Heaven at the North Pole?

May Indra, whose hands Thunder wield,
Be in the East thy guard and shield;
May Yama's care the South befriend,
And Varun's arm the West defend;
And let Kuvera, the Lord of gold,
The North with firm protection hold!

The above prayer is for the Four Guardians of Mount Meru - the Holiest mountain in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain cosmologies and Indian equivalent of the Greek Mount Olympus. Meru is believed to be the abode of Gods and with Christmas in the air, I'm gonna try and find out its location as well as connection with the legend of Santa Claus.

Meaning of Prana and its importance

Human body is composed of five elements:

• Akash (space or vacuity)
  
  
• Vayu (air)
  
  
• Agni (fire)
  
  
• Jala (water)
  
  
• Prithvi (earth)
  

Significance of 108 in Hinduism

As per Indian religion, Indian culture has a very special significance of the Number 108. Following are the significance of this holy number:

In one minute, we breathe in approximately 15 times, in 1 hour 900 times, And in 12 hours 10800 times, and in a day 10800 x times 2. A day consists of 24 hours, and if we set aside half the day for our day to day routines, then one can spend 12 hours for recitation of ones' idol. Therefore, the Maximum number of times that one can recite a “mantra”, or perform “Jap” is 10800. If one wants to obtain 100% benefit of Jap, then performing Jap 108 times will give one the full benefit of the mantra. That's the reason a Mala, (rosary, tasbi), consists of 108 beads. In every mala there is one larger bead called Meru also. It is not part of the 108 beads so it is the guiding bead, the one that marks the beginning and end of the mala. It is written in Vedas, that 1 Jap corresponds to 1 mala (which has 108 beads), therefore performing Jap of 108 malas will result in 100% benefit.

The Myth of Aryans and Non-Aryans

The Myth of Aryans and Non-Aryans

By Swami Vivekananda
"The mind jumps back several thousand years, and fancies that the same things happened here, and our archaeologist dreams of India being full of dark eyed aborigines, and the bright Aryan came from - the Lord knows where. According to some, they came from Central Tibet, others will have it that they came from Central Asia. There are patriotic Englishmen who think that they were all black haired. If the write happens to be a black haired man, then the Aryans were all black haired.

Veda - MSN Encarta

Veda - MSN Encarta
Veda
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Introduction; Origins and Transmission; Contents and Use; Supplementary Writings
I Introduction

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Veda (Sanskrit, “knowledge”), the most ancient sacred literature of Hinduism, or individual books belonging to that literature. This body of ancient literature consists primarily of four collections of hymns, detached poetical portions, and ceremonial formulas. The collections are called the Rig-Veda, the Sama-Veda, the Yajur-Veda, and the Atharva-Veda. They are known also as the Samhitas (roughly “collection”).

Bhavishya Purana

Bhavishya Purana
The Bhavishya Purana is the eleventh among the Puranas and it contains five parts. The first part contains a description of the genesis, greatness of the deities and worship of Lord Vishnu, Shiva and Surya. Second, third and fourth parts describe about the greatness of Shiva, Vishnu and Surya respectively.
It gives very accurate forecasts about Adam and Eve, Noah's Ark, the fall of Sanskrit and coming of other languages, about the coming of Buddha, Madhavacharya, Chandragupta, Ashoka, Jayadeva and Krishna Chaitanya and about Kutubuddin & the Shaws ruling Delhi.

The Origin and Controversy About Swastika

“Hands off our sacred Swastika” must be the loudest roar of the followers of Vedic or Hindu Dharma and all its sects all over the world to save the divinity, purity, auspiciousness, serenity, prestige and position Swastika holds in human race, after the German members of European Parliament called for the total ban on the use of Swastika all over Europe in protest of Prince Harry’s provocation of international outrage by wearing Nazi outfits with a swastika arm band in a private fancy dress party. It is shocking and astonishing news for the lovers of Swastika, irrespective of their faiths, all over the world that the European parliament is in opinion of considering such a ban on this innocent symbol. What has Swastika done wrong? What is the crime of Swastika? Once the most popular, respected, beloved, revered and worshipped symbol of human being all over the world by all races and all faiths is facing socially, religiously and ethical discrimination in Christian dominated European Parliament. This senseless, idiotic and illogical motion of Swastika phobia must be opposed strongly and stopped immediately with the demand of lifting the ban and reinstating the use and status of Swastika in Germany. The people of the world must be educated and re-educated in the subject of Swastika to justify such worldwide agitation not only to save the Swastika but also to reinstate this holy and humble symbol with all its status, glory and respects.