“Windows To Spirituality”
Dashavatara The Dashavatara (दशावतार, daśāvatāra) refers to the ten primary (i.e. full or complete) incarnations (avatars) of Vishnu, the Hindu god of preservation which has Rigvedic origins. Vishnu is said to descend in the form of an avatar to restore cosmic order. The word Dashavatara derives from daśa, meaning ‘ten’, and avatar (avatāra), roughly equivalent to ‘incarnation‘. The list of...
Kalki Kalki, also called Kalkin or Karki, is the tenth avatar of Hindu god Vishnu to end the Kali Yuga, one of the four periods in the endless cycle of existence (krita) in Vaishnavism cosmology. He is described in the Puranas as the avatar who rejuvenates existence by ending the darkest and destructive period to remove adharma and ushering in the Satya Yuga,...
History Of Hinduism The History of Hinduism denotes a wide variety of related religious traditions native to the Indian subcontinent. Its history overlaps or coincides with the development of religion in Indian subcontinent since the Iron Age, with some of its traditions tracing back to prehistoric religions such as those of the Bronze...
Gautama Buddha In Hinduism In Vaishnava Hinduism, the historic Buddha or Gautama Buddha is considered to be an avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. Of the ten major avatars of Vishnu, Vaishnavites believe Gautama Buddha to be the ninth and most recent incarnation. Buddha‘s portrayal in Hinduism varies. In some texts...
Hinduism And Other Religions In the field of comparative religion, many scholars, academics, and religious figures have looked at the relationships between Hinduism and other religions. Indian religions Main article: Indian religions Ayyavazhi Main article: Ayyavazhi and Hinduism Ayyavazhi and Hinduism are two belief systems in India. Though Ayyavazhi continues to officially exist within Hinduism and is considered...
Hindu–Islamic Relations This article covers Hindu–Islamic relations. Hinduism is a religion and a way of life of the Hindu people of India, their diaspora, and other regions which have experienced Hindu influence since ancient and medieval times. Islam is a monotheistic religion in which the deity is Allah (الله “the God”: see God in Islam), the last prophet being Muhammad, whom Muslims...
Rāja Yoga In Sanskrit texts, Rāja yoga was both the goal of yoga and a method of attaining it. The term also became a modern name for the practice of yoga, when in the 19th-century Swami Vivekananda equated raja yoga with the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Since then, Rāja yoga has variously been called aṣṭāṅga yoga, royal yoga, royal union, sahaja marg, and classical...
Karma Yoga Karma yoga, also called Karma marga, is one of the three spiritual paths in Hinduism, one based on the “yoga of action”. To a karma yogi, right action is a form of prayer. It is one of the paths in the spiritual practices of Hindus, others being Jnana yoga (path of knowledge) and Bhakti yoga...
Jnana Yoga Jnana yoga, also known as Jnanamarga, is one of the several spiritual paths in Hinduism that emphasizes the “path of knowledge”, also known as the “path of self-realization”. It is one of the three classical paths (margas) for moksha (salvation, liberation). The other two are karma yoga (path of action, karmamarga) and bhakti yoga (path of loving devotion to...
Āstika And Nāstika Āstika and Nāstika are concepts that have been used to classify Indian philosophies by modern scholars, as well as some Hindu, Buddhist and Jain texts. The various definitions for āstika and nāstika philosophies have been disputed since ancient times, and there is no consensus. In current Indian languages like Hindi and Bengali, āstika and its derivatives usually mean ‘theist’,...
Neo-Vedanta Neo-Vedanta, also called Hindu modernism, neo-Hinduism, Global Hinduism and Hindu Universalism,are terms to characterize interpretations of Hinduism that developed in the 19th century. The term “Neo-Vedanta” was coined by Paul Hacker, in a pejorative way, to distinguish modern developments from “traditional” Advaita Vedanta. Scholars have repeatedly argued that these modern interpretations...
Advaita Vedanta Advaita Vedanta (अद्वैत वेदान्त, Advaita Vedānta, literally, “non-duality“) is a school of Hindu philosophy, and originally known as Puruṣavāda, is a classic system of spiritual realization in Indian tradition. The term Advaita refers to its idea that the true self, Atman, is the same as the highest metaphysical reality of the universe, Brahman. The followers of...
Vedanta Vedanta (वेदान्त, Vedānta) or Uttara Mīmāṃsā is the most prominent of the six (āstika) schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning “end of the Vedas“, Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from the speculations and philosophies contained in the Upanishads. It does not stand for one comprehensive or unifying doctrine. Rather it is an umbrella term...
Paper On Hinduism This paper on Hinduism has presented by Swami Vivekananda. Volume 1, Addresses at The Parliament of Religions Swami Vivekananda represented India and Hinduism at the Parliament of the World’s Religions (1893). This was the first World’s Parliament of Religions and it was held from 11 to 27 September 1893. Delegates from...
Kripa (philosophy) Kripa (कृपा) is the concept of divine grace in Hinduism. It is the central tenet of Bhakti Yoga and Bhakti movements, which are seen as reform movements in Hinduism as compared to the Hinduism which finds its origins in the Vedas; though variously it can mean “grace”, “mercy”, or “blessing”, depending upon the context....
ISKCON The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), known colloquially as the Hare Krishna movement or Hare Krishnas, is a Gaudiya Vaishnava Hindu religious organisation. ISKCON was founded in 1966 in New York City by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Its core beliefs are based on the Hindu scriptures, particularly the Bhagavad Gita and the Bhagavata Purana, and the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition, which has had...
Hinduism And Sikhism Hinduism and Sikhism are both Dharmic religions that originated in the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is an older religion, while Sikhism was founded in the 15th-century by Guru Nanak. Both religions share many philosophical concepts such as Karma, Dharma, Mukti, Maya and Saṃsāra. In the days of the Mughal Empire,...
Hindu Mythology Hindu mythology are narratives found in Hindu texts such as the Vedic literature, epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana, the Puranas, the regional literatures like Periya Puranam. Hindu mythology is also found in widely translated popular texts such as the Panchatantra and Hitopadesha, as well as Southeast Asian texts. Hindu mythology does not often have a consistent, monolithic structure....
Buddhism And Hinduism Buddhism and Hinduism have common origins in the Ganges culture of northern India during the so-called “second urbanisation” around 500 BCE. They have shared parallel beliefs that have existed side by side, but also pronounced differences. Buddhism attained prominence in the Indian subcontinent as it was supported...
Problem Of Evil In Hinduism This article covers the Problem of Evil in Hinduism in detail. The standard problem of evil found in monotheistic religions does not apply to almost all traditions of Hinduism because it does not posit an omniscient, omnipotent, omnibenevolent creator. Scholars have proposed alternate forms of the problem...
