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âcârya
In Indian religions and society, an ''acharya'' (Sanskrit: आचार्य, IAST: ; Pali: ''ācariya'') is a religious teacher in Hinduism and Buddhism and a spiritual guide to Hindus and Buddhists. The designation has different meanings in Hinduism, Buddhism and secular contexts. ''Acharya'' is sometimes used to address an expert teacher or a scholar in any discipline, e.g.: Bhaskaracharya, the expert mathematician. Etymology The Sanskrit phrase ''ācāraṁ grahāyati ācāraṁ dadāti iti vā'' means ''Acharya'' (or teacher) is the one who teaches good conduct to one's students. A female teacher is called an ''achāryā,'' and a male teacher's wife is called an ''achāryāni'' In Hinduism The term '''Acharya''' has numerous definitions. Hinduism frequently uses the terms "''acharya''" and "''guru''" interchangeably. According to the Dharma Shastras, ''acharya'' is the one who imparts knowledge of the entire Veda to a student and performs upanayana sanskar. Acco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indian Religions
Indian religions, sometimes also termed Dharmic religions or Indic religions, are the religions that originated in the Indian subcontinent. These religions, which include Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism,Adams, C. J."Classification of religions: Geographical"(), ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 2007. Retrieved 15 July 2010. are also classified as Eastern religions. Although Indian religions are connected through the history of India, they constitute a wide range of religious communities, and are not confined to the Indian subcontinent. Evidence attesting to prehistoric religion in the Indian subcontinent derives from scattered Mesolithic rock paintings. The Harappan people of the Indus Valley civilisation, which lasted from 3300 to 1300 BCE (mature period 2600–1900 BCE), had an early urbanized culture which predates the Vedic religion. The documented history of Indian religions begins with the historical Vedic religion, the religious practices of the early Indo- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adi Sankara
Adi Shankara (8th c. CE), also called Adi Shankaracharya (, ), was an Indian Vedic scholar, philosopher and teacher (''acharya'') of Advaita Vedanta. Reliable information on Shankara's actual life is scant, and his true impact lies in his "iconic representation of Hindu religion and culture," despite the fact that most Hindus do not adhere to Advaita Vedanta. Tradition also portrays him as the one who reconciled the various sects (Vaishnavism, Shaivism, and Shaktism) with the introduction of the form of worship, the simultaneous worship of five deities – Ganesha, Surya, Vishnu, Shiva and Devi, arguing that all deities were but different forms of the one Brahman, the invisible Supreme Being.Klaus Klostermaier (2007), A Survey of Hinduism, Third Edition, State University of New York Press, , p. 40 While he is often revered as the most important Indian philosopher, the historical influence of his works on Hindu intellectual thought has been questioned. Until the 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theravada
''Theravāda'' (; 'School of the Elders'; ) is Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed ''Theravādins'' (anglicized from Pali ''theravādī''), have preserved their version of the Buddha's teaching or ''Dharma (Buddhism), Dhamma'' in the Pāli Canon for over two millennia. The Pāli Canon is the most complete Buddhist canon surviving in a Indo-Aryan languages, classical Indian language, Pāli, which serves as the school's sacred language and ''lingua franca''.Crosby, Kate (2013), ''Theravada Buddhism: Continuity, Diversity, and Identity'', p. 2. In contrast to Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna, Theravāda tends to be conservative in matters of doctrine (''pariyatti'') and monastic discipline (''vinaya''). One element of this Religious conservatism, conservatism is the fact that Theravāda rejects the authenticity of the Mahayana sutras (which appeared onwards). Consequently, Theravāda generally does not recognize the existence of many Buddhas and bodhisattva ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sandipani
Sandipani (), sometimes rendered Sāndīpana, is the guru of Krishna and Balarama in Hinduism. He is regarded to have educated them regarding all the Vedas FIle:Atharva-Veda samhita page 471 illustration.png, upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the ''Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of relig ..., the art of drawing, astronomy, gandharva veda, medicine, training elephants and horses, and archery. Legend The '' Bhagavata Purana'' relates the following story regarding Sandipani: While staying as students at the residence of Sandipani, the brothers Krishna and Balarama, and their friend, Sudama, mastered every single lesson, although only having been instructed in each once. Upon the rapid completion of their studies, they persuaded their teacher to ask for the preceptor’s '' dakṣiṇā'' (a type of honorarium to one's guru) of his own choosing. Sandipani asked for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (; ), born Vishvambhara Mishra () (18 February 1486 – 14 June 1534), was an Indian Hindus, Hindu saint from Bengal and the founder of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's mode of worshipping Krishna with bhajan-kirtan and dance had a profound effect on Vaishnavism in Bengal. He is considered the chief proponent of the Vedantic philosophy of Achintya Bheda Abheda. However, the concept of inconceivable difference in non-difference, known as achintya-bhedabheda, was developed later by Jiva Gosvami in his book Bhagavat Sandharbha. Mahaprabhu founded Gaudiya Vaishnavism. He expounded Bhakti yoga and popularised the chanting of the Hare Krishna (mantra), Hare Krishna Maha-mantra. He composed the ''Shikshashtakam'' (eight devotional prayers). Chaitanya is sometimes called Gauranga () or Gaura due to his molten gold–like complexion. His birthday is celebrated as Gaura-purnima. He is also called Nimai because he was born underneath a Neem tree. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vallabhacharya
Vallabha, also known as Vallabhācārya or Vallabha Dīkṣita (May 7, 1478 – July 7, 1530 CE), was the founder of the Kr̥ṣṇa-centered Puṣṭimārga sect of Vaishnavism, and propounded the philosophy of Śuddhādvaita. His biography is depicted in several sectarian Puṣṭimārga hagiographies. Born into a Telugu Brahmin family, Vallabha studied Hindu philosophy from early age, then traveled throughout the Indian subcontinent, particularly the Braj (Vraja) region, for over 20 years. He became one of the important leaders of the devotional Bhakti movement. He won many philosophical scholarly debates against the followers of Advaita Vedānta. He began the institutional worship of Śrī Nāthajī on Govardhana Hill. He acquired many followers in the Gangetic plain and Gujarat. After his death, the leadership of his sampradāya passed to his elder son Gopīnātha. Vallabha's philosophy promoted the householder lifestyle over asceticism, suggesting that through lovi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nimbarka
Nimbarka, also known as Nimbarkacharya, Nimbaditya or Niyamananda, was a Hindu philosopher, theologian and the chief proponent of the theology of Svabhavika Bhedabheda, Dvaitādvaita (dvaita–advaita) or dualistic–non-dualistic sometimes known as Svabhavika Bhedabheda, Svābhāvika bhedābheda. He played a major role in spreading the worship of the divine couple Radha and Krishna, and founded the Nimbarka Sampradaya. Nimbarka is believed to have lived around the 12th century, but this dating has been questioned, suggesting that he lived somewhat earlier than Adi Shankara, Shankaracharya, in the 6th or 7th century CE. Born in Southern India in a Telugu Brahmin family, he spent most of his life in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh. He is sometimes identified with another philosopher named Bhāskara (philosopher), Bhaskara, but this is considered to be a misconception due to the differences between the spiritual views of the two saints. Etymology and epithets The word 'Nimbārka' (नि ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dvaita
Dvaita Vedanta (); (originally known as Tattvavada; IAST: ''Tattvavāda''), is a sub-school in the Vedanta ''Vedanta'' (; , ), also known as ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six orthodox (Āstika and nāstika, ''āstika'') traditions of Hindu philosophy and textual exegesis. The word ''Vedanta'' means 'conclusion of the Vedas', and encompa ... tradition of Hindu philosophy. The term Tattvavada literally means "arguments from a realist viewpoint". The Tattvavada (Dvaita) Vedanta sub-school was founded by the 13th-century Indian philosophy, Indian philosopher-saint Madhvacharya. Madhvacharya believed in three entities: God in Hinduism, God, ''jiva'' (soul), and ''Matter, jada'' (''maya'', matter). The Dvaita Vedanta school believes that God in Hinduism, God and the individual souls (Jiva, jīvātman) exist as distinct realities, and these are dependent, being said that Vishnu (Narayana) is independent (''svatantra''), and Souls are dependent (''paratantra'') on him ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Madhvacharya
Madhvacharya (; ; 1199–1278 CE or 1238–1317 CE), also known as Purna Prajna () and Ānanda Tīrtha, was an Indian philosopher, theologian and the chief proponent of the ''Dvaita'' (dualism) school of Vedanta. Madhva called his philosophy ''Dvaita Vedanta, Tattvavāda'' meaning "arguments from a realist viewpoint". Madhvacharya was born at Pajaka near Udupi on the west coast of Karnataka state in 13th-century India. As a teenager, he became a Sannyasa, Sanyasi (monk) joining Brahma-sampradaya guru Achyutapreksha, of the Ekadandi order. Madhva studied the classics of Hindu philosophy, and wrote commentaries on the Principal Upanishads, the ''Bhagavad Gita'' and the Brahma Sutras (''Prasthanatrayi''), and is credited with thirty seven works in Sanskrit. His writing style was of extreme brevity and condensed expression. His greatest work is considered to be the ''Anuvyakhyana'', a philosophical supplement to his bhasya on the Brahma Sutras composed with a poetic structure. In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vishnu
Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation (sattva). Vishnu is known as ''The Preserver'' within the Trimurti, the triple deity of Para Brahman, supreme divinity that includes Brahma and Shiva.Gavin Flood, An Introduction to Hinduism' () (1996), p. 17. In Vaishnavism, Vishnu is the supreme Lord who creates, protects, and transforms the Hindu cosmology, universe. 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 supreme being is with qualities (Saguna Brahman, Saguna), and has definite form, but is limitless, transcendent and unchanging absolute Brahman, and the primal Atma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bhagwan
The word Bhagavan (; ), also spelt as Bhagwan (sometimes translated in English as "Lord", "God"), is an epithet within Indian religions used to denote figures of religious worship. In Hinduism it is used to signify a deity or an ''avatar'', particularly for Krishna and Vishnu in Vaishnavism, Shiva in Shaivism and Durga or Adi Shakti in Shaktism.James Lochtefeld (2000), "Bhagavan", The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 1: A–M, Rosen Publishing. , page 94Friedhelm Hardy (1990), The World's Religions: The Religions of Asia, Routledge, , pages 79-83 In Jainism the term refers to the Tirthankaras, and in Buddhism to the Buddha. In many parts of India and South Asia, Bhagavan represents the concept of a universal God or Divine to Hindus who are spiritual and religious but do not worship a specific deity. In ''bhakti'' school literature, the term is typically used for any deity to whom prayers are offered. A particular deity is often the devotee's one and only Bhagavan. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ramanuja
Ramanuja ('; Middle Tamil: Rāmāṉujam; Classical Sanskrit: Rāmānuja; 1077 – 1157), also known as Ramanujacharya, was an Indian Hindu philosopher, guru and social reformer. He is one of the most important exponents of the Sri Vaishnavism tradition in Hinduism. His philosophical foundations for devotional practice were influential in the Bhakti movement. Ramanuja's guru was Yādava Prakāśa, a scholar who, traditionally, is said to have belonged to the Advaita Vedānta tradition, but probably was a Bhedabheda scholar. Sri Vaishnava tradition holds that Ramanuja disagreed with his guru and the non-dualistic Advaita Vedānta, and instead followed in the footsteps of Tamil Alvārs tradition, the scholars Nāthamuni and Yamunāchārya. Ramanuja is famous as the chief proponent of Vishishtadvaita school of Vedānta, and his disciples were likely authors of texts such as the Shatyayaniya Upanishad. Ramanuja himself wrote influential texts, such as Sanskrit bhāsyas on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
