Introduction The word ‘Veda’ comes from the root ‘Vid – to know, leading to ‘Vidya’, knowledge which leads further to vision, meaning revelation, self-realization. The Veda is the book of knowledge of Changeless Reality. The four Vedas form a body of religious literature called Shruti. ‘Shruti’ … [Read more...]

Hindu Goddesses Saraswati Saraswati, the consort of Brahma, the female Shakti or energizing principle which gives the creator his remarkable power. Saraswati, literally means flowing water, because the nature of wisdom is that it wets and ennobles the person who cherishes it; it is not stagnant but … [Read more...]

Lord Shiva is also known as Bhagwan Shiv. Lord Siva, the cosmic destroyer, was not a Vedic god, and in his earlier forms he was known as Rudra. He is the perfect ascetic mahayogi. He is also depicted as the primeval dancer – Adinata and Nataraja, the divine dancer, whose rhythmic dance of … [Read more...]

Vishnu (from ‘Vish’ meaning to pervade). Lord Vishnu (also Bhagwan Vishnu) is the preserver or sustainer, and his dwelling place is Vaikuntha. Lord Vishnu, the Hindu God, is represented as reclining in deep mediation in a milky ocean, the ocean of time and on the thousand headed cosmic serpent … [Read more...]

Lord Brahma (also Bhagwan Brahma) is first among the Hindu Trinity of Gods. Brahman is the formless, ineffable divinity and Brahma is the creator with form, the begetter of the universe, the dynamic creative five-headed divine figure. His head represents the upper direction. Lord Brahma is also … [Read more...]

Guna has a two-fold meaning of “quality” in both its meaning. Its first connotation is “Physical characteristic” while its second connotation is value, virtue, work. It indicates the ‘attitude’ with which the mind works. “Sattva, rajas and tamas – these Prakriti – produced gunas unite the body … [Read more...]

Lord Varuna was one of the twelve sons of Aditi. The Devas appointed him the Lord of all waters. Lord Varuna is the sustainer of universe and guardian of the moral order right. Lord Varuna is constantly called ‘Dhritavrata’ or one whose laws are established. The gods themselves are said to … [Read more...]

Lord Agni is the god of fire and sacrifice among Hindus. The universe is believed to be composed of five elements of which Agni is one. The other four are: water, earth, ether (akasha) and air. Lord Agni stands next to Indra in importance in the Vedas, being addressed in at least two hundred … [Read more...]

Three concepts in Hinduism are interlinked: Karma, Samsara and Moksha. Action, the chain of action and re-action. Only through Karma can Karma be conquered. Only by working in time, can we be free from the trappings of time. These are Hinduism perennial statements which are accepted as self-evident … [Read more...]