Hinduism (General)
Garuda : The Chariot of Vishnu
Garuda had been a powerful vehicle of Visnu, who participated in several wars fought by his master with the demons. The event of his bringing of the nectar from the heaven in order to relieve his mother of the bondage of the serpents is quite interesting, which, along with other events, has been suitably deal with in this works. Garuda not only adored the flags of the rulers but his seals were also embossed over the important documents in the past.
Gayatri
Gayatri is a sacred mahamantra. It is a universal prayer. The Vedas, Upanishads, puranas and various other ancient Hindu Scriptures sing in one voice the glory of Gayatri - the profound prayer. Since the Vedic times, Gayatri has been a daily prayer of the Hindus, chanted every morning and evening, addressed to Savitr, the power behind the Sun. Gayatri is considered the most exalted prayer, because unlike the other mantras, it does not seek material or worldly gains. It is a prayer that seeks the highest enlightement, the realization of the supreme being, which according to our sanathana Dharma, is the highest goal of every human being. Gayatri is, undoubtedly, the prayer or meditation meant for men and women everywhere, irrespective of their caste, creed, religion or nationality Om Gayatri.
Goddess Laksmi: Origin and Development
Hanuman : The Only Devotee
Hanuman is the most important warrior of Ramayana. Though he had been a silent soldier with Sugriva, but his personality gained importance after his coming in contact with Rama. He played a leading role in the Kiskindha, Sundra and Yuddha-Kanda of Ramayana. Indeed it would be no exeggeration to say that he is the auspicious, brave and the illustrious hero of the Sundara-Kanda the selfless service rendered to Rama, Sugriva, Laksmana, Sita besides his own colleagues is beyond comparison.
Hindu Deities
Hinduism is the term now used to summarize the religious aspirations of the majority of Indians. It includes a variety of highly intellectual, metaphysical and philosophical systems, as well as the naive demonology and magico-religious beliefs of the masses. Hinduism is also a synthesis of three, originally separate religious traditions: the Dravidian, the Aryan and the aboriginal.
Laksmi : The Consort of Visnu and Goddess of Wealth
Laksmi in Indian religious thought happens to be the spouse of Lord Visnu, she is said to have emerged as one of the gems from the churning of the ocean, jointly undertaken by the demons and the gods. Immediately after her emerging from the ocean she accepted lord Visnu as her lord. She has been in worship since time immemorial as an individual goddess as well as in the company of her lord Visnu.
Plant Myths and Traditions in India
Sandhya Vandanam, Gayatri Vidya and Enlightenment
Siva : The Gracious
Siva is the ancient most god of the Hindu trinity and his worship in India is of great antiquity, traces of which are found in the Harappan culture, in Vedic literature and the Puranas besides the Upanisads etc. His temples are found from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and from bengal to the western regions of the country. He indeed had been the great god with enormous following throughout the country. The present account provides the glimpses of his life in brief.
Skanda-Karttikeya
Sun – Worship in Ancient India
The Brahma Kumaris As a ‘Reflexive Tradition’
The aim of this book is to examine the status of tradition in the contemporary world, through a critical engagement with the recent social theory of Anthony Giddens on the emergence of a 'post-traditional society' using as a case-study, the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual Organisation, a millenarian south Asian New Religious Movement, aims to examine the ways in which forms of tradition not only persist but also flourish in the contemporary world, and the manner in which they are drawn on and (re)created by individuals in their ongoing construction of self-identity.