SRI SUBHUDENDRA TEERTHA INTRODUCTION The present pontiff of Mantralayam Sri Raghavendra Swamy Mutt is Sri Subhudendra Teertha. Previously he was serving as the Diwan of the Raghavendra Swamy Mutt, and he has become a saint in the year 2013, and he took charge of the administration of the Mutt in the year 2014 from Sri Suyateendra Teertha, and became his successor. His birth name was Raja S. Pavamanacharya. He was one of the main preachers of the Advaita Philosophy of Madhwacharya, and he conducted spiritual discourses among the people, and inculcated the “SRI RAGHAVENDRA BHAKTI” into their minds, and he…
Author: hinduscriptures
BHAKTI CHARU SWAMI INTRODUCTION Bhakti Charu Swami (1945–2020) was a famous leader of the ISKCON and he is the disciple of Sri Prabhupada. He was born in the year 1945 in an orthodox Bengali family and spent his childhood in Kolkata. At his teenage, he left his native place, and went to Germany for further studies. There, he thoroughly studied Vedas, and also researched our holy Hindu Scriptures. Once he got an opportunity to study the holy book of Srila Prabhupada, and due to his spiritual thirst, he joined ISKCON in Mayapur, West Bengal, India. After joining in ISKCON, he translated all…
EKNATH EASWARAN INTRODUCTION Eknath Easwaran (1910–1999) was a spiritual writer and translated holy texts like the Bhagavad Gita and the Bhagavatham in different languages and in a simplified manner. He also wrote books in praise of the Holy River goddesses like Ganga and Yamuna, and he was considered as a best spiritual writer during his period. Mr.Eknath was born in a village in Kerala during the year 1910, and he was educated in Thrissur. Easwaran for some time served as a lecturer in India, and he also conducted meditation classes in foreign countries. He also published his books, and made the general public to…
KAMA AND KARMA INTRODUCTION Kama also known as lust is the root cause of the problems in our life, and it would make us to commit lot of bad karmas in our life. Due to this bad habit Kama, even the divine demi gods like Indra and Chandra had lost their powers for some time, and began to suffer like ordinary people. When Arjuna asks Lord Krishna, during the Kurukshetra war, that why the people are committing sins as if they have been forcefully induced by others, Lord Krishna had replied for that, “Kama is the main reason for committing…
SWAMINARAYAN SAMPRADAYA INTRODUCTION The Swaminarayan Sampradaya is an ancient Hindu tradition and it was founded during the year 1801 by Sahajanand Swami, who is popularly known as Swaminarayan, a form of Lord Krishna. Due to the grace of the holy saint and divine avatar Swaminarayan, lot of Swami Narayan temples were constructed by his followers in India as well as in abroad. Swami Narayan teachings are very simple. He asks us to realize the god from our soul, and also, he insists us to chant the mantras of the almighty in order to get salvation, and to avoid taking re-births. During his life time itself, Swaminarayan has…
THE HOLY GURU OF SHAKATAPURAM VIDYA PEETAM INTRODUCTION Shakatapuram, is a holy place for Hindus, and it is located in Karnataka, near Sringeri on the banks of the Holy River Ma Tungabadra. A famous Mutt called Shri Vidya Peetam is located at Shakatapuram, and consecration ritual is also done to this holy Mutt. Sri Krishnananda Teertha Swamigal is a holy saint, who contains very good nature, and he used to share his Vedic knowledge with his disciples. He is the present pontiff of the Shakatapuram Mutt and he is an expert in Kannada and Sanskrit languages, and a great Vedic scholar. He toured to various parts of India and spread the…
LAKHSMI NARAYANA TEMPLE, DELHI INTRODUCTION The Laxminarayana Temple, also called as Birla Mandir is situated in Delhi, India. Laxminarayan is a form of Lord Vishnu, and he is the protector of the entire universe, who dwells in this temple along with his consort Ma Lakshmi. This temple was constructed by the big businessman Birla, and few more shrines for the deities are found in this temple for Shiva, Krishna, Durga, Vinayaka, Hanuman and Buddha. This is considered as the biggest temple in Delhi. This temple contains beautiful garden, nice sculptures, and a separate hall is built for doing meditation and for conducting Bhagavat Gita discourses. The temple is also considered as a…
LINGODBHAVA INTRODUCTION Lingodbhava is a form of Lord Shiva, and we can see him in this form in some Shiva temples. The idol represents the emergence of Lord Shiva from the Shiva Linga, and he is popularly worshipped by the devotees in this form. Lingodbhava was praised by the Nayanmar saints, and they have mentioned about this form in their holy works also. As per ancient legend, once, when Lord Vishnu and Brahma decided to test their powers, Lord Shiva had appeared before them in the form of fire flames, and asked them to find out his top and bottom. Lord Brahma had become a swan, and…
JIVATMA AND PARAMATMA INTRODUCTION In simple terms, Jivatma refers to ordinary mortals, whereas Paramatma refers to the supreme god. Jivatma can also be referred to as the souls of the living beings in the world. And if a Jivatma realizes the god in his soul, then there is a possibility for him to merge with Paramatma, and it can be made possible only by doing constant meditation on the almighty. These two terms were well defined in various scriptures such as the Bhagavad Gita, Bhagavatham and in other Holy Puranas. Jivatma can be of birds, insects, animals and humans. According to Lord Krishna…
DIVINITY INTRODUCTION Divinity is related to the almighty, and it gives good support in our life. By showing our love and affection on others is also considered as divinity, since all good activities would please the great almighty. Divinity can be found in the faces of the great sages, saints and avatars like Rama and Krishna. Divinity is a broad term, and it would cover all the holy and the saintly people who contain divine nature. If a person quenches the thirst of a tired traveller by providing a cup of drinking water, then we can find divinity in his…
HARBUNJI INTRODUCTION In the Villages of Rajasthan, people used to worship village deities similar to their family deity. Irrespective of their castes, beliefs and communities they are giving good respect to these deities and consider them as their ancestors, since most of the village deities have sacrificed their lives for the welfare of the people. Most of the village deities were killed by others and attained unnatural death. But instead of turning into ghosts, due to their divine power, they have become worshipful minor deities in Rajasthan. Lot of stories are associated with them, and it would be told by…
MEHA JI MANGLIA INTRODUCTION Mehoji(14th century AD) also called as Meha Ji Manglia is the village god of Rajasthan. His father was the king of Bapini region. Mehoji Mangalia, was born in the year 1332 AD in Bapini village in Jodhpur district at Rajasthan. Mehoji was married to a pious and a chaste good looking divine lady. Mehoji is praised for his generosity, bravery and kindness. He considered all the women as divine deities, and treated them with much respect. His temple is situated in Bapini Village at Jodhpur. Some people would regularly visit his temple, to seek his blessings. Annual festivals and fairs would be held at Bapini…
BHOMIAJI MAHARAJ TEMPLE, RAJASTHAN INTRODUCTION Lord Bhomiaji is an ancient god and he is worshipped by the village people in Rajasthan as the protector of land, and also as the protector of cows. There is an ancient temple of lord Bhomiaji, and it is located in Jodhpur in Rajasthan. This temple was repaired and renovated during the year 1990. Lord Bhomiaji is believed to be an AMSHA of Lord Shiva. During the time of Muslim invasion on 9th century AD, it was the great Lord Bhomiaji, who protected the people in Rajasthan, and also safeguarded their cows, when the Muslim soldiers tried…
DELUGE – PRALAYA INTRODUCTION Deluge also known as Pralaya, means the destruction of the entire universe. Previously three deluges were occurred in the earth during Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga and Dwapara Yuga. During the time of Pralaya, all the worlds would be submerged in the ocean. Then again after some time, fresh creation of the living beings and the worlds would be made. During every yuga, except a few sages and saints all of them would be destroyed. As per Macha Purana, it is said, that during the time of deluge, Lord Vishnu had taken the fish avatar, also called…
VEER FATTA JI INTRODUCTION Veer Fatta ji was born in Jalore village in Rajasthan, and he is believed to be the ruler of Jalore village in Rajasthan. He was a sincere devotee of Ma Kali, and used to worship her in the temples. He showed great love and affection on his people, and protected them from wild animals and thieves. He got talented in handing all kinds of deadly weapons, and he was an excellent warrior. He considered the women as Ma Shakti Devi, and gave good respect to them. During his period, all of his people were lived happily…
ANCIENT MANUSCRIPTS INTRODUCTION Palm-leaf manuscripts are made out of dried palm leaves, and ancient scholars had used these leaves as writing material, similar to the present day paper. But if the palm-leaf manuscripts are not preserved properly, it would be eaten away by white ants and by other small insects. Most of our ancient Tamil texts were written by our Shaivite Nayanmars using these Pam-leaf manuscripts only. But still we are able to read lot of epics like Puranas, Ramayana, Mahabharata and Bhagavatam, since all these were preserved properly, through the grace of the almighty. A large number of manuscripts were destroyed…
THOPPU KARANAM INTRODUCTION Thoppu Karanam means holding the ears, and bent over our body and then again raising up our body. It is a kind of exercise as well as it is a kind of worship performed to the first god Vinayaka. As per our holy Puranas, Lord Vikayaka had once removed the pride and ego of the demons, and asked them to perform Thoppu Karanam on him, in order to remove the badness in their minds, and to show their entire devotion on him. The demons also have done like that, and become enlightened in their lives. Doing Thoppu…
Upset Hindus are urging Durham (North Carolina) headquartered “world’s largest custom fabric, wallpaper and home decor digital marketplace” for immediate withdrawal of napkins carrying images of various Hindu deities; calling it highly inappropriate. Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada today, said that Hindu deities (Shiva, Krishna, Lakshmi, Ganesh, Murugan, Kali, Hanuman, etc.) were highly revered in Hinduism and were meant to be worshipped in temples or home shrines and not for wiping mouth/fingers, catching crumbs/gravy (which may be beef), blowing nose, containing coughs/sneezes, throwing on dirty plate, covering lap, etc.; for mercantile greed. Inappropriate usage of…
SIGNIFICANCE OF BLACK ANTS IN HINDUISM INTRODUCTION Small Black ants are gentle insects, and they don’t bite others, even if someone cause harm to it. As per ancient legend, once the divine devas wanted to worship Lord Shiva in the earth, and hence they took the form of small black ants, and began to live in the Erumbeeswarar Temple, Thiruverumbur, Tamilnadu, and started worshipping Lord Shiva. They didn’t cause any disturbance to the devotees, and the devotees also used to fondly feed sugar and grains to the divine insects. And after some time, the ants were transformed into their original…
SAMADHI INTRODUCTION Samadhi is a form of deep meditation, and through that, we can attain great happiness and cheerfulness, which we would not get anywhere else. It can be obtained through constant practice of meditation, and keeping great devotion on the almighty. Through the stage of Samadhi, we can realize the god in our heart, and we could get the eternal bliss of the almighty. Great saints like Ramakrishna and Ramana were in the Samadhi stage for many days, and due to that, they have got the divine vision of the almighty. Most of the people are thinking that in order…