Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu

Chaitanya was born of Vaishnava (devotees of Lord Vishnu) parents, Sachi Mata and Jagannatha Misra in Navadwip, Bengal, India in the year of 1486. His whole life was dedicated to the teachings of Lord  Krishna.  Even as a young boy in school, he taught that every letter of the alphabet relates directly to Lord Krishna. He would challenge scholars much older then himself to discussion on the Vedas. He would be undefeated, later taking his opponents as his disciples to help him spread the pure cult of Bhakti Yoga. 

In his middle years, Chaitanya took sanyasa and traveled freely throughout South India, rejecting the impersonalistic interpretation of the Vedas and favoring pure loving service to the personality Lord Krishna. With raised hands and regular dancing, Chaitanya went from town to town singing the names of Lord Krishna with great ecstatic love. He converted thousands of followers to the chanting of Hare Krishna, Hare Rama and introduced public kirtans called sankirtan or walking kirtans.

Among the Vaishnava community, Chaitanya was considered a direct incarnation of Lord Krishna. His purpose in coming was to teach that the highest religious principle for the age of Kali was to constantly chant the holy names of the Lord. By following the four regulative principles, namely no meat eating, no illicit sex, no intoxication and no gambling, and regular chanting of Hare Krishna, a living entity could fully revive his dormant God consciousness.

He taught that all living beings are separated parts and parcels of the Lord, originally endowed with a unique transcendental relationship. When the living entity is in contact with the material world, that pure devotional relationship is covered by Maya and exhibited as love for the body and extended bodily attachments. But when the living entity becomes freed from Maya by the practice of  bhakti-yoga, he regains his real identity as an eternal loving servant of the Lord and at the time of death, he returns to Godhead. These teachings are identical to the teachings of Lord Krishna, spoken in the Bhagavad-Gita five thousand years earlier. 

Our Beloved Amma

Mata Amritanandamayi was born as Sudhamani in the small village near Quilon (Kollam) in Kerala on September 27, 1953 to a fishing family. She had to end her education at the age of nine to take care of her siblings. She is said to have had many mystical experiences even as a child.

Mata Amritanandamayi is a highly revered spiritual leader of India to have millions of followers not only in India but also abroad. She is much reputed as ‘The Hugging Saint’ or ‘ Amma ' meaning mother. She is well known for her humanitarian activities. Ma Amritanandamayi offers a hug to everyone who approaches her.

She spread the message of love and compassion to the world. Her Devotees and the people who have visited her experience the positive aura around her. Even if you go to her with a troubled mind and mind heavy with troubles after meeting her one would feel as if the burdens were taken away by the loving and comforting embrace of the Mother.

Mata Amritanandamayi received several awards and recognitions for her humanitarian activities and has helped millions of people through her Charitable Organization all over the World. Some of these activities include providing food, shelter for the homeless, medical aid, hospitals, pension to widows, educational institutions, orphanages, home for the aged, helping victims of natural disasters etc.

See also: Amma,Embracing the world

Amma embracing the world

Amma was deeply affected by the profound suffering she witnessed. According to Hinduism, the suffering of the individual is due to his or her own karma - the results of actions performed in the past. Amma accepted this concept, but she refused to accept it as a justification for inaction. Amma contemplated the principle of karma until she revealed an even more profound truth, asking a question which she continues to ask each of us today.  "If it is one man's karma to suffer, isn't it our dharma (duty) to help ease his suffering and pain?"
With this simple yet profound conviction - that each of us has a responsibility to lend a helping hand to those less fortunate - Amma moved forward with confidence in her life of service and compassionate care for all beings, uniquely expressed by the motherly embrace she offers to all who seek solace in her arms.

In Amma's community, it was not permissible for a 14-year-old girl to touch others, especially men. But despite adverse reactions by her parents, Amma followed her heart, later explaining, "I don't see if it is a man or a woman. I don't see anyone different from my own self. A continuous stream of love flows from me to all of creation. This is my inborn nature. The duty of a doctor is to treat patients. In the same way, my duty is to console those who are suffering."

Amma says that love expressed is compassion, and compassion means accepting the needs and sorrows of others as one's own. More than 20 years ago, the administrators of a local orphanage confessed to Amma that they were out of funds. They told Amma that before long, they would have no choice but to turn the children out on the street. Amma diverted the money that had been saved to build her ashram's first prayer hall and used it to assume the care for the orphans instead. With this, Embracing the World was born.

Isha Foundation - Inner Engineering Video

Inner Engineering is offered as an intensive program for personal growth. The program and its environment establish the possibility to explore the higher dimensions of life and offers tools to re-engineer one's self through the inner science of yoga. Once given the tools to rejuvenate, people can optimize all aspects of health, inner growth and success. For those seeking professional and personal excellence, this program offers keys for meaningful and fulfilling relationships at work, home, community, and most importantly, within one's self.

Three modes (gunas)

According to Vedic scriptures all variety of species of life is created by a combination of three basic modes of material energy, in Sanskrit called gunas. Here is again seen a limitation of other languages because they lack suitable synonym. Closest is probably the Latin word modus. Guna is therefore a kind of modus operandi (means of functioning) of material energy. They are called:

- sattva-guna (harmony, goodness)

- raja-guna (activity, passion)

- tama-guna (inertia, ignorance)

Bodies of individual species can be compared to various apartments or houses of different sizes, shapes and colors temporarily inhabited by embodied soul. Bodily forms limit (under the control of three modes) its freedom of movement and activities as well as possibilities of individual enjoyment.

See also: http://solelyhinduism.blogspot.com/2011/09/development-and-disappearance-of-self.html

http://solelyhinduism.blogspot.com/2011/09/gunas-diagram.html

Gunas Diagram

The Development and Disappearance of Self

Sattva Guna

On the spiritual Path, sattva is an intermediate step from ignorance, coarseness, and subjection to passions — to realization of the Divine.

In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says much about the sattvic qualities, such as harmoniousness, calmness of mind, subtlety of consciousness, the ability to control own emotions with refusal of the coarse emotional manifestations, prevalence of the state of subtle and joyful love, absence of egocentrism, violence.

From the methodological standpoint, it is important to stress that the sattvic qualities can be developed only if the body is healthy and cleansed from coarse energies. To become sattvic, one needs, among other things, to exclude completely meat and fish from the nutrition.

The sattvic qualities can be steadfast only in a person who has passed fully through the stage of kshatrism, developed vigor, personal power, high intellect, and gained thorough knowledge about the most important in life.

However, Krishna said that one has to go still higher — higher than sattva, to mergence with God, and this calls for new efforts, new struggle with oneself. One has to keep this in mind, since sattva may turn out to be a trap: it captivates one with its bliss attained on this stage. It makes one “relaxed”, offers to abandon further efforts.

But it is impossible to bypass the sattva guna. It is impossible to merge with God without mastering the qualities inherent to this guna.

Raja Guna

Rajas, is responsible for motion, energy and preservation and thereby upholds and maintains the activity of the other two gunas, known as sattva and tamas.

Rajas is the force which promotes or upholds the activity of the other aspects of Nature (prakriti) such as one or more of the following:
1) action,
2) Change, mutation;
3) passion, excitement;
4) birth, creation, generation. I

f a person or thing tends to be extremely active, excitable, or passionate, that person or thing could be said to have a preponderance of rajas. It is contrasted with the quality of tamas which is the quality of inactivity, darkness, and laziness, and with sattva, which is the quality of purity, clarity, calmness and creativity.

Rajas is viewed as being more positive than tamas, and less positive than sattva, except, perhaps, for one who has "transcended the gunas" and achieved equanimity in all fields of relative life. The rajas stage of life gives a slight clue to the realization of the Absolute Truth in the forms of fine sentiments in philosophy, art and culture with moral and ethical principles, but the mode of sattva is a still higher stage of material quality, which actually helps one in realizing the Absolute Truth.

Tama Guna

The classification between sattva, rajas and tamas is seen in various facets (including dietary habits) of Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism, where tamas is the lowest of the three. Tamas is a force which promotes darkness, death, destruction and ignorance, sloth, and resistance.

The result of a tamas-dominated life is demerit by karma: demotion to a lower life-form. A tamasic life would be marked by laziness, irresponsibility, cheating, maliciousness, insensitivity, criticizing and finding fault, frustration, aimless living, lack of logical thinking or planning, and making excuses. Tamasic activities include overeating, oversleeping and/or the consumption of drugs and alcohol.

This is the most negative guna because of its rejection of Karmic law and the central principle of dharmaic religions; that one's Karma must be worked out and not ignored.

The gunas are defined and detailed in Samkhya, one of the six schools of classical Indian philosophy. Each of the three gunas has its own distinctive characteristics and it is believed that everything is made up of these three.

Tamas is lowest, heaviest, slowest, and most dull (for example, a stone or a lump of earth). It is devoid of the energy of the rajas and the brightness of sattva.

Tamas cannot be counteracted by tamas. It might be easier to counteract it by means of rajas (action), and it might be more difficult to jump directly from tamas to sattva.

Purusharthas - objectives of man

Purusha means human being and artha means object or objective. Purusharthas means objectives of man. According to Hindu way of life, a man should strive to achieve four chief objectives (Purusharthas) in his life. They are:

1. dharma (righteousness),
2. artha (material wealth),
3. kama (desire) and
4. moksha (salvation).

Every individual in a society is expected to achieve these four objectives and seek fulfillment in his life before departing from here. The concept of Purusharthas clearly establishes the fact that Hinduism does not advocate a life of self negation and hardship, but a life of balance, achievement and fulfillment.

Dharma

Dharma is a very complicated word, for which there is no equivalent word in any other language, including English. Dharma actually means that which upholds this entire creation. It is a Divine law that is inherent and invisible, but responsible for all existence. Dharma exists in all planes, in all aspects and at all levels of creation. In the context of human life, dharma consists of all that an individual undertakes in harmony with Divine expectations and his own inner spiritual aspirations, actions that would ensure order and harmony with in himself and in the environment in which he lives. Since this world is deluded, a human being may not know what is right and what is wrong or what is dharma and what is adharma. Hence he should rely upon the scriptures and adhere to the injunctions contained there in. In short, dharma for a human being means developing divine virtues and performing actions that are in harmony with the divine laws.

Dharma is considered to be the first cardinal aim because it is at the root of everything and upholds everything. For example see what happens when a person amasses wealth without observing dharma or indulges in sexual passion against the social norms or established moral values. Any action performed without observing dharma is bound to bring misery and suffering and delay ones salvation. Hinduism therefore considers it rightly as the first cardinal aim of life.

In ancient India dharmashastras (law books) provided guidance to people in their day to day lives and helped them to adhere to dharma. These law books were written for a particular time frame and are no more relevant to the modern world. The best way to know what is dharma and what is adharma, is to follow the religious scriptures such as the Bhagavad gita and the Upanishads or any other scripture that contains the words of God.

Artha

Artha means wealth. Hinduism recognizes the importance of material wealth for the overall happiness and well being of an individual. A house holder requires wealth, because he has to perform many duties to uphold dharma and ensure the welfare and progress of his family and society. A person may have the intention to uphold the dharma, but if he has no money he would not be able to perform his duties and fulfill his dharma. Hinduism therefore rightly places material wealth as the second most important objective in human life. Lord Vishnu is the best example for any householder who wants to lead a life of luxury and still be on the side of God doing his duties. As the preserver of the universe, Lord Vishnu lives in Vaikunth amid pomp and glory, with the goddess of wealth herself by his side and yet helps the poor and the needy, protects the weak, upholds the dharma and sometimes leaving everything aside rushes to the earth as an incarnation to uphold dharma.

Hinduism advocates austerity, simplicity and detachment, but does not glorify poverty. Hinduism also emphasizes the need to observe dharma while amassing the wealth. Poverty has become a grotesque reality in present day Hindu society. Hindus have become so poverty conscious that if a saint or a sage leads a comfortable life, they scoff at him, saying that he is not a true yogi. They have to remind themselves of the simple fact that none of the Hindu gods and goddesses are really poor.

Hinduism believes that both spiritualism and materialism are important for the salvation of human beings. It is unfortunate that Hinduism came to be associated more with spiritualism, probably because of the influence of Buddhism, where as in truth Hinduism does not exclude either of them. As Swami Vivekananda rightly said religion is not for the empty stomachs. Religion is not for those whose main concern from morning till evening is how to make both ends meet. Poverty crushes the spirit of man and renders him an easy prey to wicked forces.

In ancient India Artha shastras (scriptures on wealth) provided necessary guidance to people on the finer aspects of managing their wealth. Kautilya's Artha Shastra, which is probably a compilation of many independent works, gives us a glimpse of how money matters were handled in ancient India.

Kama

Kama in a wider sense means desire and in a narrow sense, sexual desire. Hinduism prescribes fulfillment of sexual passions for the householders and abstinence from it for the students and ascetics who are engaged in the study of the scriptures and in the pursuit of Brahman.

The Bhagavad gita informs us that desire is an aspect of delusion and one has to be wary of its various
movements and manifestations. The best way to deal with desires is to develop detachment and perform desireless actions without seeking the fruit of ones actions and making an offering of all the actions to God.


This way our actions would not bind us to the cycle of births and deaths.

Hinduism permits sexual freedom so long as it is not in conflict with the first aim, i.e. dharma. Hindu scriptures emphasize that the purpose of sex is procreation and perpetuation of family and society, while the purpose of dharma is to ensure order in the institution of family and society. A householder has the permission to indulge in sex, but also has the responsibility to pursue it in accordance with the laws of dharma. Marriage is a recognized social institution and marriage with wife for the purpose of producing children is legitimate and in line with the aims of dharma.

One of the important sects of Hinduism is Tantricism. It recognizes the importance of sexual freedom in the liberation of soul. The Tantrics accept sex as an important means to experience the blissful nature of God and the best way to experience God in physical form. They also refer to the concept of Purusharthas to justify their doctrines. They believe that sexual energy is divine energy and it can be transformed into spiritual energy through controlled expression of sex.

Just as the dharmashastras were written for the sake of dharma, and artha shastras for artha, kama shastras were composed in ancient India for providing guidance in matters of sex. We have lost many of them because of the extreme secrecy and social disapproval associated with the subject.

Moksha

If dharma guides the life of a human being from below acting as the earth, showing him the way from above like a star studded mysterious sky is moksha. Dharma constitutes the legs of a Purusha that walk upon the earth; both artha and kama constitute his two limbs active in the middle region; while moksha constitutes the head that rests in the heaven.

Human life is very precious because of all the beings in all the worlds, only human beings have the best opportunity to realize the Higher self. It is also precious because it is attained after many hundreds and thousands of lives. Rightly, salvation should be its ultimate aim.

Moksha actually means absence of moha or delusion. Delusion is caused by the inter play of the triple gunas. When a person overcomes these gunas, he attains liberation. The gunas can be overcome by detachment, self control, surrender to god and offering ones actions to God.

If dharma is the center of the wheel of human life, artha and kama are the two spokes and moksha is its circumference. If dharma is at the center of human life, beyond moksha there is no human life, but only a life divine.

The four Purusharthas are also like the four wheels of a chariot called human life. They collectively uphold it and lead it. Each influences the movement of the other three, and in the absence of any one of them, the chariot comes to a halt.

purpose of life

The purpose of life in Hinduism is thus to minimize bad karma in order to enjoy better fortune in this life and achieve a better rebirth in the next. The ultimate spiritual goal is to achieve release (moksha) from the cycle of samsara altogether. It may take hundreds or thousands of rebirths to get rid of all of one's accumulated karma and achieve moksha. The person who has become liberated (attained moksha) creates no more new karma during the present lifetime and is not reborn after death.

The Process

The process by which karma is understood to work through various rebirths is as follows:

1. Good or bad actions create impressions (samskaras) or tendencies (vasanas) in the mind, which in time will come to fruition in further action (more karma).
2. The seeds of karma are carried in the subtle body (linga), in which the soul transmigrates.
3. The physical body (sthula sarira) is the field in which the fruit of karma is experienced and more karma is created.

Types of Karma

In Vedanta and Yoga teachings, there are three types of karma:

1. Prarabdha karma - karma experienced during the present lifetime
2. Sancita karma - the store of karma that has not yet reached fruition
3. Agamin or sanciyama karma - karma sown in the present life that will come to fruition in a future life

The Creator

The Ultimate Reality that is behind the universe and all the gods is called by different names, but most commonly Brahman (not to be confused with the creator god Brahma or the priestly class of Brahmans).

In the Rig Veda, Ultimate Reality is referred to as "the One." In the Purushasukta, it is "Purusha," and in the Upanishads it is called "Brahman," "the One," and several other names. Most modern Hindus refer to the Ultimate Reality as Brahman.

The Upanishads describe Brahman as "the eternal, conscious, irreducible, infinite, omnipresent, spiritual source of the universe of finiteness and change."  Brahman is the source of all things and is in all things; it is the Self (atman) of all living beings.

Brahman is impersonal Being in itself, but it can be known through the many gods and goddesses that are manifestations of Brahman.

My Goat is missing

Once a person by name Narada came to Kartikeya (Murugan) and said, "0 Lord, I was performing the sacred 'Ajamedha' sacrifice. But the 'ajar' (goat) which is to be killed and offered as sacrifice has disappeared. I have searched in vain. Some angels or Rakshasas must have taken it away. The sacrificial rites have come to a halt. You are the protector of all sacrifices and the Lord of the Universe. You are the son of Shiva, the highest deity in any sacrifice. You protect those who are supplicants and fulfil the desires of all virtuous persons. Please get back for me that goat so that my ritual may be completed."

Kartikeya sent Veerabahu, one of  heroes, to search for Narada's goat.

There was no sign of that goat anywhere in the world. Then Veerabahu went to
Vaikunta, the world of Mahavishnu, and found it there. He learnt that as ordered by Vishnu, his men had taken the goat there to protect its life. Veerabahu brought the goat to Kartikeya. But Kartikeya kept quiet, without immediately handing over the goat to Narada.

Thereupon Narada requested again and said, "Lord, please get me my goat. I will make a sacrificial offering of it and complete my yajna."

"Look, the killing of any animal," Kartikeya told him, "is not correct, for performing
any Yajna (sacrifice). The Vedas, which are our ancient religious texts, do not prescribe it. Any yajna has to beperformed in a non-violent manner. The word 'Aja', which stands for a goat, also means that which is not born, meaning rice. So 'Ajamedha' is the Yajna wherein boiled rice is offered to the fire-god, Agni. So complete your Yajna eschewing violence. Then you will get the full credit and profit from the sacrifice."

Narada accepted this learned exposition of the Yajna. He took the goat with Kartikeya's permission, but did not kill it, and brought it up. He performed his Yajna in a non-violent manner and set an ideal for the future generations.

Who is Elder?

Ganesha and His brother Lord Subramanya(Murugan) once had a dispute as to who was the elder of the two. The matter was referred to Lord Shiva for final decision. Shiva decided that whoever would make a tour of the whole world and come back first to the starting point had the right to be the elder. Subramanya flew off at once on his vehicle, the peacock, to make a circuit of the world. But the wise Ganesha went, in loving worshipfulness, around His divine parents and asked for the prize of His victory Lord Shiva said, "Beloved and wise Ganesha! But how can I give you the prize; you did not go around the world?" Ganesha replied, "No, but I have gone around my parents. My parents represent the entire manifested universe!" Thus the dispute was settled in favour of Lord Ganesha, who was thereafter acknowledged as the elder of the two brothers. Mother Parvati also gave Him a fruit as a prize for this victory

Syamantaka gem

Briefly, Satrajit, who secured a jewel syamantaka from Surya, did not part with it even when Krishna the Lord of Dwaraka asked for it saying it would be safe with him Prasena, the brother of Satrajit went out hunting wearing the jewel but was killed by a ion. Jambavan of the Ramayana fame killed the lion and gave it to his son to play with. When Prasena did not return, Satrajit falsely accused Krishna of killing Prasena for the sake of the jewel.

Krishna, in order to remove the stain on his reputation, set out in search of the jewel and found it in Jambavan's cave, with his child. Jambavan attacked Krishna thinking him to be an intruder who had come to take away the jewel. They fought each other for 28 days, when Jambavan, his whole body terribly weakened from the hammering of Krishna's fists, finally recognized Him as Lord Rama.

As a repentance for his having fought Krishna, daughter Jambavati in marriage. Krishna returned to Dvaraka with Jambavati and the jewel, and returned it to Satrajit, who in turn repented for his false accusation. He promptly offered to give Krishna the jewel and his daughter Satyabhama in marriage. Krishna accepted Satyabhama as his wife but did not accept the jewel.

Curse of the moon

One day while travelling round the universe on his rat, Ganesha came to Chandraloka on his rat, Ganesha came to Chandraloka(the realm of the Moon). The Moon saw him. The Moon, very handsome, was proud of his appearance. On seeing the elephantfaced, big-bellied Ganapati riding on a rat, he- laughed at Ganesha with contempt. This was an insult and Ganesha was very angry about the Moon.

His eyes grew red He pronounced a curse "Oh Moon, your handsome appearance has made you too handsome appearance has made you too vain. Fool, I am worshipped in all the worlds, but you laugh at me. Receive now the fruits of your foolish pride. Let your beauty, which is the cause for your arrogance and ignorance vanishing! From now on, whoever sees you on the fourth day of the bright fortnight of Bhadrapada month, the day of my birth, will suffer because of unjust accusations." The curse shattered the Moon's pride.

He realized his mistake, and felt sorry. Standing devotedly with folded hands Standing devotedly with folded hands before Ganesha he prayed to him. "Sir, forgive me and my ignorance. Take back the curse and protect me." forgive me and my ignorance. Take back the curse and protect me." Then the kind Ganesha grew calm. He consoled the unhappy Moon. He said,"Moon, you have realized your fault. What is important is the destruction of your pride. Anyhow, my curse cannot be in vain But those who are subjected to false accusations will be saved and regain their good name if they see you on the second good name if they see you on the second day of the bright fortnight also or listen to the story of the Syamantaka gem." The Moon was satisfied. day of the bright fortnight also or listen to day of the bright fortnight also or listen to the story of the Syamantaka gem." The Moon was satisfied.

Vaishnava Rituals and Practices

Vaishnavites can often be identified by certain sectarian marks on their foreheads and bodies. Vaishnava marks vary, but usually include a U, Y, or T shape drawn in white along with a red dot representing Lakshmi Like all religions influenced by the Indian religious worldview Vaishnavites recognize the importance of meditation in religious practice.

 However, Vaishnavas generally emphasize religious devotion religious feeling and morality over doctrine and contemplation; to put it another way, they focus on the heart, not the head. Vaishnavas love to recount the love story between Rama or Sita or daydream about Krishna's attractive features and amorous antics Religious ecstasy and feelings of companionship with Vishnu are the main goals of Vaishnava religious ritual

Vaishnava Religious Beliefs

Vaishnavites, like Saivites, believe that there is only one Supreme God, who simultaneously permeates all creation and exists beyond it, being both immanent and transcendent. Like other Hindu denominations, Vaishnavism acknowledges the existence of many lower Gods under the Supreme One. These gods, like all of creation, are encompassed by Vishnu, either as manifestations of the Supreme Being or as powerful entities who are permeated by Him.

The distinctive religious belief of Vaishnavism is its emphasis on God as a personal being; i.e., someone you can know and have a relationship with. Vaishnavas often identify six qualities of God: all knowledge, all power, supreme majesty, supreme strength, unlimited energy and total self-sufficiency. One popular name for God among Vaishnavites is an ancient name from the Vedas: Purushottama, "the Supreme Person."

For most Vaishnavas, the divine Self within is Vishnu himself, but not all of Vishnu. In other words, Vishnu is more than the Self and more than the universe. Likewise, when a Vaishnavite merges into God upon liberation, his or her individual nature is not lost. Vaishnavites believe people are meant to be God's companions for all eternity.

Many Vaishnavas emphasize Vishnu's consort Lakshmi as much, if not more, than Vishnu. She is regarded not as another God, but as another aspect of the Supreme God. Many Vaishnavas call Lakshmi "Sri" (pronounced "shree"), which means "auspicious one."

Vaishnavism

Vaishnavism is the branch of Hinduism in which Vishnu or one of his incarnations (usually Krishna or Rama) is worshipped as the supreme God. Members of Vaishnavism are called Vaishnavites or Vaishnavas. Vaishnavis the largest Hindu denomination and it has numerous subdivisions.

In addition to the Vedas, Vaishnavites especially revere the Samhita and the Gita Govinda, among others. These texts focus especially on Vishnu or his incarnations Krishna and Rama.

Vinayagar aka Ganesha

According to Hinduism, God Paramporul, Sivam, Brahmam, or the Supreme is absolute. The first prayer of a Hindu is always to Vinayagar. Vinayagar is invoked at the beginning of all ritualistic workship. He is invoked before a family moves into a house.

Vinayagar the Paramporul

There are countless Vinayagar temples, eventhough we have dedicated temple for all God. None of the temple will be there without Ganesha. Hindus have a practise to put a sign or notation at the top of any page such as account book, test paper, etc called "pillayar suzhi" or "pillayar suli". Which means that they are handing over all the burdens to Lord Ganesha, believing that He will take care of everything. He is also called as Lord of obstacles as well as the Remover of obstacles. Which mean that He will not allow people to do sin or evil(Lord of obstacles) and He wil not allow anybody to be an obstacle when they do right thing(Remover of obstacles).

Different Names of Vinayagar:

Different Names of Vinayagar: Vinayagar has many names and been called by many names I will list out few names below
1)Ganapathi (Lord of Siva's attendants)
2)Vinayagan(No leader for him)
3)Pilayar
 4)Vigneswaran(Lord of obstacles and Remover of obstacles).

5)Gajamugha(Elephant Face)

Ganesha symbolism

Tale of Vinayagar Chathurthi

Vinayagar Chathurthi means Birth of Vinayagar. Parvathi(Mother Godess) the wife of Lord Shiva was thinking of taking bath but none of Her attendants were there. So, she created  a human figure from unguent and balm. Then with Her power she gave life to the figure. She ordered the human figure to guard the door while she was taking bath. In addition She also told the figure not to allow anyone to enter the home. The figure accepted and followed her orders. While Parvathi was taking bath, Lord Shiva(Husband of Parvathi) after a long Meditation on Mountain Kailash,came to home and  he was surprised to find a stranger denying him access to enter his home. And struck off the boy's head in rage.  Later, He came to know that the boy is Parvathi's creation. For fear of enraging his wife, Shiva ordered his ganas(attendants) to get him the head of the first living creature that they could find. Unfortunately, the Ganas saw an elephant first. Ganas as instructed, chopped the head of the elephant and brought it to Lord Shiva. Then He placed the head on the boy's body and gave him the life back. After bathing Parvathi, came out of the home and she found a boy with an elephant head. She asked who is that boy(in tamil it is called as "pillai yaaru" means who is that boy"). From which Shiva named Parvathi's son as "Pillayar" This elephant-headed god was welcomed into the first family of the Hindu Heavens and named Ganesha or Ganapathi, which literally means the chief of the ganas, or the attendants of Shiva. This brave guardian of the door to Parvathi's bath is beheld today as the most aspicious God of new beginnings.

The story of the birth of this zoomorphic deity, as depicted in the Shiva Purana

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Jai Ganesh

Jai Ganesh, jai Ganesh, jai Ganesh deva
Mata jaki Parvati, pita Mahadeva.

Ek dant dayavant, char bhuja dhari
Mathe par tilak sohe, muse ki savari

Pan chadhe, phul chadhe, aur chadhe meva
Ladduan ka bhog lage, sant kare seva.

Jai Ganesh, jai Ganesh, jai Ganesh deva,
Mata jaki Parvati, pita Mahadeva...

Andhan ko ankh det, kodhin ko kaya
Banjhan ko putra det, nirdhan ko maya

Surya shaam sharan aye, safal kije seva.
Jai Ganesh, jai Ganesh, jai Ganesh deva,
Mata jaki Parvati, Pita Mahadeva

Ganapathi Mantra: Chant this Mantra for Success

Vakrtund Mahakaya Surya Koti Samaprabha|

 Nirbhignam Kurumedaya Sarva Karyashu Sarvada|

Scriptures (Mindmap)

Hanuman

He is one of the most popular gods of Hinduism today. He is generally shown as standing reverentially or sitting devotedly at the feet of Rama, sitting alone and cross legged in a meditative posture, flying in the air carrying a  mountain or standing tall with a mace on his shoulders or by his side.

 He is shown as cheerful (prasannanjaneya), ferocious (Veeranjaneya) meditating (dhayananjaneya) or in a mood of devotion (bhaktanjaneya).

Describing Lord Vishnu

Vishnu resides in the milky waters of Vaikunth on a bed made of the coils of the the thousand hooded great serpent, Adishesha of infinite dimensions. Goddess Lakshmi, his consort attend upon him. Symbolically the ocean stands for bliss and consciousness, the serpent for time, diversity, desire and illusion, and the goddess Lakshmi for the material things and powers of the creation.

The color of Vishnu is the color of a dark blue cloud. It is the color of the sky, denoting his cosmic dimensions and his connection with the Vedic gods of rain and thunder and his relationship with the earth. He is usually depicted with one face, four arms, usually in a standing posture or in a resting posture. He wears a necklace made of the famous Kaustubha gem that rests on his left chest and another garland of flowers and gems by name Vaijayanti.

His four arms hold sankha (a conch), chakra (discus), gada (mace) and padma(lotus) respectively. The conch stands for the five elements, the sound of AUM, salagrama, goddess Lakshmi, the waters, purity and perfection. The discus is the terrible weapon of Vishnu which he used to destroy the evil and protect the righteous. It symbolically represents the light bearing sun, which illuminates and removes darkness. It also stands for higher consciousness which destroys all illusions. The mace represent the power of knowledge while the lotus symbolizes beauty, harmony, purity, water element, creation and self realization.

The definition of Vishnu and Narayana

Vishnu means the giver and provider of things. The Vedas describe him as the god of three strides, upholder of law and giver of boons. In course of time he became Narayana, which literally means, the dweller of waters and dweller of human beings. The word nara means both water(naram) and human (nara).

Atma or Soul

Our individual soul is the immortal and spiritual body of light that animates life and reincarnates again and again until all necessary karmas are created and resolved and its essential unity with God is fully realized.""Our soul body was created in the image and likeness of the Primal Soul, but it differs from the Primal Soul in that it is immature. While[God] is unevolutionary perfection, we are in the process of evolving."

The Soul and Its Illusion

Atman or the soul is in reality identical with Paramatman or the Oversoul, which is One, Infinite and Eternal. The soul is, in fact, beyond the gross, subtle and mental worlds, but experiences itself as being limited owing to its identification with the Sharira or gross body, Prana or the subtle body (which is the vehicle of desires and vital forces), and Manas or the mental body(which is the seat of the mind). The soul in its transcendental state is One— Formless, Eternal and Infinite—and yet identifies itself with the phenomenal world of forms, which are many and finite and destructible. This is Maya or the cosmic illusion. The soul and its illusion.

Manava Dharma Shastra - (Ancient Hindu Code of Conduct for Domestic, Social, and Religious Life)

Traditionally accepted as one of the supplementary arms of the Vedas, Laws of Manu or Manava Dharma Shastra is one of the standard books in the Hindu canon, and a basic text for all gurus to base their teachings on. This 'revealed scripture' comprises 2684 verses, divided into twelve chapters presenting the norms of domestic, social, and religious life in India (circa 500 BC) under the Brahmin influence, and is fundamental to the understanding of ancient Indian society

.

The ancient Vedic society had a structured social order where the Brahmins were esteemed as a highest and the most revered sect and assigned the holy task of acquiring ancient knowledge and learning. The teachers of each Vedic schools composed manuals in Sanskrit, known as 'sutras', pertaining to their respective schools for the guidance of their pupils, which were highly venerated by the Brahmins and memorized by each Brahmin student.

The most common of these were the 'Grihya-sutras', dealing with domestic ceremonies, and the 'Dharma-sutras', treating of the sacred customs and laws. These extremely complicated bulk of ancient rules and regulations, customs, laws and rites were gradually enlarged in scope, written aphoristically and set to musical cadence and systematically arranged to constitute the 'Dharma-shastras'. Of these the most ancient and most famous is the Laws of Manu, the Manava Dharma-shastra, a 'Dharma-sutra' belonging to the ancient Manava Vedic school.

This article was taken from (http://hinduism.about.com/od/scripturesepics/a/laws_of_manu.htm)