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Ghanta
Ghanta (Sanskrit: घण्टा, IAST: ghaṇṭā; Tibetan: drilbu) is the Sanskrit term for a ritual bell used in Hinduistic religious practices. The ringing of the bell produces what is regarded as an auspicious sound. Hindu temples generally have one metal bell hanging at the entrance and devotees ring the bell while entering the temple which is an essential part in preparation of having a darshan. A bell is also rung by poojari during Pūjā or Yajna – during the waving of light, burning of incense in front of the deity, while bathing the deity and while offering food or flowers. There are bells specially made to produce the long strains of the sound Aum. Description The bell is made out of five to seven precious metals, which are connected to the planets: lead (Saturn), tin (Jupiter), iron (Mars), copper (Venus), mercury (Mercury), silver (the Moon) and gold (the Sun). A clapper is attached to the inside and the bell makes a high pitched sound when rung. The top ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ghanta In Changu Narayan-Changunarayan Photowalk-WLV-3852
Ghanta (Sanskrit: घण्टा, IAST: ghaṇṭā; Tibetan: drilbu) is the Sanskrit term for a ritual bell used in Hinduistic religious practices. The ringing of the bell produces what is regarded as an auspicious sound. Hindu temples generally have one metal bell hanging at the entrance and devotees ring the bell while entering the temple which is an essential part in preparation of having a darshan. A bell is also rung by poojari during Pūjā or Yajna – during the waving of light, burning of incense in front of the deity, while bathing the deity and while offering food or flowers. There are bells specially made to produce the long strains of the sound Aum. Description The bell is made out of five to seven precious metals, which are connected to the planets: lead (Saturn), tin (Jupiter), iron (Mars), copper (Venus), mercury (Mercury), silver (the Moon) and gold (the Sun). A clapper is attached to the inside and the bell makes a high pitched sound when rung. The top ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Machig Labdrön
Machig Labdrön (, sometimes referred to as Ahdrön Chödron, ), or "Singular Mother Torch from Lab", 1055-1149) was a female Tibetan Buddhist monk believed to be a reincarnation of Yeshe Tsogyal, and the renowned 11th-century Tibetan tantric Buddhist master and yogini that originated several Tibetan lineages of the Vajrayana practice of Chöd (). Nyingma scholar Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche states that the Chöd tradition developed by Machig Labdrön is "a radical synthesis of the Prajnaparamita tradition and tantra guru yoga that 'cuts' through the ego."Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche, ''Illuminating the Path'', pg 189. Padmasambhava Buddhist Center, 2008. Historical texts portray Machig Labdrön as the originator of the Chöd lineage which she developed in Tibet. This was confirmed in her own lifetime by Indian Brahmins and others, and Machig Labdron's creation of the Chöd lineage is not doubted by its modern practitioners. The influences of other practices on Chöd ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Avatars
Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearance" is sometimes used to refer to any guru or revered human being. The word ''avatar'' does not appear in the Vedic literature; however, it appears in developed forms in post-Vedic literature, and as a noun particularly in the Puranic literature after the 6th century CE. Despite that, the concept of an avatar is compatible with the content of the Vedic literature like the Upanishads as it is symbolic imagery of the Saguna Brahman concept in the philosophy of Hinduism. The ''Rigveda'' describes Indra as endowed with a mysterious power of assuming any form at will. The ''Bhagavad Gita'' expounds the doctrine of Avatara but with terms other than ''avatar''. Theologically, the term is most often associated with the Hindu god Vishnu, though th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vishnu
Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within the Trimurti, the triple deity of supreme divinity that includes Brahma and Shiva.Gavin Flood, An Introduction to Hinduism' (1996), p. 17. In Vaishnavism, Vishnu is the supreme being who creates, protects, and transforms the universe. In the Shaktism tradition, the Goddess, or Adi Shakti, is described as the supreme Para Brahman, yet Vishnu is revered along with Shiva and Brahma. Tridevi is stated to be the energy and creative power ( Shakti) of each, with Lakshmi being the equal complementary partner of Vishnu. He is one of the five equivalent deities in Panchayatana puja of the Smarta tradition of Hinduism. According to Vaishnavism, the highest form of Ishvara is with qualities (Saguna), and have certain form, but is limit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mantra
A mantra ( Pali: ''manta'') or mantram (मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit, Pali and other languages believed by practitioners to have religious, magical or spiritual powers. Feuerstein, Georg (2003), ''The Deeper Dimension of Yoga''. Shambala Publications, Boston, MA Some mantras have a syntactic structure and literal meaning, while others do not. The earliest mantras were composed in Vedic Sanskrit in India. At its simplest, the word ॐ (Aum, Om) serves as a mantra, it is believed to be the first sound which was originated on earth. Aum sound when produced creates a reverberation in the body which helps the body and mind to be calm. In more sophisticated forms, mantras are melodic phrases with spiritual interpretations such as a human longing for truth, reality, light, immortality, peace, love, knowledge, and action. Some mantras without literal meaning are musically uplifting ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prayer
Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified ancestor. More generally, prayer can also have the purpose of thanksgiving or praise, and in comparative religion is closely associated with more abstract forms of meditation and with charms or spells. Prayer can take a variety of forms: it can be part of a set liturgy or ritual, and it can be performed alone or in groups. Prayer may take the form of a hymn, incantation, formal creedal statement, or a spontaneous utterance in the praying person. The act of prayer is attested in written sources as early as 5000 years ago. Today, most major religions involve prayer in one way or another; some ritualize the act, requiring a strict sequence of actions or placing a restriction on who is permitted to pray, while others teach that prayer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mind
The mind is the set of faculties responsible for all mental phenomena. Often the term is also identified with the phenomena themselves. These faculties include thought, imagination, memory, will, and sensation. They are responsible for various mental phenomena, like perception, pain experience, belief, desire, intention, and emotion. Various overlapping classifications of mental phenomena have been proposed. Important distinctions group them according to whether they are ''sensory'', ''propositional'', ''intentional'', ''conscious'', or ''occurrent''. Minds were traditionally understood as substances but it is more common in the contemporary perspective to conceive them as properties or capacities possessed by humans and higher animals. Various competing definitions of the exact nature of the mind or mentality have been proposed. ''Epistemic definitions'' focus on the privileged epistemic access the subject has to these states. ''Consciousness-based approaches'' give primacy to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brahman
In Hinduism, ''Brahman'' ( sa, ब्रह्मन्) connotes the highest universal principle, the ultimate reality in the universe.P. T. Raju (2006), ''Idealistic Thought of India'', Routledge, , page 426 and Conclusion chapter part XII In major schools of Hindu philosophy, it is the material, efficient, formal and final cause of all that exists.For dualism school of Hinduism, see: Francis X. Clooney (2010), ''Hindu God, Christian God: How Reason Helps Break Down the Boundaries between Religions'', Oxford University Press, , pages 51–58, 111–115;For monist school of Hinduism, see: B. Martinez-Bedard (2006), ''Types of Causes in Aristotle and Sankara'', Thesis – Department of Religious Studies (Advisors: Kathryn McClymond and Sandra Dwyer), Georgia State University, pages 18–35 It is the pervasive, infinite, eternal truth, consciousness and bliss which does not change, yet is the cause of all changes. ''Brahman'' as a metaphysical concept refers to the single ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deity
A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greater than those of ordinary humans, but who interacts with humans, positively or negatively, in ways that carry humans to new levels of consciousness, beyond the grounded preoccupations of ordinary life". Religions can be categorized by how many deities they worship. Monotheistic religions accept only one deity (predominantly referred to as " God"), whereas polytheistic religions accept multiple deities. Henotheistic religions accept one supreme deity without denying other deities, considering them as aspects of the same divine principle. Nontheistic religions deny any supreme eternal creator deity, but may accept a pantheon of deities which live, die and may be reborn like any other being. Although most monotheistic religions traditio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Garbhagriha
A ''garbhagriha'' or ''sannidhanam'' is the ''sanctum sanctorum'', the innermost sanctuary of a Hindu and Jain temples where resides the '' murti'' (idol or icon) of the primary deity of the temple. In Jainism, the main deity is known as the ''Mulnayaka''. Literally the word means "womb chamber", from the Sanskrit words ''garbha'' for womb and ''griha'' for house. Although the term is often associated with Hindu temples, it is also found in Jain and Buddhist temples. Traditionally, in Hinduism only 'priests' ('' pujari'') are allowed to enter this chamber, though in modern practice this is often considerably relaxed. Architecture The room has a single entrance, normally facing east to be accessed by the rising sun, and no windows. It is normally square, and at least approximately a cube, with the representation of the temple's deity placed in the centre, so that it can be seen by worshippers outside. Relative to the size of the temple, and especially the large tower ari ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sudarshana Chakra
Sudarshana Chakra (Sanskrit: सुदर्शन चक्र, lit. "disc of auspicious vision", IAST: Sudarśana Chakra) is a spinning, celestial discus with 108 serrated edges, attributed to Vishnu and Krishna in the Hindu scriptures. The Sudarshana Chakra is generally portrayed on the right rear hand of the four hands of Vishnu, who also holds the Panchajanya (conch), the Kaumodaki (mace), and the Padma (lotus). While in the Rigveda, the Chakra was Vishnu's symbol as the wheel of time and by the late period, the Sudarshana Chakra emerged as an ayudhapurusha (an anthropomorphic form), as a fierce form of Vishnu, used for the destruction of demons. As an ''ayudhapurusha'', the deity is known as Chakraperumal or Chakratalvar. Etymology The word ''Sudarshana'' is derived from two Sanskrit words – ''Su''(सु) meaning "good/auspicious" and ''Darshana'' (दर्शन) meaning "vision". In the Monier-Williams dictionary the word Chakra is derived from the root क्� ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Panchajanya
Panchajanya (IAST: Pāñcajanya) is the ''shankha'' or conch of the Hindu preserver deity Vishnu, known to be one of his four divine attributes. It is stated to have been one among the various substances that emerged during the Samudra Manthana. According to the Mahabharata, Purushottama (Vishnu) killed a daitya (a member of a clan of asuras) named Panchajana on a mountain named Chakravan constructed by Vishvakarma, and seized the conch shell in which Panchajana had lived for himself. The conch is named after the daitya. In Literature In the Bhagavad Gita, the Panchajanya is mentioned: As per the Harivamsa, Krishna, the avatar of Vishnu, is described as possessing a conch shell called Panchajanya, one of his four attributes together with the mace Kaumodaki, the disc-like weapon Sudarshana Chakra, and a lotus. The conch was used during the Kurukshetra War, and is held in popular tradition to have signalled its beginning. Origin There are two origins stated in the scrip ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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