I have recently read that mantras cannot be chanted before initiation. I am ware that during initiation, a guru will give a mantra in the ears of the disciple. My question is, can the person initiated only chant the mantra given by the guru (and other mantras given by the guru) or can one chant a...

I am currently reading Bhakti Rasamrta Sindhu by Rupa Gosvami (with commentary by Jiva Gosvami). In it, it has been mentioned that a pure devotee is above fruitive activities such as the varnasrama rules and regulations for caste, and some other rules and regulations. In the Vaishnava teachings, ...

"2.215. One should not sit in a lonely place with one’s mother, sister, or daughter; for the senses are powerful, and master even a learned man" I'm not a Hindu but do hindu's really beleive that a son and his mother can't be in the same room because of lust? ( I'm really here for learning not to...

How are Kanvas, those with Kanva gotra or people who belong to shukla yajurveda kanva shakha?Not able to find any reference,As there is a seperate mutt of Kanvas in south India.

I am wondering what the style features were of the oldest examples of Sanskrit/Devanagari/Vedic writings. Devanagari wasn't invented until 600-700 CE, with modernity after 1000 CE. So what was it written down like before Devanagari, do we have any example manuscripts of that? But even as Devanaga...