Perils of vedanta and perils of ritualism (Why rituals?)

[Guest guest]

Namaste,

 

I want to expand on some thoughts I shared towards the end of the mail. Some people emphasize the vedantic philosophy and de-emphazie rituals, whereas some people are so deeply immersed in rituals.

 

* * *

 

The concept "I am god" (aham brahmaasmi) or "you are That" (tattvamasi) is very dangerous for many people. Though it is undoubtedly the ultimate truth, half-baked understanding of this supreme truth may result in chaos in one's spiritual life. As I keep emphasizing, all these non-dualistic (adwaitic) concepts are applicable to one who has transcended duality. If opposites such as pleasure and pain, life and death, heaven and hell, praise and criticism etc are one and the same for a person and one sees the same "Self" in all those opposites, then one can say "aham brahmaasmi". One who sees these differently and finds one thing desirable and the other thing undesirable is not yet ready to declare "aham brahmaasmi". Just as one who studied calculus at school but forgot it *completely* now cannot claim "I know calculus", one who sees pleasure and pain differently has forgotten one's true nature and it is futile to pretend "aham brahmaasmi".

 

I can give a parable to loosely explain this. A king forgot that he was king. His face, body and personality changed. His mannersims, demeanor and style of speaking also changed. He left his palace, went to a nearby forest and started living in a hut. Somebody came oneday and reminded him that he was the king. He then said "I am the king. Let me go and take control of the palace." When he went and tried to command the palace guards, he was not recognized and beaten up by his own guards. As his face, behavior, mannerisms and whole personality was different, he could not convince them he was the king. Instead of directly going to the palace, he should have practiced the behavior, mannerisms and style of speaking of king and then gone to the palace. Then he stood a chance of convincing the guards that he was the king.

 

Similarly, each person is god. However, until one learns (again!) how to think, act and be like god, one is human. Until one learns how to look at pleasure and pain, life and death, praise and crtiticism, heaven and hell etc with an equal mind, one has not gotten back the characteristics needed. Until then, "aham brahmaasmi" is merely a theoretical statement.

 

Somebody told me about a story apparently from Sai Baba's charitra. One guru taught "aham brahmaasmi" to a sishya. It misled him, he became proud and started looking at gurus, elders and all with disrespect and with a sense of pride and self-importance. At the end of his life, he went to hell and met his guru there. He said "I can understand how I, with my arrogant behavior and half knowledge, ended up here. But why are you here?" The guru said "for teaching tattva to somebody not ready like you!"

 

Let the highest truths of vedanta be at the back of your mind, but make sure that they do not mislead you or do dame to your spiritual progress.

 

* * *

 

The concept "I am god" is so powerful and prone to abuse. It seems like there are variations of it in new age spiritualism. I have seen some books that marry positive and motivational psychology to "I am god" concept of vedanta and pass it off as a spiritual path and as aatma jnaana (self-knowledge). Self-realization is not feeling good about yourself, feeling confident about yourself and getting whatever you want. Supreme cosmic being (Shiva or Krishna or whatever you call) is the most powerful and can get anything, because he does not want anything.The dogma "you can get whatever you want if you want it enough" can lead to a little progress, but one will get stuck. It is very unlikely to result in self-realization.

 

The goal of sadhana is to pay back previous debts, remove the sense of I-ness in all actions, cut off desires and reach a state where there is no different between opposites and there is nothing that is desirable and nothing that is undesirable. It comes with sacrifice and surrender and not with self-importance and self-centeredness. In an unprepared person, the statement "I am god" can induce self-importance, self-centeredness, arrogance and false self-assurance.

 

Though unmanifested Brahman and manifested Brahman are the same in reality, there is a big difference between them in the eyes of a person who is immersed in the delusions (opposites) of the manifested universe.

 

* * *

 

While vedanta is fraught with dangers for the unprepared, the path of ritualism has its share of pitfalls. Many people engage in rituals without understanding what they are meant for. One stuck in the material world needs to engage in actions using the objects of material world as symbols and these symbols will eventually trigger the correct thinking in the mind. There are many priests who do a nice pooja or homam and then feel so proud about it. Actions engaged by one who is not making any effort to reduce the sense of "I am doing" in those actions are fruitless. As the sense of "I am doing" comes down, one's actions will have more nectar and less poison. Rituals and various actions engaged by many people are poisoned by the sense of "I am doing" and the associated pride. If a ritual is performed with a sense of surrender, then the ritual works and increases the surrender further. As surrender is increased, ritual will become better. As ritual becomes better, surrender becomes better. One has to gain a sufficient level of internal purity in order to break through into the groove.

 

One not realizing this will continue to run after the irrelevant and useless. Such a person may cleanly bathe in the best rivers, wear the cleanest and most beautiful clothes prescribed in scriptures and do the rituals following each instruction carefully. But, the strong sense of I-ness and pride may poison everything and take a long time for the person to make progress.

 

* * *

 

This is why I keep emphasizing that external rituals and internal transformation should go hand in hand. Only one will not help. Both are needed. Consciously introspect your thoughts and cut off pride and selfishness at their root whenever you encounter them in your thoughts and then take advantage of rituals with a sense of surrender. This combination will make one lose the false sense of I-ness completely and then realize the true Self.

 

From "somebody" (limited sense of I-ness), most people have to first become a "nobody" (each layer of that I-ness shed off) before becoming "everybody" (realizing the Self as the all-pervading spirit).

 

Best regards,NarasimhaDo a Short Homam Yourself: http://www.VedicAstrologer.org/homamDo Pitri Tarpanas Yourself: http://www.VedicAstrologer.org/tarpanaSpirituality: Free Jyotish lessons (MP3): http://vedicastro.home.comcast.netFree Jyotish software (Windows): http://www.VedicAstrologer.orgSri Jagannath Centre (SJC) website: http://www.SriJagannath.org

 

-

Narasimha P.V.R. Rao

Saturday, April 18, 2009 9:07 PM

Why rituals?

Namaste,

 

Some intelligent and rational people wonder why we need to do rituals. Rituals understandably seem silly to them. I want to explain this basic point with an analogy.

 

We teach some phrases and manners to small children. For example, we tell small children to say "thank you" when someone helps or say "I am sorry" when they do something wrong. A really small child does not even understand what those words mean, but repeats them out of habit. As the child grows up, one starts to understand the true meaning of what one has been saying. In fact, an understanding of what they truly mean comes to one slowly as one grows. Many words are actually understood from experience. If a child has never seen a mango or the picture of a mango, you cannot explain what a mango is by using hundred words. As a child accumulates more and more experiences (stored perceptions of the external world through senses), the child's thinking expands and one gets more clarity on the words and concepts one has been exposed to. When one says sorry, one then clearly knows what exactly that means and may even feel a certain emotion (sadness and compassion).

 

Similarly, one may be doing rituals like homam, pooja, meditation etc with various mantras, without fully understanding or appreciating what one does. One doing a ritual for many years without fully understanding its real meaning may slowly start to understand and even experience some things that the rituals symbolize. Many mantras and spiritual truths are actually understood from experience alone. One can never fully understand what one has never experienced. As we accumulate more experiences (stored perceptions of the external and internal world through external senses and the inward directed mind), one's thinking expands and one gets more clarity on the concepts and spiritual truths one has been exposed to.

 

Rituals in various religions are designed to symblize some truths that gives bliss when experienced by one. A mere explanation of the symbolism is often useless to give one that state of bliss. Even if you explain to a one year old child what the word "sorry" means in detail, the child will not understand. The best thing to do is to just get the child into the habit of saying "I am sorry" in approapriate situations. Slowly, the meaning will become clearer and clearer with experience and the correct emotions will come automatically. Similarly, one chanting a mantra everyday - possibly with mistakes and without the correct meaning and visualization in the mind - will slowly understand it and experience it.

 

 

Some religions have done the mistake of de-emphasizing rituals and emphasizing philosophy and the final truths. While the latter is undeniably the end goal, the former helps one in getting to the latter. Just as one needs to set foot at the base of hill before reaching its top, one often needs to engage in some external practices in order to realize internal truths. Of course, it is good to remind one that reaching the top is the goal, lest one should get stuck at the base or in the middle. But, one cannot completely eliminate the first steps. Just saying "you are That. Just realize that you are That" is not an action plan. It does not work for most. One has to take some baby steps.

If we don't teach a toddler to say various words because the toddler does not anyway understand them, one will never learn anything. Correct knowledge evolves from half knowledge and habits that may be devoid of knowledge, as one experiments and experiences more. Similarly, correct spiritual knowledge evolves from half knowledge and ritualalistic practices that may be devoid of knowledge, as one experiments and experiences more. Most of us, when it comes to spiritual progress, are like toddlers. So it is useful to get into the habit of doing things. Do the rituals sincerely.

 

Best regards,NarasimhaDo a Short Homam Yourself: http://www.VedicAstrologer.org/homamDo Pitri Tarpanas Yourself: http://www.VedicAstrologer.org/tarpanaSpirituality: Free Jyotish lessons (MP3): http://vedicastro.home.comcast.netFree Jyotish software (Windows): http://www.VedicAstrologer.orgSri Jagannath Centre (SJC) website: http://www.SriJagannath.org

[Guest guest]

Narasimha garu,

 

Namaskar.

I have just read the subject mail and find answers/and related to thoughts/questions I asked in response to the mail on Karma.

My apologies if I have 'pondered' on the same yet again...

 

Kind regards

Nalini

 

 

 

 

 

 

Narasimha P.V.R. Rao <pvr Sent: Sunday, 26 April, 2009 3:48:22 PM Perils of vedanta and perils of ritualism (Re: Why rituals?)

 

 

Namaste,

 

I want to expand on some thoughts I shared towards the end of the mail. Some people emphasize the vedantic philosophy and de-emphazie rituals, whereas some people are so deeply immersed in rituals.

 

* * *

 

The concept "I am god" (aham brahmaasmi) or "you are That" (tattvamasi) is very dangerous for many people. Though it is undoubtedly the ultimate truth, half-baked understanding of this supreme truth may result in chaos in one's spiritual life. As I keep emphasizing, all these non-dualistic (adwaitic) concepts are applicable to one who has transcended duality. If opposites such as pleasure and pain, life and death, heaven and hell, praise and criticism etc are one and the same for a person and one sees the same "Self" in all those opposites, then one can say "aham brahmaasmi". One who sees these differently and finds one thing desirable and the other thing undesirable is not yet ready to declare "aham brahmaasmi". Just as one who studied calculus at school but forgot it *completely* now cannot claim "I know calculus", one who sees pleasure and pain differently has forgotten one's true nature and it is futile to pretend "aham

brahmaasmi".

 

I can give a parable to loosely explain this. A king forgot that he was king. His face, body and personality changed. His mannersims, demeanor and style of speaking also changed. He left his palace, went to a nearby forest and started living in a hut. Somebody came oneday and reminded him that he was the king. He then said "I am the king. Let me go and take control of the palace." When he went and tried to command the palace guards, he was not recognized and beaten up by his own guards. As his face, behavior, mannerisms and whole personality was different, he could not convince them he was the king. Instead of directly going to the palace, he should have practiced the behavior, mannerisms and style of speaking of king and then gone to the palace. Then he stood a chance of convincing the guards that he was the king.

 

Similarly, each person is god. However, until one learns (again!) how to think, act and be like god, one is human. Until one learns how to look at pleasure and pain, life and death, praise and crtiticism, heaven and hell etc with an equal mind, one has not gotten back the characteristics needed. Until then, "aham brahmaasmi" is merely a theoretical statement.

 

Somebody told me about a story apparently from Sai Baba's charitra. One guru taught "aham brahmaasmi" to a sishya. It misled him, he became proud and started looking at gurus, elders and all with disrespect and with a sense of pride and self-importance. At the end of his life, he went to hell and met his guru there. He said "I can understand how I, with my arrogant behavior and half knowledge, ended up here. But why are you here?" The guru said "for teaching tattva to somebody not ready like you!"

 

Let the highest truths of vedanta be at the back of your mind, but make sure that they do not mislead you or do dame to your spiritual progress.

 

* * *

 

The concept "I am god" is so powerful and prone to abuse. It seems like there are variations of it in new age spiritualism. I have seen some books that marry positive and motivational psychology to "I am god" concept of vedanta and pass it off as a spiritual path and as aatma jnaana (self-knowledge) . Self-realization is not feeling good about yourself, feeling confident about yourself and getting whatever you want. Supreme cosmic being (Shiva or Krishna or whatever you call) is the most powerful and can get anything, because he does not want anything.The dogma "you can get whatever you want if you want it enough" can lead to a little progress, but one will get stuck. It is very unlikely to result in self-realization.

 

The goal of sadhana is to pay back previous debts, remove the sense of I-ness in all actions, cut off desires and reach a state where there is no different between opposites and there is nothing that is desirable and nothing that is undesirable. It comes with sacrifice and surrender and not with self-importance and self-centeredness. In an unprepared person, the statement "I am god" can induce self-importance, self-centeredness, arrogance and false self-assurance.

 

Though unmanifested Brahman and manifested Brahman are the same in reality, there is a big difference between them in the eyes of a person who is immersed in the delusions (opposites) of the manifested universe.

 

* * *

 

While vedanta is fraught with dangers for the unprepared, the path of ritualism has its share of pitfalls. Many people engage in rituals without understanding what they are meant for. One stuck in the material world needs to engage in actions using the objects of material world as symbols and these symbols will eventually trigger the correct thinking in the mind. There are many priests who do a nice pooja or homam and then feel so proud about it. Actions engaged by one who is not making any effort to reduce the sense of "I am doing" in those actions are fruitless. As the sense of "I am doing" comes down, one's actions will have more nectar and less poison. Rituals and various actions engaged by many people are poisoned by the sense of "I am doing" and the associated pride. If a ritual is performed with a sense of surrender, then the ritual works and increases the surrender further. As surrender is increased, ritual will

become better. As ritual becomes better, surrender becomes better. One has to gain a sufficient level of internal purity in order to break through into the groove.

 

One not realizing this will continue to run after the irrelevant and useless. Such a person may cleanly bathe in the best rivers, wear the cleanest and most beautiful clothes prescribed in scriptures and do the rituals following each instruction carefully. But, the strong sense of I-ness and pride may poison everything and take a long time for the person to make progress.

 

* * *

 

This is why I keep emphasizing that external rituals and internal transformation should go hand in hand. Only one will not help. Both are needed. Consciously introspect your thoughts and cut off pride and selfishness at their root whenever you encounter them in your thoughts and then take advantage of rituals with a sense of surrender. This combination will make one lose the false sense of I-ness completely and then realize the true Self.

 

From "somebody" (limited sense of I-ness), most people have to first become a "nobody" (each layer of that I-ness shed off) before becoming "everybody" (realizing the Self as the all-pervading spirit).

 

Best regards,Narasimha------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------Do a Short Homam Yourself: http://www.VedicAst rologer.org/ homamDo Pitri Tarpanas Yourself: http://www.VedicAst rologer.org/ tarpanaSpirituality: http://groups. / group/vedic- wisdomFree Jyotish lessons (MP3): http://vedicastro. home.comcast. netFree Jyotish software (Windows): http://www.VedicAst rologer.orgSri Jagannath Centre (SJC) website: http://www.SriJagan nath.org------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------

 

-

Narasimha P.V.R. Rao

 

Saturday, April 18, 2009 9:07 PM

Why rituals?

Namaste,

 

Some intelligent and rational people wonder why we need to do rituals. Rituals understandably seem silly to them. I want to explain this basic point with an analogy.

 

We teach some phrases and manners to small children. For example, we tell small children to say "thank you" when someone helps or say "I am sorry" when they do something wrong. A really small child does not even understand what those words mean, but repeats them out of habit. As the child grows up, one starts to understand the true meaning of what one has been saying. In fact, an understanding of what they truly mean comes to one slowly as one grows. Many words are actually understood from experience. If a child has never seen a mango or the picture of a mango, you cannot explain what a mango is by using hundred words. As a child accumulates more and more experiences (stored perceptions of the external world through senses), the child's thinking expands and one gets more clarity on the words and concepts one has been exposed to. When one says sorry, one then clearly knows what exactly that means and may even feel a certain

emotion (sadness and compassion).

 

Similarly, one may be doing rituals like homam, pooja, meditation etc with various mantras, without fully understanding or appreciating what one does. One doing a ritual for many years without fully understanding its real meaning may slowly start to understand and even experience some things that the rituals symbolize. Many mantras and spiritual truths are actually understood from experience alone. One can never fully understand what one has never experienced. As we accumulate more experiences (stored perceptions of the external and internal world through external senses and the inward directed mind), one's thinking expands and one gets more clarity on the concepts and spiritual truths one has been exposed to.

 

Rituals in various religions are designed to symblize some truths that gives bliss when experienced by one. A mere explanation of the symbolism is often useless to give one that state of bliss. Even if you explain to a one year old child what the word "sorry" means in detail, the child will not understand. The best thing to do is to just get the child into the habit of saying "I am sorry" in approapriate situations. Slowly, the meaning will become clearer and clearer with experience and the correct emotions will come automatically. Similarly, one chanting a mantra everyday - possibly with mistakes and without the correct meaning and visualization in the mind - will slowly understand it and experience it.

 

 

Some religions have done the mistake of de-emphasizing rituals and emphasizing philosophy and the final truths. While the latter is undeniably the end goal, the former helps one in getting to the latter. Just as one needs to set foot at the base of hill before reaching its top, one often needs to engage in some external practices in order to realize internal truths. Of course, it is good to remind one that reaching the top is the goal, lest one should get stuck at the base or in the middle. But, one cannot completely eliminate the first steps. Just saying "you are That. Just realize that you are That" is not an action plan. It does not work for most. One has to take some baby steps.

If we don't teach a toddler to say various words because the toddler does not anyway understand them, one will never learn anything. Correct knowledge evolves from half knowledge and habits that may be devoid of knowledge, as one experiments and experiences more. Similarly, correct spiritual knowledge evolves from half knowledge and ritualalistic practices that may be devoid of knowledge, as one experiments and experiences more. Most of us, when it comes to spiritual progress, are like toddlers. So it is useful to get into the habit of doing things. Do the rituals sincerely.

 

Best regards,Narasimha------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------Do a Short Homam Yourself: http://www.VedicAst rologer.org/ homamDo Pitri Tarpanas Yourself: http://www.VedicAst rologer.org/ tarpanaSpirituality: http://groups. / group/vedic- wisdomFree Jyotish lessons (MP3): http://vedicastro. home.comcast. netFree Jyotish software (Windows): http://www.VedicAst rologer.orgSri Jagannath Centre (SJC) website: http://www.SriJagan nath.org------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------

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