Eastern Philosophy
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by Octavian Sarbatoare (BA USyd) The present paper attempts to discuss the nature and role of Vedic sacrifice in Vedic literature and the ways this topic is expressed by relevant commentators on the subject. Issues of Vedic practices will be discussed along with their purpose, in so taking into account the historical approach to sacrifice/ offering (yajna/ agnihotra/ homa/ agnihoma/ havan) and its evolution in time. The period covered is from the early era of Vedic literature known as Samhitas, until the later era dominated by the Upanishads.
Yajna, the Vedic Sacrifice
Fate, Free Will, and the Laws of Karma In most people's minds, "free will" has two relatively distinct properties. The first is the idea that what one does is in some sense "free", that is "not determined by something else".
Fate, Free Will, and the Laws of Karma
During the past six years I have read hundreds of books published in the Western world on Near Death Experiences (NDE), Out of Body Experiences (OBE) remembering past and future lives through hypnotic regression, resear on death and reincarnation, lucid dreaming, prophecies, ESP, clairvoyance and even on the spirit world as seen by mediums or through mind's eye of subjects who are in a hypnotized or super conscious state and who were able to describe what their soul was doing between lives on earth. What was fascinating to me was the consistency in every single book about the Purpose of Life, Laws of Karma and Reincarnation, even though the books were written by different authors, who include physicians, certified hypno-therapists and ordinary people who claim to have crossed into the spirit world and returned. My information source can be classified into five broad types.
journey of the soul(s), reincarnation, karma theory, Newton's third law of motion, as you sow so you reap, are universal laws.
Some characteristics of the Nakshatras and how to use the Nakshatras in Vedic astrology or Jyotish
The 27 signs of the Vedic Lunar Zodiac are probably the oldest astrological system of mankind. This system is so rich in mythology and meaning that we can say that it provides a system of interpretation of its own. There is no reason why it should be subordinate to the system of the 12 "Sun signs". This article contains of two parts. In the first part I will look at some characteristics of the Nakshatra system. This will be particularly interesting for the more advanced student.
Kashmir Shaivism Teachings
Chapter 5 The Explanation of the Means - Upayas The meaning of the Sanskrit word upaya is “means.” The word upaya in Kashmir Shaivism is used to indicate the means to enter into Universal God Consciousness from individual consciousness. Our Shaivism proclaims that there are three means for entering into Universal God Consciousness: shambhavopaya , the supreme means; shaktopaya , the medium means; and anavopaya , the inferior means. Shambhavopaya Shambhavopaya functions in matrikacakra, pratyahara, and pratibimbavada. "The definition, given in the Malini Vijaya Tantra for shambhavopaya is – “the one who preserves thoughtlessness.”
Secret Supreme Chapter 4 - Pratibimbavada In the ordinary worldly course, sound is reflected outwardly in ether and inwardly in the ear. Touch is reflected outwardly in air and inwardly in the skin. Form is reflected outwardly in fire and in a mirror, and inwardly in the eye.
Kashmir Shaivism Teachings
shivatANDavastotraM with meaning
%@@1 % File name : shivTAND_meaning.itx %-------------------------------------------- % Text title : shivataaNDava stotra with meaning % Author : Vedic tradition % Language : Sanskrit % Subject : philosophy/hinduism % Description/comments : % Transliterated by : Girish Beeharry (gkb@icarus.uom.ac.mu), SArada kALiSeTTy This page uses Unicode utf-8 encoding for devanagari. Please set the fonts and languages setting in your web browser to display the correct Unicode font. Some help is available at Notes on Viewing and Creating Devanagari Documents with Unicode Support. Some of the Unicode fonts for Devanagari are linked at http://devanaagarii.net and for Sanskrit Transliteration/Diacritics are available at IndUni Fonts . Questions, comments?
[Tappan Introduction] BHARTRIHARI was a ruler who lived at some time early in the Christian era. He abandoned the luxuries of his throne and made his home in the forest, where he could meditate at his will and be free from the honors and temptations of life in a palace. ONE law there is: no deed perform To others that to thee were harm; And this is all, all laws beside With circumstances alter or abide.
Indian History Sourcebook: King Bhartrihari: One Law There Is, c. 100 CE
The point of departure of Yoga meditation is concentration on a single object; whether this is a physical object (the space between the eyebrows, the tip of the nose, something luminous, etc.), or a thought (a metaphysical truth), or God ( Ishvara ) makes no difference. This determined- and continuous concentration, called ekagrata ('on a single point'), is obtained by integrating the psychomental flux ( sarvarthata, 'variously directed, discontinuous, diffused attention'). This is precisely the definition of yogic technique: yogah cittavritti-nirodhyah , i.e., the yoga is the suppression of psychomental states (Yoga-sutras, 1, 2). The immediate result of ekagrata, concentration on a single point, is prompt and lucid censorship of all the distractions and automatisms that dominate -or, properly speaking, compose-profane consciousness.
CONCENTRATION 'ON A SINGLE POINT' - Specialists of the Sacred - Yoga and Buddhism - Mircea Eliade, "From Primitives to Zen"
(' Shatapatha Brahmana ,' XI, 5,) This selection from one of the latest and best known of the Brahmanas is a welcome expansion of a love story begun, but not concluded, in the most famous of the Rig Veda 'dialogue' (samvada) hymns, X, 95. The tale recurs in the Mahabharata and the Puranas, and was used by Kalidasa for his drama Vikramorvashi. The Gandharvas and the Apsarases-ancient classes of celestial beings who in the later Samhitas are often associated with waters and trees-are, like many forest creatures, sometimes friendly, sometimes hostile to men. King Pururavas falls happily in love with the nymph, Urvashi, until the Gandharvas separate the lovers by a ruse and the lonely king seeks the ritual means whereby he too may become a proper forest creature, a Gandharva . The nymph Urvashi loved Pururavas the son of Ida. 1 When she married him she said: You must embrace me three times a day, but never lie with me against my will.
MYTH AND RITUAL - Man and the Sacred - Rituals, oracles, prescriptions and devotion - Mircea Eliade, "From Primitives to Zen"
How has "Black" changed your life? People ask me why I did a supporting role. I'm baffled by the question.
I won't think of myself as a misfit: Nandana Sen
Pali Chanting in Theravada Buddhist Tradition
Pali Chanting in the Theravada Buddhist Tradition * Basic Pronunciation Vandanâ Namô Tassa Bhagavatô Arahatô Sammâ-Sambuddhassa (3x) Homage to the Triple Gems Homage to Him, the Blessed One, the Exalted One, the Fully Enlightened One.Deities in Buddhism Many Mahayanists, but especially Vajrayana Buddhists, utilize images of buddhas and bodhisattvas in their practice. Tibetan Buddhism especially, is famous for a highly developed iconography used to express aspects of the existence of the Buddha and his teachings (known as the Dharma) in scroll paintings called tangkas [sometimes spelled thangkas .] Also, cast metal, wooden, clay, plaster, "resin," and stone images (Skt. rupa , form) are used on personal shrines, in temples and in teaching centres.
Deities
The 3 Kayas
The 3 Bodies of the Buddha [ trikaya ] Trikaya is a Sanskrit word used in the Buddhist context to refer to levels of manifestation or activity. Tri means three and trikaya as a concept concerns three levels of buddhahood.Buddhism A. Are you a Buddhist God?
Basic Tenets of Buddhism
Hindi