Gayatri-mantra - a sacred mantra repeated by brahmanas at the three junctures of the day. The gayatri mantra is personified as a goddess, the wife of Brahma and mother of the four Vedas (see diksa-mantra).

(See also: Gayatri-mantra, Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

See also:

Gayatri, Gayatri - Mantra, Gayatri - Text, Gayatri - Translation, Gayatri - Goddess, Gayatri - External link, Gayatri - Organizations

Read more here: » Gayatri: Encyclopedia II - Gayatri - Mantra

Gayatri Mantra: A Rig Vedic mantra in the gayatri meter invoking the solar powers of evolution and enlightenment.

(See also: Gayatri Mantra, Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Gayatri (gāyatrī) is the feminine form of gāyatra, a Sanskrit word for a song or a hymn. It can be:- The name of a Vedic poetic meter of 24 syllables (three lines of eight syllables each), see Vedic meter. Any hymn composed in this meter. In Hinduism, it is one mantra in particular, and a goddess as its personification. It was written and developed by one of the greatest brahmarishi sages, Vishwamitra. Gayatri - Mantra. The Gayatri Mantra is the ...

Including:

• Gayatri - Mantra
• Gayatri - Text
• Gayatri - Translation
• Gayatri - Goddess
• Gayatri - External link
• Gayatri - Organizations

Read more here: » Gayatri: Encyclopedia - Gayatri

Prayer is common to all religions. Love for God is universal, the mode or method of prayer could be different since everyone is free to pray to the divine power in their own way. Prayer should be acceptable to all, simple and easy to adopt in daily life. Generally, people follow the path of prayer practised in the family. The Gayatri Mantra and any other prayer should be recited with sincerity and for the love of God. Only then its true benefit can be derived.

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

Prayer is common to all religions. Love for God is universal, the mode or method of prayer could be different since everyone is free to pray to the divine power in their own way. Prayer should be acceptable to all, simple and easy to adopt in daily life. Generally, people follow the path of prayer practised in the family. The Gayatri Mantra and any other prayer should be recited with sincerity and for the love of God. Only then its true benefit can be derived.

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

The Vedic concept of Saraswati was three-fold: First, she is like the sacred river which gave birth to the Aryan civilisation. Second, she was vak or speech personified, as expressed in the Rig Veda’s Vak Sukta . 'Speech’ basically refers to the sacred-word or the Vedas themselves.

The third and most important aspect is Saraswati’s identification with Gayatri, although the Gayatri mantra is worship of the Sun-god, Suryanarayana. The Sun-god symbolises three female deities: Gayatri, Savitri and Saraswati, to be invoked in the morning, noon and evening respectively.

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

Gayatri Japa Day:

The Gayatri Japa Day is one such very holy and glorious day intended to remind all of the greatest and most glorious of all Mantras, the sacred Gayatri Mantra.

From Hindu Fasts & Festivals by Sri Swami Sivananda.

Read more here: » Gayatri Japa Day: Hindu Rituals - Gayatri Japa Day

Detailed description of how a Homa is performed.
During a homa, various rituals are performed successively in order to activate various energies and to also develop the right emotion to perform the homa. Some of these rituals are common and must be observed before every homa. After these rituals are performed, the main homa would begin wherein the rituals differ depending on which deity you invoke. The common rituals for all homas are described.

Read more here: » Homas: The different steps in a Homa and their significance

Mantra Yoga Reveals A New Universe

Mantras help draw energy from both external and internal universes. The nature of our thoughts is largely compulsive. We are conscious beings but we live like machines. Our likes and dislikes are programmed. Addictive thoughts take away from the soul of the individual as a conscious being. By chanting mantras with understanding, compulsive thoughts are transformed. The mind becomes calm and our perception will be wise with respect to both the external and internal universes.

Read more here: » Mantra Yoga: Mantra Yoga Reveals A New Universe

Anahata Sounds: The Mystical Internal Sounds Heard During Meditation

Anahata sounds are the mystic sounds heard by the Yogi at the beginning stage of his meditation. This subject is termed Nada-Anusadhana, an enquiry into the mystic sounds. This is a sign of purification of the Nadis due to the practice of Pranayama.

Read more here: » Anahata Sounds: The Mystical Internal Sounds Heard During Meditation

For the living, death is certain and for the dead, birth is certain. Since death is definite for all embodied beings, the Bhagavad Gita enjoins the seeker to aspire for that state of attainment, after which there is no return or rebirth.

Among the paths leading to the deathless state, Krishna discusses jnana -yoga, the path of contemplation, and karmayoga , the path of action. All actions, he says, finally culminate in knowledge.

For the common man, whose senses and desires are rooted in this world and who craves desired results, the shrutis - the Vedas and the Upanishads - prescribe various types of yajnas . Among the yajnas , the Maharudrabhisheka is accorded high status.

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

Mantra that Helps Conquer Death

For the living, death is certain and for the dead, birth is certain. Since death is definite for all embodied beings, the Bhagavad Gita enjoins the seeker to aspire for that state of attainment, after which there is no return or rebirth.

Read more here: » Mantra Yoga: Mantra that Helps Conquer Death

. Early morning, answer the calls of nature and sit for the Yogic practices. Practise Pranayama in a dry, welt-ventilated room. Pranayama requires deep concentration and attention. Do not keep anyone by your side.

Excerpt from the book Kundalini Yoga by Sri Swami Sivananda.

Read more here: » Pranayama: Instructions On Pranayama

The rites that pertain to the stages of life of man are called Samskaras. The Samskaras are purificatory rites which sanctify the life of the Hindu. They give a spiritual touch to the important events in the life of the individual from conception to cremation. They mark the important stages of a mans life. Just as the outline of a picture is lighted up slowly with the filling in of many colours, so also is Brahmanya with scriptural Samskaras. There are the Samskaras of childhood, of boyhood, of manhood and of old age and death.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Hindu Rituals: The Ten Scriptural Samskaras

Hinduism Daily Rituals

In Hinduism, these rituals are always meant to inculcate feelings of devotion and to bring about the divine orientation of human life. As a part of his householders responsibilities, a devout Hindu is expected to perform certain rituals every day starting from morning till evening.

Read more here: » Hinduism Rituals: Hinduism and the performance of Rituals

Sandhyopasana literally means - worship at the junctions of time. - It is a prayer and worship offered to the Lord at the junction (Sandhi) of night and morning, forenoon and afternoon and at the junction of evening and night. The Arghyapradana to the sun and the meditation on and recitation of Gayatri, form the heart of the worship. Properly understood, the whole Sandhya is an earnest prayer addressed to the Lord to forgive all ones sins committed during ones routine, daily activities and to bestow illumination and grace.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Sandhyopasana: Worship at the junctions of time - Sandhyopasana

In the whirlpool of fleeting sensual pleasures you have forgotten the purpose of life and goal. You live more for the body than for the soul. In your pursuit after the phantom shows of worldly vanities, you have annihilated the spiritual instincts and longings of the soul. What a sad state! Mysterious is Maya! Mysterious is Moha! Open your eyes now. Wake up from the long slumber of ignorance. Realise the ultimate Reality and enjoy eternal bliss.

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

Read more here: » Spiritual Growth: How to Spend Your Holidays

There is no reference to worship of idols in the Vedas. The Puranas and the Agamas give descriptions of idol-worship both in the houses and in the temples. Idol-worship is not peculiar to Hinduism. Christians worship the Cross. They have the image of the Cross in their mind. The Mohammedans keep the image of the Kaba stone when they kneel and do prayers. The people of the whole world, save a few Yogis and Vedantins, are all worshippers of idols. They keep some image or the other in the mind.

The mental image also is a form of idol. The difference is not one of kind, but only one of degree. All worshippers, however intellectual they may be, generate a form in the mind and make the mind dwell on that image.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Hindu Worship: An Introduction to Hindu Worship

An initiated journey thru the mayor Hindu Spiritual rituals by Sri Swami Sivandanda.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Hindu Rituals: An overview of Hindu Rituals