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

Consciousness principle

Krishna’s outline sketch of the select areas that proclaim His presence makes it clear that whatever is worthwhile and meritorious in this world only

Embodiment of vairagya

Cosmic manifestation

Krishna is known as Vaasudeva, son of Vasudeva. But the term Vaasudeva is already well known in the Vedas and denotes the “One who dwells deep inside all beings and the One in whom all beings and things dwell.” They elaborate this further and say that He is the creator, the preserver, and the final refuge of all. Among the many descriptions of the cosmic manifestation of the Lord, scriptures refer to the Formless Being who also assumes the fourfold forms, Vaasudeva, Pradyumna, Aniruddha, and

Great devotion

In the city of Karuvur lived a devotee of Lord Siva, called Eripatha Nayanar, whose devotion was revealed to the world by Lord Siva, said R. Narayanan in a discourse. There also lived in Karuvur another devotee of the Lord whose name was Sivakamiyandar. One day, Sivakamiyandar was on his way to the temple with a basket of flowers to offer to the Lord. The King’s royal elephant was passing that way. The elephant snatched the basket from Sivakamiyandar’s hands and flung it down, thereby scattering

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Eid prayer at Firozshah Kotla mosque in Delhi on Monday, August 12, 2019.

Eid-ul-Adha: Festival of the sacrifice

Rare sight: The idol of Athi Varadar on display at the Sri Devarajaswamy temple in Kancheepuram on Monday; Governor Banwarilal Purohit visiting the temple for darshan. B. Velankanni Raj, S.R. Raghunathan B_VELANKANNI RAJ

Athi Varadar: the idol that emerges every 40 years

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Faith

Consciousness principle

Faith

Embodiment of vairagya

Faith

Cosmic manifestation

Faith

Great devotion

Faith

Value of humility

Faith

Vanquishing the demon

Mutual affection

Mantras recited during weddings are full of meaning and hold valuable lessons for us, said V.S. Karunakarachariar in a discourse. One mantra, which is

Love for devotees

Sugreeva wondered how Rama would tackle Vali. So, he told Rama about the killing of Dundubhi. Dundubhi was huge, but Vali picked up Dundubhi with

Greatness of Thiruppavai

A verse in Thiruvaimozhi speaks of Nammazhvar’s greatness. It is a pasuram about the deity of Tholaivillimangalam in Tirunelveli district. Nammazhvar

Sadana for Chitta Suddhi

None can understand the truth of Brahman and statements such as ‘Brahman is limitless as the sky,’ at best can serve as partial and temporary truths.

His endless glories

None can fathom the greatness of the Supreme Brahman, say the Vedas, and yet they try to speak of His glories. In the seventh, eighth, and ninth

Cultivate detachment

The way to cultivate detachment to worldly attractions and attachment to one’s duty is to lead life with the view that the whole universe is the

Surrender to His will

A diligent student of Vedanta may develop erudite skills, such as the ability to expound the sastras, or even compose works and texts based on these.

Guru bhakti

Guru Parampara venerates the line of preceptors and teaches that just as it is everyone’s duty to remain devoted and grateful to God for all the

Focus on God’s feet

To behave in a dharmic manner requires a pure heart. Everything else is just needless showing off. Those are the words of the poet Thiruvalluvar. To

Deity and ornaments

When Sugreeva and other monkeys see Rama and Lakshmana approaching, they are filled with fear. Sugreeva is certain that they have been sent by Vali to

Undiminishing joy

One can have undiminishing joy by worshipping God, and yet there are people who seek fleeting pleasures, said M.A. Manickavelu in a discourse.

Lord Vasudeva is Bhagavan

Sage Parasara, author of Vishnu Purana, argues that the name Bhagavan is apt only in the case of Lord Vasudeva, said P.T. Seshadri, in a discourse. If

Narasimha emerges

When Prahlada said that the Lord was everywhere, even in a small atom, Hiranyakasipu struck the pillar before him, and out came Narasimha.

Amazing simplicity

Nammazhvar says that the Lord is accessible and easy to comprehend as far as His devotees are concerned. He can easily be won with our love, as seen

Karma Yoga relieves stress

Stress management techniques available today advise practices, such as meditation, yoga and listening to music, to provide relief to stress. These are

Prahlada’s world view

The Bhagavata Purana captures all the nuances of Prahlada’s exemplary devotion through the words of Narada, who is himself a great devotee and is also

Purity of mind

From time immemorial, it has been acknowledged that the highest human achievement is the conquest of the mind. “He who has conquered his mind can

Temples in the lap of Nature

Up the hill, across the river and a long drive — a quick tour of three landmark temples in Guwahati

Frontiers of bhakti

Bhakti is explained as an individual’s personal relationship with the Lord when one has his mind fixed on God with love, gratitude, affection and

Guru Nanak’s message of love, peace, equality

On the occasion of the 550th birth anniversary of Shri Guru Nanak Devji, it is pertinent to recall His teachings of love, peace, equality and

Purity of mind

From time immemorial, it has been acknowledged that the highest human achievement is the conquest of the mind. “He who has conquered his mind can

Greatness of Acharyas

Service to one’s Acharya is superior to serving God Himself. And this is demonstrated in Sabari moksha, said Akkarakkani Srinidhi, in a discourse.

Fall from power

Nammazhvar, in his Thiruvaimozhi, urges us to surrender to the Lord. His oru nayakamai verse shows us the need to surrender at once. We must not keep

Muruga’s many names

Daksha performs a yaga, to which he invites all the devas but does not invite Lord Siva, his son-in-law. Dakshayani, Siva’s Consort, goes to her

The sacred hill

Vedanta Desika praises the hill, known as Tirumala, which is the abode of Lord Srinivasa. He says this hill shows Him the Lord’s feet. It gets rid of

Testing time for Him

Vaishnavite Acharya Embar said that Lord Narayana faced three dangers! We face many dangers in life, but how can the Supreme One be threatened? The

Placing trust in God

Nayanmars, Azhvars and other saints have expressed their desire to be with God always. Their outpourings in verse are moving expressions of their love

Bhishma, warrior & devotee

Bhishma as the commander in chief of the Kaurava army is a warrior par excellence who is committed to dharma, duty and righteousness and he treads the

Single pointed dhyana

Generally all who worship God are said to be His devotees and each individual, according to his background, upbringing, and his inherent vasanas, gets

Maricha gains wisdom

The trajectory of Maricha’s association with Rama is interesting. From being a sworn enemy of Rama, he becomes aware of Rama’s greatness and superior

Ethics of war

After the Gitopadesa to Arjuna is over and when all is ready for the Mahabharata war to begin, Yudhishtira puts away his weapons, discards his armour,

Gita is a sastra

The Gita is more a sastra than a grantha, say the wise. It is spoken by the very Lord Himself, and His promise that one need not doubt His protection

Rama’s lovely eyes

The pureness of one’s heart reflects in one’s face. Rama had a heart full of love, compassion, and forgiveness. Naturally, His face reflected His

Undesirable pleasures

It takes discerning capacity to know good from bad. Some people are so full of desire, that they cannot tell good from bad. So, they hanker after what

Vishnu the enabler

Lord Mahavishnu is lauded as Vijayah in the Vishnu Sahasranama. That is because He makes it possible for Brahma and others to execute their duties

Lotus eyed Lord

A distinguishing feature of the Supreme Brahman is that His eyes are like lotuses, said V.S. Karunakarachariar in a discourse. And this is seen in the

Free from faults

The Divya Prabandha hymns and stotras such as the Vishnu Sahasranama sing the Lord’s glories in myriad ways to hail His auspicious qualities; and like

Exceptional bhakti

The Lord is believed to inhere in five forms, Para, Vyuha, Vibhava, Archa and Antaryami, according to Vaishnava tradition and Azhwars have shown how

Thought, word and deed

Sastras lay great emphasis on ‘Tri karana Suddhi” by which a jivatma learns to coordinate his speech and action with what his mind thinks. This is the

Intricacies of dharma

When Rama enters Dandakaranya, Valmiki is quick to point out the new responsibility that has fallen on His shoulders, namely to guard the rishis

True grace

When Parikshit listens to the story of how Vritrasura is killed by Indra, he voices a doubt about whether God is openly partial to the devas. This

Human nature explained

The Puranas help us to understand the workings of the world and also the infinite variety in human nature and tendencies, pointed out Sri Damodhara

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