7 Wonders of India

Between 2008 and 2009, NDTV, an Indian television channel embarked on an undertaking to determine the 7 most wondrous monuments of ancient India as Indian see them. They organized the voting, created a live televised series called The 7 Wonders of India where the Indian public was presented with about 200 nominations. The TV series is available as snippets on the 7 Wonders of India YouTube channel created by NDTV, of between 2mins to 10mins. Entertainingly informative, the videos record in one place on the internet scenes, history and other facts about ancient India and its culture presented by a cast of Indian celebrities. The Youtube channel makes for an enriching site to explore and study from. You could even devise off the beaten track travel ideas from these series. By the way Indians concluded that the 7 Wonders of India are: The Konarak Sun Temple, One of the temples of Khajuraho, Jaisalmer Fort at night, the Red Fort, Nalanda University, Dholavira's water reservoir and Madurai's Meenakshi Temple. 

Indian Carnatic in Western Classical Rendition

Cross cultural renditions of South Indian Classical / Carnatic and Western Classical are a rarity. In the 1980's composer and music writer Illayaraja experimented with it, though like the work of contemporary A. R. Rahman they depended heavily on synths. No doubt the cost of getting a full Western Classical ensemble easily dwarfs the small crews required to get a South Indian Classical gig going which is why this effort by Shweta Mohan and Navneeth Sundar is of note. The rendition of Chinnanchiru Kiliye as a Mother's Day tribute on Youtube is well worth a listen. Please click here to go to this Youtube Page which I have also added to HinduSearchEngine.com to come up in Indian Classical music searches. Kudos to Swetha Mohan and Navneeth Sundar who have promised that there is more to come.

Hinduism and the Environment–a good summary

Hindu teachings have a lot of wisdom to inspire the environmental movement, however there isn't a website dedicated to Hinduism's perspective on care for the environment. You can find some very brief summaries here and there but by and large the environmental movement has so far glanced over the possible support Hindu spiritual leaders can provide the battered green concerns of the world. Hindu teachings go very well with sustainable living since the general creed of Hindus connect humans, nature and God as a whole. Experiencing Divinity through nature is a spiritual goal for Hindu mystics, many of whom teach the  reverence of nature and non-wastage of her bounty. There are two webpages I have highlighted in HinduSearchEngine.com that give basic summaries of the Hindu perspective on environmental care: the first is from www.environment.Gen.tr . This page also provides a link to the Bhumi project, a Hindu based international environmental movement meant to spur environmental action amongst Hindus through religious establishments. The other page from www.treehugger.com gives a better academic summary of Hindu teachings related to environmental care, but it is in bad need of editing for language errors; however it does the job in providing a starting point for research that is otherwise hard to come by on the web.

Comparing Vastu and Feng Shui

Vastu and Feng Shui are respective Indian and Chinese architectural traditions. Of these two ancient building codes Feng Shui has become universally popular. In comparison Vastu is less known even among ethnic Indians until recently. There are more websites on Vastu consultancy now then just a few years ago, needless to say the web is replete with websites on Feng Shui. In looking for websites on Vastu that is not ubiquitous Wikipedia, the dearth of information still glares from the screen. Most websites are astrology-numerology-vastu generic sites with a few Indian engineering-vastu consultation firms website. However About.com has created simple pages on understanding Vastu by comparing its similarity and differences to Feng Shui. It is a good site to understand the origins and basics of both these traditions and even gives a few home organizing tips by juxtaposing advice from  both traditions. Click here to get to About.com's article comparing Vastu with Feng Shui.

Learn Vedanta Online

Swami Parthasarthy is arguably among the most popular proponent of Vedanta of this century. Vedanta and Ashtanga Yoga are the most studied and wide reaching philosophies of Hinduism. Of the two Vedanta can be said to be the intellectual basis of yogic practices. People never seem to tire of Vedanta philosophy, especially since its intellectual base has allowed for an amazing variety of abstraction from its core scriptures which are the Aranyakas and Upanishads of the Vedas. There are many schools of Vedanta and of them the most widely taught and discussed is Sri Adi Shankara's Advaita Vedanta of which the Swami is a proponent. His website Vedanta World is a simple website with comprehensive collection of resources for Vedanta seekers to start their discovery. Of note are the YouTube video clips of Swami's talks, especially the ones on the application of Vedantic perspectives to daily life issues.

Chakras on Chakras.net is Among the Best

Aspiring mystics thirst for esoteric knowledge of the chakras and kundalini. Esoteric mystical knowledge like these carry a mysterious aura and is often considered closely guarded secrets of accomplished spiritual gurus who are willing to impart them to only the most deserving disciples. If you are thinking that Chakras.net is a place to uncover these secret knowledge, a free for all...well, not quite....but it is never the less a great site with some of the best dissertations on the functions of these chakras. It is quite informative and detail on the actions of each chakra as mind-body organs, their spiritual symbology and its significance and mythical stories connected to them. It does not give you technical instructions on stimulating these chakras into action with technical pranayama or yoga instructions, though it does name the practices. Kudos to the creators of this site for their diligence in creating this very friendly, easy to navigate site that looks inviting with its large font, simple formatting and easy navigability. The site also has other information on other important philosophies pertaining to yoga–Tattvas and Gunas, Panchakosha-the five bodies, karma, shatsmapatti-the six treasures, etc. 

Want to know more about Nyaya - Vaisheshika?

Nyaya and Vaisheshika are two foundational philosophical schools of Hinduism. They were developed in the antiquated time of the Vedic Age between 3000 to 2000 years ago. Often overlooked in the study of Hinduism these two logic based philosophies were key to the development of Hindu cosmology and in understanding the spiritual connection between God and nature. Of the two Nyaya is less concerned about explaining natural phenomenon and delves more into qualifying methods of logic, whereas Vaisheshika which uses of the logic and analytical methods of Nyaya examines and postulates on the workings of nature. Vaisheshika came up with a number of theories on the workings of Nature, most notably the Theory of the Anu. This theory that is accepted universally by Hindu philosophers of yore explains that nature is created by infinitesimal and indestructible substance called the anu. The anu organizes itself into coalitions to form the different substances, including giving them physical and chemical properties. Vaisheshika goes on to investigate reactions between elements and substances which came up with theories that eventually led to the development of Ayurvedic sciences. If you are interested in learning about Nyaya-Vaisheshika philosophies there is a webpage that provides the most friendly exposition of these delicate and intricate logic schools. It is pdf document titled: Nyaya-Vaisheshika: The Indian Tradition of Physics by Roopa Hulikal Narayan. It is published on Cornell University Library's website: arXiv.org. If you would like to read the document please click here. 

Learn About Indian or Asian Music Traditions from Medieval.org

If you are looking to understand Carnatic, Hindustani, Gamelan or Middle Eastern music there is a site that will be of the greatest help to you. It is www.medieval.org. At first glance this site seems super-super bare, with nothing but text. There is absolutely no graphics on this site but don't underestimate this site because its content can introduce you to Asian classical music tradition like no other. It has links to enriching articles written by it's author Todd. M. McComb and its links to a huge database of lyrics and other information students of these traditions can find very helpful. There are no links to sound bites or video, but to get these just search on Youtube, but there few sites that will give you theory and music text as easily as this one. The site also links to CD's recommended by the author that can be purchased on Amazon.com and other sites. Needless to say the site loads in a flash! 

A Shop For All Things Indian / Hindu / Buddhist / Mughal

If you are looking for an everything Indian online shop–from sculptures, art, to textile and book–check out ExoticIndia.com . An easily navigable website for quick access to what you want or might want. Pictures of products are professional and site loads fast as should any shopping site. Do check out their testimonial page for veracity of the site as HinduSearchEngine.com cannot guarantee their quality of service. Make a prudent first purchase as a test as you would do with any new online malls. If its service is anything like its web presentation it should be excellent.

Hindu Sculptural History–Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Arts presentation of Hinduism and its history make good reading. If you  need a resource for Hindu History their links to the left which provide historic timeline periods and various articles / essays on the subject of Hindu, Buddhist and Jain artistic development are enriching and  enjoyable to lay people as they are non-technical. The images of the sculptures are also beautifully presented–as you would expect from a world famous museum. Its presentation encompasses the Sout Asia and Southeast Asia–India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma and Cambodia. Their only poor presentation is a section to the left that says cited works of art or images. The second image should be Shivalingam worshipped at Tanjavur Brihadeeshwarar, Tamilnadu, India and not as it says "Khajuraho ca. 1000 AD". 

Holidays in Asia–A One of a Kind Website

If you are interested in the the diverse culture of Asia, then the  best time to experience them is during their festival days. I stumbled on this site when looking for information on Nyepi festival in Indonesia and found holidaysia.com containing the best original information that is pertinent to info seekers and travelers alike. It seems to be a growing site, though it  does not have all the festivals of the Asian continent (a daunting task), I hope the authors of this site continue to grow it with more colourful festivals of the Orient, South Asia and Southeast Asia. For now if you need information on Diwali, Nyepi, Kuningan, Loy Khratong and other religious, national and secular holidays and festivals you have a choice of browsing through countries, festival types (like art festivals, street festivals, Hindu festivals, F1 Grand Prix and more). This is a gem of a site for cultural tourists, lets hope it keeps growing.

Holi - India's Festival of Colours

Getting drenched in bright coloured powders and water by typically shy Indian families on village and town streets, Holi, India's Festival of Colours is a fun time to be in Northern India and its Middle. Bihar, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh are the states to be in to catch this festival that falls on the full moon at the end of February / early March. A light hearted festival that has many legends connected to it celebrates the ubiquitous good over evil theme, the dawn of harmony and romantic love. To find out more about Holi, its traditions, legends, paraphernalia, gifts and more check out www.holifestival.org . National Geographic has an amazing photo set on Holi, click here to view it. For more information on Hindu Festival from the best sites on the web, search for them on HinduSearchEngine.com

The Most Contemporary Vedic Astrology Site Online

Vedic Astrology has gained a popular following in the world. It is different in many ways to Western Astrology but often in their web presentations, Vedic Astrology sites tend to be sparse of information and little more than calculators churning out charts and advertising chart interpretation services compared to aesthetic Western astro sites. Astroved.com however is a new breed of Vedic Astrology charts, with easy and diverse navigation, a newsletter, pertinent to times information and much nicer presentation format. While it does require users to sign up to use its free chart calculation tools, its chart presentation and other services available to signees are more than worth the effort. It is also a great site to simply browse, learn a thing or two about Vedic astrology and to do astro shopping if you like–from requesting interpretation, buying astro gadgets to ordering up rituals. It is by far the most contemporary Vedic astrology site available on the web.

Ponggal Festival

Thaiponggal is a three to five days thanks giving festival celebrated in the second week of January, usually January 14th or 15th. The period marks the northward progression of the sun (uttarayana) after the winter solstice. Thaiponggal (or ponggal) is primarily a harvest festival and thus a day of thanks giving to Mother Earth and the Sun, on which crops that provide food and commerce depend. While this harvest festival is celebrated in many Indian communities (it is Makar Sankaranti in the North, Pedda Pedunga in Andhra Pradesh and others) the South Indian Thaiponggal is the most festive. Encompassing five days of celebration there are many customs associated with it, such as the drawing of kolams, home gatherings, temple festival, bull racing and much more. Easily the most comprehensive website on Thaiponggal can be found at www.pongalfestival.org. From kolam designs to recipes, history, legends, regional celebrations and much more this site offers a one stop information portal on this important Indian cultural festival.