Friday, June 28, 2019

Authentic Scripture

There are so many scriptures in the world in support of their respective views or religion. But which one is authentic?

That which is impersonal, independent, eternal, and continuing for ever as a living tradition and still available for anyone's immediate experience alone could be considered as authentic.

Vedas alone seem to have all the above qualities. Veda means "to know". As a noun it also means knowledge. It is very obvious that knowledge is everywhere. So it is infinite.Vedas themselves declare that they are infinite. But still its manifestation happens through Rishis and its transmission happens through unbroken chain of teachers and students who are all finite. Also the Vedas unanimously declare that the entire universe is that supreme being or God on whom every particular being is absolutely dependent for existence. This gives credibility to Vedas beyond doubt.

Here are some more reasons:

1. Vedas, unlike scriptures of other religions, are author-less and have been preserved through unbroken teacher-student tradition from time immemorial. The Rishis are not their authors as they never claimed so and they are only "SEERS" of the various mantras that form the infinite Vedas.

2. The meaning of Vedas culminate in the absolute Brahman as the universal,  eternal Self, indwelling and supporting the entire universe as the body. The Self of the universe, which is essentially the universe, always remains as the source/abode/destination of all entities with name/forms. Every particular being absolutely depends on this Vedic God manifesting as this universe and this is available for everybody's immediate experience. This cannot be denied by anyone belonging to any faith or no faith. All the many embodied "individual selves" can be said to be reflections or instances of this universal Self. All the many infinite individual 'selves' can also be visualized as inseparably rooted in THAT universal Self as it pervades everything.

3. The entire universe is also looked upon as a manifestation of Vedas and every entity in nature is performing its respective duty which goes by the name of sva-dharma. Humans are supposed to emulate that by engaging in duties according to their nature.

4. The four letters of the sacred syllable OM which is the essence of Vedas, stand for the waking, dreaming, deep sleep and the final absolute state of silence or Bliss, all denoting the absolute Brahman situated as the inner Self which always remains as the absolute.

5. The essence of Veda which is the universal Self that abides in all, by itself is eternal and timeless  and as an entity that seem to be born continuously in various infinite forms of beings, it has both the non-historic as well as historic aspect of truth.

Thus Vedas are authentic and eternal as it has its roots in the universal Self that can never be denied by any one. Every other scripture comes and goes in time.

All that is there in the universe are in the Vedas and there is nothing in the world that is not in the Vedas. All the 33 letters in the Sanskrit alphabet stands for the 33 devatas, who are the divinities working behind 33 tattvas or realities in the world. All these devatas are said to be residing in the body of beings who are vedically knowledgeable. So such people are manifestations of God. There can be crores of such people. Hence the justification for 33 crore devatas.

Every entity in the world is "not Self". So they are teaching Brahman through "neti neti" or "Not this, Not this". This can also be understood as "not just this, not just this" as Brahman is the all pervading spirit Self of the entire universe. This establishes Brahman through anvaya and vyatireka (directly and indirectly). So, the individual self and the entire universe are simultaneously identified with Brahman as the universal Self. This is because the self and non-self have no separate identification apart from the universal Self. The identification of all name/forms thus culminates in the Vedic God, Brahman only.

All kinds of world views are included in this Vedic universal view. Dvaita and V.Advaita are not violated here as the Absolute universal Self is neither the subject/jiva nor the object/jada. Brahman as the universal Self always remains as the substratum of both on whom everything depends. The individual selves could be looked upon as the reflection (in the medium of the body) of the universal Self (Ishwara) (as in Dvaita). The individual embodied self can also be looked upon as an inseparable portion or shareera or body of the universal Self (paramAtma) or God as in Vishishtadvaita. The center of the larger circle (brahmanda or universe) and the center of the smaller circle (pindanda or jiva) coincide in such a way that they are ONE. This is Advaita.

Also the realization that Brahman is my "SELF" (in a possessive sense, just like a body would feel with regard to the Self within) is definitely not opposed to Advaita. All sadhana to attain selflessness" is to locate oneself or exist in Brahman, the universal Self which is always non-dual.

So the idea of svatantra-paratantra as in Dvaita is confirmed by the fact that all jivas (embodied selves) are absolutely dependent on Ishwara or Vishnu manifesting as the universe. This is clearly brought out in the Purusha sukta of Veda, Bhagavad Gita-11th chapter and Vishnu sahasranama dhyana sloka.

As all jivas are in the universe, the individual selves obviously will be an inseparable part of the universal Self or God. The universal Self and individual self can be said to be existing in each other.
The above Vishishtadvaitic view also is satisfied which culminates in the advaitic view where the non-dual Universal Self alone is cognized everywhere as everything else is essentially in That.

The Self of the universe is thus one and has the ability to manifest in infinite forms at the same time. Just like fire though essentially one can manifest in many forms. This may also mean the oneness of nirguna and saguna brahman which Sri Shankara has alluded to many times in his BS bhashya.
Nirgunatva is devoid of prakrithic guna. Sagunatva is the ability to support and sustain the entire universe as His "body".

So Vedic scripture alone that has its ultimate meaning culminating in the absolute universal Self, which is eternal, indubitable and spiritual can be accepted as authentic.

Objection:
There are many situations where the prayers of devotees practicing different religions have come true. There are saints and spiritual people in all religions. Theoretically whether it is a Vedic ritual or a prayer from other religion the results are not always positive. There is always a 50-50 chance of the intended wish to happen. So based on this, why should not other non-vedic scripture be accepted as authentic?

Answer:
In the above example even an atheistic person will have a 50-50 chance in getting his wishes or actions fulfilled. Therefore authenticity should not be based on the criteria that some prayers or vedic ritual yields positive results or not. Instead it should be based on the criteria that it is "impersonal, independent, eternal, and continuing for ever as a living tradition and still available for anyone's immediate experience".

As explained above, Vedas alone will qualify as authentic from that point. Also when prayers from other non-vedic religions come true, it is due to the grace of the Vedic God, Brahman only as He is everywhere. Gods of other religions have no existence apart from the Vedic God who is everywhere.

Even atheists and people of an faiths cannot deny the fact that they are absolutely depending on the Vedic God manifesting as this universe, for their existence. So wherever the God of other religion is, He can never be external to and therefore different from Vedic God who is everywhere.

Objection:
If the authenticity is based on the meaning that culminates in God manifesting as the universe then all other scriptures other than vedas like Ramayana, Mahabharata, Puranas and so on also become equivalent to vedas right?

Answer:
Vedas alone are well known as apourusheya or authorless and as the ultimate meaning culminates in the absolute Self, they are self valid. All other scriptures are known to have authors and so have a beginning in time but still they gain validity as they reflect the Vedic truths.

Namaste
Suresh

Friday, June 21, 2019

Singing compositions on non-Hindu gods in Carnatic music

There are some controversies going on currently where some renowned Carnatic music singers like TM Krishnan, have decided to sing and release CDs praising non-Vedic gods like Jesus and Allah in the traditional carnatic style.

They say that carnatic music is not just for the brahmins/Hindus and their vedic gods..So what is the problem if Kirtanas and bhajans are composed on Jesus and Allah and sung in Carnatic music concerts?

They also tend to make a point that brahmins had monopolized the carnatic music world in the past and this should not be allowed to continue. Great Legendary singers like MS Subbalakshmi had to brahminize herself to become acceptable or popular. But her old songs, recorded much before her brahminization are more soulful and her songs later are kind of filled with fear.

Analysis: 

The above problem can be split to make it easy to comprehend:

1. Is it okay to compose or replace hindu god names in the existing    carnatic songs with non-hindu god names and sing songs on non-vedic gods in both carnatic or hindusthani style?

2. Is the carnatic music world dominated by brahmins and if yes, is it    a problem?

Answer 1:
Carnatic and Hindusthani style of music has been traditionally Hindu and so naturally the early composers and artists could not think any other gods outside of the Hindu religion. But recently many non-Hindu religious leaders, predominantly Christian and possibly some muslims have begun to adopt many cultural aspects of Hindu religion including traditional carnatic music, dance and so on
and obviously the prime purpose is conversion only as it will help new hindu converts to get the feeling that the non-Hindu religion is something not foreign but local.

Some people may also argue that it could be due to pure love for their partcular God and Jesus and so how does it matter if songs are composed and sung in concerts as music is universal. Yes, philosophically for Hindus it is not a problem as God in Hinduism is all pervading and so universal.
There are already many gods in the Hindu religion and adding few more extra names should not matter much. Infact all names and forms point to the same non-dual Hindu God who is the all pervading and indwelling spirit Self of all. All kinds of bhakti is nothing other than expressions of love for God who is the universal Self.

But culturally it may create confusion. Concerts could end up as pot-pourri of various culture which definitely will not be palatable for Hindus or for people of non-hindu faiths too. It is like mixing sweet, sour, bitter and salty dishes together. This will cease to entertain anyone.

There could be a another big problem for Christians and Muslims! As the basis of traditional Carnatic music is sapta swara and the adhara sruthi has its origin in the sacred syllable OM. Whatever may be the lyrics or God that is praised in the song, it is these swaras that finally stick to the mind and these mystic sounds and swaras gradually gives rise to atma-paramAtma jnana. This obviously goes against the tenets of non-Hindu religion.

Answer 2:

Actually people from all castes and traditions within the Hindu tradition have enriched the carnatic music. But it also a fact that majority of the early composers and contributors for Carnatic music were brahmins.

So traditional music naturally flows in the the community and so even today it can be said that it is dominated by brahmins. But true teachers who are also brahmins have never denied teaching non-brahmins. If there are many non-brahmin artists today it is because of their brahmin teachers. Also
these brahmin musicians have been singing songs composed by many non-brahmin saints and composers. So there is no point in trying to bring caste politics in the realm of carnatic music. True Brahmins are ideal practitioners of Hindu cultures comprizing of jnyAna, bhakti and vairagya. So what is the problem if it is dominated by them or if new comers mimic them?

This Brahmin or Hindu domination, is infact very legitimate as it was cherished and nourished by them in all periods of time. The presence of traditional Brahmins along with their non-brahmin students adopting the brahmin culture definitely poses a threat to the non-hindu cultures. Probably it is because of that the non-Hindu musicians are making these objections with the intention to
de-brahminize or de-Hinduize traditional music.

As already said even if non-hindu and anti-hindu practitioners try to separate brahminic or hindu aspects from the carnatic music tradition, they still cannot remove the sapta svaras, ragas and gamakas which has its roots in the sacred syllable OM. They cannot also separate Hindu ideas of all pervading nature of God, karma, dharma, punarjanma, jnana, bhakti and vairagya from the very structure of carnatic music. This definitely poses a threat to non-Hindu religions.

According to Swami Vivekananda, the ideal of Hindu Religion is to make everybody a Brahmin - meaning a spiritual person. So if Brahminism means spirituallty, then it is perfectly alright if carnatic music and dance is dominated by Brahmins and others who are adopting Brahminc culture.
It helps everybody to attain Brahman!

Namaste
Suresh

Thursday, June 20, 2019

Is God justified in using His powers

In all the many Vedic Hindu scriptures, various gods use all kinds of weapons
and special powers and they seem to be always invariably fighting, defeating
or even killing rAkshasas or demons.

Vishnu for example is very well known as 'devata pakshapati' - one who is always
partial towards devatas. Rakshasas in general are okay to worship Brahma or Shiva
but they never like Vishnu. Infact they worship other devatas to obtain boons
so that they can fight Vishnu.

But in every incarnation Vishnu uses his powers to defeat the Rakshasas.
His Chakra never knows any failure. Vishnu uses it most of the time to eliminate
Rakshasas. As Vishnu is the Supreme God who is all powerful, there is no real
greatness if he is using his powers to defeat or destroy rakshasas. As those
Rakshasas are jivas anyway, who are always limited.

Due to difference in swarupa between Vishnu and other Rakshasas there is no
level playing field in His fight with Rakshasas. So what real greatness is there
in Vishnu's or any other god/devata's victory over the Rakshasas?

A:

If the president of a country uses his force to fight the criminals who break the
law of the land, is he considered great or not? similar is the case here.

Vishnu is the supreme Lord of the universe and yes, he is partial towards devatas
who always tread the path of dharma. Infact Vishnu sacrifices His own body to
create this universe and so is the very embodiment of Yagya or sacrifice. He is
identified with Yagya itself- Yagyo vai Vishnu. So there is definitely no level
playing field as no being can beat that supreme sacrifice.

Even Rakshasas depend on Vishnu who is manifesting as the entire universe.
So Vishnu has every right to use His powers to fight or control Rakshasas.
Devatas are the controlling divinities behind every natural element in the
universe. They are thus unconditionally offering themselves for all beings
to keep them in existence. This selfless act of devatas is nothing but dharma.
Rakshasas are those who oppose the devatas - meaning they take things from the
world for their existence and enjoyment and seldom give back anything.
So they are essentially selfish and always looking to exploit nature for their
sense enjoyment. Most of the time devatas in the natural elements will be able
to tolerate or even defend themselves. But when things go out of control, Vishnu
incarnates to protect the devatas and destroy the Rakshasas who are actually the
breakers of the law of dharma.

Vishnu is great because He empowers devatas or selfless beings in their fight
against Rakshasas who are essentially bad or adharmic or selfish. He is also
justified in using His powers to control them in order to re-establish the law
of dharma.

Vishnu is also great because He is not completely eliminating Rakshasas.
Infact the entire universe is His body where all the many different beings
including Rakshasas exist. Sometimes devatas may get egoistic also and Rakshasas
are needed to keep devatas in control. So Vishnu never uses His powers for His
personal gain. He always uses it to sustain dharma. Adharma personified by
Rakshasas actually depend or thrives on dharma/devatas only. Some even adharma
is tolerated as it helps to bring out the greatness of dharma.

So the allegation against Vishnu and other devatas that they use their
powers against Rakshasas stands refuted. Dharma is common to all including
Vishnu. All the many Gods including Vishnu will conform to the law of dharma
which is actually the level playing field for all, including Rakshasas.

Rakshasas like Vibheeshana, Bali and Prahlada, who respect dharma, almost
always worship Vishnu. So as a protector of dharma Vishnu and his devotees
or devatas are justified in using their powers to control those who break
the law of dharma.

Namaste
Suresh

Proper Upasana or Meditation

Proper Upasana, meditation or contemplation on Brahman, is based on proper
understanding or jnAna. Proper Jnana is to understand that Brahman is equally
present in all as the antaryAmi or innner Self of all.

This realization should make every sadhaka to seek the supreme truth or Brahman
everywhere and within oneself. Duty or dharma is thus two fold - Pravrutti and
Nivrutti. Serving Brahman who is everywhere through one's own profession with
thoughts, words and deeds aligned in accordance to one's capability or Guna is
Pravrutti and meditating on the supreme God or Brahman within oneself by
withdrawing senses and mind is Nivrutti.

The material returns that is obtained through Pravrutti which is one's own
profession is recommended to be utilized for sustaining oneself and family and part
of should also be given in charity to the deserving.

In Pravrutti there is a need to eradicate adharma or nishiddha or kamya karma.
Similarly in Nivrutti there is a need to eradicate kama and krodha (lust and anger).
In fact Parvrutti (action) and Nivrutti (meditation) are both inseparable and form
the two limbs of Dharma. While Pravrutti forms the service to the external
Brahman indwelling in all, Nivrutti is the service to the same Brahman indwelling
in one's own self. Though the Brahman is non-dual, the path towards the same in
the dualistic world comprising of right and wrong, poses a big challenge.

There is a great need therefore to exercise control over the senses and mind
and lead them on the path of the right Dharma or Svadharma that is compatible
with the nature of the body with which one is born. Controlling oneself from not
engaging in activities that is not prescribed or that which is not compatible
with the nature or guna of the body is very much essential. This self-control
is nothing but tapas or which is a must for yagya or sacrifice or worship. Vedas
are very clear that Brahman can be attained only through tapas (tapasA brahma
vijigyAsasva) which is essentially sense control. All the Vedic scriptures
provide the needed dos and donts for truth seekers but still when any subtle
doubt arises it is recommended to follow the tradition of one's own family, guru
or preceptors.

Our own body, mind and intellect is made of three gunas of prakrithi as opposed
to the jiva or self or atman who is essentially of the nature of knowledge. One
needs to resort to the prescribed profession or svadharma according to the Guna
of the body, mind and intellect (BMI) with which one is born and there is no
high or low feeling as it pertains to the nature of the body and not the self.
The entire society and world is the body of Brahman. There can be harmony only
when all the parts of the body are performing their respective duties. Thus
choosing a duty that is compatible with one's own guna (of BMI) into which one
is born is recommended. Obviously the family in which one is born also would be
of same guna or nature and this provides a proper environment for nurturing the
skills needed for the pravrutti dharma. So pravrutti or sva-dharma (or one's own
duty) as brahmana, kshatriya are different. But none of them are high or low as
they all culminate in the service of the same Brahman. Our own body which is a
fruit of karma should thus be offerred back to Brahman by engaging in one's own
pravrutti dharma or svadharma.

Nivrutti which is meditation on the Brahman within is the same for all as it
involves withdrawal from the senses and world and realizing Brahman within
one's own Self. That is where Jnyana Bhakti and VairAgya becomes ONE. It is
essentially the constant existence in Brahman which is nothing but Brahmacharya.
Brahmani charati iti brahmachari - One who resides/moves in Brahman is a
Brahmachari.

Thus every human endeavor could be a upAsana or meditation or yagya or puja when
one becomes conscious of Brahman or the supreme God who pervades and indwells
in all.

Namaste
Suresh

Thursday, June 13, 2019

Realities and their Significance


The universe is the big circle (brahmanda) and every individual is a smaller circle (pindanda).
The individual is a mirror image or reflection of the universe. The mind is the medium or upadhi.
The Self of the universe is Ishwara or God and the self of the individual is jiva. Obviously the jiva
absolutely depends on the universe/God.

It is the ego that virtually separates the jiva from the universe/God. When the jiva blinded by his ego,
takes everything from the universe and does not give back then he will continue to suffer in samsara.
But when the jiva realizes that everything including himself belongs to the universe/God and so
constantly gives back taking only minimum, then he will move closer and closer to selflessness
leading to the Supreme God or Iswara or parabrahman. This process of giving back to the three
worlds of devatas/gods, humans and lower life forms is Yagya or sacrifice.

Man – stands for the body – ahankara - that performs work outside.
Chaturvarna is justified based on the four parts - head, arms, thighs and feet

Women – stands for the mind - mamakara - that resolves or makes sankalpa. Obviously mind is
common for all the body parts. Likewise Women as a tattava is common for all the respective varnas.

Women as a wife is the ardhAngi or better half of her man or husband.
Man is incomplete without women according to the Vedas.

Women is an amsha of Lakshmi who is a manifestation of Veda/dharma.
Man is an amsha of Vishnu who is the Ishwara who possesses and protects Lakshmi.

Lakshmi also stands for Maya and Vishnu for Ishwara.
Maya is also nature or SRI and Ishwara is the indweller of or endowed with Maya.
Maya tu prakritim vidyat Mayinam tu Maheshwaram.
Ishwara is thus Sri-Nivasa, one who indwells in nature.

Intellect stands for the Guru or Rishi

Speech - Veda

Devatas - 33 - five elements, five tanmatras, five pranas, five sense of knowledge,
               five sense of action, eight directions
               Another count - 12 adityas, 11 rudras, 2 ashwinis, 8 vasus

Heart - (source of existence/consciousness/bliss/experience) - God / Ishwara
Absolute Brahman - Ishwara - the origin, abode, destination of all, who illuminates, supports
and controls everything.

The absolute Self is Brahman or Truth or Ananda which is the complete from of Ishwara or God is
revealed when all others like thoughts-words-deeds are aligned. This happens when all activities have
the good of the universe as objective culminating in the service of God / Ishwara manifesting as the
universe. If any one is not aligned it results in untruth resulting in sorrow.

When all the realities are aligned culminating in the service of Brahman/Ishwara manifesting in the
form the universe then it becomes vedic, dharmic, righteous, religious, spiritual, and sustaining. If
not, it becomes non-vedic, adharmic, unrighteous, selfish, prakritik, or A-brahmic - interestingly it
matches with abrahamic views. No offence, it only means a-brahamic views that do not SEE God as Brahman manifesting as the universe are not complete. All non-vedic views are partial that always
leads to conflict and disharmony.

Husband and wife are related as body and mind. Men perform all vedic rites and women take part in
the sankalpam. It only means women who stand for the mind does not engage in any activity directly.
The mind always remains as a witness and it expresses through the body. No action vedic or material
will be fruitful if it is not attended by the mind and performed by the body. Ideally Women therefore
is a sahadharmachari - performer of dharma or duty along with their husband's dharma.

There is no discrimination or competition but only co-operation and diversity in action based on
physical/mental capability. The result in the form of sumptuousness and abundance is reaped by all.
Action compatible to one’s guna - BMI nature is liberating while actions based on one’s desire and
not compatible to one's guna is binding.

Namaste
Suresh

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

Man versus Machine

Can matter produce consciousness? Is Man (and all other sentient entities) a product of matter?

Going by the theory of big bang, and evolution it appears very obvious that the Self that shines in all as the seat of consciousness must be a product of matter.

But there is one problem.

Matter is inert as opposed to consciousness which is self luminous. If Matter is the cause and consciousness an effect, then it follows that Matter is potentially conscious. The reason is that the nature of the effect cannot be totally different from Or diametrically opposite to the cause.

So the idea that Matter is the cause for Consciousness falls either way!

So does it mean that Consciousness is the cause for matter? This amounts to saying light is the cause for darkness. This is not possible. But another entity in front of light can create a shadow!

Every perception proves the relation or connection between Conscious self and Matter (object) that either leads to pleasure or pain.

This "connecting reality" as the third entity, that establishes the relation between the subject and the object is what Hindus worship as God, who from the particular point of view is a Devata and from the universal point of view is the Supreme Brahman.

Objections:

Q: If God is the connecting third entity then there needs to be another entity that connects this God and other entities and this leads to infinite regression.

A: The problem of infinite regression gets eliminated when God as Brahman is accepted to be all pervading and indwelling in the subject and the object and possessing the unexplainable ability to make this connection.

Q: It could be possible to create consciousness in the form of Artificial Intelligence. Machines could be made as intelligent and even emotional as Humans. So it can still be argued that there is no difference between machine or matter and man. So is there anything that really differentiates Man from such intelligent Machines?

A: No doubt, the body itself is pretty much like a machine as it is possible for humans to continue to live by replacing their body parts from someone else or even with something artificial. But that also proves that man as a subject is essentially different from the body. This cannot be the case with a machine which is just an assemblage of objective matter with no real subject in it. There is no essential something as the 'self' indwelling in the machine, that is different from the machine.

Also the process of birth, growth, reproduction and death could be one glaring difference between man and machine. Even the process of breathing, eating, digestion, circulation and so on...there seems to be something more than just matter that is keeping all the body parts together and all these intriguing biological processes going.

All living beings, endowed with consciousness, though in varying degrees invariably would like to exist, know and enjoy and be free. None of them would like to suffer, get imprisoned or die. But unfortunately everyone of them seem to be going through pain and pleasure and ultimately die. These characteristics would be very hard to find in any man made machine. All living beings in one way or other depend on each other. They are all part of a food chain that maintains itself. But it is very hard to imagine a man made machine to be like that.

So it can be said that consciousness cannot arise from matter.

Namaste
Suresh







Monday, June 10, 2019

Women and Sudras

In General there is always the criticism that Vedic Hindu religion
discriminates against women and shudras.

The reason is vedic education, which is very much essential for
liberation, is denied for them. That means women and sudras have to be
reborn as traivarnika male and then undergo vedic study to attain moksha.

Answer:

Apparently it is true that Vedic education is not given to women and
shudras and it is available only to traivarnika males. In order to correctly 
understand the reason behind it one needs to take an impartial look at 
the vedic world view.

According to vedas the entire universe and human society in particular
is looked upon as the body of God. It is an organic whole exactly similar
to the human body. The four varnas of Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya and
Shudra form the face, arms, thighs and feet, respectively. It is very
obvious that all these four parts of the body have their specific
duty or function and they have to engage in their respective duties
with co-operation and unison as a service to the indwelling being.

Similarly the four varnas have to engage in their respective duties
or dharma as a service to God who is indwelling in all.
So the purpose of teaching Veda to only traivarnika males is only to
enable them to engage in their prescribed duty.

Does it mean that Sudras have to always engage in the service of others?
Absolutely No. These duties are not air tight and depending on one's
capability Sudras can engage in the trades of others when need arises.

Women stand for the reality of mind. No service would be fruitful
unless it is attended by the mind. Similarly no vedic ritual or dharma
would be fruitful if women does not provide her consent and co-operate
with their husbands.

Women is also considered as an integral part of Man. So they are
encouraged to co-operate and work with their husbands in the performance
of their prescribed dharma. They are thus called saha-dharmacharini.

Ultimately all individuals from all Varnas including brahmanas have
to engage in the service of a Vedically learned spiritual acharya in
order to get eligibility to meditate on Brahman and engage in
bhakti for liberation.

No Varna and their duties is high or low as all of them culminate
in the service of the supreme God or Brahman indwelling in all.

After Vedic study, traivarnikas have to study Itihasas like Ramayana,
Mahabharata, Bhagavad Gita, Puranas and other scriptures for engaging
in true Bhakti. Women and Shudras can directly study these scriptures
and engage in Bhakti.

Vedic study and service to a Guru removes the ego and gives the adhikara
for traivarnika males to engage in Bhakti towards Brahman.

On the other hand Women and Sudras can directly engage in Bhakti towards
Brahman, in the form of their ishta devata. So not studying Veda is
not a discrimination but an exemption so that women and sudra can directly
engage in Bhakti.

Moreover Traivarnikas while undergoing vedic study have to live by
begging. Brahmanas have to live by begging all through their lives.

Women is a manifestation of Lakshmi and Shudras are manifestation
of a Bhakta. So they should always be taken care so that they never
have to live by begging. Probably this may be one of the reason why
traditional Vedic knowledge is not prescribed for them.

Traivarnikas incur pratyavaya papa for incorrect or non-performance
of their vedic duties. While women and sudras have no chance to
incur pratyavaya papa. On the other hand women and sudras inherit
the merit or punya of performance of vedic duties by traivarnika males.

It is also said that in order to attain moksha one has to render
service to Brahman in all the four varnas and also as a women.
So there is a need for traivarnikas to be born as a shudra and
also as a women to complete their eligibility to attain moksha.

Traivarnikas who have not served devatas properly as part of their
pravrutti dharma may be born as Shudras where they have the opportunity
to serve other devotees who are in the form of devatas.

Traivarnikas who have not properly engaged in nivrutti or bhakti towards
One Brahman, may be born as a women where they get an opportunity
to serve their own husbands as Brahman.

So there is no discrimination but differences in duties or dharma
with regard to Traivarnikas, women and shudras. But when it comes
to engaging in Bhakti towards Brahman, all of them have the same
privilege and status.

The fact that there are many women and sudra saints and spiritual
personalities and people from other varnas including brahmanas adore
them, is the proof against the so called discrimination.

The Lord in the Bhagavad Gita has explicitly stated that anyone
who engages in their respective duty as a service to Him will
attain moksha. Vedas explicitly teach - Mother is God, Father is
God and so on - and this obviously is applicable to all including
women and sudras.

So this refutes the idea that Vedic Hindu religion discriminates
against Women and Sudras.

Namaste
Suresh

Thursday, June 6, 2019

Is Hindu religion Secular?

The dictionary meaning of "secular" is to be free from any religious

or spiritual influence. So by definition no religion can be secular.
So this applies to Hinduism also?

Well unlike other religions that originated outside of India, "Hindu
religion" actually consists of many sub religions. The primary Hindu
scripture of Vedas recommend worship of many gods or devatas though
it also talks of one supreme God of all gods, Para-Brahman.
The sub religions differ in their view as to who among the many gods,
is that Supreme Para-Brahman.

But all the many sub-religions accept the validity of Vedic
scripture that teaches that the supreme God or Para-Brahman
is everywhere and exists as the inner Self of the entire universe,
supporting the entire universe as His body. This universal view of
Hindus includes and transcends all particular views. Additionally all
the sub-religions under the Hindu umbrella accept the principle of
dharma consisting of four legs - tapas, shoucha, daya and satya
(sense control, cleanliness, mercy and truth). This morality based on
dharma is so universal that no sane human with or without a religion
can deny. This is because dharma in its simplest form means to
engage in unconditional selfless service for the good of the
universe.  

So as God is equally present in all, there is spiritual equality
behind all the material inequality and differences. So it can be said
that Hinduism alone is a perfectly spiritual and secular religion.
This is not essentially true with regard to other non-Hindu
religions as they are exclusive and divisive as opposed to Hindu
view which looks upon the entire universe as God on whom all beings
absolutely depend. So sevrvice to the universe translates to service
to God. Nar seva is Narayana seva.

Q: But Hindu religion discriminates against women, shudras and
minorities or others. It also has caste hierarchies which is against
liberty, equality and fraternity.

A: This is a misunderstanding and mis-representation of the Hindu
religion. The world is full of differences and variety. Nothing is
equal. There is difference among humans also according to their
gender and the three modes of nature - sattva, rajas and tamas.
Hindu religion recognizes these differences and prescribes
specific duties accordingly that is natural and easy to perform.
In the Hindu view the society and the universe as a whole are looked
upon as the body of God where every individual part has a different
and specific duty or role to play in co-operation with other parts.
All the many castes are actually extended families or groups of people
of same nature. Caste is therefore an identity based on one's nature,
culture, profession and so on...and so it is natural. Caste is also
an institution that sustains these different groups of people of same
nature. Thus it helps to sustain diversity in the society naturally.
Obviously diversity gives strenghth to any organization or society.
Problem arises when there is high low feeling among the many castes
and this needs to be eliminated. As other non-Hindu cultures have no
such caste system, they tend to break the unity by creating this
artificial high low feeling among the diverse Hindu society.
As differences based on the three modes of nature is universal
even in all the many non-Hindu 'casteless' cultures, groupism
and clashes based on class, color, race and so on exists.
It is only in Hindu religion these are given a valid
identity based on varna and related role so that they can
coexist in a harmonious way with the principle of spiritual unity
in diversity.
Ultimately all these different duties from different castes, culminate
in the service of God who is indwelling and manifesting as this very
universe. So the end result is service to God which brings total
happiness even though there is difference in duties according to
gender and nature. This performance of duty is called dharma which
only forms one part called pravrutti. The other part of dharma is
nivrutti which involves control of senses and mind and engage in
meditation on God indwelling in all which is common for all.
This two fold aspect of dharma brings overall development - material
and spiritual for all people.

Those who oppose this dharma are considered as 'others' and all
attempts are always made to educate them without any hatred.
The ideal of Hindu dharma is to bring good for the whole world
including the so called 'others'. The continuous birth and death
cycle gives continuous opportunity for beings to correct themselves
and tread the path of dharma.

On the other hand all non-Hindu religions totally hate their "others'
even if they have lead a morally good life and there is eternal hell
waiting for all non-believers. There is discrimination of women also
in them and unlike Hindu religion, there are no female gods at all.

So to be secular, there is a need to have equal vision based on the
spiritual unity and also recognition of diversity that is naturally
present everywhere. This is possible only when one SEES the same
divinity in all the different entities in the world which is the
basis for Hindu dharma.

Hindu religion alone therefore can be considered as truly secular.


Namaste,
Suresh

Monday, June 3, 2019

Reconciling Differences

This world is full of differences.

There are many different views that are divergent or opposing to each other.

Advaita and Dvaita is one typical example.
In Advaita the individual non-dual self alone is real and the world is unreal.
In Dvaita the individual selves are many and have gradations. The world
of duality and differences and the controlling God are all real.

There is Vishishtadvaita that appears to be reconciling both. May be in a
way, as it accepts inseparable oneness. But essentially it accepts infinite
individual selves that are equal but different from the supreme Self.
V.Advaita is like Dvaita without taratamya or gradations

All the three schools are different and there are many internal varieties
or differences among them also.

Should sincere truth seekers evaluate them to determine which is valid Or
reconcile them all? Or is it good to stay in one's own tradition and just
passively ignore or accept all others as true.

Who is the Brahman of vedanta? Vishnu or Shiva?

Actually the reconciliation is in the Veda itself. It is clearly stated that
Shiva, Indra, and every blessed thing/being in the universe is Narayana only.

The entire universe is that Narayana, the supreme being. Vishwam Narayanam
devam aksharam paramam padam. One needs to look at the whole universe as
that supreme being. He is Brahma, He is Shiva, He is Indra and so on....
All identification of particular name/form culminates in the universe only
as everything is in THAT. There cannot be any opposition to this view as there
is no entity that is external to this non-dual being.

Whenever anything is identified we actually identify the self of that thing.
So when the universe is identified we identify the Self of the universe
Narayana who is the Purusha manifesting as the universe is thus the Self of
all and is the source / abode / destination of all name/forms. He is the root
of all differences and All differences gets reconciled in Him.

Advaita is based on this final non-dual Truth of Narayana who is the supreme
spirit Self of all. All good and bad or dos and don'ts are with respect
to the universal Self which is there in all the many individual selves.
The individual right and wrong may differ from each other. But when it
is looked upon from the point of view of the universal Self it gets
aligned. That which is good for the universe is good for all.

This provides the philosophical basis for the Vedic morality and philosophy.
Advaita states that this Self which is in all has no name/form/attributes.
This is the aprasiddha or unknown aspect of Brahman described in the Veda as
Nishkalo Niranjano and so on...But Advaita also has to accept that this
unknowable unthinkable Self IS the source/abode/destination of all 
name/form/attributes which is the prasiddha aspect of Brahman. This prasiddha 
aspect is also supported by Veda and is brought out more vividly in Dvaita.

Dvaita identifies this Narayana as the Self who is different from every
particular name/form and every such name/form in the universe is different
from each other also and is absolutely dependent on this Narayana who is
independent.

Vishishtadvaita identifies the relationship of Self-body that obtains between
Narayana and the world. So the family, society, Nation and the world as a
whole is the body of Narayana who pervades supports and controls from within.
The Vedic ideal of Varnashrama gets credibility only when the society/world
is looked upon as the body of God. Each part of the body like head, hands,
thighs and feet have their respective duty all culminating as a service to
the Self/Narayana residing in the body.

So Brahman as Narayana or the Self of the universe - Vishwatma is accepted
in all the three traditions of Advaita-Dvaita and Vishishtadvaita.

All the 33 devatas correspond to the 33 alphabets in Sanskrit and they also
denote the 33 tattvas in the human body. So identifying the Vedantic Brahman 
as Narayana who is the inner Self of all supporting the 33 devatas who are 
the presiding deities of 33 different aspects of body/world should reconcile 
and integrate all differences.

The vedic ideal of Yagya as the basis of all Morality makes sense only when
the relationship of Self-body is recognized between God and the world comprising
of jiva/jada. All personal human activities like eating/drinking and so on will
be a yagya or worship of God within and all non-personal activities like service
to the world culminates as a service to the God without. The ideal of dharma as
a limiting adjunct within which one has to restrict his activities also makes
sense as every action involves himsa. One jiva has to depend on another for
existence. The degree of himsa depends on the nature of work/service or
dharma or duty.

Thus there are differences everywhere in the world and one's duty or sva-dharma
also will be different accordingly. But all of that gets reconciled when they all
culminate as the service to Brahman in the form of the universe.

God as the supreme Self indwelling in all is very intriguing. He is One and
many/infinite at the same time. The entire world of differences arises, remains
and returns back to Him. Identifying this Self in all and all in the Self
thus reconciles all kinds of particular views.

Namaste, 
Suresh