Question In Hinduism, what exactly is a lie? And is lying adharma? Answer First lying is adharma; although you may not be hurting someone else, you are hurting yourself. One should always tell the truth, but one should never tell a harsh truth. A harsh truth is a truth that is hurtful or cause offense in some way or perhaps feeds your own ego (this is really being hurtful to your own self)....
Question What caste are foreigners? Answer How is caste determined? What we call as caste in english is called varṇa in sanskrit. One of the meanings of varṇa is color, specifically of the mind, i.e character or nature. Though birth can play a significant role in shaping up one's nature, from the point of view of Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam, birth does not draw a hard line on what caste a person belongs to....
Question Does re-birth take place immediately after death according to Hinduism? Answer No, not immediately. As per the scriptures, depending upon his good/virtuous and bad/sinful actions, the jivatama will be taken to Yama and after judgement he will first experience the results of his actions accordingly either in heaven or hell [Agni Pu. - 203.5]. Only after he has experienced those that he will obtain another body on earth. So to answer the questions 1 and 2, yes it depends upon the karma....
Question What is the significance of Space? Answer Does space store everything, the past, present and the future? From a mundane perspective space can store data. Like we see a small electronic chip holding tera bytes of data. However when you talk of human memory this is a function of soul and subtle body rather than physical space. Some people can remember past lives but their gross body that occupies material space is completely changed....
Question Are there any female rishis? Answer Most of the saints or rishis we see are male. Are there any female saints (except devotees through Bhakti yoga)? We see that many females also follow their husbands, serve them and partake in their tapasya. In Srimad Bhagavatam When Dhrtarastra and Gandhari are missing from the palace Narada Muni tells this to Maharaja Yudhisitira: SB 1.13.53 — On the banks at Saptasrota, Dhrtarastra is now engaged in beginning astanga-yoga by bathing three times daily, in the morning, noon and evening, by performing the Agni-hotra sacrifice with fire and by drinking only water....
Question Is maya connected to the notion of love? Answer Yes, there is a connection between the Bengali term Maya and the philosophical term Maya. The Bengali term maya means affection or love only towards one's relatives and friends. This limited or selfish love is equivalent to the philosophical term Maya. One goes beyond philosophical maya when one loves the entire world selflessly and not just one's relatives and friends. This love for the entire world, compassion, is called in Bengali daya....
Question Why is there a separate religion for Buddha, if Buddha is a Hindu god? Answer It is because the discrimination of religions as it has come to be is mostly based upon the primary scripture or teachings of the prophet or god rather than who the god is or who the proponent is. So irrespective of whether Buddha is a Hindu god or not, the message he preached and spread is different than that of Hindu/Vedic beliefs....
Question Whose avatara is Sri Ramanujacharya? Answer Sri Ramanujacharya is popularly believed by all as Sankarshana/Balarama/Sesha avatara (incarnation of Adisesha). But let us delve a bit and understand who Ramanujacharya actually is? Let’s look at the name Ramanuja. It means Raama + Anuja i.e. the younger brother of Lord Raama. Who is this younger brother? People jump to the conclusion that it is Lakshmana. Yes, It applies to Lakshmana also. But, what it actually means is that Ramaanuja is the younger brother of Balaraama i....
Question What is the relationship between Hinduism and atheism? Answer Atheism is not the pillar of Hinduism, but only a part of Hinduism. Moreover, the term nastika (atheist) means different in Hinduism than its usual meaning. Generally atheist means a person who doesn't believe in God, afterlife, etc. But in Hinduism atheist means a person who doesn't accept the authority of the Vedas (veda neendako nastika), that is, a person who doesn't accept words of the Vedas as the infallible truth....
Question Why do we see Lord Shiva under the feet of Mother Kali? Answer Swami Paramhansa Yogananda says in Paramhansa Yogananda, from The Essence of Self-Realization, Ways in Which God Can be Worshiped: Kali represents Mother Nature. She is Aum, the cosmic vibration. In Aum everything exists—all matter, all energy, and the thoughts of all conscious beings. Hence, Her garland of heads, to show that She is invisibly present in all minds....
Question Is it necessary for one to have children? Answer Use your common sense. If you cannot afford to take care of a child properly, do not have a child. There will be greater bad karma bringing into this world a child that you cannot take care of properly than whatever karma gained from having a child. Forget scripture, follow your heart. Remember what Jesus Christ said - "What you do to the least among you, you do to Me....
Question Gayatri mantra and three Lokas (planes) Answer Looks like I got the answer to my old question. Here is quote from Bhagavata (5.20.37) By the supreme will of Krishna, the mountain known as Lokāloka has been installed as the outer border of the three worlds—Bhūrloka, Bhuvarloka and Svarloka—to control the rays of the sun throughout the universe. All the luminaries, from the sun up to Dhruvaloka, distribute their rays throughout the three worlds, but only within the boundary formed by this mountain....
Question What is the ultimate goal of Hinduism? Answer To be frank, there is no single ultimate goal of Hinduism. Why? Because, Hinduism has different philosophical systems and even within different systems there are different schools of thought. Every school of thought has its own ultimate goal or objective defined for life which contradict to one another. Hence, there is no single ultimate goal that is shared by all Hindus. So the true goal of Hinduism is determined and dependent upon the school of thought one follows....
Question What were the ages of Pandavas & other characters during the Mahabharata war? Answer As per this research article of Mahabharat timeline, Yudhisthira was 91 years old at the time of Mahabharat war. And since all other pandava brothers were younger nearly by one year successively (excluding Sahadeva), there ages at the time of war would have been as below approximately: Yudhistihra - 91 yrs, Bhima - 90 yrs, Arjuna - 89 yrs, Nakula and Sahadeva - 88 yrs...
Question What is the meaning of Om Tat Sat? Answer The meaning of "Om Tat Sat" is given by Shri Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita. Om denotes Brahman, Tat (that) also means Brahman like in the popular mahavakya of the Upanishad Tat twam asi (you are That), and Sat (truth) also means Brahman. So these are the three names of Brahman, the absolute truth: oṁ tat sad iti nirdeśo brahmaṇas tri-vidhaḥ smṛtaḥ...