barney

You are contradicing your own statment.

Please do not blame only the Muslims and Christians. What about the Hindus who still dwell in the cast system and treat the harijan like slaves. Is this what you call Hindu dharma? Hindu masters now are worst than the colonial masters of the past. They treat the poor like dirt. Although I am not from India but I do read the papers. Look at the cases where a harijan girl was raped by a group of Hindu high class morons just because her brother had ran offf with a gril from an high class Hndu family. Is this what you call Hndu dharma? Every religion has its weakness and there are people out there to use their religion as an excuse to commit henious crimes. Come look at my country and learn from it what religious tolorance is all about. We are a peaceful country with multiracial and multireligious nation of people. Although Islam is the official religion the non Muslims like me had never faced any serious problems and we have a good secular government with ministers from varius races and religious background. I know what the radical Hindus are doing to the dalits n India. Read the Human Rights Commission report and you will know the real truth.

That is because he will not appear now. We have left some 414,000 something years to go, for the end of Kali Yug and it is said in the scriptures he will only appear at the end so you or me and the rest of this world will not be able to witness his arrival. But to save your anxiety from time to time we will wittnes divine birth. Men or women who will come to propogate DHARMA. It is the only slolution for now. But there are those who are out there to make use of this situation and conning the innocent believers. But if your are smart and with grace of God will be able to sport the true divine masters. Seek and you will find.

I am amazed by questions put forward by some of the participants and the answers given by the so-called experts. In the first instance one must remember how religion came to be. When there was disorder and chaos in the land of inhabitants thousands of years ago, some wise men mediated in order to find solution to their predicament. They received divine instruction or messages through their mind and transmitted them to the people and that was how religion was born. But one must remember that the time and situation of such period the messages were given was not as we are today. Although these messages were made compulsory for man to follow there were those who refused to abide and they were made the outcast or the untouchables. In that period or era there were no macadamize roads, no motor vehicles, no telephones or cell phones, no computers or Internet, no airplanes or jets, no ships or submarines, no theaters or VCD, no cameras or video cameras and nothing of any modern gadgets that a house wife uses today. Minus all this you must imagine how people would have lived their life in that period of time. Many restrictions were made that may not fit into societies today but at that period it was appropriate and was a necessity during the time to educate and control people with these divine messages. Many other nations later on began to have such laws according to their life style. For the Arabs and people in Africa covering the whole body from head to toe was a necessity for every man and women because of the temperature and the type of climate they had to endure. Circumcision was necessary because in the desert during the sand storm the sand dust would get under your skin and so in order to keep it clean at all times one has to circumcise. And later it became compulsory for the clan to do form than on. But would an Eskimo or the red Indians need to do the same? Do you know what the Arabs would do to clean after passing motion? Stone, yes they would keep stones with them at all time because there was no water in the desert and the only solution they found was the stone. But are the Arabs doing the same today? Surely not, because they now have the technology to convert seawater to drinking water and this has solved the problems their past generation could not. But may be the nomads of the desert are still sticking to the same old method. And so did the Jews who had changed certain practice, which they considered outdated. Every race and religion has rigid laws and the orthodox refuse to change according to time. In religion we take what is practical and leave what we cannot cope. In verdic period people of same clan and belief live together in a nation and was suitable to accept such beliefs but in later period people began to migrate and some spread their belief to other nations and people began to intermingle and there were intermarriages between different clans of different beliefs. Thousands of years later you find Muslims living in a country along with non-Muslims and so were the Christians and and Jews. They learn to understand each other’s belief and sensitivity and by doing so multi racial and multi religious nations were formed. But yet we find that in every religion there are orthodox who become fanatics in their belief and create unrest among the peace loving nations. There are Hindu fanatics who still belief in cast system, there Muslims who still believe that the Hadis are the true words of their prophet and all non-Muslims are their enemies and while the Christians believe that only through Jesus one can enter paradise. For instance there are fools who believe having too much sex with your wife is a sin. I do not know from where he got this idea but today scientist say that those who have less sex are prone to heart attack. Having much sex with your wife is no sin provided the wife too enjoys such but forcing her or having sex with women other than your wife is not proper because you too do not wish your wife to do the same. So it is considered wrong if you commit adultery and you must also think of the consequences what if your partner is a carrier of HIV and other STD. It is because of this that religions say it is a sin. But on the other hand if both are willing partners and they have a clean bill of health I don’t see why you should not. There are limits to everything and that is why religions came to be. If not we would all be barbarians and behave like animals by having sex in the open. But some religions went overboard by compelling others to follow their faith strictly and failing to do so will be punished according to their religious law. Religion should be left to individual liking so that if one does not follow the commandments it is between God and him but one must follow the laws formulated by Government of nations to suit each and every race irrespective of your religious belief. Religious laws were given when the world was in dark but times have changed and we live in modern society with IT and other technologies advancing in every nation and to live out of it is like refusing to use the train just because prophet Mohammed did not use the train during his time or that Krishna was not a computer programmer and so I refuse to be one. Or that Jesus wore the crown of thorn and so I too wish to wear it daily on my head. People are not using their God given brain to think but just follow some fools who claim to be masters of scriptures. I am not against any religion because I am a believer too but I wish to be rational in my thinking and not blindly follow the scriptures. As far as I know and many too realize that no scripture is final and that is why in this modern days we still have Godly men or spiritualist like Swami Vivekannda, Sri Ramakrishna Parmamsa, Amma, Swami Shivananda and many others who have come to teach love for mankind. Love is the only medicine for peace. Not following rigidly all that is said in the scriptures. What does a householder needs to live a righteous live on earth is clearly stated in the Dharma sastras. If you are a soldier follow what the sastras say and you will not sin against God. In war no civilian, specially women and children should not be harmed. If you are a businessman do not make profit more than what you need and never cheat by selling expired items or poisoned food to consumers. If you are the government, serve the people well by not being corrupt and greedy for wealth. If all follow according to the dharma sastras no harm will come to any body and we can all live in peace till end of our time. 8th.Feb. 2004

To all religion and its followers. To know the truth you need to search your heart. In Hnduism the vedas were given by rishis some 3000 to 4000 years BC and in Judaism the Tora was given some 2500 to 3000 years BC and later Jesus came to revive the Tora and his followers turn his teachings inot Christianity like what the Buddhist who created Buddhism from the teachings of Siddartha who later came to be know as Gauthama Buddha. Some 1400 ago Mohammed came to discover a new religion assimilating the Tora, Talmud and the Bible into one and called it Islam which means surrender. But none of the followers of these religions that no scripture is final because scriptures came about during ages or period of the time to sustain the very particular yug or era. Now were are in the 21st century with much much scientific advancement. We have the internet, cell phones, super sonic fighter planes, spy satellites over the globe and man in space exploration and venturing into other planest in the universe. When the scriptures were given to man during that period the population was less and there were no such development nor any scientific dicoveries. So, the crux of the matter here is no final capter in religious scriptures. There will always be an Avathar of men of divine birth from time to time in order to remind mankind that whatever you do, do not forget that this universe is under the control of a Supreme Power and the final say come from him. F9ighting here who is the greates and whose religion is the true religion is all a waste of time and serves none at all. Some stupid folowers might say that only his is the true religion or that their scripture is the final and that their prophet is the last is all an egoistic selfcentered moron's way of thinking. Be what you are and practice your religion according to time so that all can co-exist and live in peace.

He Loved All Swami Nirantarananda Swami Nirantarananda is a monk of the Ramakrishna Order and at present one of the Acharyas of the Ramakrishna Math Probationers' Training Centre at Belur Math. More often than not, we are emotional by nature and are swayed by different kinds of emotions such as love, hatred, greed, devotion, jealousy, fear, lust, anger etc. But love, no doubt, appears to be the strongest of all these. Love works through these emotions. The love of life gives birth to the fear of death. Hatred arises from excessive love for self-interest. Selfless love for others is the prime mover of all spiritual souls. The mother faces the lion to save her beloved child. The spur of one's own interest goads a tyrant and an exploiter to their dirty jobs. Love works between God and His devotee, a mother and her child and between two atoms however distantly apart they may be. Love knows no bounds and cleaves its way through adamantine walls of indifference and even rejections. Therefore, love is the basic and universal emotion. To love all, on the other hand, is extremely difficult, hence rare. It is seen only in a few great souls. The discriminations based on varied factors stand in the way. Love remains locked in the stony hearts. But Lord Buddha, Jesus Christ, Sri Ramakrishna and such other persons could dedicate their lives for the redemption of the entire humanity. The unfathomable love that reigned supreme in their hearts was both vast and deep--vast as the sky and deep as the ocean. The modern age has attached highest importance to the inventions and discoveries in science and technology. The efficiency in science and technology has reached its dizziest heights. But people remain greatly neglected. They are just hurled into an abysmal darkness of suffering, subject to ' tension, sorrow, unfulfilment and suicidal tendencies.' So today they need attention. He loved all Sri Ramakrishna, the prophet of the age, loved all; he loved without distinction of sex, age, position, learning, religion, caste, race, colour, etc. By the tide of his all-embracing love the differentiations were simply swept off. Swamiji once remarked: Sri Ramakrishna is L O V E personified. Let us study some events from his life to see glimpses of pure love in action. To him all were welcome, no matter if they were educated or uneducated. Scholars like Padmalochan and Gaurikanta, the students of modern English education, 'the young Bengal' like Narendranath were all blessed by his selfless love. At the same time, even illiterate people like Latu (later Swami Adbhutananda) for example, were blessed by the loving grace of the Master. Most of the women devotees of the Master were also illiterate. Latu, a young boy, hailing from a village in the district of Chapra in Bihar, was completely illiterate. Being born and brought up in an extremely poor family of a shepherd he was unable to get any formal schooling. His childhood was spent mostly in the grazing lands. In his teenage, dire poverty led him to Calcutta and made him a servant at the house of Ramchandra Datta who was a staunch devotee of Sri Ramakrishna. Through Ramchandra, Latu came in contact with Sri Ramakrishna. In the very first meeting the Master was highly impressed by the innate spiritual potency of the young boy. He accepted him. Latu became a giant in the spiritual world and proved to be one of Sri Ramakrishna's miracles. In later days, he would be heard to say, 'If I get a brother disciple like the brother Loren (Swami Vivekananda) and the Lord like the Master, I would like to be born again.' His love flowed equally to men and women. In the circle of devotees of Sri Ramakrishna there were persons of both the sexes. The number of women devotees was very significant and it was a group of ladies of all classes of the society. Among them who were known most were Gauri Ma, Yogin Ma and Golap Ma. One of them reminisced about their unforgettable meetings with Sri Ramakrishna, 'Ah! So much was the grace we had from him. It cannot be expressed in words what that compassion was. And what attraction! Even we ourselves do not know or understand how we all used to go to him and do all those things. Why, we cannot now go in that manner on foot anywhere to unknown peoples' houses without informing anybody, to see a holy man or listen to words on spirituality. Such things have vanished with him by whose power we acted that way. We do not know why we still live though we have lost him.'They had, again, the same share of love and affection as the menfolk would have from Sri Ramakrishna. So was it revealed in the sweet experiences related by a woman devotee: 'Every one now says, he did not allow women to touch him or even to approach him. We laugh to hear it and think, "we are not dead yet." Who will know how kind he was? He had the same attitude towards men and women. But it is true that if women stayed near him long he would say, "Please go now and pay reverence to the presiding deities of the temples." We have heard him ask menfolk also to do likewise.' Once Sri Ramakrishna went on his own to Jadu Mallick's house in Kolkata by a hired hackney carriage, in order to inquire about the welfare of an old lady, Jadu's mother, Latu accompanied him. On the way, A. joined them. The carriage stopped in front of the house of the great devotee, Girish Chandra Ghosh. The Master, on enquiry, was told by A. that Girish was out of station. Then the Master said to A, 'Well! I cannot see G.; I thought of asking him to give today's extra carriage hire. But I am now acquainted with you, will you give a rupee?' Sri Ramakrishna once said to Narendranath that he was ready to beg from door to door for the welfare of Narendranath. But, in this event we note with wonder, he actually begged for that old woman! Sri Ramakrishna's love for women was unbounded. He wanted to see women have all round development, spiritual as well as secular. They should be co-travellers with men in the great journey in the world. Once Gauri Ma was plucking flowers in the garden near the Nahabat. The Master came there with a pot of water. Holding a branch of the Bakul tree with one hand, he started pouring water with the other. Then he said, 'Gauri, let me pour water and you knead the mud.' A surprised Gauri Ma said, 'There is no clay here. How can I knead the mud? This place is full of stone chips.' The Master smiled and said, 'My goodness! What I mean and what you have understood! The condition of women in this country is very poor and painful. You will have to work for them.' The rich and the poor all had the same share of his love. Sri Ramakrishna had loved and bestowed compassion on the rich and the poor alike. He had in the list of his devotees rich people like Jadu Mallick, Mathur Babu, and also a multitude of poor ones. One year, on his birthday celebration, a poor woman devotee of Calcutta brought four rasogollas for him and gave them to Holy Mother at the Nahabat. Other women who were present there told the woman, ' The Master is now busy with the devotees. How can Holy Mother carry these sweets to him? Moreover, the Master has already finished his meal. He won't eat anything more now. If he does, he will be sick.' These words, naturally, made her very sad. Tears came down her eyes. She mentally said to him, 'Master, you are the Lord of the poor and the lowly. Your rich devotees have arranged this festival spending a lot of money, and you are in a festive mood with them. I am a poor, simple woman. Somehow I managed to save four paise, and with that I bought these sweets for you. I don't know what to do! I am helpless. Now I feel that you are not the Lord of the poor.' The Master felt that someone was pulling him, and he immediately left the gathering and went to the Nahabat. He ate the sweets that the poor woman had brought for him. Chunilal Basu, Upendranath Mukhopadhay, Devendranath Mazumdar, Pratap Chandra Hazra and many others among the Master's devotees were very poor. The Master was very anxious for their material welfare also, so that they could call on God with a peaceful mind. On the Kalpataru day, the 1st January 1886, at Cossipore the Master blessed many devotees. He asked Upendra, 'What do you want?' 'Money.' 'You will get plenty of money,' said the Master. Later on, Upendra became rich and established a big publishing house in Calcutta. Sri Ramakrishna set aside all kinds of caste restrictions. Though born in a Brahmin family he could eat food touched by non-Brahmin people. Narendranath (later Swami Vivekananda) and many others of his young disciples belonged to different non-Brahmin castes. One day, some of them arranged a picnic at the Panchavati, Dakshineswar. Despite Narendra's protest, the Master ate with them there with immense joy. What a deep love the Master had for Rani Rasmani and her son-in-law Mathuranath who belonged to Kaivarta caste! He stayed many a day at their Calcutta residence. Many such instances can be cited from the Master's life. But we shall narrate only one story here. Sri Ramakrishna, one day, visited the house of Keshab Chandra Sen and had a sumptuous feast there. Keshab Sen was a non-Brahmin. After finishing his food the Master was worried thinking he might not be allowed to enter the temple garden at Dakshineswar. So he forbade M. and others to tell any of the temple officials about it. But the next day, however, when the temple manager was passing by, the Master said to him, 'Yesterday I went to Keshab's house and he gave me a sumptuous feast. I don't know whether the food was served by a washerman or a barber. Will it harm me?' The manager smiled and said, 'No, sir, it is all right. Nothing can pollute you.' In order to rise above the idea of caste he ate some rice grains from the leavings after the beggars took their food at Dakshineswar. He even cleaned the latrines of the scavengers living in that village. One day Dr. Mahendra Pal came to visit the Master at Dakshineswar. The Master, accompanied by Dr. Pal and Gopal (senior) came out of his room and stepped onto the garden path. They saw a woman sweeper coming towards them, carrying on her head a tub of excrement from a privy, about five or six yards away. When the Master saw her, he prostrated before her, stretching himself fully on the ground, saying, 'Mother, who can do this work except you.' Unlike ordinary mortals, he never deprecated the dignity of labour and the dignity of the 'divinities on earth'. Great people like Devendranath Tagore, Keshab Chandra Sen, Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar, Sivanath Sastri and many others who were the elite of Calcutta, came in contact with the Master. They would frequently come and listen to him. At the passing away of Keshab Chandra Sen, Sri Ramakrishna was extremely shocked. He said, 'I could not leave my bed for three days when I got that news; it seemed as if a limb of mine was paralysed.' On the other hand, the common people who were unable to draw attention from others, and were counted as 'many' or 'the masses', earned due love and respect from Sri Ramakrishna. There was an employee at the temple garden of Dakshineswar at the time of Sri Ramakrishna. Swami Vishuddhananda, the eighth president of the Ramakrishna Order, would visit Dakshineswar regularly, as a young man, before he joined the Order. He saw there a gardener, very aged, working daily on the path between the Master's room and Panchavati. The gardener used to keep the path clean. The young man asked the gardener the cause of his sincere work of cleaning the path. At first, he did not like to speak out, but at the insistence of the young man, he said, 'It was one night in the summer [when Sri Ramakrishna was in this world]. I felt no sleep, so, leaving the bed, I was wandering about the garden near Panchavati. Suddenly I saw some light come from the side of the Vilva tree. Surprised, I went forward and found Paramahamsa--deva seated in meditation. The light emerged from the Master's body. I got unnerved and ran away to my room. Next morning, weeping I clasped his feet with my hands. The Master immediately asked me, "What! What is the reason for so much devotion today?" As I was upset, I couldn't think anything, and only said, "Please have mercy on me." He understood my mind and said, "You should meditate on the form you saw last night. And, keep this path clean. So many devotees will come!" Since then I meditate as per his instructions, and keep this path clean every day.' People across the world are constantly taught that a sin should be hated, but not a sinner. Alas, how many are there on this beautiful planet of ours who have lived this ideal? The few who have evinced this in their lives includes Sri Ramakrishna. He had love, affection and sympathy for men and women who are usually looked down upon by the cruel society. The doors of his room would remain open all the time for these wicked and perverted persons also. Before he met the Master, Girish Chandra Ghosh used to lead a reckless life. He gave himself up to excesses. 'One night,' said Girish, 'in an euphoric and drunken mood, I was visiting a house of prostitution with two of my friends. But suddenly I felt an urge to visit Sri Ramakrishna. My friends and I hired a carriage and drove out to Dakshineswar. It was late at night, and everyone was asleep. The three of us entered Sri Ramakrishna's room, tipsy and reeling. Sri Ramakrishna grasped both my hands and began to sing and dance in ecstasy. The thought flashed through my mind, "Here is a man whose love embraces all--even a wicked man like me, whose own family would condemn one in this state. Surely this holy man, respected by the righteous, is also the saviour of the fallen."' Sri Ramakrishna took full responsibility for Girish's spiritual life. He accepted his 'Vakalma' (vakalatnama), power of attorney. Later, in the last part of his life, Girish used to say to the visitors who wanted to hear about Sri Ramakrishna from him, 'See me. What I was, and what the Master has transformed me to! He lifted me up, not by reprimanding, but by his infinite love. What could I say about his love!' Sri Ramakrishna's love flowed not only to the wicked but also to his own abusers. The following story, presented by Akshaya Kumar Sen in his book, 'Sri Sri Ramakrishna Punthi' depicts this aspect of the Master. A man (whose name we do not know) living in Calcutta used to speak ill of the Master. The Master was then staying at Shyampukur. Once, the dear, tender young son of the man fell ill. The man called in many physicians of Calcutta to cure his son. But they were of no avail. All of them gave up all hope of recovery for the young boy, whose condition became critical. The father wanted to bring the famous Dr. Mahendra Sarkar under whose treatment the Master was placed, to treat his son. The man went to the doctor's house and entreated him. Dr. Sarkar was then very busy with the treatment of the Master. He liked to be always with the Master. He studied a lot of medical books to find out a remedy to cure the Master. The doctor paid no attention to the man's request and got into a carriage to visit the Master. The father of the ailing son began to run following the doctor's carriage. After a while, both of them reached Shyampukur. The man, with his mind full of shame and fear, found himself standing in front of the Master surrounded by other devotees. The Master asked the man the reason that had brought him there. The man told all about his son's critical condition. Hearing his words, the Master began to shed tears. He said to the man, 'I am old and have an ordinary pain in my throat, but still it gives me so much pain. I can imagine how painful the suffering of your young child is.' Then the Master asked the doctor to go and treat the child first. Seeing the Master's all-embracing compassion and love, the man's stone-like heart melted. He began to ponder over all his past abuses at the Master and, with tears rolling down his cheeks, repeatedly requested the Master to pardon him. Through the Master's love, a thousand years' darkness in the man's mind vanished in a moment. The current of Sri Ramakrishna's love was not checked by a race or a nation. It submerged all geographical and psychological borders and barriers. Williams, a Christian gentleman who met the Master a few times, was very much moved by him. 'You are,' said Williams to the Master, 'The Christ himself, The Son of God.' Williams was convinced of the divinity of Sri Ramakrishna. He gave up the world at the Master's advice, went to the Himalayas to the north of the Punjab, and passed away there after practising austerities for long. The love of the Master was spiritual. He saw the divine peeping through every body. For him, love for humanity was the same as the love for Divinity. Once Narendranath realised that the Master loved him very deeply. He, one day, made a mild protest to the Master and warned him mentioning the puranic story of king Bharata who had to be born a deer due to his excessive love for a deer in his previous birth. The Master had a deep faith in Narendra's words which naturally puzzled him. Then the Master went to the Divine Mother in the temple. There he heard Her say, 'He (Narendra) is a mere boy; why do you give ear to his words? You see Narayana in him; therefore you feel attracted towards him.' Conclusion We have just made a step at the first rung of the third millennium ladder, which is marked by many as the age of globalisation. This means that man has to live in the midst of a multiplicity of religion, culture, language, economy, education, colour, gender, etc. It's a menacing challenge to the very existence of humanity. We, to survive, stand in need of the art of harmonious living in this beautiful global village or home. And it is possible only for a man who is trained in the milieu of love, harmony and mutual understanding derived from the ideal of the divine universal Oneness. And in this regard we see that Sri Ramakrishna has come as the light of hope and stands at our doors with this gift-packet of the ideal harmonious living. It is we who should rise to receive it and then unwrap it. One of the epithets in a hymn on Sri Ramakrishna by Swami Vivekananda is 'Premapathar', the ocean of love. This explains the natural ease with which the Master could love all. Once the Holy Mother cryptically said, 'He who has it should give; he who does not have, should practise japam.' Sri Ramakrishna is an infinite ocean of love; he has an infinite supply of it. But as commoners we should fill the heart with his love, leaving no room for hatred. This calls for selfeffort and re-orientation of our outlook. The compassionate Buddha said, 'Hatred should be conquered by love.' Let us cut the shackles of selfishness which binds our heart and taints our love. We would immediately feel fresh air envigorating the rooms of our consciousness.

Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna 01. A man is truly free, even here in this embodied state, if he knows that God is the true agent and he by himself is powerless to do anything. 02. It is easy to talk on religion, but difficult to practice it. 03. Many good sayings are to be found in holy books, but merely reading them will not make one religious. One must practice the virtues taught in such books in order to acquire love of God. 04. If you first fortify yourself with the true knowledge of the Universal Self, and then live in the midst of wealth and worldliness, surely they will in no way affect you. 05. If you must be mad, be it not for the things of the world. Be mad with the love of God. 06. Many are the names of God and infinite the forms through which He may be approached. 07. One must be very particular about telling the truth. Through truth one can realize God. 08. As a wet-nurse in a wealthy family brings up her master's child, loving it as if it were her own, yet knowing well that she has no claim upon it, so you also think that you are but trustee and guardians of your children whose real father is the Lord himself. 09. Because of the screen of Maya (illusion) that shuts off God from human view, one cannot see Him playing in one's heart. 10. Unless one always speaks the truth, one cannot find God Who is the soul of truth. 11. Work, apart from devotion or love of God, is helpless and cannot stand-alone. 12. If you desire to be pure, have firm faith, and slowly go on with your devotional practices without wasting your energy in useless scriptural discussions and arguments. Your little brain will otherwise be muddled. 13. After installing GOD on the lotus of your heart, you must keep the lamp of remembering God ever burning. While engaged in the affairs of the world, you should constantly turn your gaze inwards and see whether the lamp is burning or not. 15. To work without attachment is to work without the expectation of reward or fear of any punishment in this world or the next. Work so done is a means to the end, and God is the end. 16. As long as you are a person with an ego of your own, cannot conceive, think of or perceive God other than as a person. 17. God is in all men, but all men are not in God; that is why we suffer. 18. When the divine vision is attained, all appear equal; and there remains no distinction of good and bad, or of high and low. 19. Good and evil cannot bind him who has realized the oneness of Nature and his own self with Brahman.

Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa 01. A man is truly free, even here in this embodied state, if he knows that God is the true agent and he by himself is powerless to do anything. 02. It is easy to talk on religion, but difficult to practice it. 03. Many good sayings are to be found in holy books, but merely reading them will not make one religious. One must practice the virtues taught in such books in order to acquire love of God. 04. If you first fortify yourself with the true knowledge of the Universal Self, and then live in the midst of wealth and worldliness, surely they will in no way affect you. 05. If you must be mad, be it not for the things of the world. Be mad with the love of God. 06. Many are the names of God and infinite the forms through which He may be approached. 07. One must be very particular about telling the truth. Through truth one can realize God. 08. As a wet-nurse in a wealthy family brings up her master's child, loving it as if it were her own, yet knowing well that she has no claim upon it, so you also think that you are but trustee and guardians of your children whose real father is the Lord himself. 09. Because of the screen of Maya (illusion) that shuts off God from human view, one cannot see Him playing in one's heart. 10. Unless one always speaks the truth, one cannot find God Who is the soul of truth. 11. Work, apart from devotion or love of God, is helpless and cannot stand-alone. 12. If you desire to be pure, have firm faith, and slowly go on with your devotional practices without wasting your energy in useless scriptural discussions and arguments. Your little brain will otherwise be muddled. 13. After installing GOD on the lotus of your heart, you must keep the lamp of remembering God ever burning. While engaged in the affairs of the world, you should constantly turn your gaze inwards and see whether the lamp is burning or not. 15. To work without attachment is to work without the expectation of reward or fear of any punishment in this world or the next. Work so done is a means to the end, and God is the end. 16. As long as you are a person with an ego of your own, cannot conceive, think of or perceive God other than as a person. 17. God is in all men, but all men are not in God; that is why we suffer. 18. When the divine vision is attained, all appear equal; and there remains no distinction of good and bad, or of high and low. 19. Good and evil cannot bind him who has realized the oneness of Nature and his own self with Brahman.

First and formost you did not understand my explanation and you have jumped the gun. See how silly you are. God is one and there is no question about that. But messangers or incarnation will come form time to time. Sree Satia Sai can be construed as a messanger or a divine birth. He is here to spread love for God in whosever religion you belong to. Go and see for yourself. You are no better than a fanatical Muslim who claims that Mohammed is the last prophet and Allah is the true God. What a scum you are.

At the heart of the Jewish, Catholic Christian and Sufi Muslim Traditions is something western theologians call 'Bridal Mysticism'. In Bridal Mysticism, Israel, The Church or the individual Soul is considered 'feminine' (Shakti-Prakriti or Receiver) in relationship to the 'masculine' (Purusha) Godhead, Who is the Giving Source and Lover of all beings. Historically this concept is related to the Song of Songs in the Jewish Scripture and to Eli-Yahu and Shekinah Rabbinical Theology. Shekinah has been considered the uncreated Feminine or Receiver-ness of Godhead. She is variously related to the Feminine Divine in Jewish and Catholic Mysticism as the Bride of God, the Mother of all living, the Vessel of the universe, Holy Wisdom, Personified Devotion /Love, Queen Sabbath , Ark of Salvation, Mediatrix of Divine Mercy etc. Thus, even today, Orthodox Jewish Rabbis still teach that the entire spiritual realm and cosmic manifestation is an expression of the metaphysical love affair of their Biblical Deity Eli or Yahu and His feminine Shekinah. In Catholic Christianity, the theology of Shekinah has been preserved in the tradition of the 'hyper dulia' or special veneration of Mary. Mary's ancient 'Bridal Mysticism' related name is the 'Mystical Rose'. 'Rose' or RHODA in Greek was the 'Original' or 'Kore' (HARE) virgin-maiden form of Shekinah venerated throughout the region. Mary has many names and her 'kenosis' or spiritual emptiness / receiver-ness is considered to be the condition which is required for God's Incarnation in the universe and in each soul. 'Bridal' or mystical union with God is not possible without the kenosis of Rhoda-Shekinah-Mary. Furthermore, Catholic tradition teaches that understanding Mary as THEOTOKOS and MATER DEI, the 'Mother of God', is the key to understanding the historical and theological identity of the Judeo-Christian Godhead. If we study the names and related doctrines and practices of Mary found throughout all of the Apostolic (Catholic) Churches of Christianity, from a Vaishnava or Shaivite understanding of Radha-Shakti, it becomes abundantly clear that Rhoda-Shekinah-Mariam is, in fact, Radha-Shakti-Narayani. Thus She reveals to us the identity of the Biblical Deity Eli-El or Yahu. EL or ELI=HARI or HARA. The Supreme Semitic Deity Eli or El is Hari (Krishna) & Hara (Dionysos-Bal as Shiva). Yahu is Vasu-deva or Vishnu (YISHMA-YAHU in Hebrew means Vishnu –Yasu or Vishnu is Yahu, YESHI-YAHU means Vasu is Yahu, and is related to the Heliopolitan and Theban Egyptian Deity Names ASU and WASU.) Again, if we study the ancient Names, doctrines and practices associated with ELI-YAHU, we cannot honestly avoid the conclusion that the Biblical Deity is Krishna-Vishnu / Shiva, the God of Vedic and Puranic Bhakti Traditions. In the ancient Mediterranean region, there was not the separation between Vaishnavism and Shaivism that we see today, as all Vishnu and Shiva Manifestations were considered forms of BALU-YAHU-DIONYSOS (MESSIAS), BALADEVA, the Salvific Descending Savior of all universes. Yahu, also called BALU is the Emanating and Incarnating Savior of all worlds, the Servitor Lord, the NAMA-RUPA of Godhead for salvific pastimes. He is the Second Person of the Judeo-Catholic Trinity. In the Mediterranean, He is the Source of all 'SHIVA' Forms as well as Vishnu Forms of GOD. All sacrificial systems and sacramental social orders derive from His primal once-and-all-sufficient Self-sacrifice at the beginning of every cosmic manifestation as YUPA DHVAJA, the virata-rupa Purusha of the Rig Vedic Hymn, the Purusha Sukta. For over fifty years, some Jewish scholars have suggested that the Song of Songs Divine Love Tradition is historically related to some 'Mystery School' in the ancient Mediterranean Sea. In the mid 1960s I identified that 'school' as the transcendent monotheism and idealism of HELIUS (ELI-YAHU) KOUROS and RHODA on the SACRED ROSE or LOTUS ISLAND (Radha-Padme Dwipa) of RHODES. All Mediterranean regional monotheism and related high civilization was associated with this religion of RHODA and KOUROS HELIUS on Their Sacred Isle of Rhodes. KOUROS (KRISHNA) was considered the 'Original Form' of HELI-US. As EROS He was the Lord of all Hearts, and the Lover of all souls . Psyche, or soul was considered feminine, or receiver in relation the God, the Origin and Giver of Being. HELIOS / KOUROS / EROS / was called KYRIOS ‘LORD’. Since the Late SERAPEAN Alexandrine Biblical Greek ELI-AS, KYRI-OS and THE-OS can be identified both with the Hebrew Deity ELI-YAHU and the Greek Monotheists' Deity HELI-US, it is clear that the monotheistic Heli-us of Rhodes is historically the Judeo-Christian Deity Elo-Ah, Eli-Yahu or Muslim ALLAH. This compound Holy Name appears throughout the ancient world wherever the Krishna-Vishnu Godhead is worshiped. For instance in Rome as SOLE-US, in Egypt as HOR-US, in India as HARIH, SUREH, HARAH, HARYAH or SURYA (many variants in India) and in Tibet and Japan as HRIH, the seed-mantra name of AMITABHA or AMIDA BUDDHA. In each region This Deity was originally worshiped not as a 'solar demigod', but as the Supreme Person, The very Spirit of Love, and Lord of the Heart. As GOD-WHO-IS-LOVE, HARI-VASU WAS RASA RAJA, TRANSCENDENT CAUSE and END OF THE UNIVERSE, CREATOR of all creators (KRITA KRITA), LORD of all lords (VARDA VARDANA), and KING of kings / BASILEOS basileos (VASUDEVA of the VASUDEVAS). As the all-pervasive HARI / ELI lord of the HEART (HRID, CORDIA, HRI-DAYA or HARI-DAYA) HE pervaded the cosmos as ATEN / ADON (ATMAN). In His pervasive feature as Light, and as the Personal Source of Divine Light He was worshiped as PR AMAN (BRAHMAN) and PHOS (BHAS, as in AMITA-BHA). Thus whenever The Biblical Deity is invoked as LIGHT / PHO (S) the very NAME OF THE ADI BUDDHA AMITA BHA (S), AMITO-FHO IS INVOKED! Greek LIGHT = PHO, Sanskrit = BHA, Chinese = FHO. The Pure Land Buddhist Dharma Kaya or ‘Original Body of the Transcendent Adi Buddha’ AMITA BHA is HRIH, also called BHAGAVAN and ADI PURUSHA and PUROSOTTAMA in the Pure Land Sanskrit Buddhist Scriptures. Numerous legends of pre-historic Rhodes indicate that the Supreme Lord was worshiped there in peaceful unity by Greeks (Indo-Europeans), Phoenicians (Semites) and Egyptians (Africans). The first high civilizations of the region were all HELIO-POLITAN. They all worshipped Helios locally in His multi-form as ZEUS (THEOS) POLIEUS. Kouros-Zeus had infinite forms. Modern scholars have seriously erred in their analysis of Greek religions. The FULGAR (lighting bearer) form of Zeus (Indra) was not His Original Supreme Form. The Discus also became confounded with the lighting bolt due to the VAJRA becoming confounded with the CHAKRA as the astra of the Almighty Heavenly Father God. KOUROS WAS THE ORIGINAL FORM OF ZEUS-JUPITER-AMAN. This can be confirmed by the famous HYMN TO KOUROS discovered on Crete, and the Pythagorean, Platonic and Orphic worship of Helios Kouros / Eros as Supreme. Kouros was worshiped in His cities in local ZEUS (DEVA) POLIEUS FORMS. The sacramental social order of His Temple Community, City-State and Inter-national Federations as POLIEUS or POLIS was His PURUSHA SUKTA based varnashrama dharma social system. As Polieus, Kouros was worshiped in awe and reverence as the Divine King BAZO-DEO (VASU-DEVA) with HIS QUEEN BASI-LEA (VASU-DEVI). Thus, in each location (LOKA) POLIEUS and RHODE as FORTUNA-TYCHE were PURUSHA and LAKSMI. Originally, all Helio-politan coinage was minted for exchange between Federation Temple City-States at the temples of FORTUNA-MONETA. This is the origin of 'MONEY', from LAKSMI - FORTUNA's Name MONETA. Sattvic Heliopolitan Temple Federation Members would not trade with the worshippers of 'false gods' whose a-dharmic worship involved tamasic things like human sacrifice and cannibalism, forced chattle slavery, orgiastic rites of intoxication and perverse sex, scripturally unauthorized sacrifice, black-marketeering and related 'gaming' or gambling. Thus the religion of Helios was always considered ascetic, or pietistic and holy as opposed to the degraded forms of false 'god' polytheism which ruled in the tamasic realms of sin and social anarchy, or perverted tamasic social order. Sattvic or 'good' / benevolent order was maintained in Purusha's Polis sacramental social organization through the sacramental exchange of holy /sattvic or 'offerable' goods and services via the Sattvic Purusha Sukta based sacrificial system. 'Bridal Mysticism' and the doctrines of Laksmi-Shakti (Fortuna-Shekinah) and Prasadam (God's Presence in the Remnants of His Offerings) established and sustained Heliopolitan Monotheism throughout the ancient Mediterranean region. According to both Rhodian and Egyptian traditions, the Heliopolitan high civilization of Egypt was established by ACTIS, a 'RAY' or 'Son' of Helios Kouros and Rhoda before 3000 BC. It is this tradition, both its esoteric / internal theological 'Bridal Mysticism' and its external sacramental 'catholic' social structure that is the source of Judaism, Catholic Christianity and Mystical (Sufi) Islam. The existence of this as the dominant monotheism of the Mediterranean from pre- history and the Minoan Era (circa 300 BC) onwards, proves that the obviously related 'Indo-European' Indus-Sarasvati Culture of the same era MUST HAVE BEEN SIMILARLY HARI / HARA AND SHAKTI CENTRIC. Thus, attempts by scholars to ascribe late dates to Puranic Vaishnavism and Shaivism are all discredited by the overwhelming evidence from the earliest Semitic, African and European indigenous Bhakti Traditions. Africans, Semites and Northern 'Indo-Euopeans' were 'ARYAS' (Hebrew ELYM=ARYAN) or worshipers of HARI or HARA. The indigenous peoples of India, both the darker skinned Southern Dravidians, and the lighter Northerners were ARYANS, worshipping HARI or HARA. In this inter-racial salvific worship of Hari or Hara we come face-to-face with the primal revelatory tradition of the ENTIRE human race. HERI was the pre historic Supreme Father God of the Nilo-Saharan Tribes and Language Family. OLU / ORU was the same for the Niger peoples, ELI / ARI / ILU etc. for the Semites and Sumerians, Hurri, Heli, Sole etc. for the Europeans , and Hari, Hara, Sura etc. for those of the Indic and Eastern Bhakti Traditions. HARI cognate Deity names can be found even in Austronesia and the Americas. These cognate Deity Names are associated with the Origin and Supreme Father God of all that exists, and frequently have retained associations with Love, the Heart, Light, the Sun, Wholeness and the Circle KYKLOS / CHAKRA Icon. From age to age the struggle has been two-fold. Humanity must battle the ego-istic tendency to divide itself up into separated antagonistic clans or groups creating their own 'false gods' of religious exclusivism, racism, nationalism etc. We must also individually and collectively combat the tendency toward moral devolution. In each time & place we can observe Hari's Heliopolitan (or late ‘Apollonian’) Societies struggling to achieve or maintain ascetic or sattvic social order and to promote personal virtue instead of rajarsic excess and tamasic vice. The Godhead's Polieus / Purusha Theistic Unity-in-Diversity has always been the impetus of benevolent 'High Civilization'. The Sacramental Social Body of Purusha has incarnated love’s idealism and maintained Dharmic exoteric cooperative social order, while The Mysteries of THE TRINITY / TRI KAYA / TRINI RUPANI and THE HOLY TRINO-SOPHIA of RADHA-SHAKTI-JIVA have thrilled the souls of the mystics of every land. A global revival of this unifying, primal exoteric and esoteric spirituality of Transcendent Idealism and Divine Love is what we desperately need today to combat the social chaos, antagonism between races, nations and religions, and moral decline that threatens to overwhelm us. One people of infinite variety, we have but One God of infinite variety. He is the Supreme Personality of Love, the Lord of all hearts, worshiped locally in His infinite NAMA-RUPA. Let us return to His worship in His Spirit of Divine Love and Unity, through the Mercy of our Heavenly Mother, and the universal intercession of the Descending Savior of all worlds. It is our only way to reconciliation peace and bliss, in this life and in the next ! PAX and PREMA ! Amen / Aum HARE, HARI and HARA-SHAKTI Ki Jaya ! your aspiring servant, Tridandi Sannyasi Bhakti Ananda Goswami Maharaja EXAMPLES OF RELATED AFRO-HELENO-SEMITIC PROTO-CATHOLIC AND EASTERN VEDIC NAMES AND FORMS OF RHODA-KOUROS AND RADHA-KRISHNA RADHA / RHODA NAMES AND FORMS RADHA is ... RHODA is... 1 RADHA RHODA, ROSE 2 HARE KORE 3 SHAKTI SHEKINAH, SEKHET 4 NARI, NARAYANI MARY, MARIAM, JUNO MARINA 5 ISHVARI ISHISH (Hebrew), ISIS 6 YAUVANI JUVENTAS 7 VASUDEVI BASILEA 8 DEVI THEA, DIA 9 RAJANI, RANI REGINA 10 TARA, ASTRAYA STELLA, ASTERIA 11 'Lunar' ROHINI LUCHINA 12 PADME (LOTUS) NYMPHIA (LOTUS) 13 JIVA SHAKTI HEVE SHEKINAH (EVE), ZOE, BIA, BA (Egypt), HEBE 14 LAKSMI FORTUNA-MONETA (TYCHE as LADY LUCK) 15 SARASVATI SARA-CHOKMAH-SHEKINAH 16 HARINI CORONIS 17 TULASI BASILEA as MOTHER MOST TOLERANT (TULA) MARY as REFUGE OF PRIEST SLAYERS (see below) 18 KALI KORONE-SEKMET 19 MAHA MATA MAGNA MATER 20 MAYA Hebrew MAYIM, kenotic and chaotic Mysterium (feminine Yoni and waters of chaos before creation) 21 SANI DEVI SATUREJA, QUEEN SABBATH 22 BHUMI BOU SURABHI EUROPA GO-MATA (LOKA) GE, GEO, (MOTHER EARTH and COW) KRISHNA / KOUROS NAMES AND FORMS (Compare to corresponding # Radha / Rhoda Nama-Rupa above) KRISHNA is... KOUROS is... 1 RADHA-NATHA RHODOS (masculine form, Whose Symbol is the Rhodon / Rose) 2 KRISHNA KOUROS (CHARISMA 'ATTRACTIVE' ) 3 HARI or HARA-YAHU ELI-EL or YAHU, Lord of SHEKINAH as SHAKTIMAN 4 NARA, NARAYANA NHL-US, MZRYM (Egypt), NAHARIAM (Hebrew), ZEUS NEREUS, JUPITER MARIMUS , NAZARENUS 5 ISH, ISHVARA ISH ( Husband, Lord in Hebrew) 6 YAUVANA JUPITER JUVENALIS (Youth) 7 VASUDEVA BAZODEO, BASILEOS, WASU DIOS, TOBA-YAHU (Hebrew) 8 DEVA THEOS, DEOS 9 RAJA REX, REGENT 10 TARA PATI KOUROS ASTAROS (His Symbol is the HEXAD / Shakti Star ) 11 SURYA NARAYANA 'Solar' HELIOS (see above,' Solar-Lunar' aspect of Bridal Mysticism) 12 PADMA PATI KOUROS NYMPHOS (masculine), NILUS (His Symbol is the Lotus) 13 PARAM-ATMA ATEN, ATUM, ATMN, ADON-YAHU, ADAM (The Deity) or ATMAN ATOMOS, AUTOS, ONTOS also called AUM, ON, ONE, UNI, OMNI BRAHMAN, AUM HOMO, AN, AHMN, AMUN, AMEN, AMMON or PR-RA-AMAN 14 PURUSHA LAKSMI PATI POLIEUS as PROVIDENCE, Lord of TYCHE / Fate or Fortuna 15 BRAHMA HELIOS PHANES as YEDA-YAHU (Krishna Vedayah, Source, Object and Knower of the Vedas) 16 HARI, HVARENA CORONOS, 'garlanded with ray-hands' KARANA MALIN 17 SHALA GRAM JUPITER LAPIS, ZEUS PETROS, HELIOS-ZEUS-AMMON SHEELA the Sacred the fossil Ammonite or aniconic 'Sun' stone (worshiped with TULASI, Ammonite Stone His Sacred Basil, Ocimum Sanctum, Hyssopus, Ezob, Konig's Kraut, King's Wort, Satureja, Rhada Mantys, Mentha, Sacred Labiate, Marjoram, Rosemary, Oreganum etc. 18 KALA ZEUS KORONOS, JUPITER SATURNUS, YAHU TZABAOTH, NARA HARI as KALAH Lion-headed Wrathful Form of HELIOS / HORUS /ELIYAHU, SHIVAYA African APADEMAK, AMUN-RE, and ZERVAN of the Zoroastrians, or MAHADEVA and Mithraics 19 MAHA PITA DIES-PITER THEOS / ZEUS as Father of the gods, or FATHER GOD YA PATI JU-PITER, FATHER IOU/YAH (YA is a Name of PURUSHA as DEVASPATI Masculine BEING) 20 YOGESHVARA Helios as Lord of both the conJUGal Mysteries and kenotic/apophatic MAYESHVARA emptiness or chaos (Hebrew MAYIM) before the creation of a finite Lord of both YOGA universe (like our own) MAYA and MAHA MAYA 21 SAPTARAJA HELIOS HEBDO-MAGENOUS, Jupiter-Zeus Saturnus, SAPTA MAHA YHVH 'Lord of the Sabbath', SHIVAN-YAHU or SHEBU-EL BHAGAVAN Lord God of SEVEN, Jupiter Capitolinus Lord of SEVEN HILLS, SAPTA GIRI RAJA (Lord of the seven day week, seven hills and all sacred sevens) 22 GO PALA, BHUMI PATI HELIOS KOUROS-APOLLO ( Gopala), Lord of the BOU-SAALA SURABHI, GOLOKANATH (GO-SHALLA) BOUKOLION and BUCOLIC PARADISE Also see compounds of (GO-KULA), HELIOS EURAPOS or SERAPIS, HELIOS-APIS, Hari, Sura &c with APA HOR-HAP / HERI-HAPI = Hebrew ELI-HABHA or ELIABA / for water, ABHI for before ABIEL (this name has other important meanings associated with etc., Upa and other Sanskrit Father /Abba Pa, Water / Apa, Covering or Hiding / Abha, cognates of Greek Hyp, Sub, and being Hidden / Abha cognate with the Egyptian and Greek HP/B Epi revealing the paradox see the theophoric name CHABA-YAHU) of the Transcendent and Immanent Godhead Compare the above, for instance … The Original Forms of the Roman Supreme Father and Mother are Jupiter Juvenalis and Juno Juventas. This is Krishna Nava YAUVANA and Radha VAUVANI. In Greece They are Kouros and Rhoda Kore, KRISHNA and RADHA. The sacred waters related Names and Forms of Jupiter and Juno are Marimus and Marina. This is NARAYANA and NARAYANI. As the King and Queen They are Regent and Regina. This is RAJA and RAJANI or RANI. In Greece and in the Greek Bible, The Sacred King and Queen are Basileos and Basilea. This is VASUDEVA and VASUDEVI. There are hundreds of such clear connections between the Eastern and Western Bhakti Traditions, not only Indo-European, but between the African and Semitic Deity Names as well ! The field of Linguistic Superfamilies has recently produced a theory of something called the Nostratic Superfamily of languages, based on discoveries of apparent global linguistic connections . My own discoveries regarding the global cognate names of GOD /ESS anticipated this discovery of a primal human tongue over 30 years ago. I sincerely pray that the devotees of the Lord will not continue to ignore my contributions for another 30 years. I am giving away this information as an offering to GOD / ESS and Their Servants for the reconciliation of all humanity. All I want is for someone to take it. It is offered in great love with no desire for anything in return. Please accept these words which attempt to glorify the Supreme Personality of Godhead, His Shekinah / Shakti, and all of Their Saints, for Their Pleasure and the joy of all devotees.

But if it needs a form than it will take a form to save your life and so will God by sending someone to save you from drowning in sea or a river or save you from a falling tree. There are many ways the truth will appear although it has no form and so will God. Like Mahatma Gandhi said " Truth is my religion and God is one" I would not want to go beyond this. Thruth and God are one. I rest my case.

You said "a mere human mortal" cannot be like Krishna. My dear fellow was not Krishna born a motal? He did not appear from thin air, did he? He too was raised by a mother and given the loving care and so forth before he began to show his power of extra ordinary being. When a man posesses certain qualities [qualities of God]that you and I cannot do than he is termed as man of God. He may not be the God in haven but he can posesses such qualities where love is unlimited and there is a certain kind of aura that he elluminates which attracts others towards him and Sree Satya Sai is one of them. Why speak evil of him when you have not experience his teachings. There a millions of his followers who believe in him and that should not bother you as you have said you believe what you believe as so do others. They too have the same right as you do so, why the jealousy? Jealousy and ego will blind your spritual progress. It will make you a fanatic and that is bad.

If you can and show me how sugar taste than I will prove what you ask for. Awaiting your reply.

Divine Wealth - Daivi Sampat From the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad, I.3.1. "Verily there are two classes of the Creator's creatures - gods and demons." From The Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 16, Verse 6: "There are two types of beings in this world, the divine and the demoniacal" Explanations drawn from the writings of Swami Shivananda, Divine Life Society, Rishikesh The Divine Wealth consists of 26 attributes These are described inThe Bhagavad Gita, Chapter16, Verses1, 2 and 3 Gita, Ch. 16, Verse 1: The Blessed Lord said : Fearlessness, purity of heart, steadfastness in Knowledge and Yoga, almsgiving, control of the senses, sacrifice, study of scriptures, austerity, and straightforwardness Gita, Ch. 16, Verse 2 : Harmlessness (Ahimsa), truth, absence of anger, renunciation, peacefulness, absence of crookedness, compassion towards beings, freedom from covetousness, gentleness, modesty, absence of fickleness Gita, Ch. 16, Verse 3 : Vigour, forgiveness, fortitude, purity, absence of hatred, absence of overweening pride - these belong to the one who is born with Divine treasures. Commentary by Swami Shivananda, Rishikesh: The 16th chapter of The Bhagavad Gita is called 'The division between the Divine and the demoniacal'. Daivi prakrti (Divine treasure or Daivi sampat) or the nature of the gods leads to moksha (liberation) or release from the rounds of birth and death The nature of the demoniacals leads to bondage. The Divine nature must be accepted and cultivated. The demoniacal nature should be abandoned. All these qualities are found in human beings. There are Sattwic people who possess the Divine attributes. There are among human beings those that are endowed with demoniacal qualities, who are filled with excessive Tamas. In an ordinary man there is a mixture of the three gunas (Sattwa, Rajas and Tamas). Tamas and Rajas pull a man downwards; Sattwa lifts a man upwards. Tamas and Rajas lead to bondage; Sattwa helps to attain salvation.Discipline yourself and develop Sattwa. When the mind is Sattwic, there is calmness in it. Divine light can descend only when the mind is serene and cheerful. The Sattwic man controls the senses, does selfless service, and practises japa, pranayama, concentration, meditation, self-analysis, and enquiry of "Who am I?" He has no attraction for sensual objects. He has a burning desire to attain moksha (salvation). He is humble, generous, merciful, forbearing, tolerant and pious. He destroys his little personality. The rajasic man is proud, intolerant, egoistic, self-sufficient, lustful, hot-tempered, greedy and jealous. he works for his own glory and fame and self-aggrandisement. He develops his own little personality. There is an intimate connection between the gunas and karmas (actions performed by men).The nature of the karmas depends upon the nature of the gunas. A Sattwic man will do virtuous actions. A Rajasic and Tamasic man will perform non-virtuous actions. It is the guna that goads a man to do actions. The Self or Brahman is actionless. He is the silent witness. Daivi sampat enables the aspirant to attain the highest state of superconsciousness (Nirvikalpa Samadhi), wherein the seer and the seen are united in one; the meditator and the meditated become identical.

Truth versus Falsehood Mahabharata, Santi Parva, Section CIX Translated by Sri Kisari Mohan Ganguli Yudhishthira said: How, O Bharata, should a person act who desires to adhere to virtue? O bull of Bharat’s race, possessed as thou art of learning, tell me this, questioned by me. Truth and falsehood exist, covering all the worlds. Which of these two O king, should a person adopt that is firm in virtue? What again is truth? What is falsehood? What again, is eternal virtue? On what occasions should a person tell the truth, and what occasions should he tell an untruth? Bhishma said: To tell the truth is consistent with righteousness. There is nothing higher than truth. I shall now, O Bharata, say unto thee that which is not generally known to men. There where falsehood would assume the aspect of truth, truth should not be said. There, again, where truth would assume the aspect of falsehood, even falsehood should be said. That ignorant person incurs sin who says truth, which is dissociated from righteousness. That person is said to be conversant with duties who can distinguish truth from falsehood. [Note: i.e. who knows when truth becomes as harmful as untruth, and untruth becomes as righteous as truth.] Even a person that is disrespectable, that is of uncleansed soul, and that is very cruel, may succeed in earning great merit as the hunter Valaka by slaying the blind beast (that threatened to destroy all creatures). [Note:This refers to an episode in Karna Parva.] How extraordinary it is that a person of foolish understanding, though desirous of acquiring merit (by austere penances) still committed a sinful act! [Alludes to Karna Parva. The Rishi, by pointing out the place where certain innocent persons had concealed themselves while flying from a company of robbers, incurred the sin of murder.] The question thou hast asked me is a difficult one, since it is difficult to say what righteousness is. It is not easy to indicate it. No one in discoursing upon righteousness can indicate it accurately. Righteousness was declared (by Brahman) for the advancement and growth of all creatures. Therefore, that which leads to advancement and growth is righteousness. Righteousness was declared for restraining creatures from injuring one another. Therefore, that is righteousness which prevents injury to creatures. Righteous (Dharma) is so called because it upholds all creatures. In fact, all creatures are upheld by righteousness. Therefore, that is righteousness which is capable of upholding all creatures. Some say that righteousness consists in what has been inculcated in the Srutis (scriptures). Others do not agree to this. I would not censure them that say so. Everything again, has not been laid down in the Srutis. [Note: This refers to the well-known definition of Dharma ascribed to sage Vasishtha, viz., "That which is laid down in the Srutis and Smritis is Dharma." The defect of this definition is that the Srutis and the Smritis do not include every duty. Hence Vasishtha was obliged to add that where these are silent, the examples and practices of the good ought to be the guides of men, etc.] Sometimes men (robbers), desirous of obtaining the wealth of some one, make enquiries (for facilitating the act of plunder). One should never answer such enquiries. That is a settled duty. If by maintaining silence, one succeeds in escaping, one should remain silent. If, on the other hand, one’s silence at a time when one must speak rouses suspicion, it would be better on such an occasion to say what is untrue than what is true. This is a settled conclusion. If one can escape from sinful men by even a (false) oath, one may take it without incurring sin. One should not, even if one were able, give away his wealth to sinful men. Wealth given to sinful men afflicts even the giver. If a creditor desires to make his debtor pay off the loan by rendering bodily service, the witnesses would all be liars if summoned by the creditor for establishing the truth of the contract, they did not say what should be said. When life is at risk, or on occasion of marriage, one may say an untruth. One that seeks for virtue does not commit a sin by saying an untruth, if that untruth were said to save the wealth and prosperity of others or for the religious purposes. Having promised to pay, one becomes bound to fulfil his promise. Upon failure, let the self-appropriator be forcibly enslaved. If a person without fulfilling a righteous engagement acts with impropriety, he should certainly be afflicted with the rod of chastisement for having adopted such behaviour. A deceitful person, falling away from all duties and abandoning those of his own order, always wishes to betake himself to the practices of Asuras (demons) for supporting life. Such a sinful wretch living by deceit should be slain by every means. Such sinful men think that there is nothing in this world higher than wealth. Such men should never be tolerated. No one should eat with them. They should be regarded as fallen down in consequence of their sins. Indeed, fallen away from the condition of humanity and shut out from the grace of the gods, they are even like evil genii. Without sacrifices and without penances as they are, forbear from their companionship. If their wealth be lost, they commit even suicide which is exceedingly pitiable. Among those sinful there is no one to whom you can say, ‘This is your duty. Let your heart turn to it.’ Their settled convictions are that there is nothing in this world that is equal to wealth. The person that would slay such a creature would incur no sin. He who kills him kills one that has been already killed by his own acts. If slain, it is the dead that is slain. He who vows to destroy those persons of lost senses should keep his vows. Such sinners are, like the crow and the vulture, dependent on deceit for their living. After the dissolution of their (human) bodies, they take rebirth as crows and vultures. One should, in any matter, behave towards another as that other behaves in that matter. He who practises deceit should be resisted with deceit while one that is honest should be treated with honesty.

Hindu Scriptures Part 1 By Swami Shivananda The Divine Life Society, Rishikesh Sanskrit Literature Sanskrit literature can be classified under six orthodox heads and four secular heads. The six orthodox sections form the authoritative scriptures of the Hindus. The four secular sections embody the latter developments in classical Sanskrit literature. The six scriptures are: Srutis Smritis Itihasas Puranas Agamas Darsanas The four secular writings are: Subhashitas Kavyas Natakas Alankaras The Scriptures The Srutis The Srutis are called the Vedas, or the Amnaya. The Hindus have received their religion through revelation, the Vedas. These are direct intuitional revelations and are held to be Apaurusheya or entirely superhuman, without any author in particular. The Veda is the glorious pride of the Hindus, nay, of the whole world! The term Veda comes from the root Vid, to know. The word Veda means knowledge. When it is applied to scripture, it signifies a book of knowledge. The Vedas are the foundational scriptures of the Hindus. The Veda is the source of the other five sets of scriptures, why, even of the secular and the materialistic. The Veda is the storehouse of Indian wisdom and is a memorable glory which man can never forget till eternity. Revealed Truth Without Beginning Or End The Vedas are the eternal truths revealed by God to the great Rishis of India. The word Rishi means a seer, from DRIS, to see. The Rishi is the Mantra-Drashta, a seer of Mantra or thought. The thought was not his own. The Rishis saw the truths or heard them. Therefore, the Vedas are what are heard (Sruti). The Rishi did not write. He did not create it out of his mind. He was the seer of thought which existed already. He was only the spiritual discoverer of the thought. He is not the inventor of the Veda. The Vedas represent the spiritual experiences of the Rishis of yore. The Rishi is only a medium or an agent to transmit to people the intuitional experiences which he received. The truths of the Vedas are revelations. All the other religions of the world claim their authority as being delivered by special messengers of God to certain persons, but the Vedas do not owe their authority to any one. They are themselves the authority as they are eternal, as they are the Knowledge of the Lord. Lord Brahma, the Creator, imparted the divine knowledge to the Rishis or seers. The Rishis disseminated the knowledge. The Vedic Rishis were great realised persons (souls) who had direct intuitive perception of Brahman or the Truth. They were inspired teachers. They built a simple, grand and perfect system of religion and philosophy from which the founders and teachers of all other religions have drawn their inspiration. The Vedas are the oldest books in the library of man. The truths contained in all religions are derived from the Vedas and are ultimately traceable to the Vedas. The Vedas are the fountain-head of religion. The Vedas are the ultimate source to which all religious knowledge can be traced. Religion is of divine origin. It was revealed by God to man in the earliest times. It is embodied in the Vedas. The Vedas are eternal. They are without beginning and end. An ignorant man may say how a book can be without beginning or end. By the Vedas, no books are meant. Vedas came out of the breath of the Lord. They are the words of God. The Vedas are not the utterances of persons. They are not the composition of any human mind. They were never written, never created. They are eternal and impersonal. The date of the Vedas has never been fixed. It can never be fixed. Vedas are eternal spiritual Truths. Vedas are an embodiment of divine knowledge. The books may be destroyed, but the knowledge cannot be destroyed. Knowledge is eternal. In that sense, the Vedas are eternal. The Four Vedas And Their Sub Divisions The Veda is divided into four great books: The Rig-Veda The Yajur-Veda The Sama-Veda The Atharva-Veda The Yajur-Veda is again divided into two parts: The Sukla Yajur-Veda The Krishna Yajur-Veda. The Krishna or the Tattiriya is the older book and the Sukla or Vajasaneya is a later revelation to Sage Yajnavalkya from the resplendent Sun-God. The Rig-Veda is divided into twenty-one sections, the Yajur-Veda into one hundred and nine sections, the Sama-Veda into one thousand sections and Atharva-Veda into fifty sections. In all, the whole Veda is thus divided into one thousand one hundred and eighty recensions. Each Veda consists of four parts: The Mantra-Samhitas or hymns. The Brahmanas or explanations of Mantras or rituals. The Aranyakas (philosophical interpretations of the rituals). The Upanishads (The essence or the knowledge portion of the Vedas). The division of the Vedas into four parts is to suit the four stages in a man’s life. The Mantra-Samhitas are hymns in praise of the Vedic God for attaining material prosperity here and happiness hereafter. They are metrical poems comprising prayers, hymns and incantations addressed to various deities, both subjective and objective. The Mantra portion of the Vedas is useful for the Brahmacharins (celibate; one who belongs to the first of the four Asramas or orders of life; one who lives in purity and studies the Veda; the first 25 years of life). The Brahmana portions guide people to perform sacrificial rites. They are prose explanations of the method of using the Mantras in the Yajna or the sacrifice. The Brahmana portion is suitable for the householder (Grihastha; one who belongs to the second of the four Asramas or orders of life; from 25 to 50 years of age). The Aranyakas are the forest books, the mystical sylvan texts which give philosophical interpretations of the Rituals. The Aranyakas are intended for the Vanaprasthas or hermits who prepare themselves for taking Sannyasa. (Vanaprastha = one who leads the third stage of life; from 50 to 75 years of age). The Upanishads are the most important portion of the Vedas. The Upanishads contain the essence or the knowledge portion of the Vedas. The philosophy of the Upanishads is sublime, profound, lofty an soul-stirring. The Upanishads speak of the identity of the individual soul and the Supreme Soul. They reveal the most subtle and deep spiritual truths. The Upanishads are useful for the Sannyasins. (Sannyasi or Sannyasin = a monk; one who has embraced the life of complete renunciation ; one belonging to the fourth or the highest stage of life; from 75 to 100 years of age). [Note: Although the division of the Vedas into four parts is to suit the four stages in a man’s life, the study of the four Vedas is done by Brahmacharins or celibate students and the knowledge thus acquired serves as the basis of the goal of life through all the four stages of life. The studies of the Vedas continue throughout one’s life. (Refer also to Dharma, Artha, Kama & Moksha). Thus the knowledge of the Upanishads is not to be confined to the last stage of life. The mind of the Sannyasin is intensely focussed upon the teachings of the Upanishads.] The subject matter of the whole Veda is divided into Karma-Kanda Upasana-Kanda Jnana-Kanda. The Karma-Kanda or Ritualistic Section deals with various sacrifices and rituals. The Upasana-Kanda or Worship-Section deals with various kinds of worship or meditation. The Jana-Kanda or Knowledge-Section deals with the highest knowledge of Nirguna Brahman. (Nirguna = without attributes or forms. Brahman = the Supreme Reality). The Mantras and the Brahmanas constitute Karma-Kanda (rituals). The Aranyakas constitute Upasana-Kanda (worship). The Upanishads constitute Jnana-Kanda (knowledge). (Hindu Scriptures continued below) TOP <To top of this page (Hindu Scriptures - Continued) The Mantra Samhitas The Rig-Veda Samhita is the grandest book of the Hindus, the oldest and the best. It is the great Indian scripture, which no Hindu would forget to adore from the core of his heart. Its style, the language and the tone are most beautiful and mysterious. Its immortal Mantras embody the greatest truths of existence, and it is perhaps the greatest treasure in all the scriptural literature of the world. Its priest is called the Hotri. The Yajur-Veda Samhita is mostly in prose and is meant to be used by the Adhvaryu, the Yajur-Vedic priest, for superfluous explanations of the rites in sacrifices, supplementing the Rig-Vedic Mantras. The Sama-Veda Samhita is mostly borrowed from the Rig-Vedic Samhita, and is meant to be sung by the Udgatri, the Sama- Vedic priest, in sacrifice. The Atharva-Veda Samhita is meant to be used by the Brahma, the Atharva-Vedic priest, to correct the mispronunciations and wrong performances that may accidentally be committed by the other three priests of the sacrifice. The Brahmanas and The Aranyakas There are two Brahmanas to the Rig-Veda: The Aitareya The Sankhayana The Satapatha Brahmana belongs to the Sukla Yajur-Veda. The Krishna Yajur-Veda has the Taittiriya and the Maitrayana Brahmanas. The Tandya or Panchavimsa, the Shadvimsa, t he Chhandogya, the Adbhuta, the Arsheya and the Upanishad Brahmanas belong to the Sama-Veda. The Brahmana of the Atharva-Veda is called the Gopatha. Each of the Brahmana has got an Aranyaka. The Upanishads The Upanishads are the concluding portions of the Vedas or the end of the Vedas. The teaching based on them is called Vedanta. The Upanishads are the gist and the goal of the Vedas. They form the very foundation of Hinduism. There are as many Upanishads to each Veda as there are Sakhas, branches or recensions, i.e., 21, 109, 1000 and 50 respectively to the four Vedas (The Rig-Veda, The Yajur-Veda, The Sama-Veda and the Atharva-Veda). The different philosophers of India belonging to different schools such as Monism, Qualified Monism, Dualism, Pure Monism, Difference-cum non-difference, etc., have acknowledged the supreme authority of the Upanishads. They have given their own interpretations, but they have obeyed the authority. They have built their philosophy on the foundation of the Upanishads. Even the Western scholars have paid their tribute to the seers of the Upanishads. At a time when Westerners were clad in barks and were sunk in deep ignorance, the Upanishadic seers were enjoying the eternal bliss of the Absolute (God), and had the highest culture and civilisation. The most important Upanishads are : Isa, Kena, Katha, Prasna, Mundaka, Mandukya, Aitareya, Taittiriya, Chhandogya, Brihadaranyaka, Kaushitaki, and Svetasvatara and Maitrayani. These are supremely authoritative. May the fundamental truths of the Vedas be revealed unto you all, like the Amalaka fruit in the palm of your hand. May Gayatri, the blessed Mother of the Vedas, impart to you the milk of Knowledge, the ancient wisdom of the Upanishads. Click below on underlined words (Pages featuring extracts from Upanishads) Chhandogya Upanishad Katha Upanishad Mandukya Upanishad Mundaka Upanishad Wisdom versus knowledge Mundaka Upanishad Creation Svetasvatara Upanishad The Upa-Vedas There are four Upa-Vedas or subsidiary Vedas: The Ayurveda (science of life and health) The Dhanurveda (science of war) The Gandharva Veda (science of music) The Arthasastra (science of polity) The Vedangas There are six Angas or explanatory limbs, to the Vedas: The Siksha of Maharshi Panini (Phonetics) Vyakarana of Maharshi Panini (Sanskrit Grammar) The Chhandas of Pingalacharya (Prosody metre) The Nirukta of Yaska (Philosophy or etymology) The Jyotisha of Garga (Astronomy and astrology) The Kalpas (Srauta, Grihya, Dharma and Sulba) belonging to the authorship of various Rishis. Siksha is the knowledge of phonetics. Siksha deals with pronunciation and accent. The text of the Vedas is arranged in various forms or Pathas. The .-patha gives each word its separate form. The Krama-patha connects the word in pairs. Vyakarana is Sanskrit Grammar. Panini’s books are most famous. Without knowledge of Vyakarana, you cannot understand the Vedas. Chhandas is metre dealing with prosody. Nirukta is philosophy or etymology. Jyotisha is astronomy and astrology. It deals with the movements of the heavenly bodies, planets, etc., and their influence on human affairs. Kalpa is the method or ritual. The Srauta Sutras which explain the ritual of sacrifices belong to Kalpa. The Sulba, which treat of the measurements which are necessary for laying out the sacrificial area, also belong to Kalpa. The Grihya Sutras which concern domestic life, and the Dharma Sutras which deal with ethics, customs and laws, also belong to Kalpa. The Pratishakhyas, Padapathas, Kramapathas, Upalekhas, Anukramanis, Daivatsamhitas, Parisishtas, Prayogas, Paddhatis, Karikas, Khilas, and Vyuhas are further elaborations in the rituals of the Kalpa Sutras. Among the Kalpa Sutras, the Asvalayana, Sankhayana and the Sambhavya belong to the Rig-Veda. The Mashaka, Latyayana, Drahyayana, Gobhila and Khadira belong to the Sama-Veda. The Katyayana and Paraskara belong to the Sukla Yajur Veda. The Apastamba, Hiranyakesi, Bodhayana, Bharadvaja, Manava, Vaikhanasa and the Kathaka belong to the Krishna Yajur-Veda. The Vaitana and the Kaushika belong to the Atharva-Veda. (Hindu Scriptures continued below) TOP <To top of this page (Hindu Scriptures continued) The Smritis Next in importance to the Sruti are the Smritis or secondary scriptures. These are the ancient sacred law-codes of the Hindus dealing with the Sanatana-Varnasrama-Dharma. They supplement and explain the ritualistic injunctions called Vidhis in the Vedas. The Smriti or Dharma Sastra is founded on the Sruti. The Smritis are based on the teachings of the Vedas. The Smriti stands next in authority to the Sruti (Vedas). It explains and develops Dharma. It lays down the laws which regulate Hindu national, social, family and individual obligations. The works that are expressly called Smritis are the law books, Dharma Sastras. Smriti, in a broader sense, covers all Hindu Sastras (scriptures) save the Vedas. The laws for regulating Hindu society from time to time are codified in the Smritis. The Smritis have laid down definite rules and laws to guide the individuals and communities in their daily conduct and to regulate their manners and customs. The Smritis have given detailed instructions, according to the conditions of the time, to all classes of men regarding their duties in life. The Hindu learns how he has to spend his whole life from these Smritis. The duties of Varnasramas (the four stages of life) are clearly given in these books. The Smritis describe certain acts and prohibit some others for a Hindu, according to his birth and stage of life. The object of the Smritis is to purify the heart of man and take him gradually to the supreme abode of immortality and make him perfect and free. These Smritis have varied from time to time. The injunctions and prohibitions of the Smritis are related to the particular social surroundings. As these surroundings and essential conditions of the Hindu society changed from time to time, new Smritis had to be compiled by the sages of different ages and different parts of India. The Celebrated Hindu Law-Givers From time to time, a great lawgiver would take his birth. He would codify the existing laws and remove those that had become obsolete. He would make some alterations, adaptations, readjustments, additions and subtractions, to suit the needs of the time and see that the way of living of the people would be in accordance with the teachings of the Veda. Of such law-givers, Manu, Yajnavalkya and Parasara are the most celebrated persons. Hindu society is founded on, and governed by, the laws made by these three great sages. The Smritis are named after them. We have Manu Smriti or Manava Dharma-Sastra (Laws of Manu or the Institutes of Manu), Yajnavalkya Smriti and Parsara Smriti. Manu is the greatest law-giver of the race. He is the oldest lawgiver as well. The Yajnavalkya Smriti follows the same general lines as the Manu Smriti and is next in importance to it. Manu Smriti and Yajnavalkya Smriti are universally accepted at the present time as authoritative works all over India. Yajnavalkya Smriti is chiefly consulted in all matters of Hindu Law. Even the present day Government of India is applying some of these laws. There are eighteen main Smritis or Dharma Sastras. The most important are those of Manu, Yajnavalkya and Parasara. The other fifteen are those of Vishnu, Daksha, Samvarta, Vyasa, Harita, Satatapa, Vasishtha, Yama, Apastamba, Gautama, Devala, Sankha-Likhita, Usana, Atri and Saunaka. The Laws of Manu are intended for the Satya Yuga; those of Yajnavalkya are for the Treta Yuga; those of Sankha and Likhita are for the Dvapara Yuga; and those of Parasara are for the Kali Yuga. The laws and rules which are based entirely upon our social positions, time and clime, must change with the changes in society and changing conditions of time and clime. Then only the progress of the Hindu society can be ensured. Need For A New Law-Code (By Swami Shivananda, The Divine Life Society, Rishikesh) It is not possible to follow some of the laws of Manu at present time. We can follow their spirit and not the letter. Society is advancing. When it advances, it outgrows certain laws which were valid and helpful at a particular stage of its growth. Many new things which were not thought out by the old law-givers have come into existence now. It is no use insisting people to follow now those old laws which have become obsolete. Our present day society has changed considerably. A new Smriti to suit the requirements of this age is very necessary. Another sage will place before the Hindus of our days a new suitable code of laws. Time is ripe for a new Smriti. Cordial greetings to this age. The Inner Voice Of Dharma He who is endowed with a pure heart through protracted Tapas (austerity), Japa, Kirtana, meditation and service of Guru and who has a very clear conscience, can be guided by the inner voice in matters of Dharma or duty or moral action. The inner voice that proceeds from a clean heart filled with Sattva is, indeed, the voice of God or Soul or Antaryamin or Inner Ruler. This voice is more than Smriti. It is Smriti of Smritis. Purify your heart and train yourself to hear this inner voice. Keep your ear in tune with the ‘voice’. The Sruti And The Smriti The Sruti and the Smriti are the two authoritative sources of Hinduism. Sruti literally means what is heard, and Smriti means what is remembered. Sruti is revelation and Smriti is tradition. Upanishad is a Sruti. Bhagavad-Gita is a Smriti. (Bhagavad-Gita forms part of The Mahabharata, Bhishma Parva, Sections XIII – XLII (also known as Bhagavad-Gita Parva). Sruti is direct experience. Great Rishis heard the eternal truths of religion and left a record of them for the benefit of posterity. These records constitute the Vedas. Hence, Sruti is primary authority. Smriti is a recollection of that experience. Hence, it is secondary authority. The Smritis or Dharma Sastras also are books written by sages, but they are not the final authority. If there is anything in a Smriti which contradicts the Sruti, the Smriti is to be rejected. The Itihasas (history) The Friendly Treatises And the Commanding Treatises There are four books under this heading: The Valmiki-Ramayana The Yogavasishtha The Mahabharata The Harivamsa These embody all that is in the Vedas, but only in a simpler manner. These are called the Suhrit-Samhitas or the Friendly Treatises, while the Vedas are called the Prabhu-Samhitas or the Commanding Treatises with great authority. These works explain the great universal truths in the form of historical narratives, stories and dialogues. These are very interesting volumes and are liked by all, from the inquisitive child to the intellectual scholar. The Itihasas give us beautiful stories of absorbing interest and importance, through which all the fundamental teachings of Hinduism are indelibly impressed on one’s mind. The laws of Smritis and the principles of the Vedas are stamped firmly on the minds of the Hindus through the noble and marvelous deeds of their great national heroes. We get a clear idea of Hinduism from these sublime stories. The common man cannot comprehend the high abstract philosophy of the Upanishads and the Brahma Sutras. Hence, the compassionate sages Valmiki and Vyasa wrote the Itihasas for the benefit of common people. The same philosophy is presented with analogies and parables in a tasteful form to the common run of mankind. The well known Itihasas (histories) are the epics (Mahakavyas), Ramayana and Mahabharata. They are two very popular and useful Sastras of the Hindus. The Ramayana was written by the Sage Valmiki, and the Mahabharata by Sage Vyasa. The Ramayana The Ramayana, the Adi-Kavya or the first epic poem, relates the story of Sri Rama. The ideal man. It is the history of the family of the Solar race descended from Ikshvaku, in which was born Sri Ramachandra, the Avatara of Lord Vishnu, and his three brothers. The ideal characters like Rama, Sita, Lakshmana, Bharata and Sri Hanuman that we find in Ramayana firmly established Hindu Dharma in our minds. The story of the birth of Rama and his brothers, their education and marriages, the exile of Sri Rama, the carrying off and recovery of Sita, his wife, the destruction of Ravana, the Rakshasa King of Lanka, and the reign of Sri Rama, are described in detail in Ramayana. How a man should behave towards his superiors, equals, and inferiors, how a king ought to rule his kingdom, how a man should lead his life in this world, how he can obtain his release, freedom, and perfection, may be learnt from this excellent epic. The Ramayana gives a vivid picture of Indian life. Even today our domestic, social, and national ideals are copied from the noble characters in the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. The great national heroes stand even today as beacon-lights to guide and inspire the people of the whole world. The lives of Rama, Bharata and Lakshmana provide a model of fraternal affection and mutual service. Sri Hanuman stands as an ideal unique Karma Yogi. The life of Sita is regarded as the most perfect example of womanly fidelity, chastity and sweetness. The Ramayana is written in twenty-four thousand verses, by Sage Valmiki. The Mahabharata The Mahabharata is the history of the Pandavas and the Kauravas. It gives a description of the great war, the Battle of Kurukshetra, which broke out between the Kauravas and the Pandavas who were cousins and descendants of the Lunar race. The Mahabharata is an encyclopedia of Hindu Dharma. It is rightly called the fifth Veda. There is really no theme in religion, philosophy, mysticism and polity which this great epic does not touch and expound. It contains very noble moral teachings, useful lessons of all kinds, many beautiful stories and episodes, discourses, sermons, parables and dialogues which set forth the principles of morals and metaphysics. The Pandavas obtained victory through the grace of Lord Krishna. The Mahabharata is written in one hundred thousand verses by Sage Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa The Bhagavad-Gita The most important part of the Mahabharata is the Bhagavad-Gita. It is a marvelous dialogue between Lord Krishna and Arjuna on the battlefield, before the commencement of the great war. Bhagavan Sri Krishna became the charioteer of Arjuna. Sri krishna explained the essentials of Hindu religion to Arjuna. Just as the Upanishads contain the cream of the Vedas, so does the Gita contain the cream of the Upanishads. The Upanishads are the cows. Lord Krishna is the cowherd. Arjuna is the calf. The Gita is the milk. The wise men are those who drink the milk of Gita. The Gita is the most precious jewel of Hindu literature. It is a universal gospel. The Gita teaches the Yoga of Synthesis. It ranks high in the religious literature of the world. Arjuna saw before him his dear relatives and teachers in the battlefield. He fainted and refused to fight against them. Then Lord Krishna imparted knowledge of the Self to Arjuna and convinced him that it was his duty to fight regardless of the consequences. Afterwards Arjuna gave up his Moha, or delusion. All his doubts were cleared. He fought against the Kauravas and achieved victory. Knowledge Of Ancient Indian History and Culture The Mahabharata contains also immortal discourse of Bhishma on Dharma, which he gave to Yudhishthira, when he was lying on the bed of arrows. The whole Mahabharata forms an encyclopedia of history, morals and religion unsurpassed by any other epic in the world. The Ramayana and the Mahabharata speak to us clearly about ancient India, about her people, her customs, her ways of living, her arts, her civilisation and culture, her manufactures, etc. If you read these two books, you will come to know how great India once was, and you will be inspired to make her great once more. No other country has produced so many great men, great teachers, great Yogis, great seers, great Rishis, great prophets, great Acharyas, great kings, great heroes, great statesmen, great patriots and great benefactors, as India. The more you know of India and Hinduism, the more you will honour and love it and the more thankful to the Lord you will be that you were born in India as a Hindu. Glory to India! Glory to Hinduism! Glory to the seers of the Upanishads! Glory, glory to Lord Krishna, the author of the Song Divine (Bhagavad-Gita). (Hindu Scriptures continued below) TOP <To top of this page (Hindu Scriptures continued) The Puranas The Puranas are of the same class as the Itihasas. They have five characteristics (Panch-Lakshana): History Cosmology ( with various symbolical illustrations of philosophical principles) Secondary creation Genealogy of kings Manavantaras All the Puranas belong to the class of Suhrit-Samhitas. Vyasa is the compiler of the Puranas from age to age; and for this age, he is Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, the son of Parsara. The Puranas were written to popularise the religion of the Vedas. They contain the essence of the Vedas. The aim of the Puranas is to impress on the minds of the masses the teachings of the Vedas and to generate in them devotion to God, through concrete examples, myths, stories, legends, lives of saints, kings and great men, allegories and chronicles of great historical events. The sages made use of these things to illustrate the eternal principles of religion. The Puranas were meant, not for the scholars, but for the ordinary people who could not understand high philosophy and who could not study the Vedas. The Darsanas are very stiff. They are meant only for the learned few. The Puranas are meant for the masses with inferior intellect. Religion is taught in a very easy and interesting way through these Puranas. Even to this day, the Puranas are popular. The Puranas contain the history of remote times. They also give a description of the regions of the universe not visible to the ordinary physical eye. They are very interesting to read and are full of information of all kinds. Children hear the stories from their grandmothers, Pandits and Purohits (priests) hold Kathas in temples, on banks of rivers and in other important places. Agriculturalists, labourers and bazaar people (common masses) hear the stories.

Cracking the Indus Valley Code PUBLISHING Book Barons of Delhi Decades-old publishing dynasties protect, promote and preserve dharma Interviews and reporting By Prabha Bhardwaj, New Delhi Hinduism Today, May 1998 [...] LANGUAGE Cracking the Indus Valley Code Two bold researchers say the ancient seals have surrendered their secrets With Dr. N.S. Rajaram, Bangalore I have worked with outstanding scientists at NASA, including Nobel laureates," Dr. N.S. Rajaram told Hinduism Today. "Never have I met a genius like Dr. Natwar Jha. His command of language and ability to correlate details is astounding." Jha's prodigious abilities may well earn him a coveted place in history as the man who finally deciphered the confounding script of the Indus Valley civilization. The remains of that civilization were discovered by British explorers in 1875 in what is now Pakistan. Yet, much about the people who inhabited these urban centers remains in the dark because the script they used, specimens of which are available on 4,000 small soapstone seals, has long baffled scholars. Natwar Jha, a 58-year-old Vedic scholar and paleographer from West Bengal, may have found the solution to the great problem. In a slim volume of 60 pages titled Vedic Glossary on Indus Seals, Jha has provided both the key to the ancient script as well as a large number of readings. After a careful examination of his work, the American Vedic scholar Vamadeva Shastri (David Frawley) and N.S. Rajaram, both experts in the Indus civilization, believe his reading to be substantially correct. By applying Jha's methods they found they could independently read a large number of seals. The breakthrough was reported in the Indian press in November, 1997, but most scholars have yet to even hear of it, much less study Jha's book. Is it reasonable that an unknown scholar working in a rural part of West Bengal could make such a breakthrough? At least two of the great decipherments of history--Egyptian hieroglyphics and Minoan "Linear B" script--were cracked by outside amateurs. Thomas Young, a brilliant English doctor and physicist, deciphered hieroglyphics on the famed Rosetta Stone in 1815. The Linear B script was deciphered only in 1952 by the determined amateur Michael Ventris, a British architect. Outsiders, in fact, have a decided advantage over those logically more qualified for the work, for they do not share the prejudices and misconceptions which may have taken deep root among scholars. The first and biggest misconception corrected by Jha concerned who inhabited the Indus Valley. Most scholars believe it was a Dravidian-speaking people who were driven out of the area in 1500 bce by an invasion of Aryans from the north and west. They therefore assumed the script to be an ancient form of a Dravidian language, perhaps Tamil. All attempts to provide a Dravidian interpretation for the script have failed. But in the last ten years, a strong minority of scholars and others have challenged the Aryan Invasion theory as wrong and proposed that the people of the Indus Valley are the ancestors of people who live in India today. Accepting this point of view, Jha proceeded on the assumption the seals were in an ancient form of Sanskrit. Jha decided to search for Vedic words on the seals. In this he was helped by an ancient work known as the Nighantu. It is a glossary of Sanskrit words compiled by the sage Yaska. Jha also found that the "Shanti Parva" of the Mahabharata (the ancient history of India) preserves an account of Yaska's search for older, "buried" glossaries--perhaps the seals--in compiling his own. From this Jha concluded that some of the seals must contain words found in Yaska's Nighantu. This conclusion was critical, for it greatly narrowed what he was looking for. The Nighantu is a late Vedic work, dealing with the words of ancillary Vedic texts. The entire Rig Veda would already have been in existence for thousands of years at the time the seals were produced. It has long been known that there was a correspondence between the Indus script and characters in other ancient scripts of the Indian sub-continent and neighboring regions. Especially it had been demonstrated that there was some relationship between the Indus script and the most ancient forms of Brahmi, the predecessor to the Sanskrit Devanagiri script. In an amazing feat of correlation, Jha compared all of the characters from all languages and produced a concordance of similar characters and sounds. He found that letters of most of the ancient scripts were related to Indus signs. By painstaking cross-referencing, he slowly hit upon the meaning of individual symbols, and found words from the Nighantu on the seals. After several hundred seals, he arrived at a relatively consistent system of translation that anyone can apply. Now the job is to verify and refine his work. TO CONTACT DR. N. JHA AND TO ORDER COPIES OF VEDIC GLOSSARY ON INDUS SEALS WRITE: GANGA KAVERI PUBLISHING HOUSE, D. 35/77, JANGAMAWADIMATH, VARANASI 221 001 INDIA. N.S. RAJARAM, F2 "RAJATHA MANOR," 42 PETALAMMA TEMPLE ROAD, BASAVANAGUDI, BANGALORE 4, INDIA.

I am just waiting to leave this body and hope to return to my creator. I have seen enough of this world. But before I leave my wish is to see all followers of religion live in harmony without fear. This world can be a Paradise as well as Hell. It is all in the mind coz if one think of peace and love than this world will be Paradise otherwise it will be Hell.

Hindu saints have done miracles but that is not what they were here for. They were here to up lift your faith in God and teach you dharma sastra. To teach you why you are born into this world and what is your dharma as a human being. Every living creature on earth has its dharma. The cows dharma is to provide milk and the plants dharma is to provide flowers and fruits and so on with every living being. They were here to teach what is man's dharma. What mother Theresa did was human dharma and all other human being must be able to help felow human. Do not just assume that only in Christianity has service to mankind and at the same time do not forh=get that this missionaries had a motive to do so. It was one way of winning the heart of the poor non Christians. I do not wish to comment further on this. They were thought in the monastry how to win new converts.

THE MYTH OF ARYAN INVASION OF INDIA BY: David Frawley One of the main ideas used to interpret—and generally devalue—the ancient history of India is the theory of the Aryan invasion. According to this account, India was invaded and conquered by nomadic light-skinned Indo-European tribes from Central Asia around 1500-1000 BC, who overthrew an earlier and more advanced dark-skinned Dravidian civilization from which they took most of what later became Hindu culture. This so-called pre-Aryan civilization is said to be evidenced by the large urban ruins of what has been called the ‘Indus valley culture’ (as most of its initial sites were on the Indus river). The war between the powers of light and darkness, a prevalent idea in ancient Aryan Vedic scriptures, was thus interpreted to refer to this war between light and dark- skinned peoples. The Aryan invasion theory thus turned the ‘Vedas’, the original scriptures of ancient India and the Indo-Aryans, into little more than primitive poems of uncivilized plunderers. This idea – totally foreign to the history of India, whether north or south – has become almost an unquestioned truth in the interpretation of ancient history. Today, after nearly all the reasons for its supposed validity have been refuted, even major Western scholars are at last beginning to call it in question. In this article we will summarize the main points that have arisen. This is a complex subject that I have dealt with in depth in my book ‘Gods, Sages and Kings: Vedic Secrets of Ancient Civilization’, for those interested in further examination of the subject. The Indus valley culture was pronounced pre-Aryan for several reasons that were largely part of the cultural milieu of nineteenth century European thinking. As scholars following Max Muller had decided that the Aryans came into India around 1500 BC, since the Indus valley culture was earlier than this, they concluded that it had to be pre-Aryan. Yet the rationale behind the late date for the Vedic culture given by Muller was totally speculative. Max Muller, like many of the Christian scholars of his era, believed in Biblical chronology. This placed the beginning of the world at 4000 BC and the flood around 2500 BC. Assuming to those two dates, it became difficult to get the Aryans in India before 1500 BC. Muller therefore assumed that the five layers of the four ‘Vedas’ & ‘Upanishads’ were each composed in 200-year periods before the Buddha at 500 BC. However, there are more changes of language in Vedic Sanskrit itself than there are in classical Sanskrit since Panini, also regarded as a figure of around 500 BC, or a period of 2500 years. Hence it is clear that each of these periods could have existed for any number of centuries and that the 200-year figure is totally arbitrary and is likely too short a figure. It was assumed by these scholars – many of whom were also Christian missionaries unsympathetic to the ‘Vedas’ – that the Vedic culture was that of primitive nomads from Central Asia. Hence they could not have founded any urban culture like that of the Indus valley. The only basis for this was a rather questionable interpretation of the ‘Rig Veda’ that they made, ignoring the sophisticated nature of the culture presented within it. Meanwhile, it was also pointed out that in the middle of the second millennium BC, a number of Indo-European invasions apparently occured in the Middle East, wherein Indo-European peoples – the Hittites, Mittani and Kassites – conquered and ruled Mesopotamia for some centuries. An Aryan invasion of India would have been another version of this same movement of Indo-European peoples. On top of this, excavators of the Indus valley culture, like Wheeler, thought they found evidence of destruction of the culture by an outside invasion confirming this. The Vedic culture was thus said to be that of primitive nomads who came out of Central Asia with their horse-drawn chariots and iron weapons and overthrew the cities of the more advanced Indus valley culture, with their superior battle tactics. It was pointed out that no horses, chariots or iron was discovered in Indus valley sites. This was how the Aryan invasion theory formed and has remained since then. Though little has been discovered that confirms this theory, there has been much hesitancy to question it, much less to give it up. Further excavations discovered horses not only in Indus Valley sites but also in pre-Indus sites. The use of the horse has thus been proven for the whole range of ancient Indian history. Evidence of the wheel, and an Indus seal showing a spoked wheel as used in chariots, has also been found, suggesting the usage of chariots. Moreover, the whole idea of nomads with chariots has been challenged. Chariots are not the vehicles of nomads. Their usage occurred only in ancient urban cultures with much flat land, of which the river plain of north India was the most suitable. Chariots are totally unsuitable for crossing mountains and deserts, as the so-called Aryan invasion required. That the Vedic culture used iron – and must hence date later than the introduction of iron around 1500 BC – revolves around the meaning of the Vedic term ‘ayas’, interpreted as iron. ‘Ayas’ in other Indo–European languages like Latin or German usually means copper, bronze or ore generally, not specially iron. There is no reason to insist that in such earlier Vedic times, ‘ayas’ meant iron, particularly since other metals are not mentioned in the ‘Rig Veda’ (except gold that is much more commonly referred to than ayas). Moreover, the ‘Atharva Veda’ and ‘Yajur Veda’ speak of different colors of ‘ayas’(such as red and black), showing that it was a generic term. Hence it is clear that ‘ayas’ generally meant metal and not specifically iron. Moreover, the enemies of the Vedic people in the ‘Rig Veda’ also use ayas, even for making their cities, as do the Vedic people themselves. Hence there is nothing in Vedic literature to show that either the Vedic culture was an iron-based culture or that their enemies were not. The ‘Rig Veda’ describes its Gods as ‘destroyers of cities’. This was used also to regard the Vedic as a primitive non-urban culture that destroys cities and urban civilization. However, there are also many verses in the ‘Rig Veda’ that speak of the Aryans as having having cities of their own and being protected by cities up to a hundred in number. Aryan Gods like Indra, Agni, Saraswati and the Adityas are praised as being like a city. Many ancient kings, including those of Egypt and Mesopotamia, had titles like destroyer or conqueror of cities. This does not turn them into nomads. Destruction of cities also happens in modern wars; this does not make those who do this nomads. Hence the idea of Vedic culture as destroying but not building the cities is based upon ignoring what the Vedas actually say about their own cities. Further excavation revealed that the Indus Valley culture was not destroyed by outside invasion, but according to internal causes and, most likely, floods. Most recently a new set of cities has been found in India (like the Dwaraka and Bet Dwaraka sites by S.R. Rao and the National Institute of Oceanography in India), which are intermediate between those of the Indus culture and later ancient India as visited by the Greeks. This may eliminate the so-called ‘dark age’ following the presumed Aryan invasion, and shows a continuous urban occupation in India back to the beginning of the Indus culture. The interpretation of the religion of the Indus Valley culture -made incidentally by scholars such as Wheeler who were not religious scholars, much less students of Hinduism – was that its religion was different from the Vedic and more like the later Shaivite religion. However, further excavations – both in Indus Valley sites in Gujarat, like Lothal, and those in Rajasthan, like Kalibangan – show large numbers of fire altars like those used in the Vedic religion, along with bones of oxen, potsherds, shell jewellery and other items used in the rituals described in the ‘Vedic Brahmanas’. Hence the Indus Valley culture evidences many Vedic practices that cannot be merely coincidental. That some of its practices appeared non-Vedic to its excavators may also be attributed to their misunderstanding or lack of knowledge of Vedic and Hindu culture generally, wherein Vedism and Shaivism are the same basic tradition. We must remember that ruins do not necessarily have one interpretation. Nor does the ability to discover ruins necessarily give the ability to interpret them correctly. The Vedic people were thought to have been a fair-skinned race like the Europeans, owing to the Vedic idea of a war between light and darkness, and the Vedic people being presented as children of light or children of the sun. Yet this idea of a war between light and darkness exists in most ancient cultures, including the Persian and the Egyptian. Why don’t we interpret their scriptures as a war between light and dark-skinned people? It is purely a poetic metaphor, not a cultural statement. Moreover, no real traces of such a race are found in India. Anthropologists have observed that the present population of Gujarat is composed of more or less the same ethnic groups as are noticed at Lothal in 2000 BC. Similarly, the present population of the Punjab is said to be ethnically the same as the population of Harappa and Rupar 4000 years ago. Linguistically the present day population of Gujarat and Punjab belongs to the Indo-Aryan language-speaking group. The only inference that can be drawn from the anthropological and linguistic evidences adduced above is that the Harappan population in the Indus Valley and Gujarat in 2000 BC was composed of two or more groups, the more dominant among them having very close ethnic affinities with the present day Indo-Aryan-speaking population of India. In other words there is no racial evidence of any such Indo-Aryan invasion of India but only of a continuity of the same group of people who traditionally considered themselves to be Aryans. There are many points in fact that prove the Vedic nature of the Indus Valley culture. Further excavation has shown that the great majority of the sites of the Indus Valley culture were east, not west of Indus. In fact, the largest concentration of sites appears in an area of Punjab and Rajasthan near the dry banks of ancient Saraswati and Drishadvati rivers. The Vedic culture was said to have been founded by the sage Manu between the banks of Saraswati and Drishadvati rivers. The Saraswati is lauded as the main river (naditama) in the ‘Rig Veda’ & is the most frequently mentioned in the text. It is said to be a great flood and to be wide, even endless in size. Saraswati is said to be ‘pure in course from the mountains to the sea’. Hence the Vedic people were well acquainted with this river and regarded it as their immemorial homeland. The Saraswati, as modern land studies now reveal, was indeed one of the largest, if not the largest river in India. In early ancient and pre-historic times, it once drained the Sutlej, Yamuna and the Ganges, whose courses were much different than they are today. However, the Saraswati river went dry at the end of the Indus Valley culture and before the so-called Aryan invasion, or before 1500 BC. In fact this may have caused the ending of the Indus culture. How could the Vedic Aryans know of this river and establish their culture on its banks if it dried up before they arrived? Indeed the Saraswati as described in the ‘Rig Veda’ appears to more accurately show it as it was prior to the Indus Valley culture, as in the Indus era it was already in decline. Vedic and late Vedic texts also contain interesting astronomical lore. The Vedic calendar was based upon astronomical sightings of the equinoxes and solstices. Such texts as ‘Vedanga Jyotish’ speak of a time when the vernal equinox was in the middle of the Nakshtra Aslesha (or about 23 degrees 20 minutes Cancer). This gives a date of 1300 BC. The ‘Yajur Veda’ and ‘Atharva Veda’ speak of the vernal equinox in the Krittikas (Pleiades; early Taurus) and the summer solstice (ayana) in Magha (early Leo). This gives a date about 2400 BC. Yet earlier eras are mentioned but these two have numerous references to substantiate them. They prove that the Vedic culture existed at these periods and already had a sophisticated system of astronomy. Such references were merely ignored or pronounced unintelligible by Western scholars because they yielded too early a date for the ‘Vedas’ than what they presumed, not because such references did not exist. Vedic texts like ‘Shatapatha Brahmana’ and ‘Aitereya Brahmana’ that mention these astronomical references, list a group of 11 Vedic Kings, including a number of figures of the ‘Rig Veda’, said to have conquered the region of India from ‘sea to sea’. Lands of the Aryans are mentioned in them from Gandhara (Afghanistan) in the west to Videha (Nepal) in the east, and south to Vidarbha (Maharashtra). Hence the Vedic people were in these regions by the Krittika equinox or before 2400 BC. These passages were also ignored by Western scholars and it was said by them that the ‘Vedas’ had no evidence of large empires in India in Vedic times. Hence a pattern of ignoring literary evidence or misinterpreting them to suit the Aryan invasion idea became prevalent, even to the point of changing the meaning of Vedic words to suit this theory. According to this theory, the Vedic people were nomads in the Punjab, coming down from Central Asia. However, the ‘Rig Veda’ itself has nearly 100 references to ocean (samudra), as well as dozens of references to ships, and to rivers flowing in to the sea. Vedic ancestors like Manu, Turvasha, Yadu and Bhujyu are flood figures, saved from across the sea. The Vedic God of the sea, Varuna, is the father of many Vedic seers and seer families like Vasishta, Agastya and the Bhrigu seers. To preserve the Aryan invasion idea it was assumed that the Vedic (and later sanskrit) term for ocean, ‘samudra’, originally did not mean the ocean but any large body of water, especially the Indus river in Punjab. Here the clear meaning of a term in ‘Rig Veda’ and later times – verified by rivers like Saraswati mentioned by name as flowing into the sea – was altered to make the Aryan invasion theory fit. Yet if we look at the index to translation of the ‘Rig Veda’ by Griffith for example, who held to this idea that ‘samudra’ didn’t really mean the ocean, we find over 70 references to ocean or sea. If ‘samudra’ does not mean ocean, why was it translated as such? It is therefore without basis to locate Vedic kings in Central Asia far from any ocean or from the massive Saraswati river, which form the background of their land and the symbolism of their hymns. One of the latest archeological ideas is that the Vedic culture is evidenced by Painted Grey Ware pottery in north India, which appears to date around 1000 BC, and comes from the same region between the Ganges and Yamuna as later Vedic culture is related to. It is thought to be an inferior grade of pottery, and to be associated with the use of iron that the ‘Vedas’ are thought to mention. However it is associated with a pig and rice culture, not the cow and barley culture of the ‘Vedas’. Moreover it is now found to be an organic development of indigenous pottery, not an introduction of invaders. Painted Grey Ware culture represents an indigenous cultural development and does not reflect any cultural intrusion from the West i.e. an Indo-Aryan invasion. Therefore, there is no archeological evidence corroborating the fact of an Indo-Aryan invasion. In addition, the Aryans in the Middle East, most notably the Hittites, have now been found to have been in that region at least as early as 2200 BC, wherein they are already mentioned. Hence the idea of an Aryan invasion into the Middle East has been pushed back some centuries, though the evidence so far is that the people of the mountain regions of the Middle East were Indo-Europeans as far as recorded history can prove. The Aryan Kassites of the ancient Middle East worshipped Vedic Gods like Surya and the Maruts, as well as one named Himalaya. The Aryan Hittites and Mittani signed a treaty with the name of the Vedic Gods Indra, Mitra, Varuna and Nasatyas around 1400 BC. The Hittites have a treatise on chariot racing written in almost pure Sanskrit. The Indo – Europeans of the ancient Middle East thus spoke Indo-Aryan, not Indo-Iranian languages, and thereby show a Vedic culture in that region of the world as well. The Indus Valley culture had a form of writing, as evidenced by numerous seals found in the ruins. It was also assumed to be non-Vedic and probably Dravidian, though this was never proved. Now it has been shown that the majority of the late Indus signs are identical with those of later Hindu Brahmi, and that there is an organic development between the two scripts. Prevalent models now suggest an Indo-European base for that language. It was also assumed that the Indus Valley culture derived its civilization from the Middle East, probably Sumeria, as antecedents for it were not found in India. Recent French excavations at Mehrgarh have shown that all the antecedents of the Indus Valley culture can be found within the subcontinent, and going back before 6000 BC. In short, some Western scholars are beginning to reject the Aryan invasion or any outside origin for Hindu civilization. Current archeological data do not support the existence of an Indo- Aryan or European invasion into South Asia at any time in the pre- or protohistoric periods. Instead, it is possible to document archeologically a series of cultural changes reflecting indigenous cultural development from prehistoric to historic periods. The early Vedic literature describes not a human invasion into the area, but a fundamental restructuring of indigenous society. The Indo-Aryan invasion as an academic concept in 18th and 19th century Europe reflected the cultural milieu of the period. Linguistic data were used to validate the concept, that in turn was used to interpret archeological and anthropological data. In other words, Vedic literature was interpreted on the assumption that there was an Aryan invasion. Then archeological evidence was interpreted by the same assumption. And both interpretations were then used to justify each other. It is nothing but a tautology, an exercise in circular thinking that only proves that if assuming something is true, it is found to be true! Another modern Western scholar, Colin Renfrew, places the Indo- Europeans in Greece as early as 6000 BC. He also suggests such a possible early date for their entry into India. As far as I can see there is nothing in the Hymns of the ‘Rig Veda’ which demonstrates that the Vedic-speaking population was intrusive to the area: this comes rather from a historical assumption of the ‘coming of the Indo-Europeans’. When Wheeler speaks of ‘the Aryan invasion of the land of the 7 rivers, the Punjab’, he has no warranty at all, so far as I can see. If one checks the dozen references in the ‘Rig Veda’ to the 7 rivers, there is nothing in them that to me implies invasion: the land of the 7 rivers is the land of the ‘Rig Veda’, the scene of action. Nor is it implied that the inhabitants of the walled cities (including the Dasyus) were any more aboriginal than the Aryans themselves. Despite Wheeler’s comments, it is difficult to see what is particularly non-Aryan about the Indus Valley civilization. Hence Renfrew suggests that the Indus Valley civilization was in fact Indo-Aryan even prior to the Indus Valley era: This hypothesis that early Indo-European languages were spoken in North India with Pakistan and on the Iranian plateau at the 6th millennium BC, has the merit of harmonizing symmetrically with the theory for the origin of the Indo- European languages in Europe. It also emphasizes the continuity in the Indus Valley and adjacent areas, from the early neolithic through to the floruit of the Indus Valley civilization. This is not to say that such scholars appreciate or understand the ‘Vedas’ – their work leaves much to be desired in this respect – but that it is clear that the whole edifice built around the Aryan invasion is beginning to tumble on all sides. In addition, it does not mean that the ‘Rig Veda’ dates from the Indus Valley era. The Indus Valley culture resembles that of the ‘Yajur Veda’ and they reflect the pre-Indus period in India, when the Saraswati river was more prominent. The acceptance of such views would create a revolution in our view of history, as shattering as that in science caused by Einstein’s theory of relativity. It would make ancient India perhaps the oldest, largest and most central of ancient cultures. It would mean that the Vedic literary record – already the largest and oldest of the ancient world even at a 1500 BC date – would be the record of teachings some centuries or thousands of years before that. It would mean that the ‘Vedas’ are our most authentic record of the ancient world. It would also tend to validate the Vedic view that the Indo-Europeans and other Aryan peoples were migrants from India, not that the Indo-Aryans were invaders into India. Moreover, it would affirm the Hindu tradition that the Dravidians were early offshoots of the Vedic people through the seer Agastya, and not unaryan peoples. In closing, it is important to examine the social and political implications of the Aryan invasion idea: First, it served to divide India into a northern Aryan and southern Dravidian culture which were made hostile to each other. This kept the Hindus divided and is still a source of social tension. Second, it gave the British an excuse in their conquest of India. They could claim to be doing only what the Aryan ancestors of the Hindus had previously done millennia ago. Third, it served to make Vedic culture later than and possibly derived from Middle Eastern cultures. With the proximity and relationship of the latter with the Bible and Christianity, this kept the Hindu religion as a sidelight to the development of religion and civilization to the West. Fourth, it allowed the sciences of India to be given a Greek basis, as any Vedic basis was largely disqualified by the primitive nature of the Vedic culture. This discredited not only the ‘Vedas’ but the genealogies of the ‘Puranas’, and their long list of the kings before the Buddha or Krishna were left without any historical basis. The ‘Mahabharata’, instead of a civil war in which all the main kings of India participated as it is described, became a local skirmish among petty princes that was later exaggerated by poets. In short, it discredited most of the Hindu tradition and almost all its ancient literature. It turned its scriptures and sages into fantasies and exaggerations. This served a social, political and economical purpose of domination, proving the superiority of Western culture and religion. It made the Hindus feel that their culture was not the great thing that their sages and ancestors had said it was. It made Hindus feel ashamed of their culture – that its basis was neither historical nor scientific. It made them feel that the main line of civilization was developed first in the Middle East and then in Europe and that the culture of India was peripheral and secondary to the real development of world culture. Such a view is not good scholarship or archeology but merely cultural imperialism. The Western Vedic scholars did in the intellectual sphere what the British army did in the political realm – discredit, divide and conquer the Hindus. In short, the compelling reasons for the Aryan invasion theory were neither literary nor archeological but political and religious – that is to say, not scholarship but prejudice. Such prejudice may not have been intentional, but deep-seated political and religious views easily cloud and blur our thinking. It is unfortunate that this approach has not been questioned more, particularly by Hindus. Even though Indian Vedic scholars like Dayananda Saraswati, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Aurobindo rejected it, most Hindus today passively accept it. They allow Western, generally Christian, scholars to interpret their history for them, and quite naturally Hinduism is kept in a reduced role. Many Hindus still accept, read or even honor the translations of the ‘Vedas’ done by such Christian missionary scholars as Max Muller, Griffith, Monier- Williams and H. H. Wilson. Would modern Christians accept an interpretation of the Bible or Biblical history done by Hindus, aimed at converting them to Hinduism? Universities in India also use the Western history books and Western Vedic translations that propound such views that denigrate their own culture and country. The modern Western academic world is sensitive to critisms of cultural and social biases. For scholars to take a stand against this biased interpretation of the ‘Vedas’ would indeed cause a reexamination of many of these historical ideas that can not stand objective scrutiny. But if Hindu scholars are silent or passively accept the misinterpretation of their own culture, it will undoubtedly continue, but they will have no one to blame but themselves. It is not an issue to be taken lightly, because how a culture is defined historically creates the perspective from which it is viewed in the modern social and intellectual context. Tolerance is not in allowing a false view of one’s own culture and religion to be propagated without question. That is merely self-betrayal.

Those with scriptures are aware of the Supreme Being you call Allah, Christian call Thy Father in Haven, the Jews all him Jehova nd Hindus call him by many names and worship him in different form and you Muslims too have 99 names for Allah. May be this might enlighten you. SWAMI RAMA TIRTHA’S MEETING WITH THE MUSLIMS This article first appeared in the Winter 2002 edition of Self-Knowledge Journal When Swami Rama Tirtha returned from his years in America, his fame as a man of God became widely recognized in India. He had demonstrated his power to appeal to those brought up in a completely different tradition and had shown the validity of his vision of truth outside the Indian tradition. Like Shri Dada before him, his teachings were universal in scope. In the hands of both these enlightened Jnanis the spiritual teaching had become a means of reconciling and uniting those of all faiths rather than a divisive force. And in India, as in Europe, history gave all too ample proof of the divisive potential often exerted by religion in the history of the people. In India itself the conflict between the Moslem and the Hindu traditions was a simmering cause of unrest in the two communities which had often flared up into major civil disturbances, as it was destined to do again, on a scale unprecedented hitherto, when India was given her independence after the Second World War. There are many examples of Shri Dada’s meetings with the Christians or the Muslims in the pages of The Heart of the Eastern Mystical Teaching, but equally interesting and instructive is the account we have of the discussion between Swami Rama Tirtha and the Muslims held over two days in Lucknow in the year 1905. It provides a perfect example of the way in which the clear vision of the holy truth of non-duality can dispel the prejudices and misunderstandings of the unenlightened mind. In the course of these discussions Swami Rama was not only able to break down many of the prejudices of his Muslim questioners but also to give them a much deeper understanding of the teachings of their own religion. The confrontation between prejudice and truth, and the consequent dissipation of the narrow view by the light of the universal truth, like the dissolving of the morning mist by the rising sun, was exemplified from the first moments of the meeting, when the Muslims entered the room and offered Swami Rama the traditional salutation (Adab ‘Arz). The Paramahansa responded by saying ‘OM’ in serene and peaceful tones. To this the Muslims at once took exception. They wanted to know why Rama had not returned their greeting in the same way and what was the secret reason for which he was saying OM in reply to their greeting. Swami Rama answered them with great love and told them that he had no mysteries to hide and no mental reservations; plain talk (he said) was easily understandable, while complicated talk was only likely to be misunderstood. The truth was (he said) that a person can give to others only what he possesses and that Rama himself only possessed OM and that alone. That OM, which was Rama’s sole possession, represented the non-duality of Vedanta. Pressed to explain what he meant, Swami Rama replied that God is really nameless, although people call him by various names such as Ishvara or Allah. Men of different faiths and persuasions feel their oneness with God by establishing some sort of relationship with him. It can be any relationship, but the truth or reality is only one. He is what he is, one without a second, indescribable and far beyond being circumscribed in words. But the ancient Rishis and Saints have called him and known him through the significant symbol OM. Swami Rama went on to expound the special place of OM as a universal name of God, but the Muslims objected that they had never seen any mention of OM in their own holy scriptures and asked him (if what he said was true) whether he could quote any reference to OM in their Koran. Rama replied gently: ‘Please listen to what is now being said. In the very beginning of your Koran, at the top, are three letters, alif (A), lam (L) and mim (M). Can any of you or any learned Mulawi of Islam explain what these three letters mean?’ The Moslems replied that this was a secret which Allah had kept to himself. Swami Rama laughed heartily at this remark and said: ‘When God has revealed the entire Koran for the benefit of mankind, as the Muslims claim, it is very strange that he has kept its very heading a secret. No. It is not so. If you, the Muslims who put full faith in the Koran do not know the secret of the letters A, L, M, Rama will tell you what they signify. Alif, lam and mim are nothing but alif (A), wao (O) and mim (M), that is, AOM or OM.’ The Muslims objected that the letter L is not the same as the letter O, but Swami Rama pointed out to them that in Arabic grammar L is pronounced O when it falls between a vowel and a consonant, as in the names Shamsuddin, which is written Shamsaldin, or Nizamuddin, which is written Nizamaldin. The letter lam (L) becomes silent and gives the sound of the Arabic letter pesh (O or U). Therefore ALM is no secret; it is clearly and unambiguously OM and nothing but OM. It is Kufra, heretical or a sin, to blame God for keeping it a secret. The Muslims (who did not know Arabic or the rules of its grammar) were clearly impressed by Swami Rama’s explanation, but they caught on to his use of the word ‘Kufra’, meaning sin or heresy, and asked him to explain the meaning of that word and the related word ‘Kafir’, which to a Muslim means an infidel. Swami Rama was at first unwilling to say anything about them, maintaining that they were the special words peculiar to Islam, and that as Muslims they should understand them better than any non-Muslims. But when they pressed him on it, he then said: It would have been better if you had not put this question to Rama, because whatever he says would be according to his own notions. Rama likes neither to flatter anybody, nor to injure the feelings of anyone. Truth cannot be crushed. There is some truth in every religion. Rama is, therefore, not only a Hindu, but also a Muslim, a Christian and a Buddhist. In answer to your question Rama will speak politely and with love, but he may also have to indulge in some plain speaking, without the least intention to hurt your feelings. Rama loves all, like his own self. As such there should be nothing to hide from his own self. Dear ones, the truth is that the followers of Islam have very wrongly interpreted the words ‘Kufra’ and ‘Kafir’, and they have also made a very wrong use of these words. Swami Rama went on to point out to them with great love that Islam literally means ‘religion of peace’, but that instead of preaching love for God seated in the heart of each man and the brotherhood of all men, the so-called leaders of Islam, on account of their superficial knowledge or ignorance, had injected a spirit of hatred and alienation into the hearts of the ignorant Muslims. As a result, the history of the Muslims testified to the fact that thousands of non-Muslims had been butchered in wholesale massacres in the name of Islam. Instead of teaching mankind how to live in peace with others, Islam had earned a bad name for itself in world history by spreading its religion by tyranny, oppression and despotism. This was because of the selfishness, love of personal gain and narrow outlook of the Muslim autocrats, intoxicated with their own domination and conquest in the name of Islam. It was all due to the wrong interpretation of the words ‘Kufra’ and ‘Kafir’. Dear friends, [he said], the meaning of Kufra [sin or heresy] is to hide. What? To hide the truth or reality is Kufra, and he who hides the truth is Kafir [infidel]. But how does a Kafir hide the truth? He hides it behind the curtain of his Khudi or ego, which has its roots in selfishness. In other words the person who asserts his ego or selfishness as against truth is a Kafir. And what is this truth? Truth is that which remains the same, yesterday, today and forever. But truth or reality is only one. It is only God who is immortal, eternal and imperishable. Therefore the person who does not implement this truth in daily life and who instead lays stress on his ego or selfishness in his worldly dealings is as if hiding God, the truth, behind the curtain of his egoism. In other words, he remains unconcerned with God, as if there is no God for him. By such an attitude he commits Kufra and deserves to be called a Kafir. It is very painful to note that the protagonists of Islam, due to their blind faith and bigotry, have brought a bad name to their simple and unostentatious religion, causing havoc and devastation in the world, on account of their misinterpretation and the wrong use of the words ‘Kufra’ and ‘Kafir’. According to them, a non-Muslim is a Kafir, however God-intoxicated or truly religious-minded he may be. As such, it is said that a so-called Muslim has every right to do away with a non-Muslim, if the latter does not believe in the prophet Mohammed or the Koran...as if the non-Muslim had not been made by the same God. It is also said that a Muslim will be forgiven by God for his sins just because he is a formal Muslim. All this misbelief or blind faith is against the fundamental principle of Islam. It is now for you to say how reasonable, just and fair it is to preach to the ignorant Muslim masses segregation in the name of Islam, which is obviously done for political reasons with vested interests. Religion, you will concede, teaches universal love, sympathy, fellow feeling, unity, etc., and not disunity or hatred. It is, therefore, most essential for all of us, Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists and so forth, to live together with love and unity... Rama regrets very much to have to say all this. But since Rama has great respect and regard for Islam due to its simplicity and direct faith in God and since he takes Muslims as his own self, he does not feel any hesitation in speaking frankly and fearlessly to his own self. Swami Rama Tirtha was next asked about the Kalma, which may be called the Muslim creed. And he said that the original Kalma consisted simply of the phrase: ‘La Ilah Ill Illah’, which means ‘there is nothing but Allah or God.’ It expressed (said Swami Rama) that God is limitless. Nothing can limit his limitlessness. Nothing could be beyond God. He is everything, and everything is in him. The Koran also says that God is nearer to you than your own aorta. The interpretation of the Mulawis that it means ‘there is only one god’ is not correct; it really means that there is nothing but one omnipresent God in this universe. The present Kalma has two portions. The second part is ‘Mohammed Rasool Allah’ meaning that ‘Mohammed is the prophet of God.’ Swami Rama said to the Muslims: You may or may not agree with Rama, but it is generally felt that this portion has been added after the death of Mohammed Saheb... As you all know, Hazrat Mohammed Saheb was a very simple God-intoxicated person. He never liked ostentation and individual advertisement. He himself belonged wholly to God. And he had totally surrendered himself to him. He was all God’s. Nothing of his was separate from God. As such, he could not have allowed during his life-time his individual name or identity to be added to the original Kalma, but emphasised ‘there is nothing but Allah.’ Then again, according to Islam, God is ‘Wahduhoo-La-Sharik’, that is, he is one without any partner or sharer. How then could Hazrat Mohammed have allowed his name to be added to God, even as a friend or prophet, when God is all in all, when he is said to be limitless?... It therefore appears that the latter part of the Kalma has been added by his devotees and admirers out of their intense love for Mohammed Saheb after his death in order to perpetuate his memory, so long as Islam continues to flourish in this world. Swami Rama did not try to force his views on the Muslims. He told them it did not matter whether they agreed with him or not, because he had no desire to force his ideas on anybody. Everyone had the right to act according to his own views. Rama had indicated his point of view simply because they had expressly asked him to do so. The Muslims were impressed by Swami Rama Tirtha’s exposition, but they said to him: Being a Sufi, the flight of your vision is high. Therefore you measure the life incidents of Hazrat Mohammed with the same yardstick. Our intellect may accept your version, but our hearts are reluctant to do so. As Muslims, we cannot go against what our forefathers have been telling us. You may call it blind faith, but Hazrat Mohammed deserves all our respect... You are a Sufi (Vedantin), and, as such, you may be entitled to say ‘Hamaost’ (I am He). But we have not yet been able fully to define our relation with God, as his devotees. Will it not be a sin or Kufra for us to say ‘Anal hacq’ (I am God) as the Sufis (Vedantins) do? We cannot even dare to change the present form of the Kalma. To this Rama replies: The truth is that Rama, being a Vedantin, is convinced that there is nothing but God and that ‘I am God, as all others are.’ The reality is only one. God is infinite. That which is infinite cannot be rendered finite by anything separate from him. He covers everything, and therefore it is not a sin to say: ‘I am God’; but it is certainly a great sin to reject the reality just to project yourself as separate from or other than God. In this way in discussions which he had with the Muslims over two days in 1905 the holy Paramahansa demonstrated clearly the true message of the Prophet Mohammed and its identity with the essential truth of Advaita Vedanta: ‘Sarvam Khalvidam Brahman’ (Verily, all this world is nothing but a phenomenal creation of God the Absolute).

The early followers of Chritianity and Islam wanted to dominate the world with their respective religion and in doing so they corrupted their scriptures with their own version of superiority and dominance. All religious scriptures teach mankind about unity, love and peace but it was due to ego and self interest that they turn against mankind.

He is the is the ultimate truth I'm just his tool.

The Eighteen Puranas There are eighteen main Puranas and an equal number of subsidiary Puranas or Upa-Puranas. The main Puranas are: 1.Vishnu Purana, 2.Naradiya Purana, 3.Srimad Bhagavata Purana, 4.Garuda (Suparna) Purana, 5.Padma Purana, 6.Varah Purana, 7.Brahma Purana, 8.Brahmanda Purana, 9.Brahma Vaivarta Purana, 10.Markandeya Purana, 11.Bhavishya Purana, 12.Vamana Purana, 13.Matsya Purana, 14.Kurma Purana, 15.Linga Purana, 16.Siva Purana, 17.Skanda Purana and 18.Agni Purana. Of these, six are Sattvic Puranas and glorify Vishnu; Six are Rajasic Puranas and glorify Brahma; six are Tamasic Puranas and glorify Siva. Neophytes or beginners in the spiritual path are puzzled when they go through Siva Purana and Vishnu Purana. In Siva Purana, Lord Siva is highly eulogised and an inferior position is given to Lord Vishnu. Sometimes Vishnu is belittled. In Vishnu Purana, Lord Hari (Vishnu) is highly eulogised and the inferior status is given to Lord Siva. Sometimes Lord Siva is belittled. This is only to increase the faith of the devotees in their particular Ishta-Devata (favourite or tutelary deity). Lord Siva and Lord Vishnu are one. The best among the Puranas are the Srimad Bhagavata and the Vishnu Purana. The most popular is the Srimad Bhagavata Purana. Next comes Vishnu Purana. A portion of the Markandeya Purana is well known to all Hindus as Chandi, or Devimahatmya. Worship of God as the Divine Mother is its theme. Chandi is read widely by the Hindus on sacred days and Navaratri (Durga Puja) days. Srimad Bhagavata Purana and the Ten Avataras The Srimad Bhagavad Purana is a chronicle of the various Avataras of Lord Vishnu. There are ten Avataras of Vishnu. The aim of every Avatara is to save the world from some great danger, to destroy the wicked and protect the virtuous. The ten Avataras are: Matsya (the Fish), Kurma (the Tortoise), Varaha (the Boar), Narasimha (the Man-Lion), Vamana (the Dwarf), Parsurama (Rama with the axe, the destroyer of the Kshatriya race), Ramachandra (the hero of Ramayana, the son of King Dasharatha; Sri Rama who destroyed Ravana), Sri Krishna (the teacher of the Bhagavad Gita), Buddha (the prince-ascetic and the founder of Buddhism), and Kalki (the hero riding on a white horse, who is still to come at the end of the Kali-Yuga). The object of the Matsya (Fish) Avatara was to save Vaivasvata Manu from destruction by a deluge. The object of Kurma (Tortoise) Avatara was to enable the world to recover some precious things that were lost in the deluge. The Kurma gave its back for keeping (supporting) the churning rod when the gods and the Asuras (demons) churned the ocean of milk. The purpose of Varaha Avatara was to rescue from the waters, the earth which had been dragged down by a demon named Hiranyaksha. The purpose of Narasimha Avatara, half lion and half man, was to free the world from the oppression of Hiranyakasipu, a demon, the father of Bhakta Prahlada. The object of Vamana Avatara was to restore the power of the gods which had been eclipsed by the penance and devotion of King Bali. The object of Parasurama Avatara was to deliver the country from the oppression of the Kshatriya rulers. Parasurama destroyed the Kshatriya race twenty-one times. The object of Rama Avatara was to destroy the wicked Ravana. The object of Sri Krishna Avatara was to destroy Kamsa and other demons, to deliver His wonderful message of the Gita in the Mahabharata war, and to become the centre of the Bhakti Schools of India. The object of Buddha Avatara was to prohibit animal sacrifices and teach piety. The object of the Kalki Avatara is the destruction of the wicked and the re-establishment of virtue. The Tamil Puranas Lord Siva incarnated Himself in the form of Dakshinamurti to impart knowledge to the four Kumaras. He took human form to initiate Sambandhar, Manikkavasagar and Pattinathar. He appeared in flesh and blood to help his devotees and relieve their sufferings. The divine Lilas (sports) of Lord Siva are recorded in the Tamil Puranas like Siva Purana, Periya Purana, Siva Parakramam and Tiruvilayadal Purana. The Upa-Puranas The eighteen Upa-Puranas are: SanatKumara, Narasimha, Brihannaradiya, Sivarahasya, Durvasa, Kapila, Vamana, Bhargava, Varuna, Kalika, Samba, Nandi, Surya, Parasara, Vasishtha, Devi-Bhagavata, Ganesa and Hamsa. Utility of the Puranas Study of the Puranas, listening to sacred recitals of scriptures, describing and expounding of the transcendent Lilas (divine sports) of the Blessed Lord – these form an important part of Sadhana (spiritual practice) of the Lord’s devotee. It is most pleasing to the Lord. Sravana (hearing of the Srutis or scriptures) is a part of Navavidha-Bhakti (nine modes of devotion). Kathas (narrative or story) and Upanyasas open the springs of devotion in the hearts of hearers and develop Prema-Bhakti (divine love for God) which confers immortality on the Jiva (individual soul). [Note: The nine modes of devotion are: Hearing His (God’s) names and glories, singing them, remembering the Lord, worship (service) of His Feet, adoration with flowers, prostrations, regarding oneself as His servant, as His friend, and total self-surrender.] The language of the Vedas is archaic, and the subtle philosophy of the Vedanta and the Upanishads is difficult to grasp and assimilate. Hence, the Puranas are of special value as they present philosophical truths and precious teachings in an easier manner. They give ready access to the mysteries of life and the key to bliss. Imbibe their teachings. Start a new life of Dharma-Nishtha and Adhyatmic Sadhana from this very day. [Note; Dharma-Nishtha = steadfastness or establishment in Dharma. Adhyatmic (pertaining to the Inner Self) Sadhana (spiritual practice)] The Agamas Another class of popular scriptures are the Agamas. The Agamas are theological treatises and practical manuals of divine worship. The Agamas include the Tantras, Mantras and Yantras. These are treatises explaining the external worship of God, in idols, temples etc. All the Agamas treat of : Jnana or Knowledge Yoga or Concentration Kriya or Esoteric Ritual Charya or Exoteric Worship They also give elaborate details about entology and cosmology, liberation, devotion, meditation, philosophy of Mantras, mystic diagrams, charms and spells, temple-building, image-making, domestic observances, social rules, public festivals etc. The Agamas are divided into three sections: The Vaishnava The Saiva The Sakta The chief sects of Hinduism, viz., Vaishnavism, Saivism and Saktism, base their doctrines and dogmas on their respective Agamas. The Vaishnava Agamas or Pancharatra Agamas glorify God as Vishnu. The Saiva Agamas glorify God as Siva and have given rise to an important school of philosophy known as Saiva-Siddhanta, which prevails in South India, particularly in the districts of Tirunelveli and Madurai. The Sakta Agamas or Tantras glorify God as the Mother of the Universe, under one of the many names of Devi (Goddess). The Agamas do not derive their authority from the Vedas, but are not antagonistic to them. They are all Vedic in spirit and character. That is the reason why they are regarded as authoritative. The Vaishnava Agamas The Vaishnava Agamas are of four kinds: The Vaikhanasa Pancharatra Pratishthasara Vijnana-lalita The Brahma, Saiva, Kaumara, Vasishtha, Kapila, Gautamiya and Naradiya are the seven groups of the Pancharatras. The Naradiya section of the Santi Parva of the Mahabharata is the earliest source of information about the Pancharatras. Vishnu is the Supreme Lord in the Pancharatra Agamas. The Vaishnavas regard the Pancharatra Agamas to be the most authoritative. They believe that these Agamas were revealed by Lord Vishnu Himself. Narada-Pancharatra says: "Everything from Brahma to a blade of grass is Lord Krishna". This corresponds to the Upanishadic declaration: "All this is, verily, Brahman-Sarvam, Khalvidam Brahma". The following extract is from The Mahabharata, Santi Parva Section CCCXL Bhishma continued: Narada also, endued with great energy, having obtained the high favour that he had solicited, then proceeded with great speed to the retreat called Vadari, for beholding Nara and Narayana. This great Upanishad, perfectly consistent with the four Vedas, in harmony with Sankhya-Yoga, and called by him by the name of Pancharatra scriptures, and recited by Narayana Himself with His own mouth, was repeated by Narada in the presence of many listeners in the abode of Brahma (his sire) in exactly the same way in which Narayana (while that great God had showed Himself unto him) had recited it, and in which he had heard it from his own lips. _ There are two hundred and fifteen of these Vaishnava texts. Isvara, Ahirbudhnya, Paushkara, Parama, Sattvata, Brihad-Brahma and Jnanamritasara Samhitas are the important ones. The Saiva Agamas The Saivas recognise twenty-eight Agamas, of which the chief is Kamika. The Agamas are also the basis of Kashmir Saivism which is called the Pratyabhijna system. The latter works of Pratyabhijna system show a distinct leaning to Advaitism (non-dualistic philosophy). The Southern Saivism, i.e., Saiva Siddhanta, and the Kashmir Saivism, regard these Agamas as their authority, besides the Vedas. Each Agama has Upa-Agamas (subsidiary Agamas). Of these, only fragmentary texts of twenty are extant. Lord Siva is the central God in the Saiva Agamas. They are suitable to this age, Kali Yuga. They are open to all castes and both the sexes. The Sakta Agamas There is another group of scriptures known as the Tantras. They belong to the Sakta cult. They glorify Sakti as the World-Mother. They dwell on the Sakti (energy) aspect of God and prescribe numerous courses of ritualistic worship of the Divine Mother in various forms. There are seventy-seven Agamas. These are very much like the Puranas in some respects. The texts are usually in the form of dialogues between Siva and Parvati. In some of these, Siva answers the questions put by Parvati, and in others, Parvati answers, Siva questioning. Mahanirvana, Kularnava, Kulasara, Prapanchasara, Tantraraja, Rudra-Yamala, Brahma-Yamala, Vishnu-Yamala and Todala Tantra are the important works. The Agamas teach several occult practices some of which confer powers, while the others bestow knowledge and freedom. Sakti is the creative power of Lord Siva. Saktism is really a supplement to Saivism. Among the existing books on the Agamas, the most famous are the Isvara-Samhita, Ahirbudhnya-Samhita, Sanatkumara-Samhita, Narada-Pancharatra, Spanda-Pradipika and the Mahanirvana-Tantra. (Hindu Scriptures continued below) TOP <To top of this page (Hindu Scriptures continued) The Six Darsanas These are the intellectual section of the Hindu writings, while the first four are intuitional. And the fifth inspirational and emotional. Darsanas are schools of philosophy based on the Vedas. The Agamas are theological. The Darsana literature is philosophical. The Darsanas are meant for the erudite scholars who are endowed with acute acumen, good understanding, power of reasoning and subtle intellect. The Itihasa, Puranas and Agamas are meant for the masses. The Darsanas appeal to the intellect, while the Itihasas, Puranas, etc., appeal to the heart. Philosophy has six divisions (Shad-darsana). The six Darsanas or ways of seeing things, are usually called the six systems or six different schools of thought. The six schools of philosophy are the six instruments of true teaching or the six demonstrations of Truth. Each school has developed, systematized and correlated the various parts of the Veda in its own way. Each system has its Sutrakara, i.e., the one great Rishi who systematized the doctrines of the school and put them in short aphorisms or Sutras The Sutras are terse and laconic. The Rishis have condensed their thoughts in the aphorisms. It is very difficult to understand them without the help of commentaries by great sages or Rishis. Hence, there arose many commentators or Bhashyakaras. There are glosses, notes and, later, commentaries on the original commentaries. The Shad-Darsana (the six schools of philosophy) or the Shat-Sastras are: The Nyaya founded by Gautama Rishi The Vaiseshika by Kanada Rishi The Sankhya by Kapila Muni The Yoga by Patanjali Maharshi The Purva Mimamsa by Jaimini The Uttara Mimamsa or Vedanta by Badarayana or Vyasa The Darsanas are grouped into three pairs of aphoristic compositions which explain the philosophy of the Vedas in a rationalistic method of approach. They are: The Nyaya and the Vaiseshika The Sankhya and the Yoga The Mimamsa and the Vedanta Each set of Sutras has got its Bhashya, Vritti, Varttika, Vyakhyana or Tika and Tippani. Sutra A Sutra or an aphorism is a short formula with the least possible number of letters, without any ambiguity or doubtful assertion, containing the very essence, embracing all meaning, without any stop or obstruction and absolutely faultless in nature. The Sutrakara or the composer of the aphorisms is said to be as happy as one would be while getting the first male child, if he is but able to reduce one letter in his abstruse Sutra of far-fetched words and ideas. The best example of the greatest, the tersest and the most perfect of Sutra literature is the series of aphorisms called the Ashtadhyayi composed by Panini. Panini is the father of all Sutrakaras from whom all others seem to have borrowed the method of composition. The Sutras are meant to explain a big volume of knowledge in short assertions suitable to be kept in memory at all times. The six Vedangas and the six systems of Hindu philosophy form the twelve sets of Sutra literature of the world. In addition to these, there are later compositions like the Narada-Bhakti Sutras, the Sandilya-Bhakti Sutras, etc., which also wish to assume an equal form with the famous Sutras mentioned above. Bhashya A Bhashya is an elaborate exposition, a commentary on the Sutras, with word by word meaning of the aphoristic precepts, their running translation, together with the individual views of the commentator or the Bhashyakara. The best and the exemplary Bhashya in Sanskrit literature is the one written by Patanjali on the Vyakarana (grammar) Sutras of Panini. This Bhashya is so very famous and important that it is called the Mahabhashya and its celebrated author is specially called the Bhashyakara. Patanjali is the father of Bhashyakaras. The next important Bhashya is the one on the Mimamsa Sutras written by Sabara-Swami who learnt the art from Patanjali’s commentary. The third important Bhashya was written by Sankara on the Brahma Sutras, in close following with the Sabara-Bhashya. The Bhashyas on the six sets of aphorisms dealing with Indian philosophy were written by Vatsyayana, Prasastapada, Vijnanabhikshu, Vyasa, Sabara and Sankara. On the Vedanta or Brahma Sutras, there are about sixteen Bhashyas, like those of Ramanuja, Madhava, Vallabha, Nimbarka, etc. Vritti A Vritti is a short gloss explaining the aphorisms in a more elaborate way, but not as extensively as a Bhashya. An example is Bodhayana’s Vritti on the Brahma Sutras. Varttika A Varttika is a work where a critical study is made of that which is said and left unsaid or imperfectly said in a Bhashya, and the ways of making it perfect by supplying the omissions therein, are given. Examples are the Varttikas of Katyayana on Panini’s Sutras, of Suresvara on Sankara’s Upanishad-Bhashyas, and of Kumarila Bhatta on the Sabara-Bhashya on the Karma-Mimamsa. Vyakhyana or Tika A Vyakhyana is a running explanation in an easier language of what is said in the original, with little elucidations here and there. A Vyakhyana, particularly of a Kavya (poetry and prose), deals with eight different modes of dissection of the Sloka, like .-Chheda, Vigraha, Sandhi, Alankara, Anuvada, etc. This forms an important aspect in the study of Sanskrit Sahitya Sastra (science of Sanskrit literature). An Anu-Vyakhyana- like the one written by Sri Madhava- is a repetition of what is already written, but in greater detail. An Anuvada is merely a running translation or statement of an abstruse text of the original. Tika is only another name for Vyakhyana. The best Vyakhyanas are of Vachaspati Misra on the Darsanas, especially on Sankara’s Brahmasutra-Bhashya. Tippani Tippani is just like a Vritti, but is less orthodox than the Vritti. It is an explanation of difficult words or phrases occurring in the original. Examples are Kaiyata’s gloss on the Mahabhashya of Patanjali, Nagojibhatta’s gloss on Kaiyata’s gloss, or Appayya’s gloss on Amalananda’s gloss on the Bhamati of Vachaspati Misra. Other Scriptures The Tevaram and the Tiruvachakam which are the hymns of the Saiva saints of South India, the Divya-Prabandham of the Alvar saints of South India, the songs of Sant Kabir, the Abhangas of Sant Tukaram and the Ramayana of Sant Tulasidas- all of which are the outpourings of great realised souls- are wonderful scriptures. They contain the essence of the Vedas. The Secular Writings The Subhashitas The Subhashitas are wise sayings, instructions and stories, either in poetry or in prose. Examples are Bhartrihari’s three centuries of verses, the Subhashita-Ratna-Bhandagara and Somadeva Bhatta’s Katha-Sarit-Sagara or Kshemendra’s Brihat-Katha-Manjari. The Pachatantra and the Hitopadesa also belong to this category. The Kavyas These are highly scholarly compositions in poetry, prose or both. The greatest of poetical Kavyas are those of Kalidas (The Raghuvamsa and Kumara-sambhava), Bharavi (The Kiratarjuniya), Magha (The Sisupalavadha), and Sri Harsha (The Naishadha). The best prose Kavyas in the whole of Sanskrit literature were written by Bhattabana (The Kadambari and Harshacharita), the great genius in classical Sanskrit. Among those containing both poetry and prose, the Champu-Ramayana and the Champu-Bharata are most famous. These are all wonderful masterpieces which will ever remain to glorify India’s literary calibre. The Natakas (dramas) These are marvelously scholastic dramas embodying the Rasas (expressions, mostly facial) of Sringara (decorate or beautify), Vira (brave), Karuna (compassion), Adbhuta (astonishment), Hasya (laugh), Bhayanka (fearsome), Bibhatsa (disgusting or loathsome) and Raudra (terrible). It is told that none can write on the ninth Rasa, viz., Santi (peaceful). It is attainable only on final Liberation. The best dramas are written by Kalidasa (Sakuntala), Bhavabhuti (Uttara-Rama-Charita), and Visakhadatta (Mudrarakshasa). The Alankaras These are grand rhetorical texts, treating of the science of perfection and beauty of ornamental language and of effective composition with elegance and force, both in poetry and in prose. These are the fundamentals of Sanskrit Sahitya (literature), even superior to the Kavyas and the Natakas. The best Alankara Granthas (Granthas = volumes) are those of Mammata (Kavyaprakasa) and Jagannatha (Rasagangadhara). Conclusion These constitute the entirety of Sanskrit literature- sacred and secular. The Sruti is the root; the Smritis, Itihasas and Puranas are the trunk; the Agamas and Darsanas are the branches; and the Subhashitas, Kavyas, Natakas and Alankaras are the flowers of the tree of India’s Culture. The Smritis, the Itihasas, the Puranas, the Agamas and the Darsanas are only developments of the Veda. Their ultimate source is the Veda. Their one common aim is to enable man to annihilate his ignorance and attain perfection, freedom, immortality, and eternal bliss through knowledge of God or the Eternal. Their purpose is to make man like God and one with Him. _

Kundalini From The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi Edited by David Godman Question: Will concentration on Chakras quieten the mind? Sri Ramana Maharshi: Fixing their minds on psychic centres such as the Sahasrara (the thousand petalled lotus Chakra), yogis remain any lengths of time without awareness of their bodies. As long as this state continues, they appear to be immersed in some kind of joy. But when the mind, which has become tranquil emerges and becomes active again it resumes its worldly thoughts. It is therefore necessary to train it with the help of practices like Dhyana (meditation) whenever it becomes externalised. It will then attain a state in which there is neither subsistence nor emergence. Question: It is said that the Sakti manifests itself in five phases, ten phases, a hundred phases and a thousand phases. Which is true? Sri Ramana Maharshi: Sakti has only one phase. If it is said to manifest itself in several phases, it is only a way of speaking. The Sakti is only one. Question: How to churn up the Nadis (psychic nerves) so that the Kundalini may go up the Sushumna? Sri Ramana Maharshi: Though the Yogi may have his methods of breath control for his object, the Jnani’s method is only that of enquiry. When by this method the mind is merged in the Self, the Sakti or Kundalini, which is not apart from the Self, rises automatically. The Yogis attach the highest importance to sending the Kundalini up to the Sahasrara, the brain centre or the thousand petalled lotus. They point out the scriptural statement that the life current enters the body through the fontanelle and argue that, Viyoga (separation) having come about that way, yoga (union) must also be effected in the reverse way. Therefore, they say, we must, by yoga practice, gather up the Pranas (vital force) and enter the fontanelle for the consummation of yoga. The Jnanis on the other hand point out that the yogi assumes the existence of the body and its separateness from the Self. Only if this standpoint of separateness is adopted can the yogi advise effort for reunion by the practice of yoga. In fact the body is in the mind which has the brain for its seat. That the brain functions by light borrowed from another source is admitted by the yogis themselves in their fontanelle theory. The Jnani further argues: if the light is borrowed it must come from its native source. Go to the source direct and do not depend on borrowed sources. That source is the Heart, the Self. The Self does not come from anywhere else and enter the body through the crown of the head. It is as it is, ever sparkling, ever steady, unmoving and unchanging. The individual confines himself to the limits of the changeful body or of the mind which derives its existence from the unchanging Self. All that is necessary is to give up this mistaken identity, and that done, the ever shining Self will be seen to be the single non-dual reality. If one concentrates on the Sahasrara there is no doubt that the ecstasy of Samadhi ensues. The Vasanas, that is the latent mental tendencies, are not however destroyed. The yogi is therefore bound to wake up from the Samadhi because release from bondage has not yet been accomplished. He must still try to eradicate the Vasanas inherent in him so that they cease to disturb the peace of his Samadhi. So he passes down from the Sahasrara to the Heart through what is called the Jivanadi, which is only a continuation of the Sushumna. The Sushumna is thus a curve. It starts from the lowest Chakra, rises through the spinal cord to the brain and from there bends down and ends in the Heart. When the yogi has reached the Heart, the Samadhi becomes permanent. Thus we see that the Heart is the final centre. [Note: Commentary by David Godman: Sri Ramana Maharshi never advised his devotees to parctise Kundalini Yoga since he regarded it as being both potentially dangerous and unnecessary. He accepted the existence of the Kundalini power and the Chakras but he said that even if the Kundalini reached the Sahsrara it would not result in realisation. For final realisation, he said, the Kundalini must go beyond the Sahasrara, down another Nadi (psychic nerve) he called Amritanadi (also called the Paranadi or Jivanadi) and into the Heart-centre on the right hand side of the chest. Since he maintained that self-enquiry would automatically send the Kundalini to the Heart-centre, he taught that separate yoga exercises were unnecessary. The practitioners of Kundalini Yoga concentrate on psychic centres (Chakras) in the body in order to generate a spiritual power they call Kundalini. The aim of this practice is to force the Kundalini up the psychic channel (the Sushumna) which runs from the base of the spine to the brain. The Kundalini Yogi believes that when this power reaches the Sahasrara (the highest Chakra located in the brain), Self-realisation will result. Sri Ramana Maharshi taught that the Self is reached by the search for the origin of the ego and by diving into the Heart. This is the direct method of Self-realisation. One who adopts it need not worry about Nadis, the brain centre (Sahasrara), the Sushumna, the Paranadi, the Kundalini, Pranayama or the six centres (Chakras).