Hinduism Articles

Religion and Spirituality » Hinduism | By Victor Epand @ Monday, 25th August 2008 @ 10:27 PM

There is a general lack of understanding among people concerning Tantra. What is Tantra? What benefits can Tantra have for me? There is no single solid definition for Tantra, as it can encompass several different subjective meanings and connotations. We can examine the common beliefs about Tantra, and explore its history and variety of definitions to get a better understanding of what Tantra is really all about. Many people hear the word "Tantra" and automatically think of uninhib... more...

Religion and Spirituality » Hinduism | By Victor Epand @ Thursday, 21st August 2008 @ 11:51 AM

Traditionally, Hindus ascribe the authorship of the Mahabharata to Vyasa. The first section of the Mahabharata states that it was Ganesha who, at the request of Vyasa, wrote down the text to Vyasa's dictation. Ganesha is said to have agreed to write it only on condition that Vyasa never pause in his recitation. Vyasa agreed, providing that Ganesha took the time to understand what was said before writing it down. This also serves as a popular variation on the story of how Ganesha's righ... more...

Religion and Spirituality » Hinduism | By Victor Epand @ Sunday, 10th August 2008 @ 9:15 AM

One of the main reasons for reincarnation is that living beings have attachment towards the products of material nature such as families and friends. Until one detaches oneself completely from them one will not escape from the vicious circle. Attachment to mundane things or too much attachment to family is a major obstacle in the advancement of spiritual life. Srila Prabhupada says that having attachment for the family is natural. But when one is 50 years old, one has to accept the vanap... more...

Religion and Spirituality » Hinduism | By Victor Epand @ Sunday, 10th August 2008 @ 9:14 AM

Among the 64 limbs of devotional practices, there are five main limbs of that which can award one love of God. They are: associating with devotees, studying Srimad Bhagavatam, chanting the holy name of Sri Krishna, worshipping His form and residing in a holy place. The power of these five limbs cannot be estimated. Srimad Bhagavatam says, "By regular attendance in classes on the Bhagavatam and by rendering of service to the pure devotee, all that is troublesome to the heart is almost ... more...

Religion and Spirituality » Hinduism | By Victor Epand @ Thursday, 31st July 2008 @ 3:08 PM

Srila Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj was an associate of Thakur Bhaktivinoda. He was well-known and very much respected among the vaishnava community. As such he became known as "Vaishnava Sarvabhauma". He spent a lot of time in the land of Vrindavan and that was where he is believed to have attained perfection. Later he moved to Navadvip Dham where he lived in a tent with his servant. As compassionate and respectful to the 'dhamvasis' as he was, he would even allow dogs t... more...

Religion and Spirituality » Hinduism | By Victor Epand @ Thursday, 31st July 2008 @ 2:58 PM

Vrindavan is a town in the district of Mathura on the site of an ancient forest which is believed to have been the region where Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appeared as a cowherd boy and spent his childhood days. He performed many wonderful pastimes there with His associates. It is about 15 kilometers away from Mathura city, where Krishna appeared as the son of Vasudev and Devaki in the prison cell of King Kamsa. The town has about 5000 temples dedicated to the worship of Ra... more...

Religion and Spirituality » Hinduism | By Victor Epand @ Friday, 25th July 2008 @ 10:18 PM

God is not understood through mere words. It takes time: lifetimes and millenniums of practice. Some may get discouraged but only the sincere practitioners go to God. By sincere we mean no duplicity and no crookedness, always pure hearted and straightforward in dealings. The scriptures of the Buddhists talk about good character because unless one develops good qualities it is impossible for one to stop sinning. By being free from sins one an easily progress along the spiritual path. Sinc... more...

Religion and Spirituality » Hinduism | By Victor Epand @ Friday, 25th July 2008 @ 8:31 PM

Even in this world most of the believers in God lament and pray to God when they are in trouble and they forget to worship Him when they are living comfortably. The mentality is the same among the demigods. The level of enjoyment is so high in the heavenly planets that the demigods forget to worship God. They realize their precarious position when the demons attack them and take over the heavenly planets. At that time they run to Lord Vishnu for help. When they offer heartfelt prayers to Lord Vi... more...

Religion and Spirituality » Hinduism | By Victor Epand @ Friday, 25th July 2008 @ 8:30 PM

The Six Goswamis of Vrindavan were the people who revived Vrindavan. Rupa and Sanatana were direct disciples of Sri Chaitanya and they compiled literatures based on the teachings they received from Him. The other goswamis also were disciples of Sri Chaitanya with the exception of Jiva who was initiated by his uncle, Rupa Goswami. Sanatana was accepted by the inhabitants of Vrindavan as their Guru. The Goswamis are famous for their devotional literatures, their staunch practices and renun... more...

Religion and Spirituality » Hinduism | By Victor Epand @ Friday, 25th July 2008 @ 8:29 PM

Srila Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj was an associate of Thakur Bhaktivinoda. He was well-known and very much respected among the vaishnava community. As such he became known as "Vaishnava Sarvabhauma". He spent a lot of time in the land of Vrindavan and that was where he is believed to have attained perfection. Later he moved to Navadvip Dham where he lived in a tent with his servant. As compassionate and respectful to the 'dhamvasis' as he was, he would even allow dogs t... more...

Religion and Spirituality » Hinduism | By Victor Epand @ Friday, 25th July 2008 @ 8:22 PM

The sage Kashyapa had two wives, Diti and Aditi. From Diti the demons were born and from Aditi came the demigods. The demons also follow the Vedic ways of life under the guidance of their spiritual master, Sukracharya. It so happened that many times the demons took over the heavens and made the demigods flee in fear. Realizing the great danger, God takes an avatar to defeat the demons, relieves the demigods from fear and returns them back to the heavens. Many such accounts can be found in the Sr... more...

Religion and Spirituality » Hinduism | By Victor Epand @ Friday, 25th July 2008 @ 7:41 PM

Shiva is one of the three main deities in Hindu religion. He is the personification of the mode of ignorance, although he is transcendental to the modes of nature. Followers of Lord Shiva are called shaivaites. He's also known as "Mahadev", the great God. Vaishnavism, Shaivism and Shaktism form the three main denominations in Hinduism. Vishnu represents the mode of goodness, Brahma is associated with passion, and Shiva with ignorance. Collectively they are known as the Trimur... more...

Religion and Spirituality » Hinduism | By Victor Epand @ Friday, 25th July 2008 @ 12:06 PM

The prayers of Queen Kunti are very significant and well loved by the devotees of Krishna. These heartfelt prayers were offered when the Lord mounted His chariot and was about to depart for His magnificent city, Dvaraka. Seeing the Lord seated, Kunti Devi felt an immense mood of separation overwhelming her heart. She couldn't restrain herself for she was a pure devotee of Lord Krishna and therefore she approached Him with utmost humility and offered her prayers of surrender at the lotus fee... more...

Religion and Spirituality » Hinduism | By Victor Epand @ Friday, 25th July 2008 @ 12:01 PM

In the words of the Lord, everything that is connected to Him is real whereas things acting independently of Him are unreal. Modern culture is also of the same nature since people are working independently and most of the people in this age are atheists. Such a culture is eventually leading us to destruction. There is nobody in this modern culture whom we can regard as an example to follow so that future generations can benefit from the activities of such a person. An academic is seen as... more...

Religion and Spirituality » Hinduism | By Victor Epand @ Friday, 25th July 2008 @ 11:49 AM

Prayer beads, known as japa mala by the Hindus and by yoga practitioners around the world, are used to keep count of the repetitions of prayers or mantras. The mala consists of a certain number of beads depending on the religion. The material with which it is made also varies. While chanting, one moves from one bead to another and in this way keeps track of the number of prayers said. The beads allow one to focus the mind on the chanting. If it were without beads then the attention would be part... more...

Religion and Spirituality » Hinduism | By Victor Epand @ Friday, 25th July 2008 @ 11:47 AM

Purana means stories or histories of ancient times. There are several subject matters in the puranas and they are classified into five sections. Their five sections are history, cosmology, secondary creation, genealogy of kings, and of Manvantaras or Manus. The Puranas are part of the Itihasas. The Puranas were written to popularize the religion of the Vedas. They contain the essence of the Vedas. The aim of the Puranas is to impress on the minds of the masses the teachings of the Vedas a... more...

Religion and Spirituality » Hinduism | By Victor Epand @ Friday, 25th July 2008 @ 11:29 AM

Kumbh Mela is a spiritual event that occurs four times every twelve years in four diffferent locations: Allahabad (Prayag), Haridwar, Ujjain and Nashik. After twelve years there is a Maha Kumbha Mela that takes plce in Prayag, which is attended by millions of people, making it the largest spiritual gathering in the world. The story of the origin of this event goes as follows: Millions of years ago, in the Vedic period, demigods and demons made an agreement to work together churning amrita... more...

Religion and Spirituality » Hinduism | By Victor Epand @ Friday, 25th July 2008 @ 11:28 AM

To understand the meanings of liberation and immortality one must first agree on a common point and from there we shall proceed with the explanation. First of all, the body is temporary and the soul is eternal. The soul is the actual living entity that gives consciousness to the body. Without the soul, the body dies and decomposes with time. The quality of the soul is that it is eternal. It transmigrates from one body to another according to its past activities. If we agree on the existence of t... more...

Religion and Spirituality » Hinduism | By Victor Epand @ Friday, 25th July 2008 @ 11:21 AM

The Ganges, or Ganga, is a major river flowing through India, Bangladesh and Nepal. The 2,510 kilometer river has its source in the Himalayas at a place called Gangotri. The streams are fed by melting snow and ice glaciers including those from peaks such as Nanda Devi and Kamet. Since time immemorial Indians have been worshipping her in her deity form as Mother Ganga, who rides on an alligator. The Ganga travels a distance of 200 kilometers through the Himalayas before emerging at the pi... more...

Religion and Spirituality » Hinduism | By Victor Epand @ Friday, 25th July 2008 @ 11:03 AM

The Yamuna is a major tributary of the Ganga in northern India. Actually it is the main tributary. It is around 1400 kilometers long and therefore it is the longest tributary of the Ganga. According to sacred scriptures, the Yamuna is said to be the sister of the Ganga and that both of them descended from the spiritual world to purify the material creation. Like the Ganga, the Yamuna also has a personified form. The source is found at a place called Saptarishi kund in the Himalayan glacie... more...