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Balmikism
Balmikism is a Hindu sect that reveres the sage Valmiki, Balmiki (also known as Bala Shah or Lal Beg) as their ancestor as a patron saint. Followers believe that Balmiki was an avatar of God, and they consider his works, the ''Ramayana'' and the ''Yoga Vasistha'', as their holy scripture. Balmiki is often depicted as wearing red clothing and is thus known as Lal Bhekh (or Lal Beg). Ashram (Balmiki), Balmiki mandirs (temples) are open to all and the most important festival celebrated by Balmiki Hindus is Balmiki Jayanti, which marks the birthday of Balmiki. Many worshippers at Balmiki Hindu temples are Dalits, especially those belonging to the Chuhra community, though adherents from other castes pray there too and patrons of Balmiki temples come from diverse castes. See also *Valmiki caste *Ardaas *Pargat Diwas References {{reflist Hindu denominations ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ashram (Balmiki)
A Balmikism, Balmiki temple is called an Ashram, which means a hermitage or monastery. It is the communal house for Balmikis. The function of the Ashram is to serve as a center for building up devotees' commitment and for transmitting the Ramayana's message, and the focal point for the whole community to preserve their culture and traditions. For Balmikis communal prayer is not restricted to the confines of the Ashram, but can take place anywhere as long as the Ramayana is present. However, when an Ashram is not within traveling distance, many Balmiki families will have a special room in their house containing a copy of the Ramayana which can be used for worship. When an Ashram is not available, Balmikis will hire a public building or use a private home as an Ashram. Features All Balmiki Ashrams have a number of common features. For instance, the place of worship is always in a special room, and there are a number of other rooms set aside for special purposes. There is a Lang ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ardaas
''Ardaas'' is a Balmiki ritual performed in the Ashram at the beginning of the community service called Puja. It is performed standing facing the murti of Valmiki Valmiki (; Sanskrit: वाल्मीकि, ) is celebrated as the wikt:harbinger, harbinger-poet in Sanskrit literature. The epic ''Ramayana'', dated variously from the 5th century BCE to first century BCE, is attributed to him, based on ... with hands folded, and the following words are repeated (in Punjabi):Amarjit Thaper, Wolverhampton Balmiki Ashram, Steelhouse Lane/Cable Street, Wolverhampton Oh Lord we stand before you and pray, we beg for your protection. Bless us to call upon you with every breath we take and beg you to protect us from all sins, guide us so that we always pray to you. Bless us so that we always do good deeds Oh Lord and Creator of all things. Bless us with peace of mind and infinite wisdom, show us the way of righteousness so our soul be cleansed. Bless us so that we never forget you ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pargat Diwas
Pargat Diwas, or Valmiki Jayanti, is an annual Indian festival celebrated in particular by the Balmiki religious group, to commemorate the birth of the ancient Indian poet and philosopher Valmiki, who is thought to have lived around 500 BCE. The festival date is determined by the Indian lunar calendar, and falls on the full moon (Purnima) of the month of Ashwin, typically in late September or early October. Valmiki is revered in India as the author of the Indian epic poem ''Ramayana'', and is also worshipped as the avatar of God by members of the Balmiki sect. Valmiki himself appears as a major character in the ''Ramayana'', as a monk who receives the banished queen Sita into his hermitage and acts as teacher to her twin sons, Luv and Kush. The "epic metre" in traditional Indian poetry is attributed to Valmiki, with verses consisting of memorable rhyming couplets, suggesting that the poem was intended for public recitation, a common Indian oral tradition. On Pargat Diwas, portra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Balmiki
Chuhra is a Dalit caste in India and Pakistan. Populated regions include the Punjab region of India and Pakistan, as well as Uttar Pradesh in India, among other parts of the Indian subcontinent such as southern India. Their traditional occupation is sweeping, a "polluting" occupation that caused them to be considered untouchables in the Hindu caste system. Originally following the Balmiki sect of Hinduism, many Chuhras converted to Sikhism, Islam and Christianity during the colonial era in India. Today, Churas in Indian Punjab are largely followers of Sikhism. A minority continue to follow Christianity, as well as Hinduism, which incorporates elements of Sikhism in its practices. In Pakistani Punjab 90-95% of its Christian population are Dalit Christians of the Chuhra caste; other Chuhras practice Islam or continue to follow Hinduism. Etymology and history The word "Chuhra" is derived from the word "Shudra", one of the varnas in Hinduism. The Bhangis claim descent from B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Valmiki
Valmiki (; Sanskrit: वाल्मीकि, ) is celebrated as the wikt:harbinger, harbinger-poet in Sanskrit literature. The epic ''Ramayana'', dated variously from the 5th century BCE to first century BCE, is attributed to him, based on the attribution in the text itself. He is revered as ''Ādi Kavi'', the first poet, author of ''Ramayana'', the first epic poem. The ''Ramayana'', originally written by Valmiki, consists of 24,000 shlokas and seven cantos (kaṇḍas). The is composed of about 480,002 words, being a quarter of the length of the full text of the ''Mahabharata'' or about four times the length of the ''Iliad''. The ''Ramayana'' tells the story of a prince, Rama of the city of Ayodhya in the Kosala, Kingdom of Kosala, whose wife Sita is abducted by Ravana, the demon-king (Rakshasa) of Lanka. Valmiki's ''Ramayana'' is dated variously from 500 BCE to 100 BCE or about co-eval with early versions of the ''Mahabharata''. As with many traditional epics, it has gon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chuhra
Chuhra is a Dalit caste in India and Pakistan. Populated regions include the Punjab region of India and Pakistan, as well as Uttar Pradesh in India, among other parts of the Indian subcontinent such as southern India. Their traditional occupation is sweeping, a "polluting" occupation that caused them to be considered untouchables in the Hindu caste system. Originally following the Balmiki sect of Hinduism, many Chuhras converted to Sikhism, Islam and Christianity during the colonial era in India. Today, Churas in Indian Punjab are largely followers of Sikhism. A minority continue to follow Christianity, as well as Hinduism, which incorporates elements of Sikhism in its practices. In Pakistani Punjab 90-95% of its Christian population are Dalit Christians of the Chuhra caste; other Chuhras practice Islam or continue to follow Hinduism. Etymology and history The word "Chuhra" is derived from the word "Shudra", one of the varnas in Hinduism. The Bhangis claim descent from B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Valmiki Caste
Valmiki is a name used by a variety of communities throughout India who all claim descent from the author of the ''Ramayana'', Valmiki. The Valmikis can be classified as a caste or Sampradaya (tradition/sect). In the North West Punjab region, this caste had adopted Sikhism. They were given the task of engaging in war. The Indian British government recruited them in their army and declared them a martial caste. During the Indian Rebellion of 1857, many valmiki were prominent freedom fighters. Notable examples include Matadin Bhangi, Gangu Mehtar, Bhura Singh Valmiki. At the present time many changes have been seen in this caste, now they incline towards politics and government high positions. According to the 2001 Census of India, the Valmikis formed 11.2 per cent of the Scheduled Caste population in Punjab and were the second-most populous Scheduled Caste in Delhi National Capital Region. The 2011 Census of India for Uttar Pradesh showed the Valmiki population, which was cla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for people living in the Indian subcontinent. The term ''"Hindu"'' traces back to Old Persian which derived these names from the Sanskrit name ''Sindhu'' (सिन्धु ), referring to the river Indus. The Greek cognates of the same terms are "''Indus''" (for the river) and "''India''" (for the land of the river). The term "''Hindu''" also implied a geographic, ethnic or cultural identifier for people living in the Indian subcontinent around or beyond the Sindhu (Indus) River. By the 16th century CE, the term began to refer to residents of the subcontinent who were not Turkic or Muslims. Hindoo is an archaic spelling variant, whose use today is considered derogatory. The historical development of Hindu self-identity within the local In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patron Saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person. In Christianity Saints often become the patrons of places where they were born or had been active. However, there were cases in Medieval Europe where a city which grew to prominence and obtained for its cathedral the remains or some relics of a famous saint who had lived and was buried elsewhere, thus making them the city's patron saint – such a practice conferred considerable prestige on the city concerned. In Latin America and the Philippines, Spanish and Portuguese explorers often named a location for the saint on whose feast or commemoration day they first visited the place, with that saint naturally becoming the area's patron. Occupations sometimes have a patron saint who had been connected somewhat with it, although some of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Avatar
Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearance" is sometimes used to refer to any guru or revered human being. The word ''avatar'' does not appear in the Vedic literature; however, it appears in developed forms in post-Vedic literature, and as a noun particularly in the Puranic literature after the 6th century CE. Despite that, the concept of an avatar is compatible with the content of the Vedic literature like the Upanishads as it is symbolic imagery of the Saguna Brahman concept in the philosophy of Hinduism. The ''Rigveda'' describes Indra as endowed with a mysterious power of assuming any form at will. The ''Bhagavad Gita'' expounds the doctrine of Avatara but with terms other than ''avatar''. Theologically, the term is most often associated with the Hindu god Vishnu, though th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ramayana
The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages extending up to the 3rd century CE. ''Ramayana'' is one of the two important epics of Hinduism, the other being the ''Mahabharata, Mahābhārata''. The epic, traditionally ascribed to the Maharishi Valmiki, narrates the life of Sita, the Princess of Janakpur, and Rama, a legendary prince of Ayodhya city in the kingdom of Kosala. The epic follows his fourteen-year exile to the forest urged by his father King Dasharatha, on the request of Rama's stepmother Kaikeyi; his travels across forests in the South Asia, Indian subcontinent with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana, the kidnapping of Sita by Ravana – the king of Lanka, that resulted in war; and Rama's eventual return to Ayodhya to be crowned kin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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