Showing posts with label ancient india. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ancient india. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 14, 2026

All is burning: 'The Fire Sermon' (sutra)

 
The Buddha's FIRE SERMON: the speech that converted 1,000 wanderers

What is the "all" that is burning?
Buddha's Wisdom(Buddha's Wisdom) šŸ” WE’RE BURNING RIGHT NOW — THE BUDDHA’S FIRE SERMON There’s a constant inner heat -- craving, hatred, confusion -- that drives our decisions and drains our peace.

In this guided breakdown of the Buddha’s Fire Sermon (Adittapariyaya Sutta), see exactly what’s burning, why “ALL is burning” became one of Buddhism’s most powerful teachings, and a 5-step method to stop being consumed by it, today.

DISCOVER
  • How the Buddha converted 1,000 fire-worshippers with a single 20-minute speech
  • The three psychological fires burning in our chest right now (and why they always find new fuel and never stop)
  • The hidden follow-up teaching that challenges even clinging to the pursuit of “enlightenment”
  • The 5-step method that extinguished suffering for 1,000 people simultaneously
  • What the Buddha taught AFTER the Fire Sermon that made even enlightened beings question everything
  • Master Buddhist meditation and mindfulness with the Buddha's original Fire Sermon teaching
  • (Dhamma Talks at Dhammagiri) The greatest miracle of the Buddha (instruction): "The Fire Sermon" | Adittapariyaha Sutta
My house burned (commentary)

TIMESTAMPS
  • 00:00 Scan the Fire
  • 01:19 Find Our Fires — Craving • Rejection • Confusion
  • 02:50 1,000 meditators, same burn — The Kassapa Setup (near Bodh Gaya)
  • 04:11 All is burning — the Buddha’s Fire Sermon (SN 35.28)
  • 07:27 Silence: 1,000 awaken — What liberation felt like
  • 09:20 How to stop burning — the 5-Step Practice
  • 11:01 Beyond the Fire
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#Buddhism #FireSermon #Buddha #Mindfulness #Meditation #Enlightenment #Adittapariyaya #ThreePoisons #Craving #LettingGo #InnerPeace #Theravada

SOURCE
Comment below: What Buddhist fire burns strongest: craving, hatred, or delusion? Practice Buddhist mindfulness together.

Wednesday, July 1, 2026

Swami on overcoming the sex itch


(Western Hare Krishna/Hindu monk Bhatki Vikasa Swami) Overcoming the Sex Itch | SB 7.9.45

Monday, June 29, 2026

Under a Full Strawberry Moon (6/29)



Thirteen full moons make up one calendar year?
Last month's blue moon was really June's? The Gregorian calendar really fails us, making the lunar calendar of 13 months (moonths, since every year has 13 full moons, one each moonth) or even the Chinese lunisolar calendar look very appealing by comparison.

How long is a moonth? It is four weeks. How long is a week? It is seven days. How long is a day? About 24 hours or so. And the surprise is that, agreeing on all of these numbers as most Westerners will, what number __ x 28 (four weeks or a month) will give us 365 days?
  • Mmm, is it 12? - No, it is not. - Oh, is it 11 then? - No, and you're only getting colder. - You don't mean it's 13, do you, because that's bad luck! We can't have 13 anywhere or bad luck will happen, and I'm already afraid that you brought it up! It's 12, right? It has to be 12 because 12 months equal one year!
The number is 13 because 13 x 28 = 364 + plus 1 turnaround (New Year's) day to reset for the next year. This is astronomy in action, only we've been lied to for so long and taught to fear the evil, wrong, bad "thirteen" with superstitions and stupidity for so long that we do not even question it.

The Buddhist lunar observance: uposatha

It's like a Roman religion, and we all just do what we're told. But 13 is a holy number with many excellent attributes, not the least of which is that's how many natural full moons and months we have each year. The ancient Vedas and Sumerian texts were onto something, so why did moderns try to take that away from us, detach us from our celestial clock, our connection to the seasons, solstices, sabbaths (a word that literally means "Saturdays," which we have been conned into thinking is synonymous with solar worship on Sundays), and a more reliable calendar?

The virtues of the lunar observance

There is a way to construct it so that holidays do not jump around in a haphazard way necessitating a priestly caste to interpret the signs for us every time we want to commemorate something. The indigenous people knew it, as did the aboriginal, and the wise women (cursed as "witches"), the pagans, and the heathens, the Gnostics and the Buddhists. The Buddha set aside one day a week to observe the uposatha or "fasting" day (because one only eats between dawn and noon and not after) of observing the Eight Precepts.

Of the four weeks in a month, the full moon observance is the most obvious so it seems the most special, as in if you're only going to follow one a month, this would be the one. Anyone can look up and see that it is time to reflect on the Dhamma, invest in our meditation practice or sadhana, and hear the Teachings of the Awakened One.

Saturday, June 27, 2026

Buddhism thrived outside Brahminical India

Dalit B. R. Ambedkar, an Indian social reformer and politician who came from a social group that was considered "untouchable," theorized that untouchability originated because of the deliberate policy of the elitist Brahmins (brahmanas).

According to him, the Brahmins despised the people who gave up Brahmanism (the Brahminical religion) in favor of Buddhism or Jainism (shramana, "wandering ascetic" shamanic traditions).

Later scholars such as Vivekanand Jha have refuted this theory [10]. Professor of History Nripendra Kumar Dutt theorized that the concept of untouchability originated from the "pariah"-like treatment accorded to the indigenous people of India by the early Dravidians, and that the concept was borrowed by the Indo-Aryans from the Dravidians.

Scholars such as R. S. Sharma have rejected this theory, arguing that there is no evidence that Dravidians practiced untouchability before coming into contact with the Indo-Aryans [10]. Austrian ethnologist Christoph von Fürer-Haimendorf theorized that untouchability originated as class stratification in urban areas of the Indus Valley Civilization. According to this theory, the poorer workers involved in "unclean" occupations such as sweeping or leather work were historically segregated and banished outside the city limits. Over time, personal cleanliness came to be identified with "purity," and the concept of untouchability eventually spread to rural areas as well. After the decline of the Indus Valley towns, these "untouchables" probably spread to other parts of India [11].

Scholars such as Suvira Jaiswal reject this theory, arguing that it lacks evidence and does not explain why the concept of untouchability is more pronounced in rural areas [12].

American scholar George L. Hart, based on his interpretation of Old Tamil texts such as Purananuru, traced the origin of untouchability to ancient Tamil society. According to him, in this society, certain occupational groups were thought to be involved in controlling the malevolent supernatural forces; as an example, Hart mentions the Paraiyars, who played the drums during battles and solemn events such as births and deaths. People from these occupational groups came to be avoided by others, who believed that they were "dangerous and had the power to pollute the others" [13].

Jaiswal dismisses the evidence produced by Hart as "extremely weak" and contradictory. Jaiswal points out that the authors of the ancient Tamil texts included several Brahmanas (a fact accepted by Hart); thus, the society described in these texts was already under Brahmanical influence and could have borrowed the concept of untouchability from Brahmins [14]. More

Wednesday, April 22, 2026

Lord Krishna versus the Buddha


(Buddha's Wisdom) Did the Buddha reject what Lord Krishna taught? The Bhagavad Gita ("God's Song") vs. the  Buddhist Path.

The dark Lord Krishna
Hinduism, which is not the same as the Old Vedic Religion we call Brahmanism, has three facets of God, which most take to be three different Gods: Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Sustainer, and Shiva the Destroyer. Krishna is not any of these, but like the Buddha, Jesus, and other good teachers, Krishna is regarded as an avatar or incarnation of Vishnu. Krishna ("The Dark One") is regarded as the "All-Attractive One," a blue and beautiful humanoid being who literally came to Earth and taught Arjuna and others, the most comely embodiment of Vishnu. Lord Krishna (which maybe should be spelled "Chrishna" or "Khrist" because of his similarity to Jesus in form and function within Hinduism)

Radha-Krishna, Kalighat
Krishna sure loved the milkmaids or gopis. One time he stole their clothes while they were bathing in the river. Some say his activities on earth make him seem more like an embodiment of the god Kama (Cupid, Eros, Lust) than Vishnu. His consort is Radha, and they are often combined into a unisex or united binary being: Radha Krishna, combining our innate masculine and feminine characteristics as humans, which the devas more freely express.

Sunday, January 4, 2026

Ancient Indian atheism: materialism


The Vedas are wrong? Karma has no effects?
Charvaka
(Sanskrit चार्वाक, Cārvāka), also known as Lokāyata ("world only"), is an ancient Indian school of materialism [1].

It is an example of the atheistic schools in the ancient Indian philosophies [a][3][b][5][c].

Charvaka holds that only direct perception (seeing with my own eyes, experiencing with my own senses), empiricism (provable, objective scientific method), and conditional inference (logical deduction and argument) are proper sources of knowledge; it embraces philosophical skepticism and rejects all ritualism [4][6][7][8][9].

In other words, the Charvaka epistemology (the study of how we know or decide that things are true) states that whenever one infers a truth from a set of observations or truths, one must acknowledge doubt; inferred knowledge is conditional [10]. It was a well-attested belief system in ancient India [d].

Brihaspati, a [heretical] philosopher, is traditionally referred to as the founder of the Charvaka or Lokāyata philosophy, although some scholars dispute this [11, 12].
On Lokayata | Indic Civilizational Portal
.
Charvaka developed during the Hindu reformation period in the first millennium BCE [13] and is considered a philosophical predecessor to subsequent or contemporaneous heterodox philosophies such as AjƱāna, ĀjÄ«vika, Jainism, and Buddhism [14].

Its teachings have been compiled from historic secondary literature such as those found in the shastras, sutras, and Indian epic poetry [15].

Charvaka is categorized as one of the nāstika or "heterodox" schools of Indian philosophy [16, 17]. More

Monday, November 10, 2025

Patanjali, who created the Universe?


Patanjali and the Yoga Sutras for union with the divine
 
"Yoga" is much more than poses and balance.
The Indian Sage Patanjali, author or compiler of the Yoga Sutras or "Aphorisms on Union" since they are not discourses (sutras) but rather terse sayings followed by brief explanations on the ultimate goal of Yoga ("Union").

All that we in the West call "yoga" are the poses, some breathwork (pranayama), and some chanting or repeating the names of the divine (japa).

But, in fact, the Eightfold Path of Yoga (Ashtanga, Raja, or Integral Yoga) combines a system of practices mirroring the Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path, which was radically popular at the time, two millennia ago when the ancient yogi rishi Patanjali compiled his text to set out the ancient Vedic approach to "union with the divine."

They are not the same path, and they do not lead to the same goal, but they often use the same general terms, such as moksha (Pali vimutti) to describe "liberation from samsara." For the Brahmin priests of olde, "liberation" or "emancipation" was rebirth in Brahma's heaven.
  • Brahma means "supreme" and was the personal God of the Brahmin priests, The Supremo, even though some understood that there was a higher truth, an impersonal "Ultimate Reality" behind all the illusion of maya called Brahman, the godhead or godhood; this distinction is crucial but as the words are so similar, some may miss the distinction and fall into wrong views about what the Vedas taught and how the Brahmin caste priests interpreted the ancient "Knowledge Books" of ancient proto-India when it was Maha Bharat and a likely remnant of the more ancient Indus Valley Civilization.
  • The Hindu concept of BRAHMAN being impersonal brings it very close to a Buddhist understanding of the universe, whereas the Buddha rejected the Vedas, the concept of Great Brahma as the creator of the universe, and most Brahminical ideas of the Old Vedic Religion which he revivified by explaining in novel ways lost to the Brahmin rishis and scholar priests who were unable to explain many tough passages and instead speculated and wrangled and had fallen into wrong views.
The Buddha made known the path to all destinations
The Buddha and Early Buddhism did not advocate any spiritual seeker to remain in samsara (the Cycle of Rebirth and Death), which is what "rebirth with Brahma" means.
Moreover, the Buddha taught the way to rebirth in Brahma's retinue, the path to rebirth as a brahma (including Great Brahma, of which there is only one per each "world system" or cakkavala. This is possibly a reference to a "universe" in the multiverse, a solar system, or a galaxy like the Milky Way, of which there are countless all like bubbles).

Brahmins (now Hindus) believes this will then be their final permanent destination, the end of further rebirths in samsara, with no possibility falling away, other brahmas, devas, and Noble Ones in the Pure Abodes -- as well as rebirth on the human plane, 30 other Planes of Existence -- and best of all, ultimate bliss and peace: the END of all further rebirth (nirvana).

Thursday, November 6, 2025

Vedas: Forbidden Archeologist Michael Cremo


Michael Cremo
Researcher and author Michael "The Forbidden Archeologist" Cremo discusses his latest work on consciousness and intriguing discoveries challenging conventional paleoanthropology. A focal point of the conversation is the recent discovery of a species of pachycephalosaur dinosaurs in Montana, USA, known for their distinctive domed skulls. These herbivorous dinosaurs measured about 10 feet long and lived approximately 75 million years ago, before being wiped out by an asteroid impact near the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico.

Cremo challenges the long-held belief that humans and dinosaurs never coexisted. He cites evidence of human-like footprints dating back to the Cretaceous period and describes a "Jurassic dinosaur bone...with cut marks...like somebody had taken some sharp instrument and used it to strip the flesh off this dinosaur bone." These findings suggest a possible overlap between humans and dinosaurs, a position dismissed by mainstream scientists.

Currently involved in the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium project in India, Cremo says he is developing exhibits that explore concepts such as cyclic time and the soul's journey through different bodies (reincarnation) in different planetary systems.

He emphasizes the need for new explanations of human origins that incorporate all of the data -- particularly ooparts (out of place artifacts) and the concept of consciousness.

Having attended the Science of Consciousness Conference in Barcelona, Spain, he quotes one scientist from the conference who likened theories of consciousness to "toothbrushes," noting: "Everybody has one, but nobody seems to want to use the other person's," highlighting the fragmented and inconclusive nature of current scientific understanding.

Cremo argues that ancient civilizations had a sophisticated grasp of consciousness and the "self" (atman, ego) as distinct from the physical body. He points out that many ancient texts, such as the Vedic scriptures of the Brahmin priests claimed by Hinduism, describe a multidimensional universe (multiverse) with conscious selves transmigrating through various planes of existence.

"In the Vedic texts," he notes, "they speak of 400,000 human-like species scattered throughout the universe, some with amazing powers and abilities beyond what we are able to accomplish."

The Vedas also indicate there have been interactions between these entities and humans for vast periods of time called yugas, kalpas, and maha-kalpas (epochs, aeons, and great aeons). More

Monday, October 20, 2025

Diwali: Festival of Lights (Cali, Chi, NJ)


(Encyclopaedia Brittanica) Diwali (Dipa-wali) is one of the major religious festivals in Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism [not Buddhism], lasting for five days from the 13th day of the dark half of the lunar month Ashvina to the second day of the light half of the lunar month Karttika.


(The corresponding dates on the Gregorian calendar usually fall on late October and November). The name is derived from the Sanskrit term dipavali, meaning “row of lights.” The festival generally symbolizes the victory of light over darkness. More


Los Angeles, California Diwali and Annakut Celebration
(BAPSChannel) Experience the lights, festivities, and joy of Diwali and Annakut at BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir on the outskirts of Los Angeles, For more details, visit: https://www.baps.org/News/2024/Diwali... #BAPS #BAPSDiwali #diwali #diwali2024 #festivaloflights #na50 #diwalicelebration #diwalifestival #losangeles

Thursday, October 9, 2025

Ancient World Artifacts: Pyramids


Ancient World Artifacts: The Mysterious and Bizarre
(YouTube Movies & TV) Free with ads TV-14. There are many mysteries in ancient India, with fascinating temples and legends. There are also 10 Lesser-Known Pyramids on Earth. Explore pyramids around the world that are even more mysterious than those in Egypt as well as bizarre "Alien" archaeological artifacts that defy comprehension. Ancient World Artifacts: The Mysterious and Bizarre

Saturday, October 4, 2025

Hindu Ramayana in Buddhist Thailand



The Ramayana (Sanskrit रामायणम्, Romanized Rāmāyaṇam [3]), also known as Valmiki Ramayana, as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (Sanskrit epic) from ancient proto-India (Bharata), one of the two important epics of modern Hinduism known as the Itihasas, the other being the Mahabharata [4], the story of "Great Bharata." The epic narrates the life of the god Rama, the seventh avatar of the [extraterrestrial] Hindu deity Vishnu, who is a prince of Ayodhya in the Kingdom of Kosala. The epic follows his 14-year exile
  • to the forest urged by his father King Dasharatha, on the request of Rama's stepmother Kaikeyi;
  • his travels across the forests on the Indian subcontinent with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana;
  • the kidnapping of Sita by Ravana, the king of [Sri] Lanka, which resulted in a bloodbath; and
  • Rama's eventual return to Ayodhya along with Sita to be crowned as a king amidst jubilation and celebration. More
  • Angkor Wat: Buddhist/Vedic (Hindu) fusion temple
  • WION; Amber Larson, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Friday, September 5, 2025

The Full Hunter's Moon (Uposatha)

The Moon is inside our atmosphere, which is much larger than we're told  (USSR).
.
Triple Moon headband with pentagram of Man
Culturally and spiritually significant across many societies, full moons are associated with festivals such as Buddhist Vesak (~May) and various Hindu purnima observances (such as the Buddha's Birthday). The "fasting day" or Uposatha is also of tremendous importance to the Buddha and Theravada Buddhism.

Many traditions have named specific full moons—like the harvest moon or hunter's moon—and linked them to seasonal and agricultural events.

Folklore has associated full moons with madness, supernatural events, and insomnia, though scientific studies have so far found inconsistent evidence of behavioral effects on anything but the tides.
  • Eric Dubay stands by his position that the tides are NOT related to the moon for the simple fact of lunar distance having absolutely no effect on massive bodies of freshwater like lakes and mighty rivers (Ganges, Mississippi, Nile, Amazon, Yangtze, Saraswati); however, could this be because salt plays a role in their electromagnetic pull?
In modern times, terms like “blood moon” and “blue moon” have entered popular use, often referring to lunar eclipses or rare lunar events....

In folklore and tradition
The Moonship tilts and lists, glows and fades.
In Buddhism, Vesak (Wesak) is celebrated on the full moon day of the ancient Indian month of Vaisakha, marking the birth, great enlightenment, and final nirvana of the historical Buddha [11].

In Arabic, badr (ŲØŲÆŲ± ) means "full moon," but it is often translated as "white moon," referring to The White Days, the three days when the full moon is celebrated.

Moonstruck is not necessarily lunacy.
Full moons are traditionally associated with insanity (lunacy and lunatic), various supernatural or "magical phenomena" such as clinical lycanthropy (turning into a werewolf or hirsute dogman), and insomnia (the persistent inability to sleep).

Psychologists, however, have found evidence for effects on human behavior around the time of a full moon, but it tends to be weak [12] except for sensitives, who may be driven over the edge (as seen in asylums and emergency rooms across the country).

Scientists find that their poorly designed studies are generally inconsistent, with some showing a positive effect and others showing a negative effect. In one instance, the Dec. 23, 2000, issue of the British Medical Journal published two studies... More

So what's the big deal? Why does the Moon matter so much. To explain that we have the Saga of Vanity Lycan coming up in Part 2: Who cares about the Moon? Vanity does
  • Ashley Wells, Seth Auberon, Amber Larson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly Wiki edit

Thursday, September 4, 2025

Priceless relics of the Buddha found


Dr. Ranajit Pal, Ph.D.
Bones of the Buddha is a documentary about the British excavation of one of the eight stupas (Buddhist burial mound and reliquary found in Piprahwa, now India, near the border with Nepal) where the historical Buddha's cremation remains (sarira or relics) were placed after the Buddha's final nirvana (parinibbana). More
What treasure was in the stupa?
(Doug's Dhamma) William Claxton Peppe excavates on his land in India

Bones of the Buddha: full documentary puts this monumental find in context

Thursday, April 10, 2025

Graham Hancock: Yoga in Mohenjo-daro


Graham Hancock: Yoga in Mohenjo-daro

Pashupati seal impression
(Journey With The Mystics) There is a famous Mohenjo-daro seal called the Pashupati or the "Lord of the Animals" as if it were the Vedic/Hindu deity.

It is likely much older than this division of the Hindu trinity. It shows an advanced yoga pose, a lotus position with heels touching and facing upwards.

Lord Shiva (Sivakempfort)
Sadly, no one has yet rigged artificial intelligence to crack the code and decipher the ancient Indus Valley Civilization language of this area and/or what was spoken in Harappa (since it seems to not have been an early/archaic form of Vedic Sanskrit as one might guess).

#grahamhancock #mohenjodaro #shiva #pashupati #podcast

Sunday, November 24, 2024

Pilgrimage to Himalayan Hindu temple



Is Kedarnath the most mysterious Hindu pilgrimage site?

(Celestial Stories) Nov. 23, 2024: Is Kedarnath the greatest pilgrimage (yatra) destination? No, that would probably be Enlightenment Grove or Boudhanath or the whole Buddhist Circuit in India and Nepal (on the Great Nirvana Express).

But mysteries are wrapped in devotion: Nestled in the majestic Himalayan mountains, Kedarnath is not just a temple — it’s a realm where devotion meets the unexplained.

Revered as one of the holiest shrines dedicated to the Hindu great-god Shiva, "the Destroyer," this ancient temple has stood the test of time, guarding secrets that remain unsolved to this day.

From miraculous survival against nature’s seismic fury to the legends steeped in mythology, Kedarnath is a sacred site shrouded in mystery. Join a journey to uncover its spiritual significance, untold stories, and the divine aura that make Kedarnath a place where faith and enigma are intertwined.

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/celestialstories 🌟 Welcome to Celestial Stories 🌟 Explore the mysteries of Hinduism, ancient civilizations, and spiritual wisdom. šŸ•‰️✨ Dive into stories of Dwarka, Lord Krishna, and more! šŸ™️šŸ™ šŸ”” Subscribe for a journey through mythology, archeology, and timeless teachings. šŸŒŒšŸ’«

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