conversion to Hinduism: Entering Hinduism has traditionally required little more than accepting and living the beliefs and codes of Hindus. This remains the basic factor of adoption, although there are, and always have been, formal ceremonies recognizing an individual's entrance into the religion, particularly the namakarana, or naming rite.

The most obvious sign of true sincerity of adoption or conversion is the total abandoning of the former name and the choosing of the Hindu name, usually the name of a God or Goddess, and then making it legal on one's passport, identity card, social security card and driver's license. This name is used at all times, under all circumstances, particularly with family and friends. This is severance. This is adoption. This is embracing Hinduism. This is conversion. This is true sincerity and considered by born members as the most honorable and trusted testimony of those who choose to join the global congregation of the world's oldest religion.

Many temples in India and other countries will ask to see the passport or other appropriate identification before admitting devotees of non-Indian origin for more than casual worship. It requires nothing more than one's own commitment to the process. Belief is the keynote of religious conviction, and the beliefs vary greatly among the different religions of the world. What we believe forms our attitudes, shapes our lives and molds our destiny. To choose one's beliefs is to choose one's religion. Those who find themselves at home with the beliefs of Hinduism are, on a simple level, Hindu. Formally entering a new religion, however, is a serious commitment. Particularly for those with prior religious ties it is sometimes painful and always challenging.

The acceptance of outsiders into the Hindu fold has occurred for thousands of years. As Swami Vivekananda once said, "Born aliens have been converted in the past by crowds, and the process is still going on." Dr. S. Radhakrishnan confirms the swami's views in a brief passage from his well known book The Hindu View of Life: "In a sense, Hinduism may be regarded as the first example in the world of a missionary religion. Only its missionary spirit is different from that associated with the proselytizing creeds. It did not regard it as its mission to convert humanity to any one opinion.

For what counts is conduct and not belief. Worshipers of different Gods and followers of different rites were taken into the Hindu fold. The ancient practice of vratyastoma, described fully in the Tandya Brahmana, shows that not only individuals but whole tribes were absorbed into Hinduism. Many modern sects accept outsiders. Dvala's Smriti lays down rules for the simple purification of people forcibly converted to other faiths, or of womenfolk defiled and confined for years, and even of people who, for worldly advantage, embrace other faiths (p. 28-29)."

See: Hindu, Hinduism.

(See also: Conversion to Hinduism, Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

caste: A hierarchical system, called varna dharma (or jati dharma), established in India in ancient times, which determined the privileges, status, rights and duties of the many occupational groups, wherein status is determined by heredity.

There are four main estates (varnas) -  brahmin, kshatriya, vaishya and shudra -  and innumerable castes, called jati.

See: varna dharma, Hinduism caste system.

(See also: Caste, Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

cremation: Dahana. Burning of the dead. Cremation is the traditional system of disposing of bodily remains, having the positive effect of releasing the soul most quickly from any lingering attachment to the earth plane. In modern times, cremation facilities are widely available in nearly every country, though gas-fueled chambers generally take the place of the customary wood pyre.

Embalming, commonly practiced even if the body is to be cremated, is ill-advised, as it injures the astral body and can actually be felt by the departed soul, as would an autopsy. Should it be necessary to preserve the body a few days to allow time for relatives to arrive, it is recommended that hot ice surround the body and that the coffin be kept closed. Arrangements for this service should be made well in advance with the mortuary.

Note that the remains of enlightened masters are sometimes buried or sealed in a special tomb called a samadhi. This is done in acknowledgement of the extraordinary attainment of such a soul, whose very body, having become holy, is revered as a sacred presence, sannidhya, and which not infrequently becomes the spiritual seed of a temple or place of pilgrimage.

See: bone-gathering, death, reincarnation, sannidhya.

(See also: Cremation, Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

aryans:

the migrant invaders of india from approximately 1500 b.c; people of spiritual values

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

Cardinal Points Either the four chief points of the compass (north, east, south, west), or the four chief zodiacal constellations which have descended to us from antiquity as Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn, though due to the precession of equinoxes these constellations shift as the ages pass. These four points are connected with the four arms of the equal-armed cross or with the swastika, as also with the cube -- the four points with zenith and nadir added.

Cosmically the four cardinal points represent a certain stage of manifestation where the three become four, in this case the number of matter. The Zohar says that the three primordial elements and the four cardinal points and all the forces of nature form the Voice of the Will, which is the manifested Logos. The Dodonaean Zeus includes in himself the four elements and the four cardinal points. Brahma is likewise four-faced.

The pyramid is the triangle repeated on the four cardinal points and symbolizes, among other things, the phenomenal merging into the noumenal.

The four cardinal points are presided over, or are manifestations of, four cosmic genii, dragons, maharajas -- in Buddhism the chatur-maharajas (four great kings) -- hidden dragons of wisdom, or celestial nagas. Hinduism has the four, six, or eight lokapalas. In the Egyptian and Jewish temples these points were represented by the four colors of the curtain hung before the Adytum.

See also EAST; NORTH; SOUTH; WEST

(See also: Cardinal Points, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Jain:

Jain. Adherent of Jainism, Indian religion traceable to Mahavira of the 6th century B.C.

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

Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura:

Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura: the spiritual master of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

(See also: Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Shankara: Shankaracharya; Adi (the first) Shankaracharya: The great reformer and re-establisher of Vedic Religion in India around 300 B.C. He is the unparalleled exponent of Advaita (Non-Dual) Vedanta. He also reformed the mode of monastic life and founded (or regenerated) the ancient Swami Order.

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

Aryan:

Aryan (Aaryan). (a) Literally noble. (b) Follower of Vedic or spiritual path. (c) Ancient dwellers of India who composed the Rig-veda; the chief tribe was that of the Bharathas.

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

Nagarjuna:

Nagarjuna (Naagaarjuna). Classical Indian medical knowledge is called ayur-veda (science of long life); the two chief traditions are those of Atreya and Dhanvantari. Nagarjuna (2nd cent. B.C.) presented Dhanvantari's in Sushrutha samhitha.

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

yoga:

yoga. (a) Union of the individual self or Atma with the Supreme Being or Universal Self; act of yoking. (b) A spiritual discipline or exercise aimed at control of the senses. (c) Science of divine communion. No single definition of the word yoga suffices. Patanjali's Yoga-sutras define yoga as a series of eight spiritual steps leading to union with God. This is different from the eight steps given in the section titled "The eightfold path of yoga" of Prasanthi Vahini.

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

Samkhya:

Samkhya ("Number"): one of the main traditions of Hinduism, which is concerned with the classification of the principles (tattva) of existence and their proper discernment in order to distinguish between Spirit (purusha) and the various aspects of Nature (prakriti); this influential system grew out of the ancient (pre-Buddhist) Samkhya-Yoga tradition and was codified in the Samkhya-Karika of Ishvara Krishna (c. 350 C.E.)

(See also: Samkhya, Yoga, Yoga Dictionary)

Definition and meaning of Buddhism

Buddhism - [World History]

Buddhism evolved from Hinduism in northern India and Nepal and diffused from this core area. The founder was Siddhartha Gautama (563 B.C.-483 B.C.) who left his rich Hindu existence to seek understanding. Buddha means "the Enlightened One." The Buddhist way to salvation is through self-discipline and poverty. It is a religion and philosophy of "Four Noble Truths": that suffering and misery are universal, that the cause of suffering is desire, that the end of suffering is realized when desire is controlled, and that the way to escape pain and suffering is to follow the Middle Way. Nirvana is the state of wanting nothing. The Middle Way is virtuous and marked by compassion for all living things. Today, Buddhism is practiced in different forms throughout the world. The largest concentrations of Buddhists occur in Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka, Tibet, and Japan.

(Source: The Social Studies Center at Texas University )

Also see these pages:  Social Studies, Social Studies Sitemap, History, History Sitemap

Definition and meaning of Buddhism

Buddhism - [World History]

Buddhism evolved from Hinduism in northern India and Nepal and diffused from this core area. The founder was Siddhartha Gautama (563 B.C.-483 B.C.) who left his rich Hindu existence to seek understanding. Buddha means "the Enlightened One." The Buddhist way to salvation is through self-discipline and poverty. It is a religion and philosophy of "Four Noble Truths": that suffering and misery are universal, that the cause of suffering is desire, that the end of suffering is realized when desire is controlled, and that the way to escape pain and suffering is to follow the Middle Way. Nirvana is the state of wanting nothing. The Middle Way is virtuous and marked by compassion for all living things. Today, Buddhism is practiced in different forms throughout the world. The largest concentrations of Buddhists occur in Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka, Tibet, and Japan.

(Source: The Social Studies Center at Texas University )

Also see these pages:  Social Studies, Social Studies Sitemap, History, History Sitemap

A Christian theological definition of C.E. according to CARM - The Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry:

"

C.E.

See also: C.E., Christianity, Body Mind and Soul)

C. - The third letter of the English alphabet, which has no equivalent in Hebrew except Caph, which see under K.

(See also: C - Letter C, Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary, )

Chaos (Greek) (from chaino to gape, yawn open)

"The earth was without form and void," says Genesis in describing the first stages of cosmogony. In Greek mythology contains the same idea of the primordial emptiness and formlessness which precedes the rebirth of a universe after pralaya. It was the vacant and spiritual space which existed before the creation of the universe or of the world; from it proceeded Darkness and Night.

Chaos is "chaotic" only in the sense that its constituents are unformed and unorganized; it is the kosmic storehouse of all the latent or resting seeds from former manvantaras. It means space -- not the Boundless, parabrahman-mulaprakriti, but the space of any particular hierarchy descending into manifestation. In one sense it is the condition of a solar system or planetary chain during its pralaya, containing all the elements in an undifferentiated state. Aether and chaos are the two principles immediately posterior to the first principle.

Various terms more or less synonymous are akasa, the universal egg (from which Brahma issued as light), the virgin egg, the virgin mother, the immaculate root (fructified by the ray), the primeval deep, the abyss, the great mother. The divine ray and chaos are father-mother or cosmic fire and water. Chaos-Theos-Cosmos are the triple deity or all-in-all. Chaos was personified in Egypt by the goddess Neith, who is the Father-Mother of the Stanzas of Dzyan, the akasa of the Hindus, the svabhavat of the northern Buddhists, and the Icelandic ginnungagap.

(See also: Chaos, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Cabala, Cabbala. See QABBALAH

(See also: Cabala, Cabbala, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Cabar Zio. See IU-KABAR ZIVO

(See also: Cabar Zio, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)