SHEHJAR - Web Magazine for Kashmir

RECENT UPDATE Promoting Kashmiri Hindu issues of this decade and bring the diverse needs of the community in a format that is easy to read and navigate.

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Author’s Article

Shaivacharya Swami Ram

So intense was his Sadhana, he never moved out of his place for 20 long years

Author : Gopinath Raina More

Forgive & Forget

To forgive is not to forget. Forgetting is not hard, for all one needs is a bad memory or treat the incident as insignificant. But to forgive is to make a new beginning, to start all over again. .

Author : Gopinath Raina More

Tathya & Kakni

The Two Blessed Souls

Author : Gopinath Raina More

Remembering Ashok Handoo

Ashokji was a gem of a man who always wore a benign smile on his face

Author : G.N. Raina More

Abhinavagupta The greatest exponent of Kashmir Shaivism

Regarded as the greatest exegetical theologian of his time, Abhinavagupta wrote extensively on various aspects of Shaiva philosophy.

Author : G. N. Raina More

GITA An Epitome of Perennial Philosophy

Everything else seems so superficial after reading the Bhagawadgita

Author : G. N. Raina More

Remembering my 'Jewel'

I was awake, while the world around was asleep. Calm and tranquility prevailed; the atmosphere was serene, somber and sanguine. In a philosophic reverie, I strongly felt that while all life, sentient or insentient, grows and matures, yet it falls and fades and perhaps is finally forgotten even.

Author : G. N. Raina More

Tulsi meets Hindu Community Leaders

Sought her help to ensure the visit to US of Gujarat Chief Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, as the entire Indian community in the States eagerly await the visit of this most popular leader in India.

Author : Gopinath Raina More

Massive Act of Faith

One of the most incredible sights and an event of unimaginable scale, Kumbha festival 2013 will as usual provide a real feel and experience of the complex and the colorful culture of India, known as the spiritual capital of the world since ages. A sea of humanity converges for the religious event dubbed as the "greatest show on earth"

Author : Gopinath Raina More

Vivekananda150th Birth Anniversary

Perhaps, it is time when we urgently need another Vivekananda, if only to hold the errant "giant" by the scruff of her neck and put it back on the right course so as to rebuild India on the basis of morality and lofty spiritual traditions.

Author : Gopinath Raina More

President Obama Gets Second Term

As he begins his second term, President Obama confronts a daunting array of domestic and foreign policy challenges.

Author : Gopinath Raina More

Pandit Kashi Nath Handoo

Shehjar records with deep grief the passing away in Jammu last month of the veteren doyen of Kashmiri traditions, the 106-year-old Pandit Kashi Nath Handoo.

Author : Gopinath Raina More

US Presidential Election

Who will enter the White House? Obama or Romney

Author : Gopinath Raina More

Kashmir Shaivism

Since Shaivism treats the Absolute Truth under the three principles of God, Soul and Matter, the system is known as Trikashastra or simply Trika. This system, one can say, is based on the three energies of Lord Siva-Para, Parapara and Apara. While para is subjective energy of Lord Siva, Parapara, called as intermediate, is Siva's cognitive energy and Apara energy, known as inferior, is the objective energy of the Lord.

Author : Gopinath Raina More

The saint of Ralegan Sidhi

There is no doubt that Anna�s very name stirs a ray of hope for a brighter India for its people and for its greater Diaspora. May this light of today continue to shine the path for all men and women, young and old, the rich and the poor, the lowliest and the lost!

Author : Gopinath Raina More

�Ded and Bub� Typical Proud Parents of Yore

Being the youngest, revered mother paid greater attention to me. Despite her pronounced affection and weakness for me, I was more drawn to my father. And when at the age of four I fell seriously ill and did not respond very favorably to medical treatment, till my father came to see me.

Author : Gopinath Raina More

Navreh - An epitome of Kashmiri Culture

Culture means to cultivate, to grow, to develop and to expand. Our culture is what we regard as ideal or best for us to cultivate. When we take interest in the cultivation of our body, we are said to be interested in physical culture; when we hunt libraries in search of reading material and burn midnight oil to acquire knowledge, we are interested in intellectual culture.

Author : Gopinath Raina More

Swami Vivekananda- How relevant is he today?

Some of the most pressing problems of the day threatening the very survival of human civilization were foreseen by Vivekananda. Religious intolerance, cultural exclusiveness and blind fanaticism were identified by him as dangerous portents.

Author : Gopinath Raina More

God: Is he responsible for our woes?

There is nothing like a capricious God who punishes us for some willful wrong done by us or wreaks vengeance for showing our arrogance. Indian thought has found a rational explanation for our sufferings.

Author : Gopinath Raina More

The Ageless Festival

The millennia-old Kumbha Mela is the largest religious gathering on earth, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. It is quite unique not merely because of its sheer size but also for being a meeting both of the ascetics and the lay people.

Author : Gopinath Raina More

Shivaratri- The legend and its philosophy

Shivaratri is a festival of great significance for Hindus all over the globe. Literally meaning Shiva�s night, it represents the high state of spiritual realization when the world of relativity fades away and perfect peace and calm prevails. On this phenomenal night, the seeker remains fully aware of his identity with Shiva, the source of perennial joy and thus experiences eternal truth, bliss and lasting beauty-Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram.

Author : Gopinath Raina More

Phenomenon of Death

Human existence oscillates between two metaphysical postulates of Joy and Sorrow. Life, indeed, is both a Tear and a Smile and there is a very thin line separating the two.

Author : Gopinath Raina More

Shaivacharya Swami Ram

Shaivacharya Swami Ram So intense was his Sadhana, he never moved out of his place for 20 long years In the present troubled times when the people of the Valley, Kashmiri Pandits in particular, are passing through untold miseries, the only solace comes from the saints and mystics of the purest ray serene like Swami Ram, who by their very exemplary living taught people to rise above caste, creed and color and see the light within.

Author : Gopinath Raina More

Shivaratri The greatest Festival of Kashmiri Pandits

Shivaratri (literally meaning Shiva's night) is a festival of great significance for Hindus all over the world, especially for those of Kashmir. Esoterically, it is symbolic of the mystic union of Jiva (individual soul) with Paramatma (the Supreme Godhead) and it represents the high state of spiritual realization wherein the world of relativity fades away and perfect peace and calm prevails.

Author : Gopinath Raina More

Onus on OBAMA for Oneness

US's standing in the world that plummeted under George W Bush is expected to be sky-high when Barrack (In Swahili it means one who is blessed) Obama takes over as the 44th President in January, 2009.

Author : Gopinath Raina More

The Incredible Saint of Shirdi

Today, we are living in the most crucial period of modern civilization when a reign of terror has been let loose by self-appointed and fundamentalist custodians of religion. One cannot blame those sane elements, who believe in and work for peace and harmony in the strife-torn world, if they begin to look upon religion as a curse.

Author : Gopinath Raina More

On Icy Trail of the Lord of Immortality (with Amanath Yatra video)

Even as the country-wide protests against the revocation of the order of land allotment to Shri Amarnath Shrine Board are continuing, the religious and cultural importance of the most sacred of all the Hindu pilgrimages in the country is not lost on the devout and the millennia-old journey of faith to the holy cave of Amarnath is on.

Author : Gopinath Raina More

Avtar Krishan Razdan - An unsung hero of Kashmir

Not many of us really know about the physically handicapped litt?rateur from the beautiful vale of Kashmir, Avtar Krishan Razdan. Born in 1942 in a middle class Brahmin family of Purushyar, near Habakadal, Srinagar, the award-winning author has never crawled, or stood up or walked in his life, struck as he was by a massive polio attack soon after his birth.

Author : Gopinath Raina More

The Little-Known Gyana-Yogi of Kashmir

It is not always easy to pen down a biographical sketch of anyone, more so of a saintly person who normally lives his life within and far from the gaze of the outside world. However, in writing this piece at this distance of time, I have mainly drawn on my diary of personal encounters with the honest, sauve, simple, affable Swami Nilakanthananda Saraswati

Author : Gopinath Raina More

Ded ' - The Saintly Mother

(Recollections by an Octogenarian son) Like proverbial mothers, my mom whom I called 'Ded' was what one could say a truly saintly person; for she was free from I-ness and mine-ness and loved all beings as her own self. What is more, she was free from anger, greed and hatred and never spoke ill of others. Her face radiated calm, peace and poise.

Author : Gopinath Raina More

The Sage of Manigaam

Known as rish v^ar (the land of rishis), Kashmir has produced a galaxy of saints and sages from times immemorial. In recent past, we have had a number of them, who have left an indelible impression on the minds of the people. "All found solace and comfort in his presence"

Author : Gopinath Raina More