Faith column from The Hindu, Religion, Hinduism, Sacred Texts - The Hindu

Agency and enjoyment

Sastras are meant to benefit the jivatmas caught in samsara. In every birth the jivatma is compelled to act and this entails his experiencing the

Manifested life

Mantra to protect children

Kamsa sends Putana to kill the baby Krishna, growing up in Gokula. Srimad Bhagavatam says she went as a lovely lady. Why did Putana have to adorn herself and look good? It was the norm in the past for a mother to dress up well and look pleasant, when she picked up her child to feed it, so that the child looking at her would be happy. Nampillai says this practice was observed widely. The importance of breastfeeding is stressed thus, elaborated V.S. Karunakarachariar in a mantra. Also, the first

He enables worship

Thirumoolar in his Thirumantiram likens Lord Siva to clouds in the sky. He sees the relationship between himself and Lord Siva as that between a calf and its mother. He calls out to Lord Siva, who is known as Nandi, for who else can impart jnana to him? Lord Siva showers His blessings on those who inhabit the earth. He also lives among the celestials. He draws everyone like a magnet. He is fond of music, and Thirumoolar acknowledges that he sings Siva’s praises only because of the grace of the

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Faith

Agency and enjoyment

Faith

Manifested life

Faith

Mantra to protect children

Faith

He enables worship

Faith

One must control senses

Faith

In praise of Hanuman

Rama’s truthfulness

Rama’s sterling qualities drew the whole of Ayodhya to Him. His auspicious qualities attracted not only His subjects, but also Azhvars and Acharyas,

Madhu and Kaitabha

When Lord Narayana asked Brahma to create the world, Brahma became very proud of himself. To teach him a lesson, the Lord made two asuras — Madhu and

Steps to realisation

Most of us who are involved in worldly concerns are said to be in Pravritti Marga. This kind of preoccupation ties us down to samsara, the cycle of

Bond of karma

When the Lord incarnates as a human being, He is not bound by any karma or sorrow, as is with the case of all others right from Brahma to the smallest

Interpreting Rama’s lament

Valmiki showcases Rama’s equanimity of mind when Kaikeyi tells Him that she is conveying His father’s orders, namely, that the Pattabhishekam is

Identifying the jivatma

What is actually intended by an individual when he uses the term ‘I’? Generally it refers to both the body and the atma within. When it is said that a

Bakrid celebrations around the world: A kaleidoscope

Marking the end of the Haj pilgrimage to Mecca, Id-ul-Azha is celebrated throughout the world by Muslims to honour and commemorate Prophet Abraham’s

The realised soul

The Upanishads state that the Supreme Brahman is the highest principle and to reach Brahman is the ultimate goal of all beings. But how is Brahman to

The divine couple

Both Sivananda Lahari and Saundarya Lahari are excellent bhakti granthas of Adi Sankara that extol the innumerable facets of the boundless grace of

Instantly obedient

Krishna avatara is special in many ways. Krishna was born with four hands, with His weapons and many adornments. Apart from this, Krishna proved his

Importance of Upanishads

The Vedas have portions which are referred to as Karma Kaanda. They tell us how to perform yagas, and what mantras are to be recited during these

Rajas and tamas

Lord Krishna tells Uddhava that a person with the guna of rajas has certain characteristics, said P.T. Seshadri in a discourse. He has kaama (desire),

Mahabali welcomes Vamana

When Vamana goes to the place where Mahabali is performing Asvamedha yaga, Mahabali welcomes Him. He says that Vamana looks like the personification

Kulasekhara’s Rama bhakthi

Itihasas and Puranas are to be studied to understand the Vedas. Of the two Itihasas, Ramayana is more important, because it is entirely about the

Fulfilling His promise

In Srimad Bhagavatam, sage Suka gives a wonderful description of the newborn Krishna, said V.S. Karunakarachariar in a discourse. Krishna had

Advent of Alavandar

It was indicated through divine will to Nathamuni that his grandson would preserve and propagate the Vaishnava tradition that was entrusted in his

Duty of the jiva

The Visishtadvaita philosophy establishes that the entire creation comprising the chetana and the achetana is the sarira of the Paramatma who is the

Self-dependent virtues

Janaka’s court was always alive with Vedantic discussions and debates by the most well-versed scholars and sages of those times. This rightful ruler

Ashtavakra, great scholar

Prakarana granthas are texts written by preceptors and gurus to introduce beginners to Vedanta study and to clarify Vedanta knowledge to those already

Prarabdha karma

Sastras advise that an individual desirous of salvation should learn to gradually dissociate himself from the active involvements that he had been

Avoid attachment

Many philosophical and psychological insights pertinent to an individual’s worldly existence can be drawn from the skilful depiction of the

Desika’s rich description

Krishna’s birth, and the events that followed it have been described by sage Suka and sage Parasara. But the night of Krishna’s birth finds an even

Power is dangerous

Explaining Kulasekhara Azhvar’s Thillai Thiruchitrakootam pasurams, commentator Periavachan Pillai says Rama is ‘vakutta seshi.’ That means He is the

Kooratazhvan’s devotion

Kooratazhvan, disciple of Ramanujacharya, composed Varadaraja Stava in praise of Lord Varadaraja of Kanchipuram. Kooratazhvan could not see, but was

Eyewitness account

Valmiki’s Ramayana is known as Adi kavya, because it was the first kavya to be written. Although many other Ramayanas came to be written later on,

Lustrous Vamana

The descendants of sage Bhrigu perform asvamedha yaga for Mahabali. Lord Mahavishnu, who has taken the Vamana avatara, knowing this, goes to Mahabali,

Desika’s masterstroke

In a sloka in Vedanta Desika’s Yadavabhyudaya, Yoga Maya says to Kamsa, “I am the maya of the One who killed Madhu and Kaitabha.” This reference to

Destiny is powerful

‘The ultimate rule that governs all beings is that the effects of one’s karma have to be borne by every individual. The wise, having internalised this

Ineffable ways of Devi

The stories in the Devi Bhagavata Purana illustrate how many have propitiated the excellent Goddess Devi and have been recipients of Her boundless

Blissful atma swaroopa

In the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Yagnyavalkya explains to Maitreyi that the self or the atma alone is very dear to each one of us, though we may think

Sanctity of Devi’s feet

Generally, living beings suffer many diseases that affect their health in some way or other. Most of these common diseases can be cured with medicine

He establishes dharma

Life is full of sorrows, and sastras explain that these are of the nature of Adi Bhoutika, caused by outside forces such as natural calamities, etc,

A devotee is rewarded

The life and works of Appayya Dikshitar reflect his multi-faceted personality. He had authored many spiritual texts of great value and carried on the

Andal’s sister-in-law

Vasudeva takes Krishna to Gokula while everyone is asleep. He picks up the girl born to Yasoda, leaves Krishna beside Yasoda, and departs for Mathura.

Kamsa’s confusion

Kamsa was warned that Devaki’s eighth child would kill him. Kamsa spared Devaki’s life, but killed every child born to her because of the threat to

Unchanging Varadaraja

Kooratazhvan, in his Varadaraja Stavam, points out that Varadaraja, like Brahman, is unchanging, said Valayapet Ramachariar, in a discourse.

Govindaraja seen as Rama

In his Perumal Thirumozhi, Kulasekhara Azhvar praises the Govindaraja shrine in Chidambaram as Thillai Thiruchitrakootam, said Akkarakkani Srinidhi in

Doing Karma without pride

Lord Krishna was not only charioteer and Acharya on the battlefield, but also showed His divinity, said Kidambi Narayanan in a discourse. At the end

Speciality of Ramayana

Of the two Itihasas, namely the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, the former is special, said M.A. Venkatakrishnan, in a discourse. While the Mahabharata

Removal of ignorance

The greatest hurdle to the jivatma’s salvation is the ignorance of the true identity of the indwelling atma. For all of us, the ‘I’ sense or the ego

Acharya association

At some point of time in our journey through the cycle of birth, when one’s past good karmas bear fruit, one comes under the beneficial influence of

Salvation via surrender

No one knows the end which we call salvation, and hence the path is also most hazy. But from the Charama Sloka in the Bhagavad Gita, it is clear that

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