Indian secularism

Etruscan pendant with swastik symbols

Etruscan civilization (/ɨˈtrʌskən/) is the modern name given to a civilization of ancient Italy in the area corresponding roughly to Tuscany, western Umbria, and northern Lazio. The ancient Romans called its creators the Tusci or Etrusci.Their Roman name is the origin of the terms Tuscany, which refers to their heartland, and Etruria, which can refer to their wider region.

As distinguished by its unique language, this civilization endured from the time of the earliest Etruscan inscriptions (c. 700 BC) until its assimilation into the Roman Republic in the late 4th century BC.At its maximum extent, during the foundational period of Rome and the Roman kingdom, it flourished in three confederacies of cities: of Etruria, of the Po valley with the eastern Alps, and of Latium and Campania.

Culture that is identifiably Etruscan developed in Italy after about 800 BC approximately over the range of the preceding Iron Age Villanovan culture. The latter gave way in the 7th century to a culture that was influenced by Hellenic, Magna Graecian, and Phoenician contacts. After 500 BC, the political destiny of Italy passed out of Etruscan hands.

Facts you should Know about Kargil War

On the 16th anniversary of the end of the Kargil war, the Indian Army has planned a sequence of events to honour the martyrs on July 26. The main events are scheduled to happen on July 25 and 26 at the Kargil War Memorial in Dras, Jammu and Kashmir. The Kargil war was started in May in the year 1999 to remove Pakistani soldiers who had captured some points on the Line of Control.The day is also known as Vijay Diwas.

Some facts you should know about the Kargil war:
•  The Indian Army lost more than 450 officers and soldiers in the war. More than 13,000 got critically injured

•  Kargil war lasted for more than two months

•  It is believed that Pakistan used 5,000 of its troops to penetrate into various summits in the Kargil sector

•  The conflict is also referred as Operation Vijay

•  It all started when some local shepherds noticed some major activities in the foothills of the Kargil area on May 3, 1999. The Indian army was informed right away

•  Pakistan had requested the United Nations to intervene in the issue of Kashmir but failed due to Indian resistance

•  During the war, the Indian army provided proper coffins for the dead Pakistan soldiers but on the other hand the body of Indian martyr Captain Saurabh Kalia was badly mutilated by the Pakistani security forces

•  Indian Air Force's MiG-21s and Mirage 2000 were widely used in the war

•  Around 696 Pakistan soldiers lost their lives in the war

•  In the final assault at Tiger Hill (Point 5140), five Indian soldiers and 10 Pakistani soldiers lost their lives. Captain Vikram Batra was one of them

•  Two Bollywood movies LOC: Kargil in 2003 and Lakshya in 2004 were made post Kargil.

Significance of Saffron Flag in Sanatan Dharm

Have you ever visited temple? If yes, then you might have noticed a saffron flag on the top of the temple. But you never tried to find out that why this flag is common in all temples. Every single thing associated with temple has a significant reason.

In Hindi, Saffron Flag is known as Bhagwa Dhwaja, which is seen in every temple s Gumbad. It is the symbol of Sanatan Dharm or Hindu Culture. The Word Bhagwa means Bhagwan (God). It stands for wealth, dharm, knowledge, wisdom, peace, joy, contentment, stability. Another importance is that the flag is in orange color which shows the rising of Sun that eliminates darkness and spreads light all around. A Flag is look like a two tilted triangles meting each other in the mid. It has also been used as an official flag by many Hindu Kingdoms with different epitome like Sun, Wheel, and Om printed on it. But in the temples a flag is printed with a symbol of Om.

Bhagwa Dhwaj is one of the most important symbols for Hindus. The saffron flag symbolizes sacrifice. The sacrifice has also a great importance in Hinduism. The saffron color is the color of the fire and flames and the fire is considered to be the great purifier and all sacrifices are also offered to the fire. Thus, it stands for the principle of sacrifice. The sacrifice has been made for nation, family, religion, righteousness, truth etc. Saffron is a symbol of purity, it represents religious value. It is also a color of saints, who have renounced the world. Wearing saffron color signifies the quest of knowledge of Godhead. Saffron is the color of fire and fire burns away the darkness and brings light and it is symbolic of knowledge. Fire also shows the spirit of Yag (hawan) which is important to self knowledge. And thus, a flag occupies an important place in our religion and temple is the only place which has the actual right to host a Bhagwa Dhwaj.

The flag has existed and teach us the vedic right from its origin. The fire is also regarded as a symbol of ancient vedic rights. In ancient times, the warriors used to put on saffron robes and fight in the battlefield. It was an honorable status for a kingdom to host a flag in the victory. The people in the ancient times used to worship the sun because it was the source of energy, light and heat without which a human cannot live on this Earth. The Bhagwa Dhwaj inspires us to live the life full of sublime virtues based on sacrifice, establishment and service.

The shape of the flag consist two tilted triangles, the upper triangle being shorter than the lower one. The triangle signifies the rising flames of burning fire. The flames rise in the upward direction which teaches us to rise like it above and always become better than before. Your competition is only with you and you have to beat yourself this perspective would help you to rise like a flag in the upward direction.

Aurangzeb order's Hindu idols from Temples to be cast under steps of Jama Masjid dated 25 May 1679

“On Sunday, the 24 Rabi II / 25th May 1679, Khan Jahan Bahadur came from Jodhpur, after demolishing the temples and bringing with himself some cart-loads of idols, and had audience of the Emperor, who highly praised him and ordered that the idols, which were mostly jewelled, golden, silvery, bronze, copper or stone, should be cast in the yard (jilaukhanah) of the Court and under the steps of Jama Masjid to be trodden on. They remained so for some time and at last their very names were lost”.

There was no limit to the uncivilized conduct of the Muslim troops in Marwar during the war which started in 1679 following the resumption of Marwar. Aurangzeb’s handling of the situation after the death of Maharaja Jaswant Singh in the Kabul Subah in 1679, rekindled in his heart the dormant fire of vengeance towards the Maharaja, and his whole plan was to eliminate the Rathors as a major power in Rajputana. The treatment of the idols brought from the temples of Marwar showed the level of degradation to which people can descend under the influence of religious despotism, but for an Emperor whose majority of the subjects respected and worshipped these idols, it was an unpardonable act and reflected poorly on his religious beliefs.

Shivling from Cambodia, 10th century, Angkor period

Similarity between Flood Legend of Manu and the Biblical Account of Noah

In 1872, the amateur Assyriologist, George Smith, made a discovery that would shock the world. Whilst studying a particular tablet from the ancient Mesopotamian city of Nineveh, he comes across a story that many would have been familiar with. When Smith succeeded in deciphering the text, he realized that the tablet contained an ancient Mesopotamian myth that paralleled the story of Noah’s Ark from the Book of Genesis in the Old Testament.

Today, we are aware that flood myths are found not only in Near Eastern societies, but also in many other ancient civilizations throughout the world. Accounts of a great deluge are seen in ancient Sumerian tablets, the Deucalion in Greek mythology, the lore of the K’iche’ and Maya peoples in Mesoamerica, the Gun-Yu myth of China, the stories of the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa tribe of North America, and the stories of the Muisca people, to name but a few. One of the oldest and most interesting accounts originates in Hindu mythology, and while there are discrepancies, it does bear fascinating similarity to the story of Noah and his ark.

The Hindu flood legend is found in several different sources. The earliest account is said to have been written in the Vedic Satapatha Brahmana, whilst later accounts can be found in the Puranas, including the Bhagavata Purana and the Matsya Purana, as well as in the Mahabharata. Regardless, all these accounts agree that the main character of the flood story is a man named Manu Vaivasvata. Like Noah, Manu is described as a virtuous individual. The Satapatha Brahmana, for instance, has this to say about Manu: “There lived in ancient time a holy man / Called Manu, who, by penances and prayers, / Had won the favour of the lord of heaven.”

Manu was said to have three sons before the flood – Charma, Sharma, and Yapeti, while Noah also had three sons – Ham, Shem, and Japheth.

In the Book of Genesis, the cause of mankind’s destruction is given as such, “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. / And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. / And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.”

In the story of Manu, however, the destruction of the world is treated as part of the natural order of things, rather than as a divine punishment. It is written in the Matsya Purana that “Manu then went to the foothills of Mount Malaya and started to perform tapasya (meditation). Thousands and thousands of years passed. Such were the powers of Manu‘s meditation that Brahma appeared before him. “I am pleased with your prayers,” said Brahma. “Ask for a boon [favor].” “I have only one boon to ask for,” replied Manu. “Sooner or later there will be a destruction (pralaya) and the world will no longer exist. Please grant me the boon that it will be I who will save the world and its begins at the time of the destruction.” Brahma readily granted this boon.”

In the flood myth from the Old Testament, God who saves Noah by instructing him to build an Ark. In the Hindu legend, it is also through divine intervention, in the form of the god Vishnu, that mankind is preserved from total destruction. In this story, the god appears to Manu in the form of a little fish whilst he was performing his ablutions in a pond. Manu kept the fish, which grew so quickly that its body occupied the entire ocean in a matter of days. It was then that Vishnu revealed his identity to Manu, told him about the impending destruction, and the way to save humanity. There is also a large boat involved in this story too. Vishnu instructed Manu to build a boat and fill it with animals and seeds to repopulate the earth:

    "O kind-hearted man, you have care in your heart, listen now. Soon the world will be submerged by a great flood, and everything will perish. You must build strong ark, and take along rope on board. you must also take with you the Seven Sages, who have existed since the beginning of time, and seeds of all things and pair of each animal, when you are ready, I will come to you as Fish and I will have horns on my head. Do not forget my words, without me you cannot escape from the flood."

When the time came, Manu was to tie the boat to the horn of fish, so that it could be dragged around. Interestingly, this would not be the only time that Vishnu saves mankind from destruction, as he would re-appear as avatars over the course of time to preserve life on earth. 

After the flood, Noah’s Ark is said to have rested on mountains of Ararat. Similarly, Manu’s boat was described as being perched on the top of a range of mountains (the Malaya Mountains in this case) when the waters had subsided. Both Noah and Manu were then said to repopulate the earth, and all human beings could trace their ancestry to either one of these flood survivors

1500 Year Old Bible Claims Jesus Christ Was Not Crucified

Discovered and kept secret in the year 2000, the book contains the Gospel of Barnabas – a disciple of Christ – which shows that Jesus was not crucified, nor was he the son of God, but a Prophet.  The book also calls Apostle Paul “The Impostor”

A report by The National Turk says that the Bible was seized from a gang of smugglers in a Mediterranean-area operation. The report states the gang was charged with smuggling antiquities, illegal excavations, and the possession of explosives.  The books itself is valued as high as 40 Million Turkish Liras (approx. 28 mil. Dollars).  Man, where is the Thieves Guild, when you need them?

According to reports, experts and religious authorities in Tehram insist that the book is original.  The book itself is written with gold lettering, onto loosely-tied leather in Aramaic, the language of Jesus Christ.

The text maintains a vision similar to Islam, contradicting the New Testament’s teachings of Christianity.   Jesus also foresees the coming of the Prophet Muhammad, who would found Islam 700 years later.

It is believed that, during the Council of Nicea, the Catholic Church hand-picked the gospels that form the Bible as we know it today; omitting the Gospel of Barnabas (among many others) in favor of the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  Many biblical texts have begun to surface over time, including those of the Dead Sea and Gnostic Gospels; but this book especially, seems to worry the Vatican.

http://www.the-open-mind.com/500-year-old-bible-claims-jesus-christ-was-not-crucified-vatican-in-awe-1/

Facts About 'Baahubali' That Will Blow Your Mind

1. An approximate measure states that the VFX footage in certain shots of the film cost Rs 5000/second.

2. Baahubali is the most expensive movie ever produced in the Indian subcontinent.

3. Baahubali is the first Indian film that has successfully managed to transcend regional boundaries!

4. Baahubali has broken all possible records at the box-office. The film collected between Rs.60 and 70 crore on the first day worldwide!

5. S.S. Rajamouli's first choice for the roles played by Prabhas and Rana were Hrithik Roshan and John Abraham!

6. In a few action sequences, stunt choreographer Peter Hein had to control more than 2000 men and elephants.

7. To build the 20-acre kingdom for the film, 1000 workers worked extensively for 200 days.

8. A 100-foot statue of the film's antagonist, Rana Daggubati, was placed at RFC, Hyderabad.

9. A new language called Kiliki was exclusively created for the film by writer Madhan Karky.

10. A sequence of the film required a maize field. And a maize field was naturally grown in Ramoji Film City for around 7 months.

11. Both Prabhas and Rana had a target of consuming 2,000-4,000 K calories a day.

12. ‘Jurassic World’ and ‘Baahubali’ have a common factor - both films share the same special effects team.

13. One of the waterfall scenes of the film, also seen in the trailer, took close to two months of overall shooting time of the film.

14. Since the film has aggressive war and action sequences, trainers from Vietnam were hired to train Prabhas, Anuskha, Rana and Satyaraj.

15.  Baahubali also bagged a position in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the world’s largest poster (51,000 square feet).

16. Prabhas dedicated two years of his life to working on this one film. 

17. Despite being a regional film, Baahubali became the biggest opener in Indian cinema beating the record of Aamir Khan's movie PK!

18. A 20-minute battle scene from the film took four months to shoot.

19. Baahubali has 9.4 IMDB rating, making it the highest rated Indian film ever.

20. 600 artists and 17 visual effects studios across India, South Korea and China were roped in to create the film's 4,500 visual effects and computer graphics!

21. Baahubali is the only Indian film that managed to feature in the BBC documentary on 100 years of Bollywood. This happened even before the film was released.

22. The film was shot in 16:9 aspect ratio for bigger and better quality pictures!

Vedic Rituals during Hajj

During the Hajj, Muslims follow exactly Vedic Hindu rituals of worshiping . They shave their heads. Male pilgrims are required to dress only a garment consisting of two sheets of white cloth (Dhoti).

Another Hindu tradition associated with the Kaaba is that of the sacred stream Ganga (sacred waters of the Ganges river). According to the Hindu tradition Ganga is also inseparable from the Shiva emblem as the crescent moon. Wherever there is a Siva emblem, Ganga must co-exist. True to that association a sacred fount exists near the Kaaba. Its water is held sacred because it has been traditionally regarded as Ganga since pre-Islamic times (Zam-Zam water).

Muslim pilgrims visiting the Kaaba temple go around it seven times. In no other mosque does the circumambulation prevail. Hindus invariably circumambulate around their deities. This is yet another proof that the Kaaba shrine is a pre-Islamic Indian Shiva temple where the Hindu practice of circumambulation is still meticulously observed.

It might come as a stunning revelation to many that the word ‘ALLAH’ itself is Sanskrit. In Sanskrit language Allah, Akka and Amba are synonyms. They signify a goddess or mother. The term ‘ALLAH’ forms part of Sanskrit chants invoking goddess Durga, also known as Bhavani, Chandi and Mahishasurmardini. The Islamic word for God is., therefore, not an innovation but the ancient Sanskrit appellation retained and continued by Islam. Allah means mother or goddess and mother goddess.

Somnath Temple in Gujarat - 1895 AD

Photograph of the temple of Somanath Temple at Somnath in Gujarat, taken by F. Nelson in the 1890s, from the Lee-Warner Collection: 'Photographs of Junagadh'.

In the report, 'Somanath and other mediaeval temples in Kathiawad' of 1931, Henry Cousens wrote, “Of all the shrines of Western India...there has been none so famous in the annals of Hinduism as the temple of Somanath at Somanath-Pattan, on the southern shore of Kathiawad, one of the twelve pre-eminent jotyir-lings which are scattered throughout India...

In history it is chiefly noted for the great expedition that was led against it by Mahmud of Ghazni, in A.D. 1025. The old temple of Somnatha is situated is situated in the town, and stands upon the shore towards its eastern end, being separated by a heavily built retaining wall…Little now remains of the walls of the temple; they have been, in great measure, rebuilt and pached with rubble to convert the building into a mosque. The great dome, indeed the whole roof and the stumpy minars…are portions of the Muhammadans additions…

The great temple, which faces the east, consisted, when entire, of a large central closed hall, or gudhamandapa, with three entrances, each protected with a deep lofty porch, and the shrine – the sanctum sanctorum – wich stood upon the west side of the hall, having a broad pradakshina or circumambulatory passage around it.”

Sanatan Dharm: The Timeless and Universal Way

Hindus themselves prefer to use the Sanskrit term sanatan Dharm for their religious tradition. Santana Dharm means eternal and universal law or principle that governs everyone irrespective of culture, race, religion, belief and practices. These truths regarding the universal principle were divinely revealed to ancient rishis (sages). For many eons they were passed down orally and only later written down, apparently around the start of the Kali Yuga when people's memories began to deteriorate.
The thought of Dharm generates deep confidence in the Hindu mind in cosmic justice.

The distinction of Dharm from the Western sense of religion is crucial to understanding Hindu religious identity. To the extent that Hinduism carries with it the Western meaning of being a 'religion' the words distort Indian reality. In the West a religion is understood to be conclusive — that is, it is the one and only true religion. Second, a religion is generally exclusionary — that is, those who do not follow it are excluded from salvation. Finally, a religion is separative — that is, to belong to it, one must not belong to another. Dharm, however, does not necessarily imply any of these.

The word sanatan, meaning immemorial as well as eternal, emphasized the unbroken continuity of the Hindu tradition. Sanatan Dharm comprises of spiritual laws which govern the human existence. Sanatan Dharm is to human life what natural laws are to the physical phenomena. Just as the phenomena of gravitation existed before it was discovered, the spiritual laws of life are eternal laws which existed before they were discovered by the ancient rishi (sages) for the present age during the Vedic period. Sanatan Dharm declares that something cannot come out of nothing and, therefore, the universe itself is the manifestation of the Divine being.

The Hindu tradition encourages Hindus to seek spiritual and moral Truth wherever it might be found, while acknowledging that no creed can contain such Truth in its fullness and that each individual must realize this Truth through his or her own systematic effort. Our experience, our reason, and our dialogs with others — especially with enlightened individuals — provide various means of testing our understanding of spiritual and moral truth. And Hindu scripture, based on the insights of Hindu sages and seers, serves primarily as a guidebook. But ultimately truth comes to us through direct consciousness of the divine or the ultimate reality. Hindus refer to it by many names, but the most common name is Brahman which is relatively different in meaning and understanding from the conventional word "God".

Classification Of Warriors By Bhishma

Bhishma, the grandsire of both Kauravas and Pandavas, analysed each warrior on both sides of the army.There are 3 types of warriors. They are Rathi, Atirathi and Maharathi. He classified every warrior on both sides of the army following his judgement and knowledge of the science of weapons. According to him the highest level of a warrior is Maharathi.

Rathi: A warrior capable of attacking 5,000 warriors simultaneously.

Atirathi: A warrior capable of contending with 12 Rathi class warriors or 60,000 warriors simultaneously

Maharathi: A warrior capable of fighting 12 Atirathi class warriors or 720,000 warriors simultaneously, circumspect in his mastery of all forms of weapons and combat skills.

From Kaurava side:

Rathis:
Sudhakshina, the ruler of the Kamvojas ,*Sakuni, King of Gandhar and uncle of Kauravas ,*Duryodhana's son Lakshmana and the son of Dushasana ,*Jayadrath, the king of the Sindhu and brother in law of Kauravas ,*All 99 brothers of Duryodhana, including Dushasan, are single Rathis ,*Duryodhana is classified as a warrior equal to 8 Rathis

Atirathis:

•     Bhoja chief Kritavarman
•     The ruler of the Madras,Salya
•     Bhurisravas, the son of Somadatta
•     Kripa, also known as Kripacharya, the son of Saradwat

Maharathis

•     Alambhusha, the Chief of Rakshasas
•     The ruler of Pragjyotisha, the brave Bhagadatta
•     Vrishasena, the son of Karna,
•     Guru Drona
•     Asvathama, the son of Guru Drona and the avatar of Lord Shiva. (Even though he was classified as a Maharatha, in reality he was peerless and equal to Lord Shiva in battle according to Bhishma; but the only pre-condition is that Asvathama has to become extremely angry to unleash his full potential)
•     Karna is equal to 2 Maharathi.
•     Bhishma, even though he never classified himself. Later it was revealed that Bhishma was equal to 2 Maharatha warriors. (But at the tale of Rathi and Atirathi, Bhishma classified him as just half a Rathi in order to weaken his morale when fighting against his brothers, the Pandavas, at the request of Lord Krishna)

From Pandava side:

Rathis:

•     Uttamaujas
•     Sikhandi, the son of the king of the Panchalas
•     Yudishtira the son of Pandu and Kunti, is a Ratha.
•     Nakul and Sahadeva are single Rathis
•     Bhima is regarded as equal to 8 Rathas.

Atirathis:

•     Satyaki of the Vrishni race,
•     Dhrishtadyumna the son of Drupuda
•     Kuntibhoja,the maternal uncle of Pandavas
•     Ghatotkacha, prince of Rakshasas and master of all illusions, son Bhima and Hidimva.

Maharathis:

•     Virata King
•     Drupuda, King of Panchalas
•     Dhrishtaketu, the son of Sisupala, the king of the Chedis
•     All sons of Draupadi are Maharathas
•     Abhimanyu,the son of Arjuna is equal to 2 Maharatha.
•     Arjuna is equal to 2 Maharatha warrior

Jesus Looked Nothing Like the Paintings

Given that his light eyes, sharp facial features and long hair (straight from a modern-day conditioner and shampoo advert) are so instantly recognizable, more than half the world identifies Jesus Christ.

As you can probably guess, Yeshua of Nazareth, the man Christians think of as “Jesus Christ” today, actually looked a lot more Middle Eastern seeing as he was… well… actually Middle Eastern.

Most scholastic texts agree that Jesus was like a ‘common man’, a fellow ‘brother’ to the mankind. Sure, he was the divine one, the chosen one, but he was also someone who led by example. And to be that, he needed to be ‘human’ and not look like someone concocted with magical potions of good looks and Caucasian skin color (something which was pretty synonymous with supposed racial supremacy for the Western world).

Why We Picture it Wrong:
For the dominant image of Jesus as a whitey, blame those Renaissance era master artists – Da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo and his ilk.

True to their artistic loyalties, they painted him like a handsome Greek or Italian man. It helped that it became easily identifiable for followers of Christianity in Europe. In the age of the Crusades, the Church was better off not reminding people they were praying to a little, brown Jew.

Similarly, many African and Arab Christians painted Jesus with dark skin and bushy mop, or painters from Far East or Hispanic regions added local racial features – something which immediately invokes easier association.

Worldly Bondages And Salvation

Because of the eight types of bondages which a man feels on this earth, the soul is also known as "Jiva". The Jiva becomes liberated only after becoming free from these eight bondages.

These eight bondages are -
1. Nature
2. Intelligence
3. Ego
       and Panchatanmatras i.e.
4. Sound
5. Touch
6. Appearance
7. Taste
8. Smell.

"Each soul is binded by these eight aspects of the Nature. The actions performed as the result of these bondages is called Karma.A man reaps the fruits of his actions- whether good or evil. He either enjoys pleasures or suffers because of sorrow, due to this Karma."

The soul takes rebirth in a cyclic was binded by the effects of his Karmas. The eight Chakra' are nothing but the eight forms of the nature. Shiva is beyond the reach of these eight chakras, on the contrary he has full control these eight chakras.

--ShivMahapuran

The Essence Of Yoga (योग)

Yoga means union with God. The state of yoga is impossible to attain without the blessings of Lord Shiva. It needs a concentrated and focussed mind. There are some specific spots in the human body concentrating upon which, enables a man to attain the state of yoga-spot between the eyebrows, lower part of the throat, navel etc.

The state of yoga can never be attained until and unless a person has fully controlled the tendencies of sense organs. It can be achieved with the help of eight means-
१. Yama (penance)
२. Niyam (discipline)
३. Asan (posture)
४. Pranayama (breath-control)
५. Pratyahar (restraint of passion)
६. Dharan (retention)
७. Dhyan (concentration)
८. Samadhi (deep meditation)

Each of them holds an important position in the path of yoga.
A person should sit with his legs crossed in Padmasan and try to concentrate his mind by fixing his gaze between his eyebrows. He should keep his spine erect. He should meditate either on the form of Omkar or on the form of lord Shiva.

Breath control is an important aspect of yogic exercise. A man should exhale deeply for 32 times and then breathe in deeply. He should then retain his breath as long as possible and visualize lord Shiva within his body. By constant practice he will achieve mastery over this art and a time will come when he will experience divine bliss. This divine bliss can not be experienced unless one has attained a deep state of meditation (Samadhi).

Obstacles in the path of Yoga:
A man experiences numerous obstacles in the path of Yoga-laziness, restlessness confusion, a diseased body etc. The main reason for being lazy is a bulky physique and one's inability to concentrate his mind. Lack of concentration results in restlessness, which is a major obstacle in the path of yoga. If a person in unsure about the results he becomes confused. It is impossible for a person suffering from any disease to concentrate his mind.

All the above mentioned hurdles can be overcome by firm resolution. A man who has successfully overcome all these obstacles might experience other obstacles in the form of siddhis (divine powers). There is a real danger of getting lured by these divine powers. As a result his mind may get distracted from his original goal and he may deviate from his path.

The names of these siddhis or divine powers are:
१. Pratibha (having knowledge of past present and future incident)
२. Shravana (being capable of listening to abnormal sounds)
३. Varta (whatever is said becomes true)
४. Darshana (capable of seeing things which can mot be seen by the mortal eyes)
५. Aswada (being capable of experiencing divine (tastes)
६. Vedana (being capable of relieving other's pain by a mere touch)

If a person successfully overcomes all these allurements then he becomes a siddha- or man of accomplishment and divine powers.


source: लिंगपुराण

Vedic Roots of Yazidis

The Yezidis are a very ancient people from Iraq with their calender being 6764 yrs old. About 5000 years ago Yezidis migrated from India to Afganistan, Iran, Iraq and middle east. At that time they were called children of Melek Taus same as Murugan, a God found in south of India.

The religion of Yezidis share much in common with Vedic Hindus. Yezidis believe in reincarnation. Peacock finds a special place, which is worshiped as Melek taus/Murugan. No  peacock is found in Iraq or the middle east but is native to India. The language in which the Yezidi holy books are written is Avesta which is thought to be same language of Sanskrit. Lord Rama is also one of the Yezidi Gods. The temple tops of the Yezidis look much like the Hindu temples. The serpent is the totem of Melek Taus/Murugan and symbolizes the Kundalini released.

Even with all of their ostensible connections to other faiths, the Yezidis have for hundreds of years been under constant attack from Moslems who promulgate the idea that the Yezidi’s principle diety, Tawsy Melek, the “Peacock Angel”, is Satan. Moslems also contend that the Yezidis are not “People of the Book”, i.e., that they don’t have a sacred revealed scripture like the Holy Bible or the Koran at the center of their religion, so they claim justification in their massacre of them.

Or even worse, some Moslems have pronounced the Yezidis as heretics who were once orthodox Moslems – an allegation that puts them in the lowest rung of humanity. Over the course of 700 years, nearly 23 million Yezidi people have been murdered, thus bringing their civilization to the brink of extinction.

Islamic state destroys The Lion of Al-Lat - discovered at a temple of a pre-Islamic goddess

Islamic State group militants destroyed a famous statue of a lion outside the main museum in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra

The statue, known as the Lion of Al-Lat, was an irreplacable piece and was apparently destroyed. "IS members destroyed the Lion of al-Lat, which is a unique piece that is three metres (10 feet) tall and weighs 15 tonnes," Abdelkarim told AFP. "It's the most serious crime they have committed against Palmyra's heritage," he said. The limestone statue was discovered in 1977 by a Polish archeological mission at the temple of Al-Lat, a pre-Islamic Arabian goddess, and dated back to the 1st century BC.

the statue had been covered with a metal plate and sandbags to protect it from fighting "but we never imagined that IS would come to the town to destroy it." IS captured Palmyra, a renowned UNESCO World Heritage site, from government forces, prompting international concerns about the fate of the city's antiquities.

Abdelkarim said the busts "appear to be eight statues stolen from the tombs in Palmyra." "The destruction is worse than the theft because they cannot be recovered." IS's harsh version of Islam considers statues and grave markers to be idolatry, and therefore against their religion, and the group have destroyed antiquities and heritage sites in territory under its control in both Syria and Iraq.

Allāt or al-Lāt (Arabic: اللات‎) was a Pre-Islamic Arabian goddess who was one of the three chief goddesses of Mecca along with Manāt and al-‘Uzzá.

The shrine and temple dedicated to al-Lat in Taif was demolished on the orders of Muhammad, during the Expedition of Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, in the same year as the Battle of Tabuk(which occurred in October 630 AD).The destruction of the idol was a demand by Muhammad before he would allow any reconciliation to take place with the tribes of Taif, who were under his siege.

Renowned Thinkers Who Appreciated the Vedic Literatures

Many of the worlds greatest thinkers admired the Vedas as great repositories of advanced knowledge and high thinking


Arthur Schopenhauer, the famed German philosopher and writer, wrote that: I "...encounter [in the Vedas] deep, original, lofty thoughts... suffused with a high and holy seriousness."

The well-known early American writer Ralph Waldo Emerson, read the Vedas daily. Emerson wrote: "I owed a magnificent day to the Bhagavat-Gita"

Henry David Thoreau said: "In the morning I bathe my intellect in the stupendous philosophy of the Bhagavad Gita... in comparison with which... our modern world and its literature seems puny and trivial."

So great were Emerson and Thoreau's appreciation of Vedantic literatures that they became known as the American transcendentalists. Their writings contain many thoughts from Vedic Philosophy.

Other famous personalities who spoke of the greatness of the Vedas were: Alfred North Whitehead (British mathematician, logician and philosopher), who stated that: "Vedanta is the most impressive metaphysics the human mind has conceived."

Julius Robert Oppenheimer, the principle developer of the atomic bomb, stated that "The Vedas are the greatest privilege of this century." During the explosion of the first atomic bomb, Oppenheimer quoted several Bhagavad-gita verses from the 11th chapter, such as: "Death I am, cause of destruction of the worlds..."

When Oppenheimer was asked if this is the first nuclear explosion, he significantly replied: "Yes, in modern times," implying that ancient nuclear explosions may have previously occurred.


Lin Yutang, Chinese scholar and author, wrote that: "India was China's teacher in trigonometry, quadratic equations, grammar, phonetics... " and so forth.

Francois Voltaire stated: "... everything has come down to us from the banks of the Ganges."

French astronomer Jean-Claude Bailly corroborated the antiquity and accuracy of the Vedic astronomical measurements as "more ancient than those of the Greeks or Egyptians." And that, "the movements of the stars calculated 4,500 years ago, does not differ by a minute from the tables of today."


From these statements we see that many renowned intellectuals believed that the Vedas provided the origin of scientific thought.

Jagannath Temple at Comilla,Bangladesh

In the Comilla district of Bangladesh is an ancient temple of Lord Jagannath.

Comilla Jagannath Temple, also known as Saptaratna ('seven jewels') Mandir, is dedicated to the worship of Lord Jagannath. The temple was built in the 16th Century by Sree Sreejoktou Moharaja Rada Kishor Manikuo Bahadur, the King of Tripura. This is one of the oldest temples in Comilla, which is located in eastern Bangladesh along the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway. Comilla is one of the three oldest cities in Bangladesh. The temple complex resides on the southeast sides of Comilla City (also known as Kandirpar) at Jagannathpur village, five kilometers east of the city on the Comilla-Bibir Bazar Road.

The exact time of construction is not known, but the temple is generally dated by its terracotta architecture. At the time of King Badhadur's reign, Comilla was known as Tippera (or Tripura).

The princely State of Tripura, including all of the Comilla region, was ruled by the Deva dynasty in the 8th Century, then came under the reign of the kings of the Harikela in the 9th Century. It came under the rule of East India Company in 1765.

Tripura, an ancient seat of Vaisnavism, was bordered by Bangladesh to the north, south, and west, with Assam and Mizoram to its east. Tripura is mentioned in many Vedic texts, including the Mahabharata and Puranas. It's also mentioned in the Edicts of Ashoka, stone pillar inscriptions from the 3rd Century B.C. In ancient times, Tripura was known as Kirat Desh ("The land of Kirat").

There seems to be little information available about the Deities of this temple, except that Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra were originally installed in another temple located in 'hilly Tripura'. Once the new temple construction was completed, Their Lordships were moved and installed at Their new Comilla abode.

The architecture of Lord Jagannatha's Temple at Comilla is striking and beautiful, as seen in the circa 1843 sketch above, and current photographs. The temple is approx. 60 feet tall, being a four-storied conical shape built of brick on an octagonal base-stone. This is said to be the only octagonal shaped temple of its time in Bangladesh.

The temple is ornamented with various terracotta designs like flowers, leaves, etc. The Department of Archaeology renovated portions of the outer ground and first floors, and apparently some of the terracotta did not survive the process.