Fwd: Vedic Culture: Last Bastion of Deep Spiritual Truth

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>Srinandan (AT) aol (DOT) com >vaidika1008 (AT) hotmail (DOT) com >Vedic Culture:

Last Bastion of Deep Spiritual Truth >Sat, 17 Aug 2002 11:32:33 EDT > >

Vedic Culture: The Last Bastion of Deep Spiritual > Truth > By Stephen Knapp

(Sri Nandanandana) > > Why would Vedic culture be called the last bastion of

deep spiritual >truth? It doesn't take much to understand, at least after a

little >investigation, that >the Vedic process of spiritual advancement

promotes individual freedom of >thought, complete liberty of inquiry, and the

privilege of independent and >personal development through one's own spiritual

experiences. This degree of >latitude for self-discovery is found in few other

cultures or spiritual >processes. > The fact is that the Vedic literature

consists of the oldest and most >complete spiritual scriptures available. It

contains more in-depth knowledge >of >the identity of the spiritual being and

its connection with the universe and >God >than most anywhere else. It provides

more information about the spiritual >domain, the characteristics of God and our

relationship with the Supreme. > Furthermore, the spiritual principles in the

Vedic system are universal, >meaning they can be applied in any time or place

in the universe. In fact, >even a >Christian, a Muslim, a Jew, or anyone can

understand his or her own religion >more deeply by investigating the Vedic

spiritual knowledge. > The Vedic system expects the individual to progress and

not merely stay >on the level of blind faith. The Vedic path does not rely on

faith or beliefs >alone, >but offers the methodologies that a person can use to

refine one's >consciousness. >Then he or she can personally perceive the higher

levels of reality and >spiritual >truths of which the Vedic instructions speak.

In fact, the many Vedic holy >men >are often those who have had various levels

of success in experiencing >aspects of >spiritual reality, and then can relay

that information to others. This is >also why >portions of Vedic philosophy are

expressions of one's spiritual experience, >followed by instructions enabling

others to reach that same experience in >perceiving the Absolute Truth. > The

Vedic process allows full freedom to investigate spiritual matters >and >for

one to ask all the questions that may come to mind, without restrictions >or

the >possibility of being called a doubting person or a blasphemer. The Vedic

>approach knows that the Absolute can be perceived in different ways, thus the

>Vedic system accommodates this and allows for the individual to pursue the

>level >of Truth that he or she wants to perceive. The Vedic path also makes no

>restrictions on our right to use whatever resources we can to help ourselves

>understand our spiritual nature. This it is why Vedic followers can look at

>any >religion and find truth in it. > The Vedic system also acknowledges that

we all have a unique >relationship with God, and that this does not depend on

the approval of a >church, >an institution, or a cleric or priest. It is

eternal. The Vedic process >merely >provides the means or methodologies by

which we can awaken that relationship >and the awareness of our spiritual

identity. By this approach, we stimulate >our >own perception of spiritual

reality rather than merely being forced to accept >a >dogma presented by some

religious institution. > On the other hand, we see the conventional religions

of the West. They >are often monotheistic constructs that are based primarily

on faith, beliefs, >and >fear. Their faith is often directed toward the idea

that if you follow what >your >church authorities tell you, or what you read in

your scripture, you will go >to >heaven and be "saved". Belief usually amounts

to accepting something that is >still >beyond your experience. And fear in most

religions is based on the idea that >if >you don't follow the tenants of your

faith or church, or if you question it, >you >may find yourself being

excommunicated and outcaste from your religion, or >even told that you will go

to hell. Thus, you will have no relationship or >connection with God. Fear in

this regard is also displayed as a fanatical >defense >of one's ideas, that

everyone else but you and your clan are going to hell >and that >you are the

only ones who really know the truth. In this way, they allow for >little

>freedom of thought or inquiry, or for the individual to seek out answers to

>questions that are not described in its scripture. Anything that is not

>included is >labeled as either demonic or will lead one to hell. > One problem

with the religions that primarily are based on belief and >faith >is that they

can become an effective means of manipulating the masses who >follow it. If you

can convince people to believe that by doing something they >can >go to heaven,

then you can get them to do almost anything. For example, Pope >Urban II

implied to the soldiers who were going out on the first crusade that >if >they

died in the name of Christ, they would ascend to heaven and live in the

>association of God. Thus, they rode out to fearlessly and mercilessly conquer

>the >"heathens" or non-believers, and were willing to die to reach heaven. >

This is the same effect we see with the Palestinian youth, that if they >die

>in the name of Islam they will immediately go to the seventh level of heaven

>and >take pleasure in wondrous gardens in the company of beautiful virgins.

The >more >fantastic the heaven, the more hope and conviction will be seen in

the >followers. > Another problem with this is that the beliefs that are given

to you to >accept often change with time, or according to the needs of the

church to >keep a >congregation. As explained in a recent issue of Newsweek

magazine (August 12, >2002), the concept of heaven has changed with the ages.

"Dante saw heaven as >the universe, and Thomas Aquinas thought of it as a

brilliant place, full of >light >and knowledge. In the 18th century, Emanuel

Swedenborg imagined heaven as a >tangible world, with public gardens and

parks." Nowadays you can imagine >heaven to be whatever you need it to be. This

gives impetus for you to do >whatever you feel you should do for your beliefs,

and have it justified by >your >religion. However, in actuality, in the Bible,

the Koran, or Torah, there is >little in >the way of specific information of

where or what is heaven. And this leaves >much >for the imagination. > Another

problem with religious processes that rely mostly on faith and >belief is that

peer pressure and the need for conformity and acceptance or >approval stifles

and restricts one's ability to develop or inquire to one's >fullest. >We often

see children tolerated for their deep and thoughtful questions, >while the

>adults fear to reveal their ignorance of the topics or even stifle a child's

>inquisitiveness. So such religions act like self-policing institutions

>wherein >individuals are not encouraged to develop their own spiritual

realizations or >ask >too many questions. They are encouraged to leave it up to

faith and the >dictates >of the institution. They are told that we are not meant

to know certain >things, and >that faith alone in a particular savior or the

power of the church is enough >to take >you to heaven. But if you lack faith or

question it, or don't follow the >dictates of >the church or scripture, you

won't go to heaven. Thus, you must look good in >the eyes of the church

authorities and your fellow members or there will be >no >room for you, and

thus you will be sent to hell. > The second kind of fear is the fear that you

may be wrong, or the church >and its doctrines may be wrong, or there may be

weaknesses in its philosophy. >So >people become defensive of their beliefs,

defending it like life itself. >Thus, they >condemn and criticize those who are

of other religions without trying to >understand them. Sometimes you can see

this amongst the sects in the same >religion. We already see so many divisions

within Christianity, as well as >Islam >and Judaism. And each one often feels

they are the only ones that are true >followers of Jesus or Mohammed, and all

others are going to hell. So it can >become extremely divisive even within the

same faith. > In fact, some people, as in Christianity for example, may feel it

is >their >God-given mandate that when someone is a so-called non-believer, he

should be >converted and "saved" at whatever cost, and then deprived of any

freedom to >follow an alternative view. A person in another religion may brand

>"nonbelievers" >as infidels, and thus feel it is his duty to convert, destroy

or even kill >such a >person. In either case, they may use coercion,

manipulation, or simply take >advantage of poor and vulnerable people to bring

them over to their faith. >And in >both cases, the people of these religions

feel they are doing God's work, and >that >they are justified in what they do.

> However, it is refreshing to see that you usually don't have this kind >of

>divisiveness or criticism in the Vedic system. It is much more open and

>provides >the individual the freedom to pursue the level of experience that he

or she >needs >for his or her own development and still be a part of the Vedic

process. > Religion, when used improperly or without the real essence of

spiritual >truth, can also be a way of confining and restricting people of a

wider >understanding of the universe and themselves. This is done through the

use of >fear, guilt, violence, and the oppression of anything that shows a

different >view >than what is being indoctrinated into society. It has been the

most militant >of >religions that has suppressed the ancient avenues of reaching

higher levels >of >understanding our multidimensional or spiritual nature. Thus,

by mere blind >faith >in whatever the church or priests are giving us, or

allowing us to know, we >are >kept in a lower consciousness than what is really

possible. In this way, >higher >realms of thought, wisdom, love, and knowledge

are kept away from the masses. > >After all, knowledge is power, and your

ignorance is my strength. To keep >power >over others, the church and

monotheistic religions in general have >systematically >abolished a wide range

of spiritual and esoteric knowledge that would, >otherwise, >give mankind the

ultimate freedom. And because people who understand their >true spiritual

nature and the power that lies within themselves become >impossible >to

manipulate, it is necessary to keep this knowledge hidden. So the idea >would

>be to keep the truly spiritual knowledge concealed while creating and

>perpetuating a religion, or a standard of "science," that keeps people bound

>by >the above mentioned factors: fear, guilt, violence, and intimidation. The

>implication is that to tread outside the accepted jurisdiction of knowledge

>or >understanding, or outside the rules of the institution, will bring fear.

This >is fear >of uncertainty, or disapproval by the institution, or of going

to hell, as >previously >mentioned. Questioning the present system, or doubting

its effectiveness, or >desiring more knowledge about God than the church

provides, will bring guilt. >In >this way, some religious institutions have

made such ancient sciences as >astrology, yoga, meditation, or the deepest

understandings of the soul, or >other >topics, to look evil or even absurd, and

thus be dismissed, or preferably >even >outlawed. We need to understand and

recognize this pattern, which is used in >numerous places in the world. > In

this regard, reports have been given about how the Vatican has sealed >vaults

that contain thousands of ancient esoteric books, all of which are >kept out

>of circulation from the public. This indicates the methodical removal of

>various >levels of spiritual and metaphysical knowledge from society, while

claiming >that >anything other than the established doctrine of the church is

satanic, evil, >and >hellbound. The Inquisition was a wonderful method of

producing this effect. >Even today we can see how some people are so influenced

by this tyrannical >tendency that they still are afraid of looking at anything

other than what >the >Church condones. However, most of these people are

totally unaware of the >"pagan" heritage found in Christianity or Judaism,

which makes it very >similar >but with a different name. It is practically the

same medicine but in a >different >bottle. To remove this understanding from

public knowledge, it became >necessary that whenever Christianity or other

militant religions conquered a >country or culture, the first thing that was

done was to capture or destroy >all of >the ancient sacred texts. However, any

organization that destroys the ancient >knowledge and historical records of a

civilization is never going to present >the >true history of the world, or the

spiritual wisdom of any previous culture. >Thus, >the view of history is

controlled and the population is kept in ignorance and >under subtle restraint.

And the people who are allowed to understand any of >the >truth are those of the

elite or who are already in power. > By taking a look at the history of the

Christian Church, for example, a >person can see to what extent a religion will

go to maintain power and >control, >especially when it feels threatened by what

it does not understand. >Furthermore, >the dark history of Christianity

represents the fanatically narrow-minded >side of it >that has continued to the

present day in the form of fundamentalists thinking >that >if a religion or

culture is not Christian, then it must be of the devil. Or >at least its

>followers will not go to heaven. Such people are often ready to dismiss or

>criticize other spiritual paths and cultures without understanding them. They

>may >see a ceremony or ritual of another religion and immediately say it is

>heathen or >devil worship, without realizing that it is the worship of the

same Supreme >Being >that they worship. But a similar misunderstanding can

happen in Christianity. >For >example, in the Eucharist ritual they partake of

drinking the blood and >eating the >body of Christ. Does this mean that

Christians are cannibals, or have a >cannibalistic mentality to eat the body

and drink the blood of their savior? >Not if >you understand that the blood and

body of Christ is distributed symbolically >in >the form of wine and wafers. So

proper understanding is needed in any >religion. > The point is that all people

have to have the freedom to find themselves >to >the fullest extent on whatever

path it takes, providing it is a genuine and >uplifting >path. So how do we

make sure we can continue to have this freedom? By >understanding each other

and other cultures of the world and the different >paths >of self-discovery,

and by recognizing the value that they have to offer. We >must >also bury our

preconceived prejudices that are based on our immature feelings >of

>superiority because, spiritually speaking, we are all the same. We just have

>to >attain that spiritual vision to see the reality of it. And the path we

take >to do that >is the only difference among us. > A true religion paves the

way for everyone to become spiritually aware, >and to establish his or her own

relationship with the Supreme. And the Vedic >system is an ideal means for

supplying that. If a religion is not based on >the >higher principles of

self-realization, but is merely based on dogmatic rules >and >regulations that

it forces on others, then it becomes a trap based on fear, >guilt, >oppression

and intimidation. One must not be afraid to break free from such a >trap. It is

greater to see God's love manifested in many sages belonging to >different

traditions at different times and places, among different people. > The premise

that all spiritual knowledge must be connected with one >distinct or localized

savior is itself a stifling factor in allowing >individuals to >progress in

spiritual understanding. There is so much more that could be >learned >if they

didn't feel that if something isn't connected with their particular >savior or

>scripture, then it must be Satanic. In this way, if it is not in the Bible or

>Koran, >for example, they refuse to acknowledge the value of any additional

spiritual >knowledge if it comes from a different culture or source. Thus, they

act with >fear >or contempt toward anything outside their own sphere of

familiarity or >acceptability, or like people who are proud of their own

ignorance and >narrow- >mindedness. > The straightjacket of Western theological

dogma keeps a person from >looking at additional resources that could supply

answers for questions not >considered in western thought, or at possibilities

that are elementary in >Eastern >traditions. What's wrong with learning newer

ways of connecting with our >higher >selves, and with each other and with God?

What's wrong with allowing our >hearts and minds to expand with new vibrancy,

new insights and confidence? >Why not allow ourselves new hope and

understanding in regard to the purpose >of >the universe and the nature of God,

even if we look to different sources of >knowledge? Who knows what additional

information we can add to what we >already know, or newer ways to incorporate

and develop ourselves into people >who are better and more aware and

spiritually developed. This is natural for >those who participate in the Vedic

system. > For these reasons, India must remain the homeland of a living and

>dynamic Vedic culture. This will allow the world to retain some of the

>deepest >knowledge and methods of attaining the most profound spiritual

insights that >have been known to mankind. India should defend itself from the

risk of >further >partition or divisions. If India is divided up any further,

Vedic culture >could >dwindle or even be lost, except for small colonies of

Vedic practitioners >here and >there. This may indeed be what many people would

like to see. Yet, if Vedic >culture is lost, the world will not even realize the

treasure of human >development >that will disappear. Then such deep spiritual

knowledge and insights will >begin to >permanently fade away from society. >

Once India and Vedic culture is diluted or stamped out, along with other

>decreasing numbers of indigenous traditions, then the whole world will be

>fitted >with the straightjacket of Western thought and monotheistic religion.

Thus, >it will >be more easily controlled by the establishment. Then individual

freedom for >the >pursuit of higher understanding and spiritual happiness will

be limited to >the >constraints as dictated by whatever regional monotheistic

views reign in that >area. > For this reason Vedic culture is the last bastion

of deep and genuine >spiritual truth and freedom. This is also why it should be

clearly understood >and >preserved. > [More insights into this reasoning are

given in my free "e-booklet" cal >led, >"Why Be a Hindu: The Advantages of the

Vedic Path." You can find this and >many more articles on my website at:

http://www.stephen-knapp.com.] MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print

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