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STO-322-sec (The Witness for the Wedding) There once lived in Vidyanagar, South India, two Brahmins who decided to go on a pilgrimage. One brahmin was young and poor. The other was old and wealthy. The young man served the old man and made his trip as comfortable as possible. First they visited Gaya, then Kashi, […]
STO-304-sec When Hiranyakashipu heard of the death of his twin brother Hiranyaksha, he became enraged. Staring up into the sky with blazing eyes, he clenched his fists. “Fellow demons,” he cried out, “I will defeat the demigods and conquer the entire universe. I will destroy Vishnu by slicing His head from His body.” Afraid, though, […]
STO-111-sec This story is connected to the fourth avatar of Vishnu, Narasimha (the half-man, half-lion). Prahlada’s Birth Prahlada was the son of Hiranyakashipu, a great demon who conquered the demigods and took over the universe. Once while Hiranyakashipu was engaged in austerities, trying to become immortal, the demigods captured his wife, Kayadhu who was at […]
STO-322 Sakshi Gopal (The Witness for the Wedding) There once lived in Vidyanagar, South India, two Brahmins who decided to go on a pilgrimage. One brahmin was young and poor. The other was old and wealthy. The young man served the old man and made his trip as comfortable as possible. First they visited Gaya, […]
STO-304 When Hiranyakashipu heard of the death of his twin brother Hiranyaksha, he became enraged. Staring up into the sky with blazing eyes, he clenched his fists. “Fellow demons,” he cried out, “I will defeat the demigods and conquer the entire universe. I will destroy Vishnu by slicing His head from His body.” Afraid, though, […]
STO-111 This story is connected to the fourth avatar of Vishnu, Narasimha (the half-man, half-lion). Prahlada’s Birth Prahlada was the son of Hiranyakashipu, a great demon who conquered the demigods and took over the universe. Once while Hiranyakashipu was engaged in austerities, trying to become immortal, the demigods captured his wife, Kayadhu who was at […]
Word document download: ART-1202 Shankara was born to a brahmin couple, Shivaguru and Aryamba, in a little village called Kaladi in Kerala. The couple had remained childless for a long time, and prayed for children at the temple of Shiva in the nearby town of Trichur. Shiva is said to have appeared to the couple […]
Word document download: ART-0529 Ujjain is one of the main Kumbha Mela sites. See the Teachers’ Book, pages 72, 78 (Sandipani Muni painting) and page 101 (Mathematics). See also STO-320, the story of the turtle incarnation. According to the Aranya Parva of the Mahabharata, Ujjain is one of the seven sacred cities (dhamas) known as […]
Word document download: FCT-0402 Holi is perhaps the most rowdy and notorious of all Hindu festivals. It occurs on the full moon day of the month of Phalguna (February-March) and is essentially an outdoor festival welcoming the appearance of spring. Observant Hindus light bonfires, and parents carry their babies clockwise round the flames to invoke […]
Word document download: FCT-0401 Hinduism almost certainly has a longer list of festivals than any other religion. Everyday of the year, someone somewhere is celebrating a Hindu festival. For this reason, we cannot list them all here, but will concentrate on a few major ones. Pongal (January 14th or one day on either side) In […]
Dwarka: The Capital of Lord Krishna 5000 Years Ago Dwarka is connected to Lord Krishna and is mentioned in the Mahabharata and the Bhagavat Purana. It is one of the four holy dhamas (See Teachers’ Book, page 72). Over 5000 years ago, after He left Mathura, Lord Krishna spent one hundred years in his capital, […]
Varanasi: The City of Lord Shiva Varanasi is perhaps the most important place of pilgrimage and is closely connected so Shiva. It also relates to the funeral ceremony . Varanasi is situated on the bank of the River Ganges. The name “Varanasi” comes from the two rivers, Varna and Assi, which join the Ganges on […]
Incarnation 4 Narasingha – The Man-Lion When Hiranyakashipu heard of the death of his twin brother Hiranyaksha, he became enraged. Staring up into the sky with blazing eyes, he clenched his fists. “Fellow demons,” he cried out, “I will defeat the demigods and conquer the entire universe. I will destroy Vishnu by slicing His head […]
6. THE TEN AVATARS The ten incarnations of Vishnu are a recurrent theme in Vedic history. Vishnu exists outside the material realm as the creator, and he exists within every being as the Supersoul. He also enters this world as avatar, ‘one who descends’, to restore balance whenever his presence is needed. His descent is […]
Download article ‘ART-1211. Pushti Marg’ as word document About the Pushti Marg Sampradaya “Pushtimarg” translates as ‘the path of nourishment, and refers to a five hundred year old tradition founded by Vallabha (or Vallabhacharya). This tradition is well represented in the UK, although it is somewhat inconspicuous as there are few (if any) temples solely […]
Glossary Many proper names are listed under this glossary with the link reference. These include names of places, people, festivals, organisations, and sacred texts. A Adi Shankara – well-known theologian and founder of the advaita school. Also called Adi Shankaracharya. Advaita – non-dualism, the name of the theology equating the soul with God. Advaitin – […]