Essays on Hinduism

Religion has been seen as disempowered and in decrease in the cutting edge world, its implications no more applicable inside the overwhelming mainstream perspective and institutional temples losing control of social life to common bodies (i.e., secularization, privatization). However religion (or secularization) may not be so static or bound together a marvel as awhile ago thought (this may be an outcome of advanced Western inclination, as, for instance, Talal Asad contends; of the (liberal) separation of social order, dividing the religious and the common, characterizing the previous as bound together conventions concerned with profound, private convictions, not handy, open Continue reading...

Since time immemorial, altars have been an integral part of human life. It is because human beings have always had a deep desire to pay homage to a higher power that they consider their God. Whether one calls this higher power God, Buddha or Allah, people will always have altars to pray, worship and venerate them.
An altar is any structure built for religious purposes of offering sacrifices and worship to a higher power or a God. They are usually located in shrines and places designated for worship like temples and churches. The design of an altar vary with Continue reading...

Religion and Prophets

According to religion, prophets are regarded as supernatural. Their actions are considered to be divine and directly intricate to God’s plan. The idea of prophets is embraced in diverse cultures. Ranging from Christianity, Hindu to Islam, prophets were regarded as very significant individuals who had powers and character that superseded human thoughts and abilities (Moley, 2009).The word prophet originates from the Greek word, Profetes meaning a seer or an advocate of God. As it regards Abrahamic religions such as Judaism and Christianity, the position of prophets was regarded as follows; in Judaism, prophets originated from people. It Continue reading...

Despite what many think, or what many may want to think, Hinduism has been leaving its mark in America since the 1800’s . However, at that time the religion was relatively insignificant to the local population, due to the small number of Hindu’s in the country. It was not until the 1970’s that the Hindu population became a number great enough to sustain the public’s interest in the religion. Migrating by the thousands to work in the medical industry, as well as IT, their religion both intrigued and mystified a public ready to take on anything Continue reading...

Despite the fact, that both meditation and prayer are the methods of obtaining the religious experience. However, those are not the same despite the fact that many scholars and mystics claim that meditation and prayer are of the same matter.
The word "Meditation" (Meditatio) is of a Latin origin. It didn`t come from pagan religions, but from the Christian West. It correlates with the verb "meditor" or "to meditate", ponder and means the deep concentration associated with a detachment from external objects and individual inner experiences. The Christian West gave it two meanings. On the one hand, it Continue reading...

Hinduism and Buddhism are two of the word’s well known polytheistic religions. They are similar in some ways, yet different in others. Both Hinduism and Buddhism are originally from the Indian subcontinent. They share a long but uncomfortable relationship with each other. Hinduism is a process of understanding the soul of a human being. It is all about understanding the inner soul or being, hence you are able to understand existence of a being from within. In order to attain the highest life process, you need to remove all manner of distractions from your life so as to Continue reading...

Hinduism, the dominant religion of India and Nepal, consists of several different traditions. With teachings on daily morality and traditions referred to as Shaktism, Shaivism, and many others, the culture surrounding Hinduism is rich and vibrant. In order to understand it better, I sought to have a religious experience involving Hinduism. On March 19, 2014, I attended the Malibu Hidden Temple, located at 1600 Las Virgenes Canyon Road, Calabasas, California, 91302. It was my hope to have a religious experience that would enlighten me to the ways of the Hindu culture.
Upon first arriving at the Malibu Hidden Temple, Continue reading...

Before the coming of Jesus Christ, religion as a concept still existed. However, what is today known as Christianity did not exist then. People who lived during this era worshiped or believed images gods or spirits that resided in trees or mountains. The dominant religion was Judaism. The scripture that was in use was the Old Testament which at the time was known as the Hebrew Bible. People, at the time, believed in God and kept the commandments which are stipulated in the bible. But then, not everyone was a Jew. Many religions were in existence as seen in Continue reading...

Numerous religions have looked at heaven and paradise from different angles. There is a convergence on the idea of heaven among religions though the concept of paradise is accepted and disputed in equal measure. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines heaven as the dwelling place of the Deity. The Merriam Webster dictionary defines paradise as a place that is completely peaceful and pleasant. Heaven and paradise are concepts that come up when discussing issues relating to the afterlife. A considerable fraction of religious commentators agree that the afterlife forms the bedrock basis of all religions.
The Muslims believe that there is Continue reading...

Anthropology of Religion, Magic and Witchcraft;

Anthropologies speak of religion; they usually mean it as magic and witchcraft. Witchcraft involves things, events and processes that are held to unseen on the outside the real things of the ordinary working experience and also, the normal physical cause and the effects exerted by them.
Hindu cosmologies, as well as a Shakta Tantric way of life adore Kali as the definitive authenticity or Brahman. Kali is also well-regarded as Bhavatarini literally savior of the world. Current devotional appointments fundamentally visualize Kali as a munificent mother goddess
The mother Kali, despite her being so compassionate to the children, and Continue reading...

Religion since the ancient times has played a great role in uniting people and answering the metaphysical questions that try to explain the world as it is. Religion has, therefore, contributed to many aspects of culture that has shaped many issues and provided the foundation upon which rules and regulations that govern the society have originated. In some instances, political parties have been formed along religious lines and religious laws have shaped and have been used as the guiding principles upon which other countries laws are founded. There are many religions that exist, both ancient and modern that has Continue reading...

Abstract

A rich history exists about various developments that have happened to India in the last 400 years. The history encompasses the influence of rainfall in influencing socio-economic lifestyle of the Indians, political system, the colonization, and decolonization of India, the partition of India and the factors that contributed to the partition, as well as the influence of World War 2 in resisting the colonial rule. The political model of Mahatma Gandhi is instrumental in defining the history of India during the colonial era as well as decolonization and partitioning of India into India and Pakistan. While history tend to Continue reading...

Body Art and Ornamentation

Body art and ornamentation
For centuries, the human skin has hugely been used as a culture identification and expression. People across the universe honor their culture through skin and body art language to communicate about their beliefs and values. This has attracted interest and much attention among anthropologists since the early 1900’s (Eriksen, 2001). The reason behind skin inscription highlights a central issue to anthropology and other related disciplines. This is because the skin decoration and ornamentation has expressed the boundary marks between different societies. It has further represented individual and societal experiences among people across the globe. Continue reading...

Hinduism and Buddhism

A religion defines the way in which any community gives gratitude to the believed creator and provider of life. Each community in the world has a religion and their specific religious practices. Comparing Hinduism and Buddhism helps us to have an insight on what religion is all about.
Hinduism is defined as the way of life among the Hindu community in India, Indians practice Hinduism as per the teachings from the ancient ways of living among the Indian people. Hinduism is not a religion as argued by the way their aspects of religion are unique. In the Hindu practice, Continue reading...

In Buddhism, Karma denotes those actions that are deliberately done and would result in future consequences (Kessler, Gary, 20). The action has to be intentional and if forged through the body, mind and speech of an individual. Karma in Buddhism is completely defined by intention and lives in an individual’s subconscious mind for a long time until the consequences are manifested. Buddhists believe that rebirth is the cycle of life and death. It is fostered by things such as hatred, lack of knowledge and human desires. Karma is what determines the state and cycle of rebirth of a Continue reading...

In her multilayered multidimensional animation film "Sita Sings The Blues" , Nina Paley attempts to retell an old Hindu epic the Ramayana. The film started out as a series of cartoons published on Internet by Paley. Inspired by Annette Hanshaw’s songs, her travel to India followed by tragic breakup with ex-husband, Nina decided to put it together and tell "her Ramayana". Short colorful cartoons uploaded to Internet were highly appraised by general public but got criticism from conservative Hindus due to sometimes frivolous Americanized images of Sita that bared striking resemblance with Betty Boop; and comic depiction of the Continue reading...

In Peter Berger’s book, The Sacred Canopy: Elements of a Sociological Theory of Religion, religion is viewed as something that is more of a social development rather than spiritual. Human beings have very little control over their environment, the world around them. They create patterns of doing things, which they make to be the right way of handling situations. Humans create meaning to their life, why things need to be done in a certain way. They also explain the existence of phenomena using the order they have created for themselves. The society creates stability to enable them to Continue reading...

Rituals are part of every aspect of life and are practiced in different ways. There are rituals that are distinct to religion, sports and even education. In religion, rituals are common are form part of religious practice. Most religions in society today practice different activities that set them aside and distinguish them from each other. Most of the rituals that are practiced in religion serve different purposes and more importantly they serve and represent the beliefs of the different religion. Some of the world religions that indulge in religious rituals and practices include Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Continue reading...

Philosophy Journal

“Burnt Norton” by T.S. Eliot
This poem is told through a narrator speaking directly to an audience. He warns of living in the present and not to suffer the past or worry about the future, “If all time is eternally” present. To worry about what one has already done in the past, “Down the passage which we did not takeTowards the door we never opened will not help to live well in the present.” (Eliot) To spend one’s time think and planning for the future is also a waste, “Here is a place of disaffection Time before and Continue reading...

Throughout the human history, wars have always been a defining attribute as to the existence of national and empires. The wars were a means of resolving disputes, extending territories or even acquiring resources. Consequently, the politics of the warring nations were greatly influenced by the wars they engaged. Examples include the Roman Empire and even Genghis Khan Empire, the political institutions ended up being influenced by the wars such nations involved themselves. The rise of successful war generals to power such as Julius Caesar further clarifies the point. In the present day, wars on the scale of the previous Continue reading...

God/s

Christianity is a monotheistic religion with a theistic doctrine – meaning it only recognizes only one God, whose creation of the world was borne out of nothingness. Therefore, Christianity is practically intolerant of other religions given that it deems that the path to salvation leads to God. Salvation, in this case, is against sin, and in Christianity, only God can save people from the pitfalls of sinfulness. With that, adherents of Christianity are advised against committing sin so that they can follow God through the path of salvation. On the other hand, Hinduism is both a polytheistic and monotheistic religion Continue reading...

Religion and spirituality continue to be unrecognized as effective strategies for coping against tragedies and life pressures and as essential factors in self-protection and psycho-emotional resiliency (Bryan-Davis, Austria, Kawahara & Willis, 2014). Despite that, these concepts constitute key pathways towards the holistic health and well-being of women (Bryant-Davis, Gray & Bhang, 2014). This paper explores the influences of religion and spirituality on women’s wellbeing, the few specific forms of nontraditional spirituality (such as Astrology, Hinduism, Gnosticism, Yoga, and Meditation), the seven markers of spiritual wellness according to Pazzino (2014), my personal definition of spirituality, my personal spiritual wellness self-assessment, and Continue reading...

What do Sen's experiences as a government official reveal about modern India?

The protagonist’s experiences of Sen as a government official makes him feel dislocated. Sen lived without vision or ambition and was addicted to marijuana. His experience shows that the modern Indian culture and society has experienced dramatic changes in the present century. The culture comprises of people with different contrasts and diversities such as Muslim Sufi Saints, Snake-Charmers, Hindu Monks, and Street side Astrologers. South Asia is a land of more than two billion people. Individual countries of South Asia like India continues to embrace cultural changes introduced by people practicing modern cultural deeds different from the past Continue reading...

- Politics of problems of India and Pakistan colonization to date.
Before independence, Pakistan was part of India. India was colonized by Britain and it achieved its independence from British rule in 1947, which came after a violent struggle. The Muslim majority from the north parts of India, who separated to form the country, formed Pakistan country as an independent state following religious differences. India has a constitution, which gives the country a parliamentary government. The government makes sure basic individual rights are protected, gives jurisdiction for the state government operations and unity as well as prohibiting discrimination based Continue reading...

Starting a brand new society one can not expect to have everything fall into place immediately. The goal for me is to make sure that the newly established Hindu Earth is a place of respect and order. A society does not need the constant and daily struggle of power and competition amongst ourselves, we already know the level of life we are expected to live. Hindu earth should simply adopt the Guru-shish tradition and this document is going to make an effort to discuss why and convince the new civilization of Hindu earth this is their best option. There Continue reading...

Introduction

"Never underestimate the other guy's greed." This isn't just a classic line from the 1983 Brian De Palma film Scarface, which was written by Oliver Stone. It also reflects the attitude that has caused the economic disaster we're now clawing ourselves out of. It is safe to say that at least part of the reason for the economic crash of 2008 can be attributed to a lack of ethical conscience on the part of the leaders in business, such as the executives, investment bankers, entrepreneurs, and everyone else whose decisions affected the financial well- being of other people. In Continue reading...

Both the documents: “The Laws of Manu” and “Ban Zhao’s Admonitions for Women” talked about the role, duties and status of women in different times and places. The Laws of Manu were edited in 1913. This paper thus draws comparison between the two texts and talks about how the different times; places and religions had a huge role to play in determining how women are treated. While the Hindu version, derived from scared Hindu books, clearly shows how subservient the status of women is in Ancient India and how the only purpose of her life is to ensure Continue reading...

Introduction

In the Buddhist philosophy, there are a number of philosophical topics that can be found. A good example of the philosophical topic is nirvana. Nirvana is a very important term for the Hinduism religion. This is because the term has been used to describe one of the most important and fundamental goals that should be the defined path of Hinduism. Nirvana is stated to be the process in which the people are able to diffuse the needs or cravings, ignorance and aversions (Gethin). According to the teachings of Hinduism, when the fires that people get within themselves are distinguished Continue reading...

Introduction

Folklore comprises of legends, music, oral history, sayings, jokes, mainstream views, children's stories and traditions that are the customs of that society, subculture, or gathering. It is likewise the situated of practices through which those expressive classifications are imparted. The English savant William Thoms in a letter distributed by the London Journal in 1846 initially utilized the expression “old stories”. Old stories can be separated into four zones of the study: antiquity, (for example, voodoo dolls), describable and transmissible substance (oral convention), society, and conduct (customs). These ranges do not remain solitary; on the other hand, as frequently a Continue reading...

Samsara, commonly known in English as reincarnation, is a Sanskrit word meaning the “continuous flow,” or the cycle of life that every being experiences, from birth to death and then rebirth (Sharf). Samsara also relates directly to the way one’s actions influence one’s cycle of birth and rebirth; actions have consequences, and when one acts in positive ways, one’s karma is positive; the inverse is true when one acts in negative ways (Sharf). Every Buddhist society recognizes the cycle of Samsara, although each society recognizes slightly different aspects of the process. According to Chinese Buddhism, the Continue reading...

In the Indian subcontinent, the religion or way of life is Hinduism. The religion comprises different traditions including Vaishnavism, Shaivism, and Shaktism. It embodies a wide spectrum of prescriptions and laws based on societal norms (Shattuck and Smart 96). It is categorically founded on distinct philosophical or intellectual viewpoints.
Hinduism, as a religion has several features. They believe that God is one with diverse names and that Brahman or the Supreme Being is omnipotent and omnipresent. Another feature is that the soul (Atman) is immortal and that the one should enjoy life abundantly and then aspire for salvation. Another Continue reading...

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The documentary “Ram ke Naam” (1991) by Anand Patwardhan attempts to capture the complex emotional conundrum among the various sections of India, finally culminating into one of the worst communal riots witnessed in the history of the Indian sub-continent. The Babri masjid demolition episode, as depicted in the documentary was the eventual result of narrow and obscure interpretation given to the very idea of nationalism and secularism by various states, regional and political players. The role played the judiciary, the extremist Hindu organizations like Bajarang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the central political party, namely the Bhartiya Continue reading...

Introduction

The novel “The Life of Pi” by Yann Martel tells the story of one boy’s adventures in the Pacific Ocean with an Orangutan tiger. Pi is an Indian boy who lives with his parents in India. His parents own a zoo and, therefore, according to Indian standards, they are considered to be quite affluent. Being the common religion in India, Pi is brought up as Hindu but during his teenage years, he becomes interested in the other two religions that characterize his nation, Islam and Christianity. It is here that he makes the constant decision to follow all Continue reading...

I have watched movies, read and heard about the Indian culture. I have come across a few native Indians on previous occasions, but I had never interacted or been exposed to any of them at a closer scope. Therefore, my visitation to an Indian family recently made a difference in my understanding of their way of life, which was thoroughly intriguing. The experience was different because many Indian practices were explained to me from people who do practice them. The house was decorated with many colors. The portraits, curtains, beads and furniture in the living room were all chosen Continue reading...

Extreme Islamic Terrorism.

Abstract
This article is a research article about Extremist Islam Terrorism or commonly known as the Jemaah Islamiyah. The article focuses on the background of the Jemaah Islamiyah, their origin and organization and how they are involved in the global terror attacks. The article also focuses on the founders and members of the Jemaah Islamiyah and the terror attacks that they have been linked to over the years. Also, the article will include the methods that have been put in place by the terror victim countries such as the United States of America in order to stop the terror Continue reading...

Post-9/11 prejudice and discrimination

The human race has always faced the challenges of extremism and discrimination that have threatened the equality and fraternity among the people across the globe. The history of the world has witnessed many harrowing incidents that have scarred the civilizations with bloodshed and acts of violence. Human race has become the greatest enemy of itself. While previously there were holy crusades and holocaust- all based on religious boundaries and biases, the modern world is also inflicted by the “opium of the masses”- religion. In the modern times, the world has seen a constant friction between the Western world Continue reading...

I. Introduction
In this research paper, the relationship between science and religion is examined in terms of the potential for a harmonious coexistence. This is an old debate and currently it is a vitally significant one. The view of science and religion as warring enemies has historic roots. The Catholic Inquisition was known to persecute and execute people considered heretics because of their belief in science and scientific things. The Church found science as an explanation offensive. Galileo Galilei is one of the most well known of the victims of the Inquisition. He was imprisoned and forced to do Continue reading...

Hinduism is one religion that I have always read about in books and the internet. It never occurred to me that one day I could attend one of their services just to have a glimpse of their way of worship and their traditions of worship. They normally worship at home and temples. They do not have a designated day of worship but then I chose one Friday morning, to go and be part of their worship program. I was in time, very early in the morning so that I could be part of the entire service from start to Continue reading...

Hinduism is one of the Indian religions, which is often described as a totality of religious traditions that have emerged in the India and have common features. Hinduism has its roots in Vedic, Harappa and Dravidian civilization, which is why it is called one of the oldest religions of the world or event the oldest. In Hinduism there are many scriptures and books that are divided into two categories: Sruti and Smriti. Important Hindu texts are the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Puranas, "Ramayana", "Mahabharata", "Bhagavad Gita" and Agamas. According to Hinduism, there is Brahman - the supreme spirit, the Continue reading...

Taj mahal, a monument defying words has been attracting a lot many visitors since the time immemorial. The shining white monument has been a centre of attraction gathering lot of praises for its spell binding gorgeousness from all around the world. The number of visitors to Taj Mahal has consistently been increasing with the data revealing about 2 to 4 million people visiting Taj Mahal each year. Taj Mahal grabbing a huge appreciation from each corner is now the one of the most loved monuments of the world. So far it’s too good! The facts portray a totally Continue reading...