Tantras sacred texts that show how to honor the feminine divine book review

Siva (god of yogis, the destroyer)

Lingams (cylindrical forms that are highly regarded in India)

Shapeless nature of it is considered close connection to Siva

Vishnu is considered a kinder, gentler deity than Siva

The three basic tenets of Hindu related philosophy:

Base their philosophies on the Vedas as well as meditation experiences that reveal the truth

Ethics are the basis for a productive, orderly society – karma is important and should be adhered to

Ignoring your own Self is the cause of most suffering in the world

Samkhya (oldest philosophical system in India) – two states of reality

Purusha (Self, forever wise and free)

Prakriti (what brings about the material world – we confuse this with Purusha and thereby cause our own suffering)

Claims that you must understand this dualism in order to gain transcendence

Yoga (identifying with the eternal nature of earthly life)

The yogi Patanjali assembled the yoga methods into nearly 200 sayings known as sutras

Obstacles in our lives distract the mind from achieving enlightenment

Eight limbs of yoga (tenets to prevent obstacles from getting to us)

Yama (celibacy, pacifism, honesty)

Niyama (staying pure and content, being studious)

Asana (posturing)

Pranayama (controlling your breath)

Pratyahara (letting go of sensory perception)

Dharana (concentration

Dhyana (meditation)

Samadhi (achieving superconsciousness and absorbing yourself within them)

Advaita Vedanta (presents a single reality as opposed to Yoga and Samkhya)

Vyasa founded it around the time of the Upanishads

Teaches that material life is an illusion and that there has always been and will always be the absolute spirit, Brahman

Life is cyclical and will never end, but this fact is veiled by maya

Maya (illusion of reality in the material world)

FORMS OF WORSHIP

Sixteen rites exist for purifying a person’s path through life

Pilgrimages are common to sacred rivers such as the Ganges in order to perform these rites

Puja (worship)

Darsan (visual contact with the Divine, achieved in images in temples)

Prasad (sanctified food offered to a guru and/or deities)

FESTIVALS

Sixteen religious holidays

Lohari (mid-winter nights, bonfires are built and food is thrown into them, discarding your own evils

Holi (celebrates return of spring)

Naga panchami (takes place in July or August, celebrates snakes)

Janmashtami (Krishna’s birthday, holding vigil at Mathura, which was his birthplace)

Ganesh Chaturti (honoring Ganesh with clay images of the deity)

Durga Puja (celebrating Durga with images)

Dussehra (burning and destroying of images of Ravana)

Divali (four day festival of lights)

Mahashivaratri (fasting and vigils to honor Siva, but ends with feasting and merriment)

Kumbha Mela (happens every twelve years, largest festival in the world, occurs where the Ganges and Jumna rivers meet, a time of celebration and purifying)

MODERN HINDUISM

Took severe hit when the British colonized India in 1857, Christian missionaries came in and set to work converting

Mahatma Gandhi became powerful figure in advocating non-violent resistance to their oppression

Ramakrishna, a mystic who lived in the nineteenth century, celebrated all religions in his worship of the Divine

Transcendental Meditation came about in the 60s and 70s to bring yogic practices to the western world, gurus cropping up throughout the world

Was thought to increase concentration, make you healthier and more fit, increase creativity and cure any number of addictions and ills

Hindu-related violence has increased since the 90s

RSS (Rashtriya Svayamsevak Sangh) is a fundamentalist group that asks for the renewal of Hindu culture that promotes xenophobia towards Muslims and Christians