Sri Deva Sthanam

Pancha-samskara

admin — Thu, 12 Dec 2013 02:10:42 +0000

The Process of Initiation The following discourse is a translation of an article written in Bengali, entitledPanca-samskara, by Kedarnath Datta Bhaktivinoda. The article was originally published in the journal, Sajjana Tosani, (vol. 2/1) in 1885. I have added portions, indicated by square brackets, from a supplementary article of the same title also from Sajjana Tosani (vol. 4/1…

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The North Indian Wedding

admin — Wed, 29 May 2013 16:55:47 +0000

The North Indian Wedding Introduction to Hinduism Hindus believe in the existence of a Supreme Being. This Being is described in the Vedas (scripture) as “unmanifest, unthinkable, and unchanging.” The Supreme Being manifests in this world in different forms and at different times as Rama, Krishna, Vishnu, Shiva, etc. Hindus also believe that […]

The Feeding of the Brahmanas

admin — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 09:37:59 +0000

Along similar lines it was prescribed that during a sraddha ceremony it was also required that brahmanas be fed. The brahmanas were not to be considered as mere human beings, but as representative of the pitrs. The position of thebrahmana in a sraddha rite was therefore very high and they were regularly worshiped by the performer of the sraddha. When the brahmanas ate they ate on behalf of the…

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The Funeral

admin — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 23:48:18 +0000

In Sanskrit the term antyesti refers to the final sacrifice, the last of the 16samskaras or life sacraments that mark important events in an individual’s life. The antyesti ceremony is the funeral ceremony. This samskara is performed to dispose of the dead body, to give peace to the departed soul, and to enable it to enter the world of the ancestors (pitrs). From the earliest Vedic times cremation…

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The South Indian Wedding

admin — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 09:14:33 +0000

Introduction to Hinduism Hindus believe in the existence of a Supreme Being. This Being is described in the Vedas (scripture) as “unmanifest, unthinkable, and unchanging.” The Supreme Being manifests in this world in different forms and at different times as Rama, Krishna, Vishnu, Shiva, etc. Hindus also believe that the soul is divine and eternal. It is neither created nor destroyed…

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Another Form of Sraddha

admin — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 14:47:07 +0000

I will conclude this article by mentioning a final variation to the sraddhaprocess, which is based on the ancient Pancaratra[1] tradition whose influence can be readily seen in the Mahabharata some of the Puranas. A follower of Visnu is enjoined to perform the sraddha rites with the remnants of food first offered to Visnu. The Padma-purana enjoins that deities other than Visnu and the fathers may…

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Pitr-yajna

admin — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 12:46:25 +0000

Hindu Funeral Rites and Ancestor Worship [1] Antyesti, Sraddha and Tarpana 4. Pitr-yajna Pitr-yajna Upon being established as a pitr the departed soul became fit for receiving the benefits of the numerous pitr-yajnas. The pitr-yajna is a kind of sraddhawherein one’s family ancestors as well as the general class of pitrs are worshiped. Hindu sastra prescribes a variety of such ceremonies. Like the ekoddista rites these ceremonies involve the offerings of […]

The Upanayanam Ceremony

admin — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 10:23:45 +0000

The Purakas Rites

admin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:49:48 +0000

As we have noted, the notion of an initial subtle body, known as theativahika-sarira, was introduced during the Puranic period. As soon as the gross corporal body was burned, the soul came to inhabit this subtle body composed of only three elements: heat (tejas), wind (vayu), and space (akasa). This was the ativahika body.[1] The offering of the puraka rites, which involve the offering of…

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Introduction

admin — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 08:44:07 +0000

The following article is a summary of the history of Hindu beliefs and ritual practices regarding death and the worship of ancestors. It includes examples of the final rites for the disposal of the dead, antyesti, and a discussion of the post-mortem rites of sraddha and tarpana, which form the basis of Hindu ancestor worship.According to Hindu belief there are realms of existence and classes of…

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