THE TEACHER

THE DREAMS AND THE REALITY

by Dee Finney

and Michelle LaVigne-Wedel

12-9-91 - VISIONS - by Dee Finney

The voice said, "There will be black and white snakes and they will have to have their heads cut off, but unfortunately there will be black snakes and those will have to have their heads cuts off.

~~~~

VISION #2 - I saw myself in a school in India with two Swami teachers dressed all in white with wrapped heads. There were children leaving the big tiled floor reception/lecture room through big french doors to go play outside on the vast lawns. The Swami by the door said, "The snakes represent the vast array of truths, half truths, and outright untruths which must be cut off."

9-8-00 - VISION - by Dee Finney

I had a vision of a sheet of paper with a list of sentences on it. In rows it said,

THE TEACHER
THE TEACHER
THE TEACHER
THE TEACHER
THE TEACHER

Then the dreams started and in each dream, I woke up screaming hysterically because I wasn't in charge of my own life.

In the most memorable dream, I went home from work to find my husband packing up everything in the house, including all the kids stuff. He was leaving me and moving elsewhere. He wouldn't say what was wrong at first, and finally I got it out of him that he had received a phone call that I had made two twenty minute stop-overs in Hawaii to have a rendezvous with a man while I was gone on my trip.

I had a quick vision of a calendar and realized I had been gone for almost a year on a mission and my husband wasn't upset about my mission, but the phone calls he received told him I had made those 20 minutes stop-overs to be with another man and that's why he was leaving me.

He was acting more and more violent and I was really worried for my safety and for the children, so I went to my highschool to tell the principal about what was happening to try to stop the process and get my life back.

I walked into the office and the principal was a policeman. He was walking around with his back to me and I couldn't get his attention. I kept saying, "Sir! ... Sir! ... Sir! ..."

The woman who worked for him said, "Don't even try to talk to him. He's too busy making phone calls to people and screwing with their lives."

Then I knew where my husband had received the phone calls from. The principal of my school had called my husband to tell him lies to mess up my life when I hadn't done anything wrong.

I woke screaming hysterically because my husband was taking my children from me.

NOTE: Where is the lesson in this? Where is the fairness? Is this how life really is? Is it totally out of our control?

I refused to go back to sleep and have the last dream. I wasn't going to go through this again.

THE TEACHER

Dream by Michelle LaVigne-Wedel

9-23-00

I went into a dream where I seemed to be in India. Ahead of me I saw a smallish, thin armed dimunitive man with a roundish face, and dark skin like an Hindu Indian.

He stood on a cement platform like by the Ganges river. The water covered some of the steps below him. He was praying while facing the water. Then he turned around to face that people and began to talk to them.

In the dream, I then became the man, that is I was inside of him doing the talking.

The people were calling him, 'Teacher'.  The Hindu words were translating into English in my head. The English words I spoke automatically translated into Hindu so the people would understand me.

He taught the people that women have spiritual lives of their own ...

Women are connected to the God-force as well as men ...

There shouldn't be any caste system because souls are equal ...

Karma is not better or worse dependent on who you are born to ...

He went from home to home as people requested him to bless their homes, their children, their animals, their household possessions.  The people begged him to touch them, to heal their physical ailments and their hearts.

The people brought him gifts which he wouldn't take but gave them to the poor in the crowd.

The shopkeepers brought him bread to eat, of which he ate a portion then gave the rest to the crowd.  The shopkeepers complained, but he said, "To give to the poor is to honor me as well."

Many of the people didn't understand but he knew that they would one day.

There were guards around tying to protect him, but he resisted them because he wanted to get close to the people so he could touch them.

11-10-00 - I was dreaming of a park and about a young girl named Delight but her life did not reflect her name.  I was not able to recall everything written on this dream background since it was written in cursive language on dark background.  I was then given the name Gopal Singh which I had not heard before.

During a search of the internet, I found this:

"When there was such slaughter and such groaning,
O God, didst Thou not feel pain? O Creator, Thou
belongest to all. If a powerful person harms an other
equally strong, there is no matter for anger, but when
a ravenous lion attacks a herd of cows, the master of
the herd must show his manliness."

This was a song sung by a teacher who was born in 1469 - Guru Nanak . He made it his life's work to change the herd of cows into Lions - metaphorically speaking. This great page was written by Gopal Singh.

Guru Nanak began the religion of Sikhism

Self-Knowledge - Khalil Gibran

And a man said, Speak to us of Self- Knowledge.

And he answered, saying:

Your hearts know in silence the secrets of the days and the nights.

But your ears thirst for the sound of your heart's knowledge.

You would know in words that which you have always known in thought.

You would touch with your fingers the naked body of your dreams.

And it is well you should.

The hidden well-spring of your soul must needs rise and run murmuring to the sea;

And the treasure of your infinite depths would be revealed to your eyes.

But let there be no scales to weigh your unknown treasure;

And seek not the depths of your knowledge with staff or sounding line.

For self is a sea boundless and measureless.

Say not, 'I have found the truth,' but rather, 'I have found a truth.'

Say not, 'I have found the path of the soul.' Say rather, 'I have met the soul walking upon my path.'

For the soul waLks upon all paths. The soul waLks not upon a line, neither does it grow like a reed.

The soul unfolds itself, like a lotus of countless petals.

-Khalil Gibran - The Prophet

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THE KALIYUGA

Kaliyuga has been set as the last epoch of a Chaturyuga, as a phase marked out for the mingling or fusion (of all things) of the previous periods. Through this would great knowledge of the entire process be revealed. Great revelations are made by the Supreme through great souls incarnated on this Earth. A higher degree of spiritual knowledge is given in Kaliyuga and this is the only era in which everyone can attain spiritual liberation, but not in the previous ones (Satya, Treta and Dwapara). So now we have a great opportunity of attaining such liberation, because we are precisely living in this golden era. Kaliyuga considered by many as a ‘dark age’. It is comparable to the darkest part of the night, as the forces of evil and ignorance are in full power and many of the subtle faculties of the soul are obscured, but we have to be very strong in the spiritual sense in order to withstand the attack of these tremendous forces that test our spirituality, trying to drag us into darkness, so that our evolutionary process can be stopped. Though we must keep in mind that Kaliyuga is a precious era, being the most conducive age for attaining mukti -spiritual liberation.

In Kaliyuga, tremendous sufferings will arrive to humanity and the reason for all this grief and sorrow, is to make us spiritually stronger and to give us the oportunity to evolve faster through all these hardships. In Kaliyuga the lapses of the past three Yugas -eras- are removed and man would move towards the Satyayuga -next era. That is why a few Puranas -Hindu epics, sacred scriptures of an historical and prophetic character-, at least proclaim that in Kali even the devas -‘gods’ misconceived by the Hindu tradition as spiritually liberated souls-, should take human birth and seek mukti, spiritual liberation, from this worldly life-death cycle. The majority of people believe that the devas are highly evolved beings living in very high astral planes, but in fact, there are ten avasthas -planes of evolution- and these saints and devas usually reside in the second and third stages of evolution. So is the case of the saints in Christianity. Obviously some of these souls have attained certain degree of spirituality, though they are not fully realized souls, they have not achieved spiritual liberation and this is the reason why they cannot lead us to completion in our spiritual process. We must remember that they are all tied to pleasure and obviously to their emotions. They can feel anger, sorrow, jealousy, they can be evil sometimes because of the flaws of their soul and their attachment to the senses. Despite all this, some people keep associating them directly to the Supreme itself. Many of the Indian gods and demi-gods are in this stage of evolution. The state of the deva is a very pleasurable one, with great authority on the material plane. In reply to your prayers or demands to them, sometimes they give you things you don´t deserve, blocking your spiritual development, taking in turn punya -merit or light within your soul- away from you. Some of these ‘gods’ don´t want to incarnate because of the suffering involved in it, but if they don´t incarnate in Kaliyuga, they won’t be able to find release to their souls. To attain mukti -spiritual liberation- one has to arrive at a state of being nothing, in other words, for the seeker of mukti all positions of authority become irrelevant, its ego should be totally extinguished. God Almighty alone is the authority. The soul, merges with the Supreme, and with that merging comes spiritual liberation. The Guru is a door that opens on to the path of spiritual liberation.

KALI/ANGER

TEACHERS

Baba Neem Karoli Bodhidharma The Karmapa
The Karmapa (Ugyen Trinley Dorje, age 15)
Karmapa News Page

Swamiji Kaleshwar

 Sri Sai Sacharita Nityananda Goswami
A Message by Goswami
The Heart of Krsna
Sage Yogaswami of Sri Lanka Swami Adiswarananda Avatar Meher Baba
Shri Sant Asaramji Maharaj Sri Swami Chidananda Saraswati - President, Divine Life Society, Rishikesh Swami Nikhilananda
Sri Ganapathi Sachchidananda Swamiji Sri Ramakrishna
Paramahansa Yogananda Shri Paramahamsa Omkaranananda Saraswati

Nityananda Prabhu

 Sri Jayendra Saraswathi, Sri Sankaracharya Swamigal of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam
Divine Mothers and Their Institutions - Lists all of the known Amma Gurus Sri Sarada Devi

Ammachi

Gangaji

 Mata Amritanandamayi Ma
Sri Swami Sivananda Saraswati - Founder, Divine Life Society, Rishikesh Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami - Founder, Saiva Siddhanta Church, Kapaa, Hawaii Swami Vivekananda
Om Namo SaiVenkatesaya Raamacharitmaanas

Sai Baba Site
Sathya Sai Baba
Gurus, Sages, and Seekers: Holy Men and Women in the Indian Tradition Babaji's Kriya Yoga


Sathya Sai Baba Orlando Site
Sai Baba of Shirdi

MOVEMENTS IN OTHER COUNTRIES

British Buddhism Sangharakshita

LIST OF NEWSGROUPS

Newsgroups: alt.hindu, alt.culture.us.asian-indian, soc.culture.indian, soc.culture.indian.american, soc.culture.indian.telugu, soc.culture.indian.info, clari.world.asia.india, soc.culture.indian.kerala, soc.culture.india, alt.culture.karnataka, alt.culture.tamil, alt.culture.southasianet, alt.culture.kerala, soc.culture.indian.marathi

.

Reformers

Sankara (ca. C.E. 788-820), a traveling Brahmin teacher from southern India, has been called the greatest Hindu philosopher of all times. Sankara developed an all inclusive, universal form of Hinduism through the doctrine of nondualism (denying any distinction between the Absolute and the universe). He did this by linking matter and spirit. Much of the argument took the form of double negatives. According to Sankara, the Brahman as the universal Cosmic Soul is nonempirical and nonobjective, but it is not nonbeing. Human beings confuse the Self with empirical existence, and thus are ignorant of the reality that the Brahman and Self are essentially identical.

Sankara's concept of emancipation resembles the Buddha's idea of nirvana, to be realized by the pursuit of the knowledge of eternal Truth, spiritual devotion, and the practice of ethical virtues. Sankara, himself an ascetic, reorganized Hindu temple worship and established a Shaivite order of monks. Sankara's followers are widespread over both northern and southern India.

Sankara's philosophy of monism (doctrine of one ultimate principle) was modified into one of more explicit theism (belief in god) by Ramanuja, another religious reformer from southern India, was the proponent of a qualified nondualistic philosophy, in which the Brahman or God has two forms: the world of matter and Selves. God is superior to both individual selves and the inanimate world. Sankara's impersonal divine principle was identified by Ramanuja as Vishnu, and the latter put more emphasis upon the element of devotion to God.

In Ramanuja's system, all Selves have a spiritual individuality of their own, and salvation denotes not the disappearance of the Self or its fusion with God, but a state of permanent intuition of God, liberated from all ignorance and passions. Ramanuja's philosophy gained wide acceptance in India, particularly among the Vaishnavites of southern India.

The third great Hindu reformer was Madhva (1197-1276), who modified Ramanuja's philosophy further to propound a dualist (distinction between God and Selves) system. He also identified the Brahman with Vishnu, and maintained that it is at once transcendent (beyond and surpassing) to and present throughout the universe. The Brahman is, however, distinct from and superior to the individual Selves and the world of matter.

According to Madhva, human salvation is possible if an individual Self is liberated from all impurities and lies in a permanent state of adoration of God. Like those of Ramanuja, Madhva's teachings enjoy wide popularity among South Indian Vaishnavites.

The effects of these religious reformers were enduring and far-reaching. Sankara and Ramanuja, in particular, left a large body of followers, and there are still many sects who worship the former as an incarnation of Shiva, and the latter as one of Vishnu. A Hindu monotheism emerged, as an outcome of their teachings, in which a devout could attain spiritual communion with his or her chosen personal God, without performance of any ritual or the mediation of any priest or preceptor. In varying degrees, they linked bhakti, or devotion, as an integral part of dharma, or moral life leading to salvation.

Later, in eastern India, a charismatic Vaishnavite teacher, Chaitanya (1485-1533), preached the way to ultimate freedom and bliss through ecstatic adoration of Krishna, and the complete immersion of consciousness in love for him. By allowing all castes and even new converts to Hinduism access to salvation, he gained great grass-roots following, and the Krishna mission was propagated by his disciples in northern India. Chaitanya is venerated by many Vaishnavites today as another incarnation of Vishnu or Krishna. This testifies to his great prestige as a religious preacher and accounts for his success in setting off the devotional movement at the mass level. In the medieval period this spiritual upsurge swept across India, and has since transformed the very character of Hinduism.

 

Hare Krishna RealAudio

Hindu Discussion Forum

Hindu Resources Online

Hindu University

HU Hindu Links

Kriya Yoga Institute

SATSANG-Allionce e.V.

Self-Realization Fellowship

Siddha Atlanta, USA

Siddha Oakland, USA

Siddha Yoga Mexico

Siddha Yoga Meditation Center of Miami

Spirituality & Truth

SYMA South Fallsburg

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VEDIC ASTROLOGY IS FOR THE BENEFIT OF MANKIND

"Vedic Astrology is not a myth. It is based on precise logic of math and planetary cosmic energy. Although every living being has a share of the Divine Light in them but it is not equal in everyone. We determine the extent of Cosmic Light shining in each individual through the Horoscope.""The degree of Cosmic Light from heavenly planets conditions the brain chemicals of the living beings at the time of birth as soon as their head is exposed to material nature.Thereafter, they become prisoner of their own brain, i.e.the destiny."

 .

 Yoga Paths

Yoga Retreat Hawaii

Yoga Therapy, healing. Yoga Retreat Hawaii

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WHAT IS HINDUISM? Hinduism is not an organized religion like Islam or Christianity. ---It is the true culture of Indians in India.----Many call it A WAY OF LIFE. Once again, it is not an organized religion like Christianity or Islam. It has no founder. ----It has no Pope.---It has no hierarchy. Just a lot of scriptures.
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In Hindu scriptures, you are actually studying about the HISTORY AND CULTURE OF INDIA, like in 66 books of the Holy Bible you are actually studying about the CULTURE AND HISTORY OF JEWS.--HINDUISM AND JUDAISM are mothers of all modern religions in the world.---JAINISM [it co-existed with Hinduism since antiquity-] , BUDDHISM, ZOROASTRIANISM etc came from Hinduism.---ISLAM and CHRISTIANITY came Judaism.
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WHO IS ITS FOUNDER? =Nobody in particular.---It is the research output of countless learned men called RISHIS who were Christ like masters.---Hinduism has no hierarchy.-
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WHEN DID HINDUISM TAKE BIRTH? =Nobody knows.---If you go by Hindu mythological stories, Hinduism is trillions of years old.---If you go by Max Muller, the German philosopher, it is at least 8000 to 9000 years old.---
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Hinduism might have started as Dravidian civilization and later merged with Aryan civilization.---Studying the relics of Mohenjadaro and Harappa excavations . Hinduism has the capability to ABSORB AND GROW FROM ALL QUARTERS and you can see relics of all other civilizations like Egyptian, Celtic, Mayan, Greek, Roman etc.-- HINDUISM IS THE AMALGAMATION OF DRAVIDIAN, ARYAN, GREEK, ROMAN, CELTIC, EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATIONS--
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WHAT WAS THE ORIGINAL NAME OF HINDUISM?
SANATHANA DHARMA or RIGHTEOUSNESS FOREVER was the original name of Hinduism.---It was Persians who invaded India during 6th century B.C. who gave the name HINDUISM meaning the RELIGION OF PEOPLE LIVING NEAR RIVER INDUS.
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In Persian the letter H and S are pronounced almost the same so they mistook the word SIND [ Sanskrit name for Indus] to H and then started calling HINDUS and HINDUISM.
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WHAT IS THE LANGUAGE IN WHICH THE HINDU SCRIPTURES WERE WRITTEN? SANSKRIT older than Hebrew and Latin.---The first words in English language came from Sanskrit.---The word MOTHER came from SANSKRIT word MATA and FATHER came from SANSKRIT word PITA . The HEBREW language originated from the Language of the Canaanite.
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WHO IS A HINDU?
Hindus believe anyone who search after truth is a Hindu. There is ONE AND ONLY GOD and ONE TRUTH. -- The very first book of Hindus named RIG-VEDA proclaim, " EKAM SAT, VIPRAH BAHUDHA VADANTI" ( There is only one truth, only men describe it in different ways). So a Jew or a Christian or a Moslem who is in search after truth is automatically a Hindu.
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WHAT ATTRACTS ONE TO HINDUISM?
The concepts of UTMOST FREEDOM OF THOUGHTS And ACTIONS. That what attracts many to Hinduism.---You can write anything and say anything as a Hindu.---No Hindu is ever banished from Hinduism.--No Hindu is ever crucified in Hinduism since he wrote or preached a wrong philosophy.
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WHAT IS THE HINDU CONCEPT OF GOD?
Hindus believe in ONE AND ONLY GOD BRAHMAN which expresses itself in millions of forms.---Hindus do not believe God has human form or any other form.---God is nameless and timeless.---But there is nothing wrong to worship a God with name and form [nama-roopa], since man cannot conceive anything without any name and form.
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IF THERE IS ONLY ONE GOD, WHY HINDUS WORSHIP MANY GODS?
Hinduism is a very ancient religion and it never ever had a house cleaning in its entire history.---Almost everything that came was written in scriptures since it is birth, unlike in other religions where they have thrown out many beliefs calling Councils time and time again.-
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There is no word TRINITY in the entire Bible and it originated only after emperor Constantine became a Christian. Now coming back to Hinduism, Hindus believe that BY WORSHIPING GOD BY ANY NAME, YOU ARE ACTUALLY WORSHIPING ONE AND ONLY GOD BRAHMAN and that is why they have no problem even worshiping Buddha or Jesus Christ.---So a Hindu believes by worshiping any form of God, you are indeed worshiping the ALMIGHTY.
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The Bhagavad Gita said: CALL HIM BY WHATEVER NAME YOU LIKE, WORSHIP HIM IN ANY FORM YOU LIKE, IT ALL GOES TO THAT ONE ULTIMATE, INFINITE, SUPREME REALITY.
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The Trinity doctrine in Christianity-- The Bible mentions TRINITY as a concept of God in the St. Matthew's account of Christ's last command to the apostles, GO THEREFORE, AND MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL NATIONS, BAPTIZING THEM IN THE NAME OF FATHER, AND THE SON, AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT [MAT 28:19] According to SCHAFF-HERZOG ENCYCLOPEDIA, TRINITY doctrine was not established until 363 A.D.--- It says that TRINITY is the result of three or four centuries of theological development.----The New Catholic Encyclopedia also states that devotion to Trinity had begun in monasteries at Aniane and Tours, during 8th century.
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WHY HINDUS WORSHIP IDOLS?
Show me any person, who does not believe in an idol, image, or symbol and I will show you the greatest liar on earth--.
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All religions, including ISLAM, have some concept of God with name and form, but Hindus alone have the courage to admit that fact.--The Cross in the Christian church, the picture of Jesus Christ, the statue of Mary, statues of patron saints are all idols.--If anyone bow in front of any of them, they are breaking laws of Old Testament [LED . . . 26:1, and EX 20:2-5.]
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God is spirit---NO WORD OR IMAGE CAN DESCRIBE OR DEPICT GOD OR CAN ENCOMPASS THE GREATNESS OF GOD. God is neither the father nor the mother--- But since man cannot conceive anything without NAME AND FORM, man has the right to worship God with a form.
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HOW WAS HINDUISM STARTED? According to Hindu scriptures it started as SRUTI-THAT WHICH IS HEARD.--- The great seers of ancient times called RISHIS who had perfected themselves have heard in their hearts, eternal truths and they taught those truths to disciples by telepathy and later they wrote them in books.--- VEDAS and UPANISHADS are known as SRUTI literature rest is called SMRITI [ THAT WHAT IS REMEMBERED ] literature
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WHAT ARE THE SACRED BOOKS OF HINDUISM?
The very first sacred books of Hinduism is called VEDAS.--- VEDAS means KNOWLEDGE. There are four VEDAS and they claim to teach men the highest aspects of truths which can lead them to God.

They are:
RIG VEDA---------------- KNOWLEDGE OF HYMNS
YAJUR VEDA----------- KNOWLEDGE OF LITURGY
SAMA VEDA------------ KNOWLEDGE OF MUSIC
ATHARVA VEDA- -- KNOWLEDGE GIVEN BY SAGE ATHARVA
NEXT important Hindu scriptures ar called UPANISHADS..There are 108 Upanishads but 13 are most important.
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HOW MANY SCRIPTURES HINDUS HAVE?
Thousands....108 UPANISHADS . Principle ones 13. Some of the Upanishads are named after the sages who answered all questions. Some as per the first word in the Upanishad.
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1. -- ISA UPANISHAD
2. -- KENA UPANISHAD
3. -- KATHA UPANISHAD
4. -- PRASNA UPANISHAD
5. -- MUNDAKA UPANISHAD
6. -- MANDUKYA UPANISHAD
7. -- AITAREYA UPANISHAD
8. -- TAITTIRYA UPANISHAD
9. -- CHANDOGYA UPANISHAD
10. - BRIHAD-ARANYAKA UPANISHAD
11 -- KAUSHITAKI UPANISHAD
12. - SHVETASHVATARA UPANISHAD
13 -- MAITRI UPANISHAD
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SMRITI LITERATURE CONSISTS OF LARGE NUMBER OF BOOKS.
A. VEDANGAS: scriptures attached to Vedas.
1.-- DHARMA SUTRAS: [Codes of Manu, Yatnyavalkya etc]
2.-- JYOTHISHA [ astrology and astronomy ]
3.-- KALPA [rituals and legal matters]
4. -- SIKSHA [phonetics ]
5.-- CHHANDAS [measurements]
6. -- NIRUKTA [Etymology]
7.-- VYAKARANA [ grammar ]
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B. DARSANAS [HINDU JNANA YOGA - PATH OF KNOWLEDGE] 6 of them
1.-- NYASA: by sage Gautama wrote Nyaya sutras
2.-- VAISHESHIKA: by sage Kanada wrote Vaisheshika sutra
3.-- SAMKHYA: by sage Kapila- Gita starts with this philosophy
4.-- YOGA: by Pathanjali who wrote PATHANJALI YOGASUTRA
5.-- MIMAMSA: by sage Jaimini who wrote MIMAMSA SUTRA
6.-- VEDANTA: by sage Veda Vyasa
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VEDANTA [AT THE END OF VEDAS meaning it started at the end of Vedic age] has two parts.
1.-- ADVAIDA PHILOSOPHY- ONE ONLY -great exponent ADI SANKARA
2.--DWITA PHILOSOPHY - TWO - almost all Vaishnava saints were exponents of this philosophy
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C.-- ITHIHASAS: MYTHOLOGICAL SCRIPTURES
1.---RAMAYANA - story of Rama, written by Valmiki
2.---MAHABHARATA - story of Pandvas & Kauravas 220,000 verses, 18 chapters
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BHAGAVAD GITA is part of this scripture
3.---PURANAS - 18 are most important MAHABHAGAVATAM - is the most read important scripture of ISKCON
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4.---TANTRAS - started during Vedic age. consists of many things such as cosmology, erotic exercises etc Tantra is very important and very vast.
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There are still a lot more scriptures in Hinduism. I should say that there are more than 1000 scriptures in Hinduism.
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IS AYURVEDA [ HINDU MEDICINE] A SCRIPTURE?
Yes it is a very ancient scripture and it is a part of ATHARVA VEDA.
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WHAT ARE THE HINDU MORAL CODES?
Hindu moral codes are written a collection of books called DHARMA SUTRAS. Hindu moral Codes are the integral part of Hinduism and they come under the big umbrella called DHARMA.--- it is very difficult to translate the word DHARMA--- Some of the codes are AHIMSA [NON-KILLING], SATHYA [TRUTH], DHARMA[DUTY], KARUNA [COMPASSION], VIRYA[FORTITUDE] , DAMA[SELF-RESTRAINT], SAUCHA[PURITY]
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WHAT IS THE NAME OF HINDU HOLY BIBLE?
Hindus actually do not have a Holy Bible like Christians.---Hindus have many scriptures and all of them are equally important.--- But many consider the Bhagavad Gita to be the Holy Bible of Hindus. It appears in the middle of the epic poem MAHABHARATA.
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Bhagavad Gita has 700 verses in 18 chapters---. It is in the form of a conversation between warrior king Arjuna and Lord Krishna, in the middle of the battle field at the outset of Mahabharata war.
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WHAT IS AN AVATAR?
An AVATAR is an incarnation of God.--- Whenever God come down to earth in any form then Hindus call that an AVATAR.---- According to that definition, Christ can be considered as an AVATAR, even though there is no mention about Jesus Christ in any of the Hindu scriptures.
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WHAT IS THE LAW OF KARMA?
Hindus believe in LIFE AFTER DEATH.---They also believe in the Biblical concept WHATEVER A MAN SOWETH, THAT SHALL HE REAP.---That is the basis of karmic law. Every action and every thought has a result.---Hindus believe that every thought and every action is weighed on the scale of eternal justice.
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The law of karma is one of CAUSE AND EFFECT.--Nobody can escape from the KARMIC DEBT.--- I believe Christ took care of the KARMIC DEBT of all the apostles so that he can make them FISHERMEN OF MEN.
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WHAT HAPPENS TO US WHEN WE DIE?
According to Hinduism, the body alone dies.--- the soul within the body never dies, But the path the soul takes is decided upon the past actions which are known as karmas. So the actions of former body does not die with the body. ---past actions are attached to the body and they decide WHAT KIND OF BODY THE SOUL TAKES IN THE NEXT LIFE.
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WHAT IS SALVATION IN HINDUISM?
Hindu salvation concepts are totally different from Christian salvation concepts.---Hindu salvation is known as SELF-REALIZATION.---When an individual soul exhausts all its karmas and merges with GOD then Hindus say that soul has attained salvation.
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Hindu scriptures state that man's problem is his belief that he is the body---The moment he realizes he is the IMMORTAL SOUL WITHIN he attain salvation-So in Hindu salvation MAN REALIZES THAT HE IS THE IMMORTAL SOUL AND NOT THE BODY.---
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In the Holy Bible there is no such word as IMMORTAL SOUL and as such as per the Holy Bible, SALVATION IS THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY WHICH REACHES HEAVEN AND STAYS NEXT TO GOD.
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DOES THAT MEAN ONE HAS TO TAKE MILLIONS OF LIVES TO ACHIEVE SALVATION??
NO, absolutely not. That question is the question many ask.--- Hindu scriptures, especially the Bhagavad Gita very clearly says that one can attain salvation in one life, provided one surrender his will to the will of God 100%.---Lord Krishna said: THOSE WHO SURRENDER ALL ACTIONS TO ME AND REGARD ME AS THE SUPREME GOAL AND WORSHIP ME WITH WHOLE HEARTED DEVOTION WILL BE SAVED BY ME FROM REPEATED BIRTHS AND DEATHS." --- In another verse, Lord Krishna said: GIVE UP ALL YOUR RIGHTEOUS AND NON-RIGHTEOUS ACTIONS AND COME TO ME; TAKE REFUGE IN ME. THEN I SHALL FREE YOU FROM ALL SINS; GRIEVE NOT.---That ME who is mentioned is not the Lord Krishna but the ABSOLUTE SOUL or GOD.-- Krishna is one of the representations of that God.--- That GOD can appear in another form like Christ or without any form or name at all.
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HOW CAN ONE ACHIEVE SALVATION [SELF -REALIZATION]?
Through ONE OR ALL OF THE four paths
1 JNANA YOGA---------------------PATH OF KNOWLEDGE
2 KARMA YOGA--------------------PATH OF SELFLESS ACTIONS
3 BHAKTI YOGA--------------------PATH OF DEVOTION
4 RAJA YOGA-----------------------PATH OF BREATH CONTROL AND PRANAYAMA
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Almost all devotees of all religions are BHAKTI YOGIES whether they believe in Hinduism or not.---Very good Christians go to church everyday and surrender themselves to the deity of Christ are SHAKTI YOGIS.--- So too Moslems who surrender to the will of the Allah. --Hinduism is the only religion explains the FOUR PATHS very well.
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WHAT IS AUM [OM]?
It is the HINDU WORD.--- It is a syllable that stands for ABSOLUTE.--- It is uttered in the beginning as well as at the end of all Hindu prayers.--- To some extent it is the LOGOS of the Holy Bible.--- Of course, the LOGOS in the Holy Bible is JESUS CHRIST.
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DID  JOHN 1:1 COME FROM HINDU SCRIPTURES?
Long before JOHN 1:1 [70 AD] was written, Hindu Vedas [ at least 5000 BC] wrote the same thing. "prajapathi vai agre asset" IN THE BEGINNING WAS PRAJAPTHI, THE BRAHMAN-THE GOD, "Tasya Vag dvitiya Aseet"
WITH WHOM WAS THE WORD; "Vag vai parama Brahman" AND THE WORD WAS VERILY THE SUPREME BRAHMAN - THE GOD
John 1:1 states: IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD, AND THE WORD WAS WITH GOD AND THE WORD WAS GOD
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WHY DO WOMEN WEAR A DOT ON THEIR FOREHEAD?
That dot is supposed to be the meeting point of eye brows.---That important point is called ANJANA CHAKRA or spiritual eye.---Everyone is supposed to protect that.---In fact all saints protect that point with sandalwood paste..But later women alone started protecting that area.
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WHAT IS NAMASTHE?  (NAMASTE)
It is the popular Hindu greeting performed by pressing two hands together and holding them near the heart. the whole act communicate to the world ' YOU AND I ARE ONE...I SALUTE AND WORSHIP THE GOD WITHIN YOU, WHICH IS A MIRROR IMAGE OF MYSELF'
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DO HINDUS PRACTICE MONOGAMY ? Hindus practice monogamy and Hindus have stopped "child marriages in India by SARADA ACT [1929] under the British.---It is the Moslems in India who are allowed to marry four wives and Moslem Sariyath law allows child marriages for Moslems in India.
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DO HINDU SCRIPTURES FORBID ABORTION?
Yes they do. Hindu scriptures forbid abortion.--- From time immemorial, Hindus consider children as gifts from God.--- In the code of Manu, Manu forbids abortion.---One of the worst acts described in the scriptures is SISU-HATYA meaning destruction of the unborn fetus.---There are prayers in the Rig Veda to guard a growing embryo. Only time abortion is allowed is when the fetus is known to be defective as per SUSRUTA SAMHITA, the Hindu Aurvedic book.
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WHY HINDUS PRACTICE SUTTEE [ SATI]?
None of the Hindu scriptures mention Sati. --Suttee is the most horrendous way of widows jumping into the funeral pyre of their fallen husbands. It is an ancient ritual practiced by a warrior race of India called Rajputs.---Nobody else in India, practiced Suttee. Once again, Suttee is never mentioned in any Hindu religious scripture.---There is not even ONE episode of Suttee in the vast Hindu mythology.
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MANY STATE HINDUISM IS VERY COMPLEX AND CONTRADICTORY!
All religions are the result of the works of thousands of thinkers.--- Hinduism and Judaism are the mothers of all religions.--- New religions like Christianity and Islam took the best aspects of Judaism and made part of them.--- So too Buddhism and Jainism took the best aspects of Hinduism and made part of them. In Christianity, there were several housecleaning in its 2000 years of history.---Hinduism on its part, NEVER had any HOUSE CLEANING in its history.--- Since Hinduism never tossed anything away, in it you will see in it primitive religion as well as very advanced thoughts.--
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I am an engineer and author of an international best seller on Hinduism by name AM I A HINDU? [HALO BOOKS, SAN FRANCISCO ISBN 1-879904-06-3 800-723-4508 415-892-0649- please read at www.amazon.com about this book---one of the best [3rd in the list] 50 books in Hinduism] which sold millions of copies around the globe. The book is one of a kind with 90 chapters and hundreds of questions and answers. It is in the form of thought provoking dialogue between 14 year old American born Indian teenager and his middle aged father on all aspects of Hinduism.
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AM I A HINDU?
[ISBN 1-879904-06-3 800-723-4508 415-892-0649]
HALO BOOKS, USA and RUPA PRESS in India .......Please read more about this book at www.amazon.com which lists this book as the 3rd most popular book in Hinduism
RUPA PRESS, P.G. SOLANKI PATH,LAMINGTON ROAD, BOMBAY 400 007; 15 BANKIM
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7/16 ANSARI ROAD, DARYAGANJ, NEW DELHI 110 002
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1879904063/u/002-9533523-2296819
My book AM I A HINDU? details on Internet
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/cache/browse/religion---spirituality/hinduism/list/002-9533523-2296819
If at all you wish to have FREE educational flow charts on Hinduism, kindly write back with
your postal address Ed Viswanathan arvind-4@msn.com please read my thought provoking
articles at http://www.hvk.org/hvk/msgboard/wwwboard.html
Kindly send this e-mail to every one you know----------It is very important that we educate
everyone about Hindu culture-----------IGNORANCE IS THE ROOT CAUSE OF ALL EVILS-------KNOWLEDGE ERADICATES IGNORANCE..



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General Resources

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Gods and Goddesses of Hinduism

God in Hindu Dharma and Temples, featuring many of the primary Hindu Gods.

Shiva - The Lord Pervading All Universe - A nice website about Shiva, Lingam, Nataraja, Rudraksha, Mantra, Puja, Dhyana

Sri Andal's Tirup-Pavai - A shrine to Sri Andal, the Divine incarnation of Sri Bhumi Devi, the Divine Consort of Sriman Narayana, by Swami Shri E.S. Bhuvarahachariar

Ahimsa and Vegetarianism