Naked Truth behind "I Am The Way" Concept

Naked Truth behind

"I AM THE WAY"

concept

Jesus Christ said:

I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, and AND LIFE: NO MAN COMETH UNTO THE FATHER, BUT BY ME [John 14:6].

What did he mean by that most revolutionary and historical statement?????

I have seen in gospel circles this statement of Jesus Christ being used to profess monopoly of Christianity over other religions and put down other faiths in the world. That is the reason why we have to discuss that particular statement of Jesus Christ at length over here.

I always wondered what actually Jesus Christ meant. I studied the whole 66 books of the Holy Bible with respect and devotion and came to the following conclusions.

My conclusions are:

1---Jesus Christ was saying that to masses and his pagan apostles who had no Jewish religious education, and that was the reason why he did not elaborate on most of his statements.
Jews who believe there is ONE AND ONLY GOD and that is Jehovah scorned at that statement of Jesus Christ. They do not see Jesus Christ as GOD or as SON OF GOD. Jews are still waiting for the promised messiah by St. Isaiah.

2---Jesus Christ's main mission on earth was to save the Jews from the misery and fulfill the Law of the Prophets [Judaism] and not to abolish them [Matthew 5:17] It was not his intention to start a separate religion from Judaism. It was his apostles, specially St. Paul and later Roman emperor Constantine who made Christianity what it is today.

3-- What Jesus said was exactly the same, what Lord Krishna said in the Bhagavad Gita.

4 -Lord Krishna said:

" THOSE WHO WORSHIP OTHER GODS AND THOSE WHO WORSHIP THEM WITH FAITH, ARE ACTUALLY WORSHIPING ME. I AM THE RECEIVER OF ALL DEVOTION [GITA 9:23] EVEN A MAN WITH WORST KARMAS WILL NOT PERISH IF HE BECOMES MY DEVOTEE [GITA 9:30,31]

5-- LORD KRISHNA also said in the Bhagavad Gita I AM THE SOURCE OF ALL SPIRITUAL & MATERIAL WORLDS.

EVERYTHING EMANATES FROM ME [GITA 10:8]

EVERYTHING IS BORN OF ME. I AM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE OF ALL. NO ONE IS ABOVE ME [GITA 12:6, 7]

6-----Why Jesus Christ, Lord Krishna and Buddha etc talked similarly???

Since all of them were embodiments of the Absolute known as JEHOVAH in Judaism and BRAHMAN in Hinduism.

7--In the Bhagavad Gita, when Krishna said WORSHIP ME and ADORE ME, he did not mean that people should worship the Gopi-idol Lord Krishna, but the ONE AND ONLY GOD BRAHMAN, which has no form and no name.

That is the reason why, Lord Krishna showed to Arjuna VISHWA-ROOPA [ FORM WITH OUT ANY FORM COMPRISING OF PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE] Krishna showed VISWA ROOPA since warrior prince Arjuna repeatedly asked the question WHO ARE YOU??

8----As per the Bhagavad Gita, GOD WILL COME IN HUMAN FORM OR NON-HUMAN FORM, WHEN EVER THE WORLD IS TROUBLE and Hindus call that AVATARS. Lord Buddha came to eradicate evils in Hindu society. Jesus Christ came to help Jews to eradicate their misery.

9----AVATARS are not limited to Hindus or India. It happens world wide. Jesus Christ was indeed an Avatar came to take care of the problems of the Jews. CHRIST WAS THE ANSWER OF ALL THE CRIES OF JEWS FOR CENTURIES. Of course Christ still is the answer who cries to Almighty in the form of Jesus Christ. God is Spirit according to JOHN-4 and PSALM 139 and that SPIRIT came in the form of FLESH in Jesus Christ.

10----In the Holy Bible, there are several verses in which Jesus indirectly claiming to be God. There are ALSO several indications in the synoptic gospels that Jesus did not claim to be God.
For example, at the end on the cross he cried: MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAS THOU FORSAKEN ME? [MARK 15:34] All through the book of Acts, for instance, Christ was regarded as the instrument of God, but not God himself.

11--In the Epistle of Colossians call Christ: THE IMAGE OF THE INVISIBLE GOD. Some verses in the Corinthians say: CHRIST HAS THE MIND OF GOD.

On one side, Christ is described as THE GOD and still on other side; he is described as the SON OF GOD? My answer: THAT SHOWS ONLY THE DIFFICULTY OF EXPLAINING SUBTLE NATURE OF GODHEAD.

12--Christ was stating I AM GOD as well as I AM SON OF GOD etc to show to the world that he is indeed AN AVATAR like Lord Krishna and Lord Buddha.

My point is that, the statement of Jesus Christ I AM THE WAY, one can see in all religious scriptures of the world. So, whatever you see in the Bible is not unique to the Holy Bible.

Someone WROTE to me: "All other religions state " works" [human efforts] as THE way to reach God; But only in Christianity you see God coming and taking care of men."

MY ANSWER: The principle of GRACE you describe one can also see in Hinduism especially in the devotion part of Hinduism. Lord Krishna states that HE HIMSELF TAKE THE BURDEN OF KARMIC DEBT OF A DEVOTEE WHO SURRENDERS HIMSELF HIS WILL TO THE WILL OF GOD. So once again, I do not see any uniqueness in the Bible.

Someone STATED: Jesus Christ gave up his life for the sins of men and Christianity will crumble if he was not who he said he was as per St. Paul."

MY ANSWER: Words of Christ are very difficult to interpret and as a converted Christian from Judaism, St. Paul indeed wrote many things as he saw and understood them. St. Paul is referring to the ORIGINAL SIN but Jesus Christ has not dealt much with ORGINAL SIN in the four gospels.

I do not think, Christ ever wanted himself to be worshiped in any manner. Time and again he said that IT IS HIS FATHER IN HEAVEN WHO IS GOOD.

The worship of Jesus Christ is actually started as cult of Judaism, propagated by St. Paul and later by Roman Emperor Constantine by TRINITY worship. There is nothing wrong in worshiping Jesus Christ, like Buddhists worshiping Buddha and Hindus worshiping Krishna etc.

Some one WROTE: [ If you go to Krishna's grave, you will find Krishna's bones; If you go to Buddha's grave, you'll find Buddha's bones: If you go to Mohammed's grave, you'll find Mohammed's bones. If you go to Christ's grave, you'll find an empty tomb!]

ANSWER: With all due respect to the deity of Jesus Christ, I can write volumes on resurrection.
1. Hindus believe that Lord Krishna never died and he rose to heaven with his body. YOU WILL NOT FIND THE GRAVE OF KRISHNA IN INDIA. Krishna never died, instead left for his heavenly palace called VAIKUNTA as per Srimad Mahabhagavata.

2. Lord Buddha also left the body but THERE IS NO BURIAL GROUND ANY WHERE IN THE WORLD, WITH BUDDHA'S NAME ON IT. That is the belief system of Buddhists.

3. Similarly, RESURRECTION OF CHRIST is A part and parcel of Christian belief system. No secular historian has admitted that to be a fact. In fact, world historian H. G. Wells wrote, "IT IS RUMORED....."

If one studies Holy Bible along with other Holy scriptures of other religions, one will have a better understanding of the immortal words of the Jesus Christ.

Once again, when Christ said I AM THE WAY, he did not mean that "I AM" is limited to his body but the "I AM" he is referring to is the ONE AND ONLY GOD BRAHMAN or JEHOVAH.

The inner soul or ATMAN is the mirror image of the GOD. In Hindu salvation, one is trying to realize that HE IS THE IMMORTAL SOUL WITHIN and not the perishable body. That is the reason why I am very much interested in the thought provoking statement of Christ I AM THE WAY. [www.amiahindu.com]

“I AM GOD" CONCEPT

"I AM GOD" CONCEPT

1. When Jesus Christ said: I AM GOD, Jews misunderstood him. Romans crucified him.

2. When Sufis [ The Mystical Muslims] said: I AM GOD, religious fanatics killed all of them.
In the 9th century, Sufi Ibn MansurAl Hallaj was dismembered for proclaiming " I AM GOD."

3. When Shirley Maclaine said: I AM GOD, they went after her also. Lucky for her, she only had to deal with verbal abuses not any physical attacks.

WHY ALL THESE ATTACKS?

Let us analyse "I Am God" concept in detail.

FROM WHERE DID THIS CONCEPT ORIGINATE?

It came from the Hindu belief that there is an immortal soul [ATMAN] within the material body of the man and that soul is the mirror image of God or "Paramathman". There are two important mantras in Hinduism which proclaim that.

1. AHAM BRAHMASMIN

I AM INDEED BRAHMAN _ THE GOD
The immortal soul is not the material body.

2. TAT TVAM ASI _ THAT THOU ART meaning again that the individual immortal soul within the body is indeed the supreme soul or Paramathman or God.

If one does not understand the whole story, I AM GOD statement sounds very egoistic and out right stupid. If you say in the Hebrew_Christian context, I am God makes no sense, where God is very personal and a separate entity altogether different from man.

A In 66 books of the Holy Bible, THERE IS NO MENTION OF IMMORTAL SOUL. In fact, there is no word "immortal soul" anywhere in the Holy Human soul in the Holy Bible is created at birth and it can be destroyed.

B When Jesus Christ said: I AND THE FATHER ARE ONE [JOHN 10:30], masses immediately denounced him for blasphemy by saying, "YOU MERE MAN CLAIM TO BE GOD [JOHN 10:33].

Masses attacked Jesus not because he broke the Sabbath laws or showing miracles but because "HE WAS EVEN CALLING GOD HIS FATHER, MAKING HIMSELF EQUAL TO GOD [JOHN 5:18].

Even though Christ said more than 81 times that HE IS THE SON OF MAN, by merely stating I AM GOD Jesus died on the cross.

C Jesus Christ said I AM GOD many times indirectly. Christ also said I AM SON OF GOD indirectly. Christ never said, I AM GOD in a direct answer to anyone...But he said BEFORE ABRAHAM WAS I AM. Those who heard that exploded with anger, condemning Christ for making statement of equalizing himself to God. The wrath of his enemies only grew when he said, I AND MY FATHER ARE ONE [John 10:30]

[JESUS CHRIST] SAID IN THE BIBLE:

I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE, HE THAT COMETH TO ME SHALL NOT HUNGER, AND HE THAT BELIEVES IN ME SHALL NEVER THIRST [ JOHN 6:35]

D When Sufis, the Moslem mystics visited Mecca, Moslem fakirs asked Sufis to pray to ALLAH facing east. to that Sufis answered, "WHEREVER WE LOOK, WE SEE THE FACE OF ALLAH." Later Sufis were asked, "ARE YOU GOD?" Sufis answered,"YES". That was enough for the fanatic masses to kill all those realized masters.

Hindus on their part believe that there is the imperishable soul within every man and that soul is an exact reflection of God. The soul within the man is called ATMAN and the God is called PARAMATHMAN [Absolute Soul ]. Of course, the ATMAN will remain captive within the body, life after life, until one realizes that HE IS NOT THE BODY BUT THE IMMORTAL SOUL WITHIN.

Of course, NOBODY REALIZES GOD by just repeating I AM GOD. That has to be achieved by good actions, good thoughts and by meditation. I AM GOD statement seen in many parts of the Holy Bible.

Jehovah to an inquiring Moses said, I AM WHAT I AM [Ex 3:14] Jesus Christ said I AM GOD many times indirectly. He said BEFORE ABRAHAM WAS I AM. Those heard that exploded with anger, condemning Christ for making statement of equalizing himself to God. The wrath of his enemies only grew when he said, I AND MY FATHER ARE ONE [John 10:30]

Lord Krishna said I AM GOD many times in the Bhagavad Gita.

HE WHO SEES ME IN EVERYTHING AND EVERYTHING IN ME, TO HIM I AM NEVER LOST; NOR HE IS LOST TO ME [GITA 6:30]

I AM THE SOURCE OF ALL SPIRITUAL & MATERIAL WORLDS. EVERYTHING EMANATES FROM ME [GITA 10:8]

EVERYTHING IS BORN OF ME. I AM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE OF ALL. NO ONE IS ABOVE ME [GITA 12:6,7]

So, what Shirley Maclaine said is nothing knew. It was repeated in history many times. In St. Thomas gospel Christ said: HE WHO DRINKS FROM MY MOUTH WILL BECOME AS I AM AND I SHALL BE HE. Through those lines Jesus Christ is telling the mankind that those who follow him will achieve Christ consciousness and INDEED WILL BECOME AS JESUS CHRIST.

In the ZOHAR [The book of Splendor] the mystical teachings of the Judaism, you may read that IF ONE MEDITATES, EVERYTHING WILL BE REVEALED AS ONE.

So a Hindu or a newager by stating I AM GOD is only repeating HIS OWN ONENESS WITH GOD OR HIS TRUE NATURE. Once again it is utter stupidity to think without proper meditation one can achieve Christ consciousness.

If by saying I AM GOD, one develops EGO, then that person is working against his objective of being one with God. A person who states I AM GOD, should become humbler than a blade of grass....

I AM GOD AND CHRISTIAN FAITH MOVEMENT:

I AM GOD concept has seen even in the FAITH MOVEMENT. According to the book, CRISIS IN CHRISTIANITY by Hank Hanegraaff, almost all FAITH HEALERS are repeating I AM GOD CONCEPT in their sermons. Most of them are not saying that THERE IS A GOD IN YOU, but like eastern philosophers that YOU ARE INDEED GOD.

Kenneth Copeland claims that God is not some creature that stands 28 feet tall....He is very much like you and I....A being that stands around 6'_2", 6'_3" that weighs somewhere in the neighborhood of a couple of hundred of pounds ...and a hand span of nine inches across [page 121-Refer-Crisis in Christianity]

Kenneth Hagin states, " MAN....WAS CREATED ON TERMS OF EQUALITY WITH GOD [page 108 -Refer-Crisis in Christianity]

TBN president Paul Crouch once said," I AM A LITTLE GOD! Critics, be gone [page 112 -Refer-Crisis in Christianity]

One faith healer Morris Cerullo states,"YOU ARE NOT LOOKING AT MORRIS CERULLO...YOU ARE LOOKING AT GOD. YOU'RE LOOKING AT JESUS"
[PAGE 11 -Refer-Crisis in Christianity]

BENNY HINN said: Never ever go to the Lord and say, "If it be thy well.....' Don't allow such faith destroying words to be spoken from mouth " [page 11 -Refer-Crisis in Christianity]

God has to be given permission to work in this earth realm on behalf of man....Yes, you are in control...So, if man has control, who no longer has it? God." [page 11 -Refer-Crisis in Christianity]

Why faith healers are talking like Hindu mystics?

Why faith healers do not listen to the statement GOD IS NOT A MAN
[ Numbers 23:19, 1 Samuel 15:29, Hosea 11:9]

Why faith healers are forgetting statement in Exodus 9:14 which states,
THERE IS NO ONE LIKE ME IN ALL EARTH."

ALL THESE INTEREST IN "I AM GOD" CONCEPT ACCIDENTAL???
OR IS THERE SOMETHING BEHIND THIS INTEREST????

When Lord Buddha was asked the same question

"ARE YOU GOD?"
Buddha said: "NO"

"Are you an Angel?"
Buddha said: "NO"

"Are you a saint?"
Buddha said: "NO"

"THEN WHAT ARE YOU?"

" I AM AWAKE" answered Lord Buddha... The word BUDDHA in Sanskrit means to KNOW OR AWAKE IN KNOWLEDGE

.CONCLUSIONS:

1. "I AM GOD" statement has come from the mouths of many so called mystics around the world. Jesus Christ is one of those great mystics.

2. "I AM GOD" statement is NOT SUPPOSED TO BE USED FOR EGO GRATIFICATION, instead a person who states that is HUMBLER THAN A BLADE OF GRASS.

3 Anyone who is in search of "truth" will finally come to the realization that I AM GOD, whether that person is a Hindu or a Christian or a Moslem or a Jew or an atheist or an agnostic.

I am fascinated by the statement I AM GOD. It is often repeated by the right wing Christian preachers in their sermons to condemn eastern religions as well as Newage. Unluckily, they have no idea the truth behind the I AM GOD concept. I AM GOD concept does not orginate from the limited ego of a person but from the mind of a person who has attained self-realization

Abortion and Hinduism

Abortion

&

Hinduism

From time immemorial, Hindus have considered CHILDREN TO BE THE GIFTS FROM GOD. Villagers celebrated when ever a baby was born in the village. Amazingly, in ancient India, no woman was questioned, "Who is the father of the child [ fetus], since EVERY CHILD IS A GIFT OF GOD.

In Hindu mythology, Saints told pregnant women, YOU LOOK RADIANT & BEAUTIFUL SINCE GOD HAS BLESSED YOU WITH A CHILD [fetus]. They never asked any woman WHO IS THE FATHER OF THE CHILD? ARE YOU MARRIED? Etc In the Holy Bible it is written "Be fruitful and multiply" (Genesis 1:28).

All that shows, the MAIN goal was to populate the world with MEN, since there was an extreme shortage of men [I literally mean men] in the world, since large number of men died in all kind of battles. When ancient scriptures were written, there were less than 1 million people on earth. NOW WE ARE 6 BILLION AND KICKING. In another 30 years, there will be 10 billion people on earth. So, let us face it, we have to have a pragmatic approach to the whole problem.

NOW LET US ANALYZE, WHAT HINDU SCRIPTURES HAVE TO SAY ABOUT ABORTION.

Hindus like Buddhists and Jains believe that all life is sacred, to be loved and revered and protected, because all creatures are manifestations of the ONE AND ONLY Supreme Being.

Hindu scriptures condemn abortion, except when the life of the mother is in danger.

There are many prayers in the Rig-Veda to guard the embryo. Kaushitaki Upanishad considers abortion of fetus to be parallel to the killing of one's parents. The Atharva Veda states the slayer of the fetus is among the greatest of sinners.

In the Code of Manu [Manusmriti], Sage Manu forbids abortion.

Among the PANCHA-PATAKA [five worst acts] described by Hindu Puranas [Hindu mythological scriptures] are:

1. BRAHMA-HATYA: KILLING OF A BRAHMIN

2. SISU-HATYA: DESTRUCTION OF UNBORN FETUS

3. SURA-PANA: DRINKING OF LIQUOR

4. SVARNA-STEYA: STEALING OF GOLD

5. GURU-TALPA-GAMANA HAVING SEX WITH GURU'S WIFE

In the great epic Mahabharata, ASVATHAMA, the great son of Drona, the teacher of Mahabharata, was cursed by Lord Krishna, to live like an animal for millions of years, when he tried to destroy the FETUS of Abhimanu's wife [who became king Pareeshit - the last of Panadava clan].

RIG VEDA & ABORTION:

Rig Veda states: THAT EMBRYO THEN BECOMES A PART OF THE WOMEN'S SELF, LIKE ANY PART OF HER BODY; IT DOES NOT HURT HER; SHE PROTECTS AND DEVELOPS THE EMBRYO WITHIN HERSELF. AS SHE PROTECTS THE EMBRYO, SO SHE ALSO IS PROTECTED.

In Satapatha Brahmana, THE PERSON WHO EXTRACTS THE EMBRYO IS CALLED AN EVIL DOER.

AYURVEDA & ABORTION:

Even though, all Hindus scriptures argue about protecting embryo by all means, SUSRUTA SAMHITA, the Ayurvedic book recommends abortion in certain cases.

1. WHEN THE FETUS IS KNOWN TO BE DEFECTIVE

2. THERE IS NO CHANCE FOR A NORMAL BIRTH.

WHAT IS IMPORTANT IS THE MOTIVE BEHIND ABORTION? It is outright murder if some one uses abortion, an easy way of family planning.

There are two sides to ABORTION. Government has every right to decide WHEN FETUS CAN BE CONSIDERED AS A BABY. Is FETUS can be the considered as a baby the first minute of conception or after 6 months? That is the million dollar question.

At the same time, Government has no business interfering with the private decision of each woman. She is the person who is suffering as well as enjoying the birth of a baby. So, she has to make the decision. She alone will bear the KARMIC DEBT.

I am totally appalled to see the people who fight against abortion are not equally interested in taking care of ghetto kids through out the world. If they are, they should visit Brazil first.

As per CBS 60-minutes, in Brazil, hundreds of street children are killed by "death squads" every month. These children are unwanted children of families who refused to participate in any family planning and who adhere to literal Catholic teachings. I RATHER SEE UNWANTED FETUSES DESTROYED THAN CHILDREN MURDERED IN STREETS.

ARE THOSE BRAZILIAN CHILDREN RESULT OF UNWANTED PREGNANCY?

Anyway, we have to be to deal with abortion in a very pragmatic manner. There are no easy answers.......What do you think?

LOVE THY ENEMY - POWERFUL WORDS FROM HOLY BIBLE

LOVE THY ENEMY

POWERFUL WORDS FROM THE HOLY BIBLE

"Hatred is not conquered by hatred at any time, but hatred is won by love; this is an eternal truth" Gautama Buddha

Did Jesus Christ get this knowledge about the POWER LOVE from Lord Buddha?? I have no idea. One thing is certain. Jesus Christ spoke volumes, when he said "LOVE THY ENEMY [Luke 6:27]" Here he was teaching people the importance of the powerful thoughts of love. The love Jesus Christ was propagating has nothing to do with carnal feelings. It has nothing to do with touching, hugging or kissing.

The Love Jesus Christ was propagating is beyond all human emotions . It is very spiritual. Hindu scriptures states that BY SENDING POWERFUL THOUGHTS OF LOVE TO YOUR ENEMY, YOU WILL BECOME A POWER HOUSE OF LOVE. Most probably your enemy will refuse to accept your kind thoughts of love. In that case, those powerful thoughts of LOVE, will come back to you like a boomerang, and make you a fortress of love. Hindu scriptures states that ANY THOUGHT YOU MAKE, CIRCLES AROUND YOU, LIKE BEES AROUND A FLOWER. Thoughts are very powerful.

All thoughts are counted, however insignificant you may think it is. A THOUGHT NEVER DIES. It may lose its power or strength in time. But it never dies completely. If you repeatedly think about the same thing, then that thought will become a power source. If you repeatedly think that you will get into an accident, then you will get into an accident. It is your very powerful negative thoughts that got you into that accident.

If you develop prosperity thoughts, you will change your life dramatically, even if you are a pauper at present. This is one of the reasons why, Hindu scriptures states that A PERSON WHO SUFFERS UNDER GUILTY CONSCIOUS CANNOT BE EVEN SAVED BY GOD. So Hindus do not dwell on SINS or NEGATIVE KARMAS.

The worst thing one can do is to harbor on hatred thoughts. If you hate some one or something, believe me that hatred thoughts, circles around your eatheric body like thoughts of love do. So, if you hate some one again and again, YOU WILL BECOME AN EMBODIMENT OF HATE. In course of time, you will find even your best friend loathing your presence.

Knowing the power of vengeful thoughts, Mahatma Gandhi said: FIGHT WITHOUT MALICE. He meant that we have the right to fight, without hating the personalities or circumstances involved. Like Jesus Christ and Buddha, Gandhi was indeed a man of love. It was stated in the Indian press, that his assassin, GOD states had a tough time to develop hatred for Gandhi. He said before he was hanged, he developed hatred for Gandhi, by target practice on the pictures of Gandhi for years.

In the life of Lord Buddha, there was an incident of same vane. A dacoit leader named ANGULIMAL had the same problem of resisting Buddha's power of love with his power of hate. Finally, ANGULIMAL gave up on his hate of Buddha, and became a disciple of Lord Buddha giving up his criminal life

ORIGINAL SIN IS HINDU MAYA

ORIGINAL SIN

is

HINDU MAYA

Have you thought about ORIGINAL SIN?
Have you ever thought, why it is so difficult to explain the concept of Original Sin?

There is no subject in Christianity, more liable to cause Christian theologians to fight each other, and even fundamentalistic Christians to profess their outspoken doubt than ORIGINAL SIN.

If you study the Genesis story about Adam & Eve, then you will see that everything in the garden of Eden from the forbidden fruit to serpent are figurative and symbolic.

ADAM, EVE, SERPENT, GARDEN, TREE OF LIFE etc are mere symbolic representation of a higher truth, which can never be explained in very simple words or sentences.

Let us analyze the chain of events. Genesis is a story of God creating the universe in SIX [6] days and resting on 7th day. It deals with the evil serpent, and the TREE OF KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL. That TREE OF KNOWLEDGE, you can see in every religion in the world, including Babylonian religions and Hinduism.

Even though, many theologians try to project GOD AS GOOD & LOVING, those adjectives of God are purely man_made. God is TIMELESS. GOD IS NEITHER GOOD NOR BAD. Man due to his limited knowledge sees God with attributes without realizing the fact that God has no attributes.

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED ACCORDING TO GENESIS?

God said to Adam: Of the tree of knowledge of GOOD AND EVIL you should not eat, for the day that you eat of it, you shall die [ GEN 2:17].

Adam & Eve disobeyed and ate the forbidden fruit from the tree of GOOD & EVIL. By eating that forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve came to know RIGHT & WRONG and GOOD & EVIL and their own naked-ness. ACCORDING TO THE HOLY BIBLE THAT CAUSED THE FALL OF MAN.

Questions:

1. Why should all mankind be punished for a SIN [ eating the forbidden fruit] COMMITTED BY one man, ADAM, THE VERY FIRST MAN?

2. How can a personal God, condemn the whole humanity, for endless times, for eating one and only fruit?

3. How was the ORIGINAL SIN transmitted to the NEW BORN? If the soul according to Christianity is created instantly at birth, then how the NEW BORN IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ADAM'S SIN?

4. What about babies dying before the age of reason, before being BAPTIZED, AND BEFORE BEING SAVED? 5. Why God has to punish EVE more than ADAM, even though both committed the same Sin. God said to Eve-"I WILL GREATLY MULTIPLY YOUR PAIN IN CHILD BEARING: IN PAIN YOU SHALL BRING FORTH CHIL-DREN....AND YOUR HUSBAND SHALL RULE OVER YOU..."

Unluckily, Original Sin has no answer for all those questions. Jesus Christ did not say much about ORIGINAL SIN. Present teachings on ORIGINAL SIN is more of a teaching of St. St. Paul than teaching of Jesus Christ. Many liberal theologians reject the concept of original sin, stating that St. Paul might have mistaken about Original sin in his interpretation.

St. St. Paul might have tried to tell the whole truth. But due to limitations of spoken and written language his interpretations look very erroneous to us. St. St. Paul's interpretations make sense ONLY, if you analyze them through the concept of HINDU MAYA.

In Romans 5:12 St St. Paul said: THEREFORE SIN CAME THROUGH ONE MAN AND DEATH THROUGH SIN, AND SO DEATH SPREAD TO ALL MEN BECAUSE ALL MEN SINNED.

In Romans 5:15 St. St. Paul added: "FOR MANY DIED THROUGH ONE MAN'S TRESPASS. St. St. Paul is stating to the world, "DEATH CAME THROUGH ADAM AND SALVATION FROM DEATH CAME THROUGH JESUS CHRIST."

Even the concept of BORN AGAIN originated to eradicate the ORIGINAL SIN AS WELL AS ANY PERSONAL SIN.

Judaism, the mother culture of Christianity, does not accept original sin. Nor Jews accept the principle of vicarious atonement. According to Judaism, EVERY MAN IS RESPONSIBLE FOR HIS SALVATION. So all these make me conclude that ORIGINAL SIN is a symbolism and is not the way St. St. Paul explained in the Bible.

NOW LET US GO DEEP INTO THE CONCEPT OF ORIGINAL SIN.

What is Original Sin? It is the act by which man attained THE KNOWLEDGE OF RIGHT AND WRONG, GOOD AND EVIL.....In a nutshell, Adam and Eve learned DUALITY CONCEPT [Dwaita]BY EATING THE FORBIDDEN FRUIT.

I feel the DEATH that is associated with ORIGINAL SIN is not biological death at all. It is the spiritual death, since there are statements in the Holy Bible which prove that. Just look at few of them. "BEFORE MEN ARE LIFE AND DEATH. WHATEVER THEY CHOOSE IS GIVEN TO THEM [ECCLESIASTIC 15:16]; "IF YOU LIVE AC-CORDING TO FLESH YOU WILL DIE, BUT IF BY SPIRIT YOU PUT TO DEATH THE DEEDS OF THE BODY YOU WILL LIVE [ROMANS 8:12]

ORIGINAL SIN as Hindu scriptures state is MAYA or illusion or FALSE KNOWLEDGE. Hinduism states that, the ability to discern "RIGHT AND WRONG" "GOOD & EVIL" is duality perception, which is indeed So, the HINDU MAYA is indeed the ORIGINAL SIN.

The ORIGINAL SIN is very difficult to analyze without the Hindu concept of MAYA and DUALITY. The only crime Adam committed in the garden is attaining FALSE KNOWLEDGE. That is the reason why he was aware of his nakedness. The SERPENT only depicts the inner weakness of the man.

Hinduism states that MAYA or ILLUSION caused by DUALITY PERCEP-TION [ Original Sin ] is the cause of all problems. SALVATION is realizing the TRUE KNOWLEDGE that THERE IS ONLY ONE and NOT TWO.

Unless and until we achieve that ONENESS, we will never have peace. That ONENESS we can achieve only within us.

IF WE ARE LOOKING FOR A PEACEFUL WORLD, THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN. we will always have wars and rumors of wars. As long as we perceive Duality, all types of wars will go on .

PERENNIAL PEACE, as Aldous Huxley describes, can be achieved only WITHIN EACH ONE OF US. All of us can argue and look for a savior who will straighten out everything, but that hope is only A PIE IN THE SKY.

Each one of us have to work and achieve salvation of self-realization through one of the 4 methods:

JNANA YOGA [ path of knowledge];
KARMA YOGA [Path of unattached, unmotivated actions];
BHAKTI YOGA [ complete self-surrender to the God within];
RAJA YOGA [ pranayama & breath control].

So what is the answer. SEARCH WITHIN, WHAT EVER WAY YOU CAN. This does not mean to stop working, or encouraging laziness. Instead work hard, UNTIL YOU REALIZE UNIVERSE AS ONE.

I hope the explanation I gave make sense. To me, the Holy Bible carries a lot of symbolism and it will be wrong to come to hasty literal conclusions. I believe St. Augustine, when he said: KNOWLEDGE ALWAYS EXISTED. IT BECAME CHRISTIAN AFTER THE BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST. So Hindu Vedas and Buddhist Dharmapada should concur with Jesus. They cannot differ.

I WISH TO CONCLUDE BRINGING UP IMPORTANT POINTS ONCE OVER AGAIN.
1. Original Sin can be explained ONLY by "Hindu Dualism & Maya theory." I feel Hindu concept of Dualism make sense, since no other THEORY explains the Original Sin concept well.

2. I feel the whole story of Adam & Eve, is the figment of imagination of great Jewish seers, to explain the difficult and complex nature of creation. Almost everything in that is symbolic.

ADAM is the symbolism for INTELLECT
EVE is the symbolism for SENSES
SERPENT is the symbolism for INERT WEAKNESS
TREE is the symbolism for DUALITY OF GOOD AND BAD
GOD is the symbolism for the IMMORTAL SOUL WITHIN

3. IMMORTAL SOUL [Eccl 9:5,10]is not taught in the Holy Bible. I feel it was systematically deleted from the Bible, since it was of Eastern and Greek origin. I feel IMMORTAL SOUL, is the unknown puzzle in the Bible. If you add that, you will see much of Biblical discussions make sense.

4. It is unbelievable that God threw man out of the garden for eating ONE FRUIT and cursed the woman, I WILL GREATLY MULTIPLY YOUR PAIN IN CHILD BEARING: IN PAIN YOU SHALL BRING FORTH CHILDREN.....AND YOUR HUSBAND SHALL RULE OVER YOU....

So, I conclude ADAM & EVE is just a parable, to explain the complex nature of creation. I love that story and I respect that, but also know that it is symbolic.

5. Jesus Christ said that all those great mysteries of the universe were revealed to those who were spiritually awake but to others must be told in parables. As far as I know, GNOSTICS were spiritually awaken people and it was the greatest blunder to throw them out of Christianity. Gnostic taught the whole story SYMBOLICALLY and ALLEGORICALLY. Some of them even taught SERPENT'S POINT OF VIEW. I feel those NEW AGERS and A COURSE IN MIRACLES are rebirth of GNOSTIC.

6. Philo described Genesis story in many ways. Philo sees ADAM representing STRONG HUMAN MIND, and EVE representing SENSES, female element or passion.

7. GNOSTIC state that the GOD IS WITHIN US and our human nature make us to forget that important fact. According to PTOLEMY, a follower of VALENTINUS, the story of Adam & Eve shows that HUMANS LOST THEIR DIVINE CONSCIOUSNESS AND ACCEPTED MATERIAL CONSCIOUS-NESS.

8. All we are reading today about ORIGINAL SIN was written and preached by one man, St. Paul, who was a zealous persecutor of Christians once. I salute St. Paul for his fanatic love affair with the deity of Jesus Christ, but remember he also attacked THE FREE THINKING SPIRIT IN CHRISTIANITY, by his statements about WOMEN, SEX, HOMOSEXUALS, REINCARNATION etc. On other hand as I described before, St. Paul might be telling the truth, but due to limitations in the language, his interpretations look erroneous. If St. Paul's teachings are taught with HINDU MAYA in background they make sense.

9. WHAT WE SEE IS AN ILLUSION. When we dream we see that as real. In the dream we enjoy and agonize over different situations. When we comes out of dream we will say, HI! It was only a dream. Hinduism states that our present life is a dream. We are constantly jumping from one dream to another, in never ending cycles. We will go out of these only when we have self_realization. That realization may happen in one life or in million lives. But every one will achieve that one day.

10. It is said that the earliest champion of BINARY system GOTTFRIED WILHELM LEIBNIZ, laid down the foundation work of Modern computer, based on YIN & YANG. Just think of it, between just ON and OFF positions of countless switches, COMPUTERS ARE GENERATING A WORLD OF MULTIPLE DREAMS RIGHT IN FRONT OF ALL OF US. Computer is the perfect example of DUALITY [binary] and ILLUSION.

11. WE DO NOT SEE THIS WORLD AS AN ILLUSION, SINCE WE ARE PART AND PARCEL OF THAT ILLUSION. For example, a model's face is extreme-ly beautiful to the naked eye, but under a powerful microscope it is filled with ugly dirt and hairs. SO IT IS TRUE, WORLD IS RELATIVE AND OUR EXPERIENCES ARE RELATIVE, UNTIL WE MERGE WITH THE FINAL TRUTH.

12. Hinduism does not teach to reject the material world and lead a lazy life. In fact, Bhagavad Gita encourages man to do his duty. NOBODY SHALL GIVE UP ACTION UNTIL A TIME COMES WHEN HE SEES A WORLD AS ONE.

To run away from duty, will only make a man to do harmful things to himself and others. It is literally true that an idle mind is a devil's workshop. Again, the Hindu Bible, the Bhagavad Gita was told in a battle field and after the discourse, the disciple annihi-lated the attacking army.
So Maya Philosophy does not support INACTION or LAZINESS.

13. Why prince Siddharatha, who left his wife and kingdom to find READY MADE answers to SICKNESS, OLD AGE & DEATH could not give any answer, when he became BUDDHA ?

Why Jesus Christ could not solve the problems of the world?

Why Lao Tse said: HE WHO KNOWS NEVER TELL; AND HE
WHO TELLS NEVER KNEW?

Why Einstein who tried to develop a unified theory to answer all riddles of universe miserably failed and said: WE ARE LITTLE CHILDREN ENTERING A HUGE LIBRARY?

To all those questions, my answer is ULTIMATE TRUTHS ARE BEYOND MIND AND BEYOND DUALITY PERCEPTION. If we will never find answers, if we try to logically analyze. That is why Buddha could not give us any answer. That is why Jesus could not give us any crystal clear answer to the puzzles and paradoxes in the world.

ALL ANSWERS WE CAN ONLY EXPERIENCE WITHIN US. If anyone try to put in words, those answers he/she will miserably fail. I wish every one will follow Gnostic and people like them.

SEEK WITHIN AND NOT WITHOUT. I BELIEVE THAT A DAY WILL COME, WHEN A HUMAN BEING WILL BE MANUFAC-TURED IN THE LAB, WITHOUT THE HELP OF A MALE SPERM & AN FEMALE EGG. Then we could shout and say: MAN FINALLY ACHIEVED IN CREAT-ING ILLUSION JUST LIKE GOD...

14. The more the science advances, the more you will witness that human life as we see it, is purely mechanical.

A day is not far off, WHEN SCIENCE WILL ARTIFICIALLY MAKE HUMAN BLOOD AND OTHER BODY PARTS. Already in Sweden and Denmark, they are using pigs to provide human plasma.

A DAY IS NOT FAR OFF, WHEN A HUMAN WILL BE MANUFACTURED IN A LAB, WITHOUT THE DONATIONS OF A MALE SPERM AND A FEMALE EGG. That time you and I can jump and up and say, GOD MADE ILLUSION, NOW MAN STARTED MAKING ILLUSION.

So what is the final answer: SEEK OR SEARCH WITHIN. Try to find out the REAL "I" instead of treating the IMPERISHABLE BODY as "I".

HINDU SALVATION CONCEPTS

HINDU SALVATION CONCEPTS

SALVATION in Hinduism is a very systemized process.

HINDUISM STATES, SALVATION IS FOR ALL. NOBODY IS DENIED SALVA-TION. Even if one does not believe in God, the atheist and agnostic can attain salvation. ONE DOES NOT HAVE TO BE A HINDU TO HAVE SALVATION....In Hinduism SALVATION is known as SELF-REALIZATION, since in Hindu salvation, realizing the fact that he is not the perishable body, but indeed the immortal soul [Atman] within which is indeed the God.

That is the reason why, I firmly believe that every one on earth should give more importance to SPIRITUALITY and less importance to religious dogmas. We have to do things that will elevate us spiritually. We have to slowly eradicate negative thoughts and pump ourselves with positive thoughts. Eventually we have to even eradicate "positive thoughts" and attain "thought-less state". We have to raise our vibrations to higher levels so that we can deal with day to day problems in a very constructive manner. Slowly and steadily we will reach there. That is what Hindu salvation process is all about.

Salvation is a very natural process. The best among us will achieve that by ONE LIFE. The worst among us will achieve that by MANY LIVES. The Hindu Salvation process, like Newton's laws of action is mathematical and predict-able.

Hindu salvation is based on THEORY OF REINCARNATION, a hotly debated topic in theological circles. FUNDAMENTALIST Christianity, for example disallows the very idea of reincarnation. Yet many Christian organizations such as Christian Science, Unity, Unitarian etc accept Reincarna-tion. Many respected philosophers and metaphysicians, most notably, Banarjee of India and Edgar Caysee of the USA have presented us with the most convincing treatise on reincarnation. Though not yet scientifically verified, the THEORY OF REINCARNATION provides us with a paradigm by which most of the problems in the world can be explained in a logical manner.

There are many differences between the Hindu concept of Salvation and the Christian concept of salvation. But unless one knows the fundamentals of both religions, comparisons will be futile.

1. Hinduism believes in ATMAN, the IMMORTAL INDIVIDUAL SOUL Christianity does not believe in IMMORTAL INDIVIDUAL SOUL. There is no word IMMORTAL SOUL in the entire 66 books of the Holy Bible.

2. Hinduism looks at the ATMAN as the MIRROR IMAGE OF GOD. Christianity does not look at the soul like that.

3. In Hinduism, SALVATION IS THE PROCESS OF MERGING OF THE IMMORTAL INDIVIDUAL SOUL [ ATMAN ] WITH THE DIVINE SOUL, GOD [ PARAMATHMAN ]
In Christianity, SALVATION IS THE PROCESS OF THE INDIVIDU-AL SOUL REACHING HEAVEN AND STAYING CLOSE TO GOD.

4. In Hindu Salvation, THE INDIVIDUAL IDENTITY OF SOUL IS LOST AFTER SALVATION. In Christianity, THE INDIVIDUAL IDENTITY OF SOUL IS KEPT after Salvation.

5. In Hinduism, Salvation can be attained by the path of devotion [Bhakti Yoga], path of Knowledge [Jnana Yoga], the path of unattached and unmotivated actions [karma Yoga] and by meditation and Pranayama [Raja yoga].

By comparison, as the fundamentalist Christianity states,

a---- SALVA-TION CAN BE ATTAINED ONLY BY THE GRACE OF GOD, BY ACCEPT-ING JESUS CHRIST AS THE LORD AND SAVIOR;

b---SALVATION IS A PRESENT FROM GOD TO MAN....

c---MAN CAN NEVER ATTAIN SALVATION BY WORKS ALONE.

Once again HINDUISM STATES THAT SALVATION IS FOR ALL. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS ETERNAL DAMNATION. THE BEST AMONG US ATTAIN SALVATION BY ONE LIFE AND WORST AMONG US ATTAIN SALVATION BY MANY LIVES...

WHAT IS HINDU SALVATION?

Hindu Salvation is known as SELF-REALIZATION. In Hindu salvation process a person is realizing that he/she is indeed the ATMAN [ the immortal soul within] and not the perishable BODY. In Hindu salvation, a person is merging with the PARAMATHMAN [ or God]. The process of Hindu salvation is exactly like a pinch of salt trying to find the bottom of the ocean. The moment the pinch of salt touches the surface of the ocean, it becomes the part and parcel of the ocean...Hindu scriptures state that people can attain self realization through four methods A. JANANA YOGA; B-KARMA YOGA; C-BHAKTI YOGA; D-RAJA YOGA.

WHAT IS BRAHMAN?

In Hinduism, God is known as BRAHMAN or PARAMATHMAN. PARAMATHMAN or PARAMA _ ATHMAN or ABSOLUTE SOUL. Brahman means ONE WITHOUT A SECOND. Hindu scriptures say that BRAHMAN OR PARAMATHMAN ALONE IS REAL. EVERYTHING ELSE IS UNREAL OR MAYA OR ILLUSION.

WHAT IS AUM?

AUM or OM is the WORD OF HINDUISM. It is the vibratory aspect of Brahman. All Hindu prayers starts and ends with the word AUM. All creation came out of Aum.

WHAT IS ATMAN?

Hinduism believes that there is AN IMMORTAL SOUL within the body of every person and every creature. In fact there is nothing without an ATMAN. This belief in IMMORTAL SOUL is unique to Hinduism. Neither Buddhism nor Christianity believes in IMMORTAL SOUL. ATMAN is a mirror image of PARMATHMAN.

ARE YOU STATING THAT "PARAMATHMAN" AND "ATMAN" ARE ONE AND THE SAME?

Yes, they are actually one and the same. The individual soul within the body, known as ATMAN or JIVATHMAN is bound by karmas. When ATMAN breaks lose of the KARMIC DEBT then it becomes one with PARAMATHMAN. THAT PROCESS BY WHICH ATMAN BECOMES ONE WITH PARAMATHMAN IS KNOWN AS SALVATION.

To give you an approximate picture, I should say that the electricity within your computer is ATMAN and the network electricity is PARAMATHMAN.

WHAT IS THE PROBLEM IN ATMAN MERGING WITH PARMATHMAN OR TO ATTAIN SALVATION?

KARMAS [actions and thoughts].....The Atman of each of us are bound by karmas and those karmas make us to forget the fact that WE ARE INDEED ATMAN AND NOT THE MATERIAL BODY.....THAT FEELING IS KNOWN AS MAYA OR ILLUSION.....We are constantly living in an illusionary world, until we attain salvation.

WHAT HAPPENS TO US WHEN WE DIE?

According to Hinduism, the body alone dies, the immortal soul or ATMAN never dies. But the path the soul takes is decided upon the collective karmas [actions] done by the body in life. SO ACTIONS OF THE FORMER BODY DOES DIE WITH THE BODY..SOUL CONTINUES THIS JOURNEY BY REPEATED REINCAR- NATIONS UNTIL SOUL HAS NO KARMIC DEBT ATTACHED TO IT.

WHAT DOES ADVAIDA MEANS?

ADVAIDA means ONE. ADVAIDA means NOT TWO. DVAIDA in Hinduism means TWO. ADVAIDA states that THERE IS ONLY ONE AND TWO. THAT ONE, WHICH CANNOT BE DEFINED IS BRAHMAN _ the undefinable God of Hinduism. That God expresses ITSELF in many forms in many ways. That is why Hindus have abso-lutely no problem in worshiping thousand of gods, since they believe that ALL THOSE GODS ARE MANY MANIFESTATIONS OF ONE AND ONLY GOD BRAHMAN.

IF THERE IS ONLY ONE GOD, WHAT ARE YOU AND I?

Well as per Hindu scriptures, the REAL "I", behind you and I, is the ATMAN _ or the IMMORTAL INNER SOUL, which is a mirror image of BRAHMAN or GOD.

THEN WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?

Well, once again, our problem is the IGNORANCE OF THE TRUE NATURE OF OURSELVES. Instead of realizing that you and I are IMMORTAL SOUL ATMAN, we foolishly believe that WE ARE THE PERISHABLE BODY.

WHAT WE HAVE TO DO?

We have to some how break the CYCLES OF ILLUSION [MAYA] THAT WE ARE THE BODY AND COME TO THE SELF_REALIZATION THAT WE ARE THE INNER SOUL WITHIN THE BODY.

HOW WE WILL DO THAT??

Hinduism talks about four distinct methods of SELF_ REALIZATION. You are at liberty to choose any one of them or combination of all the four methods. Those methods are

1. BHAKTI YOGA _ PATH OF DEVOTION

2. KARMA YOGA _ PATH OF SELF_LESS ACTION

3. JNANA YOGA _ PATH OF KNOWLEDGE4. RAJA YOGA _ PATH OF BREATH CONTROL, PRANAYAMA ETC

You can also mix up all those methods and practice in your life.

IF I WORSHIP CHRIST, WILL I BE FOLLOWING BHAKTI YOGA?

Of course, you do. If you surrender yourself 100% to the deity of Jesus Christ, you will be following Bhakti Yoga or the Yoga or path of devotion. There is absolutely no need for you to change your religion. God is present every where in many forms. The GOD THAT IS PRESENT IN THE CHRIS-TIAN CHURCHES, BUDDHIST VIHARS, MOSLEM MOSQUES, JEWISH SYNAGOGUES IS THE SAME GOD THAT IS PRESENT IN HINDU TEM-PLES......ONE GOD BUT MANY FORMS.

WHO STARTED IT???

Actually ADVAIDA philosophy was started by sage VEDA VYASA. But it was developed and propagated by ADI SANKARA of South India. Sankara's Adavaita was criticized by Vaishnavate Vallabha as KEVALA ADVAIDA [ merely monism ], since Sankara only recognizes Brahman, without stating anything about ATMAN or individual soul.

VALLABHA taught SUDDHA ADVAITA meaning pure monism, ac-cording to which Brahman allows Atman to have a separate individuality. VISISHT_ADVAIDA or ADVAITA WITH ATTRIBUTES was taught by RAMANUJAM which makes human soul as a dis-tinct entity. NIMBARKA taught DVAITA ADVAITA according to which the soul is a reality distinct from Brahman but dependent on Brahman. Chaitanya taught BHEDABHEDA meaning different, yet not different. Chaitanya said the difference between Brahman and Ataman is the difference from fire and its sparks. They are essentially one and the same

HINDU BORN AGAIN????

HINDU BORN AGAIN????

About six or seven years ago, One day, I saw on TV, a preacher from Texas telling the BBC reporter that late MOTHER THERESA WON'T GO TO HEAVEN, UNLESS SHE COMES TO HIS CHURCH AND BECOME BORN_AGAIN. I thought, my God! How can he or any one else say that about the a great devotee of God?

The Hindu India, was indeed blessed by Holy presence, even though converted a lot of Hindus to Christianity. Not even one Hindu saint ever said anything disrespectful about her, even though she has nothing to do with Hinduism. When she died, The whole India cried. Government of India gave her a Royal funeral.

Well, now let us study deeply about BORN AGAIN QUESTION.

Long, Long ago, the Christian term "Born_again" was exclu-sively used within the church as an important part of the church's phraseology. Now it is widely used even in com-mercials, just like the word "Guru". The actual word in the Greek version of the New Testament is "Anothen" mean-ing "Born From the Above" or "Born of God". Jesus said, "Except man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (St. John 3_3) and Jesus added : "Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again". (St. John 3_7).

The closest word in Hinduism to what Jesus said is Dwija. The actual meaning of Dwija is "Twice Born".

Who is a Dwija (Twice Born)? .....A Brahmin.
Who is a Brahmin?.... He or she who knows Brahman.
What is Brahman?...That which is infinite...God

So in a nutshell,

HE WHO KNOWS GOD IS A TWICE BORN

or

HE WHO IS THE TWICE BORN WILL AUTOMATICALLY WILL REALIZE GOD.

According to Hinduism, unless there is an absolute change in consciousness and absolute self purification, nobody can achieve God_realization. Without complete change of consciousness, it is impossible to realize God and vice versa. So, it is to be assumed that omnipresent Jesus Christ was referring to a complete change of consciousness rather than any ritualistic and symbolic gestures.

He who is born-again, is a Christian as well as a Brahmin

A BIRD'S EYE-VIEW OF YOGA OF EAST

A BIRD'S EYE-VIEW OF

YOGA OF EAST

It is a fact, that you can hear the word YOGA in every nook and corner of USA. It is freely used among those lucky ones who gulp gallons of champagne and consume tons of Caviar. But few have detailed clues of it. I am not here to state that YOGA IS REAL or NOT REAL. But to just state the facts regarding it. It is very important to know the whole story.

YOGA has nothing to do with any religion. It is a Sanskrit word but still it covers the goal of every religion and every culture on earth. When some one prays to Krishna, he is following BHAKTI YOGA. If some one pray to Jesus, he is also following BHAKTI YOGA. Yoga is like Physics or Chemistry; It is universal.

So, I firmly believe that every one on earth should give more importance to SPIRITUALITY that is developed through practicing different Yogas and less importance to religious dogmas. We have to do things that will elevate us spiritually. We have to slowly eradicate negative thoughts and pump ourselves with positive thoughts. Eventually we have to even eradicate ìpositive thoughtsî and attain ìthought-less stateî. We have to raise our vibrations to higher levels so that we can deal with day to day problems in a very constructive manner. Slowly and steadily we will reach there. That is what Hindu salvation process is all about.

WHAT IS YOGA?

YOGA means UNION WITH DIVINE or SELF REALIZATION OF DIVINE WITHIN YOU. Of course, it has many other meanings too. The word YOGA came from the root word YUJ to YOKE or JOIN. So YOGA teaches one to JOIN THE INDIVIDUAL SOUL [JEEVATHMAN] WITH ABSOLUTE SOUL [PARAMATHMAN OR GOD].

The word YOGA came from PATHANJALI YOGA SUTRA writ-ten by sage PATHANJALI.

He summarized YOGA as

CHITTA VRITHI NIRODHA.

CHITTA means MIND
VRITTI means VIBRATIONS
NIRODHA means STOPPAGE

So according to him, SELF_REALIZATION means STOPPAGE OF
MENTAL VIBRATIONS WITHIN A MAN

Sage Vasishta told Lord Rama in the Yoga Vasishta:

Chit Chalathi Samsare;
Nichale Moksha Muchayatha

when chit [mind] vibrates;
This whole world come to existence;
When the mind stop vibrating [stoppage of thoughts];
This whole world is destroyed;
And person attains salvation

According Hindu scriptures, all of us have the IMMORTAL SOUL within us and that IMMORTAL SOUL is an exact replica of the ABSOLUTE SOUL or GOD. To attain salvation, a person by various methods TRY TO UNITE THE IMMORTAL SOUL [JEE-VATHMAN OR ATMAN ] within the body with ABSOLUTE SOUL or God.

In Hindu salvation process a person is realizing that he/she is indeed the ATMAN [ the immortal soul within] and not the perishable BODY. In Hindu salvation, a person is merging with the PARAMATHMAN [ or God].

The process of Hindu salvation is exactly like a pinch of salt trying to find the bottom of the ocean. The moment the pinch of salt touches the surface of the ocean, it becomes the part and parcel of the ocean...

Hindu scriptures state that people can attain self realization through four methods

A-- JANANA YOGA [by knowledge ];
BóKARMA YOGA [by selfless, unmotivated actions];
CóBHAKTI YOGA [by devotion to God];
DóRAJA YOGA [by breathing exercise and Pranayama].

HOW THE CONCEPT ORIGINATED?

Hindu scriptures state that man's problem is FALSE KNOWLEDGE that HE IS THE BODY. So through YOGA one try to achieve the TRUE KNOWLEDGE THAT HE IS NOT THE BODY, but THE IMMORTAL SOUL WITHIN. The moment ONE realizes that, HIS SOUL WILL UNITE WITH THE ABSOLUTE SOUL OR GOD. All mystics were and are the people who reached that state of Absolute knowledge. Once some one achieve that state, CONCEPT OF DUALITY like YIN and YANG cease to exist.

WHAT IS THE IMMORTAL SOUL?

All those who come from East believe that THERE IS AN IMMORTAL SOUL WITHIN THE MAN, which is an exact replica of the GOD ALMIGHTY. To give a perfect example, let us take the computer. THE ELECTRIC ENERGY with the computer is its IMMORTAL SOUL. It is constantly connected to the NET WORK ELECTRICITY, which is the GOD ALMIGHTY. Get the picture.

I believe in the Holy Bible, concept of the IMMORTAL SOUL was systematically deleted, for the fear of Gnostics and Greek philosophy taking over the faith. IMMORTAL SOUL IS THE MISSING PUZZLE IN THE HOLY BIBLE. Believe it or not, the word IMMORTAL SOUL is not seen in the Holy Bible, except in I Timothy 1:17 where it is used as a reference to Al-mighty God. Ecclesiastic 9:5 states: FOR THE LIVING KNOW THAT THEY WILL DIE; BUT THE DEAD KNOWS NOTHING. The Hebrew word NE-PHESH which is used in reference to soul in the Genesis actually means A BREATHING CREATURE. Sometimes the word NEPHESH is also used in reference to animals. In King James Version, soul is used as a translation of the Greek word PSUCHE meaning BREATH or LIFE.

HOW MANY TYPES OF YOGAS ARE THERE?

Basically there are four Yogas, or FOUR DIFFERENT WAYS TO ATTAIN SELF_ REALIZATION.

1. JNANA YOGA _ PATH OF KNOWLEDGE
2. BHAKTI YOGA _ PATH OF DEVOTION
3. KARMA YOGA _ PATH OF SELF-LESS ACTION
4. RAJA YOGA _ PATH BASED ON THE PRACTICE OF
PRANAYAMA AND THOUGHT CONTROL

There are other types of Yogas which originated from those four paths. Such as HATHA YOGA _ systematic exercises and body con-trols; KRIYA YOGA _ Psychic Pranayama taught by Self_realization fellowship, Los Angeles; KUNDALINI YOGA _ stressing on serpent power within the body; LAYA YOGA _ stressing self realization through activation of Chakras or psychic centers in the body etc.

T.M. [Transcendel Meditation] is MANTRA YOGA using powerful potent words for self_realization. ISKCON [International Society of Krishna Consciousness ] works on BHAKTI YOGA or Yoga of devo-tion. They believe in TOTAL SURRENDER TO THE WILL OF GOD WITHIN. So too, THE BORN AGAIN CHRISTIANS.

RAJA YOGA

Let me first start with RAJA YOGA or KINGLY YOGA in which most are interested in. It is the most scientific path of Hinduism. It is based mainly on one book by name PATHANJALI YOGA SUTRA writ-ten by sage PATHANJALI.

He summarized YOGA as CHITTA VRITHI NIRODHA.

CHITTA means MIND
VRITTI means VIBRATIONS
NIRODHA means STOPPAGE

So according to him, SELF_REALIZATION means STOPPAGE OF
MENTAL VIBRATIONS WITHIN A MAN.

PATHANJALI YOGA SUTRA:

WHO WAS PATHANJALI?

Like all other authors of Hindu scriptures, nobody knows exactly, who was the actual real author of the famous PATHANJALI YOGA SUTRAS. As far as I know there are more than one Pathanjali in Hindu scriptures. One Pathanjali is the commentator of HINDU GRAMMAR book. It is the other Pathanjali who supposed to have written the Pathanjali Yoga Sutra. Hindus believe the book was written between 200 B.C. and 50 A. D. Anyway through out the book the author never states that he is discover-er of the methods but merely an expounder of the ancient system of Yoga. So, I believe that SYSTEM OF YOGA expounded by Pathanja-li existed for thousands years before the book was written.

WHAT DOES PATHANJALI YOGA SUTRA CONSISTS OF?

It consists of 4 sections.

1. SAMADHI PADA
2. SADHANA PADA
3. VIBHUTI PADA
4. KAIVALYA PADA

IMPORTANT POINTS:

1. Discusses about 5 forms of modifications of mind such as RIGHT KNOWLEDGE, WRONG KNOWLEDGE, FANCY, SLEEP & MEMORY

2. Those modifications of mind can be suppressed by persistent and lively practice and non_attachment to material things.

3. Many ways to achieve that, one of them BY SURRENDER OF PERSON-AL WILL TO THE GOD WITHIN, also known as OM or WORD.

4. Pain, despair, hard_breathing, nervousness etc are signs of A MIND IN TOTAL DISARRAY.

5. PRANAYAMA is one of the easiest method of SUPPRESSING THE MODIFICATIONS OF MIND.

6. Apart from that the book also discusses about KRIYA YOGA, UNIVERSE, IMPORTANCE OF BRAHMACHARYA, PANCHA BHUTAS [5 ELEMENTS OF MATTER], SIDDIS [ MYSTICAL POWERS] etc.

This book has to be studied in its totality with someone who has in depth knowledge in all Hindu scriptures, starting with Vedas; otherwise this book is difficult to understand. Paramahamsa Yogananda repeats most of the things discussed in this book in his AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A YOGI. Most of the books written by SWAMI SIVANANDA SARASWATHI were based on Pathanjali Yogasutra.

Now let us briefly go through other YOGAS or methods of self_ realization in Hinduism. Hinduism never ever say that they in- vented those methods or they have exclusive rights for that methods. Only thing it states that anyone who does any form of spiritual pursuit falls into one of those categories. Even a born_again Christian who worship the deity of Christ, is actually worshiping God, exactly like Hare Krishna devotees worshiping Lord Krishna or Moslems worshiping ALLAH or Jews worshiping God in their synagogues. ONE GOD MANY NAMES. That is all. When ever anyone speaks about Hinduism, they never speak about complex nature of it, with thousands of scriptures written by thousands of saints through centuries. That is why sometimes devotees feel Hinduism is confusing.

JNANA YOGA:

WHAT EXACTLY IS JNANA YOGA?

JNANA YOGA means ATTAINING SELF REALIZATION THROUGH KNOWLEDGE. Some total of Hindu philosophies are known as JNANA YOGA. They are also called DARSANAS. All those philosophies are based on Hindu Vedas and Upanishads. All have basis in reincarnation and salvation, even though few of them like Nyaya and Vaiseshika are some what atheistic in nature.

HOW MANY HINDU PHILOSOPHIES ARE THERE?

In Hinduism there are many philosophies, even atheistic philosophies. But the 6 most promi-nent Hindu philosophies are:

1. SAMKHYA PHILOSOPHY _ This philosophy does not with a person-al God. Instead it explains everything as two forces of PURUSHA [SPIRIT] and PRAKRITI [matter]. Lord Krishna started his advice to warrior prince Arjuna, starting with this philosophy in the Bhagavad Gita.

2. YOGA PHILOSOPHY: In a lot of ways this philosophy resembles SAMKHYA PHILOSOPHY, especially since it does not deal with a very personal God. It sees the world in DUALITY like YIN AND YANG. It states that Man has to come out of that DUALITY or DWAITA concept and attain ONENESS WITH UNIVERSE or ADVAIDA. As I explained before RAJA YOGA and HATHA YOGA came out of this philosophy

3. MIMAMSA PHILOSOPHY: This philosophy was started at the begin-ning of Vedic period [ at least before 3000 B. C. ] This is a philosophy of vedic interpretation of proper performance of vedic rituals and ceremonies. Mimasa states that only through proper religious rituals and knowledge, the soul can attain salvation. The MIMASA SYSTEM of philosophy is also called PURVA MIMAMSA or VERY FIRST MIMASA to show that it is different from UTTARA MIMAM-SA or LATER MIMASA system.

4. VAISHESHIKA PHILOSOPHY: This philosophy is based on elemental science. In a way, this philosophy deals with science of matter. It teaches that everything is made of 9 elements: EARTH, WATER, AIR, FIRE, SOUL, MIND, ETHER, WATER, TIME and space.

5. NYAYA SYSTEM: This philosophy also deals with the logical nature of the world just like Vaisheshika philosophy. In fact one can see OPEN DEBATES in this system on all subtle things in the universe as such it is also known as TARKA VIDHYA meaning DEBAT-ING EDUCATION. This philosophy can from the Saivate school of thought.

6. VEDANTA SYSTEM: This philosophy was started at the end of Vedic period. Swami Vivekananda and his master Sri Ramakrishna were the great exponent of this philosophy in modern times. It was started by sage Veda Vyasa. But this philosophy became very important after ADI SANKARA propagated it through out India. This philosophy very clearly states that UNLESS AND UNTIL MAN RECOGNIZE THE FACT HE IS THE GOD WITHIN AND NOT THE PHYSICAL BODY, HIS PROBLEM OF REPEATED BIRTHS AND DEATHS WILL CONTINUE FOREVER.

ADVAIDA & DWAITA:

Two systems of philosophies originated from VEDANTA, which are known as ADVAIDA [ ONE ONLY SYSTEM OF PHILOSOPHY ] and DWAITA [ TWO ONLY ] philosophies. Adi Sankara was the proponent of ADVAIDA philosophy and saints like RAMANUJA, MADHAVA etc are proponent of DWAITA philosophies.

BHAKTI YOGA:WHAT IS BHAKTI YOGA?

Bhakti in Sanskrit [ language in which all Hindu scriptures are written] means devotion. In this method, a devotee attains SELF_REALIZATION BY TOTAL SELF_SURRENDER OF HIS PERSONAL WILL TO HIS PERSONAL DEITY. In fact, almost all the people belonging to all religions will fall under this method of spirituality. Through BHAKTI or devotion one is indirectly dissolving his personal EGO and attaining SUPER EGO THAT HE IS ONE WITH THE UNIVERSE. Instead of feeling that he owns one house or one family, realizing that he owns the whole universe.

WHAT ONE SHOULD CAUTION IN BHAKTI YOGA?

Even though in Bhakti Yoga one is supposed to eradicate his/her personal EGO, chances are that Bhakti Yoga makes many to bolster their ego. That is very dangerous and counter productive. In devotion, one should never feel that his personal God is superior to the neighbor's God or his way of worship is superior to neighbor's method. One should be able to worship in all places in all circumstances. One should be able to see his personal God, in all deities of all religions. A Hindu should be able to see his personal God in those beautiful Christian churches or Moslem Mosques or Buddhist vihars or Jewish synagogues. The God that is present in the Hindu temples is the same God that is present in churches, mosques, vihars, synagogues and million other places. It is utter stupidi-ty to believe that God will only answer if you pray in Sanskrit or Latin. God who came as Christ or as Krishna will answer all prayers whether those prayers make any sense or not literally.

KARMA YOGA:

WHAT IS KARMA YOGA?

The word KARMA came from the root word KRI or TO DO. The word KARMA like the word YOGA has many many meanings in Hinduism, like result, causality, product, deeds, destiny, action etc. Karma Yoga was first expounded in SATAPATHA BRAHMA-NA. It is based on the concept of NISKAMA KARMA or UNSELFISH ACTIONS. Hindus believe that BY SELF LESS ACTIONS one can attain self realization. So, Karma Yoga in a nutshell is ATTAINING SELF REALIZATION OR FREEDOM FROM REINCARNATIONS THROUGH SELF_LESS ACTIONS.

Lord Krishna teaches KARMA YOGA in detail in the Bhagavad Gita.

1. According to Krishna, ACTION IS UNAVOIDABLE, WHEN YOU TAKE THE BODY AND AS SUCH ONE HAS TO PRACTICE SELF_LESS ACTIONS TO ATTAIN SALVATION.

2. If one resort to selfish actions, one will be deluded and will be forced to take repeated incarnations.

3. Each person takes a body, according his previous karma in his previous life.

4. Sum total of a man's thoughts and actions become part and part of his KARMA [ fate] and it is that KARMA which decides his day to day life as well as life after death.

5. One of the ways to burn away one's KARMIC DEBT is to SURRENDER ONESELF TO THE GOD WITHIN. You may call that God by name Christ or Krishna or ALLAH or Jehovah.