Lakshmi, The Goddess of Wealth

As the goddess of wealth, prosperity, good harvests,a and of love, Lakshmi is one of the most popular goddesses of the Hindus. Also called Sri, the beautiful, she is the epitome of feminine beauty. Lakshmi is the gentle and generous provider of riches and so every Hindu home has its shrine to her, as do workplaces. The presence of Lakshmi brings good fortune and wen she leaves she takes fortune with her. So the radiant Lakshmi who is easy to please is propitiated with puja and flowers everyday.

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Stone Craft in India

To the worshipper, a stone assumes a powerful spiritual form the moment it is lifted, washed and put under a tree or a canopy with a tripund, trident, marked on it. Consecrated thus, it charges the cultural milieu with emotional and religious significance. The stone, now sanctified, becomes a being to be revered, loved and feared. This stone, whether cut or uncut, carved or just a roughly hewn shape, represents the human aspiration to visualise God. This aspiration, over the centuries, has inspired the Indian artist to created a tradition, singularly rihc in artistic imagination.Stone images in India concretise a spiritual longing, ensuring the continuance of a tradition.
In Madhya Pradesh, too, as in other parts of the country, tribal Stone Craft reflects the emotonal and spiritual aspirations of the tribal people, with the carvings and sculptures of deities giving them a sense of security and well-being. Different tribal areas produce different deities, some special to a particular tribe, others from amongst the more pan-Indian Hindu ones. Besides the deities, memorial stones and pillars, and small household vessels are also important products of the stone carvers' skill.
Soapstone is the main material used for shaping and carving idols. Many villages in Bastar have shrines with stone idols. The villages of bade Dongar, Chhota Dongar, Dantewada, Narangpal, Bastar, Kondagaon, Chapka and Amravati are well known for their stone dev-gude, shrines.
The main centres of Stone Craft in the Bastar area are Ektaguda, Pujaripara, Parasapara and Deogaon, as well as Khhachgaon, Golabund and Bahara. The main objects of stone craft in this area are idols of locally worshipped deities and these are usually sanctified and worshipped by the entire village.

Yoga, A Way of Living

Yoga, a way of living disciplined and calm life, is originated from the ancient scriptures of India like Upnishadas and Bhgwadgita. Developed further by the famous Sage Patanjali, Yoga is now practiced by common people all over the world as an integral part of their day-to-day living for a healthy body and a sound mind

Derived from the Sanskrit word ‘yuj’, meaning to bind or to join, Yoga is the art of living that enables the human beings to strike a balance between the mind and the body. This balance ultimately leads to a harmonic bond between the body and soul and in turn with the Almighty. Since it binds these factors together, hence the name Yoga. Yoga is an integral part of Hinduism, largely looked at as a religion, is in fact a way of leading a pure life. A life full of compassion, care and discipline. Hinduism is based on the fact that this life is a journey, the destination of which is the unification with the Almighty. Just like different streamlets that flow unceasably to meet the ocean, the human beings too travel all through their lives to become one with the Almighty at the end. Hinduism believes that the unification of soul with the Almighty is possible only when a life is lead in a pure and disciplined way. And it is the various stages of Yoga that helps one lead a disciplined and calm life. The first reference to yoga can be traced in the great Hindu scripture, Upnishad . It is referred to as a way of leading a virtuous life. It is described through the lives of the great sages. The most significance reference from the ancient time is found in the Bhagwad Geeta, the most important portion of the great Hindu epic Mahabharata. Bhagwad Geeta literally meaning the Song of God, is a discourse on life and death by lord Krishna for Arjuna, the great warrior. There Krishna explains the various aspects of Yoga and also deals with the lifestyle that can lead a human being to reach him as he finishes the journey of his life. He also talks about the kind of food, the kind of outlook, the kind of behaviour that relates to Yoga and a Yogic life. Based on these facts and evidences from the time immemorial, a great sage called Patanjali, wrote his memorable book on Yoga, Patanjali Sutra.

Lord Ganesha - A Hindu Deity

Among the many deities worshiped by the Hindus, Lord Ganesha has in some ways pride of place. It is not that he is considered to be superior to the great Gods Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu, or the Goddesses, but he has a special place in the affection or people and no worship of any kind or of any other deity can begin without an initial worship to Ganesha, among whose many names is Vighneshwara, remover of obstacles.
With the rise in importance of the Ganpatya cult for whom Ganapati was the supreme God, this deity was absorbed into Hinduism as the son of Shiva and Parvati.
The assimilation was very slow as Ganapati was a folk deity of various pre-Vedic and Tantric sects. However the Ganapatya sect was very powerful and widespread and the great philosopher, Adi Shankara himself gave them importance this sect as one of the six systems of Hindu worship.
The absorption of Ganesha was achieved through legends and stories in the various Puranas which abound in stories of Ganesha. Although most of the Puranas and Up Puranas have incidents from the life of Ganesha, the main legends are in the Shiva Purana, Linga Purana, Brahmavaivarta Purana, Skanda Purana, Varaaha Purana, Matsya Purana and Padma Purana and in the two Upa Puranas, the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana.
These legends refer not only to the birth of Ganesha and his achievements and conquests but also to teh miracles by which he acquired his elephant head.

What is Hinduism?

Hinduism is the oldest religion in the world and is the faith over four-fifths of the diverse peoples of the vast sub-continent of India, of the people of Nepal and of millions of Indians who have migrated overseas.
The history of the Hindus, as we know it today, goes back 5000 years, but Hindus believe that their religion is without beginning or end and is a continuous process even preceding the existence of our earth and the many other worlds in the vast Universe.
The greatness of Hinduism is at once its complexity and its simplicity, and the fact that it permeates totally the life of every Hindu from the moment of his birth, be he a believer or non-believer, a scholar or an illiterate. It is for this reason that it is often said that Hinduism is not just a religion but a way of life.
Another quality unique to Hinduism is its tremendous tolerance of other religious faiths and beliefs. In the Bhagavad Gita, an important scripture of Hinduism, Lord Krishna, worshipped as an incarnation of Lord Vishnu himself says, "Whosoever follows any faith and worships me under steadfastness, his faith shall I indeed reinforce".
Hinduism has attracted thinkers from all over the world through the ages, and today there is a great thirst for knowledge of this faith which is practical enough to permit social change and scientific progress, yet highly philosophical and sublime, aiming at ethical perfection. However it is most unfortunate that today even educated Hindus are often unaware as to what the religion teaches or stand for, or what its fundamental beliefs are.