A Wisdom Archive on Visnu

Visnu: The philosophy of Qualified Non-dualism, a school of Vedanta philosophy teaching that individual souls and the universe are parts of Brahman; its chief exponent was Ramanuja.

 
(See also: Visnu, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and SoulA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V X Y Z )

For more dictionary entries, see » visnu dictionary

Visnu - the Supreme Lord of the cosmos (see Glossary of Names).

 
(See also: Visnu, Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul )

For more dictionary entries, see » visnu dictionary

A critical in-depth analysis of the differences and similarities between the New Age movement and the Vedic traditions by Henry Makow PhD
 

Read more here: » New Age Spirituality: New Age vs. Vedic tradition

In the Rigveda, Vishnu is mentioned 93 times. He is frequently invoked with other gods, especially with Indra, whom he assists in killing Vritra, and with whom he drinks Soma. His companionship with Indra is still reflected by his later epitheta Indrānuja and Upendra. His distinguishing characteristic in the Vedas is his association with Light, or even his identification with the Sun. He appears as striding across the heavens in three paces, by Rigvedic commentators explained as denoting the threefold manifestations of light in the form of fire, lightning, and the Sun, or as designating the three daily stations of ...

Read more here: » Vishnu: Encyclopedia II - Vishnu - pre-Puranic Vishnu

In the devotional school of Indian philosophy known as Vaishnavism, the process of total surrender to God (in this case Vishnu or Krishna) is called ‘Saranagati’ (Skt. Surrender). Saranagati is divided into six divisions: 1) Accepting those things that are favorable for devotion to God (anukulyasya sankalpa) 2) Rejecting those things that are averse to surrendering to God (pratikulyasya varjanam) 3) Considering God to be one’s protector in all circumstances (raksisyatiti visvasa) 4) Accepting God as ones maintainer (goptrtve varanam) 5) Surrende ...

Read more here: » Saranagati: Encyclopedia - Saranagati

Vishnu - In the Vedas. In the Rigveda, Vishnu is mentioned 93 times. He is frequently invoked with other gods, especially with Indra, whom he assists in killing Vritra, and with whom he drinks Soma. His companionship with Indra is still reflected by his later epitheta Indrānuja and Upendra. His distinguishing characteristic in the Vedas is his association with Li ...

Read more here: » Vishnu: Encyclopedia II - Vishnu - Pre-Puranic Vishnu

Kali has become massively linked with Shiva in the later traditions. The unleashed form of Kali often becomes wild and uncontrollable, and only Shiva is able to tame her. This is both because she is often a transformed version of one of his consorts and because he is able to match her wildness. His methods vary from challenging her to the wild tandava dance and outdoing her, to appearing as a crying infant and appealing to her maternal instincts. While Shiva is said to be able to tame her, the iconography often presents her dancing on his fa ...

Read more here: » Kali: Encyclopedia II - Kali - Development

In Hinduism, a Sampradaya is a tradition encompassing a common philosophy but embracing many different schools, groups, or guru lineages (called parampara). By becoming initiated (diksha) into a parampara one automatically belongs to its proper sampradaya. A sampradaya is a spiritual channel through disciplic succession. There are only four such authorised sampradaya's according to the authority of the Vedic scriptures. These four sampradaya's are the Rudra Sampradaya , Brahma Sampradaya, Sri Sampradaya and the Kumara Sa ...

Read more here: » Sampradaya: Encyclopedia - Sampradaya

Rupa Goswami wrote a number of books in Sanskrit on philosphy, poetics, drama and dramaturgy. The following is a list of some of the most well-known works of Rupa Goswami: Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu: (Skt. The Ocean of Nectar of Divine Love) Bhakti-rasamarta-sindhu can be considered to be one of the most important books in Gaudiya Vaishnavism. In this work, Rupa Goswami elaborately describes the gradations of bhakti from its lowest stage of sraddha (spiritual faith) up to its highest stage of maha-bhava (ultimate ecstasy in l ...

Read more here: » Rupa Goswami: Encyclopedia II - Rupa Goswami - Rupa Goswami's Literary Contributions

In the linked preface prayer (But not in the succeeding Sahasranama) non-formal pronunciation is used, since correct representation of pronunciation requires extensive use of diacritic marks. An example: Sanskrit/Hindi has three letters representing S, which are represented here as 's' (as in save), 'sh' (as in shave), the third 'sh', as used in the Sanskrit word shatkona (= "hexagon"), Vishnu, Krishna and others is actually a retroflex phoneme and has no equivalent in English. Retroflex phonemes are those where the tongue is s ...

Read more here: » Vishnu sahasranama: Encyclopedia II - Vishnu sahasranama - Pronunciation and Merits of Recitation

Sri N. Krishnamachari, a Vaishnavite scholar, at Steven Knapp's web site, quoting Vaishnavite scholars, states that there are six reasons for the greatness of Vishnu sahasranama: "1. Vishnu sahasranama is the essence of the Mahabharata; 2. Great sages such as Narada, the Alvars, and composers including Saint Tyagaraja have made repeated references to the "Thousand Names of Vishnu" in their devotional works; 3. The person who strung together the thousand names as part of the Mahabharata and preserved it for the ...

Read more here: » Vishnu sahasranama: Encyclopedia II - Vishnu sahasranama - Quotes about Vishnu Sahasranama

Sri N. Krishnamachari, a vaishnavite scholar, at Steven Knapp's web site, quoting Vaishnavite scholars, states that there are six reasons for the greatness of Vishnu sahasranama: "1. Vishnu sahasranama is the essence of the Mahabharata; 2. Great sages such as Narada, the Alvars, and composers including Saint Tyagaraja have made repeated references to the "Thousand Names of Vishnu" in their devotional works; 3. The person who strung together the thousand names as part of the Mahabharata and preserved it for the ...

Read more here: » Vishnu sahasranama: Encyclopedia II - Vishnu sahasranama - Quotes about Vishnu Sahasranama and Its Greatness

The traditional Hindu explanation of the name Viṣṇu involves the root viś, meaning "to settle, to enter", or also (in the Rigveda) "to pervade", and a suffix nu, translating to approximately "the All-Pervading One". The early commentator on the Vedas,Yaska, in his Nirukta, defines Vishnu as 'vishnu vishateh; one who enters everywhere', and 'yad vishito bhavati tad vishnurbhavati; that which is free f ...

Read more here: » Vishnu: Encyclopedia II - Vishnu - Etymology

Vishnu (IAST viṣṇu, Devanagari विष्णु, with honorific Shri Vishnu; śrī viṣṇu, श्रीविष्णु ), is a form of God, to whom many Hindus pray. For Vaishn ... Including:

• Vishnu - Etymology
• Vishnu - pre-Puranic Vishnu
• Vishnu - Theological attributes and more
• Vishnu - Relations with other Deities
• Vishnu - Iconography
• Vishnu - Worship
• Vishnu - Names
• Vishnu - Theological beliefs and philosophy

Read more here: » Vishnu: Encyclopedia - Vishnu