Category: Indian Culture

Annaprashana and Vidyarambha

May 2, 2026 / Govinda Bhat K / 0 Comments

According to the Indian tradition of the Sanatana Dharma, the human life system is not God-centric, but it is human-culture-centric. A Sanatana Dharma follower or any family member may believe in any particular God or not (being optional), but has to observe four principles.

Truth is the first principle, and an article on this principle has already been published on this website. After six months, a child should be given solid foods, and it is called Annaprashana karma, or the baby feeding ceremony. Some Sanskrit verses are used during the baby feeding ritual. In case a father or a mother is unable to accomplish it, then somebody in that society would be doing it. Hunger and food are unavoidable parts of the truth.

Later, kindness is the second principle. Kindness is natural for elders towards children. After three years, a child should be taught about cleanliness and how to speak. Then the child would be very particular about neatness, washing with water and taking a bath. Daily bathing is practised by the Indians from early childhood.

Similarly, living in neat and clean premises is also taught to the child. The importance of Suchitva, or cleanliness, is the third principle in the Sanatana Dharma. When the child starts to speak, then it is administered into letter writing and this ritual is called Vidyarambha karma. During the evening, around the time of sunset, the child would be doing short duration of prayers with actions in their house. Evening or morning, name chanting, called as Japa, is taught by parents, followed by the bath daily.

An AI-generated image of a traditional Indian Annaprashana and Vidyarambha ceremony showing parents feeding a baby and a Guru guiding a child to write Om on a plate of rice in a cultural home setting. — Annaprashana and Vidyarambha mark a child’s first steps into life and learning, where nourishment and knowledge begin under the guidance of family and tradition (AI-generated image)

Donation is the fourth principle of Sanatana Dharma. Donation should be decided by the donor. The doubts of the child are cleared in the bedtime stories after night food, before sleeping. In a peaceful society, these four principles later lead the child to be a good and responsible citizen serving their own nation or the global system of the world. So the basic human culture starts with Annaprashana and proceeds through Vidyarambha.

Karma Siddhanta

May 22, 2024 / Govinda Bhat K / 1 Comment

Karma in Sanskrit means the works. It has other meanings such as duty or actions also. Siddhanta in Sanskrit means finally proved principle in the end. It has other meaning such as proof or theorem. Hence this subject is the principle of work and its results up on its doer, considering all living creatures on earth including the human species. The complementary idea of this truth is Punarjanma, means rebirth. In the previous article on this website ‘Karma: How it affects future’, it is described.

How Punarjanma Siddhanta is complementary with Karma Siddhanta?

Punarjanma Siddhanta means the ‘Principle of Rebirth’ and is the complementary principle to the Karma Siddhanta. Moreover, these two principles are also linked to the Mimamsa Science as already told in this website. These are the subjects of Sanatana Dharma.

According to Indian Karma Siddhanta, there are certain terms or words to be understood initially to think before the Karma Siddhanta. Punya means virtues gained. Papa means sins accumulated to one’s life account. Rebirth means, after death, the living soul energy will be born again according to the credits of virtues and sins taken together in another young child body. The universal soul generally referred as God can create his soul as its own tiny part life beings having own mechanism capable, as discussed in the chapter of Madhvacharya of this website, under the Dvaita and Advaita Siddhantas.

A ceiling decoration from a Jain temple in Ranakpur, Rajasthan where the knots represent the interlinking notion of karma — A ceiling sculpture in Ranakpur, Rajasthan representing the interlinking notion of karma

The unicellular organ bacteria are the smallest life species as detailed in Garuda Purana. Elephants, rhinos or human beings are the bigger in body-size life as detailed in Garuda Purana. But the life soul active energy of bacteria, cows, elephants or rhinos are equal in mass and weight. Shankaracharya proved in his life the portability of this soul energy from his body into the recently dead body of another man is possible, the technique with name as Para Kaya Pravesh. But the transplanting of soul energy from human to another human only was shown as possible.

Hence after several times of birth and death, one slowly starts gaining more and more virtues and finally gets into the human body. When the virtues are very high and sins are meagre, one gets birth as a child to live later as a pure vegetarian. In India, then that human being gets the horoscope. This is a typical life under Sanatana Dharma who could be born anywhere now.

जननी जन्म सौख्यानां वर्धनीकुल संपदां ।
पदवी पूर्व पुण्यानां लिख्यते जन्म पत्रिका ॥

Meaning: Mother being the reasonable cause of birth and pleasures, later developments of the child, the family growth with wealth, according to the previous virtues, the status in the society it gets, for considering all these facts the horoscope is written.

Japa Yajna

April 30, 2024 / Govinda Bhat K / 1 Comment

Japa means chanting divine name of God or repeatedly reciting the same powerful mantras. There are several compound words such as Japayoga, Japa sadhana, Japayajna etc. This is most commonly known as Japayajna or simply Japa. Japayajna is sometimes done without any purpose or without desire also. But Japayajna is usually done to achieve a desired result within a least time.

Earning money may be a difficult project work but earning virtue through Japayajna is an easier project than it. It can be practiced individually, within family members or within a group of people together. A garland with 54 (fifty four) beads or 108 (one hundred and eight) beads to keep the counts of repetitions is helpful for the Japa practitioner of Sanatana follower. There are also people, using 100 beads, 33×3+1 chanting for thrice a day. The words Japa or Tapa are colloquial phrases but Tapa is not as easy as Japa since Tapa is penance and not recommended for all.

यज्नानां जपयज्नो ऽस्मि

Meaning of Yajnanam japa yajno asmi: God Krishna had explained his various forms of recognized, special exhibitions or proof of divine perceivable existences. Among the several visible forms, sacrifices or rituals are considered as causes for virtues. Japa, the God’s name chanting or mantra reciting system is the best or divine form, most pleased by God. This narration is available in the twenty fifth verse of the tenth chapter of the Bhagavad Geetha. It is available in Mahabharata. Vyasa Rishi had written it in Sanskrit, for the guidance of all desiring welfare, and recommendable for all, without any restrictions.

Bharat: The Original Name Of India

July 9, 2020 / Govinda Bhat K / 2 Comments

Our country, Republic of India, was known as Bharata Khanda during the periods prior to the rulings of Mughal kings. After British rule, the name of the country has become India. In the epic Ramayana, the oldest Vanara is called as Jambava, or Jambavanta. He was one of the oldest in the Indian sub-continent, in the peninsular island area. Due to the familiarity, Rishis called it as Jambu Dweepa, an island portion on earth where Jambava, the oldest monkey used to move freely.

Bharata of Ramayana Era

Shri Rama with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana went to the forest and his youngest brother Shatrughna became the acting king of the land for the purpose of administration only, under the instructions of Vasista Rishi. The other brother, King Bharatha had brought the pair of foot wear of Shri Rama, being failed in persuading him for returning back. King Bharatha placed those pair of foot wears in front of the empty throne, vacated by the late king Dasharatha, saying he is not interested to become the ruler. He went away to Nandi village for doing penance, stating he will return to the palace only after coming back of Sri Rama.

Chaturmasya: Importance And Results

July 8, 2020 / Govinda Bhat K / 0 Comments

Different people of India celebrate Chaturmasya vrata as festival in different styles and on different dates, even though some of these are common for the followers of different faith. It is a very important achara, means performance of religious fast, for controlling self-emotions, and fulfillment of desires by controlling the nature and having the blessings of God at large for the benefit of family and self. In general, it is a holy religious fasting system.

Acharya Parampara – Shree Adi Shankaracharya

July 1, 2020 / Govinda Bhat K / 4 Comments

श्रुति स्मृति पुराणानाम् आलयम् करुणालयम् ।
नमामि भगवत्पादम् शंकरम् लोक शंकरम् ॥

The common Indian word for cultural activities as a whole is termed as Achara. Acharya means a person who adds, deletes or modifies suitable items to the cultural activity system and performs the achara or persuades his followers for the benefit of the society. Here in this article, one of the prominent persons is Shree Adi Shankaracharya, for our benefits. He is not the initial one in his line, but we treat him as prominent in his lineage. He propagated the forgotten Advaitha Philosophy of India. His Guru or teacher was Shree Govinda Bhagavad Pada Acharya. The previous known Guru or teacher of Shree Govinda Bhagavad Pada Acharya is Shree Gauda Padacharya. Shree Adi Shankaracharya is a great social reformer, writer in Sanskrit, founder of the great Advaitha peetha Mathas at four places of India, i.e., at Puri of Odisha, Sringeri of Karnataka, Dwaraka of Gujarat and Badarika of Uttaranchal, which are still functioning.