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Kali

Kali

:This article is about the Hindu goddess Kali. For other uses of the word, see Kali (disambiguation). Kali (disambiguation)] Although her presentation in the West is usually as simply dark and violent, Kali is a goddess with a long and complex history in Hinduism. Her earliest history as a creature of indiscriminate violence and wrath still has some influence, while more complex Tantric beliefs sometimes extend her role so far as to be the Ultimate Reality and Source of Being. Finally, the comparatively recent devotional movement largely conceives of Kali as a straightforwardly benevolent mother-goddess. Kali is associated with many devis (goddesses) as well as the deva (god) Shiva. Kali is generally considered one of the consorts of Shiva. Her name seems to be a female version of the word 'kala' (Sanskrit for 'dark' or 'time'- time in this form being a euphemism for death); it also means Black Female, in contrast to her consort, Shiva, who is white. The goddesses that she is associated or identified with include Durga, Bhowani Devi, Sati, Rudrani, Parvati, Chinnamastika, Kamakshi, Uma, Menakshi, Himavati, Kumari. These names, if repeated, are believed to give special power to the worshipper.

Origin

Kali makes her 'official' debut in the Devi-Mahatmya, written around 600CE, where she is said to have emanated from the brow of the goddess Durga (slayer of demons) during one of the battles between the divine and anti-divine forces. In this context, Kali is considered the 'forceful' form of the great goddess Durga. Other goddesses who are less associated with warfare, such as Parvati, Sita and Sati, are also said to emanate Kali, or even become her, to defeat enemies. These enemies are sometimes only susceptible to female assault, making the intervention of the male consort impossible. In some cases, the Kali produced is even able to destroy a far greater enemy than her consort, as when Sita becomes Kali to defeat a thousand-headed Ravana. As her consort Rama is usually the warrior, but in this case freezes in fear, some take this to be a sign of the great potential power of women, when their Shakti is not controlled by and gifted to a male consort.

Development

Kali has become massively linked with Shiva in the later traditions. The unleashed form of Kali often becomes wild and uncontrollable, and only Shiva is able to tame her. This is both because she is often a transformed version of one of his consorts and because he is able to match her wildness. His methods vary from challenging her to the wild tandava dance and outdoing her, to appearing as a crying infant and appealing to her maternal instincts. While Shiva is said to be able to tame her, the iconography often presents her dancing on his fallen body, and there are accounts of the two of them dancing together, and driving each other to such wildness that the world comes close to unravelling. Shiva's involvement with Tantra and Kali's dark nature have led to her becoming an important Tantric figure. To the Tantric worshippers, it was essential to face her Curse, the terror of death, as willingly as they accepted Blessings from her beautiful, nurturing, maternal aspect. For them, wisdom meant learning that no coin has only one side: as death cannot exist without life, so life cannot exist without death. Kali's role sometimes increased beyond a chaos who could be confronted to bring wisdom, and she is given great metaphysical significance by some Tantric texts. The Nirvāna-tantra clearly presents her uncontrolled nature as the Ultimate Reality, claiming that the trimurti of Brahma, Visnu and Siva arise and disappear from her like bubbles from the sea. Although this is an extreme case, the Yogini-tantra, Kamakhya-tantra and the Niruttara-tantra declare her the svarupa (own-being) of the Mahadevi (the great Goddess, who is in this case seen as the combination of all devis). The final stage of development is the worshipping of Kali as the Great Mother, devoid of her usual violence or foulness. This tradition is a break from the more traditional depictions, and as a popular movement with little philosophical or literary backing it can easily be overlooked. The pioneers of this tradition are the Shakta poets such as Ramprasad (1718? - 1775?), who show an awareness of Kali's ambivalent nature. Rachel McDermott's work, however, suggests that for the common worshipper, Kali is not seen as fearful, and only those educated in old traditions see her as having a wrathful component.

Iconography

In most early representations, skulls, cemeteries, and blood are associated with her worship. She is black, naked and emaciated. Her face is azure, streaked with yellow, her glance is ferocious; her disheveled and bristly hair is usually shown splayed and spread like the tail of a peacock and sometimes braided with green serpents. She wears a long necklace (descending almost to her knees) of human skulls or intestines. She may be shown wearing a girdle of severed arms. Children's corpses as earrings (likeliest representing natural infant mortality and childhood mortality from causes such as disease), and cobras as bracelets or garlands add to her terrifying adornments. Her purple lips are often shown streaming with blood; her tusk-like teeth descend over her lower lip; and her tongue lolls out. She is often shown standing on the inert form of her consort, Shiva. When portrayed in sexual union with him, she straddles his prone body, showing her domination and breaking from traditional gender roles. She is sometimes accompanied by she-demons. In certain representations, her four arms hold weapons or the severed head of a demon, while also making the 'peace' and 'boon-giving' gestures: these symbolize both her creative and her destructive power, for in some traditions Kali personifies the ambivalence of deity, which manifests itself, according to much of Indian tradition, in the unceasing cycle of life and death, creation and destruction.

Recent Iconographical development

More recent Bengali images go against these traditons to varying degrees. Some old icons have clothes or jewelerry added to cover Kali's nudity, and newer icons often beautify her, making her appear more like an attractive young mother than a demonness or hag. Such iconography as remains is also re-interpreted: the form of Kali dancing on Shiva is explained as him lying before her when she is in a rage, so that when she steps on him she will be embarassed by the impropriety and come to her senses. Similarly, the lolling tongue, previously considered to drink the blood of her enemies, is instead stuck out in shame. Some of her biggest temples are to be found in the North-East of India, in particular in Kolkata, West Bengal: Kalighat and Dakshineshwar, and in the equally famed Kamakhya in Assam. Her poor reputation in the West came from the cult of the Thuggee, Hindus who took the goddess Kali as their deity. They robbed and murdered travellers as sacrifices to Kali and were broken up by the British. The common English word thug is derived from this.

External links

Category:Hindu goddesses Category:Destroyer goddesses ja:カーリー

Kali (disambiguation)

Kali or KALI could refer to:
- Kali, a Hindu goddess
- Kali, Filipino Martial Art.
- Kali, a Filipino term for fighting knife
- Kali, a game browser.
- Kali, a painting by Tyeb Mehta.
- For chemicals whose names include the component kali, see potassium.
- Kali, a character from The Matrix films.
- Two broadcast stations in the United States:
- KALI, a radio station broadcasting at 900 kHz on the FM band, licensed to West Covina, California.
- KALI-FM, a radio station broadcasting at 106.3 MHz on the FM band, licensed to Santa Ana, California.

Durga

In Hinduism, Durga is a form of Saraswati, Parvati, Lakshmi or Devi, the supreme goddess. She is depicted as a woman riding a lion with multiple hands carrying weapons and assuming mudras, or symbolic hand gestures. This form of the Goddess is the embodiment of feminine and creative energy (Shakti). According to the narrative from the Devi_Mahatmyam of the markandeya purana, the form of Durga was created as an warrior goddess to fight the demon Mahisashur who could not be defeated by any of god or man due to a boon he received after intense prayers to Brahma. By virtue of this power, he invaded the gods, who went for help to the supreme trinity - Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, but Mahishashur defeated all of them and unleashed a reign of terror on earth, heaven and the nether worlds. Eventually, since only a woman could kill him the gods got together with the trinity and created a dazzling beam of energy out of which Durga was born. Her form was blindingly beautiful, with a face sculpted by Shiva, torso by Indra, breasts by Chandra (the moon), teeth by Brahma, bottom by the Earth, thighs and knees by Varuna (wind), and her three eyes by Agni (fire). Each god also gave her their own most powerful weapons - Shiva's trident, Vishnu's discus, Indra's thunderbolt, etc. The word Shakti, meaning strength, reflects the warrior aspect of the goddess, embodying a traditional male role. But she is also strikingly beautiful, and initially Mahishasur tries to marry her. In her other incarnations such as Annapurna or Parvati, she is more mother-like, and as Karunamayi (karuna = kindness), she is softer. Mahishasur's story is also of interest. His father Rambha, king of the demons, once fell in love with a water buffalo, and mahishasur was born out of this union. He is therefore able to change between human and buffalo form at will ("mahisha" means buffalo). After conquering the three worlds, he is finally challenged by Durga. After several days of battle during which his army is decimated, he is finally killed on the tenth day of the waxing moon. This day of victory is celebrated as Vijaya Dashami (East and South India), Dashain (Nepal) or Dussehra (North India) - all these words literally mean "the tenth day". In Kashmir she is worshipped as shaarika (the main temple is in Hari Parbat in Srinagar). The actual period of the worship however may be over the nine preceding days Navaratri (N. India) or the five days (Bengal / Orissa).

The Worship of Durga (Durga Puja)

shaarika The worship of Durga in the autumn month of Sharat is the major festival in Bengal. Puja means worship, and Durga's Puja is celebrated from the sixth to tenth day of the waxing moon in the month of Ashvin, which is the sixth month in the Hindu Calendar. Occasionally however, due to a misalignment between the lunar cycle and the solar months, it may also be held in the following month, Kartik. In the Gregorian calendar, this corresponds to the months of September/October. In the Krittibas Ramayana, Rama invokes the goddess Durga in his battle against Ravana. Although she was traditionally worshipped in the Spring, due to contingencies of battle, Rama had to invoke her in the autumn ([akaal bodhan]). Today it is this Rama's date for the puja that has gained ascendancy, although the spring Puja, known as Basanti puja, is also present in the Hindu almanac. Since the season of the puja is sharat (autumn), it is also known as shaaradiya. The Puja's are held over a five-day period, which is traditionally viewed as the coming of the married daughter, Durga, to her father, Himalayas' home. It is the most important festival in Bengal, and Bengalis celebrate with new clothes and other gifts, which are worn on the evenings when the family goes out to see the pandals. Although it is a Hindu festival, many religious groups participate in the ritual. In Kolkata alone more than a thousand galleries (a.k.a. pandals) are set up, all clamouring for the fickle attention of the populace. Across the world, Durga Puja serves as a community gathering and a connection to roots for the widespread Bengali diaspora. Tokyo has nearly ten Pujas, and North America has several hundred. Bangladesh, with its 10% hindu population has at least a thousand pujas.

Durga Puja in Bengal

Kolkata, Durga, Saraswati and Kartik.]] A considerable literature exists around Durga in the Bengali language and its early forms, including Durgotsavnirnaya (11th century), Durgabhaktitarangini by Vidyapati (14th century), etc. Durga Puja was popular in Bengal in the medieval period, and records exist of it being held in the courts of Rajshahi (16th century) and Nadia (18th century). It was during the 18th century, however, that the worship of Durga became popular among the landed elite of Bengal. Today, the culture of Durga Puja has shifted from the princely houses to Sarvojonin (literally, "involving all") forms. During the week of Durga Puja, in the entire state of West Bengal as well as in large enclaves of Bengalis everywhere, life comes to a complete standstill. In play grounds, traffic circles, ponds -- wherever space may be available -- elaborates structures called pandals are set up, many with nearly a year's worth of planning behind them. The word pandal means a temporary structure, made of bamboo and cloth, which used to be the venue of the worship (pujaa) of the goddess. West Bengal] Somewhere inside these complex edifices is a stage on which durga reigns, standing on her lion mount, wielding ten weapons with her ten hands. This is the religious epicenter of the festivities, and the crowds gather to offer flower worship on the mornings of the main days. Ritualized drummers, carrying large leather-strung dhaaks show off their skills during ritual dance worships called arati. But today's Puja goes far beyond religion. In fact, visiting the pandals recent years, one can only say that Durgapuja the largest outdoor art festival on earth. In the 1990s, a preponderance of architectural models came up on the pandal exteriors, but today the art motif extends to elaborate interiors, executed by trained artists, with consistent stylistic elements, carefully executed and bearing the name of the artist. The sculpture of the idol itself has evolved. The worship always depicts Durga with her four children, and occasionally two attendant deities and some banana-tree figures. In the olden days, all five idols would be depicted in a single frame, traditionally called pata. Since the 1980's however, the trend is to depict each idol separately. At the end of the six days, the idol is taken in a procession amid loud chants and drumbeats to the river or other water body, and it is cast in the waters symbolic of the departure of the deity to her home with her husband in the Himalayas. After this, in a tradition called Vijaya Dashami, families visit each other and sweetmeats are offered to visitors (Dashami is literally tenth day and Vijay is victory). 1990] Also associated with Durga is a myth that Rama invokes her in his battle with Ravana. For this reason, the same tenth day is celebrated in North India as Dussehra, when huge straw effigies of Ravana are burnt.

External links

- [http://www.exoticindiaart.com/article/durga Durga - Narrative Art of an 'Independent' Warrior Goddess]
- [http://www.rudraksha-ratna.com/navratri.htm Navratri Festival] Goddess Durga Festival (N. India) for 9 nights.
- [http://www.anandautsav.com/ The Bengali Durga Puja experience] Multimedia photos of thousands of pujas - including faraway places such as Helsinki, Auckland, or Lagos.
- [http://Durgapuja.VisitNorthEast.com/ The True Fantasy of Durga Puja of the Bengali Community] Extensive coverage of Durga Puja along wih other related Information and Muktimedia Presentations.
Category:Hindu goddesses

Dakshayani

(on the left) and Uma (on the right{{

Durga

The Worship of Durga (Durga Puja)

Durga Puja in Bengal

External links

Rama

: This article is about the incarnation of God Vishnu and king of ancient India, for other meanings see Rama (disambiguation). Rama (disambiguation) and devotee Hanuman. Rama and Lakshman are always shown to be ready for battle (with bow and arrow) as it is their Kshatriya dharma to fight. Rama is shown having blue skin which is a characteristic of Vishnu]] Rama (Rāma in IAST transliteration, राम in Sanskrit, sometimes referred to as Ramachandra and also as Shri Rama) is the Seventh Avatara of Vishnu. He is the embodiment of the absolute Brahman and Dharma. He is the Mariyada Purushottama or The Perfect Man. The life and heroic deeds of Rama are related in the Sanskrit epic the Ramayana. A great devotional work on him is the Ramcharitmanas by Tulsidas, which builds on the Hindu bhakti movements of devotion and love of God. Rama is the most famous and popular manifestation of the Supreme God for a vast majority of the 900 million Hindus across the world, including the nations of South East Asia such as Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Burma and Cambodia. He is recognized as the image, spirit and consciousness of Hinduism, the world's oldest organized religion, and of human civilization from the Indian perspective. The spelling and pronunciation of Rama follows the original Sanskrit; it continues to be followed in several modern languages of India. In modern Indian vernaculars, however, it is sometimes pronounced as 'Ram'.

Prince of Ayodhya

Rama is born in the city of Ayodhya, which is the capital of the ancient kingdom of Kosala. The city and the area are located in the central region of the modern state of Uttar Pradesh in India. King Dasaratha performs a putrakami yajna, a sacrifice to obtain offspring by pleasing the Gods. He gives the sacred, sacrificial nectar to his three wives according to their seniority: Kousalya, Sumitra and Kaikeyi. Rama is born the eldest son of Kousalya and Dasaratha. He is the prince of the Suryavanshi (Sun Dynasty) House of Ikshvaku, descendant of great monarchs like Ikshvaku, Raghu and Bhagiratha. He is the eldest brother to Bharata, son of Kaikeyi, and the twin sons of Sumitra, Lakshmana and Shatrughna. The Ramayana describes their relationship as intensely loving and devotional, although Rama and Lakshmana share a special, inseparable bond, while Bharata is especially close to Shatrughna. Rama and his brothers are trained by the Guru Vasishta in the Vedas, religion, philosophy and the sciences. Guru Vishwamitra is the preceptor of Rama and Lakshmana in the advanced military arts and advanced religion.

The Avatara

Upon his birth, only a few highly learned and experienced sages know of his true identity as the Avatara of the Supreme Lord Vishnu. Amongst them are Vasishta and Vishwamitra. Neither his parents, nor his brothers or any of the people of Kosala know who his true identity. Rama is born with a blueish skin color and effulgence, which denotes divinity. Throughout the course of his life, Rama does not himself know of his true origin and mission. Despite his exceptional prowess as a warrior, he does not realize his true strength and mission in life. Only after he completes his primary mission of slaying Ravana, the evil emperor of Lanka is he confronted by all the Gods and celestial sages, headed by Brahma and including Indra and Shiva, who explain his true identity. His brother and close companion Lakshmana is considered a part of the Seventh Avatara, but in a secondary role to Rama, the prime form.

With Vishwamitra

When Rama is around 14-15 years old, he and his brother Lakshmana are taken by Vishwamitra to the forests, with the purpose of killing rakshasas who are wrecking the tapasya and sacrifices of brahmins. Rama and Lakshmana are taught the advanced military arts and given the knowledge of all celestial weapons by Vishwamitra. Rama proceeds to slay Tataka, a cursed demoness. When asked to slay the yaksha demon, Rama demurrs, considering it sinful to kill a woman. But Vishwamitra explains to him that evil has no gender. The killing of Tataka liberates the yaksha soul who was cursed for a sin, and had to adopt a rakshasa's body. It restores the purity of the sacrifices of the brahmins who live nearby, and protects the animals who live in the forest, and travelers. The main purpose of Vishwamitra's exursion is to conduct his yagna without interruption from two evil demons, Maricha and Subahu. Rama and Lakshmana guard the sacrifice, and when the two demons appear, Rama fires a missile that carries Maricha across the lands and into the ocean, but does not kill him. Rama and his brother then proceed to kill Subahu and accompanying demons. Rama explains to Lakshmana that leaving Maricha alive was an act of compassion, but the others did not heed the point and chose to attack.

Marriage to Sita

Sita is the Avatara of the Goddess Lakshmi, who is the eternal consort and female form of Vishnu. Just as Rama is the manifestation of perfect manhood, Sita idealizes the Perfect Woman through her performance of her duties to religion, as a wife to her husband and as a mother to her children, and collectively as a woman in human society. Sita is the adopted daughter of king Janaka, and the daughter of Goddess Bhoomi, or Earth. When he is approximately 15 years of age, his Guru Vishwamitra takes the two princes to the Swayamvara ceremony for Sita. The challenge is to string the bow of Siva, and fire an arrow with it. This task is considered impossible for any ordinary king or living being, as this is the personal weapon of Siva, more powerful, holy and of divine creation than conceivable. While attempting to string the bow, Rama breaks it into two. This feat of unbelievable strength, to have broken the personal weapon of Siva, spreads his fame across the worlds and seals his marriage to Sita.

Rama's Arrow

After Rama weds Sita and the entire royal family and the Ayodhya army begin their journey back, the great rishi Parashurama Bhargava appears before them, having descended from his mountainous hermitage. Parashurama is an extremely powerful rishi, responsible for killing all of the world's warriors and kings 21 times. He was formerly the sixth Avatara of Vishnu, and finds it unbelievable that anybody could break the bow of Siva. Considering himself to still be the most powerful warrior-rishi on earth, he brings with them the bow of Vishnu, and intends to challenge Rama to prove his strength by stringing it, and then fighting a battle with him to prove superiority. Although the entire Ayodhya army is dazzled by his mystical aura, and the king Dasaratha begs Parashurama not to hurt Rama, Rama is himself angered. He respectfully bows to Parashurama, and within a twinkling of an eyelid snatches the bow of Vishnu, strings it, places an arrow and points it straight at the challenger's heart. Rama asks him what will he give his arrow in return for his life? At this point, Parashurama feels himself devoid of the tremendous mystical energy he possessed for so long. He realizes that Rama is Vishnu incarnate, his successor and definitely his superior. He accepts Rama's superiority, devotes his tapasya to him, pays homage to Rama and promises to return to his hermitage and not return to the world of men. Rama then fires the arrow up into the sky with Vishnu's bow, performing a feat true to his Supreme nature and with his natural weapon. His overpowering Parashurama and using the supreme weapon with incredible ease and perfection dazzle the spectators and his relatives, but no one save Parashurama and Vasishta associate this with his true identity. The myth of Rama's arrow is that the trajectory is still flying across space, across time and across all of the universe. The day it will return to earth, it is said, will bring the end of the world.

Banishment to the Forest

The Destruction of Khara

Rama is asked to help and protect the rishis of the forest who were being terrorized by Khara, a powerful half-brother of Ravana, who had been assigned to rule this area by Ravana. Khara and his demonic legions would kill rishis, disrupt their sacrifices, undertake sinful activities, and oppress the people. According to the Valmiki Ramayana, an area of the forest was under Surpanaka, sister of Ravana, and he was passing by Panchawati. She witnesses Rama, Sita and Lakshmana passing, and tries to flatter and seduce Rama. Rama tells her that he is married and committed to Sita, but if she wishes she can go ask Lakshmana, his younger brother. Lakshmana gets angry, insults her and cuts her nose. To take a revenge, she went to her cousin brothers, Khara. With 14,000 powerful rakshasas, Khara attacks Rama. Rama instructs Lakshmana to take Sita away and protect her, and single-handedly razes Khara's army and kills Khara's most powerful brothers and commanders, and finally Khara himself.

The Kidnapping of Sita

Surpanaka goes to Lanka, and tells the whole story to Ravana. She suggests that he kidnap Sita and marry her, so that Rama would be insulted and devastated. Ravana convinces Maricha, one of the mayawi rakshasas, possessors of mystic powers. He tells him to convert himself to a golden deer and go near Panchwati so that Sita will be attracted to it. And the same happens. Sita asks Rama to bring him. Rama chases the deer, but sensing mischief, that the deer is simply a decoy for some evil purpose, fires an arrow at it and Maricha dies. But while dying, he shouts in Rama's voice "Help Laxman Help". Sita and Laxman who are still in Panchwati, listen to this voice. Sita begs Laxman to go and help Rama. Firstly he was not ready to leave Sita alone in that jungle. But as Sita is panicking and inconsolable, he draws a Laxman Rekha in front of hut. Here Ravana dressed like a muni and went to Panchwati for Bhiksha. Bhiksha is some fruits or eatable to be given to brhmins or rishis. Firstly Sita was not ready to cross Laxman Rekha.But then Ravana blackmailed her in the name of Dhrama. Thus Sita crossed Laxman Rekha. And Ravana kidnapped her. He took Sita to his place Sri Lanka. He has number of big halls called 'Mahal' and different forests. After going to Lanka, he proposed marriage to Sita. Even his wife Mandodari and younger brother Vibheeshana also opposed but he didnot listen to them.He kept Sita in one of his gardens called Ashokawan.

In Kishkindya

Rama went to seek help from the king of the monkeys, Sugreeva, in the monkey kingdom of Kishkinda. He raised an army there and went to to fight Ravana at Lanka.

The War

Sri Lanka

Rama Rajya

Invested as King of Ayodhya and Kosala, Rama begins a 10,000 year reign that is known as Rama Rajya, which is considered to be the time when God, as the most Perfect Man ruled the earth, and evil was extinguished from the hearts of all men and women. This most perfect period is described as extremely prosperous and peaceful, with all its people adhering to religious virtues and duties, and where crime, injustice and suffering were non-existent. Rama also performs the ashwamedha sacrifice 1,000 times to establish himself as the Emperor of the World.

In History and Mythology

Astronomical data in the Ramayana has been interpreted to suggest that his reign would have been at approximately 2015 BC. This makes little sense, however, given that Shri Rama assumed human form in the Treta Yuga (see yuga for more detail). It is known that the Ramayana was written before the other great Hindu epic, the Mahabharata, whose tradition of oral transmission is accepted to have existed around 1000 BC although there is little indication of when it actually began (the writing coming much later). Thus, the Ramayana may have been documented anywhere from around 1500 BC to more conservative estimates of 500 BC. It should be noted that Indian culture has had a tradition of oral transmission of knowledge, considering it sacred and confidential. The Ramayana is a great literary work and piece of devotional and philosophical literature revered by both Hindus and individuals of other cultures.

Modern Portrayal India

Ramayana] Dussera, the day of Rama's victory over Ravana, and Diwali, his return to Ayodhya are the biggest festivals of the year in India. The Ramayana was created into a major epic television series in India in the late 1980s, and was tirelessly watched by hundreds of millions of people across the country, even though television sets were scarce.

Portrayal in South East Asia

Rama and the legendary epic of Ramayana is an extremely popular tale in Thailand, Burma, Malaysia, Indonesia and Cambodia, where ancient Hindu kingdoms existed. In Thailand exists an ancient city called Ayutthaya, where the legend is commemorated and Rama worshipped. Many of the kings of Southeast Asian nations were named Rama. Category:Vaishnavism Category:Ramayana epic Category:Forms of Vishnu

External Links

- [http://www.ram.net.in Rama's Preachings] Site providing the preachings of Lord Rama and Lord Krishna
- [http://www.exoticindiaart.com/article/rama Rama The Ideal Man: The Epic Adventure of a Hero] by Sri Nitin Kumar. ko:라마 (신화) ja:ラーマ

Tantra

Tantra (Sanskrit: loom), tantric yoga or tantrism is any of several esoteric traditions rooted in the religions of India. It exists in Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Bönpo, and New Age forms. Tantra's roots are in the village life of ancient India. The word "tantra" first appears in the written record in the middle of the first millennium CE. Tantra has persisted and often thrived throughout Asian history. Its practitioners have lived in India, China, Japan, Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Korea, Cambodia, Burma, Indonesia and Mongolia. No form of medieval Hinduism, Buddhism, or Jainism has been without a Tantric component. Some South-Asian Islamic traditions have also borne a tantric stamp. David Gordon White while cautioning us about attempting a rigorous definition of what for centuries has defied such attempts, offers the following working definition : " [It] is that Asian body of beliefs and practices which, working from the principle that the universe we experience is nothing other than the concrete manifestation of the divine energy of the godhead that creates and maintains that universe, seeks to ritually appropriate and channel that energy,within the human microcosm in creative and emancipatory ways." In its Indian forms, tantra can be summarized as a family of voluntary rituals modeled on those of the Vedas, together with their attendant texts and lineages. These rituals typically involve the visualization of a deity, offerings (real or visualized), and the chanting of his or her mantra. These practices are usually said to require permission from a qualified teacher or guru who belongs to a legitimate guruparampara or teacher-student lineage. Thus tantra shares some similarities with yoga. (See the "Yoga" entry for a fuller discussion of their relationship.) Common variations include visualizing the deity in the act of sexual union with a consort; visualizing oneself as the deity; and/or "transgressive" acts such as token consumption of meat or alcohol. Occasionally ritualized sex may be undertaken in imitation of the divine model. This accounts for tantra's mixed reputation, and its reception in the West primarily as a collection of sexual practices.

History of Tantra

Legend ascribes the origin of Tantra to Dattatreya, a semi-mythical Hindu yogi and the assumed author of the Jivanmukta Gita ("Song of the liberated soul"). Others see Lord Adinath, or Shiva, as the first Guru of Tantra. Things become a little more clear with Matsyendranath ("Master of fish" - so-called either because he was a fisherman, or, less probably, because he discovered a tantra inside a fish). He is accredited with authorship of the Kaulajnana-nirnaya, a voluminous ninth-century tantra dealing with a host of mystical and magical subjects, and occupies an important position in the Hindu tantric lineage, as well as in Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism. His disciple, Gorakhnath, founded laya yoga. Hatha Yoga was penned by Swami Swatamarama as the secrets of Lord Adinath (another name for Shiva) in the 15th century. Tantra evolved into a number of orders (sampradaya) and with a primary classification of either "left-hand tantra" (vaama marg), in which sexual yoga and other antinomian practices occurred or "right-hand tantra", in which such practices were merely visualised. Both groups, but in particular the left-hand tantrists, opposed many features of orthodox Hindu culture, particularly the caste system and patriarchy. Despite this, Tantra was accepted by some high-caste Hindus, most notably the Rajput princes. Hindu tantra even briefly enabled a yogic/sufi synthesis among some Indian Muslims. Nowadays Tantra has a large, though not always well-informed, following worldwide. Buddhist and Hindu Tantra, though having many similarities from the outside, do have some clear distinctions. Scholars are unable to determine whether the Hindu or the Buddhist version of Tantra appeared first in history. Buddhist Tantra is always part of the Mahayana school of Buddhism, which has as main aim to help all sentient beings becoming free from problems (Dukkha), in order to achieve this aim, one should try to achieve Buddhahood oneself, in order to be the most profound teacher for others.

Hindu tantra

Tantra exists in Vaisnava, Shaiva, and Shakta forms, among others. Extolled as a short-cut to self-realization and spiritual enlightenment by some, left-hand tantric rites are often rejected as dangerous by most orthodox Hindus. The popular perception of tantra among Hindus, for example as expressed in Indian journalism, makes it more or less synonymous with black magic. This sentiment has also influenced the self-perception of tantrikas themselves. Some distinguish between two "paths" in Hindu Tantra: dakshinachara (also known as samayachara), the "Right-Hand Path", and vamachara, the "Left-Hand Path". The terms Left-Hand Path and Right-Hand Path have been adopted by Western occultists. According to another popular view, Hindu Tantra is classified as either red (rajas or heat, fire, restlessness, anger), black (tamas or darkness, ignorance, stagnation) or white (sattva pure, moderate, divine). These correspond to three Hindu conceptions of the qualities of existence (the three gunas) first posited in Samkhya. Some tantric aspirants simply feel the union is accomplished internally and with spiritual entities of various kinds. For this reason, almost all tantric writing has a gross, higher and subtle meaning. This tripartite system of understanding readily obscures the true purport of many passages for those without the necessary background or deeper understandings so crucial to tantra. Thus, a 'union' could mean the actual act of sexual intercourse, ritual uniting of concepts through chanting and sacrifice, or realisation of one's true self in the cosmic joining of the divine principles of Shiva and Shakti in Para Shiva. According to John Woodroffe, one of the foremost Western scholars on Tantra, and translator of its greatest works (including the Mahanirvana Tantra): :"The Indian Tantras, which are numerous, constitute the Scripture (Shastra) of the Kaliyuga, and as such are the voluminous source of present and practical orthodox "Hinduism." The Tantra Shastra is, in fact, and whatever be its historical origin, a development of the Vaidika Karmakanda, promulgated to meet the needs of that age. Shiva says: "For the benefit of men of the Kali age, men bereft of energy and dependent for existence on the food they eat, the Kaula doctrine, O auspicious one! is given" (Chap. IX., verse 12). To the Tantra we must therefore look if we would understand aright both ritual, yoga, and sadhana of all kinds, as also the general principles of which these practices are but the objective expression." :- Introduction to Sir John Woodroffe's translation of "Mahanirvana Tantra.." While Hinduism is typically viewed as being Vedic, the Tantras are not considered part of the orthodox Hindu/Vedic scriptures. They are said to run alongside each other, The Vedas of orthodox Hinduism on one side and the Agamas of Tantra on the other. However, the practices, mantras and ideas of the Atharva Veda are markedly different from those of the prior three and show signs of powerful non-Aryan influence. Indeed, the Atharva Veda is cited by many Tantra texts as a source of great knowledge. it is notable that throughout the Tantras, such as the Mahanirvana Tantra, they align themselves as being natural progressions of the Vedas. Tantra exists for spiritual seekers in the age of Kaliyuga, when Vedic practices no longer apply to the current state of morality and Tantra is the most direct means to realization. Thus, aside from Vajrayana Buddhism, much of Tantric thought is Hindu Tantra, most notably those that council worship of Lord Shiva and the Divine Mother, Kali. A tantra typically takes the form of a dialogue between the Hindu gods Shiva and Shakti/Parvati, being that Shiva is known in Hinduism as being 'Yogiraj' or 'Yogeshwara,' 'The King of Yoga' or 'God of Yoga' and that his consort is known to be his perfect feminine equal. Each explains to the other a particular group of techniques or philosophies for attaining moksha (liberation/ enlightenment), or for attaining a certain practical result. (Agamas are Shiva to Shakti, and Nigamas are Shakti to Shiva.) This extract from the beginning of the Yoni Tantra (translated by Mike Magee) gives an idea of the style. :Seated upon the peak of Mount Kailasa the God of Gods, the Guru of all creation was questioned by Durga-of-the-smiling-face, Naganandini. :Sixty-four tantras have been created O Lord, tell me, O Ocean of Compassion, about the chief of these. Mahadeva (Shiva) said: :Listen, Parvati, to this highly secret one, Dearest. Ten million times have you wanted to hear this. Beauteous One, it is from your feminine nature that you continually ask me. You should conceal this by every effort. Parvati, there is mantra-pitha, yantra-pitha and yoni-pitha. Of these, the chief is certainly the yoni-pitha, revealed to you from affection.

Tibetan tantra

In Tibetan Buddhism tantra (also known as Vajrayana) plays a central role, and is universally acknowledged as constituting the highest teachings of that religion. Tibetan lineages disagree as to whether tantric practice ought to be reserved for senior monks (which policy distinguishes the Gelugpa), or extended to laypeople and junior clergy (as in the other monastic lineages, notably the Nyingmapa). The suggested motivation for practicing tantra is no different from that of Mahayana Buddhism in general--the bodhisattva ideal, in which the practitioner aspires to liberate not only him/herself but also all sentient beings throughout the universe. The difference is one of technique, tantra being a "quick path" to enlightenment for those capable of following it. Thus esoteric tantric practice is tightly integrated with the exoteric (non-esoteric) tradition so that the two work together as a unified system. Within Vajrayana Buddhist circles, sexual tantra is apparently rare but not unknown, even among theoretically celibate monks. June Campbell's book "Traveller in Space" tells the story of her recruitment as a tantric consort by Kalu Rinpoche, who also strongly urged her silence. Vajrayana principles might justify the resulting violation of his monastic vows with an appeal to the bodhisattva principle, on the theory (which is by no means universally accepted) that even a monk ought to have sex if that will help him attain enlightenment sooner. Nevertheless, a more typical example of Tibetan tantra would be the chanting of the well-known mantra of Avalokiteshvara Aum Mani Padme Hum.

Japan's Shingon sect

Buddhist tantrism is also practiced to a lesser extent in East Asia. Japan's Shingon sect, for example, practices tantric veneration of the deity Vairocana.

New Age tantra or Neo Tantra

New Age appropriations of tantra usually disregard requirements involving guruparampara and ritual conduct, though they otherwise adopt many of the terms and concepts of Indian tantra. In these circles, "tantra" is often a synonym for sacred sexuality, i.e. a belief that sex ought to be recognized as a sacred act which is capable of elevating its participants to a higher spiritual plane. At other times "tantra" comes to mean a set of techniques for cultivating a more fulfilling sexual or love relationship, like the otherwise unrelated Kama Sutra, regardless of its metaphysical import. Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh later known as Osho, used tantra in combination with breathing technique, bioenergetic, yoga and massage in some of his groups, his students continued this concept and developed it. The most successful and well known is Margot Anand.

Tantric practices

Because of the wide range of groups covered by the term "tantra", it is hard to describe tantric practices definitively. The basic practice, the Hindu image-worship known as "puja" may include any of the elements below. Mantra and Yantra: As in all of Hindu and Buddhist yogas, mantras plays an important part in Tantra, not only for focusing the mind, often through the conduit of specific Hindu gods like Shiva, Ma Kali (mother Kali, another form of Shakti) and even Ganesh, the elephant-headed god of wisdom (refer to the Ganesha Upanishad). Similarly, puja will often involve concentrating on a yantra or mandala. Identification with deities: Tantra, being a development of early Hindu-Vedic thought, embraced the Hindu gods and goddesses, especially Shiva and Shakti, along the Advaita (nondualist Vedic) philosophy that each represents an aspect of the ultimate Para Shiva, or Brahman. These deities may be worshiped externally (with flowers, incense etc.) but, more importantly, are used as objects of meditation, where the practitioner imagines him- or herself to be experiencing the darshan or 'vision' of the deity in question. The ancient devadasi tradition of sacred temple-dance, seen in the contemporary Bharata Natyam is the example of such meditation in movement. The divine love is expressed in Sringara and Bhakti. Concentration on the body: Tantrikas generally see the body as a microcosm; thus in the Kaulajnana-nirnaya, for example, the practitioner meditates on the head as the moon, the heart as the sun and the genitals as fire. Many groups hold that the body contains a series of energy centres (chakra - "wheel"), which may be associated with elements, planets or occult powers (siddhi). The phenomenon of kundalini, a flow of energy through the chakras, is controversial; most writers see it as essential to Tantra, while others regard it as unimportant or as an abreaction. As it is, kundalini is nothing but the flow of the central sushumna nadi, a spiritual current, that, when moving, opens chakras, and is fundamental to the siddhi concept that forms a part of all tantra, including hatha yoga. Tantra and sex: As stated before, actual sexual intercourse is not a part of every form of tantric practice, but it is the definitive feature of left-hand Tantra. Contrary to popular belief, "Tantric sex" is not always slow and sustained, and may end in orgasm. For example, the Yoni Tantra states: "there should be vigorous copulation". However, all tantra states that there were certain groups of personalities who were not fit for certain practices. Tantra was personality specific and insisted that those with pashu-bhava (animal disposition), which are people of dishonest, promiscuous, greedy or violent natures who ate meat and indulged in intoxication, would only incur bad karma by following Tantric paths without the aid of a Guru who could instruct them on the correct path. In Buddhist tantra, actual ejaculation is very much a taboo, as the main goal of the sexual practice is to use the sexual energy towards achieving full enlightenment, rather than ordinary pleasure. Taboo-breaking: Sexual intercourse, preferably with a low-caste partner, was one method by which traditional left-hand practice forced practitioners to confront their conditioned responses. Others include the eating of meat (particularly beef and pork) and drinking of alcohol. Fear has also been used as a method to break down conditioning; rites would often take place in a cremation ground amidst decomposing corpses. This, of course, also falls under the prerequisite of the practitioner's nature, in such cases demanding a vir- (heroic) or even devya- (godlike) -bhava (disposition of purity, suppression of pride, respect to parents and guru and often celibacy). In the Kaula and Vamachara schools of tantra the Panchamakara (i.e. "five things") the five taboos ritually/sacramentally broken in order to free the practitioner from binding convention:
- maithuna (sex)
- madya (liquor)
- mudra (money)
- mamsa (flesh)
- matsya (fish) The "sacramental" or ritual breaking was only for the "heroic"/vira- practitioner, not the "godly"/divya- or "beastly"/pashu- levels. The "beastly" would misunderstand and get caught up in the literal act while the "godly" will have already progressed beyond and not need the literal act to understand the inner meaning. There are tantric schools that substitute innocuous items for the taboo substances and acts, claiming that literal interpretations of the Panchamakara miss the real inner truth of the rite.

Tantra in the modern world

Tantra is used in the West, as a general term which relates to sexual practice as a spiritual evolutionary scheme. There are in fact many different approaches as to how this manifests in American society - and also examples of the same development in Europe, see further down. There have been many civilizations which have deified sexuality as the most approximate expression of cosmic love or God. Regardless, the point is that tantra is moldable. It changes with each moment and environment. It especially depends on the nature of the practitioner. In traditional pockets of Tantric practice in India, such as in Assam near the venerated Hindu temple of Kali, Kammakha, in parts of West Bengal, in Siddhanta temples of South India, and in Kasmiri Shiva temples up north, Tantra has retained its true form. Its variance in practice is seen, where many tantrics are known to frequent cremation grounds in attempts to transcend their worldly attachment to life, and others are assuredly performing still more arcane acts. But what is common to them all is the intense secrecy in which their secrets are kept and the almost godlike reverence paid to the Guru, who is seen as the pinnacle of Tantra. It would be safe to say that every single Hindu Tantra Yogin in India is a Shiva and/or Shakti worshipper, and the more wide-spread practices to which all Hindus commit themselves, like pooja and worship through devotion, are maintained while more occult yogic practices involving sacred rites continue. Tibet too has a very strong Buddhist Tantric background which continues, albeit many have been transplanted to monasteries in India, and claims to be a right-hand path, in contrast to the more varied Hindu counterparts (that include both left and right-hand practices). Tibetan Tantra or Vajrayana, on the other hand, flourishes in America and other countries in a relatively pure and genuine, if somewhat attenuated form, under the guidance of many Tibetan teachers of the first generation to escape from Tibet or the next generation. There are hundreds of Tibetan Buddhist centers outside Tibet and India, primarily in the Americas and Europe, but also in eastern countries such as Malaysia, Taiwan, Russia and others. Practices in these centers, with Tibetan gurus or those trained directly by them, emphasize the true Mahayana ideal of rapidly gaining the enlightenment that characterizes a Buddha entirely for the purpose of relieving the suffering of others. This is claimed to be the Bodhisattva ideal of Mahayana Buddhism represented historically and mythologically by Avaloketishvara, Tara and others, as well as today in the person of the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan teachers. In the Tantric or Vajrayana aspects of this system, harnessing the energies of the body, emotions and mind, including, joy, wrath and sexual energy, is not an end in itself but a potent means to the ultimate goal of realizing the true nature of reality, emptiness or Shunyata, thus attaining complete spiritual enlightenment and relief from the endless dissatisfaction of life, and using the power thus gained exclusively to help others do so as well. Modern Tantra may be divided into practices based on Hinduism and Buddhism, Indian and Tibetan, traditions. The form of Hindu Tantra popularly practiced In America is said by Hindu Tantra traditionalists to represent a mutilated and extremely narrow-minded, sensationalist approach encompassing only a misguided thinking about "sacred sexuality," with little reference to its true practice. Traditional Tantrists say their practise involves much more than mere wizardy or sexual titillation: like the rest of Yoga (Hindu), it requires self-analysis and conquering of material ignorance, often through the body, but always through a pure outlook of the mind. 'Real Tantra' is about transforming one's sexual energy into spiritual progress, and has nothing to do with 'sex just for fun'. Those without a guru or lacking in discipline of the mind and body are unfit. It is telling that a Tantrica in West Bengal, a devotee of the Hindu goddess Kali, once said that "those most fit for Tantra almost never take it up, and those least fit pursue it with zeal."
- For three Tantric practitioners (two well-known and one lesser-known), see the Dalai Lama (Buddhist), Shri Ramakrishna (Hindu) and Shri Gurudev Mahendranath (Hindu). The musician Sting also claims to be a practitioner.

References

- Bagchi, P.C. (ed.), Magee, Michael (trans.) Kaulajnana-nirnaya of the School of Matsyendranath. Varanasi: Prachya Prakashan, 1986.
- Feuerstein, Georg. Tantra: The Path of Ecstasy. Boston: Shambhala, 1998.
- Geshe Kelsang Gyatso. Tantric Grounds and Paths. Glen Spey: Tharpa Publications, 2003.
- Mookerji, Ajit. The Tantric Way: art, science, ritual. London: Thames and Hudson, 1977. A general introduction.
- Woodroffe, John. Mahanirvana Tantra (Tantra of the Great Liberation). Available online at [http://www.sacred-texts.com/tantra/maha/]. A late Hindu tantra, but one of the best known.

External links

General Resources
- [http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/gthursby/tantra/ Shiva Shakti Mandalam:] The most comprehensive Tantric resource site on the Internet
- [http://www.livingtantra.net Living Tantra:] A wide variety of articles, books, and other resources relating to authentic nondual Tantra
- [http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/hindu/devot/tant.html An academic summary]
- [http://hinduism.about.com/od/tantra/index.htm Tantra on About.com] Category:Hindu philosophical concepts Category:New Age Category:Sexuality and religion Category:Yoga ja:タントラ教

Infant mortality

For early system failures, see failure rate. Infant mortality is the death of infants in the first year of life. The leading causes of infant mortality are dehydration and disease. Major causes of infant mortality in more developed countries include congenital malformation, infection and SIDS. Infanticide, abuse, abandonment, and neglect may also contribute to infant mortality. Related statistical categories:
- Perinatal mortality only includes deaths between the foetal viability (28 weeks gestation or 1000g) and the end of the 7th day after delivery.
- Neonatal mortality only includes deaths in the first 27 days of life.
- Post-neonatal death only includes deaths after 28 days of life but before one year.
- Child mortality includes deaths within the first five years. Infant mortality rate (IMR) is the number of newborns dying under a year of age divided by the number of live births during the year. The infant mortality rate is also called the infant death rate. In past times, infant mortality claimed a considerable percentage of children born, but the rates have significantly declined in the West in modern times, mainly due to improvements in basic health care, though high technology medical advances have also helped. Infant mortality rate is commonly included as a part of standard of living evaluations in economics. The infant mortality rate corrolates very strongly with and is the best predictor of state failure. Infant mortality rate is reported as number of live newborns dying under a year of age per one thousand live births, so that IMRs from different countries can be compared. A good source for the most recent IMR's as well as under 5 mortality rates (U5MR) is the UNICEF publication 'The State of the World's Children' available at http://www.unicef.org/publications/index_18108.html For example, the worst U5MR is 284 in Sierra Leone. (That's 28% of all children born die before they turn 5 years old.) The 29 countries with the highest U5MR are in Africa. The U5MR of the United States is 8/1000, and there are 31 countries with lower U5MRs. Sweden's is the lowest at 3. Comparing statistics for IMR across countries can be a useful indicator of their level of health and development, but the method for calculating IMR often varies widely between countries based on the way they define a live birth. The World Health Organization defines a live birth as any born human being who demonstrates independent signs of life, including breathing, muscle movement, or heartbeat. Many countries, however, including certain European states and Japan, only count as live births cases where an infant breathes at birth, which makes their reported IMR numbers somewhat lower and raises their rates of perinatal mortality. The most common cause of IMR of all children around the world has traditionally been dehydration from diarrhea. Because of the success of spreading information about Oral Rehydration Solution (a mixture of salts, sugar and water) to mothers around the world, the rate of children dying from dehydration has been decreasing and has become the second most common cause in the late 1990s. Currently the most common cause is pneumonia.

Global Infant Mortality Trends

For the world, and for both Less Developed Countries (LDCs) and More Developed Countries (MDC) IMR declined significantly between 1960 and 2001. World infant mortality rate declined from 198 in 1960 to 83 in 2001. However, IMR remained higher in LDCs. In 2001, the Infant Mortality Rate for Less Developed Countries (91) was about 10 times as large as it was for More Developed Countries (8). For Least Developed Countries, the Infant Mortality Rate is 17 times as high as it is for More Developed Countries. Also, while both LDCs and MDCs made dramatic reductions in infant mortality rates, reductions among less developed countries are much less than are reductions among the more developed countries, on average.

Infant mortality rate in countries

Countries and regions with the highest and lowest infant mortality rates (2005 est. CIA Factbook) are shown below. For complete listing of infant mortality rates in countries, see List of countries by infant mortality rate.

Reference

- [http://gsociology.icaap.org/reports.html Global Social Change Reports] Includes a report showing world trends in infant mortality.

External links

- [http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/hea_inf_mor_rat&int=-1 Infant mortality rate - Country comparison]
- [http://www.who.int/whr/2005/en/ The World Health Report 2005 – Make Every Mother and Child Count] Category:Population Mortality

India

The Republic of India is a country in South Asia which comprises of the majority of the Indian subcontinent. India has a coastline which stretches over seven thousand kilometres, and shares its borders with Pakistan to the west, the People's Republic of China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast, and Bangladesh and Myanmar on the east. On the Indian Ocean, it is adjacent to the island nations of the Maldives on the southwest, Sri Lanka on the south, and Indonesia on the southeast. India also claims a border with Afghanistan to the northwest. India is the fourth largest economy in the world in terms of purchasing power parity. It is the second most populous country in the world, with a population of over one billion, and is the seventh largest country by geographical area. It is home to some of the most ancient civilizations, and a centre of important historic trade routes. Four major world religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism have originated from India. Formerly a major part of the British Empire as the British Raj before gaining independence in 1947, during the past twenty years the country has grown significantly, especially in its economic and military spheres, regionally as well as globally. The name India , is derived from the Old Persian version of Sindhu, the historic local appellation for the river Indus; see Origin of India's name. The Constitution of India and general usage also recognises Bharat ( ), which is derived from the Sanskrit name of an ancient Hindu king, whose story is to be found in the Mahabharata, as an official name of equal status. A third name, Hindustan ( ) , or Land of the Hindus in Persian, has been used since the twelfth century, though its contemporary use is unevenly applied due to domestic disputes over its representiveness as a national signifier.

History

Stone Age rock shelters with paintings at Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh are the earliest known traces of human life in India. The first known permanent settlements appeared 9,000 years ago and developed into the Indus Valley Civilisation, which peaked between 2600 BC and 1900 BC. It was followed by the Vedic Civilisation. From around 550 BC onwards, many independent kingdoms came into being. In the north, the Maurya dynasty, which included Ashoka, contributed greatly to India's cultural landscape. From 180 BC, a series of invasions from Central Asia followed, with the successive establishment in the northern Indian Subcontinent of the Indo-Greek, Indo-Scythian and Indo-Parthian kingdoms, and finally the Kushan Empire. From the 3rd century AD onwards the Gupta dynasty oversaw the period referred to as ancient India's "Golden Age". Gupta dynasty built by emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BC]] In the south, several dynasties including the Chalukyas, Cheras, Cholas, Kadambas, Pallavas and Pandyas prevailed during different periods. Science, art, literature, mathematics, astronomy, engineering, religion and philosophy flourished under the patronage of these kings. Following the Islamic invasions in the beginning of the second millennium, much of north and central India came to be ruled by the Delhi Sultanate, and later, much of the entire subcontinent by the Mughal dynasty. Nevertheless, several indigenous kingdoms remained or rose to power, especially in the relatively sheltered south. Vijayanagara Empire was notable among such kingdoms. During the middle of the second millennium, several European countries, including the Portuguese, Dutch, French and British, who were initially interested in trade with India, took advantage of fractured kingdoms fighting each other to establish colonies in the country. After a failed insurrection in 1857 against the British East India Company, popularly known in India as the First War of Indian Independence and most commonly known in the West as the Indian Mutiny, most of India came under the direct administrative control of the crown of the British Empire. British Empire, Orissa built in the 13th century, is one of the most famous monuments of stone sculpture in the world.]] sculpture in the 10th century AD.]] In the early part of the 20th century, a prolonged and largely non-violent struggle for independence, the Indian independence movement, followed, to be eventually led by Mahatma Gandhi, regarded officially as the Father Of The Nation. The culmination of this path-breaking struggle was reached on 1947-08-15 when India gained full independence from British rule, later becoming a republic on 1950-01-26. As a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country, India has had its share of sectarian violence and insurgencies in different parts of the country. Nonetheless, it has held itself together as a secular, liberal democracy barring a brief period from 1975 to 1977 during which the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a "state of emergency" with the suspension of civil rights. India has unresolved border disputes with China, which escalated into a brief war in 1962, and Pakistan which resulted in wars in 1947, 1965, and 1971, and a border altercation in the northern state of Kashmir in 1999. India was a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement and the United Nations. In 1974, India conducted an underground nuclear test, making it an unofficial member of the "nuclear club", which was followed up with a series of five more tests in 1998. Significant economic reforms beginning in 1991 have transformed India into one of the fastest growing economies in the world and added to its global clout.

Government

The Constitution of India states India to be a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic. India is a federal republic, with a bicameral parliament operating under a Westminster-style parliamentary system. It has a three branch system of governance consisting of the legislature, executive and judiciary. The President, who is the head of state, has a largely ceremonial role. His roles include interpreting the constitution, signing laws into action, and issuing pardons. He is also the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. The President and Vice-President are elected indirectly by an electoral college for five-year terms. The Prime Minister is the head of government and most executive powers are vested in this office. He (or she) is elected by legislators of the political party, or coalition, commanding a parliamentary majority, and serves a five-year term incumbent upon enjoying this majority. The constitution does not provide for a post of Deputy Prime Minister, but this option has been exercised from time to time. The legislature of India is the bicameral Parliament which consists of the upper house known as the Rajya Sabha, or Council of States, the lower house known as the Lok Sabha, or House of the People, and the President. The 245-member Rajya Sabha is chosen indirectly through an electoral college and has a staggered six year term. The 545-member Lok Sabha is directly elected for a five year term, and is the determinative constituent of political power and government formation. All Indian citizens above the age of eighteen are eligible to vote. The executive arm consists of the President, Vice-President and the Council of Ministers (the Cabinet) headed by the Prime Minister. Any minister holding a portfolio must be a member of either house of parliament. In India's parliamentary system, the executive is subordinate to the legislature. India's independent judiciary consists of the Supreme Court, headed by the Chief Justice of India. The Supreme Court has both original jurisdiction over disputes between states and the Centre, and appellate jurisdiction over the High Courts of India. There are eighteen appellate High Courts, having jurisdiction over a large state or a group of states. Each of these states has a tiered system of lower courts. A conflict between the legislature and the judiciary is referred to the President.

Politics

Chief Justice of India For most of its independent history, India's national government has been controlled by the Indian National Congress Party. Following its position as the largest political organisation in pre-independence India, Congress, usually led by a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family, dominated national politics for over forty years. In 1977, a united opposition, under the banner of the Janata Party, won the election and formed a non-Congress government for a short period after the unpopular 'emergency rule' imposed by Indira Gandhi in the previous Congress regime. In 1996, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a political party with a right wing nationalist ideology, became the largest single party, and established for the first time a serious opposition to the largely centre-left Congress. But power was held by two successive coalition governments, who stayed on with the support of the Congress. In 1998, the BJP formed the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) along with smaller parties and became the first non-Congress government to sustain the full five year term after it returned to power in 1999. The decade prior to 1999 was marked by short-lasting governments, with seven separate governments formed within that period. One however, a Congress government formed in 1991, lasted the full five years and initiated significant economic reforms. In the 2004 Indian elections the Congress party returned to power after winning the largest number of seats, by a narrow margin. Congress formed a government in alliance with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and with several mostly-regional parties called the United Progressive Alliance. The NDA, led by the BJP, currently forms the main opposition. All governments formed since 1996 have required party coalitions, with no single majority party, due to the steady rise of regional parties at the national level.

States and union territories

India is divided into twenty-eight states (which are further subdivided into districts), six Union Territories and the National Capital Territory of Delhi. States have their own elected government, whereas Union Territories are governed by an administrator appointed by the union government, though some have elected governments. India has had two scientific bases in Antarctica – the Dakshin Gangotri and Maitri, but has made no territorial claims so far.

Geography

Maitri in the north to Arunachal Pradesh in the far east making up most of India's eastern borders]] India's entire north and northeast states are made up of the Himalayan Range. The rest of northern, central and eastern India consists of the fertile Indo-Gangetic plain. Towards western India, bordering southeast Pakistan, lies the Thar Desert. The southern Indian peninsula is almost entirely composed of the Deccan plateau. The plateau is flanked by two hilly coastal ranges, the Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats. India is home to several major rivers such as the Ganga (Ganges), the Brahmaputra, the Yamuna, the Godavari, and the Krishna. The rivers are responsible for the fertile plains in northern India which are conducive to farming. The Indian climate varies from a tropical climate in the south to a more temperate climate in the north. Parts of India which lie in the Himalaya have a tundra climate. India gets most of its rains through the monsoons.

Economy

monsoon India has an economy ranked as the tenth largest in the world in terms of currency conversion and fourth largest in terms of purchasing power parity. It recorded one of the fastest annual growth rates of 6.9% for the year ending March 2005. India's per-capita income by purchasing power parity is US$ 3,262, ranked 125th by the World Bank. India's foreign exchange reserves amount to over US$ 143 billion. Mumbai serves as the nation's financial capital and is also home to both the headquarters of the Reserve Bank of India and the pre-eminent Bombay Stock Exchange. While a quarter of Indians still live below the poverty line, a large middle class has now emerged along with the rapid growth of the IT industry. The Indian economy has shed much of its historical dependence on agriculture, which now contributes to less than 25 % of GDP. Other important industries are mining, petroleum, diamond polishing, films, textiles, information technology services, and handicrafts. Most of India's industrial regions are centred around major cities. In recent years, India has emerged as one of the largest players in software and business process outsourcing services, with revenues of US$ 17.2 billion in 2004 to 2005. Many small-scale industries provide steady employment to workers in small towns and villages. business process outsourcing While India receives only around three million foreign visitors a year, tourism is still an important but under-developed source of national income. Tourism contributes 5.3 % of India's GDP. The actual employment generation, both direct and indirect, is estimated to be 42 million, or about 10 % of India's work force. In monetary terms, it contributes about US$4 billion in foreign exchange. India's major trading partners are the United States, Japan, China and the United Arab Emirates. India's main exports items include agricultural products, textile goods, gems and jewellry, software services and technology, engineering goods, chemicals and leather products while its main import commodities are crude oil, machinery, gems, fertiliser, chemicals. For the year 2004, India's total exports stood at US$ 69.18 billion while the imports were worth at US $89.33 billion.

Demographics

India is the second most populous country in the world, with only China having a larger population. By 2030, India is expected to surpass China with the world's largest population, estimated at 1.6 billion. Language, religion, and caste are major determinants of social and political organisation within the highly diverse Indian population today. Its biggest metropolitan agglomerations are Mumbai (formerly Bombay), Delhi, Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) and Chennai (formerly Madras). Chennai]] India's literacy rate is 64.8 % with 53.7 % of females and 75.3 % of males being literate. The sex ratio is 933 females for every 1000 males. Work Participation Rate (WPR) (the percentage of workers to total population) stands at 39.1 % with male WPR at 51.7 % and female WPR at 25.6 % inote|eu{inote|demostats{inote|religion{ref|languages{inote|tongues{see2|Christianity in India|Jews in India{seealso3|List of Indian languages by total speakers|List of cities in India|Religion in India{main|Culture of India{seealso4|List of World Heritage sites in India|Indian architecture|Indian family name|Cuisine of India{main|Sports in India{main|Holidays in India{Official Holidays of India{Topics related to India{portal{sisterlinks|India{wikitravel{wikicities|india|India{explain-inote{Web reference | title=India facts and figures | work=Embassy of India| URL= http://www.indianembassy.org/dydemo/indiaprofile/profile.htm | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= Forex reserves up by $1bn | work=Economic Times| URL= http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1093864.cms | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= India Economy | work=Travel Document Systems |URL= http://www.traveldocs.com/in/economy.htm | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= Services | work=India in Business| URL= http://www.indiainbusiness.nic.in/india-profile/ser-infotech.htm | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= Destination India: An Unpolished Diamond | work=Times of India | URL= http://timesfoundation.indiatimes.com/articleshow/819309.cms | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= US, UAE, UK, China, Japan among India's top trade partners | work=Indian Express| URL= http://www.indianexpress.com/news/business/20050102-0.html | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= CIA Factbook : India | work=CIA Factbook | URL= http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/in.html | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= Provisional Population Totals 2001 Census| work=Census of India| URL=http://www.censusindia.net/results/resultsmain.html | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= Debating India & India's literacy rate | work=Debating India | URL= http://india.eu.org/1963.html | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= India – Country profiles | work=indexmundi.com | URL= http://www.indexmundi.com/India/ India | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= Census of India 2001, Data on Religion | work=Census of India | URL= http://www.censusindia.net/results/religion_main.html | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= Languages of India | work=India image | URL= http://indiaimage.nic.in/languages.htm| date=August 14 | year=2005{Book reference | Author=K.M. Matthew | Title=Manorama Yearbook 2003 | Publisher= Malaya Manorama | Year=2003 | ID=ISBN 8190046187{mnb|afgh|1{mnb|LoC|2{South Asia{Asia{Commonwealth of Nations{SAARC{Life in India{Link FA|sv{Link FA|sv

Kolkata

Kolkata (Bangla: কলকাতা, Hindi: कोलकता), is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal and was capital of British India until 1912. The city's name was officially changed from Calcutta to Kolkata in January 2001. Despite the new name being phonetically closer to the Bengali version, many people and organizations still refer to it as Calcutta. In Hindi, the city is referred to as Kalkatta. Kolkata also refers to the name of the Kolkata administrative district of West Bengal that part of the city lies in. The urban agglomeration of Kolkata covers several municipal corporations, municipalities, city boards and villages and is the third largest urban agglomeration in India after Mumbai and Delhi. As per the census of 2001, the urban agglomeration's population was 13,216,546 while that of the city (Municipal Corporation of Kolkata) was 4,580,544. Kolkata city's population growth has been pretty low in the last decade. The city is situated on the banks of the Hoogli River (a distributary of the Ganges). Some of the renowned engineering marvels associated with Kolkata include the bridges that span across this river to its twin city of Howrah (which is routinely considered as part of greater Kolkata): the Howrah Bridge (Rabindra Setu), Vivekananda Setu and Vidyasagar Setu.

History

Vidyasagar Setu Kolkata's history is intimately related to the British East India Company, which first arrived in 1690, and to British India, of which Calcutta became the capital in 1772. In the nineteenth century Calcutta was the epicentre of activity in the early stages of the national movement of independence. Kolkata remained in the forefront of Indian prosperity up to independence and for some more years afterwards before the population pressure on infrastructure and political disturbances led to a gradual decline. A violent and bloody Marxist-Maoist movement known as the Naxal movement (after Naxalbari, the place where it first started) in the 1970s left the city badly bruised. The city's recovery process gathered steam after India's liberalization in the early nineties.

Modern Kolkata

1970sKolkata is the main business, commercial and financial hub of eastern India. Kolkata witnessed an economic decline from the late sixties till the late nineties. The city's economic fortunes turned the tide as the early nineties economic liberalization in India reached Kolkata's shores during late nineties. Kolkata is a multicultural, cosmopolitan city. Apart from the diversity of India, the cultures represented are that of the Europeans (Including Germans, Armenians, and others), and other Asians (Including Chinese, Sinhalese, and Tibetans). Since 1977, a "Left Front" coalition of communist and Marxist parties has continuously ruled the state. The Left Front regained control of the Municipal Corporation of Kolkata from the Trinamul Congress in the 2005 civic elections.

Economy

communist and Marxist parties The 'Baboo' culture and the left rule had taken its toll, and by the early 1990s, there was a gradual realisation that things needed to change. This has led to wooing of foreign investment and control over the trade-union activism by the ruling Left establishement. In recent years the city has managed to attract a steady flow of investmemt from various private sector organizations. The landscape of the city is also fast changing with flyovers, gardens and new commercial establishments. The city itself has expanded into its suburbs, with Greater Kolkata stretching from Kalyani (in Nadia District) in the North to Diamond Harbour in the South (in the South 24 Parganas District). The city's fortunes have looked up since the early nineties, coinciding with the liberalization of the Indian economy. Its economy has been amongst the fastest growing in the country. The new metro city is characterised by popular shopping malls, restaurants, coffee shops and entertainment complexes such as the City Centre, Nandan, Tantra, Barista, Sourav's Pavilion and Science City. Kolkata is home to many industrial units, of large Indian corporations, whose product range is varied and includes - engineering products, electronics, electrical equipment, cables, steel, leather, textiles, jewellery, frigates, automobiles, railway coaches, wagons. Several industrial estates like Taratolla, Kalyani, Uluberia, Dankuni, Kasba, Howrah are spread throughout the urban agglomeration. A huge leather complex has come up at Bantolla. An export processing zone has been set up in Falta. Specialized setups like the country's first Toy Park, and a Gem and Jewellery Park have also been established. Kolkata is also becoming a major hub for the IT (Information Technology) industry. With construction underway of New Town at Rajarhat and extension of Salt Lake's Sector-V, Kolkata is rapidly turning into a preferred IT/BPO destination. More and more businesses are coming to Kolkata to set up their offices, including multinationals such as IBM, HSBC and ABN AMRO Bank. Leading the way in growth have been the Kolkata based companies such as Skytech, WDC, Vision Comptech amongst numerous others.

Geography

Salt Lake Kolkata is located in the eastern part of India at . It has spread linearly along the banks of the river Hooghly. The Kolkata Municipal Corporation has an area of 185 square kilometres. The city proper today can be roughly divided into two sections along Mother Teresa Sarani (Park Street). North of Park Street is the more congested part of the city. South of Park Street is the slightly better planned section of the city. The old Calcutta Business District (CBD) is where the seat of the West Bengal Government is located, along with many other government offices. Several banks have their corporate (Allahabad Bank, United Bank of India, UCO Bank) or regional headquarters (Reserve Bank of India, State Bank of India, Bank of India, Central Bank of India amongst many others) around the Bagh area. Many of Kolkata's older business groups have their main offices here. The area is a mix of multi-storeyed office blocks and colonial buildings. The newer CBD is around the south of Park Street, Camac Street and AJC Bose Road. Several high-rise office blocks including some of Kolkata's tallest commercial buildings - like the Chatterjee International Centre, Tata Centre, Everest House, Industry House, CGO Building - are located here. Maidan (open field) is situated between the river Ganges and J.L. Nehru Road (or Chowringhee). It is said to be the lungs of Calcutta. The lush green meadow also houses Victoria Memorial, Eden Gardens, and several other sporting clubs. Calcuttans simply love to stroll in the Maidan. In an effort to relieve congestion in the main city, many government offices have shifted to high-rise office buildings lining Bidhan Nagar's (Salt Lake) Central Park. The residential buildings are mainly lowrise and comprise of older colonial buildings and numerous new four storey apartment blocks. Ten to twelve storey apartment blocks have come up in large numbers in south Kolkata. The city has relaxed its rules on highrise construction recently and twenty storey buildings are becoming more common. The tallest residential towers of eastern India - the four thirty-five-storey towers of South City are under construction on Prince Anwar Shah Road. Huge construction activity along the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass is changing the face of the city. Luxury hotels, a convention centre, speciality hospitals, condominium complexes, malls and multiplexes are coming up at a rapid pace. The city's expansion in the eastern side is spearheaded by the construction of a huge new city called New Town adjacent to the well planned Bidhan Nagar. Located in Rajarhat, it is one of the largest planned urban developments in India. The neglected western side of the urban agglomeration has got a boost recently with the signing of an agreement with an Indonesian company to build the West Kolkata International Township. Another huge new township is in the proposal state in Dankuni. Slums and dilapidated structures exist in many pockets of the city proper and house over 25% of the city's population (Census 2001). Slum redevelopment schemes have helped improve living conditions to a slight extent but there is huge scope for improvement in this area. Efforts to shift slum dwellers to newer developments have often met with resistance and failure because many of the slums a

Kali

Origin

Development

Iconography

Recent Iconographical development

See also

External links

Kali (disambiguation)

Durga

The Worship of Durga (Durga Puja)

Durga Puja in Bengal

External links

Dakshayani

Durga

The Worship of Durga (Durga Puja)

Durga Puja in Bengal

External links

Rama

Prince of Ayodhya

The Avatara

With Vishwamitra

Marriage to Sita

Rama's Arrow

Banishment to the Forest

The Destruction of Khara

The Kidnapping of Sita

In Kishkindya

The War

Rama Rajya

In History and Mythology

Modern Portrayal India

Portrayal in South East Asia

External Links

Tantra

History of Tantra

Hindu tantra

Tibetan tantra

Japan's Shingon sect

New Age tantra or Neo Tantra

Tantric practices

Tantra in the modern world

See also

Hindu tantra

Buddhist tantra

References

External links

Infant mortality

Global Infant Mortality Trends

Infant mortality rate in countries

Reference

External links

India

History

Government

Politics

States and union territories

Geography

Economy

Demographics

Kolkata

History

Modern Kolkata

Economy

Geography