Bhagavad GitaThe Bhagavad Gita (ˌbʌɡəvəd_ˈɡiːtɑː; भगवद्गीता), often referred to as the Gita (), is a 700-verse Hindu scripture, which is part of the epic Mahabharata. It forms the chapters 23–40 of book 6 of the Mahabharata called the Bhishma Parva. The work is dated to the second half of the first millennium BCE. Typical of the Hindu synthesis, it is considered one of the holy scriptures of Hinduism. The Bhagavad Gita is set in a narrative framework of dialogue between the Pandava prince Arjuna and his charioteer guide Krishna, an avatar of lord Vishnu.
NammalvarNammalvar (Tamil: நம்மாழ்வார், lit. 'Our Alvar') was one of the twelve Alvar saints of Tamil Nadu, India, who are known for their affiliation to the Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. The verses of the Alvars are compiled as the Naalayira Divya Prabandham, where praises are sung of 108 temples that are classified as divine realms, called the Divya Desams. Nammalvar is considered to be the fifth in the line of the twelve Alvars. He is highly regarded as a great mystic of the Vaishnava tradition.
Dvaita VedantaDvaita Vedanta (ˈdvaɪtə_vɪˈdɑːntə); (originally known as Tattvavada; IAST: Tattvavāda), is a sub-school in the Vedanta tradition of Hindu philosophy. The term Tattvavada literally means "arguments from a realist viewpoint". The Tattvavada (Dvaita) Vedanta sub-school was founded by the 13th-century Indian philosopher-saint Madhvacharya. Madhvacharya believed in three entities: God, jiva (soul), and jada (maya, matter).
RamanujaRamanuja (ɽaːmaːnʊdʑɐ; Middle Tamil: Rāmāṉujam; Classical Sanskrit: Rāmānuja 1017 CE – 1137 CE;), also known as Ramanujacharya, was an Indian Hindu philosopher, guru and a social reformer. He is noted to be one of the most important exponents of the Sri Vaishnavism tradition within Hinduism. His philosophical foundations for devotionalism were influential to the Bhakti movement. Ramanuja's guru was Yādava Prakāśa, a scholar who according to tradition belonged to the Advaita Vedānta tradition, but probably was a Bhedabheda scholar.
VishishtadvaitaVishishtadvaita (IAST ; विशिष्टाद्वैत), is a highly regarded school of Hindu philosophy belonging to the Vedanta tradition. Vedanta refers to the profound interpretation of the Vedas based on Prasthanatrayi. Vishishta Advaita, meaning "non-duality with distinctions", is a non-dualistic philosophy that recognizes Brahman as the supreme reality while also acknowledging its multiplicity. This philosophy can be characterized as a form of qualified monism, attributive monism, or qualified non-dualism.
SwaminarayanSwaminarayan (IAST: , 3 April 1781 – 1 June 1830), also known as Sahajanand Swami, was a yogi and ascetic, who is believed by followers to be a manifestation of Krishna, or as the highest manifestation of Purushottam, and around whom the Swaminarayan Sampradaya developed. In 1800, he was initiated into the Uddhav sampradaya by his guru, Swami Ramanand, and was given the name Sahajanand Swami. Despite opposition, in 1802 Ramanand handed over the leadership of the Uddhav Sampraday to him before his death.
VedantaVedanta (veɪˈdɑːntə; वेदान्त, ), also known as Uttara Mīmāṃsā, is a Hindu philosophical tradition that is one of the six orthodox (āstika) schools of Hindu philosophy. The word "Vedanta" means "end of the Vedas", and encompasses the ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, the speculations and enumerations contained in the Upanishads, with a focus on knowledge and liberation. Vedanta developed into many sub-traditions, all of which base their ideas on the authority of a common group of texts called the Prasthānatrayī , translated as "the three sources": the Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita.
Hindu philosophyHindu philosophy or Vedic philosophy is the set of Indian philosophical systems developing alongside the religion of Hinduism and emerging in the Iron and Classical periods, which consists of six orthodox schools of thought (shad-darśana): Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mimamsa and Vedanta. In Indian tradition, the word used for philosophy is Darshana (viewpoint or perspective), from the Sanskrit root drish ('to see, to experience'). These are also called the āstika philosophical traditions: those that accept the Vedas as an authoritative, important source of knowledge.
VaishnavismVaishnavism (Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the sole supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, i.e. Mahavishnu. Its followers are called Vaishnavites or Vaishnavas (), and it includes sub-sects like Krishnaism and Ramaism, which consider Krishna and Rama as the supreme beings respectively. According to a 2010 estimate by Johnson and Grim, Vaishnavism is the largest Hindu sect, constituting about 641 million or 67.
TamilsThe Tamil people, also known as Tamilar (Tamiḻar, t̪amiɻaɾ in the singular or Tamiḻarkaḷ, t̪amiɻaɾɡaɭ in the plural), Tamilians, or simply Tamils (ˈtɑːmɪls), are a Dravidian ethno-linguistic group who natively speak Tamil and trace their ancestry mainly to India's southern state of Tamil Nadu, the union territory of Puducherry, and to Sri Lanka. People who speak Tamil and are born in are considered Tamils. Tamils constitute 5.
