Questions about Hindu Beliefs

[M.Austin]

Hello! Thank you for taking the time to read this. I will start off begging you to forgive my ignorance. If I wasn't completely ignorant/confused, I wouldn't be here asking for help.

Questions:

• The term Yuga = era, correct?
• What exactly is Chakra? Is it really just a constant swirl of energy inside your body? How do you obtain chakra? Are there only eight chakras? And do you go through chakras in order, starting with Shasrara and going to Bindu?
• Asura are demons, or are they more godly?
• Exactly what are Avatars? Do they start as humans or gods? Are they the children of Vishnu, chosen ones by Vishnu, or Vishnu reincarnated?
• Mayon, the man (maybe man -.-?) that originally cut Kroni into six fragments, is he Vishnu?
• Those six fragments are evil inside Chakra, correct? So when a person obtains Bindu, do they obtain absolute bliss/knowledge?
• Do you believe Kroni will ever become whole again?

Sorry for all the questions, even if you have the answer to one or two, it would be very much appreciated.

What are the differences in Kroni and Kali?

[PeterL]

Originally Posted by M.Austin

Hello! Thank you for taking the time to read this. I will start off begging you to forgive my ignorance. If I wasn't completely ignorant/confused, I wouldn't be here asking for help.

Questions:
The term Yuga = era, correct?

yes they are eras.

What exactly is Chakra? Is it really just a constant swirl of energy inside your body? How do you obtain chakra? Are there only eight chakras? And do you go through chakras in order, starting with Shasrara and going to Bindu?

Chakras are energy centers in the body. There are eight major chakras, but there are many minor chakras. One does not "obtain" chakras; one is born with them. One o=woulod have to open the chakras in order, but after they have been opened, the energy can travel in any direction.

Asura are demons, or are they more godly?

Exactly what are Avatars? Do they start as humans or gods? Are they the children of Vishnu, chosen ones by Vishnu, or Vishnu reincarnated?

An avatar is an incarnation of a God or Goddess. They are humans in whom a God or Goddess spirit resides.

Those are the ones that I can immediately answer.

[Kitty Pryde]

Originally Posted by M.Austin

Hello! Thank you for taking the time to read this. I will start off begging you to forgive my ignorance. If I wasn't completely ignorant/confused, I wouldn't be here asking for help.

Questions:

• The term Yuga = era, correct?
• What exactly is Chakra? Is it really just a constant swirl of energy inside your body? How do you obtain chakra? Are there only eight chakras? And do you go through chakras in order, starting with Shasrara and going to Bindu?
• Asura are demons, or are they more godly?
• Exactly what are Avatars? Do they start as humans or gods? Are they the children of Vishnu, chosen ones by Vishnu, or Vishnu reincarnated?
• Mayon, the man (maybe man -.-?) that originally cut Kroni into six fragments, is he Vishnu?
• Those six fragments are evil inside Chakra, correct? So when a person obtains Bindu, do they obtain absolute bliss/knowledge?
• Do you believe Kroni will ever become whole again?

Sorry for all the questions, even if you have the answer to one or two, it would be very much appreciated.

What are the differences in Kroni and Kali?

Avatars are incarnations of a god--some are humans and some are animals.

PS Wikipedia can tell you the answers to all these questions
PPS Hinduism is not a monolithic religion--there are lots of different divisions of it with varying beliefs, so there may be more than one answer to a given question

[Sarpedon]

A yuga is an era. There are four different yugas that together make a mahayuga. The yugas are of decreasing goodness and length. The first is the best, with absolute goodness, and lasts around 2 million years. The last one has very little good, and lasts a little less that 500,000 years. Thats the one we are in now. The total mahayuga lasts around 4.5 million years. 1,000 mahayugas equal one kalpa.

A chakra is a kind of nexus point of energy within the body. you don't obtain them, you have them naturally. Traditionally, they follow the spine, with one in the tailbone, one in the stomach, one in the diaphragm, one in the heart, one in the thyroid, one in the pituitary gland, and one at the top of the head. (I'm not sure about the one in the diaphragm) They are the primary nodes of the life force, or jivat. In the Kundalini yoga, it is imagined that the serpent Kundalini lives in the lowest chakra, and must be awakened and drawn up through the various chakras, until perfection is achieved when it exits the top of the head. This is only one belief involving the chakras.

The Asuras are demons, though the christian term is not exactly analogous. They are seen as having godlike powers but being exceedingly ignorant and nasty. This does not preclude the idea that they can be brought to understanding of right and turned into good beings.

The Avatars are incarnations of Vishnu. He was said to have incarnated himself several times in order to defeat evil and save the universe. The most famous of his incarnations were Rama, who's exploits are recorded in the Ramayana, and Krishna, who is told of in the Mahabharata. Other gods are also said to incarnate from time to time, but usually not with the same importance as those of Vishnu.

I am not familiar with this particular story, but I do not recall the name 'mayon' among the names of the incarnations of Vishnu.

I do not know what you mean by the six fragments. There is nothing evil about any of the chakras, so far as I know. The lower ones are more basic, and represent less sophisticated impulses. But they are not evil, and mastery of them forms the foundation of higher forms of yoga.

You seem to be referring to a particular sect that I am not familiar with. According to wikipaedia, this is a tamil myth, that is not common to all of hinduism. Though this deity is identified with Duryodhana and Ravanna, the villains of the Mahabharata and Ramayana, I do not think that it is common to believe in a unified, satan like force. As pointed out, you shouldn't assume that one interpretation is correct accross the field of Hinduism. I regard things like the Mahabharata and Ramayana as being fairly standard, canonical works. But they do not say it all, and they do not support the idea that Duryodhana and Ravanna were incarnations of the same evil being.

[M.Austin]

Originally Posted by Sarpedon

As pointed out, you shouldn't assume that one interpretation is correct accross the field of Hinduism.

I understand. From what all I was reading it seemed like the things I asked were more standard in most things I read. So I thought they were a common ground. As I said before, please forgive my ignorance.

PS Wikipedia can tell you the answers to all these questions

Oh I know. It seems to contradict itself a bit though, which led to all of the confusion, thus me coming here to ask.

Thank you for all of the answers guys, it makes so much more sense now. ^_^

[Elisabeth Bruce]

I would wish to learn more about Hinduism. From what I have read above, it is complex yet has great depth.