Spiritual – Page 2 – mymilieu.org

Why am I blogging on health and diet?

For most healthy living is having a balance between eating and exercise. Well, it goes beyond that one will eventually comprehend the importance of spirituality and expand the dimension of health. Suffice it to say that, the most elementary blocks of health starts with Diet and Exercise and this blog is focused on diet and exercise.

Because it is core and critical to our efforts and initiatives in life.

Generalizing from decades of observations, understanding the molecular mechanism that cascades the physiologic pathways, and adding an angle of a spiritual journey to our living, I too believe that the source is within us. We pamper ourselves with indulgence and defend it with reason. That in itself is a root cause for systemic illnesses such as for overweight/obesity, insomnia, hypertension, and diabetes (well in exceptional cases, we do have hereditary, genetic and developmental factors that contribute).

However, once these systemic maladies set in, it takes a long time to revert to the original baseline. Here again, we try indulging in radical results with resultant generalized impact. Liposuction, extreme diets, such as keto diets, etc. cause untoward effects on the body. Dependence on drugs such as antidiabetic or antihypertensives keeps increasing, partly because of tolerance and mostly because the root cause is not addressed.

Restoring health is a discipline, not a snapshot event in time. It needs a comprehensive multidimensional change. I know if I haven’t slept adequately how that affects my work. Some maladies have an evident outcome, others have a long-lasting impact. Let’s have that balanced perspective to dart towards achievements.

I am often reluctant towards opting for radical options such as surgery (with exception), so also I am against drugs/medicines.

Every life journey is unique, complicated by a confluence of conscious and subconscious flows, that we alone can decipher and discern. Those moments of reflection should ideally help in putting up a roadmap towards the restoration of health. While that is the permanent way, we can and should rely on drugs or other means, while transiting towards that phase.

However, jumping directly to radical options is ill-founded and deficient. A gradual incremental reversal, though difficult, can be achieved through consistent behavior with discipline. Well, it is easy to say but difficult to implement. However, that’s the test of your grit and determination, that we all are born with.

Celibate Life for Serving the Lord?

Celibacy and renounciation is not a prerequisite to service of Lord or to mankind. Yes, it is a distraction from devotion but it is not absolutely required. Many religions consider it is a must, possibly because life and normal living itself is a beyond distraction from the path of spiritual service. How best can we confluence these divergent tracks?

Not that atrocities towards women in places of beliefs are uncommon amongst at Hindu Temples or and Muslim Madrassas. We commonly see religion asking for renouncing celibate life to be a guardian or evangelize religion.

The key question is –
Do we have to renounce normal living and be celibate for the service of our Lord and to run the religious institutions? Celibacy is not an absolute criterion but a matter of choice, inner decision, and personal philosophy. This ensures less abuse of fair gender within their ecosystem.

Some religious practices have institutional stipulations that enforce celibacy. However, human nature and natural instincts fight back. The guardians of religion eventually, succumb to their internal material instincts and end up abusing and covering for their crimes. We see such abuses that later get institutionalized.

The report below talks about the Pope allowing for marriage for the priests. Only if the Pope opens the door for the clergy to be married and start a normal life, that we will see a true decrease in such incidences.

Let me change the topic to Hinduism and its evolutionary traits and practices. Hindu priests have always had the option to marry and accept a normal life. Reflecting upon how Hinduism has evolved after adopting such practices, provides credence that this is a philosophy in evolution and has a longer life than predicted by most western historians.

It is important to keep our ideas open and align with nature. Freezing change is counterproductive. The day we freeze evolution, we stop growing though and the only way to keep vibrant and dynamic is to keep listening, debating, and evolving with a sense of accommodation and assimilation. Sometimes back, during the medieval period, Hinduism froze varna and subdued our women. We wiped out meritocracy by institutionalizing nepotism and feudalism. We created a majority that was subservient to those who captured the institutions – religious, social, family, political, etc. thus weakening our institutions.

It takes time to dismantle but the time we unfreeze and evolve, we will see a spurt in our spiritual and ideological growth. To those who say Hinduism is under attack, I agree. But it is not an external element, but our own internal shackles.

Pope admits clerical abuse of nuns including sexual slavery
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-47134033

Sabarimal Temple is about Choice

sabarimala

It is unworthy to dive and wade through a controversy which is already ravaging religious and political divide. Despite, it is never too late to share a perspective.

Since medieval times until recently, guardians of religion, especially those influencing the religious pulpit and dictating at the sanctum sanctorum, have treated women with lesser regards, often times humiliatingly. Though male chauvinism has perpetuated over the years, often I feel, women too contribute to their malady. I was talking with an IIT graduated with strong liberal views and I was surprised to hear her recantation of the age old dogmas. This IIT alumnus is not an isolated example, and not all highly educated women submit to the old dogmas. However, submission to these dogmas makes me think that women too contribute to this state.

However, times have changed and Women have become more aware of their rights. They have realized that it is time to stop this second class maltreatment. Women entering Shani Shingnapur’s inner sanctum after 400-year, broke the tradition. I am a strong proponent of equality between gender and women rights. I believe, though late, the global #Me Too, Women taking the wheels in Saudi Arabia are all signs of that awareness and assertiveness.

However, the story at Sabarimal Temple is different. It is in fact a desecration of the choice of Lord Ayappa. Lord Ayappa had chosen celibacy as his way of life and he wanted to stay away from the carnal world. Even if we are not to believe in his existence, it is about a choice and Sabarimal Temple represents that choice. Are we not to respect that, especially when we respect and accept prochoice (for abortions), or gender identity and preference (Guys and Lesbian)?

Sabarimal Temple represents a different ideology and we have to respect the views of that deity if we consider this as live and valid, if we consider it as a folklore, the reason to pay respect itself annuls.

It is interesting to read Suhrith Parthsarthy’s article on Sabarimala Singularity (Link provided in reference) as the authors wades through multiple facets of faith, equality and choice.

Also, criticism from other religious groups are most welcome, however, they should also abide and be receptive to receive reciprocal outsider perspective. This last statement is in reference to a IUML rally in support of the court verdict (reference below).

sabarimala-1

References:

Sabarimala: India’s Kerala paralysed amid protests over temple entry

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-46744142

https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/shani-shingnapur-temple-trust-finally-accepts-hc-order-lets-women-in/

https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/the-sabarimala-singularity/article24514458.ece

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/sabarimala-temple-row-not-only-hindu-outfits-iuml-too-supports-devotees/videoshow/66150798.cms?from=mdr

Islamic Veil

Placeholder – radicals are not true believers, they can desecrate the very values for which they stand for primarily because they submit to the outcome and not the means. Whereas, religion is about means and not about end.

It is not true to construe that they haven’t understood their religious tenets. Religious tenets are sublime and are simple for a common man to understand. They have decidedly made a choice to override those tenets.

Islam is not the only religion dispersed with radical profanity. Hinduism is showing a significant rise in radical dominance and polarization.

Radicalization is not just related to religion. Even political ideology is getting fenestrated and infested with radical and aggressive thoughts gradually establishing as mainstream philosophy.

Can these man respect the sacred religious belief of their own religion?

At least three men disguised in burkas arrived in a rickshaw and entered the Peshawar Agriculture Training Institute on Friday morning.

Pakistan attack: Gunmen storm Peshawar training college
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-42191487

Should We Question Our Guru?

Science, Arts or Spirituality would cease to grow if we don’t oppose our Guru. That opposition has an element of obeisance and regards of highest kind, since the Guru is the one who has provided that eternal milieu for growth and realization.

Prologue

All religions are deeply embedded with a humane perspective, ethical values, and principles. We follow religion what is told to us and as followers, we come up with questions. Often, religious practices or preachers forbid us from asking questions. In fact, in the interest of your faith, you should question your tenets or those who impart those principles of religion and at times, we should oppose something that does not appeal to our morals or sense of justice. Science, Arts or Spirituality would cease to grow if we don’t oppose our Guru. That opposition has an element of obeisance and regards of the highest kind since the Guru is the one who provides us that eternal milieu for growth and realization. More on the importance of asking questions to understand your faith.

The Importance of Guru

Guru or a teacher is a must in every aspect of life and living. When we are born, the one who holds us, our Parents, is our Guru. When we learn to walk and run and play in the field, we need a Guru or alternately, we are continuously guided by someone in the form of Guru. As we graduate through different levels of learning, we realize, several learned folks have contributed to making us what we are at that snapshot of time. At no point in our individual journey of life can we claim that we are on our own. We develop as an amalgamation of outside forces, the learning and our own ability to comprehend internally what emerges from within the milieu we exist. Be it science, arts, technology, business, politics or spiritual. Selected few are beneficiaries of dedicated didactics whereas, most are imbibing the radiance emanated from these folks, through books, discourse, artifacts analysis, on the ground lessons, hands-on learning, etc. and as time progresses, we transition into Guru. In fact, we should consider that as one of our most noble social responsibility while building that continuity. There are no invitations, you simply offer yourself to the devotion of dissipating and spreading that wisdom, knowledge being one aspect of it. Do we need Guru to interpret religion? Obviously yes, this journey would not be a journey without a Guru and life would have no meaning without the presence of Guru.

Should Guru Charge for the knowledge?

Some do it selflessly, while others do it with collateral. However, irrespective of exchange is occurring or not, it is pertinent that the transfer of wisdom should transition from generation to generation as does the genomic material. As is clear from the foregoing, the day you destroy that genomic transcription, the world will cease to exist and time will come to standstill.

What are the essential traits of Guru?

I strongly believe we need Guru to interpret religion. We need a Guru to interpret religion. Please correct me if I am wrong but I presume, Guru is at a level sufficiently evolved that the disciple, second Guru is above material attachments and third, Guru is above biases. If all of these qualify, I presume, we still have occasionally people born with precocious intelligence and they interpret life beyond the box, those are the same folks who expand that envelop, that’s how Buddha came into being and I presume, the entire edifice of Sanatan dharma was built upon.

Should we be restricted within the confines of Guru?

No one helped Einstein with his quantum physics or theory of relativity. History of science is adorned with several such examples. In fact, when a disciple takes it beyond the confines of imparted knowledge, the disciple honors his Guru and the stature of their Guru too rises beyond an act of deliverance of knowledge to the one of evolving the tenets, a supreme contribution to the cause of mankind.

Do we question Guru?

Definitely Yes! You may notice that ‘definite’, and if we don’t, we will initiate the degradation and degeneration.

Why Spiritual Guru’s should be above material attachment? Knowledge is so pristine and supremely inspiring and awakening, that it often lures the acquirer into installing the beholder onto higher pedestals. During such times, it makes sense to not be attached or be minimalist in his/her attachment to the material world. If the Guru’s are not, disciples land up encountering Guru Ram Rahim. Power corrupts and religious power corrupts absolutely. That is how we got Guru Rajneesh.

Only if Lord Shiva would have registered an IP or Patented Yog

Our Age-Old Yog (So-called Yoga) is a case in point. Yog are taught, not in the comfort of the conditioned environment but in the temple precincts and after paying due obeisance to Lord Shiva. The western world has corrupted it to Yoga, followed with a liturgy of similar distortions from Rama, Krishna, Arjuna. Our original words are Yog, Ram, Krishna, etc.

Let me come to the point – Yog originated from Lord Shiva as a primeval knowledge and mechanism for the uplifting of human living and existence. Lord Shiva initially transferred the understanding to Lord Parvati and upon her insistence to the Seven Sages, after they went through severe penance, devotion, and commitment. Yog was thus born not as a religious preaching or kinesthetic principles but as a spiritual science. Yog does not adhere to any particular religion, belief or community but as a mechanism for inner wellbeing.

What’s wrong with today’s Gurus?

We see the likes of Ramdev, SadhGuru and others, who through their Siddhi bestowed on them, are prophesying Yog but indulging in material gain. If only Lord Shiva patented Yog. They especially fall out since they are acclaimed Siddha Purush (enlightened). Other lesser mortals can definitely do business but I don’t consider them enlightened.

Guru Shishya Vyavastha in Prachin Bharat Varsha

It is important to understand the origin of Guru, Disciple and Gurukul tradition. In ancient India, Guru held their own learning institutes called Gurukul. Disciples stayed with their Guru and imbibed the learning as it was imparted. These Gurukul were supported by Bhiksha and the ruling kings. It is wrong to say Gurus were Brahmins. Disciples often served the Gurukul with day to day activities. Gurus were the learned class and a Brahmin was considered learned class devoid of any material attachments as they were supported by alms and the state. Guru Dakshina was part of the tradition and it never meant material repayment to the teacher. It meant respect that may have included some material form, irrespective of the value.

Guru GuruKul

If you notice, the entire edifice of Guru and his learning ecosystem are based on the percept of selfless dedication, irrespective of the players – Teacher, Disciple, Institute or the Community that benefitted from the posterity.

Science, Arts or Spirituality would cease to grow if we don’t oppose our Guru. That opposition has an element of obeisance and regards of the highest kind since the Guru is the one who has provided that eternal milieu for growth and realization.

Citations:

Yoga: Its Origin, History, and Development

Sanatan Dharma – a journey through time

Sanatan Dharma

Sanatan Dharma is an evolution and a confluence of several spiritual streams. The process has gone through significant innovation and evolution by a steady stream of religious reformers or social scientists (we call them Rushi Muni Tapasvi). Those were not gifted folks, but they had a thorough understanding of the existing tenets and the different facets of life, evolving religious ideologies to the form it existed or that we know about Sanatan Dharma.

Of course, such a profound realization cannot be understood by the common man, and it required support for the state plus ritualization through artifact generation. As with every religion, ritualization was relevant to the life scenario during those times, and over a period, a system evolved to achieve homeostasis, a stable state. It’s pretty much akin to blockchain technology or, to say, one brick over the other to build a beautiful castle.

Sanatan Dharma and Offshoots

It was in this milieu that Buddhism, Jainism, and other deviation of practices emerged. It was this character of Sanatan dharma that provided the ripe environment for other offshoots. If I am not wrong, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, etc., had very few or occasional opposition in erstwhile Bharat, the prime reason being Sahishnuta and acceptance of ideological differences. It’s not a timid concept, and it’s way up the ladder of evolution. It is a reflection of deep respect and freedom and the practice of individual practices and ideology. Such is the deep-seated respect for individualism in Sanatan Dharma.

Amidst the cauldron of these evolutionary changes within the religious ideology (barring few examples), we notice that statecraft, despite its support, interfered very little to influence ideology, and religious doctrine interfered little with statecraft. That delicate balance was maintained, possibly because ethos were absorbed as a character of the milieu. Over a period of time, we forgot those principles and clung to those artifacts, and as we see today, we have become artifact worshipers. That’s not with us alone. Many religions show a similar transformation.

Distortion and Exploitation of Justice

Sometimes, I strongly realize, except for our genomic and ethnic composition, ideologically, we are not the real legacy of our Sanatan Dharma. Those who call themselves the loyal followers are, in fact, far off from the actual concept propounded by religion. Ironically, those deviating from this truth are, in fact, guardians of the religion. Statecraft is synonymous with faith and ideology. That’s the degradation and degeneration we witness today, that edifice is crumbling, every day, since the times we froze the doctrine. We started worshiping the artifacts, the time we fossilized ‘Varna Paddhat’ and exploited masses, the time we eschewed patriarchal society and diluted women’s importance. Unless we correct our fundamental fallacies, we cannot rise as a nation. If we see a few metrics or KPIs (like GDP) improving, those are but material reflection and not our actual state of spiritual, mental evolution.

Of all the atrocities, ‘Varna Paddhati’ and nebular organization into ‘Patriachial System’ are the ones who have inflicted the most deep-seated grave insult to our society. It is despite the individual freedom of respect for individualism. These two aspects limit the respect for individuality and uniqueness. (Please read my blog on Varnapadhati …).

Our Idols in Sanctum Sanctorum

In our daily lives, we often see a dichotomous hierarchy wherein women are usually second in command, be it home, offices, social, or polity. However, followers of Sanatan Dharma will notice that it is a deviation from the original preaching. We never see Lord Sita outside the Sanctum Sanctorum, whereas Lord Ram is inside. Lord Shiva takes it several steps above this. He considers himself incomplete without Lord Parvati. Lord Parvati is the other half of Lord Shiva, a devotion so sublime that it transcends science, philosophy, imagination, and preaching, laying the foundation for humanity for eons.

Women, that feminine aspect of continuity, is an entirely different creature. Rudimentary cultures often see her as a fertile ground for sowing seeds, as a homemaker and one who rears the siblings. However, in the real philosophical sense, she is the Janani and the bearer of this Mother Earth, the continuity of time and life’s essence. Emancipating and enabling women is our prime responsibility, as is our duty to rear the next generation.

Lesser offsprings of Sanatan Dharma

One of the most lurid exploits of times – I find the imagination, creation, and subsequent fossilization of the lesser classes created by guardians Sanatan Dharma as one of the goriest acts of tribulation. It is repugnant to see how in the best of the senses can humanity create such a deed? How can this find continuity across ages, and how the system froze it to the best of unique advantage in the best of senses and justice? That is so repulsive, heinous, so barbaric and brutal, and so inhumane. That we let this act continue despite the social justice system is truly a unique blemish on our evolved system.

The injustice is so deeply rooted that all other Varnas should be tried similar to the Nazis for War Crime. I find it repulsive when we oppose ‘Equal Opportunities’ or ‘Reservation’ as those are labeled depending upon the country of origin. However, the time has come to dismantle that system and usher into a new era of justice for all. We all will have to make sacrifices. Offering our rightful meritorious place and finding an alternative spot should be part of our struggle if we genuinely believe in this heinous crime committed over eons.

Excerpts from ‘Varna Vyavastha: Class System Of Vedic Society’

“In the beginning, there was only one varna in ancient Indian society. “We were all brahmins or all Sudras,” says Brhadaranyaka Upanisad (1.4, 11-5, 1.31) and also Mahabharata (12.188). A smrti text says that one is born a sudra, and through purification, he becomes a brahmin. According to Bhagavad Gita, varna is conferred on the basis of the intrinsic nature of an individual, which is a combination of three Gunas (qualities): sattva, rajas, and tamas.

In the Mahabharata Santi Parva, Yudhisthira defines a brahmin as one who is truthful, forgiving, and kind. He points out that a brahmin is not a brahmin just because he is born in a brahmin family, nor is a sudra because his parents are Sudras. The same concept is mentioned in Manu Smrti. Another scripture Apastamba Dharmasutra states that by birth, every human being is a sudra. By education and upbringing, one becomes `twice-born,’ that is, a dvija.

Link here.

Lord Krishna, in Bhagvad Gita Chapter 4, Verse 13, said:-

“Chatur-varnyam maya srstam guna-karma-vibhagasah,
Tasya kartaram api mam viddhy akartaram avyayam”

Lord Krishna said I created the four categories of occupations according to people’s three qualities and activities (guna and karma). Although I am the creator of this system, know me to be the non-doer and eternal. Gita’s verse clearly states that caste is assigned to people not based on their birth but on the three attributes and professions carried by them. No child is automatically bound to the same caste as his parent. The purpose of allotting caste is to enable the person to do his specific karma and reach ‘Moksha,’ i.e., Liberation. Arjun asked Lord Krishna if mixing of the caste creates a progeny that does not help with the salvation of the pitrus. To this Lord Krishna said,

“klaibyam ma sma gamaḥ partha naitat tvayyupapadyate
kṣhudram hṛidaya-daurbalyam tyaktvottiṣhṭha parantapa”

To translate, it meant, “O Parth, it does not befit you to yield to this unmanliness. Give up such petty weakness of heart and arise, O vanquisher of enemies.” Lord Krishna denounced the caste system, the way humanity has interpreted and frozen it to their benefit. Lord Krishna has not condemned it and supported intercaste marriages as it does not support his view of establishing varna padathi.

Is Sanatan Dharma under threat?

Religions grow and prosper under uncertainty. In the Western World, the number of atheists has increased due to existential stability with high economic, political, education, and technology access.
However, Sanatan Dharma (the one that never ends), as the name indicates, got even deep-rooted with prosperity and stabilization of erst. At the same time, society in Bharat Varsha revealed the greater meaning of life and living. If we revisit Maslow’s Self Actualization pyramid, we realize that as human beings rise through those hierarchies, the needs change. Sanatan Dharma offers that foundation for change through various phases and elevations of life.

An argument often made by politicians and religious hegemonists, that our religion is under threat. That is an easy ploy to garner the undecided votes (an indirect booth capturing mechanism). We may lose a few folks due to proselytization, but Dharma will never lose. Dharma may fail due to its intrinsic weaknesses, not due to an external threat or attack, as long as we are a strong nation.
With deep reverence and adoration, I respect those who hold the cause of Sanatan Dharma. However, I humbly urge that they understand this Dharma’s nature and protect its ethos (Atma). To be a true believer, let us go beyond artifacts; let us drive towards the principles. Until then, it is all muddled with politics and selfish gains. I genuinely believe the protection of one’s faith is with the believer.

(The blog below reflect my thoughts as I discussed those with my college batchmates).

If you liked this, you may also like The Hijacking of Faith

Specific Citations:

Sanatan Dharma – The Eternal Way of Being

Yoga: Its Origin, History and Development

Humanity – A Universal Religion

General Citations on religion:

Why Religion Is Natural and Science Is Not By Robert McCauley

“Nones” on the Rise Pew Research Foundation

Will religion ever disappear? BBC, an interesting read

The Hijacking of Faith

You don’t have to be a doctor to know that there are no different blood groups for Christian, Hindus, Muslims or Jews. Organ transplant matching never needs religion type; there is none Jew type kidney or a Hindu type Liver transplant.

Power, Politics and Greed are obligately dependent on our core emotion, ‘Faith’. Let us call power, politics and greed as the mercenary traits that subjugate us and exert their influence. These mercenaries capture our sacrosanct ideology, our nimble faith, our devotion towards religion and together dismantle our ethos and erode our values. We never realize when we are enslaved by these mercenary. Our struggle to liberate ourselves from this slavery is thus miserably bound and unfortunately influenced by these mercenaries. How do we transcend to liberate ourselves from this powerful grip of power, politics and greed?

As I pick up the headlines, I see a high-pitched religious shrill becoming commonplace and gradually getting the main stream. Not being a Muslim, and despite being a devout follower of my faith, I hate to hear those rants against Muslims. These days, those rants are picking up at an even faster pace.

Shackled

When it comes to saving life

You don’t have to be a physician to know that there are no different blood groups for Christian, Hindus, Muslims, or Jews. Organ transplant matching never needs religious type; there is none Jew type kidney or a Hindu type Liver transplant. Only HLA and relevant information are factored in while making those transplant decisions. Religion, Caste Creed, regions, color, and ethnicity never take precedence in those decisions. I never know the water I drink if it rains from a Hindu, Muslim, or Jew cloud. All clouds are the same, and drinking that sip when thirsty is always exhilarating. The air we breathe, irrespective of the country, never knows bound. That’s life! It’s so firmly embedded and so uniform.

Politics has its own intentions

Politics is different; here, we exist as Muslims, Jews, Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, etc. We can be further divided based on color, caste, and creed. As if these divisions are not enough, we can add more recipes and be divided based on region, language, and … The division does not stop there; we can keep dividing until we get the finite smallest benefit out of human vulnerability.

Religious Artifacts replacing Ethos and Values

This may seem counterintuitive to many simply because they presume; these values are embossed within their religion. Well, most religions have it, in different forms, including Islam. The believer within us has disappeared. We see revivalism of artifacts with most beliefs. We practice artifactual religion, not a religion of ethos.

Our Relationship with God

Religion is a private practice, not something for display. It is our pure, pious, and personal relationship with God, the almighty, and the creator. Daily, we do so many tasks that are personal and private. Do we discuss those in public or even within the family? We safeguard and treasure some of those moments and respect the nature of those interactions.

Is religion on display? Do we think we can accrue more mileage by publicly displaying our faith, our very solemn relationship with God? Do you think we will be more rewarded for displaying that faith? I often see such transactions happening in daily life, ‘If I get this, I will visit your temple or do this’. Somewhere, we have forgotten his real nature, and our small human existence has come to reconcile that we can do transactions with him too.

Ground Realities are Different

Obviously, this is a 30,000-foot view. Ground realities are different. Individual practices, preferences, and ideologies differ somewhere significantly. Somewhere, we all try to push our agenda. However, I would say it is not difficult to tolerate and leave individual practices to themselves. Why should we all be the same? Within a family, too, we have differences, we don’t look the same, and we can’t enforce views. If that is not possible in a nuclear family, why do we want to insist on our society? Can we not leave citizens to practice their ideology, faith, preferences for them to choose?

The Hijacking of Faith

ne unique and singular domain that power, politics, and human greed (of ‘me’ over ‘us’) are obligately dependent upon is faith. Let us call this trio mercenary traits. These mercenary traits exploit our vulnerability and subjugate us to exert their influence. These mercenaries have taken over our faith, our ideology, our religion, and our ethos. We never realize these mercenary traits enslave us. This is a ubiquitous phenomenon that has spread across the globe and has existed for centuries.

Human struggle is irretrievably and, may I add, miserably bound and unfortunately influenced by these mercenaries. We need to liberate ourselves from this dreaded slavery. This is the history of mankind, the torment, the pain, and the pathos; all rolled into slavery by these gruesome traits. I can’t say if this is an apocalypse in the making, but understanding the law of nature, the next wave will dismantle this chaos and bring further order. Future will unravel the mysteries of past and present. Let us see how things unfurl but until then…

Faith is supreme beyond our independence and personal freedom. Let us NOT abandon the path of real trust and faith; let us understand that faith is beyond transactions, and don’t let those mercenaries and power brokers indulge with your faith, that core element within you that defines you so uniquely.

1 Disorder and Order

How do we liberate ourselves?

Respect the privacy of your faith, don’t display and don’t heed to display
Don’t let faith influence your decisions – interpersonal, social and political
Artifacts of religious practices are required but not essential, artifacts cannot be above faith, don’t let artifacts dominate faith
Don’t transact with God, faith in pure sublime form is enough

It’s Not a Cliché – Humanity is true religion

It may sound cliché, but you don’t have to go in search of humanity. I met a college boy who witnessed injustice while traveling. It was hard for him to protest, but he made a choice. He just opposed and supported the victim. He did not leave college. This young kid set up an example that we can emulate without abandoning our duties.
The humanity that needs you is around you. You don’t have to contribute humungous. You don’t have to abandon your job or family while being humane. Caring for people around you should be sufficient as a first step. Let us rise to serve humanity. It is so much around us; just see who needs what and stand up to that occasion without an expectation.

Our duties towards ‘Humanity’ are endless, and if you wish to accept more responsibilities, then read this link (http://wp.me/p7XEWW-UW). Humanity is our true religion. Those who contribute towards it can feel the serene tranquility from practicing it. Let us keep service towards humanity as the face of our religion.

Interesting read:

Sanatan Dharma – a journey through time

Enjoy every moment, those won’t come again

Beautiful things are happening in your life, don’t get blind sighted with daily struggle, enjoy each moment to the fullest! While a video/audio cassettes can be reversed, you cannot reverse the time in your life. If you miss those moments shrouded with negativity, you have lost those forever. Everyone has a responsibility, you do your part, Ignore bad time, we have the ability to do that.

‘If you wish to see the truth then hold no opinion’ – Rajneesh

Focus on Present 2

My Lord and my Guru are my inspiration and my motivation. I am just the medium for espousing their wisdom. I propagate what they wish to say. As a humble seeker, I feel blessed since they consider offering that opportunity through me.

—

Every moment, beautiful things are happening in your life. Don’t get blind sighted with daily struggle, enjoy each moment to the fullest! While a video/audio cassettes can be reversed, you cannot reverse ‘time’ in your life. Time is fleeting and you waste those moments with negatives in life, you will never realize those good moments. If you miss those moments shrouded with negativity, you have lost good moments forever.

It is upon you to get drowned with the murkiness of daily struggle or enjoy life realizing the nectar of wisdom and enjoying each and every moment from that nectar. We can change fate with efforts and being truly humble positive soul, we can make efforts with less reach towards those goals.

Deer Looking in Water

Let us realize the difference between plain efforts and let us realize efforts along with intellectual-spiritual percepts and imbibe the nectar from the wisdom. Your environment will glow with your Lord’s positivity.

Everyone has a responsibility, you do your part, leave others to leave their part. Ignore bad time, we have the ability to do that. Physical akhada is only for youngsters, intellectual-spiritual akhada has no age bar.

Lord Shiva

Listen to the video below –

While he is so right about the ignominy of our worries, the fluidity of our state of mind and the irony of losing present (current) time yearning a selected state of blissful pleasure, a worthless state of mind, I say, we enjoy every moment. Enjoying doesn’t mean being happy. As mentioned earlier, happiness is a selected state of mind, does not represent all the vivid and vibrant spectrum of colors.

Enjoyment means acknowledging, realizing, feeling, perceiving those multitudes of shades. Enjoying means feeling that every moment of sense and sensibility, of pain, of ardor, of fortitude of realization, of upheavals, of downbeats, of ecstacy, of sublime bliss, of pleasure. Those are the colors of life. We are not born in black dark work where only one color pervades and neither are we born in a black and white world or shades of gray. Our world is colorful and full of vibrancy and admixed with uniqueness and each color combination with its own identity. We need to enjoy, ie perceive and feel these colors. Whereas, happiness is a limited state of some blissful colors, enjoying, ie realizing, feeling and perceiving the ephemeral state of these colors is a snapshot and it is only those limited moments that we can do so and that’s the state of enjoyment.

Real life is filled with these unique color combinations and worrying about retaining or yearning for that state of mind called happiness is worthless. Let us deal enjoy those moments.

Karma and Kartavya

Karma is what you toil here in this material world for achieving your day to day living while Kartayya are your extended responsibilities while you ingress and egress this material world. To many, both these may be synonyms but in our spiritual journey, I realize, these are two different duties.

While Karma has an end to its cycle as you retire with advancing age or limitation of capabilities, kartayya has no end until your last breath. Only the nature of your responsibilities changes as you age. Please visit my blog to read further http://wp.me/p7XEWW-UW. Sharing this with selected few since only few make an effort to understand their cosmic and spiritual journey and handful have the inclination towards self-actualization.

Kartavya is endless and has several concentric circles in which you are the epicenter and those rings are woven in your ascendancy towards self-actualization. Kartavya is your engagement with your surrounding beyond your regular expected work. While you are doing your Kartavya, you have those running parallel and not in series or sequence. At times, you are fulfilling several of those simultaneously and concurrently. Let us elaborate some with examples. As a parent or child, you have immediate responsibilities towards your family, kids, spouse and parents. Going beyond that, you have responsibility towards your extended family, friends, and community where you live. However, it does not end there. For those who are Karmavir, they ask for bigger responsibilities, towards the society, country and the world including nature, around and beyond you.

Toil & Cultivate Thoughts

Kartavya is boundless. No one can be limited within any (concentric) layers. No one can be pushed towards any layer, if they wish not to be. However, it is a journey of this soul as it is passing (transgressing) through this world, a voyage towards eternity. I don’t wish to attach kartavya with ultimate evaluation of our deeds while in this world. However, I do feel that, when bestowed with that ability to influence, if you ignore that, it is definitely willful negligence. Aspiring to gain more responsibilities and working arduously towards executing those is truly blissful, if not pious. I would refrain from calling pious since all acts have another positive and negative dimension and labeling an act as pious is a snapshot analysis, not a full spectrum analysis in continuum.

Let us visit karma. Karma is what you work in this world for a material living. For a teacher, it is delivering course. A doctor is expected to take care of her/his students. Military personnel are to take care of their military responsibilities. A whole gamut of professions is fulfilling their immediate responsibilities. However, the most challenging one, I see, are the politician’s responsibilities.

The most beautiful thing about Karma is that, it is easily guided by conscious and easily trapped and distracted by our material trappings. The more you are involved with the ‘Me’ within, the more you get buried with the material trappings that become an inhibitory force towards self-actualization. It is easy to get lost with one’s position with Karma but a constant penance and prayer would help to most, while those truly on the path to realization, may not need those prayers on a regular basis. Prayers do help in your struggle with keeping you detached from yourself and being more upwardly mobile in achieving your ultimate karmic objectives.

Path to Happiness

While Karma has an end to its cycle as you retire with advancing age or limitation of capabilities, kartavya has no end until your last breath. Only the nature of your responsibilities changes as you age.

Who Am I? – Swami Sarvapriyananda from Mandukya Upanishad

Knowing and identifying oneself amongst the ocean of humanity and understanding the journey of our soul through this material universe is always a hard struggle. We often get drowned into the deluge from our own (ego) involvement. While we are living this material life, we understand the importance of self and how best to maintain the balance between self and this eternal journey through this transient world. Swami Sarvapriyananda explains this in the accompanying youtube video. A must for all professionals who are on the rising path.

Swami Sarvapriyananda at IITK – “Who Am I?” according to Mandukya Upanishad-Part 1