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

Birth of the epic

Two great sages of high penance who are ‘kavis,’ that is, poets endowed with excellent poetic vision, are seen in conversation in the first chapter of

Songs of devotion

Siva the Supreme Lord

Saivism holds that Siva is the Supreme Lord spoken of as Brahman in the Upanishads and one who confers liberation on those desirous of it. A jivatma struggling in samsara is sure to experience great joy when he understands the value of Siva Upasana and its untold benefits, even as a poor man’s heart is gladdened when he stumbles upon a treasure, pointed out Srimati R. Mathangi in a discourse. The concept of Pasu, Pati and Pasa is central to Saivism. Pati refers to Siva the Paramatma. Pasu is the

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 Krishna to Arjuna when He begins to explain the profound secret of wisdom. At this juncture, the Lord explains many subtle aspects that are to be factored in when there is transmission of esoteric knowledge from preceptor to disciple, pointed out Swami Omkarananda in a discourse. Unlike knowledge pertaining to the world and universe that can be

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Faith

Yoga Maya’s forewarning

The Chennai girl who is now a priest in a village in Wales

Faith

Birth of the epic

Faith

Songs of devotion

Faith

A strange wish is sought

Faith

Siva the Supreme Lord

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

A sutra is a short statement in which is packed much profound thought. The second sutra in the Brahma Sutra takes up the issue of the jagat karanatvam

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

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

The film recently won the National award in the non-feature category for the best film on social issues.

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,

Delightful Krishna

It is the Krishna avatara that has been the delight of Azhvars and of many poets, said M.A. Venkatakrishnan in a discourse. Krishna gave the world the

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

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