Although I haven't changed my content here at the Tattler (business as usual!) - for some inexplicable reason - a review of stats has established that over the past few weeks there has been a huge surge in traffic from India.
There has been a lot of coverage on the high-profile Oscars and popular U.S. TV shows (such as "Dancing with the Stars" and "American Idol") - which may figure in.
After all, India touts a burgeoning BOLLYWOOD that is on par with the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry here on U.S. Shores in Tinsel Town.
Don't know, for sure!
Granted, there have been blog posts which may be of particular interest to Indian citizens.
For example, there have been movie reviews for films like "Outsourced".
The upbeat entertaining film takes a poke at "outsourcing" of American jobs overeas.
Movie Review
http://ijulian.blogspot.com/2007/10/outsourcedcharming-film.html
Before "Slumdog Millionaire" was released Internationally - and became a "known commodity" in the film industry - I reported on the film's relatively unknown cast on the red carpet in Dallas and in Los Angeles (which included an interview with highly-respected film Director Denny Boyd).
Post: 02/24/10http://ijulian.blogspot.com/2009/02/slumdog-millionaireafi-foresaw.html
There have been on-camera interviews with Bollywood Stars such as Samrat Chakrabarti when he attended the Director's Guild screening of "Karma Calling" at the Aisan Pacific Film Festival, too.
Post: 05/05/09http://ijulian.blogspot.com/2009/05/asian-pacific-film-festivalsamrat_05.html
Occasionally, I pen articles on Yoga and Buddhism, since Eastern religions (and the philosophy and teachings of the great Masters originating from this culture) are of great interest to me.
And, I often quote one of my favourite spiritual leaders, Gandhi.
http://ijulian.blogspot.com/2008/05/mahatma-gandhiquote-on-immortality.html
Unfortunately, I've yet to visit India, but I can dream - can't I?
I'd love to see the Taj Mahal, visit a handful of ancient ruins, and trapise though the breathtaking mountain regions.
The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum located in Agra, built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favorite wife Mumtaz Mahal.
The Taj Mahal is an exquisite example of Mughal architecture - a style that combines elements from - Persian, Indian, and Islamic architectural styles.
It is often referred to as "the jewel of Muslim art" in India.
History
India's history and culture is ancient and spans back to the beginning of human civilization and is touched on here briefly for obvious reasons.
The wealth of information is staggering!
The history of India has been one of constant integration with migrating peoples and with the diverse cultures that surround India.
At the center of Asia, India is at a crossroads with cultures from China to Europe, with a significant Asian connection with the cultures of Africa.
India's history, in many ways, is a microcosm of human histor comprised of diverse cultures.
The History of India arose with the birth of the Indus Valley Civilization in such sites as Mohenjo-Daro, Harappa, and Lothal, and the coming of the Aryans.
These two phases are known as the pre-Vedic and Vedic periods.
Hinduism arose in the Vedic period.
In the fifth century, large parts of India were united under a legendary historical figure known as Ashoka.
Ashoka the Great was an Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty who ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent from 269 BC to 232 BC.
Ashoka reigned over most of present-day India after a number of military conquests.
His empire stretched from present-day Pakistan, to Afghanistan in the west, beyond to the present-day Bangladesh, included the Indian state of Assam in the east, and went as far south as northern Kerala and Andhra.
He conquered the kingdom named Kalinga and embraced Buddhism from the prevalent Vedic tradition after witnessing the mass deaths of the war of Kalinga (which he himself had waged out of a desire for conquest).
In human history Ashoka is often referred to as the emperor of all ages.
Ashoka was a devotee of ahimsa (nonviolence), love, truth, tolerance and vegetarianism.
Under the Mauryas, Hinduism took shape and transformed over the ages until the present day.
The Mauryas were an Indian dynasty in the fourth-third centuries (BCE) which unified the subcontinent for the first time and contributed to the spread of Buddhism as well.
Islam was first introduced to India in the eighth century and over time became a major political force.
The European presence in India dates to the seventeenth century.
The English rule emerged as a result of the conquests at the battlefields of Plassey and Buxar.
A Rebellion in 1857-58 - which sought to restore Indian supremacy - was defeated.
When Victoria was crowned the Empress of India, the Nation became incorporated into the Empire.
Eventually, the British were forced out of India in 1947.
Temples
India, a territory bound by the Hindu Kush and the Himalayas, boasts many wonderful temples.
The earliest temples were rock cut and cave temples in India.
The temples of the Medieval Era were varied in architectural styles and often followed the taste of the ruler at the time and the nature of his or her devotion. .
For the most part, the sacred houses of worship reflect age old customs and traditions of India.
Some of the jewels in that crown include the Sun Temple at Konark, the Khajuraho Temples, the Ajanta Caves, Brihadeswara Temple, and the Sanchi Stupas.
Literature
The oldest literature of Indian is thought to be the Veda, a collection of religious and philisophical poems and hymns composed over several generations beginning as early as 3000 BC.
The Veda was composed in Sanskrit which was the intellectual language of both ancient and classical Indian civilizations.
There are four Vedas.
Some Vedic hymns and poems address philosophic themes such as the henotheism (the key to Hindu theolog).
Through Henotheism the idea is put forth that one God takes many different forms and that - although individuals may worship several different gods and goddesses - they really revere but one Supreme Being.
The Rig-Veda
The Veda dates back to 3000 BC and contain 1028 hymns (10,589 verses are divided into ten mandalas or book-sections) dedicated to thirty-three different gods.
The most prominent Gods were Gods of nature like Indra (rain god; king of heavens), Agni Mueller, the Vedas (fire god), Rudra (storm god; the 'howler'), Soma (the draught of immortality, an alcoholic brew).
The Sama-Veda
The Sama-Veda (or the wisdom of chants) is basically a collection of samans or chants, derived from the eighth and ninth books of the Rig-Veda.
These were meant for the priests who officiated at the rituals of the soma ceremonies.
The Yajur-Veda
They performed the sacrificial rites.
The Veda also outlines various chants which should be sung to pray and pay respects to the various instruments which are involved in the sacrifice.
The Atharva-Veda
The Atharva-Veda (the wisdom of the Atharvans) is called so because the families of the atharvan sect of the Brahmins have traditionally been credited with the composition of the Vedas.
It is a compilation of hymns but lacks the awesome grandeur which makes the Rig-Veda such a breathtaking spiritual experience.
The Upanishads
The term Upanishad means sitting down near.
As the idea implies, students sitting down near their Guru, to learn the secrets of existence.
In the splendid isolation of their forest abodes, the philosophers who composed the Upanishads, contemplated upon the various mysteries of life and its creation whether common or metaphysical.
The answers were not revealed to all - but rather - to select advanced students.
The teachers felt that some individuals were not capable (or ready) to deal with the powerful knowledge bestowed upon them.
The Upanishads were sought to fathom the mystery of the earthly and spiritual realms.
Through commentaries, stories, traditions and dialogue, the Upanishads unfold the fascinating tale of creation, life, the essence of life and of that beyond to the seeker of truth.
The Upanishads were composed over a long period (7th -5th centuries BC.).
The Upanishads were originally called Vedanta (conclusion to the Vedas).
The teachings of the Upanishads focused on views about Brahman (the Absolute, or God) and atman (one's true self).
Brhad-aranyaka Upanishad
The Brhad-aranyaka Upanishad is widely accepted to be the most important of all Upanishads.
It has three khandas or parts.
The madhu khanda contemplates on the relationship between the individual and the Universal self. The muni khanda or yajnavalkya is a debate which goes on to give the philosophical backing to the earlier teaching. The khila khanda tackles various rituals of worship and meditation.
Chandogya Upanishad
This Upanishad is a part of the Sama-Veda (see The Vedas).
The name comes from the singer of the songs (samans) who is called Chandoga.
The initial chapters of the Upanishad, discuss the ritual of sacrifice.
The others debate the origin and profundity of the concept of Om, among other things.
Aitareya Upanishad
This one forms part of the Rig-Veda.
The purpose is to make the reader understand the deeper meaning of sacrifice and to take him away from the outer trappings of the actual act.
Taittriya Upanishad
The siksa valli deals with the phonetics of the chants, while the others, brahmananda valli and bhrgu valli deal with self-realization.
A part of the Yajur-Veda, this Upanishad is divided into three sections or vallis.
Isa Upanishad
Also called the Isavasya Upanishad, this book deals with the union of God, the world, being and becoming.
The main thrust was on the Absolute in relation with the world (paramesvara).
The gist of the teachings is that a person's worldly and otherworldly goals need not necessarily be opposed to each other.
Kena Upanishad
The name of this Upanishad comes from the first word kena, or by whom.
It has two sections of prose and two of poetry.
The verses deal with the supreme spirit or the absolute principle (brahmaana) and the prose talks of ishvara (god).
The moral of the story is that the knowledge of ishvara reveals the way to self-realization.
Katha Upanishad
Also called the Kathakopanishad, this Upanishad uses a story (katha) involving a young Brahmin boy called Nachiketa to reveal the truths of this world and the other beyond the veil.
Prashna Upanishad
Prashna literally means question and this book is part of the Athrava-Veda.
It addresses questions pertaining to the ultimate cause, the power of Om, and the relation of the supreme to the constituents of the world.
Mundaka Upanishad
This book also belongs to the Atharva-Veda.
The name is derived from 'mund' or to shave which means that anyone who understands the Upanishads is shaved from ignorance.
This book stresses the importance of knowing the supreme brahmaana, only by which knowledge can attain self-realization.
Mandukya Upanishad
The Mandukya is an exquisite treatise which expounds on the principle of Om and its metaphysical significance in various states of being, waking, dream and the dreamless sleep.
The subtlest and most profound of the Upanishads, it is said that this alone will lead one to the path of enlightenment.
Svetasvatara Upanishad
The name of this Upanishad is after its teacher.
It teachings focus on the unity of the souls and the world in one all-encompassing reality.
The concept of there being one god is also talked about here.
It is dedicated to Rudra, the storm god.
Maitri Upanishad
This Upanishad references the Trinity of Hindu Gods (Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma) which was a later development with theories on the world being illusory in character (a Buddhist influence).
Vajrasucika Upanishad
Belonging to the Sama-Veda, the Vajrasucika reflects on the nature of the supreme being.
The core of the teachings of the Upanishads is summed up in three words:
tat tvam as… you are that.
The Puranas
The Puranas contain the essence of the Vedas.
They were written to impress the teachings of the Vedas onto the masses and to generate devotion to God in them.
They have five characteristics: history, cosmology (with symbolical illustrations of philosophical principles), secondary creation, genealogy of kings, and Manvantaras (the period of Manu's rule consisting of 71 celestial yugas).
The Puranas were meant, not for the scholars, but for ordinary people who could not understand high philosophy and could not study the Vedas.
There is an emphasis on the worship of Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the preserver), Shiva (the destroyer), Surya (the Sun God), Ganesha (the elephant headed god known to be the remover of obstructions ), and Shakti (the goddess).
All the Puranas belong to the class of Suhrit-Sammitas, or the Friendly Treatises, while the Vedas are called Prabhu-Sammitas or Commanding Treatises with great authority.
There are 18 Puranas : Brahma Purana, Padma Purana, Vishnu Purana, Vayu Purana or Siva Purana, Bhagavata Purana, Narada Purana, Markandeya Purana, Agni Purana, Bhavishya Purana, Brahma Vaivarta Purana, Linga Purana, Varaha Purana, Skanda Purana, Vamana Purana, Kurma Purana, Matsya Purana, Garuda Purana and Brahmanda Purana.
Of these, six are Sattvic Puranas glorifying Vishnu; six are Rajasic, glorifying Brahma; six are Tamasic, glorifying Siva. Vyasa, the son of Rishi Parasara, is said to be the author of them all.
Hindus view cosmic activity of the Supreme Being as comprised of three tasks: creation, preservation, and dissolution and recreation.
Hindus associate these three cosmic tasks with the three deities, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Lord Brahma brings forth the creation and represents the creative principle of the Supreme Being.
Lord Vishnu maintains the universe and represents the eternal principle of preservation.
Lord Shiva represents the principle of dissolution and recreation.
These three deities together form the Hindu Trinity.
Hindu religion is often labeled as a religion of 330 million gods.
According to the Hindu scriptures, living beings are not apart from God, since He lives in each and every one of them in the form of atman (BG 10.39).
The number 330 million was simply used to give a symbolic expression to the fundamental Hindu doctrine that God lives in the hearts of all living beings. .
Sri Ramakrishna once said that there can be as many spiritual paths as there are spiritual aspirants - similarly - there can really be as many Gods as there are devotees to suit the moods, feelings, emotions & social background of the devotees.
The Hindu scriptures when they were describing the qualities of God.
He is all-knowing & all powerful.
He is the very personification of justice, love & beauty. He is ever ready to shower His grace, mercy & blessings on His creation.
The main Hindu Gods today are broadly classified as Saiva Gods (Siva, His consort, His sons, His other forms), Vaishnava Gods (Vishnu, His consort, His various avatharams)& Sakthi or Saktha (Forms of Goddess Sakthi)
The Ayrans
The Aryans were semi-nomadic Nordic Whites, perhaps located originally on the steppes of southern Russia and Central Asia, who spoke the parent language of the various Indo-European languages.
Latin, Greek, Hittite, Sanskrit, French, German, Latvian, English, Spanish, Russian etc. are all Indo-European languages; Indo-European, or more properly Proto-Indo-European (PIE), is the lost ancestral language from which those languages ultimately derive.
They worshiped a sky-god, they traced descent through the male line, they raised cattle, they drank meed, they used horse-drawn chariots (which they probably invented) as weapons of war, etc.
Aryans, specifically Indo-Aryans, make their first notable appearance in history around 2000-1500 BC as invaders of Northern India.
The Aryans were remarkably expansionist, and almost everywhere they went they conquered and subjugated the indigenous peoples, imposing their languages and (to varying degrees) their religious beliefs on the natives, and receiving in turn contributions from the peoples whom they conquered.
Aryan invasions swept across Old Europe beginning as early as the fourth millennium BC.
Caste System
Social classes are referred to as the "caste system (Hinduism).
The first three are referred to as the twice born.
This has nothing to do with reincarnation.
Being "twice born" means that you come of age religiously, making you a member of the Vedic religion, eligible to learn Sanskrit, study the Vedas, and perform Vedic rituals. The "second birth" is thus like Confirmation or a Bar Mitzvah.
According to the Laws of Manu (whose requirements may not always be observed in modern life), boys are "born again" at specific ages: 8 for Brahmins; 11 for Ks.atriyas; and 12 for Vaishyas.
A thread is bestowed at the coming of age to be worn around the waist as the symbol of being twice born.
The equivalent of coming of age for girls is marriage.
The bestowal of the thread is part of the wedding ceremony.
That part of the wedding ritual is even preserved in Jainism.
Ancient Iran also had a coming of age ceremony that involved a thread.
That and other evidence leads to the speculation that the three classes of the twice born are from the original Indo-European social system (the theory of George Dumézil).
Even the distant Celts believed in three social classes.
Although there must have been a great deal of early intermarriage in India, nowhere did such an Indo-European social system become as rigid a system of birth as there.
The rigidity may well be due to the influence of the idea of karma, that poor birth is morally deserved.
According to the Laws of Manu, when the twice born come of age, they enter into the four âshramas or "stages of life."
The first is the brahmacarya, or the stage of the student (brahmacârin).
For boys, the student is supposed to go live with a teacher (guru), who is a Brahmin, to learn about Sanskrit, the Vedas, rituals, etc.
The dharma of a student includes being obedient, respectful, celibate, and non-violent.
"The teacher is God."
For girls, the stage of studenthood coincides with that of the householder, and the husband stands in the place of the teacher.
Since the boys are supposed to be celibate while students, Gandhi used the term brahmacâri to mean the celibate practitioner that he thought made the best Satyagrahi, the best non-violent activist.
The second stage is the gârhastya, or the stage of the householder, which is taken far more seriously in Hinduism than in Jainism or Buddhism and is usually regarded as mandatory, like studenthood, although debate continued over the centuries whether or not this stage could be skipped in favor of a later one.
This is the stage where the principal dharma of the person is performed, whether as priest, warrior, etc., or for women mainly as wife and mother.
Arjuna's duty to fight the battle in the Bhagavad Gita comes from his status as a householder. Besides specific duties, there are general duties that pay off the "three debts": a debt to the ancestors that is discharged by marrying and having children; a debt to the gods that is discharged by the household rituals and sacrifices; and a debt to the teacher that is discharged by appropriately teaching one's wife or children
The third stage is the vânaprastya, or the stage of the forest dweller.
This may be entered into optionally if one's hair has become gray, one's skin wrinkled, and grandchildren exist to carry on the family.
Husbands and wives may leave their affairs and possessions with their children and retire together to the forest as hermits.
This does not involve the complete renunciation of the world, for husbands and wives can still have sex (once a month), and a sacred fire still should be kept and minimal rituals performed. This stage is thus not entirely free of dharma.
The Forest Treatises were supposed to have been written by or for forest dwellers, who have mostly renounced the world and have begun to consider liberation.
The modern alternatives seem to consist of the more stark opposition between householding and becoming a wandering ascetic.
The fourth stage is the sannyâsa, or the stage of the wandering ascetic, the sannyâsin (or sâdhu).
If a man desires, he may continue on to this stage, but his wife will need to return home; traditionally she cannot stay alone as a forest dweller or wander the highways as an ascetic.
The sannyâsin has renounced the world completely, is regarded as dead by his family (the funeral is held), and is finally beyond all dharma and caste.
When a sannyâsin enters a Hindu temple, he is not a worshiper but one of the objects of worship.
Not even the gods are sannyâsins (they are householders), and so this is where in Hinduism, as in Jainism and Buddhism, it is possible for human beings to be spiritually superior to the gods.
It has long been a matter of dispute in Hinduism whether one need really fulfill the requirements of the Laws of Manu (gray hair, etc.) to renounce the world.
There are definitely no such requirements in Jainism or Buddhism.
The Buddha left his family right after his wife had a baby, which would put him in the middle of his dharma as a householder.
Jainism and Buddhism thus developed monastic institutions, but these did not really develop as such in Hinduism.
Four stages of Life (Four parts of Vedas)
The four stages of life may be associated with the four parts of the Vedas: the sam.hitâs with the stage of the student, who is particularly obligated to learn them; the brâhman.as with the stage of the householder, who is able to regulate his ritual behavior according to them; the âran.yakas with the stage of the forest dweller, who regulates his ritual behavior according to them and who begins to contemplate liberation; and finally the upanis.ads with the stage of the wandering ascetic, who is entirely concerned with meditation on the absolute, Brahman.
The twice born account for about 48% of Hindus.
The rest are Shudras and Untouchables.
The Shudras may represent the institutional provision that the Arya made for the people they already found in India.
The Shudras thus remain once born, and traditionally are not allowed to learn Sanskrit or study the Vedas.
Their dharma is to work for the twice born.
But even below the Shudras are the Untouchables, who are literally "outcastes," and were regarded as "untouchable" because they are ritually polluting for caste Hindus.
Some Untouchable subcastes are regarded as so polluted that members are supposed to keep out of sight and do their work at night:
They are called "Unseeables."
In India, the term "Untouchable" is now regarded as impolite or politically incorrect.
Why there are so many Untouchables (15%-20% or so of Hindus) is unclear, although caste Hindus can be ejected from their jâtis and become outcastes and various tribal or formerly tribal people in India may never have been properly integrated into the social system.
When Mahâtmâ Gandhi's subcaste blocked his attempts to go to England to law school, he went anyway and was ejected from the caste. After he returned, his family got him back in, but while in England he was technically an outcaste.
Existing tribal people, as well as Untouchables, are also called the "scheduled castes," since the British drew up a "schedule" listing the castes that they regarded as backwards, underprivileged, or oppressed.
The Untouchables, nevertheless, have their own traditional professions and their own subcastes.
Those professions involve: (1) dealing with the bodies of dead animals (like the sacred cattle that wander Indian villages) or unclaimed dead humans, (2) tanning leather, from such dead animals, and manufacturing leather goods, and (3) cleaning up the human and animal waste for which in traditional villages there is no sewer system.
Mahâtmâ Gandhi referred to them "scavengers".
Since Gandhi equated suffering with holiness, he saw the Untouchables as hallowed by their miserable treatment and so called them "Harijans" (Hari=Vis.n.u).
Later Gandhi went on fasts in the hope of improving the condition of the Untouchables, or at least to avoid their being politically classified as non-Hindus.
Today the status of the Shudras, Untouchables, and other "scheduled castes" (and the preferential policies that the Indian government has designed for their advancement ever since Independence) are sources of serious conflict which have consisted of murders and riots in Indian society.
I wonder, which caste is inclined to read my blog?
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