Garuda Purana And Other Hindu Ideas Of Death, Rebirth And Immortality
Garuda Purana And Other Hindu Ideas Of Death, Rebirth And Immortality

Author: Devdutt Pattanaik

Publisher: Westland

Published: 2020-03-13

Total Pages: 269

ISBN-13: 9395073446

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About the Book A DEEP AND PROFOUND INSIGHT INTO THE GARUDA PURANA AND THE HINDU CONCEPTS OF DEATH, REBIRTH AND IMMORTALITY. Why do Hindus feed their dead ancestors? And why do they prefer burning the dead to building tombs? Does Hinduism have no concept of Judgement Day? What is the impact of death on its notions of womanhood and caste? Is the Vedic approach to death different from the Tantric one? The idea of death and rebirth is embedded in the Hindu mind through ritual and story. Death is not just tragic, but ambiguous too. For instance, it is the end of one journey, but it is also the beginning of another. Similarly, while it is true that the ancestors are venerated and fed posthumously, death is also considered inauspicious, a source of impurity. There are a variety of rituals that seek to address these ambiguities, provide comfort to the living and deliverance to the dead. In Garuda Purana and Other Hindu Ideas on Death, Rebirth and Immortality, Devdutt Pattanaik explores the many concepts around death across the spectrum of Hindu puranas and mythology. Bhuta, pishacha, preta, pitr and vetala make their appearance in this study, as do Yama, Hanuman, Kaal-Bhairav, Ram and other gods as well as lesser beings. The book is a unique enquiry into the inevitability that is death—but equally it is a guide for the living on the choices we make.

Garuda Purana
Garuda Purana

Author: Badri Narayan Krishnan

Publisher:

Published: 2019-06-23

Total Pages: 70

ISBN-13: 9781075659799

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The "Garuda Purana" is probably the most important, living Purana. It is used in sermons, last rites, death anniversary / Shraadha. In its original form (19,000 shlokas), it is a treatise that covers Ayurveda, creation theories and the afterlife. It contains graphic details of death and punishment. Thus the "Garuda Purana" is recommended for reading only to the evolved jnani in most Indian traditions. The layman is advised to read the "Shubha Dharma Garuda Purana".This book evolved out of my attempt to revive a lost sacred text called the "Shubha Dharma Garuda Purana". I will soon publish The Shubha Dharma Garuda Purana. The Shubha Dharma.. version only contains parts that have a divine, ethical and metaphysical message. Narayana in his own words recommends its reading for the layman, grihasta.May the Acharyas, Garuda, Narayana and Yama bless you through this book. Originally published on Amazon, this is globally available.

7 Secrets Of Vishnu
7 Secrets Of Vishnu

Author: Devdutt Pattanaik

Publisher: Westland

Published: 2023-08-16

Total Pages: 295

ISBN-13: 9395073187

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About the Book EXAMINING THE DIFFERENT MYTHS AND RITUALS ABOUT LORD VISHNU AND HIS AVATARS, THIS BOOK UNCOVERS THE ANCIENT WISDOM INHERITED OVER GENERATIONS WHICH STILL HOLD RELEVANCE TODAY. For Hindus, Vishnu is God who inspires man to discover humanity by engaging with the world. Artists have visualized him with as curly-haired, dark complexioned man with a smile on his lips and a sparkle in his eyes. Draped in yellow silk, garlanded with forest flowers, bedecked with dolphin-shaped earrings, anointed with sandal paste, he reclines on a thousand-hooded serpent that floats on the ocean of milk and rides a golden hawk bearing in his arms a conch-shell, a wheel, a mace and a lotus. Poets say that when he is awake, the world takes shape; when he is asleep, the world ceases to be. Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, follows him wherever he goes. To him is made offerings of rich creamy butter. Sometimes, the upright Ram, he is worshipped across India as Balaji, Shreenathji, Jagannath, Ranganath and Badrinath. Locked in the stories, symbols and rituals of Vishnu is the wisdom of the ancestors, transmitted over hundreds of years. This book attempts to unlock seven secrets that are relevant even in modern times.

Dharma Artha Kama Moksha
Dharma Artha Kama Moksha

Author: Devdutt Pattanaik

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2021-03-19

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13: 9354224458

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Artha-shastra is about generating food, i.e. wealth, by creating goods and services; Kama-shastra is about indulging our hungers with this food. Dharma-shastra insists we consider the hunger of others, while Moksha-shastra is about outgrowing our hungers, in order to be detached and generous. Together, these four Hindu shastras provide a framework within which human action, its purposes and consequences, can be defined; together, they validate human existence and give it meaning. In Dharma Artha Kama Moksha, Devdutt Pattanaik uses his unique understanding of mythology to provide an accessible and lucid guide to the Hindu way of thinking, with short essays that are crisp expositions of important concepts.

Women and Sabarimala
Women and Sabarimala

Author: Sinu Joseph

Publisher: Notion Press

Published: 2019-12-02

Total Pages: 83

ISBN-13: 1647336341

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Women and Sabarimala is an answer to the question “why aren’t women of menstrual age allowed to enter Sabarimala?” This book presents a never-before discussed perspective on the science behind the restrictions on women in the Sabarimala temple. Women and Sabarimala is a rare book and is written from a woman’s perspective, explaining the nature of the temple through India’s traditional knowledge systems, such as Ayurveda, Chakras, Tantra and Agama Shastra. At the same time, the author’s personal experiences simplify the understanding of these deep sciences, providing a glimpse into how temples impact the human physiology and, in particular, women’s menstrual cycles. This book will change the way Hindu temples, especially Sabarimala, are perceived and experienced.

Myth = Mithya
Myth = Mithya

Author: Devdutt Pattanaik

Publisher: Penguin UK

Published: 2014-07-11

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 8184750218

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A decoding of Hindu mythology Hindus have one God. They also have 330 million gods: male gods; female gods; personal gods; family gods; household gods; village gods; gods of space and time; gods for specific castes and particular professions; gods who reside in trees; in animals; in minerals; in geometrical patterns and in man-made objects. Then there are a whole host of demons. But no Devil. In this groundbreaking book Dr Devdutt Pattanaik; one of India’s most popular mythologists; seeks an answer to these apparent paradoxes and unravels an inherited truth about life and death; nature and culture; perfection and possibility. He retells sacred Hindu stories and decodes Hindu symbols and rituals; using a unique style of commentary; illustrations and diagrams. We discover why the villainous Kauravas went to heaven and the virtuous Pandavas (all except Yudhishtira) were sent to hell; why Rama despite abandoning the innocent Sita remains the model king; why the blood-drinking Kali is another form of the milk-giving Gauri; and why Shiva wrenched off the fifth head of Brahma. Constructed over generations; Hindu myths serve as windows to the soul; and provide an understanding of the world around us. The aim is not to outgrow myth; but to be enriched and empowered by its ancient; potent and still relevant language.

Handbook of Hindu Mythology
Handbook of Hindu Mythology

Author: George M. Williams

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2008-03-27

Total Pages: 395

ISBN-13: 019533261X

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Unlike many other ancient mythologies, Hinduism thrives in the modern world. One billion followers and countless others have been captivated by its symbolic representations of love, karma, and reincarnation. Handbook of Hindu Mythology offers an informative introduction to this dauntingly complex mythology of multifaceted deities, lengthy heroic tales, and arcane philosophies-all with a 3,000-year history of reinterpretations and adaptations. Williams offers a number of pathways by which to approach Hinduism's ever-changing gods and goddesses (e.g., Brahma, Vishnu, Siva), spiritual verses (such as the vedas), secular epics (including the Ramayana and the Mahabharata), myths within myths, devotional and esoteric traditions, psychic and yogic disciplines, and magical practices. With this handbook, readers can explore the history of Hindu mythology, follow a detailed timeline of key episodes and historical events, and look up specific elements of historical or contemporary Hinduism in a beautifully illustrated reference work. It is the ideal introduction to the origins of Hinduism, the culture that shaped it from antiquity to the present, and the age-old stories, ideas, and traditions that speak to the human condition as eloquently today as ever. Including annotated bibliographies, a glossary of cultural and mythological terms, and numerous illustrations, here is a gold mine of information on Hindu mythology. "

Despite The State: Why India Lets Its People Down And How They Cope
Despite The State: Why India Lets Its People Down And How They Cope

Author: M. Rajshekhar

Publisher: Westland

Published:

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 9395073411

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About the Book A LUCID, NECESSARY ACCOUNT OF HOW DRASTICALLY THE INDIAN STATE FAILS ITS CITIZENS The story of democratic failure is usually read at the level of the nation, while the primary bulwarks of democratic functioning—the states—get overlooked. This is a tale of India’s states, of why they build schools but do not staff them with teachers; favour a handful of companies so much that others slip into losses; wage water wars with their neighbours while allowing rampant sand mining and groundwater extraction; harness citizens’ right to vote but brutally crack down on their right to dissent. Reporting from six states over thirty-three months, award-winning investigative journalist M. Rajshekhar delivers a necessary account of a deep crisis that has gone largely unexamined.