The Hanuman Chalisa, a devotional hymn of 40 verses was written by the poet-mystic Sant Tulsidas, in the ancient (and still living) city of Varanasi, also called Kashi. Tulsidas was a devotee of Lord Rama and Lord Hanuman, who was himself a devotee of Rama and is considered a reincarnation or avatar of Lord Shiva. Lord Rama is of course immortalized in the great epic Ramayana, one of the longest poems written by Sage Valmiki. And Hanuman is of course... Read more
Here’s a wonderful bit from Osho’s book about Kashi. Since a few people asked, I’m trying out Google Translate into hindi and have put the output below the English one. There has never been a time on earth when Kashi – Varanasi – was not a tirtha. It is man’s oldest place of pilgrimage, so it has a greater value. So many people have been liberated, experienced peace and sacredness there, the sins of so many have been washed away... Read more
अगर आप भौतिकता से थोड़ा आगे जाएं, तो सब कुछ शून्य हो जाता है। शून्य का अर्थ है पूर्ण खालीपन, एक ऐसी स्थिति जहां भौतिक कुछ भी नहीं है। जहां भौतिक कुछ है ही नहीं, वहां आपकी ज्ञानेंद्रियां भी बेकाम की हो जाती हैं। अगर आप शून्य से परे जाएं, तो आपको जो मिलेगा, उसे हम शिव के रूप में जानते हैं। शिव का अर्थ है, जो नहीं है। जो नहीं है, उस तक अगर पहुंच पाएंगे, तो आप देखेंगे... Read more
Here’s another great piece from Osho, with the hindi translation. The destiny of India is the destiny of the whole humanity – because of the way we have refined human consciousness, because of the lamps we have lit within man, because of the flowers that we have cultivated in man, the fragrance we have created in man. It has been ten thousand years of ceaseless perseverance, of ceaseless yoga, of ceaseless meditation. And for the sake of this, we have... Read more
A beautiful story about the Buddha as told by Osho. One morning a great king, Prasenjita, came to Gautam Buddha. He had in one of his hands a beautiful lotus flower and in the other hand one of the most precious diamonds of those days. He had come because his wife was persistent, “When Gautam Buddha is here, you waste your time with idiots, talking about unnecessary things”. From her very childhood she had been going to Gautam Buddha; then... Read more
As part of our series on the relationship of Jainism and Hindusim, here’s an article on how Jainism came to a decline in Odisha. It was also during the reign of the Imperial Ganga Dynasty and even the Gajapatis that Jainism was not in utter state of decadence in Orissa. It is known that in 1,100 Saka year or in the 11 th regnal year of Anantavarma Rajaraja II of the Imperial Ganga dynasty, one Kannama Nayak a devout worshipper... Read more
The beef ban in certain Indian states have created quite a hullabaloo, especially in the media. Witha lot of to and fro going on between various sections of society, it’s quite confusing trying to figure what the true position in Hinduism is. Here’s an interesting take from Sadhguru, in a recent interview to the Economic Times, and another video snippet below in an interview to CNN-IBN. Question: You recently said, “For me, food is food, there is nothing religious about... Read more
Orissa had its first brush with Muslim invaders during the reign of Eastern Gangas. There were two Muslim invasions which were repelled. These invasions were planned in Gauda or modem Bengal which had a Muslim Governor. Therefore, King Narasimhadev I, the builder of the temple at Konark, invaded Bengal in 1243 and defeated Governor Tughral Tughan Khan. He sacked Lakhnaur in Birbhum district in 1244. There were two more failed Muslim invasions between 1247 and 1255. It is said that... Read more
Researchers recently uncovered some 2500-year old remains underwater, off the shore of Mahabalipuram. Here, I thought I would share a bit about the Pallava architectural style that led to Mamallapuram. Since a chronological study of Pallava architecture would be incomplete without a knowledge of the dynastic history and the exact limits of the Pallava territory at different times, an outline of their political history has been given in Chapter II, in the light of the latest epigraphical researches. The rock-architecture... Read more
Ranging from austere fasts to exuberant fairs like Holi, the festivals of India are as varied and colourful as its people, Hinduism, Islam and Christianity are the three most widely professed religions, and since each has its own. particular observances and celebrations, the total number of festivals is very large. Among the Hindus alone, there- are about 70. Only a few, however, are widely observed. Hindu festivals are of four kinds; the festivals proper,. vratas (fasts), jayantis (birthdays) and melas... Read more
Hindu 2.0
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In