A Wisdom Archive on Hindu cosmology

Toward Ultimate Communion: Yoga
 Hindus look to God and the Gods for very practical assistance - from affairs of employment, family, heart to knowledge both secular and superconscious. A Hindu devoutly believes that the Gods from their dwelling in the Third World are capable of consciously working with the forces of evolution in the universe and they could then certainly manage a few simpler problems. He devoutly believes that the Gods are given to care for man on the planet and see him through his tenure on earth and that their decisions are vast in their implications. Their overview spans time itself, and yet their detailed focus upon the complicated fabric of human affairs is just as awesome.
 

Read more here: » Hinduism: Toward Ultimate Communion - Yoga

Ananta is Sanskrit for infinity. It is equated with the Supreme Brahman - infinitely powerful and so infinitely free. It is bigger than any quantity that can be imagined; it is bigger than any finite number. Infinity is one of the fundamental axioms upon which contemporary mathematics is based.
 
Sanskrit grammar and interpretation in ancient India were closely linked to the handling of high value numbers. Studies relating to poetry and metrics initiated sastragnaas or scientists to both arithmetic and grammar. Grammarians were just as competent at calculations as professional mathematicians. Indian sastragnaas or scientists, philosophers, astronomers and cosmographers - in order to develop their arithmetical, metaphysical and cosmological speculations concerning ever higher numbers - became at once mathematicians, grammarians and poets.

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

Read more here: » Infinity: Zero To Infinity In Indian Mysticism  

The Puranas are of the same class as the Itihasas. They have five characteristics (Pancha-Lakshana) viz., history, cosmology (with various symbolical illustrations of philosophical principles), secondary creation, genealogy of kings and of Manvantaras. All the Puranas belong to the class of Suhrit-Samhitas.
 
Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda
 

Read more here: » Puranas: The Puranas in the Hindu Scriptures

The Agamas : Another class of popular scriptures are the Agamas. The Agamas are theological treatises and practical manuals of divine worship. The Agamas include the Tantras, Mantras and Yantras. These are treatises explaining the external worship of God, in idols, temples, etc. All the Agamas treat of (i) Jnana or Knowledge, (ii) Yoga or Concentration, (iii) Kriya or Esoteric Ritual and (iv) Charya or Exoteric Worship.
 
Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda
 

Read more here: » Agamas: The Agamas in the Hindu Scriptures

Islam and Hinduism: Symbiotic Mysticism In Devotional Poems
Few have heard of the mystic poems Brahma Prakash or Dasa Avatar by the mediaeval Muslim saint Pir Shams. Both are famous ginans of South Asia's Ismaili community, sometimes also known as Khojas or Aga Khanis in popular parlance.
 
Ginans are hymn-like poems of spiritual import. They are revered by the faithful in deep veneration as repositories of wisdom and spiritual knowledge, and as transmitting the essential teachings of the Holy Qur'an in the vernacular. Composed in Sindhi, Gujarati, Hindustani and Punjabi among other subcontinental languages, the oldest are ascribed to the pirs or saints who first preached Ismaili Islam in India nearly 1,000 years ago.
 

Read more here: » Islam and Hinduism: Symbiotic Mysticism In Devotional Poems

God and Gods of Hinduism
The most prevalent expression of worship for the Hindu comes as devotion to God and the Gods. In the Hindu pantheon there are said to be three hundred and thirty-three million Gods. Hindus believe in one Supreme Being. The plurality of Gods are perceived as divine creations of that one Being. So, Hinduism has one supreme God, but it has an extensive hierarchy of Gods. Many people look at the Gods as mere symbols, representations of forces or mind strata, or as various Personifications generated as a projection o of man''s mind onto an impersonal pure Beingness.
 

Read more here: » Hinduism: God and Gods of Hinduism

Professor Arthur Holmes (1895-1965) geologist, professor at the University of Durham. He writes regarding the age of the earth in his great book, The Age of Earth (1913) as follows: "Long before it became a scientific aspiration to estimate the age of the earth, many elaborate systems of the world chronology had been devised by the sages of antiquity. The most remarkable of these occult time-scales is that of the ancient Hindus, whose astonishing concept of the Earth's durat ...

Read more here: » Religious cosmology: Encyclopedia II - Religious cosmology - Hindu Cosmology

Deva can refer to: Deva deity, a Hindu deity. Deva (Buddhism), a term for heavenly beings in traditional Buddhist cosmology. Deva (New Age), spiritual forces or beings behind nature. Chester, Britain; called Deva when a Roman castrum in AD 400. Deva, Romania a Romanian city in Hunedoara county. An Albanian family name. Demokraattinen Vaihtoehto (DeVa); "Democratic Alternative"

Read more here: » Deva: Encyclopedia - Deva

Kaitabh, a figure of Hindu mythology, is associated with Hindu religious cosmology. He along with his companion, Madhu, originated from one of the ears of God Vishnu, while he was in deep sleep of Yoganidra. From his navel a lotus has sprouted out on which Brahma was sitting and contemplating to create the cosmos and the universe. Kaitabh and Madhu, considered as demons, designed to annihilate Brahma. However, Brahma spotted them, and invoked the goddess Mahamaya. At this point Vishnu awoke, and the two conspiring demons were k ... Including:

• Kaitabh - Reference

Read more here: » Kaitabh: Encyclopedia - Kaitabh

Pancanga (written as Panchanga often) is Hindu almanac, following traditional Vedic cosmology, and presents important astronomical data in tabulated form. Pancangas are published in India by many learned authors, societies, academies, and even Universities. Different publications differ only minutely, at least for a casual or un-trained reader. Pancanga (Sanskrit) may be translated as as "having five limbs". The five limbs are: Tithi - the lunar day Var - the day of week Naksatra - asterism of the day, that is, the stellar mansion in which Moon in located for an observer on Earth Yog ...

Read more here: » Pancanga: Encyclopedia - Pancanga

History of creationism Creation in Genesis Types of creationism: Young Earth creationism - Creation science Old Earth creationism Omphalos creationism Theistic evolution Neo-Creationism Islamic creationism Intelligent design - Intelligent design movement Modern geocentrism Controversy: Creation vs. evolution ... in public education ... Including:

• Dating Creation - Creation dates
• Dating Creation - Date of Creation according to the Mayan calendar
• Dating Creation - Date of Creation according to the Old Testament
• Dating Creation - Date of Creation according to Hindu scripture
• Dating Creation - Age of the Universe according to the Big Bang theory
• Dating Creation - Further reading

Read more here: » Dating Creation: Encyclopedia - Dating Creation