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 - What Is A Vrat?

 

Term referring to a religious pledge, said to be derived from the verb "to select." 

Vrats are an essential element of contemporary Hindu life as religious observances.

They can refer to one-time religious observances associated with specific festivals, such as the Shivaratri vrat, or more regular religious observances, such as those associated with the monthly lunar calendar (e.g., the ekadashi rites) or those performed on the day of the week associated with a specific patron deity.

The particular prescriptions for these vrats vary a lot, but there are a few things that they all have in common.

They frequently include dietary changes, sometimes via fasting (upavasa) and other times by consuming or avoiding certain foods.

Worship of the ruling god is another continuous feature.

The vrat's charter myth, which recounts how the vrat was created, how it should be performed, and what kind of blessings it offers, is frequently recited or heard as part of this devotion.

Vrats associated with festivals are practiced by a wide range of individuals, but weekly vrats (such as the Santoshi Ma Vrat) are most often practiced by married women in order to improve the health, safety, and prosperity of their families.

Despite the fact that such weekly vrats are ostensibly optional, they have become an anticipated component of women's religious life, through which women may protect their families' wellbeing via their sacrifices.

See Mary McGee, "Desired Fruits: Motive and Intention in Hindu Women's Votive Rituals," in Julia Leslie, ed., Roles and Rituals for Hindu Women, 1991; and Doranne Jacobson and Susan S. Wadley, Women in India, 1992, for more on women's rites.

~ Kiran Atma

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Hinduism - What Is Vijaya Ekadashi?

 

The eleventh day (ekadashi) of the dark (waning) half of the lunar month of Phalgun (February–March) is a religious celebration.

This is the eleventh-day observance devoted to the worship of Vishnu, as is the case with all eleventh-day observances.

Most Hindu holidays have pre-determined ceremonies, which generally include fasting (upavasa) and devotion, and frequently offer particular rewards for loyal participation.

Those taking this vow should fill an earthen pot with the seven varieties of grain, place an image of Vishnu on top of the pot, and recite the names of Vishnu for twenty-four hours.

The pot of grain should be handed to a brahmin on the twelfth.

In terms of outcomes, it is stated that diligently honoring this festival would provide vijaya (victory) over poverty and sadness.

~Kiran Atma

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Hinduism - What Is Upavasa?

 

 

Fasting, which is sometimes done as a prescribed activity for specific religious observances such as festivals and vows (vrats), and is sometimes done as a way of expiating one's sins, is referred to as a general phrase.

Although upavasa may refer to complete abstention from food and drink, it is most often associated with dietary changes.

In other situations, such as during the Shivaratri festival, such "fasting" means refraining from cooked grains, which are regarded such an important component of a meal that the term "rice" is also used to describe "food" in some regions of India.

In other circumstances, one will refrain from eating particular foods, such as the Santoshi Ma Vrat, which requires a person to abstain from eating anything with a sour or bitter taste.

When fasting is done as an act of penance (prayashchitta), the prescriptions generally involve the quantity of food consumed rather than the kind.

The chandrayana, a penitential rite lasting one lunar month in which the penitent's food consumption mirrors the monthly course of the moon, is the most well-known of these.

On the first day of the declining moon, the performer eats fourteen mouthfuls of food, then one fewer mouthful on each subsequent day, culminating in a full fast on the new moon day.

The penitent eats one more mouthful each day during the waxing moon, until he reaches fifteen mouthfuls on the full moon day.

~Kiran Atma

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Hinduism - Where Is The Tarakeshvar Tirtha?

 

Thirty miles northwest of Calcutta in the state of West Bengal, this city and holy site (tirtha) is the most visited pilgrimage destination in the state due to its proximity to Calcutta.

The shrine of Baba Tarakanath, who is the deity Shiva in his incarnation as the "Lord of Liberation," is famed in Tarakeshvar.

Shiva is present in Tarakeshvar in the form of a linga, Shiva's symbolic form, a pillar-shaped item.

The Tarakeshvar linga is said to be a "self-manifested" (svayambhu) image that was created by divine self-revelation rather than by human hands.

The site's founding story relates how Shiva's linga is hidden in the dirt and only uncovered when a cow drops her milk on the area above it as a gesture of adoration.

A man suffering from agonizing hemorrhoids receives relief by drinking the water that has been poured on the linga as a gift, and therefore is blessed by Shiva's touch, according to the founding myth.

The charter transmits the picture of a god who is present and receptive to his followers (bhakta) as well as the feeling of a location where humans might go to receive healing from their afflictions via these two tales.

The ritual of dharna, in which pilgrims fast (upavasa) on the temple's outside porch for as long as it takes the god to communicate with them, typically in a dream, is one of the more bizarre manifestations of this.

E. Alan Morinis, Pilgrimage in the Hindu Tradition, 1984, is a good source of knowledge.

~Kiran Atma

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Hinduism - What Is Tapas?

 

 (“heat”) Term for any kind of physical asceticism, or what was formerly known as "mortification of the flesh." 

Fasting (upavasa) and celibacy, as well as rituals of enduring physical agony, such as the "five flames" (panchagni) rite, are all included in the word tapas.

During this ceremony, a person sits in the hot season, surrounded by four flames, with the sun above representing the fifth fire.

Other ceremonies include suffering cold through bathing (snana) in snow-fed rivers, as well as enduring any kind of bodily hardship.

Tapas may also refer to strange and even masochistic habits such as standing for years on end; holding an arm lifted until the muscles atrophy and it can no longer be lowered; resting on thorn and nail beds, and so forth.

All of these activities are based on the notion that they produce spiritual strength (which is referred to as "heat"), and that a person who develops and accumulates enough of this force would attain supernormal abilities or the capacity to demand boons from the gods themselves.

Even while many modern Hindus are wary of and condemn extreme practices, there is still a huge cultural regard for ascetic self-control, and when paired with the appropriate personality, such activities may give significant religious power.

In Hindu mythology, Indra, the god-king, keeps a watchful eye on individuals who accumulate such abilities in order to safeguard himself from being supplanted by someone more powerful.

Because of the "heat" created by the tapas, Indra's celestial throne gets heated when an ascetic begins to collect enough strength to unseat him.

Indra must locate the aspirant and defuse the force in one of two ways: by bestowing a blessing on the aspirant, which is often the motivation for doing the tapas in the first place, or by sending a heavenly nymph (apsara) to seduce the ascetic, whose power will be released along with his semen.

This legend represents the core Hindu notion that celibacy, which conserves a man's vital energy by conserving his sperm, is the beginning point for ascetic strength.

~Kiran Atma

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Hinduism - What Is Putrada Ekadashi?

The eleventh day (ekadashi) of the bright (waxing) half of the lunar month of Shravan (July–August) and the eleventh day of the brilliant (waxing) half of the lunar month of Paush (December–January) are religious observances that occur twice a year.

These are devoted to the deity Vishnu, as are all eleventh-day observances.

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

Following the ekadashi ceremonies on these days is said to result in the birth of a son (putra), which is a key worry in Indian culture.

Sons are required in this world and the next, not just to care for their aging parents, but also to carry out specific ancestral ceremonies after death.

The fact that this specific ekadashi happens twice throughout the year—the only ekadashi to do so—evidences the power of this longing for sons.

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Hinduism - Who Is Goddess Parvati In The Hindu Pantheon?

 

 ("mountain's daughter") Parvati is the Hindu goddess Parvati, who is the wife of the god Shiva and the daughter of the minor deity Himalaya (the Himalaya Mountains personified) and his wife Mena.

Shiva has been lost in monastic seclusion since the loss of his first wife, Sati, and Parvati comes in human form to entice him to father the offspring required to defeat the demon Taraka.

Even as a kid, Parvati swears to have only Shiva as her spouse, according to her legends.

Shiva has made a vow of asceticism and is engrossed in profound meditation on Mount Kailas, so her parents attempt to dissuade her.

Parvati's initial attempt to stir Shiva's passion fails miserably.

Kama, the god of love, attempts to kill Shiva with a desire arrow, but Shiva shoots a torrent of fire from his third eye, burning Kama to ash.

Undaunted, Parvati enters the mountains and starts her own program of extreme physical asceticism (tapas): standing for long periods of time on one foot, suffering the heat of summer and the cold of winter, and practicing severe fasting (upavasa) and self-denial.

Shiva is ultimately awakened by the spiritual strength created by her austerity, and he appears to her dressed as an elderly brahmin.

He attempts to dissuade Parvati by making harsh statements about Shiva's lifestyle and behavior, but Parvati remains steadfast in her decision.

Shiva eventually exposes his actual self to her, and the two marry.

Shiva is the Hindu image for the perfect husband because of his love to his bride, yet their family life is uncommon.

The pair has no stable residence or means of support since Shiva is the metaphor for the ideal ascetic, and Parvati is sometimes shown as lamenting about being an ascetic's wife.

Their marriage, symbolically, marks the ascetic's domestication and entry into social and family life.

Their marriage exemplifies the cultural conflict that exists between the two most fundamental Hindu religious ideals: the householder and the renunciant ascetic.

Shiva and Parvati conceive offspring, but not in the traditional way: Skanda grows from Shiva's semen, which falls on the ground during their interrupted love-making, while Ganesh develops from the invigorated soil from Parvati's body.

Parvati, like other married Hindu deities, is seen as compassionate and gentle.

She may be spiteful in certain legendary myths, but on the whole she exudes a loving and motherly presence.

Her mythology is nearly completely linked to Shiva's, demonstrating her subjugation as the perfect wife, and her devotion is also frequently linked to him.

Parvati has a crucial role in tantra, a secret, ritual-based religious practice, since she is often shown as the one asking Shiva and later as the pupil receiving his instructions in tantric scriptures.

See David R. Kinsley's Hindu Deities, 1986, for further information about Parvati and all the Hindu goddesses.

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Hinduism - What Is The Nirjala Ekadashi?

 

The eleventh day (ekadashi) of the bright, waxing half of the lunar month of Jyeshth (May–June) is a religious celebration.

The eleventh-day observances are all devoted to the worship of Vishnu, the deity.

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

This ekadashi has more stringent requirements than the others.

Not only is all food prohibited, but the individual performing the ceremony must also refrain from drinking water, hence the term nirjala, which means "waterless." The fast must endure from sunrise until sunset.

Because this ekadashi falls during the warmest time of the year, this will be a difficult endeavor.

The benefits are substantial: Whether or whether they have performed the ceremonies for the other twenty-four ekadashis throughout the year, those who complete the vow for this one ekadashi get religious merit for all twenty-four ekadashis during the year.

Keeping the ekadashi promise is also said to ensure a long life and the liberation of the soul after death.

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Hinduism - Who Was Kabir?

 (middle of the 15th century?) A poet is considered as one of the most important religious personalities in northern India.

Kabir belonged to the Sants, a group of poet-saints from central and northern India who shared several characteristics: an emphasis on individualized, interior religion leading to a personal experience of the divine; disdain for external ritual, particularly image worship; belief in the power of the divine Name; and a tendency to ignore caste hierarchies.

Kabir was a devout follower of these ideas, and in his works, he openly criticizes any religious practice based on habit or custom, such as asceticism, unique ways of clothing, fasting (upavasa), image worship, caste, and text.

Kabir describes himself as a weaver (julaha) in his poems, and according to legend, he supported himself via this employment.

Kabir's background makes it impossible to associate him with a certain faith.

In Arabic, the name Kabir ("Great") is one of Allah's names in the Qur'an, indicating that he is a Muslim.

His poetry, on the other hand, demonstrates his extensive understanding of Hindu religious life.

The members of Kabir's julaha society were supposed to be new converts to Islam who had not yet completely integrated.

Kabir's poetry, on the other hand, plainly demonstrates that he was neither Hindu nor Muslim.

Kabir's appeal is probably due to his forthright, impassioned assertion that true religious accomplishment can only be attained via inward, individual experiences of the divine, which he refers to as Ram.

This is a word for the incomprehensible, ultimate Supreme Reality, not the god-king who is the hero of the Ramayana.

Both of these emphasizes reflect the Nathpanthi ascetics' influence, who also emphasized inward experience and yoga.

Kabir reportedly claimed in one of his songs that he had never put pen to paper since he was so engaged in the holy.

Many of his shorter epigrams have become conventional sayings, and his songs are still popular today.

Kabir's oldest attested poetry can be found in three major collections: one in the Adigranth, the Sikh scripture also known as the "Primal Book," another compiled by the Dadupanth, the religious organization founded by the Sant poet-saint Dadu, and the Bijak, compiled by the Kabirpanth, a religious community that claimed Kabir as its guru (religious preceptor).

These collections show substantial variances, indicating that they are not all from the same source.

For more information, see Charlotte Vaudeville's Kabir (1974); Linda Hess and Shukdev Singh's The Bijak of Kabir (1983); John S.

Hawley and Mark Juergensmeyer's Songs of the Saints of India (1988); Nirmal Dass' Songs of Kabir from the Adi Granth (1991); and David Lorenzen's Kabir Legends and Ananta-Das' Kabir Parachai (1991). 

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Hinduism - What Is Jnanakarmasamucchaya In Hindu Philosophy?

 ("consciousness and action in tandem") Members of the bhedabhada ("identity-in-difference") philosophical school encouraged religious discipline to eliminate the soul's bondage and rebirth (samsara).

Correct consciousness (jnana) and ritual activity (karma) were both crucial factors in achieving eventual soul liberation, according to this school.

The first phase was to lessen one's bad karmic dispositions, such as greed, wrath, and ignorance, by doing meritorious ritual deeds like as fasting (upavasa), devotion, and pilgrimage.

Meditation was used to totally eradicate these weaker dispositions.

Other philosophical schools, notably the Advaita Vedanta school, criticized the assumptions that underpin this path, claiming that ultimate liberation comes only through awareness. 

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