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Category Archives: religious conversion
The Hamburg Beatles and a Meditation on Karma
by Aranyakananda I find inspiration in the strangest places. I think all of us must at one point or another. I think I’ve mentioned a time or 15 that I am a fan of the Beatles. At work, along with … Continue reading
Posted in American Hindus, avatars, Avatars of Vishnu, bhakti, biography, cancer, consciousness, death, dharma, Dharma religions, Dharmic Faiths, Eastern Philosophy, faith, George Harrison, Gita, God, Hare Krishna, Hindu Sects, Hinduism, hippies, inspiration, ISKCON, japa, Krishna, Krishna Consciousness, life, Mahamantra, meaning of life, meditation, music, peace movements, philosophy, politics, Popular Music, religion, religious conversion, rock music, Sanatana Dharma, social commentary, spirituality, Swami V, Swami Vidyadhishananda, Vaishnavism, Vegetarianism, Vishnu, Western Hinduism, White Hindus
Tagged Astrid Kirchher, Beatlemania, Beatles, Beatles Hugo Haas Hannover, Beatles in Hamburg, Bhagavan, death of George Harrison, Eastern spirituality, Gaudiya Vaishnavism, George Harrison, Hare Krishna movement, John Lennon, karma, Krishna Consciousness, Liverpool, murder of John Lennon, parable, Paul McCartney, Pete Best, Stuart Sutcliffe, Yesterday by the Beatles
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Czech Out What’s Going On in Europe
by Aranyakananda Okay that was an awful pun. But I stand by it. But, moving on: In the most recent issue of Hinduism Today the editors take us on a tour of some of the hotspots in the Hindu diaspora … Continue reading
Posted in current events, dharma, Dharma religions, Dharmic Faiths, Eastern Philosophy, editorial, faith, Hindu Sects, Hinduism, India, Indian culture, inspiration, Liberal, minorities, News, religion, religious conversion, Sanatana Dharma, social commentary, Vedic culture, Vegetarianism, Western Hinduism, White Hindus
Tagged Bali, Czech Republic, European Hindus, Hindu diaspora, Hinduism in the Czech Republic, Hinduism Today, Nepal, South Africa, the Czech Hindu Religious Society, White Hindus
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Sorry, Mormons
by Aranyakananda Now that I have said in my last post that Abrahamic religions are “authoritarian” and that Dharma is not, but instead is “authoritative”, except for the Manu-samhita and the Gita depending on how you read it, let me … Continue reading
Posted in Abrahamic faiths, American Hindus, avatars, Avatars of Vishnu, biography, Brahma, Christianity, Comparitive Religion, crime, current events, dharma, Dharma religions, Dharmic Faiths, Eastern Philosophy, editorial, faith, famous quotes, Gita, gunas, guru, Hindu Festivals, Hinduism, History, inspiration, life, Lord Rama, meaning of life, moksha, myth, opinion, philosophy, pluralism, poetry, quotes, Rama, Ramayana, religion, religious conversion, Sanatana Dharma, self-realization, social commentary, spirituality, Uncategorized, Western Hinduism, White Hindus
Tagged "We're just here to walk each other home.", dharma, Gita, Joseph Smith, Manu Samhita, Mormonism, Narada, Ram Dass, Ramayana, Ratnakara, religious tolerance, sattwa, sattwic, slokas, tamas, tamasic, The Book of Mormon, Valmiki, Was Valmiki a thief?
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An Internal Debate Regarding PTO on Hindu Holidays.
by Aranyakananda I took Monday, October 14th off from work. I’d casually mentioned it to my mother that I had off that day and she asked me why later. I told her it was because of Canadian Thanksgiving (my wife … Continue reading
Posted in Abrahamic faiths, American Hindus, bhakti, Christianity, Christmas, Comparitive Religion, current events, Deepavali, dharma, Dharma religions, Dharmic Faiths, Diwali, Durga, Eastern Philosophy, editorial, Festival of Lights, Ganesha, Gurupurnima, Hindu Festivals, Hindu Scriptures, Hinduism, holidays, India, Indian culture, karma, Krishna, Maha Navaratri, meaning of life, Memorial Day, myth, Navratri, opinion, philosophy, religion, religious conversion, Sanatana Dharma, social commentary, spirituality, Veteran's Day, Western Hinduism, White Hindus, work
Tagged Christmas, day off, Deepavali, Dhanteras, dharma, Diwali, Dussehra, Easter, employment, Ganesha Chaturthi, grihastha, Gurupurnima, holidays, Krishna Janmashtami, Labor Day, Law of Manu, Maha Navaratri, Memorial Day, paid time off, parenthood, PTO, religious holidays, Secular Holiday, Western religion
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OK Where Was I? Ah Yes…A Whole Lotta Mahabharata: The Whole Thing Started When…
by Aranyakananda You’ll have to forgive me. I don’t know how to write a proper blog post title any more. I’ve been a little sidetracked by other pursuits, but some of my most recent posts were on various topics surrounding … Continue reading
Posted in American Hindus, Bhagavad-Gita, Bharat War, blogging, book review, books, dharma, Dharma religions, Dharmic Faiths, Eastern Philosophy, ego, Gita, God, Hindu Scriptures, Hinduism, History, inspiration, Kurukshetra, Mahabharata, meaning of life, meditation, myth, opinion, Psychology, religion, religious conversion, Sanatana Dharma, spirituality, Uncategorized, Vaishnavism, Western Hinduism, White Hindus, writing
Tagged 100 Kauravas, anger, delusion, desire, dispassion, Draupadi, Duryodhana, five Panadavas, Gita chapter 2, Gita Chapter 2 verse 63, Kauravas, Kundalini, Kurukshetra, Pandavas, what do the Pandavas represent?
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What Makes a Hindu?
by Aranyakananda If you follow the Western-Hindu.org blog you will know that its author, Tandava, while very well-versed in Hinduism, often posts on the exploits of other bloggers. By that I mean the blog often simply introduces new and interesting … Continue reading
Posted in American Hindus, Avatars of Shiva, blogging, Comparitive Religion, current events, Dharma religions, Dharmic Faiths, Durga, Eastern Philosophy, editorial, faith, God, Hindu Sects, Hinduism, inspiration, Jesus, New Age, News, opinion, philosophy, pluralism, polytheism, religion, religious conversion, Sanatana Dharma, Shakti, Shaktism, Shiva, social commentary, spirituality, Uncategorized, Web site review, Western Hinduism, White Hindus
Tagged Bast, blogs on spirituality, definition of Sanatana-Dharma, Egyptian deities, Egyptian goddess, Heru, hindu blogs, Jesus and Mary, Laketi, Sanatana Dharma, Tandava, Virgin Mary, Western Hindu blog, what is a Hindu? Bast
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Thoughts on Tilaks
by Aranyakananda The main purpose of the tilak, in my understanding, is not in the wearing but in the act of application. It is to be a meditative practice during which one remembers his own ishta-devata. It is not to … Continue reading
Posted in American Hindus, Aum, autobiography, Bhagavad-Gita, bhakti, chakras, Christianity, Comparitive Religion, dharma, Dharma religions, Dharmic Faiths, Eastern Philosophy, editorial, ego, faith, Festival of Colors, Gita, Hindu Festivals, Hinduism, Holi, holidays, Indian culture, inspiration, life, meditation, minorities, Om symbol, opinion, philosophy, religion, religious conversion, Sanatana Dharma, satsang, spirituality, Western Hinduism, White Hindus, yajna
Tagged application of tilak, being welcomed into the Hindu community, crucifix, hindu red dot, Holi, meditative practice, sandalwood paste, tilak, tilaka, Vaisnav tilak, wearing the crucifix, yajna
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Jai Jai Shankara Hara Hara Shankara
by Aranyakananda It’s been a while since I really considered posting here. My wife and I’ve been moving, and Lord Ganesha, for a while, dammed the river of words that had until recently flowed forth on this blog. I blame … Continue reading
Posted in Abrahamic faiths, American Hindus, astrology, avatars, Avatars of Vishnu, biography, blogging, book review, books, Catholicism, Christian, Christianity, Comparitive Religion, current events, dharma, Dharma religions, Dharmic Faiths, dualism, duality, Eastern Philosophy, Ganesh, Ganesha, God, Hindu Festivals, Hindu Scriptures, Hindu Sects, Hinduism, inspiration, Krishna, philosophy, pluralism, Radha, religion, religious conversion, Sanatana Dharma, Shaivism, Shiva, Smartism, spirituality, Vaishnavism, Vishnu, Western Hinduism, White Hindus, writing
Tagged "remove the plank from your own eye", "The Life of Krishna", astrology, Catholic, Hara, Hindu temple, planet Saturn, puja, Radha, Rukmini, Saturday, Shani Prasodam, Shanideva, Shankara, Shiva Abhishekam, Vanamali
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Spiritually Flighty
by Aranyakananda This post is titled thusly because given the subject-matter, one may label me as such. For you see, even though I have recently begun identifying as “Smarta with Vaisnav leanings” or some such madness, as opposed to strictly … Continue reading
Posted in avatars, Avatars of Vishnu, Bhagavad-Gita, bhakti, Bharat War, blogging, Brahman, Comparitive Religion, current events, Dharma religions, Dharmic Faiths, Divine Mother, Durga, Eastern Philosophy, Ganesh, Ganesha, Gita, God, Hare Krishna, Hindu Festivals, Hindu Scriptures, Hindu Sects, Hinduism, ISKCON, Krishna, Krishna Consciousness, minorities, monotheism, Narayana, panentheism, pantheism, philosophy, pluralism, polytheism, religion, religious conversion, Saivism, Sanatana Dharma, Saraswati, Shaivism, Shakti, Shaktism, Shiva, Smartism, spirituality, Srimad-Bhagavatam, Uncategorized, Vaishnavism, Vishnu, Western Hinduism, White Hindus
Tagged "The Life of Krishna", bhakti, Ganesha, Hanuman, home mandir, ishtadevatas, Krishna, Krishna Janmashtami, murtis, Shakti, Skanda, Smarta Hinduism, Smartism, Suryadev, Vaisnavism, Vanamali, vishnu
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Leading By Following
I am hard-pressed to related this to Hinduism but here it is anyway. Since I haven’t written anything in forever, another blogger threatened to stop blogging as well. I don’t tell you this out of a sense of pride I … Continue reading →