Purushartha – Objectives of Life (October 2012)

The topic for this month is Purushartha. ‘Purush’ means human, and ‘arth’ means goal/objective. Purushartha means human objective. Hinduism defines Purushartha as the purpose of human life. Without understanding the purpose of life on earth, one may incorrectly consider it is only for eating, drinking, growing, enjoying – and finally succumbing to death. Per Hindu religion, the human life is

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Ashram System – Four Stage of Life (August 2012)

Ashram System (Four Stage of Life) Another major contribution and one of the main teachings of Hinduism is Ashram System. While Ashram literally means a place for spiritual and religious retreat, Ashram System describes a way of life. According to Hinduism, the human life has four major aims: Dharma (righteousness), Arth (wealth), Kaam (pleasure), and Moksha (liberation). To achieve these

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Rebirth (May 2012)

Namaste everybody, The topic for this month is Rebirth (Punarjanma). Before expounding on the topic, let me start by congratulating the hawan group kids and parents for an excellent job last month. Even though the last month’s topic on Trinity (Paramatma, Atma, and Prakriti) is an abstract one, the presentations, discussions, and questions/answers session confirmed that the kids have built

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God, Soul and Matter (April 2012)

God, Soul, and Matter The topic for this month’s assignment is God, Soul, and Matter. Hindu sages have delved into the topic of three eternal entities of this world in great details. These entities are Matter (Prakrati), Soul (Atma), and God (Paramatma). The study has given birth to different philosophies: Trinity (Traitavad), Dualism (Dvaitavada), and Non-Dualism/Monism (Advaitavada). The ‘Tri’ in

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God (February 2012)

The assignment for this month is God. God Hindus believe in the Supreme Power that has created the entire world including all living and non-living things. He is the creator and sustainer of the universe. He existed prior to the creation of the universe.  Hindus call that divine conscious power (God) by various names: Ishwar, Parameshwar, Paramatma, Brahma, Aum, Bhagwan,

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Who is a Hindu (January 2012)

Hinduism is one of the most ancient and rich religions. However, because of the plurality of gods/goddesses, rituals, discourses, beliefs and practices, sometimes, the core definition and essence of our religion gets muddled in our minds. While we can unequivocally call ourselves Hindus, we may not be able to consistently describe our religion. To ensure we and our kids are

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