense, the body too appears to be endowed with consciousness.
Dominated by the I-sense, the Atman (embodied soul) thinks of himself as the body and becomes subject to the cycle of births and deaths, and to the consequent experience of happiness and misery. The Atman it itself is changeless but because of this false identification, he thinks: ‘I am the body and I am the doer of various actions’. Thus, the embodied being becomes the performer of many actions and is helplessly bound by their consequences. He finds himself fettered and wanders hither and thither in this trans-migratory cycle as a victim of sinful and meritorious actions.
The Master Key to understanding the Bhagavad Gita
From the Mahabharata, Santi Parva, section CCXLI
The path that is destructible= Acts (Yoga) (Pravritti; Dharma, Artha, Kama. Acts are rooted in the universe and the universe is subject to destruction.
From the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, I.iv, 15
The whole universe, either in its unmanifested or in its manifested aspect, is of the very essence of names, forms and action, and is therefore non-self (impermanent; subject to destruction).
The path that is indestructible = knowledge; Sankhya (Nivritti); Moksha
Vyasa said: “I shall expound to thee the two paths, viz., the destructible and the indestructible, depending respectively upon acts and knowledge. Listen with concentrated attention, O child, to me, as I tell thee the place that is reached by one with the aid of knowledge, and that other place that is reached by one with the aid of acts. The difference between these two places is as great as the limitless sky. These are the two paths upon which the Vedas are established; the duties indicated by Pravritti, and those based on Nivritti.
1600 years old Iron Pillar that does not rust (Photo)
Amazing Science (part 6)
The pillar—over seven metres high and weighing more than six tonnes—was erected by Kumara Gupta of Gupta dynasty that ruled northern India in AD 320-540.
Stating that the pillar is “a living testimony to the skill of metallurgists of ancient India”, Balasubramaniam said the “kinetic scheme” that his group developed for predicting growth of the protective film may be useful for modeling long-term corrosion behaviour of containers for nuclear storage applications
The Delhi iron pillar is a testimony to the high level of skill achieved by ancient Indian iron smiths in the extraction and processing of iron. The iron pillar at Delhi has attracted the attention of archaeologists and corrosion technologists as it has withstood corrosion for the last 1600 years.
History of Mathematics in India
Amazing Science (Part 7)
Why, one might ask, did Europe take over thousand years to attain the level of abstract mathematics achieved by Indians such as Aaryabhatta? The answer appears to be that Europeans were trapped in the relatively simplistic and concrete geometrical mathematics developed by the Greeks. It was not until they had, via the Arabs, received, assimilated and accepted the place-value system of enumeration developed in India that they were able to free their minds from the concrete and develop more abstract systems of thought. This development thus triggered the scientific and information technology revolutions which swept Europe and, later, the world. The role played by India in the development is no mere footnote, easily and inconsequentially swept under the rug of Eurocentric bias. To do so is to distort history, and to deny India one of it’s greatest contributions to world civilization.
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Index Alphabetical [Index to Pages]
Frequently Asked Questions
Founder of Hinduism
Was there a specific founder of the religion (Hinduism?)
How did Hinduism start and when did it begin?
What is the most important part of the religion?
Do Hindus worship one God or many?
Is the caste system an eternal principle?
Is the use of images an universal practice?
Mind Power- Affirmations
Affirmations are one of the simplest and most powerful things we can
do to change the quality of our lives, and to create the things we want.
The prosperity secret of the ages: The universal law:
By making gifts one simply increases one’s wealth.”
(Mahabharata, Anusasana Parva, Section LVII);
Vedic Mathematics
Amazing Science
These formulae describe the way the mind naturally works and are therefore a great help in directing the student to the appropriate method of solution.
Perhaps the most striking feature of the Vedic system is its coherence. Instead of a hotch-potch of unrelated techniques the whole system is beautifully interrelated and unified: the general multiplication method, for example, is easily reversed to allow one-line divisions and the simple squaring method can be reversed to give one-line square roots. And these are all easily understood. This unifying quality is very satisfying, it makes mathematics easy and enjoyable and encourages innovation.
In the Vedic system ‘difficult’ problems or huge sums can often be solved immediately by the Vedic method. These striking and beautiful methods are just a part of a complete system of mathematics which is far more systematic than the modern ‘system’. Vedic Mathematics manifests the coherent and unified structure of mathematics and the methods are complementary, direct and easy.
The simplicity of Vedic Mathematics means that calculations can be carried out mentally (though the methods can also be written down). There are many advantages in using a flexible, mental system. Pupils can invent their own methods, they are not limited to the one ‘correct’ method. This leads to more creative, interested and intelligent pupils.
Interest in the Vedic system is growing in education where mathematics teachers are looking for something better and finding the Vedic system is the answer. Research is being carried out in many areas including the effects of learning Vedic Maths on children; developing new, powerful but easy applications of the Vedic Sutras in geometry, calculus, computing etc.
But the real beauty and effectiveness of Vedic Mathematics cannot be fully appreciated without actually practising the system. One can then see that it is perhaps the most refined and efficient mathematical system possible.
Shakuntala – Drama – A Play by Kalidas
Written 2000 years ago (Sanskrit classical literature)
Translated by Sir William Jones in 1789
Herde wrote after reading Shakuntala:
“A masterpiece that appears once every two thousand years”.
An exquisite Love Story
Chanakya-Nitishastra
The Political Ethics of Chanakya Pandit
What good can the scriptures do to a man who
has no sense of his own?
Of what use is a mirror to a blind man?
The elephant has a huge body but is controlled by the ankusha (goad): yet, is the goad as large as the elephant? A lighted candle banishes darkness: is the candle as vast as the darkness? A mountain is broken even by a thunderbolt: is the thunderbolt therefore as big as the mountain? No, he whose power prevails is really mighty; what is there in bulk?
Pre-Marriage Ceremonies
Tilak- Harish- Kalash Sthapana- Nav-Graha Puja-
Hardi – Mehendi- Pitr Neote
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Upanishads in brief
– Katha, Isa, Kena, Taittiriya, Aitareya, Chhandogya
Mundaka, Svetasvatara, Prashna
How would you describe the contents of the following paragraph–
can it be described as the product of perverted sick mind of
satan, devil, demon or the teachings of someone like Jesus the
Christ or the Buddha? Can it be acceptable to any decent human
mind that such passages could be from the Bible, or the Quran
or the Talmud? And how is one to describe the people who carry
out such instructions – as the soldiers of God or as the soldiers
of Satan or as the disciples of the devil?
“Those who do not agree with our way of believing, kill
them, wherever you find them, cut off their heads, with
heavy fetters, throw them into blazing fires; pour boiling
water upon their heads, melting their skins.”
Click below to find out
The Anti-Christ Anti noble human values
Passages that instigate hatred, violence, murders and wars.
The Age of Muslim Wars By Samuel P. Huntington)
The age of Muslim wars began as the cold war was winding down in the 1980s. In 1980 Iraq invaded Iran, and the ensuing war produced at least 500,000 deaths and hundreds of thousands of wounded. At the same time, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan generated vigorous Afghan resistance, which by 1989 compelled the Soviets to withdraw. This victory was made possible by American technology, Saudi and American money, Pakistani support and training, and the participation of thousands of fighters from other, mostly Arab, Muslim countries. Then in 1990 Saddam Hussein invaded and attempted to annex Kuwait, and the United States organized an international coalition, including several Muslim countries, to defeat him.
In the 1990s violence occurred between Muslims and non-Muslims in Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Chechnya, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Kashmir, India, the Philippines, Indonesia, the Middle East, Sudan and Nigeria. Mujahedin fighters from the Afghanistan war were central participants in many of these conflicts as well as in Muslim terrorist organizations in countries throughout the world. In the mid-1990s, roughly half the ethnic conflicts in the world involved Muslims fighting each other or non-Muslims. In one inventory by The Economist, Muslims were responsible for 11 and possibly 12 of 16 major acts of international terrorism between 1983 and 2000. Five of the seven states listed by the U.S. State Department as supporting terrorism are Muslim, as are a majority of foreign organizations listed as engaged in terrorism. In counter-actions between 1980 and 1995, the U.S. armed forces engaged in 17 military operations against Muslims. According to the International Institute of Strategic Studies, 32 armed conflicts were underway in 2000; more than two thirds involved Muslims. Yet Muslims are only about one fifth of the world’s population.
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Islam-Stagnant
The Message of Prophet Muhammad
By Swami Ranganathananda, Belur Math
The character of Prophet Muhammad has been misrepresented, not only
by many prejudiced non-Muslim critics, but also by the violent, ambitious, and worldly-minded faithful Muslims as well. In his personal life, the prophet shines as a man of high character, integrity, and humanity.
But, after the Mongolian invasion of the thirteenth century A.D. and the complete destruction of Baghdad in 1258, when many millions were killed, whole areas were laid waste, and political rule in the centre of the Islamic world passed into the hands of barbarian infidels, leaving only Egypt and Spain to nourish Arab culture for another two centuries. There set in the slow and steady erosion of these universal and rational elements and the rising, to dominance, of its dogmatic and intolerant elements. The Mongol invaders, and later the Turks, were soon converted to Islam and became the carriers of Islamic religion, culture, and political power. With some great exceptions, these new Muslim groups came under the influence, less of Islam’s rational and universal, and more of its dogmatic and intolerant elements. This led to the increasing exploitation of the name of Islam by several military conquerors to destroy and rob and pillage other countries and cultures, which has given a bad name to this great religion.
The stagnation and decay of Islam commenced, as in the case of Sanatan Dharma in recent centuries, with the dominance of the Smrti over the Sruti elements. It was a dominance of the fundamentalist group over the ever-diminishing rational and humanist group which advocated the scientific approach and the stressing more and more of the eternal, universal, spiritual elements and the soft-pedalling of the temporal and local elements, in response to the advance of history.
Since the destruction of Baghdad, there has been an increasing dominance by its rigid and intolerant Sariah or Smrti elements, and the consequent exploitation of Islam, as referred to earlier, by power-hungry worldly-minded individuals to cover their own greed and bloodthirstiness.
If Islam is to become creative once again, and help in the human development and fulfilment of its followers, it has to capture once again the rational and universal temper of its early period, by taking inspiration from the spirit of Islam and not from its letter.
The Bhagavad Gita – verse by verse
All eighteen chapters
The Bhagavad Gita – Preamble
What is the right thing to do?
What is your verdict?
The purpose of the Gita: To destroy illusion
Svadharma
War
Gita – The Background Story in Brief
An Essay – Gita and War
What is the right thing to do?
Robbers are attacking a village at night, raping women, killing villagers, torching their houses. To uphold righteousness, to protect the helpless villagers, a man (trained as a soldier) skilled with weapons, volunteers to defend the villagers and in the process, kill the robbers, if necessary.
The robbers came several times, and this soldier successfully repelled them, killing many of them and feeling justly proud about carrying out his duty as a soldier to defend the weak. His duty as a soldier is to lay down his life, if necessary, to carry out the duties of a true soldier.
After many months had passed, one night, when some robbers came again to attack the villagers, the volunteer soldier was shocked on seeing many of the robbers as his cousins, uncles and friends, intent upon robbing and killing the villagers and raping the women. They would not listen to reason.
What is the right thing to do for this volunteer soldier?
To get the answer – Click below
The Bhagavad Gita – Preamble
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Was Christ a Yogi? By Swami Abhedananda
Jesus was a great Yogi, because He realized the transitory and ephemeral nature of the phenomenal world, and, discriminating the real from the unreal, renounced all desires for worldly pleasures and bodily comforts. Like a great Yogi He lived a life of seclusion, cutting off all connections with earthly friends and relatives, and having neither home nor possessions of His own.
Jesus the Christ was a great Karma Yogi, because He never worked for gains (He worked without expectation of any fruits thereof). He has neither desire for name nor ambition for fame or for earthly prosperity. His works were a free offering to the world. He laboured for others, devoted His whole life to help others, and in the end died for others. Being unattached to the fruits of his actions, he worked incessantly for the good of His fellow men, directing them to the path of righteousness and spiritual realization through unselfish works. He understood the law of action and reaction, which is the fundamental principle of the Karma yoga, and it was for this reason He declared: ‘Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap’.
Jesus of Nazareth proved Himself to be a great Bhakti (devotion) Yogi, a true lover of God, by His unswerving devotion and His whole-hearted love for the Heavenly Father. His unceasing prayers, incessant supplications, constant meditation, and unflinching self-resignation to the will of the Almighty made Him shine like a glorious morning star in the horizon of love and devotion of a true Bhakti Yogi. Christ showed wonderful self-control and mastery over His mind throughout the trials and the sufferings. His sorrow, agony and self-surrender at the time of His death as well as before His crucifixion, are conclusive proofs that He was a human being with those divine qualities that adorn the soul of a true Bhakti Yogi. It is true that His soul laboured for a while under the heavy burden of His trials and sufferings; it is also true that He felt that His pain was becoming well-nigh unbearable, when He cried aloud three times, praying to the Lord: ‘O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me’. But He found neither peace nor consolation until He could absolutely reign His will to that of the Father and could say from the bottom of His heart, ‘Thy will be done’. The complete self-surrender and absolute self-resignation are the principal virtues of Bhakti Yoga, and as Christ possessed these to perfection up to the last moment of His life, He was a true Bhakti Yogi.
Like the great Raja Yogis in India, Jesus knew the secret of separating His soul from His physical shell, and He showed this at the time of His death, while his body was suffering from extreme pain, by saying, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do’. It is quite an unusual event to see one imploring forgiveness for his persecutors, while dying on the cross, but from a Yogi’s point of view it is both possible and natural. Ramakrishna, the greatest Yogi of the nineteenth century, whose life and sayings have been written by Max Muller, was once asked, ‘How could Jesus pray for His persecutors, when He was in agony on the cross?’ Ramakrishna answered by an llustration: ‘When the shell of an ordinary green cocoanut is pierced through, the nail enters the kernel of the nut too. But in the case of the dry cocoanut the kernel becomes separate from the shell, and so when the shell is pierced, the kernel is not touched. Jesus was like the dry nut, i.e., His inner soul was separate from His physical shell, and consequently, the sufferings of the body did not affect Him’. Therefore, He could pray for the forgiveness of His persecutors even when His body was suffering; and all true yogis are able to do the same. There have been many instances of Yogis whose bodies have been cut into pieces, but their souls never for a moment lost that peace and equanimity which enabled Jesus to forgive and bless His persecutors. By this Christ proved that like other Yogis, His soul was completely emancipated from the bondage of the body and of the feelings. Therefore, Christ was a Yogi.
Through the path of devotion and love, Jesus attained to the realization of oneness of the individual soul with the Father or the universal Spirit, which is the ideal of a Jnana Yogi as well as the ultimate goal of all religions. A Jnana Yogi says: ‘I am He’; ‘I am Brahman’; ‘I am the absolute Truth’; ‘I am one with the Supreme Deity’. By good works, devotion, love, concentration, contemplation, long fasting and prayer, Jesus the Christ realized that His soul was one with God; therefore, He may be said to have attained the ideal of Jnana Yoga.
Like Krishna, Buddha and all other great Yogis of India, Jesus healed the sick, opened the eyes of the blind, made the lame walk, and read the secret thoughts of His disciples. He knew exactly what Judas and Peter were going to do, but there was nothing supernatural in any of His actions. There was nothing that cannot be done over and over again by a true Yogi, and there was nothing in His life that cannot be explained rationally by the science of Yoga and the philosophy of Vedanta. Without the help of this science and this philosophy, Jesus the Christ cannot be fully understood and appreciated. By studying His character, on the other hand, in the light of the Vedanta philosophy, we shall be able not only to understand Him better, but to have a larger appreciation of His true glory.
Christian Science and Vedanta By Swami Abhedananda
Most startling are the similarities that exist between the fundamental principles of modern Christian Science and those of the ancient system of philosophy known in India as Vedanta.
The followers of Christian Science, unacquainted with the Vedanta and the religious teachings of India, may in all sincerity claim originality for their founder, Mrs. Mary Baker G. Eddy. They may show their gratitude to her for numerous benefits received. They may shut their eyes to all other systems of philosophy and religion, ancient or modern. Their revealed text-book ‘Science and Health’ may change its tone by additions and alterations in every chapter of every new addition; but Mrs. Eddy, herself, was fully aware that the truths which she claimed to have discovered were discovered and taught in India by the Hindu sages and philosophers centuries before Jesus the Christ appeared on earth.
Avatar
Incarnation of God in Christianity and Hinduism
By Swami Abhedananda
Two great religions of the world advocate the belief that God, the supreme Ruler of the universe, incarnates in human form to help mankind- the one is Christianity, the other is the religion of Vedanta (Hinduism), which prevails in India.
The Spirit and Meaning of Christmas
Christ and His Teachings By Swami Abhedananda
In whatsoever heart the Christ ideal is accepted, there is sown the seed of charity, self-denial, renunciation, control of passions, universal love and faith in God. These are the cardinal virtues of the religion of Jesus the Christ.
Jesus the Christ used to commune with the Lord by entering into the state of super-consciousness, by rising above this material plane, by forgetting the earthly existence. When we shall be able to do the same, then the birth of Spiritual Christ has taken place in our souls, then the spiritual Christmas will spread its glory within us and all around us. That is the time for rejoicing.
The external Christmas is only a form, but let us understand the spirit of Christmas and let us understand the meaning…..
Did Christ Teach a New Religion? By Swami Abhedananda
Earnest Renan says: “The Essenes resembled the Gurus (spiritual masters)of Brahmanism”. “In fact”, he asks, “might there not in this be a remote influence of the Munis (holy saints of India)”? According to Renan: “Babylon had become for sometime a true focus of Buddhism. Boudasp (Bodhisattva, another name of Buddha) was reputed as a wise Chaldean and the founder of Sabaism, which means, as its etymology indicates, Baptism”. He also says: We may believe at all events that many of the eternal practices of John, of the Essenes, and of the Jewish spiritual teachers of the time were derived from influences then existing, but recently received from the far East” – meaning India. Thus we can understand that there was an indirect influence of the Buddhist monks upon the mind of Jesus through the Essenes, and especially through John the Baptist.
Jesus versus Churchianity By Swami Abhedananda
A student sent the following e-mail:
I am a college student working on a project. My project is to ask different faith perspectives one question. The question is “Who is Jesus?”
I would appreciate it if you would participate in this project.
The article by Swami Abhedananda provides the answer from the Hindu perspective.
Excerpts:
Why a Hindu Accepts Christ and Rejects Churchianity
A Hindu distinguishes the religion of the churches from the religion of Jesus Christ. Speaking from the Hindu standpoint, the religion that the churches uphold and preach today, that has been built around the personality of Jesus the Christ, and which is popularly known as Christianity, should be called ‘Churchianity’, in contradistinction to that pure religion of the heart that was taught by Jesus the Christ and practised by his disciples. The religion of Christ or true Christianity had no dogma, no creed, no system, and no theology. It was a religion of the heart, a religion without any ceremonial, without ritual, without priest-craft. It was not based upon any book, but upon the feelings of the heart, upon direct communion of the individual soul with the heavenly Father. On the contrary, the religion of the church is based upon a book, believes in dogmas, professes a creed, has an organized system for preaching it, is backed up by theologies, performs rituals, practises ceremonials, and obeys the commands of a host of priests.
The religion of Christ was a religion of love, renunciation and self-control; it was a religion of God-consciousness. As these are the highest ideals among the Hindus, they accept Christ and His true religion in so far as it is one with their ideals; but when they see that Churchianity does not preach renunciation, and that its advocates do not practise love for all, nor show self-control, when they see that Christian governments encourage vice by opium trade, liquor trade, and introduce intoxicating things among innocent and temperate people for the sake of gain, they reject a religion which allows such things. They believe in Jesus the Christ as the Son of God, and know that he did not teach such things.
The duty of true religion is to broaden the human mind, to open the spiritual eyes, to lead humanity to the realization of oneness with the supreme Father in Heaven, and to repress all quarrels over dogmas and creeds. As long as we are not spiritual, we fight and quarrel, but when we realize that God dwells >within us, that we are all children of God, irrespective of nationality, creed or denomination, when we rise above all dogmas, above beliefs, theories, and sectarianism, then, and then alone, we are the true followers of the Christ. Then, and then alone, are we able to say with Jesus, “I and my Father are one”. The Hindus leave aside the disputed personality that dwells in each individual soul and believes that each soul is a latent Christ. They believe that the voice of God tells this truth within each soul, but we do not listen to it, through our ignorance and selfishness. Krishna says: “Giving up all the formalities of religion, come unto Me, take refuge in Me, I shall make thee free from sins, sorrows and sufferings”.
Jesus says: “Come unto Me all ye that are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest”. Let us listen to that voice, for it is one and the same, and let us follow it. Let us realize the spirit of true Christianity that was exhibited in the life of Jesus of Nazareth. Let us live as he lived, and be living Christs on earth. The Hindu is not satisfied merely to accept Christ in theory, but he strives hard to live the life, which Jesus lived, to lead a life of renunciation, of self-control and of love to all. Thus he seeks to fulfil the mandates of that eternal Religion which is taught by Christ-Krishna, Christ-Buddha, and Christ-Jesus.
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Index Alphabetical [Index to Pages]
Synopsis of the Bhagavad Gita
All 18 chapters
Example
Chapter 6. The Yoga of Meditation (Self-control)
Verses 1-4
Karma Yoga (Yoga of selfless, disinterested Action) described.Marks of one who has attained Yoga.
5-10
Urging one to uplift the self. Marks of the God-realized soul.
11-32
Detailed description of Dhyana Yoga (Yoga of Meditation).
33-36
Question about control of restless mind.
37-47
The fate of one who falls from Yoga.
Dhyana Yoga (Yoga of meditation) described.
God can be seen
Readings from The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
Compassion springs from sattva. Though work for the good of others belongs to rajas, yet this rajas has sattva for its basis and is not harmful. Suka and other sages cherished compassion in their minds to give people religious instruction, to teach them about God. You are distributing food and learning. That is good too. If these activities are done in a selfless spirit they lead to God. But most people work for fame or to acquire merit. Their activities are not selfless.
One man may read the Bhagavata by the light of a lamp, and another may commit a forgery by that very light; but the lamp is unaffected. The sun sheds its light on the wicked as well as on the virtuous.
You may ask, ‘How, then, can one explain misery and sin and unhappiness?’
The answer is that these apply only to the jiva (the individual soul). Brahman is unaffected by them. There is poison in a snake; but though others may die if bitten by it, the snake itself is not affected by the poison.
Nasa Images Discover Ancient Bridge
Between India & Sri Lanka
The bridge’s unique curvature and composition by
age reveals that it is man made. The legends as well as Archeological studies reveal that the first signs of human inhabitants in Sri Lanka date back to a primitive age, about 1,750,000 years ago and the bridge’s age is also almost equivalent.
Pernicious Anemia & Vitamin B-12
It has long been known that fasting results in a rapid blood regeneration in anemia. The matter has not been simplified by the realisation that vitamin B-12 deficiency is even more prevalent among meat-eaters than among vegans. [Note: Vegans do not use any animal products, not even milk or milk products]
Quality & Quantity
A Practical Classification of Diet
1.The Building Diet
2. The Mature Diet – The diet of maintenance – adulthood
3. The Curative Diet – The diet of elimination
Drunkard
They Lived with God
by Swami Chetanananda, Belur Math
Kalipada was one of those wayward souls who were saved by the Master. Like Girish, he was an out-and-out bohemian, a debauchee, and a drunkard. Swami Adbhutananda related in his reminiscences how Sri Ramakrishna transformed Kalipada’s life.
The Teachings of Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa
Excerpts from ‘God Lived With Them’
by Swami Chetanananda, Belur Math
Do you believe in a God with form or in a formless God?
One of these visitors, Gadashankar, was a follower of Keshab Chandra Sen. The Master (Sri Ramakrishna) talked with him on the eastern veranda while I was there.
“Do you practise the brahminical rites daily?” the Master asked him.
“I don’t like all these rituals,” he said.
“You see,” the Master went on, “do not give up anything by force. If the blossoms of gourds and pumpkins are plucked off, their fruits rot, but when the fruits are ripe the flowers fall off naturally. Do you believe in a God with form or in a formless God?”
“In the formless aspect,” was the reply.
“But how can you grasp the formless aspect all at once?” the Master asked. “When the archers are learning to shoot, they first aim at the plantain tree, then at a thin tree, then at a fruit, then at the leaves, and finally at a flying bird. First meditate on the aspect with form. This will enable you to see the formless later.
The following topics are featured on page ‘Ideal behind the Idol’
The Teachings of Sri Ramakrishna
The vision of the Chosen Deity is equivalent to Self-knowledge.
Do you know how to pray?
‘Look, here is the living Shiva.’
How can He who is the Absolute Brahman, omnipresent and
pervading the whole universe, incarnate Himself as man?
Why does one take so much care of his body?
Oldest Civilization (Sunken cities – around ten thousand years old)
How to fix the date of the Mahabharata
A practical suggestion
Touched by God (By Swami Chetanananda)
Narendra first visited Dakshineshwar sometime in the early part of 1882. He entered the Master’s room by the western door that faces the Ganges. Indifferent to his external appearance, Narendra’s clothes were disheveled; his impressive eyes were partly indrawn. Ramakrishna marvelled: “How is it possible that such a great spiritual aspirant can live in Calcutta, the home of the worldly-minded?”
When they returned to the Master’s room, Narendra’s mind was agitated by the strange words and conduct of Ramakrishna. However, he asked the Master: “Sir, have you seen God?”
Without a moment’s hesitation Ramakrishna replied: “Yes, I have seen God. I see Him as I see you here, only more clearly. God can be seen. One can talk to Him. But who cares for God? People shed torrents of tears for their wives, children, wealth, and property, but who weeps for the vision of God? If one cries sincerely for God, one can surely see Him.”
“That impressed me at once,” said Narendra later. “For the first time I found a man who dared to say that he had seen God, that religion was a reality to be felt, to be sensed in an infinitely more intense way than we can sense the world.”
Narendra felt that Ramakrishna’s words were uttered from the depths of his inner experience. Still, he could not comprehend the Master’s words and conduct. Bewildered, he bowed down to the Master and returned to Calcutta.
A month later Narendra returned to Dakshineshwar and found the Master alone in his room. Ramakrishna was glad to see Narendra and asked him to sit on the corner of his bed. After a few minutes the Master drew near him in an ecstatic mood, muttered some words, fixed his eyes on him, and placed his right foot on Narendra’s body. At his touch Narendra saw, with open eyes, the whole world vanishing – the walls, the room, the temple garden, and even himself were disappearing into the void. He felt sure that he was facing death. He cried out loudly: “Ah, what are you doing to me? Don’t you know that I have parents at home?”
Listening to this the Master laughed and then touching Narendra’s chest, said: “All right, let it stop now. It will happen in its own good time.” With this Narendra became normal again.
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Culture and Civilization Swami Smaranananda Maharaj (Belur Math)
‘Civilization’ means the betterment of ways of living, making Nature bend to fulfil the needs of humankind. It includes also organizing societies into politically well-defined groups working collectively for improved conditions of life in matters of food, dress, communication, and so on. Thus a group considers itself as civilized, while others were looked down upon as barbarians. This has led to wars and holocausts, resulting in mass destruction of human beings. Therefore civilization by itself cannot be the goal of life.
On the other hand ‘culture’ refers to the inner man, a refinement of head and heart. One who may be poor and wearing cheap apparel may be considered ‘uncivilized’, but still he or she may be the most cultured person. For ‘culture’ concerns itself with the inner refinement of a person. This includes arts and sciences, music and dance and various higher pursuits of human life which are also classified as cultural activities. One possessing ostentatious wealth may be considered as ‘civilized’ but he may not be cultured. Therefore when we deal with cultural yardsticks, we have to make clear our definition of ‘culture’.
We would prefer to call it the ‘higher levels of inner refinement’ of a human being. Man is not merely a physical being. He lives and acts in three levels: physical, mental and spiritual. While better ways of living socially and politically and better utilisation of nature around us may be termed civilization, they are not enough to be a cultured individual. Only when the deeper levels of human intellect and consciousness are brought into expression can we call a person ‘cultured’.
What Religion Is By Swami Ramakrishnananda,Belur Math
Science is the struggle of man in the outer world. Religion is the struggle of man in the inner world. Science makes man struggle for Truth in the outside universe, and religion makes him struggle for Truth in the inner universe. Both struggles are great, no doubt, but one ends in success and the other ends in failure. That is the difference. Religion begins where science ends. The whole scientific method is based on observation and experiment; but the moment man realises that there is something beyond observation and experiment he will give them up and leave material science behind. Science will always have to deal with finite bodies, and God is infinite.
Sun-SuryaFrom the Mahabharata
He that, with the desire of obtaining a boon, recites this hymn concentrating his mind with ascetic abstraction, obtains it from the sun, however difficult of acquisition it may be that he asks for. And the person, male or female, that recites or hears this hymn day after day, if he or she desires for a son, obtains one, and if riches, obtains them, and if learning, acquires that too. And the person male or female, that recites this hymn every day in the two twilights, if overtaken by danger, is delivered from it, and if bound, is freed from the bonds. Brahma himself had communicated this hymn to the illustrious Sakra, and from Sakra was it obtained by Narada and from Narada, by Dhaumya. And Yudhishthira, obtaining from Dhaumya, attained all his wishes. And it is by virtue of this hymn that one may always obtain victory in war, and acquire immense wealth also. And it leads the reciter from all sins, to the solar region.
And while the sun so stayed over the earth, the lord of the vegetable world (the moon), converting the effects of the solar heat (vapours) into clouds and pouring them down in the shape of water, caused plants to spring up. Thus it is the sun himself, who, drenched by the lunar influence, is transformed, upon the sprouting of seeds, into holy vegetable furnished with the six tastes. And it is these that constitute the food of all creatures upon the earth. Thus the food that supports the lives of creatures is instinct with solar energy, and the sun is, therefore, the father of all creatures.
Aryan Language Family Indo-European Language Family
Aryan, Armenian, Albanian, Balto-Slavic,
Keltic, Italic, Hellenic, Teutonic, Tokharian.
Sinner By Swami Chetananada
Surendra seemed to be a typical young man of his day – open minded, carefree, and indifferent to religion. He was handsome and well built. As a commercial agent of the Dost company, a large British firm in Calcutta, he had a well paying job. He was married but had no children. Most of his friends were of the bohemian type, and like them, he often got drunk and was promiscuous.
Although Surendra was quite affluent, his licentious conduct was ruining his mental peace. He even thought of killing himself with poison. One day during this period, a Bhairavi (a Tantric nun) of imposing appearance accosted him in passing, saying, ‘My son, God alone is true and everything else is false’. These words touched Surendra’s heart and gave him strength to rouse himself from his hell of mental agony.
Surendra was born probably in 1850 and met
Sri Ramakrishna when he was thirty.
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Nature Uses Maths
Nature Uses Maths (1)
Anahata Nada -Uncreated Sound
- Natural Number Series Defined
- Chakras of the head
- The thirteen Chakras
- Determination of the pitches for each Chakra note
- Colours
- Smell, taste and sensation
- Brain functions
- Practical aplications
Nature Uses Maths (2)
The Fibonacci Rectangles and Shell Spirals
Pine cones
Vegetables and Fruit
Seed heads
Fibonacci fingers
Arrangements of the leaves
Planetary orbits in our solar system
Stock exchange price cycles
Who was Fibonacci?
Introducing the Decimal number system into Europe
The Highest Refuge of All things
(From The Mahabharata)
Vyasa said: That fool who believing that all this exists in consequence of its own nature without, in fact, an existent refuge or foundation, fills by such instruction the aspirations of disciples, dispelling by his dialectical ingenuity the reasons the latter might urge to the contrary, succeeds not in attaining to any truth.
They again who firmly believe that all Cause is due to the nature of things, fail to acquire any truth by even listening to (wiser) men or the Rishis (who are capable of instructing them). Those men of little intelligence who stop (in their speculations), having adopted either of these doctrines, indeed, those men who regard nature as the cause, never succeed in obtaining any benefit for themselves.
Dharanaa
What is Dharanaa?
Religions in Brief {By Swami Shivapadananda)
Buddhism in Brief – Zen in Brief
Confucianism in Brief
Christianity in Brief
Hinduism in Brief – Sikkhism in Brief
Islam in Brief
Judaism in Brief
Taoism in Brief
Basic Beliefs of Hinduism
Basic Beliefs of Christianity
Kosas-Sheaths
(By Sri Parthasarathy)
The structure of man can be divided into five material layers enveloping Atman (indwelling soul). Atman is the core of your personality. It is represented by the mystic symbol of AUM (pronounced OM). The five layers of matter are like five concentric circles around the symbol. They are called sheaths or KOSAS in Sanskrit. The five sheaths (pancha-kosas) are:
- Food sheath (Anna-maya kosa)
- Vital-Air sheath (Prana-maya kosa)
- Mental sheath (Mana-maya kosa)
- Intellectual sheath (Vignana-maya kosa)
- Bliss sheath (Ananda-maya kosa)
Atheist (By Swami Chetanananda)
Ram’s great enthusiasm for science and modern knowledge made him an inspiring lecturer to the students, but it also made him an atheist. In his own words: ‘In those days we did not believe in God. We considered that everything happens, changes, or dissolves by the force of nature. We were rank materialists, and we held the view that eating, sleeping, and creature comforts were the summum bommum of life.’ Ram was fond of debating with others about God and religion and found great satisfaction in defeating his opponents. Ram’s family guru came to his house and wanted to initiate him. Ram was forthright. He said: ‘Sir, I don’t believe in God. Moreover, I have terrible doubts about his existence. Can you tell me the way to realize God?’ The guru kept quiet. He did not know what to say.
Single-minded Devotion (By Swami Chetanananda
It is hard to believe how the infinite God actually assumes a finite human form and plays with human beings. But this play was actually enacted in the life of a woman devotee of Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa.
Thanks Giving (Trikal Sandhya)
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Acts versus Knowledge(From The Mahabharata)
Suka said: The declarations of the Vedas are twofold. They once lay down the command: ‘Do all acts.’ They also indicate (the reverse, saying), ‘Give up acts.’ The son of Parsara said these words unto his son: I shall expound to thee the two paths, viz., the destructible and the indestructible, depending respectively upon acts and knowledge.
Brahmachari (From The Mahabharata)
The conduct of a Brahmachari (celibate student)
He should never eat before his preceptor has eaten; never drink before his preceptor has drunk; never sit down before his preceptor has sat down; and never go to bed before his preceptor has gone to bed. He should gently touch his preceptor’s feet with upturned palms, the right foot with the right and the left with the left.
Grahasthya (Householder) From The Mahabharata)
As regards the domestic mode of life, four kinds
of conduct have been laid down by the learned.
Vanaprastha (From The Mahabharata)
Four kinds of courses of conduct have been laid
down for observance in the Vanaprastha mode of life.
Raja Yoga By Swami Nikhilananda, Belur Math
According to Raja-Yoga, the waves of the mind can be controlled by practice and non-attachment.
The word that signifies God is AUM.
When properly pronounced, Aum represents the whole gamut of sound production as no other word can. It is therefore the matrix of all sounds, and thus the fittest symbol of the Godhead; it is the word, which, according to St. John, was in the beginning, was with God, and was God.
The three aspects of creation, preservation, and destruction are expressed by the three letters of Aum.
The Upanishads describe Aum as the symbol of the atman, or individual soul, in its various aspects Every Yogi is required to eradicate his selfish tendencies by the practice of ethical The Eight Limbs of Raja Yoga According to the Sankhya philosophy, on which Raja Yoga is based, attachment to nature is the cause of the soul’s bondage, and detachment from nature is liberation.
As there exists a close relationship between the body and the mind, one finds it helpful and easy to control the mental states by certain physical exercises laid down in Hatha Yoga. For the practice of Hatha Yoga, a qualified teacher is absolutely necessary.
The main purpose of Hatha Yoga is to increase the strength, vitality, and digestive power, as well as to remove various physical ailments.
Karma Yoga(Yoga of Action) By Swami Nikhilananda, Belur Math
Work when performed as a spiritual discipline is called Karma Yoga When work is done without any desire for personal gain it becomes spiritual action.Karma yoga is the secret of action. It gives the worker evenness of mind in gain and loss, success and failure. The enlightened person sees God manifested both as the One and as the many. He communes with the One in the silence of meditation, and with the many through work.
Bhakti Yoga
(Yoga of divine love; Yoga of devotion)
By Swami Nikhilananda
Love as a force of attraction operates at different levels: the material, the human, and the spiritual. When love of God fills the heart all other forms of love pale into insignificance Spiritual love, or bhakti, is directed only to God When a man obtains love of God, he loves all, hates none, and becomes satisfied forever The discipline of bhakti is the easiest and most natural of all spiritual disciplines, because it does not demand the suppression of normal impulses; it only tells the devotee to turn them to God
Jnana Yoga
(Yoga of Knowledge) By Swami Nikhilananda
Jnana Yoga, discussed in Vedanta, is the discipline of philosophical discrimination by which jnana, or the knowledge of Brahman (the Supreme Reality) is attained.
Sankaracharya
It may be safely stated that Sankara’s interpretation of Hinduism is, even today, India’s original and unsurpassed contribution to the philosophical thought of the world.
The Ideal Teacher – The Disciple – The four cardinal disciplines of Vedanta
The Four Great Vedic Statements
There are two kinds of samadhi
Highest Object of Knowledge(From The Mahabharata)
The disciple said: Whence am I? Whence art thou? Explain that which is the highest truth. From what source have sprung all creatures mobile and immobile? By what do creatures live? What is the limit of their life? What is truth? What is penance, O learned Brahmana? What are called attributes by the good? What paths are to be called auspicious? What is happiness? What is sin?
Self-interest Friend and foe (From The Mahabharata)
Kshatriya duties- kingcraft- Statecraft
There is no condition that deserves permanently the name either of friendship or hostility. Both friends and foes arise from considerations of interest and gain. Friendship becomes changed into enmity in the course of time. A foe also becomes a friend. Self-interest is very powerful.
The highest truth of all treatises on policy is mistrust. For this reason, mistrust of all persons is productive of the greatest good. However weak people may be, if they mistrust their foes, the latter, even if strong, never succeed in getting them under power.
There is no such thing as a foe. There is no such thing in existence as a
friend. It is force of circumstances that creates friends and foes.
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The Wheel of Life (From The Mahabharata)
It is overwhelmed by decrepitude and grief, and it has diseases and calamities for its progeny. That wheel relates in time and place. It has toil and exercise for its noise. Day and night are the rotations of that wheel. It is encircled by heat and cold. Pleasure and pain are its joints, and hunger and thirst are the nails fixed into it. Sunshine and shade are the ruts (it causes).
Appreciations (From some of our readers)
Honesty (9) – Stories and Episodes
Procrastination (From The Mahabharata)
Story of three fishes
Kamagita (From The Mahabharata)
Salvation is not attained by foregoing the external things (like kingdom, etc),
it is only attained by giving up things, which pander to the flesh (body)
Resurrection (From The Mahabharata)
How is it possible for persons whose bodies have been destroyed to re-appear in those very forms? In the case of ordinary men, the component parts of the body dissolve away, while Yogis can keep such parts from dissolution as long as they like.
Vidura Niti (From The Mahabharata, Udyoga Parva)
The wisdom of Vidura
Words that are beneficial and fraught with high morality.
Having provoked the hostility of a person who is capable of inflicting great injury on a fellow creature, one should not gather assurance from the thought that one lives at a distance from the other
Tell us what may be good for a person that is sleepless and burning?
Mark of wisdom; The foolish; The one
These two: These two are like sharp thorns afflicting the body,
These three; These four; These ten
These five fires should be worshipped with regard by a person Subdue the senses; Friendship with the sinful should be avoided Speech: A forest pierced by arrows, or cut down by hatchets may again grow, but one’s heart wounded and censured by ill-spoken words never recovers. When defeat is ordained
Story about the conversation between Virochana and Sudhanwan
Theses eight qualities shed a lustre upon their possessor
Eight different paths of righteousness; Assembly; Sin; Virtue
These cannot be ascertained; These rule the earth forever
Discourse between the son of Atri and the deities called Sadhyas
Slanders and reproaches; Silence and truth; Company
That man is regarded as the first of his species
These, however, are the indications of a bad man
High families; Sorrow; Grief; Relatives; Strength in unity; Health; Anger
Prosperity;
For what reason then, do not all men attain the allotted period of life?
Contact with these requires expiation;
Words that are agreeable but medicinal
These may be sacrificed; Gambling;
Servants; A servant should be endued with these eight qualities
Lending and borrowing money; He that eats sparingly wins these
One should not give shelter to these in his house
A person however distressed, should never solicit these
A person should never wait upon these six worst of men
Men are said to have five different kinds of strength
Cannot place trust on these; None of these should be disregarded; Guests
A Brahmana should never be a seller of these; Trust; King craft
Fire has its origin in water;
These six are regarded as the fuel of prosperity’s flame; Friendship
These are to be pitied; Students; Highest of all teachings
Sanat-sujata (From The Mahabharata, Udyoga Parva))
The learned are of the opinion that death results from ignorance. I say that ignorance is Death, and so the absence of ignorance (Knowledge) is immortality.Is virtue competent to destroy vice, or is it itself destroyed by vice?
These six are destructive of vanity and ignorance (what are they?)
There is one Brahman which is Truth’s self. It is from ignorance of that One, that godheads have been conceived to be diverse.
Knowledge of Self and Not-self
Renunciation is of six kinds From The Mahabharata)
Sanat-sujata’s teachings relating to Renunciation from Udyoga Parva
Topics include:
Asceticism
Thirteen kinds of wickedness that are the faults of asceticism
These twelve constitute the practice of Brahmanas (Brahmins)
Mada or pride analysed
Rites of Sannyasa (Renunciation)
From Sri Ramakrishna The Great Master
When about two hours before daybreak, the auspicious moment of Brahma-muhurta arrived, the Guru and the disciple met in the hut. The preliminaries finished, the Homa-fire was lighted. And the woods and the gardens round the Panchavati reverberated with the sound of the holy and profound Mantras chanted before taking the vow of utter renunciation for God- the vow that has come down in an unbroken line from the Guru to the disciple from the beginning of time till today and has maintained India as the foremost country in the field of Brahman realisation.
The Story of Tota Puri
From Sri Ramakrishna The Great Master
A fascinating, inspiring and miraculous real life episode
Ideals of the Sannyasin (By Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa)
Yogins and Sannyasins are like snakes. The snake does not dig out a hole for itself, but lives in the hole made by the mouse. When one hole becomes uninhabitable, it enters into another hole. Just so Yogins and Sannyasins make no house for themselves. They pass their days in other men’s houses- today in one house, tomorrow in another.
Sannyasa- Its Ideals and Practice (By Swami Vivekananda)
First, we have to understand the ideal, and then the methods by which we can make it practical. Those of you who are Sannyasins must try to do good to others, for ‘Sannyasa’ means that.
You nourish your body by eating. What good is there in doing that if you do not hold it as a sacrifice to the well being of others? You nourish your minds by reading books. There is no good in doing that unless you hold it also as a sacrifice to the whole world. For the whole world is one; you are rated a very insignificant part of it, and therefore, it is right for you that you should serve your millions of brothers rather than aggrandise this little self.
Adhyatma – Self- Spritual Science
From The Mahabharata
When the Understanding desires for anything,
it comes to be called by the name of Mind.
Understanding creates all objects
Indication of a person of knowledge
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Foremost of all duties
From The Mahabharata
The withdrawal of the mind and the senses from all unworthy objects and their due concentration (upon worthy objects) is the highest penance. That is the foremost of all duties. Indeed, that is said to be the highest duty.
The Soul as modified by birth and other attributes, does not know whence it has come and whither it is to go.
Cease to regard thy body as thyself
These words that I have used for answering thy question lead to Emancipation
Dasnami Sampradayas By Swami Brahmeshananda, Belur Math
One of the major achievements of Acharya Shankara was to organize the Hindu monasticism. He divided the Hindu monks into ten sects called “Dasnami” and organized them under four heads with the Headquarters at Dwaraka in the West, Jagannatha Puri in the East, Rameswaram in the South and Badrikashrama in the North. These became the four sacred “Dhams”, “Holy Places” of the Hindus. He also enumerated other details of the order of Hindu monks grouped under these heads for their identity. Although there are today a number of Hindu monastic sects, the most authentic are the ten established by Acharya Shankara.
Sannyasa – Renunciation From The Mahabharata
Having subdued all faults of the mind and the heart by easy means in the practice of the first three modes of life (viz., pupilage, domesticity, and seclusion) one should pass into the most excellent and the most eminent of all the modes, viz., Sannyasa or Renunciation. Do thou then pass thy days, having acquired that purity. Listen also to me. One should, alone and without anybody to assist him or bear him company, practise Yoga for attaining to success (in respect of one’s highest object of acquisition). One who practises Yoga without companionship, who beholds everything as a repetition of his own self, and who never discards anything (in consequence of all things being pervaded by the Universal Soul), never falls away from Emancipation.
The Essence of all the Vedas From The Mahabharata
This discourse, O son, intended for thy instruction,
is the essence of all the Vedas.
Maya and illusion By Swami Vivekananda
The theory of Maya forms one of the pillars
upon which the Vedanta rests.
Maya-Shakti-Prakriti
From Vivekachudamani By Sri Sankaracharya
The Veiling power and the Projecting power of Maya
Sthitapragnya(of steady wisdom or stable of mind)
From The Gita
As the waters of different rivers enter the ocean; which though full on all sides remains undisturbed, likewise he in whom all enjoyments merge themselves attains peace; not he who hankers after such enjoyments. With the attainment of such placidity of mind, all his sorrows come to an end
Hinduism and Sri Ramakrishna
By Swami Vivekananda
Then it was that Sri Bhagavan Ramakrishna incarnated himself in India, to demonstrate what the true religion of the Aryan race is; to show where amidst all its many divisions and offshoots, scattered over the land in the course of its immemorial history, lies the true unity of the Hindu religion
The Twofold Vedic Religion (An introduction to Bhagavad Gita)
By Sri Sankaracharya
It is the twofold Vedic Religion of Works and Renunciation that maintains
order in the universe.
The aim of this famous Gita-Sastra is, briefly, the Supreme Bliss. A complete cessation of samsara or transmigratory life and of its cause. This accrues from that Religion (Dharma) which consists in a steady devotion to the knowledge of the Self, preceded by the renunciation of all works.
Though the Religion of Works, which, as a means of attaining worldly prosperity, is enjoined on the several castes and religious orders, leads the devotee to the religion of the Devas and the like, when practised in a spirit of complete devotion to the Lord and without regard to the (immediate) results, it conduces to the purity of the mind (sattva-suddhi). The man whose mind is pure is competent to tread the path of knowledge, and to him comes knowledge; and thus (indirectly) the religion of Works forms also a means to the Supreme Bliss.
The Nature of Man
An essay by Swami Brahmeshananda, Belur Math
Man rises from animal to human level by accepting pravritti dharma i.e. by observing social injunctions. He ascends to godhood and becomes divine by embracing the nivritti dharma.
This Hindu concept of liberation, in turn, is based upon another concept of an ever pure, ever free, ever perfect, ever conscious spiritual entity in man called Atman (soul). According to Swami Vivekananda this Atman is the Real Man as against the body-mind complex which is only the apparent man. The relation between the real and apparent men has been beautifully described through an allegory in the Katha Upanishad:
Know the soul to be the master of the chariot and the body the chariot. Consider the intellect the charioteer, and the mind the reins. The senses, they say, are the horses, and their roads are the sense objects. The wise call Him the enjoyer when He is united with the body, senses and mind.
Riddles- The Background Story (Mahabharata)
Riddles From The Mahabharata
The Mother of all Riddles
What is that which does not close its eyes while asleep? What is that which does not move after birth? What is that which is without heart, and what is that which swells with its own impetus?
What is weightier than the earth itself? What is higher than the heavens?
What is fleeter than the wind? And what is more numerous than grass?
Hinduism-a brief sketch
(By Swami Vivekananda)
There never was a time when there was no creation.
I am a spirit living in a body. I am not the body.
The body will die, but I shall not die.
The natural habits of a new-born soul; since they were not obtained in this present life, they must have come down from past lives.
Purity is the condition of His mercy.
There is no polytheism in India
We can no more think about anything without a
mental image than we can live without breathing.
The whole religion of the Hindu is centred in realisation.
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Hypocrite (7)
Stories- Episodes – Story of two Brahmacharis
He who, restraining the organs of action, sits thinking of the sense objects in mind, he of deluded understanding is called a hypocrite.
– Bhagavad Gita Ch.3, Verse 6
Was the Kaaba Originally a Hindu Temple?
P.N. Oak (Historian)
Glancing through some research material recently, I was pleasantly surprised to come across a reference to a king Vikramaditya inscription found in the Kaaba in Mecca proving beyond doubt that the Arabian Peninsula formed a part of his Indian Empire.
The text of the crucial Vikramaditya inscription, found inscribed on a gold dish hung inside the Kaaba shrine in Mecca, is found recorded on page 315 of a volume known as ‘Sayar-ul-Okul’ treasured in the Makhtab-e-Sultania library in Istanbul, Turkey.
War – Military Operations (Mahabharata)
Scorched earth
The king should himself withdraw all stores of grain (from the open country into his forts). If that becomes impossible, he should destroy them completely by fire. He should set men for destroying the crops on the fields of the enemy (by producing disunion among the enemy’s subjects). Failing to do this, he should destroy those crops by means of his own troops. He should destroy all the bridges over the rivers in his kingdom. He should bale out the waters of all the water tanks in his dominions, or, if incapable of baling them out, cause them to be poisoned.
Buddhism, The Fulfillment of Hinduism
By Swami Vivekananda
Our views about Buddha are that he was
not understood properly by his disciples.
Senses- Self-discipline (From The Mahabharata)
Senses- what are they? How may they be subdued? What is the good of subduing them and how does a creature reap the fruits thereof?
This subjugation of the senses is the highest means of attaining spiritual light. Our senses are at the (cause) root of our spiritual advancement as also at the root of our spiritual degradation. By indulging in them, a person undoubtedly contracts vices, and by subduing these, he attains salvation.
Karma (From The Mahabharata)
Destiny is all-powerful and it is difficult to evade the consequence of our past actions.
Evil Karma may be expiated in various ways.
The commandment that people should not do harm to any creature was ordained of old by men, who were ignorant of the true facts of the case. For, O Brahmana, there is not a man on the face of this earth, who is free from the sin of doing injury to creatures.
Why does the spirit take its birth, and why does its nativity become sinful or virtuous?
Vrat- Resolution
The essence of Himadri-Vrat chapter describes Vrat as a special undertaking, keeping some goal in mind, and making a resolution about it.
Mahatma Gandhi said, “Life without solemness of purpose is like a house without foundation”. The strength of such solemnness of purpose is what makes this world endure. Not to have such solemness of purpose means to live with wavering indecision. Lack of courage to adopt a resolution is a sign of weakness. Such people are unable to successfully tackle any job. According to Mr. James Allan, “As a matter of fact, the greatest weakness (shortcoming) of man is his lack of resoluteness of purpose”. To remove this weakness, Vrats have been assigned a pride of place in Hindu religion.
Tirukkural
Readings from the holy Kural
Tirukkural
There are three holy works by which the Tamil language has been made universal and immortal. These three are the Tirukkural, the Tiruvasagam and the Tirumandiram.
The Tirukkural is the life, the Tiruvasagam is the heart, and the Tirumandiram is the soul of Tamil culture.
Tirukkural means “Holy Kural”. It is the work of the great saint of South India, named Tiruvalluvar. It is a book for all humanity and for all times. A world that lives by its teachings shall enjoy eternal peace, harmony, health, wealth, power, grace and bliss.
The Tirukkural contains treasures that lead to peace and harmony at home as well as the country. The Tirukkural, the Gita and Kalidasa’s Shakuntala have been regarded by wise men all over the world as the cream of Indian thought and culture.
Readings from the Tirukkural
When gentle words are available, why do men choose the words that hurt? Is it not foolish to pick unripe berries when ripe ones can be had for the plucking? Not jewels but courteous deportment and gladness of speech are the things that adorn.
As the spine supports the bodies of vertebrates, love supports the soul. Without it, it shrinks and stops the spirit’s evolution.
Where there is no tenderness of heart, life is barren of purpose. Can a tree that is dried up in the desert sun put forth leaves?
Without a tender heart, of what avail are the externals of family life? Just as the outer ear or eye may be there, but it is of no avail to the deaf and the blind, so is the soulless routine of a householder’s life purposeless without tenderness of heart.
Without tenderness of heart, the body is but bones covered up with skin. In love alone is the secret of life.
Life functions really in love and not in the physical activities of the body.
University (Takshashila or Taxila)
The world’s first International University
The Ruins of Nalanda University (Photo)
A Buddhist University, 5th Century, Bihar, India
A fascinating historical account from the 5th century by
The Chinese pilgrim Hieun Tsang
(A student of Nalanda in 5th century)
The Royal Patrons of the University of Nalanda
Amazing Science By Swami Sada Shiva Tirtha
From ancient India, Saints and Science
Cosmology & psychology, Medicine (Ayurveda), Aviation Surgery, paediatrics, gynaecology, anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, embryology, blood circulation Ehinoplasty, amputation, caesarean and cranial surgeries Atomic theory, Chemistry alchemical metals Astronomy and mathematics Geography, constellation science Botany, Animal science Algebra, arithmatic and geomertry, planetary positions, eclipses, Cosmography and mathematical techniques, force of gravity The Decimal, Metallurgy
Bacteria- Viruses (From The Mahabharata)
Physiology(From The Mahabharata)
Science of Speech(From The Mahabharata)
Grammar, Phonetics, Phonology, Morphology
Sanskrit was the classical literary language of the Indian Hindus and Paniniis considered the founder of the language and literature.
Highest Good – Greatest Merit (Mahabharata)
That man who practises the religion of universal compassion achieves his highest good. That man who keeps under control the three faults, viz., lust, wrath, and cupidity, (and practises the virtue of compassion), attains to success.
The Rule of Righteousness (Mahabharata)
One should never do that to another which one regards as injurious
to one’s own self. This, in brief, is the rule of Righteousness.
Tirtha (Place of Pilgrimage) Mahabharata
Adhering to eternal Truth, one should bathe in the Tirtha called Manasa, which is unfathomable (for its depth), stainless, and pure, and which has Truth for its waters and the understanding for its lake.
Eldest Brother (Mahabharata)
The eldest brother should at times be blind to the acts of his younger brothers, and though possessed of wisdom should at times act as if he does not understand their acts. If the younger brothers were guilty of any transgression, the eldest brother should correct them by indirect ways and means. If there be good understanding among brothers and if the eldest brother seek to correct his younger brothers by direct or ostensible means, persons that are enemies, O son of Kunti, that are afflicted with sorrow at the sight of such good understanding and who, therefore, always seek to bring about a disunion, set themselves to disunite the brothers and cause dissension among them.
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Overcoming Difficulties (Mahabharata)
They that never practise deceit, they whose behaviour is restrained by salutary restrictions, and they that control all worldly desires, succeed in overcoming all difficulties. They that do not speak when addressed in evil language, they that do not injure others when themselves injured, they that give but do not take, succeed in overcoming all difficulties.
Kingcraft (Mahabharata) Further articles
Duties of a kingdom
The (election and) coronation of a king is the first duty of a kingdom. A kingdom in which anarchy prevails becomes weak and is soon afflicted by robbers.
King, that ruler of men, is a god
In the absence of royal protection If the king did not exercise the duty of protection, the strong would forcibly appropriate the possessions of the weak
Protection of kingdom and how to use spies
Deployment of spies, foot-soldiers
Peace treaties, military operations, tribute, scorched earth
A king should take care of seven things
Chastisement (punishment)
If chastisement did not uphold and protect, then no body would have studied the Vedas, and no maiden would have married.
The highest merit a king (or the president and the government) can acquire is acquaintance with the great science of chastisement (punishment) and administering it properly.
The king makes the age
The truth is that the king makes the age.
When the king rules with a complete and strict reliance on the science of chastisement, the foremost of ages called Krita is then said to set in. Righteousness sets in the Krita age. Nothing of unrighteousness exists then. The hearts of men belonging to all the four orders do not take any pleasure in unrighteousness. Without doubt, all men succeed in acquiring the objects they desire and preserving those
that have been acquired.
Kingcraft (Mahabharata) More articles
Taxation
Weakness is more powerful than even the greatest power
These faults should be checked. They are such as impoverish everyone.Self-restraint
(From The Mahabharata)
We have not heard that there is any other duty in the entire world that can equal self-restraint.
Self-restraint, according to all virtuous persons, is the highest of virtues in this world.
The man who is without self-restraint always suffers misery. Such a man brings upon himself many calamities all born of his own faults. It has been said that in all the four modes of life self-restraint is the best of vows Through self-restraint, a person acquires the highest happiness both here and hereafter. Endued with self-restraint, one acquires great virtue.
Ignorance(From The Mahabharata)
Ignorance has its origin in covetousness. As covetousness grows, ignorance also grows. Ignorance exists there where covetousness exists. As covetousness decreases, ignorance also decreases. It rises with the rise of covetousness. Manifold again is the course that it takes.
Duties – General duties and special duties of the four orders of men
From The Mahabharata
Nine duties that are eternal:
The suppression of wrath, truthfulness of speech, justice, forgiveness, begetting children upon one’s wedded wives, purity of conduct, avoidance of quarrel, simplicity, and maintenance of dependants, these nine duties belong to all the four orders (equally).
Duties that belong exclusively to Brahmanas
Duties of Kshatriyas, Vaisyas and Sudras
Sacrifice as a duty
Mental sacrifices are laid down for all orders
Special protection of Brahmanas
None of these is competent to pour libations on the sacrificial fire
These five kinds of falsehoods in speech are not sinful
Expiation of sins
Eternal injunctions laid down for the expiation of sin
The five grave sins
Adultery
Minor sins
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Ashramas – The Four Modes of Life
From The Mahabharata
Bhishma said: The four modes of life, O puissant one, have been laid down for the Brahmana (Brahmin). The other three orders do not adopt them, O best of the Bharatas!
For a Sudra who is desirous of hearing (such scriptures as are not forbidden in his case), who has accomplished his duties, who has begotten a son, between whom and the superior orders there is not much difference in consequence of the purity of his conduct, all the modes of life have been laid down excepting the observance of universal peacefulness and self-restraint (which are not necessary for him). For a Sudra practising all these duties as also for a Vaisya, O king, and a Kshatriya, the Bhikshu mode of life has been laid down.
Having discharged the duties of his order, and having also served the king, a Vaisya of venerable years, with the king’s permission, may betake himself to another mode of life.
Having studied the Vedas duly and the treatises on the duties of King, …. a Kshatriya, for leading the life of a Rishi, O king, may adopt the Bhikshu mode of life; but he should never do so for the sake of enjoying the pleasures of the world. Having left the domestic mode of life, he may adopt the life of mendicancy by begging what would barely support his life. A life of mendicancy is not obligatory upon the three orders (viz., Kshatriyas, Vaisyas and Sudras), O giver of profuse presents! Inasmuch, however, as they can adopt it if they choose this mode of life, therefore, is open to the four orders.
Truth(Mahabharata)
Truth, as it exists in all the world, is of thirteen kinds. The forms that Truth assumes are impartiality, self-control, forgiveness, modesty, endurance, goodness, renunciation, contemplation, dignity, fortitude, compassion, and abstention from injury.
Bell’s Theorem – Vedanta and Quantum Physics
Human consciousness and the physical world
quot;The most important discovery in the history of science”
-Prof.Henry Stapp, Quantum physicist.
Modern Physics and Philosophical Reason
The basic oneness of the universe is not only the central characteristic of the mystical experience, but is also one of the most important revelations of modern physics.
Transcendental Meditation Lowers Cholesterol
Hurry sickness
Yet for all the qualities for which they are admired- their> vision, energy, and dedication- they possess, as a group, a characteristic that nobody envies: they have a high mortality rate from heart disease.Type A individuals as a group, die earlier.
Sacred Fire Ceremony
HAVAN- AGNI HOTRA- YAGNA- HOMA
Agni (fire) is the deity that represents all the other deities. Agni is said to be the mouth of the gods. Agni is known as the messenger of the gods. Whatever man has to say to the gods, to the higher powers, he conveys it through Agni.
Sacrifice(Doing Good)
The ideals of service and sacrifice
Mantras
Speech is born of tapas (austerity) and throughout the Vedic literature is related to Agni (fire). Mystics of all ages have discovered the relationship between the repetition of sound and an inner fire, and these take the mind to profound depths and eventually spiritual illumination. The rhythmically formulated word, with its tendency towards rhyme, its alliteration, assonance and other types of repetition make it an instrument of power.
Bacteria- Viruses?
(From the Mahabharata)
Four levels of languages
According to the rishis (seers) the mantras are the living body of the luminous inner truth of which they sing, a truth which does not reveal itself to the busy conceptual mind as readily as to the more receptive inner audience of unbounded awareness unfolded through meditation. There are four different levels of languages describing four domains of Vedic experience.
Five daily sacrifices
Post-operation wound healed with Agnihotra ashes
Cows are sacred
From the Mahabharata
Meditation and Concentration
Sri Ramana Maharshi said “This path (attention to the ‘ I ‘ ) is the direct path; all others are indirect ways. The first leads to the Self, the others elsewhere.
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Guru
The person from whose soul such impulse comes is called the Guru – the teacher; and the person to whose soul the impulse is conveyed is called the Shishya – the student. To convey such an impulse to any soul, in the first place, the soul from which it proceeds must possess the power of transmitting it, as it were, to another; and in the second place, the soul to which it is transmitted must be fit to receive it.
Silent Teachings & Sat-sanga
By Sri Ramana Maharshi
Sri Ramana Maharshi frequently pointed out that his ‘silent teachings’ were more direct and more powerful. These ‘silent teachings’ consisted of a spiritual force, which seemed to emanate from his form, a force so powerful that he considered it to be the most direct and important aspect of his teachings. Instead of giving out verbal instructions on how to control the mind, he effortlessly emitted a silent power, which automatically quietened the minds of everyone in his vicinity. The people who were attuned to this force report that they experienced it as a state of inner peace and well being; in some advanced devotees it even precipitated a direct experience of the Self.
Purity of Birth
A disrespectable behaviour, acts opposed to those laid down in the scriptures, crookedness and cruelty, and abstention from sacrifices and other spiritual acts that lead to merit, proclaim one`s impurity of origin.
Time Assails the Energy of Righteousness
From The Mahabharata
Untouchables
From The Mahabharata
Brahmanas(Brahmins)
From The Mahabharata
The Father and Mother of the Universe
Significance of the Shiva Emblem
As explained by Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa
Ardhanarishwar – Spirit and Matter
Durga Festival – Navaratri
Vijayadashmi (Dasera)
Creation
As the spider sends forth and draws in its thread, as plants grow on the earth, as hair grows on the head and the body of a living man- so does everything in the universe arise from the Imperishable.
Cosmic Time Scale
Dissolution From The Mahabharata
When the time comes for universal dissolution, a dozen Suns, and Agni (fire) with his seven flames, begin to burn. The whole universe, wrapped by those flames, begins to blaze forth in a vast conflagration. All things mobile and immobile that are on the earth first disappear and merge into the substance of which this planet is composed.
Wisdom versus knowledge
Two kinds of knowledge must be known
They are the Higher Knowledge and the lower knowledge.
Education as training of the mind
and not stuffing of the brain
From Chhandogya Upanishad
Truth depends upon Understanding
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The Disposition of Women
The eternal truths about the disposition of women, as revealed in the scripturraltexts, provide the reasons why, down through the centuries, restrictions are applied to women in Christianity, Islam and elsewhere and women being barred from the study of the Vedas in Hinduism. ‘The duties of women’ etc.as laid down in Hindu scriptures, can be understood more properly if
“The disposition of women” is understood.
It is more than likely that the scriptural texts “The disposition of women” may upset the reader. Therefore, we appeal that these texts be read with the aid of your intellect, keeping emotions under control.
The Disposition of Women
From Tulasi Ramayana
From Valmiki Ramayana
From The Mahabharata
Marriage
Hindu Marriage Ceremony
Forbidden Marriages
Polygamy
Eight types of marriage rites
Alluring Adornment
From The Mahabharata
Nataraj
A strictly bounded body does not exist. Our roots go deep; we are anchored in the stars. The biodance, the constant renewal of our body from the world outside, stands in playful contrast to our ordinary idea of death.
The Nature of Reality was investigated
from two levels of experience
The four functions of the mind
Self – Atma
How shall I reach the Self?
How long does it take to reach Mukti (liberation)?
What are the obstacles, that hinder realisation of the Self?
God
What is the relationship between God and the world?
Is He the creator or sustainer of it?
Does everything happen by the will of God?
Why do religions speak of Gods, heaven, hell, etc.?
Jnani – Self-realised
Does a jnani have Sankalpas (desires)?
(Sri Ramana Maharshi)
Self-Enquiry
Sri Ramana Maharshi
What is the practice?
Question: Is not meditation better than investigation?
Sri Ramana Maharshi: Meditation implies mental imagery,
whereas investigation is for the reality. The former is objective, whereas the latter is subjective.
Thought, Speech and Deed (From The Mahabharata)
Whatever good acts are performed, or whatever sin (is perpetrated), the doer tastes the consequences. Hence, one should, in speech, thought and deed, do only acts that are good.
Death & Life
The living creature is not seen after the destruction of the physical frame just as fire is not seen after the consumption of the fuel with which it was ignited.
The Process of Death
How does the body dissolve away and how is another body acquired?
The signs of approaching death
One that sees the full moon or the flame of a burning lamp to be broken towards the south, has but one year to live. Those men, O king, who can no longer see images of themselves reflected in the eyes of others, have but one year to live. One who, being endued with lustre loses it, or being endued with wisdom loses it, indeed, one whose inward and outward nature is thus changed, has but six months more to live. When a person fails to notice the light emanating from the sun, the moon or the fire; what he sees is only black, then know it that his life expectancy is about six months or less. When terrific uproar or noises are not heard immediately, then know that the person’s death can occur within ………..
Death
The soul does not take birth in a different body immediately
Rites of cremation
LIFE
The acts, good and bad, that a Jiva (embodied soul) does are not subject to destruction. Upon attainment of body after body, those acts produce fruits corresponding with them.
Valmiki Ramayana on death
How to overcome grief (from the Mahabharata)
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Immortality From The Mahabharata
Having acquired great power and great wealth, and having obtained a long period of life, how may one succeed in avoiding death?
Funerals
A very brief summary of a few ceremonies before and after funerals When a pregnant woman dies, the unborn infant under 7 months, must be taken out and buried and then the woman is cremated. Infants upto 27 months are buried and 28 months and above are cremated. Pre-mature, still-born, miscarriage babies are not cremated but are buried
When a wedded girl dies, then the in-laws side does the Sutak.
Girl, who is engaged only, then both sides observe Sutak.
When a son dies and the father is alive, then the father cannot apply or light the funeral pyre, and there is no Sapindi ceremony. Father does not do Vidhi (ceremony) for son.
Abhisheka (Siva)
Abhisheka is a part of the worship of Lord Siva. Without it, the worship is incomplete. It is the ceremonial bathing of the Siva Lingam in Siva temples.
From The Mahabharata
Bhishma
Whatever, O Bhishma, thou wilt say unto the enquiring son of Pandu (Yudhishthira), will be regarded on earth to be as authoritative as the declarations of that Vedas. – Krishna
Brahmanas and Sudras (From TulasiRamayana)
A Brahmana, even though he curses you, beats you or speaks harsh words to you, is still worthy of adoration: so declare the saints. A Brahmana must be respected, though lacking in amiability and virtue; not so a Sudra, though possessing a host of virtues and rich in knowledge.
Sabari
(From Tulasi Ramayana)
Nine Forms of Devotion
Wifely Virtues (From Tulasi Ramayana)
Devotion of body, speech and mind to her lord’s (husband’s) feet is the only duty, sacred vow and penance of a woman./pr>
Mother, Father & Teacher
What are those duties that most deserve to be practised?
What acts are the most important among all duties, by the practice of which one may earn the highest merit both here and hereafter?
Reincarnation
Sri Ramana Maharshi: “Reincarnation exists only so long as there is ignorance. There is really no reincarnation at all, either now or before. Nor will there be any hereafter. This is the truth.”
Heaven & Hell
When abandoning the dead body that is as inert as a piece of wood or clod of earth, people proceed to the other world, what are those that follow them there?
There are places in those regions that are worse than those which are inhabited by animals and birds.
Heaven is rejected by Mudgala
What is the nature of the inhabitants of heaven (swarga)?
What is the nature of happiness there and what are its defects?
After death,the souls of the extremely wicked…….
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Empty Chamber From The Mahabharata
What the dialogue is about : a brief outline
A woman of the name of Sulabha, belonging to the mendicant order, practised the duties of Yoga and wandered over the whole Earth. Sulabha heard from many Dandis of different places that the ruler of Mithila was devoted to the religion of Emancipation. Hearing this report about King Janaka and desirous of ascertaining whether it was true or not, Sulabha became desirous of having a personal interview with King Janaka.
Physiology: From the Mahabharata (Empty Chamber)
The constituent elements of the body, which serve diverse functions in the general economy, undergo change every moment in every creature. Those changes, however, are so minute that they cannot be noticed. The birth of particles, and their death, in each successive condition, cannot be marked, O king, even as one cannot mark the changes in the flame of a burning lamp. When such is the state of the bodies of all creatures, – that is when that which is called the body is changing incessantly even like the rapid locomotion of a steed of good mettle- who then has come whence or not whence, or whose is it or whose is it not, or whence does it not arise? What connection does there exist between creatures and their own bodies?
Self Realisation(Svetasvatara Upanishad)
The Rishis (seers of truth), absorbed in meditation, saw within themselves the ultimate Reality, the self-luminous Being, the one God, who dwells as the self-conscious power in all creatures. To realise God, first control the outgoing senses and harness the mind. Then meditate upon the light in the heart of the fire – meditate, that is, upon pure consciousness as distinct from the ordinary consciousness of the intellect. Thus the Self, the Inner Reality, may be seen behind physical appearance. Control your mind so that the Ultimate reality, the self-luminous Lord, may be revealed.
Who am I? Sri Ramana Maharshi
Every living being longs always to be happy untainted by sorrow; and everyone has the greatest love for himself, which is solely due to the fact that happiness is his real nature. Hence, in order to realize that inherent and untainted happiness, which indeed he daily experiences when the mind is subdued in deep sleep, it is essential that he should know himself. For obtaining such knowledge the enquiry, ‘Who am I?’ in quest of the Self is the means par excellence.
Worship Sri Ramana Maharshi
The purpose of worshipping the impersonal Supreme Being is never to forget “I am Brahman,” because the meditation “I am Brahman” comprises sacrifice, gifts, penance, ritual, yoga, and worship.
Self-Atma
How shall I reach the Self?
How long does it take to reach Mukti (liberation)?
What are the obstacles, which hinder realisation of the Self?
Bhakti- Surrender
The Philosophy of Love – Narada Sutras
The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi
Narada gives these as the signs of Bhakti (devotion):
When all thoughts, all words, and all deeds are given up to the Lord, and when the least forgetfulness of God makes one intensely miserable, then love has begun.
-Aphorism 19. Narada Sutras
Bhakti is intense love for God.
-Aphorism 2.
Japa
In its early stages the repetition of the name of God is only an exercise in concentration and meditation, but with continued practice a stage is reached in which the repetition proceeds effortlessly, automatically and continuously. This stage is not reached by concentration alone but only by completely surrendering to the deity whose name is being repeated: ‘To use the name of God one must call upon Him with yearning and unreservedly surrender oneself to Him. Only after such surrender is the name of God constantly with the man’.
The Thee States of Consciousness
Waking, Dream and Deep sleep
Gross,Subtle and Causal Body
Microcosm and Macrocosm
Vishva,Taijas, Prana
Akshara. Hiranyagarbha, Virat
AUM
The self as embodied in the gross body and undergoing
the experiences of waking is called VISHVA.
The self as encased in the subtle body and undergoing
dream-experiences is the TAIJASA.
The self as resting in the causal body in the state of
deep-sleep is the PRAJNA.
The Five Great Elements
Mandukya Upanishad
AUM- Turiya – three states of consciousness
Freedom and Bondage
Is the world created for happiness or misery?
MoralityFrom The Mahabharata
One cannot accomplish his course through the world with the aid of a morality that is one-sided. Duty must spring from the understanding; and the practices of those that are good should always be ascertained.
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Kingcraft
The origin of governments
From The Mahabharata
The diverse kinds of battle array, strategies and manoeuvres in war, planetary conjunctions foreboding evil, calamitous visitations (such as earthquakes), skilful methods of warfare and retreat, knowledge of weapons and their proper keep, the disorders of troops and how to get rid of them, the means of inspiring the army with joy and confidence, diseases, times of distress and danger, knowledge of guiding foot soldiers in battle, the methods of sounding alarms and notifying orders, inspiring the enemy with fear by display of standards, the diverse methods of afflicting the enemy’s kingdom by means of robbers and fierce wild tribes, and fire-raisers and poisoners and forgers by producing disunion among the chief officers of hostile armies, by cutting down crops and plants, by destroying the efficiency of the enemy’s elephants; by producing alarms, by honouring those among the enemy’s subjects that are well disposed towards the invader, and by inspiring the enemy with confidence, … the exact administration of justice, the extermination of the wicked, the methods of making presents and of storing requisite things, feeding the unfed and supervision over those that have been fed, the qualifications of military officers, …..
O king, thy kingdom should always be protected by the aid of the science of chastisement. Thou shouldst also, by careful observation made through the movements of thy spies, protect it in such a way that no one may be able to injure it. There is no treasure more valuable to kings than that which consists in the selection and assemblage of servants.
Bhishma said: Protection of the subject, O Yudhishthira, is the very cheese of kingly duties.
Karma From The Mahabharata
As the young calf is able to recognise its dam from among a thousand cows, so does the previous acts of a man pursue him (in all his different transformations). As the flower and fruits of a tree unurged by visible influences, never miss their proper season, so does Karma done in a previous existence bring about its fruits in proper time.
Brahmacharya – Celibacy From The Mahabharata) Purity of speech, of body and of mind, forgiveness, truth, steadiness, and intelligence, – these good qualities are displayed by righteous persons observant of both kinds of religion. That which is called Brahmacharya (religion of abstention or Yoga) is regarded as the means of attaining to Brahman (the Supreme Reality). That is the foremost of all religions. It is by the practice of that religion that one obtains the highest end (viz., Emancipation).
Aghamarshana Mantra
The eight breaks of Brahmacharya (Celibacy)
Rules for Brahmacharis
What is Brahmacharya Celibacy)?
Veerya (Semen) – the vital fluid
Ojas Shakti (Sex-sublimation)
Brahmacharya in active life
Truth versus Falsehood
On what occasions should a person tell the truth,
and what occasions should he tell an untruth?
There where falsehood would assume the aspect of truth,
truth should not be said. There, again, where truth would
assume the aspect of falsehood, even falsehood should be said.
Forgiveness versus Might and Anger
Might is not always meritorious and forgiveness also is not always meritorious.
The ignorant always regard anger as equivalent to energy.
Wrath, however, has been given to man for the destruction of the world.
Renunciation
Renunciation does not imply apparent divesting of costumes, family ties, homes, etc., but renunciation of desires, affection and attachment. There is no need to resign your job, only resign yourself to God, the bearer of the burden of all.
“Renunciation & Abandonment” describes:
Three types of knowledge – Three types of Actions
Three types of Agent – Threee types of intellect
Three types of constancy – Three types of happiness
Happiness
The practice of self-restraint is distinguished above all other virtues.
(From the Mahabharata)
Suffering
When will the suffering cease?
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The Four Great Vedic Statements
1. TAT TVAM ASI (THAT THOU ART).
From Samveda – Chandogyopanisad
2. AHAM BRAHMASMI (I AM BRAHMAN).
From Yajurveda – The Brhadaranyakopanisad
3. AYAM ATMA BRAHMAN (THIS SELF IS BRAHMAN).
From Atharva Veda – Mandukyopanisad
4. PRAGNANAM BRAHMAN (BRAHMAN IS CONSCIOUSNESS)
From Rgveda-Aitareyopanisad
Dharma- from Virtue Arises Happiness
(Mahabharata)
Is everything the result of chance
or the result of previous actions?
Destiny and Exertion
What the fruits are of good deed?
Destiny and Exertion
Conscience
What good health is to the body,
good conscience is to the soul.
Aum- Gayatri and the Three Vedas
What was the word, which according to St. John was
in the beginning, was with God, and was God?
Prayer
Prayer is not asking, but a communion with God through single-minded devotion.
Prayer is an invocation, a calling forth of spiritual forces ever flowing through the human heart and soul.
Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi
Techniques of Meditation
By Mouni Sadhu, A disciple of Sri Ramana Maharshi
Those who belong to different mystical societies often believe that meditation consists in the effort of directing the mind into certain channels according to pre-conceived ideas. The results of such exercises – they cannot be called meditation – are generally poor, even though they may be practised over a period of years, and they do not lead to the effective purification of the mind from thought.
Usually, advanced members of such organisations are given methods and rules, which are often insufficient. There are two kinds which we can call artificial and natural means.
The first group is based on imagination or mental conceptions. Endless exercises are given, a few of the most important being:
(a) The imagining of the possession of a virtue lacking in the student. If he is of a sensual type, he must think of himself as chaste during the time appointed for the meditation.
(b) He can protect himself from invasion of thoughts from outside by the mental creation of an astral shell according to instruction.
(c) By the use of incantations or mantras he can reach the necessary concentration or acquiescence of mind, thus keeping to one idea for some considerable period of time.
Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi
The Direct Path
The Master Sri Ramana Maharshi states that the
control of the mind, achieved by any way except
the Vichara (Self-inquiry) will be only temporary
Mind– What is the nature of the mind?
(Sri Ramana Maharshi)
According to the Hindu scriptures there is an entity known as the ‘mind’, which is derived from the subtle essence of the food consumed; which flourishes as love, hatred, lust, anger, and so on; which is the totality of mind, intellect, memory, will and ego; which, although it has such diverse aspects, bears the generic name ‘mind’, which is objectified as insentient objects cognized by us; which, though itself insentient, appears sentient, being associated with Consciousness, like a red-hot iron appearing as fire
Miscellaneous Questions
Answers by Sri Ramana Maharshi
Question: “Should I retire from business
and take to reading books on Vedanta?”
Question: “What do you think about social reform?”
Question: “What is the relationship between society and its members?”
About Sri Ramana Maharshi
The astonishing spiritual powers
of Sri Ramana Maharshi
Miracles and Visions
Sri Ramana Maharshi discouraged his devotees from deliberately pursuing either visions or Siddhis by pointing out that they were products of the mind, which might impede rather than facilitate Self-realisation. If visions came spontaneously he would sometimes admit that they were a sign of progress but he would usually add that they were only temporary experiences in the mind and that they were ‘below the plane of Self-realisation’.
Preyas-Sreyas
The wise, recognising eternal life, do not seek
the constant among inconstant things.
Pravritti-Nivritti
The Vedic dharma (religion) is verily twofold, characterised by
Pravritti (social action) and Nivritti (inward contemplation)
The path of Yoga
[Raja-Yoga or the Yoga of Meditation]
The uniting together of Intellect and Mind, and all the Senses, and the all pervading Soul is said to be Knowledge of the foremost kind. (From the Mahabharata)
Raja YogaFrom The Mahabharata
Also Sri Ramana Maharshi’s teachings on
Yoga and Concentration
Gita
The central theme of the Gita
An introduction to the Gita
Readings from the Gita
The lower self is your enemy,
The higher self is your friend
Fire of knowledge – Wisdom Sacrifice
Guru (from the Gita)
Karma Yoga
The Gita starts by saying that you are not the body >
and that you are not therefore the Karta (the doer).
Direct Perception versus Scriptures From The Mahabharata
Which indeed, of the two, direct perception and the scriptures, is to be regarded as authority for arriving at a conclusion?
Virtue, Wealth & Pleasure
In the domestic mode of life these are allowed
(From the Mahabharata)
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Sin From The Mahabharata
Source and foundation of sin.
When wicked-souled persons under the domination of covetousness apparently practise the duties of righteousness, the consequence that results is that the desecrations committed by them soon become current among men.
Sin of foeticide
Reference to sin of foeticide from The Mahabharata
Abortion
One guilty of foeticide may also be cleansed
by casting his person on a blazing fire.
Confession of sinFrom the mahabharata
Having committed a sin, one should confess it in the presence
of those that are good. They would destroy it immediately.
Karma
As the blazing fire reduces wood (fuel) to ashes,
so does the fire of knowledge reduce all actions
to ashes. Gita, Ch.4, Verse 37.
There are three kinds of karmas
The Blessed Lord said:
Even if the most sinful person worships Me with devotion to none else, he should be regarded as righteous, for he has righly resolved (for he has made the holy resolution to give up the evil ways of his life).
– Gita, Ch,9,Verse 30.
Soon he becomes righteous and attains to eternal peace; O Arjuna, know thou for certain that My devotee is never destroyed.
– Gita,Ch 9, Verse31.
There are three kinds of karmas or reaction to or fructification of past actions:
1. Prarabdha, so much of past actions as has given rise to the present birth.
2. Sanchita, the balance of past actions that will give rise to
future births – the storehouse of accumulated actions
3. Agami or Kriyamana, acts being done in the present life.
If by the knowledge of the Self only the Sanchita and Agami were destroyed and not Prarabdha, the dual number would have been used and not the plural.
(Sanskrit language grammar has singular, dual and plural numbers).
Good and Pure
Fear, wrath, restlessness and sorrow do not dwell in them.
There is not the outward garb of religion for misleading their
fellowmen. There is no mystery with them.
Sattwa, Rajas & Tamas
Goodness, Passion & Darkness (From the Mahabharata)
Vices(Mahabharata)
These vices are regarded as very powerful foes of all creatures
Penance(Mahabharata)
Whatever things there are that are apparently unattainable are sure to be won by the aid of penance.
Of all kinds of penances, however, that one may practise after abstaining
from pleasure and enjoyment, abstention from food is the highest and best.
The penance involved in abstention from food is superior, O king, to even
compassion, truthfulness of speech, gifts, and restraining of senses.
Truth (Mahabharata)
Truth, as it exists in all the world, is of thirteen kinds. The forms that Truth assumes are impartiality, self-control, forgiveness, modesty, endurance, goodness, renunciation, contemplation, dignity, fortitude, compassion, and abstention from injury.
Truth versus Falsehood
On what occasions should a person tell the truth, and what occasions should he tell an untruth? There where falsehood would assume the aspect of truth, truth should not be said. There, again, where truth would assume the aspect of falsehood, even falsehood should be said.
Mother, Father & Teacher
What are those duties that most deserve to be practised? What acts are the most important among all duties, by the practice of which one may earn the highest merit both here and hereafter?
Friendship(Mahabharata)
Those men with whom friendships may not be formed
Those men with whom friendships may be formed
Malevolent and Wicked(Mahabharata)
Malevolent persons always do wicked acts and feel an irresistible inclination for doing them. They slander others and incur obloquy themselves. They always regard themselves as cheated of what is their due.
What are the indications of a wicked person?
East-West-North-SouthFrom The Mahabharata One should never sleep with head turned towards the north or the west. Vivaswat, having performed a sacrifice, gave this quarter away as a present (Dakshina) unto his preceptor. And it is for this that this region is known by the name of Dakshina (south). It is here that the Pitris of the three worlds have their habitation.
Stories – Episodes
- Add the God principle in our daily lives
- Gods and demons
- Two Goats
- Da-Da-Da (Story from Brahadaranyaka Upanisad)
- The Letters from the God of Death
- The Story of a Wallet
- Hypocrite
- Man with an Umbrella
- Honesty
- Quarrel among the senses
- The Story of Rose
- Stone in the middle of the road
- Raikwa the cart driver
- Letter from Lord Ram
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Index Alphabetical [Index to Pages]
Gifts
From desire of merit, from desire of profit, from fear, from free choice, and from pity, gifts are made. Gifts, therefore, should be known to be of five kinds. Gift is more auspicious than all sacred acts.
Faith
As a man’s faith is, so is he. Faith is the main support of life. It is not a mere intellectual belief or blind acceptance of pet dogmas or doctrines.
Righteousness
The rules of righteousness have been laid down for the conduct of the affairs of the world. Righteousness produces happiness as its fruits.
Ethics
Hindu ethics is mainly subjective or personal.
Ethics, which concerns itself with the study of conduct, is derived, in Hinduism, from certain spiritual concepts; it forms the steel-frame foundation of the spiritual life.
Karma Yoga (Yoga of Action) (Faith)
Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer in sacrifice, whatever you give, whatever you practise as austerity, do it as an offering unto Me.
Fasting (Religious)
What are the merits of fasting during
the month of Sravana and other months?
Karva Chauth (Karak Chauth)
Fasting Vrat for married women
Sacred Waters- Ganga From The Mahabharata
By holding that sacred stream, touching it,
and bathing in its waters, one rescues one’s
ancestors to the seventh generation.
The man of righteous conduct who with rapt soul,
thinks of Ganga at the time when his life-breaths
are about to leave his body, succeeds in attaining
to the highest end.
She affords the best bed for the dying.
She leads creatures very quickly to heaven.
Verily, Ganga is the path to heaven
of those that have bathed in her current.
Tilak
The importance of Tilak or the
sacred mark on the forehead
Ideal behind the idol
There is great beauty in the idea of worshipping an image
The Life of Sri Ramakrishna
Ideal behind the idol
The manner of worshipping the deity
Ideal behind the idol from Yogavaasishtha
For those who have not known the essential nature of Deity,
the worship of form and the like has been prescribed.
To one who is incapable of (travelling) a distance of one Yojana
(eight miles), a distance of one Krosa (two miles) is provided.
Rituals
Rituals of religion like the husk of a seed,
preserve its life and make it germinate
The Ritual of Shraddha
Shraddha & Tarpan / Pitr-Paksha
Why are three rice-balls offered separately at a Shraddha?
From The Mahabharata
Grasping covetous priests
Adoration and Worship
Prana Pratishtha (Consecration)
Tarpana (Libations of water etc)
Because your parents’ genes originated in your grandparents, your emotions will be influenced by their emotions, and by the emotions of your great-grandparents, and so on, back at least seven generations. Even though most of your ancestors are already dead the subtle effects of their personalities remain in your genetic environment and continue to affect you.
Aarati (Om Jaya Jagadish Hare)
Universal Aarati with meanings
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Index Alphabetical [Index to Pages]
Sacraments – Samskaras
There are sixteen main Sacraments (Samskaras).
These range from conception to funeral ceremonies.
Forbidden or prohibited names
10 B. Vedarambha(Sacraments Samskaras)
commencing the study of the Vedas
Father’s advice to his son
Only that is the king (qualities needed to lead a nation)
Only that is the Acharya (qualities needed to become a teacher)
Upon completion of studies, the teacher instructs the pupil
(From Taittiriya Upanishad, 1.11)
Flowers – Incense – Lamps – Vali
Such flowers as grow on cemeteries and crematoria, or in places dedicated to the deities, should not be brought and used for marriage and other rites having growth and prosperity for their object, or acts of dalliance and pleasure in secrecy.
Persons endued with piety and wisdom make offerings of incense and lights, accompanying them with prostrations and bows.
Prasad
Prasada is the sacred food offering of the Lord.
Sacred Thread (Upanayana)
After those periods men of these three (castes) who have not received the sacrament at the proper time, become Vratyas (outcastes), excluded from the Savitri (initiation) and despised by the Aryans.
The Tantras
A Way of Realisation
The Tantric method of sublimation consists of three steps: purification, elevation, and reaffirmation of identity on the plane of pure consciousness.
Tantric Ritual
Left Hand Path (Vamachara)
Kundalini
Every genuine spiritual experience, such as the seeing of light or a vision, or communion with the Deity, is only a manifestation of the ascent of the Kundalini.
Abusive Speech (From The Mahabharata)
How should a learned man adorned with modesty behave when assailed with harsh speeches in the midst of assemblies by an ignorant person swelling with conceit?
Vices(Mahabharata)
These vices are regarded as very powerful foes of all creatures
Friendship (Mahabharata)
Those men with whom friendships may not be formed
Those men with whom friendships may be formed
Malevolent and Wicked (Mahabharata)
Malevolent persons always do wicked acts and feel an irresistible inclination for doing them. They slander others and incur obloquy themselves. They always regard themselves as cheated of what is their due.
What are the indications of a wicked person?
Wicked Person (Mahabharata)
What are the indications of a wicked person?
Penance (Mahabharata)
Whatever things there are that are apparently unattainable are sure to be won by the aid of penance.
Of all kinds of penances, however, that one may practise after abstaining from pleasure and enjoyment, abstention from food is the highest and best. The penance involved in abstention from food is superior, O king, to even compassion, truthfulness of speech, gifts, and restraining of senses.
Low Birth & High Birth (Mahabharata)
Bhishma said: If a king gathers round him persons of low birth, he can never be happy. A person of high birth, even if persecuted without any fault by his royal master, never sets his heart, in consequence of the respectability of his blood, upon injuring his master. An individual, however, that is mean and of low birth, having obtained even great affluence from his connection with some honest man, becomes an enemy of the latter if only he is reproached in words.
Buddhism in China, Japan and Korea
In 522 AD Buddhism was introduced in Japan by a
Chinese Buddhist, Shiba-Tatsu by name
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Index Alphabetical [Index to Pages]
Food
There are three kinds of food that a man
can eat.(Sattwic, Rajasic and Tamasic).
Eating of flesh – Merits and Demerits
From the Mahabharata
Meat sanctified with Mantras
Religion of compassion
Forbidden Foods
Ayurveda and food
The Ritual of Eating
The Three Doshas
Vata, Pitta and Kapha, which are effectively
Air, Fire and Water respectively.
The Six Tastes
Your Personal Constitution
Obesity- Losing Weight (Ayurveda)
Permanent weight loss occurs only when
the body’s fat setpoint is lowered.
Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
The Hunza Health Secrets
Faulty Food Disease
Menu of the German sailors
Menu of the Danes
Natural Food Cures Psoriasis
Food Combining for Health
Balance between Space and Time –
Potassium and Sodium
Canned Foods – Processed Foods
Pernicious Anemia & Vitamin B-12
It has long been known that fasting results in a rapid blood regeneration in anemia. The matter has not been simplified by the realisation that vitamin B-12 deficiency is even more prevalent among meat-eaters than among vegans. [Note: Vegans do not use any animal products, not even milk or milk products]
Oxidation of foods
Accompanying this wiping out of distinguishing sexual differences, there is the growing increase of sterility in both sexes.
Microwave Ovens
Milk reheated in microwave ovens
could damage baby’s brains
What constitutes nutrition?
“The Poisons in Your Food”
Destructive Emotions
Violent rage makes the saliva poisonous
Furious emotions will impair breast milk
Your Constitution
Your Ayurvedic Constitution
The healing science of Ayurveda is totally based upon the knowledge of ‘Prakruti’, the individual constitution. If every individual knows his own constitution, then one can understand, for instance, what is a good diet and style of life for oneself. One man’s food is another man’s poison. Therefore, to make one’s life healthy, happy and balanced, the knowledge of constitution is absolutely necessary.
Prakruti (constitution) evaluation
To open sub-categories listed below, click on
‘Prakruti (constitution) evaluation’above.
Body Frame-Weight-Skin Colour and Complexion-Skin Characteristics-Head Hair-Nails- Eyes-Mouth-Appetite-Breakfast-Digestion and Evacuation-Menstruation-Climate Preference- Sex Drive-Physical Strength and Endurance-Pulse-Sleep-Dreams-Vocal Qualities-Characteristic Emotion- Personality Traits-Predominant Mode of Expression-The Mind-Memory-Lifestyle
Summaries of Constitutional Types
To open sub-categories listed below, click on
‘Summaries of constitutional types’ above
Vata – Pitta – Kapha – Vata-Pitta
Pitta-Kapha – Vata-Kapha
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Index Alphabetical [Index to Pages]
Trees have life
From The Mahabharata
Photosynthesis? (The Mahabharata)
Vasanas
Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Raja Yoga and Jnana Yoga
When the daughter-in-law will set
the aged mother-in-law to work
Mahabharata (Kali Yuga)
Daughters-in-law, lecture and rebuke their husbands
Mahabharata (Kali Yuga)
The Evils of Kaliyuga From The Bhagavat Mahapurana
Justice will have every chance of being vitiated because of one’s inability to gratify those administering it, and voluble speech will be the (only) criterion of scholarship. Want of riches will be the sole test of impiety and hypocrisy will be the only touchstone of goodness. (Mutual) consent will be the sole determining factor
Prana-Vyana-Samana-Apana-Udana
(From The Mahabharata)
These are the five kinds of wind that cause
an embodied creature to live and move.
Through the breath called PRANA a living creature is enabled to move.
Through that called VYANA , they put forth strength of action. That called APANA moves downwards. That called SAMANA resides within the heart.
Through that called UDANA one eructates and is enabled to speak in consequence of its piercing through (the lungs, the throat, and the mouth).
Krishna Janmashthami
Krishna’s Flute
Krishna- the inner Self of all
Krishna- 16000 Wives
From The Mahabharatabr> From Srimad Bhagavat Mahapurana
Raas Leela
Vedas-Scriptures
Ancient Literature
The Vedangas, Puranas, Upa-Puranas, Nyaya, Vaiseshika, Mimamsa,
Brahma Sutras, Sankhya, Yoga, Dharma Sastra, The Upa-Vedas, The Kalas
From the Scriptures
Nine Duties That Are Eternal
Calamity Overtakes Him Who Is..
The Distinguishing Traits of the Good and the Wicked
These Vices are Regarded as Very
Powerful Foes of All Creatures
How to win the hearts of kinsmen, friends and foes?
What is that one act, by accomplishing which
with care, a person may become the object
of regard with all creatures and acquire
great celebrity?
In what kind of man or woman, does the
Goddess of Prosperity always reside?
Misery
Women
What the excellent behaviour is of good and chaste women
Chastisements- Punishments
If chastisement did not uphold and protect,
then nobody would have studied the Vedas,
and no maiden would have married.
Virtue, Wealth and Pleasure
Poverty is a state of sinfulness
The Mahabharat
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Index Alphabetical [Index to Pages]
Purushartha
Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha
Virtue, Wealth, Pleasure and Emancipation
Ashramas – four stages of life
Conduct
By what does a man become endued with
longevity and by what is his life shortened?
Brahma-Sutras
In the Hindu philosophical tradition Vedanta means
the essence of the Vedas, as described in the Upanishads,
the Brahma-Sutras, and the Bhagavad Gita.
Temples
“Our temples are not churches or mosques. They are not places of public worship, for, properly speaking, there is no such thing as public worship in India.” -Swami Vivekananda.
Jagadguru K.K. Shankaracharya Swami wrote:”Our temples are not organised as places for meditation, nor for congregational worship”.
Indian temple is only a reflection of the physical form of the human body.
Makar Sankranti (Festival)
Khichadi Sankranti
Til Sankranti
Kite Flying Day
Gangasagar and Surya Puja
Vasant Panchami
Vasant Panchami is the festival dedicated
to Saraswati, the goddess of learning.
Siva
Karpur Arati and its meaning
Trayambakam Yajamahe (Maha Mrityunjay Mantra and meaning)
Two sided Rudraksha bead helps to increase mental powers, calms
agitated minds, helps to overcome Tamasic Guna.
Lord Siva has at least four quite distinct characters, each of which
has a female or active energising counterpart (shakti).
If there is one who worships Siva by creating his image,
another who worships his emblem, the latter it is that
attains to great prosperity for ever. (Mahabharata)
Holi – Festival
The story of Prahlad
Ramayana
The celestial Sage Narada narrates
to Valmiki the qualities of Sri Ram
The philosophy of Ramayana
By Swami Vivekananda
Adhyatma Ramayana
an introduction
The supreme virtue of the Ramayana (Valmiki Ramayana)
The Art of Administration as depicted in Valmiki Ramayana
(The Ramayana’s relevance to modern times
Sri Rama, an Embodiment of Dharma
A private side of Sri Rama
as revealed by Mother Kaushalya
From The Valmiki Ramayana
[Note: The Ramayana is a poetical work of great antiquity. The author, Rishi Valmiki, is known as the ‘First Poet’ (Adikavi) and his pre-eminence in Sanskrit verses has never been seriously challenged to this day. Ramayana consists of 24 000 slokas (48 000 lines). The following translated extracts (‘Ravana- The Terrible Rascal’ and ‘Ravana Begs Sita To Wed Him’) give us a glimpse of the exquisitely imaginative and rich style of writing that has come to us from the most ancient times.]
Ravana – The Terrible Rascal (Valmiki Ramayana)
The Rape of Rambha , The Curse of Nalakuvara
Ravana begs Sita to wed him (Valmiki Ramayana)
The birth of Ravana and his brothers (Valmiki Ramayana)
The boons desired by Ravana (Valmiki Ramayana)
Ravana’s lineage (Valmiki Ramayana)
Appendix
Vali and Sri Rama
An esoteric interpretation
Tulasi Ramayana
The Importance of Satsang (company of holy people)
Tulasi Ramayana
Surrendering to the Lord
Tulasi Ramayana
The Victory Chariot Of Sri Rama
Tulasi Ramayana
Question: How can one, standing alone on the ground,
bare feet, and without armour to protect the body,
defeat the opposition who is mounted in a battle tank?
Seven Questions
Seven questions of Garuda and Kakabusundi’s replies to them
- Which form of all is the most difficult to obtain?
- Which is the greatest misery?
- Which is the highest pleasure?
- What are the innate disposition of, or the essential
characteristics of the saints and of the evil-minded?
- Which is the highest religious merit made known
in the Vedas?
- Which is the most terrible sin?
- What is the disease of the mind?
Knowledge and Devotion (The two paths) Tulasi Ramayana
Some legends connected with Goswami Tulasidas
Rama Darshan at Chitrakut (The vision of Sri Rama at Chitrakut)
(Sri Hanuman and Sant Tulasidas)
Yoga Vasistha (Ramayana)
In the Ramayana we have the discussion about the first three human aspirations, Dharma (religious duty), Artha (economic security) and Kama (fulfillment of legitimate desires) whereas he Yoga-Vasistha deals exclusively with Moksha, (liberation), the fourth goal.
Hanuman
The Legend and Origin:
Sri Hanumanji is an incarnation of Lord Siva.
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Adhik-Maas (Extra Lunar Month)
The lunar calendar adds one extra month every third year.
This extra month is known by various names: Adhik Maas, Mal Maas, Purushottam Maas, Malimmacha. This is the thirteenth month of the lunar calendar.
Just as there is the lunar year with the extra month (Adhik Maas), so is there a lunar year with a diminished or reduced month, with only eleven months in the year. The lunar year comprising of eleven months only is very rare indeed. It occurs once in 140 years or once in 190 years. But the extra month or Adhik Maas comes every third year.
Buddhism
To understand Buddha without understanding the Upanisads
is to miss the significance of Buddha and his teachings.
Buddhism in China, Japan and Korea
In 522 AD Buddhism was introduced in Japan by a
Chinese Buddhist, Shiba-Tatsu by name
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Hindu Scriptures
Sanskrit literature can be classified under six orthodox heads and four secular heads. The six orthodox sections form the authoritative scriptures of the Hindus. The four secular sections embody the latter developments in classical Sanskrit literature. The six scriptures are:
- Srutis
- Smritis
- Itihasas
- Puranas
- Agamas
- Darsanas
The four secular writings are:
- Subhashitas
- Kavyas
- Natakas
- Alankaras
Philosophy
What is philosophy? Its origin and its limitations
Various schools of philosophy
The Shad-Darsanas or The Six Orthodox Schools
The Nyaya, The Vaiseshika
The Nyaya (philosophy)
The Nyaya is intended to furnish a correct method of philosophical enquiry into all the objects and subjects of human knowledge, including the process of reasoning and laws of thought.
The Vaiseshika (philosophy)
Atomic Theory of the Universe
In the Vaiseshika system, the formation of the world is
supposed to be effected by the aggregation of atoms.
These atoms are countless and eternal. They are eternally aggregated, disintegrated and re-disintegrated by the power of Adrishta (unseeen).
The Vaiseshika has, for its chief objective, the analysis of experience. It begins by arranging its enquiries under categories (Padarthas), i.e., enumeration of certain general properties or attributes that may be predicted of existing things. It formulates general conceptions, which apply to things known, whether by senses or inference, or by authority.
The Sankhya (philosophy)
The Sankhya system is generally studied next to the Nyaya.
It is a beautiful system of philosophy. The Western philosophers also have great admiration for this system. It is more categorically dualistic. It denies that anything can be produced out of nothing. It assumes the reality of Purusha and Prakriti, the knowing Self and the objects known.
The Yoga (philosophy)
Raja Yoga and Hatha Yoga
Patanjali’s Yoga is Ashtanga-Yoga or Yoga with eight limbs. This Yoga deals with the discipline of the mind and its psychic powers. Hatha Yoga treats of the methods of bodily control and regulations of breath. The culmination of Hatha Yoga is Raja Yoga.
The Purva Mimamsa (philosophy)
Purva Mimamsa or Karma-Mimamsa is an enquiry into the earlier portion of the Vedas, an enquiry into the ritual of the Vedas or that portion of the Vedas which is concerned with the Mantras and the Brahmanas only.
Mimamsa is not a branch of any philosophical system.
It is rather a system of Vedic interpretation. Its philosophical discussions amount to a kind of critical commentary on the Brahmana or ritual portion of the Veda.
The Vedanta Philosophy
Uttara Mimamsa or the Vedanta philosophy of Vyasa or Badarayana is placed as the last of the six orthodox systems, but, really, it ought to stand first.
The Uttara Mimamsa conforms closely to the doctrines propounded in the Upanishads. The term Vedanta means literally the end or the essence of the Veda. It contains the doctrines set forth in the closing chapters of the Vedas. The closing chapters of the Vedas are the Upanishads. The Upanishads really form the essence of the Vedas.
The Five sheaths (Kosas)(The Vedanta Philosophy)
Saiva Siddhanta Philosophy and Saktaism
Philosophy – Part 2
Saiva Siddhanta is the philosophy of Southern Saivism.
It owes its origins to no single author. It is midway between Sankara’s Advaita and Ramanuja’s Visishtadvaita. The central doctrine of the Saiva Siddhanta philosophy is that Siva is the Supreme Reality, and that the Jiva or the individual soul is of the same essence as Siva, but not identical. Pati (God), Pasu (soul) and Pasa (the bonds), and the thirty-six Tattvas or principles which constitute the world, are all real. The Saiva Siddhanta system is the distilled essence of the Vedanta. It prevailed in Southern India even before the Christian era. Tirunelveli and Madurai are the centres of the Saiva Siddhanta School. Even now, Saivism is a very popular School in South India. It is a rival school of Vaishnavism.
Schools of Vedanta
The Advaita philosophy of Sri Sankara
The Visishta Advaita philosophy of Sri Ramanuja
The Dvaita philosophy of Sri Madhavacharya
The Dvaitadvaita Philosophy of Sri Nimbarka
The Suddhavaita Philosophy of Sri Vallabha
The Achintya Bhedabheda Philosophy of Sri Chaitanya>
(The Hare Krishna Movement)
Sankhya versus Yoga From the Mahabharata
The understanding of the Bhagavad Gita and of the Vedanta philosophy will be greatly enhanced by getting to know “The path of knowledge of the Sankhyas and the path of action of the Yogis.”
There is no knowledge that is equal to this
The knowledge, which is described in the system
of the Sankhyas, is regarded as the highest.
The Sankhya system does not believe in any God
This philosophy of the Jaina is most intimately connected with
the Sankhya philosophy. The fundamental principles of the
Buddhist philosophy also depend upon the Sankhya theory.
Hindu Sects
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Index Alphabetical [Index to Pages]
Dharma
Kinds of Dharma, Dharma in other religions
Varnasrama Dharma, The Four Asramas
Benefits of the practice of Dharma,
Fundamentals of Dharma:
(Non-violence, Truth, Purity, Self-Control)
Dharma is the means of preserving one’s self.
If you transgress it, it will kill you. If you protect it,
it will protect you. It is your soul companion after death.
It is the sole refuge of humanity.
Speech- Science of
speech ought always to be free from the nine verbal faults and the nine faults of judgment. It should also, while setting forth the meaning with perspicuity, be possessed of the eighteen well-known merits.
Abusive Speech(From The Mahabharata)
How should a learned man adorned with modesty behave when assailed with harsh speeches in the midst of assemblies by an ignorant person swelling with conceit?
The Authority of the Vedas and other scriptures
not inconsistent with the Vedas, is eternal.
From the Mahabharata, Santi Parva, Section CCCVI, Janaka said:
“Whatever is read as declared in the Vedas and in other scriptures is regarded as authority. The authority again, of the Vedas and other scriptures, not inconsistent with the Vedas, is eternal.
That person who bears in his understanding merely the texts of the Vedas and other scriptures without being conversant with the true sense or meaning of those texts, bears them fruitlessly. Indeed, one who holds the contents of a work in memory without comprehending their meaning is said to bear an useless burden.”
From The Mahabharata, Santi Parva, Section LIV
Addressing Bhishma,
Krishna said: Whatever,O Bhishma, thou wilt say unto the enquiring son of Pandu (Yuthishthira), will be regarded on earth to be as authoritative as the declarations of that Vedas. That person who will conduct himself here according to the authority of thy declarations, will obtain hereafter the reward of every meritorious act.
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