Understanding Hinduism

Hinduism is a very old religion, very profound in its philosophy and has multiple paths that lead to attaining the highest goal -- God realization or Self realization. Hinduism is a vast religion in its scope. By virtue of existence of various schools of philosophies, sects and subsects, various God-forms of worship and availablility of numerous books of scripture and interpretations, Hinduism may look too mind boggling to grasp for people from other religions. Even many Hindus are at best knowledgeable about Hinduism mostly confined to the beliefs of their own sects or sub-sects and are often too inclined to quarrel with people following a different sect or school of phylosophy. Unlike other religions, Hinduism is fortunately gifted with a continuous stream of arrival of great religious masters (Avatars, Jivan Muktas, Saints and sages) from time to time to guide earnest seekers towards the highest goal of life, most suited to the times of their arrival and to individuals' temperament and tastes. To get a bird's eye-view of Hinduism and all its facets, Read ----> THIS Understanding Hindu God forms < Understanding the concept of God in Hinduism > Hinduism actually accepts worshiping and adoring varying forms of the One God - called Brahman, Parabrahman or Paramatman. Hinduism recognizes the fact that different people have different tastes, temperaments and capacity of intake in the matter of religion. Hence it offers 'different strokes for different folks'.... < Are there really 330 million Gods in Hinduism? > That in Hinduism there are 330 million Gods is a misinformation created by non-Hindu (mostly western) scholars. Nothing could be more damning than such a misinterpretation to the religion. According to Hindu Puranas (Holy mythology), there are a category of extra-terrestrial beings called Devas, whose ... < Vishnu -- The Protector > < Shiva -- The Lord of Destruction and the Cosmic Dancer > < Brahma -- The Creator > < Narasimha -- An Avatar of Vishnu > < Kali, the ferocious Goddess, and the loving Divine Mother of Ramakrishna > < Murugan - The Popular God of Tamils across the globe > Murugan is hailed as the Lord of Tamils by poets and Tamil cultural exponents who take pride in the uniqueness of Tamil culture. Murugan is a popular deity widely worshiped in Tamil Nadu and also in Kerala, Karnataka and Srilanka.
Some Core philosophies Elaborated < Understanding the concept of Karma in Hinduism > The concepts of Karma and rebirth are two major pillars of Hindu philosophy. Buddhism and Jainism, the two other religions which have their origins in Hinduism too accept the concepts of Karma and rebirth. "Karma" means work or action.... < Ramakrishna's prescription for the monk and the householder > < What is Nirvikalpa Samadhi? > < Understanding the role of Guru in Hinduism > The word "guru" in general means a teacher in Sanskrit. In the generic sense, any teacher, whether the one who teaches worldly knowledge or the one who teaches spiritual wisdom, is a guru. But normally, from the point of Hindu religion, a guru is one who teaches you spiritual knowledge, who initiates you into a spiritual path or who guides you along the path of a spiritual quest.... < Understanding Trigunas - Human Psychology according to Hinduism > In Hinduism, Trigunas, a profound concept about the constitution of human mind, is explained. It encompasses Sattwa - purity, Rajas - activeness and Tamas - laziness.... Book Review: The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna - a single source book on Hinduism by C.V.Rajan THE GOSPEL OF SRI RAMAKRISHNA I am pleased to introduce to my readers the holy book "THE GOSPEL OF SRI RAMAKRISHNA", which was originally Written in Bengali by "Ma-" (Mahendranath Gupta) and trans...read more Write Take a quiz!! Know your personality based on Hindu ancient psychology Just answer 'yes' or 'no' to 30 simple questions and based on your score, assess your character! TAKE THIS QUIZ . . . Understanding free will and God's will The dilemma about free will and God's will exists in every religion and in Hinduism, too, there are questions and explanations available on this subject. Any earnest seeker of God in quest of the ultimate truth will always pose this question to his Guru and seek an explanation. R E A D M O R E . . .	Krishna - An Avataar of Vishnu by C.V.Rajan One of the basic and very important aspects of Hinduism is the concept of Avatar. It is the fundamental belief in Hinduism that God descends to earth from time to time to take birth as Human or other ...read more Write An introduction to meditation and its different forms by C.V.Rajan WHAT IS MEDITATION? Meditation is a disciplined practice to attain control of the mind, whose very nature is vacillation, by way of limiting the flow of thoughts, ultimately leading to a state of c...read more Write The role of prayer in Hinduism by C.V.Rajan Prayer is the way of communication with God. In the path of Bhakti (devotion) in Hinduism, prayer is one of the essential and natural acts. God is omnipresent and omnipotent; He is the creator, the p...read more Write Reincarnation: Is it possible to return as an animal in your next life? by C.V.Rajan Hinduism simply says unfulfilled desires are the cause of rebirth. Not only desires, but even vasanas (subtle tastes developed in enjoying or suffering worldly pleasures, which get deeply embedded in ...read more Write New ! Conversion to Hinduism -- Does Hinduism accept it? Not all religious persons are alike - there is a wide difference in class! by C.V.Rajan THE VARIOUS CLASSES OF RELIGIOUS FOLLOWERS Faith in God and the need for Religion, despite the propagation against them by many rationalists, are deeply rooted in the psyches of human beings across...read more Write New! Removing some common misconceptions about Hinduism there are many misconceptions commonly prevalent about Hinduism, some propagated by vested interests, some by ill-informed westerners and some by self-doubting Hindus. Here is an attempt to clear up some of those misconceptions. R e a d m o r e . . .
Showing Comments 1 to 10 of 10 Elisabeth Mcgrath Posted on: Apr 15, 09 at 11:27 AM Congratulations, C.V. A truly inspiring zone, visually, educationally and a credit to its creator. Chavie Cyn Posted on: Apr 14, 09 at 03:22 PM Hinduism seems a REAL peaceful religion. Nice place you have! Sangeeta Deogawanka Posted on: Apr 07, 09 at 05:07 AM Dear C.V., Congrats on publishing such a complete vision of what Hinduism is all about ! Very attractively done ... has the makings of being the best resource on Hinduism on the web. "Nandri" from another Hindu. Ann Marie Dwyer Posted on: Apr 01, 09 at 11:04 AM You have done a beautiful job with this Zone! Very thorough look into a diverse and rich culture. Raven Lebeau Posted on: Mar 29, 09 at 09:45 PM A very nice-looking and informative zone! I read your article about the misunderstanding regarding the number of Hindu gods. It was very interesting and well-written. This looks like a good place to start for anyone interested in learning more about Hinduism. The photos you've chosen are excellent visual elements too. Petra Newman Posted on: Mar 28, 09 at 04:56 AM Hi C.V. Rajan; This is a most interesting zone. Your articles are fascinating and informative. It opened my eyes to your culture and religion. Cody Hodge Posted on: Mar 27, 09 at 07:06 AM Hey, great zone, a lot of good information my friend. C.V.Rajan Posted on: Mar 27, 09 at 01:37 AM Thank you Olivia and Melissa for your kind comments Olivia Bredbenner Posted on: Mar 26, 09 at 09:49 PM Hi C.V. I am planning to come back and learn more about Hinduism. Your have put together a beautiful zone. Learning about one other on Helium is one of the things I like best. Olivia Melissa R. Bickel Posted on: Mar 26, 09 at 08:35 PM C.V. It is interesting to see different Helium writers in their different elements. I know things are at times on Helium tense, but it's good to see the person behind the voice or pen in their zone so to speak. I enjoyed traversing your zone! Enter your comment below Submit your Comment If you are a registered Helium member, you may login and then leave your own comment. Flag Inappropriate Content

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Moral lessons you can learn from Ramayana

by C.V.Rajan

Ramayana is just not a mythological story; it is one of the two "itihas" most widely read and revered by Hindus. Itihas means "thus happened"; Ramayana is considered the true story of Rama, the king o...read more
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Quick tips for inner peace

by C.V.Rajan

"WHAT is this life if full of care, We have no time to stand and stare?" The poet W H Davies' lament reflects in a nutshell the hopeless state to which human life has entangled itself in to. The ...read more
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How to conduct yourself inside a Hindu Temple

Step 1

Whether you are visiting a temple as a devotee or as a tourist, you should know how to conduct yourself at the holy premises. You may be surprised to notice that in reality even many of the devotees of God and the staff of the temple may not be following some of the guidelines here, but that need not be an excuse for you to ignore them.

Step:1 Leave your footwear outside the temple premises.

R E A D M O R E . . .

New !

Is it really possible to see God?

If God is attributed with name and form, can you see God in one of His glorious forms that Hindus worship? If God is perceived to be formless, can you in some way unequivocally feel His presence? If you are a Christian and you believe that Jesus is the son of God and believe his words that the father and the son are one, can you see Jesus?

R e a d m o r e . . .

How to Choose Hindu Baby Names

In Hinduism, practically every aspect of human life is intrinsically connected to religion, whether explicitly known or unknown to the common man. Naming of a baby too falls into the category.Hinduism believes that the name of God is very holy and uttering God's name, consciously or unconsciously has its spiritual benefits.

Naturally, naming of children predominantly with divine names is most prevalent in Hinduism. It is widely believed that by calling out the child, you are in fact uttering the name of a God and by that a spiritual benefit accrues to you.

R E A D M O R E ....

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Hinduism is a very old religion, very profound in its philosophy and has multiple paths that lead to attaining the highest goal -- God realization or Self realization.

Understanding Hindu God forms

Some Core philosophies Elaborated

Book Review: The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna - a single source book on Hinduism

Take a quiz!! Know your personality based on Hindu ancient psychology

Understanding free will and God's will

Krishna - An Avataar of Vishnu

An introduction to meditation and its different forms

The role of prayer in Hinduism

Reincarnation: Is it possible to return as an animal in your next life?

New !

Not all religious persons are alike - there is a wide difference in class!

New!

Showing Comments 1 to 10 of 10

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Moral lessons you can learn from Ramayana

Quick tips for inner peace

How to conduct yourself inside a Hindu Temple

New !

How to Choose Hindu Baby Names