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Showing posts from July, 2025

The Shrine of Sultan Sahib (Sultan Darvesh) at Hakura Badasgam, Anantnag

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A 20th century Sufi known as Sheikh Muhammad Sultan used to live in a small village in Anantnag, the Kashmir valley called Hakura Badasgam. He has achieved miraculous status throughout the Kashmir area as well as outside of it as one of its prophets. Baba Sultan is classified as a Qalandar (one of 4 categories of Sufis). The Qalandars lived their lives wholly devoted to God by following Him alone and not following social customs (that is, the accepted rules of society) as a matter of course, except where doing so might violate the Shari'ah (that is, the universal law of God). (The differences in behaviour, dress, and objects carried by Qalandars has been used as an excuse to consider Qalandars to be separate from others.) There exists a considerable amount of literature concerning Qalandars in languages other than English such as Urdu (the principal native language of Pakistan), Persian (the principal native language of Iran), and Arabic (the principal native language of Saudi Arab...

The Pious and Sacred Month of Sawan

  The month of sawan is considered and regarded as the holy month in Hinduism. This month is dedicated to Lord Shiva who is also called Neelkanth and lord of destruction. In this month Hindus particularly worship lord Shiva and seek his blessings. Hindus also pray to lord Shiva for world peace and happiness. We generally witness huge inflow of Shiv devotees in Jammu and Kashmir's famous Amarnath cave. While at the same time, the huge rush of devotees can be seen at Haridwar which is the most pious and sacred religious place of Hindus. The devotees of Shiva are thronging and pouring from all directions and in fact it can be said that a sea of humanity has descended in the holy city of Haridwar. Just like Shri Amarnath Yatra, there is a Kawad Yatra in which thousands of yatris visit the Holy place of Haridwar. In 2025, the Kawad yatra will begin around July 11th, 2025, and culminate on July 23rd, 2025, or with the last Shravan Somvar (Monday). The primary ritual involves fetching hol...

The Reel Culture and erosion of young minds

We are living in a digital age and this era of digitization has touched almost every spheres of life. The integration of digitization into our daily lives can be seen in modern times and things that seems to be far from reality become a reality now. People are always busy and engrossed with mobiles by scrolling and watching short videos, youtube reels, facebook reels, Instagram reels etc. The reel and scrolling culture have become an indispensable part of human lives and thus it is to be seen that be it kids, youths or adults, all utilize their precious time on mobiles by scrolling reels of 30 seconds.  Reel Obsession is a very disturbing issue and the young generation is falling under the prey of it. It is an addiction that is affecting the young minds because the childrens are using too much mobiles these days and spend countless hours on watching unnecessary Instagram reels. Some reels are unproductive and violent, such short videos are badly affecting the child's mind and they ...

Katyayani Temple: An Ancient and Sacred temple in Kakran, Kulgam

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Kashmir Valley: A Cradle of Ancient Faiths and Sacred Traditions The valley of Kashmir is a prominent location for temples, shrines and other places of worship, showcasing a long and varied tradition of rich religious history and spiritual value. These religious locations vary from Hindu temples to Muslim shrines and both appeal to a number of religious pilgrims and tourists alike. The religious experiences of the Kashmir Valley have a tremendous story to tell about its own rich cultural and spiritual legacy and intriguing history for those who visited looking for both. Carrying an overwhelming presence through a magical landscape in South Kashmir, the Katyayani Temple at Kakran in the Kulgam district is an oasis of devotion, heritage and cultural memory for the Kashmiri Pandit community. Once hailed as one of the most sacred and oldest temples sacred to the native people of the valley, this holy shrine has been a part of the spiritual life for all previous generations of Kashmiri Pand...

Durga Nag: The Forgotten Sharada Math of Ancient Kashmir

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The Durga Nag Temple in Srinagar functions encompassing more than simply a place Movies, it reinforces Kashmir’s ancient and current religious and scholarly traditions. Often, today's wahrscheinlich history is overlooked by modern developments, this temple was once the well-known Sharada Math of Kashmir, with a rich learning and devotion history. It’s origins extend into the past when religion, academia, and princely prestige fused a period of intellectual and spiritual vitality. The hill which hail in today's environment is the Durga Carrier temple, was once referred to as either Gopadri or Gopa Hill as it was named after a highly admired king, Gopaditya. Historical texts, and more specifically one of the most famous, Kalhana's Rajatarangini, gives narration about the sacred geography relating to this study. In the Rajatarangini, being the most authoritative depth that we have, Kalhana wrote that King Gopaditya, who we must assume lived ca. 4th century BCE, constructed a s...