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

The Lord’s Vibhuti

The prime qualifying factor for the disciple keen to learn and imbibe spiritual truths is absolute faith in the teaching and in the preceptor, says

Uniqueness of Brahman

Yadu’s generosity

The Supreme One chose to incarnate in the Yadu vamsa to show the world the virtues of this family, said V.S. Karunakarachariar in a discourse. In Vishnu Purana, sage Parasara describes the Lord’s qualities to Maitreya while telling him about Yadu, the first son of Yayaati. The Lord has all the worlds inside Himself. Those who want wealth worship Him. Those who are interested in the attainment of moksha also worship Him. His greatness is immeasurable. He has no beginning or end. The very fact

Saiva Agamas equal to Vedas

Saint Thirumoolar’s verses known as Thirumandiram are part of the collection of verses known as Thirumurai. Saint Thirumoolar had many disciples, whose names we come across in his Thirumandiram. One of them was Malangan. Paayiram is the introductory portion of Thirumandiram, said R. Narayanan in a discourse. In this section, Thirumoolar explains the significance of the Saiva Agamas to Malangan. Thirumoolar tells Malangan the reason why he left Kailasa and came to the earth. He says that he came

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Faith

The Lord’s Vibhuti

Faith

Uniqueness of Brahman

Faith

Yadu’s generosity

Filmmaker Farha Khatun’s documentary ‘Holy Rights’ discusses the topic of triple talaq and woman qazis

Faith

Saiva Agamas equal to Vedas

Faith

Delightful Krishna

The three gunas

Uddhava wonders why a person behaves differently at different times. Lord Krishna explains that this is due to the three gunas — sattva, rajas and

Essence of sacred literature

Kooratazhvan’s Varadaraja stava is in praise of Lord Varadaraja of Kanchi. It is based on the Vedas and the Divya Prabandham, and therein lies its

Anand Patwardhan’s documentary ‘Reason’ exposes the culture of fear

Anand Patwardhan’s 2018 documentary film ‘Reason’ is showing with English subtitles for the first time in India.

The greatness of Yadu

Krishna’s leelas began even before the avatara began, said V.S. Karunakarachariar in a discourse. Parikshit refers to Yadu as the embodiment of

His boundless grace

The Brahma Sutra, also known as the Vedanta Sutra, explains the philosophy of the Upanishads while trying to consolidate the various strands of the

The cause of Srishti

Srutis and the sastras exist to aid the entire world and the beings in it. They teach us to attain the highest goal, that is, release from samsara.

Goodness of Good Friday

Good Friday, the remembrance day of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion, is highly significant. For Christians, it is the day when the Son of God was nailed on

Siva Advaita system

Spiritual tradition venerates the acharyas who are deemed as incarnations to spread the import of the Vedas and the agamas. Posterity is indebted to

Nirguna and Saguna

Sastras face an inherent paradox when guiding those engaged in the quest for Eternal Truth. The fact is that none can claim to know fully the Infinite

The Buddhist nuns who learn Kung Fu and lend a strong helping hand

The Drukpa order of Buddhist nuns that performs Kung Fu has been shortlisted for the Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize 2020

Gifts from Kailasa

From the details of Adi Sankara’s life culled from the Sankara Vijayam, it is clear that he is the greatest acharya in our tradition who achieved

Serving the Lord

In Vishnu temples, Divya Prabandham (the verses of the Azhvars) and the Vedas are recited whenever the utsava idol (processional deity) is taken round

A divine drama

Pamban Swamigal was an ardent devotee of Lord Muruga, and wanted to take up sanyasa in Pazhani. While his friend asked him if he had received a

A great disciple

Ramanujacharya’s disciple Kooratazhvan had all the traits that an Acharya would desire in his sishya. Ramanujacharya and Kooratazhvan travelled to

Greatness of Yamuna

River Yamuna has a greatness which is unmatched, elaborated M.A. Venkatakrishnan in a discourse. When infant Krishna was taken by Vasudeva to

Benefits of penance

Saint Thirumoolar acknowledges in his Thirumandiram that Lord Siva revealed to him the Saiva agamas. Having acquired knowledge of these sacred texts,

Narayana is blemishless

The Vedas tell us how the star Uttara Bhadrapada (Uttarattadi) should be propitiated. The deity for this star is Ahirbudhnya, said V.S.

Mysterious power of grace

Till date, the stamp of Adi Sankara’s teachings is prominent in the various streams of philosophical discussions, theology, literature, devotion, etc,

Path of no return

The Bhagavad Gita describes the two paths that the souls travel through after death. One is the path of no return and the other the path of return to

Infinite power of surrender

Azhwars and acharyas never tire of being overwhelmed when they begin to contemplate the Lord’s boundless munificence towards all creation in general

The jivatma’s plight

Sastras point out that the jivatma’s highest goal is salvation and show that this is possible by realising the Supremacy of Brahman and seeking refuge

Highest attainment

The jivatma's highest attainment is jnana or enlightenment, say the sastras. They also show that this depends on many factors such as one's past

Effects of anger

The story of Satyavrata related in the Devi Bhagavata Purana by Vyasa to Janamejaya gives a detailed account of the sacrifice undertaken by one

Son of Aditi and Kashyapa

When Aditi, wife of sage Kashyapa, observes payo vrata, as instructed by her husband, Lord Narayana appears before her. The kingdom of the celestials,

Incomparable Manickavalli

After his verse in praise of Vinayaka, Abirami Bhattar begins his Abirami Andadi. Andadi is a genre of poetry where the last word of a verse becomes

Living harmoniously

In Hindu weddings, one of the mantras recited by the bridegroom compares him to the sky and the bride to the earth. After a copious shower, the earth

Nathamuni and Alavandar

Vaishnava Acharya Alavandar wrote a work called Stotra Ratna. What is a stotra? People might define it as attributing to someone, qualities which they

Who is dear to Him?

Uddhava has many questions for Lord Krishna, all of which the Lord answers. These questions and answers find a place in Srimad Bhagavatam, said P.T.

He is omnipresent

Sat, that is the Paramatma, decided to become many, and created Tejas (fire). When fire decided to become many, water (Ap) was born. When water became

A unique honour

Hanuman fits into the description of the jnani who is also a great devotee that Krishna extols in the Gita as one very dear to Him, pointed out Asuri

Communion with devotees

Throughout the Bhagavata Purana, it is shown that close communion with the devotees of the Lord is far more valuable in engendering a strong

He is the source of all

In the Gita, the Lord clearly states that those who understand the deep significance of His incarnations will get relieved from samsara. What better

Cosmic process explained

Sastras explain the mystery of relativity of the cosmic process of creation and dissolution against the backdrop of Time. In the eighth chapter of the

Power of Maya

The section of the story of Dhruva's vision of the Lord and his return to the kingdom is presented as a conversation between Vidhura and Maitreya in

Boundless generosity

Azhwars have been blessed to have the mystic vision of the transcendent Lord and their hymns are replete with their spontaneous and joyous experience

Interpreting Vedic mantras

During weddings, a yoke is placed on the bride’s head. The mantra recited is a reference to the story of Apala, who had a skin disease. She prayed to

Vinayaka ensures success

Abirami Bhattar begins his Abirami Andadi with a verse in praise of Lord Vinayaka, said M.A. Manickavelu in a discourse. In the Thirukkadaiyur temple,

Controlling the mind

Mahabali took the kingdom of the celestials, and Aditi, mother of the devas, was very unhappy. She asked her husband sage Kashyapa what could be done

A group of devotees participating in Attukal Pongala will be cooking with ‘valiyachennellu’ from Wayanad this year

The famed Pongala, which falls on February 27 in connection with the annual festival at Attukal Bhagavathy Temple in the Kerala capital, will be held in the homes of devotees in keeping with COVID-19 regulations and some of them will be offering the goddess bran-rich valiyachennellu, a native organic rice

Ramanujacharya’s glory

Vedanta Desika wrote Adhikarana Saravali to expand on the points made by Ramanujacharya in his Sri Bhashyam, which is a commentary on sage Vyasa’s

How to worship Him

Uddhava asks Lord Krishna where He should be worshipped. Where can Krishna be found? What are the places He is in, asks Uddhava. Lord Krishna gives a

The seven steps

The most significant marriage ritual is panigrahana, said V.S. Karunakarachariar, in a discourse. The groom and the bride take seven steps around the

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