Inventions

IT TOOK LONG TO DO SO

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INVENTION
YEAR
INVENTOR
COUNTRY

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aerosol can
1926
Erik Rotheim
Norway
air conditioning
1902
Willis Haviland Carrier
US
airbag, automotive
1952
John Hetrick
US
airplane, engine-powered
1903
Wilbur & Orville Wright
US
airship
1852
Henri Giffard
France
alphabet
c. 1700–1500 BC
Semitic-speaking peoples
eastern coast of Mediterranean Sea
American Sign Language
1817
Thomas H. Gallaudet
US
animation, motion-picture
1906
J. Stuart Blackton
US
answering machine, telephone
1898
Valdemar Poulsen
Denmark
aspartame
1965
James Schlatter
US
aspirin
1897
Felix Hoffmann (Bayer)
Germany
assembly line
1913
Henry Ford
US
astrolabe
c. 2nd century
—
—
AstroTurf
1965
James M. Faria, Robert T. Wright
US
audiotape
1928
Fritz Pfleumer
Germany
automated teller machine (ATM)
1968
Don Wetzel
US
automobile
1889
Gottlieb Daimler
Germany
baby food, prepared
1927
Dorothy Gerber
US
bag, flat-bottomed paper
1870
Margaret Knight
US
Bakelite
1907
Leo Hendrik Baekeland
US
ball bearing
1794
Philip Vaughan
England
balloon, hot-air
1783
Joseph & Étienne Montgolfier
France
bandage, adhesive
1921
Earle Dickson
US
bar code
1952
Joseph Woodland
US
barbed wire
1874
Joseph Glidden
US
barometer
1643
Evangelista Torricelli
Italy
battery, electric storage
1800
Alessandro Volta
Italy
beer
before 6000 BC
Sumerians, Babylonians
Mesopotamia
bicycle
1818
Baron Karl de Drais de Sauerbrun
Germany
bifocal lens
1784
Benjamin Franklin
US
blood bank
late 1930s
Charles Richard Drew
US
blow-dryer
1920
Racine Universal Motor Co., Hamilton Beach Manufacturing Co.
US
bomb, atomic
1945
J. Robert Oppenheimer, et al.
US
bomb, thermonuclear (hydrogen)
1952
Edward Teller, et al.
US
boomerang
c. 15,000 years ago
Aboriginal peoples
Australia
Braille system
1824
Louis Braille
France
bread, sliced (bread-slicing machine)
1928
Otto Frederick Rohwedder
US
button
c. 700 BC
Greeks, Etruscans
Greece, Italy
buttonhole
13th century
—
Europe
calculator, electronic hand-held
1967
Jack S. Kilby
US
calculus
1680s
Sir Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (invented separately)
England and Germany (respectively)
calendar, modern (Gregorian)
1582
Pope Gregory XIII
Italy
camcorder
1982
Sony Corp.
Japan
camera, motion picture
1891
Thomas Alva Edison, William K.L. Dickson
US
camera, portable photographic
1888
George Eastman
US
can, metal beverage
1933
American Can Co.
US
can opener
1858
Ezra J. Warner
US
candle
c. 3000 BC
—
Egypt, Crete
canning, food
1809
Nicolas Appert
France
carbon-14 dating
1946
Willard F. Libby
US
cardboard, corrugated
1871
Albert Jones
US
cards, playing
c. 10th century
—
China
cash register
1879
James Ritty
US
cat litter
1947
Edward Lowe
US
catalog, mail-order
1872
Aaron Montgomery Ward
US
cellophane
1911
Jacques E. Brandenberger
Switzerland
celluloid
1869
John Wesley Hyatt
US
cement, portland
1824
Joseph Aspdin
England
cereal flakes, breakfast
1894
John Harvey Kellogg
US
chewing gum (modern)
c. 1870
Thomas Adams
US
chocolate
c. 3rd–10th century
Maya, Aztecs
Central America, Mexico
chronometer
1762
John Harrison
England
clock, pendulum
1656
Christiaan Huygens
The Netherlands
clock, quartz
1927
Warren A. Marrison
Canada/US
cloning, animal
1970
John B. Gurdon
UK
coffee, drip
1908
Melitta Bentz
Germany
coffee, decaffeinated
1905
Ludwig Roselius
Germany
coins
c. 650 BC
Lydians
Turkey
compact disc (CD)
1980
Philips Electronics, Sony Corp.
The Netherlands, Japan
compass, magnetic
c. 12th century
—
China, Europe
computed tomography (CT scan, CAT scan)
1972
Godfrey Hounsfield, Allan Cormack
UK, US
computer, electronic digital
1939
John V. Atanasoff, Clifford E. Berry
US
computer, laptop
1983
Radio Shack Corp.
US
computer, personal
1974
MITS (Micro Instrumentation Telemetry Systems)
US
concrete, reinforced
1867
Joseph Monier
France
contact lenses
1887
Adolf Fick
Germany
corn, hybrid
1917
Donald F. Jones
US
correction fluid, white
1951
Bette Nesmith
US
cotton gin
1793
Eli Whitney
US
coupon, grocery
1894
Asa Candler
US
crayons, children's wax
1903
Edwin Binney, C. Harold Smith
US
cream separator (dairy processing)
1878
Carl Gustaf Patrik de Laval
Sweden
credit card
1950
Frank McNamara, Ralph Schneider (Diners' Club)
US
crossword puzzles
1913
Arthur Wynne
US
DDT
1874
Othmar Zeidler
Germany
defibrillator
1952
Paul M. Zoll
US
dentures
c. 700 BC
Etruscans
Italy
detector, metal
late 1920s
Gerhard Fisher
Germany/US
detector, home smoke
1969
Randolph Smith, Kenneth House
US
diamond, artificial
1955
General Electric Co.
US
diapers, disposable
1950
Marion Donovan
US
digital videodisc (DVD)
1995
consortium of international electronics companies
Japan, US, The Netherlands
dishwasher
1886
Josephine Cochrane
US
DNA fingerprinting
1984
Alec Jeffreys
UK
doughnut (ring) or donut
1847
Hanson Crockett Gregory
US
door, revolving
1888
Theophilus von Kannel
US
drinking fountain
c. 1905–1912
Luther Haws, Halsey W. Taylor (invented separately)
US
dry cleaning
1855
Jean Baptiste Jolly
France
dynamite
1867
Alfred Nobel
Sweden
elastic, fabric
c. 1830
Thomas Hancock
UK
electric chair
1888
Harold P. Brown, Arthur E. Kennelly
US
electrocardiogram (ECG, EKG)
1903
Willem Einthoven
The Netherlands
electroencephalogram (EEG)
1929
Hans Berger
Germany
electronic mail (e-mail)
1971
Ray Tomlinson
US
elevator, passenger
1852
Elisha Graves Otis
US
encyclopedia
c. 4th century BC or 77 AD
Speusippus (compliation of Plato's teachings) or Pliny the Elder (comprehensive work)
Greece or Rome
engine, internal-combustion
1859
Étienne Lenoir
France
engine, jet
1930
Sir Frank Whittle
UK
engine, liquid-fueled rocket
1926
Robert H. Goddard
US
engine, steam
1698
Thomas Savery
England
escalator
1891
Jesse W. Reno
US
eyeglasses
1280s
Salvino degli Armati or Alessandro di Spina
Italy
facsimile (fax)
1842
Alexander Bain
Scotland
fiber optics
1955
Narinder S. Kapany
India
fiberglass
1938
Owens Corning (corp.)
US
film, photographic
1884
George Eastman
US
flashlight, battery-operated portable
1899
Conrad Hubert
Russia/US
flask, vacuum (Thermos)
1892
Sir James Dewar
Scotland
food processor
1971
Pierre Verdon
France
foods, freeze-dried
1946
Earl W. Flosdorf
US
foods, frozen
c. 1924
Clarence Birdseye
US
Fresnel lens
1820
Augustin-Jean Fresnel
France
fuel cell
1839
William R. Grove
UK
genetic engineering
1973
Stanley N. Cohen, Herbert W. Boyer
US
Geiger counter
1908
Hans Geiger
Germany
glass
c. 2500 BC
Egyptians or Phoenicians
Egypt or Lebanon
glass, safety
1909
Édouard Bénédictus
France
greeting card, Christmas
1843
John Callcott Horsley
England
guillotine
1792
Joseph-Ignace Guillotin
France
guitar, electric
1941
Les Paul
US
gunpowder
c. 10th century
—
China or Arabia
hanger, wire coat
1903
Albert J. Parkhouse
US
helicopter
1939
Igor Sikorsky
Russia/US
holography
1948
Dennis Gabor
Hungary
hypodermic syringe
1853
Charles Gabriel Pravaz
France
in vitro fertilization (IVF), human
1978
Patrick Steptoe, Robert Edwards
UK
ink
c. 2500 BC
—
Egypt, China
insulin, extraction and preparation of
1921
Sir Frederick Grant Banting, Charles H. Best
Canada
integrated circuit
1958
Jack S. Kilby
US
Internet
1969
Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) at the Dept. of Defense
US
iron, electric
1882
Henry W. Seely
US
irradiation, food
1905
—
US/UK
jeans
1873
Levi Strauss, Jacob Davis
US
JELL-O (gelatin dessert)
1897
Pearle B. Wait
US
jukebox
1889
Louis Glass
US
Kevlar
1965
Stephanie Kwolek
US
Kool-Aid (fruit drink mix)
1927
Edwin E. Perkins
US
laser
1958
Gordon Gould and Charles Hard Townes, Arthur L. Schawlow (invented separately)
US
laundromat
1934
J.F. Cantrell
US
lawn mower, gasoline-powered
c. 1940
Leonard Goodall
US
Lego
late 1940s
Ole Kirk Christiansen
Denmark
light bulb, incandescent
1879
Thomas Alva Edison
US
light bulb, fluorescent
1934
Arthur Compton
US
light-emitting diode (LED)
1962
Nick Holonyak, Jr.
US
linoleum
1860
Frederick Walton
UK
lipstick, tube
1915
Maurice Levy
US
liquid crystal display (LCD)
1963
George Heilmeier
US
lock and key
c. 2000 BC
Assyrians
Mesopotamia
locomotive
1829
George Stephenson
England
longbow
c. 1000
—
Wales
loudspeaker
1924
Chester W. Rice, Edward W. Kellogg
US
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
early 1970s
Raymond Damadian, Paul Lauterbur
US
margarine
1869
Hippolyte Mège-Mouriès
France
matches, friction
1827
John Walker
England
metric system of measurement
1795
French Academy of Sciences
France
microphone
1878
David E. Hughes
UK/US
microscope, compound optical
c. 1600
Hans & Zacharias Jansen
The Netherlands
microscope, electron
1933
Ernst Ruska
Germany
microwave oven
1945
Percy L. Spencer
US
miniature golf
c. 1930
Garnet Carter
US
mirror, glass
c. 1200
Venetians
Italy
missile, guided
1942
Wernher von Braun
Germany
mobile home
1919
Glenn H. Curtiss
US
money, paper
late 900s
—
China
Monopoly (board game)
1934
Charles B. Darrow
US
Morse code
1838
Samuel F.B. Morse
US
motor, electric
1834
Thomas Davenport
US
motor, outboard
1907
Ole Evinrude
Norway/US
motorcycle
1885
Gottlieb Daimler, Wilhelm Maybach
Germany
mouse, computer
1963–64
Douglas Engelbart
US
Muzak
1922
George Owen Squier
US
nail, construction
c. 3300 BC
Sumerians
Mesopotamia
necktie
17th century
—
Croatia
neon lighting
1910
Georges Claude
France
nuclear reactor
1942
Enrico Fermi
US
nylon
1937
Wallace H. Carothers
US
oil lamp
1784
Aimé Argand
Switzerland
oil well
1859
Edwin Laurentine Drake
US
pacemaker, cardiac
1952
Paul M. Zoll
US
paper
c. 105
Ts'ai Lun
China
paper clip
1899
Johan Vaaler
Norway
paper towel
1931
Arthur Scott
US
parachute, modern
1797
André-Jacques Garnerin
France
parking meter
1932
Carl C. Magee
US
particle accelerator
1929
Sir John Douglas Cockcroft, Ernest Thomas Sinton Walton
Ireland/UK
pasteurization
1864
Louis Pasteur
France
pen, ballpoint
1938
Lazlo Biro
Hungary
pencil
1565
Conrad Gesner
Switzerland
periodic table
1871
Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleyev
Russia
personal watercraft, motorized
1968
Bombardier, Inc.
Canada
petroleum jelly
1870s
Robert Chesebrough
US
phonograph
1877
Thomas Alva Edison
US
photocopying (xerography)
1937
Chester F. Carlson
US
photography
1837
Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre
France
photography, instant
1947
Edwin Herbert Land
US
Play-Doh
1956
Noah W. & Joseph S. McVicker
US
plow, steel
1836
John Deere
US
pocket watch
c. 1500
Peter Henlein
Germany
polyethylene
1935
Eric Fawcett, Reginald Gibson
UK
polygraph (lie detector)
1921
John A. Larson
US
polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
1872
Eugen Baumann
Germany
Post-it Notes
mid-1970s
Arthur Fry (3M)
US
potato chips
1853
George Crum
US
printing press, movable type
c. 1450
Johannes Gutenberg
Germany
Prozac
1972
Ray W. Fuller, Bryan B. Molloy, David T. Wong
US
radar
c. 1904
Christian Hülsmeyer
Germany
radio
1896
Guglielmo Marconi
Italy
radio, car
early 1920s
William P. Lear
US
rayon
1884
Louis-Marie-Hilaire Bernigaud, count of Chardonnet
France
razor, electric
1928
Jacob Schick
US
razor, safety
c. 1900
King Camp Gillette
US
reaper, mechanical
1831
Cyrus Hall McCormick
US
record, long-playing (LP)
1948
Peter Carl Goldmark
US
refrigerator
1842
John Gorrie
US
remote control, television
1950
Robert Adler
US
respirator
c. 1955
Forrest M. Bird
US
revolver
1835–36
Samuel Colt
US
Richter scale
1935
Charles Francis Richter, Beno Gutenberg
US
rifle, assault
1944
Hugo Schmeisser
Germany
roller coaster
1884
LeMarcus A. Thompson
US
rubber, vulcanized
1839
Charles Goodyear
US
rubber band
1845
Stephen Perry
UK
saccharin
1879
Ira Remsen, Constantin Fahlberg
US, Germany
saddle (riding)
c. 200 BC
—
China
safety pin
1849
Walter Hunt
US
satellite, successful artificial earth
1957
Sergey Korolyov, et al.
USSR
satellite, communications
1960
John Robinson Pierce
US
saxophone
1846
Antoine-Joseph Sax
Belgium
Scotch tape
1930
Richard Drew (3M)
US
scuba gear
1943
Jacques Cousteau, Émile Gagnan
France
seat belt, automotive shoulder
1959
Nils Bohlin (Volvo)
Sweden
sewing machine
1841
Barthélemy Thimonnier
France
shoelaces
1790
—
England
silicone
1904
Frederic Stanley Kipping
UK
skateboard
1958
Bill & Mark Richards
US
skates, ice
1000 BC
—
Scandinavia
skates, roller
1760s
Joseph Merlin
Belgium
ski, snow
c. 2000–3000 BC
—
Sweden, Finland, Norway
skyscraper, steel-frame
1884
William Le Baron Jenney
US
slot machine
1890s
Charles Fey
US
snowmobile
1922
Joseph-Armand Bombardier
Canada
soap
600 BC
Phoenicians
Lebanon
soft drinks, carbonated
1772
Joseph Priestley
UK
sonar
1915
Paul Langevin
France
stamps, postage
1840
Sir Rowland Hill
UK
stapler
1866
George W. McGill
US
steamboat, successful
1807
Robert Fulton
US
steel, mass-production
1856
Henry Bessemer
UK
steel, stainless
1914
Harry Brearley
UK
stereo, personal
1979
Sony Corp.
Japan
stereophonic sound recording
1931
Alan Dower Blumlein
UK
stethoscope
1819
René-Théophile-Hyacinthe Laënnec
France
stock ticker
1867
Edward A. Calahan
US
stove, electric
1896
William Hadaway
US
stove, gas
1826
James Sharp
UK
straw, drinking
1888
Marvin Stone
US
submarine
1620
Cornelis Drebbel
The Netherlands
sunglasses
1752
James Ayscough
UK
sunscreen
1944
Benjamin Green
US
supermarket
1930
Michael Cullen
US
synthesizer, music
1955
Harry Olson, Herbert Belar
US
synthetic skin
1981
Ioannis V. Yannas, John F. Burke
US
tampon, cotton
1931
Earle Cleveland Haas
US
tank, military
1915
Admiralty Landships Committee
UK
tea bag
early 1900s
Thomas Sullivan
US
teddy bear
1902
Morris Michtom
US
Teflon
1938
Roy Plunkett
US
telegraph
1832–35
Samuel F.B. Morse
US
telephone, wired-line
1876
Alexander Graham Bell
Scotland/US
telephone, mobile
1946
Bell Laboratories
US
telescope, optical
1608
Hans Lippershey
The Netherlands
television
1923, 1927
Vladimir Kosma Zworykin, Philo Taylor Farnsworth
Russia/US, US
thermometer
1592
Galileo
Italy
thermostat
1830
Andrew Ure
UK
threshing machine
1778
Andrew Meikle
Scotland
tire, pneumatic
1888
John Boyd Dunlop
UK
tissue, disposable facial
1924
Kimberly-Clark Co.
US
tissue, toilet
1857
Joseph Gayetty
US
toaster, electric
1893
Crompton Co.
UK
toilet, flush
c. 1591
Sir John Harington
England
toothbrush
1498
—
China
tractor
1892
John Froehlich
US
traffic lights, automatic
1923
Garrett A. Morgan
US
transistor
1947
John Bardeen, Walter H. Brattain, William B. Shockley
US
typewriter
1868
Christopher Latham Sholes
US
ultrasound imaging, obstetric
1958
Ian Donald
UK
vaccination
1796
Edward Jenner
England
vacuum cleaner, electric
1901
Herbert Cecil Booth
UK
Velcro
1948
George de Mestral
Switzerland
vending machine
c. 100–200 BC
—
Egypt
video games
1972
Nolan Bushnell
US
videocassette recorder
1969
Sony Corp.
Japan
videotape
1950s
Charles Ginsburg
US
virtual reality
1989
Jaron Lanier
US
vision correction, laser
1987
Stephen Trokel
US
washing machine, electric
1907
Alva J. Fisher
US
wheel
about 3500 BC
proto-Aryan people or Sumerians
Russia/Kazakhstan or Mesopotamia
wheelbarrow
1st century BC
—
China
wheelchair
1590s
—
Spain
windmill
644
—
Persia
wine
before 4000 BC
—
Middle East
World Wide Web
1989
Tim Berners-Lee
UK
wristwatch, digital
1970
John M. Bergey
US
X-ray imaging
1895
Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen
Germany
Zamboni (ice resurfacing machine)
1949
Frank J. Zamboni
US
zipper
1893
Whitcomb L. Judson
US
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Science

Most people today have been led to believe that science can explain – or soon will explain – all natural phenomena – including the origin of life and the universe. Not many of them get to know that this notion is a belief that is only a few centuries old. Or that is being increasingly challenged by scientific research. This site will systematically present the pioneering research that promises to herald a spiritual revolution within science. Indeed eminent thinkers throughout the world, including leading scientists such as Nobel laureate Richard R. Ernst, peace workers such as Nobel laureates Oscar Arias Sanchez and Betty Williams, and spiritualists such as Nobel laureate the Dalai Lama, firmly believe that only a synthesis of science and spirituality can lead the world out of the present troubled times.

History in the making – and remaking
Since the time Newton attempted to explain planetary orbits through the laws of gravity and Motion, the scientific belief that the totality of existence can be explained through science has been gaining momentum. Correspondingly the hand of God on the canvas of the universe has been becoming dimmer and dimmer. Prior to Newton, God was understood to be the creator and controller of the universe. Newtonian physics relegated Him to the role of a creator, a mere clockmaker who had no power over nature, which was governed by laws. Darwin’s origin of natural species proposed in 1859 provided the intellectual justification for removing God even from the role of the creator. The intellectual climate of that time embraced Darwinian evolution not so much because of its scientific basis, but because of its ideological implications. This covert agenda to exile God from the academic world was made explicit by Frederic Nietzsche through his jolting “God is dead” proclamation. Today almost all the academic textbooks and journals as well as commercial science fiction novels and movies portray evolution as a proven fact, as an unquestionable scientific reality. Time and time again we get to hear recycled versions of the same old tale of human and universal origins: the universe originated with a big bang, unicellular life evolved fortuitously on the earth in a primordial soup, life forms evolved to increasing levels of complexity, and gradually all the flora and fauna on our planet – including we humans – came about. And concomitantly the religious world reviews of universal origins involving God are almost instantly rejected as pre-scientific superstitions.

This materialistic worldview has gained widespread acceptance not so much due to its scientific validation as due to its vigorous propagation. Moreover the impressive technological accomplishments of science – catering to the mass demands for instant relief and pleasure – have created among people a naïve, unquestioning faith that whatever science says must be true.
But as the harmful effects of technology are being increasingly recognized, so also are the fallacies of the scientific worldview that underlies these technologies.
More and more people – including acclaimed scientists – are realizing that reductionistic theories overlook a cardinal principle of science: theories should be based on objective evidences, no matter how unexpected, and not subjective beliefs, no matter how popular. The evidence uncovered by science – both at the macroscopic and the microscopic level – portrays a picture of the universe that is strikingly different from what most of us have been taught to believe as science.
Observation of the fine harmony of the universal laws, the amazing complexity and the purposeful, wonderful organization of animate and inanimate life on different levels, has started a progressively strengthening movement for the respiritualization of science.

"We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made. "
~ Albert Einstein
"After the conversations about Indian philosophy, some of the ideas of Quantum Physics that had seemed so crazy suddenly made much more sense".W. Heisenberg (German Physicist, 1901-1976)
"The Vedanta and the Sankhya hold the key to the laws of mind and thought process which are co-related to the Quantum Field, i.e. the operation and distribution of particles at atomic and molecular levels."
Prof. Brian David Josephson (1940 - ) Welsh physicist, the youngest Nobel Laureate
" It is India that gave us the ingenious method of expressing all numbers by ten symbols, each receiving a value of position as well as an absolute value, a profound and important idea which appears so simple to us now that we ignore its true merit. But its very simplicity, the great ease which it has lent to all computations, puts our arithmetic in the first rank of useful inventions, and we shall appreciate the grandeur of this achievement the more when we remember that it escaped the genius of Archimedes and Appollonius, two of the greatest men produced by antiquity."
Pierre Simon de Laplace, French mathematician, philosopher, and astronomer,
"Whenever I have read any part of the Vedas, I have felt that some unearthly and unknown light illuminated me. In the great teaching of the Vedas, there is no touch of sectarianism. It is of all ages, climbs, and nationalities and is the royal road for the attainment of the Great Knowledge."
~ Thoreau (American Thinker)
"The marvel of the Bhagavad-Gita is its truly beautiful revelation of life's wisdom which enables philosophy to blossom into religion."
~ Herman Hesse (1877-1962), German poet and novelist, awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1946,
In the great book of India,the Bhagavad-gita, an empire spoke to us, nothing small or unworthy, but large, serene, consistent, the voice of an old intelligence, which in another age and climate had pondered and thus disposed of the questions that exercise us.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson Eminent American Thinker
On our website you can read articles about the origin of the universe, the chemical evolution or beginning of life, the critiques of modern scientific methodologies; the evolution of species and much more, all in the light of such opinions, which though written by respected scientists and philosophers, are not placed in the school books, scientific journals and media programs due to the process of “knowledge filtration” through which the ruling paradigm blinds the public to all evidence that challenges its supremacy.
Come, open your intellects to new realms of knowledge and experience. Read articles that inform, challenge, provoke, enlighten, inspire, - and, most of all, stimulate the shaping of a more scientific science and a more human humanity.
Introduction by Caitanya Caran das - ISKCON Pune

MEDITATION

Meditation Techniques

Buddha taught that everything depends upon the mind.
Buddha taught that everything depends upon the mind. To realize this, we must first understand the nature and functions of the mind. At first, this might seem to be quite straightforward since we all have minds and we all know what state our mind is in – whether it is happy or sad, clear or confused, and so on. However, if someone were to ask us what the nature of our mind is and how it functions, we would probably not be able to give a precise answer. This indicates that we do not have a clear understanding of the mind.

If we train in meditation, our mind will gradually become more and more peaceful.

The heart of Dharma practice is meditation. The purpose of meditation is to make our mind calm and peaceful. If our mind is peaceful, we will be free from worries and mental discomfort, and so we will experience true happiness; but if our mind is not peaceful, we will find it very difficult to be happy, even if we are living in the very best conditions. If we train in meditation, our mind will gradually become more and more peaceful, and we will experience a purer and purer form of happiness. Eventually, we will be able to stay happy all the time, even in the most difficult circumstances.

Daily Meditations

If we practice patiently, gradually our distracting thoughts will subside and we will experience a sense of inner peace and relaxation.
We choose a quiet place to meditate and sit in a comfortable position. We can sit in the traditional cross-legged posture or in any other position that is comfortable. If we wish, we can sit in a chair. The most important thing is to keep our back straight to prevent our mind from becoming sluggish or sleepy.
We sit with our eyes partially closed and turn our attention to our breathing. We breathe naturally, preferably through the nostrils, without attempting to control our breath, and we try to become aware of the sensation of the breath as it enters and leaves the nostrils. This sensation is our object of meditation. We should try to concentrate on it to the exclusion of everything else.

Initial Meditation

Our mind will feel lucid and spacious and we will feel refreshed.
At first, our mind will be very busy, and we might even feel that the meditation is making our mind busier; but in reality we are just becoming more aware of how busy our mind actually is. There will be a great temptation to follow the different thoughts as they arise, but we should resist this and remain focused single-pointedly on the sensation of the breath. If we discover that our mind has wandered and is following our thoughts, we should immediately return it to the breath. We should repeat this as many times as necessary until the mind settles on the breath.If we practise patiently in this way, gradually our distracting thoughts will subside and we will experience a sense of inner peace and relaxation. Our mind will feel lucid and spacious and we will feel refreshed. When the sea is rough, sediment is churned up and the water becomes murky, but when the wind dies down the mud gradually settles and the water becomes clear. In a similar way, when the otherwise incessant flow of our distracting thoughts is calmed through concentrating on the breath, our mind becomes unusually lucid and clear. We should stay with this state of mental calm for a while.We should train in this preliminary meditation until we gain some experience of it.

OM SHANTHI !! OM SHANTI !! OM SHANTHI !!

BHAJAGOVINDAM(By Sankaracharya)

TEXT 1

bhajagovindam bhajagovindam
govindam bhajamuudhamate
sampraapte sannihite kaale
nahi nahi rakshati dukrijnkarane


TEXT 2

mudha jahiihi dhanaagamatrishhnaam
kuru sadbuddhim manasi vitrishhnaam
yallabhase nijakarmopaattam
vittam tena vinodaya chittam



TEXT 3

naariistanabhara naabhiidesham
drishhtvaa maagaamohaavesham
etanmaamsaavasaadi vikaaram
manasi vichintaya vaaram vaaram

TEXT 4

naliniidalagata jalamatitaralam
tadvajjiivitamatishayachapalam
viddhi vyaadhyabhimaanagrastam
lokam shokahatam cha samastam


TEXT 5

yaavadvittopaarjana saktah
staavannija parivaaro raktah
pashchaajjiivati jarjara dehe
vaartaam koapi na prichchhati gehe


TEXT 6

yaavatpavano nivasati dehe
taavatprichchhati kushalam gehe
gatavati vaayau dehaapaaye
bhaaryaa bibhyati tasminkaaye
dvaadashamajnjarikaabhirasheshhah
kathito vaiyaakaranasyaishhah
upadesho bhuudvidyaanipunaih
shriimachchhankarabhagavachchharanarih.


TEXT 7

baalastaavatkriidaasaktah
tarunastaavattaruniisaktah
vriddhastaavachchintaasaktah
pare brahmani koapi na saktah


TEXT 8

kaate kaantaa kaste putrah
samsaaro.ayamatiiva vichitrah
kasya tvam kah kuta aayaatah
tattvam chintaya tadiha bhraatah

TEXT 9

satsangatve nissngatvam
nissangatve nirmohatvam
nirmohatve nishchalatattvam
nishcalatattve jiivanmuktih


TEXT 10

vayasigate kah kaamavikaarah
shushhke niire kah kaasaarah
kshiinevitte kah parivaarah
gyaate tattve kah samsaarah

TEXT 11

maa kuru dhana jana yauvana garvam
harati nimeshhaatkaalah sarvam
maayaamayamidamakhilaM hitvaa
brahmapadaM tvaM pravisha viditvaa


TEXT 12

dinayaaminyau saayam praatah
shishiravasantau punaraayaatah
kaalah kriidati gachchhatyaayuh
tadapi na mujncatyaashaavaayuh

TEXT 13

dvaadashamajnjarikaabhirasheshhah
kathito vaiyaakaranasyaishhah
upadesho bhuudvidyaanipunaih
shriimachchhankarabhagavachchharanarih.


TEXT 14

kaate kaantaa dhana gatachintaa
vaatula kim tava naasti niyantaa
trijagati sajjanasam gatiraikaa
bhavati bhavaarnavatarane naukaa


TEXT 15

jatilo mundii lujnchhitakeshah
kaashhaayaambarabahukritaveshhah
pashyannapi cana pashyati muudhah
udaranimittam bahukritaveshhah


TEXT 16

angam galitam palitam mundam
dashanavihiinam jatam tundam
vriddho yaati grihiitvaa dandam
tadapi na mujncatyaashaapindam

TEXT 17

agre vahnih prishhthebhaanuh
raatrau chubukasamarpitajaanuh
karatalabhikshastarutalavaasah
tadapi na mujncatyaashaapaashah



TEXT 18

kurute gangaasaagaragamanam
vrataparipaalanamathavaa daanam
gyaanavihinah sarvamatena
muktim na bhajati janmashatena




TEXT 19

sura mandira taru muula nivaasah
shayyaa bhuutala majinam vaasah
sarva parigraha bhoga tyaagah
kasya sukham na karoti viraagah


TEXT 20

yogarato vaabhogaratovaa
sangarato vaa sangaviihinah
yasya brahmani ramate chittam
nandati nandati nandatyeva

The Planets Dance

THE PLANETS AND THEIR MEANINGS

The planets govern different significations in the charts according to their nature. Maharishi Parashara says the following: “The Sun is the soul of all. The Moon is the mind. Mars is one’s strength. Mercury is the speech giver while Jupiter confers knowledge and happiness. Venus governs semen (potency) while Saturn indicates grief.” This list would indicate the basic significations and roles of the different planets in the chart. The Sun represents God, so it will also represent the divine spark or the soul within us. But he may also represent the Ahamkara or false ego, pride and desire to control and dominate. His counterpart, the Moon represents the mind, emotions and feelings. Mars indicates one’s strength, determination and fearlessness. Mercury indicates speech, communication and travel as well. Venus indicates semen and sex life, and also arts, beauty and enjoyment. Jupiter gives wealth, wisdom, happiness and children. Saturn usually gives pain, grief, losses and represents old age also. He is the most malefic planet as compared to Jupiter, who is the most benefic. Rahu indicates the negative karma, and usually manifests as disease, sin, poison, illusion etc. Ketu is his counterpart, and he signifies Moksha or liberation, and also may give spiritual knowledge, although he sometimes cuts attachments very abruptly thereby causing pains also.
Some significations of the planets from Kalidasa’s Uttara Kalamrita as follows:
SUN/SURYA: Soul, power or strength, greatest severity, fortress, good strength, heat, influence, fires, worship of Shiva, courage, trees having thorns, favour of the king or ruler, bitter taste, old age, cattle, wickedness, land, father, taste, awakening of knowledge or enlightenment, looking up towards the sky, very great ambition, one born to a timid person or one whose actions are born out of fear, world of mortals, square or harmonious, bones, valour, grass, stomach, enthusiasm, forest, half a year, eye, wandering in or over hills, quadrupeds, king, travelling, dealings with affairs personal or social, bile, feverish or inflammatory complaints, circular forms, diseases of the eye, body, timber, mental purity, sovereignty over the entire country or over all countries, freedom from disease, rulership over Saurasthra- southern Gujarat, ornaments, disease of the head, pearls, ruler of the sky – control over air space, short or dwarfish stature, rulership over the eastern direction, copper, blood or blood-red gems like ruby, kingdom, blood-red cloth, stones, undisguised or open conduct, shores of a river, red coral, strong at noon, east, face, long-standing anger or long indignation, capturing the foe, sattvik or benevolent and good temper, red sandal paste or saffron, otherness or opposition or hostility, thick or coarse yarn.
MOON/CHANDRA: Intelligence, flowers, perfumes, going to a fortress, disease, brahmana or Dvija, laziness, phlegmatic constitution, epilepsy, hidden or ulcerous troubles in the stomach, nature of the mind, heart, woman, benefic and malefic nature, acidity, sleep, happiness, liquids, silver, stout sugarcane, malarial fever, pilgrimage, wells, tank, mother, impartial outlook, noon, pearls, consumption, whiteness, waist-band, bell-metal, salt, short stature, mind, abilities, ponds, diamond, autumn, muhurtha or 48 minutes duration, facial lustre, white colour, stomach, worship of Gauri, the consort of Shiva, honey, grace of favour, sense of fun or humour, nourishment, wheat, pleasures, splendour, face, swiftness of mind or agility of mind, fondness for curd, one who does tapas or penance, fame, beauty, strong at night, facing west, lover, saline, acquiring a post, love of the west, middle world, nine gems, middle age, self, eating, going to distant places, aliments of the shoulders, umbrella and other royal insignia, god fruits, fine blood circulation or vital energy, fish and other aquatic beings, serpents and the like, clothes, fine blossoming, lustre, clean crystals, refined clothing.
MARS/MANGALA: Valour, land, strength, carrying weapons, ruling over people – administrator, loss of virility, thief, battle, opposition, foes, charitable nature, love of deep-red objects, ruler over sacred places – archaeologist or sacred endowments, sound of a trumpet, fondness, quadrupeds, king, obstinate fool, anger, going to a foreign country, steadfastness, supporter, fire, controversy or arguments, bile, heat, wounds, service under the ruler, day, sky, sight, shortness, ailment, fame, tin, sword, spear, minister, firmness of limbs, jewels, worship of Subrahmanya (Karttikeya), youth, pungent taste, hall of the ruler, earthenware, obstacles, eating non-vegetarian food, abusing or bitterly criticising others, conquering foes, bitterness of taste, strong towards the end of the night, gold, summer season, valour, strength of enemy, profundity, courageous behaviour, man, character, Brahma, axe, moving in the forest, forest officer, chief ruler or officer of the village, favour of the king, painful urination, square, goldsmith, wicked one, burnt place, good food, leanness, skill in archery, blood, copper, variegated or peculiar clothes, face turned towards the south, fond of the southern direction, desire, anger, spreading scandals, house, commander of the army, a fire arm that kills a hundred (like a machine-gun), tree, Sama Veda, brothers, hatchet, controlling fierce or wild animals, independence, persistence, land, one who awards punishment, snake, world, speech, fickleness or imbalance of the mind, getting on a vehicle, seeing blood, drying or coagulating of blood.
MERCURY/BUDHA: Education, horses, treasury, mathematics, knowledge, speech, Dwijas, infantry, script, writing, new clothes, construction of palaces, green colour, sculpture, astrology and astronomy, pilgrimages, wise or good conversation or lecturing, temples, commerce, best ornaments, soft speech, Vedanta system of philosophy, maternal grandfather, bad dreams, eunuch, face turned to north, skin, moisture, bell-metal and the like, renunciation, seasons, fine place, medical practitioner, neck, black magic, child, looking cross-wise, heaven, humility, collaterals, fear, dancing, devotion, tendency to laughter, strong at sunrise or morning, beginning of winter, scratching ailments, self-control, navel, flourishing of one’s own dynasty, mixed or compound substances, presides over the Telugu language, worship of Vishnu, shudras, birds, younger coborns or brothers and sisters, witty language, sticks, Atharva Veda, carrying out the karmas or religious rites, towers of temples, dust, garden, sex organs, evenness, beneficial nature, wandering in the villages, balanced nature and outlook, fond of the north-western direction, well-versed in the Puranas or minor epics, grammar, one skilled in researching and testing the precious stones, scholar, maternal uncle, mantras or sacred spells, Yantras or symbolic religious diagrams, very powerful Tantric and the like.
JUPITER/GURU: Brahmanas, teachers, religious, social and other duties, chariot, cows, infantry, deposits, Mimamsa- and Dharma-sastras, treasure, horses, buffaloes, large or stout body, valour, fame, logic, astronomy and astrology, sons, grandsons, complaints of the digestive system, wealth of elephants, Vedanta philosophy, elders like great-grandfather, mansion, Gomedha (hessonite), elder brother, grandfather, Indra, first half of winter, acts arising from great indignation, precious stones, tradesman, physical health, strange or peculiar palace, honour from the king, great Gods, penance, charity, Dharma, doing good to others, impartial outlook, facing towards the north, circular forms, yellow colour, wandering in the villages, north, dear friends, swinging on a plank or on an elephant, great eloquence, brain, cloth of a medium count, happiness in a newly built house, old age or old persons, Mantra, Dwijas, holy water or place of pilgrimage, knee, moving towards heaven, house that offers happiness, intellect, great proficiency, great long poems, towers, delighting or impressing audience, throne, installation of the idol of Brahma, Cat’s eye, the great results of the Agnisthoma sacrifice, sweet juices, Sattvic nature, happiness and unhappiness, long things, gentle or benefic, understanding the minds or thoughts of others, gold, decorations, Tantra or technical subjects and the like, wind (Vaata) complaints, phlegm (Kapha), good yellow topaz, sound knowledge of the sacred texts and scriptures, soft and pleasant stones, worship of Shiva, performing religious and moral acts strictly, and travelling in a carriage covered on the four sides.
VENUS/SUKRA: White umbrella, which is a royal insignia, good cowry, good clothes, marriage, income, bipeds, woman, Dwijas, gentle or benefic, white colour, wife or husband, happiness from sex life, short stature, acid taste, flowers, commands, fame, youth, pride, conveyance, silver, fond of the south-east, salty taste, cross-wise vision, cough, fortnight, Rajasik nature, firmness, pearls, Yajur Veda, Vaisyas, beauty, buying and selling articles that contribute to beauty, pleasant talk arising from mutual love, watery place, elephants, horses, peculiar or strange poetry, dancing, middle age, music, enjoyment, happiness from wife or husband, precious stones, love of humour, swimming, servants, fortune, strange lustre, tenderness, kingdom, fragrant garland, taking pleasure in violin and flute, pleasant movement or walking, eight kinds of prosperity, well-proportioned limbs, frugal in taking food, season of spring, ornaments, possessing many women, facing east, eyes, speaking truth, skilled in the fine arts, semen, sporting in water with love, profundity, excess or eminence, pleasant musical instruments, decoration for dramatic shows, indulgence in amorous sports, declining physical form, one who attaches great importance to sex, receiving good respect or honour, fondness for having white clothes, expert in Bharata’s Natya Sastra (science of drama), having the seal of authority or of the government, ruler, fond of worshipping Gauri and Lakshmi, emaciated from the pleasures of sex, playing the role of mother for those born during daytime, skilled in composing poems, minor epics and the like, blue-black hair, benefic, genitals, urine or urinary tract, moving in the world of the snakes, strong in the afternoon, and an awareness of the genital organs and the secrets connected with them.
SATURN/SHANI: Ill-health and other sufferings, obstruction, horses, elephants, skin, income, standards, distress, disease, enmity, sorrow, death, happiness from a woman, maid-servant, asses, outcastes, persons with strange or mutilated limbs, roaring in the woods, disgust, charity, lords, longevity, eunuch, one born outside the four castes, birds, Tretagni, one of the sacred domestic fires, servant’s duties, doing something other than the traditional or accepted duties, one losing his ego, telling lies, lasting long, wind, old age, tendon, strong at the end of the day, the second half of winter, indignation, exertion, born of a low woman, born in adultery, a widow’s bastard, dirty cloth, dirty house, mind turned to dirty things, friendship with the wicked, black colour, sins, cruelty, ashes, grains in black colour, precious stones, iron, generosity, a year, Shudras, vital or supporters of the lover, significator of father for one born at night, learning what belongs to another caste, lameness, fierce or severe, blanket, facing west, remedies for restoring life, looking downwards, living by agriculture or farming, one who knows where the arms are kept, manager of an ordnance factory, cousin, an external position, fond of the north-east, world of the snakes, falling, wandering in the battlefields, bones, lead, wrong or wicked valour, Turks, torn clothes or things, oil, wood, Brahmanas having Tamasic quality, wandering in poisonous places, roaming in hilly areas, long standing fear, hunter, strange or ugly hair, whole kingdom, fear, goats and the like, buffaloes and the like, indulgence in sex, displaying amorous intentions in dressing, worship of Yama, dogs, thefts and hard-heartedness.
ASCENDING NOTE/RAHU: Umbrella, cowry, acquiring a kingdom, faulty logic, harsh speech, one belonging to a caste outside the four main castes, a sinful woman, a conveyance covered on all four sides, an irreligious person or a Shudra, gambling, strong at sunset, having sex with a wicked woman, going to a different country, unclean, bones, hidden abdominal ulcer, falsehood, looking downwards, perplexity, emerald, facing south, depending on Mlecchas, low castes and the like, malignant tumour, great forest, wandering in difficult places, suffering from mountains, staying outside, south-western direction, complaints of wind and phlegm, serpents, southern breeze, severe, long, reptiles, interpretation of dreams, travels, one Muhurtha (48 minutes), old age, conveyance, world of the snakes, maternal grandfather, air, acute duodenal pain, catarrh, breathing, great valour, worship of Vana-Durga, wickedness, association with animals, writing Urdu or Persian, and harsh speech.
DESCENDING NOTE/KETU: Worship of the lord of Chandi, Ganesha and others, medical practitioner, dogs, cocks, vultures, final salvation, all sorts of prosperity, consumption, painful fevers, bath in the Ganga, great penance, wind complaints, friendship with hunters, acquiring prosperity, stones, wounds, Mantra Shastra, instability of mind, knowledge of Brahman, diseases of the stomach and eye, stupidity, thorn, knowledge of animals, zoology, observing silence religiously, Vedanta, all kind of luxury, fortune, suffering from foes, sparing in eating, renunciation, father’s father, hunger, great pain from peptic or duodenal ulcer, small pox, or boils and such other diseases, horned animals, a servant of Shiva, getting the order of imprisonment revoked, and conversation or association with Shudras.
Some of the above listed Naisargika Karakatwas (natural significations) of the planets may seem to be contradictory to those given by other sources, but this often happens in the classic Jyotish texts. By learning to use these significations in practice and developing our intuition we learn to interpret them properly.

Baja Govindam ( of Sri Sankaracharya )

Baja Govindam(of Sri Sankaracharya - English translation)
Worship Govinda, worship Govinda,Worship Govinda, worship Govinda,Rules or grammar profit nothingOnce the hour of death draws nigh.

Renounce O fool, your ceaseless thirstFor hoarding gold and precious gems:Content yourself with what may come,Through deeds performed in earlier lives;Devote your mind to righteousness,And let dispassion be your law.

Lust at the sight of a woman's bodySprings from ignorance, springs from error;Inwardly reason, over and over,Bodies are flesh and blood and fat.
Uncertain is the life of a man, As rain-drops on a lotus leaf;The whole of mankind is preyTo grief and ego and disease.

While a man supports his family,See what loving care they show!But when his ageing body falters,Nearing the time of dissolution,None, not even his nearest kin,Will think to ask him how he fares.
While man's souls remains in his body,Fondly his family wish him well;But when the life-breath leaves its dwelling,Even his wife will flee in fear.

Remember, riches bring in grief;Truly, no joy abides in them.A rich man even fears his son;This is the position everywhere.
Lost in play is the carefree stripling,Lost in his sweetheart's charms, the youth;The old man brooks upon his sorrows;None there is, alas, whose spirit,Yearns to be lost in the Parabrahman.
Who is your wife? And who is your child?Strange indeed is this mortal world!Who are you? And who is your own?Where is the region whence you come?Brother, ponder on these things.

Good association breeds detachment;Detachment leads to freedom from delusion;Undeluded, one contacts changeless Reality;Contact with Reality bestows Liberation while alive.

Youth being fled, what good is passion?Water gone, what use is a lake?Where to be found our friends and kinsmen,Once the money is all exhausted?Where is the world when Truth is known?
Boast not of youth or friends or wealth;Swifter than eyes can wink, by Timeeach one of these is stolen away.Abjure the illusion of the world,and join yourself to timless Truth.

Sunrise and sunset, daylight and darkness,Winter and springtime, come and go;Even the course of time is playful;Life itself soon ebbs away;But man's vain hope, alas! goes onward,Tirelessly onward evermore.
Through this bouquet of a dozen versesWas imparted succintly to a grammarianInstruction supreme by the all-knowing Sankara, adored as the Bhagavapada.

Dreaming of wife, dreaming of wealth,Why do you roam restless as the wind?Is there none to take you in charge?Know then, my friend, in all the three worlds,The company of the good is the only boat,That can take you across the samsara sea.
Many are those whose locks are matted,Many whose heads are closely shaved,Many who pluck out all their hair;Some of them wearing robes of ochre,Some of them clad in other colours-all these things for their stomach's sake.Seeing Truth revealed before them,Still the deluded see it not.

Feeble has grown the old man's body,Toothless his gums and bald his head;But there he goes, upon his crutches,Clinging firmly to fruitless hope.

Seeking for warmth, the penniless beggar,Closely crouches before t=his fire,Or sits with only the sun to warm him;Nightly he lays down to slumber,Curling up to keep out the cold;Hungrily eats his beggar's portionOut of the bowl his hands provide him;Takes up his dwelling under a tree;Still in his heart a helpless prisonerBound with the chains of empty hope.
Though, for the sake of salvation,Man may go a-pilgrimage to Ganga-sagara,Keep his vows, and give to the poor,Failing the Knowledge of the Highest,Nothing of this assures him freedomEven in the span of a hundred lives.

Make a temple or tree your home,Clothe yourself in the skin of a deer.And use the bare earth for your bed,Avoid gifts and sense delights;Could any fail to be content,Blest with dispassion such as this?
Plunge in yoga or in enjoyment,Mix with all or stand severely apart;For the heart that delights ever in BrahmanIt is bliss, bliss, bliss- bliss without end.

Let a man but read from the Gita,Drink of the Ganges but a drop,Worship but once the Lord Almighty,And he will set at rest forever,All his fear of the King of Death.
Birth unceasing! Death unceasing!Ever to pass through a mother's womb!Hard to cross is the world's wide ocean;Lord, redeem me through Thy mercy.

Rags cast off along the highwayServe as a garment for the monk;Freed from vice and freed from virtue,Onward he wanders; in his sight,Nor I nor you nor the world exists.Why, then, so give way to sorrow?
Who am I? And who are you?Whatr is the place from which I come?Who is my mother? Who is my sire?Pondering thus, perceive them allAs fancies only, without sustance;Give up the world as an idle dream.
Vishnu alone it is wjo dwellsIn you, in me, in everything;Empty of meaning is your wrath,And the impatience you reveal.Seeing yourself in everyone, Have done with all diversity.

Be not attached to friend or foe,To son or kinsman, peace or war;If you aspire to Vishnu's realm,Look upon all things equally.
Give up the curse of lust and wrath;give up delusion, give up greed;Remember who you really are.Fools are they that are blind to Self;Cast into hell, they suffer there.

Every day recite from the Gita;Chant the thousand names of Vishnu,Cherishing Him within your heart,Take delight to be with the holy,Give your riches away to the poor.

He who yields to lust for pleasureLeaves his frame a prey to disease;Yet, though death is the final ending,None forswears his sinfulness.
Control the self, restrain the breath,Sift out the transient from the True,Repeat the holy name of God,And still the restless mind within.To this, the universal rule,Apply yourself with heart and soul.

Cherish your guru's lotus feetAnd free yourself without delayFrom the enslavement of this world.Curb your senses and your mindAnd see the Lord within your heart.

Thus was a silly grammarian,Lost in conning rules,Cleanses of his narrow vision,And shown the Light by Sankara's apostles.
Worship Govinda, worship Govinda,Worship Govinda, foolish one!Other than chanting the Lord's sweet names,Means there is none to cross life's ocean.

Kundali:The Mirror of India

Jyotish

Science or faith

History of Jyotish

Vedic culture is extremely ancient, at least 5000 years old by conservative estimate. Vedic culture has its own unique theology, philosophy, arts, sciences, and literature which exists to this present day. Vedic astrology is an integral part of this culture and has been practiced since time immemorial. The Vedas have six supplementary appendixes known as the Vedangas, limbs of the Vedas. One of these is the Jyotish Vedanga--Vedic astronomy and astrology. For thousands of years many Rsis (sages) maintained the tradition of Vedic astrology on a parallel track with the Vedas. Portions of these have been extracted at various times and put into the Jyotish Vedanga.
Many Rsis such as Vashistha, Bhrgu, and Garga were masters of astrology and taught it to their disciples in the Guru parampara (disciplic succession). Before the beginning of the present age, Kali-yuga, which began in 3102 B.C., Parasara Rsi milked the essence of the various schools of Vedic astrology present at his time and distilled it into his text known as the Brhad Parasara Hora Sastra. Parasara Rsi spoke this text to his disciple Maitreya Rsi, and Maitreya taught it to his disciples and it was passed in this way through the ages. Thus, the basic school of Vedic astrology practiced in India is called the Parasara school of astrology. Parasara was among the last of the Rsis (great sages) of the Vedic age. After him it was humans who preserved the line of Vedic astrology. Notable amongst them was Satyacarya and in particular Varaha Mihira who wrote several important texts on astrology. After them several other texts were composed which are also considered "classics" of Vedic astrology, such as Saravali, Jataka Parijata, Sarvartha Cintamani, and Horasara. All of these texts follow Parasara in their teachings.
There are six main branches of Vedic astrology:
Gola -- positional astronomy
Ganita -- mathematical diagnostic tools for analyzing the results of Gola
Jataka -- natal astrology
Prasna -- answering specific questions based upon the time the question is asked
Muhurta -- selecting an auspicious time to start something
Nimitta -- omens and portents.
There are also many sub-branches. The sages following Parasara have written texts on all branches.
From India, Vedic astrology spread to the Persians, and from the Persians to the Babylonians, and from them to the Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians. With the rise of Islam the Arabs learned astrology from both the Greek Hellenistic astrologers on one side (the West) and Vedic astrology from India on the other side (the East).
In the West astrology has had its difficulties. Periods of time when it was in favor, and times when it was politically out of favor. During the Dark Ages it practically disappeared from Europe and reappeared during the Renaissance. It disappeared during the so-called "Age of Reason" in the 1600s only to reappear again in the last 120 or so years. This fractured history of Western astrology has not helped the continuity of learning or building up of experience over the ages. Consequently Western astrology is fraught with many lacunae; blank spots, missing parts, and discontinuities. By contrast, Vedic astrology has an unbroken tradition over 5000 years long. And, its practitioners reap the benefits of such a long unbroken tradition such as a large body of classical literature whose content is understood by its practitioners.
In ancient India and even up to modern times, astrology was taught to students in schools and universities.

Hinduism

Hinduism

A Blend of Culture

Hinduism is a religious tradition that originated in the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is often referred to as Sanātana Dharma (सनातन धर्म) by its practitioners, a Sanskrit phrase meaning "the eternal path" or "the eternal law".
Hinduism is one of the world's oldest major religions that is still practiced. Its earliest origins can be traced to the ancient Vedic civilization. A conglomerate of diverse beliefs and traditions, Hinduism has no single founder. It is the world's third largest religion following Christianity and Islam, with approximately a billion adherents, of whom about 905 million live in India and Nepal. Other countries with large Hindu populations include Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, Fiji, Suriname, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom and Canada.
Hinduism contains a vast body of scriptures. Divided as Sruti (revealed) and Smriti (remembered) and developed over millennia, these scriptures expound on theology, philosophy and mythology, and provide spiritual insights and guidance on the practice of dharma (religious living). In the orthodox view, among such texts, the Vedas and the Upanishads are the foremost in authority, importance and antiquity. Other major scriptures include the Tantras, the sectarian Agamas, the Puranas and the epics Mahabharata and Ramayana. The Bhagavad Gīta, a treatise excerpted from the Mahābhārata, is sometimes called a summary of the spiritual teachings of the Vedas.

Etymology

The Persian term Hindu is derived from Sindhu, Sanskrit for the Indus River. The Rig Veda mentions the land of the Indo-Aryans as Sapta Sindhu (the land of the seven rivers in northwestern South Asia, one of them being the Indus). This corresponds to Hapta Həndu in the Avesta (Vendidad or Videvdad: Fargard 1.18)—the sacred scripture of Zoroastrianism. The term was used for those who lived in the Indian subcontinent on or beyond the "Sindhu". Some argue that the term itself is an attempt to give one term to "that many-sided and all-enfolding culture which we in the West have chosen to call Hinduism" However, the term "Hindu" has been used in subcontinental sources since at least 1323 CE, as attested by South Indian and Kashmiri tetxs, and increasingly so during British rule. Since the end of the 18th century the word has been used as an umbrella term for most of the religious, spiritual, and philosophical traditions of the sub-continent, excluding the distinct religions of Sikhism, Buddhism, and Jainism.

The goals of life according to Hinduism

Classical Hindu thought accepts two main life-long dharmas: Grihastha Dharma and Sannyasin Dharma.
The Grihastha Dharma recognize four goals known as the purusharthas. They are:
kama: Sensual pleasure and enjoyment
Artha: Material prosperity and success
Dharma: Correct action, in accordance with one's particular duty and scriptural laws
Moksha: Liberation from the cycle of samsara
Among these, dharma and moksha play a special role: dharma must dominate an individual's pursuit of kama and artha while seeing moksha, at the horizon.
The Sannyasin Dharma recognizes, but renounces Kama, Artha and Dharma, focusing entirely on Moksha, the Grihastha Dharma eventually enters this stage. However, some enter this stage immediately from whichever stage they may be in.

History

The earliest evidence for elements of Hinduism date back to the late Neolithic to the early Harappan period (5500–2600BCE). The beliefs and practices of the pre-classical era (1500–500BCE) are called the "historical Vedic religion". Modern Hinduism grew out of the Vedas, the oldest of which is the Rigveda, dated to 1700–1100BCE. The Vedas center on worship of deities such as Indra, Varuna and Agni, and on the Soma ritual. They performed fire-sacrifices, called yajna and chanted Vedic mantras but did not build temples or icons.The oldest Vedic traditions exhibit strong similarities to Zoroastrianism and with other Indo-European religions. During the Epic and Puranic periods, the earliest versions of the epic poems Ramayana and Mahabharata were written roughly from 500–100BCE, although these were orally transmitted for centuries prior to this period. The epics contain mythological stories about the rulers and wars of ancient India, and are interspersed with religious and philosophical treatises. The later Puranas recount tales about devas and devis, their interactions with humans and their battles against demons.
Three major movements underpinned the naisance of a new epoch of Hindu thought: the advents and spread of Upanishadic, Jaina, and Buddhist philosophico-religious thought throughout the broader Indian landmass. The Upanishads, Mahavira (24th Tirthankar of Jains) and Buddha (founder of Buddhism) taught that to achieve moksha or nirvana, one did not have to accept the authority of the Vedas or the caste system. Buddha went a step further and claimed that the existence of a Self/soul or God was unnecessary. Buddhism adapted elements of Hinduism into their beliefs. Buddhism (or at least Buddhistic Hinduism) peaked during the reign of Asoka the Great of the Mauryan Empire, who unified the Indian subcontinent in the 3rd century BCE. After 200CE, several schools of thought were formally codified in Indian philosophy, including Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Purva-Mimamsa and Vedanta. Charvaka, the founder of an atheistic materialist school, came to the fore in North India in the sixth century BCE. Between 400BCE and 1000CE, Hinduism expanded at the expense of Buddhism.
Though Islam came to India in the early 7th century with the advent of Arab traders and the conquest of Sindh, it started to become a major religion during the later Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent. During this period Buddhism declined rapidly and many Hindus converted to Islam. Numerous Muslim rulers such as Aurangzeb destroyed Hindu temples and persecuted non-Muslims, however some, such as Akbar, were more tolerant. Hinduism underwent profound changes in large part due to the influence of the prominent teachers Ramanuja, Madhva, and Chaitanya. Followers of the Bhakti movement moved away from the abstract concept of Brahman, which the philosopher Adi Shankara consolidated a few centuries before, with emotional, passionate devotion towards the more accessible avatars, especially Krishna and Rama.
Indology as an academic discipline of studying Indian culture from a European perspective was established in the 19th century, led by scholars such as Max Müller and John Woodroffe. They brought Vedic, Puranic and Tantric literature and philosophy to Europe and the United States. At the same time, societies such as the Brahmo Samaj and the Theosophical Society attempted to reconcile and fuse Abrahamic and Dharmic philosophies, endeavouring to institute societal reform. This period saw the emergence of movements which, while highly innovative, were rooted in indigenous tradition. They were based on the personalities and teachings of individuals, as with Shri Ramakrishna and Ramana Maharshi. Prominent Hindu philosophers, including Sri Aurobindo and Swami Prabhupada (founder of ISKCON), translated, reformulated and presented Hinduism's foundational texts for contemporary audiences in new iterations, attracting followers and attention in India and abroad. Others such as Swami Vivekananda, Paramahansa Yogananda, B.K.S. Iyengar and Swami Rama have also been instrumental in raising the profiles of Yoga and Vedant in the West.

Krishna Naam Saar

Several Names of Lord Krishna with their Meanings

Krishna - has been given many names and titles by his devotees.
Achala - The still one
Achyuta - Infallible
Baanke Bihari - Charming player
Bihari - One who plays
Brajesh - Lord of Braja
Chakradhari - the bearer of a discus (chakra)
Damodara (Daamodarah) - the Lord when He was tied with a cord (daama) round His waist (udara)
Dinabandu - Friend of the afflicted
Dînânâth - Refuge of destitutes
Dwarakadish - Lord of Dwaraka
Dwarakanath - Lord of Dwaraka
Ghanshyam - Dark rain cloud complexioned one
Giridhari - he who lifted a hill (Govardhana hill)
Gopala - cowherd; protector of cows
Gopinath - Lord of the gopis, or cowherd women.
Govinda - protector of cows; also connected with Govardhana Hill.

Guruvayoorappan - Lord of the temple Guruvayoor, constructed by the Guru of Devas Brihaspati and Vayu .
Hari - one who takes away [sins, or who wards off samsara, the cycle of birth and death]; the yellow one (the colour of the sun); Hare Krishna is the vocative, viz. "o golden one! o dark-blue one".
Ishvara - god
Hrshikesha - Master of the senses
Jagannatha - lord of all places.
Janardhana - One Who Bestows Boons On One And All
Kaladev - the black deity
Kanha
Keshava – long haired, beautiful haired; see also other meanings.
Madhava - bringer of springtime.Madhusudanah - killer of demon Madhu
Mukhilan- The one with the complexion similar to the rain clouds
Mukunda- he who gives you Mukti
Nanda Gopal
Nanda Lal - Beloved of Nanda
Panduranga
Parambrahman the highest Brahman
Parameshvara the highest Ishvara, the highest god
Partha sarathy - charioteer, a reference to his role with regard to Arjuna in the great battle
Patitapavana - Purifier of the fallen
Radha Vallabha - lover of Radha
Ranchodrai - When he refused to fight the war and fled to Dwarka for the sake of peace. Dakor, Gujarat has a popular temple of Ranchodraiji. Ran - Field, Chod - leave.
Shyamasundara - the beautiful, dark one
Vasudeva, Krishna Vaasudeva - son of Vasudeva
Yadunandan - Son of the Yadu dynasty
Yogeshwara - the Lord of the Yogis
Yashoda Nandan – child of Yashoda

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Note:The above list is incomplete since Hari has several names we can't even imagine, so our humble request is to add them in our comment box we will welcome all your efforts.

Hari Anant Hari Naam Ananta