Q&A

Question Does the shloka ‘ahiṃsā paramo dharma’ or excerpt appear in Mahabharata? Answer Yes, this shloka is present in Mahabharata. 1) Adi Parva of Mahabharata: Sauti Muni talking about Rishi Sahasrapat tells Rishi Ruru about the characteristics of a brahamana. अहिंसा परमॊ धर्मः सर्वप्राणभृतां समृतः तस्मात पराणभृतः सर्वान न हिंस्याथ बराह्मणः कव चित Verily the highest virtue of man is sparing the life of others. Therefore a Brahmana should never take the life of any creature....

Question ‘Playing football takes us nearer to heaven rather than reading Bhagavad Gita’ but how and why? Answer Swami Vivekananda meant that a strong body can help you have the frame of mind needed to understand things like the Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita, and thus ultimately attain Jnana. Here's the quote in its original context: First of all, our young men must be strong. Religion will come afterwards. Be strong, my young friends; that is my advice to you....

Question Is fear not as bad as anger and lust? Answer Gita classifies fear as a bad quality as can be seen in this shloka: Freed from passion, fear and anger, ever absorbed in My thought, and ever dependent on Me - many have attained to My state, being purified by the fire of knowledge and austerity. Gita 4.10 Note: “The question: Is fear not as bad as anger and lust?...

Question Ravana - Who were his parents and siblings? Answer Ravana's parents were Vishrava (son of Pulastya) and Kaikesi (daughter of Sumali and Thataka). Kaikesi had two brothers Maricha and Subahu which would effectively make them Ravana's uncles. Ravana had six brothers and two sisters: Kubera – the King of North direction and the Guardian of Heavenly Wealth. He was an older half-brother of Ravana: they were born to the same father by different mothers....

Question Is Krishna mentioned in the Chandogya Upanishad? Answer Chandogya Upanishad declaration on Ghora Angirasa and Devaki Putra Krishna: taddhaitadghor āṅgirasaḥ kṛṣṇāya devakīputrāyoktvovācāpipāsa eva sa babhūva so'ntavelāyāmetattrayaṃ pratipadyetākṣitamasyacyutamasi prāṇasam̐śitamasīti tatraite dve ṛcau bhavataḥ ॥ The meaning of this mantra as given by shrI shankara and shrI madhva differs from that of shrI rAmAnuja. shrI shankara says: "Ghora Angirasa, after having communicated this (view of the sacrifice) to Krishna, the son of Devaki -- and he never thirsted again (after other knowledge)--said: 'Let a man, when his end approaches, take refuge with this Triad: "...

Question Is there anything against Islam in Hindu texts? Answer Hindu scriptures long predate the rise of Islam. I would say that Hindu-Muslim relationship has been bad for many centuries. The 1202 storm campaign of Muhammad Ghori resulted in the destruction of hundreds of Hindu temples. There is no doubt ( in spite of the efforts of secular historians) that Nalanda was destroyed by the Muslim invaders. The common Hindus were forced to pay Jizya tax....

Question How to differentiate between a spiritual experience and a mental disorder or delusion? Answer Modern Scientific studies of the Human Brain and Nervous System ,cybernetics,show that it is not possible to distinguish between these three states of consciousness -i.e. Spiritual Experience ,Insanity and Day Dreaming of a drunkard. Consider a situation ,where Doctors administer Chloroform to a patient , before surgery . This makes the patient Unconscious. The Doctors perform the surgery , the patient does not react ....

Question Is there any incarnation of God currently living among us? Answer From history it is evident that whoever revives Dharma in difficult times almost single-handedly is being considered as Avatar of God. Going by this definition in the recent past, in Mughal era, Chhatrapati Shivaji in Maharashtra could be called as an Avatar. Similarly, at the time of Vivekanand, Christian missionaries were raising huge funds in the Western countries for missionary work in India to convert poor and illiterate Hindus....

Question Did Rama have multiple wives? Answer Rama's father Maharaja Dasaratha had 3 Queens and 350 other wives. On the other hand, Rama is Ekapatni Vrata, the man who wedded only once. Sitadevi is his only wife. This is illustrated many times in the Ramayana, prominently in the episode of Surpanakha, where he denies her proposal saying he is Krta Darah, meaning one who has already married - this implies his Ekapatni Vrata....

Question Do Vedas talk about Moksha,Kaivalya or Mukti? Answer Where do these rumors come from? How could sannyas be post Buddhist when Buddha himself was a sannyasin?? First, sannyas is spoken of in the Vedas. See the Brahma Sutras verses 3.4.17-20 and 3.4.49 which has many vedic references to Sannyas. Chandogya Upanishad 2.23.1-2 (this and subsequent verses are translated by Swami Nikhilananda: There are three branches of duty; sacrifice, study, and charity are the first....

Question What would be the authentic source for Śrāddha vidhi? Answer Shraddha karma and other karmas like sandhyavandanam etc are described in Ghriya Sutras -: The sutras for domestic ritiuals Ghriya Sutras are decided according to your vedic shakha if you are a dwija. Following is the Description of Various Ghriya Sutras and the Vedas from which they are derived. R̥igveda Âśvalāyana-Gṛhyasūtra [4] Kausîtaki-Gṛhyasūtra (Bāṣkala śakha) Śāṅkhāyana-Gr̥hyasūtra 1 Sāmaveda Gobhila-Gṛhyasūtra Khādira-Gṛhyasūtra (Drāhyāyana-Gṛhyasūtra) Jaiminiya-Gṛhyasūtra Kauthuma-Gṛhyasūtra...

Question What does the word “mlechha” (म्लेच्छ) mean in the context of Hinduism? Answer Mleccha is a Sanskrit word which means 'barbarian, uncultured, foreigner, non-Vedic'. Aloka Parashara in his book, Mlecchas in Early India describes it as, Mleccha (and its equivalent milakkha) are usually translated as foreigner or barbarian. A translation which is inadequate in so many ways but not least because it implies that it was a word used by Indians to describe non-Indians....

Question Who is Rudra deva? Answer The reason why Shiva is called Rudra is described in this chapter of the Shatapatha Brahmana of the Rig Veda: [Brahma] said to him, 'My boy, why criest thou, when thou art born out of labour and trouble?' He said, 'Nay, but I am not freed from (guarded against) evil; I have no name given me: give me a name!' Hence one should give a name to the boy that is born, for thereby one frees him from evil;--even a second, even a third (name), for thereby one frees him from evil time after time....

Question Is there any difference between Moksha and Heaven? Answer Swarga or Haven is one of the seven loka whereas Moksha is the liberation/freedom from Samsara (the cycle of rebirth). The seven loka in Hindu cosmology are: Difference between Moksha & Heaven/Swarga: From wikipedia Heven#Hinduism: According to Hindu cosmology, above the earthly plane, are other planes: (1) Bhuva Loka, (2) Swarga Loka, meaning Good Kingdom, is the general name for heaven in Hinduism, a heavenly paradise of pleasure, where most of the Hindu Devatas (Deva) reside along with the king of Devas, Indra, and beatified mortals....

Question Help me to find out the verse : “Brahma satyam jagat mithya, jivo brahmaiva naparah” Answer Good question. Always quoted as Sankara, but no one gives the source text. It is from Sankara's Brahmajnanavalimala verse 20. It is available here 20. brahma satyam jaganmithyA jIvo brahmaiva nAparah anena vedyam sacchAstram iti vedAntaDiNDimah Yo can also check from sanskritdocuments: The 20th verse of Brahmajnanavalimala: ब्रह्म सत्यं जगन्मिथ्या जीवो ब्रह्मैव नापरः ।...