Ancient India
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A Study of the Early Vedic Age in Ancient India
Journal of Arts and Culture ISSN: 0976-9862 & E-ISSN: 0976-9870, Volume 3, Issue 3, 2012, pp.-129-132. Available online at http://www.bioinfo.in/contents.php?id=53. A STUDY OF THE EARLY VEDIC AGE IN ANCIENT INDIA FASALE M.K.* Department of Histroy, Abasaheb Kakade Arts College, Bodhegaon, Shevgaon- 414 502, MS, India *Corresponding Author: Email- [email protected] Received: December 04, 2012; Accepted: December 20, 2012 Abstract- The Vedic period (or Vedic age) was a period in history during which the Vedas, the oldest scriptures of Hinduism, were composed. The time span of the period is uncertain. Philological and linguistic evidence indicates that the Rigveda, the oldest of the Vedas, was com- posed roughly between 1700 and 1100 BCE, also referred to as the early Vedic period. The end of the period is commonly estimated to have occurred about 500 BCE, and 150 BCE has been suggested as a terminus ante quem for all Vedic Sanskrit literature. Transmission of texts in the Vedic period was by oral tradition alone, and a literary tradition set in only in post-Vedic times. Despite the difficulties in dating the period, the Vedas can safely be assumed to be several thousands of years old. The associated culture, sometimes referred to as Vedic civilization, was probably centred early on in the northern and northwestern parts of the Indian subcontinent, but has now spread and constitutes the basis of contemporary Indian culture. After the end of the Vedic period, the Mahajanapadas period in turn gave way to the Maurya Empire (from ca. -
Hinduism Around the World
Hinduism Around the World Numbering approximately 1 billion in global followers, Hinduism is the third-largest religion in the world. Though more than 90 percent of Hindus live on the Indian subcontinent (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bhutan), the Hindu diaspora’s impact can still be felt today. Hindus live on every continent, and there are three Hindu majority countries in the world: India, Nepal, and Mauritius. Hindu Diaspora Over Centuries Hinduism began in the Indian subcontinent and gradually spread east to what is now contemporary Southeast Asia. Ancient Hindu cultures thrived as far as Cambodia, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Indonesia. Some of the architectural works (including the famous Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia) still remain as vestiges of Hindu contact. Hinduism in Southeast Asia co-worshipped with Buddhism for centuries. However, over time, Buddhism (and later Islam in countries such as Indonesia) gradually grew more prominent. By the 10th century, the practice of Hinduism in the region had waned, though its influence continued to be strong. To date, Southeast Asia has the two highest populations of native, non-Indic Hindus: the Balinese Hindus of Indonesia and the Cham people of Vietnam. The next major migration took place during the Colonial Period, when Hindus were often taken as indentured laborers to British and Dutch colonies. As a result, Hinduism spread to the West Indies, Fiji, Copyright 2014 Hindu American Foundation Malaysia, Mauritius, and South Africa, where Hindus had to adjust to local ways of life. Though the Hindu populations in many of these places declined over time, countries such as Guyana, Mauritius, and Trinidad & Tobago, still have significant Hindu populations. -
5 Facts About Religion in India | Pew Research Center
5 facts about religion in India | Pew Research Center https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/06/29/5-facts-about-re... MAIN MORE NEWS IN THE NUMBERS JUNE 29, 2018 5 facts about religion in India BY SAMIRAH MAJUMDAR Graffiti on a Mumbai wall. (Indranil Mukherjee/AFP/Getty Images) India is home to 1.4 billion people – almost one-sixth of the world’s population – who belong to a variety of ethnicities and religions. While 94% of the world’s Hindus live in India, there also are substantial populations of Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and adherents of folk religions. For most Indians, faith is important: In a 2015 Pew Research Center survey, eight-in-ten Indians said religion is very important in their lives. Here are five facts about religion in India: 1 1 of 7 11/4/20, 2:51 PM 5 facts about religion in India | Pew Research Center https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/06/29/5-facts-about-re... India’s massive population includes not only the vast majority of the world’s Hindus, but also the second-largest group of Muslims within a single country, behind only Indonesia. By 2050, India’s Muslim population will grow to 311 million, making it the largest Muslim population in the world, according to Pew Research Center projections. Still, Indian Muslims are projected to remain a minority in their country, making up about 18% of the total population at midcentury, while Hindus figure to remain a majority (about 77%). India is a religiously pluralistic and multiethnic democracy – the largest 2 in the world. -
The Hundred Syllable Vajrasattva Mantra
The Hundred Syllable Vajrasattva Mantra. Dharmacārī Jayarava1 The Sanskrit version of the one hundred syllable Vajrasattva mantra in the Puja Book of the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (the FWBO) follows the edited text produced by Dharmacārin and Sanskritist Sthiramati (aka Dr. Andrew Skilton) in his article: The Vajrasattva Mantra: Notes on a Corrected Sanskrit Text. Sthiramati‟s original brief was to provide diacritical marks so that the Sanskrit words were spelled correctly. However he went beyond the scope of merely providing proper diacritics to discuss problems with the structure and spelling of the mantra after consulting a number of printed books and manuscripts in a variety of scripts and languages. Since the edited version produced by Sthiramati was adopted some 19 years ago, the problems with the older version used before that are less relevant to members of the Western Buddhist Order (WBO) except in one case which I discuss below.2 In this article I will offer a summary of the salient points of Sthiramati‟s lexical and grammatical analysis, along with my own glosses of the Sanskrit. By this means, I hope to create an annotated translation that lays open the Sanskrit to anyone who is interested. Sthiramati‟s interpretation differs in some important respects from the traditional Tibetan one, but does so in ways that help to make sense of the Sanskrit - for instance in several cases he suggests breaking a sandhi 3 one letter along in order to create a straightforward Sanskrit sentence that was otherwise obscured. In the second part of the article I will address the problem of errors in transmission and how these might have come about in the case of this mantra. -
Jain Karma Book (JAINA Education Series 251 – Level 2, 3Rd Edition (Aug 2020))
Jain Karma Book (JAINA Education Series 251 – Level 2, 3rd Edition (Aug 2020)) Compiled by Jain Society of Metropolitan Washington Referenced from materials produced by JAINA Education Committee Federation of Jain Associations of North America JAIN KARMA BOOK 2 Jain Karma Book - JES 251 (JAINA Education Series 251 - Level 2) Third Edition: August 2020 This book has No Copyright for private, personal, and non-commercial use only Please use the religious material respectfully and for nonprofit purposes. JSMW Acknowledgements We want to first thank our parents for making a continuous effort to bring Jain principles into our lives and solidifying the value of being a Jain. It is because of their guidance that we are living a Jain way of life today. We want to thank the Jain Centers across North America that have created a community environment for Jain followers. These centers have volunteers pouring countless hours for their community thus creating a forum for parents, seniors, young adults, and children to gather and unite with a shared goal of spiritual upliftment. We want to thank the Pathshala students of Jain Society of Metropolitan Washington who gave us the inspiration to make this book. Their willingness to learn and grow provided us the motivation to create an age friendly book on a very important and foundational Jain topic. Lastly, a personal thank you to Pravin Shah of Raleigh, NC. Uncle had a vision to provide Jain education to all who wish to receive it and his vision is flourishing from generation to generation. We are grateful for Pravin Uncle’s vision, his support during the creation of this book, and for him spending numerous hours in reviewing this book and providing feedback. -
Religion in Modern India • Rel 3336 • Spring 2020
RELIGION IN MODERN INDIA • REL 3336 • SPRING 2020 PROFESSOR INFORMATION Jonathan Edelmann, Ph.D., University of Florida, Department of Religion, Anderson Hall [email protected]; (352) 392-1625 Office Hours: M,W,F • 9:30-10:30 AM or by appointment COURSE INFORMATION Course Meeting Time: Spring 2020 • M,W,F • Period 5, 11:45 AM - 12:35 PM • Matherly 119 Course Qualifications: 3 Credit Hours • Humanities (H), International (N), Writing (WR) 4000 Course Description: The modern period typically covers the years 1550 to 1850 AD. This course covers religion in India since the beginning of the Mughal empire in the mid-sixteenth century, to the formation of the independent and democratic Indian nation in 1947. The concentration of this course is on aesthetics and poetics, and their intersection with religion; philosophies about the nature of god and self in metaphysics or ontology; doctrines about non-dualism and the nature of religious experience; theories of interpretation and religious pluralism; and concepts of science and politics, and their intersection with religion. The modern period in India is defined by a diversity of religious thinkers. This course examines thinkers who represent the native traditions like Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism, as well as the ancient and classical traditions in philosophy and literature that influenced native religions in the modern period. Islam and Christianity began to interact with native Indian religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism during the modern period. Furthermore, Western philosophies, political theories, and sciences were also introduced during India’s modern period. The readings in this course focus on primary texts and secondary sources that critically portray and engage this complex and rich history of India’s modern period. -
5 : How Hindus Worship
29 March 2020 #5 4-6 : Describe the different forms of worship : HOW HINDUS WORSHIP 7-9 : Explain the importance of worship Key Question : What are Puja and Arati? KEY DIFFERENCES IN WORSHIP IN SHAIVISM AND VAISHNAVISM : Read through the information sheets and create a table of differences between the way Shaivites and Vaishnavas worship. Shaivism Vaishnavism 4-6 : Describe the Arati ceremony / 7-9 : Explain the ritual of Puja Key Question : What are Puja and Arati? VAISHNAVISM : Vaishnavism is one particular tradition or denomination within Hinduism, which focuses on the worship of Vishnu. It has become very popular in Britain in the last sixty years due to the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), also known as the Hare Krishna movement. Vaishnava worship is based on the Upanishads, the Vedas and the Puranas, especially the Bhagavad Gita and concentrates on the concept of bhakti (personal devotion). Worship often consists of praying specific mantras (for example ‘Hare Krishna’) and the practice of repetitive prayer known as ‘japa’. Some consider Shiva to be a Vaishnava, and one well-known picture shows Rama praying before Shiva, that is, an avatar of Krishna praying before the god Shiva. Vaishnavas consider that Vishnu is within them as the ‘antaryami’ or God within, and their aim in life is to serve Vishnu or one of his avatars in the spiritual realm of vaikuntha. 4-6 : Describe the Arati ceremony / 7-9 : Explain the ritual of Puja Key Question : What are Puja and Arati? SHAIVISM : Shaivites, or Shaivas, are the second largest group of Hindus in India today. -
Hinduism and Hindu Philosophy
Essays on Indian Philosophy UNIVE'aSITY OF HAWAII Uf,FU:{ Essays on Indian Philosophy SHRI KRISHNA SAKSENA UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII PRESS HONOLULU 1970 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 78·114209 Standard Book Number 87022-726-2 Copyright © 1970 by University of Hawaii Press All Rights Reserved Printed in the United States of America Contents The Story of Indian Philosophy 3 Basic Tenets of Indian Philosophy 18 Testimony in Indian Philosophy 24 Hinduism 37 Hinduism and Hindu Philosophy 51 The Jain Religion 54 Some Riddles in the Behavior of Gods and Sages in the Epics and the Puranas 64 Autobiography of a Yogi 71 Jainism 73 Svapramanatva and Svapraka!;>atva: An Inconsistency in Kumarila's Philosophy 77 The Nature of Buddhi according to Sankhya-Yoga 82 The Individual in Social Thought and Practice in India 88 Professor Zaehner and the Comparison of Religions 102 A Comparison between the Eastern and Western Portraits of Man in Our Time 117 Acknowledgments The author wishes to make the following acknowledgments for permission to reprint previously published essays: "The Story of Indian Philosophy," in A History of Philosophical Systems. edited by Vergilius Ferm. New York:The Philosophical Library, 1950. "Basic Tenets of Indian Philosophy," previously published as "Are There Any Basic Tenets of Indian Philosophy?" in The Philosophical Quarterly. "Testimony in Indian Philosophy," previously published as "Authority in Indian Philosophy," in Ph ilosophyEast and West. vo!.l,no. 3 (October 1951). "Hinduism," in Studium Generale. no. 10 (1962). "The Jain Religion," previously published as "Jainism," in Religion in the Twentieth Century. edited by Vergilius Ferm. -
Proto-Indo-European Roots of the Vedic Aryans
3 (2016) Miscellaneous 1: A-V Proto-Indo-European Roots of the Vedic Aryans TRAVIS D. WEBSTER Center for Traditional Vedanta, USA © 2016 Ruhr-Universität Bochum Entangled Religions 3 (2016) ISSN 2363-6696 http://dx.doi.org/10.13154/er.v3.2016.A–V Proto-Indo-European Roots of the Vedic Aryans Proto-Indo-European Roots of the Vedic Aryans TRAVIS D. WEBSTER Center for Traditional Vedanta ABSTRACT Recent archaeological evidence and the comparative method of Indo-European historical linguistics now make it possible to reconstruct the Aryan migrations into India, two separate diffusions of which merge with elements of Harappan religion in Asko Parpola’s The Roots of Hinduism: The Early Aryans and the Indus Civilization (NY: Oxford University Press, 2015). This review of Parpola’s work emphasizes the acculturation of Rigvedic and Atharvavedic traditions as represented in the depiction of Vedic rites and worship of Indra and the Aśvins (Nāsatya). After identifying archaeological cultures prior to the breakup of Proto-Indo-European linguistic unity and demarcating the two branches of the Proto-Aryan community, the role of the Vrātyas leads back to mutual encounters with the Iranian Dāsas. KEY WORDS Asko Parpola; Aryan migrations; Vedic religion; Hinduism Introduction Despite the triumph of the world-religions paradigm from the late nineteenth century onwards, the fact remains that Indologists require more precise taxonomic nomenclature to make sense of their data. Although the Vedas are widely portrayed as the ‘Hindu scriptures’ and are indeed upheld as the sole arbiter of scriptural authority among Brahmins, for instance, the Vedic hymns actually play a very minor role in contemporary Indian religion. -
Vedic Brahmanism and Its Offshoots
Vedic Brahmanism and Its Offshoots Buddhism (Buddha) Followed by Hindūism (Kṛṣṇā) The religion of the Vedic period (also known as Vedism or Vedic Brahmanism or, in a context of Indian antiquity, simply Brahmanism[1]) is a historical predecessor of Hinduism.[2] Its liturgy is reflected in the Mantra portion of the four Vedas, which are compiled in Sanskrit. The religious practices centered on a clergy administering rites that often involved sacrifices. This mode of worship is largely unchanged today within Hinduism; however, only a small fraction of conservative Shrautins continue the tradition of oral recitation of hymns learned solely through the oral tradition. Texts dating to the Vedic period, composed in Vedic Sanskrit, are mainly the four Vedic Samhitas, but the Brahmanas, Aranyakas and some of the older Upanishads (Bṛhadāraṇyaka, Chāndogya, Jaiminiya Upanishad Brahmana) are also placed in this period. The Vedas record the liturgy connected with the rituals and sacrifices performed by the 16 or 17 shrauta priests and the purohitas. According to traditional views, the hymns of the Rigveda and other Vedic hymns were divinely revealed to the rishis, who were considered to be seers or "hearers" (shruti means "what is heard") of the Veda, rather than "authors". In addition the Vedas are said to be "apaurashaya", a Sanskrit word meaning uncreated by man and which further reveals their eternal non-changing status. The mode of worship was worship of the elements like fire and rivers, worship of heroic gods like Indra, chanting of hymns and performance of sacrifices. The priests performed the solemn rituals for the noblemen (Kshsatriya) and some wealthy Vaishyas. -
Diez Datos Para Recordar a Marie Fredriksson, La Voz De Roxette Que Se Apaga
Diez datos para recordar a Marie Fredriksson, la voz de Roxette que se apaga El reciente fallecimiento de la cantante sueca y voz del dúo Roxette, Marie Fredriksson, impacta especialmente de lleno en la generación “sub 50” que entre 1989 y 1995 disfruta de la avalancha de hits que la banda regala al mundo. Su atractiva voz y su clásico pelo corto constituyen parte de su impronta personal, con la que colabora a la creación de verdaderos temas clásicos como “The Look”, “Joyride” y “Dangerous”, entre muchos otros. Aunque, sin duda, su mayor característica se encuentra en el valor con el que encara la lucha contra el cáncer (tumor cerebral), enfermedad con la que logra lidiar durante casi dos décadas. Su compañero de ruta en la reconocida banda pop, el multi-instrumentista Per Gessle, deja claro su afecto por la cantante y compositora en un comunicado: «No hace tanto que pasábamos días y noches en mi pequeño apartamento de Halmstad, escuchando música que nos encantaba, compartiendo sueños imposibles. ¡Y qué sueño fantástico llegamos a compartir! Gracias, Marie, gracias por todo. Fuiste una música realmente única, una cantante de un nivel que quizá no volvamos a experimentar. Pintaste mis canciones en blanco y negro con los colores más maravillosos». Como sencillo homenaje, compartimos un pequeño decálogo que permite hacerse de una idea general en torno a Fredriksson, una voz que forma parte de la banda sonora en la vida de millones de personas. 1.- El nombre completo de Marie es Gun-Marie Fredriksson y nace en la localidad sueca de Ossjo, el 30 de mayo de 1958. -
Conflict Between Freedom of Expression and Religion in India—A Case Study
Article Conflict between Freedom of Expression and Religion in India—A Case Study Amit Singh Centre for Social Studies, University of Coimbra, Colégio de S. Jerónimo Apartado 3087, 3000-995 Coimbra, Portugal; [email protected] Received: 24 March 2018; Accepted: 27 June 2018; Published: 29 June 2018 Abstract: The tussle between freedom of expression and religious intolerance is intensely manifested in Indian society where the State, through censoring of books, movies and other forms of critical expression, victimizes writers, film directors, and academics in order to appease Hindu religious-nationalist and Muslim fundamentalist groups. Against this background, this study explores some of the perceptions of Hindu and Muslim graduate students on the conflict between freedom of expression and religious intolerance in India. Conceptually, the author approaches the tussle between freedom of expression and religion by applying a contextual approach of secular- multiculturalism. This study applies qualitative research methods; specifically in-depth interviews, desk research, and narrative analysis. The findings of this study help demonstrate how to manage conflict between freedom of expression and religion in Indian society, while exploring concepts of Western secularism and the need to contextualize the right to freedom of expression. Keywords: freedom of expression; Hindu-Muslim; religious-intolerance; secularism; India 1. Background Ancient India is known for its skepticism towards religion and its toleration to opposing views (Sen 2005; Upadhyaya 2009), However, the alarming rise of Hindu religious nationalism and Islamic fundamentalism, and consequently, increasing conflict between freedom of expression and religion, have been well noted by both academic (Thapar 2015) and public intellectuals (Sorabjee 2018; Dhavan 2008).