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Mahant
Mahant () is a religious superior, in particular the chief of a temple or the head of a monastery in Indian religions. James Mallinson, one of the few westerners to be named as a mahant, describes the position of a mahant as a combination of an abbot and a brigadier. Etymology The Hindi word comes from Prakrit , Sanskrit (accusative case: ) meaning "great". Hinduism Other titles for the word ''Mahant'', serving in the context of a well known religious place, include priest or pundit—generally always being a gyani or pastor. Brahmins with Mahant surname are also found in Himachal Pradesh region. They speak local dialects of Pahari and Hindi and read and write in Devanagari. They are vegetarians. The Mahant are monogamous and marriage is by discussion. They make their living from the temples. In other branches of Hinduism, the mahant is an ascetic who is the head and leader of the temple and has religious responsibilities as a preacher. Mahant is a title of Bairagis an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nankana Massacre
The Nankana massacre (also known as Saka Nankana Sahib) occurred on the premises of Gurdwara Janam Asthan, Nankana Sahib on 20 February 1921, at that time a part of the Punjab Province of British India, but today in modern-day Pakistan. Between 140 and 260 Sikhs were killed by the Udasi Custodian Narayan Das and his mercenaries, in retaliation for a confrontation between him and members of the reformist Akali movement, who accused him of both corruption and sexual impropriety. The event constitutes an important part of Sikh history. In political significance, it comes next only to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of April 1919. The saga constitutes the core of the Gurdwara Reform Movement started by the Sikhs in the early twentieth century. Background At the time of the massacre, there was a growing demand in Sikhism that the traditional hereditary custodians hand over their control of the gurdwaras to democratically elected committees. As part of that movement, the Shiromani C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bairagi (caste)
Bairagi Brahmin or Vaishnav Bairagi or Vaishnav Brahmin is a Hindu caste. They are Hindu priests. They are sedentary rasik (temple dwelling or temple priest) Brahmin members of the Vaishnava sampradayas, especially the Ramanandi Sampradaya. According to K.S. Singh, the community uses different surnames/titles in different states and union territories of India; these are: Swami, Bairagi, Mahanta, Maharaj, Vaishnav, Bawa, Pandit, Purohit, Goswami, Sharma, Das, Brahmachari. They are Vaishnav, and wear the sacred thread. A majority of Bairagi Brahmin is found in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Assam, and Odisha. Vaishnavas are considered as part of the 'upper castes' of India. Vaishnav Sect and Vaishnav Brahmin Caste Vaishnav Sect Members of vaishnava sampradayas are called Bairagi or Vairagi. And these members are divided into three categories – renunciant (Virakt), warrior (Naga) and temple-dwelling (temple priest) ascetics. The most of renunciant and wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Mallinson (author)
Sir James Mallinson, 5th Baronet, of Walthamstow (born 22 April 1970) is a British Indologist, writer and translator. He is Boden Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Oxford, and recognised as one of the world's leading experts on the history of medieval Hatha yoga. Early life Mallinson became interested in India by reading Rudyard Kipling's novel ''Kim (novel), Kim'' as a teenager; the book describes an English boy travelling India with a holy man. He was educated at Eton College and the University of Oxford, where he read Sanskrit and Old Iranian for his bachelor's degree, and studied the ethnography of South Asia for his master's degree at SOAS University of London. Mallinson is described as "perhaps the only baronet to wear dreadlocks"; he let his hair grow out from 1988 on his first visit to India during his gap year. He cut his hair in 2019 after the death of his guru, Mahant Balyogi Sri Ram Balak Das, who had initiated him into the Ramanandi Sampradaya at the Ujjai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SGPC
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee ( SGPC; Supreme Gurdwara Management Committee) is an organization in India responsible for the management of ''gurdwaras'', Sikh places of worship, in the states of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh and the union territory of Chandigarh. SGPC also administers Darbar Sahib in Amritsar. The SGPC is governed by the president of SGPC. The SGPC manages the security, financial, facility maintenance and religious aspects of Gurdwaras as well as keeping archaeologically rare and sacred artifacts, including weapons, clothes, books and writings of the Sikh Gurus. Bibi Jagir Kaur became the first woman to be elected president of the SGPC for the second time in September 2004. She had held the same post from March 1999 to November 2000. History Foundation In 1920 the emerging Akali leadership summoned a general assembly of the Sikhs holding all shades of opinion on 15 November 1920 in vicinity of the Akal Takht in Amritsar. The purpose of this ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Goswami
Goswami is an Indian surname and honorific title used by Brahmins and Hindu Asceticism, ascetics. It is also pronounced as, Gosains, Gosine, Gossain, Gosain, Gossai, and Gosavi. Notables Notable people with the surname or title Goswami include: *Six Goswamis of Vrindavana *Abhishek Goswami, Indian cricketer *Abir Goswami, Indian actor *Alpana Goswami, Indian actress *Anay Goswamy, cinematographer * Amar Goswami (1945–2012), Indian journalist and Hindi fiction writer * Anil Goswami, Union Home Secretary of India *Anjali Goswami, Honorary Professor of paleobiology at University College London *Arup Kumar Goswami, Indian judge, chief justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court * Arnab Goswami, Indian television journalist *Ashokpuri Goswami, Gujarati poet and writer *B. N. Goswamy, Indian art critic, art historian * Bhairavi Goswami, model * Bindiya Goswami, actress * Brindaban Goswami, Indian politician *Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Goswami, founder of the religious organization Sri Gaudiya ... [...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] |
Gurdwara
A gurdwara or gurudwara () is a place of assembly and place of worship, worship in Sikhism, but its normal meaning is "place of guru" or "home of guru". Sikhism, Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as ''Gurdwara Sahib''. People from all faiths and religions are welcomed in gurdwaras. Each gurdwara has a ''Darbar Sahib Hall, Darbar Sahib'' where the Guru Granth Sahib is placed on a (an elevated throne) in a prominent central position. Any congregant (sometimes with specialized training, in which case they are known by the term granthi) may recite, sing, and explain the verses from the Guru Granth Sahib, in the presence of the rest of the congregation. All gurdwaras have a hall, where people can eat free lacto-vegetarian food served by volunteers at the gurdwara. They may also have a medical facility room, library, nursery, classroom, meeting rooms, playground, sports ground, a gift shop, and finally a repair shop. A gurdwara can be identified from a distance by tall flagpoles bearing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gurmukhi
Gurmukhī ( , Shahmukhi: ) is an abugida developed from the Laṇḍā scripts, standardized and used by the second Sikh guru, Guru Angad (1504–1552). Commonly regarded as a Sikh script, Gurmukhi is used in Punjab, India as the official script of the Punjabi language. In the past, the script was also employed to write scientific and poetic literature from both Sanskritic and Persian traditions in the Braj language. The primary scripture of Sikhism, the Guru Granth Sahib, is written in Gurmukhī, in various dialects and languages often subsumed under the generic title '' Sant Bhasha'' or "saint language", in addition to other languages like Persian and various phases of Indo-Aryan languages. Modern Gurmukhī has thirty-five original letters, hence its common alternative term ''paintī'' or "the thirty-five", plus six additional consonants, nine vowel diacritics, two diacritics for nasal sounds, one diacritic that geminates consonants and three subscript characters. The sc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified by adherence to the concept of ''dharma'', a Ṛta, cosmic order maintained by its followers through rituals and righteous living, as expounded in the Vedas. The word ''Hindu'' is an exonym, and while Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, it has also been described by the modern term ''Sanātana Dharma'' () emphasizing its eternal nature. ''Vaidika Dharma'' () and ''Arya dharma'' are historical endonyms for Hinduism. Hinduism entails diverse systems of thought, marked by a range of shared Glossary of Hinduism terms, concepts that discuss God in Hinduism, theology, Hindu mythology, mythology, among other topics in Hindu texts, textual sources. Hindu texts have been classified into Śruti () and Smṛti (). The major Hin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gyani
A gyani or giani ( Punjabi: ਗਿਆਨੀ ) is an honorific Sikh title used by someone learned in Sikhism and who often leads the congregation in prayers, such as Ardas, or in singing (kirtan). The word means "knowledge" in Punjabi, being a derivative of the Sanskrit word . So a "gyani" is one who has spiritual and religious knowledge and can help the congregation, the Sadh Sangat, in understanding the Sacred Texts and the history of the religion. Characteristics A gyani can be a male or a female, as the Sikh religion gives equal rights to both sexes. He or she will have undergone an intensive course of study and evaluation at an academic or religious institute, will have a thorough knowledge of the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh Holy Scripture, and will have the ability to translate the words of sacred text into simple everyday language. Gyanis can also communicate in English (not always the case), a major bonus to western children who are not fluent in Punjabi or Gurmukhi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan Region, mountain states and is characterised by an extreme landscape featuring List of mountain peaks of Himachal Pradesh, several peaks and extensive river systems. Himachal Pradesh is the northernmost state of India and shares borders with the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh to the north, and the states of Punjab (India), Punjab to the west, Haryana to the southwest, Uttarakhand to the southeast and a very narrow border with Uttar Pradesh to the south. The state also shares an international border to the east with the Tibet Autonomous Region in China. Himachal Pradesh is also known as ''Dev Bhoomi'', meaning 'Land of Gods' and ''Veer Bhoomi'' which means 'Land of the Brave'. The pre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Accusative Case
In grammar, the accusative case ( abbreviated ) of a noun is the grammatical case used to receive the direct object of a transitive verb. In the English language, the only words that occur in the accusative case are pronouns: "me", "him", "her", "us", "whom", and "them". For example, the pronoun ''she'', as the subject of a clause, is in the nominative case ("She wrote a book"); but if the pronoun is instead the object of the verb, it is in the accusative case and ''she'' becomes ''her'' ("Fred greeted her"). For compound direct objects, it would be, e.g., "Fred invited her and me to the party". The accusative case is used in many languages for the objects of (some or all) prepositions. It is usually combined with the nominative case (for example in Latin). The English term, "accusative", derives from the Latin , which, in turn, is a translation of the Greek . The word can also mean "causative", and that might have derived from the Greeks, but the sense of the Roman transla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
