Tag: hindu

Karma Chameleon


Reincarnation: do I believe in it?
As someone who is born in India and raised with Hindu values then Karma & Reincarnation are integral part of my living. So,I do believe in Karma & Reincarnation…

I don’t want to get into the scientific facts for the belief, but believing in Karma makes me think good and do good… To that extent I’m happy to live with that belief…

Whenever I think something bad and run over the path of evel immediately my mind thinks of Karma… That was how I was raised…

Scientifically we are living our thought process… Every time when we do a wrong the thought process in Karma makes us prisoners  of guilt…

So, I believe in the concept called Karma, I’m proud to believe it and stay good..

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A festival celebrated after 3 years!!


I remember Ganesh Chadurthi 2012 was the last festival celebrated happily with dad.

Subsequent festivals couldn’t be celebrated happely because of my dads hospitalisation!!!

Then dad passed away last year back and as per HINDU customs we were not supposed to celebrate any festival for a year!!

It’s been a year since my dad left us and this Tamil New Year 2015 is a festival celebrated after 3 years!! 

 

Let this new year begin a new chapter in our life with blessings from Dad!!

And தமிழ் புத்தாண்டு வாழ்த்துக்கள்(Happy Tamil New Year) to everybody!!! 

From

K.Sivanesan & Family!!!

Hindu is a geographical identity!!! Not a religion


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Hindu is a geographical identity, or at the most a cultural one – not a religion. There is no set of beliefs that everyone has to adhere to. Sadhguru

So, what is “HINDUISM” , is it really an organised religion ?

  • people think that Hinduism is a religion that worships idols, animals etc but in reality hinduism is not a relegion, hindu is a geographical identity
  • hindu is a term given by the persians to the people who were followers of the oldest civilization of sanatana dharma
  • there is no founder of hinduism and its not only about beliefs its about seeking
  • in hinduism you dont have to believe in specific god or even god , hinduism accept even atheists
  • in vedas a sacred scripture it is written that truth is one but paths are different
  • there are many paths to realise the truth – bhakti(devotion), jyana(knowledge by scriptures, meditation)
  • in sanskrit we say it adhyatma , it says to find the god within you by self realisation yoga , tantra, advaita , sankhya, etc are the parts of hinduism
  • many great people like buddha, vivekananda, ramkrishna paramhansa, ramana maharshi , gorakshanath, adi shankracharya etc were followers of sanatana dharma
  • today millions of people in the world are doing yoga which is an orthodox school of hinduism
  • hinduism itself is a spritual science , vedas , upanishads are the oldest holy scriptures which are not only for any particular relegion but for the whole mankind
  • hinduism is a philosphy , a way of life and its not a relegion , other name of hinduism is sanatan dharma from which buddhism, jainism, sikkhism originated , sanatan means eternal and it is for the whole mankind not for any community or religion…

Birbal’s Explanation on Power of Chanting Rama Nama


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Birbal was a minister in the court of Akbar, the great Mogul Emperor. Birbal, apart from his sharp intellect, was also a devotee of Sri Rama. Akbar had a special regard for Birbal. Akbar used to openly ask Birbal to clarify his impulsive – and very often strange doubts. Birbal never failed to give an immediate and a fitting reply to such questions. Wherever Akbar went, he used to take Birbal along with him.

During one such instance, when they traveled for some official purpose, they had to take a route through a dense forest. In the course of the journey, both were totally exhausted and famished. So they decided to rest under the shade of a tree for a while before continuing their journey. Since Akbar was very hungry, he wanted to look around the place to see if he could find a house to get some food. He induced Birbal to follow suit.

But Birbal, who was in the midst of Rama Naam Jap (repetition of Rama’s name), turned down Akbar’s request.

Akbar looked at Birbal and said, ‘Mere chanting of the name of the Lord would not fetch you food. You have to put in your efforts…. You cannot achieve anything without self effort…’

Akbar left Birbal in the pursuit of pacifying his belly. In a little while, he spotted a house. The inmates of the house were overjoyed to see their King coming to their very doorstep for food. They treated him to the best of their capacity. Akbar finished his meal and took a little food for Birbal too, and left the house to meet Birbal. He met Birbal and gave him the food.

‘See Birbal, I told you… I took some efforts for the food and I got it. You were just sitting and chanting Rama Naam, and you did not get any food.’

Birbal ignored his scoffing, and partook the food given by Akbar. After he finished the meal, he looked up at Akbar and said,

‘I have just now experienced the power of Rama Naam, like never before. You are the ruler of the land. But today, even the King had to beg for food. But you look at me. I was just chanting Rama Naam here, and the Rama Naam made the king himself get me food, that too by begging. So I got the food, just by sitting here and chanting Rama Naam without any other special efforts. Such is the power of Rama Naam!!

Ashtamsa Sri Varada Anjaneya Temple History


Two decades ago, Rajamani Bhattar, a temple priest of Tirunelveli, brought up in Vaikanasa Agama tradition and an upasaka of the Anjaneya, was blessed by Guruji Haridos Giri Swami and he was presented with the idols of Sri Rama, Sita, Lakshmana, Anjaneya and a Shadchakra Saligrama at Thennangur.

The Swami had made an apocalyptic statement that the votary would build a shrine for Anjaneya.

In the year 2004, a divine call directed him to devote his entire time and resources to construct a shrine for Anjaneya at the spot indicated in his dream, at Peelamedu in Coimbatore.

Located on a spacious plot of ground tucked a few meters away from and on theCoimbatore-Avinashi road, opposite ESSO bus stop (near Suguna Kalyanamandapam) the Ashtamsa Sri Varada Anjaneya is endued with eight special features.

Hence its uniqueness in standing apart from other temples dedicated to the Anjaniputhra.

Normally Hanuman is portrayed with His folded hands praying to Sri Ramachandra.

But, the gomukhi-structured idol of the deity here, in Peelamedu facing west and measuring eight feet is of a different kind.

And many more unique featrues of the lord Hanuman can be found in this temple.

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Source: Coimbatorian

British distorted Hindu Aryavrata-Bharata History of India


The flawed Aryan invasion theory (AIT) was actually part of the British policy of divide and rule, French historian Michel Danino, an expert on ancient Indian history, said on Thursday on the sidelines of the Kolkata Literary Meet. Danino, who authored books such as The Lost River: On The Trail of Saraswati and Indian Culture and India’s Future, blames the British for distorting Indian history and challenged the Arayan invasion theory, while maintaining that there was no actual Aryan-Dravidian divide.

“No ancient or medieval Indian text would support the Aryan invasion theory. It is genetically proven that Aryans and Dravidians belong to the same race, ”said Danino, who settle in India in 1977 and has since acquired Indian citizenship.

Danino said that early Tamil literature displayed a cultural fusion with north Indian literature. Even the name of the city Maduri was influence from the ancient north Indian heritage city, Mathura, Danino claimed.

“Indians are basically a mixed breed and the mixing started as early as the Stone Age. After the Saraswati river dried up, leading to the collapse of the Indus Valley civilization, people started settling on the banks of the Ganges. This phenomenon that occurred around 2000 BC led to massive mixing up of the populace as a while has to shift its base,” Danino explained.

“The Mahabharata defined ethnic groups as jatis, whereas the British brought in the term tribes to describe the same thing, thus denigrating the homogenous culture of India. Jatis were defined on ecological terms. There is a popular perception that casteism started in India since the Vedas but that is not true. There was no casteism even during the Mahabharata period,” he said.

Danino also rued the fact that Indians are apathetic towards the preservation of their rich culture and heritage. “1170 sites of the ancient Harappan civilization have been identified during its mature phase. But till date only around 100 sites have been excavated. There is a fear that 90% of the sites might disappear due to expansion of urban areas or agricultural land being converted to residential high rises,” Danino said.

He went on to give an example of how the archaeological Survey of India (ASI) could recover only eight kilos of Harappan gold when about 80 kilos of the same was unearthed at Mandi in Uttar Pradesh. Villagers pilfered the rest, depriving India of a useful insight into its rich heritage.

“ASI admitted to a Parliament query that 42 protected sites vanished from Delhi alone. No one noticed as land sharks went to grab the sites and construct high-rises on them,” Danino said.

Historian Sanjeev Sanyal, speaking on the continuity of Indian history claimed that east European and north Indian people share genetic similarities.
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Source : Hindustan Times

Link : http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Kolkata/Indian-history-was-distorted-by-the-British/Article1-1004972.aspx

Hinduism – Well Explained!!!


Four years ago, I was flying from JFK NY Airport to SFO to attend a meeting at Monterey, CA.

An American girl was sitting on the right side, near window seat.

It indeed was a long journey – it would take nearly seven hours!

I was surprised to see the young girl reading a Bible – unusual of young Americans! (Later I came to know that September 11 has changed mind-set of lot of US citizens. They suddenly turned religious, it seemed.) After some time she smiled and we had few acquaintances talk. I told her that I am from India .

Then suddenly the girl asked: ‘What’s your faith?’

‘What?’ I didn’t understand the question.

‘I mean, what’s your religion? Are you a Christian? Or a Muslim?’

‘No!’ I replied, ‘I am neither Christian nor Muslim’.

Apparently she appeared shocked to listen to that.

‘Then who are you…?’

‘I am a Hindu’, I said.

She looked at me as if she is seeing a caged animal.

She could not understand what I was talking about.

A common man in Europe or US knows about Christianity and Islam, as they are the leading religions of the world today.

But a Hindu, what? I explained to her – I am born to a Hindu father and Hindu mother. Therefore, I am a Hindu by birth.

‘Who is your prophet?’ she asked.

‘We don’t have a prophet,’ I replied.

‘What’s your Holy Book?’

‘We don’t have a single Holy Book, but we have hundreds and thousands of philosophical and sacred scriptures,’ I replied.

‘Oh, come on…at least tell me who is your God?’

‘What do you mean by that?’

‘Like we have Yahweh and Muslims have Allah – don’t you have a God?’

I thought for a moment. Muslims and Christians believe one God (Male God) who created the world and takes an interest in the humans who inhabit it. Her mind is conditioned with that kind of belief.

According to her (or anybody who doesn’t know about Hinduism), a religion need to have one Prophet, one Holy book and one God. The mind is so conditioned and rigidly narrowed down to such a notion that anything else is not acceptable. I understood her perception and concept about faith. You can’t compare Hinduism with any of the present leading religions where you have to believe in one concept of god.

I tried to explain to her: ‘You can believe in one god and he can be a Hindu. You may believe in multiple deities and still you can be a Hindu. What’s more – you may not believe in god at all, still you can be a Hindu. An atheist can also be a Hindu.’

This sounded very crazy to her.

She couldn’t imagine a religion so unorganized, still surviving for thousands of years, even after onslaught from foreign forces.

‘I don’t understand…but it seems very interesting. Are you religious?’ What can I tell to this American girl?

I said: ‘I do not go to temple regularly. I do not make any regular rituals. I have learned some of the rituals in my younger days. I still enjoy doing it sometimes.’ ‘Enjoy? Are you not afraid of God?’

‘God is a friend. No- I am not afraid of God. Nobody has made any compulsions on me to perform these rituals regularly.’

She thought for a while and then asked: ‘Have you ever thought of converting to any other religion?’

‘Why should I? Even if I challenge some of the rituals and faith in Hinduism, nobody can convert me from Hinduism. Because, being a Hindu allows me to think independently and objectively, without conditioning… I remain as a Hindu never by force, but choice.’ I told her that Hinduism is not a religion, but a set of beliefs and practices. It is not a religion like Christianity or Islam because it is not founded by any one person or does not have an organized controlling body like the Church or the Order, I added. There is no institution or authority.

‘So, you don’t believe in God?’ she wanted everything in black and white.

‘I didn’t say that. I do not discard the divine reality. Our scripture, or Sruthis or Smrithis – Vedas and Upanishads or the Gita – say God might be there or he might not be there. But we pray to that supreme abstract authority (Para Brahma) that is the creator of this universe.’

‘Why can’t you believe in one personal God?’

‘We have a concept – abstract – not a personal god. The concept or notion of a personal God, hiding behind the clouds of secrecy, telling us irrational stories through few men whom he sends as messengers, demanding us to worship him or punish us, does not make sense. I don’t think that God is as silly as an autocratic emperor who wants others to respect him or fear him.’ I told her that such notions are just fancies of less educated human imagination and fallacies, adding that generally ethnic religious practitioners in Hinduism believe in personal gods. The entry level Hinduism has over-whelming superstitions too. The philosophical side of Hinduism negates all superstitions.

‘Good that you agree God might exist. You told that you pray. What is your prayer then?’

‘Loka Samastha Sukino Bhavantu. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti,’

‘Funny,’ she laughed, ‘What does it mean?’

‘May all the beings in all the worlds be happy. Om Peace, Peace, Peace.’

‘Hmm… Very interesting. I want to learn more about this religion. It is so democratic, broad-minded and free…’ she exclaimed.

‘The fact is Hinduism is a religion of the individual, for the individual and by the individual with its roots in the Vedas and the Bhagavad-Gita. It is all about an individual approaching a personal God in an individual way according to his temperament and inner evolution – it is as simple as that.’

‘How does anybody convert to Hinduism?’

‘Nobody can convert you to Hinduism, because it is not a religion, but a set of beliefs and practices. Everything is acceptable in Hinduism because there is no single authority or organization either to accept it or to reject it or to oppose it on behalf of Hinduism.’

I told her – if you look for meaning in life, don’t look for it in religions; don’t go from one cult to another or from one guru to the next.

For a real seeker, I told her, Bible itself gives guidelines when it says ‘ Kingdom of God is within you.’ I reminded her of Christ’s teaching about the love that we have for each other. That is where you can find the meaning of life.

Loving each and every creation of the God is absolute and real.

‘Isavasyam idam sarvam’ Isam (the God) is present (inhabits) here everywhere – nothing exists separate from the God, because God is present everywhere. Respect every living being and non-living things as God. That’s what Hinduism teaches you.

Hinduism is referred to as Sanathana Dharma, the eternal faith. It is based on the practice of Dharma, the code of life. The most important aspect of Hinduism is being truthful to oneself. Hinduism has no monopoly on ideas. It is open to all. Hindus believe in one God (not a personal one) expressed in different forms. For them, God is timeless and formless entity.

Ancestors of today’s Hindus believe in eternal truths and cosmic laws and these truths are opened to anyone who seeks them. But there is a section of Hindus who are either superstitious or turned fanatic to make this an organized religion like others. The British coin the word ‘Hindu’ and considered it as a religion.

I said: ‘Religions have become an MLM (multi-level-marketing) industry that has been trying to expand the market share by conversion. The biggest business in today’s world is Spirituality. Hinduism is no exception…’

I am a Hindu because it doesn’t condition my mind with any faith system………….

RAM.K.MENON