Quiz: Hinduism facts and trivia
Information on practices and beliefs and a Pop Quiz
On this lens I've gathered together all that I've published online about Hinduism and yoga, but it all starts with a pop quiz: how well do YOU know your Hinduism facts and trivia? Hinduism is such a hard religion to describe that I postponed making this lens. I've come up with 10 questions though that are, I hope, neither too hard, nor too easy and that do Hindu spirituality, tradition and religion justice. Image above © Katinka Hesselink

The Upanishads quotes, sayings and concepts
The philosophical basis of Hinduism and Advaita
After the Vedas the Upanishads are the most revered texts in Hinduism. What are the Upanishads? The Upanishads are texts which contain the basis of the later philosophy of the Hindus. Vedanta especially is based on the Upanishads. This lens illustrates the basic thought in the Upanishads with quotes from the principle Upanishads. Image above © Katinka Hesselink

The Mahabharata Its Meaning and Relevance
Introduction to the Great Epic
The Mahabharata and the book within this great epic - The Bhagavad Gita was composed and narrated by Krishna Dvaipayana Vyasa to his scribe - Lord Ganesha. Ganesha agreed to be the scribe for this epic, but imposed a stringent condition that the narration / dictation should be continuous and that his pen should not be idle even for a moment. Vyasa agreed with a cunning smile, howbeit, he imposed a counter-condition that Ganesha should not inscribe anything down till he understood the entire e...

Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure
Book review of an upbeat introduction to India and its spirituality
Great book if you want to go to India yourself - especially if you're interested in India as the home of spirituality. I read the book in one go: couldn't put it down. It's interesting as a story of personal and spiritual growth and as a catalog of some of the spiritual teachings India has to offer.

The Vedas - ancient sacred literature from India
The oldest literature in the world...
Well, not quite. The Vedas are however some of the oldest texts to have survived as living literature till our time. The Veda are the literature of the Brahman elite in India. They were composed between 2000 BC and 500BC (roughly, no dates are clear when it comes to ancient India).

Hinduism, Yoga and Hindu Dharma Religion
Indian religion, philosophy and history
Learn about Hindu customs and the history of yoga. Find out about the temples and pilgrimage sites in Bharat. Get introduced to the sacred scriptures of Hindustan. Lenses about Hinduism and yoga are welcome here.

The Bhagavad Gita, Juan Mascaro translation: quotes
The Bhagavad Gita has been translated into Western languages numerous times. The translation I present to you here is by Juan Mascaro, who was as much a poet as a Sanskrit scholar. It's a very poetic translation that serves as a good introduction to the text. At the end of this page I have included reviews to other translations for those who want to go deeper into the text.

Best Gifts for Hindus 2012
Krishna and Ganesha: the two sweetest Gods in Hinduism
There are numerous gods in Hinduism, but the two most popular are Krishna and Ganesha. Ganesha (or Ganesh) is the son of Shiva: one of the three most important gods in the Hindu Pantheon. Krishna is the avatar of Vishnu, another of the most important Hindu Gods. Both have sweet stories and a characteristic look. Above is a Cubism Ganesh The story of Ganesha is one of the divide between parent and child. The reason that Ganesha has an elephant's head is that Shiva, not knowing he had a son,...