tag:onlyyoga.svbtle.com,2014:/feedAlbert Joel2014-08-20T23:15:57-07:00Albert Joelhttps://onlyyoga.svbtle.comSvbtle.comtag:onlyyoga.svbtle.com,2014:Post/hindu-religious-customs2014-08-20T23:15:57-07:002014-08-20T23:15:57-07:00Hindu religious customs<p>Traditional Hindus believe in sanatana dharma (worshiping many deities). Hindus have an elaborate system of rituals for everything related to a religious function, be it performing a simple puja (worship), conducting a complex sacrament ceremony, fasting, celebrating festivals and fairs, bathing in sacred rivers or lakes, going on a pilgrimage, or conducting a complex ceremony marriage. In addition, Hindus have the largest number of vrata (fasts) and festivals; according to P. V. Kane, there are about one thousand religious activities during the Hindu calendar year, the chief of which is <a href="http://www.ishafoundation.org/Cultural-Celebrations/mahashivarathiri-cultural-programs-self-transformation-isha-foundation.isa">Mahashivratri</a>, dedicated to Lord Shiva.</p>
<p>Every date in the Hindu calendar and every day of the week are marked for some kind of worship. For example, the weekdays are named after seven of nine planets to be worshiped. These nine planets, called “Navagrahas,” are the Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Rahu, and Ketu. The seven days of the week have derived their names from the first seven planets; Rahu and Ketu are the ascending and descending nodes of the moon. Among these nine planets, Saturn, Rahu, and Ketu are considered inauspicious and maleficent; thus, they need to be propitiated.</p>
<p>Hindus regard these planets as having the greatest astrological significance, influencing a person’s life cycle in many ways. Thus, in all rituals these planets are invoked and worshiped. In addition, each day of the week is named after a planet; for example, Sunday is for the Sun God, Monday is for Lord Shiva and the Moon, Tuesday for Hanuman and Mars, Wednesday for Mercury, Thursday for Jupiter and Gurus, Friday for Venus and various goddesses, and Saturday is named for Saturn planet and Shani God, the son of Sun God. Moreover, in every month several auspicious occasions call for a special worship and fasting; for example, the eleventh day of the Hindu calendar is called “Ekadashi” and is a day when fast is kept and puja is done in the late afternoon or early evening. Such days are frequently combined with celebrations and vratas for <a href="http://sadhguru.org/mission/reviving-tradition/mahashivarathri/">Mahashivratri</a>. There does not appear to be any object on Earth or in heaven that a Hindu is not prepared to worship; these objects include the planets, rocks, mountains, trees, shrubs, rivers, seas, reptiles, birds, wild animals, domesticated animals (especially cows and bulls), good or evil demons, bad spirits, ghosts, spirits of ancestors, any number of divine entities and deities, and departed souls. Although there is regional variation and worships and rituals specific to areas or villages, Hindus perform their rituals with great thoroughness. For example, the traditional marriage ceremony starts at midnight and continues for hours.</p>
<p>There are four forms of rituals: (1) Japa is repeating the name of a deity or a mantra to invoke a deity. Generally it is done privately in a home, a temple, or in some sacred place where a devotee repeats the name of a specific deity or a mantra. Japa is of three kinds. In the first, the devotee speaks the name of the deity or the mantra; in the second, the devotee speaks the name or the mantra, but no one hears; and in the third, nothing is spoken, but the name or the mantra is repeated in the mind. Generally, a devotee uses a mala (rosary) for this purpose. (2) Homa is offering oblations (offerings) into a sacred fire by invoking deities; this ritual can be a part of a specific worship in a home, a part of group worship, or a part of some sacrament ceremonies. (3) Puja is a worship service conducted with sixteen steps. The role of a priest is important in suggesting the appropriate and most auspicious day and time (the priest also acts as astrologer) for conducting a specific worship. (4) Pitra-tarpan (ancestor worship, also called “shraaddha”) obligates Hindus to honor their ancestors at least once a year when a fortnight is reserved for this purpose around the months of September and October. The service is conducted generally at the bank of a river or lake by offering at the minimum libations of water to one’s deceased parents and other ancestors; the service is similar to the one performed at the time of cremation, although less rigorous. In addition, one should visit Gaya (Bihar Province) after the death of one’s parents to perform this service.</p>
<p><strong>Puja</strong><br>
The most important of all Hindu rituals is called “shodasha-upachara-puja” (worship-service which can be performed in several steps). However, before performing these steps, one should perform five preliminary steps after the priest has announced to all present the purpose of the ceremony: (1) symbolic purification (aachaman) of one’s body and the place of worship by the priest and the host or couple for whom the service is being performed. The priest then consecrates the ritual utensils, flowers, bell, and other items needed for the service. (2) Seeking the blessing of the Mother Earth to begin the service. (3) Worship of Lord Ganesh (the deity to remove obstacles), which is always done at the beginning of a puja. (4) Kalash-puja (consecration of water in a jug). (5) Invocation of the nine planets to come and take their Hinduism seats at the service. In some instances, Matrikapujan (worship of seven mother-goddesses) is done just before the start of the main sixteen-step worship service. This takes on a special tone at temples during the <a href="http://www.dhyanalinga.org/mahashivarathri.html">Mahashivratri</a> festival.</p>
<p>After the five preliminary steps the sixteen steps of shodasha-upachara-puja are performed: (1) performing aavahan (invoking the deity); (2) performing aasana (offering deity a place of honour at the ceremony); (3) offering Arghya water to drink; (4) offering water to wash the hands and feet of the deity (padya); (5) performing snana (bathing of the deity, either with Ganges River water or with five items called “panchamrita”: milk, yogurt, ghee (clarified butter), honey, and sugar); (6) anointing the deity with fragrance; (7) performing abhisheka (anointing with water); (8) performing vastra (offering of new garment); (9) performing pushpa (offering of flowers); (10) performing dhupa (offering of incense); (11) performing deepa (offering of light by a lamp); (12) performing naivedya (offering of food); (13) offering tambula (betel leaf with nuts, clove, and spices); (14) performing parikrama (offering a reverential salutation by circling the divine image clockwise or, if the worshiper cannot circle the divine image, by standing still); (15) performing aarati (salutation to the deity by waving a lamp); and (16) offering flowers to the deity and praying for its return. For example, the ketaki is not to be offered to Shiva even on the night of <a href="http://www.mahashivarathri.org">Mahashivratri</a>.</p>
<p>After this service the priest applies a vermilion paste to the foreheads of the host and his family members, and wraps a sacred thread around the hands of the host and his family. The sixteen steps are the mirror image of the welcome accorded to a guest by a Hindu family in ancient times. The guest was called “Atithi-Deva” (a godly person whose arrival was unknown). Of course, there are regional and linguistic variations in these steps. If a person is not able to perform such an elaborate worship service, a puja can be done in five or ten steps. The five-step puja (panchupachara) consists of offering water, flowers, incense, light, and food; the ten-step puja consists of washing the feet of the deity, bathing and anointing the deity with fragrance, and offering garment, flowers, incense, light, food, and prayer. Each step has its own mantra, which is recited by the priest. In case of an emergency or the unavailability of material for worship, there is a provision for labdha-upachara, which is worshipping with whatever is available (such as water or flowers). These steps are performed not only to offer proper respect to the deity but also to carry out a vow that the host (yajman) took to get his wish fulfilled. Thus there is the story of Gurudruha, who unknowingly worshiped Shiva on the auspicious night of <a href="http://lordshiva.nishchala.org/2014/07/mahashivratri-shiva.html">Mahashivratri</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Rites</strong><br>
Sixteen to forty rites (sansakars) are prescribed for Hindus. The following sixteen are considered important: (1) garbhadhana (conception of the child), (2) punsavana (consecration of the child in the womb), (3) simantonnayana (parting the hair of the pregnant woman), (4) jatakarma (birth of the child), (5) namakarana (naming the child), (6) nishkramana (taking the child out of the home for the first time), (7) annaprashana (feeding the child solid food for the first time), (8) chudakarna (giving the child’s first haircut), (9) karnabedha (piercing the child’s ears), (10) vidyarambha (the child going to school), (11) upanayana (sacred-thread ceremony), (12) vedarambha (study of Vedic literature), (13) keshanta (shaving of the boy’s beard), (14) samavartana/snana (end of the child’s education), (15) vivaha (marriage), and (16) antyesthi (cremation rite). For each of these sacraments scriptures have prescribed elaborate rituals. However, in the course of time these rituals have declined because individuals have been unable to perform some lengthy procedures and have incurred heavy expenses.</p>
<p>Of these sixteen four are to be performed before the birth of the child, but nowadays practically no one performs them. Of the remaining twelve the following six are considered crucial and are observed by many Hindus: (1) name giving, (2) offering of solid food to the child, (3) the child’s first haircut, (4) the sacred-thread ceremony, (5) marriage, and (6) cremation. Of these six the sacred-thread ceremony, marriage, and cremation require extensive rituals. For example, the marriage ceremony has about thirty-four steps, starting with the invocation and invitation of all deities so that the ceremony is concluded without any problem (the presence of deities indicates a divine witness). Then come the welcome of the bride and groom and his family and guests, confirmation of the wedding by the exchange of garlands between the bride and groom, gauri-pujan (worship of goddess Gauri and Parvati, consort of Lord Shiva by the bride, gifts to the bride from the groom’s family), panigrahana (giving away the daughter), agni-pradakshina (going around the fire by the couple), saptapadi (taking seven steps to promise each other [to be friends for life, to take care of each other in sickness and health, etc.]), and placing of mangalsutra (a necklace on the wife [a symbol for married women]). Before the marriage party departs for the groom’s house, several other ceremonies are performed. However, due to constraints of time, many of these steps have been shortened; nevertheless, an abbreviated marriage ceremony still takes about two hours. While the marriage ceremony is being performed, songs and dances are performed, and an atmosphere of gaiety and fun with food and drinks continues.</p>
tag:onlyyoga.svbtle.com,2014:Post/vedanta-philosophy2014-08-16T05:58:11-07:002014-08-16T05:58:11-07:00Vedanta Philosophy<p>The Vedanta is not interested in cosmology or the processes of creation. All such schemes are for it symbolic and mythical, and in these areas it is content to borrow from the Sankhya and Yoga traditions of <a href="http://www.allaboutbharat.org/post/sanatan-dharma-definition">Sanatana Dharma</a>. What interests the thinkers of the Vedanta is the reality-status of the world, and the real nature of oneself: the question, Who am I?, takes on a central importance. ‘The noble ones,’ writes Shankara, ‘the seekers of liberation, are preoccupied only with the ultimate reality, not with useless speculations about creation. Hence the various alternative theories about creation come only from believers in the doctrine that creation is real.</p>
<p>It is a widely accepted principle of Indian thought that anything which changes cannot, in an ultimate and final sense, be real. Reality is not something which comes and goes. It requires stability of being; as the <a href="http://www.allaboutbharat.org/post/Shiv-Puran-Download-PDF">Shiv Puran</a> puts it: 'For the unreal there is no being, nor any end of being for the real.’</p>
<p>This constitutes a difference with Western habits of thought. In the West, reality is generally equated with experience coming to us through the senses. It is, first and foremost, the material world- hard, solid, objective, ‘out there’, independent of us. This view goes back at least to Aristotle and, although modern physics has made some inroads into it, it remains dominant. It is not at all the view of Shankara. For him, the material world - the world of growth and decay, of never-ending flux and change- is precisely what is not real.<br>
All that has form is subject to change. It has some stability of being, and therefore a provisional reality, but sooner or later it changes and in doing so reveals its unreal nature. This is reflected in the Adi Parva of the <a href="http://www.allaboutbharat.org/post/Mahabharat-Story-Summary">Mahabharat story</a> as well.</p>
<p>And if the whole universe is subject to change, this only means that reality itself, final and absolute Reality, must lie in some other order of being. This is why Shankara’s philosophy is called Advaita or ·Non-Dual ‘ Vedanta, which traces its roots to the Puranas, specifically the <a href="http://www.allaboutbharat.org/post/Vishnu-Puran-Download-PDF">Vishnu Puran</a> and the <a href="http://www.allaboutbharat.org/post/garud-puran-download">Garuda Purana</a>. They find echoes in the 2300-year-old treatise by Vishnu Gupta (Kautilya), known as the <a href="http://www.allaboutbharat.org/post/Chanakya-Niti-PDF-Download">Chanakya Niti</a>. The meaning is that absolute reality lies in a different order of being, outside the duality of the subject-object mode of knowing. That mode of knowing normally prescribes the whole of our experience; it is characteristic of the individual self and of its principal instrument, the mind. Shankara ’s message, therefore, is a radical one: the world around us and the human individual which experiences it are both of them ultimately unreal. </p>
<p>Shankara is concerned with removing the ignorance of our own nature which keeps us bound to the phenomenal world; with clearing away the self-imposed obstacles which stand between us and an immediate apprehension of our own innermost reality. These ideas are present in the Upanishads and in the later versions of the <a href="http://www.allaboutbharat.org/post/Ramayana-Story-Summary-PDF">Ramayana story</a>; but the Upanishads, although they contain piercing insights, record the thoughts of many different sages and follow no particular order. The objective of the Vedanta is to derive from them a systematic philosophy. For this school of thought, it is not so much more faith in gods which is required, but more scepticism about the reality of the world and of the individual self which experiences it.</p>
<p>The basis of Shankara’s method was to distinguish between different degrees or levels of reality. There can of course be only one reality as such, and it is as we have seen that which never_ changes its nature. The Upanishads call it Brahman. And in man it is Atman, the unchanging consciousness which lights up the changing forms of experience. In the Panchodoshi , a celebrated Advaita treatise written some six hundred years after Shankara, the Atman is likened to the light which illumines a theatre:</p>
<p>There is a witness-consciousness in the jiva which reveals at one and the same time the agent, the action, and the mutually distinct external objects. The witness persists through all the mental experiences of hearing, touching, seeing, tasting and smelling, just as a light illumines everything in a theatre. The light in the theatre reveals impartially the master of the house, the guests and the dancer. When she and the others are absent, the light continues to shine forth revealing their absence … In this illustration the master of the house is the ego (ahamkara]. the various sense-objects are the guests, the intellect (i.e. the mind] is the dancer, the musicians playing on their instruments are the sense-organs, and the light illuminating them all is the witness-consciousness. The light reveals all the objects in the theatre but does not itself move. So the witness-consciousness, itself motionless, illumines the objects within and without (i.e. the internal world of subjective experience and the 'objective’ world of external experience).</p>
<p>For more:<br>
<a href="http://fitman.roon.io/a-short-history-of-indian-vernacular-literature">A Short History of Indian Vernacular Literature</a><br>
<a href="http://writing.colostate.edu/community/blogs/blog.cfm?entryid=546690">About Indian Scriptures</a><br>
<a href="https://www.behance.net/gallery/19106387/About-Hinduism">About Hinduism</a><br>
<a href="http://www.redbubble.com/people/shivapurana/journal/12476938-karma-and-the-nature-of-man">Karma and the Nature of Man</a></p>
tag:onlyyoga.svbtle.com,2014:Post/north-indian-tourist-itinerary2014-08-09T01:10:51-07:002014-08-09T01:10:51-07:00North Indian Tourist Itinerary<p>This tour is a broader version of the overdone Golden Triangle trip that normally concentrates on the <a href="http://www.allaboutbharat.org/post/konark-sun-temple">Konark Temple</a>, <a href="http://www.allaboutbharat.org/post/puri-jagannath-temple">Puri Jagannath</a> and Lingaraja, Bhubaneshwar. To have a more comprehensive and meaningful experience in India, I suggest including Khajuraho and Varanasi, which add a spiritual dimension, and five overnights for relaxation: three nights at architecturally rich yet lesser known destinations; two nights at a game park. Since air travel is unreliable, I organize most of the tour by car with driver, which also allows for impromptu stops along the way.</p>
<p>Duration: 17 days</p>
<p>GETTING AROUND: Travel by car and driver from Delhi to the <a href="http://www.allaboutbharat.org/post/Khajuraho-Temples-Travel-History">Khajuraho temples</a>, then fly to <a href="http://www.allaboutbharat.org/post/varanasi-kashi-benares">Varanasi</a> and fly back to Delhi. </p>
<p>THE MAIN ROUTE: Three days: Delhi to Jaipur. Drive 122 kilometers (76 miles) from Delhi to Rajasthan’s Neemrana Fort Palace, located just off the main highway between Delhi and Jaipur. This restored palace, set on a bluff, affords great views and allows for complete relaxation or delightful short walks in the afternoon. The next day, it’s about three hours to Jaipur, where you can stay at a choice of converted palaces or Heritage Hotels while you explore Jaipur’s old bazaars and city monuments. </p>
<p>Two days: Bharatpur. From Jaipur, head to Bharatpur, 176 kilometers (109 miles) to the northeast and India’s most famous bird sanctuary, with more than 300 species in its marshlands and forests.</p>
<p>Three days: Fatehpur Sikri and Agra. Head 30 kilometers (19 miles) from Bharatpur toward Agra and visit the ancient and deserted Moghul capital, Fatehpur Sikri, with its splendid architecture. Then proceed to Agra, where you’ll find the world-famous Taj Mahal and other architecturally powerful tombs and a fort. </p>
<p>Two days: Gwalior and Orchha. Drive 118 kilometers (73 miles) to Gwalior, the capital of a former princely state, which has stunning palaces and a fort. Take an optional excursion to Orchha, a 17th century city of palaces.</p>
<p>Two days: Khajuraho. Drive about 160 kilometers (100 miles) to Khajuraho and spend two days enjoying the wonderful Chandela Dynasty 10th- and 11th-century temples and the surrounding pastoral villages that cling vigorously to an agrarian lifestyle. Two days: Varanasi. Fly from Khajuraho to Varanasi. Take a peaceful morning cruise on the Ganga River to witness Hindu rituals performed by the devout on the ghats and in the sacred waters. Visit the <a href="http://www.allaboutbharat.org/post/kashi-vishwanath-temple-varanasi">Kashi Vishwanath Temple</a>, silk and carpet emporiums, and nearby Sarnath, imbued with Buddhist significance.</p>
<p>Three days: Delhi. Fly to Delhi. Explore the old and new capitals. Don’t miss the Red Fort, Jama Masjid, Chandni Chowk, and the Charity Bird Hospital - all in Old Delhi. Enjoy the crafts museum and save time for last minute shopping in Delhi’s wonderful shops.</p>
<p>If you are flying out from Mumbai, then be sure to catch a glimpse of the <a href="http://www.allaboutbharat.org/post/Elephanta-Caves-Travel">Elephanta Caves</a>, a few kilometers off Mumbai in the Arabian Sea, and also make the trip to the <a href="http://www.allaboutbharat.org/post/ellora-caves-travel">Ellora Caves</a> and <a href="http://www.allaboutbharat.org/post/ajanta-caves-travel">Ajanta Caves</a>.</p>
<p>Helpful Links:<br>
<a href="https://www.behance.net/gallery/19204965/Indian-Festival-Itineraries">Indian Festivals</a></p>
tag:onlyyoga.svbtle.com,2014:Post/syncretism-in-hinduism2014-08-08T05:47:15-07:002014-08-08T05:47:15-07:00Syncretism in Hinduism<p>From what has been said it might be supposed that religious forms are unimportant to Hindus. This is far from being the case. All over India they are loved and worshipped and taken with great seriousness. No one who has watched Indians passionately celebrating the birthday of <a href="http://www.allaboutbharat.org/post/lord-krishna">Lord Krishna</a> or <a href="http://www.allaboutbharat.org/post/ganesha-history-festivals-wallpapers">Lord Ganesha</a> could suppose that Hindus are indifferent to religious forms. And yet it remains true that behind this worship, and even among men and women of very simple background, the consciousness that the form they are worshipping represents a supra-formal principle, and that this is its true reality, is rarely altogether absent. It is not the form, but the god who is thought of as having descended into it, which is under worship. Anyone who has seen Indian villagers worshipping, let us say, the lovingly decorated image of <a href="http://www.allaboutbharat.org/post/goddess-lakshmi-wealth">Goddess Lakshmi</a> on her festival day, and then, at the end of the ceremonies, placing that same image into a pond or river where it rapidly dissolves, knows that this is so. The forms of religion, indispensable as these are, are not the same thing as the truths they represent.</p>
<p>One important effect of this is found in the tolerance which is widely admitted to mark the Hindu outlook. Like other religions Hinduism is divided into many sects and movements. There are worshippers of <a href="http://www.allaboutbharat.org/post/goddess-saraswati">Saraswati, the Goddess of music</a> who is the wife of <a href="http://www.allaboutbharat.org/post/lord-brahma-god-creation">Lord Brahma</a> and no one would claim that religious rivalries are unknown. Yet the worst traps of dogmatism are generally avoided. Personal choice in religion is universally respected; religious wars among Hindus are virtually unknown to history.</p>
<p>And the understanding of the provisional nature of religious forms extends to other creeds. Hindus see these as alternative paths leading to the same mountain summit, and so as a rule they do not feel the need to proselytize. To the eager followers of other faiths this may appear as a mark of weakness or indifference, but this is to misunderstand. It is the logical outcome of Hindu metaphysics: all forms are provisional and ultimately unreal, and this applies to the forms of religion as to everything else. Even the Vedas themselves become valueless on the attainment of moksha or liberation - of no more value than is a well in a land which is flooded, as the <a href="http://www.allaboutbharat.org/post/lord-shiva-destroyer">god Shiva</a> puts it in the Shiva Purana.</p>
<p>Moreover, the truth can only be one, so that those who approach it - and all peoples do to some extent - must necessarily speak in broadly similar terms, though the colouring derived from differing cultures will vary. It is only the failure to identify clearly the core of meaning in each of the great religions, and to disentangle it from the cultural accretions and mythological imagery which often gather so thickly round it - and, let us remember, which give it vivid life and power- which gives the misleading appearance of a fundamental divergence. </p>
<p>In Europe, where it has sometimes gone under the name of the Perennial Philosophy, this vision of the underlying unity of religion has never been entirely lost sight of, but it is perhaps an especial glory of Hinduism that nowhere has it been more clearly and consistently seen than in India. So, far from shutting us within the closed framework of a system, Hinduism, by constantly recalling that our minds are themselves a part of the world-illusion, forces us to keep ourselves open to what lies beyond the mind and the world in which it lives.</p>
<p>More Resources:<br>
<a href="http://www.sitepalace.com/bhagavadgita/hinduism-aspects.html">On Hinduism</a><br>
<a href="http://fitman.roon.io/hindu-gods">On Hindu Gods and Goddesses</a><br>
<a href="https://www.behance.net/gallery/18780691/About-Hinduism">About Hinduism</a><br>
<a href="http://www.redbubble.com/people/shivapurana/journal/12251094-an-interesting-note-on-hinduism">Notes on Hinduism</a></p>
tag:onlyyoga.svbtle.com,2014:Post/theory-of-emotion2014-08-07T02:08:13-07:002014-08-07T02:08:13-07:00Theory of Emotion<p>Differential emotions theory provides a structure for understanding the role of emotions in depressive symptomatology (Izard, 1972). According to the theory, the 10 fundamental emotions (interest, enjoyment, surprise, sadness, anger, disgust, contempt, fear, shyness, and guilt) each have motivational characteristics. Each emotion has its own neuromotor program and emotional expression is activated by neurochemical changes. Both internal and external events can trigger neurochemical change and thus emotional expression. As an emotion is experienced, it may become associated with other emotions such that certain emotions tend to occur together or may influence the expression of other emotions. For example, the concurrent experiences of joy and sadness reduced the facial expression of sadness in boys, whereas the combined experience of sadness and anger increased the facial expression of sadness in the children (Blumberg & Izard, 1991). Life events can trigger multiple emotions (Blumberg & Izard, 1991), and once activated, a pattern of emotions can impact on cognition and behavior in a reciprocal manner (Buechler & Izard, 1980; Izard & Malatesta, 1987).</p>
<p>Differential emotions theory states that a combination of emotions highlighted by sadness, and components of hostility (anger, disgust, contempt) and shame (guilt, shyness) contribute to depressive symptomatology (Izard, 1972). The findings of Blumberg and Izard (1985, 1986) revealed that the emotions of sadness, self-directed hostility, anger, shame, interest, and enjoyment contributed to the prediction of depressive symptomatology in non-referred 10- and 11-year old children. Moreover, research with reliably DSM-III-R (American Psychiatric Association, 1987) diagnosed adolescent psychiatric patients indicated that the emotional configuration of depressed adolescents differed from non-depressed youths on the emotions of enjoyment, surprise, sadness, anger, shame, shyness, guilt, and self-directed hostility (Carey, Finch, & Carey, 1991). These studies provide support for the role of emotions in depressive symptomatology. Izard and Schwartz (1986) further stated that emotions are not perceived as the cause of depression, but one’s lack of skills to protect oneself from negative emotions may have an impact on negative emotions. According to Izard and Schwartz (1986), “Continual vulnerability to these emotions may in turn lead to detrimental cognitive styles (negative views of the self, world, and future) as described by Beck (1967) and Seligman and Peterson (1986)…”</p>
<p>Several cognitive components including attributional styles and negative automatic thoughts have been related to depressive symptomatology in the literature (Hops, Lewinsohn, Andrews, & Roberts, 1990; Kazdin, 1990a). Research on differential emotions theory with children has been limited largely to the integration of differential emotions theory and reformulated learned helplessness theory (Abramson, Seligman, & Teasdale, 1978).</p>
<p>Differential emotions theory also suggests that life events impact on emotions. Blumberg and Izard (1986) indicate that emotions can be related to Lewinsohn’s theory of depression. Lewinsohn (1974) proposed that a reduced frequency of positive reinforcement may affect emotional responses and this in turn can impact on behavior. Although the behavioral component has not been examined in the differential emotions literature, research on activity and depression in adolescents has demonstrated that individuals reporting a higher frequency of unpleasant activities report higher levels of depressive symptoms (Carey, Kelley, Buss, & Scott, 1986; Cole, Kelley, & Carey, 1988). In contrast to the adult literature, the frequency of involvement in pleasant activities for adolescents was not correlated with level of depressive symptoms (Carey et al., 1986; Kanner, Feldman, Weinberger & Ford, 1987).</p>
<p>Izard and Schwartz (1986) state that maladaptive behavior may result from problems in the links between emotion, cognition, and behavior. The research to date on differential emotions theory has just begun to examine the role of emotion and cognition in the prediction of depressive symptoms from a reformulated learned helplessness perspective. Blumberg and Izard (1985), in one of the few studies examining the linkage between emotion and cognition, found that a child’s attributional style accounted for additional variance beyond that of emotions in boys’ depression scores. The literature has not yet addressed other cognitive components, the role of behavior, or the combined role of these two modalities with emotion. </p>
<p>Furthermore no study as yet has examined how well emotions in combination with cognitive processes and behavior predict the occurrence of symptomatology. It has been proposed that this could be what trigger an understanding of the <a href="http://www.ishafoundation.org/blog/lifestyle/relationships/the-meaning-of-true-love-love-beyond-words/">meaning of true love</a>.Thus, the present investigation was designed to build on the available literature based on differential emotions theory. This study focused on adolescents because research on differential emotions theory as applied to adolescents is limited. Differential emotions theory stresses the importance of emotions while also acknowledging the reciprocal relations between emotions, cognitions, and behavior in the onset and maintenance of depressive symptomatology. This study examined whether behavioral and cognitive variables would add a significant amount of variance in the prediction of self-reported depression scores above and beyond that which was explained by emotional variables. Differential emotions theory emphasizes the importance of emotions but does not explicitly define the relative importance of behavioral and cognitive variables to the prediction of self-reported depressive symptoms. Therefore, two differential emotions theory models were examined. The models focused primarily on emotions but varied the order of entry of behavioral and cognitive variables to assess whether these variables could account for additional variance in depression scores.</p>
tag:onlyyoga.svbtle.com,2014:Post/what-is-the-point-of-yoga2014-08-06T02:34:30-07:002014-08-06T02:34:30-07:00What is the point of Yoga?<p>A. W Watts attempted to explain Yoga as a sort of psychotherapy, but made the common mistake of estimating on a purely psychological level. There is doubtlessly a great similarity between Yoga and psychotherapy. However, the former does not stop at a mere ‘integration’ or, as some prefer to call it, ‘actualisation’ of the psyche; it aims at nothing less than a complete transformation of man. This will have to be elucidated. The purpose of psychotherapy is, as we understand it, to fully restore the capacity of functioning of a man, to free him from mental duresses and to make him mature emotionally and in his social relationships. Usually the person undergoing psychotherapy is afflicted with some negative dispositions, physically and mentally. </p>
<p>In other words, he becomes to the psychotherapist a patient. Yoga, on the contrary, generally starts with the normal, healthy individual. This fact is made quite plain in the Sanskrit texts: ‘The Self is not to be gained by the weak.’ And in the Mahabharata, the grand Indian epic, we can read that’ … the vow of Yoga is only for a man of unweakened mind, for none else - that is clear’.“ Numerous other passages, to the same effect, are to be found particularly in the scriptures of <a href="http://www.ishayoga.org/introductory-programs/hata-yoga">Hatha yoga</a> and Tantrism. Yoga starting with the mentally and physically ‘normal’ person can never be an arena for the insane or psychopaths. It is symptomatic that in the West, Hatha yoga is promoted as a system of health although, in its classical form, it makes physical and psychomental fitness a basic requirement for its practice.</p>
<p>The starting point of Yoga being already different from that of psychotherapy, its aims are still more dissimilar. Yoga commences with a person solid in every respect and has in view not a restoration to normality or an amelioration of functioning or adaptation, but a man’s emancipation from all restrictions peculiar to a human being. That is, it intends to restore man as a transcendent entity. Accordingly, this emancipation is hued on a transmutation of human nature. M. Eliade, leading authority in the field of the history of religions and benevolent critic of Yoga, has carried out a profound analysis of this basic phenomenon of spiritual life. He characterised the Yogic practice as a progressive dismantling of human personality ending in a complete abolition.</p>
tag:onlyyoga.svbtle.com,2014:Post/indian-classical-music2014-08-04T00:11:08-07:002014-08-04T00:11:08-07:00Indian Classical Music - Passion & Philosophy<p>The term “Indian Classical music” ought to embrace both the classical music of the South, called Karnatak music, and the classical music of the North called Hindusthani classical music. Karnatak music which is a great system of music is confined to a limited area in Southern India and its influence has not penetrated into other parts of India. An example of this is the <a href="http://lordshiva.nishchala.org/2014/07/shivashtakam.html">Shivashtakam</a> and <a href="http://lordshiva.nishchala.org/2014/07/rudrashtakam.html">Rudrashtakam</a>. On the other hand, Hindusthani classical music, originally the music of the North, is now universally recognized all over India. Therefore, for the sake of convenience, the terms Indian classical music and Hindusthani classical music, are identically the same in meaning. </p>
<p>Instead of conducting a technical discussion of classical music and its grammar, and analyzing how a <a href="http://lordshiva.nishchala.org/2014/07/shiva-stotram.html">Shiva Stuti</a> differs from a <a href="http://lordshiva.nishchala.org/2014/07/shiva-panchakshara-stotram.html">Shiva Stotram</a>, it is far better to understand the true spirit of its art. How to answer the layman who repeatedly asks “What is classical music”? Classical music is both classical and music and is Indian in spirit .. It is as ancient as the Vedas. It is just possible, the music of Sama veda was the music of the Vedic period and post-Vedic period in India. But no historian can trace the origins and beginnings of an ancient art with any mathematical precision. The history of Indian classical music, therefore,. must have the inevitable gaps. </p>
<p>We derive from Shastras or ancient treatises all our knowledge of classical music. Among the most outstanding ones are:- Natya Shastra, Narad Shiksha, Sangita Ratnakar, Raga Tarangini, Sangita Darpan, Sangita Parijata, Nagmate Asaphi, Sangita Ragakalpadruma, Sangita Paddhati and others. The theory of classical music, divorced from practical art, has no meaning. It is a product of ages. While it has established laws which cannot be easily violated, it has been tremendously influenced by musicians. That is why, tradition in classical music is a very important thing. Since times immemorial, Indian music has depended upon a scientific system which has been both rigid and elastic. Even the <a href="http://lordshiva.nishchala.org/">chants for Shiva</a> and other gods fall into this category. </p>
<p>There is no such thing as Hindu classical music or Muslim classical music. For centuries, Hindus and Muslims have united their efforts in enriching one and the same system of music. While there have been no divergent schools of thought among musicians in Indian music, there have been musicians and groups or families of musicians following different styles but inspired and guided by ideals of fundamental unity. The “Gharanas” or the families have invariably been the nucleus of practical art. But Indian music being highly individualistic, individual musicians have played a very great part in stimulating the progress of music. Even Muslim singers do not hesitate to chant <a href="http://lordshiva.nishchala.org/2014/07/om-namah-shivaya.html">Om Namah Shivaya</a>.</p>
<p>In fact, in India all great musicians embody and interpret the music of their age and time. They build up epochs in art. No system of classical music belongs to the masses, though it appeals to them. This holds true in the case of Indian classical music too. This music has a genius and a character of its own which distinguish it from all other systems of music. In our country, music like literature, has interpreted life in a vital manner. Therefore, any study of Indian culture which omits music, is incomplete. If one wants to form a correct estimate of classical music, he must see it in its spiritual and sensuous forms because they are inseparable. The <a href="http://lordshiva.nishchala.org/2014/07/kalabhairavashtakam.html">Kalabhairava Ashtakam</a> and the <a href="http://lordshiva.nishchala.org/2014/07/bilvashtakam.html">Bilvashtakam</a> interweave passion and philosophy in their texture. Like every other art it has evolved a grammar of technique, an art of interpretation. The two are not opposed to each other, but, in fact, complete each other. No one should run the risk of misjudging classical music by trying to evaluate them separately. Therefore, though grammarians and musicians have existed separately, what is called classical music has been built up by the united efforts of both. </p>
<p>Man and nature are inseparably united in this music. Both are beings whose varying moods have a great resemblance. Classical music was never written and recorded. It was heard, acquired and transmitted. Therefore, modern classical music, unlike ancient classical music, has to be reviewed afresh, in a new historical perspective. These are some of those vital truths and assumptions which form the basis of Indian classical music. They are axioms which we must admit.</p>
<p>More Articles on Indian Music:<br>
<a href="https://www.behance.net/gallery/19090815/No-Art-A-few-words-on-music">A Few Words on Music</a><br>
<a href="http://fitman.roon.io/changing-face-of-indian-music">The Changing Face of Indian Music</a><br>
<a href="http://www.redbubble.com/people/shivapurana/journal/12483182-ragas-in-indian-music">Ragas in Indian Music</a><br>
<a href="http://writing.colostate.edu/community/blogs/blog.cfm?entryid=547201">About Indian Music</a></p>
tag:onlyyoga.svbtle.com,2014:Post/will-tv-be-the-same-without-mahabharat2014-08-02T02:32:30-07:002014-08-02T02:32:30-07:00Will TV be the same without Mahabharat?<p><a href="http://sadhguru.org/atoz/k/kundalini-yoga-beneficial-dangerous/"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Hitopadesha.jpg" alt=""></a> </p>
<p>Now that the battle of Kurukshetra has begun, I have to ask, how long will the show go on? It couldn’t possibly pull itself beyond 3 months. The war is going on at a clipping pace after all. PinkVilla reports that there are rumors about the show going dark, but it also interviewed Tewary about it, and he seemed to be plotting something else, ala Shakuni!</p>
<p><a href="http://www.allaboutbharat.org/post/garud-puran-download"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2e/Fight_between_Bhisma_and_Arjun.jpg/640px-Fight_between_Bhisma_and_Arjun.jpg" alt=""></a> </p>
<p>Here’s what he says “We have a lot in store. I can’t reveal what it is at this moment. Expectations really put a lot of pressure on everybody and that isn’t a way to live life. I have made an effort to challenge myself with every story that I had to tell. But the fact is that we have no control over the outcome. Then why expect any result of the efforts I put. All I can do is try to remain honest to my work.”</p>
<p><a href="http://www.dhyanalinga.org/mahashivarathri.html"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6c/Mahabharat_3d.jpg" alt=""></a> </p>
<p>Talk about beating about the bush!! But if Star knows its business, and I believe it does, they’ll find some way to pull of a sequel at least. May be something about Parikshit or Janamejaya. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.ishashoppe.com/in/yoga-corner/rudraksha-temple-products"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/King_Parikshit_Hunting.jpg" alt=""></a> </p>
<p>After all, look at how Life OK managed with <a href="http://sadhguru.org/atoz/s/shiva/">Mahadeva</a> with his <a href="http://sadhguru.org/atoz/r/rudraksha/">beads</a> and rudraksha malas and what not. They weaved the story through Rama and Ravana, the <a href="http://blog.ishafoundation.org/yoga-meditation/history-of-yoga/badrinath-temple-legend-history/">mandir</a> of Badrinath temple, Krishna at <a href="http://sadhguru.org/atoz/k/kashi/">Varanasi</a> and what not. So I believe that all the fans will have something to cheer about in the months to come. Of course, they may not quite like what comes out. That possibility is always there!</p>
<p><a href="http://blog.ishafoundation.org/yoga-meditation/demystifying-yoga/classical-yoga-the-influence-of-patanjali/"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/The_soft_blue-skinned_warrior_Arjuna_raises_his_hands_in_anjali_mudra_as_he_stands_before_Lord_Shiva.jpg" alt=""></a></p>
<p>Image Credits: <a href="http://blog.ishafoundation.org/yoga-meditation/science-of-yoga/the-science-of-mudras/">1</a> <a href="https://www.sacredwalks.org/sojourn/about-varanasi/">2</a> <a href="http://blog.ishafoundation.org/yoga-meditation/demystifying-yoga/what-is-kundalini">3</a> <a href="http://sadhguru.org/atoz/k/kundalini-awakening-treasure-within/">4</a> <a href="http://sadhguru.org/atoz/t/tantra/">5</a></p>
tag:onlyyoga.svbtle.com,2014:Post/climate-change2014-06-09T21:07:21-07:002014-06-09T21:07:21-07:00The Himalayan Environment<p><img src="http://www.travelomy.com/images/uploads/l/a/p499ea5a324d69.JPG" alt="Vasukhi Tal" title="Vasukhi Tal near Kedarnath Temple"><br>
The Himalayas have much to offer, but the environment is fast changing and can have a potentially disastrous effect on human populations. Climate change has had an impact on some pilgrimage places. The Chorabari glacier, some 12,800 feet above sea level in the steep glacial cirque above <a href="http://blog.ishafoundation.org/yoga-meditation/history-of-yoga/kedarnath-temple-crazy-cocktail-spirituality/">Kedar</a> temple, is the headwater for both the Kanthi Sarovar and Vasukhi Tal lakes. Kanthisarovar is also known as Gandhi Sarovar, and it is the place where Mahatma Gandhi’s ashes were immersed upon his cremation. </p>
<p>The area finds mention in a <a href="http://blog.ishafoundation.org/yoga-meditation/history-of-yoga/mahabharata-stories-krishna-stories-short/">story of the epic</a>, the Mahabharat, where <a href="http://blog.ishafoundation.org/yoga-meditation/history-of-yoga/karna/">the Kaurava</a> Karna and <a href="http://blog.ishafoundation.org/yoga-meditation/history-of-yoga/duryodhana/">his king</a> Duryodhana go for a pilgrimage for Shiva, has been retreating year after year and is now the focus of intensive research to determine just how fast the glacier is melting. </p>
<p>In the three years between 2004 and 2007, the snout of the glacier retreated some ninety feet, and it is now being studied carefully by glaciologists. The retreat and thinning of the Chorabari glacier does not necessarily affect pilgrimage traffic to this high Himalayan shrine, but it does presage short-term flooding and long-term effects on the water supply, since the river that emerges from this glacier is one of several tributaries of the ganga. This and other Himalayan rivers supply water to a region where more than one-sixth of the world’s population lives. The deterioration of these mountain rivers is potentially a serious problem for the plains of India.</p>
<p>Ironically, in certain lore and texts of India’s cultural <a href="http://blog.ishafoundation.org/lifestyle/indian-culture/">milieu</a>, the rivers that arise from the Kedarnath region are termed as the saptachakra or the seven chakras, referring to <a href="http://blog.ishafoundation.org/yoga-meditation/demystifying-yoga/the-seven-chakras-and-their-significance/">the psychic energy centers</a> that are said to make up the human body. </p>
<p>Other problems abound. Photographer Stephen Hyde cites one particularly scary bus route from Leh in Ladakh to Srinagar, Kashmir: “The mountain valley is strewn with crashed vehicles,” he recalls. “One summer 150 people died when the snows came early – the pass is only open from May to August – they got snowed in and froze to death.” Ironically, this area contains the samadhis or <a href="http://blog.ishafoundation.org/sadhguru/masters-words/samadhi-to-go-beyond-existence/">burial sites</a> of many famous sages and saints. He is, nevertheless, very impressed with the scenery and culture of Kashmir, although it’s too dangerous to travel there at present. “It combines the natural beauty of the foothills of the Himalayas, the exquisite lakes of Srinagar and a way of life which is thousands of years old.</p>
<p>Still more problems exist such as arsenic, found in and around Mount Kailash, <a href="http://blog.ishafoundation.org/yoga-meditation/history-of-yoga/kailash-the-greatest-mystical-library/">an important pilgrimage place</a>, usually underlying the rivers which find their origin near it. In Bangladesh, arsenic levels are highest in the south, presumably because the arsenic accumulated there when the Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers washed soil down from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal. The arsenic, which occurs in more recent, shallow deposits of clay, dissolves in underground water by processes that remain disputed. Aquifers deeper than 200 meters are believed to be free of the mineral.</p>
tag:onlyyoga.svbtle.com,2014:Post/religious-tourism-and-its-obligations2014-06-09T02:20:31-07:002014-06-09T02:20:31-07:00Religious Tourism and its Obligations<p>Tourism is one of the most remarkable success stories of modern times. The industry, which began on a massive scale only in the 1960s, has grown rapidly and steadily for the past 30 years in terms of the income it generates and the number of people who travel abroad. </p>
<p>It has proved to be resilient in times of economic crisis and shows no signs of slowing down, despite the uncertainty, caused by the events such as September 11, other terrorist threats, and even unexpected new illnesses like SARS in the beginning of the new century. </p>
<p>According to World Tourism Organization data, more than 715 million people were travelling internationally in 2002, generating more than US$472 billion in earnings. The outlook for the first decades of the century are even more astounding. Forecasts predict 1.6 billion international tourists by the year 2020, spending more than US$2 trillion annually— or US$5 billion every day. The global wellness tourism segment alone is a whopping $439 billion annual market. That accounts for over one in seven tourist dollars. Growth projections indicate $678.5 billion by 2017. </p>
<p>Religious tourism is also a big draw for people, especially in India. In fact, in India it take on a international hue, drawing in governments to intervene, as in the case of the PM Narendra Modi speaking to Xi Jinping to ease visa restrictions to Mount Kailash, the <a href="http://sadhguru.org/mystic/kailash-2/">sacred abode</a> of Lord Shiva, <a href="http://www.allaboutbharat.org/post/lord-shiva-destroyer">Hindu god of destruction</a>. Similarly, Modi visited the <a href="http://www.allaboutbharat.org/post/varanasi-kashi-benares">holy city</a> of Kashi to pay his respects at the <a href="http://www.allaboutbharat.org/post/kashi-vishwanath-temple-varanasi">jyotirlinga</a>, Kashi Vishwanath temple.<br>
<a href="http://lordshiva.nishchala.org/"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2f/Shiva_Pashupati.jpg/238px-Shiva_Pashupati.jpg" alt=""></a> <br>
<a href="http://www.allaboutbharat.org/post/Shiv-Puran-Download-PDF"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/55/Kinnaur_Kailash.jpg/320px-Kinnaur_Kailash.jpg" alt=""></a> <br>
<a href="http://www.allaboutbharat.org/post/Mahabharat-Story-Summary"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/30/Kedarnath_Temple.jpg/320px-Kedarnath_Temple.jpg" alt=""></a> <br>
<a href="http://www.allaboutbharat.org/post/Ramayana-Story-Summary-PDF"><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b7/Lotus_temple_hampi.jpg/320px-Lotus_temple_hampi.jpg" alt=""></a></p>
<p>As more and more governments recognize the important role that tourism can play in generating badly needed foreign exchange earnings, creating jobs, and contributing to tax revenues, the competition for tourist spending is becoming ever more intense. Pressure on national and local governments to rapidly develop their tourism potential to meet demand and produce benefits, makes it more essential than ever to plan carefully and consider the human and environmental impacts of tourism development. </p>
<p>Tourism is an extremely complex endeavor. Not only are huge amounts of money at stake, but operators are providing economic incentives for protecting the natural environment, restoring cultural monuments, and preserving native cultures. In a small but important way, they are contributing to understanding among peoples of very different backgrounds.</p>
<p>Image Credits: <a href="http://www.allaboutbharat.org/post/Chanakya-Niti-PDF-Download">1</a>, <a href="http://www.allaboutbharat.org/post/Vishnu-Puran-Download-PDF">2</a>, <a href="http://www.allaboutbharat.org/post/kurukshetra-war-mahabharata">3</a>, <a href="http://www.allaboutbharat.org/post/sanatan-dharma-definition">4</a></p>