When God speaks or gave the command Be It, the Creation came into being and the creative elements and all creative forces are under His control. The Word of God controls the entire creation. His creation obeys His command. But when we speak, the Fire Element is not in our control and so is the case with the other functions as well as the deities at the intermediate level. This is the beginning of our sorrows because as image of God we do not reflect the properties of the Original.
Scientists consider that 40 drops of blood form one drop of this vital fluid. It is a sort of white blood. When we lose even a few drops of blood, we are panic stricken, although it is much less valuable than the vital fluid. We, however, waste this vital fluid, which is the king of vitality, recklessly for the pleasure of a few seconds.
True understanding is one that produces results. All other understanding is unfruitful.
Mind, intellect, chit and ego should remain in brahmacharya. And if mind, intellect, chit and ego turn towards brahmacharya, then the external sexuality will shed off automatically.
The illusion of sex is such that it will sink all, even the one who thinks that he has no attachment to anything in the world. This illusion of sex has sunk great sages and masters from tremendous spiritual heights.
Celibacy 1 - The Detailed Analysis of SexualityPardeep Sehgal
Brahmacharya means control of the Veerya. The vital force or Veerya is preserved only by one who is established in the practice of Brahmacharya. The vital fluid or semen is lost and wasted during sexual indulgence.
From food comes juice or chyle; from chyle comes blood and flesh; from flesh comes fat; from fat comes bones; from bones come marrow. Lastly, from marrow comes semen.
The Veerya comes out of the very marrow concealed in the bones. It is found in a subtle state in all the cells of the body. Mark here how precious the semen is! It is the last essence of food. It is the essence of essences.
In Yoga Shastra it is stated: "The falling of semen brings death; the preservation of it gives life." 'The nemesis of reproduction is death. The sexual act is essentially katabolic (or a movement towards death) in the male, and in parturition of the offspring it is katabolic for the female.'
"The future is for the nations who are chaste". Tom Mann
Celibacy 4 - Right Company and Firm DecisionPardeep Sehgal
The sexual impulse has been there for countless lives, and you never know when it will rise again. Therefore, it is important to remain in the right company. If you go out of right company, because of the existing impulse, sexuality will start to sprout all over again.
What is nischaya (determined decision)? Nischaya means, no matter how powerful an army of worldly difficulties arises with attacks, you would not back off.
What is nischaya? It is to stop all other thoughts and come onto only one thought. If you make a firm decision, all the evidences will come together and make it happen. If your decision is not firm then the evidences will not come together and your goal will not be accomplished.
To raise up the physical to the spiritual is Brahmacharya, for by the meeting of the two the energy which starts from one and produces the other is enhanced and fulfills itself. This is the metaphysical theory. The application depends on a right understanding of the physical and psychological conformation of the human receptacle of energy.
Brahmacharya (Celibacy) Quotes (Sri R Paramahansa)Pardeep Sehgal
A man practicing unbroken brahmacharya for twelve years develops a special power. He grows a new inner nerve called the nerve of memory. Through that nerve he remembers all, he understands all. When a man succeeds in the conservation of his sexual energy, his intellect reflects the image of Brahman. The man who carries this image of Brahman in his heart is able to accomplish everything – he will succeed wonderfully in whatever action he engages himself.
Brahmacharya (Celibacy) Quotes (S Vivekananda)Pardeep Sehgal
In my first speech in this country, in Chicago, I addressed that audience as ‘Sisters and Brothers of America’, and you know that they all rose to their feet. You may wonder what made them do this, you may wonder if I had some strange power. Let me tell you that I did have a power and this is it — never once in my life did I allow myself to have even one sexual thought.
When semen is preserved, it gets reabsorbed by the body and stored in the brain as Ojas Shakti or Spiritual Power. The vital force is closely linked with the nervous system. Hence, it is vitally necessary to preserve it carefully if one desires to have strong nerves. Girls, too, suffer great loss through having unchaste thoughts and giving way to lust. Vital nervous energy is lost. There is a corresponding loss of Veerya (vital fluid) in them as well.
Scientists consider that 40 drops of blood form one drop of this vital fluid. It is a sort of white blood. When we lose even a few drops of blood, we are panic stricken, although it is much less valuable than the vital fluid. We, however, waste this vital fluid, which is the king of vitality, recklessly for the pleasure of a few seconds.
True understanding is one that produces results. All other understanding is unfruitful.
Mind, intellect, chit and ego should remain in brahmacharya. And if mind, intellect, chit and ego turn towards brahmacharya, then the external sexuality will shed off automatically.
The illusion of sex is such that it will sink all, even the one who thinks that he has no attachment to anything in the world. This illusion of sex has sunk great sages and masters from tremendous spiritual heights.
Celibacy 1 - The Detailed Analysis of SexualityPardeep Sehgal
Brahmacharya means control of the Veerya. The vital force or Veerya is preserved only by one who is established in the practice of Brahmacharya. The vital fluid or semen is lost and wasted during sexual indulgence.
From food comes juice or chyle; from chyle comes blood and flesh; from flesh comes fat; from fat comes bones; from bones come marrow. Lastly, from marrow comes semen.
The Veerya comes out of the very marrow concealed in the bones. It is found in a subtle state in all the cells of the body. Mark here how precious the semen is! It is the last essence of food. It is the essence of essences.
In Yoga Shastra it is stated: "The falling of semen brings death; the preservation of it gives life." 'The nemesis of reproduction is death. The sexual act is essentially katabolic (or a movement towards death) in the male, and in parturition of the offspring it is katabolic for the female.'
"The future is for the nations who are chaste". Tom Mann
Celibacy 4 - Right Company and Firm DecisionPardeep Sehgal
The sexual impulse has been there for countless lives, and you never know when it will rise again. Therefore, it is important to remain in the right company. If you go out of right company, because of the existing impulse, sexuality will start to sprout all over again.
What is nischaya (determined decision)? Nischaya means, no matter how powerful an army of worldly difficulties arises with attacks, you would not back off.
What is nischaya? It is to stop all other thoughts and come onto only one thought. If you make a firm decision, all the evidences will come together and make it happen. If your decision is not firm then the evidences will not come together and your goal will not be accomplished.
To raise up the physical to the spiritual is Brahmacharya, for by the meeting of the two the energy which starts from one and produces the other is enhanced and fulfills itself. This is the metaphysical theory. The application depends on a right understanding of the physical and psychological conformation of the human receptacle of energy.
Brahmacharya (Celibacy) Quotes (Sri R Paramahansa)Pardeep Sehgal
A man practicing unbroken brahmacharya for twelve years develops a special power. He grows a new inner nerve called the nerve of memory. Through that nerve he remembers all, he understands all. When a man succeeds in the conservation of his sexual energy, his intellect reflects the image of Brahman. The man who carries this image of Brahman in his heart is able to accomplish everything – he will succeed wonderfully in whatever action he engages himself.
Brahmacharya (Celibacy) Quotes (S Vivekananda)Pardeep Sehgal
In my first speech in this country, in Chicago, I addressed that audience as ‘Sisters and Brothers of America’, and you know that they all rose to their feet. You may wonder what made them do this, you may wonder if I had some strange power. Let me tell you that I did have a power and this is it — never once in my life did I allow myself to have even one sexual thought.
When semen is preserved, it gets reabsorbed by the body and stored in the brain as Ojas Shakti or Spiritual Power. The vital force is closely linked with the nervous system. Hence, it is vitally necessary to preserve it carefully if one desires to have strong nerves. Girls, too, suffer great loss through having unchaste thoughts and giving way to lust. Vital nervous energy is lost. There is a corresponding loss of Veerya (vital fluid) in them as well.
Celibacy 2 - Means of Attaining BrahamacharyaPardeep Sehgal
This document discusses different means of attaining brahmacharya or celibacy. It states that jnana (spiritual knowledge) and finding the right guru are necessary for controlling sexual desires and achieving brahmacharya. Mere external restraints like avoiding marriage are not sufficient, as the root causes of sexuality lie in ignorance. Only by uprooting this ignorance through jnana can one truly attain freedom from sexual impulses and desires. The cycle of rebirth will continue until one seeks out a true master to help achieve liberation from this ignorance.
The document summarizes the key qualities of a self-realized or stable-minded person according to ancient Hindu scriptures. It describes how such a person remains unshaken by happiness or distress, is detached from sense objects and the ego, and has completely subdued their senses. They experience inner peace and calmness. Their intellect becomes firmly established in the divine and they attain liberation from the cycles of rebirth.
The document discusses several key concepts about the soul from the Bhagavad Gita:
1) The soul is eternal and imperishable, neither born nor destroyed. It is transcendental to the material body.
2) True compassion should be aimed at realizing the eternal soul within all living beings, not the temporary material body.
3) Understanding the difference between the eternal soul and temporary body leads to freedom from lamentation, fear, and illusion, as well as cultivating universal brotherhood.
This is one of the most famous & brilliant chapters of the Geeta which gives the student a very direct explanation for, & almost a personal experience of the Self in him, free from his material equipment & their misinterpretations, the world-of-objects. An exhaustive exposition on how to meditate directly upon the Imperishable Formless Spirit is given here. Spirit functioning through matter-envelopments is the living organism. To undress to get rid off matter, we must have a precise knowledge of all that constitutes matter in us. This discrimination between the inert matter-equipment & the vibrant spark-of-Life, the Spirit, is presented in this chapter.
The presentation has been prepared to explain viewers what is 'OM', the fundamental primordial vibration with which the manifested world has been created.
The document discusses the qualifications of an ideal disciple based on scriptural teachings. It states that a disciple must sincerely approach a qualified spiritual master, inquire from them submissively and render service. Some key qualities of a disciple mentioned are humbly and submissively approaching the spiritual master with important questions, being anxious to inquire about spiritual perfection, and serving the master with humility and gratitude. The purpose is to receive proper guidance from the spiritual master to understand the science of the soul and solve the fundamental problems of life.
The document discusses the concept of karma and reincarnation across various religious texts and traditions. It states that past actions determine one's situation in the current life, and current actions will determine the next life. The material world is described as a place for souls to work through karma by experiencing different bodies and conditions under the modes of nature. Living entities are bound by their actions, which are performed according to conditioning by the modes of nature.
We are not our material bodies but eternal spirit souls. The presence of the soul can be seen through consciousness, which a computer lacks, and through phenomena like near-death experiences. The soul is eternal, individual, and smaller than the tip of a hair. It inhabits the heart and leaves one body for another at death, driven by karma from past lives. Ultimate knowledge comes from understanding our true identity as spirit souls, parts of God, not as temporary material bodies.
- The document discusses the importance of identifying a genuine spiritual master or guru to guide one in spiritual life.
- It provides qualifications for identifying a real guru, including that the guru must be situated in self-realization, teach based on scriptural evidence, and exhibit saintly qualities in their behavior.
- The genuine guru is empowered by Krishna to impart true spiritual knowledge that can free one from illusion and help one progress toward the ultimate goal of self-realization.
How To Balance Your Chakras And Strengthen Your IntuitionTia Johnson
This document summarizes a webinar on balancing chakras and strengthening intuition. The webinar will last one hour and cover how to balance the 7 major chakras, techniques to strengthen intuitive abilities like clairvoyance and clairaudience, and how combining balanced chakras with strong intuition can improve various areas of life including confidence, risk-taking, and attracting valuable people. The presenter is introduced as a Reiki practitioner and author who created a spiritually-based business to help people.
This document provides transcribed comments from Dadaji that were recorded by Abhi Bhattacharya on audio tapes between 1971-1988. It includes 3 passages of comments from Dadaji providing insights on topics like the nature of existence, desires, destiny, and the qualities of Truth/Satyanarayan. Abhi provides context for the recordings, explaining how he came to meet Dadaji and record his comments over many years of traveling with him. He notes that Dadaji's words were profound and difficult to fully comprehend with the limited mind.
Ss[1].science of self_realisation-final10Reddy Katkam
The document provides an overview of a 7-day elementary course on self-realization and the Bhagavad Gita. It covers topics like the existence of God, different types of yoga including karma yoga, jnana yoga and bhakti yoga, the science of the soul, karma and reincarnation, different scriptures and establishing a home as a temple. The course aims to help students understand the real problems of life and find a permanent solution by inquiring about the supreme being and engaging in devotional service.
This Chapter discusses the types of manifestations that are available in the living world when the same 'Knower', the Eternal Spirit, expresses Itself through various 'Fields'. It describes the mental contents of the good as compared with those of the bad. The Chapter opens with an exhaustive list of 26 noble Traits in a cultured man living the spiritual way-of-life. This is followed by another extensive listing of the bad qualities, which should be avoided. The bad characters or Demons continue to live their vile lives, birth after birth,& are never able to come up spiritually. Finally the Lord advises seekers to avoid the three 'gates of hell', lust, anger & hatred to lead a good life & attain liberation. In conclusion, Krishna states that the Scriptures form the authority to be followed by all for righteous action.
1. The document discusses constant awareness of divine presence and how to achieve it through practices like breathing exercises, silent sitting, and chanting mantras.
2. It explains how regulating breathing can restore emotional balance and that practices like the Soham mantra enhance peace and joy.
3. Silent sitting is described as a way to tune in one's inner consciousness and install divinity as a guiding force in life.
Mandukya Upanishad does not talk about trust or belief in God; rather addresses one’s day to day experience of waking, dreaming and deep sleep and explains the truth based on an experience which is common to all. Thanks to its universal nature, anybody anywhere in the world can appreciate the beauty and the essence of this Upanishad. On the lighter side, since it comprises of only twelve shlokas, it is apt for modern day culture of instant gratification and can be called ‘Self-realization in twelve minutes’.
Through the explanation of the Omkara, this Upanishad bridges the gap between the known and the unknown states of consciousness.
It explains Omkara Upasana or the method of contemplating on Omkara.
How to bring out the excelence in us ?
The focus of this presentation is:
"Shaping and moulding our human response towards
purposeful and useful objectives in all the spheres
of human activity”
“To ignite the spark of Human Excellence present as latent in everyone, but could not unfortunately be kindled as patent due to some reason or other”
Enjoy !
Raj...
Kamma refers to intentional actions through body, speech, and mind that have moral or immoral consequences. Every action has a corresponding reaction or result. Ignorance and craving are the root causes of kamma. Kamma is not fatalistic, as one can divert the course of their kamma through effort. The five niyamas describe natural laws governing physical and mental phenomena. One is responsible for one's kamma and circumstances, but these can also be transcended by eliminating craving and ignorance.
- According to Indian and Vedic philosophies, self-realization is the realization and knowledge of the Purusha, or true self, within every human being. This is seen as the key to liberation from the cycle of birth and death.
- There are three main paths or margas to self-realization in Hinduism: bhakti (devotion), gyan (knowledge/meditation), and karma (works/actions). Various spiritual practices fall under each of these paths.
- In the Bible, Genesis describes how God created humans in His image and breathed His spirit into them, empowering their souls. This distinguishes humans from other creatures and allows for a relationship with the Creator. However
“What is known with regard to how this word is used
linguistically is that its usage is limited to when the love is
sexual, such as when a person loves another person whom they can enjoy [sexually], such as a woman or a child. This term is not used to describe a person’s love for their children, relatives,country, wealth, religion, and so forth. It is also not used for the love of a person towards intangible things, such as loving a person for their knowledge, religiousness, bravery, generosity,
good conduct, and so forth.Rather, it is well-known regarding the term Al-`Ishq is that it is used for love that results in sexual relations. A person who is suffering from Al-`Ishq wants to satisfy themselves by looking at and listening to the one who is beloved in this fashion. Also, by making love to them through a kiss, feeling, hugging, or by having sex.” - Ibn Taimiyyah
This document discusses various causes of lust and ways to protect oneself. It identifies free time, beautification of one's appearance, and not safeguarding one's senses as causes of lust. It recommends filling one's heart with love for God, analyzing relationships for true intentions, lowering one's gaze, and avoiding triggers as ways to protect against lust. Filling one's heart with love for God is said to be the utmost form of righteousness and bliss.
Celibacy 2 - Means of Attaining BrahamacharyaPardeep Sehgal
This document discusses different means of attaining brahmacharya or celibacy. It states that jnana (spiritual knowledge) and finding the right guru are necessary for controlling sexual desires and achieving brahmacharya. Mere external restraints like avoiding marriage are not sufficient, as the root causes of sexuality lie in ignorance. Only by uprooting this ignorance through jnana can one truly attain freedom from sexual impulses and desires. The cycle of rebirth will continue until one seeks out a true master to help achieve liberation from this ignorance.
The document summarizes the key qualities of a self-realized or stable-minded person according to ancient Hindu scriptures. It describes how such a person remains unshaken by happiness or distress, is detached from sense objects and the ego, and has completely subdued their senses. They experience inner peace and calmness. Their intellect becomes firmly established in the divine and they attain liberation from the cycles of rebirth.
The document discusses several key concepts about the soul from the Bhagavad Gita:
1) The soul is eternal and imperishable, neither born nor destroyed. It is transcendental to the material body.
2) True compassion should be aimed at realizing the eternal soul within all living beings, not the temporary material body.
3) Understanding the difference between the eternal soul and temporary body leads to freedom from lamentation, fear, and illusion, as well as cultivating universal brotherhood.
This is one of the most famous & brilliant chapters of the Geeta which gives the student a very direct explanation for, & almost a personal experience of the Self in him, free from his material equipment & their misinterpretations, the world-of-objects. An exhaustive exposition on how to meditate directly upon the Imperishable Formless Spirit is given here. Spirit functioning through matter-envelopments is the living organism. To undress to get rid off matter, we must have a precise knowledge of all that constitutes matter in us. This discrimination between the inert matter-equipment & the vibrant spark-of-Life, the Spirit, is presented in this chapter.
The presentation has been prepared to explain viewers what is 'OM', the fundamental primordial vibration with which the manifested world has been created.
The document discusses the qualifications of an ideal disciple based on scriptural teachings. It states that a disciple must sincerely approach a qualified spiritual master, inquire from them submissively and render service. Some key qualities of a disciple mentioned are humbly and submissively approaching the spiritual master with important questions, being anxious to inquire about spiritual perfection, and serving the master with humility and gratitude. The purpose is to receive proper guidance from the spiritual master to understand the science of the soul and solve the fundamental problems of life.
The document discusses the concept of karma and reincarnation across various religious texts and traditions. It states that past actions determine one's situation in the current life, and current actions will determine the next life. The material world is described as a place for souls to work through karma by experiencing different bodies and conditions under the modes of nature. Living entities are bound by their actions, which are performed according to conditioning by the modes of nature.
We are not our material bodies but eternal spirit souls. The presence of the soul can be seen through consciousness, which a computer lacks, and through phenomena like near-death experiences. The soul is eternal, individual, and smaller than the tip of a hair. It inhabits the heart and leaves one body for another at death, driven by karma from past lives. Ultimate knowledge comes from understanding our true identity as spirit souls, parts of God, not as temporary material bodies.
- The document discusses the importance of identifying a genuine spiritual master or guru to guide one in spiritual life.
- It provides qualifications for identifying a real guru, including that the guru must be situated in self-realization, teach based on scriptural evidence, and exhibit saintly qualities in their behavior.
- The genuine guru is empowered by Krishna to impart true spiritual knowledge that can free one from illusion and help one progress toward the ultimate goal of self-realization.
How To Balance Your Chakras And Strengthen Your IntuitionTia Johnson
This document summarizes a webinar on balancing chakras and strengthening intuition. The webinar will last one hour and cover how to balance the 7 major chakras, techniques to strengthen intuitive abilities like clairvoyance and clairaudience, and how combining balanced chakras with strong intuition can improve various areas of life including confidence, risk-taking, and attracting valuable people. The presenter is introduced as a Reiki practitioner and author who created a spiritually-based business to help people.
This document provides transcribed comments from Dadaji that were recorded by Abhi Bhattacharya on audio tapes between 1971-1988. It includes 3 passages of comments from Dadaji providing insights on topics like the nature of existence, desires, destiny, and the qualities of Truth/Satyanarayan. Abhi provides context for the recordings, explaining how he came to meet Dadaji and record his comments over many years of traveling with him. He notes that Dadaji's words were profound and difficult to fully comprehend with the limited mind.
Ss[1].science of self_realisation-final10Reddy Katkam
The document provides an overview of a 7-day elementary course on self-realization and the Bhagavad Gita. It covers topics like the existence of God, different types of yoga including karma yoga, jnana yoga and bhakti yoga, the science of the soul, karma and reincarnation, different scriptures and establishing a home as a temple. The course aims to help students understand the real problems of life and find a permanent solution by inquiring about the supreme being and engaging in devotional service.
This Chapter discusses the types of manifestations that are available in the living world when the same 'Knower', the Eternal Spirit, expresses Itself through various 'Fields'. It describes the mental contents of the good as compared with those of the bad. The Chapter opens with an exhaustive list of 26 noble Traits in a cultured man living the spiritual way-of-life. This is followed by another extensive listing of the bad qualities, which should be avoided. The bad characters or Demons continue to live their vile lives, birth after birth,& are never able to come up spiritually. Finally the Lord advises seekers to avoid the three 'gates of hell', lust, anger & hatred to lead a good life & attain liberation. In conclusion, Krishna states that the Scriptures form the authority to be followed by all for righteous action.
1. The document discusses constant awareness of divine presence and how to achieve it through practices like breathing exercises, silent sitting, and chanting mantras.
2. It explains how regulating breathing can restore emotional balance and that practices like the Soham mantra enhance peace and joy.
3. Silent sitting is described as a way to tune in one's inner consciousness and install divinity as a guiding force in life.
Mandukya Upanishad does not talk about trust or belief in God; rather addresses one’s day to day experience of waking, dreaming and deep sleep and explains the truth based on an experience which is common to all. Thanks to its universal nature, anybody anywhere in the world can appreciate the beauty and the essence of this Upanishad. On the lighter side, since it comprises of only twelve shlokas, it is apt for modern day culture of instant gratification and can be called ‘Self-realization in twelve minutes’.
Through the explanation of the Omkara, this Upanishad bridges the gap between the known and the unknown states of consciousness.
It explains Omkara Upasana or the method of contemplating on Omkara.
How to bring out the excelence in us ?
The focus of this presentation is:
"Shaping and moulding our human response towards
purposeful and useful objectives in all the spheres
of human activity”
“To ignite the spark of Human Excellence present as latent in everyone, but could not unfortunately be kindled as patent due to some reason or other”
Enjoy !
Raj...
Kamma refers to intentional actions through body, speech, and mind that have moral or immoral consequences. Every action has a corresponding reaction or result. Ignorance and craving are the root causes of kamma. Kamma is not fatalistic, as one can divert the course of their kamma through effort. The five niyamas describe natural laws governing physical and mental phenomena. One is responsible for one's kamma and circumstances, but these can also be transcended by eliminating craving and ignorance.
- According to Indian and Vedic philosophies, self-realization is the realization and knowledge of the Purusha, or true self, within every human being. This is seen as the key to liberation from the cycle of birth and death.
- There are three main paths or margas to self-realization in Hinduism: bhakti (devotion), gyan (knowledge/meditation), and karma (works/actions). Various spiritual practices fall under each of these paths.
- In the Bible, Genesis describes how God created humans in His image and breathed His spirit into them, empowering their souls. This distinguishes humans from other creatures and allows for a relationship with the Creator. However
“What is known with regard to how this word is used
linguistically is that its usage is limited to when the love is
sexual, such as when a person loves another person whom they can enjoy [sexually], such as a woman or a child. This term is not used to describe a person’s love for their children, relatives,country, wealth, religion, and so forth. It is also not used for the love of a person towards intangible things, such as loving a person for their knowledge, religiousness, bravery, generosity,
good conduct, and so forth.Rather, it is well-known regarding the term Al-`Ishq is that it is used for love that results in sexual relations. A person who is suffering from Al-`Ishq wants to satisfy themselves by looking at and listening to the one who is beloved in this fashion. Also, by making love to them through a kiss, feeling, hugging, or by having sex.” - Ibn Taimiyyah
This document discusses various causes of lust and ways to protect oneself. It identifies free time, beautification of one's appearance, and not safeguarding one's senses as causes of lust. It recommends filling one's heart with love for God, analyzing relationships for true intentions, lowering one's gaze, and avoiding triggers as ways to protect against lust. Filling one's heart with love for God is said to be the utmost form of righteousness and bliss.
The one who lusts after someone will strive to reach the object of their lust through any and every means. Perhaps they would even resort to winning the one they lust through the devils among the Jinn, by using magic.
This document discusses semen and its potential health benefits when consumed by women. It claims semen acts as an antidepressant due to hormones like testosterone and estrogen. It provides information on semen composition, normal values, how it forms, routes of administration, side effects, contraindications and potential uses to improve fertility, prevent miscarriage and preeclampsia, and treat depression. The document recommends semen consumption by married couples through vaginal intercourse as beneficial but cautions against promiscuous or non-marital uses of sex.
A person must restrain themselves from falling into impermissible actions. If a man lusts after the wife of another man, he should say to himself that this is the wife of another man, so how can I lust after her? If it was another man, he should say that this is the relationship because of which, Allaah cursed the people of Loote, may Allaah exalt his mention, destroyed them, punished them severely with punishments that were not used on anyone before them.
This document defines and discusses the concept of sin from theological and biblical perspectives. It begins by defining sin as an offense against reason, truth, and conscience that fails to love God and neighbor and injures human solidarity. It then explores concepts of sin in the Old and New Testaments, dimensions of sin, degrees of sin including mortal and venial, internal and external sins, sins of omission and commission, capital sins, sources of sin, and the effects of sin. The document provides a comprehensive overview of the nature and understanding of sin.
Basic Spiritual Primer 7 (Creation, Causes and Effects)Pardeep Sehgal
The Aitareya Upanishad proclaims that in the beginning, the Atman alone existed. The Atman manifested the universe out of itself. Various elements like ether, air, fire, water and earth emerged from the Atman in subtle and gross forms. Though the universe emerged from the Atman, it is not separate from the Atman due to the Atman's immanent presence in all creation. The Upanishad describes how various functions like speech emerged from parts of a cosmic man, and deities like Agni emerged from these functions to govern different aspects of the universe.
The document outlines a theory of emanationism that describes levels of reality descending from the absolute Godhead. It presents several principles to explain this, including that only God has independent reality, while all else depends on God. Lower levels of reality are like attributes or aspects of God. The theory proposes a hierarchical structure of hypostases or levels of being descending from God in a linear relationship of cause and effect.
Karma yoga chapter 1 karma in its effect on characterRavi Ramakrishnan
Swami #Vivekananda Bengali: , Shāmi Bibekānondo; 12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born #Narendranath Datta, was an Indian Hindu monk, a chief disciple of the 19th-century Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the introduction of the Indian philosophies of# Vedanta and #Yoga to the Western world and is credited with raising #interfaith awareness, bringing Hinduism to the status of a major world religion during the late 19th century. He was a major force in the revival of Hinduism in India, and contributed to the concept of nationalism in colonial India. Vivekananda founded the #Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission. He is perhaps best known for his speech which began, "Sisters and brothers of America ...," in which he introduced Hinduism at the Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago in 1893.
Born into an aristocratic Bengali family of Calcutta, Vivekananda was inclined towards spirituality. He was influenced by his Guru, Ramakrishna Deva, from whom he learnt that all living beings were an embodiment of the divine self; therefore, service to God could be rendered by service to mankind. After Ramakrishna's death, Vivekananda toured the Indian subcontinent extensively and acquired first-hand knowledge of the conditions prevailing in British India. He later traveled to the United States, representing India at the 1893 Parliament of the World Religions. Vivekananda conducted hundreds of public and private lectures and classes, disseminating tenets of Hindu philosophy in the United States, England and Europe. In India, Vivekananda is regarded as a patriotic saint and his birthday is celebrated there as National Youth Day.
Status of the External world in Early Buddhist Philosophyinventionjournals
The document discusses the status of the external world in early Buddhist philosophy. It makes three key points:
1) Everything arises dependently through relations with other things, exists depending on various conditions, and nothing exists independently. The world is characterized by impermanence and constant change.
2) All things are momentary, as they depend on different conditions every moment and no two moments are identical. There is only continuity of life processes, not permanent entities.
3) The world is neither fully real nor unreal, but is a dynamic process of constant becoming without a fixed nature. Causality and dependent origination govern the impermanent and relationally constituted nature of reality according to early Buddhist thought.
1) The document discusses the concept of 'nothing' and argues that nothing does not truly exist. Instead, everything exists dependently and conditionally without any permanent essence.
2) It states that energy has always existed and is the driving force behind all change and activity in the universe. Energy exists as vibration that generates the cycles of rising and falling phenomena.
3) The document concludes that without consciousness or mind, no duality or multiplicity would exist. In a state without mind, all things would be in a completely neutralized state of no-thingness without qualities, names, or attributes.
The document discusses the Buddhist concept of dependent origination and how to properly understand it. It explains that all phenomena arise from a network of interdependent causes and conditions, rather than having single, independent causes. No phenomenon has inherent existence on its own. All things exist in relation to other things in a constantly changing, interconnected web. The emptiness of inherent existence is both the cause and result of this dependent nature of phenomena. Understanding dependent origination and emptiness is key to overcoming ignorance and achieving freedom from samsara.
Holy Spirit or Brahman, not material spirit or energy is understood as the moving and sustaining force of the world. This is presented and argued logically as a science and Truth that can save humanity from impending disasters
1) Samsara refers to the repeating cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth in Buddhist philosophy. It exists due to the inherent qualities of emptiness and energy within the dependent nature of phenomena.
2) Emptiness and energy are fundamental and interdependent qualities - emptiness allows for the existence of form and energy, while energy is an expression of emptiness. All objects exist dependently and conditionally.
3) Within the dependent nature, there is a cycle of cause and effect that is interwoven and non-linear, with no discernible first cause. The mind arises from energy and emptiness, and then perceives and classifies phenomena, leading to duality and multiplicity
Everything exists dependently and lacks an eternal essence. All phenomena arise from the interaction of multiple causes and conditions, and the fundamental qualities of existence are emptiness and energy. Emptiness refers to the lack of inherent existence of all things, while energy is the constant vibration that generates phenomena. Cultivating qualities like loving-kindness, compassion, empathetic joy and equanimity through meditation helps one weaken suffering and realize emptiness to attain enlightenment. All things are interconnected through their dependent arising from emptiness and energy.
The document discusses the philosophical concepts of yin and yang and how they relate to existence and the dichotomy between life and death. It argues that life and death are human constructs and that from a broader perspective, everything exists in a constant state of rising and falling under the influences of karma. Ultimately, the orientation of truth depends on the observer's perceptions and mind, and there is no single objective truth but rather multiple subjective truths that can vary between observers. Realizing this interconnectedness of all things is the essence of enlightenment.
The Vaisesika philosophy analyzes aspects of reality according to six categories: substance, quality, action, generality, particularity, and inherence. It describes a world composed of eternal atoms where souls undergo cycles of rebirth determined by past karma and the will of God. The goal is moksha or liberation from rebirth through cultivating virtues, restraining desires, and gaining insight into the true nature of the self and reality.
This document provides an introduction to James Traverse's work on "The Creation Vibration" and the seven principles of love consciousness. It begins by discussing the true nature of awareness and how the universe is living and composed of waves. It describes waves, energy, and the four fundamental states of matter. The creation vibration is defined as harmonious wave interaction that allows for deliberate creation through alignment of one's creativity with the wave nature of the universe. The seven principles of love consciousness are then listed, with the first being that love has and is being being.
This document discusses the nature of truth and how to seek the ultimate truth. It argues that truth arises from within oneself rather than existing externally. It states that all phenomena are dependent on the observer's perception and are considered "conventionally true" but not ultimately true. It suggests abandoning rigid views and ideologies in order to see the truth directly. All things exist within and are constituents of the supreme state of emptiness or Mother Nature. Emptiness is the inherent nature of all phenomena and the key to understanding their dependent arising and eternal continuum. Ultimately, one can become enlightened to the true nature of all things by properly understanding causality and conditions.
1. The document discusses the concepts of spirit, soul, and body, and whether the soul is immortal.
2. It explores perspectives from Stoicism, Christianity, spiritualism, theosophy, and Sri Aurobindo on the relationship between these concepts and the possibility of immortality or rebirth of the soul.
3. Key points of debate include whether the soul can be equated with the ego or personality, or if it is a deeper dimension beyond impermanence and connected to the eternal spirit.
- In the beginning was emptiness (shunyakasha), containing latent potential energy. As creation began, divine consciousness manifested as the primordial vibration of the sound "OM".
- From OM emerged two primordial forces - Purusha (consciousness) and Prakriti (primordial nature). From Prakriti emanated the three gunas (qualities) and five tattvas (elements) that form the basis for all manifestations.
- The interactions between the tattvas and gunas influence all forms of life physically, psychically and spiritually. They allow for the complex human form, mind and consciousness to emerge and evolve.
This document discusses Deepak Chopra's seven spiritual laws of success. It summarizes each law and provides examples and explanations of how to apply each law. The seven laws are: 1) The Law of Pure Potentiality, 2) The Law of Giving and Receiving, 3) The Law of Karma (Cause and Effect), 4) The Law of Least Effort, 5) The Law of Intention and Desire, 6) The Law of Detachment, and 7) The Law of Dharma or Purpose in Life. Applying these universal spiritual laws can help one achieve success, abundance, fulfillment and realize one's true nature and divine potential.
Describes the mystical experience of the Void in one-pointed meditation or N.D.E. When the mind stills in meditation or death we flash into the superconsciousness of Infinite Space-Time. This is a complimentary ppt to my "How The Universe Works" ppt also posted on Slideshare which has additional information on The Void.
Basic Spiritual Primer 8 (Inward Contemplation of Reality)Pardeep Sehgal
We always think in terms of something. That something is what we call life, or at least an aspect of life. We never see at any time our own mind contemplating its own self. The inward contemplation of Universal Reality is the theme of this Primer.
Metaphysics is the study of existence, consciousness, and their relation to humans and the universe. Consciousness gives us awareness and the ability to think and feel. It exists on a spectrum, with humans at a higher level of consciousness than animals or plants. Matter is composed of atoms and subatomic particles and can be seen as frozen light or dense energy that forms our physical world. Paradigms are belief systems that can shift when anomalies arise that cannot be explained by current rules, initially facing rejection before becoming accepted.
Ignorance is the spring of misery. Through ignorance one suffers afflictions and incurs great danger. Ignorance has its origin in covetousness. As covetousness grows, ignorance also grows. Ignorance exists there where covetousness exists.
Current COVID virus is a direct attack on the vital Link necessary for transfer of Energy to Form. Our willful engagement in the Greed-Deceit group of negative attributes at Shanks has given birth to this virus.
Life is going to be different post Corona. It is a message to the entire world that we must limit performance of our activity which is based on the Greed-Deceit group of negative attributes.
Disclaimer: This is the opinion of the writer. All are welcome to make further studies in this direction.
Brother, there are three evils most formidable of all: lust, anger and greed. The weapons of greed are desire and hypocrisy, of lust naught but woman; while anger’s weapon is harsh speech: so declare the great sages after deep thought. Woman is God's wonderful creation but to lust after her is not desirable.
Ansuya to Sita on Wifely Virtues from the Epic 'Ramayana' by Tulsi Das Ji. • The woman who deceives her husband and loves a paramour is cast for a hundred cycles into the worst hell known as Raurava. Who is as depraved as the woman who for the sake of a moment’s pleasure reckons not the torment that shall endure for a thousand million births?
Lord Mahadev - Uma discourse on Women's Duties from the Epic 'Mahabharata'. Uma concludes: 'Maheshwara, I do not desire Heaven itself if thou art not satisfied with me'.
No man even in anger, should do anything that is disagreeable to his wife, seeing that happiness, joy and virtue, - everything depends on the wife. A wonderful discourse from the Epic 'Mahabharata'.
Due to their natural disposition women cannot be regarded as offenders. It is the men who should be stained with guilt of any wrongdoing to women. A wonderful discourse from the Epic 'Mahabharata'.
Women are said to be naturally sinful and the root of all evil according to ancient Hindu scriptures. The celestial being Panchachuda lists the many faults of women as understood in these scriptures, such as their inability to remain faithful, their constant desire for new male companions, and their lack of restraint even for husbands who treat them well. Women are seen as inherently lacking self-control and morality. Originally, women were created virtuous, but Brahma later created the current form of women with the aid of illusion to instill in them lust, desire, and inability to be restrained in order to stop humanity's progression towards godhood.
Listen! Rama, I am now telling you the secret of accomplishment. Of all the requisites for wisdom, Divine Grace is the most important. He who has entirely surrendered himself to the Goddess (Pure Consciousness by devotion through a true Guru) is sure to gain wisdom readily. Rama! This is the best of all the methods.
This method does not require other aids to reinforce its efficiency, as other methods do for accomplishing the end. This is hard for those whose minds are directed outward; and it is easy, sure and quick for devotees engrossed in the Goddess of the Self to the exclusion of all else.
My concrete form is the eternal couple - the Supreme Lord and Energy - always in undivided union and abiding as the eternal consciousness pervading the three phenomenal states of waking, dream and sleep, and reclining on the cot whose four legs are Brahma (the Creator), Vishnu (the Protector), Siva (the Destroyer) and Isvara (Disappearance) and whose surface is Sadasiva (Grace) which is contained in the mansion known as 'fulfilment of purpose' enclosed by the garden of 'Kadamba' trees in the jewel island situated in the wide ocean of nectar surrounding the cosmos and extending beyond.
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Brahma, Vishnu, Siva, Isvara, Sadasiva, Ganesa, Skanda, the gods of the eight quarters, their energies, other gods, celestials, serpents and other superhuman beings are all manifestations of myself. However, people do not know ME because their intellect is shrouded in ignorance.
I grant boons to those who worship ME. There is no one besides ME worthy of worship or capable of fulfilling all desires.
ADS6 - Different States of the Wise (Jnanis)Pardeep Sehgal
What kind of effort can avail to disclose the eternally self-resplendent consciousness?
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• Being coated with a thick crust of infinite vasanas (dispositions), it is not easily perceived.
• The incrustation must first be soaked in the running stream of mind control and carefully scraped off with the sharp chisel of investigation.
• Then one must turn the closed urn of crystal quartz - namely, the mind cleaned in the aforesaid manner - on the grinding wheel of alertness and finally open the lid with the lever of discrimination.
• Lo! The gem enclosed within is now reached and that is all!
Intellects are the cumulative effects of the predispositions acquired by karma. Effort is necessary so long as the predispositions continue to sway the intellect
Diversity is visible only in space, and this space is in the Self, which in turn projects it at the moment when differentiation starts although it is not then clear. Rama! Look within.
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• What you perceive as space within is the expanse wherein all creatures exist, and it forms their ‘Self’ or consciousness.
• What they look upon as space is your ‘Self’.
• Thus, the ‘Self’ in one is space in another, and vice versa.
• The same thing cannot differ in its nature.
• Therefore there is no difference between space and ‘Self’ - which is full and perfect Bliss-Consciousness.
The strongest fetter is the certainty that one is bound. It is as false as the fearful hallucinations of a frightened child. Even the best of men cannot find release by any amount of efforts unless his sense of bondage is destroyed.
An aspirant for wisdom first turns away from the pleasures of life and absorbs himself in the search for knowledge, which he learns from a master. This is hearsay knowledge.
In order to experience it, he ponders over it and clears his doubts. Then he applies the knowledge to himself and tries to feel his immortal being transcending the body, mind, etc., he succeeds in feeling his Self within.
Later he remembers the teaching imparted by his Guru that the Self being unqualified, cannot be differentiated from God and experiences his unity with the Universal Self. This is in short the course of wisdom and liberation.
If you infer its eternal light, then closely investigate whether the light is of itself or not. Everybody fails in this investigation however learned and proficient he may be, because his mind is not bent inward but restlessly moves outward.
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• As long as thoughts crop up, so long has the turning inward of the mind not been accomplished.
• As long as the mind is not inward, so long the Self cannot be realised.
• Turning inward means absence of desire.
• How can the mind be fixed within if desires are not given up?
Therefore become dispassionate and inhere as the Self. Such inherence is spontaneous (no effort is needed to inhere as the Self). It is realised after thoughts are eliminated and investigation ceases.
ADS2 - Cosmic Intelligence and Reality of the UniversePardeep Sehgal
All that is seen has an origin and there must therefore be an antecedent cause for it.
If a thing can appear without a cause there is no relation between cause and effect, and there can be no harmony in the world. A potter's work may lead to a weaver's products, and vice versa, which is absurd. Each occurrence must have a cause for it; that is the rule.
The universe must have a Creator, and He must be an intelligent principle, but He cannot be of any known type because of the vastness of the creation. His power is past understanding and is dealt with in the Scriptures, whose authority is incontrovertible.
This whole universe consisting of the mobile and the immobile, arises from, abides in, and resolves into Him. This is the final and well-known conclusion of the Scriptures; and the Scriptures never err. The guide by which one can apprehend the metaphysical and transcendental matters is Scripture alone.
ADS1 - The Story of Hemalekha and HemachudaPardeep Sehgal
Investigation is the root-cause of all, and it is the first step to the supreme reward of indescribable bliss. How can anyone gain security without proper investigation? A deliberating man always shines over others. Brahma is great because of deliberation; Vishnu is worshipped because of it.
Association with the Wise Must Precede "Vichara" – Deliberation – Self-Enquiry. A man undoubtedly reaps the fruits of his company. I shall relate to you a story to illustrate this:
"There was once a king of Dasarna by name Muktachuda. He had two sons: Hemachuda and Manichuda. They were comely, well-behaved and well-learned. At one time they led a hunting party, consisting of a great retinue of men and warriors, into a deep forest which was infested with tigers, lions and other wild animals…
Fie on human beings who appraise the foulest part of the body as the most delightful. If one should see beauty in that body-part which is wet with impure excretions, where will not man see beauty? Tell me!
The Doctrine of Filial Duty - Teachings of ConfuciusPardeep Sehgal
Then said Confucius: "The duty of children to their parents is the fountain whence all other virtues spring and also the starting-point from which we ought to begin our education:
• Our body and hair and skin are all derived from our parents, and therefore we have no right to injure any of them in the least. This is the first duty of a child.
• To live an upright life and to spread the great doctrines of humanity must win good reputation after death, and reflect great honour upon our parents. This is the last duty of a son.
Hence the first duty of a son is to pay a careful attention to every want of his parents. The next is to serve his government loyally; and the last to establish a good name for himself.”
Forgetful of our Promises to the Lord While in our Mother's Womb (GP-CH6)Pardeep Sehgal
"I am bewildered by Thy magic, as regards body and son and wife; misled by my egoism I am transmigrating, O Lord. I did good and evil actions for the sake of my dependents, and as a result I am tormented, while they who enjoy the fruits escape.
"If I am released from this womb I will lay myself at Thy feet, and I will take the means by which I may obtain liberation. Fallen into a well of faeces and urine, I am burnt by the fire of the belly, and anxious to escape from it. When shall I get out?
"In Him alone, who has given me this experience, and is compassionate to the afflicted, will I seek refuge. Let not this transmigration occur to me again.
"Because remaining even here in great misery, bearing the fatigue, resorting to Thy feet I will keep myself aloof from the worlds of change."
If the state of mind which arises in the womb, during illness, on the cremation ground, or upon hearing the Puranas were permanent - who would not be liberated from bondage!
Signs of Sins and Classes of Rebirth (GP-CH5)Pardeep Sehgal
The murderer of a Brahman becomes consumptive, the killer of a cow becomes hump-backed and imbecile, the murderer of a virgin becomes leprous, all three born as outcastes.
A poisoner becomes insane; an incendiary becomes bald; who sells flesh becomes unlucky; who eats flesh of other beings becomes diseased.
Who hates mother, father and teacher, who quarrels with sister and brother, is destroyed when an embryo in the womb, even for a thousand births.
The woman who abuses her mother-in-law and father-in-law, and causes constant quarrels; becomes a leech; and she who scolds her husband becomes a louse. Who, abandoning her own husband, runs after another man, becomes a flying-fox, a house-lizard, or a kind of female serpent.
YV BKII CH15 On Contentment (The Third Guard at the Door of Liberation)Pardeep Sehgal
Contentment (the third gate-keeper) is the chief good. Contentment is called (true) enjoyment, and the contented man, O destroyer of enemies, gets the best repose.
Whoever retains a contented mind amidst all the affairs of the world is never disturbed or dejected in adverse circumstances, O Rama.
An ungoverned mind, subject to desires and devoid of contentment, does not receive the light of knowledge, like a soiled mirror takes no reflection of the face.
He is called contented who does not long after what he does not possess, who enjoys what he has in its right manner, and who is always graceful in his manners.
Trusting God's Providence | Verse: Romans 8: 28-31JL de Belen
Trusting God's Providence.
Providence - God’s active preservation and care over His creation. God is both the Creator and the Sustainer of all things Heb. 1:2-3; Col. 1:17
-God keep His promises.
-God’s general providence is toward all creation
- All things were made through Him
God’s special providence is toward His children.
We may suffer now, but joy can and will come
God can see what we cannot see
Heartfulness Magazine - June 2024 (Volume 9, Issue 6)heartfulness
Dear readers,
This month we continue with more inspiring talks from the Global Spirituality Mahotsav that was held from March 14 to 17, 2024, at Kanha Shanti Vanam.
We hear from Daaji on lifestyle and yoga in honor of International Day of Yoga, June 21, 2024. We also hear from Professor Bhavani Rao, Dean at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham University, on spirituality in action, the Venerable BhikkuSanghasena on how to be an ambassador for compassion, Dr. Tony Nader on the Maharishi Effect, Swami Mukundananda on the crossroads of modernization, Tejinder Kaur Basra on the purpose of work, the Venerable GesheDorjiDamdul on the psychology of peace, the Rt. Hon. Patricia Scotland, KC, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, on how we are all related, and world-renowned violinist KumareshRajagopalan on the uplifting mysteries of music.
Dr. Prasad Veluthanar shares an Ayurvedic perspective on treating autism, Dr. IchakAdizes helps us navigate disagreements at work, Sravan Banda celebrates World Environment Day by sharing some tips on land restoration, and Sara Bubber tells our children another inspiring story and challenges them with some fun facts and riddles.
Happy reading,
The editors
The Book of Samuel is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books in the Old Testament. The book is part of the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books that constitute a theological history of the Israelites and that aim to explain God's law for Israel under the guidance of the prophets.
Chandra Dev: Unveiling the Mystery of the Moon GodExotic India
Shining brightly in the sky, some days more than others, the Moon in popular culture is a symbol of love, romance, and beauty. The ancient Hindu texts, however, mention the Moon as an intriguing and powerful being, worshiped by sages as Chandra.
Lucid Dreaming: Understanding the Risks and Benefits
The ability to control one's dreams or for the dreamer to be aware that he or she is dreaming. This process, called lucid dreaming, has some potential risks as well as many fascinating benefits. However, many people are hesitant to try it initially for fear of the potential dangers. This article aims to clarify these concerns by exploring both the risks and benefits of lucid dreaming.
The Benefits of Lucid Dreaming
Lucid dreaming allows a person to take control of their dream world, helping them overcome their fears and eliminate nightmares. This technique is particularly useful for mental health. By taking control of their dreams, individuals can face challenging scenarios in a controlled environment, which can help reduce anxiety and increase self-confidence.
Addressing Common Concerns
Physical Harm in Dreams Lucid dreaming is fundamentally safe. In a lucid dream, everything is a creation of your mind. Therefore, nothing in the dream can physically harm you. Despite the vividness and realness of the dream experience, it remains entirely within your mental landscape, posing no physical danger.
Mental Health Risks Concerns about developing PTSD or other mental illnesses from lucid dreaming are unfounded. As soon as you wake up, it's clear that the events experienced in the dream were not real. On the contrary, lucid dreaming is often seen as a therapeutic tool for conditions like PTSD, as it allows individuals to reframe and manage their thoughts.
Potential Risks of Lucid Dreaming
While generally safe, lucid dreaming does come with a few risks as well:
Mixing Dream Memories with Reality Long-term lucid dreamers might occasionally confuse dream memories with real ones, creating false memories. This issue is rare and preventable by maintaining a dream journal and avoiding lucid dreaming about real-life people or places too frequently.
Escapism Using lucid dreaming to escape reality can be problematic if it interferes with your daily life. While it is sometimes beneficial to escape and relieve the stress of reality, relying on lucid dreaming for happiness can hinder personal growth and productivity.
Feeling Tired After Lucid Dreaming Some people report feeling tired after lucid dreaming. This tiredness is not due to the dreams themselves but often results from not getting enough sleep or using techniques that disrupt sleep patterns. Taking breaks and ensuring adequate sleep can prevent this.
Mental Exhaustion Lucid dreaming can be mentally taxing if practiced excessively without breaks. It’s important to balance lucid dreaming with regular sleep to avoid mental fatigue.
Lucid dreaming is safe and beneficial if done with caution. It has many benefits, such as overcoming fear and improving mental health, and minimal risks. There are many resources and tutorials available for those interested in trying it.
Lesson 12 - The Blessed Hope: The Mark of the Christian.pptxCelso Napoleon
Lesson 12 - The Blessed Hope: The Mark of the Christian
SBS – Sunday Bible School
Adult Bible Lessons 2nd quarter 2024 CPAD
MAGAZINE: THE CAREER THAT IS PROPOSED TO US: The Path of Salvation, Holiness and Perseverance to Reach Heaven
Commentator: Pastor Osiel Gomes
Presentation: Missionary Celso Napoleon
Renewed in Grace
Astronism, Cosmism and Cosmodeism: the space religions espousing the doctrine...Cometan
This lecture created by Brandon Taylorian (aka Cometan) specially for the CESNUR Conference held Bordeaux in June 2024 provides a brief introduction to the legacy of religious and philosophical thought that Astronism emerges from, namely the discourse on transcension started assuredly by the Cosmists in Russia in the mid-to-late nineteenth century and then carried on and developed by Mordecai Nessyahu in Cosmodeism in the twentieth century. Cometan also then provides some detail on his story in founding Astronism in the early twenty-first century from 2013 along with details on the central Astronist doctrine of transcension. Finally, the lecture concludes with some contributions made by space religions and space philosophy and their influences on various cultural facets in art, literature and film.
2nd issue of Volume 15. A magazine in urdu language mainly based on spiritual treatment and learning. Many topics on ISLAM, SUFISM, SOCIAL PROBLEMS, SELF HELP, PSYCHOLOGY, HEALTH, SPIRITUAL TREATMENT, Ruqya etc.A very useful magazine for everyone.
The Vulnerabilities of Individuals Born Under Swati Nakshatra.pdfAstroAnuradha
Individuals born under Swati Nakshatra often exhibit a strong sense of independence and adaptability, yet they may also face vulnerabilities such as indecisiveness and a tendency to be easily swayed by external influences. Their quest for balance and harmony can sometimes lead to inner conflict and a lack of assertiveness. To know more visit: astroanuradha.com
Sanatan Vastu | Experience Great Living | Vastu ExpertSanatan Vastu
Santan Vastu Provides Vedic astrology courses & Vastu remedies, If you are searching Vastu for home, Vastu for kitchen, Vastu for house, Vastu for Office & Factory. Best Vastu in Bahadurgarh. Best Vastu in Delhi NCR
Sanatan Vastu | Experience Great Living | Vastu Expert
Root Cause of Hunger and Thirst
1. Root Cause of Thirst and Hunger
(From Aitareya Upanishad of Rig – Veda)
Introduction
The whole objective universe is the effect. Why do we call it an effect? We
have to, because the universe has a tendency to move forward through the process
of evolution.
We would never see one atom in this world lying static without movement.
There is a motion of everything towards something of which there is no proper idea
at the present moment. Rivers are flowing, the sun and the moon and the stars are
active, and we are more active; the whole world is busy with doing something. The
astronomical universe and the subatomic world are active, moving vibrantly. All
seem to be ever engaged for some purpose which they have not yet
fulfilled.
If the purpose had been fulfilled, there would be no activity afterwards.
The very fact that everything in nature seems to be busily doing something is an
indication that it is aiming at a purpose. This is the characteristic of an effect.
An effect is that which is aiming at its own transcendental nature. There is
an effort on the part of everyone to transcend oneself, to rise in dimension, to
become better quantitatively and qualitatively. This is what we call the urge of
evolution, whether it is physical evolution, biological evolution or
psychological evolution.
The universe is moving towards the realisation of its purpose. This is cosmic
evolution, which takes place through different manifestations. The lowest level of it
is physical, the stage of material evolution. The higher is the biological evolution or
growth, to become inwardly subtler, a tendency to psychological growth. The
whole world conceived of in any of its levels seems to be restlessly moving
forward for the realisation of its one purpose.
What this purpose is, is the subject of the Upanishads. Aitareya Upanishad
tries to answer the question of life by reference to causes. We know very well
that every question, when it is attempted to be answered, brings us to its
causative factors. Why is there a disease? Why is a person sick? We ask
questions of this kind. In reply, we try to find out the present cause of the situation.
If one is sick, we must find out the reason behind the sickness. If there is a
war, we must find out the cause behind the war. If there is some kind of
discrepancy, we have to know the cause behind it. If there is any kind of tension,
we argue out why this kind of tension has arisen. Unless we find out the cause
of a particular circumstance, we cannot probe into the context of the
circumstance, whether it is a physical, spiritual, social, biological or
medical one.
2. The great masters of the Upanishads moved from the lower causes to the
higher ones, until they were able to grasp the final cause of things, and
they gave out their conclusions, the final truth for mankind.
By the process of deep yoga and meditation the masters of yore unraveled
the Ultimate Reality, the Ultimate Cause, and the truths of life. These
experiences are recorded in the Upanishads.
The whole of this world, this universe, is the effect of the ultimate cause,
Brahman. The ultimate cause cannot have another cause behind it; if that was the
case, it cannot be regarded as the ultimate cause; it would then be an effect of
another cause altogether. There cannot be two ultimate causes; else there
would arise then the difficulty of understanding the relationship between
the two causes.
We cannot come to any conclusion without a definite notion of relation. The
concept of relation is the most difficult thing to imagine in the mind. We cannot
understand how one thing is related to another thing. The very fact of our ability
to communicate our thoughts among ourselves is an indication of there
being one Mind behind ourselves. Otherwise, there would not be such thing as
communication at all.
Likewise, the imagination of two ultimate causes would imply that there is
something connecting these two causes, transcendent to these two causes,
which will become the ultimate cause. So, somehow or the other, the ultimate
cause cannot be more than one, and there cannot be another cause behind it.
There cannot be something behind it, something prior to it, something larger than it
or greater than it; and there cannot be something equal to it. Such is the unique
character of the Ultimate Reality. The Ultimate Cause and the Ultimate
Reality mean one and the same thing. This existed, this exists and this shall
exist always. There cannot be anything more than this. Here earthly bondage
ceases.
The Ultimate Reality
This final substance is constituted of the essence of everything, and it is
our very Self. It is called the Atman (Soul). It is the Atman because it is the root
substance of all things which are in the position of an effect. The Atman is the
substance of everyone and everything. It is the Total Substance of all created
beings, and so it is called Brahman. The Total Substance is Brahman, and the
same thing conceived as the essence of particular beings is known as the Atman.
Even as there cannot be a cause behind the final cause, there cannot be an Atman
behind the Atman, for the very basic substance is what is called the Atman. The
substance should be ultimate, and the Atman is such. The ultimate in us is the
Atman. The ultimate in the cosmos is Brahman. There cannot be anything
other than this Universal Reality.
3. Aitareya Upanishad
Chapter 1, Section1
I-i-1: In the beginning this was but the absolute Self alone. There was nothing
else whatsoever that winked. He thought, “Let Me create the worlds.”
I-i-2: He created these world, viz. ambhas, marici, mara, apah. That which is
beyond heaven is ambhas. Heaven is its support. The sky is marici. The
earth is mara. The worlds that are below are the apah.
The Aitareya Upanishad proclaims that the Atman, in the beginning, was
the all; and it has become this entire universe. The universe is manifested out
of this Total Substance, Brahman, which is the Atman, or the Self, of the universe.
So, the total effect came out of the Total Cause. From Brahman came the universe.
What is the procedure of the world coming out of the Ultimate Cause?
What is the relationship between the effect and the cause here? There
cannot, in fact, be a vital distinction between the effect and the cause. Our
aspirations would be meaningless, the search for reality would be baseless, and
there would be no function of thought as self-transcendence if we were not vitally
connected with the cause.
Every activity in the world is the effect moving towards the cause by
various degrees of self-transcendence. The very presence of the moral urge to
overstep ourselves to a higher cause or purpose is a proof of the fact that there is a
living contact of the cause with its effect.
While the effect has come from the cause, it is not disconnected from the
cause. This is one principle laid down at the very beginning itself. The
universe seems to have descended in such a way that it has not isolated itself from
the Absolute vitally. There is no vital disconnection between the effect and the
cause. There is some sort of a relation always.
The Atman alone was. The Atman existed as the unparalleled Being, and it
became the cause of the manifested elements. We have the great division of
the elements as ether, air, fire, water and earth, in all their densities or levels of
expression. There is a causal condition, a subtle condition and a gross
condition. This was manifested. But the Absolute is never disconnected from
them at any time; it always maintains a lien over everything that it has
created.
It enters the great objects of a cosmical nature, and this is what we call
the immanence of God. It is the immanence of the cause in the effect that
creates an aspiration in us for higher values. When we ask for God, it is God
speaking from within. The cause is speaking to itself from the bottom of the
effect when there is an aspiration on the part of the effect to move towards the
4. cause. This circumstance of the cause being hidden but present in every
effect is called the immanence of the cause in the effect. Then we say that
God is present in the world.
The Creator is not outside the cosmos. He is not fashioning the world as a
potter makes a pot or a carpenter makes a table. It is not like that. He is one with
the substance of things in immanence, as clay is present in the pot out of
which the pot is manufactured, or as wood is present in the table out of which it is
made. So, we cannot be isolated from the substance of the cause.
Thus, there was an entry of the cosmic substance into this cosmic effect.
This is the first act of God—the entry of the Absolute into the relative in its
universal fashion. He became the cosmic man, to speak in ordinary terms—the
Maha Purusha or Purushottama. The Absolute, unrelated to the created
universe, became the cosmic determining factor of the universe.
This is the Great Being spoken of in the various scriptures which speak of the all-
pervading or omnipresent character of God. We always speak of the
omnipresent nature of God, by which we mean the cause is hidden in the
effect—immanently present, and not isolated from the effect.
Now, this is a very grand concept the Upanishads are placing before us in
connection with the process of the creation of the universe, and we are very happy
to hear all these truths. But, we are also unhappy today; this, also, we cannot
forget.
Why has this unhappiness come out of this great happiness of God’s
creation? What has happened to us? How has this grief come into our hearts out of
this great cosmic manifestation of God’s entering into this universal effect? This
also will be told to us by the Upanishad itself.
There was a very dramatic action of God, as it were—a real drama He
enacted before Himself, because there was no audience before Him. He was
the director, and He was the audience. He immediately visualized Himself as the all.
This universe of manifested effects is me—naturally, because the whole effect is
constituted of the substance of this ultimate cause.
“I am this all.” It is as if the clay is telling, “I am all the pots”; the wood is telling, “I
am all the tables, I am all the chairs, I am all the furniture.” Quite true and it is
very interesting indeed! Every effect that has come out of a single cause is
that cause only. So, the cause is affirming itself in every effect: “I am this
all.”
But there is a sudden dropping of the curtain in this great scene of cosmic
drama that is being played before us, and we do not see what is behind the
screen. Now the screen has fallen. The many, which the One has become, are
there, no doubt; the pots which have come out of clay are there; the effects are
there. But one thing is not there, and that is the beginning of our sorrows.
5. When we say that the Atman alone is, we assert the One alone, to the
exclusion of the many; and when we speak of the One becoming the many, we
are conscious of the One and the many at the same time. Then comes the level of
thinking where we are aware only of the many and not the One. That is the
dividing wall between the One and the many.
The original drama was an envisagement of the many by the One. That is
the grand creation. But when the curtain falls, the One is cut off from the many;
or rather, the concept or the consciousness of the One is isolated from the
consciousness of the many. Then there is what we call the manifestation of
diversity in a literal sense. Then there is the necessity for one individual to
cognize or to perceive the presence of another individual.
But, before this took place, the original Cause has taken care to see that it
does not lose control over this manifestation completely. This is another
aspect of the beauty of the drama. It has maintained its multiplicity with the
background of the unity of its own Selfhood. And the Aitareya Upanishad tells
us that the mouth burst open, speech came out, and out of it Agni, the
deity, came. The eyes came out, sight manifested itself out of it, and Aditya
or the sun came—and so on in respect of the various functions.
I-i-3: He thought, “These then are the worlds. Let Me create the protectors of
the worlds.” Having gathered up a (lump of the) human form from the
water itself, He gave shape to it.
I-i-4: He deliberated with regard to Him (i.e. Virat of the human form). As He
(i.e. Virat) was being deliberated on, His (i.e. Virat) mouth parted, just as
an egg does. From the mouth emerged speech; from speech came
Fire. The nostrils parted; from the nostrils came out the sense of
smell; from the sense of smell came Vayu (Air). The two eyes parted;
from the eyes emerged the sense of sight; from the sense of sight
came the Sun. The two ears parted; from the ears came the sense of
hearing; from the sense of hearing came the Directions. The skin
emerged; from the skin came out hair (i.e. the sense of touch
associated with hair); from the sense of touch came the Herbs and Trees.
The heart took shape; from the heart issued the internal organ
(mind); from the internal organ came the Moon. The navel parted; from
the navel came out the organ of ejection; from the organ of ejection
issued Death. The seat of the procreative organ parted; from that came
the procreative organ; from the procreative organ came out Water.
The beauty of this manifestation is a fact which we should never forget
when we go further: the function comes first, and the deity comes
afterwards. There is the mind first, thought afterwards, and the moon
subsequently. The eye is first, seeing comes afterwards, and the sun still
afterwards. The guardians or the deities of the various functions in their
6. cosmical setup are subsidiary to the Ultimate Cause, which is the one
Atman. They are not the controlling elements, as is the case with us.
For example when God speaks or gave the command Be It, the Creation
came into being and the creative elements and all creative forces are under
His control. The Word of God controls the entire creation. His creation obeys His
command. But when we speak, the Fire Element is not in our control and so is the
case with the other functions as well as the deities at the intermediate level. This is
the beginning of our sorrows because as image of God we do not reflect
the properties of the Original.
The universe was an effect of the Atman. It does not stand in the position of a
cause, outside us, stimulating our senses to activity, as it happens to us today. The
presence of an object stimulates our senses and the mind, and then we become
conscious of the object. Then we establish a relationship with the world outside.
The world is first and we come afterwards here in this individual, empirical state.
But there, it was not like that. The world was subsequent; and here, we
become the consequents.
Now, this is a very crucial point where we have to very carefully draw a
distinction between the cosmic level and the individual level, because the
extent of our understanding of this mystery of the distinction between the
cosmic and the individual will also be the extent to which we will be able to
understand what life is, what duty is, and what the aim of mankind is.
The great cause of all causes, the Supreme Being, projected this universe,
and Itself arose out of the universe, as it were, in a character of
immanence, not losing the transcendence of its own essential being. And all
the functions that we see in our own selves, jivas or individuals that we are, were
present there in their original form. But the seeds of the manifestation of diversity
were also sown in the body of this Cosmic Being. There is a great difference
between the original and the reflected parts that we are.
Thus it is mentioned in the Upanishad that the causative factors of all the
functions were projected first. These are what are usually known as the
adhidaivas or the superintending divinities, the gods of religion, the various
Devatas, the supreme celestials. They began to twinkle forth in the body of
this universal manifested Being.
So, the adhidaiva is nothing but the Supreme Being Himself appearing in
part or essence as the controlling principle behind all functions in the
universe.
The entire constitution of the government of the universe was laid down at
one stroke. It is a non-amendable constitution. It cannot be meddled with or
interfered with; it does not stand in need of any kind of change in the process of
time. Such an eternal setup of administration of the whole cosmos was
contemplated and laid down.
7. The basic principles of human experience also were laid down and made
manifest in the form of the subjective experiencers, called jivas, and the
objective world, known as the adhibhuta-prapancha. The individual may be
called the adhyatma and the external world is the adhibhuta. The adhidaiva has
already been mentioned as the controlling divinities.
But all this does not happen at once. There is a gradational procedure followed.
From the Cosmic-conscious Being, who as a total of the entire divinity rose up from
the manifested universe, there was the multiplicity of divinities, the adhidaivas.
Over a period of time an unexpected and unpalatable change or
transformation took place by which the divinities begin to assert a sort of
independence. This is the beginning of individuality.
As Plato said, “Marriages always take place in the heavens first. They
manifest themselves on earth afterwards.” Likewise, this can be said in regard
to everything. Every function takes place in the heavens first—which means to
say the adhidaivas contemplate the possibility of every action in the beginning, and
these are manifested gradually into the adhibhuta-prapancha, and felt and
experienced by the adhyatma, the jiva.
So, there was a split of a universal character, as if every drop in the ocean
began to feel its own independence. This is a very good example, because the
drops in the ocean are not qualitatively different from the ocean. There was no
qualitative distinction of the individual divinities from the total of the Universal
Being. This isolation of particulars was, therefore, in consciousness. We
have to underline this word because a real split is not possible; it was not an actual
bifurcation, but a consciousness of one’s having been bifurcated, separated,
segregated from the Whole.
To give an illustration, it is perhaps exactly as one would experience in
dream. There is a split of consciousness into the knowing subject and the world of
experience; but the split has not taken place. If it had really taken place, we would
not wake up into the integrity of our mind. But nevertheless, there is an experience
of such a transformation, change and division having taken place.
Chapter 1, Section 2
I-ii-1: These deities, that had been created, fell into this vast ocean. He
subjected Him (i.e. Virat) to hunger and thirst. They said to Him (i.e. to
the Creator), “Provide an abode for us, staying where we can eat food.”
The first consequence of this division is, as the Upanishad puts it, an
intense hunger and thirst. Well, this is a very beautiful word, implying much
more than what our usual hunger and thirst would connote. It is not merely the
stomach asking for food or the throat asking for water; it is the entire
setup of individuality craving for experience in an objective manner. They
craved for objective immortality, a thing that they had lost on account of their
8. isolation from the Whole. They became mortal. Mortality is the consciousness
of the isolation of the part from the Whole; and then every disease crops
up at once.
Hunger and thirst visited these divinities that were cast into this restless
ocean of experience objectively, which is what we call this samsara or the
world, the universe. But how could this hunger be satisfied? The hunger and the
thirst of the individual for satisfaction can be satisfied only through a medium of
experience.
There must be a body; there must be a food to appease this hunger. Where
is this food and where is the vehicle? Where is the body in which these
divinities are to ride and to have their experience of the satisfaction of
their hunger and thirst?
The whole Upanishad is very symbolic and metaphorical in explaining a
highly spiritual experience. The divinities were archetypal, super physical
essences. They are not physical bodies like ours, and there was no food for them to
satisfy their hunger for contact. What were they to contact? So, they asked for an
abode: “Give us a body. Give us a vehicle. We want a house to stay in.”
I-ii-2: For them He (i.e. God) brought a cow. They said, “This one is not
certainly adequate for us.” For them He brought a horse. They said, “This
one is not certainly adequate for us.”
I-ii-3: For them He brought a man. They said “This one is well formed; man
indeed is a creation of God Himself”. To them He said, “Enter into your
respective abodes”.
I-ii-4: Fire entered into the mouth taking the form of the organ of speech;
Air entered into the nostrils assuming the form of the sense of smell;
the Sun entered into the eyes as the sense of sight; the Directions
entered into the ears by becoming the sense of hearing; the Herbs
and Trees entered into the skin in the form of hair (i.e. the sense of
touch); the Moon entered into the heart in the shape of the mind; Death
entered into the navel in the form of Apana (i.e. the vital energy that
presses down); Water entered into the limb of generation in the form
of semen (i.e. the organ of procreation).
I-ii-5: To Him Hunger and Thirst said, “Provide for us (some abode).” To them
He said, “I provide your livelihood among these very gods; I make you
share in their portions.” Therefore when oblation is taken up for any deity
whichsoever, Hunger and Thirst become verily sharers with that deity.
The Great Being projected a bull before them and said, “Here is the abode
for you. This is the body for you. You enter this body and satisfy your
hunger and your thirst.” The divinities looked at the bull and said, “This is not
9. suitable. This is not a proper abode for us.” Then He projected a horse. They looked
at the body of the horse and concluded that the horse, too, was not a proper body
for real satisfaction. Then He projected a human body. “This is correct,” they
said. “We want this body only,” and they entered it.
The divinities entered human body and rejected the earlier ones on
account of not finding adequate facilities for the satisfaction of their
hunger through those bodies. Even if we have a desire, there must be a proper
instrument to fulfill that desire. If the instrument is defective, the desire cannot be
fulfilled. So, they wanted a perfected embodiment or tool for the
satisfaction of their hunger and the thirst.
And the human body, which is superior to the lower categories of
manifestation of the mineral, the vegetable and the animal, was
considered by them as the fittest instrument, and the Great Being ordered
them to enter this body. “This is your house. Live in this house. This is your
vehicle, and now you do whatever you like through this.” They entered. How did
they enter?
Here is the peculiar characteristic of the individual explained in
contradistinction with the original status of the divinities in the body of the
Cosmic Being. The Upanishad mentions that when the divinities were originally
projected from the body of the Cosmic Being, there was first the location of the
function, for instance, the mouth; then there was the urge of the expression of that
location in the form of speech; and then the divinity Agni, the presiding deity over
speech, manifested itself—and so on with every other function.
Thus, the god or the divinity came afterwards; the function came first, so that the
controlling principle of even the divinities was co-extensive with the existence of the
Universal Being Himself. The gods were not independent, but were dependent
on the Total from which they were projected. The gods were not the
controllers; rather, they were controlled by the forces that worked integrally behind
them, which arose from the total being of the Universal Virat.
But now, what has happened is that when the divinities entered the human
body, there was a reversal of the whole process. The human functions
correspond to the universal functions in the same way as the functions in a
reflected image correspond to the functions in the original that is reflected.
Or, to give another example, when we look at our face in a mirror, there is a
reflection of the face seen in that mirror, but there is a reversal of parts taking
place—the right looks left and the left looks right. Also, if we stand on the bank
of a river and see our reflection, we will find the head as the lowermost
position in the reflection, though it is the topmost in us, the original.
The reversal of processes took place when the divinities entered the body
of the individual; instead of the mouth projecting the speech and then the Agni,
10. or the Devata coming thereafter, Agni entered into the body as speech and
found the mouth as the abode.
So, Agni is the controller here, and we are dependent. We are the effects.
The effect in the universal status becomes the cause in the individual
realm.
So, the jiva is different from Isvara in this manner, though it has come
from Isvara only. It is a tremendous difference, notwithstanding the identity of
essence, because of the same divinities operating there as well as here.
Chapter 1, Section 3
I-iii-1: He thought, “This, then, are the senses and the deities of the senses.” Let
Me create food for them.
I-iii-2: He deliberated with regard to the water. From the water, thus brooded
over, evolved a form. The form that emerged was verily food.
I-iii-3: This food, that was created, turned back and attempted to run away. He
tried to take it up with speech. He did not succeed in taking it up through
speech. If He had succeeded in taking it up with the speech, then one
would have become contented merely by talking of food.
I-iii-4: He tied to grasp that food with the sense of smell. He did not succeed in
grasping it by smelling. If He had succeeded in grasping it by smelling
then everyone should have become contented merely by smelling food.
I-iii-5: He wanted to take up the food with the eye. He did not succeed in taking
it up with the eye. If He had taken it up with the eye, then one would
have become satisfied by merely seeing food.
I-iii-6: He wanted to take up the food with the ear. He did not succeed in taking
it up with the ear. If He had taken it up with the ear, then one would have
become satisfied by merely by hearing of food.
I-iii-7: He wanted to take it up with the sense of touch. He did not succeed in
taking it up with the sense of touch. If He had taken it up, with touch,
then one would have become been satisfied merely by touching food.
I-iii-8: He wanted to take it up with the mind. He did not succeed in taking it up
with the mind. If He had taken it up with the mind, then one would have
become satisfied by merely thinking of food.
I-iii-9: He wanted to take it up with the procreative organ. He did not succeed in
taking it up with the procreative organ. If He had taken it up with the
11. procreative organ, then one would have become satisfied by merely
ejecting food.
I-iii-10: He wanted to take it up with Apana. He caught it. This is the devourer of
food. That vital energy which is well known as dependent of food for its
subsistence is this vital energy (called Apana).
I-iii-11: He thought, “How indeed can it be there without Me?” He thought,
“Through which of the two ways should I enter?” He thought, “If
utterance is done by the organ of speech, smelling by the sense of smell,
seeing by the eye, hearing by the ear, feeling by the sense of touch,
thinking by the mind, the act of drawing in (or pressing down) by Apana,
ejecting by the procreative organ, then who (or what) am I?”
I-iii-12: Having split up this very end, He entered through this door. This entrance
is known as vidriti (the chief entrance). Hence it is delightful. Of Him
there are three abodes – three (states of) dream. This one is an abode,
this one is an abode. This one is an abode.
I-iii-13: Being born, He manifested all the beings; for did He speak of (or know)
anything else? He realised this very Purusha as Brahman, the most
pervasive, thus: “I have realised this”.
I-iii-14: Therefore His name is Idandra. He is verily known as Idandra. Although
He is Idandra, they call Him indirectly Indra; for the gods are verily fond
of indirect names, the gods are verily fond of indirect names.
When this individual experience takes place in the body of the human
personality on account of the entry of these divinities in the manner
mentioned, something else also happens.
There is immediately a grabbing attitude of the individual in respect of the food that
is necessary for the satisfaction of the appetite. The food also was created in
the form of this objective universe, and it has to be grasped by the senses.
The particular function in the human individual especially by which food is
grasped and assimilated is the apana. The food that we throw into the
alimentary canal is digested and absorbed by the apana vayu in our system; the
organs cannot have this kind of experience.
For example, by speaking about food we cannot be satisfied; by seeing food
we will not be satisfied; by hearing about food we will not be satisfied; only by
absorbing it through the apana through the alimentary system can we be
satisfied.
This again is symbolic of every kind of food that the senses require. They
have a desire to contact objects merely for the sake of maintaining their original
status. It is a very artificial way, no doubt, that they are inventing, but they have
12. no other alternative. The object of the senses is the medium through which
the appetite of the individual is satisfied.
This is something very strange, if we go very deep into the matter. This appetite
is nothing but the hunger of the self to come in union with the Universal,
from which it has been isolated. This point cannot be forgotten in the whole
process of our studies.
We are not hungry in the ordinary sense. Any amount of food that we eat,
whatever may be the diet that we take, cannot satisfy us because our real
requirement is not this food. It is not any kind of drink that we are actually in need
of. Something else is the need; and that need is very deep. It is like the
very deep-rooted chronic illness of which we have no knowledge on the
superficial surface.
We are not asking for any kind of contact, really speaking. We are thoroughly
mistaken, and that mistake itself is lost sight of completely. This complete
oblivion of the very reason behind this hunger is called avidya.
Ignorance precedes every kind of action in the direction of the possession
of the requirements of the senses. We run after things on account of an
ignorance, which covers our consciousness, of the reason behind the very existence
of this hunger. There is only one need that we have, and not more than
one—the need to become one with That from which we have been
separated, and out of which we have been thrown. That is all.
The divinities within are hungering. It is not the tongue or the ear or the
nose that asks for things; it is the divinities within that are hungry. Indra,
Varuna, Surya, etc., are the deities which are superintending over every part of our
body. They are the rulers, they are the masters, and they are the actual occupants
of this habitat called this body. They ask for a reunion and rehabilitation with
the status they have lost.
This hunger for reunion with the Universal manifests itself in a diversified
form through the senses as desire to see, desire to hear, desire to taste,
and desire to touch, and so on. Hence, these are artificially created tentative
satisfactions, because no other satisfaction is available. When everything has
gone, whatever is available satisfies us.
The senses are thus duping us in this way by making us think that our
need is something different from what it really is. What the child cries for is
something and what we give it is something else. It may be having an acute
stomach ache, but we give it a sugar candy. We say, “Take this sugar candy. Don’t
weep.” We do not know why the child is weeping. It has some ailment. It cannot
express itself, poor thing! It has some deep-rooted agony which it is not able to
speak out in its own language. But we are trying to pacify it, pamper it by things
which are actually not what it needs. So is the case with the hunger or the
thirst of the soul.
13. Here the soul means the jiva, or the individualized divinity. It has been
satisfied with this body. “Enter this abode,” said the great Lord, and the jivas
entered this abode of the human being. This abode has become a source of
inadequate satisfaction, unfortunately, even though they thought that the
human body is the best of all the productions.
The senses are tired of these activities. They get exhausted. How long can we
go on grabbing things? We can do it for one day, one month, one year, ten
years; but throughout our life we cannot engage ourselves in this activity.
It is futile, ultimately. It is futile because it does not satisfy us.
We eat today, tomorrow also we eat, and every day we eat; but we cannot
be satisfied, and the appeasement of the hunger does not take place. Not
only that, any amount of getting will not satisfy a person. Whatever be the
possession that we have, it will not satisfy us. It does not satisfy us because it is
not what we want. Our need is one thing, and we are getting something else
through the sense organs. So there is a natural fatigue.
The wearing out of the senses, the exhaustion of the mind and the
tiresomeness of the whole physical system bring about certain conditions.
There is what is called the avasthas—the wakeful (jagrat), dream (svapna) and
deep sleep (sushupti) states. We are sunk into the cycle of waking, dreaming
and sleeping due to a complex of psychophysical activity taking place on
account of our wedded-ness to the activities of the senses.
The physical body is the grossest manifestation and the most exteriorized
form of the individual. It is here, in this physical condition in which we are that
we are in the worst of conditions because we are completely isolated, cut off from
things.
In the subtle condition, at least there is an apparent feeling of affinity of
one for the other. But in the so-called waking condition of physicality, there is a
complete isolation; you have nothing to do with me, and I have nothing to do with
you. This is the present state of affairs.
So, on account of this situation and the fatigue that comes as a
consequence thereof, there is the cycle of jagrat, svapna and sushupti
experience. And there is a struggle again. This struggle is the battle of life. We are
striving hard by one means or the other to get out of this cycle of transmigratory
existence, which comes automatically as a result of the impossibility of satisfying
desires in the life of one particular body.
The body that is given to us, the human body for instance, is inadequate
because it cannot last eternally. As it is made up of physical components,
naturally it will disintegrate when the time for it comes. The disintegration of the
bodily individuality takes place when the forces of the appetite of the
individual which gave rise to the manifestation of the body cease and
withdraw their momentum. Then the body dies.
14. But the momentum of desire does not cease. It seeks satisfaction once again
in some other direction, in some other corner of creation. So there is rebirth, and
the whole process continues once again. There is again dissatisfaction, birth and
death, etc.; the samsara-chakra continues.
This, in essence, is the story of the creation given in the Aitareya
Upanishad. It asserts at the same time that in spite of all this manifestation, this
diversity, variety, subtlety, physicality, etc., He is still the same One Absolute
Universal. He has not become something else. This is a very great solacing
message to us.
If we had been really separated from God and exiled forever as captives
thrown into prison, then there would be no hope of liberation, or moksha.
What has happened is something else altogether. It is not an actually historical
occurrence that has taken place once upon a time.
What has happened is that there has been a twist of consciousness. There
has been a malady of the mind, and it has to be treated as we treat the mentally ill.
The consciousness has to be treated, and the illness of the consciousness has to be
removed. Then it regains its original condition.
The consciousness projecting itself externally in an imagined space and
time is called creation. There is, therefore, a chance of our returning to the
original state by untying these knots through which we have been tied to samsara.
We have to slowly untie these knots and realise the essence, and the way
of doing this is the practice of yoga under the guidance of a realized
teacher.
************
Chapter 2, Section1
II-i-1: In man indeed is the soul first conceived. That which is the semen is
extracted from all the limbs as their vigour. He holds that self of his in his
own self. When he sheds it into his wife, then he procreates it. That is its
first birth.
II-i-2: That becomes non-different from the wife, just as much as her own limb
is. Therefore (the foetus) does not hurt her. She nourishes this self of his
that has entered here (in her womb).
II-i-3: She, the nourisher, becomes fit to be nourished. The wife bears that
embryo (before the birth). He (the father) protects the son at the very
start, soon after his birth. That he protects the son at the very beginning,
just after birth, thereby he protects his own self for the sake of the
continuance of these worlds. For thus is the continuance of these worlds
ensured. That is his second birth.
15. II-i-4: This self of his (viz. the son) is substituted (by the father) for the
performance of virtuous deeds. Then this other self of his (that is the
father of the son), having got his duties ended and having advanced in
age, departs. As soon as he departs, he takes birth again. That is his (i.e.
the son’s) third birth.
II-i-5: This fact was stated by the seer (i.e. mantra): “Even while lying in the
womb, I came to know of the birth of all the gods. A hundred iron citadels
held me down. Then, like a hawk, I forced my way through by dint of
knowledge of the Self”. Vamadeva said this while still lying in the
mother’s womb.
II-i-6: He who had known thus (had) become identified with the Supreme, and
attained all desirable things (even here); and having (then) ascended
higher up after the destruction of the body, he became immortal, in the
world of the Self. He became immortal.
Chapter 3, Section 1
III-i-1: What is It that we worship as this Self? Which of the two is the Self? Is It
that by which one sees, or that by which one hears, or that by which one
smells odour, or that by which one utters speech, or that by which one
tastes the sweet or the sour?
III-i-2: It is this heart (intellect) and this mind that were stated earlier. It is
sentience, ruler ship, secular knowledge, presence of mind, retentiveness,
sense-perception, fortitude, thinking, genius, mental suffering, memory,
ascertainment resolution, life-activities, hankering, passion and such
others. All these verily are the names of Consciousness.
III-i-3: This One is (the inferior) Brahman; this is Indra, this is Prajapati; this is
all these gods; and this is these five elements, viz. earth, air, space,
water, fire; and this is all these (big creatures), together with the small
ones, that are the procreators of others and referable in pairs – to wit,
those that are born of eggs, of wombs, of moisture of the earth, viz.
horses, cattle, men, elephants, and all the creatures that there are which
move or fly and those which do not move. All these have Consciousness
as the giver of their reality; all these are impelled by Consciousness; the
universe has Consciousness as its eye and Consciousness is its end.
Consciousness is Brahman.
III-i-4: Through this Self that is Consciousness, he ascended higher up from this
world, and getting all desires fulfilled in that heavenly world, he became
immortal, he became immortal.
Here ends the Aitareya Upanishad, as contained in the Rig-Veda.