DOCSLIB.ORG

Hinduism in Kashmir

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Hinduism in Kashmir PDF created with FinePrint pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com Hinduism in Kashmir Page Intentionally Left Blank ii KASHMIR NEWS NETWORK (KNN)). PDF created with FinePrint pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com Hinduism in Kashmir HHiinndduuiissmm iinn KKaasshhmmiirr First Edition, August 2002 KASHMIR NEWS NETWORK (KNN)) iii PDF created with FinePrint pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com PDF created with FinePrint pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com Hinduism in Kashmir Contents page Contents......................................................................................................................................v 1 Introduction......................................................................................................................1-2 2 Kashmiri Hindus and the Caste System............................................................................2-3 3 Henzae: A Folk Genre Viewed Afresh.............................................................................3-6 4 The Nilamata Purana......................................................................................................4-14 4.1 Date........................................................................................................................4-14 4.2 Out-line of the contents..........................................................................................4-14 4.3 Birth of 'Kasmira'...................................................................................................4-15 4.4 Geography..............................................................................................................4-16 4.5 Tribes.....................................................................................................................4-16 4.6 Social, Political and Economic Life........................................................................4-16 5 Living Rituals of Nilmat Purana.....................................................................................5-20 6 The Nilamatpuranam and Kashmir.................................................................................6-24 7 Pancastavi In Kashmir....................................................................................................7-28 8 Panchastavi - A Brief Study...........................................................................................8-32 8.1 Prologue.................................................................................................................8-32 8.2 Title of the Composition.........................................................................................8-32 8.3 Nomenclature of Cantos.........................................................................................8-33 8.4 Precise import of Tripurasundari.............................................................................8-35 8.5 The name of the Composer.....................................................................................8-36 8.6 Date of Composition...............................................................................................8-37 8.7 Common authorship of five Contos........................................................................8-38 8.8 His Kashmiri Origin...............................................................................................8-38 8.9 Epilogue.................................................................................................................8-39 9 Shivmahimna Stotr (Mahimnapar)..................................................................................9-40 9.1 Introduction............................................................................................................9-40 10 Ganesh Astuti...........................................................................................................10-51 11 Sun Worship in Kashmir..........................................................................................11-53 12 Religion and Philosophy...........................................................................................12-54 12.1 Religion................................................................................................................12-54 12.2 Naga-Worship......................................................................................................12-54 12.3 Buddhism.............................................................................................................12-55 12.4 Saivism................................................................................................................12-59 12.5 Vaisnavism...........................................................................................................12-60 12.6 Minor gods and goddesses of the Hindu Religion.................................................12-62 13 Religion and Philosophy...........................................................................................13-65 13.1 Spread of Islam....................................................................................................13-65 13.2 Islamic Mystics....................................................................................................13-65 13.3 Sayyid Bulbul Shah..............................................................................................13-66 13.4 Sayyid Ali Hamadani............................................................................................13-67 13.5 Mir Muhammad Hamadani...................................................................................13-68 13.6 Sheikh Nur-ud-din alias Nand Rishi......................................................................13-69 13.7 The Order of Rishis of Kashmir............................................................................13-71 KASHMIR NEWS NETWORK (KNN)) v PDF created with FinePrint pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com Hinduism in Kashmir 13.8 Mir Sham-ud-din-Iraqi.........................................................................................13-72 13.9 Use of Force.........................................................................................................13-73 13.10 Hinduism..........................................................................................................13-74 13.11 Lalleswari - Forerunner of Medieval Reformers................................................13-75 13.12 Later Mystics....................................................................................................13-79 13.13 Influence of Islam on Hinduism and Vice Versa...............................................13-81 1 vi KASHMIR NEWS NETWORK (KNN)). PDF created with FinePrint pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com Hinduism in Kashmir 1 KASHMIR NEWS NETWORK (KNN)) vii PDF created with FinePrint pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com Hinduism in Kashmir 1 Introduction The religious practices of Hindus of Kashmir (popularly known as Kashmiri Pandits) revolve around the worship of Shiva and Shakti. All other deities (gods and goddesses) of the traditional Hindu pantheon are worshipped as various manifestations of Shiva and Shakti. Shiva is the Supreme Lord of the universe and Shakti, the Universal Mother Goddess, is his eternal companion. Bhairavas and Ganas are also his divine companions and they are also worshipped with him on important festivals, such as Shivaratri. There are numerous Shiva shrines in Kashmir, such as Amareshvara, Vijayeshvara, Sureshvara, Harsheshvara, Mahaadeva, Bhuteshvara, Haramukheshvara. The shrines dedicated to Shakti are Tripurasundari, Trisandhyaa, Jvaalaamukhi, Shailaputri, Shaarikaa, Shaarada, Rajni, and Khirbhavaani. The religious philosophy of Kashmiri Hindus is rooted in Kashmiri Shaivism, a school of Shiva philosophy that originated near Kailasha in Himalayas around 400 AD. The first teacher of this school was Tryambakaditya, a disciple of sage Durvasas. Sangamaditya, the sixteenth descendent in the line of Tryambakaditya, later settled in Kashmir valley around 800 AD. His fourth descendent, Somananda, extracted the principles of monistic Shiva philosophy from the scriptures and incorporated them in his own work, Shivadrishti, which is the first philosophical treatise on Kashmiri Shaivism. Later a galaxy of illumined sages, such as Vasugupta, Kallata, Utapaladeva, and Abinavagupta further refined this philosophy. The philosophy of Kashmiri Shaivism is generally called Trika Shastra, since it is a philosophy of the Triad: Shiva, Shakti, and Nara (the bound individual self). The literature of the Trika System of Kashmir comprises of three categories: the Agama Shastra, the Spanda Shastra, and the Pratyabhijna Shastra. Kashmiri Shaivism, also known as Pratyabhijna (meaning "recognition") school of Shaivism, adopts a purely monistic metaphysical position. It considers the Supreme Lord, called Shiva or Maheshvara, as the Supreme Reality, which is innermost as well as transcendent. As a conscious and active principle, the individual self (atman) is identical with the Supreme Lord. Due to the influence of maya (ignorance) the individual self forgets its divine nature, becomes liable to limitation and bondage, and thinks itself to be different from the Supreme Lord. Thus one's mukti (spiritual freedom) lies in one's clear recognition (Pratyabhijna) of one's identity with the Supreme Lord. In Kashmiri Shaivism we find a type of religious thought which synthesizes pluralism, dualism, and the Buddhist doctrine of Shunya, and develops
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Ascetic Yogas the PATH of SELF-REALIZATION Robert Koch Robert Koch Was Initiated As Sri Patraka Das at the Lotus Feet of H.H
    Sri Jagannath Vedic Center, USA Drig dasa August 23, 2002 Ukiah, USA © Robert Koch, 2002 – Published in Jyotish Digest 1 Ascetic Yogas THE PATH OF SELF-REALIZATION Robert Koch Robert Koch was initiated as Sri Patraka Das at the lotus feet of H.H. Sri Srimad A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in March, 1971. He lived in India for 6 years till 1983, studying Jyotish and has received certificate of commendation for spreading Hindu astrology in the USA, from the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, in 1999. Web site: http://www.robertkoch.com n the first Canto of the great Vedic Purana Srimad Bhagavatam, there is a very interesting and instructional conversation that took place between a bull personifying I Dharma, or religion, and Bhumi, the mother earth in the form of a cow. The bull was standing on one leg, suggesting that that one out of four pillars of religious principles (represented by each leg of Dharma, the bull) was still existing, and that in itself was faltering with the progress of Kali-yuga. The four legs of the Dharma are truthfulness, cleanliness, mercy, and austerity. If most or all of these legs of Dharma are broken, or if 3 out of 4 Dharmic principles exist very rarely, in human society, then we can be confident that Kali-yuga – the age of quarrel and darkness – is well upon us. Given that there are some rare souls existing who speak and live the Supreme Absolute Truth, as is found in various Vedic literatures, the remaining leg of truthfulness still exists. Such persons are characterized by complete self-control, or the ability to detach themselves from the relative world of the senses and the objects of sense pleasure.
    [Show full text]
  • Abhinavagupta's Portrait of a Guru: Revelation and Religious Authority in Kashmir
    Abhinavagupta's Portrait of a Guru: Revelation and Religious Authority in Kashmir The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:39987948 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA Abhinavagupta’s Portrait of a Guru: Revelation and Religious Authority in Kashmir A dissertation presented by Benjamin Luke Williams to The Department of South Asian Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the subject of South Asian Studies Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts August 2017 © 2017 Benjamin Luke Williams All rights reserved. Dissertation Advisor: Parimal G. Patil Benjamin Luke Williams ABHINAVAGUPTA’S PORTRAIT OF GURU: REVELATION AND RELIGIOUS AUTHORITY IN KASHMIR ABSTRACT This dissertation aims to recover a model of religious authority that placed great importance upon individual gurus who were seen to be indispensable to the process of revelation. This person-centered style of religious authority is implicit in the teachings and identity of the scriptural sources of the Kulam!rga, a complex of traditions that developed out of more esoteric branches of tantric "aivism. For convenience sake, we name this model of religious authority a “Kaula idiom.” The Kaula idiom is contrasted with a highly influential notion of revelation as eternal and authorless, advanced by orthodox interpreters of the Veda, and other Indian traditions that invested the words of sages and seers with great authority.
    [Show full text]
  • Dharma. India World...1.Rtf
    DHARMA, INDIA AND THE WORLD ORDER TWENTY-ONE ESSAYS i ii DHARMA, INDIA AND THE WORLD ORDER TWENTY-ONE ESSAYS CHATURVEDI BADRINATH iii Copyright 1993 by Chaturvedi Badrinath First published 1993 by Pahl-Rugenstein and Saint Andrew Press. Pahl-Rugenstein Verlag Nachfolger GmbH BreiteStr.47 D-53111 Bonn Tel (0228) 63 23 06 Fax (0228) 63 49 68 Bundesrepublik Deutschland ISBN 3-89144-179-7 Saint Andrew Press 121 George Street Edinburgh EH2 4YN Scotland, UK Tel (031) 22 55 72 2 Fax (031) 22 03 113 ISBN 0-86513-172-8 Die Deutsche Bibliothek - CIP-Einheitsaufnahme Badrinath, Chaturvedi: Dharma, India, and the world order: twenty-one essays Chaturvedi Badrinath. - Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press; Bonn: Pahl-Rugenstein, 1993 ISBN 3-89144-179-7 (Pahl-Rugenstein) ISBN 0-86153-172-8 (Saint Andrew Press) British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data: A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Typeset by Tulika Print Communication Services Pvt. Ltd. C-20, Qutab Institutional Area, New Delhi 110016 Printed in Hungary by Interpress iv To Bishop Lesslie Newbigin To whose friendship I owe much v vi CONTENTS Foreword ix Preface xv Acknowledgements xvii To the Reader xxv An Outline of the Inquiry and Arguments in the Twenty-one Essays 3 Twenty-one Essays 1 Hindus and Hinduism: Wrong Labels Given By Foreigners 19 2 Search for Dharma: Problems Stemming from Travesties 24 3 Understanding India: Key to Reform of Society 29 4 Limits to Political Power: Traditional Indian Precepts 34 5 Dharma is not 'Religion': Misconception Has to Be
    [Show full text]
  • Configurations of the Indic States System
    Comparative Civilizations Review Volume 34 Number 34 Spring 1996 Article 6 4-1-1996 Configurations of the Indic States System David Wilkinson University of California, Los Angeles Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/ccr Recommended Citation Wilkinson, David (1996) "Configurations of the Indic States System," Comparative Civilizations Review: Vol. 34 : No. 34 , Article 6. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/ccr/vol34/iss34/6 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Comparative Civilizations Review by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Wilkinson: Configurations of the Indic States System 63 CONFIGURATIONS OF THE INDIC STATES SYSTEM David Wilkinson In his essay "De systematibus civitatum," Martin Wight sought to clari- fy Pufendorfs concept of states-systems, and in doing so "to formulate some of the questions or propositions which a comparative study of states-systems would examine." (1977:22) "States system" is variously defined, with variation especially as to the degrees of common purpose, unity of action, and mutually recognized legitima- cy thought to be properly entailed by that concept. As cited by Wight (1977:21-23), Heeren's concept is federal, Pufendorfs confederal, Wight's own one rather of mutuality of recognized legitimate independence. Montague Bernard's minimal definition—"a group of states having relations more or less permanent with one another"—begs no questions, and is adopted in this article. Wight's essay poses a rich menu of questions for the comparative study of states systems.
    [Show full text]
  • A Translation of the Vijñāna-Bhairava-Tantra (Complete but Lacking Commentary) ©2017 by Christopher Wallis Aka Hareesh
    A translation of the Vijñāna-bhairava-tantra (complete but lacking commentary) ©2017 by Christopher Wallis aka Hareesh Introductory verse (maṅgala-śloka): “Shiva is also known as ‘Bhairava’ because He brings about the [initial awakening that makes us] cry out in fear of remaining in the dreamstate (bhava-bhaya)—and due to that cry of longing he becomes manifest in the radiant domain of the heart, bestowing absence of fear (abhaya) for those who are terrified. He is also known as Bhairava because he is the Lord of those who delight in his awesome roar (bhīrava), which signals the death of Death! Being the Master of that flock of excellent Yogins who tire of fear and seek release, he is Bhairava—the Supreme, whose form is Consciousness (vijñāna). As the giver of nourishment, he extends his Power throughout the universe!” ~ the great master Rājānaka Kṣemarāja, c. 1020 CE Like most Tantrik scriptures, the Vijñāna-bhairava-tantra (c. 850 CE) takes the form of a dialogue between Śiva and Śakti, here called Bhairava and Bhairavī. It begins with the Goddess asking Bhairava: śrutaṃ deva mayā sarvaṃ rudra-yāmala-saṃbhavam | trika-bhedam aśeṣeṇa sārāt sāra-vibhāgaśaḥ || 1 || . 1. O Lord, I have heard the entire teaching of the Trika1 that has arisen from our union, in scriptures of ever greater essentiality, 2. but my doubts have not yet dissolved. What is the true nature of Reality, O Lord? Does it consist of the powers of the mystic alphabet (śabda-rāśi)?2 3. Or, amongst the terrifying forms of Bhairava, is it Navātman?3 Or is it the trinity of śaktis (Parā, Parāparā, and Aparā) that [also] constitute the three ‘heads’ of Triśirobhairava? 4.
    [Show full text]
  • The Decline of Buddhism in India
    The Decline of Buddhism in India It is almost impossible to provide a continuous account of the near disappearance of Buddhism from the plains of India. This is primarily so because of the dearth of archaeological material and the stunning silence of the indigenous literature on this subject. Interestingly, the subject itself has remained one of the most neglected topics in the history of India. In this book apart from the history of the decline of Buddhism in India, various issues relating to this decline have been critically examined. Following this methodology, an attempt has been made at a region-wise survey of the decline in Sind, Kashmir, northwestern India, central India, the Deccan, western India, Bengal, Orissa, and Assam, followed by a detailed analysis of the different hypotheses that propose to explain this decline. This is followed by author’s proposed model of decline of Buddhism in India. K.T.S. Sarao is currently Professor and Head of the Department of Buddhist Studies at the University of Delhi. He holds doctoral degrees from the universities of Delhi and Cambridge and an honorary doctorate from the P.S.R. Buddhist University, Phnom Penh. The Decline of Buddhism in India A Fresh Perspective K.T.S. Sarao Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd. ISBN 978-81-215-1241-1 First published 2012 © 2012, Sarao, K.T.S. All rights reserved including those of translation into other languages. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.
    [Show full text]
  • Lankavatara-Sutra.Pdf
    Table of Contents Other works by Red Pine Title Page Preface CHAPTER ONE: - KING RAVANA’S REQUEST CHAPTER TWO: - MAHAMATI’S QUESTIONS I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII XIII XIV XV XVI XVII XVIII XIX XX XXI XXII XXIII XXIV XXV XXVI XXVII XXVIII XXIX XXX XXXI XXXII XXXIII XXXIV XXXV XXXVI XXXVII XXXVIII XXXIX XL XLI XLII XLIII XLIV XLV XLVI XLVII XLVIII XLIX L LI LII LIII LIV LV LVI CHAPTER THREE: - MORE QUESTIONS LVII LVII LIX LX LXI LXII LXII LXIV LXV LXVI LXVII LXVIII LXIX LXX LXXI LXXII LXXIII LXXIVIV LXXV LXXVI LXXVII LXXVIII LXXIX CHAPTER FOUR: - FINAL QUESTIONS LXXX LXXXI LXXXII LXXXIII LXXXIV LXXXV LXXXVI LXXXVII LXXXVIII LXXXIX XC LANKAVATARA MANTRA GLOSSARY BIBLIOGRAPHY Copyright Page Other works by Red Pine The Diamond Sutra The Heart Sutra The Platform Sutra In Such Hard Times: The Poetry of Wei Ying-wu Lao-tzu’s Taoteching The Collected Songs of Cold Mountain The Zen Works of Stonehouse: Poems and Talks of a 14th-Century Hermit The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma P’u Ming’s Oxherding Pictures & Verses TRANSLATOR’S PREFACE Zen traces its genesis to one day around 400 B.C. when the Buddha held up a flower and a monk named Kashyapa smiled. From that day on, this simplest yet most profound of teachings was handed down from one generation to the next. At least this is the story that was first recorded a thousand years later, but in China, not in India. Apparently Zen was too simple to be noticed in the land of its origin, where it remained an invisible teaching.
    [Show full text]
  • Samskara-By-Ur-Anantha-Murthy.Pdf
    LITERATURE ~O} OXFORD"" Made into a powerful, award-winning film in 1970, this important Kannada novel of the sixties has received widespread acclaim from both critics and general read­ ers since its first publication in 1965. As a religious novel about a decaying brahmin colony in the south Indian village of Karnataka, Samskara serves as an allegory rich in realistic detail, a contemporary reworking of ancient Hindu themes and myths, and a serious, poetic study of a religious man living in a community of priests gone to seed. A death, which stands as the central event in the plot, brings in its wake a plague, many more deaths, live questions with only dead answers, moral chaos, and the rebirth of one man. The volume provides a useful glos­ sary of Hindu myths, customs, Indian names, flora, and other terms. Notes and an afterword enhance the self­ contained, faithful, and yet readable translation. U.R. Anantha Murthy is a well-known Indian novelist. The late A.K. Ramanujan w,as William E. Colvin Professor in the Departments of South Asian Languages and Civilizations and of Linguistics at the University of Chicago. He is the author of many books, including The Interior Landscape, The Striders, The Collected Poems, and· several other volumes of verse in English and Kannada. ISBN 978-0-19-561079-6 90000 Cover design by David Tran Oxford Paperbacks 9780195 610796 Oxford University Press u.s. $14.95 1 1 SAMSKARA A Rite for a Dead Man Sam-s-kiira. 1. Forming well or thoroughly, making perfect, perfecting; finishing, refining, refinement, accomplishment.
    [Show full text]
  • A) Karma – Phala – Prepsu : (Ragi) • One Who Has Predominate Desire for Result of Action for Veidica Or Laukika Karma
    BHAGAVAD GITA Chapter 18 Moksa Sannyasa Yoga (Final Revelations of the Ultimate Truth) 1 Chapter 18 Moksa Sannyasa Yoga (Means of Liberation) Summary Verse 1 - 12 Verse 18 - 40 Verse 50 - 55 Verse 63 - 66 - Difference Jnana Yoga - Final Summary 3 Types of : between (Meditation) - Be my devotee 1) Jnanam – Knowledge Sannyasa + Tyaga. be my worshipper 2) Karma – Action surrender to me 3) Karta – Doer - Being established and do your duty. Verse 13 - 17 4) Buddhi – Intellect in Brahman’s 5) Drithi – will Nature he becomes 6) Sukham – Happiness free from Desire. Verse 67 - 73 Jnana Yoga Verse 56 - 62 Verse 41 - 49 - Lords concluding - 5 factors in all remarks. actions. Karma Yoga - Body, Prana, Karma Yoga (Svadharma) (Devotion) Mind, Sense Verse 74 - 78 organs, Ego + - Purified seeker who Presiding dieties. - Constantly is detached and self - Sanjayas remember Lord. controlled attains Conclusion. Moksa 2 Introduction : 1) Mahavakya – Asi Padartham 3rd Shatkam Chapter 13, 14, 15 Chapter 16, 17 Chapter 18 - Self knowledge. - Values to make mind fit - Difference between for knowledge. Sannyasa and Tyaga. 2) Subject matter of Gita Brahma Vidya Yoga Sastra - Means of preparing for - Tat Tvam Asi Brahma Vidya. - Identity of Jiva the - Karma in keeping with individual and Isvara the dharma done with Lord. proper attitude. - It includes a life of renunciation. 3 3) 2 Lifestyles for Moksa Sannyasa Karma Renunciation Activity 4) Question of Arjuna : • What is difference between Sannyasa (Renunciation) and Tyaga (Abandonment). Questions of Arjuna : Arjuna said : If it be thought by you that ‘knowledge’ is superior to ‘action’, O Janardana, why then, do you, O Kesava, engage me in this terrible action? [Chapter 3 – Verse 1] With this apparently perplexing speech you confuse, as it were, my understanding; therefore, tell me that ‘one’ way by which, I, for certain, may attain the Highest.
    [Show full text]
  • VEDA (Level-A)
    Maheshwara Sutras CLASS-III Notes CLASS-III Lesson 7 Maheshwara Sutras Lesson 8 Samarasya Shloka Sagraha Lesson 9 Ekatmata Storta-Song of Unity Lesson 10 Amarakosha-Svargavarga OBE-Bharatiya Jnana Parampara 57 Maheshwara Sutras CLASS-III Notes 58 Veda, Level-A Maheshwara Sutras CLASS-III 7 Notes MAHESHWARA SUTRAS Sounds of Sanskrit language are described in Maheshwara Sutras. There are basic of Sanskrit grammar. Maheshwara Sutras are fourteen in numbers. All the Vowels and Consonants are told in there Maheshwara Sutras. OBJECTIVES After reading this lesson, you will be able to : • recite all 14 Maheshwara Sutras; • know Sanskrit Sounds; and • identify the Pratyaharas. 7.1 MAHESHWARA SUTRAS There is story behind the Samskrita alphabets. Nataraja is other name of Shiva. He is in the dancing pose. Nataraja has Damaru in his one hand. Damaru is a small two-headed drum, used in many Indian, Buddhist and Tibetan traditions. Damru is known as the instrument of Lord Shiva. Damaru was first created by OBE-Bharatiya Jnana Parampara 59 Maheshwara Sutras CLASS-III Shiva to produce different sounds. Sanskrit Alphabets origined from the sound of the Damaru of the Lord Shiva called Maheswara Sutras. Notes Mãhesvara Sutrani is fourteen verses that organize the phonemes of Sanskrit as referred to in the Astadhyayi of Panini, the foundational text of Sanskrit grammar. A famous verse in Sage Panini's Ashtadhyayi says that the Panini grammar that is in use now is graced by Lord Shiva. Hence the first known organized sounds are known as the Maheshvara Sutra - Maheshvara being another name of Lord Shiva.
    [Show full text]
  • Hinduism and Social Work
    5 Hinduism and Social Work *Manju Kumar Introduction Hinduism, one of the oldest living religions, with a history stretching from around the second millennium B.C. to the present, is India’s indigenous religious and cultural system. It encompasses a broad spectrum of philosophies ranging from pluralistic theism to absolute monism. Hinduism is not a homogeneous, organized system. It has no founder and no single code of beliefs; it has no central headquarters; it never had any religious organisation that wielded temporal power over its followers. Hinduism does not have a single scripture as the source of its various teachings. It is diverse; no single doctrine (or set of beliefs) can represent its numerous traditions. Nonetheless, the various schools share several basic concepts, which help us to understand how most Hindus see and respond to the world. Ekam Satya Viprah Bahuda Vadanti — “Truth is one; people call it by many names” (Rigveda I 164.46). From fetishism, through polytheism and pantheism to the highest and the noblest concept of Deity and Man in Hinduism the whole gamut of human thought and belief is to be found. Hindu religious life might take the form of devotion to God or gods, the duties of family life, or concentrated meditation. Given all this diversity, it is important to take care when generalizing about “Hinduism” or “Hindu beliefs.” For every class of * Ms. Manju Kumar, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar College, Delhi University, Delhi. 140 Origin and Development of Social Work in India worshiper and thinker Hinduism makes a provision; herein lies also its great power of assimilation and absorption of schools of philosophy and communities of people, (Theosophy, 1931).
    [Show full text]
  • Svarupa of Thejiva Our Original Spiritual Identity Karisma-Section Is a Trademark of Gaudiya Vedanta Publications
    Svarupa of theJiva Our Original Spiritual Identity karisma-section is a trademark of gaudiya vedanta publications. © (YEAR) gaudiya vedantaexcept where publications. otherwise noted, some only rights the text reserved. (not the design, photos, art, etc.) in this book is licensed under the creative commons attribution-no derivative works 3.0 unported license. to view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/ permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at www.purebhakti.com/pluslicense or write to: [email protected] all translations, purports, and excerpts of lectures by Śrīla bhaktivedānta svāmī prabhupāda are courtesy of BBT international. they are either clearly mentioned as his, or marked with an asterisk (*). verse translations marked with three asterisks (***) are by the disciples of Śrīla bhaktivedāntaŚrī s vāmīBhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu prabhupāda. © bhaktivedantaSārārtha-darśinī book ṭīkātrust intl.Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Govinda-bhāṣya verse translations of , of 1.6.28, and (2.3.26, 28) are by Śrīpāda bhānu svāmī.Govinda-bhāṣya sutras Paramātma sandarbha verse translations of ( 4.4.1,2guru-paramparā ) and - (29.1; 105.80) are by kuśakrata dāsa photo of Śrīla nārāyaṇa gosvāmī mahārāja in the guru-paramparā– kṛṣṇa-mayī dāsī. used with permission. photo on p. 1, 11 – subala-sakhā dāsa (s. florida). used with permission. photo of Śrīla bhaktivedānta svāmī mahārāja in the and on p. 23, 127, 143 – scans provided by bhaktivedanta archives. used with permission. photo on p. 79 – Jānakī dāsī. used with permission. photo on p. 152 – vasanti dāsī. used with permission. photo on p. 40 – bigstock. used with permission.
    [Show full text]