by virtue of wanting an interesting and challenging project and in part, by attempting to explore something unusual and completely outside of my comfort zone. Consequently, the anthropological field study I will aspire to unveil is “Kirtan and the Bhakti Mandala” at The StarHouse. The accompanying ethnographic attempt at accurately parsing participant intent from the anthropological field study may contain inadvertent inaccuracies due to my divergence from a mainstream religious tradition. This can
Many scholars have tried to piece together information about the life of Mira. Most of the sources used to put the pieces of her life together have been through her autobiographic poems. Mirabai was born in 1498 A.D. in Kudki. She was the daughter of Ratan Singh. Her grandfather was Rao Duda, who was the ruler of an independent powerful state in Rajasthan named Merta. Mirabai's mother died when she turned two, and so her grandfather took her to Merta and raised her there. Rao Duda was a "man
Bhikkhuni is the name given to a woman who is an ordained Buddhist nun. Women were not always allowed to become ordained and able to live their lives in a monastery. Today there are a lot of women practicing Buddhism and living in monasteries as nuns. Monasteries for nuns are more common in Asian countries then in the United States. There is a lot of history behind the first Buddhist Bhikkhuni and the way nuns live out their lives today. Being a Bhikkhuni consists of the history of the first Bhikkhuni
Bhakti movement started in south India, it spread all over the north to different regions by different saints. The concept of Bhakti (devotion) is as old as Hinduism itself. It is one of the three approaches that the Bhagvat Gita recommends, the other two being Knowledge and action. It became a powerful theory to
and strength in people but became the most characteristic feature of religious development during the medieval period and emphasized on single-minded intense devotion to God. Therefore, the movement that focused on these ideas was the Bhakti Movement. The word “bhakti” is derived from a Sanskrit word meaning “to share”. This talks about sharing of a bond between God and human beings i.e. it signifies the importance of relationship between both God and Man. The group of people belonging
Braham. According to Bhagavad Gita, there are three ways of practice that lead to liberation.¬¬¬¬. These are janna-yoga (the way of knowledge), bhakti- yoga (the practice of devotion) and karma-yoga (the course of action). In other words, one can practice any of these methods to achieve union with God. This paper I will analyze some important aspects of bhakti-yoga and how it can lead one to attain ultimate liberation—return to Atman. In doing this investigation, I hope to help the reader broaden their
Dharma in the Indian Religious Tradition: In Bhakti tradition, dharma is understood as compassion and an act of service to god and fellow creatures. In Buddhism, the concept became very important and one of the central principles of the teachings. It is “a logical element of progression” and it is “used with reference to religion in the very specific sense of socio-ethical laws and obligation” (Klostermeir, 47). In later years, Emperor Asoka took it as the guiding principle of his religious and
Lal Ded and Habba Khatoon are two Kashmiri women poets who share commonalities with Bhakti poet Mirabai. Within the comparative framework, the paper would try to explore these commonalities in their poetry. The selection of these three women poets would throw some light on the syncretism in the Sufi and Bhakti tradition as upheld by Lal Ded and Mirabai respectively in their poetry. There are the various “‘facts’ of literary history” which increase the “possibility of its multiplicity as well” (Das
The Meaning of Yoga It is common to associate the word Yoga with a system of physical postures and meditation. But Yoga in its original form has a deep spiritual significance which is lost in today’s body-centered world. The Sanskrit word Yoga comes from the verb root Yuj, which means to link or to connect. When we talk about linking or connection, an obvious question arises: to connect what with what? The very word “connection” implies that there must be two different entities separated
The Four Paths or ‘Yogis’ of Hinduism. The four paths of yoga are the Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, karma Yoga and the Raja Yoga. The four paths are what join to make the whole aspect of yoga as they work together like the fingers of a hand. Most often than not, the four paths of yoga are intertwined by the individuals practicing it depending on their view of life. Though they are all yogis they are different and distinctly practiced in Hinduism (Whaling 2010). To understand yoga, it is essential that
In the Bhakti, "God is other than ones's self: one seeks to love God not become identified with god" or in simpler terms "I want to taste sugar, not become sugar ("Hinduism")." The Bhakti follows many deities or "trinities" including Brahman the creator, Vishnu the sustainer, Shiva the destroyer, Krishna the incarnation of Vishnu, Garnish the remover of obstacle's and Kali the consort of Shiva. In the Bhakti to obtain devotion, "one becomes free of the finite
understanding the paths to the goals which is known as the "Yoga's". Designed as a pathway to God, each of the yoga's served God through knowledge, love, work, and the psychophysical exercises. The yoga's are broken down into four paths: Jnana yoga, Bhakti yoga, Karma yoga, and lastly Raja yoga. Each of the four paths create a connect to God through appropriate practices. In a Review of Spiritual
text that has uttermost meaning in the religion of Hinduism. Krishna’s teachings in the Gita helps resolve tensions between dharma, which is moral obligation, and moksha, which represents “release”, spiritual freedom from life with the association of bhakti, which represents devotion. In the Bhagavad Gita, the concepts of dharma and moksha are unclear until encountered with each other. Accordingly, in the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna must avenge Dhritarashtra’s because he is passing the kingdom to his own son
sober mood and thus, spent a great deal of time in solitude and meditation. Jagadguru Ramanandacharya initiated him in the Bhakti cult. The entry of Kabir into the Bhakti movement helped in bringing about reconciliation between the Muslims and the Hindus. Kabir was free from religious prejudices as he was attached to both the religious communities. Kabir followed the path of Bhakti, mysticism and the sufi tradition. Saint Kabir was a man of independent thoughts and broadly criticized the evils of both
key components to their belief system. These are the foundational elements for the three ways way Hindus can obtain salvation and are presented in a Hindu text called the Bhagavadgita. These three Paths of Yoga include Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, and Bhakti Yoga. These three key elements, also known as Moksa, of Hinduism set the standards high for they are the three ways of obtaining salvation. One source writes “these ways are regarded as suited to various types of people, but they are interactive
The Status of Women and The Bhakti Movement in India Originating in ancient Tamil Nadu, the Bhakti movement in India spread to the north during the late medieval ages when north India was under Islamic rule. The movement was spontaneous and counter to the predominant caste ideology which was dividing Hinduism. The adherents of the movement had their own rendering of devotional expression. While in the south, devotion was centered on both Shiva and Vishnu (in all his forms), the northern devotional
Bhakti is done in many ways, from reciting different scriptures and holy texts, to saying original prayers in a home, temple or by river bank. Bhakit can be performed in the presence of an idol, but doesn’t have to be. Bhakti can be done as a community. Devotional verses or poems are sung or read by the people of the community. Although Hindu’s can choose what
As humans contemplate on their meaning of existence, they embark upon a journey of transformation. This journey of transformation is a voyage embarked on to discover the true meaning to one’s own self, where the destination, or the transformation, occurs when one completes his journey. Each individual has a unique journey and destination to transformation that helps shape who they are. However, there is much debate about whether the journey of transformation is more about the transformation, or the
spirit with the God who lies concealed within us. (Smith 27) There are multiple ways to arrive at the same destination, but as of now there are four basic types of yogas which correspond to different spiritual types. These four yoga types are Jnana, Bhakti, Karma, and Raja. Jnana yoga is seen as a path for those who view things in a philosophical approach and their path to
aspects of life, distance themselves from any bad habits, and have the desire to reach the ultimate goal of moksha. Once an individual has accomplished all of that, Hinduism recognizes four main paths to help them achieve moksha; Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, and Raja Yoga. Every individual has a dominant path that they take but that path is not exclusive; most will integrate aspects of each path into their lives. There is a common Hindu saying, With