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The Vedas: Who Is Ved Vyasa

Sri Bibek Debroy said there have been 27 cycles of kaala so far (until 2024 AD). One kaala cycle contains the four yugas: 1. Sat yuga 2. Treta yuga 3. Dwapara yuga and 4. Kali yuga Kalki Avatar comes towards the end of Kaliyuga and restores dharma and then, a new cycle of yugas starts. There have been 27 Ved Vyasas so far, each time appearing in the treta yuga to clean and organize the Vedas. Ved Vyas is a title given to the person who has comprehensive knowledge of the four Vedas and he/she can rearrange the Vedas to keep them updated with time. In his address to his Western audience, Swami Vivekananda said that by Vedas, no books are meant. He said the Vedas, as such, are the experiences of and the realization of the divine by Rishis and Rishikas of yester years. The Vedas are the experiences of persons and are kept updated by Ved Vyasas. The Vedas do not have a beginning or end. The Vedas have been updated 27 times by 27 Ved Vyasas. I don't know, however, what happens after a pr...
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The Giant Named Google

When the World Wide Web started, we created content for people to read and consume. Not for the Search Engines. We wrote for people and peers. Search engines came up as a service because of the content we created. And then, all of a sudden, we started creating content for the search engines in the hope of reaching more people. Google. People gave so much power to Google that it became a verb: google it. Why only google it? Why not bing it or duckduckgo it? We made a giant out of Google. Google and SEO are now synonyms. The SEO people optimize sites for Google. Rarely do SEO people think beyond Google. A proper digital marketing approach incorporates all methods of gaining traffic. The list includes Organic Social Media and PPC in addition to Google. I am not trying to make any point here. I simply shared my thoughts. Share yours in the comments below.
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What is a Sacrifice?

Nobody performs sacrifices in London so how does it rain there? The guy was referring to the verse of the Bhagavad Gita that says sacrifices create clouds and rain gives food. Obviously, he didn't pause to reflect on the verse and was mocking the Gita. This is what most people do. They take deep philosophical texts at their face value and fail to grasp the real meaning. Sacrifice, in this case, doesn't mean starting a fire and pouring clarified butter into it all the while chanting some mantras. Sacrifice refers to Karma Yoga.  According to Lord Krishna, when a person performs his action with the greater good in his mind, it is a sacrifice. Non-attachment to the result is the key to such sacrifices. The person acts saying God will preside over the action and whatever God wills will happen. It is Karma Yoga. One needs to understand that the Hindu scriptures are not something you should read at their face value. They have a deeper meaning. If confused, ask instead of making fun o...
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Where did we come from and where do we go?

Where did we come from and where do we go? Someone posed this question. Here's my answer per my understanding: According to the Hindu philosophy, you and everything else are always there. You were never born, being energy or soul.  The Universe keeps on being created and dissolved by itself. You and everything else are vibrations of energy so you will always be here, even after you leave your body. It is said that the soul takes up another body depending upon its karma.  This continues until the universe contracts into the Hiranyagarbha (womb of Brahman). There you lie until the universe expands again. It's all just Maya, a play of Brahman. That's according to the Hindu philosophy. Tat Tvam Asi, meaning you are that. Here, "that" refers to the Supreme Soul. You are the energy of That. Always vibrating, always alive.  You may read the speeches by Alan Watts to completely understand this and other philosophies.
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How to Serve God?

Someone told me he wants to serve God but doesn't know which religion to follow. The following was my answer: You don't need a religion to serve God. In his discourse on Karma Yoga, Swami Vivekananda said the best way to serve God is to serve humankind without any attachments and without expecting any returns.  You simply think you are doing God's work and the results of such work belong to God. Think not of yourself as the doer because it is God acting through you. I would suggest reading "The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda" especially the Karma Yoga part. The book is also available at ramakrishnavivekananda dot info as text. You can read it on the website. All the best.
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Hating Own God?

I don't understand the hate people have for other religions. There were posts all over Facebook and Reddit, mocking Christmas yesterday. Just as you believe in your religion, other people believe in their religion.  Understand that religion is not the goal. It is just a means to attain God. Don't make fun of others' beliefs. In doing so, you are berating your own God because God is the same across all religions. Is it too hard to accept the truth? Religions and beliefs are just different roads leading to the same destination. How would you reach your destination if you don't follow your path and are instead busy making fun of others?
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Best app for Android phones - Clean Master from Cheetah Mobile

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There are many apps for Android by the name of Clean Master on the Play Store. But this post is about the best app for Android, the Clean Master from Cheetah Mobile. After five years of testing different multipurpose apps for Android maintenance, I concluded that the  Clean Master from Cheetah Mobile  is the best maintenance app. Not only general maintenance, Clean Master offers you much more than you can expect from a single app. Earlier, it felt that the "All in One for Android" was the best app out there for Android. But it turned out that the "All in One" app leaves out add-ins even after you remove the main app. Features built into the Clean Master app are available as add-ins in the All in One app for Android. The add-ins are not uninstalled when you uninstall the All in One app. I could not find a proper method to remove them as they were not visible in any App Managers. I had to do a factory reset of my phone, and that was when I acknowledged Clean Master a...
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Significance or Meaning of Swaha and Ithi in Sanskrit Mantras

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You might have noticed that all mantras begin with the sound of "OM". What you might have ignored or failed to notice is that mantras in Sanskrit end with "ithi" or "Swaha". Some of you end mantras with just a "Namah". Not to scare you, but if you fail to use "ithi" at end of each mantra or at the very end of any Stotra (hymn), the mantra & related offering (sacrifice or prasadam) doesn't reach the god being prayed. The word "ithi" marks the end of the mantra and urges gods to accept whatever you are offering. The word "swaha" is used more in homams (rituals where you put offerings/prasadam directly into the fire). Since people put offerings into the fire while saying "swaha", many of us associate it with "destruction". When anyone says "sab kuch swaha ho gaya (everything became swaha)", it does and should not be concluded that they lost things. It is a wrong notion that as...
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Analysis of Mahabharata Characters - Bhishma

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Bhishma is one of the powerful characters of the epic, Mahabharata that contains and shows a pious way of life to the mortals living on earth. I am starting this Analysis of Mahabharata Characters with Bhishma as he is the oldest character in the epic/saga and has tremendous influence on the other characters of Mahabharata. Bhishma was the son of king Shantanu and Ganga (the river Ganges in female form). Bhishma was considered one of the eight Vasus (rishis) who had to take birth on earth due to a curse. Before we analyze the character, let us take a quick look at the story of Bhishma according to the Mahabharata. Background Of Bhishma Bhismha is considered one of the eight Vasus who stole a cow named Kamadhenu from a sage. When the sage cursed them to take birth as humans, all Vasus asked for his forgiveness. The sage, for seven Vasus who helped the main Vasu to steal the cow, reduced the curse to death just after birth. However, the main Vasu who actually stole the cow was ...
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