Uniting India
Culture
Reflects the rich culture of India
The power of Nama Japa (Story of Ajaamilan)
May 7th
The summer heat drives us towards shades from trees. Those who are indoor, use fans and coolers. Those who are affluent install an air conditioner. Now on the same analogy, we are suffering from the heat of worldliness. We have to seek the cool shade of Divine Name chanted with love and faith. For every season nature provides corresponding remedies also. In hot summer seasons, we see the abundance of watermelon, and other seasonal fruits which appease the heat. For this Kaliyuga, God has compassionately provided an easy remedy, i.e., repeating the name of God with love and faith. Even in this practice, we are not consistent. Let us make it a habit to repeat the name of God during morning and evening for Five minutes at least with concentration and devotion. The story of Ajaamilan – a classic example of how taking the name of God will help us. This story is part of the Bhagavatham.
Ajaamilan was born in a Brahmin family and did his duties well. He was married to a very pious lady who served him well and had good children. One day when he went to the forest to collect wood for homam, he met a woman More >
The significance of Rama Nama
Mar 10th
A guru was teaching Vishnu Sahasra naamam to a group of young boys. Guru chanted the slokam :
Sri Raama Raama Raamethi Rame Raame Manorame | Sahasra naama Tathulyam Raama Naama Varaanane ||
Then he told the boys: “if you chant Raama naamam 3 times, it is equivalent to chanting the whole Vishnu Sahasranaamam or chanting Lord’s Naamam 1000 times.
One of the boys could not agree with the teacher. He questioned the teacher “Guruji, how can 3 times=1000 times? I do not get the logic. How 3 naamams =1000 naamams?
The smart Guru, a great devotee of Lord Raama spontaneously explained: Lord Shiva says that the name of Lord Rama is the sweetest of all the words & chanting this name would be equivalent to chanting the whole Vishnu Sahasranama or thousand names of Vishnu.
Here is the interesting calculation to prove that 3 times chanting of Rama naamam = 1000 times chanting or chanting the whole Vishnu Sahasranaamam.
Take the name Rama. It has two Sanskrit letters RA& MA RA (2nd consonant in Sanskrit : ya, RA, la, va, sa and sha) MA(5th consonant in Pa, Pha, Ba, Bha, MA). Substitute the value of RA & MA as 2 & 5 to make RAMA : 2 More >
Ratha Sapthami – The Festival of Sun God
Feb 16th
! Aadi Deva namasthubhyam Praseeda mama
Bhaskara Diwakara namasthubhyam Prabhakara namosthuthe!!
Ratha Sapthami is a highly auspicious festival dedicated to Sun God. In Hindu religion it is observed as a festival across the country falling on the seventh day of Magha Masa sukla paksha. Generally it occurs during the months of January-February. This day is also known as Surya Jayanthi, the day on which Sun is supposed to have taken birth to Aditi and sage Kasyapa. Sun centric events falls continuously during Pushya and Magha Masam including Dhanurmasam, starting with Vaikunta Ekadasi and ending with Ratha Sapthami. Worshipping Sun God during this period is very sacred and celestial.
Significance of Ratha Sapthami :
Ratha means chariot. Sapthami is a thithi in a lunar month falling on the 7th day of both sukla and Krishna paksha. At the time of division of constellations each day or thithi is attributed to one deity/God. In the process Sapthami thithi was allotted to Sun God and hence it is his favourite day.
On this day of Ratha Sapthami, Northern movement of the Sun God is supposed to take definite effect after he commenced his journey towards Northern hemisphere entering Makara Raasi on Makara Sankramana Day. Traditionally it is More >
Basara – A Rare Temple of Goddess Saraswathi
Feb 10th
In our country we find very few temples of Goddess Saraswathi. Out of two such famous temples dedicated to Goddess Saraswathi one which can be easily accessed is in Adilabad district of Andhra Pradesh in a prominent place called Basar. Situated on the Banks of holy river Godavari, the Goddess at Basara is known as Gnana Saraswathi the one who bestows knowledge. It is the only temple in the entire South India that is dedicated to the Goddess of Learning Sri Saraswathi.
Legend behind the Temple :
As per the popular legend it is said that Sage Veda Vyasa of Mahabharata fame after the Kurukshetra war went on a pilgrimage in search of peace. During the course of his pilgrimage he reached this place at Basara situated on the banks of holy river Godavari in Dandakaranya. He found this place to be very peaceful and serene for his penance and started meditating. It is believed that the Divine Mother appeared before him and ordained him to install the Shakthi trio (Maha Saraswathi, Maha Lakshmi and Maha Kali) at this place. Accordingly the Sage Veda Vyasa did so by bringing three handful of sand from the river bed and started worshiping the More >
Sri Panchami or Vasantha Panchami
Feb 10th
Sri Panchami is a Hindu festival dedicated to Goddess Saraswathi. It is celebrated on the fifth day (Panchami) of Sukla Paksha in the Lunar Month of Magha Masam that generally occurs during the months of January-February. In our Hindu religion and culture, child going to a school generally begins with a ritual called Aksharabhyasa (learning of alphabets), the foundation for education. Akshara means the one that will not perish. Abhyasa means practice. Anything that we acquire in this life may perish but, the knowledge acquired through Akshara Gnana will never perish and will be an eternal asset. Goddess Saraswathi, the presiding deity of such Akshara Gyana, the female Divine energy of Learning, Knowledge and Wisdom is said to have born on this auspicious day known as Sri Panchami. Inducting a child into Aksharabhyasa on this day is said to be highly auspicious for good progression in education.
Reference to Goddess Saraswathi, the divine consort of Lord Brahma one of the Trinity Lords we find in many Pouranic scripts like Padma Purana, Brahma Vaivartha Purana etc… It is said that many pouranic great Sages like Sri Veda Vyasa, Brihaspathi, Yajnavalkya, Vasista, Parasara, and Bharadwaja had worshipped Goddess Saraswathi in their spiritual pursuits. More >
PRAYAGA – THE THEERTHA RAJ (Triveni Sangam)
Jan 15th
Prayaga also known as Allahabad is a city in the State of Uttar Pradesh situated at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers. Prayaga (place of sacrifice) is believed to be the spot where Lord Brahma offered his first sacrifice after creating the world. It is one of the four sites of Kumbha Mela, others being Haridwar, Ujjain, and Nasik. It is a very sacred and celestial place of importance in Hinduism and Hindu Mythology since it is situated at the confluence (Sangam) of the holy rivers, Ganga, Yamuna and the invisible Saraswathi called Triveni Sangam. In Sanskrit Veni mean river and Triveni means three rivers, and hence the confluence of three rivers known as Triveni Sangam.
Mythology of Prayaga:
Prayaga is also called as the Theertha Raj, the king of all pilgrimage centers. Its sanctity is manifested by its reference in Puranas, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. According to Hindu mythology it is said that, Lord Brahma, chose a land on the earth (Prayaga) to perform ‘Prakrista Yaga’, at the beginning of the creation and he also referred to it as Theertha Raj or the ‘King of all pilgrimage centers’. As per Padma Purana, Prayaga is said to be More >
Mukkoti Ekaadasi (Vaikunta Ekaadasi)
Dec 22nd
Normally Ekadasi is the 11th day (thithi) in the Almanac that occurs once in a fortnight of a Lunar month. While any Ekadasi day is considered to be the most sacred day in the dictionary of Lord Sri Maha Vishnu’s worship, the one that is falling in sukla paksha (waxing Moon) of the lunar month Pushya/Margasira Masam coinciding with Dhanurmasam has attained special significance. It is known as Vaikunta Ekadasi. It is also the first Ekadasi before the onset of Uttarayana.
Vaikunta
Vaikunta is the name of Lord SriManNarayana. It is also the place where Lord Sri Maha Vishnu resides along with his Consort Goddess Sri Maha Lakshmi resting on Aadisesha. It is known as Parama Padam, the supreme abode and the most coveted place. It is the sacred abode where every soul would be longing to go and stay eternally. The nearest reference to Vaikunta, we find in Vishnu Sahasranama sloka # 44 which reads as follows. !
Vaikuntah Purushah Praanah Praanadah Pranavah Prithuh
Hiranyagarbhah Shatrughno Vyaapto VaayurAdhokshajah!!
Meaning: Lord Maha Vishnu, also known as Vaikunta, is the remover of obstacles and sins and Vaikunta is the place which removes obstacles. He is the one who has united all the Pancha More >
Is 21.12.2012 going to be a Doomsday? – A brief study of Pralaya from Hindu perspective
Dec 22nd
Recently many of us would have come across statements or news items like; world is coming to end, Pralaya is coming, it is going to be a doomsday, soon the world is going to disintegrate etc., Latest of such statements based on ancient Mayan calendar is that the year 2012 is going to be an end of the world and 21.12.2012 is going to be a doomsday. Such statements are definitely going to create lot of panic, confusion, chaos, scare, anxiety among the world population leave aside its realities. It is due to ignorance or inadequate information. In the light of such statements, let us try to analyze from a Hindu perspective what is doomsday? When does it occur? Is 21.12.2012 really going to be a doomsday?
What is Pralaya?
Doomsday known in Hindu terminology as Pralaya is a Sanskrit word. Pra means conspicuous; prominent; notorious; great; noticeable; unique and Laya means destruction; deluge; dissolution; death; annihilation; Pralaya means destruction of the whole world. On an individual plane Pralaya means death and on mundane surface it is death and destruction of both living and non living things. Pralaya very much co-terminates with the concept of eternal Time that refers to the More >
Annam Athma ParipAlanam
Dec 20th
The concept food in western thinking includes the input to stomach via the mouth — an idea that food is gross in nature and nourishment. This is not to say that western thinking was totally unaware of the subtle attributes of food. Shakespeare sings, “If music be the food of love, play on.” There are also phrases such as ‘food for thought’ and even ‘food for the soul’, in English, but these do not speak about a total spiritual connotation.
In Sanatana Dharma, the term annam is used for the English term ‘food’, but not as an equivalent. The term annam denotes and connotes physical and spiritual ramifications. Annam is not just something which is input to stomach and digested, but it includes everything that is ingested by the ten senses and the mind. This is the reason our physical body is called annamaya kosha.
A number of our scriptures talk about annam. The main emphasis is on the truth What we eat, we become. We have compiled the scriptural sayings and links to articles in the famous magazine Hinduism Today on annam. These compilations are hosted at www.hindudharmaforums.com .
I have started this thread to collect our Paramacharya’s anugraha bashAna on annam and its More >
Famous Quotes on Hinduism and India
Dec 15th
India is a Karma Bhoomi. It has given birth to great sages, saints and philosophers. Vedas are rewritten, scripted and divided in India. Vedas are sacred scripts of Hindu Dharma. Hindu dharma otherwise known as sanatana dharma is the Hindu science of perfect living.
Since Yore, several civilizations have come into being and later came to an end but, Hinduism is still flourishing. Bhagawadgeeta the essence of Hindu philosophy and culture is not only a text book of Hinduism but a bible of humanity. Sage Vedavyaasa was one of the first daring revolutionaries in Hinduism and Bhagawadgeeta was the bible of the revolution that he created.
It is only in India, there is traditional chronology which provides the precise dates for prehistoric events with the support of astronomical data. Moreover there is massive literature in the form of Puranaas and Ithihaasaas that gives not only the political events but descriptions of the civilization and social life. This vast knowledge constitutes the true history of the people of India in the fullest sense of the term history.
Will Durant, American historian: “India was the motherland of our race, and Sanskrit the mother of Europe’s languages: she was the mother of our philosophy; mother, through More >
