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Jagannatha Puri: The City of Jagannatha – The Lord of the Universe Puri is one of the four holy dhamas and is important mainly to Vaishnavas and Smartas. Jagannatha Puri is one of the four holy dhamas of India. The others are Dwarka, Rameswaram and Badrinatha. Jagannatha Puri is called Shri Purusottama Dhama or Martya […]
Prayers (primary version) (word document download) Hindu Prayers Keep in mind that many Hindu songs, poems and mantras are also a form of prayer, and you may consult the corresponding material on this CD-Rom. It is also important to note that some of these prayers will need to be adapted for use with or by […]
Scriptural Verses D (secondary version) Section D – Verses Spoken on the Audio CD The following is a transcript of the verses on the Audio CD (Tracks 4-10), along with the accompanying narrative. There may be slight differences from the spoken version. Track 4 All but one of the following verses are from the Bhagavad […]
Scriptural Verses C (word document for download) Crime and punishment SPO-001 If a ruler did not readily punish those that deserve punishment the stronger would fry like fish on a stick the weaker ones, the crow would eat the sacrificial rice and the dog would lick the butter offering; nothing would anymore be one’s own […]
Scriptural Verses B (word document download) Verses on Core Values and Virtues Please also refer to the section on proverbs for further relevant verses. In here, there are four main categories, namely: A. Godly / Spiritual Qualities (general) B. Demonic / Materialistic Qualities (general) C. Specific Virtues D. Miscellaneous A. Godly / Spiritual Qualities (general) […]
Scriptural Verses A (word doc for download) Section A – Key Concepts Further passages on Hindu concepts can be found in Section D. Thios section goes through the 12 Key Concepts, as they explained in the Teacher’ Book 1. The Atman (the Soul) SPC-001 The Self, pure awareness, shines as the light Within the heart, […]
Prayers (secondary version) (word document download) Keep in mind that many Hindu songs and poems are also a form of prayer, and you may consult the corresponding material on this CD-Rom. Prayer for liberation and enlightenment From the temporary lead me to the eternal! From darkness lead me to light! From death lead me to […]
STO-501-sec King Sagar, the ruler of Ayodhya was of the Surya dynasty, and an ancestor of Rama. He performed the Asvamedha sacrifice ninety-nine times and each time the horse he sent around the earth returned to his kingdom unchallenged. Indra, the King of the Devas (gods), was jealous and during the hundredth sacrifice, he kidnapped […]
STO-503 Krishna lived in the village of Vrindavana. The men of the village were farmers and looked after cows and bulls. The ladies would milk the cows and make cream, cheese, yoghurt, butter and ghee. The bulls were used for ploughing and for pulling carts. One day, Krishna saw that the cowherd men were getting […]
STO-501 There was once a wise king called Sagara. He had 60,000 sons, who were all brave and strong. King Sagara was the greatest king on earth and the Emperor of the World. He started one-hundred great sacrifices to see if other kings accepted him as their emperor. The holy books said that anyone who […]
STO-215 Krishna and Sudama were friends who went to the same school. One day, Krishna and Sudama went out into the forest to collect firewood for their teacher, called Sandipani Muni. A great storm came and the two boys got lost in the forest. They had to spend the night there, sheltering underneath a giant […]
Download PDF: PCT-309 Sarasvati is the Goddess of Learning and the Arts, and is closely connected with all aspects of Hindu culture. Sarasvati has three main forms: As Vach (speech personified) As the Goddess of learning and the arts As the legendary river (now dried up) She is the daughter of Brahma, but became his […]
Word document download: ART-1207 Swami Vivekananda, possibly the most masterful personality of modern India “came, saw and conquered”. He lit the torch of resurgent Hinduism, particularly the Vedanta philosophy, in far-off America. He preached the gospel of his guru, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, throughout India and the world, reviving the faith of mankind in religion. With his […]
Word document download: ART-1205 Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was born in Navadwip, situated on the bank of the holy Ganges River in Bengal, on February 18th 1486. The moon was eclipsed at the time, and the people were then engaged, as was usual on such occasions, in bathing in the River Bhagirathi with loud cheers of […]
Word document download: ART-1203 Ramanuja is one of the three preeminent Vedantic theologians; the others are Madhva and Shankara. Shri Ramanuja is known as the greatest exponent of Vishishtadvaita Vedanta (qualified monism). He appeared around 1017 A.D in a pious brahmana family. His birthplace is a small village some 25 miles southwest of Madras (now […]
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: ART-0519 Nathdhwar is intimately related to the Pushti Marg tradition. Refer to the Teachers’ Book pages 75, 134, 144 and to the Audio CD, Track 18. This small town is famous as the home for Shri Nathji, one of the most popular deities of Lord Krishna in India. The name of the […]
Word document download: ART-0512 This site is important to the Vaishnava traditions (especially the Shri Vaishnavas and the Gaudiya Vaishnavas). The story of Lord Kurma can be found on the CD-Rom, code number STO-302. There is a temple here dedicated to Lord Kurma, the tortoise incarnation of the Lord. This temple is said to be […]
Word document download: ART-0508 Haridwar is connected with Krishna (Hari) and is one of the four Maha Kumbha Mela sites (See Teachers’ Book, page 72). Haridwar is on the west bank of the Ganges River at the foot of the Himalayan Mountains. Haridwar means “The gateway to Hari (Lord Vishnu)”. The Bhagavat Purana, written 5000 […]
Word document download: FCT-1202 The International Society for Krishna Consciousness is a World-wide community practising bhakti-yoga, the ancient science of devotional service to God. These communities, both rural and urban, are centred around temples in which the Lord is served and worshipped in His Deity form. The purpose of these temples is to create a […]
Word document download: FCT-1201 What is the Hare Krishna Movement? The Hare Krishna movement is the popular name for the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). Who started ISKCON? In 1965, an elderly monk, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (1896-1977), travelled alone from India to establish the culture of Krishna consciousness in the […]
Word document download: FCT-1101 The term ‘Hinduism‘ is somewhat arbitrary but broadly refers to the tradition whose members follow the sacred texts called the Vedas or the Vedic scriptures. There are two main categories of Vedic literature: – the shruti (that which is heard) – the smriti (that which is remembered). All traditions accept the […]
Word document download: FCT-0801 In Hinduism food is so important that the tradition is sometimes called “the kitchen religion”. No function is complete without the free distribution of food. Food and philosophy. Largely influenced by the doctrine of ahimsa, many Hindus are lacto-vegetarian, shunning all meat, fish and eggs, but those less strict will certainly […]
Word document download: FCT-0603 There are a number of ceremonies before birth, namely the purification of the womb (prior to conception) and two ceremonies during pregnancy. After birth, there are further samskaras and we list below seven of the most important. Keep in mind that specific practices and the timings vary considerably and that today […]
Word document download: FCT-0601 There are sixteen principle rites of passage which are called ‘Samskaras’ (purificatory rites). They are as follows: 1. Garbhadhana (Conception) 2. Pumsavana (Engendering a male issue) 3. Simantonayana (Parting the hair) 4. Jata Karma (Natal rites) 5. Namakarana (Naming) 6. Niskramana (First outing) 7. Anaprasa (First grains) 8. Chudakarrana (Tonsure) 9. […]
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 […]
Word document download: FCT-0301 The arati ceremony is the customary Hindu method of honouring a special guest, welcoming a friend, greeting a returned loved one, or worshipping the Lord. It is central to the process of Deity worship, whether at home or in the temple. Auspicious articles are offered to altar-pictures or the Deities. Worship […]
Word document download: FCT-0101 The soul (atma or atman) exists in all species of life and is the source of consciousness. The atma is eternal and unchangeable, as distinct from the temporary and ever-changing material body. It was not created at any time nor can it ever be destroyed. At the time of death the […]
Word document download: FCT-0002 WHAT IS HINDUISM? Hinduism does not refer to one religion with a single set of beliefs and practices, but is an umbrella term that embraces the religious and cultural life of the Indian sub-continent The name Hindu was given by the Persian invaders to refer to the various beliefs and practices […]