PrabhuBhakti Blog

According to Hinduism, the life of a man is divided into four stages, also known as Ashramas. This age based social system is mentioned in Manusmriti. In ancient times, average human life is considered to be of hundred years. The system of Ashramas is equally divided in order to fulfill one’s needs according to the age.

The first Ashrama is Brahmacharya. In this stage a boy starts his life as a student and leads his life away from his home, in Gurukula. He prepares for the future life which is after the age of 25. He is known as Brahmachari and he masters skills to earn a living when he leaves his Gurukula. After Brahmacharya, it is Grihastha ashrama.  This period is from the age of 25 to 50, where a man lives looking after his wife, children and family. He enjoys worldly pleasures and works for a living.

The third ashrama is Vanaprastha where the man completes his duties as a householder and gradually comes away from the worldly pleasures. He prepares for his renunciation in the fourth stage. This lasts from 50 to 75. The last stage Sanyasa, from 75 to 100, a man completely disconnects from the material world and spends time meditating, in order to attain moksha.

Badrinath is one of the famous sites for Hindu pilgrimages. Read more about the place on Prabhubhakti.

Hanuman is considered to be one of the favorite gods of Hindus. His friendship, loyalty and service towards Lord Rama, during the exile period, are known by all the Hindu believers. His role in rescuing Sita from Lanka is very significant. Hanuman is referred to as Karmayogi meaning one who shows his meditation and devotion through hard work. Because of his selfless devotion and service to Lord Rama, he gets the boon of everlasting life from Lord Rama. Hanuman symbolizes energy and strength and it is believed that Hanuman can assume any form or shape when he wishes.

His birthday is celebrated in the month of Chaitra by Hindus all over the world. Devotees in different parts of the world worship Lord Hanuman on this auspicious day and offer him fruits and sweets. The 40-verse long Hanuman Chalisa is recited many times on his birthday. Special pujas for the Lord of monkeys are also conducted in temples. People smear their forehead with Sindhur believing that this will bring them good luck in their lives. Streets are filled with people in processions carrying the idol of Hanuman. This day people observe fast and after their prayers, the prepare feast.

Read about Hanuman chalisa text and Lord Rama from Prabhubhakti.

According to Hindu mythology, there are fourteen worlds – seven higher world or the heavens and seven lower worlds or the hells. The higher ones are known as Vyahritis - bhu, bhuvas, svar, mahas, janas, tapas, and satya – and satya is ruled by the creator Brahma. The seven lower worlds, known as Paataala, are atala, vitala, sutala, rasaataala, talatala, mahaatala, paatala. According to this belief, Earth becomes seventh world from top.

It is believed that earth is the only the permanent place for staying and other worlds are just temporary. After an individual’s death, the god of death and Justice, Yama will calculate the good and bad deeds done by that person as a human. According to this Yama will decide as to where this person should be sent – the heaven or the hell.

According to another belief, it is not possible to cancel out the good and bad deeds of a person so the soul has to enter another world. When the time period in that world ends, the person has to reborn on earth. According to a belief that one person can only, attain Moksha or salvation from earth and escape the cycle of birth and death.

Read Prabhubhakti to learn more about Hindu God like Shiva and Brahma.

Conducting Puja, in Hinduism, is one of the several ways to worship gods and offer our prayers to them. The word Puja itself has so many meanings hidden in it. When the word is split as Pu and Ja, where Pu means parayana – recitation- and Ja means Japa. Together it gives the meaning of continuous recitation of the mantras to please god. Pu can also mean Purusha and Ja means Janma. By means of conducting a Puja, we try to enlighten ourselves both internally and externally. When we recite prayers continuously, we awaken the god in the statue. It also signifies awakening the spirits in our minds and enlightening it.

Another meaning of Puja can be worship of gods with flowers. Pu means pushpa (flower) and Ja means japam – reciting mantras. By performing puja, devotees, actually invite the god to their houses and treats them with at most respect and feed them. Devotees make themselves available in full service to god and requests for benevolence. The Puja ends with aarti and distribution of prasadam. It is believed that prasadam contains the energy from god.

Pujas also bring in positive energy into the house replacing the negative vibrations. Apart from being an offering to God, conducting a Puja is a means to connect with the supreme power.

Read on Prabhubhakti to know more about the favorite Hindu God Krishna and Goddess Lakshmi.

Guruvayoor is one of the most prominent temples of Lord Krishna in Kerala. Many devotees from different states of India, even foreigners visit the temple to get blessings from the God. Legend has that Guru with his disciple Vayu placed an idol obeying Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva named this place as Guruvayoor.  This idol is carved out of stone called Pathala Anjana Sila and it is considered to be very sacred.

The temple is in rectangular shape and it is known as the Dwaraka of South India. Guruvayoor is the fourth biggest shrine in India when the number of devotes are taken into account. It is said that Lord Krishna, here, is the incarnation of Lord Mahavishnu and has four arms. The temple walls are filled with many murals depicting different mythological stories. People from different parts of the state come here and offer their prayers everyday. Many rituals are being performed in this temple like marriages and rice feeding ceremony. Krishnashtami is celebrated with grandeur in this temple as many pujas will be conducted at that time and also the idol of Lord Krishna will be dressed up.

Hanuman is one of the most revered Gods in Hinduism and Hanuman chalisa has almost 40 verses. Learn about them on Prabhubhakti.

Vedas are considered to be the ancient Hindu scriptures which have given spiritual directions to sages and wisdom seekers. They generally were focused in giving detailed explanations in religious duties one should perform in one’s lifetime. It includes social conduct, arts, religious practices and philosophy of Hinduism. Vedas stressed on the importance of spiritual awakening by knowing God. Vedas said God is within us and by finding the power within, we will understand the universe. Brahma is the ultimate truth and it is indefinite. Vedas are classified into four; Rugveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda. It is believed that all these Vedas were earlier in one form which was difficult to study and interpret. So Veda Vyasa split them into four which could easily be understood. Yajurveda is divided into Sukla and Krishna.

All Vedas consists of Samhitas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas and Upanishads. Samhitas are the collection of mantra or hymns. Brahmanas are the ritualistic texts which explain different religious duties. Aranyakas and Upanishads are concluding parts of Vedas. Upanishads are called Vedanta because of this reason and discuss various philosophical problems. They produce the teachings of Vedas in a comprehensive manner. For all these reasons Vedas are the fundamental scriptures of Hinduism and hold insights which are still considered valuable.

Vedas are the ancient scriptures in Hinduism. Vedas consist of various levels of rules or procedures by which society is supposed to function. There are several suktas written for each section of society as it was divided in the earlier times. Vedas holds true in the current century and has relevance in their interpretations. They were considered to be composed by Krishna Dwaipayana during Lord Krishna’s yuga. Vedas are created for the good of mankind but the precise time and period are beyond determination.

The word Veda means spiritual knowledge and the means of acquiring knowledge. It is also called ‘Shruti’ as it was through hearing that the Vedas were transferred by Gods to sages. Vedas are believed to be originated from four mouths of Lord Brahma, the Hindu God who is known to be the creator. Holy texts refer to Gayatri as Vedamatha. The creation of four Vedas is attributed to different Hindu gods. The Rugveda was attributed to Agni deva, Yajurveda to Vayu deva and Smaveda to Surya Deva. Several other puranas say that Vedas were created from Omkara. According to Sivapurana, Vedas originated from three words a, u and m. Mahabharata says there is only one Veda and that is Om. 

Gayatri mantra is considered to be the mother of all Vedas and is highly revered in Hinduism. The mantra is the most powerful mantras of all according to Hinduism and has been described in Rigveda. It is a prayer to God to bring the light of wisdom to us and remove all pains and ignorance. The mantra is receded with Aum which awakens our spirits. Aum is followed by Bhur, Bhuvah, Swaha which are called Vyahrities and they mean Earth, Air and Heaven.

The Gayatri mantra holds three concepts like glorifying God, meditation and offerings to God as prayer. As the mantra raises our consciousness to its highest level it is also known as Savitri mantra. Savitr means stimulator. It can also mean Sun who is the life stimulator or the one who offers light and heat to all living and non-living beings in the universe. That is why Gayatri mantra is chanted as a mantra to Suryadeva, one of the Hindu gods who is the reason for life on Earth. Gayatri mantra is also called Guru Mantra. This mantra has scientific importance also as the sounds created by the words in this mantra balances the energy flowing in this universe. This mantra is praised in Hindu texts like Manusmriti, Bhagavat Gita and Harivamsa.

Read about Hanuman chalisa and understand the relation between Hanuman and Rama, through Prabhubhakti.