The individual's moral fibre had to be strengthened through basic convictions. With this farsightedness, the tenth and last Guru, Gobind Singh, set about honing the faith's dynamics through innovation and personal example. His rigorous self-discipline and inner fortitude were exemplified by his equanimity and poise in the face of tragedies few encounter in their lifetime.

He was nine when he received the head of his father Guru Tegh Bahadur, beheaded in Delhi on the orders of the Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb. His father had chosen martyrdom to demonstrate to Aurangzeb - and the people of India - that a man convinced of his moral purpose and inalienable right to practise his own religion, is unafraid to die.

(See also: Guru Gobind Singh , Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Guru Gobind Singh: A Glowing Tribute To The Tenth Guru  

Baha'u'llah And the New Faith

Echoing the suffering of all the messengers of God before him and the privations they suffered to fulfil their sacred task, Baha'u'l-lah, the founder of the Baha'i religion, wrote: "We have accepted to be abased, O believers in the Unity of God, that ye may be exalted, and have suffered manifold afflictions, that ye might prosper and flourish".

Born in Persia on November 12, 1817, Baha'u'llah's unusual undertaking at age 27 has gradually brought into its fold several million people from diverse backgrounds. For Baha'u'llah claimed to be the Messenger of God - the Bearer of a Divine Revelation that fulfils the promises made in earlier religions and which will generate the spiritual forces for the unification of the world.

Read more here: » Bahai - Bah‡'’: Baha'u'llah And the New Faith

Kabbala: Mystical Dimension Of Jewish Thought

The word Kabbala originally meant Ôreception' and related to the oral Jewish tradition handed down by Rabbis from generation to generation. The mainspring of the Kabbala is a deep rooted belief in a perpetual inter-relationship between God as the infinite power and man in the physical world as we know it.

Man can get close to God by subduing his own negative inclinations and bring about spiritual regeneration of mankind, through prayers, meditation and interpretation of the divine mysteries hidden in the Torah. Kabbalists emphasise the importance of mystical formulas in the recitation of prayers.

Read more here: » Kabbala: Mystical Dimension Of Jewish Thought

Liberation of women and gender equality is not the bedrock of Jainism. It grants a woman as much dignity, freedom of thought and opportunity as man. The Jain goal is to attain a liberated state completely free from effects of karma and that is not possible at present in one human life. The awareness and high degree purification is essential for complete liberation. To attain this state it is necessary to halt the impact of karma on the soul and at the same time to eliminate the previously acquired karma that enmeshes the soul. But the only way to attain victory over karma is through further, refined action.

Read more here: » Jainism: Jain Traditions

Swami Rama Tirtha rekindled the poetic vision of the Upanishads. His exposition of Vedanta through lectures and talks imparted a transcendental perspective to the ancient texts. He advocated greater brotherhood and bonding through a realisation of the true meaning of the spiritual law.

The essence of this is captured in a beautiful composition called The Faith: "What care I for caste or creed? / It is the deed; it is the deed/ what for class or clan? / It is the man, it is the man /...What for crown or crest? / It is the heart within the breast".

(See also: Swami Rama Tirtha , Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Swami Rama Tirtha: Swami Rama Tirtha's View of Vedanta  

Faith Makes God Visible

We cannot speak of God as we do of other things. This is because the Absolute has neither nama (name) nor rupa (form) . God is beyond name and form.

Western culture is largely centred on the limit-experience of Being and Plenitude, whereas the eastern is centred on the consciousness-limit of Nothing and Emptiness. Raimon Panikkar, a Catholic theologian says the former is attracted by the world of things as they reveal to us the transcendence of Reality. The latter is attracted by the world of the subject, which reveals to us the impermanence of that very Reality. Both are preoccupied with the problem of "ultimacy", which many traditions call God.

Panikkar speaks about nine ways not to talk about God.

Read more here: » Formless God: Faith Makes God Visible

A regular at religious discourses, I've often found followers of one guru or faith criticising other gurus, teachers and devotees, because they think that their own philosophy is far superior. They tend to assess the learnedness or otherwise of a teacher according to the number of disciples and ashrams.

If those who profess to be spiritual seekers behave in this manner, what can we expect from lesser mortals? Why is it so difficult for us to respect the right of others to follow any teaching or teacher of their choice? No one who claims loyalty to any faith that advocates compassion, tolerance and understanding can afford to ignore these tenets.

(See also: Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Love and Happiness: The Path Of True Love Is Never Smooth

No religion preaches violence. If all religions advocate peace, why then do some who profess allegiance to their religion, commit violence to defend their peace-loving, peace-preaching faith? India is home to some of the oldest religious texts known to man. The Vedas and the Upanishads , for instance, do not preach a particular religion, nor do they spell out a list of dos and don’ts.

The Rig Veda says: “ Aano bhadrah kritavo yantu vishwatah ”, which means, let noble thoughts come to us from everywhere. These ancient texts did not have a single author, nor their philosophy a collective name. Because of its universality, this particular stream came to be known as Sanatan Dharma , or 'perennial duty’. Later it came to be called Hinduism. Unfortunately we now have its political version - Hindutva .

(See also: Peace on Earth , God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Peace on Earth: House Of Hinduism: Room For Everyone  

Influenced by Madame Blavatsky, Annie Besant joined the Theosophical Society. Her aim was to found a universal brotherhood where race and creed don't matter, to encourage the study of literature and philosophy, and to investigate the unexplained laws of nature and the physical powers latent in man. She advocated a radical approach to religion, which emphasised that religion cannot be forced upon any one; that faith was a matter of personal belief.

Why did she choose to become a Theosophist? Annie Besant wrote: ''An imperious necessity forces me to speak the truth, as I see it... That one loyalty to truth I must keep stainless, whether friendships fail me or human ties be broken... I asked no other epitaph on my tomb but that 'she tried to follow truth'."

(See also: Annie Besant , God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Annie Besant: Triumph of Spirit: Annie's Dream  

Sacred Fire of the Zoroastrian Faith

Fire has been revered and worshipped in ancient cultures worldwide. In Greek mythology, the Titan Prometheus, out of his great love for mankind, disobeys Zeus and steals fire from heaven and brings it down to earth for human use. As punishment, Zeus chains Prometheus to the Caucasus mountain since mankind was not yet considered to be ready for this great gift of the gods.

Read more here: » Zoroastrian Religion: Sacred Fire of the Zoroastrian Faith

One of Rabindranath Tagore's most memorable poems begins with the line: The world is insane with violence, every day there emerges a new kind of cruel conflict. He goes on to pray to the Almighty to instil love and wisdom into a world afflicted with myriad ills. This reflects the core of Tagore's spiritual humanism.

Stressing the need for spiritual freedom, he referred to the uncontrolled excesses of passion that upset our balance and obscure the underlying harmony between the individual and universal spirit. This malady, which he called 'sin', distorts our freedom in the realms of matter, mind and spirit.

(See also: Rabindranath Tagore , Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Rabindranath Tagore: Spiritual Insight in Tagore's Works  

It is important to recognise the difference between bhagavan bhakti (love of God) and religious fundamentalism - however, desh bhakti (love of country) has its own significance. After all, you have to begin with a smaller constituent. People have to get on with their lives. Can you sit back and do nothing if your nation’s security is threatened? Or even if one state’s safety is compromised?

(See also: Peace on Earth , God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Peace on Earth: Identity Crisis - Desh or Dharma  

The death and dying and the life after death has always fascinated man. We want to now the truth behind near death experiences and become certain that there really is a life after death.

What Becomes Of The Soul After Death by Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj is a departure from the usual line in that it is based, to a great extent, upon authoritative scriptural texts and upon knowledge derived through reasoning, deep reflection and personal meditation. It throws a flood of light upon all aspects of life after death not adequately dealt with in other works. The book also gives valuable information about the different beliefs on this subject, of the various races and religions.

The book is dealing with rebirth, the soul, reincarnation, moksha, heaven and hell, karma and different lokas,. It even includes death poems and death poetry, giving a complete picture and a new face of death.

Read more here: » Life after death: What Becomes Of The Soul After Death

Every individual has a Life Purpose. This is the mission that you agreed to prior to your incarnation. There are two parts to your Purpose: a personal one and a global one. Your personal Purpose involves a particular characteristic that you're trying to develop in this life, such as patience or compassion. Your global Purpose involves discovering, developing, and using your natural talents and interests to help other people and the planet.

(See also: Indigo Children, What is Indigo Children, Parenting Indigo Children, Adult Indigo, Indigo Children Channeling)

Read more here: » Indigo Children: Life Purpose: Personal & Global  

affirmation of faith: A brief statement of one's faith and essential beliefs. See: anbe Sivamayam Satyame Parasivam.

(See also: Affirmation of faith , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

For more dictionary entries, see » Personal Faith Dictionary

We have found this tool to be most powerful in cracking the resistance to manifesting what we say we want.

First, choose the area of your life you want to focus on, such as relationship, health, money, career. Second, write out your answers to the questions below:

Read more here: » Manifestation: Manifesting Technique

Introduction to Personal Growth and Transformation

On the path of personal growth, there are times when we seem to fall into a deep, dark pit, and the light is nowhere to be found. This is what is meant by a "spiritual crisis." This series of articles was written to better help people in this predicament understand and resolve their situation.

Read more here: » Personal Growth: Personal Growth and Transformation

Religion is not meant to create conflict and division, but to promote dialogue and harmony. Buddha Purnima is an appropriate occasion to dwell a little on the Buddhist philosophy I follow, of Nichiren Daishonin, called the Soka Gakkai, which literally means "Value Creating Society".

Daisaku Ikeda, president of Soka Gakkai International, says: "The people and the society of our age might be compared to a ship in the middle of the ocean which has lost its compass. Without an accurate guide to lead them, they sail aimlessly along towards the future''.

(See also: Buddha Purnima , Indian Festivals, Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Buddha Purnima: From Desire To Enlightenment  

Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana, The

(Jpn.: Daijo-kishin-ron; Chin.: Ta-ch'eng-ch'i-hsin-lun)

Abbreviated as Awakening of Faith. A work traditionally attributed to Ashvaghosha, a Mahayana scholar who lived from the first through the second century, though opinions on this differ. There are two Chinese translations of this work, the first done in 550 by Paramartha, who had gone from India to China, and the second around 700 by Shikshananda, a monk from Khotan in Central Asia. Paramartha's version has been the more popular. Awakening of Faith sets forth the fundamental doctrines of Mahayana Buddhism and attempts to awaken people to faith in it. It specifically takes up the concept of tathata, literally thusness or suchness, meaning the true aspect of reality. It was widely studied in China and Japan, and in China several commentaries on it were written.

(See also: Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana , Enlightenment, Buddhism Enlightenment, Buddhism Enlightenment Dictionary)

For more dictionary entries, see » Personal Faith Dictionary

A personal reflektion on God By Gul Panag. ”I am not ritualistic at all, but I do believe in the existence of a superpower. My Sikh parents have given me a liberal upbringing as far as religion is concerned. They've never imposed any religious ideas upon me.”

Read more here: » Spiritual Inspiration: God and I by Gul Panag

Lord Krishna's influence on our lives far exceeds that of any other God-incarnate. Krishna is depicted not only as an embodiment of wisdom and selfless action, but also as a humane liberal and practical philosopher with foresight.

Krishna's mysticism and activism have greatly inspired poets, painters, writers, dramatists and dancers. The advice he rendered to a disheartened Arjuna at Kurukshetra - immortalised in the Bhagavad Gita - greatly influenced philosophers and continues to inspire millions of people worldwide.

(See also: Krishna , Indian Festivals, Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Krishna: Krishna The Cowherd - The Perfect Avatar