Tattva

Sanatana Dharma is more misunderstood than otherwise. It means an eternal system which owed its durability to its rationalism and not, as is often supposed, to any divine origin. It defined four major goals of life to be accomplished by means of eight secondary observances. The major objectives are evolutionary ethics, creativity and harmony with instincts and finally liberation from the human constraints. In Samskrit these were called Dharma, Artha, Kaama and Moksha. Read the rest of this entry »

The Upanishads present an entirely refreshing manner of discussing supra-human reality.  They affirm that such an entity is a Reality, known as Brahman and that humans are a part of it. The Gods, not merely the Hindu ones, are no more than imaginary cult heads. Evolution, not vested interests, political compulsions or delusions, controls and guides human development. Read the rest of this entry »

What is Vedic Mathematics?
Vedic Mathematics is the name given to the ancient system of Mathematics which was rediscovered from the Vedas between 1911 and 1918 by Sri Bharati Krishna Tirthaji (1884-1960). According to his research all of mathematics is based on 16 Sutras or aphorisms. For example, ‘Vertically and Crosswise` is one of these Sutras. These formulae describe the way the mind naturally works and are therefore a great help in directing the student to the appropriate method of solution.
Swami Bharati Krishna Tirtha’s Vedic mathematics is a system of mathematics consisting of a list of 16 basic sūtras, or aphorisms, that allegedly encompass all mathematics. Read the rest of this entry »

Recently, I had the great fortune of meeting two social workers from Arunachal Pradesh, Dr. Joram Begi and Shri Vijay Swami. They delivered a presentation explaining the economic, historical, social, and cultural situations of a state which has lagged in comparison to the rest of Bharat. They extensively spoke of the challenges faced by the inhabitants of the state when it comes to strengthening cultural identity. With the presentations, the speakers hoped that we become more aware of the conditions in Arunachal Pradesh and understand the strong need of cultural unity to bring the state as well as the nation together. Read the rest of this entry »

Hinduism upholds a single reality that is manifested in various forms; every part of creation is seen as nothing but a manifestation of this supreme reality. Every form of creation is a combination of one or more of the Pancha Bhutas: Akaasha, Vaayu, Agni, Jalam, and Prithvi. Read the rest of this entry »

Hinduism accepts and advocates evolution. I look upon Dharma as the ethos that promotes social evolution. I depend upon the Taittiriya Upanishad, the concept of the Dahshavatara or ten incarnations of God, and the Gita, to explain evolution according to the Hindu beliefs. We shall discuss these below.
 
Hindu evolution is different from Darwinian evolution. Darwinian version has two derivative postulates, natural selection and survival of the fittest. According to the first postulate, environment or circumstance decides which species survive under a given set of conditions. Thus, white, snow-covered ground favored the survival of white minnows. They became less visible to predators. When the snow turned blackish with coal ash after industrial revolution, the environment favored the gray-colored bird. Intra- and inter- species competition is implied in the second postulate, namely, survival of the fittest. Hinduism rejects this postulate. Read the rest of this entry »

(Genesis is the first book of the Old Testament. It describes the creation of the Universe, the solar system and the living beings in the course of six days by God. The Hindu view of Genesis is more detailed and is explained here. In a highly condensed form Hindu genesis is represented by the icon, Padmanabha. It tallies with the experimental conclusions of science. How did our ancients arrive at such startling conclusions? Was it by intuition? We are not in a position to give an answer to it.)
 
A few years ago, Americans sent a space craft into outer space carrying a cryptic message to intelligent beings over there. It consisted of a plaque inscribed with the figures of a man and a woman, the solar system and the Bohr -Rutherford model of the Hydrogen atom. If they had been knowledgeable about Hindu mythology, they would have included the Devanagari OM and the Padmanabha Icon. They would have been right on the target. Read the rest of this entry »

All natural phenomenon in the world are cyclical, period.

Day and Night, Seasons, Water Cycle, Lunar and Solar Cycles, Biological cycles, Sound and Light waves, etc. The more you look for them, the more you find them.  Look at your own life. Your breath moves through cycles all your life. Moreover, your life starts with breathing in and ends by breathing out. The cycle is maintained across lifetimes! Read the rest of this entry »

Introduction
Hinduism or Sanatana Dharma is the oldest of the world’s living faiths. Though its origin is dated between 10,000 - 7,000 BCE by most historians, its traditions extend back before recorded history. Despite its antiquity, Hinduism is interestingly still a living and growing religion and has global acceptance. There is no founder to give credit to its discovery and establishment. Rather, Hinduism is a dharma or way of life evolved by the great sages of ancient India. In this article, you will find interesting facts about Hinduism that I have learned from attending Cupertino, CA Shakha, run by Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh. Read the rest of this entry »

Last month we celebrated Mahashivaratri. There was a whole night of prayers in homes and at Shiva temples. As we reflect on the prayers, let us learn more about jyotir lingas. The Jyotir lingas are self born (svayambhu) and are regarded as most sacred. There are twelve in the whole country. The following shlokas sum up these:

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