Q&A

Question Which are the Five faces of Lord Shiva? Answer Taittariya Aranyaka of YajurVeda from 10.17.1 to 10.21.1 contains five mantras and first word of each mantra represents each face of Lord SadaShiva. These Mantras are also in AtharvaVeda Parishista. सद्योजातं प्रपद्यामि सद्योजाताय.....वामदेवाय नमो ज्येष्ठाय नमः ....अघोरेभ्योऽथ घोरेभ्यो घोरघोरतरेभ्यः ।.......तत्पुरुषाय विद्महे महादेवाय धीमहि ।.... ईशानः सर्वविद्यानामीश्वरः सर्वभूतानां sadyojātaṃ prapadyāmi sadyojātāya ..... vāmadevāya namo jyeṣṭhāya namaḥ ....aghorebhyo'tha ghorebhyo ghoraghoratarebhyaḥ ।.......tatpuruṣāya vidmahe mahādevāya dhīmahi ।....

Question Are pregnant women allowed to go to temples? Answer I will be surprised if one can find direct references to your question in scriptures. At least, there is nothing in the Vedas, Smritis and the Agamas. So, it remains only to see if the PurAnas and the ItihAsas have something in them or not. I am answering your question with an indirect reference, which says, a woman should be allowed to go to temples till the last month of her pregnancy....

Question Are there Hindu scriptural references for “Simulation hypothesis” or the “theory of simulation”? Answer I discuss in my answer here, AtharvaVeda states Universe as like projection in space-time: पूर्ण कुम्भोदिः काल आहितस्तं वै पश्यामो बहुदा नु सन्तः । [AtharvaVeda 19.53.3] A full pot has been placed in Time and it is that which we see manifoldly. Similarly as I discuss here, RigVeda states the present creation is similar like the past creation:...

Question Is Sanskrit considered divine language to those of the Hindu faith? Answer Yes it is considered divine and is referred to as Dev-bhasha or the 'Language of the Gods'. The following verses from Mahabharat Shanti Parva महाभारते १२.२३१.५६ and महाभारत १२.२३२.२४ clearly declare its divine status: अनादिनिधना ह्येषा वागुत्सृष्टा स्वयम्भुवा । आदौ वेदमयी दिव्या यतस्सर्वाः प्रसूतयः ॥ English Translation - Beginning-less and endless is this vāk manifested on its own,...

Question What is the meaning of Indra? Answer There are different meaning of the word Indra is given by Yaska in Nirukta 10.8. इन्द्र इरां दृणातीति वाँ। इरां दद्तीति वा। इरां दधातीति वा । इरा दारयतैं इति घा। इरा धारर्थत इति वा । इन्दवे द्रर्वतीति वा । इन्दी रमत इति वा । इन्धे भूतानीति वा । तद्यदेनं प्राणैः समैनैधंस्तदिन्द्रस्येन्द्रत्वैम् ।। इति विज्ञायैते । इदं करणादित्याग्रयणैः । इदं दर्शनादित्यौपमन्यवः । इन्दतेर्वैश्र्वर्यकर्मणः !...

Question What is the definition of sin according to Hinduism? Answer From the direct inference from the verse which I am gonna post below, Sin is the opposite of Yoga. Any act which breaks the bond of unity with the fellow creatures or the creator or the ultimate reality is sin. From ShivRahasya chapter 11.I have answered on another answer about Explanations on the laws of unity. Verily, My Love for man manifests itself in that I give him life of my Own Life and that I offer him sustenance, guidance and protection....

Question Who is Ishwar according to Advait Vedanta - Lord Shiva or Vishnu? Answer Yeah, there can be only one Saguna Brahman as the following verse maintains- B.Su. 4,4.17. (The released soul attains all lordly powers) except the power of creation etc., on account of (Iswara being) the subject-matter (of all texts where creation etc. are described), and (the released souls) not being mentioned (in that connection)...Moreover, this would lead to many Iswaras, which may give rise to a conflict of wills with respect to creation etc....

Question Is Hinduism anti-foreigner? Answer Is Sanatana Dharma anti-foreigners? No, most certainly not. For example, the following mantra from Shukla Yajur Veda clearly states that the holy mantras should be spoken among all men including strangers. Here, the word stranger denotes people who are alien to our Vedic culture. So, the Vedic knowledge should be spread among them too. No question of discrimination or hostility towards those who are unfamiliar with our culture....

Question How difficult or rare is it to get human life? Answer The scriptures definitely say that human life is rare or difficult to get. But IMO it will be hard to answer the "how much" part in your question. Given below are a few relevant verses, which are the words of Lord Shiva. Atra janma sahasreshu sahasrairapi PArvati | KadAchit labhate jantur mAnushyam puntyasanchayAt || Meaning [Lord Shiva says to Goddess PArvati] Thousands and thousands of jivas are getting equally numerous births, but among them only rarely (kadAchit) one gets a human birth due to its accumulated merits (punyasanchaya)....

Question Who is mother Durga, why was she prayed by all gods including Vishnu to be reborn as Parvathi? Answer Since you asked Was Sati also a reincarnation of mother Durga ?, you should also understand why Durga Devi was born as Sati Devi. When Brahma created beings initially, they couldn't multiply or reproduce sexually. Lord Brahma wanted female energy or Shakti to make sexual reproduction possible (so that beings would be able to reproduce) and did Tapasya for Parameswara (Shiva with Shakti) and Lord Shiva appeared before him in Ardhanareswara form and gave female energy (shakti) needed for creation....

Question Is Sambhoga (sex) the need of the body or soul as per Vedas? Answer Are the carnal desires being needed by the body or the soul? No Clearly carnal desires are not needed by soul , nor it is attached by it. It's also said in our Upanishads that he (soul) is pure one, without a (subtle) body, without blemish, without muscles (a gross body) . Himself devoid of senses, He shines through the functions of the senses....

Question Is there a Darshana/Philosophy based on Agamas? Answer I can answer only based on ShAkta scriptures. I can't elaborate anything on man made philosophies. Also, Agamas are plenty in number. They can be divided into ShAkta, Shaiva and other similar groups. Note that, my answer is only based on the ShAkta Agamas, and also on as much as i know about them. The 6 Darshanas are first of all condemned in KulArnava Tantram, which is one of the most authoritative ShAkta Agamas, as follows:...

Question Does anyone know the name of this goddess? Answer It's Goddess Chamunda. Unlike what others have said, the person carrying her is not a vetala, it's a preta. From the Iconography The black or red coloured Chamunda is described as wearing a garland of severed heads or skulls (Mundamala). She is described as having four, eight, ten or twelve arms, holding a Damaru (drum), trishula (trident), sword, a snake, skull-mace (khatvanga), thunderbolt, a severed head and panapatra (drinking vessel, wine cup) or skull-cup (kapala), filled with blood....

Question Is Vishnu the incarnation of Krishna or the other way around, according to the Geetha? Answer "Which is true according to the holy books?" Well, the answer is that both are true! :) There are some verses in the scriptures which say that Krishna is incarnation of Vishnu, but there are also verses in the scriptures which say the other way round, namely that Vishnu is incarnation of Krishna. So both of those views are true....

Question What is “Brahm” in “Brahmacharya”? How does it relate to celibacy? Answer This answer is based on teachings of Swami Sivananda. Swami Sivananda wrote many books explaining Brahmacharya, such as Practice of Brahmacharya. I will quotes some of his words here. Swami Sivanada says Brahmacharya literally means Achara or conduct that leads to the realization of Brahman or one’s own Self and conduct is control of semen, the study of the Vedas and contemplation on God....