YOGA, UPANISHADS AND THEIR AFTER THOUGHTS
(Compiled for a Discourse by N.R. Srinivasan at Sri Ganesha Temple, Nashville, USA)
The tradition of yoga originates from a long line of complex yet potent written teachings. While the Vedas are considered the most sacred and treasured spiritual texts of India, it is the Upanishads that transferred the foundational wisdom of the Vedas into practical and personal teachings as Spiritual Thoughts.
In the Upanishad,
Vishnu states to Brahma that Yoga is one, in practice of various kinds, the
chief are of four types – Mantra Yoga is the practice through chants,
Laya Yoga through deep concentration, Hatha Yoga through exertion, and Raja
Yoga through meditation.
.”Some
scholars and even some Yoga teachers say that there is no Yoga in the
Upanishads because asanas are not
described there. They miss the obvious inner essence of Yoga, and confuse the
profound inner vision of the Yoga teachings with physical actions.
Yoga Sutras I.3 defines Yoga as the
realization of the Purusha as the Seer of all (Tadā draṣṭuḥ Svarūpe avasthānam).
The realization of the Purusha, also called Atman, the true Self of all is the
prime teaching of the Upanishads, going back to the Vedas.
This Atma-vidya or Self-knowledge is
the basis of all knowledge as the Upanishads teach. Without knowing one's true
Self, one remains in the realm of ignorance, darkness and mortality.
Yoga is about the realization of the
Self (Atman or Purusha), and its unity with universal and transcendent reality
(Brahman), which is the prime Upanishadic equation. This should be the
foundation and center, origin and goal of all Yogic practices and studies. Only
then will we understand the real teachings of Yoga and be able to apply them.
The
quest for Who am I? Is the true yogic quest for Self-realization? For that we
need the proper detachment from and right usage of body, prana, senses, mind
and inner intelligence. But we must eventually transcend these to the light of
the Self or Purusha through which reflected power they function. In this regard
there is ultimately no difference between Yoga and Vedanta.”--David Frawley
What
are Upanishads?
Before knowing Yoga
Upanishads, Let us see what are
Upanishads? They are the highest wisdom of mankind. Additionally, they are
the very essence of the Vedas. In the words of Sri Aurobindo, they are the
supreme work of the Indian Mind and a record of the deepest spiritual
experiences.-Paul Deussen, Outline of the Vedanta
System.
It is a common belief that each Upanishad contains at
least one hidden doctrine. Most of the Upanishads are in the form of a dialogue
between a disciple and Guru or God. At the request of the disciple, Guru clears
the doubts of the disciple by way of discourse on a specific religious dogma.
Hence Upanishads are the spiritual teachings by the enlightened.
Upanishad Meaning
The Sanskrit term Upanishad means sitting near or
under. Upa=near, and shad=to sit. Hence the term refers to
Sitting near or under the enlightened for getting wisdom.
Monier-Williams Sanskrit English Dictionary gives
some other interpretations: ‘setting at rest ignorance by revealing the
knowledge of Supreme Sprite; the mystery which rests underneath the external
system of things; esoteric or secret doctrine’.
The Vedas have four sections: Samhitas, Brahmanas,
Aranyakas, and Upanishads. Upanishads are
the concluding part of Vedas or simply Vedanta.
Number
of Upanishads
There are more than two hundred Upanishads available
today. Of them, ten Upanishads are the most important ones. They are Mukhya
(important) Upanishads and Adi Sankara wrote commentaries for eight of them.
They are the earliest of the Upanishads pertain to a period well before the 3rd
Century BCE. Other Upanishads belong to the later periods.
In Muktika Upanishad is a tutelage of Lord Rama to Lord
Hanuman. It gives an index of 108 Upanishads. The composing period of
Upanishads ranges from the 10th Century BCE to the 14th century CE. In the 18th
Century CE, Sri Ramachandrendra Sarasvati by his cognomen name Brahma Yogi wrote commentaries for all 108 Upanishads.
Yoga Upanishads
The Upanishads that deal with
yoga are Yoga Upanishads. The primary subject of these Upanishads is yoga, unlike
other Upanishads which talk about yoga here and there. Yoga Upanishads are
twenty in number. They describe different types of yogas, like Raja Yoga, Laya
Yoga, Mantra Yoga, and Hatha Yoga. Also, they explain techniques like Hamsa
Vidya and Brahma Vidya.
Of the twenty Upanishads, only
Nada Bindu Upanishad belongs to Rig Veda. Likewise, ten Upanishads belong to
Krishna Yajur Veda. Four Upanishads are of Sukla Yajur Veda. Similarly, there
are two Sama Veda Upanishads and three Atharva Veda Upanishads.
Based on the commentaries of
Brahma Yogi, Pundit T.R. Srinivasa Ayyangar translated the Yoga Upanishads. The
work was published by The Adayar Library in 1938 CE.
The following are the list of Yoga Upanishads and the
respective links to the translations.
It is the Upanishad of Krishna Yajur Veda. It contains 106
verses. Yet, in some manuscripts, a smaller version is found attached to
Atharva Veda. Besides, it gives a detailed account of Pranava Dhyana,
Meditation, Sadanga Yoga, or the yoga of six limbs, and Ajapa Hamsa Vidya. It
describes Chakras, Nadis, and Vayus. Kundalini awakening along with Mudras and
Bandhas. It expounds on the nature of Atman.
It belongs to Sama Veda. It describes the yoga of six
limbs or Sadanga Yoga. In addition, the descriptions of Chakras, Vayus, and
Nadis are provided. Also, It gives methods of practicing various Mudras and
Bandhas. Besides, we could find detailed descriptions of Practices like Pranava
Japa and Ajapa Gayatri. Also, it highlights the
importance of Pranayama and the precautionary steps for
avoiding diseases. The subjects covered are similar to Dhyana Bind Upanishad.
Furthermore, we could find a brief outline of the nature of Atman and Brahman.
It is attached to Krishna Yajur Veda. It contains three
chapters. The first chapter deals with postures, breathe control, yogic locks,
seals, and Samadhi. It also lists the obstacles to yoga practice. Then, it
gives a detailed method of Kundalini awakening. The second chapter is fully
dedicated to Khechari Vidya that includes Khechari Mudra, Mantra, and
Philosophy. The third chapter talks about Jivan Mukti and Videha Mukti.
It belongs to Krishna Yajur Veda. This Upanishad gives the
details of four kinds of yoga along with four stages. Also, it enumerates the
obstacles and Siddhis (psychic powers). Eightfold
yoga is expounded from the perspective of Hatha Yoga. It enumerates twelve
important Hatha yoga practices of yogic locks and seals. Likewise, in the
Dharana section, we could find the practice of five-fold Dharana on
Pancha-Bhutas along with Bija mantras. Also, it highlights the importance of
Pranava worship.
It also belongs to Krishna Yajur Veda. It is a big
Upanishad and contains six chapters. The first chapter explains the nature of
the Self, Supreme Self, Prana, and its control. The method of awakening
kundalini also mentioned. It talks about
the four-fold yoga that contains Mantra, Laya, Hatha, and Raja yogas. The
Upanishad describes Sushumna Yoga and its benefits. Moreover, it gives details
regarding psychic powers, and the Chakras and their presiding deities.
INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY OR INNER WISDOM?
“Our
information technology has given us more data but not more wisdom, which
requires contemplation and meditation.
Unless
we honor the teachings of the great gurus and rishis, we will remain the blind
leading the blind as Upanishads state, imagining ourselves to be wise.
Information,
however detailed or important, still must be organized, interpreted and judged
for its value by the mind, and every human mind is different and has its own
point of view, meaning the same information can result in different judgements
by different people.
Information
does not have any intrinsic meaning apart from how the mind correlates it,
which is subject to change. Information itself is a selective measurement of
outer appearances, according to a preconceived set of coordinates, in a
universe in which is immeasurable and ever changing.
Information
remains in the domain of the outer mind and only skims the surface of reality.
To discover the enduring truth, we need to develop the higher mind to look and
live within. Then we can use information to make our way in the outer world,
but not to block us to the inner reality! Developing
this inner intelligence is the way of Yoga and Vedanta” -- David Frawley.
Why Do We Need Information Technology?
Information technology drives much of what we do in
our personal and professional lives. It is the foundation of our communication,
technological advancement, innovation, sustainability and recreation. We use
information technology on a personal level to connect and communicate with
others, play games, share media, shop and be social.
From a
career perspective, information technology is largely responsible for much of
our business operations and spans nearly every industry. From healthcare to
food services, manufacturing to sales, and beyond, we rely on IT to help
connect us to others, store and manage information and create more efficient
processes.
What Makes India a Desirable
Civilization across time?
Hindu contributions have
helped to shape the material progress of humanity and in the realm of mind,
which has influenced human thought, sciences, and spirituality through time.
In contemporary times, following the European Colonization of
India, it has become ‘received knowledge’ that the Hindus were and continue to
be ritualistic, superstitious, poverty-ridden, timid, and barely noticeable as
a ‘static’ people, whose history is nothing more than the history of successive
waves of invaders and colonizers who made India their home for a time.
So why did ancient explorers,
seemingly the world over, seek out the Hindu civilization, and for what? In a
recent webinar I mentioned HUA will begin deconstructing the myth set in motion
by a 200-year colonial encounter, examine the evidence for the sciences,
technologies, inventions, industry, prosperity, and wealth that made India such
a desirable civilization across time.
DHARMA CIVILIZATION FOUNDATION
“One of the foundations of Indian Civilization (also called
Indic or Bharatiya – to use a Sanskrit word) is the conception of the human
potential for spiritual and transcendental realization. The primacy accorded
this tendency towards the spiritual and transcendental, as well as the great
plurality of perceptions of ultimate reality and the multiplicity of pathways
of ascent towards that truth is the highlight of India’s original creative
process amongst the world’s civilizations. Indeed, even the Rig Veda states
that “Ekam Sat, Viprah Bahudha Vadanti” i.e.
the Reality is one, but the wise speak of it in many tongues.
A term that encapsulates the idea of India as a civilization
geared towards a transcendent goal is Dharma, which represents the effort to
order material life i.e. social, cultural, economic and political, in the light
of India’s own spiritual and transcendental insight, both within the context of
Indian civilization itself, and as the natural evolutionary fulfillment of
human consciousness. While all the Dharma Traditions of India, i.e. Hindu,
Buddhist, Jain and Sikh have a slightly–and in some schools,
significantly–different understanding of the word Dharma, a study of Indian
civilization, or India’s original contribution to the unfolding of human
consciousness, within the human social order, must be centered on the study of
Dharma. And it was indeed so, in pre-colonial India. Historically Indians
prized education, and the educational curricula in India was centered on its
various Spiritual texts, and delivered in Sanskrit. Deep study of the
Commentaries on the great Scriptures of India, combined with immersion in the
spiritual practices of the various traditions i.e. Sampradayas was considered essential for a human being to develop
knowledge and wisdom, and grow into a refined being worthy of respect and
emulation. So much so, that many from afar came to India to study in its
traditional universities such as Takshashila, Nalanda, Vikramashila,
Odantapuri, Ratnagiri, Pushpagiri, Varanasi, Kanchi and Sringeri.
However, coming under the spell of colonization by the British,
changed all of that and created a fundamental break between the modern Indian
and his or her ancestor, in a way that India had rarely experienced in its
entire millennial history. Today, much of what is taught about India, in the
West and even much of Indian self-understanding has come to be mediated through
a Western intellectual framework, beginning with scholars working under the
British colonial system, and constituted primarily by Western categories,
pre-suppositions and reconstructions, which have become axiomatic, in the
current discipline of the study of India. In particular the study of India’s
religions and spirituality in the western academic institutions has come to be
dominated by an orientation of suspicion – in contrast to the popular
acceptance of Indian yoga and meditation, within the west. This lens of suspicion
often manifests itself as a Marxist or a Freudian interpretation of India’s
Gods, Spiritual Masters and Traditions – resulting in systematic deconstruction
and even denigration. In any case, the methods of study privileged in the
western academy, have their origins in anthropology or area studies, which tend
to problematize their object of study and ask questions which themselves yield
fragmented answers or distorted perspectives. In recent times, the Indian
community has expressed deep dissatisfaction with the way things are – by
trying to get books banned or changed through law suits, but these actions have
produced mediocre results.
Even within India, the systematic academic study of Religion and
Spirituality is completely prohibited or inhibited by the Indian Constitution.
As a result, most current day Indians themselves do not have a deep
understanding of any of the great Dharma traditions that have emerged from
India i.e. Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and Sikh. An authentic and deep understanding
of these traditions are available to any seeker – but mostly in settings such
as Ashrams, Gurukulams and Monastic
settings, normally inaccessible to most people. Very few people seek out these
settings, and when they do, they are most likely to end up as spiritual teachers
and guides themselves, after years of practice and learning that is a core
component of Spiritual growth – Sadhana
and Yoga. However, these centers of excellence in Indian Spirituality and
Religion, have very little connections with the modern academic institutions
such as Universities, Schools and Colleges.
Unless, a systematic intervention is initiated, the world of
living spirituality as expressed in the various Ashrams and Monasteries of
India, and the world of the academic study of India’s religion and traditions
will remain deeply dis-connected and filled with discontent. Most scholars in
the West, who study and specialize in the various Dharma Traditions of India,
will remain outsiders to those traditions and essentially non-practitioners. The
best young minds of India, will also continue to be more easily attracted to
the preferred professions of our age i.e. Engineering, Medicine, Business
Accounting and Science. Very few Indians will venture into the domain of
religious studies.
A more authentic Indian self-understanding independent of
Western pre-suppositions needs to be developed and must crystallize around the
recovery of the primary Indian categories of thought, especially Dharma and
Moksha, which encapsulate her particular turn towards the spiritual and the
transcendental. When studied from the stand-point of India’s own unique
categories, an understanding of India will be more authentic to the experience
of Indian civilization, and will be grounded in Indian categories of thought
and freed from historical projection (i.e. to reconstruct the past in the light
of current day pre-occupations and perspectives). Many contemporary world
issues could benefit from a perspective centered on the vision and value system
of Dharma such as Globalization, Economics, Politics, Development, Capitalism,
Socialism, Democracy, Education, Poverty, Income Inequality, International
relations, Innovation, Science and Technology, Spirituality, Humanities, Art
and Culture, Multi-Culturalism, Pluralism, Terrorism, War and Peace, Health
Care, Climate change and the Environment. Indeed, Dharma as a category of
thought, means of knowledge or wisdom, would add a valuable point of view to
the market place of ideas, and has the potential to benefit humanity, by
creating and enabling new approaches and methods to the solution of what seem
to be intractable problems facing humanity. It is what makes India’s own
original creative process worthy of systematic study, and interpretation in a
contemporary idiom, for the future well-being of humanity as a whole.” Kalyan Viswanathan
Kalyan Viswanathan is the Executive Vice President of Dharma
Civilization Foundation. He holds a Master’s Degree in Computer Science from Ohio
State University and a Bachelors in Electrical Engineering from Birla Institute
of Technology and Science (BITS, Pilani). He is a student of Swami Dayananda
Saraswati of Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, with whom he underwent extensive study of
Advaita Vedanta in the tradition of Adi Shankara. He is also the President of
Sanatana Dharma Foundation, Dallas, Texas.
“Love is everything, only there is NO THING! Love is ALL,
and ALL is pure energy in abundance, boundless, limitless, and in infinite
profusion, bountifully providing for all your needs and desires. As
humans experiencing the dream/illusion of separation this does not appear to be
a valid statement, because in form limits are normal, to be in form is to be in
a state of limitation. In fact in today’s world limits are endemic,
prevalent, sweeping, and leading many to wonder how life on Earth will be
maintained when you come up against the major ones that finally prevent further
expansion, as demands for clean water, fresh food, and energy appear to be very
rapidly indeed outstripping your ability to find new reserves to satisfy your
human earthly needs.
But, as your life in form is simply a dream from which you are
awakening, truly there are no limits, they will dissolve with the dream as you
awaken into the Reality of infinite abundance. It is very difficult for
you to believe that this is possible because you have been fed the story of
shortage and limitation since infancy for many generations, and it is deeply
ingrained in the collective psyche, it is unconscious as a belief in that it
appears to be a scientifically proven fact. And when viewed from your
conditioned, confused, and major and intractable issues that will present you
with very practical means to resolve them.
We therefore come back to that initial statement in the book “A
Course in Miracles: “Nothing Real can be threatened, nothing unreal exists,
herein lies the Peace of God.” No one is unreal!
Life is eternally at peace with itself in a state of constant creative
joy. The state of separation, the dream or illusion in which it seems you
are immersed until death terminates your human existence, was an attempt by the
son of God to prove he could live completely free of any connection to Source,
his Father. But as Source is ALL that exists, obviously independence or
separation is impossible, and the seemingly very real experience of that state
is totally illusory.
Meanwhile, as you engage with that unreal state, believing in it
utterly and completely as so many still do, you can and do experience, by your
own free will choices, anxiety, fear, pain, suffering, and the feelings and
emotions that make it seem real. Of course you also
experience joy and happiness, but you mostly focus on the negative aspects of
life in form, and spend much time trying to alleviate or remove them.
That is like trying to remove ‘down’ while retaining ‘up,’ opposites have to be
integrated – made one – because they are completely interdependent. If
I could destroy you, and did so, I would also unavoidably destroy
myself because you and I are, of course, one. Wars and conflicts are
simply attempts to do just that, and, of course, they fail because you/me are
opposites and can only be integrated because the destruction
of anything Real is impossible. Reincarnation, which is unreal, is just
an aspect of life in form within the dream/illusion, means that as long as you
choose to maintain the illusion and engage with it you will reincarnate
in order to deal with the karma of previous lives in form. You do not have
to keep on doing that, seemingly interminably during thousands of lives in
form, instead you can choose to awaken. Many are doing
that now, which is why the illusion is drawing to a state of closure, and the
human collective is awakening. Life is GOOD!
When you embark on your absolutely essential daily journey
within yourselves, back to Source for a few moments of revitalization, focus on
the wonder, the miracle of life, and of the fully conscious awareness that you
uncover there. When you allow yourselves to stay deep within yourselves long
enough for your minds to have pauses between thoughts, to give yourselves
moments of peace when nothing is going on, you will find that
your physical energy is much restored, so that continuing with the daily
business of being human becomes less demanding.
Making time for your selves is essential, especially
now as ‘stuff’ continues to arise into everyone’s awareness demanding
attention. Before you incarnated, you knew that this time around you were
going to have a very difficult life to deal with, making what arises for you in
the present moment of the illusion very problematic. But, before you
incarnated, you also knew that you would be fully supported by
those also in form with whom you would be interacting – even if in the moment
those interactions caused conflict – and also by those watching over you from
the spiritual realms on whom you can call 24/7.
Nevertheless, practically everyone who incarnates forgets that they
have a spiritual purpose that they are on a spiritual path that they have most
carefully planned for themselves with the most wonderful divine guidance and
wisdom. Many find themselves living either a life that seems purposeless,
or living a life of service in which hardly anyone sees or appreciates them or
the work that they are doing. Yes, you have all chosen very tough paths
in service to the human collective, but, deep within
yourselves, you do know that you are fully and most lovingly
supported in every moment in spite of the fears, anxieties, and suffering you
undergo. This is why it is so essential that you seek inner guidance
every day in order to uplift your spirits enough to give you the faith, the
strength, and the stamina to continue.
You are all, without any exceptions, on Earth to assist mightily
in the collective awakening process, so send love to all because you need each
other’s support and you promised it to each other before incarnating.
Those who seem to have lost their way and are operating egotistically and
narcissistically, using deceit and corruption to protect and guide them need
even more love, so direct It towards them when you do your daily intention
setting. Do not judge them because that encourages your own ego sense of
righteous anger – your egos are a major aspect of choosing to experience life
in form – leading to a justifiable sense, or outward expression of condemnation
and a desire to see them punished. Your egos are like little children who
need you to set boundaries so that they can themselves evolve. If you do
not set these they begin to feel entitled and expect you to resolve all their
problems for them. This you cannot do, because, like you, your children
have their own spiritual paths that they need to become aware of and
live. This is what human evolution is all about. And your egos are
just split off parts of your minds that will be integrated into the One Mind as
you awake. Thousands of generations of humanity have passed, and human
evolution has moved forwards and backwards many, many times. NOW that
evolution is complete – even though that often does not appear to be the case –
the collective awakening can come to a most magnificent completion.
Remember therefore, and keep on remembering, that there is only
Love. Remind yourselves of this many times daily as issues arise that
require your attention, and also remember that everyone is doing their best . .
. always. Love is the cure, is the healer is ALL. Invite It to
embrace you so that you too will engage and interact only lovingly, whatever
may arise”
--John Smallman
What Is Spiritual Education-Devo Ekah
and Why Do We Need It?
God’s
love is a fountain of joy and it is the only power that can unite human hearts.
Please
go through the quotation online that’s often erroneously attributed to Albert
Einstein, but the actual author is unknown:
“There
is an extremely powerful force that, so far, science has not found a formal
explanation to. It is a force that includes and governs all others, and is even
behind any phenomenon operating in the universe and has not yet been identified
by us. This universal force is Love. When scientists looked for a unified
theory of the universe they forgot the most powerful unseen force. “Love is
Light” that enlightens those who give and receive it. Love is gravity, because
it makes some people feel attracted to others. Love is power, because it
multiplies the best we have, and allows humanity not to be extinguished in
their blind selfishness. Love unfolds and reveals. For love we live and die.
Love is God and God is Love“. Divine force can only happen
through spiritual education.
Why
Do We Need Spiritual Education?
Abdu’l-Baha,
the son of the prophet and founder of the Baha’i Faith, Baha’u’llah, wrote: “In
the world of existence there is nothing as important as spirit, nothing as
essential as the spirit of man. The spirit of man is the most noble of
phenomena. The spirit of man is the meeting between man and God. The spirit of
man is the animus of human life and the collective center of all human virtues.
The spirit of man is the cause of the illumination of this world.”
In God’s
creation, the human spirit distinguishes it from the rest of nature. If we
don’t use our intellectual and spiritual faculties for our spiritual virtues to
develop, and if we don’t make these spiritual virtues manifest in creation,
then we don’t fulfill the purpose for which we have been created.
As
Abdu’l-Baha wrote, “The
world may be likened to the lamp chimney, whereas man is the light. Man himself
may be likened to the lamp; his spirit is the light within the lamp.”
Spiritual
virtues make the body come alive. The spirit is the reality of life, and the
body is the instrument for expressing that life. Therefore, spiritual education
helps us develop spiritual virtues that make the spirit of man manifest in the
world.
What
Is Spiritual Education?
The
condition of the world reflects the condition of human nature. Abdu’l-Baha
said that spiritual power is one of the two
wings of man: “One wing is physical power and material
civilization; the other is spiritual power and divine civilization. With one
wing only, flight is impossible. Two wings are essential. Therefore, no matter
how much material civilization advances, it cannot attain to perfection except
through the uplift of spiritual civilization.”
Today
we let the material world dominate our minds and seek solutions from material
power. But over thousands of years using only material means to find solutions
— only one of our two wings — humanity has not found the solution for world
peace. It is time for human awakening and to realize that we are more capable to love one another.
Abdu’l-Baha
wrote: He [man] puts
forth arduous labors to fathom terrestrial mysteries but is not at all concerned
about knowing the mysteries of the Kingdom, traversing the illimitable fields
of the eternal world, becoming informed of the divine realities, discovering
the secrets of God, attaining the knowledge of God, witnessing the splendors of
the Sun of Truth and realizing the glories of everlasting life. He is unmindful
and thoughtless of these… How conducive to his degradation! It is as if a
kind and loving father had provided a library of wonderful books for his
son in order that he might be informed of the mysteries of creation, at the
same time surrounding him with every means of comfort and enjoyment, but the
son amuses himself with pebbles and playthings, neglectful of all his father’s
gifts and provision.
With
this understanding of our divine nature, we can discard the traditional concept
of religion: of oppressive authority, of obedience out of fear, of uniformity
over diversity. Religion is God’s spiritual education. Through spiritual
education, we discover the power of the word of God and the love of God, and we come to love Him. Baha’u’llah
wrote: “O Son of Man! I loved thy
creation, hence I created thee. Wherefore, do thou love Me, that I may name thy
name and fill thy soul with the spirit of life.” Through
loving God, the source of everything, we understand how that power can help us
transform our lives and improve the world.
Spiritual
education helps us understand the connection between spiritual and physical
reality, and how to use divine power to help us control our lower nature (our
animalistic nature) and raise it to a higher nature (our divine nature). It is
like another wing of the educational system where we learn tools and then
exercise them to create something new to benefit all — whether it’s inventions,
ideas, or acts of kindness. It helps us discover the reality of creation —
the power within us, and how it is sustained by God’s power.
It also
helps us know how to use the resources of the spiritual realm, such as prayer
and meditation, and to ask for divine assistance. God
has made everything available for us to achieve our life purpose.
The
barriers of separation among humanity are due to lack of spiritual education
and knowledge of the universal laws. God’s teachings are not religious doctrine
— they are the love of God protecting us,
like the rules in a school or in a lab to provide a safe learning environment.
Prayer and meditation are the pathway from outward to inward, to the laboratory
of divine science — our hearts.
The
Baha’i Framework for Spiritual Education
Baha’is
believe that through Baha’u’llah’s teachings, God has revealed even more divine
knowledge than in the past — his message for this day is like the newest grade
in the school of spiritual education.
Because
of this, the Baha’i community created what’s called the “Ruhi institute”
process, a space for collective learning. The goal of this framework is to
enable us to work toward world peace and unity through building spiritually
vibrant communities all around the world, where individual transformation can
happen through community service, and at the same time, each individual’s
effort becomes an active force for community transformation.
This
community building process takes place all around the world — in groups
of adults learning together, in neighborhood classes for children, in spiritual
empowerment programs for pre-teens and teens, and at interfaith
prayer gatherings. All these activities take shape according to local culture,
interests, and the unique connections between people, leading to diverse
manifestations of collective spiritual practice — and the vision for a more
peaceful world, founded on the greatest bounty of God: spiritual
education.
The Baha’i House of
Worship in New Delhi is the Mother Temple of Baha’i faith in the Indian
subcontinent. It is an edifice eminently and elegantly distinctive in its design,
and uniquely inspirational in its purpose: to represent the Oneness of God, the Oneness of all Religions, and the Oneness of Mankind, the
guiding tenets of Baha’i faith.
Vis-à-vis its design,
there are not many renowned structures that have been built in the form of a
lotus though there are a few exceptions like the Art-Science Museum at
Singapore, which is a city level recreational canter. Despite being modeled
upon a lotus, it is referred to as ‘the Welcoming Hand of Singapore’ since it
also resembles an open hand. There are no other examples of renown that can be
compared to the Baha’i House of Worship at New Delhi.
The Baháʼí writings based on Upanishadic Thoughts describe
a single, personal, inaccessible, omniscient,
omnipresent, imperishable, and almighty God who is the creator of all things in
the Universe. The existence of God
and the universe is thought to be eternal, without a beginning or end. Though
inaccessible directly, God is nevertheless seen as conscious of creation, with
a will and purpose expressed through messengers called Manifestations of God.
Baháʼí teachings state that God is too great for humans to fully
comprehend, or to create a complete and accurate image of by themselves.
Therefore, human understanding of God is achieved through his revelations via
his Manifestations. In the Baháʼí
Faith, God is often referred to by titles and attributes (for example, the
All-Powerful, or the All-Loving), and there is a substantial emphasis on
monotheism. Baháʼí
teachings state that the attributes applied to God are used to translate
Godliness into human terms and to help people concentrate on their own
attributes in worshipping God to develop their potentialities on their
spiritual path. According to the Baháʼí teachings the human purpose is to learn
to know and love God through such methods as prayer, reflection, and being of
service to others (Janasevaye Jannardhana
seve).
It is
not Bahai’s Temple in Delhi alone! Savitri Bhavan, situated at Auroville,
Pondicherry, is a center dedicated to fostering a living sense of Human Unity
through spiritual education based on the vision and teachings of Sri Aurobindo
and the Mother. The central focus is Sri Aurobindo’s mantric epic Savitri – a
legend and a symbol, which the Mother has called ‘The supreme revelation of Sri
Aurobindo’s vision’. Savitri Bhavan
aims to gather and create, to house and make available all kinds of materials
and activities that will foster a deeper appreciation of Savitri, of the lives,
work and vision of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, and of the aims and ideals of
Auroville, in a space that breathes the atmosphere of Savitri.
Idol worship has been
in vogue among Hindus for thousands of years but one ancient belief is often
forgotten: That God is One, the
Supreme Being and that all forms of worship, the various names given to male
and female Gods are but the manifestation of One Great Power. A small Temple in
the South Indian hamlet of ‘Chidambaram’ brings out this point. The sanctum sanctorum
here, called, ‘Chidambara Rahasyam’ is the focal point of this argument. Here
God (by whatever name He may be referred) is worshipped in ‘formless form’ and devotees who enter
the sacred place find no deities or idols. Throughout their history, Hindus
have pondered deeply about the nature of God. From interpretations of
scriptures such as the Vedas and Upanishads, observation and reflection, and
meditation and spiritual experiences, different philosophies emerged in this
quest to know God. Many Hindus understand God to be Brahman or the Infinite.
Brahman is believed to be ever-present, all-powerful, and beyond comprehension.
Some Hindus believe that Brahman is formless and without attributes, but
manifests in form. Other Hindus believe Brahman has a transcendent form and
attributes. This supreme and transcendent form is Vishnu for Vaishnavas and
Shiva for Shaivites. The world is also seen as a manifestation of Brahman and
regarded in some traditions as the body of God.
According to Hinduism, the meaning
(purpose) of life is four-fold: to achieve Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksha. The
first, dharma, means to act virtuously and righteously. That is, it means to
act morally and ethically throughout one’s life. However, dharma also has a
secondary aspect; since Hindus believe that they are born in debt to the Gods
and other human beings, dharma calls for Hindus to repay this debt. The five
different debts are as follows: debt to the Gods for their blessings, debt to
parents and teachers, debt to guests, debt to other human beings, and debt to
all other living beings. The second meaning of life according to Hinduism is
Artha, which refers to the pursuit of wealth and prosperity in one’s life.
Importantly, one must stay within the bounds of dharma while pursuing this
wealth and prosperity (i.e. one must not step outside moral and ethical grounds
in order to do so). The third purpose of a Hindu’s life is to seek Kama. In
simple terms, Kama can be defined as obtaining enjoyment from life. The fourth
and final meaning of life according to Hinduism is Moksha, enlightenment. By
far the most difficult meaning of life to achieve, Moksha may take an
individual just one lifetime to accomplish (rarely) or it may take several.
However, it is considered the most important meaning of life and offers such
rewards as liberation from reincarnation, self-realization, enlightenment, or
unity with God.
Religion provides its followers a set
of goals to achieve in life, and in doing so, provides a meaning to each
follower’s life. Without such guidance, one would likely conclude that life is
ultimately meaningless. Therefore, for those individuals in the world who feel
that there is no meaning to life, is belief in a religious faith is all that is
needed to change their minds.
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