Ecospirituality Ecospirituality connects the science of ecology with spirituality. It brings together religion and environmental activism. Ecospirituality has been defined as “a manifestation of the spiritual connection between human beings and the environment.” The new millennium and the modern ecological crisis has created a need for environmentally based religion and spirituality. Ecospirituality is understood by some practitioners...
Ego Death Ego death is a “complete loss of subjective self-identity”. The term is used in various intertwined contexts, with related meanings. In Jungian psychology, the synonymous term psychic death is used, which refers to a fundamental transformation of the psyche. In death and rebirth mythology, ego death is a phase of self-surrender...
Out-of-body Experience An out-of-body experience (OBE or sometimes OOBE) is a phenomenon in which a person perceives the world from a location outside their physical body. An OBE is a form of autoscopy (literally “seeing self”), although this term is more commonly used to refer to the pathological condition of seeing a second self, or doppelgänger. The term out-of-body...
Kundalini In Hinduism, Kundalini (कुण्डलिनी kuṇḍalinī, “coiled snake”) is a form of divine feminine energy (or shakti) believed to be located at the base of the spine, in the muladhara. It is an important concept in Śhaiva Tantra, where it is believed to be a force or power associated with the divine feminine or the formless aspect of the Goddess. This...
What is Chakra? Chakra (meaning circle or wheel) is a widely used concept in Indian religion and politics that underpins many spiritual practices and philosophical systems. Within some forms of yoga, the chakras refer to energy centers found in the body located at major branchings of the human nervous system, beginning at the base of the spinal column and moving...
Qawwali Qawwali ( قوّالی; ਕ਼ੱਵਾਲੀ, قوّالی; क़व्वाली; কাওয়ালি) is a form of Sufi Islamic devotional singing, originating from the Indian subcontinent, and notably popular in the Punjab and Sindh regions of Pakistan; in Hyderabad, Delhi and other parts of India, especially North India; as well as the Dhaka and Chittagong Divisions of Bangladesh. Originally performed at Sufi shrines or dargahs throughout South Asia, it gained mainstream popularity and an international audience...
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is a collection of 195 Sanskrit sutras (aphorisms) on the theory and practice of yoga. The Yoga Sutra was compiled sometime between 500 BCE and 400 CE by the sage Patanjali in India who synthesized and organized knowledge about yoga from much older traditions. The Yoga Sūtra...
Ashtanga (eight limbs of yoga) Ashtanga yoga (aṣṭāṅgayoga, “the eight limbs of yoga”) is Patanjali’s classification of classical yoga, as set out in his Yoga Sutras. He defined the eight limbs as yama (abstinences), niyama (observances), asana (postures), pranayama (breathing), pratyahara (withdrawal), dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation) and samadhi (absorption). The eight limbs form...
Benefits of Fasting What are the benefits of fasting? Fasting has many purposes relating both to the Lordship of God and thanksgiving for His bounties, and to man’s individual and collective life, as well as to his self-training and self-discipline. One of the multiple purposes of fasting connected with the...
Outline of Spirituality Spirituality may refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality, an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being, or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including yoga, fasting, meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop an individual’s inner...
Outline of Music Here is the outline of music: Music is human expression in the medium of time using the structures of sounds or tones and silence. It is expressed in terms of pitch, rhythm, harmony, and timbre. What type of thing is music? One of the arts – One of the performing arts – One of the humanities – An academic discipline – Types of music African-American Music Ambient...
Argument From Religious Experience The argument from religious experience is an argument for the existence of God. It holds that the best explanation for religious experiences is that they constitute genuine experience or perception of a divine reality. Various reasons have been offered for and against accepting this contention. Contemporary defenders of...
God Gene The God gene hypothesis proposes that human spirituality is influenced by heredity and that a specific gene, called vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2), predisposes humans towards spiritual or mystic experiences. The idea has been proposed by geneticist Dean Hamer in the 2004 book called The God Gene: How Faith is Hardwired into our Genes. The God gene hypothesis is based...
Divine Presence Divine presence, presence of God, Inner God, or simply presence is a concept in religion, spirituality, and theology that deals with the ability of a god or gods to be “present” with human beings. According to some types of monotheism God is omnipresent; hence, the rabbinic teaching: “The Divine presence is everywhere.” Conceptualizations The concept is shared by many religious...
New Monasticism New Monasticism is a diverse movement, not limited to a specific religious denomination or church and including varying expressions of contemplative life. These include evangelical Christian communities such as “Simple Way Community” and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove‘s “Rutba House,” European and Irish new monastic communities, such as that formed by Bernadette Flanagan, spiritual communities...
Spiritual Development Spiritual development is the development of the personality towards a religious or spiritual desired better personality. Spiritual development can mean many things to many people in the secular and pluralistic environment we inhabit in our terrestrial world. Spiritual development, in essence, is to believe in something beyond the...
Scholarly Approaches to Mysticism Scholarly approaches to mysticism include typologies of mysticism and the explanation of mystical states. Since the 19th century, mystical experience has evolved as a distinctive concept. It is closely related to “mysticism” but lays sole emphasis on the experiential aspect, be it spontaneous or induced by human...
Spiritual Care in Health Care Professions As per 2014, more than 70 medical schools in the United States offer courses on spirituality and medicine. The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) has co-sponsored, with the National Institute for Healthcare Research, 4 conferences, on curricular development in spirituality and medicine since 1997....
Hindu Pilgrimage Sites in India In Hindu religion and spirituality, the pilgrimage has great significance. Members of the faith participate in the following types of pilgrimage. The pilgrimage to each sacred site has its own religious significance. Holy Place: Tirupathi Himalayan Char Dham – Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri. Varanasi/Kashi, Prayagraj, Haridwar-Rishikesh, Mathura-Vrindavan, Somnath,...
Hindu Atheism Atheism (निरीश्वरवाद, nir-īśvara-vāda, lit. “statement of no Lord“, “doctrine of godlessness”) or disbelief in god or gods has been a historically propounded viewpoint in many of the orthodox and heterodox streams of Indian philosophy. There are six major orthodox (astika) schools of Hindu philosophy—Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Samkhya, Yoga, Mīmāṃsā and Vedanta, and five major heterodox (nāstika) schools of Śramaṇa— Ajivika, Ajñana, and Cārvāka. The...
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