Hinduism Today helped make me aware of the media bias.
I tend to feel the same on Western news sources reporting on Hinduism.
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I tend to feel the same on Western news sources reporting on Hinduism.
Aupmanyav
Be your own guru
That in particular is BS, Vinayaka, started by a Hindu chauvinist. But there are many others. "Qutub Minar' complex had Hindu and Jain temples. 'Dhai din ka jhonpara' (Hut of two and a half days) in Ajmer, Jamia Mosque in Jaunpur (Uttar Pradesh) and so many others.
Aupmanyav
Be your own guru
Report from Kanataka on a Mosque:
www.daijiworld.com
www.daijiworld.com
www.daijiworld.com
Mangaluru: Remnants of old temple found on mosque property at Malali?
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru (MS) Mangaluru, Apr 22: Remnants of a structure resembling temple is unearthed at the Malali Market Mosque, falling under Ganjimath gram panchayat limits. This has caused curiosity among the locals and other people who are thronging to see the structure. The...
www.daijiworld.com
Mangaluru: Remnants of old temple crop up - Malali mosque renovation stalled temporarily
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru (MS) Mangaluru, Apr 23: After deputy commissioner Dr Rajendra K V instructed to maintain status quo and stop the works related to renovation of mosque at Malali as a controversy of siting of remnants of olden Hindu temple on land of mosque cropped up, city...
www.daijiworld.com
Mangaluru: High court concludes inquiry into Malali Mosque controversy, verdict soon
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru (MS) Mangaluru, Feb 3: The inquiry related to the Malali Mosque controversy has concluded at the High Court. The additional civil court of Mangaluru had previously issued a verdict on the petition filed by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), accusing Asayyad...
www.daijiworld.com
Aupmanyav
Be your own guru
Shiva's betrothal (Tilak) on Vasant Panchami, then marriage on Shivaratri.
"To perform this ritual of Tilak, a large number of devotees from Baba's in-laws house i.e. Mithilanchal have started reaching Baba Dham with different types of Kanwar.
Every year on the day of Basant Panchami, a big group from Mithilanchal (Mithila, also Mother Sita's father's kingdom) reaches Deoghar to perform Jalabhishek of Baba. These Mithila residents, who have a special type of Kanwar, distinct identity through dress and language (Bhojpuri, spoken by some 70 million people in India and Nepal), consider themselves to be Baba's relatives. That's why on the day of Basant Panchami people come to Deoghar to participate in Baba's Tilakotsav. Then on Shivratri, Shiva returns with a resolve to attend the marriage."
Why 'Baba' for Shiva? One, that he does not own anything and owns everything, except his trident, rattle and a gourd for water; two, that he is eternal, so he is everyone's grandpa.
reporterpost.in
"To perform this ritual of Tilak, a large number of devotees from Baba's in-laws house i.e. Mithilanchal have started reaching Baba Dham with different types of Kanwar.
Every year on the day of Basant Panchami, a big group from Mithilanchal (Mithila, also Mother Sita's father's kingdom) reaches Deoghar to perform Jalabhishek of Baba. These Mithila residents, who have a special type of Kanwar, distinct identity through dress and language (Bhojpuri, spoken by some 70 million people in India and Nepal), consider themselves to be Baba's relatives. That's why on the day of Basant Panchami people come to Deoghar to participate in Baba's Tilakotsav. Then on Shivratri, Shiva returns with a resolve to attend the marriage."
Why 'Baba' for Shiva? One, that he does not own anything and owns everything, except his trident, rattle and a gourd for water; two, that he is eternal, so he is everyone's grandpa.
Devotees offered prayer at Baba Baidyanath Dham Temple on Basant Panchami Festival in Deoghar - Reporter Post
reporterpost.in, Reporter Post Ranchi | Deoghar: On the occasion of Basant Panchami, a huge crowd of devotees is seen in Baba Dham of Deoghar. People were seen here applying Abir-Gulal to each other and congratulating each other. Actually, the day of Basant Panchami is celebrated as Baba's...
reporterpost.in
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Aupmanyav
Be your own guru
Media, foreign and even Indian.
Add: Holi, March 25.
Holi is basically a young peoples' festival. We elders will just put a tilak (bindi) on each others forehead with the red color.
Not enough energy to participate vigorously in the festivities.
In my case, Holi is something far away, geographically speaking. The well known [Indian] Hindu festivals in general are irrelevant to me because there is nobody to observe them with. Every Monday, every Somavāra, is special to me because it is when I do upavāsa for Śiva and have more intense devotion. I also like Tuesdays in Nabhasya/Śrāvaṇa because I do the same but for Pārvatī. If I were to live close to a temple, I could participate in more festivals, not that I absolutely have to.
Aupmanyav
Be your own guru
You are in Korea. I see a list of 3 which are all Vaishnava temples.
Sri Radha Shyamasundar Mandir, in Central Seoul
Sri Sri Radha Krishna temple of ISKCON movement, in Uijeongbu 20 km away on outskirt of Seoul
Sri Lakshmi Narayanan Temple, in Metropolitan Seoul
Have you visited any of them? Don't they have shrines for other Gods and Goddesses of Hinduism?
Sri Radha Shyamasundar Mandir, in Central Seoul
Sri Sri Radha Krishna temple of ISKCON movement, in Uijeongbu 20 km away on outskirt of Seoul
Sri Lakshmi Narayanan Temple, in Metropolitan Seoul
Have you visited any of them? Don't they have shrines for other Gods and Goddesses of Hinduism?
I’ve never been to Seoul. I’m in the southwestern region of the country, but travelling to Seoul would only take about two hours by bus, from what I heard. The reason that I’ve never been there is because I am not drawn toward big cities. I’m in a medium size city. I could look more into those temples and contact them about visiting and what all is there.
Yes, I think being in solitary conditions(regarding religion) does change things...
Holi is one of the few festivals that's big enough that we can attend without Ares disturbing anybody. Its active enough that he doesn't get bored. However, we didn't get to go last year because they decided to move the date of the celebrations literally hours before they were set to occur... My husband has to take time off work to go to the temple, because its 2 hours away(resulting in a 4 hours round trip), and has to put in for that time two weeks in advance. So, no Holi that year. Its just not the same throwing colors at your brother. (The kids were disappointed.)
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
They moved the Holi date again. Second year with no Holi celebration...
They moved the Holi date again. Second year with no Holi celebration...
Aupmanyav
Be your own guru
Play holi at home. A crowd is good but holi can be played at home too.
We will celebrate holi tomorrow. Grandson for a new color water gun (although he had a gun from last year also, but a new one is always welcome). However, I do not think he will play holi with color water gun from next year when he will be 13.
Types of holi played in India:
Holi with flowers. (Mathura speciality).
Holi with laddoos (Mathura speciality).
Holi with organic colors (normal with educated people).
Holi with chemical colors and paint (aluminium paints too).
Holi with bamboo staffs in hands of women and shields in the hands of men, Latthamar Holi.
(It is really a sham and fun. Does not hurt anyone. Mathura speciality)
Holi with stone throwing (two or three village pairs in different parts of India have this tradition).
(This is not sham, very real and abominable. Many are injured)
We will celebrate holi tomorrow. Grandson for a new color water gun (although he had a gun from last year also, but a new one is always welcome). However, I do not think he will play holi with color water gun from next year when he will be 13.
Types of holi played in India:
Holi with flowers. (Mathura speciality).
Holi with laddoos (Mathura speciality).
Holi with organic colors (normal with educated people).
Holi with chemical colors and paint (aluminium paints too).
Holi with bamboo staffs in hands of women and shields in the hands of men, Latthamar Holi.
(It is really a sham and fun. Does not hurt anyone. Mathura speciality)
Holi with stone throwing (two or three village pairs in different parts of India have this tradition).
(This is not sham, very real and abominable. Many are injured)
We've done it at home in the past a few times, but it just doesn't feel the same... the boys get tired of just each other lol And Mom can't play the drum like the man at the temple can. Yudhi loves that drum...
That sounds fun.
That would be fun and really beautiful at the same time.
‘I lost only two teef this year.’
Aupmanyav
Be your own guru
True. Night before holi have 'Holika Dahan' (Holika dies in fire though she had a boon that fire would not burn her), Lord Vishnu saves Prahlad.
People are baking wheat sheafs. After all, Holi is a harvest festival.
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I think going around the fire is my favorite part. I love the story of Prahlad.True. Night before holi have 'Holika Dahan' (Holika dies in fire though she had a boon that fire would not burn her), Lord Vishnu saves Prahlad.
People are baking wheat sheafs. After all, Holi is a harvest festival.
View attachment 89746
Namaskāra, everyone. Months ago, I watched a video on the Meru Media channel on YouTube that features Dr. Satyan Sharma. I really liked his answers to questions on dharmaśāstra and varṇa. Something else that I like about the interview is that he talks about the importance of bhakti and japa. At the end, he encourages listeners/viewers to focus on sāmānya dharma and to take bhakti and japa seriously. His words have been a major influence on my practice for these nine months so far. Thanks to him, my spiritual life has been satisfying. Let me tell you what I do. This will be long, by the way.
First, there is sāmānya dharma. It is the duties that are general or common to all individuals regardless of varṇa. Even for mlecchas such as myself (haha!) who are avarṇa, sāmānya dharma is a good thing to follow. My main source of knowledge of sāmānya dharma is the Yājñavalkya Smṛti. It lists ahiṃsā (non-injury), satyam (truth), asteya (not stealing), śauca (cleanliness), indriyanigraha (restraint of the senses), dāna (charity/giving), dama (curbing evil propensities), dayā (compassion), and kṣānti (patience/forgiveness) as the general or common duties. Further, it states that by all of them, dharma is accomplished (sarveṣām dharma sādhanam). Moreover, it also mentions that it is dharma to act one’s age. I verbally repeat these duties almost every day and think about them so that I may understand what they entail, which shapes my performance of them.
Second, there is nāmajapa. As you likely know, this is the repetition of divine names. The Śiva Purāṇa mentions it many times and encourages śivanāmajapa for followers of Śiva who are inclined. While the purāṇa states that a mantra must be acquired from a guru, it gives no rules about nāmajapa, which implies that you can take up the practice on your own. Among other wonderful things, it says that the japa of the name of Śiva, especially that particular nāma, so easily burns humongous heaps of pāpam, is the noblest means to mukti, removes worries, and takes away the fear of Yamarāja and naraka. (The purāṇa also mentions the japa of names of Mahādevī as granting both bhukti and mukti. My view is that this is the case because Śakti and Śiva are the two sides of the same coin. When you see Śiva, it is Śakti that you really see; when you see Śakti, you see what is ultimately Śiva.)
For more than two months so far, I have been chanting the name Śiva a minimum of 1080 times every single day. I do it with the help of a wooden mālā for only that practice. Thanks to this sādhanā, I am calm and composed. Also, probably most important, there is a general, subtle awareness of Śiva. Other benefits of the sādhanā in my experience so far are natural gratitude, inner peace, and more recently, easily choosing not to inwardly suffer from external matters.
Lastly, there is bhakti. The Śiva Purāṇa says that bhakti or devotion in the context of Śaivism is the sanātana dharma or eternal religion of Śiva. It is characterized by satpreman: love/affection toward Śiva that is real, genuine, noble, and not cheap. If you have this bhakti, you will not have more than three future births from now, even if you don’t perform any Śaivite rites. There are five kinds of practices in bhakti. Three of them, which I am most focused on, are japayajña, tapoyajña, and karmayajña. The penultimate one, tapoyajña, is the practice of tapas or austerity in devotion to Śiva. I do this by fasting on every Monday from sunrise to nightfall. The third one, karmayajña, is the practice of rites or worship. This can be as simple as bowing to a murti in a state of devotion. It can also involve worshiping a liṅga, which I started doing lately (the worship of liṅga is powerful). When Śiva is pleased, an individual receives grace to start the practice of bhakti. Practicing bhakti leads to more grace. As a result, one attains jñāna and thence mokṣa. (As the scripture explains, a guru can teach a person how to perform rites or worship if the person does not know how. The worship will lead to liberation.)
As you can see, Hinduism for me is characterized by a focus on sāmānya dharma, dedication to nāmajapa, and trying to be a bhakta. These things make my spiritual life satisfying and they produce results. Additionally, they are highly informed by our scriptures. Although Dr. Satyan Sharma doesn’t know me, he has inspired me to practice this way, and I owe him my thanks. I hope that someone else may be inspired to practice this way.
First, there is sāmānya dharma. It is the duties that are general or common to all individuals regardless of varṇa. Even for mlecchas such as myself (haha!) who are avarṇa, sāmānya dharma is a good thing to follow. My main source of knowledge of sāmānya dharma is the Yājñavalkya Smṛti. It lists ahiṃsā (non-injury), satyam (truth), asteya (not stealing), śauca (cleanliness), indriyanigraha (restraint of the senses), dāna (charity/giving), dama (curbing evil propensities), dayā (compassion), and kṣānti (patience/forgiveness) as the general or common duties. Further, it states that by all of them, dharma is accomplished (sarveṣām dharma sādhanam). Moreover, it also mentions that it is dharma to act one’s age. I verbally repeat these duties almost every day and think about them so that I may understand what they entail, which shapes my performance of them.
Second, there is nāmajapa. As you likely know, this is the repetition of divine names. The Śiva Purāṇa mentions it many times and encourages śivanāmajapa for followers of Śiva who are inclined. While the purāṇa states that a mantra must be acquired from a guru, it gives no rules about nāmajapa, which implies that you can take up the practice on your own. Among other wonderful things, it says that the japa of the name of Śiva, especially that particular nāma, so easily burns humongous heaps of pāpam, is the noblest means to mukti, removes worries, and takes away the fear of Yamarāja and naraka. (The purāṇa also mentions the japa of names of Mahādevī as granting both bhukti and mukti. My view is that this is the case because Śakti and Śiva are the two sides of the same coin. When you see Śiva, it is Śakti that you really see; when you see Śakti, you see what is ultimately Śiva.)
For more than two months so far, I have been chanting the name Śiva a minimum of 1080 times every single day. I do it with the help of a wooden mālā for only that practice. Thanks to this sādhanā, I am calm and composed. Also, probably most important, there is a general, subtle awareness of Śiva. Other benefits of the sādhanā in my experience so far are natural gratitude, inner peace, and more recently, easily choosing not to inwardly suffer from external matters.
Lastly, there is bhakti. The Śiva Purāṇa says that bhakti or devotion in the context of Śaivism is the sanātana dharma or eternal religion of Śiva. It is characterized by satpreman: love/affection toward Śiva that is real, genuine, noble, and not cheap. If you have this bhakti, you will not have more than three future births from now, even if you don’t perform any Śaivite rites. There are five kinds of practices in bhakti. Three of them, which I am most focused on, are japayajña, tapoyajña, and karmayajña. The penultimate one, tapoyajña, is the practice of tapas or austerity in devotion to Śiva. I do this by fasting on every Monday from sunrise to nightfall. The third one, karmayajña, is the practice of rites or worship. This can be as simple as bowing to a murti in a state of devotion. It can also involve worshiping a liṅga, which I started doing lately (the worship of liṅga is powerful). When Śiva is pleased, an individual receives grace to start the practice of bhakti. Practicing bhakti leads to more grace. As a result, one attains jñāna and thence mokṣa. (As the scripture explains, a guru can teach a person how to perform rites or worship if the person does not know how. The worship will lead to liberation.)
As you can see, Hinduism for me is characterized by a focus on sāmānya dharma, dedication to nāmajapa, and trying to be a bhakta. These things make my spiritual life satisfying and they produce results. Additionally, they are highly informed by our scriptures. Although Dr. Satyan Sharma doesn’t know me, he has inspired me to practice this way, and I owe him my thanks. I hope that someone else may be inspired to practice this way.
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Aupmanyav
Be your own guru
Types of Holi played in India:
There is one more. It is played at Manikarnika Ghat, the oldest funeral ground of Hinduism in Varanasi. It is known as "Smashan Holi" (funeral ground Holi). It is played with the ashes from funeral pyres. Some people pose as Lord Shiva and they are adorned with ashes from funeral pyres.
Life and death are illusions. The eternal never dies.
www.aajtak.in
There is one more. It is played at Manikarnika Ghat, the oldest funeral ground of Hinduism in Varanasi. It is known as "Smashan Holi" (funeral ground Holi). It is played with the ashes from funeral pyres. Some people pose as Lord Shiva and they are adorned with ashes from funeral pyres.
Life and death are illusions. The eternal never dies.
Video: काशी के हरिश्चंद्र घाट श्मशान से होली का आगाज, चिता की भस्म से हुआ श्रृंगार
होली का त्योहार 29 मार्च को मनाया जाएगा लेकिन धर्म की नगरी काशी में इसकी शुरूआत रंगभरी एकादशी से ही हो जाती है. काशीवासी अपने ईष्ट भोले बाबा के साथ महाश्मसान पर चिता भस्म के साथ खेलकर होली के पहले इस पर्व की शुरूआत कर देते हैं. इसके बाद ही काशी में होली की शुरुआत हो जाती है. श्मशान में होली से...
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I appreciate you sharing with us some of the different ways that Holi is played. It is informative and could possibly shape what we do in the future. Holi with flowers sounds like it would be lovely. I wouldn’t have to worry about getting powder in my eyes if I ever play that form of it in the future.
Today, I printed out a Holi word search for two of my classes. When the first class finished their unit test, they did the word search. For the second class, after they finished reading the first chapter of Oliver Twist, I handed out the Holi word search to them. They used highlighters of a modest variety of colors to highlight the words. They did that instead of writing questions and answers about the chapter that we read.
Aupmanyav
Be your own guru
Here are a few from Google Search: holi wishes in english - Google Search