The Vedic Concept of God ~ Eastern Philosophy ~ Vedas

The Vedic God 

This article is also available in

Hindi at http://agniveer.com/vedic-god-hi/ and 

Gujarati at http://agniveer.com/6029/the-vedic-god-gu/

Note: By ‘God’ we imply Ishwar or the Supreme Entity and NOT ‘Devata’. ‘Devata’ is a different term but often wrongly considered to mean ‘Supreme Entity’.

While Ishwar is also a ‘Devata’, any entity – living or non-living – that helps us or is useful for us is termed ‘Devata’. But that does not mean every entity is Ishwar and should be worshipped. To avoid confusion, we shall use the term ‘Ishwar’ in this article.

The Supreme One who represents selflessness, controls the entire universe, is present everywhere and is the Devata of all Devatas, alone is source of bliss. Those who do not understand Him remain drenched in sorrow and those who realize Him achieve unconditional happiness. (Rigveda 1.164.39)

Q: How many Ishwar are there in Vedas? We heard there are huge number of Ishwar in Vedas.

A: You have heard from wrong sources. Vedas clearly specify that there is One and only One Ishwar. And there is no mantra in Vedas that can be interpreted to imply multiple Ishwars.

Not only this, Vedas also refuse existence of any angel or Prophet or incarnation who is necessarily required to act as an agent between You and Ishwar.

To give a rough analogy:

Ishwar of Vedas = God of Christianity minus the concept of Trinity minus the necessity to surrender to Jesus

Ishwar of Vedas = Allah of Islam minus the necessity to accept Muhammad as final Prophet.

In other words, If someone says first part of Shahada : lâ ilâha illallâh (There is no other God except one and only Allah) but rejects the second part : Muḥammadur rasûlullâh(Muhammad is his messenger), that is close to concept of Vedic God.

In Islam, it is Shirk or greatest sin to worship anything except Allah. If you take this concept further and also refuse to accept any Muhammad or Gabriel as necessary to be remembered apart from Allah, you are avoiding Shirk as per Vedas.

Q: What about the various Gods or Devatas mentioned in Vedas? What about 33 crore Gods?

A:

1. As mentioned earlier, Devata refers to entities that are useful for us. But nowhere it is mentioned in Vedas that we should worship these entities. Of course, Ishwar is the Devata or Devatas and hence called ‘Mahadeva’. He alone is to be worshipped.

2. The Vedas refer to not 33 crore Devatas but 33 types (Koti in Sanskrit) of Devatas. They are explained in Shatpath Brahman very clearly. These include -

8 Vasus (Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Sky, Moon, Sun, Stars/ Planets) that form components of universe where we live,

10 Life Forces in our body or Prana (Prana, Apana, Vyana, Udana, Samaana, Naga, Kurma, Kukala, Devadatta) and 1 Soul called Rudra,

12 Aditya or months of year,

1 Vidyut or Electromagnetic force that is of tremendous use to us

1 Yajna or constant noble selfless deeds done by humans

The master of these 33 Devatas is the Mahadeva or Ishwar who alone is to be worshipped as per 14th Kanda of Shatpath Brahman.

The concept of 33 Devatas is a great research based subject in itself and requires in-depth study for proper understanding. However, it has been made very clear in all Vedic texts that they are NOT Ishwar and hence NOT to be worshipped.

3. Ishwar has huge number of properties. Ignorant people wrongly consider these properties of Ishwar to be different Ishwars. For example, in today’s newspaper there were 2 headlines – One referred to Dr Singh and other to Manmohan. That does not mean India has two Prime Ministers!

4. To dispel such confusions, there are several mantras in Vedas that clearly state that there is One and Only One Ishwar without any assistants, agents, prophets or juniors to liaison between Him and Us. For example:

Yajurveda 40.1:

This entire world is embedded within and managed by the One and Only One Ishwar. Never dare do any injustice or desire riches through unjust means. Instead follow the righteous path and enjoy His bliss. After all He alone is source of all bliss!

Rigveda 10.48.1:

Ishwar alone is omnipresent and manager of entire universe. He alone provides victory and eternal cause of world. All souls should look up only to Him in same manner as children look up to their Father. He alone provides for our sustenance and bliss.

Rigveda 10.48.5

Ishwar enlightens the entire world. He is undefeated and undying. He is the creator of the world. All souls should seek bliss through seeking knowledge and acting thereupon. They should never shun the friendship of Ishwar.

Rigveda 10.49.1

Ishwar alone provides true knowledge to truth seekers. He alone is promoter of knowledge and motivates virtuous people into noble actions to seek bliss. He alone is the creator and manager of the world. Hence never worship anyone else except one and only Ishwar.

Yajurveda 13.4

There is One and only One Creator and Maintainer of the entire world. He alone is sustaining the earth, sky and other heavenly bodies. He is Bliss Himself! He alone deserves to be worshipped by us.

Atharvaveda 13.4.16-21

He is neither two, nor three, nor four, nor five, nor six, nor seven, nor eight, nor nine, nor ten. He is, on contrary, One and Only One. There is no Ishwar except Him. All devatas reside within Him and are controlled by Him. So He alone should be worshipped, none else.

Atharvaveda 10.7.38

Ishwar alone is greatest and worth being worshipped. He is the source of all knowledge and activities.

Yajurveda 32.11

Ishwar resides at each point in universe. No space is devoid of Him. He is self-sustaining and does not need help of any agent, angel, prophet or incarnation to perform His duties. The soul which is able to realize this One and only One Ishwar achieves Him and enjoys unconditional ultimate bliss or Moksha.

There are innumerable such mantras in Vedas that explain One and Only One Ishwar and instructs us to worship Him directly without invoking any other entity – Incarnation, Prophet, Angel or Agent.

Q: How do you establish existence of Ishwar?

A: Through direct and indirect evidences.

Q: But direct evidence of Ishwar cannot be possible. How do you then establish Ishwar?

A:

1. Evidence means the clear knowledge determined through stimuli received from sense organs. But note that sense organs capture the properties and not the ’cause of these properties’.

For example, when you read this article, you do not capture existence of Agniveer, but only certain images coming on your screen that you interpret into meaningful knowledge. And then you conclude that there has to be some writer of this article and claim that you have evidence of existence of Agniveer. So this is ‘indirect evidence’ even though it appears ‘direct’.

Similarly, this whole creation that we observe via its properties through sense organs imply existence of Ishwar.

2. When you can link a sensory input directly to an entity, you claim to have ‘direct evidence’. For example when you eat a mango, you feel the property of sweetness and associate it with the mango that you consumed. What is important is that you can associate such ‘direct evidence’ ONLY with specific sense organ that was used to observe that property.

Thus in previous example, you cannot have ‘direct evidence’ of mango through ‘ears’ but only through ‘tongue’ or ‘nose’ or ‘eyes’.

Also in reality this is also ‘indirect evidence’ though we term it ‘direct evidence’ for sake of simplicity.

Now since Ishwar is the most subtle entity existing, it is impossible to have ‘direct evidence’ of Ishwar through coarse sense organs like eyes, nose, tongue, skin or ears. For example we cannot see subatomic particles even through most powerful microscopes, we cannot hear ultrasonic sound, we cannot feel the touch of each individual molecule.

In other words, Ishwar is impossible to be evidenced through these coarse and weak sense organs just as mango cannot be sensed through ears or subatomic particles cannot be sensed through any sense organ for that matter.

3. The only organ that can sense Ishwar is mind or Mana. When mind is fully controlled and devoid of involuntary disturbances (like thousands of thoughts coming all the time) and adequate knowledge about properties of Ishwar has been obtained through study and practice, Ishwar can be evidenced directly through intellect in same manner as a mango is evidenced through its taste.

This is the goal of life and this is what a Yogi attempts to do through all the various methods of mind control that include cultivating traits like non-violence, truth-seeking, compassion, seeking bliss for all, high moral character, fighting against injustice, unity among people, etc etc.

4. In a way we get hints of direct evidence of Ishwar everyday in our life. When we try to indulge in any wrong act like theft, cheating, brutality, we hear that faint ‘inner voice’ in form of fear, shame, doubt etc. And when we indulge in noble deeds like helping others, blessing a child etc, we again hear that ‘inner voice’ in form of fearlessless, sense of satisfaction, enthusiasm and feeling of bliss.

This ‘inner voice’ is from Ishwar. Often we reduce its audibility by trying to silence it through loud DJ Music of stupid tendencies around. But then we all at times feel this ‘inner voice’ getting louder now and then, when things are relatively silent.

5. And when the soul purifies itself from mental disturbances and gets away from the DJ club, it is able to directly evidence itself as well as Ishwar.

Hence both through direct and indirect evidence, Ishwar is established as clearly as other entities witnessed by us.

Q: Where does Ishwar live?

A:

1. Ishwar is omnipresent and hence resides everywhere. Had Ishwar been living at a particular place like some special sky or on some special throne, He could not have been omniscient, omnipotent, manager of all, creator of all and destructor of all. You cannot perform actions at a place where you are not present.

2. If you say that Ishwar manages the world from one place just like sun illuminates earth from far off or you watch TV through remote control, this is defective logic. Because sun is able to illuminate the earth or remote control is able to operate the TV only through radiation waves that travel through the interim space. Just because we are unable to see them we call it remote control. In reality there is nothing like a remote control. Thus the very fact that Ishwar is able to manage something implies that it is present there to manage it.

3. Further, if Ishwar is omnipotent, why would He be scared to restrict Himself to a small space. This makes Ishwar limited. Christians say God is on 4th sky and Muslims say that Allah is on 7th sky. And their followers keep fighting each other to prove themselves right. Is it that God and Allah decided to live in separate skies so that they also do not start fighting like their angry followers?

In reality these are childish talks. When Ishwar is All-Powerful and controls entire universe, there is no reason why He would be scared to limit himself to a small part of universe. And if He is, he cannot be termed All-Powerful.

Q: Does it mean Ishwar is also in dirty things like alcohol, urine, excreta?

A:

1. The entire creation is within Ishwar. Because Ishwar is also outside these things but these things do not exist outside Ishwar. So all things in world are pervaded by Ishwar. To give a very rough analogy, we are within Ishwar in similar manner as a pice of cloth within tub of water. There is water within, outside and all around the cloth. There is no portion of cloth which is not wet with water but there is water beyond the cloth as well.

2. Anything is dirty or good for us depending upon our duty towards it. The same set of atoms that form the tasty mango we eat is so lovely for us. But when the atoms disintegrate, interact with other chemicals and form excreta, that becomes dirty for us. But in essence all these are merely different combinations of particles of nature. Since we have a mission on this earth, we analyze each thing with regards to the mission and accept some/ reject rest. What we reject is dirty or trash for us and what we accept is good for us. But for God, such duty does not exist and hence nothing is dirty for Him. On contrary, His duty is different from ours – to help us achieve bliss in just manner – and hence nothing in His entire creation is untouchable for Him.

3. If you look from another analogy, Ishwar is not like a pampered social worker who would prefer to plan remotely in his air-conditioned office but would desist from visiting the slums where actual social work has to be done. He, on contrary, exists to manage the most dirty of the places for our benefit.

4. And since He alone is most perfect, despite He being everywhere and everything being within Him, He is separate and different from these things.

Q: Is Ishwar Kind and Just?

A: Yes. He is the epitome of kindness and justice.

Q: But these are opposite traits. Kindness means to forgive a criminal. And justice means giving punishment to criminal. How can both exist at same time?

A: Kindness and Justice are basically one and same. Because both serve the same purpose.

1. Kindness does not mean forgiving a criminal. Because if that be done, several innocent people would become victims. Thus unless justice is meted out to a criminal, one cannot be kind to innocents. It will also be not justice to the criminal because he would not be prevented from further crimes.

For example, if a dacoit is forgiven, he would harm several innocent people. And if he is imprisoned, it would not only prevent harm to innocents but also allow him opportunity to improve himself and not do further crimes. So in justice alone lies kindness for one and all.

2. In reality, kindness refers to the purpose of Ishwar and justice to the process. When Ishwar punishes a criminal, He does it to prevent the criminal from doing further crimes. And he also prevents innocent people from getting punished for no offense of theirs. Thus the entire purpose of justice is kindness to all.

3. As per Vedas, and observation, the source of sorrow is ignorance which causes one to do wrong acts called crimes. So when a soul does such wrong acts, Ishwar restricts his freedom to do crimes and allows him opportunities to remove his ignorance and remove sorrow.

4. Mere saying sorry is not sufficient to receive pardon of Ishwar. The source of sin or crimes is ignorance and until that is removed, the soul would continue to get rightful punishments or rewards for its actions every moment throughout several births and deaths. And the purpose of all this justice is His kindness towards the soul to gift it with ultimate bliss.

Q: Does that mean, Ishwar will never pardon my sins? Islam or Christianity are better. There, if I confess or say sorry, all my past records are deleted and I am given fresh opportunity.

A:

1. Ishwar does pardon your sins. His pardon lies in the just results of your actions that He provides and not in deleting your past records.

2. If He were to delete your past records, He would be doing greatest injustice and brutality to you. Because in this case, He has allowed you to be promoted to next class even when you have not gained the competence to pass the present class. And in process he is doing injustice to others also who interact with you.

3. Pardoning means providing opportunity to improve your competence and not giving you 100% when you deserved a zero. This is exactly what Ishwar does. And remember that improving competence does not happen in one moment or through one word of ‘Sorry’. It demands dedicated practice and efforts over a period of time. Only lazy people seek shortcuts like trying to get 100% without even studying the course.

4. Unfortunately, those who attract people to their religion by saying that God will forgive their sins are fooling themselves and people. Suppose someone has diabetes. Does it get treated merely by saying sorry? When a physical disease takes much more than a sorry to be treated, how can mind – the most complex thing known to humanity – be treated by a sorry?

5. Actually these ideologies have a blatant flaw – they believe in one life and do not believe in rebirth. So they want to create artificial hurry formula to attract people. And scare them to Hell of they do not agree to them. We have already covered the loopholes of One Life theory in God must be crazy!

6. Vedic philosophy is much more natural, amenable to logic and reasonable. Neither is there a Hell where you would be thrown to burn forever by an Ishwar who is as loving as Mother, nor would He debar you from opportunities to actually raise your competence through efforts and achieve what you truly deserve. After all what is more satisfying:

a. Rank 1 through a fake mark sheet when we know that actually we had got zero, or

b. A proud Rank 1 through hard work and burning midnight oil, when we know that we did the best we could to become masters of the subject!

So in vedas, there are no shortcuts or longcuts to success. There is only the right cut! And the success is much more satisfying than what any illusionary and illusive shortcut can be imagined to provide!

Q: Is Ishwar with form or formless?

A: He is formless as per Vedas and commonsense.

1. He cannot be omnipresent if He has form. Because form implies existence of boundary. And hence He should not exist beyond the boundary if He has form.

2. Form can be seen only if Ishwar is coarse. Because any object finer than what can reflect light waves cannot be seen. Now Vedas clearly define Ishwar as the most finest, without gaps and uniform everywhere. (Refer Yajurveda 40.8 for example). Hence He cannot have form.

3. If Ishwar has a form, it means that someone created His form. This is not possible. If you say that He himself made His form, it means He was formless earlier.

4. If you say that Ishwar is both formless and with form, it is not possible because both are contradictory.

5. If you say that He takes divine forms at times, kindly specify what divine means. Say Ishwar took divine form of a man. Now how will you define boundary of Ishwar atoms and non-Ishwar atoms. Further since He is present everywhere with same density (uniformity), how we distinguish between man-Ishwar and rest of world. And if Ishwar is same everywhere, how are we seeing the boundary?

6. What we see as human body is actually continuous exchange of matter and energy with rest of the world. It is impossible to distinguish each atom as part of human body or rest of the world. So it will be impossible to segregate even body of man-Ishwar. For example, will the spit, urine, sweat and other excreta from man-Ishwar also be divine?

7. In Vedas there is no concept of Ishwar being with form. Further there is nothing that Ishwar cannot do without form that He must assume a form.

8. What we normally consider as divine Ishwar forms – for example people like Ram and Krishna – were actually divinely inspired. Remember, we talked about ‘inner voice’ of Ishwar? These legends were epitome of Ishwar worship and purity of mind. And hence for normal people, they were Ishwar themselves. However Vedas prohibit worship of anyone except Ishwar. Thus, these persons should instead be emulated (their examples be followed in our own real lives) to offer our gratitude to them. This hero-followership is as per Vedas and explained in The power of Now! – Know Vedas.

9. Had Ishwar taken form and worship of these forms been the recipe for salvation, Vedas would have detailed description on this topic. But Vedas do not even hint at such concepts.

Q: Does it mean all these temples and worship of Ram, Krishna, Durga, Lakshmi wrong?

A: Take example of a pious mother living in a remote village. Her son gets bitten by snake. She rushes to local Tantrik for Jhaad Phoonk in an attempt to save life of her child. Would you call her wrong or right?

The bulk of Ishwar worshippers today, be it Hindu, Muslim, Christian or whatever are in same state. Their intentions are genuine and worth greatest respect. But out of ignorance, they adopt wrong practices of worshipping Ishwar. This is obvious from the fact that hardly anyone even knows about the Vedas, even though, at least the Hindus agree that Vedas are supreme.

The right way to show our gratitude to great legends of past should be by imbibing their virtues and doing noble deeds accordingly. For example, we see Ravans all around in form of corruption, terrorism, immorality etc. If we can unite to counter these in rightful manner, that would be true glorification of Ram. Same with Krishna, Durga, Hanuman etc.

I have been a fan of Hanumanji throughout my life. My way of his glorification has been preservation of my moral character and putting efforts for a strong and healthy body that serves the society. What point is in worshipping Hanuman with weak body and irritable stomach yet consuming heavy laddus!

While the motive behind all these modes of worship is worth greatest respect and we humbly bow to the purity of true devotees of any cult, it is our wish to see all devotees to adopt the same methods of worship that Ram or Krishna adopted in their own lives!

Q: Is Ishwar Omnipotent or All-Powerful?

A:

Yes, He is omnipotent. But that does not mean He can do whatever He wants. Doing whatever one may want is sign of indiscipline. On contrary, Ishwar is most disciplined. Omnipotence means that Ishwar does not need help of any other entity to conduct His duties – creation, management, destruction of universe. He is self-sufficient to conduct His duties.

But He would act only as per His duties. For example, He will not kill Himself to create another Ishwar. He cannot make Himself an idiot. He cannot do theft or dacoity etc.

Q: Does Ishwar has a beginning?

A:

Ishwar is without any beginning and without any end. He was always present and will always remain. Further His properties remain same at all times.

Soul and Nature are two other beginningless and endless entities.

Q: What does Ishwar want?

A: Ishwar wants bliss for all souls and wants them to achieve this bliss through deserving efforts purely on basis of merit.

Q: Should we worship Ishwar or not? Why? After all He never forgives!

A: Ishwar should be worshipped and He alone should be worshipped.

It is true that by worship of Ishwar, you will not receive any shortcut pass certificate when you have actually failed. Only lazy and cheaters desire such unscrupulous means to success.

The benefits of worship of Ishwar are different:

a. By worship of Ishwar one is able to understand Ishwar and His creation better.

b. By worship, one is able to better understand His properties and adopt those in his own life.

c. By worship, one is able to hear ‘inner voice’ better and get constant clearer guidance from Him.

d. By worship, one eradicates ignorance, gains strength and is able to withstand toughest challenges in life with confidence and aplomb.

e. Ultimately, one is able to remove ignorance completely and achieve Moksha or salvation with ultimate bliss.

Please note that worship does not mean some mechanical recitations or blankness of mind. It is a proactive approach to imbibe wisdom through actions, knowledge and contemplation.

We shall discuss this in detail subsequently. For now, you can refer to: How to worship?

Q: When Ishwar does not have limbs and sense organs, how does He conduct His actions?

A: He does not need coarse organs for his actions that happen at most microscopic level. He does so through His inherent powers. He sees without eyes because his eyes are present at every points in space, He does not have legs, but is fastest, He does not have ears but listens to everything, He knows everything but is beyond complete cognizance of everybody. This shloka comes in Upanishad. Ishopanishad also describes this in detail.

Q: Does Ishwar know His limits?

A: Ishwar knows everything. This means that He knows whatever is truth. Since Ishwar is limitless, He knows Himself as limitless. It would render Him ignorant if He tries to know His limits when none exist.

Q: Is Ishwar Saguna or Nirguna?

A: Both. Ishwar is Saguna if you refer to properties like Kindness, Just, Creator, Maintainer etc. But He is Nirguna, if you refer to properties that He does not possess – like dumbness, senselessness, anger, cheating, birth, death etc. Its only a semantic difference.

Q: Please summarize major properties of Ishwar as per Vedas.

A: His properties are infinite and cannot be expressed in words. But here are some major properties:

- He exists

- He is animate

- He is source of all bliss and happiness

- He is formless

- He is unchangeable

- He is all-powerful

- He is just

- He is kind

- He is unborn

- He never dies

- He is infinite

- He is omnipresent

- He has no defects

- He has no beginning and no end either in time or space

- He is uncomparable

- He maintains entire universe

- He creates entire universe

- He knows everything

- He never deteriorates and remains perfect always

- He is fearless

- He is pure

- He has no agents and establishes direct relationship with all souls.

He alone deserves to be worshipped without invoking anyone else.

This alone is the path to bliss and removal of all miseries!

Courtesy  ~ By Sanjeev

Twenty Positive Habits to Free Yourself from Negativity

Emotions are habits formed through repetition. To change the way we feel, we must change our behaviors.

For many of us, our default emotional responses are negative. We are easily annoyed. We always expect the worst. And we have become bitter towards the world and ourselves. Those negative responses create an endless loop which further ingrains our negativity. We get to a point where we forget how to act happy and therefore be happy.

This is why I’m passionate about the positive psychology movement. It’s rooted in science (not fluff), and actually works. By practicing mindfulness and choosing positive habits we can break our negative cycles to lead healthy, happy, and productive lives.

1. Be grateful every day :

Praise others often and praise yourself even more. What are you proud of? What are you thankful for? Journal something positive about yourself or your day. We are our harshest critic and our constant self-teardown reinforces allow sense of worth. Instead of always asking “What’s wrong with me?”, start asking “What’s right with me?”

2. Stop victimizing yourself :

Bad stuff happens to everybody — you’re not the only one. I’m not downplaying your problems but it’s a reality you have to accept. Absolving yourself of all responsibility and blaming the world won’t fix anything. You are not entitled to happiness. So…

3. When you encounter problems, find solutions :

Anyone can whine, worry, and complain. Be a man who looks at challenges as opportunities to grow rather than signs of defeat. If they can’t be resolved, move on and stop wasting energy. Spend the majority of your time on the solution, not the problem.

4. Keep the gossip and “shit talking” to a minimum :

Delivering the latest scoop may seem fun but put yourself in the position of the person you’re talking about. How would you feel to know that people are discussing your personal details or laughing behind your back? Don’t indulge in gossip started by someone else and catch yourself before you begin trashing others.

5. Smile all the time :

It increases life expectancy, lowers stress, makes you look more competent and attractive, and actually makes you happier. The physical act of smiling sends signals to your brain to release endorphins. Constantly remind yourself to smile even during the worst of times, you’ll feel better.

6. Make yourself laugh often :

I’m the funniest guy I know and I love my humor. I say stupid stuff that makes me giggle, act completely silly, dance like a fool, and get weird when I’m alone. It makes even the most mundane moments enjoyable. Being childlike isn’t childish.

7 .Don’t sweat the small stuff :

“What the fuck, why’d I spill that?” “God damn I left my phone in the car!” I used to get so angry over the tiniest hurdles. All it did was add unnecessary stress and create a habit of bitching about everything. Ask yourself: will this even matter tomorrow, next month, or next year? Probably not.

8. Stop taking things personally :

The world doesn’t revolve around you and most people are more worried about themselves. Even if something is about you, try to listen objectively. Don’t see it as an attack but something to potentially learn from (if it’s legitimate). Acknowledging something does not mean you have to accept it as truth. But if it is something you can improve upon…

9. Filter your mistakes through guilt, not shame :

When you feel like you messed up, remember that it’s temporary and you can fix it (guilt). Tell yourself that it has nothing to do with your character or your value as a person (shame).

10. Practice positive criticism :

Calling someone an idiot is easy especially online when you’re safe and anonymous. It takes a strong person to challenge someone else for the better and want to raise them up. If you enjoy tearing others down then maybe you should…

11. Stop basking in misery :

The way you treat others is a reflection of how you feel about yourself. One of the biggest signs of insecurity to me is when someone relishes in making other people unhappy. Follow the old rule of “if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”

12. End surface level snap judgements :

Try not to make assumptions about who someone is from their appearance or initial impressions. I don’t care if they’re overweight, have massive tattoos, or look like Skrillex. Give them the benefit of the doubt and let them show you their true personality. For some, your initial assessment may have been correct but many people will surprise you. And if you never give the latter a chance, you’ll have missed some great connections.

13. Cut down on the news :

Murders, massacres, rapes, and suicides — we are obsessed with the dreadful. But what is it doing for us? It makes us cynical, terrified, and depressed. It’s a huge time sink that adds almost no value. Think about this…
“Out of the approximately 10,000 news stories you have read in the last 12 months, name one that – because you consumed it – allowed you to make a better decision about a serious matter affecting your life, your career or your business.”

The average person spends half a day every week on news. Start by cutting that in half and put the extra time towards something beneficial: meeting new people, working out, doing a hobby, pursuing your passions, spending time with your family, or reading an insightful book.

14. Don’t rehash all of your little mistakes :

Address the critical ones, devise a solution promptly, and let go of what won’t affect any major decisions. Stop thinking through everything you did wrong that day before going to sleep. Stop wishing you said something different. And stop wishing you could go back in time. Accept what happened and be thankful for the experience you gained from it.

15. Take the Tony Robbins 10 day mental challenge :

I’m not a huge Robbins advocate but this idea is a good one. The goal is to acknowledge but not dwell on or invest time in any unhelpful, unhealthy, or unproductive thoughts for 10 consecutive days. It’s difficult but regardless if you hit the full mark, it’s extremely beneficial. Plus, you can always try again.

16. Stop generalizing :

You can’t place everyone or everything in the same box. If a girl mistreated you before, it does not mean every girl will. If you failed at one thing, it does not mean you will fail at everything. It’s your fear of being hurt or rejected again that forces you to think this way.

When you hear yourself using blanket statements, call your insecurities out. “Is this really true? What proof do I have? Am I being fair to the other person or to myself? Or am I just protecting myself because I’m scared?”

17. Distance yourself from negative influences :

Just because you can hang out together, doesn’t mean you always should. We are shaped by the connections we make and maintain. Surround yourself with positive people who improve the quality of your life.

18. Give random acts of kindness :

Do something nice for a stranger or a friend — without expecting anything in return. And as long as it’s not adding additional stress to you. Studies have shown people who give freely have higher self-esteem, more control over their life, and feel connected to other human beings. It’s hard not to feel good when you make someone smile.

19. Express your anger constructively :

This is tough, even for me. The first step is to force yourself not to scream or raise your voice. Breathe deep and walk away for a few minutes if you have to. Whether it’s in your head or to someone else, try not to swear (it just exacerbates things). You can then speak your frustration in an assertive but non-confrontational manner.

20. Replace “I can’t” from your vocabulary :

When you start doubting yourself, reframe your negative statements to “I can” or “I will”. “I can’t go talk to her” becomes “I will go talk to her.” The simple shift in words will alter the way you handle situations and subsequently improve your results.

By practicing positive habits you’ll become…

More attractive to higher quality people. We are drawn to those who provide value in our lives and are fun to be around.

More productive. You will spend less time questioning your abilities and see more successes. You will take more opportunities which will lead to better jobs, relationships, and experiences.
More happy with yourself and with others. And who doesn’t want that?

“The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes of mind.” – William James

Courtesy~Mohamed Riyaz

Stochastic Probability Theory of Life ~ Pregnant Deer Scenario.

Life, Lessons and Inspiration

Magic of Life -Stochastic Probability Theory of Life

“Every moment is a moment of choice, every hour is destiny“.

I happen to come across this theory called Stochastic Probability theory – It means that the outcome of an event cannot be determined as future events are randomly decided. In simple terms you cannot predict the future and a good example is stock market and currency exchange rate fluctuation.

Coming back to our life scenario, anyone would laugh if they are told that future events are unpredictable. Thats obvious they would say. But, sometimes this unpredictability might lead us into a feeling of helplessness when things go beyond our control. We feel helpless, demotivated and sometimes depressed. Our negative thoughts cloud our judgment and we feel we are running out of all options. We feel there is only one way to do it (or end it) or we may hurt people who are near and dear to us. At that moment…this story can be worth recalling.

I wish to tell that everyone have got a CHOICE in life. That makes us different and unique.

THE STORY:

Consider this scenario: In a remote forest, a pregnant deer is about to give birth to a baby. It finds a remote grass field near by a river and slowly goes there thinking it would be safe. As she moves slowly, she gets labor pain…. at the same moment, dark clouds gather around that area and lightning starts a forest fire. Turning left she sees a hunter who is aiming an arrow from a distance. As she tries to move towards right, she spots a hungry lion approaching towards her.

Stochastic Probability Theory - Pregnant Deer Scenario

What can the pregnant deer do ….as she is already under labor pain ?

What do you think will happen ?

Will the deer survive ?

Will it give birth to a calf ?

Will the calf survive ? or

Will everything be burnt by the forest fire ?

That particular moment ?

Can the deer go left ? – Hunter’s arrow is pointing

Can she go right ? – Hungry male lion approaching

Can she move up ? – Forest fire

Can she move down ? – Fierce river

Answer: She does nothing. She just focuses on giving birth to a new LIFE.

The sequence of events that happens at that fraction of a second (moment) are as follows:

In a spur of MOMENT …a lightning strikes (already it is cloudy ) and blinds the eyes of the Hunter. At that MOMENT, he releases the arrow missing and zipping past the deer. At that MOMENT the arrow hits and injures the lion badly. At that MOMENT, it starts to rain heavily and puts out the forest fire. At that next MOMENT, the deer gives birth to a healthy calf.

In our life, it’s our MOMENT of CHOICE and we all have to deal with such negative thoughts from all sides always. Some thoughts are so powerful they overpower us and makes us clueless. Let us not decide anything in a hurry. Lets think of ourself as the pregnant deer with the ultimate happy ending. 

Anything can happen in a MOMENT in this life. If you are religious, superstitious, atheist, agnostic… or whatever… you can attribute this MOMENT as sublime, divine intervention, faith, sudden luck, chance (serendipity), coincidence… or a simple ‘dont know’. We all feel the same. But, whatever one may call it, I would see the priority of the deer in that given moment was to giving birth to a baby…. because LIFE IS PRECIOUS.

Hence, whether you are deer or a human, keep that faith and hope within you always.

Note: Life can be defined as a “Stochastic Probability theory” that is unique to a particular individual where the outcomes of our moments are non-deterministic as future events are determined by random probability distributions that cannot be predicted. I call this as MAGIC OF LIFE.

Sree Narayana Guru on Caste system

Sree Narayana Guru:

1.Now the world should get freedom from the clutches of caste system and racial discrimination

2.Even god himself comes and say that due to the birth in lower caste one should not learn Vedas, we should not agree with that.

3.Is that human beings live for caste or for god or all these are for human beings.

4.If there are no human beings then what is the use of all these (caste, god, etc)


5.There is no caste, and thinking that the caste system exist itself is foolishness.

6. There is no use of caste system in the society. It curtails the freedom of individuals and also it kills the wisdom.

7. There are only minor differences among the human beings like the color of the skin, educational qualification, financial status, the taste for food, color of dress etc. Other than these there are no significant differences among human beings.

8. The caste system has created so many problems in Indian society. Even Sree Sankaracharya has committed mistakes while following the caste system

9. Sage Vyasa who wrote Bhagavath geetha and also Brahama sootra has told in different ways about caste system confusing the followers.

10. There is no group (vargam) called the dalits /adhakrutha / lower caste, etc. The only difference is (if at all) in the level of education, financial status, level of cleanliness etc

നാം സ്വയമേ പോകുകയല്ലല്ലോ ,വിധിച്ചിട്ടു പോകുകയല്ലേ ! - ശ്രീ നാരായണ ഗുരു

ശ്രീ നാരായണ ഗുരുദേവന്‍റെ യൂറോപ്യൻ ശിഷ്യനായ സ്വാമി ഏണസ്റ്റ് കെർക് ഗുരുദേവനോട് ചോദിച്ചു 

തൃപ്പാദങ്ങൾ എന്തിനാണ് ഈ വാർദ്ധക്യകാലത്ത് ഇങ്ങനെ ദേശസഞ്ചാരം നടത്തുന്നത് ?

ഗുരുദേവൻ:-'' നാം സ്വയമേ പോകുകയല്ലല്ലോ, വിധിച്ചിട്ടു പോകുകയല്ലേ !പ്രപഞ്ചത്തിലെ സർവ ഗോളങ്ങളും സ്ഥിരമായി നില്ക്കുന്നവ അല്ലല്ലോ, നാമും അങ്ങനെ തന്നെ ''മനസിലായില്ലേ !" 

ഭൌതിക ശാസ്ത്ര പ്രകാരം ഭൂമിയിൽ നില്ക്കുന്ന നാം ഭൂമിയുടെ ഭ്രമണം സെക്കന്റ്‌ൽ അര കി .മിറ്ററും ഭൂമി സൂര്യനെ പ്രദിക്ഷണം വെക്കുന്നത് കൊണ്ട് 220 കി ,മിറ്ററും സൗരയൂഥമാകെ ഹെർകുലീസ് രാശി യുടെ ദിക്കിൽ നീങ്ങുന്നത്‌ കൊണ്ട് 220 കി .മിറ്ററും, സൗരയൂഥമുൾപ്പെടെയുള്ള ക്ഷീരപഥം ചിങ്ങം രാശി (constellation leo) യുടെ ദിശയിലേക്കു 600 കി .മീറ്റർ കണക്കിൽ നീങ്ങുന്നത്‌ കൊണ്ട് ഒരു ദിവസം കൊണ്ട് നാം സഞ്ചരിക്കുന്ന ദൂരം 5 കോടി 70 ലെക്ഷം കി .മീറ്റർ ആണ് .പ്രപഞ്ചത്തിന്റെ ഈ മായവിദ്യ ദൈന്യദിന ജീവിതത്തിൽ നാം അറിയുന്നില്ലെന്നു മാത്രം . മുകളിൽ പറഞ്ഞ ഗുരുവചനം ഈ സത്യത്തിലേക്കാണ് വിരൽചൂണ്ടുന്നത്.

അമ്മ - Mother - ಅಮ್ಮ - தாயே - माँ

Your Mother carried you inside of her womb for nine whole months, she felt sick for months with nausea, then she watched her feet swell and her skin stretch and tear. She struggled to climb stairs, she got breathless quickly and even a simple task like putting her shoes on was a huge struggle for her. She suffered many sleepless nights while you kicked and squirmed inside of her and while you demanded that she scoffed junk at 3am, she then went through EXCRUCIATING PAIN to bring you into this world. She became your nurse, your chef, your maid, your chauffeur, your biggest fan, your teacher, your agony aunt and your best friend. She's struggled for you, cried over you, fought for you, put herself second for you, hoped the best for you and has driven herself insane with worry for you but never has she asked for anything in return because she loves you and did it all on love alone! Most of us take our Mums for granted but there are people who have lost or have never even seen theirs. If you have a loving Mother who did all of this for you, you are very lucky, never devalue her worth because one day, you'll wish you hadn't!

"ആസ്താം താവദിയം പ്രസൂതിസമയേ ദുര്‍വ്വാരശൂലവ്യഥാ
നൈരുച്യം തനുശോഷണം മലമയീ ശയ്യാ ച സാംവത്സരീ
ഏകസ്യാപി ന ഗര്‍ഭഭാര ഭരണക്ലേശസ്യ യസ്യാ ക്ഷമോ
ദാതും നിഷ്കൃതിമുന്നതോപി തനയസ്തസ്യൈ ജനന്യൈ നമ:"

(മാതൃപഞ്ചകം-ശങ്കരാചാര്യര്‍)

"നില്‍ക്കട്ടേ പേറ്റുനോവിന്‍ കഥ, രുചികുറയും കാലം, ഏറുംചടപ്പും
പൊയ്ക്കോട്ടേ, കൂട്ടിടേണ്ടാ,മലമതിലൊരുകൊല്ലം കിടക്കുംകിടപ്പും
നോക്കുമ്പോള്‍,ഗര്‍ഭമാകും വലിയ ചുമടെടുക്കുന്നതിന്‍ കൂലിപോലും
തീര്‍ക്കാവല്ലെത്രയോഗ്യന്‍ മകനും അതുനിലയ്ക്കുള്ളോരമ്മേ തൊഴുന്നേന്‍"

പല്ലുകള്‍ കടിച്ചമര്‍ത്തി വേദന സഹിച്ച്‌ ശരീരം ക്ഷീണിച്ചും ശോഷിച്ചും കൂടാതെ എന്നെ ഗര്‍ഭം ചുമന്നപ്പോള്‍ അമ്മയ്ക്കു ഭക്ഷണത്തോട് രുചിയില്ലായ്മ തോന്നിയിരുന്നോ അമ്മേ.... തത്ഫലമായി ഭക്ഷണം വേണ്ടത്ര കഴിക്കാത്തതു കൊണ്ടു അമ്മ മെലിഞ്ഞു പോയിരുന്നോ .. എന്റെ മലമൂത്രത്തെ അമ്മ കൊല്ലക്കണക്കിനു കാലം ശയ്യയാക്കിയിരുന്നോ ...എന്റെ പ്രിയപ്പെട്ട അമ്മേ! അവിടേയ്ക്ക്‌ എന്തു തന്നാലും പകരമാവില്ല.

FIVE VERSES ON INWARD RELEASE ~ Narayana Guru.

What name? Caste? Trade? How old?
From questions such, when one is free,
He gains release. .

Come, go, go not, enter, what seekest?
From utterances such, when one is free,
He gains release. .

Departest when? When arrived? Whence and even who?
From questions such, when one is free,
He gains release. .

I or thou; this and that; inside or out; or none at all;
From cogitations such when one is free,
He gains release. .

To the known and the unknown equalized;
differenceless to one’s own or that of others;
even to the name of such, indifferent;

From all considerations such, one freed,
Himself becomes He, the one released.

Bhavishya Purana : The Prediction of Islam And Muhammad

According to Bhavishya purana

Mahamada (Incarnation of Tripurasura the demon) = Dharmadushika (Polluter of righteousness)

Religion founded by Mahamada = Paisachyadharama (demoniac religion)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Original Sanskrit Version

Bhavishya Puran: Prati Sarg: Part III:3,3 5-27

Bhavishya purana (futuristic mythology) (Circa 3000 B.C)

Translation

source (http://www.indiadivine.org/articles/188/1/Bhavishya-Purana-The-Prediction-of-Islam/Page1.html)

[From the third part of the Pratisarga Parva.]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shri Suta Gosvami said: In the dynasty of king Shalivahana, there were ten kings who went to the heavenly planets after ruling for over 500 years. Then gradually the morality declined on the earth. At that time Bhojaraja was the tenth of the kings on the earth. When he saw that the moral law of conduct was declining he went to conquer all the directions of his country with ten-thousand soldiers commanded by Kalidasa. He crossed the river Sindhu and conquered over the gandharas, mlecchas, shakas, kasmiris, naravas and sathas. He punished them and collected a large ammount of wealth. Then the king went along with Mahamada (Muhammad), the preceptor of mleccha-dharma, and his followers to the great god, Lord Shiva, situated in the desert. He bathed Lord Shiva with Ganges water and worshipped him in his mind with pancagavya (milk, ghee, yoghurt, cow dung, and cow urine) and sandalwood paste, etc. After he offered some prayers and pleased him.

Suta Goswami said: After hearing the king’s prayers, Lord Shiva said: O king Bhojaraja, you should go to the place called Mahakakshvara, that land is called Vahika and now is being contaminated by the mlecchas. In that terrible country there no longer exists dharma. There was a mystic demon named Tripura(Tripurasura), whom I have already burnt to ashes, he has come again by the order of Bali. He has no origin but he achieved a benediction from me. His name is Mahamada(Muhammad) and his deeds are like that of a ghost. Therefore, O king, you should not go to this land of the evil ghost. By my mercy your intelligence will be purified.Hearing this the king came back to his country and Mahamada(Muhammad) came with them to the bank of the river Sindhu. He was expert in expanding illusion, so he said to the king very pleasingly: O great king, your god has become my servant. Just see, as he eats my remnants, so I will show you. The king became surprised when he saw this just before them. Then in anger Kalidasa rebuked Mahamada(Muhammad) “O rascal, you have created an illusion to bewilder the king, I will kill you, you are the lowest..."

That city is known as their site of pilgrimage, a place which was Madina or free from intoxication. Having a form of a ghost (Bhuta), the expert illusionist Mahamada(Muhammad) appeared at night in front of king Bhojaraja and said: O king, your religion is of course known as the best religion among all. Still I am going to establish a terrible and demoniac religion by the order of the Lord . The symptoms of my followers will be that they first of all will cut their genitals, have no shikha, but having beard, be wicked, make noise loudly and eat everything. They should eat animals without performing any rituals. This is my opinion. They will perform purificatory act with the musala or a pestle as you purify your things with kusha. Therefore, they will be known as musalman, the corrupters of religion. Thus the demoniac religion will be founded by me. After having heard all this the king came back to his palace and that ghost(Muhammad) went back to his place.

The intelligent king, Bhojaraj established the language of Sanskrit in three varnas - the brahmanas, kshatriyas and vaisyas - and for the shudras he established prakrita-bhasha, the ordinary language spoken by common men. After ruling his kingdom for 50 years, he went to the heavenly planet. The moral laws established by him were honored even by the demigods. The arya-varta, the pious land is situated between Vindhyacala and Himacala or the mountains known as Vindhya and Himalaya. The Aryans reside there, but varna-sankaras reside on the lower part of Vindhya. The musalman people were kept on the other side of the river Sindhu.

On the island of Barbara, Tusha and many others also the followers of Isamsiha were also situated as they were managed by a king or demigods.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Note This

Lord Shiva said: O king Bhojaraja, you should go to the place called Mahakakshvara, that land is called Vahika and now is being contaminated by the mlecchas. In that terriblecountry there no longer exists dharma. There was a mystic demon named Tripura(Tripurasur), whom I have already burnt to ashes, he has come again by the order of Bali. He has no origin but he achieved a benediction from me. His name is Mahamada(Muhammad) and his deeds are like that of a ghost.

According to Bhavishya Purana Muhammad was the rebirth of Tripurasura the Demon.

Tripurasura was killed by Shiva in his(Tripurasura’s) past life.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tripurasura's Past life (Mythology[not from bhavishya purana])

source(http://www.ashtavinayaktemples.com/temple.asp?serialno=3&tempid=T009)

Tripurasur was the son of Sage Gritsamad. One day the sage sneezed and from this was created a young boy who the Sage brought up as his own son. The sage taught the boy the Ganana Twam, Ganesh Mantra. Equipped with this mantra the boy meditated intensely on Lord Ganesh who ultimately blessed him. He was given three pura-s of gold silver and iron. Since he was the owner of these three pura-s he was given the name Tripur. Ganesh also bestowed on Tripur to be the most powerful, who none but Lord Shiva himself could destroy and after being destroyed by Lord Shiva he would attain mukti-salvation.

This boon made Tripur proud and he brought havoc in the entire world. He conquered the Nether world and then proceeded to takeover Heaven. He defeated Indra the king of heaven. His aggression made Lord Brahma hide in a lotus and Lord Vishnu in the Shirsagar. He soon also took over Lord Shiva’s Kailash Parvat and thus became the King of all the three worlds. The gods wondered on how to vanquish Tripurasur. Lord Narada told them that, since he had been granted a boon by Lord Ganesh himself it would be very difficult to vanquish him. He advised them to meditate on Lord Ganesh. Pleased Lord Ganesh decided to help the Gods.

Disguised as brahmin he visited Tripurasur and told him that he was a very enlightened Brahmin and could make for him three flying planes. Riding these he woud be able to go anywhere he wished within minutes. The planes could only be destroyed by Shiva.In return Lord Ganesh asked him to get him the statue of Chintamani which was at the Kailash Mountain. Lord Shiva refused to give the statue to Tripurasur’s messenger. The angry Tripurasur himself went to get the statue. A fierce battle started between him and Lord Shiva. He destroyed everything that belonged to the Lord Shiva who too retired to the Girikandar.

Lord Shiva too realized that he was unable to destroy Tripurasur because he had not paid his respects to Lord Ganesh. He recited the Shadaakshar Mantra to invoke Ganesh. On doing so from his mouth emerged Gajanan to grant Shiva a boon. Shiva continued his invocation of Ganesh who ultimately directed him on how Tripurasur could be killed. Lord Shiva was asked to recite the Sahastranam and then direct an arrow at the three pura-s of Tripurasur.

Lord Shiva followed these instructions and finally vanquished Tripurasur.

The place where Lord Shiva invoked Lord Ganesh he also created a temple for him. The town surrounding this temple was called Manipur. The village Ranjangaon is considered to be the place where Lord Shiva himself sought the blessings of Ganesh and ultimately destroyed Tripurasur.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The truth in mythology is not in its medium (the story) but in its message .

-http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/mythology/113974

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This prayer (chalisa) praises the Lord Shiva (Related to Tripurasura killing)

Tripurasur sang yuddha machayi,

sabahin kripa kari leen bachayi.

By fighting and killing the Demon Tripurasur,

You forgave everybody and saved the Gods.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mlechha (meaning)

(from Sanskrit dictionary)

म्लेच्छ mleccha

1 A barbarian,a non Aryan ( One not speaking the Sanskrit Language or not conform in to Hindu or Aryan institutions),a foreigner in general

2 An Outcast, a very low man, Bodhayana thus defines the word:

gomAmsakhAdako yastu viruddhaM bahubhAshhate | sarvAchAravihInashcha mlechchha ityabhidhiiyate |

He who eats cow's meat, and speaks a lot against shastras and he, who is also devoid of all forms of spiritual practice, is called a mlechha.

3 A sinner, A wicked person, A savage or barbarian race etc...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Paisachya (meaning)  (from Sanskrit dictionary)

Paisachya  Demonical, Infernal

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tripurasura

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Asura (meaning)(from Sanskrit dictionary)

Asura असुर1 An evil spirit,demon

2 A general name for the enemies of Gods,

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

collected from different sources for educational purpose By Hulk

There is no Caste - System in Vedas

In articles published so far in this series, we have seen how misleading have been the false stories of Aryan Invasion and subjugation of natives as slaves indulged in menial jobs. On contrary, we have seen the Vedas uphold highest dignity of labor. We have also seen that Daas/ Dasyu or Rakshas which are interpreted as natives or slaves of Aryans, are actually synonyms of criminals. Any civilized society has to keep these criminals in check.

We have also seen that Vedas consider all the four Varnas including Shudra as Arya and gives them utmost respect.

It is unfortunate that in this country of ours, where Vedas were the foundation of our culture, we forgot these original lessons of Vedas and got trapped in a variety of misconceptions regarding birth-based caste system and discrimination of people born in certain castes collectively known as Shudras.

The misleading theories of communists and biased indologists have already caused a great damage to our society and have sown seeds of differences. It is unfortunate that so-called Dalits consider themselves outcaste and hence we fail to unite together for prosperity and security. The only solution is to go back to the roots – the Vedas – and rebuild our understanding of our relationships with each other.

In this article, we shall evaluate the reality of caste system in Vedas and actual meaning of Shudra.

1. As discussed in the first article “Vedas and Shudra”, there is absolutely no element of hatred or discrimination in Vedas regarding any person – be he or she a Brahmin, Vaishya, Kshatriya or Shudra.

2. The concept of caste is relatively new. Vedas contain no word that can be considered a synonym for ‘caste’. The two words commonly considered to mean ‘caste’ are Jaati and Varna. However the truth is that, all the three mean completely different things.

Caste is a European innovation having no semblance in Vedic culture.

Jaati

Jaati means a classification based on source of origin. Nyaya Sutra states “Samaanaprasavaatmika Jaatih” or those having similar birth source form a Jaati.

An initial broad classification made by Rishis is 4-fold: Udbhija (coming out of ground like plants), Andaja (coming out of eggs like birds and reptiles), Pindaja (mammals) and Ushmaj (reproducing due to temperature and ambient conditions like virus, bacteria etc).

Similarly, various animals like elephant, lion, rabbits etc form different ‘Jaati’. In same manner, entire humanity forms one ‘Jaati’. A particular Jaati will have similar physical characteristics, cannot change from one Jaati to another and cannot cross-breed. Thus Jaati is creation of Ishwar or God.

Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra are no way different Jaati because there is no difference in source of birth or even physical characteristics to differentiate between them.

Later, word ‘Jaati’ started being used to imply any kind of classification. Thus in common usage, we call even different communities as different ‘Jaati’. However that is merely convenience of usage. In reality, all humans form one single Jaati.

Varna

The actual word used for Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra is ‘Varna’ and not Jaati.

The word ‘Varna’ is used not only for these four, but also for Dasyu and Arya.

‘Varna’ means one that is adopted by choice. Thus, while Jaati is provided by God, ‘Varna’ is our own choice.

Those who choose to be Arya are called ‘Arya Varna’. Those who choose to be Dasyu become ‘Dasyu Varna’. Same for Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra.

That is why Vedic Dharma is called ‘Varnashram Dharma’. The word Varna itself implies that this is based on complete freedom of choice and meritocracy.

3. Those involved in intellectual activities have chosen ‘Brahmin Varna’. Those into defense and warfare are ‘Kshatriya Varna’. Those in economics and animal rearing are ‘Vaishya Varna’ and those involved in other support functions are “Shudra Varna”. They refer merely to various choices of professions and have nothing to do with any Jaati or birth.

4.Often mantras of Purush Sukta are cited to prove that Brahmins originated from Mouth, Kshatriya from hands, Vaishya from thighs and Shudras from legs of God. Thus these varnas are birth-based. However nothing could be more deceptive. Let us see why:

a. Vedas describe God to be shapeless and unchangeable. How can such a God take shape of a gigantic person if He is shapeless. Refer Yajurved 40.8.

b. If indeed this were true, this would defy the theory of Karma of Vedas. Because as per Theory of Karma, one’s family of birth can change as per his or her deeds. So one born in Shudra family can take birth as king’s son in next birth. But if Shudras are born from feet of God, how can same Shudra again take birth from hands of God?

c. Soul is timeless and never born. So soul can have no Varna. It is only when it takes birth as human that it has a chance to opt a Varna. Then what is meant by a Varna coming from one part of God’s body? If Soul did not take birth from God’s body, then does it mean body of soul is prepared from God’s body parts? But as per Vedas, even nature is eternal. And same atoms recycle among various humans. So it is technically impossible for any one taking birth from God’s body, even if we assume God to be having a body.

d. The said Purush Sukta is in 31st Chapter of Yajurved, apart from Rigved and Atharvaved with some variations. In Yajurved it is 31.11. To see what it actually means, let us look at the previous mantra 31.10.

It asks a question – Who is mouth? Who is hand? Who is thigh and who is leg?

The next mantra gives the answer – Brahmin is mouth. Kshatriya is hand. Vaishya is thigh and Shudra becomes the legs.

Note that the mantra does not say that Brahmin “takes birth” from mouth…It says Brahmin “is” mouth. Because if the mantra would mean “takes birth” it would not answer the question in previous mantra “Who is mouth?”

For example, if I ask “Who is Dashrath?”, an answer like “Rama is born from Dashrath” would be meaningless!

The actual meaning is:

In society, Brahmins or intellectuals form the brain or head or mouth that think and speak. Kshatriya or defense personnel form the hands that protect. Vaishya or producers and businessmen form the thigh that support and nurture (note that thigh bone or femur produces blood and is strongest bone). In Atharvaveda, instead of Uru or Thigh, the word “Madhya” is used meaning that it denotes also the stomach and central part of body.

Shudra or Labor force form the legs that lay the foundation and make the body run.

The next mantras talk of other parts of this body like mind, eyes etc. The Purush Sukta describes the origin and continuation of creation including human society and states ingredients of a meaningful society.

Thus, its a pity that such a beautiful allegorical description of society and creation is distorted to mean something that is completely contrary to Vedic ethos.

Even the Brahman texts, Manusmriti, Mahabharat, Ramayan and Bhagvat do not state anything even close to crazy hypothesis of God creating Brahmins by tearing of flesh from his mouth, Kshatriya from flesh of hands and so on.

5. It is thus obvious why Brahmins are accorded high respect in Vedas. This is same as what happens even in modern society. Scholars and experts get our respect because they form the direction-providers for entire humanity. However, as we have discussed in previous articles, dignity of labor is equally emphasized in Vedas and hence there is no element of discrimination.

6. In Vedic culture, everyone is considered to be born as Shudra. Then based on his or her education, one becomes a Brahmin, Kshatriya or Vaishya. This completion of education is considered to be a second birth. Hence these three Varnas are called “Dwija” or twice-born. But those who remain uneducated for whatever reasons are not discarded from society. They continue as Shudra and perform support-activities for the society.

7. A son of Brahmin, if he fails to complete his education, becomes a Shudra. Similarly, son of a Shudra or even a Dasyu, if he completes his education can become a Brahmin, Kshatriya or Vaishya. This is pure meritocracy. The way degrees are accorded today, Yajnopaveet was provided in Vedic system. Further, non-compliance with the code of conduct for each Varna could result in taking away of the Yajnopaveet.

8. Many examples exist of change of Varnas in Vedic history.

a. Aitareya Rishi was son of a Daasa or criminal but became a Brahmin of highest order and wrote Aitareya Brahman and Aitareyopanishad. Aitareya Brahman is considered critical to understand Rigveda.

b. Ailush Rishi was son of a Daasi, gambler and of low character. However he researched on Rigveda and made several discoveries. Not only was he invited by Rishis but also made an Acharya. (Aitareya Brahman 2.19)

c. Satyakaam Jaabaal was son of a prostitute but became a Brahmin.

d. Prishadh was son of King Daksha but became a Shudra. Further he did Tapasya to achieve salvation after repenting. (Vishnu Puran 4.1.14)

Had Tapasya been banned for Shudra as per the fake story from Uttar Ramayan, how could Prishadh do so?

e. Nabhag, soon of King Nedishtha became Vaishya. Many of his sons again became Kshatriya. (Vishnu Puran 4.1.13)

f. Dhrist was son of Nabhag (Vaishya) but became Brahmin and his son became Kshatriya (VP 4.2.2)

g. Further in his generation, some became Brahmin again (VP 9.2.23)

h. As per Bhagvat, Agniveshya became Brahmin though born to a king.

i. Rathotar born in Kshatriya family became a Brahmin as per Vishnu Puran and Bhagvat.

j. Haarit became Brahmin though born to Kshatriya (VP 4.3.5)

k. Shaunak became Brahmin though born in Kshatriya family. (VP 4.8.1). In fact, as per Vayu Puran, Vishnu Puran and Harivansh Puran, sons of Shaunak Rishi belonged to all four Varnas.

Similar examples exist of Gritsamad, Veethavya and Vritsamati.

l. Matanga was son of Chandal but became a Brahmin.

m. Raavan was born from Pulatsya Rishi but became a Rakshas.

n. Pravriddha was son of Raghu King but became a Rakshas.

o. Trishanku was a king but became a Chandal

p. Sons of Vishwamitra became Shudra. Vishwamitra himself was a Kshatriya who later became a Brahmin.

q. Vidur was son of a servant but became a Brahmin and minister of Hastinapur empire.

9. The word “Shudra” has come in Vedas around 20 times. Nowhere has it been used in a derogatory manner. Nowhere it mentions that Shudras are untouchable, birth-based, disallowed from study of Vedas, lesser in status than other Varnas, disallowed in Yajnas.

10. In Vedas, Shudra means a hard-working person. (Tapase Shudram – Yajurved 30.5). And that is why Purush Sukta calls them as foundation of entire human society.

11. Since the four Varnas refer to 4 kinds of activities by choice, as per Vedas, the same person exhibits characteristics of the 4 varnas in different situations. Thus everyone belongs to all the 4 varnas. However, for simplicity sake, we refer to the predominant profession to be the representative Varna.

And hence, all humans should strive to be all the 4 Varnas to best of their capabilities, as per Vedic wisdom. This is the essence of Purush Sukta.

The Rishis like Vasisth, Vishwamitra, Angira, Gautam, Vaamdeva and Kanva exhibited traits of all the four Varnas. They discovered meanings of Vedic mantras, destroyed Dasyus, did manual labor and indulged in wealth management for social welfare.

We should also emulate the same.

In summary, we see that the Vedic society considers all humans to be one single Jaati or race, upholds the dignity of labor and provides equal opportunity for all humans to adopt the Varna of their choice.

There is no element of birth-based discrimination of any manner in the Vedas.

May we all unite together as one integrated family, reject the last element of birth-based discrimination of any manner and embrace each other as brothers and sisters.

May we also thwart the designs of those who want to mislead us by making baseless claims of casteism in Vedas and destroy the criminals aka Dasyu/Daas/Rakshas.

May we all come under the shelter of Vedas and work together to strengthen the humanity as one single family.

ഒരു അമ്മ മകന് അയച്ച കത്ത്

"എന്‍റെ മോന്"

വീട്ടില്‍ നിന്നും പോന്നപ്പോള്‍ മോന്‍റെ ഒരു പഴയ ഷര്‍ട്ട്‌ അമ്മ എടുത്തോണ്ടു പോന്നാര്‍ന്നു. നല്ല തണുപ്പുള്ളപ്പോള്‍ അമ്മ അതിട്ടോണ്ടാ കിടക്കാറ്.
ഇവിടെ പുതപ്പില്ലാഞ്ഞിട്ടല്ല എന്‍റെ മോന്‍റെ ഷര്‍ട്ട്‌,. അതിടുമ്പോള്‍ അമ്മയ്ക്ക് ഒരു ധൈര്യം പോലാ.

മോന്‍റെ ഒന്നാം പിറന്നാളിന് അച്ഛന്‍ വാങ്ങിച്ചു തന്ന പുടവ അത് മാത്രമേ അമ്മ ഉടുത്തിട്ടുള്ളൂ . അത് അതുപോലെ തെക്കേ മുറിയിലെ അലമാരയില്‍ ഇരിക്കുവാ. അച്ഛന്‍റെ ഓര്‍മ്മയുടെ ബാക്കി കഷ്ണമാ അത്. അതുടുപ്പിച്ചു വേണം മോന്‍ അമ്മയെ ചിതയില്‍ വെയ്ക്കാന്‍. അതുടുത്ത് കാണാന്‍ അച്ഛന് വല്യ ഇഷ്ട്ടായിരുന്നു .

അച്ഛന്‍ കെട്ടിയ താലി മോന്‍ വീട് വച്ചപ്പോള്‍ പണയം വച്ചതാ. അത് ന്‍റെമോന്‍ മറന്നു കാണും. അത് തിരിച്ചെടുക്കണേ . അച്ഛന്‍റെ ഫോട്ടോ ഇരിക്കുന്ന മുറിയില്‍ അച്ഛന്‍റെ വെറ്റില പെട്ടിയില്‍ ഇട്ടു സൂക്ഷിച്ചു വെക്കണം. നന്ദു മോള്‍ടെ കല്യാണത്തിനു അമ്മൂമ്മയുടെ വകയായി അത് കൊടുക്കണം . അമ്മേടെ ഒരാഗ്രഹമാ. അമ്മയ്ക്ക് തരാന്‍ വെരോന്നുമില്ലല്ലോ...
ഈ വൃദ്ധസദനത്തില്‍ അമ്മയെ കക്കൂസില്‍ കൊണ്ട് പോവേം കൊണ്ട് വരേം ചെയ്യുന്ന ഒരു ദേവൂ ഉണ്ട് . ദേവൂന്‍റെ കയ്യില്‍ അമ്മേടെ ഒരു പഴേ ഫോട്ടോ അമ്മ കൊടുത്തിട്ടുണ്ട് . അത് വലുതാക്കി അച്ഛന്‍റെ അടുത്തു തന്നെ വെക്കണം. മോന്‍റെ കയ്യില്‍ അമ്മേടെ വേറെ ഫോട്ടോ കാണില്ലന്നറിയാം ...

ടി വി ക്കാര്‍ ഒരിക്കല്‍ ഇവിടെവന്നു എല്ലാരുടേം സംസാരമൊക്കെ പിടിച്ചു. അമ്മ സമ്മതിച്ചില്ല . ന്‍റെ മോന് അത് നാണക്കേടാവൂലെ.. . ഒരു വിഷമമേ അമ്മയ്ക്കുള്ളൂ. ഇതൊക്കെ അച്ഛന്‍റെ ആത്മാവ് കാണുന്നുണ്ടാവ്വോ...?
വിഷമങ്ങ ളൊന്നും സഹിക്കാന്‍ മനസ്സിന് കട്ടിയുള്ള ആളല്ല. മോനറിയ്വോ ഇവിടെ എന്നെപ്പോലെ 28 അമ്മമാരുണ്ട് . ഓരോരുത്തര്‍ക്കും ഓരോരോ നമ്പര്‍ ഉണ്ട്. അമ്മേടെ നമ്പര്‍ 12 ആണ്. അമ്മേ ദഹിപ്പിചിട്ട് മോനിവിടെ വരണം. ദേവു മോന് ഒരു താക്കോല്‍ തരും . അത് 12 ആം നമ്പര്‍ പെട്ടിയുടെതാ . അതില്‍ മോന്‍ന്‍റെന്നു എടുത്തോണ്ട് വന്ന ഷര്‍ട്ടുണ്ട്. കഴുകി വെച്ചിരിക്കുവാ . മോനിടത്തില്ലെങ് കിലും മോന് അമ്മ അത് തിരിച്ചു തരുവാ . അമ്മേടതല്ലാത്ത ഒന്നും അമ്മക്ക് വേണ്ട.

ആ പെട്ടീല് അച്ഛന്‍റെ പഴേ മരുന്നിന്‍റെ തുണ്ടൊക്കെ ഇപ്പോഴും അമ്മ വെച്ചിട്ടുണ്ട്. എന്തിനാന്നറിയില്ല കളയാന്‍ മനസ്സ് വന്നില്ല . പിന്നെ ഒരു കാണിക്കവഞ്ചിയില്‍ കുറച്ചു പൈസ കാണും. അമ്മ ഇട്ടു കൂട്ടിയതാ. അച്ഛന്‍ മരിച്ചിട്ടിപ്പോ ള്‍ പത്തു വര്‍ഷം തികയുകയല്ലേ . വിഷ്ണൂന്‍റെ അമ്പലത്തില്‍ നേര്‍ച്ച കൊടുക്കാന്‍ കൂട്ടി വെച്ചതാ. 200 രൂപ തെകയാന്‍ ഇനി 18 രൂപ കൂടി മതിയാര്‍ന്നു . തികഞ്ഞില്ല. ഞാന്‍ ദേവൂന്‍റെടുത്തു പറഞ്ഞിട്ടുണ്ട് . അവള്‍ 18 രൂപ മോന് തരും. അച്ഛന്‍റെ പേരില്‍ അത് അമ്പലത്തില്‍ കൊടുത്തേരെ .
മോന് സുഖം തന്നെ ...?

അമ്മയ്ക്കൊന്നു കാണാന്‍ കൊതിയാകുവാ . എനിക്കറിയാം, മോന് തിരക്കാണ്, വരാന്‍ പറ്റില്ലാന്ന്. അമ്മയ്ക്ക് കാലു തീരെ വയ്യ . ആകുമായിരുന്നേല് ‍അമ്മ വന്നു ഒന്ന് മോനെ കണ്ടേനെ. 

അച്ഛന്‍ ഉണ്ടായിരുന്നേ.. എന്ന് ഓര്‍ത്ത്‌ പോകുവാ .... വേറെന്താ...ഒന്നുമില്ല മോനെ...സുഖം. മോനുവേണ്ടി പ്രാര്‍ഥിച്ചു കൊണ്ട്‌ അമ്മ ഉറങ്ങാന്‍ കിടക്കുവാ. ഒരിക്കലും ഉണരാതിരുന്നെങ്കില്‍ ....

നിങ്ങള്‍ നിങ്ങളുടെ അമ്മയുടെ സ്നേഹിക്കുന്നു എന്നതിനു തെളിവാണ് ഇപ്പോള്‍ നിങ്ങളുടെ കണ്ണ് നിറഞ്ഞത്...

THE AGNIHOTRA (Fire Ceremony) A Revaluation by Narayana Guru

വേദത്തിലെ അഗ്നിഹോത്രത്തെ അല്ലെങ്കില്‍ യജ്ഞത്തെ നാരായണ ഗുരു ഹോമമന്ത്രം എന്ന കൃതിയില്‍ മൂല്യനവീകരണം ചെയ്തു അവതരിപ്പിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നു . മന്ത്രം ചമച്ചതിലൂടെ ആര്‍ഷഭാരതത്തിന്‍റെ ഋഷിത്വം ഗുരുവില്‍ നിറഞ്ഞിരിക്കുന്നത് വെളിവാകുന്നു.

THE AGNIHOTRA (Fire Ceremony) A Revaluation 

TRANSLATION AND COMMENTS By Nataraja Guru. (Values Magazine, March 1968)

RECITATION

Aum- mystic syllable;

agne tava yat tejah- O fire, that light which is yours;

tat braahmam- that is of brahman, the Absolute;

atah tvam- by this, you;

pratyaksham brahmaasi- are the perceived Absolute;

tvadiya- yours are;

indriyani-the senses;

manah- mind,

buddhih iti- intellect as;

sapta jihvaah- seven tongues;

tvayi- into you;

vishyaah- sense interests;

iti samidho juhomi- as offerings, I sacrifice unto you;

aham iti - as I;

aajyam juhomi- I sacrifice ghee;

tvam nah- you, us;

prasida prasida- propitiate, do;

sreyasca- benefits hereafter;

preyasca - benefits here;

prayaccha- bring;

svaha- (final word-gesture).

ENGLISH VERSION

O Fire, That light which is yours,

That pertains to the Absolute;

By this you are the Absolute perceived;

Yours are the five senses, the mind,

The intelligence, making seven tongues.

I sacrifice unto you sense interests as offerings;

As ego, I sacrifice clarified butter.

Propitiate us! Propitiate!

Bring us benefits both of here and hereafter!

Svaha! (final word-gesture of Vedic ritual).

COMMENTS

This was composed by Narayana Guru in order to equate Vedic and Vedantic Values unitively in a dialectically restated form.

It can be repeated thrice by one chief disciple in charge of the clarified-butter (ghee), the cup and spoon, and with half-a-dozen brahmacharis (student-type followers of the Absolute). Those could include virgin women or even married women when they have openly chosen a dedicated and pure way of life - that of a varni (one having varna or distinction of a life of principle, or having some sort of claim to absolutism as claimed by herself and acceptable generally).

These three repetitions can be bound by apt santipathas (usual introductory words of invocation or dedication to a peaceful context.) Or, santih, santih, santih could end each such invocation, and beginning with aum sahanavavatu (let us both be saved together, i.e. the teacher and the pupil) could be further punctuated preferably by aum purnamadah (plenitude yonder); purnamidam (plenitude here); purnat (out of plenitude; purnam udacyate (plenitude arises); purnasya (from plenitude); purnam adaya (taking away plenitude); purnam eva (plenitude itself); avasishyate (is found as remainder) etc. could be repeated as many times as desired.

The main student-disciple who first lights the fire in a deep pan or pit, pours clarified butter by himself at the words ajyam juhomi (I offer clarified butter). The others take a fistful of different grains mixed with leaves or flowers or any other objects of edible or enjoyable value, with a drop of clarified butter in the mixture when they begin to repeat the chant after the chief sacrificer. Purnamdah and santih are each repeated thrice by way of punctuation of the former and conclusion of the latter.

The whole ceremony takes place in the presence of a chief disciple or Guru in charge of the centre, who sits silently watching, and only overseeing or permitting the correctness. Any other, willing or desiring to take part out of the company present, man or woman, boy or girl could be permitted if they are with it and show conformist acceptance and are not a least against it.

What should be noted in this ritual-cum-chant is that the Self and the non-Self with the structural elements (psycho-physically or phenomenologically understood), with a one-one correspondence between them, are here equated and cancelled out into the neutrality of the Absolute. It is not to be looked upon as Vedic form of worship of the god of Fire, but from the word braahmam (pertaining to the Absolute) has a qualitative and schematic status only as a kind of object-lesson for "look and say" as in modern teaching. What you hear and what you see are equated and cancelled out to reveal the highest of all values, which is the Absolute Self, knowing no distinction between Self and non-Self.

This same ceremony could be performed on all occasions such as baptism, marriage or death and contains the same elements of sacrifice as understood by Agamemnon who sacrificed Iphigenia or Abraham who was about to sacrifice Isaac. Sacrifice merely represents the vertical value principle in the context of correct scientific Absolutism.

In Western countries the same ceremony could be adapted and gone through round a table in a drawing or dining room with miniature pans or spoons or cups. The effect of the lesson is independent of all considerations of big or small, one or many, part or whole, cause or effect, phenomenal or noumenal. Always the same universal concrete structuralism of the total situation is to e kept in mind, irrespective of all ends and means.

(Some further notes on the need for sacrifice and how wisdom is meant to help balance this element is to be found in Guru's autobiography, Reveries.1. April 1968, that shed more light on the questions)

AN INTEGRATED SCIENCE OF THE ABSOLUTE by Nataraja Guru.

"An Integrated Science of the Absolute" is Nataraja Guru's commentary on Narayana Guru's major philosophical work, The Darsana Mala.

For each of the ten Darsanas of the poem, he provides examples of its philosophical viewpoint: from the side of Indian Philosophy as well as from that of Western Philosophy and Science.
He covers a wide range of subjects, from a detailed critique of Einstein to Heidegger, Sartre, Descartes, Western and Islamic mysticism, as well as a survey of all the schools of Indian Philosophy and much more.
Using the search engine for the site on the upper right-hand corner of the screen will give the reader some idea of the broad scope of this work.

"AN INTEGRATED SCIENCE OF THE ABSOLUTE" By Nataraja Guru.

DEDICATION 

With profound adoration to the Absolute with all the long line of its bygone teachers and the makers of its tradition, irrespective of time or clime, and with apologies for seeming to treat, by any chance, any of them as not perfectly equal in spiritual status under the aegis of the Absolute.

This work is hereby dedicated to Narayana Guru, the one sustaining source of its inspiration, by his disciple, the present writer.

PREFACE By Nataraja Guru

WHEN I was still a teenager, more than 55 years ago, preparing to pass the high school examination which included some elementary science lessons, there was an elderly guest who was staying in my father's house, He looked like a simple Indian villager without even a shirt on, yet he also seemed to command great respect from my father who was an England-trained medical officer working under the Government of Mysore in Bangalore, South India.

This enigmatic person one day decided to ask me a pointed question. He prefaced the question with the following description of a mischievous spirit or imp known to the villagers of what was then Travancore State, (South India) as a kutti-cathan. (The word cathan may perhaps be derived from the word shasta which is one of the names for the Buddha, while kutti means small.) Such a spirit is not unknown in the West. He goes under the name of Puck in Shakespeare, and the well-known poltergeist is connected with him.
I was then told by this old gentleman:

"Stones will fall from the roof; you can pick them up or put them under the coconut tree in your garden. They will remain there for any length of time. If you search for any stones of the kind missing in the surrounding area you will not find any. The falling stones can land near persons to frighten them."

After thus giving me a full account of the kutti-cathan, I was asked the following question:

"Have you any such thing in your science?"

This question from a simple man of an earlier generation left a strange and deep impression on me. The science I was taught at school limited itself to questions as to how a candle burned, etc. The decades that have followed have changed the simple character of science into what is now a vast body of knowledge, ever-encroaching into the domains of religion and philosophy. The answer which I could not give when I was a schoolboy, I feel I am more prepared to attempt now. It had never lost the poignancy and significant potency that it suggested to my mind at the time it was asked.

In the following pages I hope, however indirectly or partially it may be, to try and answer this question. I have also to say here that I have been guided throughout by this same man who first awoke my curiosity in this direction. This enigmatic man was none other than Narayana Guru, and it is to him again that I dedicate this attempted answer to his question. It is in the hope that it might serve similar disciples who are agitated by similar doubts and questions to my own that this book is written. These pages have been primarily intended for my own education and it is suggested that those who feel that the question asked me by Narayana Guru was superfluous, and that my answer in the following pages could also be so, need not take the trouble to continue its perusal.

As stated on the title page, the present work is based on the Darsana Mala (A Garland of Visions) by Narayana Guru, whose direct disciple the present writer happens to be. This Sanskrit text, consisting of 100 verses of 10 chapters with 10 verses in each, is meant to comprise the chief categories of all philosophical visions. Usually in India the Darsanas are treated as six in number, but works like the Sarva Darsana-Samgraha (Epitome of all Visions of Truth) sometimes discuss in detail 15 Indian darsanas. Each darsana is a recognizable philosophical system, or rather a unitive viewpoint referring to the Absolute.

Narayana Guru has not limited himself to the scope of Indian thought only, but thinks in terms of a series of all possible visions of any time and place. These visions are structurally strung together like precious stones forming a garland meant to be an ornament enhancing the dignity of humanity through wisdom. There is no mistaking that he draws his inspiration from the Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita, as is shown by his precise advaitic terminology. Another important source for his inspiration is what he derived from his own tapas (mystical. discipline). The Garland of Visions is the product of both inner experience and confirmation from outer textual sources. The primacy of this former radical source of wisdom makes his dependence upon texts only incidental.

In order to let the reader have the text in Sanskrit, there is a word-by-word transliteration which can be examined by anybody for purposes of verification or conviction. We have kept our own comments on the text strictly separate from the verses and Narayana Guru's intended commentary, as explained at the beginning of the text.

As this book is primarily meant for the use of disciples and only secondarily for the general reading public, we have taken care in our concluding remarks to explain to those who might be inclined to question the genuineness of this philosophy which we have attributed to Narayana Guru, that we have not departed from his own finalized standpoints and teaching. Let this Garland of Visions enhance human dignity and decrease suffering through a better understanding of life in the light of the Absolute. This is what we hope will happen to the earnest wisdom-seeker who reads this book. It is meant for true and dedicated seekers only; not those who are merely curious in a light-hearted way. A whole-hearted approach is necessary when wholesale wisdom is in question.

Thanks are due to many who have kindly and willingly cooperated in completing and giving this book finalized form. I shall not attempt to mention all of them by name, because of the difficulty of doing so in view of the quality or quantity of the help rendered by them when treated together as they ought to be. Those who helped me in those items in which I could not help myself, and those who answered consciously or unconsciously to the pressure of actual need, deserve my most grateful thanks.

Some have helped me with reference books and paper cuttings; others have offered me hospitality in far-off lands, added to my travel facilities, or arranged interviews and contacts for me. Others again have given me virtually the use of their eyes when my own eyesight has been weakening, especially during the last years. Some have taken down dictation during the early hours of the morning, by day and by night, while travelling or staying in the different centres or camps between Gent and Bombay, Delhi or Varkala, within which points I have been constantly moving, as they helped to prepare with promptness the first typescript.

The penultimate preparation for the press has been done, as before, by John Spiers, to whom I have already been so much indebted, almost, as it were, by divine dispensation. Fred Hass has also been a similar friend in need, as also Sannyasini Ramarani. I have always kept Nitya Chaitanya Yati in my mind as a disciple who would benefit much from these writings.

I must also mention the help that came from Jean Convent, Dr. Joseph Vercruysse, and good Celine Gevaert, whom I am conscious to have troubled too much in reading to me and rereading the difficult passages from Bergson's criticism of Einstein's theories. They deserve my special thanks

I have exchanged notes on axiomatic thinking and schematization with Prof. Janin of the University of Lyon, besides receiving help from the several librarians of that university, as also those of Rome, Gent, Brussels, and London, all of whom took the trouble of seeking out valuable documents for me, and thus deserve my thanks. They were most serviceable to me in connection with the Unified Field Theory of Einstein, on which the finalized papers are still to be traced.

Besides all those who consciously gave their help, I can think of many whose hand has been more mysteriously evident now and then, lending themselves almost as if by accident to be helpers of much significance, enabling me at critical moments during the composition of the work, often to open up new avenues of fruitful research before me. Books have sometimes come to my hands very strangely and inexplicably. Some sort of good genie, whether called an elemental or a favourable spirit must be suspected even by a scientist, as being behind some, at least, of many such apparent coincidences.

By thanking the Absolute I can inclusively thank all my helpers, whether mundane or spiritual. I therefore incline before the Absolute in everlasting adoration, in the belief that in doing so I am in effect only adding glory to ourselves whose totality is no other than myself.

NATARAJA GURU
December, 1967

People’s Perception & Priorities

The Situation: In Washington DC, at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007, this man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, approximately 2,000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

After about 3 minutes: A middle-aged man noticed that there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, and then he hurried on to meet his schedule.

About 4 minutes later: The violinist received his first dollar. A woman threw money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

At 10 minutes: A 3-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head the whole time. This action was repeated by several other children, but every parent - without exception - forced their children to move on quickly.

At 45 minutes: The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.

After 1 hour: He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed and no one applauded. There was no recognition at all.

The violinist was none other than Joshua Bell, one of world’s greatest musicians and nobody knew this. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. In fact, just two days before, Joshua Bell sold-out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $200 each to sit and listen to him play the same music.

This is a true story about Joshua Bell playing incognito in the D.C. Metro Station, specially organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about people's priorities, perception and attentiveness.

This experiment raised several questions:
1. In a common-place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?
2. If so, do we stop to appreciate it?
3. Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?
4. Are we appreciating and enjoying God’s creations around us?

Conclusion:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made . . .

How many other things are we missing as we rush through life?

Don’t let life slip away...