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Smarta Tradition
The ''Smarta'' tradition (, ) is a movement in Hinduism that developed and expanded with the Puranas genre of literature. It reflects a synthesis of four philosophical strands, namely Uttara Mīmāṃsā, Advaita, Yoga, and theism. The Smarta tradition rejects theistic sectarianism, and is notable for the domestic worship of five shrines with five deities, all treated as equal – Ganesha, Shiva, Shakti, Vishnu and Surya. The Smarta tradition contrasted with the older Shrauta tradition, which was based on elaborate rituals and rites. There has been a considerable overlap in the ideas and practices of the Smarta tradition with other significant historic movements within Hinduism, namely Shaivism, Brahmanism, Vaishnavism, and Shaktism.Sanderson, Alexis. "The Saiva Age: The Rise And Dominance Of Saivism During The Early Medieval Period". In ''Genesis And Development of Tantrism'', Edited By Shingo Einoo. Tokyo: Institute Of Oriental Culture, University Of Tokyo, 2009. Institute ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hoysala Karnataka Brahmins
Hoysala Karnataka Brahmins are a community of Smarta Brahmins originating in the Hoysala Empire. The empire ruled most of what is now Karnataka between the 10th and the 14th centuries. Diet The community has traditionally followed a strict vegetarian sattvic diet consisting of seasonal fruits and vegetables (except onions and garlic), whole grains, dairy, nuts, seeds, and oil. A typical breakfast item is '' uppittu'' (a thick semolina porridge with seasonings and vegetables). A typical dinner may include '' saaru'' (a thin soup made with lentils, tamarind, tomatoes, and spices) with rice, vegetable ''palya'', and curd rice. Other Hoysala Karnataka dishes include: * ''Badanekayi-aloogedde gojju'', a curry made with eggplant and potatoes * ''Bili holige'', similar to the rice flatbread akki rotti but softer and suppler * ''Gulpavate'', a sweet made with dried fruit, ghee, jaggery, and toasted wheat flour * ''Mysuru kootu'', a Karnataka-style lentil and vegetable stew * ''Nucch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adi Shankara
Adi Shankara (8th c. CE), also called Adi Shankaracharya (, ), was an Indian Vedanga, Vedic scholar, Hindu philosophy, 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 Hinduism, Hindu religion and Hindu culture, culture," despite the fact that most Hindus do not adhere to Advaita Vedanta. Tradition also portrays him as the one who reconciled the various Hindu denominations, sects (Vaishnavism, Shaivism, and Shaktism) with the introduction of the form of Puja (Hinduism), 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 philosophy, Indian philosoph ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ganesha
Ganesha or Ganesh (, , ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva (Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in the Ganapatya sect. His depictions are found throughout India. Hindu denominations worship him regardless of affiliations. Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends Ganesha in world religions, to Jains and Buddhists and beyond India. Although Ganesha has many attributes, he is readily identified by his Asiatic Elephant, elephant head and four arms. He is widely revered, more specifically, as the remover of obstacles and bringer of good luck; the patron of The arts, arts and Science, sciences; and the Deva (Hinduism), deva of intellect and wisdom. As the god of beginnings, he is honoured at the start of rites and ceremonies. Ganesha is also invoked during writing sessions as a patron of letters and learning., Vigna means obstacles Nasha means destroy. These ideas ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brahmin
Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). The traditional occupation of Brahmins is that of priesthood (purohit, pandit, or pujari) at Hindu temples or at socio-religious ceremonies, and the performing of rite of passage rituals, such as solemnising a wedding with hymns and prayers.James Lochtefeld (2002), Brahmin, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 1: A–M, Rosen Publishing, , page 125 Traditionally, Brahmins are accorded the supreme ritual status of the four social classes, and they also served as spiritual teachers (guru or acharya). In practice, Indian texts suggest that some Brahmins historically also became agriculturalists, warriors, traders, and had also held other occupations in the Indian subcontinent.GS Ghurye (1969), Caste and Race in India, Popular Prakasha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monism
Monism attributes oneness or singleness () to a concept, such as to existence. Various kinds of monism can be distinguished: * Priority monism states that all existing things go back to a source that is distinct from them; e.g., in Neoplatonism everything is derived from The One. In this view only the One is ontologically fundamental or prior to everything else. * Existence monism posits that, strictly speaking, there exists only a single thing, the universe, which can only be artificially and arbitrarily divided into many things. * Substance monism asserts that a variety of existing things can be explained in terms of a single reality or substance. Substance monism posits that only one kind of substance exists, although many things may be made up of this substance, e.g., matter or mind. * Dual-aspect monism is the view that the mental and the physical are two aspects of, or perspectives on, the same substance. * Neutral monism believes the fundamental nature of reality to be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shaktism
Shaktism () is a major Hindu denomination in which the God in Hinduism, deity or metaphysics, metaphysical reality is considered metaphorically to be a woman. Shaktism involves a galaxy of goddesses, all regarded as different aspects, manifestations, or personifications of the divine feminine energy called ''Shakti''. It includes various modes of worship, ranging from those focused on the most worshipped Durga, to gracious Parvati, and the fierce Kali. After the decline of Buddhism in India, various Hindu and Buddhist goddesses were combined to form the Mahavidya, a Pantheon (religion), pantheon of ten goddesses. The most common forms of the Mahadevi worshipped in Shaktism include: Durga, Kali, Saraswati, Lakshmi, Parvati, and Tripura Sundari. Also worshipped are the various Gramadevatas across the Indian villages. Shaktism also encompasses various Tantra#Śaiva and Śākta tantra, tantric sub-traditions, including Vidyapitha and Kulamārga. Shaktism emphasizes that intense ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vaishnavism
Vaishnavism () ), also called Vishnuism, is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, that considers Vishnu as the sole Para Brahman, supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, ''Mahavishnu''. It is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. Its followers are called Vaishnavites or ''Vaishnava''s (), and it includes sub-sects like Krishnaism and Ramanandi Sampradaya, Ramaism, which consider Krishna and Rama as the supreme beings respectively. According to a 2020 estimate by The World Religion Database (WRD), hosted at Boston University’s Institute on Culture, Religion and World Affairs (CURA), Vaishnavism is the largest Hindu sect, constituting about 399 million Hindus. The ancient emergence of Vaishnavism is unclear, and broadly hypothesized as a History of Hinduism, fusion of various regional non-Vedic religions with worship of Vishnu. It is considered a merger of several popular non-Vedic theistic traditio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brahmanism
The historical Vedic religion, also called Vedism or Brahmanism, and sometimes ancient Hinduism or Vedic Hinduism, constituted the religious ideas and practices prevalent amongst some of the Indo-Aryan peoples of the northwest Indian subcontinent (Punjab and the western Ganges plain) during the Vedic period ( 1500–500 BCE). These ideas and practices are found in the Vedic texts, and some Vedic rituals are still practised today. The Vedic religion is one of the major traditions which shaped modern Hinduism, though present-day Hinduism is significantly different from the historical Vedic religion. The Vedic religion has roots in the Indo-Iranian culture and religion of the Sintashta ( 2200–1750 BCE) and Andronovo ( 2000–1150 BCE) cultures of Eurasian Steppe. This Indo-Iranian religion borrowed "distinctive religious beliefs and practices" from the non-Indo-Aryan Bactria–Margiana culture (BMAC; 2250–1700 BCE) of south of Central Asia, when pastoral Indo-Aryan tribe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shaivism
Shaivism (, , ) is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Para Brahman, supreme being. It is the Hinduism#Demographics, second-largest Hindu sect after Vaishnavism, constituting about 385 million Hindus, found widely across South Asia (predominantly in South India, Southern India), Sri Lanka, and Nepal.Keay, p.xxvii. The followers of Shaivism are called Shaivas or Shaivites. According to Chakravarti, Shaivism developed as an amalgam of pre-Aryan religions and traditions, Vedic Rudra, and post-Vedic traditions, accommodating local traditions and Yoga, puja and bhakti. According to Bisschop, early shaivism is rooted in the worship of vedic deity Rudra. The earliest evidence for sectarian Rudra-Shiva worship appears with the Pasupata (early CE), possibly owing to the Origins of Hinduism, Hindu synthesis, when many local traditions were aligned with the Brahmanism, Vedic-Brahmanical fold. The Pāśupata movement rapidly expanded through ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Śrauta
Śrauta (Sanskrit: श्रौत) is a Sanskrit word that means "belonging to śruti", that is, anything based on the Vedas of Hinduism. It is an adjective and prefix for texts, ceremonies or person associated with śruti. The term, for example, refers to Brahmins who specialise in the ''śruti'' corpus of texts, and Śrauta Brahmin traditions in modern times can be seen in Kerala and Coastal Andhra. Etymology and meaning The Sanskrit word ''śrauta'' is rooted in ''śruti'' ("that which is heard", referring to scriptures of Hinduism). Johnson says that ''śrauta'', is an adjective that is applied to a text, a ritual practice, or a person, that is associated with ''śruti''. Klostermaier concurs, stating that the prefix means "belonging to ''śruti''", and includes ceremonies and texts related to ''śruti''. The word is sometimes spelled ''shrauta'' in scholarly literature. History Spread via Indian religions, homa traditions are found all across Asia, from Samarkand to Japan, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
