Tattva

Namaste,

The first anniversary edition of Tattva released last month received an overwhelming response. 2000 printed copies of the issue are being distributed in college campuses throughout the country. If you would like copies of the first anniversary issue to be distributed at your campus, please send an e-mail with your name and the name of your college to tattva-editor@hinduyuva.org.

In this edition of Tattva, we have a wonderful array of articles, including an introduction of the Bhagavad Gita and an interpretation of Shri Ganesh’s leadership skills.

As we move into Tattva’s second year, we encourage all of you to get involved by telling your friends  about the magazine, giving your feedback to the editorial team, and contributing your own knowledge and talent to Tattva. Vishwa Dharma Ki Jai!

Please visit http://www.hinduyuva.org/tattva-blog/2007/10/ to read the October 2007 edition of Tattva.

“The Hindu mind represents  humanity’s oldest and most continuous stream of conscious intelligence on the planet. Hindu sages, seers, saints, yogis, and jnanis have maintained an unbroken current of awareness linking humanity with the Divine since the dawn of history, and as carried over from earlier cycles of civilization in previous humanities unknown to our present spiritually limited culture.”

–Dr. David Frawley (Pandit Vamadeva Shastri), author on Hinduism, Yoga, and Ayurveda 

Vijay Dashami, also known as Dussehra, falls on October 21 this year. In Sanskrit, “Vijay” means “victory” and “Dashami” refers to the tenth day of the bright half of the lunar month of Aashwayuja. Thus, Vijay Dashami is a festival of victory, the triumph of Dharma over Adharma. This day is marked by many inspiring episodes from history that reflect the victorious tradition of our ancestors. It was on Vijay Dashami that Shri Ram defeated Ravan after ten days of battle, thus liberating the city of Lanka from its adharmic ruler. Vijay Dashami is also the finale of the nine-day festival of Navaratri. During the days of Navratri, we worship Saraswati, the goddess of learning; Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth; and Durga, the goddess of strength. There are countless names of the goddess of strength—Durga, Maha Kaali, Mahishasura Mardini. Time and time again, she has defeated the demonic forces and established the supremacy of the righteous. Read the rest of this entry »

The Bhagavad Gita starts with the words of Lord Krishna, “O Arjun you are grieving for what should not be grieved for.” This verse contains the theme of the Gita and reveals the context of the teaching—Arjuna’s state of mind, his asking for the knowledge.  This is the beginning of the Gita. The beauty of this timeless scripture is that its essential message is universal. Read the rest of this entry »

Most of us must have heard about the government of India’s statement on September 12, 2007, to the Supreme Court, claiming that there was no historical evidence to establish the existence of Lord Rama or the other characters in Ramayana. The affidavit was filed before the court by the Archaeological Survey of India, an Indian government agency. The affidavit declared that there is no “historical record” to prove the existence of the characters or the occurrences of the events depicted in the Ramayana. Read the rest of this entry »

Last month, on September 15th, we celebrated the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi, also known as Ganesh Utsav. Every Hindu home prepared to give Him a hearty welcome. Beautiful murtis of Shri Gajanana were put on display, privately and publicly, throughout the period of festivity. While we enjoy celebrating the festival, let us take the time to reflect on Shri Ganesh and see what we can learn from him. Read the rest of this entry »

Interesting Facts about Hinduism and Bharat:

Aeronautical developments of ancient India

Iron Pillar (Garuda Pillar), Delhi

Ram Sethu 

Read the rest of this entry »

 Yoga is becoming popular all over the world. While the term yoga brings to mind several postures to the most of us, yoga transcends twisting and bending, and is essentially a way of living. It is the means by which the individual self (Jivatma) expands from its narrow constricted personality to the all pervading, blissful state of existence, or the Paramatma. Thus, Yoga (yuj) joins Jivatma with the Paramatma. While there are four streams of Yoga, namely, Raja Yoga (path of will), Bhakti Yoga (path of devotion), Jnana Yoga (path of knowledge) and Karma Yoga (path of action), the yogasanas that we are familiar with fall into the path of Raja Yoga. Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga is the 8-limbed yoga which discusses in detail the various yogasanas amongst others like pranayama, dhyana and dharana. Yogasanas, or yogic postures. The various Yogasanas that exist are either sitting, standing supine or prone postures, and are either cultural, because they culture the body, relaxing, or meditative. Ultimately, the goal of yogasanas to bring harmony and calmness at the Annamaya Kosa (body level), and in turn create calmness and peace at the mind level. Read the rest of this entry »

Name the great personality Read the rest of this entry »