Hinduism - What Is The Kashi Vishwanath Corridor At Varanasi Or Benares In India?


Prime Minister Narendra Modi revealed the 400-meter-long Kashi Vishwanath Corridor in Varanasi on Monday, the 13th of December 2021, which connects an ancient Shiva shrine to the Ganges' banks. 

"It was the Prime Minister's vision for a long time, to facilitate the pilgrims and devotees of Baba Vishwanath, who had to encounter congested streets and surroundings with poor upkeep, when they practiced the age-old custom of taking a dip in the holy river, collecting Gangajal, and offering it at the temple," the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement on Sunday. 

Mr. Modi laid the foundation stone for the project on March 8, 2019, and it is nearing completion ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election in early 2022. 

According to the project's architect, Bimal Patel, although the first part of the project will open on Monday, the Ganges Gateway, the stairs leading down, and the ghat will take another two months to finish. 

On Sunday evening, the sacred site, which is in Mr. Modi's Lok Sabha seat, was bustling with activity, not just with preparations for Monday's celebration but also with ongoing building projects. 



Buildings along the winding lanes leading up to the shrine were freshly painted. 

According to Varanasi Divisional Commissioner Deepak Agrawal, the temple grounds had been decked to welcome the 3,000 visitors who had been invited to the inauguration. 


The celebration was attended by roughly 500 religious leaders and families whose homes — around 300 in all — were razed to make place for the corridor, he added. 

The Prime Minister "took a great and active interest at all levels of the initiative," according to the PMO. 

It was announced that twenty-three buildings will be opened, with ramps and escalators built to make the grounds more accessible. 

The first phase construction cost 339 crore, while the entire project cost was about 800 crore. 



According to the PMO, the temple's grounds have been increased from 3,000 square feet to 5 lakh square feet. 

The corridor, which is claimed to be the Prime Minister's dream project, spans 5,000 hectares and aims to not only decongest but also alter the temple complex. 


Varanasi's improved infrastructure is intended to enhance tourism in the holy city as well as the surrounding area, notably the Buddhist pilgrimage site of Sarnath. 

The Kashi Vishwanath Dham in Varanasi is lit up ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's inauguration. 


The Kashi Vishwanath Corridor, now connects Varanasi's historic Kashi Vishwanath Temple to the Ganga's ghats.




The Rs. 800-crore initiative was inaugurated in March 2019 by the Prime Minister in his parliamentary seat with the goal of restoring the spiritual center's "lost splendor." Officials said Modi has long wanted to improve circumstances for visitors and worshippers who had to suffer the temple's notoriously packed streets and surrounds. 

The Kashi Vishwanath temple lacked direct access to the Ganga, therefore a 20-foot-wide corridor between Lalita Ghat on the holy river and Mandir Chowk on the temple grounds was planned. 

"Shiva bhakts may take a morning bath in the river and worship the Lord in the temple, which will now be visible from the ghat," a Ministry of Culture official said. 

A Tourist Facilitation Centre, Mumukshu Bhavan, Bhogshala, City Museum, Viewing Gallery, and Food Court will be among the 23 structures to be opened. 

Some of these phase 1 projects may not be ready to open to the public for a few more weeks. 

The Prime Minister's event will take place ahead of the forthcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections and the release of the voting schedule. 




The Rudraksh Convention Centre, which is shaped like a Shiva lingam and features divisible conference rooms, an art gallery, and multifunctional pre-function spaces, can accommodate 1,200 people. 

Tourists will be able to take Ganga cruises, road infrastructure will be improved, and the Banaras train station in the city's Manduadih neighborhood will be remodeled with the addition of an air-conditioned waiting lounge. 

LED displays will be placed across the city to provide travelers with information about Kashi's history, architecture, and art. 

On screens around the city, the iconic Ganga Aarti and the aarti at the Kashi Vishwanath temple will be shown. 


The Deen Dayal Hastkala Sankul, which opened in 2017 as a trade facilitation center for Varanasi's weavers, craftspeople, and artisans, serves as both a public space and a marketing platform for local artisans. 

Officials claim the PM insisted on preserving existing historic buildings while eliminating homes that were obstructing the designated path. 

More than 40 'lost' temples were uncovered during the destruction of the structures, including the Gangeshwar Mahadev temple, the Manokameshwar Mahadev temple, the Jauvinayak temple, and the Shri Kumbha Mahadev temple. 

Each of these temples has a long and illustrious history. 



At the National Museum in New Delhi, a gallery has been dedicated to displaying some of the unearthed bones, as well as running a narrative on their history on screens. 

Smart signage has been installed in Varanasi to give information on the cultural value of historic monuments and the city's 84 ghats, which are noted for their antiquity and architectural significance. 

The effort to renovate and rebuild the Kashi Vishwanath complex is in keeping with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambitious plans for temples around the nation. 

He lay the foundation stone for the Ram temple in Ayodhya and advocated for renovation and rebuilding initiatives at the Somnath complex and the Kedarnath Dham, both of which were devastated by floods in 2013. 

He's called these initiatives "nation-building endeavors," the successful culmination of an old land's attempts to rediscover and commemorate its past greatness.



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Hinduism - How Does The Zodiac In Hindu Astrology Compare With Western Astrology?

 


The signs of the zodiac in Indian astrology (jyotisha) are almost similar to those in Western astrology, and it is widely assumed that the Greek zodiac was carried to India through Greek kingdoms in modern Afghanistan in the first to third centuries.

The Indian zodiac uses Dhanus ("bow") instead of Sagittarius, Makara (a sea monster that is commonly mistaken for a crocodile) instead of Capricorn, and Kumbha ("[water] pot") instead of Aquarius.

Each of the twelve signs, like Western astrology, has its own set of qualities that those born under them are infused with.

Although both begin with the sign of Aries, the two systems vary significantly in how they calculate the yearly beginning point.

The Western astrological zodiac starts on the spring equinox, with the sign of Aries being the first sign.

According to Indian legend, the zodiac begins when the sun touches the midway of a group of stars known as Ashvini.

It is therefore based on the sun's position in relation to the fixed stars, while the Western zodiac is based on the sun's position in relation to the earth—that is, when it meets the equator—and hence is independent of the fixed stars.

These disparities have resulted in a discrepancy between the two systems, which is now more than three weeks apart—Aries begins on March 21 in the Western zodiac, but not until around April 14 in the Indian zodiac.

This inconsistency may also be found in the accounts of Makara Sankranti and Karka Sankranti, which are considered the winter and summer solstices yet fall in the second weeks of January and July, respectively.

Given the three-week time gap, it's not surprising that the astrological calculations between these two systems diverge significantly.


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Hinduism - Who Is Yogmaya In The Hindu Pantheon?

 

Yogmaya is a powerful Goddess form known for her capacity to bewitch and perplex people—in other words, her ability to wield maya, the power of illusion.

Yogmaya is mentioned as the divinity who assumes the shape of a newborn girl and is subsequently slain by Krishna's cruel uncle, Kamsa, according to certain modern texts.

All the inmates of Kamsa's palace fall slumber under her enchantment the previous night, according to these texts, and Krishna's father, Vasudeva, is able to take the child away.

Yogmaya is said to have facilitated Krishna's clandestine rendezvous with the ladies of Braj later in his career—when Krishna plays his flute, the women come to him, but all the others fall under Yogmaya's influence and are oblivious of their absence.

Yogmaya is a strong goddess because of her capacity to manipulate maya; she is honored on the fourth day of Navaratri, the festival of the "nine nights" that are holy to the Goddess in her many incarnations.


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Hinduism - What Is A Yoni And The Concept Of Yoni In Hindu Spirituality?

 



Although it has become a pejorative term for female genitalia in contemporary Hindi, its most literal meaning is "womb,".

The Yoni is both literally the location of conception and metaphorically any place of origin, source, or generative force.


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Hinduism - Who Is Yudhishthira In Hindu Mythology?

 


("strength in combat") Yudhishthira is the oldest of the Pandava brothers, the epic's heroes, in the Mahabharata, the later of the two major Hindu epics.

When Yudhishthira's mother, Kunti, performs a strong mantra to have a son by Dharma, the deity of righteousness, Yudhishthira is miraculously born.

Yudhishthira is his father's son in every aspect; the epic describes him as the earthly incarnation of Dharma.

He is well-known for his steadfast allegiance to the truth, politeness for everybody, and commitment to virtue.

His only personal flaw is a gambling addiction, which is only matched by his complete lack of gaming skill, and this flaw has serious consequences.

Yudhishthira is chosen as successor to the kingdom by his uncle, Dhrtarashtra, because of his merits.

Duryodhana, Dhrtarashtra's son, is enraged by this decision.

He seeks to murder the Pandavas by constructing a highly flammable mansion.

The Pandavas manage to escape unscathed despite the home being set on fire.

Duryodhana decides to win Yudhishthira's right to the throne in a game of dice later.

Yudhishthira's gambling addiction gets the better of him here, when he is pitted against Duryodhana's maternal uncle, Shakuni, who is a competent player.

As Yudhishthira continues to lose, he bets more and larger amounts in an attempt to recoup his losses.

Yudhishthira bets himself and his brothers after losing their kingdom and all their possessions.

He wagers and loses the Pandava brothers' common wife, Draupadi, after losing this bet.

Draupadi is humiliated as a result of her miscarriage, and Duryodhana and his brother, Duhshasana, parade her around the assembly hall, her clothing smeared with her monthly blood.

This event accentuates the two groups' already strong enmi relations.

Duryodhana's father, King Dhrtarashtra, is shocked by the treatment and restores the Pandavas' freedom.

However, due to the loss in the dice game, the Pandavas agree to go into exile for twelve years and live incognito for the thirteenth, with the caveat that if they are discovered in the thirteenth year, the cycle will begin all over again.

Peacefully, Yudhishthira and his siblings complete their twelve-year exile.

They spend the thirteenth year at King Virata's court, where they stay undetected despite Duryodhana's spies' frantic searches.

Yudhishthira and his brothers return to claim their share of the kingdom after the thirteen years have gone.

Yudhishthira hopes for a peaceful resolution and sends Duryodhana a note suggesting that they would be content with only five villages, one for each brother.

Yudhishthira recognizes that they would not gain their rights without a fight as Duryodhana says that they will not get as much land as could fit beneath the tip of a needle.

He unwillingly enlists his siblings in the war effort.

He battles courageously in the big war, and after their triumph, he is anointed king.

Yudhishthira, after reigning for many years, sets off towards the Himalayas with his brothers and their bride, Draupadi, accompanied by a little dog.

Draupadi and his brothers die one by one as they ascend the mountains, but the dog stays with Yudhishthira.

Yudhishthira finds the deity Indra, the ruler of heaven, waiting for him in a gilded chariot at the summit of the Himalayas.

Yudhishthira is told by Indra that he would transport him to paradise, but that he will have to leave his dog behind.

Yudhishthira is adamant about not abandoning his loyal buddy, even if it means he will miss out on paradise.

The dog then exposes himself to be the disguised deity Dharma.

The moral of the narrative is that Yudhishthira never allows himself to wander too far from righteousness throughout his life; even at the end, he refuses to abandon it.


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Hinduism - What Is A Yuga In Hindu Cosmology?

 


A moniker for a unit of cosmic time that might have two meanings.

Traditional thinking is that time has no origin or conclusion, but rather rotates between cycles of creation and activity, followed by halt and silence.

The active period of each of these cycles is known as the Day of Brahma, while the calm phase is known as the Night of Brahma.

The Day of Brahma is split into a thousand mahayugas ("great cosmic eras"), each lasting 4.32 million years in cosmic time, and this is one probable definition of the term yuga.

The term is most often used to refer to the Krta Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dvapara Yuga, and Kali Yuga, which are the four yugas that make up a mahayuga.


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Hinduism - Who Was Yogi Bhajan Or Harbhajan Singh Puri?

 

Yogi Bhajan or Harbhajan Singh Puri, was the 'Sikh Dharma Brotherhood' founder and modern Hindu missionary.

In 1969, he arrived in the United States, leaving behind a job as a customs agent at the Delhi airport.

His first teachings were classical hatha yoga and kundalini yoga disciplines, with his followers grouped into the "Happy, Healthy, Holy Organization" (3HO).

Hatha yoga is a religious discipline (yoga) based on a sequence of body postures known as asanas.

It is commonly thought that this practice provides a variety of physical advantages, including enhanced bodily flexibility and the potential to treat chronic diseases.

Kundalini yoga is a spiritual practice whose main goal is to awaken the kundalini, the dormant spiritual power that lives in everyone's subtle body.

The kundalini is supposed to be awakened by a mix of yoga practice and ritual action, and it is said to provide further spiritual capacities and, eventually, total soul liberation (moksha).

Yogi Bhajan claims to be a master of tantra, a hidden, ritually based religious practice, but his teaching expanded in the 1970s to incorporate ancient Sikh beliefs and symbols.

The most visible of these symbols are the "five Ks," which include uncut hair (kesh), a comb (kangha), a jewelry on the right wrist (kara), shorts (kacch), and a ceremonial sword (kacch) (kirpan).

Many of Yogi Bhajan's followers adhere to Sikh symbols considerably more rigidly than most individuals born as Sikhs, yet there are two major differences between the movement and the traditional Sikh society.

One of them is its concentration on tantra, which isn't very popular with Sikhs.

The most notable distinction, however, is Yogi Bhajan's religious authority over his followers, which is considerably different from the traditional Sikh community's decentralized, essentially democratic structure.


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Hinduism - What Is Yogini Ekadashi? When Is It Observed In The Hindu Calendar?

 


The eleventh day (ekadashi) of the dark (waning) half of the lunar month of Ashadh (June–July) is a religious celebration.

This, like other eleventh-day celebrations, is devoted to the worship of Vishnu, especially in his avatar as Narayana.

Most Hindu holidays have mandated ceremonies, which generally include fasting (upavasa) and devotion, and frequently promise particular rewards if performed faithfully.

Giving presents to needy brahmins is the recommended activity on this day; following the festival sincerely takes away the sin of chopping down a pipal tree (ashvattha) and also brings one birth in heaven.


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Hinduism - Who Is A Yogi?

 



 In practice, the term "yogic adept" refers solely to a yogic adept—someone who "possesses" yoga in the sense of mastering it—rather than to someone who just does yoga.

True yogis are often thought to possess superhuman abilities (siddhi) as a result of their lengthy spiritual growth, which they may and will use for the benefit of their disciples—for physical cure, psychiatric assistance, or spiritual and mundane advice.

The yogi is seen as a spiritually developed individual, and their authority is entirely based on this attribution, which, ironically, is not susceptible to external proof.

As a result, there are major differences of opinion over whether or not someone is a yogi.


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Hinduism - What Is Yoganidra?

 


("yoga slumber") The Goddess's epithet appears in the first episode of the Devi Mahatmya, the oldest and most authoritative document on the Goddess's mythology.

In this episode, the Goddess uses her power of illusion to lull Vishnu into a coma, rendering him unconscious to Brahma's screams for aid when he is threatened by the demons Madhu and Kaitabha.

When Brahma praises the Goddess, she withdraws her yogic slumber from Vishnu, allowing him to restore consciousness and save Brahma by destroying the demons.


~Kiran Atma


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Hinduism - Who Was Paramahamsa Yogananda Or Mukunda Lal Ghosh?

 

Yogananda, Paramahamsa, Mukunda Lal Ghosh was born in 1893 and died in 1952.

Self-Realization Fellowship founder and modern Hindu instructor.

Yogananda was one of the first Hindu missionaries to arrive in the United States.

In 1920, he traveled to Boston to speak at the International Congress of Religious Liberals, but he never returned to India.

He finally made his home outside of Los Angeles, where he created a center and spent the remainder of his life.

He was considered somewhat of a curiosity during his early years in America, and there are photographs of him with President Calvin Coolidge.

Yogananda's teachings were primarily based on the ancient Yoga Sutras' ash tanga yoga, but he also emphasized the theory of kriya ("active") yoga, which is said to hasten spiritual achievement.

The Self Realization Fellowship is basically an American organization with historical origins in India, and most of Yogananda's adherents and both of his successors were Americans.

See Paramahansa Yogananda's Autobiography of a Yogi, published in 1997, for further details.


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Hinduism - What Are The Yoga Sutras?

 

 


 ("yoga aphorisms") A collection of short sayings attributed to the sage Patanjali that serve as the basic texts for the Yoga school, one of the six schools of Hindu philosophy.

The sage Vyasa's commentary on Patanjali's Yoga Sutras is often read alongside the text, and it has been considered as an important component of the book.


The Yoga Sutras are split into four sections, each of which focuses on a different theme: 


  1. The first part is about concentration (samadhi), 
  2. the second part is about the mechanics of spiritual development (sadhana), 
  3. the third part is about various attainments (vibhuti), including magical powers (siddhi), 
  4. and the last part is about yogic isolation (kaivalya), which the text calls liberation.


The Yoga school is often considered the "practical" articulation of Samkhya theory, and the text presupposes the cosmology taught by the Samkhya school, another of the six schools.


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Hinduism - What Is Yoga Mudra?

 


A symbolic hand gesture (mudra) in Indian dance, sculpture, and ritual in which the right hand is put flat on the left, both palms facing up, and the joined hands are lay on the crossed legs.

This mudra signifies that the figure is a yoga master in a sculptural depiction.

~Kiran Atma


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Hinduism - Who Is Goddess Yellamma In The Hindu Pantheon?

 



Presiding deity of the sanctuary atop Yellama hill in Saundatti, Karnataka's Belgaum district.

Yellama's temple is famous for being a historic center for devadasis ("[female] servants of the Lord"), a class of women held in temples as singers and dancers in the service of the temple's presiding goddess, to whom they were traditionally considered "married." Both boys and girls may be consecrated in Yellama's temple.

Although the devadasi tradition has been associated with common prostitution for the past two centuries, it was far more common in earlier times for a devadasi to live with a single man for the rest of her life, despite the fact that she could not marry him because she was considered dedicated to the deity.

This devotion is sometimes done in response to a demand from the goddess herself, which is revealed via possession; in other situations, the parents undertake it in the hopes of gaining some tangible benefit, most notably recovery from sickness.

Yellamma is linked to fire, as well as causing (and maybe treating) skin disorders, which can be seen as a metaphor for "burning." According to the old paradigm, devadasis possessed a distinct social status and unique legal privileges, including the right to family inheritance and the ability to conduct religious ceremonies that were not available to other women.

These privileged powers vanished with the banning of the devadasi system, which was partially carried out by the British and was finally carried out in post-independence India.

Although such dedications continue to occur, they are often used as a cover for procuring the girls, who are then transferred to brothels in Bombay, Pune, and other central Indian towns.

Most of the girls come from very impoverished families, and their devotion to Yellamma is a method for them to avoid having to pay for a wedding, which is a big expenditure in modern Indian culture.

The dedications are said to be common and take place on the full moon in the lunar month of Magh (January–February), although the laws prohibiting them are seldom enforced due to secrecy.

See Frederique Apffel Marglin's Wives of the God-King, 1985, for a more in-depth look at the devadasi system at the Jagannath temple in Puri.


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Hinduism - What Does Yoga Mean?

 



The English term "yoke" is connected with the word yoga, which literally means "act of joining."

Similarly to how the latter term may apply to both the act of yoking and the item to which animals are yoked, yoga can refer to both the act or process of spiritual growth as well as a particular body of teachings that support this development.

The term "discipline" may express both of these connotations, and it is one of the most popular interpretations.

There are a variety of specialized teachings that call themselves yogas.

The earliest is described in the Yoga Sutras, which are attributed to the sage Patanjali; this method is referred regarded as ashtanga ("eight-limbed") yoga because of its eight components.


The three "paths" outlined by the deity Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita, an important religious literature, are also well-known yogas: 

the yogas of action (karma), knowledge (jnana), and devotion (bhakti).

Another well-known yoga is kundalini yoga, which is purely internal and takes place in the subtle body, an alternate physiological system.

Kundalini yoga focuses on reawakening the kundalini, a dormant spiritual force that dwells in everyone, and reaping spiritual benefits as a result.


These are the most common categories of teachings, however many religious groups may refer to their religious practice as yoga: 

The Radha Soamis' surat-shabd yoga, the Brahma Kumaris' Raja Yoga, and the SYDA Foundation's Siddha Yoga are examples.

In some circumstances, the term is used to describe a religious group's distinctive teaching, which frequently contains aspects from traditional yoga articulations.


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Hinduism - Who Is Yayati In Hindu Mythology?

 


Yayati is the Hindu ruler Nahusha's son and a king of the Chandra Vamsha or lunar dynasty in Hindu mythology.


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Hinduism - What Is A Hindu Year In The Hindu Lunar Calendar?

 


Both the solar and lunar calendars are used to establish the Hindu ritual year.

There are two indigenous Hindu solar year estimates, both of which feature twelve solar months, in addition to the Gregorian calendar and the common era.

These months correlate to the twelve zodiac signs in northern India, and they vary as the sun goes through them.

The year starts when the sun enters Aries, as it does in the Western zodiac, albeit in Indian astrology, this shift occurs around April 14, rather than March 21, as it does in Euro-American astrology.

A similar solar calendar exists in southern India, with names derived from the names of certain nakshatras or lunar asterisms.

Apart from the solar months, the solar year is split into two parts depending on the sun's movement: the Uttarayana for when the sun is travelling north and the Dakshinayana for when the sun is going south.

On Makara Sankranti, January 14, the sun starts its northward trip, which is considered the more auspicious period; six months later, on Karka Sankranti, July 14, the sun begins its southbound journey, which is considered the less auspicious time.


The lunar calendar, which has twelve lunar months, is far more important for religious purposes:


  1. Chaitra (March–April), 
  2. Baisakh (April–May), 
  3. Jyeshth (May–June), 
  4. Ashadh (June–July), 
  5. Shravan (July–August), 
  6. Bhadrapada (August–September), 
  7. Ashvin (September–October), 
  8. Kartik (October–November), 
  9. Margashirsha (November–December), 
  10. Paush (December–January), 
  11. Magh (January–February), 


The calendar in northern India normally starts on the first day of the brilliant half of Chaitra, and ends on the first day of the dark half of the same month.

The festivals designated by this lunar calendar happen at various times each year in relation to the solar calendar since these lunar months are based on the phases of the moon (ending with the full moon in northern India and the new moon in southern India).

Because the twelve lunar months take around 354 solar days to complete, each lunar year starts eleven days sooner than the previous one.

This mismatch is remedied every 212 years by the insertion of an additional lunar month, known as the intercalary month, which brings the solar and lunar calendars into broad agreement.

The intercalary month is added to each lunar month during which the sun does not enter a new zodiac sign, allowing it to fall in any month of the year.

Although the solar calendar is less significant in daily life, it aids in maintaining the basic correlation between the lunar calendar and the periodic festivals linked with it.

The three primary seasons (hot, monsoon, and cool) have strong linkages with the festival calendar, at least in northern India.

The chilly season, from October and February, is the most ritually busy period; in many locations, this is also the time after the harvest, when many people have more time and money to devote to religious observances.

Many ceremonies are related with heat in the hot season, but the rainy season, as a period of hazard, is often associated with rites of protection.


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Hinduism - What Is Yathakhyati In Hindu Philosophy?

 


Yathakhyati means, "discrimination in the state of things".

Satkhyati is another term for the theory of mistake.

Yathakhyati is another word for satkhyati.


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Hinduism - Who Is A Yati In Hindu Spirituality?

 


 (from the Sanskrit word yam, which means "to restrict") The word yati has been used to identify an ascetic, as someone who has attained control over oneself, from the time of the Vedas, the oldest Hindu holy books.

Since the storm-god Indra is reported to have battled with the yatis during the period of the Vedas, there seems to be some ambiguity about the yatis, but later on the name takes on an absolutely good sense.


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Hinduism - What Does Yatra Mean In Hinduism?

 

Yatra means "travel" in Sanskrit.

Although the term yatra may apply to any kind of travel in its literal sense, its semantic scope in contemporary Hindi is more smaller, and connotes serious travel rather than a walk around the block or a tourist excursion.

The most essential aspect of the term yatra is religious travel, notably pilgrimage to holy locations (tirthas).

A yatra is therefore a voyage, but one of a specific kind.


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Hinduism - Who Is Considered A Yatri In Hindu Spirituality?

 


The term yatri refers to a novitiate Bairagi, a renunciant ascetic society made up of worshippers of the deity Vishnu (bhakta).

As a common term, it refers to a person who is embarking on a yatra ("journey"; more specifically, a travel of religious meaning).


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Hinduism - Who Is Yaska?

 



 Yaska (5th century BCE?) is traditionally credited with writing the Nirukta, a Vedic treatise that provides etymological explanations for ancient terms.

Nearly a fourth of the Vedic terms occur just once.

As the spoken language evolved, the meanings of many of these terms had become either ambiguous or altogether forgotten by Yaska's time.

Although it is evident that Yaska is guessing at times—for example, when contemporary linguists may draw parallels with the Iranian Avesta, a comparable religious text—his work proved invaluable to subsequent readers.


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Hinduism - Where Does The Yamuna River Flow In India?

 

Yamuna River is a river in India. The Yamuna River is a northern Indian river that originates in the Himalayas and flows west and south of the Ganges River before joining it at Allahabad in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

Along with the Ganges, Godavari, Saraswati, Narmada, Indus, and Cauvery, the Yamuna is regarded one of India's seven holy rivers.

The Yamuna runs through the Braj area south of Delhi, which is historically associated with Krishna's country, and his followers (bhakta) hold it in higher regard than the Ganges.

Places around the Braj area have great connotations with Krishna's life for his devotees, but Mathura and Brindavan are the most noteworthy.


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Hinduism - Where Is The Yamunotri Tirtha In India?

 


Sacred location (tirtha) in the Himalayas near the Yamuna River's sources.

Yamunotri is regarded the Yamuna's ritual source, despite the fact that the real source is farther upstream, at the foot of the Bandarpunch Mountain.

Because of its great altitude, it is only accessible from late April to October, after which it closes for the winter months, as are the other three main Himalayan pilgrimage sites of Gangotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath.

The river itself is a sacred site in Yamunotri, where pilgrims wash (snana) in the freezing waters.

There are numerous temples, the oldest of which was erected by one of Nepal's monarchs, but they are small in comparison to those at Gangotri, and the sole significant one was completed in the 1980s.

Aside from the holy river and its tributaries, Yamunotri is known for many hot springs, some of which have been diverted into a tank, and many pilgrims take use of the hot baths.


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Hinduism - What Is A Yantra? What Does Yantra Mean?

 

 

Yantra is a Sanskrit word that means "circle of life" or (“instrument”).

The term yantra most usually refers to a symbolic design, generally thought to impart magic or spiritual power on those who know how to employ it in astrology (jyotisha) and tantra, a secret, ritually based religious practice.

In other circumstances, such yantras are seen to represent an aniconic form of a deity, like in the example of the Shriyantra or Shrichakra, which is employed in rituals to worship the goddess Tripura Sundari.

In an astrological context, the yantras of the different planets are utilized in rituals to modify their effects, mainly to control or lessen the power of planets thought to be malefic or inauspicious.


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Hinduism - Who Is Yashoda In Hindu Mythology?

 



Krishna's foster mother in Hindu mythology, who welcomes him the night he is born and raises him until he is old enough to return to Mathura and claim his kingdom.

Yashoda, who loves Krishna as if he were her own child, is a model of unselfish devotion.

Rupa Goswami, a devotee (bhakta) of the god Krishna and a follower of the Bengali saint Chaitanya, has used her mythic example of loving, motherly care as the model for vatsalya bhava, one of the five modes of devotion most prominently articulated by Rupa Goswami, a devotee (bhakta) of the god Krishna and a follower of the Bengali saint Chaitanya Devotees who practice vatsalya consider themselves to be God's parents, lavishing love and care on the god in the same way as a cow does for her calf.


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Hinduism - Who Was Yamunacharya?

 

Yamunacharya (10th c.)  according to legend was Ramanuja's teacher. 

He was a devotee (bhakta) of the deity Vishnu, who is said to be the grandson of Nathamuni.

The Nalayira Divyaprabandham, the collected hymns of the Alvars, a group of poet-saints who lived in southern India between the sixth and eleventh centuries, was compiled by Nathamuni.

The Alvars were all worshippers of Vishnu, and they conveyed their love via impassioned lyrics sung in Tamil; these hymns are so sacred among southern Indian Vaishnavas (devotees of Vishnu) that they are known as the "Tamil Veda." 

Ramanuja, on the other hand, was a philosopher who collected and systematized this devotional outpouring into a coherent philosophical viewpoint, and is therefore regarded as the religious community's founder.

Yamunacharya was thought to be Nathamuni's grandson, and hence heir to the religious tradition that his grandfather had helped establish.

The allegation that he was Ramanuja's religious teacher (guru) is considerably more contested, since it is more probable that Yamuna's effect on Ramanuja was passed down via Yamuna's pupils.

Still, it is undeniable that these three figures played pivotal roles in the development of the Shri Vaishnava tradition, and that Yamunacharya is one of them.


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Hinduism - What Is Yamaha?

 

Yamaha ("restraint") is the first and most fundamental of the eight component aspects of ashtanga ("eight-part") yoga, which was defined by Patanjali (1st century C.E.?) :


  • Refraining from harming other living things (ahimsa), 
  • abstaining from stealing, 
  • honesty, 
  • celibacy (brahmacharya), 
  • and abstaining from avarice are five of them.

These are all "restraints" because their intent is negative—they don't call for positive actions as much as they call for avoiding certain thoughts or actions that are deemed particularly harmful.


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Hinduism - What Is The Yajur Veda?

 

The Yajur Veda is a Hindu scripture.

The third of the four Vedas, according to tradition.

The Yajur Veda, like the Rg Veda and the Sama Veda, was linked with sacrificial rites, and the book itself is mostly composed of mantras to be recited while the sacrifice was being performed.

There are five primary recensions of the Yajur Veda, four of which are "black" and one of which is "white." Their variances are due to the placement of explanatory notes on the mantras and the significance of these annotations: The annotations are included in the text of the Black Yajur Veda recensions, but the White Yajur Veda collects them in an appendix known as a Brahmana—specifically, the Shatapatha Brahmana—and this Brahmana literature forms the next major layer of Vedic texts.


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Hinduism - Who Are The Yaksha In The Hindu Pantheon?


(feminine yakshi) A group of minor deities who are mostly nature spirits and are typically linked with certain locations.

Yakshas are the attendants of the god Kubera, who is revered as the ruler of riches and the protector of the northern direction.

The yakshas are typically seen as good to humans, and because of their ties to nature's reproductive force and Kubera's riches, they are often regarded as giving prosperity and fertility.

Yakshas have a long history of appearing in Indian sectarian literature, where they are depicted as either protective spirits or depraved examples.

The sole comprehensive monograph on yakshas is Ananda Coomaraswamy's Yaksas, published in 1971.


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Hinduism - Who Is Yama In The Hindu Pantheon?


God of Death and Personification of Death.

Yama is one of the eight Guardians of the Directions, and he is connected with the south, which is why it is considered an unlucky direction.

Yama is mentioned for the first time in the Vedas, the earliest Hindu sacred books, where he is referred to as the first mortal.

He was regarded as ruling over the World of the Fathers, where the good dead feasted and enjoyed themselves, since he was the first person to die (much as they had on earth).

Yama's image altered as the tradition progressed, until he was seen as the judge of the dead, reigning mostly over the areas of punishment, chiefly hells, where individuals suffered until they were reborn.

Yama is often shown with a noose, which he uses to drag out a person's spirit upon death and lead it bound to judgment.

Yama is shown in modern poster art as the ruler of the dead, sitting on a throne that is magnificent and black in hue; on his left is the scribe Chitragupta, who maintains a ledger book documenting human acts.

Yama is dreaded in Hindu society because of his function as the judge of the dead.

Yama is also known as Dharmaraja, the "Lord of Righteous Action," and one of his names is Dharmaraja, which means "Lord of Righteous Action" in Sanskrit.

In Hindu mythology, there are also stories of individuals who outwit Yama, the most famous of whom is Savitri, who manages to resurrect her spouse, Satyavan.


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