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Scientific Basis of Gayatri Mantra Japa The entire Vedic Literature and the sages and savants of the shastric scriptures have given paramount importance to the Gayatri Mantra and have discussed in detail the methods of the japa1 and sadhana2 of this great mantra. There is no scripture, which does not sing paeans of the preeminent benefits and supramental effects of this mantra that encompass the  personal, global and the cosmic realms of existence. It is said that even if one performs the japa and dhyan (meditation) of this mantra with fervent faith without going through all the prescribed ascetic disciplines of higher-level sadhanas, he attains all the blessings and boons of this mantra. Not only the immanent inspirations and the marvelous configuration of specific syllables and sonic patterns, the psychological and spiritual core of this Vedic Mantra is also so sound that it appears to be founded on profound scientific basis. Let us look at some of these aspects to u...

W e have all heard about the conical stone Lingam for Lord Shiva (well hopefully you have), but what about a stone for Shri Vishnu? Is there a stone that represents and symbolizes Narayana? Yes, yes there is!  The Shaligram Shila (Shaligram being one of the 108 names of Vishnu , and shila simply means stone ) is a dark rock that can be found lingering along the banks of the Gandaki river in Nepal. Its a holy fossil that has natural imprints of Vishnu's symbols, such as a conch shell or His loyal snake Anatana. Sometimes there are even forms of Narasimha and Varaha (the earlier Divine incarnations of Vishnu) on the shila. These divine black rocks are used to worship Vishnu but the best part is that they are natural and not handcrafted! And according to the puranas they are not only symbols of God, but rather manifestations of God Himself. The Lord resides in many places in which he may be worshipped, but of all the places Salagrama is the best - from the Garu...

NEW DELHI : Former IPS official M L Kumawat, who was special secretary (internal security) in the Union home ministry during the 26/11 attacks, has contested claims made in the foreign media that Indian intelligence agencies were tracking Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) communications head and 26/11 accused Zarar Shah, before the Mumbai attacks.  “The point made in the investigative report by New York Times, ProPublica and the PBS series ‘Frontline’ that Zarar Shah’s computer activity was under the surveillance of an Indian intelligence agency prior to 26/11 attacks, is not correct,” Kumawat told TOI on Tuesday. According to him, the only prior intelligence India had about the LeT’s plans to attack iconic buildings in Mumbai, including Taj hotel and Jewish facilities, was a US alert dated September 24. “It was forwarded to the Maharashtra government, which stepped up security at the identified targets but somehow failed to maintain the same until November,” said the official. ...

1) Contradictory views on industrialisation held by Gandhi and ‘Bharat-Ratna’ Mokshagundam Vishweshwaraiya ! Gandhiji used to say, “If you opt for industrialisation, you will perish !” whereas recipient of ‘Bharat-Ratna’ award, able engineer M. Vishweshwaraiya had declared, “If you don’t go for Industrialization, you will perish !” Both were right; one gave more importance to human values and the other to physical, materialistic development ! 2) India should be leading in every field like Industrialization; but it should not sacrifice eternal values of life and culture, was the opinion of Swami Vivekananda. 3) Balance achieved by Swami Vivekananda between eternal culture and materialistic development ! Views of Gandhiji and Vishweshwaraiya, which appear contradictory, were coordinated and balanced by Swami Vivekananda. Swami Vivekananda had realised that for all-round growth of the country, both were necessary and he used to say, “Today, we need...

A natural medicine for cancer, cholesterol, diabetes, inflammation, IBS, and other health conditions Aloe vera has been one of the most important plants used in folk medicine. The Egyptians referred to aloe as the "plant of immortality" and included it among the funerary gifts buried with the pharaohs. The healing benefits of aloe were recognized in the anc ient Indian, Chinese, Greek, and Roman civilizations. It is traditionally used to heal wounds, relieve itching and swelling, and is known for its anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties . Aloe Vera, or Ghrit Kumari in Sanskrit, is a member of the lily family and is very cactus-like in its characteristics. It is one to two feet tall; and its leaves are succulent, broad at the base and pointed at the tips, with spines along the edges. These fat leaves contain the clear healing gel that is 96% water. The other four percent contains 75 known substances including Vitamins A, B, C, E, calcium, amino acids for protein...

Why I am a Hindu...  An American girl was sitting on the right side, near window seat. It indeed was a long journey – it would take nearly seven hours! I was surprised to see the young girl reading a Bible – unusual of young Americans! (Later I came to know that September 11 has changed mind-set of lot of US citizens. They suddenly turned religious, it seemed.) After some time she smiled and we had few acquaintances talk. I told her that I am from India. Then suddenly the girl asked: “What’s your faith?” “What?” I didn’t understand the question. “I mean, what’s your religion? Are you a Christian? Or a Muslim?” “No!” I replied, “I am neither Christian nor Muslim”. Apparently she appeared shocked to listen to that. “Then who are you…?” “I am a Hindu”, I said. She looked at me as if she is seeing a caged animal. She could not understand what I was talking about. A common man in Europe or US know about Christianity and Islam, as they are the leading religions of the world...

“All men dream,” said T. E. Lawrence, “but not equally.” Artistic, introspective and questioning, even as a child it was clear to those around me that I was, in Lawrence’s terminology, a “dreamer of the day.” I disliked what I regarded as the shallow materialism and trivial ways people interacted in the West. But above everything else, I deplored groupthink. It was the unknown, new ideas, different notions about how to live that attracted me. Already , at sixteen, I had become a vegetarian. I loathed the idea of eating animals, though it also enabled me to avoid the worst if British cuisine. I was also interested in spirituality, though I knew little about it. I meditated (or tried to, at least) for the first time at the age of fifteen. At seventeen  I started making a more serious study of spirituality, mysticism, the esoteric and religion, with my reading mixing serious and scholarly books with more popular and no doubt somewhat superficial books on these subjects. I al...