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Siddhitraya
The ''Siddhitraya'' () is a Sanskrit treatise written in the 10th century by the Hindu philosopher Yamunacharya. Regarded to be the largest and the most prominent work of Yamunacharya, the ''Siddhitraya'' was an important foundational text for the philosophy of Vishishtadvaita. It offers refutations of the philosophical positions of Advaita and other Hindu schools. The work consists of three sections, expounding the author's positions on the "three demonstrations": the concepts of ''ātmasiddhi'' (demonstration of individual self), ''īśvarasiddhi'' (demonstration of God), and ''saṁvitsiddhi'' (demonstration of reality in the empirical world). All three sections of the work are regarded to be incomplete. Content Ātmasiddhi The ''ātmasiddhi'' is the largest of the three sections of the text and consists of passages both in the form of verse and prose. In the invocatory verse, emphasis is placed on ''bhakti'' (devotion) to the Supreme Being ( Vishnu), who is described ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yamunacharya
Yamunacharya (IAST: Yamunāchārya), also known as Alavandar and Yamunaithuraivan, was a Vishistadvaita philosopher based in Srirangam, Tamil Nadu, India. He is best-known for being a preceptor of Ramanuja, one of the leaders of the Sri Vaishnava tradition. He was born in the early 10th century CE, and was the grandson of Nathamuni, a famed yogi, who collected the works of the Tamil Alvars. Life Yamunacharya grew up learning Vedic texts from Rama Misra, and was skilled in the concept of mimamsa. According to Sri Vaishnava tradition, as a teenager, he challenged the royal priest of a Pandya king, Akkiyalvan, to a debate. Akkiyalvan, when he saw the age of the youth, sarcastically asked "''Alavandara''?", meaning "Has he come to rule me?". He defeated Akkiyalvan by logically proving that Akkiyalvan's mother was barren, the king was not righteous, and the queen unchaste. The king and queen, impressed that the boy had understood the shortcomings of logic, adopted him. The q ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stotra Ratna
The ''Stotra Ratna'' (), also rendered the ''Alavandarstotra'', is a Sanskrit work of Hindu literature written by the Sri Vaishnava philosopher Yamunacharya. The hymn consists of sixty-five stanzas that extol the deity Vishnu. Etymology The title of the work consists of the Sanskrit terms '' stotra'' (hymn) and ''ratnam'' (jewel), therefore literally meaning, 'the jewel of hymns'. Description The main theme of the ''Stotra Ratna'' is ''prapatti'', the concept of total surrender to God. In the first few verses, the author pays tribute to his teachers. The subsequent verses establish the supremacy of Vishnu and his accessibility to his devotees, to whom he is referred to as a saviour. Yamunacharya offers his surrender to Vishnu, indicating that even simple acts of service such as offering salutations are effective to his worship. He states that divine mercy would be offered to all those who undertake the path of ''prapatti,'' also describing it to be the only means of attain ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vedarthasamgraha
The ''Vedarthasamgraha'' (), also rendered ''Vedarthasangraha'', is a treatise by the Hindu philosopher Ramanuja, comprising his exegesis of a number of ''Upanishad''ic texts. The first of his three major works, Ramanuja propounds the doctrine of the Vishishtadvaita philosophy in this work and offers a discourse on the concepts of '' Brahman, bhakti'', and '' moksha'' in '' Vedanta'' philosophy. Etymology ''Vedarthasamgraha'' literally means "summary of the meaning of the ''Veda''" in Sanskrit. Content The ''Vedarthasamgraha'' begins with the exaltation of the deity Vishnu, traditional in Vaishnava works of his period. Criticism of Advaita The work is noteworthy for its criticism of Adi Shankara's Advaita philosophy. He offers a number of arguments to oppose the postulations of Advaita: * Ramanuja argues that since Advaita claims that all is ''mithya'' (illusory), there is nothing that is required to be known. He regards this to be incompatible with the Advaita not ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global population, known as Hindus. The word ''Hindu'' is an exonym, and while Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, many practitioners refer to their religion as '' Sanātana Dharma'' ( sa, सनातन धर्म, lit='the Eternal Dharma'), a modern usage, which refers to the idea that its origins lie beyond human history, as revealed in the Hindu texts. Another endonym is ''Vaidika dharma'', the dharma related to the Vedas. Hinduism is a diverse system of thought marked by a range of philosophies and shared concepts, rituals, cosmological systems, pilgrimage sites, and shared textual sources that discuss theology, metaphysics, mythology, Vedic yajna, yoga, agamic rituals, and temple building, among other to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vaishnava Texts
Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the sole supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, i.e. ''Mahavishnu''. Its followers are called Vaishnavites or ''Vaishnava''s (), and it includes sub-sects like Krishnaism and Ramaism, which consider Krishna and Rama as the supreme beings respectively. According to a 2010 estimate by Johnson and Grim, Vaishnavism is the largest Hindu sect, constituting about 641 million or 67.6% of Hindus. The ancient emergence of Vaishnavism is unclear, and broadly hypothesized as a fusion of various regional non-Vedic religions with Vishnu. A merger of several popular non-Vedic theistic traditions, particularly the Bhagavata cults of Vāsudeva-krishna and ''Gopala-Krishna'', and Narayana, developed in the 7th to 4th century BCE. It was integrated wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medieval Literature
Medieval literature is a broad subject, encompassing essentially all written works available in Europe and beyond during the Middle Ages (that is, the one thousand years from the fall of the Western Roman Empire ca. AD 500 to the beginning of the Renaissance in the 14th, 15th or 16th century, depending on country). The literature of this time was composed of religious writings as well as secular works. Just as in modern literature, it is a complex and rich field of study, from the utterly sacred to the exuberantly profane, touching all points in-between. Works of literature are often grouped by place of origin, language, and genre. Languages Outside of Europe, medieval literature was written in Ethiopic, Syriac, Coptic, Japanese, Chinese, and Arabic, among many other languages. In Western Europe, Latin was the common language for medieval writing, since Latin was the language of the Roman Catholic Church, which dominated Western and Central Europe, and since the Church was v ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chatuh Shloki
The ''Chatuh Shloki'' () is a Sanskrit hymn by the Hindu philosopher Yamunacharya Yamunacharya (IAST: Yamunāchārya), also known as Alavandar and Yamunaithuraivan, was a Vishistadvaita philosopher based in Srirangam, Tamil Nadu, India. He is best-known for being a preceptor of Ramanuja, one of the leaders of the Sri Vai ... of the Sri Vaishnava tradition. Comprising four verses, the ''Chatuh Shloki'' extols Lakshmi, the consort of the deity Vishnu. Etymology ''Chatuh Shloki'' is Sanskrit for "four verses". Description The four stanzas of the work describe the various attributes of the goddess Lakshmi, her greatness and mercy, the grace she offers to her devotees, and her inseparability in form from her consort Vishnu ( Lakshmi Narayana) respectively. Lakshmi is represented as an intermediary between a devotee and Vishnu; she is described to present a devotee's piety to her consort, offering her consort's grace to the devotee in turn. The work is regarded to be a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gradually spread throughout much of Asia via the Silk Road. It is the world's fourth-largest religion, with over 520 million followers (Buddhists) who comprise seven percent of the global population. The Buddha taught the Middle Way, a path of spiritual development that avoids both extreme asceticism and hedonism. It aims at liberation from clinging and craving to things which are impermanent (), incapable of satisfying ('), and without a lasting essence (), ending the cycle of death and rebirth (). A summary of this path is expressed in the Noble Eightfold Path, a training of the mind with observance of Buddhist ethics and meditation. Other widely observed practices include: monasticism; " taking refuge" in the Buddha, the , and the ; ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Upanishads
The Upanishads (; sa, उपनिषद् ) are late Vedic Sanskrit texts that supplied the basis of later Hindu philosophy.Wendy Doniger (1990), ''Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism'', 1st Edition, University of Chicago Press, , pages 2-3; Quote: "The Upanishads supply the basis of later Hindu philosophy; they are widely known and quoted by most well-educated Hindus, and their central ideas have also become a part of the spiritual arsenal of rank-and-file Hindus." They are the most recent part of the Vedas, the oldest scriptures of Hinduism, and deal with meditation, philosophy, consciousness, and ontological knowledge; earlier parts of the Vedas deal with mantras, benedictions, rituals, ceremonies, and sacrifices.Gavin Flood (1996), ''An Introduction to Hinduism'', Cambridge University Press, , pp. 35–39A Bhattacharya (2006), ''Hindu Dharma: Introduction to Scriptures and Theology'', , pp. 8–14; George M. Williams (2003), Handbook of Hindu Mythology, Oxford Un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Avidyā (Hinduism)
Avidyā is a Sanskrit word whose literal meaning is ignorance, misconceptions, misunderstandings, incorrect knowledge, and it is the opposite of '' Vidya''. It is used extensively in Hindu texts, including the Upanishads, and in other Indian religions such as Buddhism and Jainism, particularly in the context of metaphysical reality. Avidyā, in all Dharmic systems, represents fundamental ignorance and misperception of the phenomenal world. However, the Indian religions disagree on the details, for example with Hinduism considering a denial and misconceptions of Atman (soul, self) as a form of Avidya, and Buddhism considering the denial and misconceptions of An-atman (non-soul, non-self) as a form of Avidya. Etymology and meaning ''Avidyā'' (अविद्या) is a Vedic Sanskrit word, and is a compound of "a" and "vidya", meaning "not vidya". The word ''vidya'' is derived from the Sanskrit root ''Vid'', which means "to know, to perceive, to see, to understand". Therefor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maya (religion)
''Maya'' (; Devanagari: , IAST: ), literally "illusion" or "magic", has multiple meanings in Indian philosophies depending on the context. In later Vedic texts, connotes a "magic show, an illusion where things appear to be present but are not what they seem"; the principle which shows "attributeless Absolute" as having "attributes". also connotes that which "is constantly changing and thus is spiritually unreal" (in opposition to an unchanging Absolute, or Brahman), and therefore "conceals the true character of spiritual reality".Lynn Foulston and Stuart Abbott (2009), ''Hindu Goddesses: Beliefs and Practices'', Sussex Academic Press, , pp. 14-16. In the Advaita Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy, , "appearance", is "the powerful force that creates the cosmic illusion that the phenomenal world is real." In this nondualist school, at the individual level appears as the lack of knowledge () of the real Self, ''Atman-Brahman'', mistakingly identifying with the body-mind comp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brahman
In Hinduism, ''Brahman'' ( sa, ब्रह्मन्) connotes the highest universal principle, the ultimate reality in the universe.P. T. Raju (2006), ''Idealistic Thought of India'', Routledge, , page 426 and Conclusion chapter part XII In major schools of Hindu philosophy, it is the material, efficient, formal and final cause of all that exists.For dualism school of Hinduism, see: Francis X. Clooney (2010), ''Hindu God, Christian God: How Reason Helps Break Down the Boundaries between Religions'', Oxford University Press, , pages 51–58, 111–115;For monist school of Hinduism, see: B. Martinez-Bedard (2006), ''Types of Causes in Aristotle and Sankara'', Thesis – Department of Religious Studies (Advisors: Kathryn McClymond and Sandra Dwyer), Georgia State University, pages 18–35 It is the pervasive, infinite, eternal truth, consciousness and bliss which does not change, yet is the cause of all changes. ''Brahman'' as a metaphysical concept refers to the single bi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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