Āgama & Tantra traditions
Begin a focused Tantra reading with the Mahānirvāṇa Tantra’s opening dialogue, a named translation, and questions that keep text, interpretation and practice distinct.
The growing handbook
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Explore guides, prayers, traditions and readers by topic and language. Entries remain research drafts until their review is complete.
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63 pages to explore
Ahiṃsā
Understand ahiṃsā as non-harming through clear explanations, everyday examples and English Gītā readings, with optional Sanskrit and named commentary.
Āratī (Aarti)
Explore Āratī (Aarti) through a Skanda Purāṇa passage on waving lights with hymns, then prepare to follow a local ceremony.
Ātman
Explore Ātman, the Self, through a short Upaniṣadic dialogue, English readings, clear explanations, an everyday reflection and questions with answer feedback.
Bhagavad Gītā
Begin reading the Bhagavad Gītā through Arjuna’s request for instruction, then explore related passages with a named translation.
Bhakti
Explore bhakti through devotion, simple offerings and everyday conduct, with Sanskrit and English Gītā readings, named commentary, practical examples and answer feedback.
Birth and naming practical guide
Explore birth and naming with English source readings, clear historical context, a family gathering brief, beginner FAQs and answer feedback.
Brahman
Explore Brahman through the Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad’s question about knowledge, with English verses, adjacent explanations, optional Sanskrit and answer feedback.
Core concepts & philosophy
This section is a map of recurring Hindu concepts. It is designed to help readers recognize the vocabulary first, then explore how particular texts and philosophical schools understand it.
Daily practice
Explore daily worship, chanting, meditation, service, fasting, and temple participation, with named sources and attention to local custom.
Deities & devotional paths
All eight deity pathways now have source-linked introductions: Kṛṣṇa, Rāma, Hanumān, Śiva, Gaṇeśa, Devī, Viṣṇu, and Sūrya. Specialist review remains pending.
Devī
Read a prayer addressed to the Mother of the World in the Devī Bhāgavata, translated by Swami Vijñānānanda.
Dharma
Read three Bhagavad Gītā verses directly on this page, with Sanskrit, an attributed English translation, plain-language explanations and practical questions.
Dhyāna
Read a Gītā passage about the wandering mind, explore a named Vedānta teaching, and prepare questions for learning meditation in context.
Dīpāvalī / Diwali
Explore Diwali through English source readings, distinct author and family perspectives, a practical gathering plan and questions with answer feedback.
Durgā Pūjā
Explore Durgā Pūjā through attributed readings on victory, homecoming and community celebration, with clear context and questions for a visit.
Festivals & sacred calendar
Browse Hindu holidays by Gregorian month, see their usual month windows and explore source-linked festival readings.
Funeral Prayer Resources
A growing library of funeral and remembrance booklets organized by language, community and source. Each resource stays distinct so families can see what belongs to their own tradition.
Gaṇeśa
Meet Gaṇeśa through Swami Sivananda’s teaching about beginnings, obstacles, and devotional relationship.
Gaṇeśa Caturthī
Explore Gaṇeśa Caturthī through a named Purāṇic rite, devotional name meanings, an attributed birth story and questions for a local celebration.
Glossary
Short definitions for terms that recur across the handbook. These are orientation aids, not attempts to collapse complex Sanskrit words into a single English equivalent.
Gṛhya Sūtras
Read an Āśvalāyana wedding passage, distinguish textual sequence from local custom, and connect it to the handbook’s Vivāha guide.
Gujarati Prathana Book — Guided Funeral Reader
This reader follows the supplied Prathana Book and explains what each prayer is doing in the gathering.
Gujarati Prathana Book — Original 23-Page Booklet
This is the complete uploaded booklet used at a Hindu funeral gathering. It is preserved here as the source document, separate from Hindu Handbook’s explanatory notes.
Hanumān
Meet Hanumān through the Sundara Kāṇḍa’s ocean-crossing episode, with a named translation and questions about purpose and action.
Hindu funeral and remembrance practical guide
Coordinate immediate arrangements, family roles, the service, and later remembrance, with practical questions and separately identified prayer resources.
Hindu holiday practical guide
Plan a festival gathering and explore Pongal, Guru Pūrṇimā and Rakṣā Bandhan through attributed English readings and family discussion.
Hindu wedding practical guide
Plan the ceremony with a shared brief, clear family roles, source-linked reading, guest explanations, and answers to common preparation questions.
Holi
Explore Holi through attributed English readings, the Prahlāda narrative, different celebration settings, family guidance and questions with answer feedback.
Janmāṣṭamī
Explore Janmāṣṭamī through selected birth-narrative readings, clearly attributed commentary, family discussion and questions with answer feedback.
Japa
Understand japa through a Gītā verse and Swami Chinmayananda’s definition, with English readings, beginner questions, practical learning prompts and answer feedback.
Karma
Study action, results and inaction through three Bhagavad Gītā passages, with attributed commentary, practical reflection and learning checks.
Kṛṣṇa
Meet Kṛṣṇa through a focused Gītā passage about divine manifestation, with links to devotion and further reading.
Library
Choose a practical task or a reading path, study one passage at a time, and use recall and source checks to build understanding.
Life events & Saṃskāras
Explore birth, childhood, education, marriage and remembrance through practical guides and focused original-text readings, with family variation kept visible.
Mahābhārata
Explore the Mahābhārata’s eighteen books, characters and story arc, with on-page English readings on Draupadī, Karṇa, the Gītā, dharma, grief and the final journey.
Mahābhārata: Sabhā Parva
Read the building of Maya’s assembly hall, Nārada’s questions on governance, and the five celestial gatherings, with attributed English readings and explanations.
Mahāśivarātri
Explore Mahāśivarātri through English source readings, the night observance, an attributed story and interpretation, and a practical temple planning brief.
Mokṣa
Study liberation through Bhagavad Gītā 8.15–16, with English translations, a comparison with rebirth, practical reading questions and answer feedback.
Navarātri
Explore Navarātri through attributed English readings, the stories of Suśīla and Rāma, a clear study route and questions with answer feedback.
Our approach
Hindu Handbook brings prayers, ceremonies, and their meanings into a connected reading experience. It is being built for families and curious readers who want to understand what they hear and see, and then explore the sources behind it.
Practical guides
Practical help for ceremonies, family milestones and holidays when you need a clear place to begin.
Prayer library
Prayers for everyday occasions, peace, deity remembrance, bhajans and ceremony, with original wording and clearly attributed or provisional English.
Pūjā
Understand pūjā through identified Bhāgavata Purāṇa verses on offerings and devotion, with questions for learning a household practice.
Purāṇas
Understand Purāṇic topics through Bhāgavata Purāṇa 12.7, then choose a source-linked handbook guide on worship or festivals.
Rāma
Meet Rāma through Nārada’s introduction in Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa and follow the opening narrative with verse references.
Rāma Navamī
Explore Rāma Navamī through the birth, family, celebration and naming scenes, with attributed English readings, shared discussion and answer feedback.
Rāmāyaṇa traditions
Explore the Rāmāyaṇa’s story, characters and seven-book map, with on-page readings on Sītā, Bharata, Hanumān, refuge and the differences between translation and retelling.
Sacred places & pilgrimage
Explore pilgrimage through a Mahābhārata passage, then prepare a source record and a practical visit plan without assuming one route fits every tradition.
Saṃsāra
Understand rebirth through the Gītā’s stages-of-life and garment images, then compare liberation using Sanskrit and Swami Swarupananda’s English translations.
Scriptures & texts
Choose eight source-linked reading guides, with named translations, focused passages and clear starting points; broader textual coverage remains in development.
Sevā
Explore service through Gītā 3.19 and Swami Vivekananda’s teaching, with English readings, a realistic service plan, everyday examples and answer feedback.
Śiva
Read a Śaiva introduction to Śiva, with a named source, theological vocabulary, and questions for further study.
Sources & review
Learn how to check a passage, distinguish translation from commentary, read research-status labels, and keep claims within the evidence.
Sūrya
Explore a sun-deity passage in the Bhagavad Gītā, with Vivasvān’s name, a named translation, and questions for further study.
Temple visits
Prepare for a temple visit with questions about local arrangements, plus a Bhāgavata Purāṇa passage on worship and temple support.
The Upaniṣads
Read the Kaṭha Upaniṣad’s chariot passage with verse references, a named translation, and a careful distinction between text and interpretation.
The Vedas
Begin a close reading of Ṛgveda 10.191 with a named translation, verse references, and questions about shared speech, purpose, and worship.
Traditions & variation
Learn how to distinguish a text, translation, community practice, and family memory, with an original example of local variation and a practical comparison method.
Viṣṇu
Begin a study of Viṣṇu with a named introduction to Vaiṣṇava devotion, avatāras, and related textual reading.
Vivāha
This first guide follows selected passages of the Āśvalāyana Gṛhya Sūtra. Traditions and family practices differ. Text, translation and ritual-use review are still pending.
Vrata & fasting
Study Ambarīṣa’s vow in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, distinguish narrative from personal instructions, and check a local observance carefully.
Yoga
Understand yoga through action, moderation and attention in the Bhagavad Gītā, alongside Swami Vivekananda’s four-path framework, with Sanskrit and English readings on the page.
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