Is there a bondage that is Separate from God?
bhattathiri | 28 June 2004, 4:41am
If 'Bondage is seen no longer as separate
from God then it is no longer a bondage'
This is a variation of the old question in Hinduism:-
If Maya is also God's creation why try and overcome it?
The reply was given: "If it is experienced (not just accepted
intellectually but actually experienced) as the 'manifesting
power of God' it no longer binds. It is embraced as Kali.
So we come back to Vivekanada's quote. When he made this
statement he was not addressing a God realised person but the rest of
mankind. It is very important to view each statement of a God-man
in context.
Current Mood: Amazed
Current Music: normal
Posted in General | Permalink | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Knowledge
bhattathiri | 28 June 2004, 4:39am
Knowledge is mere classification. When we find many things of the same
kind we call the sum of them by a certain name and are satisfied; we
discover "facts", never "why". We take a circuit in a wider field of
darkness and think we know something! No "why" can be answered in this
world; for that we must go to God. The Knower can never be expressed;
it is as when a grain of salt drops into the ocean, it is at once
merged in the ocean.
Current Mood: Amazed
Current Music: normal
Posted in General | Permalink | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
SWAMI VIVEKANANDA ON THE VEDAS AND UPANISHADS
bhattathiri | 28 June 2004, 4:23am
The ancient Egyptians and the Chaldeans had peculiar beliefs of their own about the soul; but their ideas about a living part after death must not be confused with those of the ancient Hindu, the Persian, the Greek or any other Aryan race. There was, from the earliest times, a broad distinction between the Aryan and the non-Sanskrit speaking mlechchhas in the conception of the soul. Externally it was typified by their disposal of the dead, the mlechchhas mostly trying their best to preserve the dead bodies by careful burial or by the more elaborate process of mummifying, and the Aryans generally burning their dead.
Herein lies the key to a great secret - the fact that no mlechchha race, whether Egyptian, Assyrian, or Babylonian, ever attained to the idea of the soul as a separate entity which can live independent of the body, without the help of the Aryans, especially of the Hindus. (8)
Two people have given all the religions to the world - the Hindus and the Jews. But it is only with the Hindus that the idea of soul comes at first, and that was shared by the Aryan races. (9)
3. Any Ideas of a Pre-Existent, Non-Material Soul Came into Early Western Culture from India
It was in India and among the Aryans that the doctrine of the pre-existence, the immortality, and the individuality of the soul first arose. Recent researches in Egypt [as of 1895] have failed to show any trace of the doctrine of and independent and individual soul existing before and after the earthly phase of existence. Some of the mysteries were no doubt in possession of this idea, but in those it has been traced back to India.
"I am convinced", says Karl Heckel, "that the deeper we enter into the study of the Egyptian religion, the clearer it is shown that the doctrine of metempsychosis was entirely foreign to the popular Egyptian religion; and that even that which single mysteries possessed of it was not inherent to the Osiris teachings, but derived from Hindu sources." (10)
It never occurred to the Greeks to pry into the secrets after death, but [in India] from the beginning was asked again and again, "What am I? What will become of me after death?" There the Greek thought that people died and went to heaven. What was meant by going to heaven? It meant going outside of everything; there was nothing inside, everything was outside; this search was all directed outside - nay, they themselves were, as it were, outside themselves. And when they went to a place which was very much like this world, minus all its sorrows, they thought they had got everything that was desirable and were satisfied - and there all ideas of religion stopped. But it did not satisfy the Hindu mind. In its analysis, these heavens were all included within the material universe. (11)
Later on we find the Alexandrian Jews imbued with the doctrine of an individual soul, and the Pharisees at the time of Jesus. not only had faith in an individual soul, but believed in its wandering through various bodies; and thus it is easy to find how Christ was recognized as the incarnation of an older prophet, and Jesus himself directly asserted that John the Baptist was the prophet Elias come back again: "If ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come." [Matt. 11.14]
The ideas of a soul and of its individuality among the Hebrews evidently came through the higher mystical teachings of the Egyptians who, in their turn, derived it from India. And that it should come through Alexandria is significant, as the Buddhist records clearly show Buddhist missionary activity in Alexandria and Asia Minor. (12)
Current Music: normal
Posted in Religion | Permalink | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Conquer your Inner Enemies
bhattathiri | 28 June 2004, 4:20am
Prahlada, the great devotee of the Lord, declared that only when you conquer the inner enemies can you be considered truly great. He told his father, the demon king, "You are only a king now, but if you can overcome the inner enemies that have invaded you, then you can become a great emperor." These inner enemies, including such evils as hatred, greed, pride and jealousy, make up the delusion that besets human beings. You should never allow these inner enemies to enter your heart. If you keep them out, you will be free of all difficulties and problems. To achieve that, you must treat joy and sorrow, profit and loss, heat and cold as all the same. When you develop such equanimity, these inner enemies will not touch you.
But it will be difficult to treat joy and sorrow, misery and happiness as equal unless you are firmly established in the belief that God is dwelling in every heart. When you recognize that, then all the pairs of opposites will have been conquered and they can no longer disturb your equanimity. Then you will be immersed in divine grace, and no matter how unfavorable may have been your fate, the hand of destiny can no longer touch you.
When you have the firm belief that the same divinity exists in every heart, then every obstacle is overcome. When you have full faith in the indwelling divinity, then anything and everything becomes yours. That faith is the key. It is the very root of spiritual life. Catch hold of that. That is your goal. If you need to fell a tree, it's not necessary to first cut away all the branches and leaves. Cut the trunk and the whole tree comes down. Once you gain hold of the divinity, everything comes under your control. To do this, you must develop the practice of expressing your compassion for all beings, until this concern for the welfare of others suffuses every action of your life. And also, you must develop both inner and outer purity, keeping both body and mind sparkling clean. Only then will you be able to recognize the divinity that is everpresent everywhere.
You need to realize that when in your devotion you pray to God and offer him your obeisance, it is the same God who is dwelling in every heart. So you must be very careful not to criticize others. You must develop the strong conviction that any criticism you direct towards another being will go straight to God, residing in that heart
Current Mood: Cheerful
Current Music: normal
Posted in General | Permalink | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
HINDUISM is mother of all religions
bhattathiri | 28 June 2004, 2:51amOM GANESAYA NAMH
Hinduism is the mother of all religions and it is individual's (jeevatma) association with the Supreme (Paramatma), and the ultimate objective of religion is realization of Truth. Forms which symbolize Truth are only indications; they are not Truth itself, which transcends all conceptualization. The mind in its efforts to understand Truth through reasoning must always fail, for Truth transcends the very mind which seeks to embrace it. (Tatwamasi)
It is unique among the world's religions. We may boldly proclaim it the greatest and oldest religion in the world. To begin with, it is mankind's oldest spiritual declaration, the very fountainhead of faith on the planet. Hinduism's venerable age has seasoned it to maturity. It is the only religion, to my knowledge, which is not founded in a single historic event or prophet, but which itself precedes recorded history. Hinduism has been called the "cradle of spirituality," and the "mother of all religions," partially because it has influenced virtually every major religion and partly because it can absorb all other religions, honor and embrace their scriptures, their saints, their philosophy. This is possible because Hinduism looks compassionately on all genuine spiritual effort and knows unmistakably that all souls are evolving toward union with the Divine, and all are destined, without exception, to achieve spiritual enlightenment and liberation in this or a future life.
Any religion in the world is considered as a mind stratum within people. It is a group of people who think consciously, subconsciously and subsuperconsciously alike and who are guided by their own superconsciousness and the superconsciousness of their leaders which make up the force field which we call a religion. It does not exist outside the mind. People of a certain religion have all been impressed with the same experiences. They have all accepted the same or similar beliefs and attitudes, and their mutual concurrence creates the bonds of fellowship and purpose, of doctrine and communion.
The people in Hinduism through a shared mind structure can understand, acknowledge, accept and love all the peoples of the world, encompass them within their mind as being fine religious people. The Hindu truly believes that there is a single Eternal Path, but he does not believe that any one religion is the only valid religion or the only religion that will lead the soul to salvation. Rather, the Eternal Path is seen reflected in all religions.
The will of God or the Gods is at work in all genuine worship and service. It is said in Hindu scripture that "Truth is one. Paths are many." The search for Truth, for God, is called the Sanatana Dharma, or the Eternal Path because it is inherent in the soul itself, where religion begins. This path, this return to his Source, is ever existent in man, and is at work whether he is aware of the processes or not. There is not this man's search and that man's search. And where does the impetus come from? It comes from the inside of man himself. Thus, Hinduism is ever vibrant and alive for it depends on this original source of inspiration, this first impulse of the spirit within, giving it an energy and a vibrancy that is renewable eternally in the now.
The Hindu feels that his faith is the broadest, the most practical and effective instrument of spiritual unfoldment, but he includes in his Hindu mind all the religions of the world as expressions of the one Eternal Path and understands each proportionately in accordance with its doctrines and dogma. He knows that certain beliefs and inner attitudes are more conducive to spiritual growth than others, and that all religions are, therefore, not the same. They differ in important ways. Yet, there is no sense whatsoever in Hinduism of an "only path." A devout Hindu is supportive of all efforts that lead to a pure and virtuous life and would consider it unthinkable to dissuade a sincere devotee from his chosen faith. This is the Hindu mind, and this is what we teach, what we practice and what we offer aspirants on the path.
To the Hindu, conduct and the inner processes of the soul's maturation are more essential than the particular religion one may be by the accidents of birth, culture or geography. The Hindu knows that he might unknowingly disturb the dharma of the individual if he pulls him away from his religious roots, and that would cause an unsavory karma for them both. He knows, too that it is not necessary that all people believe exactly the same way or call God by the same name.
Hinduism is also extremely sectarian, altogether dogmatic in its beliefs. Its doctrines of karma and reincarnation, its philosophy of nonviolence and compassion, its certainty of mystical realities and experience and its universality are held with unshakable conviction. Perhaps this is due to the fact that Hinduism is a religion more of experience than of doctrine. It prefers to say to its followers, "This is the nature of Truth, and these are the means by which that truth may be realized. Here are the traditions which have withstood time and proved most effective. Now you may test them in your own life, prove them to yourself. And we will help as we can." It will never say, "You must do or believe thusly or be condemned." In Hinduism it is believed that none are eternally condemned. That loving acceptance and unremitting faith in the goodness of life are another reason I boldly say that Hinduism is the greatest religion even though not the largest in the world.
Within Hinduism, as within every religious system, are the practical means of attaining the purity, the knowledge and the serenity of life. Each Hindu is enjoined to attend a puja every day, preferably at a certain and consistent time. He must observe the laws of virtue and the codes of ethics. He must serve others, support religion within his community. He should occasionally pilgrimage to sacred shrines and temples, and partake in the sacraments. If he is more advanced, an older soul, then he is expected, expects of himself, to undertake certain forms of sadhana and tapas, of discipline and asceticism.
Though it is broad and open in the freedom of the mind to inquire, Hinduism is narrowly strict in its expectations of devotees--the more awakened the soul, the higher the demands and responsibilities placed upon him. And though other systems of belief are fully acceptable mind structures within the structure of the higher mind, there is no way out of Hinduism. There is no excommunication. There is no means of severance. There's no leaving Hinduism once you have formally accepted and been accepted. Why is that? That is because Hinduism contains the whole of religion within itself. There is no "other religion" which one can adopt by leaving Hinduism, only other aspects of the one religion which is the sum of them all, the Eternal Path, the Sanatana Dharma.
It can be said that, if it lacked all the qualities of open-mindedness and compassion and tolerance just mentioned, that Hinduism would be the greatest religion on the basis of its profound mysticism alone. No other faith boasts such a deep and enduring comprehension of the mysteries of existence, or possesses so vast a metaphysical system. The storehouse of religious revelation in Hinduism cannot be reckoned. I know of its equal nowhere. It contains the entire system of yoga, of meditation and contemplation and Self Realization. Nowhere else is there such insightful revelation of the inner bodies of man, the subtle pranas and the chakras, or psychic centers within the nerve system. Inner states of superconsciousness are explored and mapped fully in Hinduism, from the clear white light to the sights and sounds which flood the awakened inner consciousness of man. In the West it is the mystically awakened soul who is drawn to Hinduism for understanding of inner states of consciousness, discovering after ardent seeking that Hinduism possesses answers which do not exist elsewhere and is capable of guiding awareness into ever-deepening mind strata.
The various scriptures written thousands of years ago explain how we should live, and saints and rishis and seers throughout the ages have told us that it is impossible to live that way. So, Hinduism has a great tolerance for those who strive and a great forgiveness for those who fail. It looks in awe at those who succeed in living a life according to its own strict ethics. In Hinduism we have many, many saints. You don't have to die to be acknowledged a saint in our religion, you have to live. The Hindus, perhaps beyond all other people on the earth, realize the difficulties of living in a human body and look in awe at those who achieve true spirituality.
Hindus believes in reincarnation. He believes that he is not the body in which he lives, but the soul or awareness which takes on a body for a definite purpose. He believes he is going to get a better body in a better birth, that the process does not begin and end in a single life, that the process is continuous, reaching beyond the limits that one life may impose on inner progress. Of course, his belief in karma assures him that a better birth, that progress inwardly, will come only if he behaves in a certain way. He knows that if he does not behave according to the natural laws, to the Hindu ethics, that he will suffer for his transgressions in a future life, or future lives, that he may by his own actions earn the necessity of a so-called inferior birth, earn the right to start over where he left off in the birth in which he failed.
This belief in more than a single life brings to the Hindu a great sense of peace. He knows that the maturity of the soul takes many lives, perhaps hundreds of lives. If he is not perfect right now, then at least he knows that he is progressing, that there will be many opportunities for learning and growing. This eliminates anxiety, gives the serene perception that everything is all right as it is. There is no sense of a time limit, of an impending end or an ultimate judgement of his actions and attitudes. This understanding that the soul evolves gives the Hindu remarkable insight into the human condition and appreciation for all men in all stages of spiritual development.
Within it there is a place for the insane and a place for the saint. There is a place for the beggar and for those who support beggars. There is a place for the intelligent person and plenty of room for the fool. The beauty of Hinduism is that it does not demand of every soul perfection in this life, a necessary conclusion for those who believe in a single lifetime during which human perfection or grace must be achieved. Belief in reincarnation gives the Hindu an acceptance of every level of humanity. Some souls are simply older souls than others, but all are inherently the same, inherently immortal and of the nature of the Divine.
In Hinduism it is believed that the Gods are living, thinking, dynamic beings who live in a different world, in an inner world in the microcosm within this world in which there exists a greater macrocosm than this visible macrocosm. For the Hindu, surrender to the Divine Will, that created and pervades and guides the universe, is essential. The Hindu believes that these beings guide our experiences on earth, actually consciously guide the evolutionary processes. Therefore, he worships these beings as greater beings than himself, and he maintains a subjective attitude toward them, wondering if he is attuned with these grand forces of the universe, if his personal will is in phase with what these great beings would have him do. This gives birth to a great culture, a great attitude, a great tolerance and kindness one to another. It gives rise to humility in the approach to life. Not a weak or false humility, but a strong and mature sense of the grand presence and purpose of life before which the head naturally bows.
There are said to be millions of Gods in the Hindu pantheon, though only a few major Deities are actually worshipped in the temples. That God may be worshipped as the Divine Father, or a Sainted Mother or the King of Kings is one of the blessings of Hinduism. It offers to each a personal and significant contact, and each Hindu will choose that aspect of the Deity which most appeals to his inner needs and sensibilities. That can be confusing to some, but not to the Hindu. Within his religion is monism and dualism, monotheism and polytheism, and a rich array of other theological views.
God and Goddess in Hinduism is accepted as both transcendent and immanent, both beyond the mind and the very substratum of the mind. The ideal of the Hindu is to think of God always, every moment, and to be ever conscious of God's presence. This does not mean the transcendent God, the Absolute Lord. That is for the yogi to ponder in his contemplative discipline. That is for the well-perfected Hindu who has worshipped faithfully in the temples, studied deeply the scriptures and found his guru. For most Hindus, God means the Gods, one of the many personal devas and Mahadevas which prevail in our religion. This means a personal great soul which may never have known physical birth, a being which pervades the planet, pervades form with His mind and Being, and which guides evolution. Such a God is capable of offering protection and direction to the followers of Hinduism. The Hindu is supposed to think of God every minute of every day, to see God everywhere. Of course, most of us don't think of God even one minute a day. That's the reason that each Hindu is obliged to conduct or attend at least one religious service, one puja or ceremony, every day in his temple or home shrine. This turns his mind inward to God and the Gods.
Hinduism is an Eastern religion, and the Eastern religions are very different from those of the West. For one thing, they are more introspective. Hinduism gave birth to Buddhism, for Buddha was born and died as a good Hindu. And it gave birth to other religions of the East, to Taoism, to Jainism, to Sikhism and others.
There are three distinct aspects of Hinduism: the temples, the philosophy and the guru. It is very fortunate that in the last decade Hindu temples have nearly circumferenced the world. There are temples in Europe, in the United States, in South America, in Africa and throughout Southeast Asia. The Hindu temple and stone images in it work as a channel for the Deity, for the Gods, who hover over the stone image and in their subtle etheric forms change people's lives through changing the nerve currents within them through their darshan. People come to a sanctified temple and go away, and in that process they are slowly changed from the inside out. They have changed because their very life force has changed, their mind has been changed and their emotions have undergone a subtle transformation. The temples of Hinduism are magnificent in their immensity and in their ability to canalize the three worlds, the First World of physical, outer existence and the inner Second and Third Worlds. Hindu temples are not centered around a priest or minister, though there may be a holy man associated with a temple whose advice is cautiously and quietly sought. There is no sermon, no mediator, no director to guide the worship of pilgrims. The temple is the home of the Deities, and each devotee goes according to his own timing and for his own particular needs. Some may go to weep and seek consolation in times of sorrow, while simultaneously others will be there to rejoice in their good fortune and to sing God's name in thanksgiving. Naturally, the sacraments of name-giving and marriage and so forth are closely associated with the temple. One has only to attend a Hindu temple during festival days to capture the great energy and vitality of this ancient religion.
In its second section, of philosophy, Hinduism has influenced the deep religious thinkers of all cultures through known history. It is not a single philosophy which can be labeled "Hinduism." Rather, it is a network of many philosophies, some seeming to impertinently contradict the validity of others, yet on deeper reflection seen as integral aspects of a single radiant mind flow. In the area of philosophy must be included the enormous array of scripture, hymns, mantrams, devotional bhajan and philosophical texts which are certainly unequaled in the world. In the natural order of things temple worship precedes philosophy. It all starts with the temple, with this sacred house of the Deities, this sanctified site where the three worlds communicate, where the inner and outer mesh and merge. It is there that devotees change. They become more like the perfect being that lives in the temple, become the voice of the Deity, writing down what is taught them from the inside, and their writings, if they are faithful to the superconscious message of the God, become scripture and make up the philosophies of Hinduism. The philosophies then stand alone as the voice of the religion. They are taught in the universities, discussed among scholars, meditated upon by yogis and devout seekers. It is possible to be a good Hindu by only learning the philosophy and never going to the temple, or by simply going to the temple and never hearing of the deeper philosophies.
Hinduism has still another section within it, and that is the guru--the teacher, the illuminator, the spiritual preceptor. The guru is the remover of darkness. He is one who knows the philosophy, who knows the inner workings of the temple, and who in himself is the philosopher and the temple. The guru is he who can enliven the spirit within people. Like the temple and the philosophy, he stands alone, apart from the institutions of learning, apart from sites of pilgrimage. He is himself the source of knowledge, and he is himself the pilgrim's destination. Should all the temples be destroyed, they would spring up again from the seeds of philosophy, or from the presence of a realized man. And if all the scriptures and philosophical treatises were burned, they would be written again from the same source. So Hinduism cannot be destroyed. It can never be destroyed. It exists as the spirit of religion within each being. Its three aspects, the temple, the philosophy and the guru, individually proficient, taken together make Hinduism the most vital and abundant religion in the world.
Hinduism has a grand diversity among its many sects. That diversity is itself strength, showing how broad and encompassing Hinduism is. It does not seek to have all devotees believe exactly alike. In fact, it has no central authority, no single organized institution which could ever proclaim or enforce such sameness. There is an immense inner unity, but the real strength and wisdom of Hinduism is its diversity, its variety. There are so many sects within Hinduism that you could spend a lifetime studying them and never begin to assess them all. More is there than any single human being could assimilate in a single lifetime. Hinduism, therefore, has the magnetism to draw us back into its immensity life after life. Each sect may be said to be a full religion in its own right, with all the increments of faith, with no necessary part missing. Therefore, each sect works for the individuals within it completely, and each tolerates all the other sects. It does not totally divorce itself from the other sects, denying their beliefs, but simply separates to stress or expound a limited area of the vast philosophy, apart from all others, to be understood by the limited faculties of man.
These various sects and divisions within Hinduism all spring from a one source. Most Hindus believe in the transcendental God as well as the personal Lord or God, and yet there is within the boundaries of the faith room for the nonbeliever, for the atheist or for the agnostic who is assessing and developing his beliefs. This brings another unique asset to our religion--the absence of heresy. There is no such thing as a heretic in Hinduism, for there is no single right perspective or belief. Doctrine and sadhana are not considered absolutes, but the means to an absolute end, and they can be tailored to individual needs and natures. My Guru would say that different prescriptions are required for different ailments.
In Hinduism there is no person or spiritual authority who stands between man and God. In fact, Hinduism teaches just the opposite. The priests in the temples are the servants of the Deity, the helper, the keeper of the Gods' house. He prepares and purifies the atmosphere of the temple, but he does not intervene between the devotee and his God--whichever of the many Gods within our religion that he may be worshiping. Without a mediator, responsibility is placed fully upon the individual.
There is on one to intercede on his behalf. He is responsible for his actions, for his thoughts, for his emotions, for his relationship with his God. He must work out his beliefs from the inside without undue dependence upon external influences. Of course, there is much help, as much as may be needed, from those who have previously gone through what he is now going through. It is not enough that he adopts an authorized dogma. He must study and bring the teachings to life from within himself.
Within the philosophy each philosopher proclaims that God can be found within man if man practices the proper precepts of yoga and delves within himself through his kundalini force. The guru himself teaches the awakening of that force and how God can be realized in His transcendental as well as His personal aspect within the sphere of one's own personal experience in this very lifetime if he but pursues the path and is obedient.
Hinduism is unique because God and man, mind and God, instinctive mind, intellectual mind and superconscious mind, can merge as one, according to the evolution of the individual. Each one, according to his own self-created karma, has his own fulfillment. Those in the first stages of evolution, whose interests and experiences are basically instinctive, who possess little intellect or mental prowess are guided by their emotions and impulses are generally fearful. They have a personal experience of the Deity in the temple, but it is generally a fearful experience. They are afraid of God. Alongside of them during a puja is a great rishi who has had many hundreds of lives on this planet. He has his own personal experience of God, but it is an experience of love, of oneness and of union. There they are, side by side. Each experience of God is as real to one as to the other. There is no one in-between, no arbitrator of the experience to compel the one to see God exactly as the other one does.
Hinduism is as broad as humanity is, as diverse as people are diverse. It is for the rich and the poor, for the mystic and for the materialist. It is for the sage and the fool. None is excluded. In a Hindu temple one can find every variety of humanity. The man of accumulated wealth is there, supporting the institutions that have grown up around the temple, seeking to spend his abundance wisely and for its best purpose so that good merit may be earned for his next life. The pauper is there, begging in hopes that perhaps he will eat tomorrow and the God will inspire some devotee to give Him a coin or two. So a Hindu temple is a reflection of life, set in the midst of the life of the community. It is not making an effort to be better than the life of the village, only to serve that life and direct it to its next stage of evolution. The same Hindu mind which can consume within it all the religions of the world can and does consume within it all of the peoples of the world who are drawn to the temple by the shakti, the power, of the temple. Such is the great embracing compassion of our religion.
The greatness of Hinduism cannot be compared with other religions. There is no basis for comparison. Hinduism has no beginning, therefore will certainly have no end. It was never created, and therefore it cannot be destroyed. It is a God-centric religion. The center of it is God. All of the other religions are prophet-centric. The center of those religions is a great saint or sage, a prophet, a messenger or messiah, some God-Realized person who has lived on earth and died. Perhaps he was born to create that particular sect, that particular religion, needed by the people of a certain part of the world at a certain time in history. The Hindus acknowledge this and recognize all of the world's religious leaders as great prophets, as great souls, as great incarnations, perhaps, of the Gods, or as great realized beings who have through their realization and inward practices incarnated themselves into, or transformed themselves into, eminent religious leaders and attracted devotees to them to give forth the precepts of life all over again and thus guide a tribe, or a nation or a race, into a better way of life.
The Hindu mind can encompass this, appreciate it, for it is firmly settled in a God-centric religion. The center of Hinduism is the Absolute, the timeless, formless, spaceless God who manifests as Pure Consciousness and as the most perfect form conceivable, the Primal Soul. He radiates out from that form as a myriad of Gods and Goddesses who inhabit the temples and bless the people, inspire the scriptures, inspire the spiritual leaders and uplift humanity in general. It is a one God in many forms.
There are nearly sixtyfive crores Hindus in the world today. Hinduism attends to the needs of each one. It is the only religion in the world today that has such breadth and depth. Hinduism contains the Deities and the sanctified temples, the esoteric knowledge of inner states of consciousness, yoga and the disciplines of meditation. It possesses a gentle compassion and a genuine tolerance and appreciation for other religions. It remains undogmatic and open to inquiry. It believes in a just world in which every soul is guided by karma to the ultimate goal of Self Realization, or moksha. It rests content in the knowledge of the divine origin of the soul, its passage through one life and another until maturity has been reached. It offers guidance to all who take refuge in it, from the nonbeliever to the most evolved rishi. It cherishes the largest storehouse of scripture and philosophy on the earth, and the oldest. It is endowed with a tradition of saints and sages, of realized men and women, unrivaled on the earth. It is the sum of these, and more, which makes us boldly declare that Hinduism is the greatest, even though not the largest, religion in the entire world.
People in other religions may question the sanctity of idol worship and we can say it is only due to ignorance.God is all-pervading formless Being.
The divinity of the all-pervading God is vibrant in every atom of creation. There is not a speck of space where He is not. Why do you then say that He is not the idols?
The idol is a support for the neophyte. It is a prop of his spiritual childhood. A form or image is necessary for worship in the beginning. It is not possible for all to fix the mind on the Absolute or the Infinite. A concrete form is necessary for the vast majority for practicing concentration.
Idols are not the idle fancies of sculptors, but shining channels through which the heart of the devotee flows towards God. Though the image is worshipped, the devotee feels the presence of the Lord in it and pours out his devotion unto it. The idol remains an idol, but the worship goes to the Lord.
To a devotee, the image is a mass of Chaitanya or consciousness. He draws inspiration from the image. The image guides him. It talks to him. It assumes human form to help him in a variety of ways. Idol worship is not peculiar to Hinduism. The Christians worship the Cross. They have the image of the Cross in their mind. The Mohammedans keep the image of the Kaaba stone when they kneel and do prayers. The mental image also is a form of idol. The difference is not one in kind, but only one of degree.
All worshippers, however intellectual they may be, generate a form in the mind and make the mind dwell on that image. Everyone is an idol worshipper. Pictures and drawings are only a form of idol. A gross mind needs a concrete symbol as a prop or Alambana; a subtle mind requires an abstract symbol. Even a Vedantin has the symbol for fixing the wandering mind. It is not only pictures or images in stone and wood that are idols. Dialectics and leaders also become idols.
Many Hindu texts are presently available at reasonable prices all over the world from many sources. One does not lose any thing by going through these books and trying to understand what they actually mean. These books definitely help one to gain an insight into the basics of Hindu religion and help one to develop a correct attitude towards ones religion. At least we will be able to know correctly what is the right of way of living.
Let us remember that in other religions, scriptures do occupy the central part. These religions are more organized because an understanding of the basic scripture is fundamental to the practice of religion. While there are hundreds of Hindus who have never read a Veda or Upanishads, it is difficult to come across a Christian or a Muslim who has never gone through his or her holy book. Many carry them to their places of work or keep it in their houses for regular or occasional study. It is wrong to presume that Hinduism does not prescribe study of religious scriptures. In fact it is an essential and integral part of a person's education and religious life.
The purpose of this article is not to advocate blind faith or blind following, but to make us understand the need for a judicious exercise of choosing what is right and what is wrong for one not in complete and total freedom but in accordance with the scriptures (external dharma) and one own inner nature or internal dharma.
An individual has freedom in Hinduism to chose what is right for him or her, but only after careful examination and analysis of a given situation. One can always use one buddhi or intelligence to know what is right and appropriate in any given situation, without rationalizing ones inactivity, lack of interest and indifference.
In conclusion what we can say is that we should be proud to be a Hindu.
TATSAT
Current Mood: Cheerful
Current Music: normal
Posted in Religion | Permalink | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Management lessons from Holy Gita
bhattathiri | 28 June 2004, 2:50am
Mind is very restless, forceful and strong,O Krishna, it is more difficult
to control the mind than to control the wind"
Arjuna to Sri Krishna
Introduction
India's one of the greatest contributions to the world is Holy Gita.
Arjuna got mentally depressed when he saw his relatives with whom he has to
fight. The Bhagavad Gita is preached in the battle field Kurukshetra by Lord
Krishna to Arjuna as a counselling to do his duty. It has got all the
management tactics to achieve the mental equilibrium..
Management has become a part and parcel in everyday life, be it at home,
office, factory, Government, or in any other organization where a group of
human beings assemble for a common purpose, management principles come into
play through their various facets like management of time, resources,
personnel, materials, machinery, finance, planning, priorities, policies and
practice.
Management is a systematic way of doing all activities in any field of human
effort. It is about keeping oneself engaged in interactive relationship with
other human beings in the course of performing one's duty. Its task is to
make people capable of joint performance, to make their weaknesses
irrelevant -so says the Management Guru Peter Drucker.
It strikes harmony in working -equilibrium in thoughts and actions, goals
and achievements, plans and performance, products and markets. It resolves
situations of scarcities be they in the physical, technical or human fields
through maximum utilization with the minimum available processes to achieve
the goal
The lack of management will cause disorder, confusion, wastage, delay,
destruction and even depression. Managing men, money and material in the
best possible way according to circumstances and environment is the most
important and essential factor for a successful management. Managing men is
supposed have the best tactics. Man is the first syllable in management
which speaks volumes on the role and significance of man in a scheme of
management practices. From the pre-historic days of aborigines to the
present day of robots and computers the ideas of managing available
resources have been in existence in some form or other. When the world has
become a big global village now, management practices have become more
complex and what was once considered a golden rule is now thought to be an
anachronism.
Management Guidelines from The Bhagavad Gita
There is an important distinction between effectiveness and efficiency in
managing.
Effectiveness is doing the right things and
Efficiency is doing things right.
The general principles of effective management can be applied in every
fields the differences being mainly in the application than in principles.
Again, effective management is not limited in its application only to
business or industrial enterprises but to all organisations where the aim is
to reach a given goal through a Chief Executive or a Manager with the help
of a group of workers.
The Manager's functions can be briefly summed up as under :
Forming a vision and planning the strategy to realise such vision.
Cultivating the art of leadership
Establishing the institutional excellence and building an innovative
organisation.
Developing human resources.
Team building and teamwork
Delegation, motivation, and communication and
Reviewing performance and taking corrective steps whenever called for.
Thus Management is a process in search of excellence to align people and get
them committed to work for a common goal to the maximum social benefit.
The critical question in every Manager's mind is how to be effective in his
job. The answer to this fundamental question is found in the Bhagavad Gita
which repeatedly proclaims that 'you try to manage yourself'. The reason is
that unless the Manager reaches a level of excellence and effectiveness that
sets him apart from the others whom he is managing, he will be merely a face
in the crowd and not an achiever.
In this context the Bhagavad Gita expounded thousands of years ago by the
Super Management Guru Bhagawan Sri Krishna enlightens us on all managerial
techniques leading to a harmonious and blissful state of affairs as against
conflicts, tensions, lowest efficiency and least productivity, absence of
motivation and lack of work culture etc common to most of the Indian
enterprises today.
The modern management concepts like vision, leadership, motivation,
excellence in work, achieving goals, meaning of work, attitude towards work,
nature of individual, decision making, planning etc., are all discussed in
the Bhagavad Gita with a sharp insight and finest analysis to drive through
our confused grey matter making it highly eligible to become a part of the
modem management syllabus.
It may be noted that while Western design on management deals with the
problems at superficial, material, external and peripheral levels, the ideas
contained in the Bhagavad Gita tackle the issues from the grass roots level
of human thinking because once the basic thinking of man is improved it will
automatically enhance the quality of his actions and their results.
The management thoughts emanating from the Western countries particularly
the U.S.A. are based mostly on the lure for materialism and a perennial
thirst for profit irrespective of the quality of the means adopted to
achieve that goal. This phenomenon has its source in abundance in the West
particularly the U.S.A. Management by materialism caught the fancy of all
the countries the world over, India being no exception to this trend.
Our country has been in the forefront in importing those ideas mainly
because of its centuries old indoctrination by the colonial rulers which
inculcated in us a feeling that anything Western is always good and anything
Indian is always inferior. Hence our management schools have sprung up on
the foundations of materialistic approach wherein no place of importance was
given to a holistic view.
The result is while huge funds have been invested in building these temples
of modem management education, no perceptible changes are visible in the
improvement of the quality of life although the standard of living of a few
has gone up. The same old struggles in almost all sectors of the economy,
criminalisation of institutions, more and more social violence, exploitation
and such other vices have gone deep in the body politic.
The reasons for this sorry state of affairs are not far to seek. The western
idea of management has placed utmost reliance on the worker (which includes
Managers also) -to make him more efficient, to increase his productivity.
They pay him more so that he may work more, produce more, sell more and will
stick to the organisation without looking for alternatives. The sole aim of
extracting better and more work from him is for improving the bottom-line of
the enterprise. Worker has become a hireable commodity, which can be used,
replaced and discarded at will.
The workers have also seen through the game plan of their paymasters who
have reduced them to the state of a mercantile product. They changed their
attitude to work and started adopting such measures as uncalled for strikes,
Gheraos, sit-ins, dharnas, go-slows, work-to-rule etc to get maximum benefit
for themselves from the organisations without caring the least for the
adverse impact that such coercive methods will cause to the society at
large.
Thus we have reached a situation where management and workers have become
separate and contradictory entities wherein their approaches are different
and interests are conflicting. There is no common goal or understanding
which predictably leads to constant suspicion, friction, disillusions and
mistrust because of working at cross purposes. The absence of human values
and erosion of human touch in the organisational structure resulted in a
permanent crisis of confidence.
The westem management thoughts although acquired prosperity to some for some
time has absolutely failed in their aim to ensure betterment of individual
life and social welfare. It has remained by and large a soulless management
edifice and an oasis of plenty for a chosen few in the midst of poor quality
of life to many. Hence there is an urgent need to have a re-look at the
prevalent management discipline on its objectives, scope and content.
It should be redefined so as to underline the development of the worker as a
man, as a human being with all his positive and negative characteristics and
not as a mere wage-earner. In this changed perspective, management ceases to
be a career-agent but becomes an instrument in the process of national
development in all its segments.
Bhagavad Gita And Managerial Effectiveness
Now let us re-examine some of the modern management concepts in the light of
the Bhagavad Gita which is a primer of management by values.
Utilisation of Available Resources
The first lesson in the management science is to choose wisely and utilise
optimally the scarce resources if one has to succeed in his venture. During
the curtain raiser before the Mahabharata War Duryodhana chose Sri Krishna's
large army for his help while Arjuna selected Sri Krishna's wisdom for his
support. This episode gives us a clue as to who is an Effective Manager.
Attitude Towards Work
Three stone-cutters were engaged in erecting a temple. As usual a H.R.D.
Consultant asked them what they were doing. The response of the three
workers to this innocent-looking question is illuminating.
'I am a poor man. I have to maintain my family. I am making a living here,'
said the first stone-cutter with a dejected face.
'Well, I work because I want to show that I am the best stone-cutter in the
country,' said the second one with a sense of pride.
'Oh, I want to build the most beautiful temple in the country,' said the
third one with a visionary gleam.
Their jobs were identical but their perspectives were different. What Gita
tells us is to develop the visionary perspective in the work we do. It tells
us to develop a sense of larger vision in one's work for the common good.
Work Commitment
The popular verse 2.47 of the Gita advises non- attachment to the fruits or
results of actions performed in the course of one's duty. Dedicated work has
to mean 'work for the sake of work'. If we are always calculating the date
of promotion for putting in our efforts, then such work cannot be
commitment-oriented causing excellence in the results but it will be
promotion-oriented resulting in inevitable disappointments. By tilting the
performance towards the anticipated benefits, the quality of performance of
the present duty suffers on account of the mental agitations caused by the
anxieties of the future. Another reason for non-attachment to results is the
fact that workings of the world are not designed to positively respond to
our calculations and hence expected fruits may not always be forthcoming .
So, the Gita tells us not to mortgage the present commitment to an uncertain
future. If we are not able to measure up to this height, then surly the
fault lies with us and not with the teaching.
Some people argue that being unattached to the consequences of one's action
would make one un-accountable as accountability is a much touted word these
days with the vigilance department sitting on our shoulders. However, we
have to understand that the entire second chapter has arisen as a sequel to
the temporarily lost sense of accountability on the part of Arjuna in the
first chapter of the Gita in performing his swadharma.
Bhagavad Gita is full of advice on the theory of cause and effect, making
the doer responsible for the consequences of his deeds. The Gita, while
advising detachment from the avarice of selfish gains by discharging one's
accepted duty, does not absolve anybody of the consequences arising from
discharge of his responsibilities.
This verse is a brilliant guide to the operating Manager for psychological
energy conservation and a preventive method against stress and burn-outs in
the work situations. Learning managerial stress prevention methods is quite
costly now days and if only we understand the Gita we get the required cure
free of cost.
Thus the best means for effective work performance is to become the work
itself. Attaining this state of nishkama karma is the right attitude to work
because it prevents the ego, the mind from dissipation through speculation
on future gains or losses.
It has been presumed for long that satisfying lower needs of a worker like
adequate food, clothing and shelter, recognition, appreciation, status,
personality development etc are the key factors in the motivational theory
of personnel management.
It is the common experience that the spirit of grievances from the clerk to
the Director is identical and only their scales and composition vary. It
should have been that once the lower-order needs are more than satisfied,
the Director should have no problem in optimising his contribution to the
organisation. But more often than not, it does not happen like that; the
eagle soars high but keeps its eyes firmly fixed on the dead animal below.
On the contrary a lowly paid school teacher, a self-employed artisan,
ordinary artistes demonstrate higher levels of self- realization despite
poor satisfaction of their lower- order needs.
This situation is explained by the theory of Self-transcendence or
Self-realisation propounded in the Gita. Self-transcendence is overcoming
insuperable obstacles in one's path. It involves renouncing egoism, putting
others before oneself, team work, dignity, sharing, co-operation, harmony,
trust, sacrificing lower needs for higher goals, seeing others in you and
yourself in others etc. The portrait of a self-realising person is that he
is a man who aims at his own position and underrates everything else. On the
other hand the Self-transcenders are the visionaries and innovators. Their
resolute efforts enable them to achieve the apparently impossible. They
overcome all barriers to reach their goal.
The work must be done with detachment.' This is because it is the Ego which
spoils the work. If this is not the backbone of the Theory of Motivation
which the modern scholars talk about what else is it? I would say that this
is not merely a theory of Motivation but it is a theory of Inspiration.
The Gita further advises to perform action with loving attention to the
Divine which implies redirection of the empirical self away from its
egocentric needs, desires, and passions for creating suitable conditions to
perform actions in pursuit of excellence. Tagore says working for love is
freedom in action which is described as disinterested work in the Gita. It
is on the basis of the holistic vision that Indians have developed the
work-ethos of life. They found that all work irrespective of its nature have
to be directed towards a single purpose that is the manifestation of
essential divinity in man by working for the good of all
beings -lokasangraha. This vision was presented to us in the very first
mantra of lsopanishad which says that whatever exists in the Universe is
enveloped by God. How shall we enjoy this life then, if all are one? The
answer it provides is enjoy and strengthen life by sacrificing your
selfishness by not coveting other's wealth. The same motivation is given by
Sri Krishna in the Third Chapter of Gita when He says that 'He who shares
the wealth generated only after serving the people, through work done as a
sacrifice for them, is freed from all the sins. On the contrary those who
earn wealth only for themselves, eat sins that lead to frustration and
failure.'
The disinterested work finds expression in devotion, surrender and
equipoise. The former two are psychological while the third is the
strong-willed determination to keep the mind free of and above the dualistic
pulls of daily experiences. Detached involvement in work is the key to
mental equanimity or the state of nirdwanda. This attitude leads to a stage
where the worker begins to feel the presence of the Supreme Intelligence
guiding the empirical individual intelligence. Such de-personified
intelligence is best suited for those who sincerely believe in the supremacy
of organisational goals as compared to narrow personal success and
achievement.
Work culture means vigorous and arduous effort in pursuit of a given or
chosen task. When Bhagawan Sri Krishna rebukes Arjuna in the strongest words
for his unmanliness and imbecility in recoiling from his righteous duty it
is nothing but a clarion call for the highest work culture. Poor work
culture is the result of tamo guna overtaking one's mindset. Bhagawan's
stinging rebuke is to bring out the temporarily dormant rajo guna in Arjuna.
In Chapter 16 of the Gita Sri Krishna elaborates on two types of Work Ethic
viz. daivi sampat or divine work culture and asuri sampat or demonic work
culture.
Daivi work culture - means fearlessness, purity, self-control, sacrifice,
straightforwardness, self-denial, calmness, absence of fault-finding,
absence of greed, gentleness, modesty, absence of envy and pride.
Asuri work culture - means egoism, delusion, desire-centric, improper
performance, work which is not oriented towards service. It is to be noted
that mere work ethic is not enough in as much as a hardened criminal has
also a very good work culture. What is needed is a work ethic conditioned by
ethics in work.
It is in this light that the counsel 'yogah karmasu kausalam' should be
understood. Kausalam means skill or method or technique of work which is an
indispensable component of work ethic. Yogah is defined in the Gita itself
as 'samatvam yogah uchyate' meaning unchanging equipoise of mind. Tilak
tells us that performing actions with the special device of an equable mind
is Yoga. By making the equable mind as the bed-rock of all actions Gita
evolved the goal of unification of work ethic with ethics in work, for
without ethical process no mind can attain equipoise. Adi Sankara says that
the skill in performance of one's duty consists in maintaining the evenness
of mind in success and failure because the calm mind in failure will lead
him to deeper introspection and see clearly where the process went wrong so
that corrective steps could be taken to avoid such shortcomings in future.
The principle of reducing our attachment to personal gains from the work
done or controlling the aversion to personal losses enunciated in Ch.2 Verse
47 of the Gita is the foolproof prescription for attaining equanimity. The
common apprehension about this principle that it will lead to lack of
incentive for effort and work, striking at the very root of work ethic, is
not valid because the advice is to be judged as relevant to man's overriding
quest for true mental happiness. Thus while the common place theories on
motivation lead us to bondage, the Gita theory takes us to freedom and real
happiness.
Work Results
The Gita further explains the theory of non- attachment to the results of
work in Ch.18 Verses 13-15 the import of which is as under:
If the result of sincere effort is a success, the entire credit should not
be appropriated by the doer alone.
If the result of sincere effort is a failure, then too the entire blame does
not accrue to the doer.
The former attitude mollifies arrogance and conceit while the latter
prevents excessive despondency, de-motivation and self-pity. Thus both these
dispositions safeguard the doer against psychological vulnerability which is
the cause for the Modem Managers' companions like Diabetes, High B.P. Ulcers
etc.
Assimilation of the ideas behind 2.47 and 18.13-15 of the Gita leads us to
the wider spectrum of lokasamgraha or general welfare.
There is also another dimension in the work ethic. If the karm ayoga is
blended with bhaktiyoga then the work itself becomes worship, a seva yoga.
Manager's Mental Health
The ideas mentioned above have a close bearing on the end-state of a manager
which is his mental health. Sound mental health is the very goal of any
human activity more so management. An expert describes sound mental health
as that state of mind which can maintain a calm, positive poise or regain it
when unsettled in the midst of all the external vagaries of work life and
social existence. Internal constancy and peace are the pre- requisites for a
healthy stress-free mind.
Some of the impediments to sound mental health are
Greed -for power, position, prestige and money.
Envy -regarding others' achievements, success, rewards.
Egotism -about one's own accomplishments.
Suspicion, anger and frustration.
Anguish through comparisons.
The driving forces in today's rat-race are speed and greed as well as
ambition and competition. The natural fallout from these forces is erosion
of one's ethico-moral fibre which supersedes the value system as a means in
the entrepreneurial path like tax evasion, undercutting, spreading canards
against the competitors, entrepreneurial spying, instigating industrial
strife in the business rivals' establishments etc. Although these practices
are taken as normal business hazards for achieving progress, they always end
up as a pursuit of mirage -the more the needs the more the disappointments.
This phenomenon may be called as yayati-syndrome.
In Mahabharata we come across a king called Yayati who, in order to revel in
the endless enjoyment of flesh exchanged his old age with the youth of his
obliging youngest son for a mythical thousand years. However, he lost
himself in the pursuit of sensual enjoyments and felt penitent. He came back
to his son pleading to take back his youth. This yayati syndrome shows the
conflict between externally directed acquisitions, motivations and inner
reasoning, emotions and conscience.
Gita tells us how to get out of this universal phenomenon by prescribing the
following capsules.
Cultivate sound philosophy of life.
Identify with inner core of self-sufficiency
Get out of the habitual mindset towards the pairs of opposites.
Strive for excellence through work is worship.
Build up an internal integrated reference point to face contrary impulses,
and emotions
Pursue ethico-moral rectitude.
Cultivating this understanding by a manager would lead him to emancipation
from falsifying ego-conscious state of confusion and distortion, to a state
of pure and free mind i.e. universal, supreme consciousness wherefrom he can
prove his effectiveness in discharging whatever duties that have fallen to
his domain.
Bhagawan's advice is relevant here :
"tasmaat sarveshu kaaleshu mamanusmarah yuddha cha"
'Therefore under all circumstances remember Me and then fight' (Fight means
perform your duties)
Management Needs those Who Practise what the Preach
Whatever the excellent and best ones do, the commoners follow, so says Sri
Krishna in the Gita. This is the leadership quality prescribed in the Gita.
The visionary leader must also be a missionary, extremely practical,
intensively dynamic and capable of translating dreams into reality. This
dynamism and strength of a true leader flows from an inspired and
spontaneous motivation to help others. "I am the strength of those who are
devoid of personal desire and attachment. O Arjuna, I am the legitimate
desire in those, who are not opposed to righteousness" says Sri Krishna in
the 10th Chapter of the Gita.
The Ultimate Message of Gita for Managers
The despondent position of Arjuna in the first chapter of the Gita is a
typical human situation which may come in the life of all men of action some
time or other. Sri Krishna by sheer power of his inspiring words raised the
level of Arjuna's mind from the state of inertia to the state of righteous
action, from the state of faithlessness to the state of faith and
self-confidence in the ultimate victory of Dharma(ethical action). They are
the powerful words of courage of strength, of self confidence, of faith in
one's own infinite power, of the glory, of valour in the life of active
people and of the need for intense calmness in the midst of intense action.
When Arjuna got over his despondency and stood ready to fight, Sri Krishna
gave him the gospel for using his spirit of intense action not for his own
benefit, not for satisfying his own greed and desire, but for using his
action for the good of many, with faith in the ultimate victory of ethics
over unethical actions and truth over untruth. Arjuna responds by
emphatically declaring that all his delusions were removed and that he is
ready to do what is expected of him in the given situation.
Sri Krishna's advice with regard to temporary failures in actions is 'No
doer of good ever ends in misery'. Every action should produce results: good
action produces good results and evil begets nothing but evil. Therefore
always act well and be rewarded.
And finally the Gita's consoling message for all men of action is : He who
follows My ideal in all walks of life without losing faith in the ideal or
never deviating from it, I provide him with all that he needs (Yoga) and
protect what he has already got (Kshema).
In conclusion the purport of this essay is not to suggest discarding of the
Westem model of efficiency, dynamism and striving for excellence but to make
these ideals tuned to the India's holistic attitude of lokasangraha -for the
welfare of many, for the good of many. The idea is that these management
skills should be India-centric and not America-centric. Swami Vivekananda
says a combination of both these approaches will certainly create future
leaders of India who will be far superior to any that have ever been in the
world.
Finally let us see what great people opine about this sacred text.
"No work in all Indian literature is more quoted, because none is better
loved, in the West, than the Bhagavad-gita. Translation of such a work
demands not only knowledge of Sanskrit, but an inward sympathy with the
theme and a verbal artistry. For the poem is a symphony in which God is seen
in all things....The Swami does a real service for students by investing the
beloved Indian epic with fresh meaning. Whatever our outlook may be, we
should all be grateful for the labor that has lead to this illuminating
work."
Dr. Geddes MacGregor, Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Philosophy
University of Southern California
"The Gita can be seen as the main literary support for the great religious
civilization of India, the oldest surviving culture in the world. The
present translation and commentary is another manifestation of the permanent
living importance of the Gita."
Thomas Merton,
Theologian
"I am most impressed with A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada's scholarly
and authoritative edition of Bhagavad-gita. It is a most valuable work for
the scholar as well as the layman and is of great utility as a reference
book as well as a textbook. I promptly recommend this edition to my
students. It is a beautifully done book."
Dr. Samuel D. Atkins
Professor of Sanskrit, Princeton University
"...As a successor in direct line from Caitanya, the author of Bhagavad-gita
As It Is is entitled, according to Indian custom, to the majestic title of
His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. The great interest
that his reading of the Bhagavad-gita holds for us is that it offers us an
authorized interpretation according to the principles of the Caitanya
tradition."
Olivier Lacombe
Professor of Sanskrit and Indology, Sorbonne University, Paris
"I have had the opportunity of examining several volumes published by the
Bhaktivedanta Book Trust and have found them to be of excellent quality and
of great value for use in college classes on Indian religions. This is
particularly true of the BBT edition and translation of the Bhagavad-gita."
Dr. Frederick B. Underwood
Professor of Religion, Columbia University
"...If truth is what works, as Pierce and the pragmatists insist, there must
be a kind of truth in the Bhagavad-gita As It Is, since those who follow its
teachings display a joyous serenity usually missing in the bleak and
strident lives of contemporary people."
Dr. Elwin H. Powell
Professor of Sociology
State University of New York, Buffalo
"There is little question that this edition is one of the best books
available on the Gita and devotion. Prabhupada's translation is an ideal
blend of literal accuracy and religious insight."
Dr. Thomas J. Hopkins
Professor of Religion, Franklin and Marshall College
"The Bhagavad-gita, one of the great spiritual texts, is not as yet a common
part of our cultural milieu. This is probably less because it is alien per
se than because we have lacked just the kind of close interpretative
commentary upon it that Swami Bhaktivedanta has here provided, a commentary
written from not only a scholar's but a practitioner's, a dedicated lifelong
devotee's point of view."
Denise Levertov,
Poet
"The increasing numbers of Western readers interested in classical Vedic
thought have been done a service by Swami Bhaktivedanta. By bringing us a
new and living interpretation of a text already known to many, he has
increased our understanding manyfold."
Dr. Edward C Dimock, Jr.
Department of South Asian Languages and Civilization
University of Chicago
"The scholarly world is again indebted to A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada. Although Bhagavad-gita has been translated many times,
Prabhupada adds a translation of singular importance with his
commentary...."
Dr. J. Stillson Judah,
Professor of the History of Religions and Director of Libraries
Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, California
"Srila Prabhupada's edition thus fills a sensitive gap in France, where many
hope to become familiar with traditional Indian thought, beyond the
commercial East-West hodgepodge that has arisen since the time Europeans
first penetrated India.
"Whether the reader be an adept of Indian spiritualism or not, a reading of
the Bhagavad-gita As It Is will be extremely profitable. For many this will
be the first contact with the true India, the ancient India, the eternal
India."
Francois Chenique, Professor of Religious Sciences
Institute of Political Studies, Paris, France
"As a native of India now living in the West, it has given me much grief to
see so many of my fellow countrymen coming to the West in the role of gurus
and spiritual leaders. For this reason, I am very excited to see the
publication of Bhagavad-gita As It Is by Sri A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada. It will help to stop the terrible cheating of false and
unauthorized 'gurus' and 'yogis' and will give an opportunity to all people
to understand the actual meaning of Oriental culture."
Dr. Kailash Vajpeye, Director of Indian Studies
Center for Oriental Studies, The University of Mexico
"...It is a deeply felt, powerfully conceived and beautifully explained
work. I don't know whether to praise more this translation of the
Bhagavad-gita, its daring method of explanation, or the endless fertility of
its ideas. I have never seen any other work on the Gita with such an
important voice and style....It will occupy a significant place in the
intellectual and ethical life of modern man for a long time to come."
Dr. Shaligram Shukla
Professor of Linguistics, Georgetown University
"I can say that in the Bhagavad-gita As It Is I have found explanations and
answers to questions I had always posed regarding the interpretations of
this sacred work, whose spiritual discipline I greatly admire. If the
aesceticism and ideal of the apostles which form the message of the
Bhagavad-gita As It Is were more widespread and more respected, the world in
which we live would be transformed into a better, more fraternal place."
Dr. Paul Lesourd, Author
Professeur Honoraire, Catholic University of Paris
When I read the Bhagavad-Gita and reflect about how God created this
universe everything else seems so superfluous.
Albert Einstein
When doubts haunt me, when disappointments stare me in the face, and I see
not one ray of hope on the horizon, I turn to Bhagavad-gita and find a verse
to comfort me; and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming
sorrow. Those who meditate on the Gita will derive fresh joy and new
meanings from it every day.
Mahatma Gandhi
In the morning I bathe my intellect in the stupendous and cosmogonal
philosophy of the Bhagavad-gita, in comparison with which our modern world
and its literature seem puny and trivial.
Henry David Thoreau
The Bhagavad-Gita has a profound influence on the spirit of mankind by its
devotion to God which is manifested by actions.
Dr. Albert Schweitzer
The Bhagavad-Gita is a true scripture of the human race a living creation
rather than a book, with a new message for every age and a new meaning for
every civilization.
Sri Aurobindo
The idea that man is like unto an inverted tree seems to have been current
in by gone ages. The link with Vedic conceptions is provided by Plato in his
Timaeus in which it states..." behold we are not an earthly but a heavenly
plant." This correlation can be discerned by what Krishna expresses in
chapter 15 of Bhagavad-Gita.
Carl Jung
The Bhagavad-Gita deals essentially with the spiritual foundation of human
existence. It is a call of action to meet the obligations and duties of
life; yet keeping in view the spiritual nature and grander purpose of the
universe.
Prime Minister Nehru
The marvel of the Bhagavad-Gita is its truly beautiful revelation of life's
wisdom which enables philosophy to blossom into religion.
Herman Hesse
I owed a magnificent day to the Bhagavad-gita. It was the first of books; it
was as if an empire spoke to us, nothing small or unworthy, but large,
serene, consistent, the voice of an old intelligence which in another age
and climate had pondered and thus disposed of the same questions which
exercise us.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
In order to approach a creation as sublime as the Bhagavad-Gita with full
understanding it is necessary to attune our soul to it.
Rudolph Steiner
From a clear knowledge of the Bhagavad-Gita all the goals of human existence
become fulfilled. Bhagavad-Gita is the manifest quintessence of all the
teachings of the Vedic scriptures.
Adi Shankara
The Bhagavad-Gita is the most systematic statement of spiritual evolution of
endowing value to mankind. It is one of the most clear and comprehensive
summaries of perennial philosophy ever revealed; hence its enduring value is
subject not only to India but to all of humanity.
Aldous Huxley
The Bhagavad-Gita was spoken by Lord Krishna to reveal the science of
devotion to God which is the essence of all spiritual knowledge. The Supreme
Lord Krishna's primary purpose for descending and incarnating is relieve the
world of any demoniac and negative, undesirable influences that are opposed
to spiritual development, yet simultaneously it is His incomparable
intention to be perpetually within reach of all humanity.
Ramanuja
The Bhagavad-Gita is not seperate from the Vaishnava philosophy and the
Srimad Bhagavatam fully reveals the true import of this doctrine which is
transmigation of the soul. On perusal of the first chapter of Bhagavad-Gita
one may think that they are advised to engage in warfare. When the second
chapter has been read it can be clearly understood that knowledge and the
soul is the ultimate goal to be attained. On studying the third chapter it
is apparent that acts of righteousness are also of high priority. If we
continue and patiently take the time to complete the Bhagavad-Gita and try
to ascertain the truth of its closing chapter we can see that the ultimate
conclusion is to relinquish all the conceptualized ideas of religion which
we possess and fully surrender directly unto the Supreme Lord.
Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati
The Mahabharata has all the essential ingredients necessary to evolve and
protect humanity and that within it the Bhagavad-Gita is the epitome of the
Mahabharata just as ghee is the essence of milk and pollen is the essence of
flowers
Madhvacharya
Current Mood: Amazed
Current Music: normal
Posted in General | Permalink | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
THE ESSENCE OF HINDU SCRIPTURES.
bhattathiri | 28 June 2004, 2:02am
1. Please know that God is within you.
2 God is infinite love and peace.
3. God is the eternal light and joy that shine the whole universe.
4. People should rise to the occasion to do their duty.
5. People should reach the height and glory of God’s supreme presence.
6. The feeling that I and mine should be given up and see every thing equal.
7. Have an elevated thinking.
8. Remember God in the beginning, in the middle, and in the end for all ventures.
9. Be humble, pure, simple, and innocent and God is yours.
10. God in the form of love reside in everybody’ heart and be conscious of this at all times
Then your thoughts, words and actions will be of love.
11. The light of God will always illuminate the heart and light only can be seen inside and outside.
12. Come out of the darkness of ignorance enter into the light of knowledge then only we can feel the presence of God the light of all lights.
13. Let all our actions be as per the directions of God within us.
14. Ego should be avoided to allow everything to be done at the will of God.
15. God is the only reality, truth, and live for God alone.
16. Detachment to perishable things and attachment to only God will give peace of mind.
17. Desire for material things is the cause for all sorrows.
18. Taking more than one’s requirement will ultimately give grief.
19. Acquire knowledge which can’t be stolen or lost.
20. Enjoy always the sunshine of God’s splendor and glory.
21. Remember always God and live in tune with him.
22. Be happy and calm in all situations.
23. See, hear, and speak only good things,
23. Serve the needy and sick wholeheartedly.
24. Total surrender to God will give peace of mind.
25. Remember always the God’s grace for all achievements..
26. Avoid self praise and say only good things about others.
27. See everybody with respect irrespective of caste color and creed.
28. Anger, lust and ego are the only enemies.
29. Purify the heart for the God to sit in.
30. There is no greater virtue than humility, no vice greater than pride.
31. Be sincere in all works, work is worship.
32. Make God your friend, philosopher and guide.
33. Don’t get dejected in failure and fall, God’s grace will be upon us.
34. Always you are one with God and different from Him.
35. Like a flower give always the perfume of love and joy.
36. Pray for the awareness that always you may be in Him and He in you.
37. Remember always that everything in the Universe belongs to God, nothing is ours
38. We have got this birth at the will of God and we are on our way to Him.
39. Know that our goal is to rest in peace with God.
40. Always remember that we are the immortal spirit.
41. Chanting the name of God will save us from fear, doubt and anxiety.
42. Supreme knowledge is ultimate devotion to God.
43. What ever we do will be seen by the God.
44. Overeating, earning money by unlawful means, desire for others property are our weakness.
45 .We are all safe in the hands o god.
46. God manifesting Himself as a person; the object of worship of the bhaktas. By worshipping God as a person, devotees are able to assume human-like relationships with God, for example: God as parent, devotee as child; God as Lord, devotee as servant. It is also much easier for many people to develop love toward God when He is regarded as a person. Such love is capable of triggering a spiritual awakening once it is a pure, selfless love.
47. In this kaliyuga Chant always the name of God.
48. God can assume any form to protect the devotees.
49. To serve the devotees is equal to serve the God.
50.Awake, arise and do your duty justifiably . God will be always with you.
Current Mood: Cheerful
Current Music: normal
Posted in Religion | Permalink | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
SACRED TEXT MIRACLE
bhattathiri | 28 June 2004, 12:01am
Devotees believe that this hymn to Lord Krishna, the presiding deity of
Guruvayoor is a panacea for all ailments, arthritic parqlysis in particular,
and chant the hymn with all earnestness, sincerity and devotion. They come
all the way to Guruvayoor, offer worship and get cured.
The expression
Current Mood: Cheerful
Current Music: normal
Posted in Religion | Permalink | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Hinduism A-Z
bhattathiri | 27 June 2004, 11:59pm
A is for aum, the three-syllabled mantra that represents the sacred mystery in sound and vibratin.
B is for bhakti, deep devotion and love for the divine which softens which softens even hearts of stone.
C is for culture, the beauty of Hindu music, fine arts, drama, dance, literature and architecture.
D is for dharma, which is righteousness, cosmic order and duty, leading us on the right path.
E is for earth, our lovely blue planet, which we treat as sacred, protecting all its wonderful creatures.
F is for family, the precious cornerstone of Hindu life, culture, service and tradition.
G is for guru, our enlightened master who, knowing truth himself, can guide us there.
H is for hatha yoga, healthful physical science for vitality, energy-balancing and meditation.
I is for India, Bharata, motherland to one-sixth of humanity, holy land for Hindus everywhere.
J is for japa, repetitive, prayerful mantras which quiet emotion and empower the mind.
K is for karma, the law of cause and effect by which we determine our experience and destiny.
L is for lotus, the heart's inner shrine, where God dwells, ever serene, ever perfect.
M is for mauna, not talking, the inner silence known when words thoughts and actions are stilled.
N is for nonattachment, the art of living the simple life, without too many needs or desires.
O is for open-mindedness, the Hindu's tolerant freedom of thought, inquiry and belief.
P is for puja, mystic worship of the divine in our home shrine and holy temples and places.
Q is for quest, seeking to know, "Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going?"
R is the for reincarnation, our immortal soul's journey from biorth to rebirth. We do not fear death.
S is for samskaras, sacraments sanctifying life's passages: name-giving, marriage, death and more.
T is for tilaka, forehead marks worn in honor of our unique and varied lineages.
U is for utsava, our many home and temple festivals, full of bhakti, fun, feasting, and family sharing.
V is for Vedas, our oldest and holiest book, the word of God recorded in 100,000 Sanskrit verses.
W is for wealth (artha), one of life's four goals, along with love, Dharma and enlightenment.
X is for xerophily, the ability of certain plants and animals to thrive in India's hot, arid plains.
Y is for yoga, union of the soul with God which brings release from worldly bondage.
Z is for zeal, the fervor with which we perform service, go on pilgrimage and greet our holy religious leaders.
http://www.eeshvandana.com/atoz.htm
Current Mood: Cheerful
Current Music: normal
Posted in Religion | Permalink | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Religion is the means of realizing dharma
bhattathiri | 27 June 2004, 11:58pm
Religion is the means of realizing dharma, artha, kama and moksa. These four are called purusarthas.
In Tamil, dharma is called "aram"; artha is known as "porul'; and kama and moksa are called "inbam, " and vidu respectively. "Artha" occurs in the term "purusarthas", but it is itself one of the purusarthas? What a man wants for himself in his life- the aims of a man's life- are the purusarthas. What does a man want to have? He wants to live happily without lacking for anything. There are two types of happiness: the first is ephemeral; and the second is everlasting and not subject to diminution. Kama or in barn is ephemeral happiness and denotes worldly pleasure, worldly desires. Moksa or vidu is everlasting happiness, not transient pleasure. It is because people are ignorant about such happiness, how elevated and enduring it is, that they hanker after the trivial and momentary joys of kama.
Our true quest must be for the fourth artha, that is vidu or moksa. The majority of people today yearn for the third artha that is kama. When you eat you are happy. When you are appointed a judge of the high court you feel elated. You are delighted when presented with a welcome address by some institution, aren't you? Such types of happiness are not enduring. The means by which such happiness is earned is porul. Porul may be corn, money, and house. It is this porul that is the way to happiness. But the pleasure gained from material possessions is momentary and you keep constantly hungering for more.
Moksa is the state of supreme bliss and there is no quest beyond it. We keep going from place to place and suffer hardships of all kinds. Our destination is our home. A prisoner goes to his vidu or his home after he is released. But the word vidu also means release or liberation. Since we are now imprisoned in our body, we commit the grave mistake of believing that we are the body. The body is in fact our goal. Our real home is the bliss called moksa. We must find release from the goal that is our body and dwell in our true home. God has sentenced us to goal (that is he has imprisoned us in our body) for our sins. If we practice virtue he will condone our sins and release us from the prison of our body before the expiry of the sentence. We must desist from committing sinful acts so that our term of imprisonment is not extended and endeavor to free ourselves and arrive in our true home, our true home that is the Lord. This home is bliss that passeth understanding, bliss that is not bound by the limitations of time, space and matter.
Lastly, I speak of the first purusartha, dharma. Dharma denotes beneficent action, good or virtuous deeds. The word has come to mean giving, charity. "Give me dharmam. Do dharmam, mother, " cries the beggar. We speak of "dana-dharma" [as a portmanteau word]. The commandments relating to charity are called "ara-kattalai"in Tamil. Looked at in this way, giving away our artha or porul will be seen to be dharma. But how do we, in the first place, acquire the goods to be given away in charity? The charity practiced in our former birth- by giving away our artha- it is that brings us rewards in this birth. The very purpose of owning material goods is the practice of dharma. Just as material possessions are a means of pleasure, so is dharma a means of material possessions. It is not charity alone that yields rewards in the form of material goods; all dharma will bring their own material rewards.
If we practice dharma without expecting any reward in the belief that Isvara gives us what he wills- and in a spirit of dedication, the impurities tainting our being will be removed and we will obtain the bliss that is exalted. The pursuit of dharma that brings in its wake material rewards will itself become the means of attaining the Paramporul. Thus we see that dharma, while being an instrument for making material gain and through it of pleasure, becomes the means of liberation also if it is practiced unselfishly. Through it we acquire material goods and are helped to keep up the practice of dharma. This means that artha itself becomes a basis of dharma. It is kama or desire alone that neither fulfils itself nor becomes an instrument of fulfilling some other purpose. It is like the water poured on burning sands. Worse, it is an instrument that destroys everything dharmic thoughts, material possessions, liberation it-self.
All the same it is difficult, to start with, to be without any desire altogether. Religion serves to rein in desire little by little and take a man, step by step, from petty ephemeral pleasure to the ultimate bliss. First we are taught the meaning and implications of dharma and how to practice it, then we are instructed in the right manner in which material goods are to be acquired so as to practice this dharma; and, thirdly, we are taught the proper manner in which desires may be satisfied. It is a process of gaining maturity and wisdom to forsake petty pleasure for the ultimate bliss of moksa.
Moksa is release from all attachments. It is a state in which the Self remains ever in untrammeled freedom and blessedness. The chief purpose of religion is to teach us how this supreme state may be attained.
We know for certain that ordinary people do not achieve eternal happiness. The purpose of any religion is to lead them towards such happiness. Everlasting blessedness is obtained only by forsaking the quest for petty pleasures. The dictates of dharma help us to abandon the pursuit of sensual enjoyments and endeavor for eternal bliss. They are also essential to create a social order that has the same high purpose, the liberation of all. Religion, with its goal of liberation, lays down the tenets of dharma. That is why the great understand the word dharma itself to mean religion.
kamakoti.org
Current Mood: Cheerful
Current Music: normal
Posted in Religion | Permalink | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Scriptures help devotion
bhattathiri | 27 June 2004, 11:56pm
Scriptures have given various definitions to the term devotion. One can cite numerous examples
from the lives of saints and sages to give illustrations for different kinds of devotions
practiced by them. The company of these men has helped the devout people attain distinguishing
attributes and their influence will certainly lead to changes in their very outlook and lead them
on the right path.
The Garuda Purana has listed eight different characteristics of a devotee as expounded by the Lord
Himself. The first one is to serve sages and saints who are His true representatives. The second
is to worship the Lord without any inhibitions. The next is to personally offer prayers to the
Lord without seeking the help of
intermediaries.
The Lord does not like His devotees to exhibit pomp and show while offering worship and austerity
is the fourth attribute. The next is the recitation of scriptures, especially Puranas which sing
His glory - and to get deeply moved by the righteousness, valor and grace exhibited by the Lord as
explained in these works. This is listed as the sixth quality of a devotee.
The seventh trait is to think of the Almighty always as a true Saviour. The last characteristic is
not to seek anything else from the Lord than His Holy Feet.
The Garuda Purana has declared unequivocally that any one who possessed these eight attributes
would be considered as a true devotee of the Lord irrespective of class, caste and other
distinctions, said Sri Velukkudi V. Krishnan in his Bhagavatham discourse. Like the cow which
removes all the dirt and other bad elements from the skin of a new-born calf with its tongue, the
Lord removes all the bad qualities of a man and makes Him fit to obtain His grace.
The Lord also does not expect the true devotee to offer prayers extensively with the attendant
extravagant display. All that he wants is true devotion on the part of a man and He is immensely
pleased if he offers prayers with leaves, flowers, fruits and water. Even if all these things
could not be got ready, he can offer prayer with the help of even water which is easily available.
The Lord Himself, during His incarnation as Krishna, has declared that all people can get closer
to Him by hearing or reading the Bhagavatam. When the Lord was about to leave this world after
fulfilling the objectives of his incarnation, the saint, Uddhava, and others lamented as to who
will be there to guide them. The Lord said one could see Him in the form of Srimad Bhagavatham.
That is why this work is held in great esteem by one and all.
Hare Krishna
Current Mood: Cheerful
Current Music: normal
Posted in Religion | Permalink | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Friend
bhattathiri | 27 June 2004, 11:54pm
Around the corner I have a friend,
In this great city that has no end,
Yet the days go by and weeks rush on,
And before I know it, a year is gone.
And I never see my old friends face,
For life is a swift and terrible race,
He knows I like him just as well,
As in the days when I rang his bell.
And he rang mine but we were younger then,
And now we are busy, tired men.
Tired of playing a foolish game,
Tired of trying to make a name.
"Tomorrow" I say! "I will call on Jim
Just to show that I'm thinking of him."
But tomorrow comes and tomorrow goes,
And distance between us grows and grows.
Around the corner, yet miles away,
"Here's a telegram sir," "Jim died today."
And that's what we get and deserve in the end.
Around the corner, a vanished friend. Remember to always say what you mean.
If you love someone, tell them. Don't be afraid to express yourself. Reach
out and tell someone what they mean to you. Because when you decide that it
is the right time it might be too late.
Seize the day. Never have regrets. And most importantly, stay close to your
friends and family, for they helped you make a better person that you are
today.
Current Mood: Cheerful
Current Music: normal
Posted in General | Permalink | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Temple and Human Body
bhattathiri | 27 June 2004, 11:53pm
Our temples are built, strictly following the rules of Agamic Text. A temple can be compared to the human body, every key fragment of a temple represents an important part of human body. The main parts of a temple are Garbhagrahamm - a stead containing the image of God, The Vimanamn - a stucture over the Garbhagrahamm, Ardhamandapam - a corridor in front of the Garbhagrahamm, Prakaram - a pathway around the Garbhagrahamm, and The Gopuram - the main gateway of the temple.
Indian temple is only a reflection of the physical form of the human body. According to the Tirumular "our body is a temple". The great cosmos is reflected in the human body. The Garbhagrahamm is the most important part of a temple. Like a flame radiates heat, The image in the Garbhagrahamm becomes a storehouse of spiritual power from which flow a stream of grace to the soul of a devotee by concentrating on the image with appropriate mantras. According to the latest scientific theory, the sound once produced never dies. The hymns rendered our
great saints before the idols remain immortal by Divine grace. It is to preserve the sound waves that the Garbhagrahamm of our temples are so cleverly built. The position where the main deity is installed is compared to the forehead of human, where Lord Siva's third eye is situated. That's why kumkum and vibhoodhi ( the holy ash) are put on the forehead.
The Vimanamm over the Garbhagrahamm attracts holy powers from the cosmos, like our nose attracts pranavayu (oxygen) from air. In all Siva temples the Garbhagrahamm of the Goddess is found in the place where heart has its abode in the human body. The big finger of the leg is an important part of the body where in all the nerve systems of the body end there. Those who know acupuncture can very well appreciate the importance of the big finger of the legs. It is a custom in Hindu way of life that one should salute a saint by laying down his body on the earth and by touching the tip of the big fingers of the legs of the saint. This is the reason why Raja Gopuram is considered as the gross body of the Deity installed in the Temple and devotees unable to visit the Temple simply consider the Raja Gopuram itself as the Deity and offer their obeisance from wherever they are.
Generally, Raja Gopuram consists of an odd number of stories - 3, 5, 7, 9 etc. Three represents the three states - waking, dream and deep sleep - in which we gain all our experiences. Five indicates the five senses through which we experience the outer world; seven signifies, the mind and intellect in addition to the five senses; and nine represents the above seven to addition to ego and heart (not the mechanical organ `heart' in our gross body).
The significance of entering through the Raja Gopuram is that when one visits a Temple, one should turn his antakarana or inner equipment (consisting of the five senses, mind, intellect, ego and heart. through which he experiences the outer world), toward the Deity installed in the Temple and attempt to merge with the Deity
A temple is the house of God and a place of worship for all. Although God is omnipresent and His worship can be done in all places, still His presence is felt more in a temple than anywhere else.
The temple provides an environment, which helps human to commune with the Divine. By constant and regular worship performed by the devotees of the temple, holy vibrations are created and maintained there which help people. Indeed, measurements and proportions are crucial to the proper construction of a Hindu temple. Like the mandalam, the Hindu preoccupation with mathematics originated with the Vedic sacrificial altar. For example, in order for the temple to face east, its width must be a perfect multiple of the fraction three-eighths. This is only the simplest of the necessary calculations. The outer dimensions of the temple must also satisfy five other equations relating to stars, planets and the passage of time. Just as the mandalam brings order to a degenerate world, careful mathematical measurements express the structure of the Universe.
The Garbhagraham is dark, and its walls are largely undecorated. This starkly contrasts the exterior of the temple, which is often highly ornate and replete with thousands of sculpted images.
The simple darkness of the sanctum reflects its function as a "womb house," one of the meanings of Garbhagraham. A second possible interpretation of Garbhagraham symbolism is that God resides in each individual. The mandalam is a pattern of powers in the likeness of the human body, and the deity dwells in the Garbhagraham at the center of the mandalam. The logical extension of this symbolism is that God exists in each person in a very real sense, ideally.
As devotees work their way from the exterior of the temple to the sanctum, they shed the influences of the material world and find their center of being. They become one with God.
In temple ritual, the Garbhagraham is seen as the "seed" of the temple. In the rite of gharbadhana, a pot containing precious stones and other ritual items is buried below the Garbhagraham.
The seed symbolically germinates, growing directly upward through the center of the sikhara, the spire positioned directly over the sanctum and reaching towards the heavens. The sikharam, also referred to as the Vimanam, is highly symbolic as well and deserves its own treatment.On the vimanam rests the kalasam. The kalasam can be thought of as the roots of an inverted tree, whose trunk runs along the cosmic axis of the temple and whose branches reach down toward Earth.The representation of the Hindu temple as an upside-down tree encourages devotees to invert themselves and find their true roots, thus becoming a temple themselves. By transforming himself or herself into a temple, the devotee invites God to take up residence within.
In a way, humans are born upside down-they are rooted in the material aspect of the world. Just as devotees find their true centers by making their way toward the Garbhagraham, devotees also find their true origin by gazing up toward the kalasam. The unity of the Garbhagraham and kalasam is reflected in the anatomy of the kalasam itself, which on many modern temples contains two structural motifs recognized as lotus flowers.Through its rich symbolism, the Hindu temple facilitates the ascent of man toward heaven and vice versa-matter flows up while spirit flows down.
www.pariharam.com.
.
Current Mood: Amazed
Current Music: normal
Posted in General | Permalink | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Health tips
bhattathiri | 27 June 2004, 11:52pm
a.. Drink 2 glasses of pure drinking water every morning immediately after brushing your teeth. This helps to remove acidity, biliousness and constipation.
a.. Drink water 1 hour before or after food so that when you eat, your gastric juices will be in the right concentration to facilitate digestion.
b.. Do not eat when you're not hungry. This will lead to indigestion and promote formation of toxins in the body.
c.. Avoid pastries and cakes as they get fermented in the system and may lead to constipation.
d.. Observe fasting atleast once a month. Drink only fresh fruit and vegetable juices on that day as it helps to clean the system.
e.. Eat atleast one fruit like a banana, guava or two slices of papaya every night at bedtime to facilitate bowel movement in the morning.
f.. Exercise regularly (preferably yogasana) 8 to 20 minutes every morning to keep the mind and body fresh, throughout the day.
g.. If you have a mild headache or stomachache, try applying a wet towel for a few minutes on the affected part. This sometimes helps to get over certain types of pains.
h.. Soak a teaspoonful of methi in half a cup of thick curd (not sour) for 2 hours. This can be consumed to control diarrhoea.
i.. If you have gastric trouble, try drinking water in which jeera has been soaked overnight at regular intervals.
source. health magazine
Current Mood: Cheerful
Current Music: normal
Posted in General | Permalink | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Lord Guruvayurappan
bhattathiri | 27 June 2004, 1:57pm
Lord Guruvayurappan,Sriman Narayana in his form as Krishna is enshrined in Guruvayur, a shrine that is believed to cure all incurable diseases and is thronged by devotees round the year. Situated about 30 km. from Trichur, South Malabar, Guruvayur is a simple structure as compared to many other temples of India but nonetheless has its own charm about it. The name Guruvayur is derived from Guru, Brihaspati, who is the revered preceptor of Devas and Vayu, Wind.
The stories behind the name
There are two versions as to how the names of Guru and Vayu came to be associated with this shrine. The idol installed in the temple was originally installed in Dwaraka and was worshipped by Brahma who gifted it to Lord Vishnu. At the end of the Mahabaratha war, due to the curse of sage Dhurvasa, the Yadavas, the clan in which Krishna was brought up, quarrelled among themselves and died, while Dwaraka was submerged under the sea. But before this event, Krishna instructed Uddava to ask Guru and Vayu to remove the idol to a safer place and install it there. Accordingly they consecrated the idol in this place near a lake full of lotuses, with Shiva and Parvati on one side.
The other and more popular legend has it that King Janamejaya, the great grandson of Arjuna, performed the Sarpa Yaga, in which he killed hundreds of thousands of serpents to avenge for the death of his father Parikshit, son of Abhimanyu, by snake bite. Because of this sin of killing serpents in their hordes, Janamejaya was afflicted with leprosy. He was then advised to worship the image of Lord Krishna which was lying submerged under the ocean in Dwaraka, installing it in an appropriate place so that his disease may be cured.
With due efforts the idol was retrieved and with the help of Guru and Vayu it was installed here. King Janamejaya performed a long penance before Guruvayurappan and was cured of his disease.
The temple
Though the well-maintained structure does not wear a worn-out appearance, it may safely be concluded that it must have been in existence at least from the 16th century AD going by the fact that Narayana Bhatta wrote his celebrated Narayaniyam by the end of the 16th century.
The temple had been through ups and downs during the days of invasion. When Tippu Sultan invaded the area in 1789 AD, the idol was removed to Ambalapuzha in Travancore and was worshipped there for around two years. A small shrine exists in Ambalapuzha even to this day, where the king of Travancore has arranged to offer daily naivedhya in memory of the event.
Devotees enter the temple in Guruvayur by the eastern entrance. The sanctum sanctorum is known as Srikoil. Entry into the sanctum sanctorum is permitted only for the priests - Melsanthi, Tantri, Othikkan and Keezhsanti. All the other devotees get a darshan of the Lord only from some distance away.
The idol
The Krishna idol is very unique in that it has four arms. Krishna, it is said, was seen with four arms only on very few occasions. He was seen thus at the time of his birth by his mother Devaki. He stood in his viswa-roopa in the hall of Kauravas and gave the inner-vision to Dhrthrastra, when he was negotiating for the Pandavas and He appeared with His four hands again before Arjuna during Gita-upadesa. The deity of Krishna in Guruvayur has four hands, with the upper right and left arms holding the chakra and the conch and the lower arms holding a lotus and a mace.
It was Adi Sankaracharya who set the puja routine for Guruvayur temple, which opens at 3.00 a.m., very early in the morning. Different abhishekas like the Taila (oil) abhisheka, Sankha (conch) abhisheka and Kumbha abhisheka are performed. Naivedyam and alankara are offered to the deity and the regular puja goes on up to 9.00 p. m. everyday.
Festivals
The mandalam festival is celebrated for a period of 41 days, commencing from the first Vrischika in the month of Kartika. During this month, Kartika, the day on which the Lord rendered his Gita-upadesa in Sukhla paksha Ekadasi is celebrated in a grand manner. The other festival is celebrated for 10 days in Magha, when the sun is in Kumbha. Krishna Janmashtami which falls during the month of August is celebrated with much fanfare.
The temple has survived many threats feom foreign invaders and still flourising and blessing many devotees.
source. chennaionline
Current Mood: Cheerful
Posted in Religion | Permalink | Comments (4) | Trackbacks (0)