Yoga Seminar 5: Love, The Essence of Spiritual Power - Part One

Love is one of the most abundant, easiest felt and easiest stimulated emotion. If you doubt this then observe young children and infants. Unencumbered by subconscious conditioning and limits infants and young children are full of love. They glow in it, and as much as we love children, in most cases, they have more love to give us than we have to give them. Children are so full of love that they can barely contain themselves as it flows out of them as their enthusiasm, exuberance and their ability to forgive. As they grow older children limit the spontaneity of their love based on their observation of life around them and what they are thought.

Click Here To Read the Contents of This Yoga Seminar on Love.

The Hindu View of Organ Donation

On July 14 2009, I was invited as a panelist in forum organized by the Nilai University College during its Ribbon Week. The Ribbon Week is an event initiative by the college to increase awareness in Malaysia on important health causes. There are four colour coded ribbons that represent:

White Ribbon: Maternal and Child Health

Pink Ribbon: Breast Cancer

Green Ribbon: Organ Donation

Red Ribbon: HIV and AIDS

The forum was to enlighten the public on the various religious points of veiw on the practice of organ donation. There was four of us, a Buddhist monk, a Christian Pastor, A Muslim lecturer and I of course represented Hinduism. Below is the introductory text of my opening for the Hindu Point of View on Organ Donation.

In my years of Hindu missionary work in Malaysia and abroad I have not encountered a situation where a Hindu leader or guru has forbidden organ donation or organ transplanting. However, no authority in Hinduism has come up with guidelines for this relatively new innovation in medical care. (Relative from the the point of view of human history). In general organ donation is considered the personal choice of an individual.

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Part Three: Disicpline - Willpower's Pace Setter

Amongst the 3D's (Desire, Determination and Discipline), discipline is the most simple element. Essentially it is following through on a plan. In fact, discipline does not play any role in either the cause (the role of desire) or stimulation (the role of determination) of willpower. Discipline, interestingly enough, is used to reign in willpower. However for any project to be successful, discipline is as important as the other 'Ds'. Disciplines main role is managing the powerful force of willpower. Before we get into the important subject of managing willpower, it is important that I share the spiritual understanding of discipline.

Click Here To Continue Reading the Contents of this Seminar

Q & A: Why did God make us intelligent?

Well the questions above is not exactly what my young friend Arulmoli asked. I paraphrased it for the title of this QnA. Here is Arul's original question:

The basic needs of men is food, and shelter. So, why are men given such a powerful mind to create so many great things like machines. Do men actually need all these things to live ..... no. Then why are we such an advance creation by god ? We should have just been monkeys.

This question came to Arul out of his enthrallment after viewing the trailer for the upcoming Transformer movie. I saw the trailer with Arul, it was impressive to say the least, especially how computer graphics have evolved over the recent years. Arul's question seemed appropriate. Click Here to continue with this QnA.

The Laws That Govern Life

The Laws That Govern Life

God created all the worlds and endowed them with laws to govern them. These laws govern everything from nature to the consequences of our actions and our perspective. Among the spiritual laws that govern life, three play the most prominent part in our life. They are maya, karma and anava. 

Click Here to Continue Reading this Hindu Philosophy Lesson

Yogic Personal Development Seminar 2: Willpower Pt.1

Part One: Desire, Willpower's Energy Generator

Seminars Two, Three and Four of the Yogic Personal Development Seminars are dedicated to the study of willpower. Willpower is a most crucial element in making all things happen in life whether they be for material or spiritual purposes. Willpower is comprised of three faculties and states of mind. They are desire, determination and discipline. In this first part, Desire is subject of exploration.

Click Here to Continue Reading Part One: Seminar on Willpower

The Recession from a Spiritual Perspective

I thought I would meditate on the current economic downturn to gain an inner perspective on this global situation. An inner perspective is looking at something from the 'inside out' as my guru used to say. The 'inside out' perspective is a meditative perspective. It can reveal surprising information and insight into a subject or situation that would otherwise escape us, as this perspective draws directly for the Omniscience of God.

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The Gayatri Mantra

The Gayatri mantra is a popular Vedic mantra. Gayatri is the mythical goddess of dawn. She represents the Sun as it rises. This mantra is a supplication to God to help us in our life. The Gayatri mantra is described in the Vedas to be used in a ceremony called the sandhya vandanam. Sandhya vandanam is performed in the morning as the first prayer after one bathes. In the old days people went to the rivers or the large temple water tanks for their bath. After their bath and before leaving the river (or any body of water) devotees will perform sandhya vandanam. The Vedas give these instructions on how to perform sandhya vandanam:

Standing knee deep in water while facing the rising sun, water is collected with both palms together. Then the while chanting the Gayatri mantra the water is slowly poured back into the river. This is repeated three times.

Click here to learn more about the Gayatri mantra and how to chant it.

Can women chant the Gayatri mantra?

A friend asked:

Why is there controversy over whether females can recite the Gayatri? Also, why do some people believe that you must have a "pure" body to recite the Gayatri i.e you must not eat meat, etc?

I am asking because I had discussed with a Hindu priest at the temple here that I like the Gayatri mantra (this was sometime last year) and he seemed to be shocked, and he said that it was not advisable for women to chant this mantra, and that it has adverse effects if they do. I then Googled it, and there were alot of conflicting information on the Web.

Read my response to this question here.

Flying A Kite

Kite Flying Isn't As Easy As It Seems

One of my 20009 new year resolutions was to fly a kite. The last time I had flown a kite was maybe 20 years ago. It didn't fare to well at it then. I ran with the kite, it flew and gained altitude quickly but fell to the ground just as quickly when I stopped running. Not enough wind perhaps.

This time around, I was at a beach. With my more mature understanding of the science of upwind and downwind, this time I was sure to succeed at getting the kite up. I was with my friends and their family in the island of Pangkor off the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It was a holiday get together but I took the opportunity to have fun with teaching yoga to my enthusiastic young students, children of my friends. I wasn't planning on the fulfilling my kite flying commitment but Kala had bought a kite for her kids to try it out.

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The Hidden Worlds

All religions teach about places we go to after death. Scriptures describe the two main places we may enter as heaven and hell. Heaven is a beautiful and divine place and a place where only righteous people live together with angelic beings and God. All things good and enjoyable are experienced in Heaven. It is a blissful place free from suffering. Hell on the other hand is a dark place. A place of torment, pain and suffering. The company in hell consists of those who lived sinful lives on Earth. It is obviously a place to avoid. This is generally used as a motivation by many religions to persuade its followers to live by the tenants of their religion and to do good to earn their place in heaven. According to Hinduism sum of the quality of our actions on Earth determine whether we go to heaven or hell.

Continue Reading This Hindu Philosophy Lesson Here

Guided Meditation: Internal Worship

This guided meditation is based on Pusalar’s story. When parents or teachers teach children this meditation, the parent or the teacher should instruct the children on what to do mentally as they sit in meditation. This meditation can be done in the temple or in the home shrine after ceremonial prayers. If you are doing this meditation in a children’s class, then it would be good to start with devotional hymns or songs to get everyone into a sublime mood.

Click Here to Learn the Steps of this Guided Meditation

Questions on Hindu Philosophy

• 9 Common Questions on Hinduism
• 5 Unique Questions on Hinduism
• Apostasy in Hinduism?
• Questions About God
• Questions About The Vedas
• Questions About Hindu History

Click here to read the MyHinduPage, Hindu Lessons, Questions and Answers Section.

Welcome to Hindu New Year 5111 Virodhin

Between Mid March and Mid April, different ethnic communities celebrate their New Years. For instance on March 29th the ethnics of Karnataka, Andhra Pradhesh, Sindhi and Maharashtra celebrate their New Years. The Telugu and Kannada people call it Ugadhi, whille Marathis call it Gudi Padwa. On April 13th or April 14th, the Tamils celebrate Puthandu, Malayalees, Vishu, Punjabis Vaishaki and Bengalis Bohaag Bihu. These vary new year days however share a common origin, which is Astrological.

In the Hindu Astrological system, Jyothisha, April 13/14 in the Gregorian (Western) calendar is the day when the Sun will have come full circle around the 12 zodiacs and restart the cycle in the traditional zodiac number one, that is Mesha, or Aries.

The differing dates among the different Indian Hindu communities reflect legends or important historical events of the community, such as the day God began His cycle of creation or the coronation day of an influential King of the community.

As with all new years, the Hindu New Year is a time of review and renewal. Traditionally households will spring clean their homes, wear new clothes and attend the temple at the crack of dawn for special prayers.

Continue reading this article on the Hindu New Year here.

Starving for Peace

Fasting for Peace

Fasting, as a spiritual practice is common among Hindus. Many Hindus fast weekly or as an observance during certain festivals. It is also a common practice to forsake meals as non-confrontational or non-violent protest against injustice or cruelty. Mahatma Gandhi for instance fasted numerous times during his campaign for an independent India, though not to protest the British government, but instead as atonement whenever his followers became violent in their campaigns. A couple of times he fasted almost to the brink of death, and only ended his fasts when his followers renounced violence.

Early this year a group of eight Tamil youth in America, touched by the tragedy befalling innocent civilians in Sri Lanka, decided that they had to do something. They called themselves, People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL) and came up with a campaign to fast 10,000 meals collectively as act of solidarity for all those suffering in the Sri Lankan conflict.

Click here to continue reading this article.

Q & A: What is Deja Vu, and Why Does it Occur

Shyamini Questions:

Situation: You go trough life each day as it is.. somehow, sometimes during conversations had, you feel like you've already heard about a certain piece of news or information or story before this that's just been revealed when in truth, nobody has breathed a single word about it to you before this... not even the media! When you tell the others around you that you've heard about it before this or that the particular info is on the stale side, they give you a weird look and try to overlook this matter. This situation has occurred numerous times in my life. Sometimes i feel weird all around. Sometimes... just plain freaked out. In other words, its like we are having a conversation about a certain topic (that isn't necessarily covered by the media of course!) when suddenly, i feel like i've heard this particular conversation before. Word by word you feel like you're replaying the conversation for real...

Question: What does the above situation signify?
: How does 1 know if he/she is a reborn soul?
: How do you interpret dreams?

After my initial response, Shyamini replied asking for clarification on some of my answers. Her further questions are below. My posted response below will cover all the questions.

Shyamini Queries further:

Moving on to the questions I asked earlier. For the 1st one, u said it was dejavu and that 'we are able to see our near future based on karmas currently sprouting and prepare mentally for them'.
My question(s) this time is:
- How are we able to do so?
- What role does the karma play in this?

As for the third question i posted earlier, you wrote that 'Spiritual advice is that you don't linger on dreams and instead concern yourself with normal life'.
My next question is this:
-How can you just concern yourself with normal life, when you know some of these dreams replays itself from time to time?
- What if these 'dreams' involve real life people you know?

Click here to read the response

My Hindu Colouring Book

Hindu Children's Corner Content

My Hindu Colouring Book

My Hindu Colouring Book contains 47 panes of pictures for colouring covering Hindu subjects:

• Hindu God's, Mahadevas and Symbols

• Saint Auvaiyar's Aathi Soodhi Advice

• Puja Items

• Worship At Home

• Hindu Culture

• Musical Instruments

• Hindu Temple and

• Hindu Saints

The 47 panes are presented in 10 printable A4 sized pdf documents. Click here or on the title to go to My Hindu Colouring Book's download page.

Apostasy in Hinduism?

Recently a student from a college approached MyHinduPage to present the Hindu view of apostasy. It will be part of a research paper which deals with the interpretation of apostasy in different religions. Below are the questions and my reply to them.

1) Who/ What do you consider an apostate?

The concept of apostasy is not existent in Hinduism. I must note that Hinduism is not a religion. It is actually a family of different persuasions or sects that share similarities in belief and origin that have been grouped under the umbrella called Hinduism.

However, even among the sects of Hinduism there is no such thing as apostasy. A Hindu may change his or her sectarian views as one wishes, and formally enter one sect or another without need for excommunication or a declaration of apostasy.

The reason there is no such thing as apostasy in Hinduism is because of the belief that there is One Supreme God who is the God of all religions. Despite what people of other religions think, Hindus belief that we are all praying to the same God, Who appears in different forms. Therefore, even if one gives up Hindu practices and enters another religion, say Christianity, it does not mean that that person is 'leaving' God. He is still considered faithful to God, but simply worshipping and believing in God in a way more intune with his or her nature.

If there is anything remotely close to apostasy in Hinduism, it would be the recognition of atheism. Hinduism acknowledges atheistic beliefs as part of the spiritual evolution of the soul. Because of this, Hinduism recognizes atheism as a path of life. Yet a person may still continue following all the practices of Hinduism, even temple worship from a strictly cultural point of view, but maintain an atheistic point of view. However even in such a grey scenario of apostasy, excommunication is not necessary.

Click Here to Continue Reading this Article

Questions on The Colour Meditation

The colour meditation is a meditation technique that is explained in the Meditation Video Tutorial playlist No. 9. Recently I received an email from a MyHinduPage reader, Mr. Mandar, who has been practicing the colour meditation, with some questions and description of his experiences. I am including excerpts of his email, with his permission, and my response to him as I believe it will be helpful, especially the description of his experiences, for others who are practicing this meditation technique. 

Click Here to Read the Q & A on the Colour Meditation.

Moksha – An Arcade Style Hindu Based Game

Last month, I received an email with a request to review a game called Moksha. Initially when I saw the email I thought the game was probably one that was (as is mostly the case) some kind of game that was named moksha simply for the sake of novelty. There are many games out there that have Hindu philosophical words such as avatar, karma or maya, but have really nothing to do with the actual concept of these words except perhaps for some really far fetched connection to the concept. However, with Moksha - The Game I was pleasantly surprised, because the game actually teaches the concept of moksha.

The game is not sophisticated graphically, compared to what you can find out there in this multi billion dollar industry. The controls are rudimentary, the basic move right and left, move up and down and shoot to destroy obstacles. It is after all an arcade style game. The main character of the game is you, the player. Your main goal is to become free of the cycle of reincarnation on earth (the meaning of moksha) and reunite with God, which occurs after you have gone through all of the game levels and successfully answered the quizzes on Hindu teachings at the end of each level. Before you attempt the quizzes the teachings are presented after end of each level.

Click here to read the  rest of this review and for more information on Moksha - The Game.

Question on Widowhood in Hinduism

The Position of Widows in Hinduism

Recently, I received a question from a concerned Mr. Bala regarding the position of widows in Hinduism. Unfortunately, there are a lot of negative misconceptions on this issue which leads to needless pain and misplaced disdain in the society. Below are excerpts from his email and my response.

Bala wrote:

"Radhe Krishna,

Namaskaram Swami,

I would like to know why widows are not allowed to do any pujas or activities in the temple. For example: Doing aarathi, they say only sumangali (explained in my response) only can do it…"

"Recently I went to the temple for some special puja, after all the puja finished the gurukkal (priest) asked for three sumangalis to perform aarati, then came three ladies to perform the aarati, of which one of them is a widow. Immediately one of the ladies told her that she cannot do the aarati because she is a widow, later arguements broke out.

I was very upset about the incident, more over it happened in a temple. The worst thing is that the widow cursed the other lady saying that she will also be a widow one day."

Click Here Read my Response 

Atma - Our Soul

Atma - Our Soul

Religion seems to have all the answers doesn't it. All the mysteries of life can be answered by religion. For instance to the question 'Who am I?' The answer is the most unobvious. It's not our body nor who we think we are or whom we call ourselves. Instead it is this indestructible, intangible part of ourselves that is the soul. This soul was created by God, religion's doctrines state, and it is unaffected by death, disease or destruction. It is ever pure.

If not for the fact that all these qualities of the soul can be experienced, one could conclude that this is an escapist theory, trying to distract us from the realities (especially the harsh realities) of life.

Yes! We can experience our soul. From personal experience I can tell you that when I experienced my soul for the first time, it created a paradigm shift in the way I perceived my life. I felt complete and an unfading feeling of fulfillment started to take hold within me. I felt an affinity with the my guru and all those sages and rishis who spoke so loftily about the realities of life. Finally, I understood, and I could share the same sense of profoundness about life. It is an amazing experience to touch into the atma.

The atma is that part of us that is immortal, the Life of our lives as my guru used to say. The atma has a discernable form like our other bodies though it is made of spiritual elements. It is the deepest of five bodies or sheaths of existence within us. Click here to continue reading the Hindu Philosophy Lesson on Atma - Our Soul.

 Thaipusam

Thaipusam is a festival to celebrate two important events in Hindu mythology. The first is the anniversary when Lord Murugan received the Vel from His Mother, Goddess Parvathi. The second event is the day that God Shiva danced the ananda tandava and revealed His form of Nataraja to the devas, sages and priests gathered at the hallowed Shiva temple of Chidambaram in Tamilnadu. Thus Thaipusam is celebrated in both Sivan and Murugan temples, though Thaipusam is more popular as a Murugan festival. Thaipusam is a one day festival which usually falls on the last week of January or beginning of February.

Hindu Prayers

Hindu Prayers are a collection of mantra and devotional songs that you can learn and teach others, especially children. The meanings of these prayers and how and when best to say them are explained. You will find prayers in Sanskrit, Tamil and English.

Click Here to learn Hindu Prayers.

The Hindu Names Database

Share your comments on The Hindu Names Database, Hindu Naming Traditions and Namakarana Samskara - Hindu Naming Ceremony here.

"This is an expanding and comprehensive database of Hindu names. One of the public services of My Hindu Page is to collect contemporary and ancient Hindu names and provide their meanings. Apart from the names, systems of naming in Hinduism, the namakarana samskara (the Hindu name giving ceremony) and other articles related to Hindu names and naming will be included to provide a comprehensive understanding of Hindu naming."

To access The Hindu Names Database and read the articles connected to it Click Here.

ITS WAR! WAR! WAR! FOR THE SAKE OF peace?

Alright, I have kept silent long enough about this war between Israel and Hamas. Now I've got to say my piece. Though what triggered me to ponder on this issue is not this war, but the Mumbai terrorism incident.

A few days ago I stumbled upon a very disturbing piece of transcript. It is a transcript of a few phone conversations between the Mumbai terrorists and their 'handlers' (as in dog 'handlers') in Pakistan. Here is an excerpt of the most benign part of this conversation.

"*Mumbai terrorist: *Greetings! What did the major-general say?
*Pakistan caller:* Greetings. The major-general directed us to do what we
like. We should not worry. The operation has to be concluded tomorrow
morning. Pray to God. Keep two magazines and three grenades aside, and
expend the rest of your ammunition."

Click Here to continue Reading this article.

Thaiponggal / Makar Sankaranti

Thaiponggal is a three to five day thanks giving festival celebrated in the second week of January, usually January 14th or 15th. The period marks the northward progression of the sun (uttarayana) after the winter solstice. It is a day of thanks giving to Mother Earth and the Sun, on which crops that provide food and commerce depend. This festival is celebrated throughout India. In the northern Indian states it is Makar Sankaranti, in Andhra Pradesh, Pedda Panduga. In the states where the holy Ganga river flows it is called Gangasagar Mela. It is considered very auspicious to dip in the purifying waters of the Ganga during this festival. In Tamilnadu it is Thaiponggal.

Click Here to continue reading this article about Thaiponggal / Makar Sankaranti.

Five Unique Questions on Hinduism

Continuation of Q & A Presentation. 2008 Scott Road Kandaswami Temple, Kuala Lumpur, Hindu Youth Camp.

1. What is Bhakti Yoga?
2. Who created Hinduism and the Vedas?
3. Is it a must to follow the rules of the religion to the letter?
4. Talking to God, does it help?
5. If we adopt a few religions in doing various activities, is it wrong?

Click here to read the answers to these questions.

Nine Common Questions on Hinduism

Last month (December 08) I presented and answered nine common questions about Hinduism to a group of youth attending a Hindu camp in the Scott Road (Brickfields) Kandaswami Temple in Kuala Lumpur, Malalysia. This lecture weaves in a number of common questions asked in Hinduism. After I had finished this presentation, I the youth the opportunity to ask their questions.

Quick Links to the Questions: Are there many Gods in Hinduism? Are Hindu Gods married? Are we idol worshippers? Is there a Hindu Bible? Why do we worhsip cows? Must we be vegetarian? What is karma? Do we believe in reincarnation? Why do we wear the 'pottu'?

Click Here to Read the Questions and Answers

Pondering: My 2009 New Year Resolution

My 2009, New Year Resolutions 

New Years' are great aren't they? From one point of view it is just another day. I mean, January 1, 2009 would be nothing if we decided the new year fell on February 1, 2009. 

For me the greatest significance of a new year day (or the eve) is that I review and tie-off the loose ends of the previous period of time we call a year and look to new beginnings. The best part of this is that despite whatever the foercast for next year may be, the eve of a new year and new year day are times of renewed inspiration and celebration. It is a positive time and we reinforce this positivity collectively by wishing all our loved ones and acquaintances a very Happy New Year. Even for those in the midst of tragedy, trials and tribulations, there is, even if it may be only a slightest sliver of a glimmer of hope, it is some hope and positivity nonetheless. Thus it becomes a duty for all of us to wish each other a Happy 2009. This is our collective commitment for this year and let us all join together in prayer and action to see this positivity and inspiration through in our lives.

As usual on New Year's eve and the day, my mobile beeped away with text greetings. Usually after sending the reply, the messages gets trashed. I always thought it a pity, trashing these messages, as many of the them took a lot of thought to compose. So this time around, as I list out my resolutions for this coming 2009 in this the first of the Pondering article, I am going to insert these greetings here and there in an effort to save these greetings for posterity.

"Before the sun sets in this year, before the memories fade, before the networks get jammed. Wish you Happy Sparkling New Year '09."

Click Here to Read the Rest of this article.