Sanatan Dharma Parmo Dharma

HOW MANY AVTARAS OF LORD SHIVA? Diya V Sharma , Doctoral Researcher In Shaivism, Advait Vedanta As per scripture Avtars are human beings with special powers. Just as a human avtars are borm and they die. They fall under the universal laws. Shiva however has no avtars. However, Shiva has assumed various forms to set maya in motion. The difference between an avtar and roopa is that : avtarz are dependent upon material cause. they can not appear at will. they need a cause to be created ex: rama, krishna. However a roopa is swayambhu…..swayambhu means that which is not dependent for existence and appears at will ex: kaal bhairav avtars are born, they go thru pain and pleasure and die. roopas appear and disappear…..they do not take birth or die. avtars are prone to rebirth. rebirth takes place when there is karma. roopas do not need to be reborn. since shiva has no karma he need not be born, live as human or die avtars are limited by t

IS HINDUISM MORE TOLERANT AND ACCEPTING? Diya V Sharma , Doctoral Researcher In Shaivism, Advait Vedanta Hinduism is the oldest of all living religions. Hinduism is not a man-made religion. It was not founded by any single person. It is not based on a set of dogmas preached by a particular set of teachers. It was not started as a system, like Islam or Christianity. It is the product of the seers of the Vedas. It was developed from age to age by the teachings of Avataras, Rishis, Vedas, the Upanishads, the Gita and the Itihasas. It will exist as long as the world lasts. There is a peculiar, mysterious spiritual force that is ingrained in the heart of every Hindu. Hinduism is also known by the names Sanatana Dharma and Vaidika Dharma. Sanatana Dharma means eternal religion, the Ancient Law. Vaidika Dharma means the religion of the Vedas. The Vedas are the foundational scriptures of Hinduism. A Religion of Freedom Hinduism allows absolute f

IS NANDI A BULL OR A MAN? Diya V Sharma , Doctoral Researcher In Shaivism, Advait Vedanta Before I answer your question, it is important for you to understand that “Sanatan Dharma” has deep philosophical symbolism. Each figure or symbol that you see materialistically has a deeper philosophical symbolism. Nandi-The Bull…….Should be interpreted by you. However here is an explanation. A Bull in “Sanatan Dharma” is a symbol of “HUMAN”. Just as a bull is in-tamable, headstrong, physically capable but mentally not enlightened…..just as he is dedicated, similarly all humans depict the same nature. Please note the structure of a temple……..there are various birds, animals, trees, deviz, devtaz just like this world where we ares surrounded by various forms. NOW OBSERVE NANDI, he sits amongst all the attractions and watches only Shiva. This a has a deep meaning, it represents the fact that Nandi who is the symbol of humans should not be affecte

HOW DID THE WORD HINDU ORIGINATE? The word Hindu is often misused.The fact is that the BOTH the words "Hindu" and "India" have foreign origin. The word "Hindu" is neither a Sanskrit word nor is this word found in any of the native dialects and languages of India. It should be noted that "Hindu" is NOT a religious word at all. There is no reference of the word "hindu" in the Ancient Vedic Scriptures. It is said that the Persians used to refer to the Indus river as Sindhu. Indus is a major river which flows partly in India and partly in Pakistan. However, the Persians could not pronounce the letter "S" correctly in their native tongue and mispronounced it as "H." Thus, for the ancient Persians, the word "Sindhu" became "Hindu." The ancient Persian Cuneiform inscriptions and the Zend Avesta refer to the word "Hindu" as a geographic name rather than a religious name. When the P

IS HANUMAN AN AVTARA OF SHIVA? Firstly, It is important to understand that Shiva on a Philosophical level is the whole universe. He exists in every particle. He is all that you see and all that you do not see. Thus, be it you, me, an ant, a dog, Ram, Krishna or Hanuman. Every thing and everyone has the Shiva tattva. Coming to mythology and religion. It is important for you to understand the difference between “AVTAR” and “ROOPA”. AVTAR- Avtars like rama, krishna, narsimha etc are dependent in origin. They are born to someone and cant create themselves Avtars come in every yuga for a specific purpose as per will of lord. Avtars have karmas Because Avtars have karmas, they are prone to birth, death, pain, pleasure and rebirth Despite being superhuman, Avtars are limited in power (refer to Ramayan where Ram had to pray to parthiv linga to cross the ocean or to Mahabharata where Krishna had to pray to Shiva in order to get a son) ROOPA- A roop is “Swayambhu” or i