Path: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!faqserv From: Shrisha Rao Newsgroups: soc.religion.vaishnava,soc.culture.indian,soc.culture.indian.info,alt.magick.tyagi,alt.religion.vaisnava,alt.answers,soc.answers,news.answers Subject: soc.religion.vaishnava -- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Supersedes: Followup-To: soc.religion.vaishnava Date: 2 Jul 1999 12:55:15 GMT Organization: \.o_.r-g*-n*-'za_--sh*n\ n. The act or process of organizing or of being organized; also, the condition or manner of being organized. Lines: 838 Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.EDU Expires: 23 Jul 1999 12:48:39 GMT Message-ID: Reply-To: srv-arc@hgsoft.com,srv-admin@hgsoft.com NNTP-Posting-Host: penguin-lust.mit.edu Summary: This is the regularly-posted FAQ for the SRV newsgroup. Keywords: noarchive, Vedanta, Vaishnava X-Last-Updated: 1997/01/23 X-Url: http://www.eskimo.com/~dvaita/list/ X-Submission-Address: srv@pobox.com X-Administrative-Address: srv-admin@pobox.com Originator: faqserv@penguin-lust.MIT.EDU Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu soc.religion.vaishnava:5370 soc.culture.indian:623526 soc.culture.indian.info:1717 alt.magick.tyagi:17972 alt.religion.vaisnava:16795 alt.answers:42898 soc.answers:12033 news.answers:161539 Archive-Name: religions/vaishnava/faq Posting-Frequency: weekly Frequently Asked Questions for soc.religion.vaishnava (moderated) Last update: January 24, 1997 (Previous update: April 26, 1996) Note: This FAQ is not an "official" document, and statements contained herein are NOT to be assumed to be applicable, or acceptable, to all who consider themselves Vaishnavas. Please read the disclaimer (Appendix D). Useful information: Moderation address: srv@pobox.com Administrative address: srv-admin@pobox.com Posting assistance srv-help@pobox.com Web version of this FAQ: http://www.eskimo.com/~dvaita/srv/srv_faq.html Web version of bot help file: http://www.eskimo.com/~dvaita/srv/srv_help.html Web address of SRV status page http://www.hgsoft.com/srv/srvstat.htm Web address of SRV info http://www.hgsoft.com/srv/index.htm SRV mailing list (submissions) srv-list@hgsoft.com SRV mailing list (subscription) listproc@hgsoft.com Sections: I. General information and advice i) What UseNet is ii) Finding out about UseNet newsgroups iii) Finding soc.religion.vaishnava iv) Finding this FAQ v) Auto-moderator help file vi) Other sites where this document is available vii) How to reach moderators (in case of repeated or special difficulty, etc.) viii) Other related FAQs II. Recent changes III. Some questions about Vaishnavism IV. Keyword list V. Appendix A: Some words often used in Vaishnava discussions VI. Appendix B: A guide to pronunciation VII. Appendix C: Charter and moderation policy for SRV VIII. Appendix D: Disclaimer and restrictions I. General information and advice. ----------------------------------- i> What UseNet is ----------------- There exists a UseNet (also written 'Usenet') newsgroup by name of soc.religion.vaishnava; if you are not sure what UseNet is, or how to access a specific newsgroup on it, please contact your system administrator or other (local) knowledgeable person for help; it is unlikely that the persons responsible for creating or maintaining this FAQ can offer assistance. ii> Finding out about UseNet newsgroups --------------------------------------- If you have some inkling about newsgroups, but would like to know more about UseNet, how to post to newsgroups, differences between moderated and unmoderated newsgroups, posting etiquette, etc., then you may wish to read the regular postings to the newsgroup news.announce.newusers, for answers and information. These postings are also archived on the World-Wide Web (WWW) at http://www.smartpages.com/bngfaqs/news/announce/newusers/top.html If you are new to UseNet, then the following regularly appearing postings to news.announce.newusers (also available on the web, as noted above) may be of particular interest to you: Welcome to Usenet by Mark Moraes What is Usenet? by Mark Moraes Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Usenet by Mark Moraes How to find the right place to post (FAQ) by Aliza R. Panitz Rules for posting to Usenet by Mark Moraes Please make sure to read these and other news.announce.newusers documents, and seek local assistance, if your doubt or problem relates to UseNet as such rather than to the specific newsgroup you are interested in. Specifically, a newsgroup is _not_ the same as a mailing list; postings to the former do not appear in one's mailbox, unlike messages sent to a mailing list that one is subscribed to. iii> Finding soc.religion.vaishnava ----------------------------------- The newsgroup soc.religion.vaishnava should be available on most news servers; if your site or service provider does not carry it, please ask your system administrator to do the needful. You can also find the newsgroup at http://www.altavista.digital.com/ iv> Finding this FAQ -------------------- This document is auto-posted to the newsgroups soc.religion.vaishnava, soc.culture.indian, soc.culture.indian.info, soc.answers, and news.answers every week, and notices of updates are posted to soc.religion.vaishnava. You can always obtain the latest version of this document by sending a message containing only the word 'faq' (no quotes, subject irrelevant) to the auto-moderation bot, at srv@pobox.com. As with other periodic postings approved by the *.answers team, this FAQ can be had by anonymous ftp to rtfm.mit.edu, in the directory /pub/usenet/news.answers/religions/vaishnava/faq (go to ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/religions/vaishnava/faq if you're using a web browser). If you do not have access to anonymous ftp, you can also obtain a copy by sending mail to mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu, with the command send usenet/news.answers/religions/vaishnava/faq in the body of the message. You can also look up this document on the World-Wide Web, at the address http://www.eskimo.com/~dvaita/srv/srv_faq.html -- because of the possibility of using hypertext links, quotes, etc., on the web version, said version is probably better for you to refer to if you have any choice. v> Auto-moderator help file --------------------------- If you don't know how to use the bot, what kind of moderation requirements it expects postings to fulfill, etc., then please send a message containing just the one word 'help' (no quotes, again), to the bot at the same address. The help document is also available on the web at: http://www.eskimo.com/~dvaita/srv/srv_help.html vi> Other sites for this FAQ ---------------------------- The posted version of this FAQ is also available at a number of other sites around the world; some of them are: America Online's FTP server: ftp://mirrors.aol.com/pub/rtfm/usenet/news.answers/religions/vaishnava/faq SunSite, Imperial College (UK)'s web server: http://sunsite.doc.ic.ac.uk/usenet/news-faqs/soc.religion.vaishnava/ Universiteit Utrecht (Netherlands)'s web server: http://www.cs.ruu.nl/wais/html/na-faq/religions-vaishnava-faq.html Oxford University (UK)'s web server: http://www.lib.ox.ac.uk/internet/news/faq/archive/religions.vaishnava.faq.html Note that these sites may feature older versions of the FAQ. vii> Reaching soc.religion.vaishnava's moderators ------------------------------------------------- The moderators, reachable by e-mail at the _administrative_ address srv-admin@pobox.com, are available to answer any moderation-related questions that may be still left, but as a step of courtesy, please take the time to read all of the help file, before asking them. If your question relates to Vaishnavism as such, and not to the bot or the moderation policy for the group, then it is suggested that you make a posting to the newsgroup soc.religion.vaishnava itself. The default behavior of the auto-moderator is not to reject articles, but to hold them for manual action. For inquiries, send e-mail to srv-admin@pobox.com To find the list of keywords used with the bot, look at section III. This information is also available by sending a one-word message 'keywords' (no quotes) to srv@pobox.com; the keywords file is dynamically updated with every change, and the most recent keywords file may be more current than this FAQ, which is only updated once in a while, for significant changes, and in any event can be as much as a week out of date. viii> Other related FAQs ------------------------ Section II of this document attempts to briefly answer many common questions about Vaishnavism in general. There are different schools of Vaishnavism, however, and you can also request the bot to send a specific FAQ, one at a time, by sending it a message containing one of the lines from the following list: faq advaita faq dvaita faq gaudiya If you come from a school of Vaishnavism that is not represented adequately by any of these four, and would like to contribute a FAQ, then please send your proposed FAQ to the *request* address, which is srv-admin@pobox.com, with a covering note. If you would like to suggest changes or additions to one of the specific FAQs mentioned above, then please contact the person(s) listed in the concerned document itself, as FAQ-maintainer(s); do not send mail to the general srv-request address. If you feel some broader aspect of Vaishnavism has been incorrectly represented in this general FAQ, then feel free to present your views on the newsgroup itself; except for suggested corrections of obvious errors, do not send mail to srv-request. CAVEAT: The *request* address, to reach humans with comments, etc., is srv-admin@pobox.com; the *bot* address, to send postings and commands to, is srv@pobox.com -- don't confuse the two! II. Recent changes. --------------------- As those who have been following soc.religion.vaishnava for some time may have noticed, the newsgroup is coming out of a long period of inactivity. The address used to host the auto-moderator bot has also changed, and the software now resides on a Windows 95 system instead of the old Unix platform. It is expected that this version of the software will perform better and be easier to maintain, than the one used earlier. A few other points of note are: a> There now exists a status page showing the most recent postings to SRV in the order of most recent to progressively older ones, and the action taken on the posting. This should help in case a posting goes missing for some reason, etc. The address for this page is http://www.hgsoft.com/srv/srvstat.htm b> There now exists a mailing list gatewayed to soc.religion.vaishnava; all postings to the newsgroup are sent to the list as well, and vice versa. This interface should help people who prefer a mailing list format over a UseNet format. Subscribe to the list by sending a message with only `subscribe srv-list Your Name' (no quotes) in the *body* of the message, to listproc@hgsoft.com, the administrative address for this list. c> Postings sent to the old submission address will be, for the time being, forwarded automatically and posted, but this may cease without warning. Messages sent to the administrators at the old address are *NOT* being forwarded at all. d> Unlike previously, there is now only one keywords list, of keywords that may appear in the Keywords: header, in the Subject:, or in the body. III. Some questions about Vaishnavism. --------------------------------------- 1> What is a Vaishnava? A Vaishnava is a devotee of Vishnu. 2> What/who is Vishnu? Vishnu is the Deity worshipped in the Vedas and their scriptural adjuncts; according to Vaishnavas, He is the Supreme Lord, and is the only entity primarily praised in all true scriptures. Vishnu is the Lord, is the Cause, the Protector, and the Destroyer of all Creation known and unknown, and is responsible for all bondage and liberation. He is beyond the scope of all that is destructible and indestructible, and His worship is the purpose of one's existence; He is free of all flaw, and has an infinite number of good attributes. 3> Why is Vaishnavism relevant in today's world? An understanding of the higher purpose of one's life -- if any -- has always been sought by many seekers through the ages; scientific progress has not nullified or altered this basic fact. While advances in technology have tended to encourage purely materialistic and sensual pursuits, such have also helped many seekers share their common interest and enthusiasm in new ways. Thus, as with other seekers, the Vaishnavas of today seek to learn the higher spiritual truths much the same way as did their forebears of previous centuries, but have access to some of the tools provided by modern society to aid their efforts. 4> How many Vaishnavas are there, worldwide? As nearly as we can tell, no one has conducted an official or demi-official census; however, the number of those who are Vaishnavas by birth is likely to be very large, perhaps hundreds of millions, most of whom happen to be in India. However, most such people are not practicing Vaishnavas, and have no reason to be called so except by dint of birth. 5> Who is the founder of Vaishnavism? There is no single founder, and the worship of Vishnu cannot be reliably shown to have begun at any fixed date in the past. However, specific schools of Vaishnavism have been propounded by great teachers or Aachaaryas -- even so, those schools are not said to have been created by them, and in many cases pre-date them; i.e., these teachers began traditions of belief in certain doctrines that persist upto the present day, but they did not create the doctrines as such -- they either revived them, or built upon an existing but not-widely-known school to form a vigorous one. 6> Do Vaishnavas worship other gods? Why/why not? Homage is sometimes paid to other deities, but these deities are never considered the equals of Vishnu, nor are they worshipped in the same spirit. Vaishnavas can be said to be monotheists, since they believe that there is only one Supreme Lord or Infinite Being -- Lord Vishnu. Therefore, Vaishnavas always keep the worship of Vishnu and His attendants at the forefront of their religious practice. Some Advaitins consider all deities including Vishnu to be forms of the SaguNa Brahman (the Brahman with attributes), but this belief is not universal to all Advaitins, whether or not they be Vaishnavas. The question of why Vaishnavas worship other deities is answered differently by Vaishnavas of different schools, but generally speaking, such other deities are worshipped as conduits to Vishnu, or as His representatives. As noted above, certain forms of worship under Advaita are an exception. 7> Do Vaishnavas worship images of Vishnu? Yes, but the specific images worshipped, and the forms and rules of worship, vary greatly by different traditions. 8> Do Vaishnavas believe in rebirth? As a general rule, Vaishnavas do not "believe" things in the same way as someone from a Semitic faith would, though some sampradaayas accept certain matters on faith. Rebirth until liberation is one of the fundamental tenets of Vaishnava doctrine. Vaishnavas aim to break free of the cycle of repeated births and deaths, through devotional service to Vishnu. 9> Are all Vaishnavas vegetarian? Most are, but depending on how (un)orthodox a Vaishnava is, (s)he may digress from the prescribed standard of culinary morality to a greater or lesser extent. Vaishnava norms require a standard somewhat beyond what is commonly considered vegetarian. While Vaishnavas are not vegans, for the most part -- they consider milk and milk products acceptable -- most reject eggs, and certain plant products grown under the soil, like onions, garlic, etc. Some Vaishnavas also do not consider certain vegetables like okra, eggplant, broccoli, etc., as acceptable diet items, but relatively fewer Vaishnavas observe the latter kind of restrictions. In general, the Vaishnava approach to food is to ask if something can be offered to Vishnu, as part of prescribed forms of worship; if yes, then that something is thought acceptable, otherwise not. Thus, the system excludes all but a certain number of food items considered acceptable. While the exact details of what are acceptable and what not vary between different schools of Vaishnavism, and even between different institutions within the same school, most practicing Vaishnavas reject such stimulants as coffee, cocoa, tea, tobacco, alcohol, and any items including these, from their diets and habits. 10> Is it necessary to be vegetarian, to be Vaishnava? All traditional Vaishnava cooking is totally vegetarian, and it is possible that someone who insists on keeping non-vegetarian eating habits will have difficulty assimilating within a Vaishnava community. 11> Does one have to be born a Vaishnava? No. Many Westerners have wholeheartedly taken up Vaishnavism. Historically, Vaishnavas have often run afoul of caste-conscious brahmanas because anyone can be a Vaishnava, even those who are considered outcaste. 12> Does Vaishnavism condemn critics and opponents to hell? As Vaishnavism is not a completely unified doctrine, nor one deriving from prophets, it has never had a history of Crusades, fatwas, Inquisitions, et cetera. That said, however, many Vaishnava scriptures do seem to indicate that purely mundane forms of existence, and the worship of other deities or non-deities as the Supreme, lead to ignorance and misery. 13> Do Vaishnavas practice dowry/bride-burning/untouchability/etc.? While specific individuals or groups of individuals may practice such and also claim to be Vaishnavas, such practices have no backing from Vaishnava scriptures or Aachaaryas, and are frowned upon by the sensible elements of society, including all *practicing* Vaishnavas. 14> How is a Vaishnava different from a Hindu? Many Vaishnavas are also Hindus, but the two terms are not directly related as such. A Vaishnava is a worshipper of Vishnu, while a Hindu need not worship anyone at all, and merely comes from a specific socio-cultural background. Not all Hindus are Vaishnava, and not all Vaishnavas are Hindu. 15> Do Vaishnavas have gurus? A definition of 'guru' is: "One who removes doubts in others, without any doubt within himself." Many Vaishnavas consider one of the great saints or Aachaaryas as their primary guru (muula-guru), and some also have gurus among great scholars and saints of the present day. 16> Are Vaishnavas a cult or sect? In a fair world, perhaps it would not be inappropriate to call them so; however, in reality, most times words like 'cult' are used in a totally derogatory sense, and when applied to Vaishnavas, are used due to a misunderstanding or lack of understanding of Vaishnavism -- or due to an incorrect generalization drawn from the mala-fide actions of certain specific persons or small groups. 17> Are there different types of Vaishnava? Yes, there are. Some of the more important traditions or sampradaayas are: i> The Smaarta sampradaaya (Advaita). ii> The Sri-Vaishnava sampradaaya (VishishTaadvaita). iii> The Maadhva sampradaaya (Tattvavaada, aka Dvaita). iv> The Gaudiya-Vaishnava sampradaaya (Bhedaabheda). v> The Vallabha sampradaaya (Shuddhaadvaita). vi> The Nimbaaraka sampradaaya (Dvaitaadvaita). 18> What are Vaishnava scriptures? Vaishnavas consider the triad of the Vedas and Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Brahma-Suutra, which are traditionally referred to as the prasthaana-traya, as authoritative scripture. These canonical scriptures have been commented upon by the leading Aachaaryas of each Vaishnava school. Besides these texts, Vaishnavas also consider the Mahaabhaarata (of which the Bhagavad Gita is a part), the Bhaagavata-PuraaNa, etc., as scripture, but the relative values placed upon them by the various sampradaayas are not exactly the same. 19> Are there many Vaishnavas on the Internet? Again, we don't know because no one has, to our knowledge, conducted a census. However, from experience on the newsgroups, and with the relevant web pages that are maintained by various individuals, it can be safely estimated that there are at least several hundred individuals who use the Internet in one way or another, in pursuance of their Vaishnava interests, and all indications are that this number is growing and will continue to grow in the foreseeable future. 20> What kind of discussions do Vaishnavas have on the Usenet? The chief purpose of a Vaishnava group is obviously to discuss and better understand Vishnu, in relation to ourselves, and in relation to the material world; since this covers a lot more ground than what is traditionally thought to be theology or spirituality, Vaishnava discussions on the UseNet have a rather wide variety, and occasional readers of a Vaishnava group may be surprised at the range of topics that come up from time to time. However, in general, serious postings resolve themselves into a few basic types, according to content: (i) anecdotes involving great Vaishnavas; (ii) specific devotional or other quotes from texts, and their interpretations and significance; (iii) discussions where a specific doctrine's stand on something is sought to be questioned, countered, or explained; and (iv) miscellaneous items, like announcements, requests for information, etc. 21> Can I participate in discussions? Do I have to be known? Your participation will be welcome, and as the general standard of learning among Vaishnavas on the UseNet is not high, there is no cause for you to feel uncomfortable if you think you are unfamiliar with Vaishnava doctrine. It is not necessary that you be already known to others, but it would help somewhat if you were to read the newsgroup for a few days at least, in order to familiarize yourself with its ambience. While there are no hard-and-fast rules for acceptable format or structure (except those required by the moderator bot), it would be as well to keep postings to-the-point, and to refrain from ad hominem attacks on other individuals, or their sampradaayas or gurus. In fact, any kind of personal remark about individuals who may be considered great, accomplished, or sincere, by others, is likely to keep one from making friends, and a Vaishnava newsgroup is no exception. Debates and disagreements are welcome, and need not be constrained by a need to maintain an artificially high level of politeness, but insults as such are not appreciated by most. 22> What kinds of postings are appropriate to soc.religion.vaishnava? The answers to the previous two questions should give a hint. To get a feel for the group, please read it for a little while, as there is no better way for you to understand its nature and ambience. 23> Where can I get more information? If you're looking for information about a specific school of Vaishnavism, then you should look under the FAQ for that school (if there is one). If there is no such FAQ, or if whatever you're looking for isn't covered in the FAQ, or if you want general information about Vaishnavism not covered in _this_ document, then your best bet is to make a posting to soc.religion.vaishnava, and ask. If you aren't looking for something specific, but just want to get a general feel for Vaishnavism, then perhaps you should lurk on the newsgroup for a while. Other than that, there are a few web pages that are maintained by various individuals and institutions, that may be of some interest: http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~vidya/advaita/advaita.html (Advaita) http://www.hgsoft.com/srv (Archive of SRV postings) http://www.rit.edu/~mrreee/dvaita.html (Dvaita) http://www.eskimo.com/~dvaita/list/ (Dvaita mailing list archive) http://www.webcom.com/~ara (Hare Krishna) http://www.goloka.com (Black Peacock) http://www.best.com/~mani/sv.html (Sri Vaishnava) ftp://jaguar.cs.utah.edu/private/sanskrit/sanskrit.html (Sanskrit) ix> http://www.rit.edu/~mrreee/stotra/ (Stotra) There also exist a number of mailing lists devoted to several of these doctrines, that you may be interested in. As noted previously, you can read soc.religion.vaishnava itself via Alta Vista, at http://www.altavista.digital.com Type `newsgroups:soc.religion.vaishnava' (no quotes) in the query window, and choose `Usenet' (instead of the default of `Web') among the choices, and then click `submit'. You may also be able to locate past postings to SRV by looking up the DejaNews archive, at http://www.dejanews.com IV. Keywords currently under use by the auto-moderator. -------------------------------------------------------- A brief description: The moderation bot looks for these keywords in every posting it receives, and upon finding none, rejects the posting. There are two kinds of acceptable keywords -- header and body. A keyword may be a complete word, a set of two complete words, or may be a part of a complete word; this latter option, since certain words are often spelled differently by different people. Even one keyword of either type is sufficient to allow the article to be posted. It is strongly recommended that except for bona-fide acronyms (e.g., `ISKCON'), keywords be used in all-lowercase, or in sentence-case (only first letter capitalized), though the bot will accept them in any case order, subject of course to the no-all-caps restriction. Keywords must appear in the `Subject:', the `Keywords:', or the `Summary:' headers, or also in the body. Keywords: `Balaram' `Balaraam' `Bhagava' `Daamodar' `Damodar' `Geeta' `Gita' `Govinda' `Haribol' `Krishna' `Krsna' `Lakshmee' `Lakshmi' `Laksmi' `Laxmee' `Laxmi' `Mahabha' `Mahaabha' `Naaraa' `Narayana' `Prabhupa' `Radha' `Raadhaa' `Ramaya' `Raamaaya' `Ranga' `Sri Hari' `Sruti' `Shruti' `Smriti' `Smrti' `Upanis' `Vaishnav' `Veda' `Venkates' `Vishnu' `Visnu' `Vrindavan' `Vrindaban' `bhakti' `dvaita' `gaudiya' `moksha' `mukti' `samprada' V. Appendix A: Some words often used in Vaishnava discussions. --------------------------------------------------------------- apowrusheya (also spelled 'apaurusheya') \ adj. Non-personal. Used to refer to texts that are claimed to have no authors. Also see: powrusheya. Related words: Shruti, Veda, Upanishad. avataara (also spelled 'avatara') \ n. Avatar, in the English-dictionary sense, except that it is used by Vaishnavas to refer mainly to Vishnu's incarnations, and sometimes to refer to His devotees' incarnations; not used to mean rebirths as such. bhakti \ n. devotion; specifically, devotion to Vishnu and His servants. gnyaana (also spelled 'gnaana' or 'gyaana') \ n. knowledge, as relevant to Vaishnava learning. Itihaasa \ n. Generic term used to refer to the Mahaabhaarata. One of two kinds of Smrti. Word means "thus it happened," and conveys that the text referred to is a historical account. Also see: PuraaNa. Related words: Smrti. lowkika (also spelled 'laukika') \ adj. "Worldly." Used to refer to non-spiritual objects, endeavors, etc. moksha \ n. Liberation. Is defined differently by various Vaishnava schools. Also see: mukti. mukti \ n., v. Synonymous with 'moksha'. Also see: moksha. powrusheya (also spelled 'paurusheya') \ adj. Authored (work). Applies to Smrti, and all worldly texts. Also see: apowrusheya. pratimaa \ n. Icon used in worship. PuraaNa (also spelled 'Purana') \ n. Any one of eighteen specific Smrti texts. Also see: Itihaasa. Related words: Smrti. sampradaaya \ n. Spiritual tradition that follows a specific doctrine. shaastra \ n. That branch of learning which deals with the higher spiritual truths; broader than 'theology', but more specific than 'philosophy'. Shruti (also spelled 'Sruti') \ n. Generic term used to refer to any apowrusheya text. Meaning from "that which is heard" rather than composed. Also see: Smrti. Related words: apowrusheya, Veda, Upanishad. Smrti \ n. Generic term used to refer to any powrusheya text. Meaning from "that which is remembered." Also see: Shruti. Related words: Itihaasa, PuraaNa. Upanishad \ n. A certain kind of Shruti text accepted by all Vaishnava schools as conveying gnyaana; found embedded within the four Vedas, and also otherwise. Also see: Veda. Related words: apowrusheya, Shruti. Veda \ n. One of four specific apowrusheya texts (Rg, Yajus, Saama, Atharva). Also see: Upanishad. Related words: apowrusheya, Shruti. VI. Appendix B: Pronunciation guide for Sanskrit words. -------------------------------------------------------- Terms used here: macron = line over a letter; usually denotes a long vowel subdot = subscript dot (dot below the letter) superdot = superscript dot (dot above the letter) accent = acute accent (grave not used) diphthong = any combination of simple vowels, like ow Vowels: a = short a, pronounced as "u" in "but" aa = macron a = long a as in "father" (not like in "raw"; all vowels except dipthongs au and ai are simple liquid vowels, meaning your mouth does not move while pronouncing) i = short i as in "pin" ii = macron i = long i, pronounced as "ee" in "need" u = short u as some regional pronunciations of "push" (like a very short, soft "oo") uu = macron u = long u, as in "tube" (same caution as in aa; simple liquid vowel) R^i = subdot r = (ri is close enough, more later) R^ii = subdot macron r L^i = subdot l L^ii = subdot macron l e = liquid vowel, not quite as in "hay" (which is actually a diphthong; don't move your mouth while pronouncing) ai = diphthong; as in "aisle". Sounds somewhat like e, but there's a transition between a and i. o = liquid vowel, not quite as in "go". Keep mouth still while pronouncing. au = diphthong; as in "cow", but more like "go" with a transition between a and u. M = superdot m = nasal almost like "ng" in "sing" H = subdot h = "h" lightly echoing the preceding vowel or final component of preceding diphthong; yaH sounds like "yuh(huh)" taiH like "tie(hi)" Before a hard consonant like k, usually comes out as a stoppage of breath, almost like German ch ('ich', 'auch', 'Bach', etc.) but not voiced. Consonants: k = k without breath or aspiration kh = k with breath (most Americans aspirate everything) g = g as in go, without breath gh = gh as in ghost, with breath N^ or n = superdot n = nasal, almost always found before k or g For this reason I (Henry Groover) usually just use n. ch = as in chirp, without breath chh = same as ch with breath j = as in dge in edge jh = same as j with breath JN = tilde n = nasal found before ch or j. For this reason I usually just use n. GY = j + tilde n = combination j + JN. Pretty much as it looks. T = subdot t = t without breath, cerebral (tip of tongue touching alveolar ridge behind upper front teeth) Th = subdot t + h = t with breath, cerebral D = subdot d = d without breath, cerebral Dh = subdot d = d with breath, cerebral N = subdot n = n pronounced with tongue against alveolar ridge t = t without breath, dental (tip of tongue against back of top front teeth) th = t with breath, dental d = d without breath, dental dh = d with breath, dental n = n, dental p = p as in pay, no breath ph = p with breath (not f) b = b as in boy, no breath bh = b with breath m = m as in mama y = y as in you r = r as in ray. This is not guttural as is common with American English, but is more similar to a Spanish r. l = l as in love v = v as in vote. In a consonant combination like tva, becomes w. Some speakers always pronounce as w. S = accent s = halfway between sh and s sh = subdot s = as in hush s = s as in save h = h as in house VII. Appendix C: Charter and moderation policy for SRV. -------------------------------------------------------- CHARTER: soc.religion.vaishnava The newsgroup soc.religion.vaishnava will be an auto-moderated forum for discussion of all topics having a bearing on the study of, and devotion to, Vishnu, the Supreme Lord. General topics will include, but will not be restricted to, scripture and its interpretation according to various Vaishnava schools, the lives, works, and teachings of various prominent Aachaaryas, and issues relating to devotion and the study of Vaishnava doctrine. The moderation of this newsgroup is not to be done directly by humans, and will always be only for the purpose of preventing inflow of irrelevant material; there will be no restriction otherwise, and the newsgroup will provide for the free exchange of diverse views. Moderation Policy: The moderation will be primarily for the purpose of eliminating all cross-postings, and will be done by auto-moderation tools (custom-built computer programs), with human intervention kept to the minimum level required to keep said programs operating satisfactorily. The tools will be utilized to auto-moderate posts to the forum by: a) rejecting cross-posts; b) limiting the number of submissions from one individual per twenty-four hour period to four; c) rejecting "shouting" articles (THOSE WITH THE SUBJECT AND/OR ARTICLE IN ALL CAPS), and those that use too many special characters in the subject -- as for example, Re: $$$ Make Big Bucks now!!!! $$$', 'You're insane!!!!!!!!', etc.; d) rejecting postings which have twice or more as much quoted text as new text, as well as those with too many blank lines (four or more blank lines in succession, and/or a third or more of the posting length due to blank lines); e) rejecting articles that do not feature certain keywords (which will be specified in the regularly-posted FAQ for the newsgroup, to ensure that people read said FAQ). moderation will be done by a program Henry Groover -- hardware & software maintainer END CHARTER. Administrative contact address: srv-admin@pobox.com Article submission address: srv@pobox.com END MODERATOR INFO. VII. Appendix D: Disclaimer and restrictions: --------------------------------------------- Please note that this FAQ is NOT an official document representing the views of any organization or institution; it is merely the result of an attempt by a group of volunteers to aid those who may wish to use the soc.religion.vaishnava newsgroup as a resource to understand, or further their understanding of, Vaishnavism. There is absolutely no guarantee of any kind made that specific answers, etc., in the FAQ will not be disagreeable to some, although such are meant to be as broadly correct as possible. This FAQ may be freely used for non-commercial purposes. However, to use it in for-profit endeavors requires specific permission to be obtained by sending mail to srv-admin@pobox.com. This document may *NOT* be reposted to any UseNet newsgroup other than the one(s) to which it is sent by its maintainer. If you think it is appropriate to another newsgroup and would like to post it there, please request permission first. Any such re-posting of this FAQ must be only for the whole document, including this section, only. ** +++++++++++++ **