Sanatan Archive

Long before Yogananda was born a Saint named Babaji lived in the Himalayas. It is learnt, one day Jesus appeared to him and told Babaji to send someone to the West to remind his people that the goal of life is to become one with God through inner communion. That person was to be Yogananda.

Raghurajpur is a heritage crafts village in the district of Puri in the state of Odisha. This village is recognized for its folk art called Pattachitra, an art form which dates back to 5th Century B.C. and Gotipua dance which existed as a predecessor before the emergence of Odissi dance and is hence the home of a prominent visual art as well as a performing art.

“सरफ़रोशी की तमन्ना अब हमारे दिल में है,
देखना है ज़ोर कितना बाजूएँ कातिल में है।”

Purva paksha or the  study of  opponents in a dialogue or debate from their frames of reference so as to make an informed rebuttal is an ancient Dharmic intellectual tradition. Rajiv Malhotra reasons how the loss of the purva paksha tradition has led to serious civilizational and cultural trade-offs for Hindu (Sanatana) Dharma, which is being studied by Western Indology through the lens of Western Universalism.

Antharvedi is located at a distance of 130 Kms from Kakinada, 100 kms from Rajahmundry and 65 Kms from Amalapuram. In Kritayuga, Sage Sounaka and his colleagues gathered in Naimisaranya to conduct Satrayaga. In the their Leisure time, they used to learn about the distinguished and significant historical India Shrines from Suta, a quaranic narrator. One day, they asked him to tell about the greatness and significance of Antarvedi Shrine and of Lord Lakshmi Narasimha. Suta was pleased to tell the story which was once told by Lord Brahma to Sage Narada.

अंग्रेज यहाँ पर आए थे व्यापारी बनकर परन्तु जब वह यहाँ आए तो यहाँ की सम्पन्नता देखकर बौखलाना भी स्वाभाविक था। ऐतिहासिक तथ्यों पर न जाते हुए, वह हमारे सांस्कृतिक तत्वों से कितने प्रभावित हुए और उनमें से वह अपने देश के लिए क्या क्या ले गए, और कितना अनूदित किया, उस पर बात करना अब आवश्यक है। एक ग्रन्थ है रामचरितमानस! आज भी हिंदी का सबसे ज्यादा बिकने वाला ग्रन्थ है, इसके जितना ग्रन्थ कोई नहीं बिकता। यही लोकप्रियता का शिखर उस समय भी था।

Last year, the government of Tamil Nadu submitted a report to the Madras High Court stating that in 11,999 temples in the state, there is no pooja or ritual taking place as there is no revenue. In 34,000 temples, there is only one person to manage all the affairs of the space. While 37,000 temples record a revenue less than Rs 10,000 per annum. They estimated that around 12,000 temples will die in the next few years.

Srikalahasti Temple is located in the town of Srikalahasti, in the state of Andhra Pradesh. This temple situated 36 km away from Tirupati is famous for its Vayu linga, one of the Panchabhoota Sthalams, representing wind and is also one of the Jyotirlingas. The temple is also regarded as Rahu-Ketu kshetra and Dakshina Kailasam.