A Popilar Dictionary of Hinduism Karel Werner

28 A POPULAR DICTIONARY OF HINDUISM
Fyzābād, Uttar Pradesh. It has a fortress-like temple of Hanumān and had a
temple to Rāma which was converted into a mosque by Bābar, the first Mughal
ruler of India.
Āyur Veda (‘life knowledge’) one of the Upavedas and the ancient system of
medicine, still practised. It recognizes the atomic theory, the teaching on the
three , five elements, seven bodily substances, three sheaths of the body
and three humours of temperament.
(some time between 200–450 A.D.) the author of the Brahma
Sūtras, the basic work of the Vedāntic school of thought notable particularly for
the introduction of the līlā theory of creation. Composed in the aphoristic sūtra
style, the work is not easy to understand and several commentaries were written
on it, the best known being that of .
Balarāma the elder brother of . He shared in some of his adventures and is
regarded as an incarnation of the cosmic snake or a partial incarnation of
. In some parts of India he replaces the Buddha in the icons of the ten
major incarnations of .
Basava (twelfth century A.D.) a South Indian religious and social reformer from
a brahmin family of Śiva worshippers. At an early age he became disillusioned
with traditional orthodox practices and caste discrimination, left home and set
about reforming Śaivism, thus becoming the precursor or founder of a new sect
which came to be known as the or Vīra Śaiva movement. He preached the
equality of women, rejected caste rules and distinctions and the hereditary right
of brahmins to priesthood as well as their traditional ritual worship. When he
reached the position of a minister of state, he persecuted , Jains and Buddhists,
making converts for his new faith. The reaction of orthodoxy to his reforms got
him into trouble and he died amidst some confusion.
Bath (snāna) is an act of bodily and spiritual purification and a ritual obligation
for Hindus and is best taken in flowing water (which perhaps explains the Indian
custom of pouring water over oneself when washing in the domestic setting). It
is often accompanied by oblation and other rituals and finished with total
immersion (majjana) if possible. Bathing in sacred rivers, and particularly in
, has further religious significance: in the belief of many, it washes away
all guilt.
Bāuls wandering religious poets-singers who form a loose sect within the bhakti
movement. Their beginnings are usually derived from Caitanya’s activities, but
there are reasons to regard them as being of a more ancient origin. There are
recognizable traces of Buddhist Tantric attitudes and practices in their
unstructured sādhanā. Some of them roam in groups of three, one being a female
dancer, and are reminiscent of the ancient Vrātya teams. Some Bāul songs and
poems were already collected in the last century and inspired the poetry of
Rabindranath Tagore.
Benares see .
Besant, Annie Wood (1847–1933) originally a free thinker, pacifist and
socialist, she joined the Theosophical Society in England in 1889 after she