Dukha

Dukha is a Sanskrit and Pali word that can be translated to mean “suffering.” It is an important concept in Buddhism and yogic philosophy. The first of the Four Noble Truths in Buddhism states that life is suffering, or life is dukha. Thus, Buddha’s teachings were centered around the cessation and transcendence of dukha. Different schools of thought take different approaches to dukha. In Buddhism, it is considered necessary to study and understand the causes and nature of dukha in order to overcome it....

March 4, 2022 · 2 min · TheAum

Durga

Durga (Sanskrit: दुर्गा, IAST: Durgā) is a major deity in Hinduism She is worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Devi and is one of the most popular and widely revered among Indian divinities She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction and wars Her legend centres around combating evils and demonic forces that threaten peace, prosperity, and Dharma the power of good over evil Durga is believed to unleash her divine wrath against the wicked for the liberation of the oppressed, and entails destruction to empower creation...

March 4, 2022 · 2 min · TheAum

Duryodhana

Duryodhana (Sanskrit: दुर्योधन, IAST: Duryodhana) also known as Suyodhana, is the main antagonist in the Hindu epic Mahabharata and was the eldest of the Kauravas, the hundred sons of a blind king Dhritarashtra and queen Gandhari Being the firstborn son of the blind king, he was the crown prince of Kuru Kingdom and its capital Hastinapura along with his cousin Yudhishtra who was older than him Karna was Duryodhana’s closest friend...

March 4, 2022 · 1 min · TheAum

Dvaita

Tattvavada (IAST:Tattvavāda; also popularly known as Dvaita Vedanta; ), is a sub-school in the Vedanta tradition of Hindu philosophy Alternatively known as Bhedavāda, Bimbapratibimbavāda, Pūrnabrahmavāda and Svatantra-Advitiya-Brahmavāda, the Dvaita Vedanta sub-school was founded by the 13th-century scholar Madhvacharya The Dvaita Vedanta school believes that God and the individual souls (jīvātman) exist as independent realities, and these are distinct, being said that Vishnu (Narayana) is independent, and souls are dependent on him...

March 4, 2022 · 1 min · TheAum

Dwapara Yuga

The Dvapara Yuga in Hinduism, is the third and third best of the four yugas (world ages) in a Yuga Cycle, preceded by Treta Yuga and followed by Kali Yuga Dvapara Yuga lasts for 864,000 years (2,400 divine years) According to the Puranas, this yuga ended when Krishna returned to his eternal abode of Vaikuntha There are only two pillars of religion during the Dvapara Yuga: compassion and truthfulness Vishnu assumes the colour yellow and the Vedas are categorized into four parts: Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda...

March 4, 2022 · 1 min · TheAum

Ekadasi

Ēkādaśī (“Eleventh”), also spelled as Ēkādaśi, is the eleventh lunar day (tithi) of each of the two lunar phases which occur in an vedic calendar month - the Shukla Pakṣa (the period of the brightening moon also known as the waxing phase) and the Kṛṣṇa Pakṣa (the period of the fading moon also known as the waning phase) It is according to the Vedic medical texts of Ayurveda and is mentioned in detail in many original treatises such as Charaka Samhita and Susruta Samhita...

March 4, 2022 · 2 min · TheAum

Ekam

Ekam is the Sanskrit for “one, single, solitary” (neuter gender), as a noun meaning “unity” In Ayyavazhi and Hinduism, it refers to a concept of monism akin to that of Brahman in Advaita philosophy and Smarta theology

March 4, 2022 · 1 min · TheAum

Gandabherunda

The Gandaberunda or Berunda (Kannada: ಗಂಡಭೇರುಂಡ gaṇḍabheruṇḍa), or Bheruṇḍa (Sanskrit: भेरुण्ड, lit terrible) is a two-headed bird in Hindu mythology, believed to possess immense magical strength It is a form of Vishnu to fight Sharabha, a form of Shiva created to destroy Vishnu’s lion-man Narasimha avatar It was the emblem of the erstwhile Kingdom of Mysore under the Wodeyar kings, and after India attained independence, it was retained by Mysore state as its emblem...

March 4, 2022 · 1 min · TheAum

Ganesh

Ganesha (Sanskrit: गणेश, IAST: Gaṇeśa), also known as Ganapati and Vinayaka, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon His image is found throughout India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia (Java and Bali), Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, and Bangladesh and in countries with large ethnic Indian populations including Fiji, Guyana, Mauritius, and Trinidad and Tobago Hindu denominations worship him regardless of affiliations Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains and Buddhists...

March 4, 2022 · 2 min · TheAum

Ganesh Chaturthi

Ganesh Chaturthi (ISO: Gaṇeśa Caturthī), also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi (Vināyaka Caturthī), or Vinayaka Chaviti (Vināyaka Cavitī) is a Hindu festival celebrating the arrival of Lord Ganesh to earth from Kailash Parvat with his mother Goddess Parvati/Gauri The festival is marked with the installation of Lord Ganesh’s clay murtis privately in homes and publicly by Shri Bal Gangadhar Tilak popularly known as Lokmanya Tilak in Pune in the year 1893 on elaborate pandals (temporary stages)...

March 4, 2022 · 2 min · TheAum

Ganga

The Ganges ( GAN-jeez) (in India: Ganga ( GUNG-ə); in Bangladesh: Padma ( PUD-mə)) is a trans-boundary river of Asia which flows through India and Bangladesh The 2,525 km (1,569 mi) river rises in the western Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand It flows south and east through the Gangetic plain of North India, where it receives the right-bank tributary, the Yamuna which also rises in the western Indian Himalayas, and several left-bank tributaries from Nepal that account for the bulk of its flow...

March 4, 2022 · 2 min · TheAum

Gaudiya Vaishnava

Gaudiya Vaishnavism (IAST: Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism), also known as Bengali Vaishnavism, Chaitanya Vaishnavism, the Bengali/Chaitanya/Gaudiya Sampradaya, Chaitanyaism and Gaura Dharma, is a Vaishnava Hindu religious movement inspired by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1534) in India “Gaudiya” refers to the Gaura or Gauḍa region of Bengal, with Vaishnavism meaning “the worship of Vishnu” Specifically, it is part of Krishnaism—Krishna-centric Vaishnavite traditions Its theological basis is primarily that of the Bhagavad Gita and Bhagavata Purana (known within the tradition as the Srimad Bhagavatam), as interpreted by early followers of Chaitanya, such as Sanatana Goswami, Rupa Goswami, Jiva Goswami, Gopala Bhatta Goswami and others...

March 4, 2022 · 2 min · TheAum

Geeta Iyengar

Impermanence, also known as the philosophical problem of change, is a philosophical concept addressed in a variety of religions and philosophies In Eastern philosophy it is notable for its role in the Buddhist three marks of existence It is also an element of Hinduism In Western philosophy it is most famously known through its first appearance in Greek philosophy in the writings of Heraclitus and in his doctrine of panta rhei (everything flows)...

March 4, 2022 · 1 min · TheAum

Gheranda Samhita

Gheranda Samhita (IAST: gheraṇḍasaṁhitā, घेरंडसंहिता, meaning “Gheranda’s collection”) is a Sanskrit text of Yoga in Hinduism It is one of the three classic texts of hatha yoga (the other two being the Hatha Yoga Pradipika and the Shiva Samhita), and one of the most encyclopedic treatises in yoga Fourteen manuscripts of the text are known, which were discovered in a region stretching from Bengal to Rajasthan The first critical edition was published in 1933 by Adyar Library, and the second critical edition was published in 1978 by Digambarji and Ghote...

March 4, 2022 · 1 min · TheAum

Goraksha

Gorakhnath (also known as Goraksanath, early 11th century) was a Hindu yogi, saint who was the influential founder of the Nath Hindu monastic movement in India and Nepal He is considered one of the two notable disciples of Matsyendranath His followers are found in India, at the place known as Garbhagiri, which is in Ahmednagar in the state of Maharashtra These followers are called yogis, Gorakhnathi, Darshani or Kanphata He was one of nine saints also known as Navnath and is widely popular in Maharashtra, India and dumgaon, Uttarakhand (where there worshipers do difficult tapasya in himalayas for a month sometimes 6 months or more)...

March 4, 2022 · 2 min · TheAum