Category Archives: Religion and Spirituality
Swami Narayan’s Wisdom
Someone has thought beautifully! One must read and try to understand the deep meaning in them. They are like the Ten Commandments to follow in life -all the time.
1] Prayer is not a “spare wheel” that you pull out when in trouble; it is a “steering wheel” that directs us in the right path throughout life.
2] Do you know why a car’s WINDSHIELD is so large & the rear view mirror is so small? Because our PAST is not as important as our FUTURE. So, look ahead and move on.
3] Friendship is like a BOOK. It takes few seconds to burn, but it takes years to write.
4] All things in life are temporary. If going well, enjoy it, they will not last forever. If going wrong don’t worry, they can’t last long either.
5] Old friends are like Gold! New friends are Diamonds! If you get a Diamond, don’t forget the Gold! Because to hold a Diamond, you always
need a base of Gold!
6] Often when we lose hope and think this is the end, GOD smiles from above and says, “Relax, sweetheart, it’s just a bend, not the end!
7] When GOD solves your problems, you have faith in HIS abilities; when GOD doesn’t solve your problems HE has faith in your abilities.
8] A blind person asked St. Anthony: “Can there be anything worse than losing eye sight?” He replied: “Yes, losing your vision.”
9] When you pray for others, God listens to you and blesses them; and sometimes, when you are safe and happy, remember that someone has
prayed for you.
10] WORRYING does not take away tomorrow’s TROUBLES; it takes away today’s PEACE
The core tenets of Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism)
Yama & Niyama are the first 2-stages of Ashtanga Yoga of Patanjali
The 10 Yamas – Restraints or Proper Conduct
- Ahimsa …………………or Non-injury
- Satya ……….. …………or Truthfulness
- Asteya ……….. ………..or Nonstealing
- Brahmacharya ……….. or Sexual Purity
- Kshama ……………….. or Patience
- Dhriti ……….. …………or Steadfastness
- Daya ……….. ………….or Compassion
- Arjava ……….. ………..or Honesty
- Mitahara ……….. ……..or Moderate Diet
- Saucha ……….. ………..or Purity (Hygiene)
The 10 Niyamas – Observances or Practices
- Hri ……….. …………….or Modesty
- Santosha ……….. ………or Contentment
- Dana ……….. …………..or Charity
- Astikya ……….. ………..or Faith
- Ishvarapujana ………….or Worship of the Lord
- Siddhanta Sravana …….or Scriptural Listening
- Mati ……….. ……………or Cognition
- Vrata ……….. ………….or Sacred Vows
- Japa ……….. ……………or Incantation
- Tapas ……….. ………….or Austerity
How simple they sound and how difficult they are! Are they truly difficult? Anything you are not accustomed to – appears difficult. For a person who has not even seen a swimming pool or pond before – swimming appears difficult. Familiarity removes the fear and makes it easy. Then, once a person starts familiarizing with the above – they progressively become easy and practicable.
MSR Ayyangar
The religious gurus of today..
Once upon a time there lived a male monkey by name “Sundar” in an Indian forest. He had great leadership qualities and was elected the head of the herd by virtue of its possessing a royal “tail” which was long and beautiful – by monkey standards. One day in the process of his monkey business, his tail got cut off in an accident. Sundar was terribly upset over this and feared that he will enjoy no more extra privileges & respect among his mates. He went away far from his normal residence, carrying his severed tail with him, and sat on a big tall rock thinking what to do and how to face and resolve the crisis. When he saw at a long distance his mates coming in search of him, being very smart, he started looking at the sky and started talking & listening, questioning & answering. All his friends came near, found him talking to no one. They waited for some time and asked him what was going on – to which he quickly gestured not to disturb. After a long pause, Sundar simply paid his obeisance by prostrating to the unseen entity and then turned to his friends and addressed them thus … Hello dear friends! Are you all wondering why I came so far away and who is it that I was talking to till now? Can you believe? It was God the Creator!
Sundar to the herd: You all know that I have been a very religious person and spend most of my private time in prayers. You all gave me so much of love & respect but still there was an inexplicable emptiness deep inside me. We all eat well and have large families – but the emptiness remains and tortures me to no end. To day I was determined to find a solution to this unbearable agony. I cam here and started my intense prayers but to no avail. I was thinking of ending my life – when I heard the voice from no where – “That is a sin – Don’t even think of it”. I was astounded and shouted back … who is it? The answer came instantly … “God Your Creator”. I was petrified and also overwhelmed…thus started a conversation as follows …
Sundar: I can hear you but can not see you – why?
God: You can hear me because you have been praying intensely and I have accepted your prayers! But you still have lot of ego left in you – hence You cannot see me!
Sundar: But I want to see you… please I beg you …
God: No you cannot! Very very sorry! I cannot grant you that so easily!
Sundar: What should I do to see you?
God: Just surrender your ego to me totally & unconditionally – then you can instantly see me.
Sundar: How do I do that?
God: Very simple … sacrifice your tail – the main symbol of your ego … cut it off and submit it to me …
Sundar: I did not think twice – I just cut of my tail and submitted to my Lord … and said here it is … how dare I doubt my own God whom I have been worshiping since my birth. But then …oh behold! … the effulgent lord! … the lord of the universe! … I was able to see him clearly and talk to him too, which continued till you all came – and you all saw that … did not you?
Monkey Herd: But we saw nothing excepting you talking into the void … and heard nothing too … excepting your voice …
Sundar: How could you hear him – none of you pray like me … do you?
Ofcourse we pray too – but well … have no idea how much and in what way you pray …!!!
Sundar: That is the crux … see! But do not be disappointed. You heard me talking to God at the end for you all … did not you? I did tell him that I cannot be selfish and enjoy this privilege alone – having grown with you all. He granted me the boon for you all explicitly … he said … Sundar … who ever surrenders his ego to me like you did – can instantly see me for asking and hear me too! But only one condition – he / she should not be the “worst sinner” … I will however pardon normal sins for all!
Ravi … the most adventurous monkey in the herd came forwards ans said … Sundar … help me see God!
Sundar: Come here my dear friend … here I cut off your tail the way I did for myself!
Ravi felt the excruciating pain of severing tail – but saw no God nor heard any voice.
Ravi: Where is God Sundar? I see none and hear none!
Sundar: Don’t be silly Ravi – look there! – God is straight looking at you and talking to you … showing a finger in one direction.
Ravi carefully considered the situation despite the pain – got convinced that he was the worst sinner not to be able to see God who is seen so clearly by his friend Sundar. But how can he admit it? What an insult and ignominy? Ravi suddenly recognized God in the direction shown by Sundar – saw him very clearly and started talking to him in absolute rapture! Sundar was happy he got the first victim he wanted … rest is easy! It took hardly any time before the entire forest was full of monkeys with severed tails – all seeing and talking to God! Sundar remained their perpetual Guru with highly enhanced respect & reverence than before!
Sundar is the most successful religious leader … exactly like current human religious leaders!
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Karma – Janma
Life, when examined deeply, will appear to be an endless chain of “causes & effects”. Every effect becomes the cause for further downstream effects. After considerable time passes (decades, centuries, millennia) – the cluster of effects are so large in number with random inter-relationships – one cannot make out which is the cause and which is the effect. It then becomes “chicken-egg” or “seed-tree” puzzle as to which came first. The original puzzle that preceded all puzzles of human mind is the cycle of “Karma-Janma”. Karma is dynamic thought & action – while Janma is physical birth … which came first? This can be left to any one’s own imagination and self conviction – as no convincing is possible by others.
What I am going to attempt now is to get some clarity on the definition & theory of Karma itself – which often is very nebulous, when one tries to get some insights into it. Sri Malladi Venkata Krishnamurthy – a Sanskrit scholar has drawn extensively from “Niralambopanishad” to give us some clarity on Karma-Janma – I am grateful to him.
1. What is Karma…?
Kriyate Anena Iti Karma! This means everything that gets done is Karma. The word Karma originates from the root word “Kru” meaning dynamic thought & action. Karma means an action committed by mind or body! The completed work is called “Karma”, while the work in progress is called “Kriya”. Hence the seed of Karma lies in the Kriya.
Niralambopanishad defines Karma as – “Any action by mind or body with full involvement of all 5-senses and awareness of –“I am doing” – is Karma. There is never a moment in human life – that one is not involved or engaged in doing some type of Karma or the other. Hence there is no life without Karma.
Why Religions failed..???
What is Religion:
A system of thought, feeling, and action that is shared by a group and that gives the members an object of devotion; a code of behavior by which individuals may judge the personal and social consequences of their actions; and a frame of reference by which individuals may relate to their group and their universe. Usually, religion concerns itself with that which transcends the known, the natural, or the expected; it is an acknowledgment of the extraordinary, the mysterious, and the supernatural. The religious consciousness generally recognizes a transcendent, sacred order and elaborates a technique to deal with the inexplicable or unpredictable elements of human experience in the world or beyond it.
Types of Religious Systems
The evolution of religion cannot be precisely determined owing to the lack of clearly distinguishable stages, but anthropological and historical studies of isolated cultures in various periods of development have suggested a typology but not a chronology. One type is found among some Australian aborigines who practice magic and fetishism but consider the powers therein to be not supernatural but an aspect of the natural world. Inability or refusal to divide real from preternatural and acceptance of the idea that inanimate objects may work human good or evil are sometimes said to mark a prereligious phase of thought. This is sometimes labeled naturism or animatism. It is characterized by a belief in a life force that itself has no definite characterization.
A second type of religion, represented by many Oceanic and African tribal beliefs, includes momentary deities (a tree suddenly falling on or in front of a person is malignant, although it was not considered “possessed” before or after the incident) and special deities (a particular tree is inhabited by a malignant spirit, or the spirits of dead villagers inhabit a certain grove or particular animals). In this category one must distinguish between natural and supernatural forces. This development is related to the emergence of objects of devotion, to rituals of propitiation, to priests and shamans, and to an individual sense of group participation in which the individual or the group is protected by, or against, supernatural beings and is expected to act singly or collectively in specific ways when in the presence of these forces.
MSR Ayyangar's Blog 