Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Vedas are not the important sacred scriptures for the Hindus.



Vedas are not the important sacred scriptures for the Hindus. The Vedas as a body of scripture contain many contradictions and they are fragmentary in nature. For most Hindus of today, scriptures like the Bhagavad-Gita, Ramayana, Mahabharata and Puranas are more attractive and appealing than the Vedas. In addition, the gods and goddesses they worship differ considerably from the Vedic ones.

The collection of hymns called Vedas written in praise of certain deities by poets over several centuries does not seem to have much significance for the Hindus of today. Most Vedic gods do not find a place in Hinduism.

Maharishi Dayananda Saraswathi fonder of Arya Samaj  was the first thinker and reformer to emphasise the importance of ‘going back to the Vedas’ in order to bring about social reforms in society and to purify Hinduism of its many aberrations. Hinduism is ‘Puranic based’. Vedic Gods like Indra, Varuna, Agni, Soma and the like, whom the Vedic people worshipped, hardly have any significance in Hinduism.

Reincarnation was not a Vedic belief.  Belief in reincarnation which is central to Hinduism of today is not really attested to in the Vedas, though they hint at life after death. The doctrine of transmigration as elaborated in Hinduism has no place in the Vedic hymns”. In the early Vedic literature, there is no express mention of the doctrine of transmigration.

It is in the Upanishads that it appears for the first time. The Rig Veda speaks of two paths for the souls of the deceased, namely, the path of the gods (devayana) and the path of the fathers (pitriyana). Those who go by the former enjoy immortality and there is no return to physical life after that.

In fact, the Vedic man longed for this state of life. Whereas those who go by the latter path, unite with the fathers and then return to earth, after having enjoyed the fruits of his deeds.

 Rig Veda consisting of about 10,500 verses ― there is only one occasion where there is mention of a return to this world after death. What is implied here is that it cannot be taken as an important teaching of the Rig Veda.

The Avatara and caste system are not Vedic in origin.  The theory of Avatara (‘descend’) of gods which is very important to modern Hinduism is non-Vedic. The term Avatara (…) is not found in the earlier Vedic texts, and is absent from the older Sanskrit glossaries”.

The caste system which is so integral to Hinduism was also not practiced in the Vedic times. There is hardly any evidence of rigid caste system in the Vedas. It is argued that the purushasukta hymn of the Rig Veda (X.90) which is often referred to in order to give a religious sanction to caste system was a later interpolation. The Vedas, however, speak of various classes of people, which appear to have been names of professions, and they were not hereditary.

“The very concept of castes by birth, upper/lower castes, superior/inferior castes, outcastes, untouchables, Dalits, etc. are clearly prohibited by Rigveda”.

Taboo on cow slaughter is not Vedic in origin.  The taboo on cow slaughter and beef eating did not exist in Vedic times. Criteria like taboo on beef-eating or belief in reincarnation might stamp the Vedic seers as non-Hindus”. The question whether the Vedic people practiced cow slaughter is debated among Hindu traditionalists. The cow was a sacred animal that the authors of the Vedas sacrificed cows and ate beef on special occasions. This argument only substantiates the view that cow was not an inviolable animal and that beef eating was not a taboo in Vedic times.

As is clear from the above, several aspects that are intrinsic to the Hinduism of today, such as, the doctrine of re-incarnation, avatars (‘descent’) of gods,  caste system, taboo on cow slaughter and beef eating were absent in the Vedic religion. It was shown by a critical study of the Vedas that the Aryans had no developed idea of caste system, (.…)  The taboo on the use of beef was shown to be of later origin, that the cow was freely killed for ceremonial and other purposes in ancient India”.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Ignorance is the greatest obstacle to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman



Ignorance is the greatest obstacle to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman.The seeker  has to indulge in deeper self-search  to realize  the fact that,  the self is neither the waking entity nor the self is the dream entity but the self is formless soul, which witnesses the coming and going of the three states in succession without the physical apparatus.  This has to be mentally grasped and assimilated to realize the formless soul, the innermost   self is nothing to do with the three states. On the standpoint of the formless soul, the innermost self, the three states are mere illusion.

The dream ego, dream body and the dream world are reality within the dream but the dream is considered as falsehood when waking takes place. Similarly the waking ego, waking body and waking world are reality within the waking experience but the waking experience also becomes falsehood when wisdom dawns.

Wisdom dawns when the waking entity realizes it itself is not the self in the midst of waking experience.  

Waking experience is state of ignorance. In the state ignorance one remains experiencing illusion as reality.  Till illusion remains reality, he will remain ignorant of the fact that, the cycle of birth, life and death are mere mirage.  Therefore, it is not possible for one to accept the fact that, world is illusion, till  he becomes aware of the fact that , the self is neither the waking entity nor the self is dream entity but the self the formless soul or consciousness ,which is substance and witness of the three states.  Therefore, for those who believe the waking entity as self, and refuse to accept the soul as true self, think that by getting rid of the ego by surrendering to their imaginary source is not the means to self-realization.  One has to realize the fact that, one has to become aware of the existence of the formless witness of the three states, which is the soul, the innermost self.  

The ego, body and the world appear together and they disappear together.   The ego, body and the world are one in essence.

Waking entity is false self within the false experience whereas the self is birthless and deathless because self is formless. Thus surrendering with the false self within the false experience is bound to false surrender. The surrendering is a religious fable meant for the ignorant people.

Sage Sri, Sankara says: - VC-47   All the effects of ignorance, root and branch, are burnt down by the fire of knowledge, which arises from discrimination between these two—the Self and the not-Self. 

One thinks he is imprisoned within this body; whereas the body, ego and his experience of the world are within the mind. The consciousness is hidden within the three states but it is without the three states.  The one, which has the awareness of the three states, is not the body but the soul, which is in the form of consciousness. Thus consciousness is not limited to waking experience alone because it pervades all the three states. Till one views and judges the world-view on base of ego or waking entity, he is in the grip of individuality or intellectuality.  The self is not an individual because it is universal. And it pervades in everything and everywhere in all the three states. Thus individualized judgment will not lead one non-dual destination.  

 That is why  Sage Sri, Sankara says:-VC-65. As a treasure hidden underground requires (for its extraction) competent instruction, excavation, the removal of stones and other such things lying above it and (finally) grasping, but never comes out by being (merely) called out by name, so the transparent Truth of the self, which is hidden by Maya and its effects, is to be attained through the instructions of a knower of Brahman, followed by reflection, meditation and so forth, but not through perverted arguments.

66. Therefore the wise should, as in the case of disease and the like, personally strive by all the means in their power to be free from the bondage of repeated births and deaths.

thus one has to know what is real by realizing our body, ego  and our experience of the world is mere illusion created out of consciousness, which the inner most self.  The nature of the self is emptiness. And it is identified by different masters with different name, such as Brahman, Buddha’s nature, Christ consciousness, Self, Ultimate Truth.

When self becomes aware of its formless non-dual nature it becomes empty of ignorance or illusion or duality or experience of waking or dream.  Thus whatever remains empty of duality or ignorance or illusion is non-dual reality. Only through wisdom one becomes aware of the truth in the midst of duality.

 That is why Sage  "Sri, Sankara said: - 63 -Without causing the objective universe to vanish and without knowing the truth of the Self, how is one to achieve Liberation. 

Universe will not remain as reality when wisdom dawns. Universe is mere mirage created out of consciousness and there is conscious awareness of unity in diversity because there is no second thing exist other than consciousness. 

It is erroneous to hold "Brahman =I" as some of the gurus hold because the ‘I’ itself is an illusion



Self –knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is inexhaustible wealth. Other wealth disappears as one spends, but with the Self –knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana, the more one shares more he gains.  

The self is not the ‘I’.  ‘I’ is present in the form of mind. The origin of mind is soul. The mind is present in the form of the universe. The soul is present in the form of consciousness.  The root of the universe is consciousness. 

The origin of mind is the soul. The soul is the innermost Self. The formless soul is present in the form of consciousness.


It is erroneous to   hold "Brahman =I" as some of the gurus hold because the ‘I’ itself is an illusion.It is consciousness which being divided into parts, and viewed from the standpoint of the waking entity or ego, which is the false self within the false experience (waking). In reality there is no division in consciousness. Therefore the form, time and space mere illusion created out of consciousness. In reality the form, time and space are one in essence. 

Only through Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana negation of duality is possible. The soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is ultimate truth or Brahman. The consciousness is the cause of the origin, maintenance, and withdrawal of the universe is Advaita (i.e. non-dual), it means that the consciousness transcends all conceptions, positive and negative. Nothing positive can ever be imagined or said about it.  The consciousness is existence absolute, awareness absolute.  The existence absolute means that consciousness is not unreal or non-existent. And it is not unconsciousness.  Nothing positive can be stated about consciousness.

The consciousness can be seen in all the three states because the three states are an illusion created out of consciousness.   The waking, the dream (duality) and the deep sleep (non-duality).   

The soul, the innermost self is present in the form of pure consciousness or objectless awareness. Objectless Awareness is the real nature of the soul, the innermost Self.

Consciousness is ultimate truth or Brahman. Reality is very clearly defined and it has a specific significance. It means, "That which exists in all the three states of consciousness (waking state, dream state and deep-sleep state) undergoing any change.in the realm  of truth the three states are one in essence. That essence is consciousness, therefore the soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is absolute Reality. The soul, the innermost self is birthless, deathless and changeless is ultimate reality or Brahman. It is necessary to realize the fact that ‘I’ itself is an illusion in order to realize the universe is an illusion".

The universe appears "real" only in the "waking experience;" but it is it disappears in the dream and deep-sleep states. The three states are one in essence. Therefore all the three states are mere mirage created out of single essence. That essence is consciousness. Thus on the standpoint of the soul, the innermost self the three states are unreal.   

Swami Vivekananda: - The Higher your ideal is, the more miserable you are,' for such a thing as an ideal cannot be attained in the world — or in this life, even. He who wants perfection in the world is a madman — for it cannot be. How can you find the infinite in the finite? 

It has not been possible to preach Advaitic Truth entirely free from the settings of dualistic weakness it has not been more operative and useful to mankind at large because only few will be able to grasp and realize it.

To realize the Advaitic Truth a freer and fuller scope the seeker has to realize the form, time and space are one in essence. And that essence is consciousness. And the soul, the innermost self is present in the form of consciousness. 

To realize the Advaitic truth the seeker has to be free from all superstitions and orthodox contamination. The seeker has to be dedicated to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana   alone.'

A  Gnani will easily appreciate the high flights of Sage Sri, Sankara’s Advaitic wisdom is one of the 'most majestic structures and valuable products of the Genius of man in his search for Truth.