Vedic Culture: The Last Bastion of Deep Spiritual Truth

08-27-2002, 05:19 PM

Vedic Culture: The Last Bastion of Deep Spiritual
Truth
By Stephen Knapp (Sri Nandanandana)

Why would Vedic culture be called the last bastion of deep
spiritual
truth? It doesn't take much to understand, at least after a little
investigation, that
the Vedic process of spiritual advancement promotes individual
freedom of
thought, complete liberty of inquiry, and the privilege of
independent and
personal development through one's own spiritual experiences. This
degree of
latitude for self-discovery is found in few other cultures or
spiritual processes.
The fact is that the Vedic literature consists of the oldest
and most
complete spiritual scriptures available. It contains more in-depth
knowledge of
the identity of the spiritual being and its connection with the
universe and God
than most anywhere else. It provides more information about the
spiritual
domain, the characteristics of God and our relationship with the
Supreme.
Furthermore, the spiritual principles in the Vedic system are
universal,
meaning they can be applied in any time or place in the universe. In
fact, even a
Christian, a Muslim, a Jew, or anyone can understand his or her own
religion
more deeply by investigating the Vedic spiritual knowledge.
The Vedic system expects the individual to progress and not
merely stay
on the level of blind faith. The Vedic path does not rely on faith
or beliefs alone,
but offers the methodologies that a person can use to refine one's
consciousness.
Then he or she can personally perceive the higher levels of reality
and spiritual
truths of which the Vedic instructions speak. In fact, the many
Vedic holy men
are often those who have had various levels of success in
experiencing aspects of
spiritual reality, and then can relay that information to others.
This is also why
portions of Vedic philosophy are expressions of one's spiritual
experience,
followed by instructions enabling others to reach that same
experience in
perceiving the Absolute Truth.
The Vedic process allows full freedom to investigate spiritual
matters and
for one to ask all the questions that may come to mind, without
restrictions or the
possibility of being called a doubting person or a blasphemer. The
Vedic
approach knows that the Absolute can be perceived in different ways,
thus the
Vedic system accommodates this and allows for the individual to
pursue the level
of Truth that he or she wants to perceive. The Vedic path also makes
no
restrictions on our right to use whatever resources we can to help
ourselves
understand our spiritual nature. This it is why Vedic followers can
look at any
religion and find truth in it.
The Vedic system also acknowledges that we all have a unique
relationship with God, and that this does not depend on the approval
of a church,
an institution, or a cleric or priest. It is eternal. The Vedic
process merely
provides the means or methodologies by which we can awaken that
relationship
and the awareness of our spiritual identity. By this approach, we
stimulate our
own perception of spiritual reality rather than merely being forced
to accept a
dogma presented by some religious institution.
On the other hand, we see the conventional religions of the
West. They
are often monotheistic constructs that are based primarily on faith,
beliefs, and
fear. Their faith is often directed toward the idea that if you
follow what your
church authorities tell you, or what you read in your scripture, you
will go to
heaven and be "saved". Belief usually amounts to accepting something
that is still
beyond your experience. And fear in most religions is based on the
idea that if
you don't follow the tenants of your faith or church, or if you
question it, you
may find yourself being excommunicated and outcaste from your
religion, or
even told that you will go to hell. Thus, you will have no
relationship or
connection with God. Fear in this regard is also displayed as a
fanatical defense
of one's ideas, that everyone else but you and your clan are going
to hell and that
you are the only ones who really know the truth. In this way, they
allow for little
freedom of thought or inquiry, or for the individual to seek out
answers to
questions that are not described in its scripture. Anything that is
not included is
labeled as either demonic or will lead one to hell.
One problem with the religions that primarily are based on
belief and faith
is that they can become an effective means of manipulating the
masses who
follow it. If you can convince people to believe that by doing
something they can
go to heaven, then you can get them to do almost anything. For
example, Pope
Urban II implied to the soldiers who were going out on the first
crusade that if
they died in the name of Christ, they would ascend to heaven and
live in the
association of God. Thus, they rode out to fearlessly and
mercilessly conquer the
"heathens" or non-believers, and were willing to die to reach
heaven.
This is the same effect we see with the Palestinian youth, that
if they die
in the name of Islam they will immediately go to the seventh level
of heaven and
take pleasure in wondrous gardens in the company of beautiful
virgins. The more
fantastic the heaven, the more hope and conviction will be seen in
the followers.
Another problem with this is that the beliefs that are given to
you to
accept often change with time, or according to the needs of the
church to keep a
congregation. As explained in a recent issue of Newsweek magazine
(August 12,
2002), the concept of heaven has changed with the ages. "Dante saw
heaven as
the universe, and Thomas Aquinas thought of it as a brilliant place,
full of light
and knowledge. In the 18th century, Emanuel Swedenborg imagined
heaven as a
tangible world, with public gardens and parks." Nowadays you can
imagine
heaven to be whatever you need it to be. This gives impetus for you
to do
whatever you feel you should do for your beliefs, and have it
justified by your
religion. However, in actuality, in the Bible, the Koran, or Torah,
there is little in
the way of specific information of where or what is heaven. And this
leaves much
for the imagination.
Another problem with religious processes that rely mostly on
faith and
belief is that peer pressure and the need for conformity and
acceptance or
approval stifles and restricts one's ability to develop or inquire
to one's fullest.
We often see children tolerated for their deep and thoughtful
questions, while the
adults fear to reveal their ignorance of the topics or even stifle a
child's
inquisitiveness. So such religions act like self-policing
institutions wherein
individuals are not encouraged to develop their own spiritual
realizations or ask
too many questions. They are encouraged to leave it up to faith and
the dictates
of the institution. They are told that we are not meant to know
certain things, and
that faith alone in a particular savior or the power of the church
is enough to take
you to heaven. But if you lack faith or question it, or don't follow
the dictates of
the church or scripture, you won't go to heaven. Thus, you must look
good in
the eyes of the church authorities and your fellow members or there
will be no
room for you, and thus you will be sent to hell.
The second kind of fear is the fear that you may be wrong, or
the church
and its doctrines may be wrong, or there may be weaknesses in its
philosophy. So
people become defensive of their beliefs, defending it like life
itself. Thus, they
condemn and criticize those who are of other religions without
trying to
understand them. Sometimes you can see this amongst the sects in the
same
religion. We already see so many divisions within Christianity, as
well as Islam
and Judaism. And each one often feels they are the only ones that
are true
followers of Jesus or Mohammed, and all others are going to hell. So
it can
become extremely divisive even within the same faith.
In fact, some people, as in Christianity for example, may feel
it is their
God-given mandate that when someone is a so-called non-believer, he
should be
converted and "saved" at whatever cost, and then deprived of any
freedom to
follow an alternative view. A person in another religion may
brand "nonbelievers"
as infidels, and thus feel it is his duty to convert, destroy or
even kill such a
person. In either case, they may use coercion, manipulation, or
simply take
advantage of poor and vulnerable people to bring them over to their
faith. And in
both cases, the people of these religions feel they are doing God's
work, and that
they are justified in what they do.
However, it is refreshing to see that you usually don't have
this kind of
divisiveness or criticism in the Vedic system. It is much more open
and provides
the individual the freedom to pursue the level of experience that he
or she needs
for his or her own development and still be a part of the Vedic
process.
Religion, when used improperly or without the real essence of
spiritual
truth, can also be a way of confining and restricting people of a
wider
understanding of the universe and themselves. This is done through
the use of
fear, guilt, violence, and the oppression of anything that shows a
different view
than what is being indoctrinated into society. It has been the most
militant of
religions that has suppressed the ancient avenues of reaching higher
levels of
understanding our multidimensional or spiritual nature. Thus, by
mere blind faith
in whatever the church or priests are giving us, or allowing us to
know, we are
kept in a lower consciousness than what is really possible. In this
way, higher
realms of thought, wisdom, love, and knowledge are kept away from
the masses.
After all, knowledge is power, and your ignorance is my strength. To
keep power
over others, the church and monotheistic religions in general have
systematically
abolished a wide range of spiritual and esoteric knowledge that
would, otherwise,
give mankind the ultimate freedom. And because people who understand
their
true spiritual nature and the power that lies within themselves
become impossible
to manipulate, it is necessary to keep this knowledge hidden. So the
idea would
be to keep the truly spiritual knowledge concealed while creating and
perpetuating a religion, or a standard of "science," that keeps
people bound by
the above mentioned factors: fear, guilt, violence, and
intimidation. The
implication is that to tread outside the accepted jurisdiction of
knowledge or
understanding, or outside the rules of the institution, will bring
fear. This is fear
of uncertainty, or disapproval by the institution, or of going to
hell, as previously
mentioned. Questioning the present system, or doubting its
effectiveness, or
desiring more knowledge about God than the church provides, will
bring guilt. In
this way, some religious institutions have made such ancient
sciences as
astrology, yoga, meditation, or the deepest understandings of the
soul, or other
topics, to look evil or even absurd, and thus be dismissed, or
preferably even
outlawed. We need to understand and recognize this pattern, which is
used in
numerous places in the world.
In this regard, reports have been given about how the Vatican
has sealed
vaults that contain thousands of ancient esoteric books, all of
which are kept out
of circulation from the public. This indicates the methodical
removal of various
levels of spiritual and metaphysical knowledge from society, while
claiming that
anything other than the established doctrine of the church is
satanic, evil, and
hellbound. The Inquisition was a wonderful method of producing this
effect.
Even today we can see how some people are so influenced by this
tyrannical
tendency that they still are afraid of looking at anything other
than what the
Church condones. However, most of these people are totally unaware
of the
"pagan" heritage found in Christianity or Judaism, which makes it
very similar
but with a different name. It is practically the same medicine but
in a different
bottle. To remove this understanding from public knowledge, it became
necessary that whenever Christianity or other militant religions
conquered a
country or culture, the first thing that was done was to capture or
destroy all of
the ancient sacred texts. However, any organization that destroys
the ancient
knowledge and historical records of a civilization is never going to
present the
true history of the world, or the spiritual wisdom of any previous
culture. Thus,
the view of history is controlled and the population is kept in
ignorance and
under subtle restraint. And the people who are allowed to understand
any of the
truth are those of the elite or who are already in power.
By taking a look at the history of the Christian Church, for
example, a
person can see to what extent a religion will go to maintain power
and control,
especially when it feels threatened by what it does not understand.
Furthermore,
the dark history of Christianity represents the fanatically narrow-
minded side of it
that has continued to the present day in the form of fundamentalists
thinking that
if a religion or culture is not Christian, then it must be of the
devil. Or at least its
followers will not go to heaven. Such people are often ready to
dismiss or
criticize other spiritual paths and cultures without understanding
them. They may
see a ceremony or ritual of another religion and immediately say it
is heathen or
devil worship, without realizing that it is the worship of the same
Supreme Being
that they worship. But a similar misunderstanding can happen in
Christianity. For
example, in the Eucharist ritual they partake of drinking the blood
and eating the
body of Christ. Does this mean that Christians are cannibals, or
have a
cannibalistic mentality to eat the body and drink the blood of their
savior? Not if
you understand that the blood and body of Christ is distributed
symbolically in
the form of wine and wafers. So proper understanding is needed in
any religion.
The point is that all people have to have the freedom to find
themselves to
the fullest extent on whatever path it takes, providing it is a
genuine and uplifting
path. So how do we make sure we can continue to have this freedom? By
understanding each other and other cultures of the world and the
different paths
of self-discovery, and by recognizing the value that they have to
offer. We must
also bury our preconceived prejudices that are based on our immature
feelings of
superiority because, spiritually speaking, we are all the same. We
just have to
attain that spiritual vision to see the reality of it. And the path
we take to do that
is the only difference among us.
A true religion paves the way for everyone to become
spiritually aware,
and to establish his or her own relationship with the Supreme. And
the Vedic
system is an ideal means for supplying that. If a religion is not
based on the
higher principles of self-realization, but is merely based on
dogmatic rules and
regulations that it forces on others, then it becomes a trap based
on fear, guilt,
oppression and intimidation. One must not be afraid to break free
from such a
trap. It is greater to see God's love manifested in many sages
belonging to
different traditions at different times and places, among different
people.
The premise that all spiritual knowledge must be connected with
one
distinct or localized savior is itself a stifling factor in allowing
individuals to
progress in spiritual understanding. There is so much more that
could be learned
if they didn't feel that if something isn't connected with their
particular savior or
scripture, then it must be Satanic. In this way, if it is not in the
Bible or Koran,
for example, they refuse to acknowledge the value of any additional
spiritual
knowledge if it comes from a different culture or source. Thus, they
act with fear
or contempt toward anything outside their own sphere of familiarity
or
acceptability, or like people who are proud of their own ignorance
and narrow-
mindedness.
The straightjacket of Western theological dogma keeps a person
from
looking at additional resources that could supply answers for
questions not
considered in western thought, or at possibilities that are
elementary in Eastern
traditions. What's wrong with learning newer ways of connecting with
our higher
selves, and with each other and with God? What's wrong with allowing
our
hearts and minds to expand with new vibrancy, new insights and
confidence?
Why not allow ourselves new hope and understanding in regard to the
purpose of
the universe and the nature of God, even if we look to different
sources of
knowledge? Who knows what additional information we can add to what
we
already know, or newer ways to incorporate and develop ourselves
into people
who are better and more aware and spiritually developed. This is
natural for
those who participate in the Vedic system.
For these reasons, India must remain the homeland of a living
and
dynamic Vedic culture. This will allow the world to retain some of
the deepest
knowledge and methods of attaining the most profound spiritual
insights that
have been known to mankind. India should defend itself from the risk
of further
partition or divisions. If India is divided up any further, Vedic
culture could
dwindle or even be lost, except for small colonies of Vedic
practitioners here and
there. This may indeed be what many people would like to see. Yet,
if Vedic
culture is lost, the world will not even realize the treasure of
human development
that will disappear. Then such deep spiritual knowledge and insights
will begin to
permanently fade away from society.
Once India and Vedic culture is diluted or stamped out, along
with other
decreasing numbers of indigenous traditions, then the whole world
will be fitted
with the straightjacket of Western thought and monotheistic
religion. Thus, it will
be more easily controlled by the establishment. Then individual
freedom for the
pursuit of higher understanding and spiritual happiness will be
limited to the
constraints as dictated by whatever regional monotheistic views
reign in that
area.
For this reason Vedic culture is the last bastion of deep and
genuine
spiritual truth and freedom. This is also why it should be clearly
understood and
preserved.
[More insights into this reasoning are given in my free "e-
booklet" called,
"Why Be a Hindu: The Advantages of the Vedic Path." You can find
this and
many more articles on my website at: http://www.stephen-knapp.com.]