Gita-God-Hinduism

An Indian marriage is incomplete without this key stage - the  sapta-padi:   sapta means seven and pada means steps and saptapadi is the process. In this, the groom stands holding the bride's hand, and takes her seven steps, ideally towards the east or the north. The groom takes vows with the bride at each step. Even though a Hindu wedding is incomplete without the saptapadi , the exact process may differ from one culture to another. In some cultures it is done by making heaps of rice and taking one step on each heap; in others it is by drawing seven lines and the bride making a promise on each line; in some customs, the groom holds the right hand of the bride in his right hand, and holds the right foot toe with his left hand and helps take one step at a time. In some cultures it is said that it is not appropriate for the groom to hold the foot of the bride, therefore he should only hold her right hand and complete the saptapadi. So, it does not matter what process was...

This is one of the simplest and the most beautiful compositions in the magnanimous Kannada daasa saahitya. This one is dedicated to my friend who does not know Kannada but has experienced the song deep within his heart.  ರಚನೆ  : ವಿಜಯ ದಾಸರು  Composed by: vijaya dAsa ಕೈಲಾಸ  ವಾಸ ಗೌರೀಶ ಈಶ  ತೈಲ ಧಾರೆಯಂತೆ   ಮನಸು   ಕೊಡು   ಹರಿಯಲ್ಲಿ   ಶಂಭೋ || [kailAsavAsa gaureesha eesha  taila dhAreyaMte manasu koDu hariyalli shaMbhO ||] Hey kailaasavAsa (the one residing in kailAsa), hey gaureesha (the Lord of Gauri), hey eesha (Lord), give me the mind (intellect, attitude, understanding, mood, desire) like the continuous free flowing stream of oil [where there is no friction; nothing can stop it] hey Shambhu (the all purifying one). ಅಹೋರಾತ್ರಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ನಾನು ಅನುಜರಾಗ್ರಣಿಯಾಗಿ ಮಹಿಯೊಳಗೆ ಚರಿಸಿದೆನೋ ಮಹದೇವನೇ ಅಹಿಭೂಶಣನೆ ಎನ್ನ ಅವಗುಣಗಳೆಣಿಸದಲೇ ವಿಹಿತಧರ್ಮದಲಿಡು ವಿಷ್ಣು ಭಕುತಿಯನು  ಕೊಡು  ಶಂಭೋ |೧| [ahorAtriyali nAnu anuj...

An offering This is an offering on the day of "gurupurNima". It is a misfortune that the Indians are letting go of this system but those who are interested are probably more serious than ever before. People seek a "coach" for swimming or running or cricket but they forget to seek coach for the most important aspect of life - life or the soul. It is in this regard that I am putting together this document about what  deeksha  means. What is  deeksha ? The word 'deeksha' or "diksha' has two parts, 'di' and 'ksha'. The letter ' di ' indicates the ' dik ' or the direction or the process of attaining the divine knowledge. The letter ' kSha ' implies "cutting off" or "destroying" or the destruction of the accrued sins. Thus ' deekShA ' implies two simultaneous processes - one that creates a new path of auspiciousness and knowledge, and the other destroys anything that which presents ...

YajnOpavita has several names but this is the most authentic Sanskrit name to it, and it clears states itself - the sacred thread to perform the vedic rituals to please Lord VishNu - the yajna or yajamAna. In taitareeya aaraNyaka, 2nd prashna 1st anuvaaka supposedly has this anecdote: "Once the devataas (gods) and the asuraas (demons) were fighting over who has the first right to the heavens. Each wanted to be the privilege, and pursued the yajna. The asuraas through their physical strengths very quickly accumulated all the resources needed for the yajna and started off. In their rush they did not follow the process prescribed in the vedas. However, the devas followed all the rules of brahmacharya and vedas. The asuras not knowing what is to be done and what is not to be, did not attain the heavens. The devas attained the heavenly planets by being diligent and sincerity. Because of their virtues the devas defeated the asuraas. It was the yajnopaveeta that the devas wore that se...

There were discussions today about the significance of the different threads in the "janivaara" or the "poonal" or the "yajnopavita". Before trying to understand the significance of the layers we need to appreciate and understand the meaning and significance of janivaara. To understand the significance of janivaara it is important to understand that of upanayana. Upanayana Upanayana is a "samskaara" (the cleansing, sacramental, training, refining) process to enable the learning for a child. Over a period of time it has been limited to the boychild and the girl child's upanayana supposedly happened during the marriage. Upanayana, as defined by sage Bharadhwaja is " उपनयाख्यं यत्कर्म विद्यार्थं तदुदीरितम्", " उपसमीपे आचार्यादीनां वटॊः नीतिः नयनं प्रपणं उपनयनं", i.e.  The process of sending the student to the proximity of a great practitioner, a guru, is called upanayanam . Or, " आचार्यादीनं समीपे वटुः नीयते येन संस...

"Time" is one of the several fascinating things in the Indian system. For most people India's contribution is limited to the "number system" and the "yOGa" (in its current distorted, western form), however there is so much more that India has to offer than just these. The greatest wealth that remain hugely unexplored from the Indian texts include Spirituality (or the consciousness studies), Science, Philosophy, and Mathematics.  For the western eyes, the obsession with Tolstoy or Weber or Aristotle or Plato or Descartes or Epicurus or Locke has blinded them to the great works elsewhere. It has sometimes been deliberate and at others due to ignorance. They have explored Confucius to some extent but have largely ignored the Indian contribution. This appears like a deliberate attempt - at suppressing some of the most brilliant ideas ever. Even when the world was discussing about a flat earth, which was 5000 year old, Indian greats had presented a much ...

Inquiry:  I don't understand why they write songs that ask Shiva to give us bhakti on Vishnu. Why does the poet want Bhakti from Shiva and worship Vishnu? why doesn't he directly ask Vishnu? To understand why they write songs that ask Shiva to give Bhakti on VishNu, we need to understand their notion of Shiva and VishNu. Please also note that their description may not match with our description. Expecting that would not be appropriate! Will it be?  A simple answer is - it is their choice :)  The first step to a more complex answer is to understand that we have differences in how we understand, that does not make us right and them wrong or them right and us wrong. It is a difference in perspective, interpretation and inference. Their perspective of the key elements of spirituality is different from that of ours, wrt jiva (aatma), bhagavanta (paramaatma), lOka, tattva, karma and mOksha. Similarly, their key scriptures and their interpretations are different. ...

This is following the previous post on the same topic ... Objection 3:  "don't brood over these lines at all. most of the dasa sahithya is biased, for eg., in this song it is on shiva but the author asks Shiva '''Vishnu Bhakuthiyanu kodo shambho'''... Is dAsa sAhitya is "BIASED"? Not only the poet but the entire community of dAsa sAhitis is accused of this bias towards "vishNu". This is interesting and let us consider a few perspectives: 1) Is worship of one Lord a bias?, is not "ekam sat" the universal truth? Whether one calls it VishNu or Shiva or aatma or whatever, how does it matter for an advaita?  2) If we believe that VishNu, Shiva, and Brahma are one and the same, how does it matter if one chooses to worship one over the other, or focuses on only one aspect? Are they not simultaneously worshiping the others whether want or not? so, where is the objection? Objection seems more from a material perspec...

This is in response to a recent discussion on a topic (started by  Sriharsha Aswathanarayan ) on the smaartha brahmin group on Facebook.  Point of contention is a line from a daasa kriti:   "manasu kaaraNavalla paapa puNyakkella, analaaksha ninna preraNeyillade"  ["mind is not the cause of the sins and piety (virtues), without the inspiration from you Oh Lord Shiva"] The question was "how do we interpret this from Advaitha perspective?" My initial response was: "I am not sure why this needs to be interpreted in Advaithic perspective at all! It is written by a "dvaiti" great, a Madhva anuyaayi, Sri Vijaya Daasaru. Why cannot we appreciate both?  Not everything needs to be interpreted philosophically; however, there is a philosophy in this too. I feel it needs to be relished the way it is." However, the discussion went on and I thought of putting things together in a blog. ------------------- Section 1: Getting the ...