tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46338251242958426152009-11-11T02:06:42.277+05:30A blog on Indian spirituality and Vedic cultureM. Shrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12894931275191748342noreply@blogger.comBlogger80125Subscribe with My Yahoo!Subscribe with NewsGatorSubscribe with My AOLSubscribe with BloglinesSubscribe with NetvibesSubscribe with GoogleSubscribe with Pageflakestag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633825124295842615.post-65552105703650173992009-11-08T19:40:00.002+05:302009-11-08T19:54:03.670+05:30

Among all elements of material nature, ego (ahamkara) is probably the most essential for the stability of the universe. As the Bhagavata Purana tells us, Sri Krishna himself encloses the universe with ego (and the other elements of material nature) when he decides to create the universe for his divine play. Ego blocks learning by giving us a false feeling of being knowledgeable. And as soon as

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Astrological counseling over the centuries has trained our psyche to dread the “malefic” frequencies of Mars, Saturn, Rahu, and Ketu and the “bad” houses (dusthanas). But the fact is that if your thinking differs from what was labeled “ideal” in medieval India, when many classics of Jyotish were written, selected “malefic” influences may be especially supportive for you. Natural malefics rule

M. Shrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12894931275191748342noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633825124295842615.post-5872177592293545162009-10-10T08:36:00.002+05:302009-10-10T08:44:59.713+05:30

Diwali, the festival of light, gives us another major opportunity to welcome the grace of Ganesha in our lives. While Ganesha’s remembrance can grant us learning in the areas of our choice, induce spirituality in our hearts, and rid our lives from hypocrisy and dishonesty, he can also purge our material suffering and give us comforts and luxuries. According to the Brahmavaivarta Purana, the

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Is anyone in the universe more forgiving and benevolent than Mother Goddess Durga? Actually, this is a trick question. If you worship a different form of God or belong to a different faith, you may argue that your favorite form or concept of the Divine has more compassion. But once you try to understand who Para Shakti is, your assumption of calling anyone else more merciful may not be reasonable

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Thousands of years ago, Barbareek, the mystical child of Ghatotkacha, was born with curly hair and reached adolescence shortly after birth. In order to gain guidance towards dharma, he turned to Lord Krishna, who named him suhridaya (“beautiful hearted”), instructed him on the duties of a warrior, and told him to worship Shakti to obtain power. Barbareek was successful in his devotion and was

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In daily life, Ganesha is remembered in marriages, worships, and auspicious functions so that unforeseen happenings can be prevented. Obstacles may range from the late arrival of the event manager to disagreeable “friends” and relatives and from simple health problems to unavoidable circumstances, summarized as “acts of God.” Such hurdles, which are easily perceptible to us, can be categorized as

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To continually guide humanity towards himself, Lord Vishnu followed his incarnation as Rama with that of Lord Krishna, who was born on the eighth day (waning fortnight) of the lunar month Bhadrapada, which is celebrated all across the Hindu world as Janmashtami. For most followers of Sanatana Dharma, Krishna, the author of the Bhagavada Gita, is the guru of the universe and the sole savior.

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Antahkarana refers to our inner faculty responsible for all our mental functions. As the Viveka-chudamani tells us, it is characterized by four distinct behaviors. When it expresses its quality of uncertainty, it is called the manas (ignorant/emotional/sense mind). The term highlights the mind’s ability to easily find dilemma, get tempted, and engage in distrust. When the antahkarana makes firm

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In the Ramacharitamansa, Goswami Tulasidasa says that his Lord, Sri Rama, is beyond comparison and “Rama is only comparable to Rama.” This implies that all the metaphors and adjectives that we use in our glorification of the Divine are false or incomplete. “If one compares the Sun to a billion fireflies, it is, in fact, a criticism of the Sun,” for the Sun is nothing like them but much more. But

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As soon as Lord Rama returned to India after defeating Ravana, a few sages, headed by Rishi Agastya, advised him to establish a Shivalinga that would be remembered by his name. Accordingly, Rama scheduled an auspicious time and asked Lord Hanuman to bring a Shivalinga from the Kailasa Parvat. As expected, Hanuman started off for the Himalayas with great enthusiasm. But Shiva, who probably wanted

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Hinduism has a lot to say about workplace spirituality, especially when an entire section of the Bhagavad Gita, the yoga of karma, is focused upon it. However, to trigger karma yoga, we need a habit — a habit of remembering God, without which it can be difficult to renounce the outcome of our work (karma-phala). In fact, workplace spirituality involves a delicate balance between greed and

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The temple of Somnath, a Hindu pilgrimage site, is situated in Gujarat and is considered one of the twelve foremost temples of Lord Shiva on the planet. The mythological story behind the emergence of this Jyotirlinga, which symbolizes Shiva as a column of light, revolves around the moon (personified as a god) and the nakshatras (constellations). According to the Shiva Purana, Moon married Daksha

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In a poem1 from the Sabad, the Bhakti Saint Kabirdas says, “Only Krishna knows about the origin of creation, which resembles a forest. All I know is that without the name of Rama,2 our life is in vain.” He continues to say that the blossoming flowers of spring (metaphor for materialism) look very attractive to the jiva. But the jiva forgets that just like scent, which resides in flowers, it is

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I have posted a new entry titled "Whom do Hindus worship?" at this page. I thought it might be of interest to you.If you are new to Hinduism or have been learning about this religion and way of life for only a short time, Hinduism Basics should have some more information for you in the coming days.

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The tenth house in the horoscope stands for what we do in life, and the ninth house shows what we should do in life. When the lords of these two houses meet by conjunction, mutual reception (parivartan), or mutual aspect, Vedic astrologers label the planetary combination as Dharma Karma Adhipati Yoga. As soon as a Raja yoga of this prominence shows up in a chart, it is natural for us, the users

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Yesterday, through a query sent to me by a learner of Hinduism, I came across, for the second time over the last few months, a fictitious tenet of Hinduism that has been circulating in Western literature for quite some time: "All Hindus believe that the world is illusionary." When we study Shankara’s Advaita Vedanta, we cannot pick up a single phrase from his statements to conclude that

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If Brahman cannot be experienced through discourses from a teacher and good deeds, what is their use for spiritual individuals? To answer this question, the Yogavasistha has a story to share. Once, a tribesman lost a coin near a big heap of grass in a forest. Though he was well-off, he was a miser. Because he really needed his lost coin back, he searched for it in the forest for three days. He

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Sri Ramachandra was born on the ninth day of the lunar month Chaitra in the town of Ayodhya to teach humans how to live righteously. His biography, the epic Ramayana, forms the biggest chapter of ethics in Hinduism. To perform a divine play on a grand scale, when Lord Vishnu incarnated as Rama, his spouse, Goddess Lakshmi, incarnated as Devi Sita. Moreover, Shesha Naga, the unborn serpent god,

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Bhakti yoga gets triggered as soon as we utter a name of God with a wish to reach him. By the continual remembrance of the Divine, every action in our life becomes a step towards realizing our eternal relationship with him. And the yoga concludes when nothing but God and his love (bhakti) fill our mind. At this point, jivas on earth experience their relationship with God for some time and hand

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As we play Holi with colored powder and water to welcome joy and friendliness in our lives, we should recognize that for bhakti saints like Mirabai, the festival and its colors have a special meaning — they symbolize the complete immersion of a jiva in the Lord’s bhakti. In one of her poems,1 Mirabai aspires to play Holi with Krishna in her own way. She requests Krishna to color her veil (

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Once upon a time, a huntsman, sitting on the branch of a tree, was trying to shoot down a deer. As he aimed the arrow, he unknowingly pushed some bilva leaves and water on a Shivalinga that was situated near the base of the tree. Before the arrow was fired, the deer gave its consent to become the hunter’s food but requested the hunter to spare some time so that it could meet its children at home

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In the Srimad Bhagavat Purana, Lord Krishna informs Uddhava about numerous mystical powers that can be achieved through yoga. While selected siddhis seem to defy the fundamental laws of physics by giving us the ability to reduce or increase our physical size and mass beyond what we can imagine, others focus on controlling fellow beings, circumstances, or the entire world and on obtaining all

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When Mother Earth was being hurt by the cruelty of her kings and rulers, Vishnu’s partial incarnation Parasurama was born as Rishi Jamadagni’s son to punish the kshatriya (warrior) clans. Following the killing of his father (who was later revived) by the family of Sahastrabahu Arjun, Parasurama wiped out generations of corrupt warriors from the planet to restore justice for the masses and “purify

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According to a narrative in the Mahabharata (Aashwamedhik Parva), the gods, rishis, serpents, and asuras — all visited Lord Brahma some time ago and asked, “Lord, how can we attain our wellbeing?” After listening to their request, Brahma uttered out a single word “Om” from his mouth as his response. The four groups of students accepted this answer to their question, returned to their abodes, and

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In the absence of a set of instructions from a founder or a single book to follow, learning about Hinduism can be somewhat difficult for a novice. The main obstacle comes from its diversity, which later turns out to be its biggest strength. “Which book should I study?” and “What are Hinduism’s basic beliefs?” are two popular questions that a beginner usually asks. While “the Bhagavad Gita” can be

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