Dream Dictionary Perfection

In the name of God we ask you, the blood-thirsty actors in the tragedy of India, to have done with it. You have had your day. And have played your hellish part to perfection.

The land is littered with too many corpses already. Columns of smoke from fires of hate choke the air. The sun hides its face from this shame. Stars have fled from our sky.

(See also: Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Peace on Earth: Let's Build A Temple To Tolerance

Sri Aurobindo, a scholar of India's spiritual-philosophical tradition, developed an original philosophy, which contained an evolutionary dimension. Humanity's destiny, according to Sri Aurobindo, is to evolve towards a higher state of consciousness that would fundamentally alter life, as we know it. To accomplish this, Sri Aurobindo synthesized various traditions of ancient spirituality and offered the instrument of integral Yoga. This prophet of the New Age not only predicted the perfectibility of the human condition but also assured that the day is not far when man's Supramental consciousness achieves its fullest fruition on earth. Following is an excerpt from Sri Aurobindo's Synthesis of Yoga.

Read more here: » Sri Aurobindo: Integral Yoga from Sri Arubindo's Synthesis of Yoga

Religious observances, traditional worship and Vratas have, at times, more than one significance. Apart from being the adoration of the Divine, they are commemorative of stirring bygone events, allegoric when interpreted from the occult standpoint, and are significant pointers guiding the Jiva on his path to Realisation.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Hindu Worship: Worship in Hinduism for different Hindu Gods

Hinduism Lexicon on B

From backbiting to buddhi chitta.

Read more here: » Hinduism: Hinduism Lexicon on B

A man's mind may be likened to a garden, which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild. Whether cultivated or neglected, it must and will bring forth. If no useful seeds are put into it, then an abundance of useless weed seeds will fall therein, and will continue to produce their kind.

Read more here: » Power of Thought: Effect of Thought on Circumstances

Kabbala: Mystical Dimension Of Jewish Thought

The word Kabbala originally meant �reception' and related to the oral Jewish tradition handed down by Rabbis from generation to generation. The mainspring of the Kabbala is a deep rooted belief in a perpetual inter-relationship between God as the infinite power and man in the physical world as we know it.

Man can get close to God by subduing his own negative inclinations and bring about spiritual regeneration of mankind, through prayers, meditation and interpretation of the divine mysteries hidden in the Torah. Kabbalists emphasise the importance of mystical formulas in the recitation of prayers.

Read more here: » Kabbala: Mystical Dimension Of Jewish Thought

The word Yoga comes from the root Yuj which means to join. Yoga is restraint of the activities of the mind, and is the union of the individual soul with the Supreme Soul.

Hiranyagarbha is the founder of the Yoga system. The Yoga founded by Patanjali Maharshi is a branch or supplement of the Sankhya. It has its own charm for students of a mystic temperament and of a contemplative type. It claims greater orthodoxy than the Sankhya proper by directly acknowledging the existence of a Supreme Being (Isvara).

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Yoga: Hindu Philosophy - The Yoga

 The word "yoga" often brings to mind a classroom of students attired in exercise clothing attempting to stretch their bodies into different postures. A more traditional yoga class will even include instruction in breathing techniques, concentration, meditation, and positive thinking. In the media today, yoga is often associated with health benefits such as stress reduction, lower blood pressure, and an overall decrease in illness and hospitalization rates. This is the Western idea of yoga. If we look to the Eastern approach, where yoga is a part of the great Hindu and Buddhist traditions, we find that yoga is all of these things but much, much more as well.

Read more here: » Yoga: Serve, Love, Meditate, Realize - The Inner Teachings of Yoga

In this Pranayama, the Bhavana is more important than the ratio between Puraka, Kumbhaka and Rechaka.

Read more here: » Pranayama: Kundalini Pranayama

Gita Jayanti

THE GITA Jayanti, or the birthday of the Bhagavad Gita, is celebrated throughout India by all the admirers and lovers of this most sacred scripture on the eleventh day (Ekadashi) of the bright half of the month of Margaseersha (December-January), according to the Hindu almanac. It was on this day that Sanjaya narrated to King Dhritarashtra the dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna.

From Hindu Fasts & Festivals by Sri Swami Sivananda.

Read more here: » Gita Jayanti: Hindu Traditions - Gita Jayanti

Samkhya Nyaya Vaisheshika Yoga Purva Mimamsa Advaita Vedanta Vishishtadvaita Dvaita Carvaka Jain Buddhist Logic Advaita Vedanta - Three levels of Truth. The transcendental or the Pāramārthika level in which Brahman is the only reality and nothing else; The pragmatic or the Vyāva ...

See also:

Advaita Vedanta, Advaita Vedanta - Adi Sankara: The Pillar of Advaita, Advaita Vedanta - Salient Features of Advaitism, Advaita Vedanta - Three levels of Truth, Advaita Vedanta - Brahman, Advaita Vedanta - Māyā, Advaita Vedanta - God, Advaita Vedanta - Atman, Advaita Vedanta - Salvation, Advaita Vedanta - Other points, Advaita Vedanta - Are the world and God wholly false?, Advaita Vedanta - Status of the world, Advaita Vedanta - Status of God, Advaita Vedanta - Status of ethics, Advaita Vedanta - Shankara's theory of creation, Advaita Vedanta - Comparison with the Buddhist school of Shunyavada, Advaita Vedanta - Adi Sankara's thoughts in a summary, Advaita Vedanta - The Impact of Advaita, Advaita Vedanta - Advaita and Science, Advaita Vedanta - Important Books and Figures of Advaita Vedanta, Advaita Vedanta - Mahavakya, Advaita Vedanta - Founders & key texts, Advaita Vedanta - Demigods Sages and Saints of Advaitins, Advaita Vedanta - Later teachers and proponents, Advaita Vedanta - Other References

Read more here: » Advaita Vedanta: Encyclopedia II - Advaita Vedanta - Salient Features of Advaitism

The teachings of Sankara can be summed up in half a verse: Brahman (the Absolute) is alone real; this world is unreal; and the Jiva or the individual soul is non-different from Brahman.

The Advaita taught by Sri Sankara is a rigorous, absolute one. According to Sri Sankara, whatever is, is Brahman. Brahman Itself is absolutely homogeneous. All difference and plurality are illusory.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Vedanta Schools: The Advaita Philosophy Of Sri Sankara

We have our ups and downs, successes and failures, elations and disappointments. Nothing is certain but change. Winners turn losers and vice versa, for that is the law of nature. Impermanence is a permanent feature of life. The best way to deal with the transiency is to learn to maximise our spiritual quotient.

Many of us know of Stephen Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People where he elaborates on habits we need to acquire in order to be effective. Twenty virtues have been elaborated by Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita.

(See also: Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Love and Happiness: Make The Most Of Your Life

Success can be external or internal. Externally, it is the measure of a job well done and the accompanying recognition from society. Internally, it is a feeling of achievement, satisfaction and fullness which comes on the completion of a task or the fulfilment of a desire. What is a true measure of success, the outer accolades or the inner joy and peace?

(See also: Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Love and Happiness: Secret of Success: Team Spirit

Mandala, which literally means circle, largely associated with religions and cults of India and Tibet, was also used as a potent symbol by the American Indians, the original inhabitants of Central America, and by the aborigines of Australia.

Across cultures, the universe is represented as a series of concentric circles, maybe as a model of the solar system. In Tantra, the central point represents Mount Meru around which the earth is situated, and the concentric circles represent the cosmic aspects of the universe, like energy fields and atmospheric zones. In Hindu and Buddhist interpretations, the centre of the Mandala is the ultimate divine principle uniting the object and the subject as they spin out of the centre. This may refer to the cosmos or to the human body.

Read more here: » Mandala: Mandala as Symbol of the Universe

In South India, a Siddha reffers to a being who has achieved physical as well as spiritual perfection or enlightenment. The ultimate demonstration of this is that Siddhas alledgedly attained physical immortality. Thus Siddha, like Siddhar or Cittar (indigenisation of Sanskrit terms in Tamil Nadu) refers to a person who has realised the goal of a type of Sadhana and become a perfected being. In Tamil Nadu, South India, where the Siddha tradition is practiced, special individuals are recognized as and called Siddhas, or Siddha ...

See also:

Siddha, Siddha - Tamil Nadu Tradition of Siddhahood

Read more here: » Siddha: Encyclopedia II - Siddha - Tamil Nadu Tradition of Siddhahood

A regular at religious discourses, I've often found followers of one guru or faith criticising other gurus, teachers and devotees, because they think that their own philosophy is far superior. They tend to assess the learnedness or otherwise of a teacher according to the number of disciples and ashrams.

If those who profess to be spiritual seekers behave in this manner, what can we expect from lesser mortals? Why is it so difficult for us to respect the right of others to follow any teaching or teacher of their choice? No one who claims loyalty to any faith that advocates compassion, tolerance and understanding can afford to ignore these tenets.

(See also: Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Love and Happiness: The Path Of True Love Is Never Smooth

Ethics as a Means to Yoga.

From "Easy Steps to Yoga" by Sri Swami Sivananda.

Read more here: » Yoga: Yoga of Right Conduct

Over thousands of centuries, the Borg have encountered and assimilated thousands of species. However, little information regarding the true origin of the Borg millennia ago has been divulged in canon sources. Given this and the Borg species numbering system, it is probable that the species originally giving rise to the Borg would have been designated as Species 1 or 0. Similarly, it is interesting to note that the Borg Queen is a member of species 125 – meaning she is of an early species assimilated by the Borg. Thus, species 125, o ...

See also:

Borg, Borg - Overview, Borg - History, Borg - Early contacts with the Federation, Borg - The Enterprise-D and Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Borg - Encounters with the Enterprise-E and Voyager, Borg - Assimilation, Borg - Nanoprobes, Borg - Borg species identification, Borg - Origin of the Borg, Borg - Borg from V'ger theory, Borg - Nanobot theory, Borg - Famous maxim, Borg - Pronunciation variations, Borg - All Borg episodes to date, Borg - Star Trek: The Next Generation, Borg - Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Borg - Star Trek: Voyager, Borg - Star Trek: Enterprise, Borg - The Borg in computer games, Borg - The Borg as a cultural allusion

Read more here: » Borg: Encyclopedia II - Borg - Origin of the Borg

Relevance of Buddhism In the New Century

In the 20th century great changes took place as a result of experiments and developments in a broad range of human activities, in economics, politics, and science. The past hundred years' experiences have made us appreciate the importance of freedom, and the significant contributions of individual and private enterprise in improving the economy. We also began to recognise the importance of putting a stop to the production and proliferation of weapons of tremendous destructive power.

By The Dalai Lama

Read more here: » Buddhism: Relevance of Buddhism In the New Century

What is Dharma? Dharma is so called, because it holds; Dharma alone holds the people, etc. The word Dharma is derived from the root Dhr - to hold - and its etymological meaning is that which holds this world, or the people of the world, or the whole creation from the microcosm to the macrocosm.

Dharma is generally defined as righteousness or duty. Dharma is the principle of righteousness. It is the principle of holiness. It is also the principle of unity.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Dharma: Definition Of Dharma

Kiara got enlightened finally! This is his letter from him less than two weeks after the process. Read it and you will get an almost first hand insight into what enlightenment is all about, or at least how it is perceived by one human that actually reached the state.

Read more here: » Spiritual Enlightenment: Journey of Enlightenment