of Hinduism. Amongst these are moksha, dharma and advaita. In Sanskrit, moksha means ‘release’ from the cycle of birth and death (samsara) - it is freedom from attachment to materialism in life and detachment from the human world. There are multiple ways to attain moksha, which will be discussed in this essay. Dharma, in sanskrit, means ‘duty’ or ‘ethics’- these are the duties and morals followed by Hindus either pertaining to their individual selves (visesa dharma) or to the bigger world (samanya dharma). Following dharma is essential to attaining moksha. Advaita, in Sanskrit, literally means ‘non-dualism’. This ‘non-dualism’ is described as ‘no difference between subject-object’ (Pinkney,15th September 2016). This term was proposed by Shankara and means that the atman or the individual soul or self doesn 't exist alone and is just a part of the whole or the absolute reality, i.e, brahman. The atman and brahman are ultimately one and there’s no differentiation between the two. In the article ‘The Strange and Curious Tale of the Last True Hermit’ by Michael Finkel, Christopher Knight is a man who renounced the world at an early age and lived off stolen goods and foods in the forest by himself for twenty seven years. He created a shelter hidden from the eyes of the world and passed his time there, detached from the demands of human life. He sought freedom in his time in isolation however, some of his actions clashed with the social norms of the local community and caused…
Indian Salvation Religion(s) And Mediterranean Metaphysical Philosophy During the classical Era, the belief system an individual belonged to determine the way they behaved, acted, and they hope they had. A comparison and contrast of some written documents provide an understanding of the similarities and differences between Indian salvation religions and Mediterranean metaphysical philosophy. The Bhagavad Gita, an analysis on how individuals can function in this world and become one with…
1) How can Hinduism be described as a diverse religion? Hinduism can be described as a diverse religion for multiple reasons. The first would be the ways in which practitioners of Hinduism worship multiple avatars, especially those of Vishnu, whose favored avatar appears to be Krishna. Second there are different views of Brahman, which all agreed as the Divine Spirit, but the three views discussed in the video, on the trails of world religions Hinduism, are: 1. The universe and Brahman are one…
According to Swami Vivekananda the Meaning of Education Vivekananda believed a country's future depends on its people; his teachings focused on the development of the mass. He wanted “to set in motion machinery which will bring noblest ideas to the doorstep of even the poorest and the meanest.” Vivekananda believed that the essence of Hinduism was best expressed in the Vedanta philosophy, based on the interpretation of Adi Shankara. He said that no one teaches others, they learn by themselves…
verses. The long version of the text is called Brihat Yoga Vasistha, wherein Brihat means "great or large". The longer version is also referred to simply as Yoga Vasistha and by numerous other names such as Vasiṣṭha Ramayana. The short version of the text is called Laghu Yoga Vasishta, wherein Laghu means "short or small" and contains 6000 verses. The exact century of its completion is unknown, but has been estimated to be somewhere between 6th-century to as late as 14th-century, but it is…
revered by Buddhists. Reaching a certain destination like Badrinath located in the lofty Himalayan heights at 10400 feet requires one to pass from holy sites like Hardiwar, Rishikesh, Devaprayag, Rudraprayag, Karana Prayag, Nanda Prayag and Vishnuprayag which makes the entire journey a spiritual experience to be cherished for a life time. En route also are Pandukeswar where the Pandavas are believed to have been born, and the site where Bhima and Hanuman (sons of Vayu) met. Hot water springs…