Welcome to Dr. Mukul Shri Goel's web site on Hindu Spirituality and North Indian Classical Music.

 

Just Published...

Devotional Hinduism: Creating Impressions for God
Author: Mukul Shri Goel, PhD
Religion & Spirituality/  iUniverse, Inc.
ISBN: 0-595-50524-1/ 126 Pages / 6” x 9”/ $ 13.95
Trade Paperback/ Apr-2008/ On Demand Printing
Available at iUniverse and Barnes & Noble.

For a chapter by chapter outline, please visit this page.

To order from iUniverse, please click here.

To order from Barnes & Noble, please click here.

 

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  • The section Indian Philosophy focuses on selected theoretical concepts of contemporary Hinduism from the Gita, the Upanishads, the Vedantic school of thought, or the teachings of the Bhakti saints.
  • Narratives about commonly adored forms of God and His incarnations, which bring out a personal touch in our relationship with the Divine, are posted under From the Epics and Puranas.
  • The section on Hindustani Music clarifies some fundamentals of Indian classical music for elementary-level learners of Vocal and Percussion (Tabla).

For a short biosketch of the writer, please click this link. Visitors to this page can send their questions and comments to Mukul at:vedic.notes[AT]gmail.com

 

Please also visit his blog at hinduexpressions.blogspot.com

 

 

 

Indian Philosophy

 

Our Wish List Defines Our God

This writing elucidates the devotional theme that we can remember God in His entirety only by incorporating surrender and selflessness in our prayer as opposed to a list of what we need in life.

 

While asking God for monetary gains, a house, education, or a more healthy body is not unethical, we may be worshipping only a self-limiting aspect of the Divine if our mind is fastened to our own desires. As we create a wish list of finite objects while worshipping, we do not try to connect to the One Who is Absolute Truth, Consciousness, and Infinite Bliss but apply for...Read on

 

 

Bhakti Yoga: Will it spoil my career?

Bhakti yoga is the path for attaining realization through love and surrender to the Personal God. This article aims at dispelling some common misconceptions about Bhakti that keep bothering it every now and then.

 

The InfoTech revolution has brought most existing cultures and religious groups into contact with each other. In the context of spirituality, higher connectivity implies that the notions of an individual typing an article on his or her laptop can now influence how a mind sitting next door, or in a far-off state, relates to God. Read on...

 

 

 

Nature in the Gita: The Three Modes

In Hindu philosophy, Nature binds all eternal souls to the material world through Her three modes – goodness, passion, and darkness. This writing, in commoner’s language, explains what these modes are and how they influence us in everyday life.

 

In the Bhagavada Gita, Lord Krishna talks about the three gunas (modes of instinct) that are pre-installed in all beings. These modes of Nature include: sattva (goodness or purity), rajas (passion), and tamas (darkness). All jivas (souls) and their activities in the universe are bound to Nature through the three modes and the ratio of these modes in an individual forms one’s temperament. Read On…

 

 

 

 

 

 

From the Epics and Puranas

 

Hanuman: The Greatest Link to Rama

In popular Sanatana Dharma, the Ramayana is key to understanding the principles of spiritual living. Lord Hanuman, a legendary character for some, is a form of God for countless Hindus. This article gives a short introduction to Hanuman’s divine play on earth and explores the most widely recited chapter of the Ramayana – the Sundar Kand.

 

The Sundar Kand begins right after Lord Hanuman regains his lost supernatural powers, which had become hidden from him because of a curse given in childhood by an ascetic. For a partial incarnation of Shiva, many major events, including this curse, could have been predetermined. Probably Hanuman wanted to experience the devotion of Rama, the seventh incarnation of Vishnu, as a common being for a while – as a being free from any...Continue Reading

 

 

 

Hindustani Music

 

Features of a Raga in Indian Music

These notes provide elementary level information on the characteristics of a Raga. Because it is easier to learn music using an example, a melodious Raga, Vrindavani Sarang, has been used to illustrate the basics.

 

The Raga in Indian classical music is a musical atmosphere – defined by a set of properties – that imparts a distinctive melodious sound to all the diverse compositions that are based on it. The set of properties that characterize a Raga include: the allowable notes and order of their application (ascend and descend; aroha and avroha), the key grouping of notes (pakad),the most prominent note (vadi), the second most significant note (samvadi), the parent scale (thaat), the time (hours and/or season), and the nature or mood (prakriti). Read On…

 

 

 

Accompanying a Vocalist: Notes for Beginners in Tabla

These notes inform the student of Tabla (Indian percussion) on three kinds of improvisation: the prakaar, the mukhda, and the tihai. Some examples for teentala, a sixteen-beat rhythmic cycle, are included.

 

Having learned the basic rhythmic cyclesand the first few kaidas, imagine you encounter a vocalist who asks you to accompany him or her and play the theka. What do you do? You may feel that you are short of the required training, but the truth is – you are not. You can begin by asking the vocalist which tala the composition is based on; the days of poor communication between the lead musician and the percussionist are gone. If you have learned to recognize the laya (tempo) of a composition and have a feel of where the sam (first beat) is, you are ready to spell out the rhythmic cycle. Read On…

 

 

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