Current affairs, spirituality, heritage & lifestyle.
The odds were always stacked against me ever knowing anything about my culture. Growing up, I was never sure what it meant to be a Hindu. I grew up in a quiet town where my family ran (surprise, surprise) a newsagent shop. There weren’t any other Hindus my age in the area. In fact I […]
By David Frawley (Pt. Vamadeva Shastri) India’s Traditions of Non-violence and Vegetarianism The Buddha states in the Dhammapada 26.409, “Him I call a Brahmana who lays aside the rod, who neither kills nor causes the death of creatures, moving or non-moving (animals or plants).” The same type of statements are very common in Hindu literature […]
Some from high action through base fear refrain; The path is difficult, the way not plain. Others more noble to begin, are stayed By a few failures. Great spirits undismayed Abandon never what once to do they swore. Baffled beaten back, they spring once more, Buffeted and borne down, rise up again (Nitishatakam of Bhartrihari, […]
No we’re not talking about credit cards, loans and mortgages here, but totally different kinds of debts, of an ethical and spiritual nature. Since ancient times, Hindu thought has recognised various debts (rins) that play an important part in dharmic values. It is said that each person is born with these debts and must repay […]
Visit Hindu Perspective’s HANUMAN SECTION (special feature) Insight into verse 13 Laye sanjivan Lakhan jiyaye Shree Raghubir harashi ur laye You brought the nectarine herb and revived the life of Laksmana. Sri Rama Chandra embraced with deep joy This of course refers to the part of the Ramayana where Lakshmana is fatally wounded by Ravana’s son Indrajeet. […]
We have all seen the image of Kali at a temple or in a Navratri shrine. This article provides a fascinating insight into who Kali really is! Kali is one of the best known, but poorly understood Hindu deities. She is dark destructive and terrible in image. She appears allied to the forces of death […]
The Mahabharata is acknowledged as being the largest of the world epics, and the largest work of literature created before the advent of the printing press. It contains close to 100,000 verses (*1), and a full copy of the Mahabharata is thousands of pages long. Yet it was not always so. The Mahabharata itself claims […]
Atheism, the idea that there is no God or Creator, is a conception of the human mind that occurs at various stages of mental and spiritual development. It may appear in undeveloped minds that cannot perceive a deeper reality than that of the physical world. It may also appear in more developed minds who see […]
Visit Hindu Perspective’s HANUMAN SECTION (special feature) Sukshma roop dhari Siyahin dikhava Bikat roop dhari Lank jarava You showed your small, slight form to mother Sita, assuming a terrible form you burnt the city of Lanka. Bhim roop dhari asur sanhare Ramchandra ke kaaj sanvare You took a colossal form and killed the demons. Thus, you fulfilled […]
Hope India Publication: 2003 ISBN: 8178710056 Available from: http://www.vedamsbooks.com/no27318.htm Maharana Pratap (1540-1597) is one of the great Hindu heroes of medieval India. His valour is still sung in hundreds of songs throughout the land. His life is associated with many legends and heroic tales; which this book aims to elucidate the truth behind. The present […]
Jijabai (1598 – 1674) was the mother of Shivaji, one of the most famous and successful Hindu rulers of all time. The life story of Jijabai, is no less inspiring than that of Shivaji, and takes an equally proud place in the history of the Hindu people. Jijabai’s father, Lakhuji Jadhav Rao, was a leader […]
Visit Hindu Perspective’s HANUMAN SECTION (special feature) Insight into Verse 9 Vidyavan guni ati chatur Ram kaj karibe ko atur You are possessor of all knowledge, full of virtue and wisdom. You are always prompt and eager to act in the service of Lord Rama. One would initially think that this verse is simply repeating praises of […]
Hindu nationalism The term “nation” is defined differently by various sources. One definition is: “A people who share common customs, origins, history, and frequently language.” Hindu nationalism can be defined as the tendency of Hindus to define themselves as a nation. It is often said that the late 1980’s and 90’s saw an upsurge of […]
Visit Hindu Perspective’s HANUMAN SECTION (special feature) Insight into Verse 7 Hath Bajra aur dhvaja birajai Kandhe moonj janeu sajai You hold the mace of the thunderbolt and a flag in your hands. The sacred thread of Munja grass adorns your shoulders. In the first line of Verse 7, Tulsidas says that Hanuman’s hand carries the “bajra” […]
Baji Prabhu Deshpande was one of the great lieutenants of Shivaji’s era. He sacrificed his life defending Shivaji in a heroic last stand known as the Battle of Pavan Khind (Battle of the Sacred Pass) in which his force was vastly outnumbered, possibly by a ratio of 35 to 1. In the battle he lost […]
Visit Hindu Perspective’s HANUMAN SECTION (special feature) Insight into Verse 5 Mahabir Bikram Bajrangi Kumati nivar sumati ke sangi O Mahaveer, your actions are mighty and terrible, and your body is strong as a thunderbolt. You eliminate the illusions of the mind and give a bright intellect. “O Mahaveer, your actions are might and terrible, and your […]
A quite recent article in Zee News, claimed that researchers had found the exact date of birth of Lord Rama. The article can be faulted in many ways (it is a journalistic, not a scientific article). However the actual date proposed and the method used to arrive at it are indeed worthy of examination. It […]
Click here for explanations of verses 1 & 2 Insight into Verse 3 Jai Hanuman gyan gun sagar Jai Kapis tihun lok ujagar Victory to Thee, O Hanuman, Ocean of wisdom and virtue, victory to the Lord of monkeys who is well known in all the three worlds. This is a seemingly simple devotional verse […]
Visit Hindu Perspective’s HANUMAN SECTION (special feature) The Hanuman Chalisa is a prayer that many young Hindus will at least have heard of, if not be familiar with. Chances are that it may be sung in your own home or by somebody that you know. This article explains the background to the Hanuman Chalisa and provides an insight […]
After Shivaji’s death in 1680, the Moghul Emperor Aurangzeb thought to himself that the Marathas would henceforth be easy to crush, erroneously thinking that the sustenance of this new Hindu kingdom rested on one able man alone [Shivaji]. Like so many other uprisings in that period, he thought the Maratha movement too would receive its […]
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