religion

Gautam Buddha

Gautam Buddha is the founder of Buddhism, the religion practiced by millions in this world. Hindu religion considers him as an avatar of Vishnu. He was born to Mahamaya the chief wife of King Suddhodhana of Sakyas. His mother had a dream in which she was carried by demigods to divine lake called Anavatapa in Himalayas. She was bathed by heavenly guardians. A great white elephant holding a lotus in his trunk came and entered her side. The dream was interpreted by king’s astrologers that a child would be born to her who shall either become a great emperor or… Read More »Gautam Buddha

The Mother Godess

Mother Goddesses have been worshiped at all the times of history by the Hindus. They were mostly worshiped as the spouses of the Gods. From Harappa period to Gupta Period, their worship was only little known. Only in the Middle ages they emerged from obscurity as the upper classes of society began worshiping them. She was considered as the Sakti, the strength or potency of her male counterpart. While the God was inactive and transcendent, she was active and immanent. By Gupta period, many of these Goddesses acquired their own independent identity and began to be venerated at special temples.… Read More »The Mother Godess

Sacred Rivers

In Hindu religion, anything can become pious. God pervades everything ranging from the mammoth stars to the tiniest atoms. All the innate things are the forms of the God. God is everywhere, omnipresent. Therefore even stones can become the objects of veneration. So many kinds of trees, rivers, hills and mountains are revered in Hinduism. Many of them have some form of association with the Gods. For example, the rat is the vehicle of Lord Ganesha. Siva mounts the bull Nandi which can be seen in the stone casts squatting outside the temples of Siva. There is a mammoth statue… Read More »Sacred Rivers

Shiva: The Most Adorable God

Shiva or Siva is a great ascetic. He is like a bridge between the humans on the earth and Gods in the heaven. The great Yogi sits in meditation on the tiger skin on the high slopes of Mount Kailash in Himalayas. Through his deep meditation the world is maintained. He wears his long matted hair (Jata) in a topknot with crescent moon fixed on his forehead and sacred river Ganga flows from the knot. His neck is black, scarred by the poison which was the last product of churning of the cosmic ocean and which he drank to save… Read More »Shiva: The Most Adorable God

Rama

Rama is the hero of epic Ramayana. Ramayana which is revered in India is little more than a quarter of Mahabharata. It is different in style and content from Mahabharata which contains many interpolation. The style of Ramayana bears some kinship to that of classical Sanskrit poetry. Ramayana is older than Mahabharata but major narrative portions of Mahabharata are said to be appreciably older. Some scholars think that Mahabharata is older than Ramayana. Ramayana was composed by sage Valmiki who was contemporary of Rama. The central scene of the poem is Ayodhya which was the capital of old kingdom of… Read More »Rama

Hinglaj

North West of Indian subcontinent has been the cradle of one of the great civilizations that flourished in the world once upon a time. The great Indus Valley Civilization existed here. Although the name suggests that it might have been situated along the coast of Indus valley because two sites namely Harrapa in Punjab and Mohenjo Daro have been found along the great river. And why on the river? Because river nourishes life. Early civilizations when population pressure was not much tended to settle down near the rivers. It has been now established that the civilization was not confined to… Read More »Hinglaj

Milking the Great

In India, there are always plenty of people with vested interests. They hijack the name of some great man and exploit it for religious, political and other interest by creating the frenzy among the gullible people. But ultimate aim is to create a life of riches and comfort for themselves and their coming generations. For this they even don’t spare their own innocent people. Take for example, Mahatma Gandhi. He tried his best to become apolitical and urged to disband the congress on the logic that its role is over once the country became independent. No one bothered to listen… Read More »Milking the Great

Smallest Koran

Some people in India can write on a rice. It is a very painstaking work. Similarly there are copies of Holy books which are miniatures. One such smallest copy of the Muslim holy book, the Koran, is kept at Ningxia Museum in Northwest China’s. It has been identified as the smallest Koran in the world. The copy weighs just 1.10 grams. Its dimensions are 19.6 mm length, 13.2 mm width, and 6.1 mm thickness. It is covered with mauve Kraft paper with ethnic designs, the Egyptian National Emblem and Arabic text which reads . “This is a worshipful Alcoran, only… Read More »Smallest Koran

Rastafarians

Remember Bob Marley with a special hairdo. He was called a Rasta because he practiced Rastafarian religion which began in Jamaica in 1930. Most followers were poor people of African descent brought by the British in West Indies as labours. It is both a religion and a social movement. They were oppressed and it was a reaction to this oppression. Rastafarians believe that their God is Jah who is in fact Haile Sellassie, the king of Ethiopia. They believe that Christ was black. The religion is not strictly religion but a way of life. It says that in every living… Read More »Rastafarians