2018 is the best year for Aquarius or Kumbha Moon sign. Dasha vs Transits Vedic astrology uses dasas and transits to determine good and bad periods in a person’s life. In the dasa system we look at grahas at three levels – maha dasa, antar dasa, and pratyantar dasa. Among these, the graha running the […]
The Upanishads follow a standard pattern. They have a teacher, a student, and the student’s questions. We will explore the Upanishads, teachers, students, and questions for the most important Upanishads. The Vedas are broken into four parts. Samhitas are the collection of mantras or hymns. Brahmanas explain how to use the mantras in rituals. Aranyakas […]
Puja (prayer) is often cited as the first step in one’s spiritual journey. Adi Sankara understood in the 8th century AD that people’s life was becoming very hectic. They did not have the time to perform the rituals associated with puja in Hinduism. Therefore, he composed “Shiva Manasa Puja” to give everyone a way to […]
It is good to carve out some time every day for some simple Hindu prayers. The idea is to find ways to reduce the amount of time the mind spends on mundane thoughts. Prayers are mentioned as a good first step towards self realization in the Upadesa Saram by Sri. Ramana Maharishi. He goes on to say […]
Animals and birds play a prominent role in Hinduism. For example, every god uses an animal as their mode of transportation. The vehicle and the god form an interdependence. The animal helps the god perform his or her duties more effectively. For example, the bull is Shiva’s “vahana”. The bull represents strength and therefore adds to Shiva’s strength. […]
Nirvana Shatakam is a composition by Sri Adi Sankara. The back story is remarkable. When Sankara was 8 years, he set out to find a guru. At the banks of the Narmada river he met Guadapada how asked Sankara “Who are you”? Sankara responded with the six stanzas that make up Nirvana Shatakam. Guadapada accepted […]
Mandukya Upanishad Turiya Atma, asserts that our true nature, Atma, is the “Turiya” state. In this state there is no “Mind”. So, how do you describe a state that is beyond the Mind? This is the paradox that the Upanishad wants us to reflect on. The Mind imagines anything that we can imagine. The Mind […]
Part I provides the summary of the Mandukya Upanishad. This part focuses on the fact that Mandukya Upanishad states life is but a dream. Part II delves deeper into verses 3 and 4, describing the waking and dream states. Mandukya Upanishad asserts that waking state is as illusory or as real as the dream state. […]
Mandukya Upanishad is part of the Atharva Veda. It is the shortest among all Upanishads. The 12 terse verses provide the essence of all vedanta. In fact, Muktiko Upanishad states that Mandukya alone is sufficient to realize the state of liberation. This blog covers the Mandukya Upanishad summary. There are many posts on the web […]