Topic for the recent Upanishadic sat-sang was aptly chosen as Purva and Paschim (East and West). It addressed how can in today’s global context whole humanity benefit from eastern Sanatan Gyaan parampara (eternal knowledge) enunciated in the Upanishads..

When in other parts of the world enquirers were put to death for expressing themselves, free expression was flourishing across Bharat. And, Upanishads are eternally replicable examples of how open and innocent dialogues can keep society free from dogma and in touch with reality..

The union with five elements of nature can be accomplished while we are living. This is possible through yog saadhanaa (practice). It leads to the experience of immortality while we are within this mortal coil called the human frame..

Exactly four years before his Mahasamadhi, coincidently, Swamiji wrote a poem ‘To the Fourth of July’ in English on 4 July 1898!..

The difference between the ‘other’ in known and ‘other’ in unknown is that of behaviour. How we behave with others or vis-à-vis others in the known, that evolves to become etiquette when it is truthful. Our relationship with the “other” in an unknown domain is our saadhanaa as an individual entity..

The Yadav dynasty ruled Maharashtra from 9th to 14th century. Very rich, prosperous and art-loving, kings of this dynasty built beautiful, sculptural temples during their reign. One such temple stands in the village of Zodge on the Mumbai-Agra highway. The temple of Mankeshwar Mahadev in the village of Zodge, 30 km from Malegaon, is very beautiful but neglected. This temple is very spectacular and intricately carved. There is a square court in front of this west facing temple and a beautiful idol ..

   In North India, Vat Savitri Vrat is observed on Amavasya Tithi (New Moon) of Jyeshtha month of the Hindu calendar and in South India, the Vrat is observed on Purnima Tithi (Full Moon) of Jyeshtha month. On this day, women in many parts of Bharat tie a thread around the Vat Vruksh (pipal tree) and pray for the long life of their husband. Many ‘modern’ people wonder why the wife has to keep fasts and pray for the husband. Why don’t husbands do this? Actually, ..

I have come to hear a piece of news. The news in the air is that Neslay, a giant in the food industry in its internal document, acknowledged that more than 60% of the products are not healthy...

Viveka (awakening) decides our choice, and we cultivate our taste according to our Viveka (wisdom), but, in the long run, our choice and taste help shape up our Viveka (Discernment). Thus, in the spiritual journey, satsang, viveka, ishta (choice) and suruchi (taste), all travel together and can mutate as well as transform into one another at some point..

Kashi Vishwanath of South..

One set of thinkers believed in controlling ‘Nature’. They failed miserably. Another set of thinkers believed in harnessing nature. They also failed. Their approach resulted in situations like ozone layer depletion, leading to global warming and other calamities emerging from climate change issues. Can we say firmly that the current pandemic is not somehow a fall out of this approach of exploiting nature?..

The earliest trade contact between Hebrews and Hindus could have dated back to the era of David and Solomon...

More than 40 temples glorify the beauty of Sringeri town. The temple of Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge and art, was built in the 15th century. Fortunately, libraries and ancient rare Sanskrit texts are still preserved here. Experts now need to contemplate on how to incorporate the knowledge disseminated here into today's education system..

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday paid tribute to Rabindranath Tagore on his 160th birth anniversary...

The Pandemic empowered seven imperial families of India to meet up and present an online textile display that solemnised sustainability through legacy and heritage craft and initiated a discussion on the resurrection of customary and traditional information and practices in the Indian fashion industry..

Many of our forgotten deities are still being worshipped in Tokyo and other Japanese cities. This can now be seen in a seminal film "Indian deities worshipped in Japan" by Benoy K. Behl..

Celebrating Feminine Power..

Yoga and Ayurveda are practised by many across the world. But, acknowledging, asserting and reiterating its value is missing in their order of priorities. Its outright ingratitude. And ingratitude is sin. It’s the prolonged practice of ingratitude that makes some sinners in their own eyes. Else, all are born divine. That’s the singular possibility..

Almost all the temples constructed in India during the golden period of construction are out of stone. Stone was normally procured from nearby stone quarries..

Satya emanates from our relationship/bonding with the supreme (param-Akshar). Bonding is liberation. Bondage is the botheration. Satya is not the same as truth as, as in search of roots, one looks up (directed towards subtle) another looks down (directed towards gross)..

Scale and proportions have prime importance in temple architecture. Square is considered to be the basic form. Vaastu Purusha Mandal is also square in shape and has square sub-components. Temple plan and elevation and overall form mostly evolve from square shape. Fractions and small parts of the temple form have been carefully designed to keep in mind the nature and laws of nature and simple and complex fractions of the square..

Figuratively speaking, openness is the mother of courage and courage is the vessel that upholds the light of truth. Being courageous means not being adamant. When most are not open but adamant, then it becomes a struggle to run human societies or nations or families on the principle of openness..

Born in Maharashtra he devoted his entire life to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) making Uttar Pradesh his area of working as an RSS pracharak. ..

Before undertaking construction of temples, elaborate soil testing and treatments are undertaken to fortify the ground. Vastu Shastra mentions in detail about the tests that should be conducted..

Starting his address at the UN Security Council Open Debate with a Sanskrit hymn of the Sukla Yajurveda, Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar sent the message how to care for the environment and every form of life is very intrinsic to the Indian civilisation...

The Vastupurush Mandal is like an appliance. It has ‘yantra’, ‘mantra’ and ‘tantra’ all in one. It also has guidelines for following appropriate proportions of architecture, design guidelines and details of building construction. (Sort of an encyclopaedia or data book for temple design and construction). ..

In Hinduism, human evolution can be understood through four ages. Satya, Treta, Dwapar and Kali Yug. There was no need for temples in Satya Yug. Gods appeared in the Treta Yug, but there were no temples..

To get acquainted with India's culture, one must study temples in-depth and pay attention to them, take care of them, and acquire more and more information about our roots from them..

Cultural Terrorism: Conflicts and Debates on Cultural Pasts unravels the modus operandi of the Left-Liberal cabal in the country and external anti-Hindu agencies and operatives who are out to destroy the indigenous culture. They target culture because it has the power to integrate people, preserve values, identities and a sense of oneness to the homeland..

In any devoted heart filled to the brim with remembrance, an entry in the field of grace is through prayer, discipleship, and humility. Remembrance leads to gratefulness (kritagyata) towards the remembered one which paves the way for krit-kritya taa (attaining the goal of human life)..

Who should we look at to find this illusion's solution and, see that we were–that only who we have 'become' now? Doesn't it sound mystic? Call it good or better or best news. Else, howsoever good it may be, no 'good news' is good enough which is incapable of seeing/realising the divine/reality within..

A diamond trader from Surat in Gujarat, Govindbhai Dholakia on Friday has made a contribution of Rs 11 crore for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh..

It is celebrated as Pongal in Tamil Nadu, Uttarayan in Gujarat, Bihu in Assam, Makara Vilakku in Kerala and Poush Sangkranti in West Bengal...

The current volume is first in a 5 volume re-telling of that history that disturbed the continued uninterrupted flow of Bharatiya civilisation since at least 6000 years of documented history..

The work on the foundation for the Sri Ram Temple at Ayodhya will start by the end of January. General Secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Champat Rai said that the testing of soil was going on...

Shivtharghal is a cave in Raigad district of Maharashtra. It is 34-kilometres away from Mahad. 'Ghal' means cave. It is surrounded by high mountains on all sides and is situated at the foot of the Waghjai valley. Shivtharghal is in the midst of the mountains, covered with green trees and vines. Samarth called it 'Sundar Math'. Samarth Ramdas Swami (seventeenth century) lived here for 22 years. During this time, Samarth wrote 'Dasbodh', his famous treatise. Dasbodh loosely means 'advice to the disciple' ..

Gatka, Kalaripayattu, Thang-Ta, Mallakhamba included in Khelo India Youth Games 2021..

Pilgrimage – teerth-yatra – the word has the connotation of self-purification – for the purification of body and soul. The Mahabharata and mythological Hindu scriptures have plenty of references about teerth-yatra and teerth-kshetra. Kashi, Prayag, Ganga, Godavari, Narmada and all revered rivers of Bharat and every inch of their banks, their context and surroundings are the teerth kshetras..

The ancient sages always considered the human body to be the abode of God. Temple architecture and spaces within have been synchronised with the human body. Great deal of thought and philosophical semiotics is represented through temple design..

Temples were not only a place of worship, but also a place of social function, social integration, social awakening, dissemination of art, education..

If we derive the dates based on the epigraphic inscriptional evidence of Kaliyuga, the historical chronology of our nation becomes more accurate and more correct ..

Karthika Deepam is a related festival in South India and Sri Lanka. Houses are illuminated with Diyas to celebrate this auspicious day...

    Everything we observe occurs in space and is a manifestation of space. All things originate in space and are inherent in space. Nothing comes from outside of space as all things are defined by space. Even time is perceived as movement in space.  This means everything we observe is a quality of space. Space is the matrix of all potentials. Different objects in space are different formations or densifications of space. Space is never empty but full of all possibilities ..

A 1300- year old Hindu temple dedicated to Bhagwan Sri Vishnu was unearthed in the Swat district of Eastern Pakistan in an excavation carried out by Pakistani and Italian archaeologists. Italian archaeologist Dr Luka Maria Olivieri, who heads the Italian archaeological mission, has stated that this was the first temple of Ghandhara civilisation discovered in Swat...

On September 15, 2020, these Bronze idols were handed over to High Commission of India in London by Metropolitan Police, London. As per the photo documentation done in 1958, these idols belong to the Sri Rajagopal Vishnu Temple (temple built during the Vijayanagara period) in Anandamangalam in Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu. As per the investigation carried out by the Idol wing of Tamil Nadu police these idols were stolen from the Sri Rajagopal Vishnu Temple on 23/24 November 1978..

In Dharmic literature, the concept of Kamdhenu is considered as a miraculous "cow of plenty" who fulfils the desires of the owner. An IT professional of Karnataka is reliving this experience with Gau-Sewa and Wealth-Creation..

Diwali is one of the most significant Hindu festivals that celebrated all over India and even abroad. Also known as Deepavali, Diwali is the festival of lights that spiritually signifies the victory of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, good over evil and hope over despair. At most places Diwali is celebrated for five days...

India's immense contribution to the world through yoga and Ayurveda can be gauged from the fact that these twin ancient disciplines are generating interest among the people of Kyrgyzstan. Little wonder that the Ambassador of Kyrgyzstan in India, Asein Isaev, a yogic practitioner, is keen on cementing ties with India through these Vedic sciences..

The broad area of study called ‘anidra’ in Ayurveda deals with sleep-deprivation and related conditions, and it offers some time-tested solutions...

As a result of intellectual bullying, we could provide very shallow understanding of Dharma to such fellow countrymen who are educated through English medium and are not familiar with Sanskrit either..