Yamaraj- the god of death .
In the
Hindu scriptures known collectively as '
Vedas', the lord of death is called
Yama, or Yamaraj (literally "the lord of death").
A modern depiction of Yamaraja's Court, by Dominique Amendola .
Yamaraja rides a black buffalo and carries a rope lasso to carry the
soul back to his abode called "Yama
loka". It is his agents, the Yamaduts, who carry the souls back to Yamalok. Here, all the accounts of the person's good and bad deeds are stored and maintained by
Chitragupta, which allow Yamaraj to decide where the soul has to reside in his next life, following the theory of
reincarnation.
It is believed that souls may experience re-birth in hellish, or heavenly worlds on returning to the Earth again, depending upon their actions having been of a good or bad nature in this lifetime. The ones who practice good
karma and
bhakti throughout their lives are granted
Moksha, liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth and all the suffering and limitation entailed in embodied worldly existence. Yama is also mentioned in the
Mahabharata as a great philosopher and devotee of Sri
Krishna.
Read More...
Summary only...
Hinduism holds that once the Universe was more pure and free of sin, and as the Yugas (Time cycles) progress, the condition of the Universe deteriorates more and more, until at the end of the last Yuga- the Kali Yuga (which is linked with disorder) the state of disorder will reach an apex and then God will come and purge the world of all sin and destruction.
Almost all the religions throughout the world also describe disorder is increasing and that on a final Judgment day (or doomsday)- God will come to cleanse the world of Evil. The Bible has several verses that imply disorder is always on the increase (contrasting with ideas of Civilization, progress and development.)
The Law of Entropy" is the second law of thermodynamics: every reaction, physical or chemical, in this Universe goes forward only if it attains a state of more disorder. By definition entropy is the measure of disorder of a system. For example, the evaporation of water to vapor or melting of ice to liquid leads to more ‘disorder’ among water molecules, which were once tightly packed together but are now more separated and disarranged.
In other words, with forward movement of time, entropy of the Universe increases. This is what is implied in mentioning that the Universe is always moving towards disorder until it reaches a state of maximal entropy.
source:-http://www.answers.com/topic/scientific-parallels-in-hindu-mythology
Read More...
Summary only...
Today scientists recognize mainly four forms of matter- solid, liquid, gas and plasma (which lies at a sort of transition state between energy and matter and exists in stars, etc). Apart from this, energy is also considered a form of matter (or vice-versa) after Einstein proved energy and matter could be interconverted through the famous formula E=mc2.
Hindu texts state that the World is made of five elements (PanchaTatva): Earth (Bhoomi), Water(Jal), Air(Vayu), Fire(Agni) and Sky (Aakash).
Soil, water, air and fire describes the scientific forms of matter - solid, liquid, gas and energy, while the fifth Hindu element - sky - might describe vacuum - nothing but empty space, or even Ether, a hypothesized fluid said to span the entire universe.
Thus the forms of matter are covered in the Panchatatva.
source:-http://www.answers.com/topic/scientific-parallels-in-hindu-mythology
Read More...
Summary only...
The ‘Bhaagavata’ describes in detail the Hindu God Vishnu and his ten incarnations. The very beginning of Bhaagavata mentions earth as the ‘BhooGola’- meaning the sphere of earth. The same spherical nature of earth has been mentioned several times throughout the text (especially in the Varaha avatar- boar form). Though we know that now it is accepted that earth is spherical(more or less) this is an amazing fact that it comes from such an ancient age when people were believed to be in the middle of the ‘earth is flat’ superstition.
Note- The spherical nature of Earth seems to have found voice in the Bible also, where it refers to the ‘Circle Of Earth’, which probably implies the round or spherical shape of earth.
source:-http://www.answers.com/topic/scientific-parallels-in-hindu-mythology
Read More...
Summary only...
The ‘Shivpurana’ is a set of texts devoted to the history and description of Shiva - a Hindu God. One of the lines says-
“He is Shakthi(meaning energy or power)…. He was never created, he is never destroyed. He exists, and is seen in many forms by us.”
In this quote, if one substitutes ‘energy’ instead of ‘he’, it suggests the Law of conservation of energy. It is said in the beginning that ‘he is shakthi’ there could clearly be no other meaning implied. This is amazing, to know that such a law that was discovered in a comparatively later age (latter half of second millennium) was known even in the ancient ages in India.
source:-http://www.answers.com/topic/scientific-parallels-in-hindu-mythology
Read More...
Summary only...
LORD BRAHMA'S PICTURE.
Lord Brahma.
India is the land of religion and beliefs based on various idols, worshipped in different ways. So let’s take a look at the God who’s known as the creator of all.
In the Hindu Mythology Lord Brahma, or the Creator God, is a part of the Trinity Brahma (the Creator), Vishnu (the Protector) and Shiva (the Destroyer). He is portrayed with four heads, and appears in the colors red or pink. His trademark four arms may hold a variety of objects in them, including a book (the Vedas), a scepter, a lustration spoon or ladle, a rosary, a how or a water jug. Most of the time he is reminiscent of being a venerable, bearded man dressed in white. Lord Brahma’s vehicle the goose (Hamsa) represents the symbol of knowledge. He is married to Saraswathi or Savitri, the goddess of wisdom, music and speech.
The word Brahman (or Brahma) in ancient times was used to indicate the mysterious power contained in sacred utterances. This power was looked upon as the universal and forming factor from which everything, including the gods themselves, emerged. This supreme spirit of creation became fully personalized under the name of Brahma.
The festival of Yugadi, or New Year’s Day, is celebrated by many communities around India, but mainly by the Mangalorians. Their belief is that this was the day when Lord Brahma created the world and ordained the universe to roll in an equilibrium taking stock of time. It symbolizes the beginning of the millennium, reminding people that happiness and sadness have to be taken in the same spirit, with a stoic mind. They represent this by sweet Jaggery and bitter Neem offerings.
The Brahma temple in Pushkar, 11km from Ajmer in North India, is one of the few temples dedicated to Lord Brahma. It is also one of the five holy places which a Hindu must visit in his lifetime. Legend says that it was here that Lord Brahma battled with the demon Vajra Nabh and killed him with a lotus blossom which is then said to have fallen in three places where water gushed out. In this temple Lord Brahma’s faces point in four directions, symbolizing his universal presence. The special legend about this temple explains why Lord Brahma, though present as a statue in various temples, seldom occupies the position of the main icon. It is said that Brahma was performing a sacred ritual in the absence of his wife Savitri. Since her presence was essential, Brahma hastily married a local maiden called Gayatri. Upon hearing of his marriage, Savitri flew in to a rage and cursed Brahma that he would not be worshipped anywhere except in Pushkar.
Read More...
Summary only...
