Raj2004

==Wikipedia:Welcome, newcomers to the Wikipedia== Here are some links I thought useful: *Wikipedia:Tutorial *Wikipedia:Help desk *M:Foundation issues *Wikipedia:Policy Library *Wikipedia:Utilities *Wikipedia:Cite your sources *Wikipedia:Verifiability *Wikipedia:Wikiquette *Wikipedia:Civility *Wikipedia:Conflict resolution *Wikipedia:Neutral point of view *Wikipedia:Pages needing attention *Wikipedia:Peer review *Wikipedia:Bad jokes and other deleted nonsense *Wikipedia:Brilliant prose *Wikipedia:List of images *Wikipedia:Boilerplate text *Wikipedia:Current polls *Wikipedia:Mailing lists *Wikipedia:IRC channel Feel free to contact me personally with any questions you might have. The Wikipedia:Village pump is also a good place to go for quick answers to general questions. You can sign your name by typing 4 tildes, like this: ~~~~. Good edits, please make yourself at home here :D Be Bold! User:Sam Spade http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=User_talk:Sam_Spade&action=edit§ion=new Spade 21:52, 12 Oct 2004 (UTC) ==heya== noticed your high-quality additions to the religion page regarding hinduism ... i had a few questions about hinduism i was hoping you might be able to answer. 1) what is the signifance of "sacred characters," such as "aum?" how do they affect one's spiritual life? 2) what is the relationship between hinduism and buddhism -- i.e. i understand the buddhism is typically considered by some to be a hindu "heresy," and that mahayana is more similar to hinduism than theravaada ... would you consider mahayana to be a synthesis of some sort? 3) is there a "conversion" process for hinduism? -- i.e. must one cease to be a christian to become a full hindu, or must one "convert" in one way or another to come to full truth? thanks for your time:). User:Ungtss 16:40, 12 Nov 2004 (UTC) === Reply to heya === Thanks for your compliment. 1) Om represents the primal manifestation or sound of the impersonal absolute brahman. Om is said before every Hindu prayer. It's sort of like amen but is said before each prayer. 2) Buddhism is not Hinduism and is ambivalent about the nature of God. Thervada Buddhism was getting too abstract for some theists and Mahayana Buddhism is not a sythesis but recognized messiah type figures who would help humanity to reach nirvana. Buddhism also rejects the Vedas, which in Hinduism, is the word of God. It would be like rejecting the Bible. I am not an expert on Buddism but there is this concept called shunyata or state of non-being. Hinduism vehemently disagrees and states that the Ultimate Reality is an eternal being-non-being or Brahman which can never be defined. There is no such per se heresy as I said before; each has to realize his own path to God. But Buddhism was considered heterodox as it rejected the Vedas. 3) Hinduism is not a missionary religion and respects each to follow what he believes is his own path to God. Hinduism is a broad concept and is divided into four major traditions, Shaivism, Shaktism, Smartism and Vaishnavism. Traditionally, if you accepted the beliefs and follow the philosphies, you were a hindu. http://www.vaishnava.com/abouthinduism.htm (There are 9 essential beliefs for a Hindu.) also please look at this site, http://www.dharmacentral.com/faq.htm You can contact them and they can answer more in depth as I am not a scholar on Hinduism although I have gained knowledge. However, in recent times, some Western-oriented sections of Hinduism such as ISKCON(for converts to Vaishnavism and http://www.himalayanacademy.com/info/contact.html, (for converts to Shaivism) have such conversion programs but they have a western bias. see for example, on amazon, http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0945497822/qid=1100286622/sr=1-5/ref=sr_1_5/104-1238920-4632701?v=glance&s=books http://www.himalayanacademy.com/resources/books/hbh/ (older edition available online.) I don't think you necessarily have to reject Christianity to adopt Hindu views. for you, Jesus is your conception of Saguna Brahman. Many Hindus consider him to be an avatarbut would not accept beliefs such as original sin and that He is the only avatar. others would consider him to be a great master. http://www.himalayanacademy.com/resources/books/dws/Contents.html (an excellent book on Hinduism, but slanted towards Shaivism.) Hope this helps. Raj2004 Hello Raj, I'm Subramanian, and I have noticed that we share many interests here. I want to say that I have been appreciating your contribuitions on Hinduism in general and I just came by to say thanks for you correcting the information on Benares as a holy city. Aum Shanti, --User:Subramanian 00:30, 19 Dec 2004 (UTC) Nayanar: Vanakkam Raj, it's a pleasure to read your articles, you manage to keep a great quality standard. I apologize I could not gather information enough to write it on my own, but it's nice that I now can contribute to the existing article. I have contacted the Himalayan Academy for help; both their and my end-of-the-year schedule, as well as the tsunamis disaster, took our attentions. They are creating a book that covers many of the saints, called "The Elephant Pass" - I thought you would like to know. Best, --User:Subramanian 06:31, 1 Jan 2005 (UTC) == external links == It is best to encase links to outside sites with one set of brackets. If this is not done, the wiki takes the link as the URL, which is not so nice. This can be done by clicking the button with the world on it if the link text is highlighted. If there is no other text added the brackets then the link takes the form of a footnote. The best is if you leave a space out and then put any descriptive text after this space. Try it out in the Wikipedia:Sandbox. --User:Sunborn 07:13, 13 Nov 2004 (UTC) Thanks. == thanks! == thank you for all your data on hinduism ... it really cleared a lot of things up for me! User:Ungtss 14:32, 15 Nov 2004 (UTC) No problem. Ungtss. Raj2004 ==sri rudram== hi Raj -- I did not (and don't) want to seem rude, but allow me to say that there is indeed some need to expand the article. I do not want to remove any information that was there, as thankfully you give the sources, and it indeed describes the prevalent, vedantic, interpretation. But, you must be aware that the 'translation' given is not literal at all. Simply take any Sanskrit dictionary and work through the text. It must have occurred to you that 'Vishnu' is not in the text. Again, as an ''interpretation'' the English rendition is of course very valid, but it should be labelled as such. I would convert the Sanskrit text to standard transliteration and give a literal translation, but I have more pressing tasks. Until we do get a literal translation, however, intellectual honesty dictates that we say that the English text is a free interpretation. As for the date, 3000 years is reasonable. However, it is reasonable for ''composition''. Written fixation doesn't even enter the picture, as indian culture was and is predominantly oral. There was no writing in India prior to ca. 400-500 BC, and then not for religious texts for some time, so I think we better leave this out. Linguistically, the text cannot possibly be older than some 4000 years, and very probably closer to 3000. Again, please understand the distinction here: I do not contest at all that the intended meaning of "shipi-vishta" is indeed to equate Rudra with Vishnu, because I have no knowledge of that. It is very and npovly clear, on the other hand, that "shipi-vishta" does not ''mean'' "in the form of Vishnu". For this reason, "in the form of Vishnu" is a ''valid'' (at least in vedantic schools) ''interpretation'', but not a "translation". regards, User:Dbachmann 08:26, 17 Nov 2004 (UTC) PS, for the purpose of 'monotheism' (which was why I looked at the article in the first place), it is a much less compelling example than RV 10.129,130: The ''interpretation'' is monotheistic. If we had only the text itself, we wouldn't get such an idea. The vedantic interpretation is probably aged some 2000 years, ie. considerably younger than the text itself (vedanta has ''completely'' overhauled vedic religion), and thus (as the text by itself) does not qualify as an ''early'' example of monotheistic thought. User:Dbachmann 08:30, 17 Nov 2004 (UTC) I agree with you partly. Rudram has been interpreted by Vedantists to support monistic theism. However, every commentator (Ramakrishna mission, Divine Life society, numerous web sites) that I have read have stated Rudra in the form of Vishnu. User:Raj2004 Sure. This is the common ''Hermeneutics'', and I have no issue with that. ''Translation'' is a different animal, and the two should not be confused. You don't have to believe me at all. Just take a Sanskrit dictionary and start looking up the words that interest you. The word that is rendered as "in the form of Vishnu" is ''shipi-vishta'' (Dative, ''shipivishtaya''). Here is a dictionary entry: [http://flaez.ch/cgi-bin/mw.pl?query=shipiviSTa]. Besides "pervaded with rays" it could also mean "bald-headed", "leprous" or "having no prepuce", but I think we can disount these here. The point is that the epitheton was applied to ''both'' Rudra and Vishnu, and was therefore ''interpreted'' to suggest an identification of the two. This is completely legitimate, as long as we don't claim "in the form of Vishnu" is a literal translation. It is more like "o resplendent one [by the way, Vishnu is sometimes also called this]", as in "o you who are pervaded by rays, which incidentially brings to mind Vishnu, who is also pervaded by rays". That's fine, but it's not in the text. Thank for the link. We would have to convert this text to the transliteration used on Sanskrit#Phonology_and_writing_system, e.g. ''shipivishhTaaya'' to ''śipiviṣṭāya''. User:Dbachmann 12:31, 17 Nov 2004 (UTC) :what am I supposed to do with the pdf file? it's just the text in devanagari. The text we cite should be in standard transliteration. User:Dbachmann 12:45, 17 Nov 2004 (UTC) ok, I rendered your text in scientific transliteration now. there were a few errors in the text, and I did it manually, hope I got it correct. User:Dbachmann 13:10, 17 Nov 2004 (UTC) Thanks for all your help. By the way, how do you get your time date stamped as you did? Raj2004 Type the four tildes ~~~~ User:Dbachmann 13:25, 17 Nov 2004 (UTC) ==Templates== Go to Template:Hinduism User:Dbachmann 15:47, 17 Nov 2004 (UTC) Agamas seems short and OK. What about hindu arts architectures and places of pilgrimage etc. I understand that it is difficult to organise topics under hinduism (as against good template on Islam); but there is certainly scope for it. Since i dont have the 'large picture'in my mind, i request members to have a though on it. (I somewhere observed that under festivals - varamahalakshmi vrata is also included. Is it such a big vrata except in Karnataka? The distinction between vrata and utsava also needs to be clearly spelled out).Thanks and regards User:Ramashray 15:06, 24 Dec 2004 (UTC)Ramashray ==Sri Rudram text== :it's ok, Raj, I accepted the identification Rudra/Shiva=Vishnu as standard vedantic teaching all along. But I feel we are quoting too much text in the article. I think it will be better to export the actual text to Wikisource. Also, quoting the Amritananda translation in such length may be copyvio. I think we should only keep a short passage (the girivishaya, shipivishtaya part) in the article, and export the rest. User:Dbachmann 16:35, 18 Nov 2004 (UTC) ::I exported the text to Wikisource:Shri_Rudram_Chamakam now. I am still searching for the Chamakam in the Yajurveda though (book, chapter?) User:Dbachmann 17:03, 18 Nov 2004 (UTC) ::found it, thanks. it's Yajurveda TS, iv. 5. and iv. 7. == Article Licensing == Hi, I've User:rambot#Free the Rambot Articles project to get users to Wikipedia:Multi-licensing all of their contributions that they've made to either (1) all U.S. state, county, and city articles or (2) all articles, using the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike (''CC-by-sa'') v1.0 and v2.0 Creative Commons Licenses or into the public domain if they prefer. The ''CC-by-sa'' license is a true free documentation license that is similar to Wikipedia's license, the GFDL, but it allows other projects, such as WikiTravel, to use our articles. Since you are among the Wikipedia:List_of_Wikipedians_by_number_of_edits Wikipedians by edits, I was wondering if you would be willing to multi-license all of your contributions or at ''minimum'' those on the geographic articles. Over 90% of people asked have agreed. For More Information: *User talk:Ram-Man#Multi-Licensing FAQ - Lots of questions answered *Wikipedia:Multi-licensing *User:rambot#Free the Rambot Articles project To allow us to track those users who muli-license their contributions, many users copy and paste the "" template into their user page, but there are other options at Wikipedia:Template messages/User namespace#Licensing Templates. The following examples could also copied and pasted into your user page: :Option 1 :I agree to Wikipedia:Multi-licensing all my contributions, with the exception of my user pages, as described below: : OR :Option 2 :I agree to Wikipedia:Multi-licensing all my contributions to any U.S. state, county, or city article as described below: : Or if you wanted to place your work into the public domain, you could replace "" with "". If you only prefer using the GFDL, I would like to know that too. ''Please let me know'' what you think at my User talk:Ram-Man. It's important to know either way so no one keeps asking. -- User:Ram-Man ([http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=User_talk:Ram-Man&action=edit§ion=new comment]| User talk:Ram-Man == Hello == I've recently completely rewritten Caste and Brahmin using info from the 1911 encyclopedia. i'd appreciate your interest, if you'd like to have a look. Always glad to hear your opinion, User:Sam Spade [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=User_talk:Sam_Spade&action=edit§ion=new Spade] Christmas_around_the_world 22:04, 20 Dec 2004 (UTC) == Re: == I am concerned we may be misunderstanding each other regarding Brahman, Brahminism, Smartism, Arya Sarmaj and Pantheism. I am curious, do you use any instant messangers? I use several, most of whuch are listed @ User:Sam_Spade/Info. I'd like to be able to speak to you more directly, perhaps it would reduce confusion. My best wishes, 03:32, 14 Jan 2005 (UTC) == hinduism thanks == thanks so much for the readings on hinduism -- sorry it took me so long to get back to you, but i wanted to let you know that they were all GREATLY appreciated and have expanded my world -- i am in your debt:). User:Ungtss 16:21, 19 Jan 2005 (UTC) == hinduism's conception of human beings == I am trying to get religious views added to the entry "Human". It currently looks like this: :''According to some of the major world religions, human beings are variously considered to be created in the image of god (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), as the incarnation of an eternal, immaterial spirit (Hinduism, Buddhism), as an expression of the ineffable (Taoism), or as lacking any static nature whatsoever (Confucianism).'' Would you like to critique the Hinduism part? --User:Goethean 01:00, 18 Mar 2005 (UTC) :Thank you very much! Very helpful. --User:Goethean 15:11, 29 Mar 2005 (UTC) Thanks for your help at my Chalkboard. User:Hawstom 17:08, Apr 29, 2005 (UTC) == Welcome back - from Spade and Subramanian!== Glad to see you editing again, I've missed you! Cheers, ''User:Sam Spade'' 12:16, 26 Apr 2005 (UTC) Hi my friend Raj! I will use this space by Sam Spade because he is one of the people I will mention here. He recently said to me that he felt Hinduism was becoming an anti-Hindu article. I don�t think these people are ill-meant, but we have to stand strong for Hinduism - with a gentle hand. I wrote a comment at Talk:Lingam explaining to them why it is simplistic and only a instictive man would call the Lingam a phallic symbol. I hope it helps. I also suggest thet you bring our friend Spade to this. Meanwhile, we work. The Devas will help us. :-) Let us also be as kind and flexible as Hinduism is. Best, Satya User:Subramanian ^{User_talk:Subramanian} 08:28, 27 May 2005 (UTC) :"I find there is a lot of ignorance. Raj2004" ::Yes, a lot. That�s why all we Wikipedians are here for: to fight for the light of information against ignorance. See you, Great Raj! User:Subramanian ^{User_talk:Subramanian} 09:31, 27 May 2005 (UTC) ==scripture== he raj -- I don't want to argue this point too much, since it's really a terminological red herring. The Vedas are what is generally understood by "scripture", but if it was up to me I would avoid the term, because it is incorrect, pedantically speaking. The Vedas could not have been written down before ca. 300 BC, because there was no script. But that is not important, since Indian tradition places importance on memorizing texts, and looks down on written tradition. I am not trying to make the Vedas look less important by saying they were not written down. It's just, they weren't, and it didn't matter. User:Dbachmann User_talk:Dbachmann 10:21, 17 May 2005 (UTC) :there's no 100% dead certain with these questions. It is not known whether Panini's grammar was written down at all, and whether he lived closer to 500BC or to 300BC. The earlier he lived, the less likely he had anything written down. After all, Panini's grammar was intended to be ''memorized'', just like the Vedas. Raj, the pattern of the adoption of a writing system is very similar in many cultures. there are typical, almost universal, steps. The Vedic/Hindu culture is very much in line with such a typical transformation from a nomadic to an agricultural, to an urban, to a literate civilization. You need a lot of background, about this and other cultures, and I cannot elaborate this all on your talk page. afaik, experts ''widely'' agree that the Vedic texts were not written down for at least 1000 years after their composition. They were ''redacted'', i.e. put in a fixed form, in late Vedic times, perhaps at the time of Panini. It is difficult for us to imagine it, but this was almost certainly done without writing. The memories of whole clans was used instead of paper. This was about a 1000 years after the earliest hymns had been composed. This fixed text was passed down for many generations before writing started to be used, at first not to make "holy books" to keep in temples or libraries, but just as a tool for memorization, the writing could be discarded after the text was settled in your memory. This is what makes this culture so special, they relied on the living mind to store their texts, not on dead paper. If you are serious about contesting this, fundamentally, I'll dig up a couple of references, and you'll have to counter them with other references (after all, we're not supposed to think for ourselves (aka original research) for the purposes of Wikipedia :)User:Dbachmann User_talk:Dbachmann 08:49, 18 May 2005 (UTC) == From Vaikunda Raja== Hai Raj,Thanks for your message.And in responding to your question related to Kroni one thing is notable that there are basically many variations between Hinduism and Ayyavazhi on Philosophy.For example according to hinduism the Asuras lived on earth but according to Akilattirattu Ammanai it is the evil spirit which controled the beings on earth .Iam in a trial to give more details on the contents of Akilattirattu Ammanai and you may understood the difference by going through it.Since they are in Tamil, in poetic form it may took several days for me to translate and I requests you to be patient. For further comments, you are welcommed.User: Vaikunda Raja

Raj2004

Hello. I was born in New York and have a strong interest in issues pertaining to Hindu culture and religion. I have been making contributions to Wikipedia since October 2004. I have made contributions to Hinduism, and its various topics, added categories of Hindu saints such as Raghavendra Swami, edited and added categories of the major Vaishnavite philosphers such as Ramanuja and Madhva, and wrote on three common prayers in Hinduism, Lalitha sahasranama, Shri Rudram and Vishnu sahasranama. Additionally, I have added appropriate external links (i.e., websites) for respected articles and have added historical articles of Harsha and Krishnadevaraya. Also, I have written on concepts in Hinduism such as Karma in Hinduism, in order to distinguish it from that of Buddhism. Finally, I make edits to prexisting articles by adding new information, e.g.., types of avatars, for example, by adding whatever external research sources I have.

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