In Hinduism, a visit to a sacred place is referred to as a tirtha-yatra with tirtha referring to a holy place and yatra, a journey. A tirtha, which literally means water in Sanskrit, is a place where there is a lake, river, well, pond or sea, the waters of which are considered to be holy.
India has many tirthas, such as Pushkar, Naimisharanya, Kedarnath, Kurukshetra, Badirinath, Nashik and Kailash Mansarovar. In fact, the shores of the holy rivers such as Godavari, Ganga, Yamuna, Cauvery, Krishna and Narmada too are considered important tirthas. One of the holiest tirthas is said to be Rameshwaram, located at the southernmost tip of India.
Indian scriptures say that those who make offerings and give gifts at such tirthas earn good karma. Long pilgrimages are made to these tirthas and, often, pilgrims impose several austerities on themselves – some even choose to walk long distances on foot to reach the tirthas.
02/08/2010
02/01/2010
Hinduism & Buddhism
The philosophies of Buddhism that are similar to Hinduism are:
- The belief that the soul is immortal
- The principle of karma – cause and effect of one’s actions
- The concept of rebirth to neutralize good and bad karma
- The ultimate goal of liberation from the cycle of life and death (Moksha/ Nirvana)
Those that are not:
- Buddha rejected the rituals and symbols of worship of Hinduism.
- Buddha rejected the Hindu caste system, and taught of the equality of all living creatures.
- Buddhism advocates non-violence – Hinduism encourages standing up for oneself when the need arises, and going to war if necessary.
01/26/2010
Hinduism, a Philosophy?
The ancient Vedic faith of Hinduism is perhaps the oldest organized surviving religion today – so old that it predates history. Thought to have originated around 3000 BCE, it cannot be attributed to any single founder, does not worship any single God, and does not follow any single philosophy. The term “Hindu” originated as a secular term; coined perhaps by Persians and Arabs to refer to the people who lived beyond the River Indus, and only acquiring communal overtones after the 17th century. Hinduism therefore refers generally to the (rather disparate) ways of life of those people.
The inherently diverse, complex nature of Hinduism makes it near impossible to state a defining philosophy. There is general agreement on the significance of the immortal soul (as against the triviality of the body, which is nothing more than a vehicle for the soul). The soul must stay on earth (albeit in a succession of different bodies through rebirth) until all its misdeeds have been nullified. The purpose of a Hindu’s life, then, is to attain liberation (Moksha) from this cycle of life and death.
Broadly, there may be said to be three schools of thought regarding the path to attaining Moksha – Advaita, Vishishtadvaita and Dvaita.
- Advaita, defined by the Sanskrit phrase “Tat Tvam Asi” (That Thou Art) argues that all life and the “Brahman” or God, are one and the same, and the pursuit of knowledge is the way to merge with the Brahman.
- Vishishtadvaita states that all life forms are part of, and make up the supreme whole, as drops of water make the ocean. The path to liberation is knowledge and devotion.
- Dvaita is dualistic, and much like Christianity, Judaism and Islam, believe in the superiority of God over his followers, and that the path to Moksha is self-surrender, devotion and worship.
Some believe that these are but references to stages of realization, with the soul progressing from Dvaita, the basic stage, to Advaita through the acquisition of knowledge and the practice of meditation.
01/18/2010
Hinduism 101
No, it is Hinduism!
What you see are lamps, flowers, fire, incense… what you do not see are the Vedas, the Vedanta and abstract concepts such as Dharma (righteousness), Karma (duty) and many others that make Hinduism what it is.
A quest
Hinduism was never meant to be a mere religion. It does not restrict itself to just one facet of human belief or one sphere of human activity. It goes beyond being a philosophy, a religion and a set of beliefs, rituals and practices. It is a quest which seeks to give rationality to reality by questioning it and seeking to explain ‘what is’, in a manner that is easy to understand and interesting enough to uphold. It is an entity whose whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
A way of living
Hinduism was initially called ‘Sanātana Dharmā’ which means ‘the eternal law that supports and sustains those who practice it’. It is based on the principles of Sāmānya Dharma (ethical values common to all) and samskāras (rituals). Ethical values train people to discipline their lives to be in harmony with the society while prescribed rituals serve to fine tune daily living. Dr. Carl Sagan, the famous astronomer said “The Hindu religion is the only one of the world's great faiths dedicated to the idea that the Cosmos itself undergoes an immense, indeed an infinite, number of deaths and rebirths. It is the only religion in which the time scales correspond, to those of modern scientific cosmology”. Modern science is able to explain many Vedic prescriptions only now!
The Vedas – A Knowledge Bank
At the very base of Hinduism lie the four timeless Vedas, which have been handed down by the Supreme Being, to a chosen few who proved themselves worthy enough to absorb it. These four Vedas, the Rig Veda, the Yajur Veda, the Sāma Veda and the Atharva Veda form a vast and deep ocean of knowledge. They answer many questions and prescribe courses of action.
The Vedas lay down the varna (caste) system, a broad structure for the society based on the division of labor, the asramās or four stages of life that cater to the basic tendencies that surface at each stage of life and the codes of conduct and duty so that both the individual and the society flourish.
Over five thousand years, Hinduism has been interpreted, reinterpreted, modified, customized, deified, vilified, assaulted, reinvented and it still remains Hinduism, alive and thriving with all its warts and moles! Go ahead and Google the term Hinduism; there are 6,840,000 plus links for you to make the journey from the ritual to the spiritual and from the temporal to the sublime!
12/29/2009
What are dharmshalas?
Dharamshala is a Hindi word for a religious guesthouse. Dharam means religion and shala stands for sanctuary. Built near pilgrimage destinations that are commonly situated outside city limits, dharmshalas are places where people can stay when they are on a pilgrimage. These guesthouses charge a nominal fee and provide basic facilities. In India, dharamshalas can be found in every pilgrim town, such as Varanasi, Haridwar, Tirupathi, Dwaraka, Rajasthan, and many more places.
Dharmshalas are built with money accumulated by temple trusts or with resources donated by devotees for the purpose. Hindus believe that serving other devotees is equal to serving the Lord.
12/14/2009
What is a Tikka and what is the significance of applying it on the forehead?
The tikka is a red dot of vermilion paste applied on the forehead, between the eyebrows. This spot is considered the centre of latent wisdom and concentration. It is also the spot where the third, or spiritual, eye is said to reside. All actions and thoughts are said to be governed by this spot and the act of putting the tikka signifies the desire to open the third eye. All Hindu religious functions begin with the application of the tikka, which is embellished with a few grains of rice.
While the normal tikka is but a small dot on the forehead, certain sects of Hindus cover their entire forehead with the tikka. And besides vermilion, the tikka can be made of sandalwood paste, ash or even clay. For instance, the devotees of Lord Shiva use ash and draw their tikka as three horizontal lines across their forehead.
Indian women belonging to certain sects wear the tikka as a sign of marriage. In fact, it is considered improper for them to appear in public without the tikka.
12/08/2009
12/01/2009
11/23/2009
Bhagavad Gita for Modern Times by Swami Sadashiva Tirtha
Perhaps, this is what best describes this book. We all know or have heard the venerable teachings of the Gita, but we do not know how to apply it to our busy lifestyles. We cram myriad activities in our daily schedule, and easily discard much that does not contribute to our kind of living.
Most often, The Bhagavad Gita adorns personal bookshelves, but remains there gathering dust for posterity. Although aware of its profound wisdom, no one has the leisure to ruminate on its teachings and apply it for betterment or empowerment.
Swami Sadashiva Tirtha does that for us. With his acumen, deep insight, and clarity of thought, he elucidates the verses of the Gita in the language of modern times, lifting theory off the page and creating an at-home Gita seminar for one person, the entire family, or study group. He draws parallels from the verses of the Gita and casts them in the chapters of our everyday lives so fluidly we start reworking or rethinking on those lines of wisdom. To draw the point home, here is an excerpt from Tirtha’s Commentary on the three gunas – sattwa, rajas, tamas that control everything – in the language of the corporate world:
Roger doesn’t have much creative sense, so he was happy that Sat started the company; Roger’s god-gifts lie in management and organizational skills. So he runs the day-to-day operation.
Sat and Roger talked Tom into leaving his job at his salvage company and use his cleanup skills for their new company. Some of Tom’s responsibilities will be clearing out old computers, furniture, cell phones, cars, software, and so on, since the company must stay on the leading edge of technology and fashion to impress the clients. Tom also has the responsibility to compassionately deal with people when they must be let go. He is also in charge of disbanding parts of companies that their company takes over.
The people who work at Goo-Na have enjoyed their jobs, their salaries support their families, and everything runs smoothly. As the company becomes larger and more powerful, the brothers, human nature being what it is, begin to lose their idealistic focus.
As a result, corporate ethics has slipped and customers are not getting quality products. Creative ideas to serve humanity have fallen by the wayside. Other companies are being harassed where they were previously community partners, and there are even some financial scandals afoot.
There remains one employee, Archie, who joined the company, and who is still inspired by its idealistic mission statement; however, he is quite upset that the company is not allowing him to truly help society. No one listens to his creative ideas. When he tries to talk to any of the brothers, they ignore him. Archie is stuck, trapped by the three brothers. The only way to get out of this predicament is to go to … the venture capitalists G.O.D... Since Archie alerted G.O.D. about the loss of vision at Goo-Na, the G.O.D. company may be able to bring integrity, ethics, compassion back into this company by threatening to close them down (i.e., stop funding them). As a result of Archie’s devotion to helping people, G.O.D. succeeded in putting Goo-Na back on track.
Filled with such evocative allusions, this book serves as a guide to applying ancient wisdom in one’s daily life to find oneself, strengthen family ties, develop a more meaningful career, achieve greater peace and harmony, discover life’s purpose and vision, understand the connection between various religions, apply the exercises to cultivate a more peaceful life. The book incorporates the essence of the Gita’s revered teachings with fresh concepts, including how to reduce stress through meditation, how to achieve familial harmony, how ecology and nature affect inner peace, how to nurture well-rounded education for children, and how to impart social entrepreneurial benefits to communities.
Throughout, the commentary remains true to the wisdom of the original text. It also offers a wealth of stress-management advice—perfect for yoga instructors, business professionals, even busy parents. And very appropriately, Tirtha dedicates the book to all people seeking greater peace, harmony and balance of their spiritual priorities with their worldly goals and responsibilities, all bhaktas who are seeking how to integrate Vedanta and Bhakti, and all those seeking some insight into the universality of religions, spirituality, nature, and ethics.
