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Hindu Mantras
A mantra ( ; Pali: ''mantra'') or mantram (Devanagari: मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words (most often in an Indo-Iranian language like Sanskrit or Avestan) believed by practitioners to have religious, magical or spiritual powers. Feuerstein, Georg (2003), ''The Deeper Dimension of Yoga''. Shambala Publications, Boston, MA Some mantras have a syntactic structure and a literal meaning, while others do not. ꣽ, ॐ (Aum, Om) serves as an important mantra in various Indian religions. Specifically, it is an example of a seed syllable mantra ( bijamantra). It is believed to be the first sound in Hinduism and as the sonic essence of the absolute divine reality. Longer mantras are phrases with several syllables, names and words. These phrases may have spiritual interpretations such as a name of a deity, a longing for truth, reality, light, immortality, peace, love, knowledge, and action. Examples of lon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified by adherence to the concept of ''dharma'', a Ṛta, cosmic order maintained by its followers through rituals and righteous living, as expounded in the Vedas. The word ''Hindu'' is an exonym, and while Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, it has also been described by the modern term ''Sanātana Dharma'' () emphasizing its eternal nature. ''Vaidika Dharma'' () and ''Arya dharma'' are historical endonyms for Hinduism. Hinduism entails diverse systems of thought, marked by a range of shared Glossary of Hinduism terms, concepts that discuss God in Hinduism, theology, Hindu mythology, mythology, among other topics in Hindu texts, textual sources. Hindu texts have been classified into Śruti () and Smṛti (). The major Hin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Georg Feuerstein
Georg Feuerstein (27 May 1947 – 25 August 2012) was a Germans, German Indology, Indologist specializing in the philosophy and practice of Yoga. Feuerstein authored over 30 books on mysticism, Yoga, Tantra, and Hinduism. He translated, among other traditional texts, the ''Yoga Sutras of Patanjali'' and the ''Bhagavad Gita''. Biography Feuerstein was born in Würzburg, Germany. He moved to England to do his postgraduate research at Durham University and subsequently lived for 23 years in the United States. In 2004, Georg and his wife and spiritual partner, Brenda L Feuerstein, moved to Saskatchewan, Canada and in 2012 he became a citizen of Canada, where he died 25 August 2012 due to complications from diabetes. He was an early Life member of the Indian Academy of Yoga at Benares Hindu University. Reception Historian of religions Mircea Eliade called Feuerstein's ''The Philosophy of Classical Yoga'', "one of the most profound and original contributions to the understanding of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yoga
Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as practiced in the Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ... traditions. Yoga may have pre-Vedic period, Vedic origins, but is first attested in the early first millennium BCE. It developed as various traditions in the eastern Ganges basin drew from a common body of practices, including Vedas, Vedic elements. Yoga-like practices are mentioned in the ''Rigveda'' and a number of early Upanishads, but systematic yoga concepts emerge during the fifth and sixth centuries BCE in ancient India's sannyasa, ascetic and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tantra
Tantra (; ) is an esoteric yogic tradition that developed on the India, Indian subcontinent beginning in the middle of the 1st millennium CE, first within Shaivism and later in Buddhism. The term ''tantra'', in the Greater India, Indian traditions, also means any systematic broadly applicable "text, theory, system, method, instrument, technique or practice". A key feature of these traditions is the use of mantras, and thus they are commonly referred to as Mantramārga ("Path of Mantra") in Hinduism or Mantrayāna ("Mantra Vehicle") and Guhyamantra ("Secret Mantra") in Buddhism. In Buddhism, the Vajrayana traditions are known for tantric ideas and practices, which are based on Indian Tantras (Buddhism), Buddhist Tantras. They include Tibetan Buddhism, Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Chinese Esoteric Buddhism, Japanese Shingon Buddhism and Nepalese Newar Buddhism. Although Southern Esoteric Buddhism does not directly reference the tantras, its practices and ideas parallel them. In Bud ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japamala
A japamala, , or simply Japay mala (; , meaning 'garland') is a loop of prayer beads commonly used in Indian religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. It is used for counting recitations ('' japa'') of mantras, prayers or other sacred phrases. It is also worn to ward off evil, to count repetitions within some other form of '' sadhana'' (spiritual practice) such as prostrations before a holy icon. They are also used as symbols of religious identification. The main body of a mala usually consists of 108 beads of roughly the same size and material as each other, although smaller versions, often factors of 108 such as 54 or 27, exist. A distinctive 109th "guru bead" or mother bead, which is not counted, is very common. Mala beads have traditionally been made of a variety of materials such as wood, stone, gems, seeds, bone and precious metals—with various religions often favouring certain materials—and strung with natural fibres such as cotton, silk, or animal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japa
''Japa'' () is the meditative repetition of a mantra or a divine name. It is a practice found in Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, and Buddhism, with parallels found in other religions. ''Japa'' may be performed while sitting in a meditation posture, while performing other activities, or as part of formal worship in group settings. The mantra or name may be spoken softly, loud enough for the practitioner to hear it, or it may be recited silently within the practitioner's mind. Etymology The Sanskrit word ''japa'' is derived from the root ''jap-'', meaning "to utter in a low voice, repeat internally, mutter". It can be further defined as ''ja'' to destroy birth, death, and reincarnation and ''pa'' meaning to destroy ones sins. Monier-Williams states that the term appears in Vedic literature such as in the Aitareya Brahmana (Rigveda) and the Shatapatha Brahmana (Yajurveda). The term means muttering, whispering or murmuring passages from the scripture, or charms, or names of deity. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sikhism
Sikhism is an Indian religion and Indian philosophy, philosophy that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century CE. It is one of the most recently founded major religious groups, major religions and among the largest in the world with about 25–30million adherents, known as Sikhs. Sikhism developed from the spiritual teachings of Guru Nanak (1469–1539), the faith's first guru, and the nine Sikh gurus who succeeded him. The tenth guru, Guru Gobind Singh (1666–1708), named the Guru Granth Sahib, which is the central religious scripture in Sikhism, was their successor. This brought the line of human gurus to a close. Sikhs regard the Guru Granth Sahib as the 11th and eternally living guru. The core beliefs and practices of Sikhism, articulated in the Guru Granth Sahib and other Sikh scriptures, include faith and meditation in the name of the one creator (''Ik Onkar''), the divine unity and equality of all humankind, engaging ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zoroaster, Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, Zoroaster ( ). Among the world's oldest organized faiths, its adherents exalt an Creator deity, uncreated, Omnibenevolence, benevolent, and List of knowledge deities#Persian mythology, all-wise deity known as Ahura Mazda (), who is hailed as the supreme being of the universe. Opposed to Ahura Mazda is Ahriman, Angra Mainyu (), who is personified as a List of death deities#Persian-Zoroastrian, destructive spirit and the adversary of all things that are good. As such, the Zoroastrian religion combines a Dualism in cosmology, dualistic cosmology of good and evil with an eschatological outlook predicting the Frashokereti, ultimate triumph of Ahura Mazda over evil. Opinions vary among scholars as to whether Zoroastrianism is monotheistic, polyth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mul Mantar
The Mūl Mantar (, ) is the opening verse of the Sikh scripture, the ''Guru Granth Sahib''. It consists of twelve words in the Punjabi language, written in Gurmukhi script, and are the most widely known among the Sikhs. They summarize the essential teaching of Guru Nanak,Eleanor Nesbitt, "Sikhism: a very short introduction", , Oxford University Press, pp. 22-24 thus constituting a succinct doctrinal statement of Sikhism. It has been variously translated, with the interpretation of the first two words particularly contested. These are rendered as "There is one god,” "One reality is,” "This being is one,” and others. Sometimes the disagreements include capitalizing the “G” in “god,” or the “R” in “reality,” which affects the implied meaning in English. Some consider it monotheistic, others monist. The general view favors the monotheistic interpretation, but not the Abrahamic understanding of monotheism. It is rather "Guru Nanak's mystical awareness of the one ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mantra Of Light
file:World's Largest Gold & Jade Buddha, Nanshan Guanyin Park (10098528223).jpg, A statue of Avalokiteśvara, Amoghapāśa Lokeśvara at Nanshan Island, Nanshan, China. The Mantra of Light, alternatively (光明真言, pinyin: ''guāngmíng zhēnyán'', rōmaji: ''kōmyō shingon''; Sanskrit: ''prabhāsa-mantra''), alternatively (毗盧遮那如來所說不空大灌頂光真言, pinyin: ''pílúzhēnà rúlái ruǒshuō bukōng dà guàndǐng guāng zhēnyán'') is a Buddhist mantra. In both Chinese Buddhism and Buddhism in Japan, Japanese Buddhism, the mantra is associated with both the Buddha Vairocana as well as the Bodhisattva Amoghapasa, Amoghapāśa. The mantra also has various other names including the ''Mantra of the Light of Great Consecration'' (Ch: 大灌頂光真言), ''Mantra of Amoghapāśa (Unfailing Noose)'', ''Heart essence of Amoghapāśa'' (skt. ''amoghapāśahṛdaya'') and ''Unfailing King'' (Amogharāja).'''' The mantra is found in the ''Amoghapāśa-kalpar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Om Namah Shivaya
Om Namah Shivaya (Sanskrit, Hindi, Devanagari: ; IAST: Oṃ Namaḥ Śivāya) is one of the most popular Hindu mantras and the most important mantra in Shaivism. Namah Shivaya means "O salutations to the auspicious one!", or "adoration to Lord Shiva". It is called Shiva Panchakshara Stotra, Siva Panchakshara, or Shiva Panchakshara or simply Panchakshara meaning the "five-syllable" mantra (viz., excluding the ''Om'') and is dedicated to Lord Shiva, Shiva. This Mantra appears as 'Na' 'Ma' 'Śi' 'Vā' and 'Ya' in the Shri Rudram Chamakam which is a part of the Krishna Yajurveda and also in the Rudrashtadhyayi which is a part of the Shukla Yajurveda. The five-syllabled mantra (excluding the Oṁ) may be chanted by all persons including Sudras, śūdras and Chandala, cāṇḍalas; however the six-syllabled mantra (with Oṁ included) may only be spoken by Dvija, dvijas. Origin of the mantra The mantra without the initial Om was originally a verse in the eighth hymn of the ''Namak ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gayatri Mantra
The Gāyatrī Mantra (), also known as the Sāvitrī Mantra (), is a sacred mantra from the ''Ṛig Veda'' ( Mandala 3.62.10), dedicated to the Vedic deity Savitr. The mantra is attributed to the rajarshi Vishvamitra. The term Gāyatrī may also refer to a ''type'' of mantra which follows the same Vedic metre as the original Gāyatrī Mantra (without the first line). There are many such Gāyatrīs for various gods and goddesses.Swami Vishnu Devananda, Vishnu Devananda (1999). ''Meditation and Mantras'', p. 76. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. Furthermore, is the name of the Goddess of the mantra and the meter. The Gayatri mantra is cited widely in Hindu texts, such as the mantra listings of the Śrauta liturgy, and classical Hindu texts such as the ''Bhagavad Gita'', '' Harivamsa'', and '' Manusmṛti''. The mantra and its associated metric form was known by the Buddha. The mantra is an important part of the initiation ceremony. Modern Hindu reform movements spread the prac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
