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All the Gods in the heaven of Brahman adore in
contemplation their Infinite Spirit Supreme. This is why they have all
joy, and all the worlds and all desires. And the man who on this Earth
finds and knows Atman, his own Self, has all his holy desires and all
the worlds and all joy.
Sama Veda, Chhandogya Upanishad 8.12.6. UPM, P. 126

Monday
LESSON 246
Knowledge of Reincarnation
Tonight in beautiful Sri Lanka we want to speak on
the joys and happiness found in Hinduism, our ancient religion which
brings forth the wonderful feelings of a belief in the cosmic processes
of reincarnation coupled with knowledge of the laws of karma and the wisdom of dharma
in which everyone has his rightful place and purpose in life. It brings
the broadmindedness of total acceptance of all other religions as
expressions of the One God's creation, the blessing of a complete
devotional path revolving around powerful temples, the fulfillment of a
profound mystical teaching founded on yoga and brought forth by the seers and saints and gurus,
and so much more. Our religion is so strong, so rich and varied that
very few can claim to understand it in its completeness. It is immense,
an immense religion, so immense that we have difficulty sometimes
explaining it to those who hold to a simpler doctrine, especially if
they have been subjected to erroneous concepts about our religion
promulgated by invaders and missionaries of a score of alien religions.
It is time that the world knew of the greatness of Hinduism, knew it as
it is. Of course, we cannot explain it in an evening. My satguru,
the great Siva Yogaswami of Columbuthurai, would say, "The time is
short and the subject is vast." But we can have a look at some of the
aspects of Hinduism that bring such joys and happiness to over a
billion devotees around the world.
Each Hindu's belief in
reincarnation is so strong that it totally eliminates the fear and
dread of death. No true Hindu really fears death; nor does he look
forward to it. The word death in the vocabulary of the Hindu
holds a different meaning. He does not take death to be the end of
existence; nor does he look upon life as a singular opportunity to be
followed by eternal heavenly existence for those souls who do well, and
by unending hell for those who do not. Death for the Hindu is merely
transition, simultaneously an end and a new beginning. Over two
thousand years ago, Saint Tiruvalluvar wrote, "Death is like falling
asleep, and birth is like awakening from that sleep" (Tirukural 339).
In one of the ancient languages of our religion, the physical body had
a name which literally meant "that which is always dropping off."
The
Hindu's knowledge of reincarnation gives him the hope of attaining a
future birth and in that birth making further progress toward the
perfection that he intuitively knows is his atman, his soul. He is working in this life to gain enough good merit, enough punya, to
deserve welcome into a fine religious family as a good soul that will
not upset the family but add to its love and harmony and productivity.
That is one aim ever on the mind of the devout Hindu, to live well that
he may live even more perfectly in a future life on this planet. That
is our aim; and our other beliefs, our accumulated knowledge and the
many facets of our religion, give us the strength and the wisdom to
believe in such a far-reaching way, to look beyond the immediate
day-to-day concerns into our ultimate objective, which is realization
and liberation, moksha.
Nor is this belief in the
cycles of earthly existence, in reincarnation, merely a belief. It is a
certain knowledge for those who have had even a tiny glimpse into their
origins, to the point of remembering another life or just intuiting
that the soul did not come into existence just before one's birth. The
Hindu believes that the soul undertakes many sojourns on the planet. We
see the wisdom in this cycle of birth, death and rebirth.
Tuesday
LESSON 247
Karma Is Always Just
We see reincarnation as an explanation for many of
the apparent inequalities observed in life. Thus we understand the
fairness even in a bad birth, say a birth as a cripple or a child who
dies in infancy. To the Hindu this is not an accident, but is a natural
event brought forth by the soul itself through the karma of
unseemly acts and desires in a previous life. To the Hindu there is not
one force in the universe at work to make all things good and an
opposing force trying to destroy the soul. No. All is God's work. All karma is natural and worthy of the soul to which it comes.
The
Hindu knows that it is the younger souls who lack understanding, who
cannot live in harmony with others and who shun the higher forms of
culture and faith. Rather than inheriting eternal suffering for their
acts, they earn instead another opportunity for experience, for
learning, for evolving. The ideas of sin and evil are different in
Hinduism from the concepts held by Abrahamic religions. If there is
such a thing as sin to the Hindu, it is the breaking of the natural
laws, a lapse in the patterns of karma and dharma, and that transgression brings its own punishment in the form of an additional karma created
to then be worked out. Thus the Hindu does not live in fear of sin or
under the notion of original sin. We do not look upon humanity as
inherently sinful, but inherently perfect and striving to unfold that
perfection from within. The Hindu knows that we will have as many
opportunities as needed to refine and evolve our nature -- a thousand
lives or more if needed. We don't have to think that we only have a
single chance, a one life in which everything must be accomplished and
all desires must be fulfilled. Therefore, we are not in a hurry. We are
patient. We exhibit more patience with circumstances than do those who
believe in a one life, and we are more forgiving of ourselves when we
fall short. Thus it is that Hinduism offers a great joy to its
followers -- a blessing of fearlessness in the face of death, an
assurance of the continuation of consciousness after physical death,
another assurance that each soul creates its own karma and that such karma is
just and right, even when it seems that some people are less fortunate
than others and that fate has unfairly given all the advantages to a
few. All these things are bestowed on Hindus simply because they
understand the doctrine of reincarnation.
Hinduism is a
hopeful and comforting religion. Hope for a future life makes this life
worthwhile, joyous, contented and happy, because the Hindu can live and
deal with current problems, knowing that they are transitory problems,
that they will not last forever; nor will they affect us forever. They
are problems; we cannot deny that. But they are problems to be worked
out with a positive attitude and a high energy and a helping hand from
our Gods.
Wednesday
LESSON 248
The World as Our Teacher
The Hindu also wants to improve conditions in the
world, in the physical world. We do not look upon all that happens to
us as unreal. That is a misconception. It is real. Life is real. It is
through life that we progress. Life is the means provided by the
Primordial God for finding Reality. True, it is maya. But it is maya in the form of mind, in the form of form. Maya,
or form, or mind, is created for a purpose, to help man evolve, not to
bind him in illusion. The Hindu understands this. We want to help
humanity, and simultaneously we know that we may well return in another
physical body. So we are working not only for ourselves, but for our
loved ones, not only now, but in the future as well. We are improving
the world for future generations in which we will play a part.
Through
our knowledge of reincarnation, we have a great love and understanding
for every human being, for they have been our mothers, our fathers, our
sons and daughters, our grandparents and companions in many past lives,
or perhaps will be in a future incarnation. This expanded knowledge of
the interrelatedness of humanity brings with it a deepened
appreciation, helping us to understand why it is that some people seem
so close to us though we hardly know them and others are strangers or
even enemies after years of close association. To the Hindu, everyone
younger is his brother or sister. Everyone older is his mother or
father, and he maintains a deep respect for others. We have this
knowledge by having lived through many hundreds of lives on this planet
and having been associated with many thousands of people. We know that
in our current pattern in this life we often attract those to us whom
we have been with in past lives. So we have a great joy and happiness
in meeting them again and a deep knowledge of our relationships, our
psychic relationships, with them in past lives.
The Hindu believes in the law of karma, the
ability to earn one's rewards as well as punishments. All this we can
do ourselves with the help of our Gods and our personal relationship
with our Ishta Devata, the individual God that we have chosen, or
rather that God who has chosen to love, guide and protect us through an
incarnation.
In Hinduism there is no priest standing between
the devotee and God. The priest is a servant of the God, just as is
every other devotee. Even the satguru, the spiritual teacher,
does not stand between the disciple and God, but seeks instead to
strengthen the devotee's direct experiential relationship with the
Divine. The Hindu thus finds a great joy in his relationship with God
and the Gods. It is his relationship, and he alone is able to
perpetuate it. No one can do this work for him or on his behalf. There
is a great happiness there between the devotee and the God resident in
the Hindu temple, which is the communication point with the God, as is
the sacred home shrine.
Thursday
LESSON 249
The Joy of Pilgrimage
In our religious life, one of the most fulfilling
aspects is pilgrimage. We have a joy in looking forward to a spiritual
journey, and we experience a contentment while on our pilgrimage and
later bask in the glowing aftermath of the pujas. It is like
going to see a great friend, a devotee's most loved friend -- the Ishta
Devata. We travel to the far-off temple where this great friend is
eminently present. At that particular temple, this personal God
performs a certain function, offers a specific type of blessing to
pilgrims who make the pilgrimage to that home. In this way, different
temples become famous for answering certain types of prayers, such as
requests for financial help, or prayers for the right mate in marriage,
prayers to be entrusted with the raising of high-souled children, or
help in matters of yoga, or help in inspiring bhakti and love.
The
Hindu does not have the feeling of having to take a vacation to "get
away from it all." We don't lead a life of mental confusions, religious
contradictions and the frustrations that result from modern hurried
living. We lead a moderate life, a religious life. In living a moderate
life, we then look at our pilgrimage as a special moment, a cherished
time of setting ordinary concerns aside and giving full stage to our
religious longings. It is a time to take problems and prayers to our
personal God.
Unlike the proud "free thinkers" who deem themselves emancipated, above the religious life, we Hindus feel that receiving the darshana from
the Gods and the help that comes therein invigorates our being and
inspires us to be even more diligent in our spiritual life. Unlike the
rationalists who feel confident that within themselves lie all the
resources to meet all needs, and that praying to Gods for help is a
pathetic exercise in futility, the Hindu wisely submits to the Divine
and thus avoids the abyss of disbelief.
All in life that one
would want to "get away from" the Hindu takes with him on a pilgrimage
to the temple, to the feet of his personal God, to the inner-plane
being or Mahadeva, who needs no physical body with which to communicate
with people -- to the God who has a nerve system so sensitive and well
developed that as it hovers over the stone image, which looks similar
to how the Deity would look on the inner planes, this being of light
can communicate with the pilgrims who visit the temple. This being of
light, this Mahadeva, can and does absorb all of the dross the devotees
have to offer, and gives back blessings which bring happiness and
release to them. Thus, the pilgrimage is not travel in the ordinary
sense of travel, but rather going to see a personal friend, one who is
nearest and dearest, but does not live in a physical body.
The
Hindu has another great joy -- the certainty of liberation. Even in
difficult times, we are solaced in the knowledge of our religion which
tells us that no soul that ever existed or ever will exist in future
extrapolations of time and space will ever fail to attain liberation.
The Hindu knows that all souls will one day merge into God; and he
knows that God, who created all souls, slowly guides our maturing into
His likeness, brings us back to Himself, which is not separate from
ourselves. The Hindu, through striving and personal development in this
life on this planet, knows that liberation into God is the final goal.
This knowing and this belief release us from any ego, from any
superiority by which one person considers himself or herself as
especially meriting God's grace while others are lost. For the Hindu,
there is an assurance that all souls will eventually enjoy liberation,
and that includes ourselves and all of our friends and family. We need
never fear otherwise.
Friday
LESSON 250
The Joy of Mysticism
Then there is the joy of the mysticism of Hinduism.
It is the world's most magical religion, offering worlds within worlds
of esoteric discovery and perception. The inner worlds are what Hindu
mystics tell of in the greatest richness and freedom of expression that
exists on the planet. Mysticism in Hinduism is more out-front than in
all the other religions of the world. As a result, it is enjoyed by
more of the people in our religion. Mysticism is discussed more broadly
and not limited to a few great souls or a handful of pandits. The
mysticism of Hinduism is for all the people; yet, too, in its esoteric
aspect it is protected at its core and kept sacred by being kept
secret. How grand is the Hindu mystical tradition, with its sadhanas and yogas, with its wealth of understanding of the etheric bodies, of the nadis and the chakras, of the aura and the pranas, of
the various states of consciousness and levels of existence, and so
much more. No other religion on the Earth can ever begin to equal
Hinduism's mystical teachings; all that wealth is the rightful
inheritance of each Hindu.
The Hindu enjoys all the facets of
life as transmuted into a religious expression in art. The Hindu's art
is a religious art -- drawing, painting and sculpture of the Gods, the devas, and the saints of our religion. The music is devotional and depicts the tones of the higher chakras,
echoes the voices of the Gods; and the dance emulates the movements of
the Gods. We are never far away from sights, sounds and symbols of our
religion. A mountaintop represents Lord Siva; a hill represents Lord
Murugan, Karttikeya; and sugar cane fields represent Lord Ganesha.
Everything that one sees on the planet represents something religious.
Art is not merely for egotistical and existential self-expression, but
for spiritual expression, done consciously in service to the Divine.
That is why one seldom sees or even knows the name of the artist of the
great Hindu artistic creations. The artist is not creating in order to
become famous or rich. He is surrendering his talents, serving his Gods
and his religion through his art, and his art takes on a certain
sacredness.
One great joy that the Hindu has is the appreciation for all other religions. Hinduism
is theocentric, that means God-centric, whereas most other religions
are prophet-centric, revolving around the personality of some living
person or some person who once lived in history and interpreted
religion to his culture in his time. Hinduism has no founder. It was
never founded. It has neither a beginning nor an end. It is coexistent
with man himself. That is why it is called the Sanatana Dharma, the
Eternal Path. It is not one man's teaching or interpretation. It is not
limited to a single facet of religion, but consists of the entire
spectrum, seen in its various components as if through a prism. It does
not say that this religion is wrong and this one right. It sees God
everywhere, manifesting all the great religions. The Hindu can
appreciate Buddha without becoming a Buddhist. He can understand Jesus
without becoming a Christian. Therefore, the joys of all the religions
of the world become the joys of the Hindu.
But as Hindus, we
must first think of the joys and happiness within our own religion.
Consider our blessings. Come closer to the Gods of our religion. The
many Gods are in the Western world now and have circumferenced the
planet with their shakti of radiant rays that penetrate with spiritual power, bringing harmony and culture, balancing out the dharma of the planet.
Hinduism
is such a great religion. All practicing Hindus are very proud of their
religion. Unfortunately, these days too many born into the religion are
not all that proud to be Hindus, but this is slowly changing. Hindus
are now welcoming into their religion others who are, of their own
volition, adopting or converting into the Sanatana Dharma. They are
proud enough of their faith to want others to share its wisdom, its
mysticism, its scriptures, its broadmindedness, its magnificent temples
and its final conclusions for all mankind. To all Hindus, who today are
found in every country on the Earth, I say: Courage! Courage! Courage!
Have the courage to know beyond a doubt that Hinduism is the greatest
religion in the world. We must be proud of this.
Saturday
LESSON 251
Hinduism Can't Be Destroyed
It is false to think that one has to be born a Hindu
in order to be a Hindu. That is a concept postulated by certain
caste-based Hindu lineages and reinforced by the Christians in their
effort to hinder the growth of our religion, to deprive it of new life,
to hold it down while they in turn try to convert Hindus en masse to
their religion. Swami Vivekananda (1863 -- 1902), a Hindu monk and
missionary who wrote extensively on the Hindu Dharma, when confronted
by this same issue in the West would explain how Hindus who have been
converted by force should not be denied an opportunity of returning to
their ancestral religion. As for the case of those not born into
Hinduism who might be interested to join it, he simply said, "Why, born
aliens have been converted in the past by crowds, and the process is
still going on." Dr. S. Radhakrishnan (1888 -- 1975), the distinguished
Hindu philosopher who became the second president of India, confirms
this view in writing, "In a sense, Hinduism may be regarded as the
first example in the world of a missionary religion. Only its
missionary spirit is different from that associated with the
proselytizing creeds. It did not regard as its mission to convert
humanity to one opinion. For what counts is conduct and not belief. The
ancient practice of vratyastoma, described fully in the Tandya Brahmana, shows that not only individuals but whole tribes were absorbed into Hinduism."
During
the era of India's domination by alien religions, when Hinduism was
scheduled to be destroyed, the attack was to be carried out in three
ways. The first strategy was to convince the women to abandon their
age-old stri dharma -- of maintaining the home, its purity and
ways of worship -- thus drawing them away from the household in order
to receive a so-called "higher education" or to teach in alien
religious schools, thus denying future generations the mother's
religious counsel and grounding in the dharma. The second
strategy was to overtly break down the various castes of temple priests
by enticing them to accept other, often higher-paying, occupations,
thus leaving the temples unattended.
The third strategy was to
convince Hindus that they had inherited a crude and outdated religion.
This last attack was accomplished mainly through ridicule, by
ridiculing every aspect of the religion that could possibly be
ridiculed. For example, those who slandered Hinduism claimed it has no
sacraments. Why, Hinduism has more sacraments, more sacred rites and
ceremonies for its members, than perhaps any other religion in the
world. These sacraments include the namakarana samskara, name-giving sacrament; annaprashana, first feeding; karnavedha, ear-piercing; vidyarambha, commencement of learning; vivaha, marriage; and many others.
Though
India was politically dominated for generations by adherents of alien
faiths, and though every attempt was made to discourage, weaken and
crush the native religion, the carefully calculated, systematic assault
failed to destroy Hinduism. Hinduism cannot be destroyed. It is the
venerable eternal religion, the Sanatana Dharma. But it was an
effective campaign that has left in its wake deep samskaric patterns,
deep subconscious impressions, which still persist in the minds of the
Indian people. It is going to be difficult to completely eradicate
these impressions, but with the help of all the millions of Hindus
throughout the world, in adhering to and extolling the benefits and
joys of Hinduism and the gifts which it holds for mankind, this is
possible and feasible, within the range of accomplishment, perhaps
within this very generation.
Sunday
LESSON 252
Bringing In Ardent Seekers
Hindus should freely welcome sincere devotees into
their religion, not those who already have a firm religion and are
content, but those who are seeking, who believe, as millions in the
West already believe, in the laws of karma and reincarnation
and the existence of the ever-present God that permeates this planet
and the universe. Hindus should freely embrace those who believe in the
Gods and all we have been speaking about earlier, for whom other
religious avenues have proved empty and fruitless. There are certain
matured souls for whom the Sanatana Dharma can be the only true
religion, who have no other religion and who will seek and seek until
they come upon its profound truths, perhaps in an old scripture, or in
a temple sanctum during puja or in the eyes of an awakened siddha yogi. These
souls we must help. We must teach them of our religion and allow them
to fully accept or reject it, to accept it because they know it, or to
reject it because they know it and are not ready to meet Maha Ganapati
and humbly sit at the feet of this most profound Lord.
There
are many lost souls on the planet today who die in the physical world
-- lose their physical body -- wander on the astral plane a short time
and are caught up immediately in another womb. They have no knowledge
of other states of existence or of the workings of reincarnation. They
have no time for the bliss of these in-between, astral states. They
have no time for assessing their last life and preparing for the next,
which they could then enter with new knowledge, no time for inner
attunement with the Gods in the inner worlds between death and birth.
Instead, they are caught in a constant cycle of flesh, making flesh and
living in flesh, with the soul being immersed in ignorance and the
darkness of the consciousness of flesh. Hinduism eradicates this cycle
by offering knowledge of the states between life and death and then
life again. It creates deep impressions within the mind of these
individuals, which then bring them out of this syndrome so that they
can enjoy months, years, in fact, of education and knowledge in the
inner planes of consciousness between births, so that they can come
back into a physical body a more awakened soul than when they left
their last physical sheath at death.
We must not be reluctant
to welcome these sincere Hindu souls and to assist them in finding the
answers they seek and do not find elsewhere. It is our dharma
to help them. Hinduism has always welcomed adoptives and converts.
Bring in new people to the religion. Teach them. Help them. Counsel
them. Proceed with confidence. Have courage, courage, courage.
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