Hindus follow the lunar month which has only 29.531 days and therefore there are only 356.372 days in the lunar year. Therefore there is a gap of 10.87 days a year between the lunar year and a solar year of 365.2422 days per year. This gap will keep increasing every year until it will approximate to one full month every three years.

Therefore an additional month is added to the Hindu calendar once in three years in order to align it with the solar calendar. 2026 is a year which will have this extra month which is known as Adhik Maas. This is scheduled to occur from 17 May to 15 June 2026. “Adhik” means “extra” and “maas” means month. This extra month is also known as Purushottam Maas.

The Adhik Maas is different from regular months because it does not have a sankranti (the movement of the sun from one raashi on the zodiac to the other). Every lunar month will have one sankranti. The rishis have said that if the sun migrates from one zodiac sign to the other when the moon is in the sun’s aura (mandal), auspicious rituals like yagas, marriages, house warming etc. should not be conducted since they will not generate the usual power. However giving of charity, chanting of mantras, giving of food, listening to holy talks etc. will have great benefit.

Giving of daan or charity has been given great importance in Hinduism. It has extra benefit if done in this month. If done with the right attitude daan neutralises the effect of previous sins committed knowingly or unknowingly. The best type of daan is when things you hold dear are given to someone who needs it without hope of any reward. It becomes more effective when it is done without the knowledge of others. Anna daan or giving of food and vastra daan, the giving of clothes has special significance during this month.

The Hindu calendar assigns each month of the lunar year to one God. The rishis calculated and made the Adhik Maas in order to balance the solar and lunar years. This month was also known as Maal (unclean) therefore no god agreed to become the Lord of this month. Lord Vishnu took pity and agreed to become the deity of this month and hence it is also known as Purushottama Maas. Purushottama Granth is the book explaining the significance of this month. The Purushottama Mahatmya is recited in temples during this month. Reading of all holy books is also recommended during this month.

Purushottaman means someone who is filled with all noble qualities like Vishnu. Hence this month is kept aside for self-development, reflection, introspection etc. By doing this we will be able to evaluate ourselves, reflect and assess oneself. It is a time to detoxify the body and regain one’s physical strength. It is also the time to meditate and listen and read holy books to gain mental, emotional and spiritual strength.

Lord Vishnu is the preserver in the trinity. He grants all wishes that are evolving, eradicates the sins of the past life and helps us to overcome our negative nature.

All human beings are made up of the pancha bhutas (5 elements). These act through our five senses as well through the mind-intellect and ego. But we also have a spiritual entity called the Atman in us. The Purushottama Maas is the best time to establish our connection with this spiritual entity and gain moksha.

Chanting of any Vishnu Mantras during this time will be highly beneficial since Vishnu is the preserver in the trinity and will grant all wishes that will lead us to liberation and will help to eradicate the sins of our past. This month holds a special place in Hinduism and anything done to rectify the planetary defects in our horoscope will have ten times more benefit than when performed during other months. Hence the rishis encouraged everyone to do as much sadhana and give as much daan as possible during this month and thus eradicate our previous negativities and provide a strong spiritual platform for further evolution.

Hari Aum Tat Sat

The Ramayana of sage Valmiki is a literary masterpiece in the Sanskrit language, excelling in beauty, style, and diction. It is said that the twenty-four letters of the Gayatri Mantra are hidden in the Ramayana. The Gayatri starts with the word “tat,” and the Ramayana also starts with the same word. Each word of the Gayatri is found in a consecutive sequence at the beginning of every thousand verses of the Ramayana. It is said that Valmiki enclosed the essence of the Vedas into his mighty epic.

The Ramayana and the Mahabharata are known as “Itihasas,” which means that they are history. They are not mythological tales woven out of the prolific imagination of Valmiki and Vyasa, as the English tried to make us believe. They are true historical accounts of the great dynasties and kings that existed in our country seven thousand years ago. Rama was a contemporary of Valmiki, so he wrote what he had seen with his own eyes. The places that Rama traversed over the sub-continent in his journey to Sri Lanka can still be identified. The bridge he built with the help of the vanaras from Bharat to Sri Lanka has been discovered beneath the ocean, which only helps to prove the historicity of Rama.

The Ramayana is the story of the Lord’s descent to earth as Rama, the scion of the Ikshwaku dynasty, in the Surya Vamsha, or line of the sun! It is a story that has enthralled the minds of all those who have read it, not only in Bharat but also in all parts of South-East Asia like Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Bali, Malaysia, etc.

One may well marvel at the fact that this story, based on local episodes, has had such a worldwide appeal and why it has continued to cast its spell through the ages. This is because it is based on certain eternal verities that appeal to the best in human nature. The character of Rama has risen above the limits of sect, religion, race, and country.

The Ramayana is an ancient chronicle, yet it has a deep meaning in modern times. We live in an age that is at a loss to know the meaning of human existence, perplexed as to how to act with righteousness in a world that seems to have gone mad – when the meaning of truth, love, and honor cannot be found even in the best of times, when greed and self-interest seem to be the only rule of conduct.

Our lives may well take a turn for the better when we read about the heroic way in which Rama and Sita faced the trials and tribulations of their lives. Valmiki’s Rama is the portrait of a man who became divine by shaking off the limitations of his mortality, by following a strict adherence to truth and honor. He has all the qualities of the average man – the attachments, desires, anger, love, compassion, and serenity. The greatness of his character lies in the fact that he surmounted these obstacles in his character and perfected himself so that he became a superman - one who put his duty above all personal considerations. This type of perfection is available to all of us, however weak we may be. Hence the popularity of the Ramayana.

Another endearing aspect of the Ramayana that appeals to everyone is that it is, above all, a love story, and love is a theme that can never fail to strike a chord even in the hardest of hearts! But it is a love story with a difference. It probes and analyzes all the different types of love which a human being is capable of - both dharmic and adharmic.

The love of a father for his son, the love of the son for his father and mother, the love of a brother, the love of a husband for his wife, and a wife for her husband. Love for a friend and finally even the love which is condemned as adharma – the passion for another man’s wife! All these nuances of love are depicted in the Ramayana in the most exalted manner.

The Ramayana is the first epic poem – adi-kavya, to be written in the world, and Valmiki, the sage who wrote it, is considered as the “adi -kavi” or the very first poet. He was an active participant in the story; hence it can be considered as a firsthand account of the history of this ancient land.

The Ramayana is an epic of love and compassion. It is the story of utter pathos that ascends to sublime heights of glory, the pinnacle of divinity, for no ordinary mortal could be so utterly selfless. An individual who is prepared to sacrifice his personal happiness at the altar of public interest is totally alien to this modern culture, used as we are to politicians who use their office only to feather their nests. Rama based his life on a strict adherence to the implacable law of dharma! It is a blind law that knows no compassion and brooks no disobedience. The whole of Nature follows this law without question. The human being alone digresses from this law for the sake of his personal aggrandizement. Again and again, Rama was placed in controversial situations in which he had to choose between his interest and the universal law of Dharma. It is to his great credit that every time he chose Dharma as against personal interests! No wonder he was deified, for none but a God could act in such a divine manner.

A reading of the Ramayana has the effect of cleansing us of our negative emotions and charging us with the moral fervor and grace of the great characters of this immortal poem. The month of Shravana has been kept aside from ancient times for reading this immortal classic, so that the great truths found therein will be kept alive in the holy land of Bharat! So let us all start our study on this very day.

Jai Sri Rama!

Women in Bharat were always empowered. They remained empowered from Vedic times to the present time. They were well educated. A sculpture in a village temple in Jalasangi shows a woman writing a letter. The temple belongs to the Chalukyas who ruled thousands of years ago in Karnataka. Many such sculptures prove that women were highly educated and knew reading and writing from ancient times.

Shakuntala wrote a letter to Dushyanta in Kalidasa’s play, Shakuntalam. She was brought up in an ashram. In Kalidasa’s epic poem Meghadut, the yaksha sends a letter to his wife who obviously knew how to read! It is a sad fact that women’s subjugation in Bharat started with the Muslim and Christian invasions. Hence, my opinion is that the status of women in any society depends on the mentality of the men in that society!

During the times of the British, there was a deliberate attempt by the missionaries to degrade the status of women in Bharat by quoting falsely from the ancient scripture known as Manusmriti. Maharishi Manu wrote his initial scripture entirely in accordance with the Vedas.

So let us have a look at the picture of women from the Vedic times. The women of Bharat enjoyed the highest status that has ever been accorded to any woman in the world during the Vedic times. The Vedas always put women on a high pedestal. This is very easy to see from the fact that the Sanatana Dharma is the only religion that worships God in the form of a woman!! Our women gods are given as much honour as our male gods. In fact, in the names of divine couples like Lakshmi/Narayana, Gouri/Shankara and Radha/Krishna, you will notice that the name of the female counterpart always precedes the male! Is it possible that such a religion can ever degrade a woman?

Starting from the Vedic period, women in Bharat have been given the highest level of respect and freedom. They were encouraged and given full opportunity to reach their highest potential. Women seers like Gargi, Maitreyi, Lopamudra and others had reached an exalted state of spiritual realisation and were not only respected but venerated. They were called Brahmavadinis or the knowers of Brahman. Women stood for the foundation of moral development and were a decisive force in ancient Hindu society. They enjoyed equal status with men. They were educated and allowed to train in the art of warfare if they chose. Rig Veda mentions the warrior queen Vishpala who is trained in the art of warfare. She lost a leg in battle but was quite undaunted. She put on an iron leg and resumed fighting!

Throughout history, Hindu society has seen many female rulers, such as Rudramadevi, Rani Ahalyabai Holkar, Jhansi Ki Rani and many others, saints like Andal and Meera Bai, philosophers such as Gargi and Maitreyi and female practitioners and conductors of Vedic rituals.

One thing we must understand is that the status of women was lowered all over the world only due to the character of the men of those times. Men in the Vedic times (1500 -1200 BCE) however were highly spiritual as well as wise. Hence, we find that the Vedas speak very highly of women. Out of the vast number of Vedic rishis, we find twenty-seven rishikas or female rishis who were given the status of Brahmajnanis. Out of the many that are mentioned, four stand out. These are Gargi, Maitreyi, Lopamudra and Ghosha.

Gargi

The kings of Mithila, Sita’s country, were famed for their wisdom and dispassion. Janaka, the king of Mithila had many great scholars in his kingdom. Out of these, nine of them were known as Navaratnas or “the nine gems”. One out of these nine was the great female scholar known as Gargi, daughter of Rishi Vachaknu. She was a Brahmavadini or knower of the Brahman. The king wanted to select one amongst all his scholars who was the greatest. So he organised a Brahmayajna. The prize was 1,000 cows with ten grams of gold hanging from their horns. The most noted scholar amongst them was the sage Yajnavalkya who was known for his wisdom and sanctity. Eight scholars challenged him to a debate out of which Gargi was the only woman. Her debate with him is recorded in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.

Gargi had mastered the Vedas at a very young age and her knowledge was unrivalled by most of the men of that time. Her philosophical views are given in the Chandogya Upanishad and she had even made a great contribution to the construction of the Rig Veda.

During the debate that had been organised by King Janaka, Gargi questioned Yajnavalkya on the physical environment but after he satisfied her on all these matters she asked him about the nature of Brahman. It is a long treatise but the gist as given by Yajnavalkya is given below:

“This Reality, O Gargi, is unseen but IT is the seer, is unheard but IT is the hearer, is unthinkable but IT is the thinker, is unknown but IT is the knower. There is no seer but He, there is no hearer but He, there is no thinker but He, and there is no knower but He. In Akshara (the eternal), verily, O Gargi, the universe is woven, warp and woof.”

Gargi saluted him and agreed with him. She is supposed to have realised the truth of this and that is why she was given the name Brahmavadini (knower of Brahman).

Maitreyi

Maitreyi was the daughter of Mitra Rishi and the niece of Gargi. She was also born in Mithila. She was taught all the shastras by her father at an early age and reached a high state of spirituality. She wanted to marry the great sage Yajnavalkya for she felt that he would be able to help her in her search for the ultimate Truth. But he was already married to a devout woman called Katyayini by whom he had three sons. Seeing the high spiritual qualifications of Maitreyi and her desire to marry her husband to further her spiritual pursuits, Katyayini agreed. It is said that Maitreyi enhanced Yajnavalkya’s spiritual stature. She composed ten of the thousand hymns in the Rig Veda.

After going through grahastashrama (householder’s life) it was common in those days to take to sannyasa (the life of a recluse). Yajnavalkya decided to leave the world and go to the forest to do tapas. He called both his wives and told them that he would partition his wealth equally between them. The dialogue between Maitreyi and Yajnavalkya is famous and is found in the second and fourth chapters of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. She asked him to tell her the reason for which he was prepared to give up all worldly possessions. Obviously, he had found something greater than material wealth, so she begged him to give her that precious jewel rather than wealth and physical well-being. He was filled with admiration for her and gave her knowledge of the Supreme Brahman and advised her to seek That since That alone was the source of all bliss. Maitreyi attained the highest state after this and paved the way for all women to attain moksha.

The basic difference between Gargi and Maitreyi is that Gargi was an intellectual who was interested only in jnana marga, the connection between the cosmos, God and the human being. Maitreyi’s questions were on both jnana and bhakti.

Lopamudra

Lopamudra is also known as Kaushitaki and Varaprada. She is supposed to have been created by the sage Agastya out of the most beautiful parts of certain animals like deer and others. The king of Vidharba adopted her and later gave her back in marriage to Agastya who was an austere rishi and refused to have any relationship with her. She is supposed to have written certain hymns in the Rig Veda begging for her husband’s love. This made Agastya realise his duty to her and they eventually had a son called Dridhasyu who became a poet.

She was a rishika in her own right and contributed many hymns to the Rig Veda. This Veda gives the long discourses she had with her husband Agastya which make us realise the sharpness of her intellect. She visualised the panchadasi mantra of the Shakta tradition. She is supposed to have spread the fame of the Lalitha Sahasranama (1000 names of the divine mother), along with Agastya who had learnt the hymn from Hayagriva who is an avatara of Lord Vishnu.

Ghosha

Another rishika who emerges from the Vedas as being incomparable is Ghosha, granddaughter of Dirghatamas and daughter of Kakshivat, both of whom wrote the hymns on the Ashvini Kumaras who are the divine physicians. She has written two hymns in the tenth book eulogising the Ashvins. Actually, she suffered from an incurable disease, probably leprosy and was unmarried. In one of her hymns she implores the divine physicians (Asvini Kumaras) to cure her and allow her to experience wedded life. They are supposed to have blessed her and she was cured of the dreaded disease.

When we look at the hymns of the Rig Veda we find a very important Sukta called the Devi Suktam which declares the feminine energy as the essence of the universe, the one who creates all matter out of the metaphysical reality of the Brahman that is filled with consciousness (prajnana ghanam).

The Indologist Bryant states:

“Hinduism has the strongest presence of the divine feminine among all major world religions from ancient times to the present. The goddess is viewed as central in Shakti and Shaiva traditions. Matriarchal theology is quite prevalent in Sanskritic traditions and even now there are numerous Hindu communities that are matriarchal in nature.”

When we come to the Puranas we find that feminine power is extolled as the most powerful and empowering force, particularly in the Devi Mahatmaya, Devi Upanishad and Devi Bhagavatam.

Even in our Itihasas (epics), we find the entire story to be interwoven with the lives of various women. Of course, Sita and Draupadi are the women protagonists of Ramayana and Mahabharata. They were both very strong women. Despite all attempts to stop her from going, Sita insisted that she would accompany her husband to the forest. There are many incidents where she argues and even advises Rama on certain topics.

The figure of Draupadi of course dominates the story of the Mahabharata. Without her there would have been no epic. But there are a number of other women in these epics that are portrayed as being very strong. Look at Kunti and Gandhari the dowager queens of the epic. How strong were they? What about Subhadra and Uttara? If the latter had not had absolute trust in Krishna and run to him when the Brahmastra sent by Ashwattama was chasing her, the whole line of the Pandavas would have perished.

If we look at the Ramayana we find a host of extremely powerful women. Without Kaikeyi and Mandara, the epic would not have taken the form it has taken. Lakshmana’s mother Sumitra’s advice to her son is really amazing. She did not even try to stop him from following Rama. She told him to regard Rama as his father, Sita as his mother and the whole forest as Ayodhya! When we look at Lakshmana’s wife Urmila, again we cannot help but admire the way she handled the whole situation. She did not beg to be taken but she decided to stay back and look after his parents as he wanted her to do. Mandodari, the wife of Ravana again is a great woman. Such strength and conviction! The same applies to Tara, the wife of Baali. Both of them gave such good advice to their husbands and if they had followed it, they would not have been led to their deaths!

We see the epics through the eyes of the men and that is why the greatness and the strength of the women in the epics does not strike us. But none of them were weak women nor were they dominated by their husbands. They all had very strong minds of their own and they were not thwarted by their menfolk! This is the important thing, the men of that period allowed their women to express their feelings and follow their own opinions!

Now let’s see what Manusmriti has to say about the status of women. Maharishi Manu’s views on women are most noble as will be seen from the quotations given below. When we see people misquoting him as being against women, you can be sure that they are quoting from the adulterated and interpolated portions of this ancient text for which Maharishi Manu is not responsible. Many interpolations have been put into the original text. Here we will be giving a few sentences that clearly show his high opinion of women:

“Where women are honoured, there the gods are pleased. But when they are not, sacred rites will not yield the desired result.”

— 3/26

“Women who bear our children get blessings for the family and society. They are worthy of worship. There is no difference between them and the goddess of fortune.”

— 9/26

This is why when a bride comes to her husband’s home she is treated like Lakshmi, the goddess of all prosperity.

“Without hesitation a person may serve food to brides, infants, sick and pregnant women even before serving other guests.”

— 3/114

“Where the husband is pleased with his wife and the wife with her husband, happiness will be lasting.”

— 3/60

“When the wife is radiant and happy the whole house is like heaven. But if she is unhappy it will be like hell.”

— 3/62

“Men should always honour women on festivals and auspicious occasions with clothes, ornaments and food as desired by them.”

— 3/59

“Women should be honoured and well-adorned by their fathers, brothers, husbands and brothers-in-law if they desire their own welfare.”

— 3/55

“Where female relatives live in grief, the family perishes. Where they are happy the family prospers.”

— 3/57

“A daughter who is like oneself is equal to a son. How can another heir take the family estate when such a daughter is alive?”

— 9/130

“A mother’s property is the share of the unmarried daughter alone.”

— 9/131

“Women were created to be mothers and men to be fathers. Religious rites ordained by the Veda have to be performed by the husband along with his wife.”

— 9/96

“A woman of marriageable should wait for 3 years before choosing a bridegroom of her own choice.”

— 9/80

“Care should be taken of barren women, those who have no sons, faithful widows and women afflicted with some disease.”

— 8/28

Thus we see that Maharishi Manu in no way decries women. These are only a few examples from his texts. There are hundreds more in which he shows how deeply he is concerned with the way a woman should be treated.

For some devious reason misinterpretation and misuse of Manusmriti has been going on for years, mainly done by Christian missionaries who wanted to prove that women were degraded in Hindu society.

On the contrary, all through our history we find that women were put on a high pedestal. To come to the present day, the constitution of Bharat gives equal rights to women - the right to vote, the right to equality and so on. In fact, Article 15 Clause 3 empowers the state to make special provisions in favour of women and children.

Bharat Mata ki Jai!

Sound and its influence on consciousness has been a matter of enquiry since the first human beings walked on the face of the earth. Experienced, examined, studied and researched by many cultures and civilizations for thousands of years, sound is still a mystery to a great many. In Bharat, the origin of sound is traced back to the origin of the universe. According to Hinduism, Brahman is the Supreme Infinite, the Supreme Consciousness. The first sound emanated from That and is known as Nada Brahman (Brahman as Sound) and this is what has created the entire universe. It is the purest sound in the cosmos and is said to be unstruck. Another myth associates the origin of sound (and dance) with the Tandava of Shiva. His damaru or small drum created the first sound. It is said that Sage Narada then brought that sound to the earth from heaven which later became music.

The Sanatana Dharma is rooted in the Vedas. The foundation of the Vedas lies in the primeval sounds of the cosmos; therefore the knowledge of the origin of “sound” has never been a mystery to us. The Shabdam or sound vibrations of the Vedas and their artha or meaning are eternal and remain even after cosmic dissolution. They can be heard by those who are in a deep state of meditation and connects them to the cosmic reality.

The Vedas tell us that Shabdam is the essence of all energy. At the beginning of time, the universe quivered with the very first vibration or Shabdam emanating from the Nada Brahman. This was anaahatha, “unstruck”. It occurred at a time when there were no things to strike against each other to make a sound. There were no objects. Just the akasha – the subtlest of all the five elements that make up this cosmos. That first subtle vibration quivered and resonated through the akasha – “unheard”. It is still resonating through each and every vibration that has arisen since the beginning. It is the music of the spheres.

The word Shabdam is mistakenly translated as word, speech or sound. However, it has a very deep meaning that goes way beyond intellectual understanding. In English, a word does not have a transcendental existence. It is associated with meaning and is man-made, transitory and destructible. In Sanskrit, Shabdam is eternal, divine, indestructible and central to our existence on this planet. It is pure sound and also that which is revealed by sound. Each of the five elements that make up our cosmos has one quality corresponding to one of our sense organs. As said before, akasha is the subtlest of all the five elements and Shabdam is the quality of the akasha. The ear is the sense organ of hearing but the original Shabdam is pure sound and cannot be heard by the ear. It is anaahatha.

The process of manifestation of Shabdam begins from the pure consciousness from which prana (life energy) is propelled into action. Air is propelled by the prana into the vocal cords and leads to its final, gross manifestation as speech. This inner Shabdam is called “sphota” and the articulate Shabdam is called Nadam or “dhwani”. According to the “sphota” theory, “dhwani” or sound and “artha” or meaning are two sides of the same coin. As the dhwani manifests, this distinction becomes more prominent until we start to believe that the sound and form are independent. Sphota is the permanent, unchanging element and dhwani is the transient sound which can be heard by the ears.

The method by which this Shabdam appears as speech was carefully analysed by our rishis. During speech this Shabdam manifests itself at four levels – “para, pashyanti, madhyama and vaikhari”.

Para is the transcendent, self-luminous, pure consciousness. It is sound in its transcendental, supreme aspect as the source of all creation. It is the fully unmanifest level of language and is a synonym for the Supreme. Shabda Brahman is the term used for the Absolute expressed as transcendental sound. It is the Ultimate Reality in the form of vibrations, of which human words are only a rough representation. In this state, both thoughts and words are one and are unexpressed.

Pashyanti is “that which sees” or “that which witnesses”. It is the finest relative level of vak or “speech” where there is no distinction between word and meaning. At this level, there is no temporal sequence. It is the seed of all thoughts, speech, and actions. A sage whose consciousness is concentrated in the causal body is able to “glimpse” this in a vision or a revelation. Knowledge acquired by the inner mind is without the use of the reasoning faculty or sensory data.

Madhyama (middle) is the sound as perceived in the subtle or pranic world. These are the thoughts held in our mind just before we pronounce them. It lies between the subtle and gross manifested sounds. It refers to Shabdam (sound in its whispered or inaudible form), situated in the middle between pashyanti (subtle sound) and vaikhari (gross, manifested sound). It is the sound phenomenon that exists in between the formation of a thought (as an idea, feeling or image) and its expression on the material level as speech or action.

Vaikhari is the lowest form of sound and signifies its outward expression. This is the spoken word emerging from our throat. The words that are uttered by the speaker and heard by the listener belong to this grossest level known as “vaikhari”. It is gross physical sound, the most external, profane, and differentiated level of language.

The Cosmic Reality is also known as Shabda Brahman and Nada Brahman. This Shabdam is the sound of “Aum”. It is the “cosmic sound” that creates the universe and is found in all beings. Shabda Brahman is the primordial sonic consciousness of the cosmos. Shabda Brahman is also the knowledge given through the Vedas. It is that force of the Supreme that manifests as sound and word and is enfolded in the Vedas. It is considered to be unmeasurable and uncontainable. It is expressed through prana as well as through the physical senses and the mind. The Vedas tell us that sound and word are eternal. Once spoken they live on as part of the universe as a whole. This concept is fundamental in the use and importance of the utterance of Aum. From this we also realise how important it is to speak in a positive fashion. The negativity coming from our speech enters into the very air we breathe and is responsible for causing all the accumulated violence in the world.

Every object starts first as a vibration that gradually manifests and is experienced as a separate sound. The sound manifests further and takes on a meaning. Thus, every vibration gives rise to a sound which includes the object in potential form. The object contains a built-in name. Hence nama (name) and rupa (form) go together.

The millions of physical phenomena as well as our concepts and the names given to them are a result of these cosmic vibrations. The One Reality manifests itself as the enormous diversity that we all experience but it still retains its intrinsic unity. Since all primordial sounds are connected to the source in an integral way, it follows that in their ultimate sense, all objects in the universe are inseparably unified. Everything is intertwined and nothing is isolated. Meditation should help us to build up our sensitivity to listen and be receptive to the subtlest sounds emanating from within us and outside us and thus unite us with the whole from which they have come.

The Sanskrit language in which the Vedas are chanted, is made up of the original cosmic pulsations. In fact, these sounds constitute the alphabets in Sanskrit. Human language and the objects they represent are the outer manifestations of these vibrations at varying levels of physicality. These vibrations are known as “mantras”. The mantra originates in the subtlest level of existence which is silence. The Vedic mantras are to be found in the “mantric” portion of the Vedas. They are sequences of vibrations with experiential meanings that can only be known through yogic practices. Because of their very nature they cannot be translated. These sounds naturally produce an effect. In fact, the purpose of the mantra lies in the effect it creates.

The mantras are said to be the life breath of the Vedas and the life breath of the mantras themselves is the purity or clarity of the sound, their proper intonation. If their sound is changed, the vibration in space as well as our “nadis” will change and the expected result of the chanting will not be what is desired.

The vibrations of the sound of the Vedic language is beneficial to all orders of creation including bipeds and quadrupeds. This is not a language in the ordinary usage of the word and is not the property of one caste or of one race, but of the entire world.

The letters of the Sanskrit alphabet are called akshara or “imperishable”. So every letter or akshara is an eternal sound that is capable of revealing the entire secret of speech. Another term for a letter is “varna” or colour. So every letter is heard as a sound and seen in a particular hue. This is why the rishis are said to have both “heard” and “seen” the Vedic mantras. One of the terms of the Sanskrit alphabet is varnamala or “garland of colours” which the Divine artist uses to paint Reality!

The rishis knew themselves to be microcosmic organisms (exact replicas of the macrocosm). They possessed what Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras call “ritambharaprajna” or inner vision. They had merged their minds in this sea of unexpressed Consciousness, and realised that the universe is a vibrational play of varied waves with different wavelengths. By their intuitional powers, they came to understand the laws of universal harmonics governing this vibrational flow, and they developed a subtle science of sound to affect the rhythms of creation – without any mechanical apparatus.

They realised that Reality is composed of these primordial vibrations which are the very core of the cosmos. They possessed extraordinary faculties which enabled them to get a direct experience of the vibrations of the Infinite and the concrete objects to which they correspond. The deep reality from which sound and form emerge was not discovered through intellectual enquiry but by direct experience during deep meditation. Hence the rishis are known as the seers and the hearers of the Vedic mantras. They did not claim to have discovered them. This is the reason why the Vedic mantras are collectively known as “shruti” or that which is heard.

The rishis were aware that mantras manifest as concrete sounds and objects and they were the ones who saw, tested and verified it. They also explored the way to return to the source. Hence each mantra is associated with the name of the rishi who had experienced it. Numerous systems utilising mantras were developed and tested to take the sadhaka to the original state of unity consciousness. Hinduism thus provides an experiential path that leads back to the source. The different paths given by the rishis are actually very scientific.

In ancient Bharat, people always gave very specialised names to children, preferably of the gods which were actually mantras. When these sounds were repeated by everyone in the house, the vibrations became embedded in both the parents’ and the child’s psyche and helped to transform them in subtle ways. Nowadays random sounds are given as names to children resulting in the violence and depression that we see in young adults.

Nadam emanates from the mystical sound of Aum which lies within every manifest being. It is the sound of silence and is linked with pulsation, light and essential rhythm. A yogi must practice listening to this inner sound during meditation, in order to connect more deeply with his own Self.

“Nada Yoga” is the classical term for the Yoga of Sound in the Hindu tradition. It is a path of exploration of our consciousness through sound. It is a stream of sacred sound that embraces Hatha Yoga, the occult linguistics of Tantra, and the spirituality of classical Indian music. By including the non-linguistic element of music, Nada Brahman augments the Shabda Brahman of the Vedic tradition, as well as the differentiation of the energy of the chakras discovered by the Tantrics. While Bhava Yoga chooses only those frequencies that we classify as music in our earthly appreciation of sound, Nada Yoga incorporates within the field of its yogic practices, the full spectrum of frequencies – both those that are audible to the human ear and those that are inaudible. This means that all forms of earthly music, the sounds found in space, and even the entire electromagnetic spectrum of frequencies are included within this range of perception. The practice of Nada Yoga can therefore help to enhance our consciousness. The aim of the advanced state of Nada Yoga is to purify and harmonise the pranic currents in our body and create perfect health.

The history of music in Bharat can be traced back to the Vedic times. The concept of Nada Brahman was prevalent in the Vedic ages. All organised music traces its origins back to the Sama Veda which contains the earliest known form of organised music. During the late Vedic Period, music prevailed in the form called Samagana, which was purely a chanting of the verses in musical patterns. The first reference to music was made by Panini in 500 BC.

Of course Nadam is the basis for all music. Though the word Nadam and sound seem to mean the same, there is a difference if viewed from the point of view of music. Sounds that create disturbances in the minds of the listeners can also be called noise. Nadam however generates joy. Nadam is of two kinds. One is “ahatha nadam” and the other “anaahatha”. Nadam produced by human effort is called “ahatha” and that which is natural is “anaahatha”. This is experienced only by yogis. Sound produced by musical instruments and vocal singing fall under the category of “ahatha”.

In the Middle Ages, Nada yogis proficient in music combined the musical system found in Hinduism with the sonic cosmology and philosophy of Tantra and the Vedas. But it is only in the past few centuries that the strongest connections between music and Nada Yoga have been established. Interestingly, despite the fact that Nada Yoga is the classical term for the Yoga of Sound, and despite many contemporary Indian musicians using the term Nada Yoga to describe the profound spiritual significance of their musical disciplines, it is perhaps the least documented of all the streams of sacred sound in Bharat.

This intimate knowledge of sound and form has given rise to all our great sciences. Hindu grammarians like Panini were cosmologists who saw the “rtam” or cosmic law emanating from the sound of the letters and words!

This ability to correlate sound and form is to be found in our sculptures also. All the great sculptures of our temples are based on certain mantras. The sculptor meditates on the mantra which manifests itself as a form. Only then does he start chipping on the block of stone. The form manifests in the stone with the repetition of the mantra. All he has to do is to chip away the redundant material.

Ayurveda is the science of health as given in the Vedas. According to Ayurveda, our state of health lies in balancing the flow of energy (prana) through all the energy circuits of the mind and body. When this flow gets interrupted, by interfering with or breaking some laws of nature, the body begins to revolt. This revolt is seen and experienced in the form of different symptoms, discomfort and disease. Ancient people knew how to re-establish the lost harmony and rhythm of the body and mind by utilizing the power of “sound”.

In Ayurveda the names of the plants allow us to understand their medicinal properties! The Vaids (doctors) had an intimate knowledge of plant and animal life, which of course gave rise to an innate reverence for all life on this planet. The Sanatana Dharma believes in the integral unity of the cosmos and has evolved a way of life which will enable every individual to attain that unity.

Mantras evoke a certain spiritual frequency and bring about a particular state of consciousness. These sound frequencies invoke the inherent shakti or power contained within the vibration. A person who constantly chants a mantra is transformed in subtle ways. Since it is a sound, the benefits will reach out to the environment also. The mantras when directed towards any painful part of the body can actually direct the prana shakti to that point and cure the ailment. This is because these vibrations are coming directly from the Ultimate Reality or Nada Brahman from which creation emanates. The intention with which you chant the mantra will also influence the end result.

In the Tantric tradition every object has a phonetic sound or built-in name. An object can be known under many names but the bija mantra or seed vibration which is the nucleus of the object remains unchanged. If one is tuned into or united with the seed vibration one can get a complete understanding of the object.

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s system of Transcendental Meditation does this. It uses the bija mantra which has to be chanted mentally until it replaces all other thoughts. Gradually the mantra becomes just a faint whisper. Then even that disappears leading to an amazing experience of the transcendental state of self-awareness. Thus, the sound retraces itself back to its source. Modern scientific research supports the claim that just the reading of the Vedic mantras even without having any knowledge of their meanings will produce a change in the psychological state. The vibrations of the mantras can take us to levels of consciousness that transcend language. This is why Vedic mantras were taught to children from the age of seven onwards. The seed is sown in the subconscious and benefits will manifest during the course of time, like the fruits of a tree. When repeated over and over again, it vibrates within the person and re-creates the reality from which it came. This is one of the reasons why Lord Krishna proclaimed in the Bhagavad Gita that of all yajnas, “japa yajna” or the repetition of the name of god is the greatest.

The association of sounds to music is one of the greatest contributions of the rishis. A raga is a given set of notes with a typical order in which they appear as melodies. The earliest raga owes its origin to the Sama Veda. Our gods are always engaged in music and love the Sama Veda which is set to music. Hence when we sing or listen to classical music we are also worshipping the gods. In the 11th century AD, Narada is said to have written the Sangeeta Makaranda which enumerates ninety-three ragas and classifies them into masculine and feminine species – ragas and raginis.

Each raga or ragini is associated with a definite mood or sentiment that nature arouses in human beings. The raga actually unites the law of phonetics to the physiology of the sound waves. Our rishis discovered that these ragas also had a definite association with certain hours of the day. When they were used at the correct times, they gave rise to definite changes in the human psyche. The classical ragas, are subtly attuned to the rhythms of nature. Each raga is to be played or sung only during certain seasons and at certain times of the day, which in turn produces a specific emotional effect in the musician and audience. One raga is played only at dawn in the spring, to evoke the mood of universal love, another is sung only during the evening in summer, to arouse compassion; still another only during midday in the rainy season, to summon courage. If this is done, they will have the desired effects. Some ragas can even produce rain if sung at the right pitch.

This connection of time with the raga or ragini is based on the daily cyclical changes that occur in our own body and mind which are constantly undergoing subtle changes at different moments of the day. The ancient musicians were particularly interested in finding out how musical notes affect and enhance human behaviour. Music has the power to make you feel happy, sad, disgusted and even to cure. Extensive research was carried out to find out these effects. Every word has Nadam or music in it. It is the way you pronounce it that brings out the music.

This knowledge has also been utilised in Ayurveda. The human body is dominated by the three doshas – kapha, pitta and vata. These can loosely be translated as “phlegm, bile and wind”. When these are not in proper balance, our body becomes diseased. These elements work in a cyclic order of rising and falling during the twenty-four-hour day. The balance of these three elements also differs with the seasons. Hence it is said that performing or listening to a particular raga or musical composition at the proper time can definitely affect the health of human beings.

As usual with Hinduism, the Veda personifies these primordial vibrations into the form of the goddess known as Vak (speech). In the Puranas she later came to be known as Saraswati. She is the one that bring forth the root sounds that create all ideas and rhythmic vibrations that create concrete objects. She is the generator of the worlds and the material out of which worlds are made.

She is the great flood of rtam or truth who inspires true seekers to reach the truth in You in all its forms. She enables one to perceive, understand, and express in words the true nature of Reality and the way it is transformed into objects. It is the goddess that made it possible for rishis to hear, grasp, and reveal the truths of existence, to devise, and create the hymns and rituals that express the reality of their visions. She bestows vision to the seers. She gives wisdom to the wise.

She expresses herself in four ways, unmanifest, potential, mental image and outer gross expression. On one level, Mother Vak is sacred speech including the hymns and ritual chants. On another level she is also ordinary speech among ordinary people. But she is far more than speech and includes the power of perceiving, grasping the nature of things, naming them, and expressing the perception with coherence and form. Her nature is subtle, eternal, imperishable, and above all incomprehensible. Even though she helps us to comprehend all, she herself remains incomprehensible. Vak Devi also personifies the sounds of nature (including the ones from animate and inanimate sources) with which human speech is connected. She bestows all sounds with meaning, from the sound of wind and water to that of human speech.

“Each entity in this creation has its own particular rhythm, its own note in the universal harmony. From pulsing quasars to oscillating electrons – from the ultrasonic melody of mountain ranges to the ceaseless reverberation of all creatures, singing and drumming, whirring and clicking, laughing and crying – all the notes are orchestrated in a vast cosmic concert which produce certain changes in the atmosphere. The source of this ceaseless rhythmic movement is the Infinite Consciousness, soundless and still – the Ocean of Peace. Undisturbed by any vibration, it flows in an infinite straight line through eternity. Vak Devi is responsible for the magic that creates this endless, mutable world of phenomena out of this Ocean of Infinity”.

Having understood the greatness of Shabdam and Nadam it is our duty to see that we do not disturb these magical cosmic vibrations by producing cacophonic sounds and negative thoughts which are what is causing the catastrophic changes that we see occurring on this planet. Let us supplicate Maa Saraswati to purify our thoughts and thus create a perfect universe of forms.

Aum Tat Sat!

The quest for happiness is never-ending because people believe that happiness lies in the objects of the world. As long as we believe this, we will never be happy because the world is a constantly changing and ephemeral phenomenon, and what we desire is unending, eternal happiness. How can we get eternal happiness from a temporary substance? Another reason for not getting unending happiness is that we live in a dualistic world where every happiness carries an equal amount of unhappiness with it. Every joy has a sorrow attached to it, and every day has a night. These dualities are known as counter-correlatives. We cannot have one without the other. We cannot have day without night, joy without sorrow, and love without hatred. In fact, the only way we recognize joy is that we have had some sorrow at some time or other. The only way we can be pain-free is that we have experienced pain. We only know light because we have experienced darkness. That’s why a man living in the sun will never know the meaning of “light” because he has never experienced darkness!

In our pursuit of happiness, the first thing we have to realize is that there is nothing called pure undiluted happiness. Like everything else in this dualistic world, happiness will always have its constant companion, “unhappiness,” accompanying it. Let me give you an example. Suppose you love ice cream. The first ball gives you great happiness. The second and third also are happy moments, but by the 4th, 5th, and 6th, you are getting fed up, and if you stick it out and go on to eat the 10th, you will surely start to throw up. The same object that gave you great happiness in the beginning gives you great sorrow towards the end. So where did the happiness come? Did it lie in the ice cream? If so, where did the unhappiness come from? Did that also lie in the ice cream? You can apply this logic to every single thing in the world, and you will get the same experience, except perhaps money, which people seem to be able to get pleasure out of hoarding much more than they need.

Now let us analyze another thing about happiness. All of us think that happiness comes from possessions and objects of the outside world. People slog hard, doing jobs that give them no pleasure to get a big pay packet. With this money, they go out into the world to buy happiness, whether they go to a disco, restaurant, or a mall is immaterial. What is important is that they think money can actually buy happiness for them. This thought is the basis of their unhappiness. This means that they think happiness lies in the “objects” of the world outside. If we analyze this thought, we will find that happiness does not lie in the object. If it did, then all objects should give equal happiness to all people. This is certainly not the case. Some people love chocolate ice cream, others can’t stand it. The object, in this case, “ice cream,” is innocent. It is neither good nor bad. It is not capable of giving either happiness or unhappiness. It is what it is. What produces the happiness in the person eating it is his or her own mind. So, happiness and unhappiness are qualities of the mind and not of the objects outside. This is a most important fact which we have to understand if we want to be reasonably contented in life!

Even if you love chocolate ice cream, if your mind is filled with sorrow after hearing about the death of a friend or relative, you will not be able to enjoy the ice cream. In fact, you will not even be able to look at it. So, where does happiness lie? In the object or inside your mind? Another example: a child falls and scratches her knee, and she starts howling with pain. The mother comes and pops a sweet into her mouth, and immediately the howling stops. Has the pain really stopped? Or is it that the mind is now engrossed with the sweetness of the toffee in her mouth? So, where does happiness or unhappiness lie? From these examples, we can say that duality lies in the mind and not in the objective world.

When the mind is happy and free from stress and worry, everything will give us happiness. An ant carrying a load of sugar on its little back will delight us. A flower nestling in the crevice of a rock will send us into ecstasy. A poor child running in rags after a puppy with a smile on his face will make us laugh. A cloud passing in the sky will keep us enthralled! There is no end to the things that can delight us when our mind is free from fear and not loaded with worries! On the other hand, the greatest treasures of the world will fail to make us happy when the mind is clouded with distress.

This is why Sanatana Dharma never wasted time trying to teach objective methods to keep people happy. At no point were we ever told that possessions are the only things that will give us happiness. On the other hand, they told us that the more possessions we had, the less peace of mind we would have, since we would always be worried about how to keep them safe. What they gave us was different methods by which we could have some mastery over the mind.

These methods are pranayama, yogasanas, meditations, mantra japa, etc. If we keep to a strict schedule of following these different types of yogas, we will find that we can keep our mind reasonably free from duality. Of course, happiness will come, followed by its favorite companion, unhappiness, but this is not the end of the picture. This oscillation will keep going in the external world, but once we learn to stabilize our mind, we will be above this. When we reach that state, we will find that the objects of the world will stop annoying us. That is a state of stability of the mind when it is in a state of equilibrium in which neither joy nor sorrow exists. This is true peace or shanti where the mind is the master of itself and not swayed like a pendulum between the dualities of the world – between joy and sorrow, happiness and unhappiness! Thus, we find that in the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna says that yoga is a state where the mind is stable. In that state, nothing can shake it!

“Samatvam Yoga Uchyate””

“Yoga is a state where the mind is stable.”

Hari aum tat sat!

In the modern world we find that religion which should be a unifying force for the world has become a force for discrimination, dissension and hatred. All religions claim that theirs is the only truth. Truth is really one and eternal and all religions have been seeking for it. So how has this dissension come about? The fact is that though Truth is one and eternal it expresses itself in Time and through the mind of the human being.

So every scripture must contain two elements. One temporary and perishable and the other eternal and imperishable and applicable to all ages and humans.

Though the BG was kept in a local and temporal setting there is very little in it that is merely local and temporal. Its spirit is so profound and universal that all human beings will be able to appreciate its message and improve their lives if they start practicing the dictums given by Lord Krishna.

There are three spiritually significant points to be understood before we begin the gita.

1.The divine personality of the teacher who is the avatar of the age.

2.The human dilemma as depicted by Arjuna, the ordinary human being.

3. The battlefield as the scene of the discourse.

The advice is given by the avatar or god incarnate, to Arjuna the prototype of the struggling human soul who is ready to receive this great knowledge. The symbolic drama is played on the stage amidst the din and clamour of a battlefield.

Thus the teacher of the /gita is not a transcendent god but the god seated beside the human being in the chariot of his body helping him in his lonely battle against the forces of evil that are arrayed in front of him.

He is our closest friend and relation (as he was to Arjuna), the secret guide to our action and the highest source of all our knowledge. The central idea is to reconcile and create a unity between the inner and highest aspirations of man and the world with all its negativity and conflict. Thus the Gita is actually a guide to us in our day to day life. It shows us that whatever the problems we might have in life whether horrifying or sanctifying, they can be solved by the application of the teachings of the Gita.

The teachings of the Gita are so profound that the more we read it the more get out of it and the more we practice it the more our level of consciousness increases. Its message touches the very core of the human problem and thus its appeal is universal.

The union of the individual with the Absolute is the consummation of life as expected by the teacher of the Gita.

There are three steps t be followed when learning the Gita.

1. Sanskrit is the language of the gods and we should begin our class by Listening to the chanting of the verses. This will have a deep impact on us.

2. The next step is to contemplate on the meaning as given by the teacher and what occurs to us individually.

3. The third is to put the teaching into practice which is the most important thing. The teaching has to be assimilated into the very core of our being so that one lives the Gita. We will not get any benefit by just reading it!

4. The very word Gita means “song”. So the Bhagavad Gita is the song of God and therefore the song of life. – of existence, and omniscience leading to bliss -sat-chid and ananda.

This year 2025 The Bhagavad Gita jayanti is celebrated on 1st December.

Hari Aum tat Sat

What exactly is sadhana and how should one do it - is a question which troubles a lot of people who are anxious to progress on their spiritual path. Hopefully, this blog can clear a few of their doubts. First of all, let us find out the meaning of “sadhana”.

Any type of activity that can enable the materialistic-minded person to evolve towards the divine can be called a sadhana. This is very similar to yoga which again is any activity that allows you to contact or join with the divine. Yoga is a far more fluid thing and can apply to all types of activities but sadhana refers to certain specific activities which are practiced on a daily basis, keeping regular times. It entails a lot of discipline but it is something that has to be done by anyone who wants to make the change over in their lifestyle from material to divine.

Our Puranas describe three types of sadhanas.

The first type is called “markata sadhana”. “Markata” means “monkey”. If a monkey finds anything edible, he will stuff it into his mouth and will not eat it then and there. He jumps about here and there, keeping on filling his mouth and sometimes loses the food he has stuffed in this fashion. This is the type of sadhana that is done by those who want quick results. They lack discipline and want only results. One day, they will practice one type of sadhana and the next day, another type with the result that they are unsuccessful in both!

Next is known as “vihanga sadhana” and is connected with the eating habits of birds. A bird swoops on a fruit and pecks hard so that the fruit drops to the ground and is lost to the bird. Similarly, this type of sadhak (one who practices sadhana) lacks the determination to go to the end of anything that he has started. He or she drops the practice soon.

The third type is known as “pippalika sadhana” and this is similar to the lifestyle of ants. When the ant finds something, it likes, it will break it up into small pieces which can be held in its mouth and taken back to its own home and eaten at leisure. Similarly, the most important point in sadhana is to keep our objective firmly fixed in our mind and never swerve from the path for any reason. We have to plod away at the path we have decided upon or which our guru has told us and keep at it, day after day, month after month, year after year. In this way, we will reach our goal. But remember that as we keep practicing, our natures will change. Anger and fear will lessen. Kindness and compassion will increase and we will start to feel a sort of well-being and the feeling that we are being protected at all times. This is the greatest gift that sadhana can give.

Many, many types of sadhanas have been prescribed by those practicing various types of paths but here, we’re giving certain basic ones which are a must for all those who want to enhance their lives and bring it up to a higher plane of consciousness.

I will describe some types of sadhanas that have stood me in good stead and which I normally advise. These are 1. Yogasanas. (Yoga postures), 2. Pranayama (methods of breath control), 3. Mantra japa (chanting of mantras), Dhyana (meditation). Of course, I do give some hints about diet and life style. Diet has already been discussed in a previous blog (Food and Health) so I will not talk about it today.

We should first of all understand the nature of our own selves. We are a combination of the body, mind and intellect. All these three have definite characteristics and each one will demand that its needs must be met with. Of these, the grossest is the body. It is a great mistake to disregard it as most sadhaks do in their zeal to reach the higher realms of life. In a burst of enthusiasm, most sadhaks go on a rigorous program of fasting in order to control the body. A reasonable amount of fasting is most necessary for our sadhana but by fasting alone, we will not be able to control the body. The body is a receptacle for the divinity within and has to be kept in a very good state of health so as to allow the light shine through. It should not be tortured in any way.

The best way to keep the body under control is to practice yoga asanas. No amount of exercise or walking or gym can replace yoga asanas in keeping control of the body. We all know that meditation is most necessary to keep the mind in control, but unless we have a good mastery over the body, the mind can never be brought under our command. When we start practicing yoga asanas, we will find that we are able to sit in one position for meditation for as long as it takes, without continuously squirming and fidgeting. The body slowly comes into control with the daily practice of yoga asanas and can happily remain in any meditative posture for long periods of time. Daily practice will enable your body to remain supple till you are old. In youth, we may not understand the importance of this but as you start getting older, you will realise how important it is to have a body which obeys your orders!!

The twelve postures of Surya Namaskara are the best and everyone should practice this to keep supple and increase brain power. Nowadays, most towns have some yoga centre. Please do contact them and start practicing yoga straight away. This is an age-old practice – well tried and found to be most effective. Yoga asanas not only give agility to the body but they work on the mind as well, keeping it bright and sharp. It is not an exercise, so should not be done fast. Every pose should be followed by a rest posture. This is how the body keeps fit and agile. Please do approach a yoga teacher if one is available or find one on line and learn some asanas that will keep your body supple. Once you have mastered them you can practice at home, but remember, they have to be done regularly without break.

After having gained some control of the body we will be able to sit for some time in some type of asana like sukhasana, vajrasana, ardha padmasana or padmasana. These are the classical postures for meditation if you are sitting on the floor. If you can’t sit on the floor, you can sit on a chair without slouching. The head, neck and spine should always be kept in one straight line. This is very important, since vital energy flows up the spine and should not be subverted.

Now, that the posture is firm, the next step is to control the mind. The breath is closely connected with the mind. Whenever we are angry or frightened our breath is fast and short. Therefore, if we can manage to control our breath, we will be able to control our emotions! This sadhana is called “pranayama” or control of breath. Anulom/vilom is a good and simple one preferably to be learnt from a guru. If you can’t find a guru then it’s better to practice by taking in long breaths. Inhale and exhale, retaining the breath for as long as possible. But remember that every day, one has to keep the same number of counts at every inhalation and the same number of counts in every exhalation. This will reduce the thought waves in the mind and give us extra strength.

The next is mantra chanting. If you have already got a mantra from a guru, you can use that. If not, you can use the pranava mantra “AUM” or the taraka mantra, “Rama.” The Surya Gayatri mantra is very famous and very good for increasing memory power as well as keeping the brain bright. BUT the pronunciation has to be perfect to get best results. So, it has to be learnt from an accomplished guru or by listening to a good recitation on the web. We will be giving this mantra along with this blog. You can chant by using a mala (rosary) of either tulasi or rudraksha, containing 108 beads. According to availability of time, you can do one or two or three malas. You can also keep the count by using your fingers but a mala helps you to concentrate better.

Before starting these three practices, you should ensure that you are sitting on a comfortable cushion or mat in a comfortable asana or posture. The same cushion should be used for sadhanas. It will retain certain vibrations which will help you to concentrate. It can be kept on a chair if you are using a chair.

The next step is dhyana or meditation. After having practiced pranayama and mantra chanting, the mind will be in quiescent stage and will be happy to settle down to meditate. In fact, after a few days of practice you will find that the mind automatically slips into a meditative mood. Keep your upturned palms on your knees with the tips of the forefinger and thumb touching each other. Close your eyes gently and keep chanting the mantra you have been using mentally. Let it become slower and slower and softer and softer, sometimes stopping altogether. Enjoy that state of calmness and peace for as long as you can.

If you practice these steps faithfully for at least a month you can be assured that there will be a dramatic change in your general well-being, both of body and mind. Negative emotions will lessen and be replaced by positive ones.

As far as possible, you should also fix a time for sadhana. We are told that morning and evenings are most conducive. In the morning, when the night meets the day and, in the evening, when day meets night. These are known as “sandhyas” and are very conducive for sadhana and meditation since the whole of creation is in a state of rest. If these timings are not comfortable, you can choose your own timings. But the thing we have to remember is that the timing must be faithfully adhered to. This is because the mind is a creature of habit and when the correct time comes, it will automatically start to wind down and get prepared for meditation. This will make it easier for us.

There is of course one important point which has to be followed before starting any type of sadhana. This is your life style. We cannot live a life of dissipation and expect to have perfect results from our sadhanas. Patanjali Maharishi insisted that any type of sadhana has to be approached only after observing the “yamas” and “niyamas”. These are universal rules of ethical conduct which are a must for every human being.

Yamas

Ahimsa (non-violence)

Satya (truthfulness)

Asteya (non-stealing)

Brahmacharya (control of the vital energy)

Aparigraha (non-possessiveness)

Niyamas.

Shoucha (internal and external cleanliness)

Santosha (contentment)

Tapas (self-control; discipline)

Swadhyaya (study of the scriptures)

Ishvarapranidhana (total surrender to the Supreme Being)

These are the ten as given by Patanjali Maharishi, the father of Yoga. To these our scriptures have added a few more yamas.

1. Kshama – Patience.

2. Dhriti – Determination and steadfastness

3. Daya – Compassion

4. Arjava – Straightforwardness

5. Mitahara – Moderate eating habits

As you can see, the yamas are the ethical guidelines given for our behaviour in the external world and the niyamas are the guidelines for controlling our inner passions.

These guidelines are not limited to any class, country, time or situation. They can be called the universal vows which every human being has to observe, if we want a good and peaceful world.

If you are a serious sadhak, you can add another practice to your daily routine. Each night before you sleep, take a moment to reflect on any of your actions that have gone against any of these commandments. If you feel that you have slipped up in any one of them, make up your mind to improve the next day. Only by this type of self-analysis will we be able to control ourselves and derive maximum benefit from our daily sadhanas.

Hari aum tat sat

THE VEDA

1. The Veda is the holy scripture of the Sanatana Dharma or Hinduism.

2. The Vedas are 4 in number. – Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and Atharva Veda.

3. They are eternal. They were not created in time, at some place, by someone. In fact, they are supposed to be the very breath of the Creator!

4. They have always existed since the Creator has always existed. Hence, they have no beginning and no end (anaadi and ananta) They exist and have always existed as vibrations in the ethereal space.

5. They were cognised and heard by the rishis, hence they are also known as “sruti” or that which is heard.

6. The rishis were super human beings and can be called spiritual scientists. Their knowledge of the universe was phenomenal. No other civilization except the present has reached the heights of knowledge that they had achieved.

7. Veda Vyasa is the sage who compiled the Vedas into four.

8. Each Veda in turn is divided into four sections – Samhitas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas and Upanishads.

9. The Samhitas are the actual mantras or vibrations which were heard by the rishis.

10. The Brahmanas are a guide to explain how the mantras could be used in the fire rituals known as yajnas which are mainly used by householders.

11. The Aranyakas also contain mantras and rituals for both householders and those who are starting a life of sannyasa or renunciation.

12. Both Brahmanas and Aranyakas contain a vast amount of scientific knowledge which has only recently been discovered by the west. Many profound truths of chemistry, physics, geometry, mathematics, astronomy, astrology, botany, geology, anatomy and medicine are dealt with in these portions.

13. Earth goes around the sun – Rg Veda 10. 22. 14. and Yajur Veda 3. 6.

14. Sun neither rises nor sets – Atreya Brahmana 3’44 and Gopatha Brahman 2’4’10.

15. Sun and other planets are round – Yajur Veda 20. 23

16. Moon is lighted by the sun – Yajur Veda 18, 20.

17. There are many suns – Rg Veda 9. 114. 3.

18. Seven colours in the sun – Atharva Veda 7. 107. 1.

19. Electromagnetic field, conversion of mass and energy – Rg 10. 72.

20. The Upanishads contain the ultimate message and purpose of the Vedas which is to gain liberation for the jivatma or embodied soul. They are also known as Vedanta since they come at the end of the Vedas.

THE BRAHMAN

21. The Brahman is the ultimate, non-dual Reality of Hinduism. It is the immutable foundation and support of the whole cosmos of movable and immovable things.

22. The only way to describe the Brahman is “sat-chid- ananda” – existence-consciousness-bliss. The word Aum  is the sound of the Brahman. It is known as “shabda brahman”.

23. The Brahman is formless yet contains all forms. It is beyond the three bondages of Time, space and causality (desa, kaala, nimitta). It has no form, qualities or functions. It is changeless and therefore has no decay. It is non-relational so no one can perceive it. It is “advaita”- non-dual- One without a second. There is nothing beyond it. 

24. The atman is the Self in each of us which is nothing but the Brahman. It is our true reality and it never dies with the death of the body.

25. The supreme reality of the Brahman projects itself in the forms of the various gods as well as this variegated universe of forms.

THE PURANAS

26. After the age of the Vedas, we come to the age of the Puranas which are eighteen in number.

27. Vyasa was the author of the eighteen Puranas.

28. The transcendental aspect of the Brahman cannot be grasped by normal human beings so in the Puranas, the one Supreme became many gods. Forms of gods are filled with scientific truths.

29. The Supreme has the potential for infinite expression and the deities are different facets of the Brahman.

30. Hinduism has two Itihasas or epics which are also part of our history. The Ramayana is the first poem ever to be written in the world. The sage Valmiki was the author. The Mahabharata was written by the sage Vyasa.

31. The Ramayana is the story of Lord Rama and the Mahabharata, of Lord Krishna.

32. The Puranas also present the idea that everything is in reality nothing but the Supreme spirit. Vyasa wove stories round the various gods which in-cooperated the Vedic truths so that they could be understood even by children and uneducated people.

33. The religion followed by the masses in Hinduism is what has been given by Valmiki and Vyasa in the epics and Puranas.

34. The human being is one of the expressions of the Brahman and is placed on the evolutionary scale that enables him to take a leap forward and experience the unconditioned reality of the Brahman.

35. The forms of gods are like algebraic symbols devised by Vyasa to aid us in our ascent to the highest.

36. The Puranas have deep psychological and metaphysical wisdom woven into their stories.

37. The avataras like Rama and Krishna are the descent of that Brahman into the form of the human in order to help our ascent to the divine.

38. Rama and Krishna are historical personages. The places they lived and places they travelled are all to be seen even now in this country. They are NOT mythological figures.

39. These epics are a true and faithful account of our history.

40. The four goals of Hinduism are dharma, (righteousness), artha, (acquisition of wealth), kama (the desire for pleasure) and moksha (the desire for liberation).

41. If we use righteous means to attain wealth and pleasure, we will automatically attain liberation, hence artha and kama are hemmed in by dharma and moksha.

42. The trinity in Hinduism is called Brahma, the creator, Vishnu the harmoniser and Maheswara or Shiva, the destroyer. These three are the immortals.

43. In his role as the one who keeps the balance in the world, Vishnu is the one who takes innumerable avataras or incarnations. Both Rama and Krishna are avataras of Lord Vishnu.

44. There are ten well-known avataras. These are Matsya (form of a fish), Kurma (form of a tortoise), Varaha (form of a boar), Narasimha (form of half human and half animal), Vamana (form of a dwarf), Parashurama (form carrying an axe), Sri Rama, Balarama, Krishna and Kalki.

45. A close inspection shows that there is an evolutionary trend in these, starting from a water creature, to one which can go on both land and water, then one which is totally on land, then to a half human, then a dwarf man, the iron age man and the fully developed human and then the super human.

The supreme goal of life in Hinduism is for the jivatma to come in union with the Paramatma or the Brahman. This is known as moksha. To attain this goal many types of sadhanas or spiritual practices are given in Hinduism. Main among these are yogasanas which cleanse the body, pranayama which cleanses the emotions, meditation and mantra japa etc which cleanses the mind. This is only a small introduction to Hinduism. Other blogs will follow.

Hari aum Tat Sat

ADIVEDA is the name of a trust formed by Vanamali Maa, of Vanamali Ashram, Rishikesh. The aim of the trust is to promote the renaissance of the Sanatana Dharma. This is the most ancient religion in the world and aims at the perfection of the individual as well as the society regardless of the religion they practice. However, the Hindus themselves are not aware of the depths of this religion - its scientific roots and the deep significance of its rituals and practices.

The main difference between Hinduism and other organised religions is that Hindus are not controlled by a central authority and have been given freedom to choose between various types of paths which have been given by the rishis of our religion. Over the years this freedom has turned into a type of liberty to do what you like and call it Hinduism. There is no proper training given to our children as is given in the other major religions of the world. The parents themselves, who have the responsibility for this, have very little knowledge of the basic tenets of Hinduism. Even though some of the greatest scientific discoveries in the world were made by the ancient Hindus, little credit is given to this since there has not been any attempt to sort and codify all these great discoveries. The rishis of ancient India who were the greatest scientists ever known never made any attempt to patent any of their discoveries. They meant it for the benefit of humanity and thus they were available to anyone who wanted to use them. This type of magnanimity is no longer appreciated in this world. With the lapse of time and the continuous bombardment of our country by foreign invaders, much of this knowledge has been lost and much has been stolen and marketed under different banners. As usual the Hindus made no attempt to reclaim or assert their ownership over anything. Unfortunately, with the advent of western civilization, we were taught to believe that our culture which has existed for thousands of years was far inferior to western culture which is a mere two thousand years old at the most. This sort of inferiority complex has corroded the psyche of the present generation.

Now the time has come when all Hindus should wake up and realise that if we keep on with this over tolerant attitude, our culture may well be engulfed by other belligerent religions who believe in forceful conversions. This will be a loss not only to our country but to the whole of humanity. Whereas other religions teach the human being to rise above his bestiality and become good human beings, Hinduism gives us a method by which the human being can rise above his humanity and attain his inherent divinity!

To achieve the renaissance of Hinduism, Vanamali Maa and a group of like-minded people have got together to form this Trust called “Adiveda”. BhaveshYuj is the head of this Trust. He as well as all those in his group have dedicated their lives to the promotion of the Hindu values of life to the younger generation. We feel that the only way we can have a revival of our culture is to start with the young children. We have made a start with this book, called “The Hindu Way of Life”, which is an attempt to instil the basic tenets of Hinduism to children and teach them the esoteric meanings of the various Hindu gods, festivals, so-called superstitions as well as a daily routine to be followed by all Hindus. This daily routine is a must for all Hindus since Hinduism is first and foremost a “Way of Life,” rather than a religion like the other religions of the world. It does not force anyone to believe something just because it has been written in a book or told by someone. The very art of living has been woven into the Hindu way of life which teaches us to love and respect and show consideration to not just other human beings but to the whole of creation. In fact, one of the basic dictums of Hinduism is to see the whole world as “Vasudeva Kudumbam” or the “Family of God”. We should accept everyone as our own family members and show tolerance to all their foibles as we would to those in our own family. Our first and foremost prayer is “Loka samasthath sukhino bhavantu” – Let the whole world be happy. These are not ordinary dictums and cannot be found in any other religion so we have a duty to our children to see that they are taught these great truths and a duty to see that these truths are passed on to future generations not only of this country but to the whole world.

This book is written in English but later on we hope to get them translated into all the regional languages so that the knowledge of our culture and religion can spread across the whole of the sub-continent. If there is to be a renaissance of Hinduism it has to start from the primary school children since they will be the inheritors of this holy country of Bharat.

We invite people, both Hindus and non-Hindus, who are interested in this endeavour to join us in this noble program and become members of the Trust.

Our aim is to bring our country back to its original status when it was the leader in all things scientific, cultural and spiritual.

We have started a weekly in which blogs are sent every Sunday to subscribers which will enable them to live a better life. This is the link and anyone can join. We encourage all of you to share this link with your friends.

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VANDE MATARAM

The Srimad Bhagavad Gita is the discourse given by Lord Krishna to his friend and cousin, Arjuna, the great warrior and the middle one amongst the five Pandavas. It was delivered at a time when the forces of adharma had spread all over Bharat and appeared to be much stronger than the forces of dharma. This scenario is very familiar to us even today. Arjuna was faced with the terrible problem of having to kill his own kinsmen in order to uphold the cosmic dharma! Unable to understand what his dharma really was, he turned to his friend and mentor, Krishna and begged him to tell him what to do. The question put by Arjuna to Krishna was pertinent to his own dilemma, placed as he was in a specific context of space and time. The Gita is Lord Krishna’s answer to him, phrased in such a way that it has the ability to solve all problems on a universal scale, regardless of the space and time in which they take place. Even though almost five thousand years have passed since the discourse was first given, the Gita has such a modern approach to life that even now, anyone who reads it feels that the advice given to Arjuna has a tremendous bearing on his own particular problem.

The greatness of the Gita lies not merely in being another point of view of a religious outlook, but a guide to each one of us in our day-to-day life. Whatever the problems we might have to face in life, horrifying or sanctifying, whatever the dilemma, it can be solved by the application of the teachings of the Gita. Hence, we can say that the Gita is a practical guide to daily life and therefore we will find solace from it only if we practise what Krishna says. It’s not a book which we can read in the hope that the reading itself will give us salvation but it’s a book which gives practical guidance. Therefore, the advice of the Gita has to be practised daily.

Even the very first reading has a mesmerising effect on those who are ripe for spiritual evolution. How could any book have such an amazing effect unless it was divinely inspired as indeed it was! It was given through the holy lips of Lord Krishna, the Supreme Incarnation.

However old we are in physical years we are still very immature spiritually. Everyone longs for happiness but we all get an equal share of unhappiness as well and we don’t know how to deal with this. We grope about in the dark until we are old and yet we never come to realise our mistakes. A question which bothers most people is how we, who are desperate for happiness, always end up by creating more and more unhappiness for ourselves.

The Gita gives the answer. We have been born on this earth and we have to obey the rules of the planet. This is a simple truth. When we go and visit someone’s house we have to obey the rules of that house. We cannot try to change the rules to fit our own idea of how a house should be run! This is exactly what we have been doing. Even though we have been living on this globe for centuries, we have not been able to understand and adjust to the nature of the world. We think the world is made solely for our enjoyment. We are totally uncaring about the rest of creation. The universe is run on certain cosmic laws based on dharma and when we do not follow these laws we will have to pay a price for it. We have denuded the earth of all her precious articles. We have slaughtered and plundered and snatched everything for ourselves as if we were the only creatures on this earth. We have despoiled the elements which constitute our own bodies and do not realise that this is the cause of all our diseases and our unhappiness. We have not learnt how to live amicably with the different creatures of this earth and treat them as if they were meant solely for our delectation. We have not even learnt how to live amicably with the rest of the human species!

After reading the Gita, we will discover that there are two major causes for unhappiness in society. One is the fact that we are constantly going against the laws of the cosmos which are dharmic. We are constantly “using” the world for our own benefits disregarding the fact that all creatures have as much right to live in this world as we have.

The other cause of our unhappiness lies in our perception and understanding of the nature of the world. We seem to be deliberately refusing to accept the truth which is painfully apparent to the true seer. We have developed a one-sided view of the truth of life and the world. This world is a “world of duality.” Even though this is a fact which we know and experience every day, we have shut our eyes to this fact since it does not fit in with our notion of how we want the world to be. We are determined that with our intellect and our imagination we can overcome this “defect in nature” which we cannot and will not accept. From the time we were born we have been experiencing these different states like happiness and unhappiness, joy and sorrow, good and evil, beauty and ugliness, day and night and so on. We have seen time and time again that everything in nature that we experience has its opposite experience which will come to us whether we want it or not. It is an inevitable fact of life which for some inexplicable reason we refuse to accept. We always focus on the first of the two opposites, suppressing the other. This gives us a one-sided view of life and its values. We want everything that is positive and nothing which appears negative to us but however much we might want it; the world is not going to change its pattern to suit our taste.

When we look at a rose and say that we want only the rose and not the thorns we are going against nature because in nature there is nothing that is totally negative or ugly. Everything has a place and purpose. The thorn is kept as a protection for the rose. Without the support of the strong thorn the delicate rose would be in danger. Similarly, when we ask for happiness, we certainly will never get perfect happiness for the simple reason that happiness and unhappiness are two sides of the same coin of life and we can never have a coin with only one side. These opposites are what are known as counter-correlatives, meaning to say that they cannot exist by themselves.

Thus, Lord Krishna advises us to accept happiness and unhappiness with equanimity. Be not over elated when happiness comes, nor totally depressed when unhappiness comes, as it surely will. This is one of the valuable lessons that the Gita teaches us. Everything that happens to you during the course of your life has a purpose. Nothing is a coincidence. If we are given unhappiness, we should accept it as a part of the intricate fabric of life which is woven with shades of many colours. How drab it would be to have a carpet which has only one colour. It is the contrasts and contradictions which we have in life that gives it zest and purpose. Not understanding this, we keep on asking only for joy and thus end up by making ourselves miserable since it’s obvious that we will never have a life of joy alone. So, the first lesson everyone has to learn is the technique of living which the Gita gives, which is to accept the true nature of the world as one of “duality. The faster you learn to accept this as part of life, the faster we will become contented. But we are constantly trying to twist and mould the nature of the world to fit our personal concept of what is good. We fail to see that every “good” has a “bad” tagging behind it. The more we try to evade this truth, the more complicated we make our own lives and the more sorrow we accumulate.

The next and perhaps most important lesson we can learn from the Gita is that nature has a strange way of taking and giving. The more we give, the more we get. Even though we may not be able to accept this statement, eventually life will make you accept this truth. Giving need not necessarily mean the giving of charity or material goods but it could just be the giving of a smile or a kind word at a time when someone really needs it. Another important point which goes along with this, is the fact that if we give with desire to get something in return, we may get our desire but we will be given only an equal measure of what we gave. However, if we give without any desire for personal benefits, the reward will be far greater than anything we can ever expect. If we give a gift with the hope of getting something in return, we will surely get some gift of equal value but if we give a gift of anything – of time, money or love without any expectations of a favourable reward, our results will be enormous. Of course, these results may not manifest themselves immediately in our lives but it is 100% sure that they will come to you at some time or other when you need them most. This is what the Gita calls karma yoga and is something which can be understood only when we start to practise doing action without expectation of reward.

Equality of vision of the outside world and equanimity of the mind inside are another two things that are stressed in almost all the chapters of the Gita. Once this attitude becomes fixed in us, the charioteer of Arjuna will reveal himself to us. He will show us that He is indeed the divine charioteer who lives in the heart of every creature and directs each one of us along the right path. If we surrender our ego to him as Arjuna did, He will take us to a glorious victory. Arjuna was an archer and all he was asked was to shoot in the prescribed manner and as advised by his charioteer. “Nimitta maatram bhava,” “Be thou an instrument alone.” This is a clarion call to all of us to forego our egos and become a simple instrument in the divine hands. This is the only way to be victorious in the race of life! Be a flute in the hands of Lord Krishna and divine music will flow through us without any effort on our part. Always remember that in the chariot race of life we have only one travelling companion and that is God, in this case, Krishna!

May the divine charioteer guide all of us through the battlefield of life.

Hari Aum Tat Sat!

In the Sanatana Dharma, human life is a precious gift. Every aspect of life is sacred and auspicious and every stage of life has to be celebrated with all due formalities. The steps marking the passage of a human being to different levels or stages of life, from conception to cremation are known as samskaras. The rituals are followed as given in our scriptures. These samskaras are the milestones of a person’s life. They purify the body and mind and make him into a true human being. Our rishis who were spiritual scientists found that these samskaras have a positive influence on our subconscious minds which will bring stability and peace throughout our lives.

The word samskara means “culture” or “refinement” in Sanskrit. The Vedas identify forty samskaras. Out of these the most important ones which are normally observed are only sixteen and are known as the shodasha samskaras. Modern life has cut down these to even less than sixteen and of course those who go abroad and are totally influenced by western culture tend to pour scorn on the entire concept! But the time has come to bring them all to the perception of our younger generation since there seems to be a true awakening of the minds of the youth to the precious gifts of our culture.

1.The first samskara is Garbhadana. This literally means the “giving of wealth to the womb”. This is normally performed immediately after the wedding and begins before conception. This ensures harmony between the couples so that there will be no problems during conception. Many rituals are done while the child is still in the womb since there was a great insistence in bringing forth a child who would be a boon to society and to its parents!

2. Pumsavana is a ritual conducted in or after the third month of pregnancy before the foetus starts moving inside the womb. The ceremony celebrates the first trimester when the mother should be given certain special foods and herbs that will help in the proper development of the foetus and reduce the risk of mis-carriage.

3. Simantonnayana or Simantam as it is generally known is usually performed in the fifth or seventh month of pregnancy, when the husband ‘parts the hair’ of his wife. This samskara is similar to modern baby showers where the relatives of the couple bring gifts, sweets, savouries and items that the child might need after its birth. The mother is clad like a bride and is kept on a swing and songs are sung to ensure the long life and health of both mother and child.

CHILDHOOD SAMSKARAS

4. Jatakarma: Natal rites

This samskara helps to fuse the bond between the father and baby just after its birth. According to the scriptures, the father performs this samskara before cutting off the umbilical cord of the new-born child from that of the mother. Following the traditional Jatakarma ritual, the father welcomes the baby by touching its lips with honey and ghee.

5.Namakarana: Naming the child

The ancient Vedic ceremony of naming a child is usually done in the eleventh or twelfth day after birth. On this day, the parents announce the formal name of the child, which is decided by the nakshatra and rashi in which it is born. This ceremony takes place in the presence of family members and relatives and gives a separate identity to the new-born.

6.Nishkramana: First outing.

The literal meaning of nishkramana is “going out, coming forth.” In the fourth month after the baby’s birth, parents take the baby out of the home, generally to a nearby temple. The baby formally meets the world for the first time. Impressions in the child’s mind are formed based on what it sees and hears in this world. This ritual marks the beginning of the baby’s mental growth.

7. Annaprashna: First feeding with cooked rice.

The Annaprashna ceremony is performed in the sixth month when there is some visible growth of the first teeth. It marks the first time that a baby eats solid food, especially cooked rice. Until now, the baby was nourished only through breast milk if possible. This ceremony is done to bring good health, radiance, and physical strength to the child. Normally kheer or rice and milk cooked together is given. The rice should be very soft. The kheer should be offered to the deities first or into the fire if a havan (fire ceremony) is being performed. This prasad should be given to the baby. The baby should be kept on the lap of the father or mother who should sit facing east. The parent should pray to Annapurneshwari, the goddess of food and ask her to take care of the child. A drop pf honey, a few drops of Ganga water and a tulsi leaf should also be put into the kheer. A tiny portion of the kheer should be taken in a silver spoon or with one’s hands and given to the baby. Normally they will relish this and start sucking and gurgling. The grandparents and other relatives may also offer a tiny bit of the kheer to the baby.

Food plays a very significant role in our lives, as it nourishes our body and gives us strength. This ceremony respects the significance of food. The day a baby starts having food properly, it is believed that half the success of his life has been achieved. Hence, this ceremony should be performed in a holy ambience with all the step-by-step Annaprashan Vidhi (rituals), as it is one of the most important part of your baby care. At the end, everyone should bless the baby. The ceremony should end with the distribution of prasad to everyone.

8.Chudakarana: Cutting of the first tuft or hair.

This is also known as mundan and it marks the child’s first haircut. This samskara represents a new phase of life where the baby’s hair is cut and nails trimmed. This removes the baby hair and the start of a strong, thick new growth.

Apart from enhancing the appearance, hair also gives protection to the scalp.

9.Karnavedha: Piercing the earlobes.

Karnavedha means piercing the ear. This samskara also has a scientific explanation. Ear lobes are important acupressure points. Modern research has shown the link between earlobes and the two hemispheres of the brain.

Piercing the ears, therefore, helps in developing intelligence and enhancing immunity against respiratory infections and also from diseases such as hydrocoele and hernia. This used to be done for both sexes not just for girls as we do now.

EDUCATIONAL SAMSKARAS

10.Vidyarambha: Start of education.

This is a most important samskara and is usually performed at the age of five. It celebrates the child’s first step towards acquiring knowledge. In the Vedic tradition, Saraswati is the goddess of learning and knowledge. In the Vidyarambha ceremony, she is worshipped to seek blessings for the child. There are many temples in Bharat that undertake this ceremony which is usually done on the 10^th day of the Navaratri which is known as the day of victory which is the day when the goddess Saraswati is worshipped.

11.Upanayana: Holy thread ceremony.

It is regarded as the supreme samskara. This is the first time that the Gayatri Mantra is given to the child by the father or the guru. He is also invested with the sacred thread which creates the bond with the divine. "Upa" means ‘close’ and "Nayana" means ‘to bring’. Hence Upanayana literally means to bring closer to the Divine. During the Vedic Age, Upanayana was performed for girls also but was discontinued a few centuries ago due to social norms. According to the guru shishya parampara, the child would be sent to the Gurukulam after this to learn all aspects of knowledge. He was required to live the life of a brahmachari with the guru, as a part of his family with his mind focused on acquiring knowledge and gaining wisdom.

12.Praishartha: First study of the Vedas

Vedārambha means ‘beginning of the learning of the Vedas’. While Upanayanam marked the beginning of education, Vedarambha refers to the initiation of the Vedic study. In this samskara, students are made to by heart and chant the Vedic mantras since the study of the Vedas was always an oral one.

13.Keshanta/ Ritusuddhi: Cutting the hair

‘Kesh’ means hair, and ‘anta’ means the end. This samskara involves the first shaving of the fuzz which starts to grow on a boy when he attains maturity. Similarly, for girls, the Ritushuddi ceremony is performed when she starts her menses for the first time.

This samskara marks the significant transition from childhood to adulthood. At this juncture of life, the student recognizes and acknowledges the changes that have occurred both physically and psychologically.

14.Samavartana: Graduation ceremony

Samavartana marks the return of the student from the guru’s house. Earlier, when the gurukul system of education was a norm, the student left his guru and gurukul on completion of his studies. This departure was known as samavartana samskara. The student was now fit to move on to the next stage of life. This marks the end of his brahmacharya ashrama.

15.Vivaha: Marriage

Vivaha means “marriage”. This is the start of the second part of a person’s life and is known as Grihastashrama or the life of a householder. The wedding rites and ceremonies generally start with the engagement of a couple and end with the Praavisya Homam or Nishekam ceremony. The colourful celebrations may extend for several days.

16.Antyeshti: Funeral

Antyeshti rites are the last of the samskaras in a series that ideally begins at the moment of conception and is performed at each important stage of life.

At the approach of death, relatives and Brahman priests are summoned, mantras and sacred texts are recited, and ceremonial gifts are prepared. After death the body is removed as soon as possible to the cremation grounds, which are normally located on the banks of a river. The eldest son of the deceased and the officiating priest perform the final cremation rites. For ten days thereafter, the mourners—the immediate family members—are considered impure and are subject to certain taboos. During this period they perform rites intended to provide the jivatma with a new spiritual body with which it may pass on to the next life. Ceremonies include the giving of milk and water and offering rice balls mixed with til seeds. At a prescribed date, the bones and ashes are immersed in the Ganga or a holy river or an ocean. Rites honouring the dead, called shraddh, continue to be performed by the children at specified times.

Although all these shodasha samskaras are of great significance, in modern times, only four of them, namely jatakarma, upanayana, vivaha, and antyeshti, are commonly followed. As with all Hindu rituals all of them mark a special point in the life of a human being in his journey from birth to death!

Aum Tat Sat

The concept of Dharma is unique to Hinduism. In fact, the actual name of Hinduism is Sanatana Dharma — the ancient “Law of Righteousness”. This is a cosmic law which enfolds everything and keeps everything in its place. It is a triple law known as ritam, (the principle of natural order which coordinates everything in Nature), satyam (truth) and dharma (righteousness). The first two are cosmic laws which when translated into human life is called dharma. Everything in the universe has to uphold this law. The whole of nature upholds this law without any problem since it’s been programmed and therefore has no choice in the matter. Galaxies don’t run around as they like, plants don’t grow upside down, the sun and moon and all the other planets have their own orbits beyond which they cannot transgress. The sun shines, the rain falls, flowers bloom, and fruits appear according to this cosmic dharma which essentially means the law of righteousness, the law which decides what is the best behaviour for each and every thing in the universe. In as much as human laws keep in tune with this cosmic dharma, they can be called just and righteous. The universal laws of ritam and satyam when passed through the medium of the human mind become distorted and that is why we find that it becomes very hard for human beings to remain steadfast to the rules of dharma. The problem with the human being is that he has not been programmed. He has a mind and intellect and a reasoning capacity which enables him to think for himself. In one way this is good but in another way it is very dangerous and a distorted or perverted intellect can cause havoc both on the individual and social platforms.

The Hindu Dharma is called Sanatana for two reasons.

1. It is ancient and eternal. It has always existed because it is related to the cosmic system which has never changed from ancient times.

2. The other reason is that it attempts to make us realise that we are not our body alone. Our body is only a possession like our car or house. The power that animates the body is spiritual not physical. The body is made up of matter and energy but the Hindu dharma makes us realise that the inner consciousness or atman is unborn, undying, eternal and infinite. It takes us from body consciousness to divine consciousness and makes us experience our immortality.

Like all Sanskrit words, the word “dharma” comes from the Vedas which are the foundation on which the mighty edifice of Hinduism has been built. The word does not really have an English equivalent. Even in Sanskrit “dharma” conveys a huge number of meanings. In the previous paragraph I have already said what it means when connected with Nature. When applied to the human being it denotes the attitude which gives strength to the human being in all situations, in fortune and misfortune, prosperity and adversity. From these and from various other shastras (scriptures) we can have some idea of what exactly is meant by Hindu Dharma. Our epics and Puranas deal with the subject of dharma and try to portray its significance to us through the lives of the characters depicted therein.

Goals of Life

According to Hinduism there are four goals of life, known as the “purusharthas”. These are “dharma, artha, kama and moksha”. Hinduism recognises the need of the human being to acquire wealth and possessions and his need for all types of pleasure including sex. Therefore, these four goals represent the obligations, restrains and aspirations, that the human being has, which will fuse his individual life with the society as well as cosmic life which alone will enable him to live a life in harmony and peace with himself, with the society and with God.

1. Dharma
The very first goal of life as given in Hinduism is dharma. Here it stands for that code of honour and righteousness by following which a person can make a living which is in consonance with the laws of Nature.

2. Artha
Dharma leads to the second goal which is “artha” or the pursuit of wealth. Wealth which is gained by self-effort, following a strict code of conduct is allowed by the shastras (scriptures).

3. Kama
The third goal is “kama”, which is the human aspiration for pleasure which if enjoyed through dharmic or legitimate means is permissible and will lead to the fourth purushartha (goal) of “moksha”.

4. Moksha
Moksha means liberation from the egoistic bonds created by the mind and intellect. This liberation according to Hinduism is to be attained here and now. Hinduism is not guilty of offering the bait of a doubtful heaven to its faithful adherents which is to be arrived only after the death of the physical body, as is promised by most religions. Moksha or liberation is something which every human being can achieve here and now, provided he leads a dharmic life. Artha and kama (desire for wealth and desire for pleasure) are bound by dharma or righteousness on one side and moksha or liberation on the other which points to the fact that if both artha and kama are followed using dharmic means, they will automatically lead us to moksha or liberation.

Thus, we see that Hindu Dharma is extremely rational and scientific in its approach to Reality. It does not try to suppress the basic psychological needs of the human being but keeps in view the goal of life, which is enlightenment and helps us to break away from the pressures imposed on our personality by the ego.

Itihasa

A life on earth which is lived according to the laws of dharma will indeed bring fulfilment and liberation both in this world and after the death of the physical body. The great sages of our epics, Valmiki and Vyasa have stressed the different aspects of dharma in their wonderful works known as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.

These two epics deal with the greatest of our avataras — Rama and Krishna. Both Valmiki and Vyasa were contemporaries of these great personalities so they wrote about historical facts which unrolled before their very eyes and not about happenings which were told to them by a third party. The British who came to exploit this land were confronted with a culture which they were totally incapable of understanding. However, they realised that the only way to control the masses was to make them disbelieve in the historicity of their greatest avataras — Rama and Krishna. They did their best to make out that the Indians had no concept of history and the stories about Rama and Krishna were myths created by the fertile brains of Valmiki and Vyasa! Unfortunately, the British educated elite of India were an easy prey and fell for this type of nonsense. However, archaeological evidence of the modern age has proved beyond a doubt that these giants amongst men did indeed stride across this holy land of Bharat and that everything written about them in these two epics is a true and faithful picture of the historical presence of these amazing beings. The very fact that almost every festival in Bharat is connected with one or other of these avataras should be enough to convince anyone of their existence, if such proof was necessary. Moreover, if we look at the names of all the places mentioned in the Ramayana, we find that these can easily be identified. The path taken by Rama from Ayodhya to Sri Lanka can be seen even today. The bridge he built from Dhanushkodi to Sri Lanka has been verified by pictures taken by NASA. Both Valmiki and Vyasa were exceptional astronomers as well as astrologers and they have mentioned very specific placements of planets at the birth of Rama and Krishna as well as the date on which Rama set out on his journey to the forest and many other dates. With the help of modern technological software all these facts have been scientifically proved which might make it easier for the modern mind to accept the fact of their historicity.

Both these epics actually deal with the different facets of dharma which has always played such an important part in Hindu life. In fact, the Hindu mind has always tried to price open the casket of dharma and discern its different meanings.

Abstract words like “dharma”, “satyam”, “ritam” etc are all very difficult for the human mind to conceive. It is easier for the mind to conceive of such things if a concrete example is given. Therefore, Valmiki portrayed these words in the Ramayana through the character of the great king called Rama. In the story of Valmiki, it is said that at one time, he had been a cruel hunter and robber called Ratnakar. Once he came across the sage Narada who told him to meditate and gave him the divine mantra of “ra-ma”. Many years later Narada returned to the spot where he had left Ratnakar and found that he was so immersed in his tapas that an ant hill had grown all over him. Narada broke open the ant hill and asked Valmiki to open his eyes and return to the world. Valmiki said he would return to the world only if Narada could tell him of the existence of at least one human being who was the essence of all dharma. Narada immediately mentioned the name of Rama and said that he was indeed the epitome of dharma or righteousness. He urged Valmiki to leave his seclusion and return to normal life and write the story of Rama which would prove to be of great help to all humanity. Valmiki agreed and that is how the Ramayana was written.

In the case of Rama, God had taken on a human form with all its frailties in order to show us how our aspirations for a dharmic life can be fulfilled. For this we have to be prepared to completely subjugate our ego and live only for the good of the world and act in consonance with the rules of the cosmic dharma as seen in the duties and obligations that we owe to the society in which we live in. A king or a ruler has to put the citizens first and himself last. Rama is the true portrait of such an amazing king.

There are many controversial episodes in Rama’s life which are misinterpreted by our modern youth. However, if we look closely at these episodes, we will find that in each of these episodes, he was only acting according to the strictest rule of dharma as he perceived it. In fact, he was the true “dharmatma” — the personification of dharma. In his stoic adherence to dharma, he was forced to sacrifice even the strongest of his attachments. However, we see that despite his agony he never deviated from his ideal even though it meant that he himself had to undergo great tortures of self -sacrifice and self- denial. He did not flinch even when he had to part from his beloved wife and finally from his beloved brother. We, who live in an age of easy morals, where ideals are renounced for the sake of self-interest, may consider Rama a fool, but to the ancient Indian society and to those who strive to uphold dharma, he is indeed a God; for none but a God would have been able to act in such a fashion, with absolute self- abnegation. In Rama we find this blend of the sublime characteristics of God combined with all the frailties of the human being. Every avatara has to have both these sides if he is to give an example to humanity. If he acts in a superhuman way all the time, he would not serve his purpose, which is to lift up the human being despite his frailties, to the divinity in him. Therefore, at times he has to behave in a weak human fashion to encourage us so that we can also lift ourselves to the level of a Rama however weak or helpless we may be.

The Ramayana has inspired and encouraged countless people, not merely in India but all over the world because it is a story based on eternal verities which appeal to the best in human nature. These values which have been portrayed in the character of Rama, have a universal appeal and therefore the Ramayana has risen above the limits of sect, religion, race and country. It has continued to cast its spell through the ages. Situations may change but basic human nature has remained the same from those times to the present moment. Many great souls and preachers and incarnations have come and gone but none of them have been able to change this basic human nature. However, the individual can and must change if society is to progress. The character of Rama has a direct appeal to those individuals who crave to cast off the confining limitations of their ordinary human nature and attain divine heights. The Ramayana is filled with characters that were prepared to sacrifice their own selfish interests for the sake of the greater good, who were prepared to subjugate their egos and live only for the good of the world and act in consonance with the duties and obligations of their particular position in society. Rama is the portrait of a man who became divine by shaking off the limitations of mortality by a strict adherence to satya (truth) and dharma. He had all the qualities of the average man, the attachments, the desires, the anger, the fears, the passion and the serenity. He became divine by shaking off these bonds. He surmounted these obstacles in his character and became super human, one who put his duty to God and country above all personal considerations. He shows us that this type of perfection is available to all of us, weak though we are. Hence, he will always be a perfect example to all human beings whatever be their country or their creed — a glorious and living example of the word “dharma”.

Satyameva jayati

Dharmameva jayati

The Sanskrit word for Eclipse is “Grahanam”. Aryabhatta the great Indian astronomer (476 C.E) was the first person in the world who did deep research into this dramatic astronomical event called the eclipse and discovered how it was caused. He gave the perfect scientific explanation for it, way back in the fifth century - long before the western scientists even thought about it. So, Indians were well aware of the scientific facts behind this phenomenon. In the ancient world people were more superstitious and less scientific than they are now, so our sages always clothed the dry scientific facts behind all natural phenomena in beautiful stories so as to make them more palatable to the ordinary person. Hence, we find that our Puranas contain thousands of stories that actually hide deep scientific truths. All the dos and don’ts that have been given to us to be followed during the time of an eclipse are based on some scientific truth and should not be shrugged off as superstitious nonsense. More and more of these so called “superstitious nonsense” are being found to be absolutely scientific by modern scientists!

Now let us see what the Veda has to say about this phenomenon of the eclipse.

The Rig Veda is the oldest record of humanity known to us. The Taittiriya Upanishad which comes in this Veda mentions a solar eclipse that was witnessed by the great Sage Atri. In the Panchavimsi Brahmana of the Rig Veda, the Rishi Atri is said to have dispelled the darkness caused by the eclipse by chanting 4 mantras. He differentiated the changes that occur during an eclipse into a 4 - step process which has been verified by modern science! Research done on sea water during an eclipse reveals the startling truth behind the rishi’s statements. During the eclipse the induced gravity causes a reduction of the ozone layer in the stratosphere. This allows more cosmic radiation of different wavelengths to surface on the earth. This in turn causes changes in the oceanic pH which influences living organisms. This can be noted in the erratic behaviour of animals, birds and marine organisms. Marine organisms are seen to hide from the exposure to the sun during the time of an eclipse. Thus, scientific research strongly supports the traditional Hindu view. Vedic astrologers were able to accurately predict the movement of the planets and even the comets and thus they knew exactly when eclipses would occur. It must be stressed, that the fact that stories were woven over these natural occurrences did not mean that they did not know the underlying scientific reason.

Mention is also made in other places which point clearly to the fact that our ancients knew all about this phenomenon and could accurately predict the times when they would occur. How they did this without modern instrumentation is anybody’s guess.

As has been said before, Hinduism is filled with symbolism which is only a cover for the scientific facts of which they were well aware. The sun and moon have such a powerful effect on our lives that they realised that when these two orbs were temporarily cut off from us it would create a temporary aberration in the world order. Even though their influence would not last long it would still leave a mark on the celestial map as well as on the lives of all creatures living on this planet.

Eclipses overshadow our karma and destinies and create havoc in our lives, just as bad karma brings darkness into our lives and disturbs our peace of mind.

The sun, which is a major life force in the universe, disappears during the solar eclipse, making it a negative omen. The absence of the sun's rays increases the number of bacteria and germs in the atmosphere, thereby harming everything. These scientific truths gave rise to the superstitions surrounding the eclipses that state that harmful agents are at play during these periods, and so, all actions should be done with utmost caution. The entire period of an eclipse from its onset to its culmination is extremely important.

There are many health hazards which can affect us during this special period of time. Since micro-organisms multiply fast during an eclipse there is a tendency for food to get spoilt so we are asked not to cook during the time of the eclipse and not to eat food cooked the previous day since it would have become spoilt. Immunity to disease is also lowered so we are told not to wander all over the place but to sit quietly in one spot and practice meditation or do mantra japa.

One should never look directly at the sun during an eclipse. Pregnant women are considered to be especially vulnerable to evil forces during eclipses. They are not allowed to go outside where the rays would be stronger. They are told to abstain from such activities like cutting vegetables and stitching clothes. This is because any cut that causes blood to flow would be dangerous since the ability to clot is reduced during an eclipse.

The mantra that is chanted during Surya Grahan by pregnant women is the Santana Gopala Mantra.

In order to minimise the negative effects of this phenomenon we are asked to follow some rules. One should take a bath at the very onset of the eclipse. During the eclipse, tarpan (offering water to deceased ancestors), chanting mantras, performing havans (fire sacrifices) and giving charity can be done. We should bathe once again at the culmination of the eclipse. It is said that during an eclipse any water becomes equivalent to the water of the sacred River Ganga. Merit increases progressively by bathing with water drawn from a water body, flowing water, water from a lake, large river, the Ganga and the sea. Special benefit is supposed to be got from bathing in the River Narmada during and after a solar eclipse. If bathing in the Narmada is not possible, one can chant the mantra which is supposed to be chanted over all waters when we take a bath.

Gange cha Yamune chaiva, Godavari, Saraswati, Narmade, Sindhu, Kaveri, jalesmin sannidhim kuru.

“O Gange, Yamune, Godavari, Saraswati, Narmade, Sindhu, Kaveri, do thou enter into this water and (make it pure)”!

This ensures that the waters of all these rivers enter into your bucket of water and purify it. This mantra can be chanted even if you are taking a shower.

The benefit derived from spiritual practices performed during an eclipse is thousands of times greater than at other times. This is precisely why it is important to give priority to spiritual practices during this period. Reading of holy books, meditation, asanas and other types of sadhana are highly beneficial and will give double their benefit when practiced during the time of an eclipse.

For spiritual practices, a solar eclipse is more beneficial than a lunar eclipse. As it is a transitory period the effects of spiritual practices performed during this period are visible at once. During a solar eclipse chanting performed with immense faith and concentration by remembering God or Guru in different ways, overcomes physical, psychological, spiritual and worldly distress. Success is certain for all spiritual tasks. No japamala (prayer beads) is required for chanting during this period.

There are some things that are forbidden during solar eclipses. No pujas should be done since we are not supposed to touch the murtis at this time. Temples are closed during an eclipse to prevent negative energy emitted by the planetary bodies from harming the murtis. After it is over the murtis have to be washed with Ganga water if available or ordinary water.

Sleeping, cooking, eating and sexual intercourse are totally prohibited during an eclipse. No food should be cooked during the eclipse. Leftovers should be eaten before the period of the eclipse. If due to some health problems we are forced to drink water we are told to put a tulsi leaf into it which will remove the negative vibrations.

It is most advisable to take a bath after the eclipse is over and change into fresh clothes. Sprinkling of Ganga water or taking a dip in the Ganga is also supposed to wash away the negativity incurred during the eclipse.

The mind is also affected during an eclipse. According to psychiatrists some individuals develop psychological problems such as depression, anxiety etc. during this period. In fact, you will find that patients in lunatic asylums exhibit a lot of extra abnormal behaviour. Hence you find that eclipses were considered to be inauspicious according to Hindu thought. They are associated with suffering and adversity. If the eclipse occurs on one’s raasi or birth star, we are asked to do some special pujas.

All living organisms appear to be affected by an eclipse. During this period, you will find that the whole of nature seems to have withdrawn into itself. Animals and birds seldom come out. No bird sounds will be heard. A hush envelopes, the countryside. Plants are all in a state of suspended animation. They seem to withdraw into themselves. Thus, it is most advisable to follow the practices which our rishis had given us centuries ago and preserve our health and increase our spiritual wealth!

Let me repeat that all the “so called superstitious practices” of the Hindus always cloak deep scientific truths so even if you don’t know the reasons it would still be advisable to follow them!

Next solar eclipse is on the 29^th March 2025.

Hari aum tat sat

BASIC TENETS OF HINDUISM

THE VEDA

1.     The Veda is the holy scripture of the Sanatana Dharma or Hinduism.

2.     The Vedas are 4 in number. – Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and Atharva Veda.

3.     They are eternal. They were not created in time, at some place, by someone. In fact, they are supposed to be the very breath of the Creator!

4.     They have always existed since the Creator has always existed. Hence, they have no beginning and no end (anaadi and ananta) They exist and have always existed as vibrations in the ethereal space.

5.     They were cognised and heard by the rishis, hence they are also known as “sruti” or that which is heard.

6.     The rishis were super human beings and can be called spiritual scientists. Their knowledge of the universe was phenomenal. No other civilization except the present has reached the heights of knowledge that they had achieved.

7.     Veda Vyasa is the sage who compiled the Vedas into four.

8.     Each Veda in turn is divided into four sections – Samhitas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas and Upanishads.

9.     The Samhitas are the actual mantras or vibrations which were heard by the rishis.

10.  The Brahmanas are a guide to explain how the mantras could be used in the fire rituals known as yajnas which are mainly used by householders.

11.  The Aranyakas also contain mantras and rituals for both householders and those who are starting a life of sannyasa or renunciation.

12.  Both Brahmanas and Aranyakas contain a vast amount of scientific knowledge which has only recently been discovered by the west. Many profound truths of chemistry, physics, geometry, mathematics, astronomy, astrology, botany, geology, anatomy and medicine are dealt with in these portions.

13.  Earth goes around the sun – Rg Veda 10. 22. 14. and Yajur Veda 3. 6.

14.  Sun neither rises nor sets – Atreya Brahmana 3’44 and Gopatha Brahman 2’4’10.

15.  Sun and other planets are round – Yajur Veda 20. 23

16.  Moon is lighted by the sun – Yajur Veda 18, 20.

17.  There are many suns – Rg Veda 9. 114. 3.

18.  Seven colours in the sun – Atharva Veda 7. 107. 1.

19.  Electromagnetic field, conversion of mass and energy – Rg 10. 72.

20.  The Upanishads contain the ultimate message and purpose of the Vedas which is to gain liberation for the jivatma or embodied soul. They are also known as Vedanta since they come at the end of the Vedas.

THE BRAHMAN

21.  The Brahman is the ultimate, non-dual Reality of Hinduism. It is the immutable foundation and support of the whole cosmos of movable and immovable things.

22.  The only way to describe the Brahman is “sat-chid- ananda” – existence-consciousness-bliss. The word Aum  is the sound of the Brahman. It is known as “shabda brahman”.

23.  The Brahman is formless yet contains all forms. It is beyond the three bondages of Time, space and causality (desa, kaala, nimitta). It has no form, qualities or functions. It is changeless and therefore has no decay. It is non-relational so no one can perceive it. It is “advaita”- non-dual- One without a second. There is nothing beyond it. 

24.  The atman is the Self in each of us which is nothing but the Brahman. It is our true reality and it never dies with the death of the body.

25.  The supreme reality of the Brahman projects itself in the forms of the various gods as well as this variegated universe of forms.

THE PURANAS

26.  After the age of the Vedas, we come to the age of the Puranas which are eighteen in number.

27.  Vyasa was the author of the eighteen Puranas.

28.  The transcendental aspect of the Brahman cannot be grasped by normal human beings so in the Puranas, the one Supreme became many gods. Forms of gods are filled with scientific truths.

29.  The Supreme has the potential for infinite expression and the deities are different facets of the Brahman.

30.  Hinduism has two Itihasas or epics which are also part of our history. The Ramayana is the first poem ever to be written in the world. The sage Valmiki was the author. The Mahabharata was written by the sage Vyasa.

31.  The Ramayana is the story of Lord Rama and the Mahabharata, of Lord Krishna.

32.  The Puranas also present the idea that everything is in reality nothing but the Supreme spirit. Vyasa wove stories round the various gods which in-cooperated the Vedic truths so that they could be understood even by children and uneducated people.

33.  The religion followed by the masses in Hinduism is what has been given by Valmiki and Vyasa in the epics and Puranas.

34.  The human being is one of the expressions of the Brahman and is placed on the evolutionary scale that enables him to take a leap forward and experience the unconditioned reality of the Brahman.

35.  The forms of gods are like algebraic symbols devised by Vyasa to aid us in our ascent to the highest.

36.  The Puranas have deep psychological and metaphysical wisdom woven into their stories.

37.  The avataras like Rama and Krishna are the descent of that Brahman into the form of the human in order to help our ascent to the divine.

38.  Rama and Krishna are historical personages. The places they lived and places they travelled are all to be seen even now in this country. They are NOT mythological figures.

39.  These epics are a true and faithful account of our history.

40.  The four goals of Hinduism are dharma, (righteousness), artha, (acquisition of wealth), kama (the desire for pleasure) and moksha (the desire for liberation).

41.  If we use righteous means to attain wealth and pleasure, we will automatically attain liberation, hence artha and kama are hemmed in by dharma and moksha.

42.  The trinity in Hinduism is called Brahma, the creator, Vishnu the harmoniser and Maheswara or Shiva, the destroyer. These three are the immortals.

43.  In his role as the one who keeps the balance in the world, Vishnu is the one who takes innumerable avataras or incarnations. Both Rama and Krishna are avataras of Lord Vishnu.

44.  There are ten well-known avataras. These are Matsya (form of a fish), Kurma (form of a tortoise), Varaha (form of a boar), Narasimha (form of half human and half animal), Vamana (form of a dwarf), Parashurama (form carrying an axe), Sri Rama, Balarama, Krishna and Kalki.

45.  A close inspection shows that there is an evolutionary trend in these, starting from a water creature, to one which can go on both land and water, then one which is totally on land, then to a half human, then a dwarf man, the iron age man and the fully developed human and then the super human.

The supreme goal of life in Hinduism is for the jivatma to come in union with the Paramatma or the Brahman. This is known as moksha. To attain this goal many types of sadhanas or spiritual practices are given in Hinduism. Main among these are yogasanas which cleanse the body, pranayama which cleanses the emotions, meditation and mantra japa etc which cleanses the mind. This is only a small introduction to Hinduism. Keep following this space for more blogs coming your way soon!

Hari Om

Sri Shankara Bhagavadpada or Adi Shankara as he is popularly known is one of the greatest saints and scholars to be born on the soil of this holy country known as Bharat, which is renowned for having nurtured an unbelievable number of spiritual giants. Bharat is the land of enlightenment and Adi Shankara is considered to be one of the leading lights of this ancient country.

Shankara, as he was known before becoming a great teacher, was born into a poor Brahmin family at Kaladi, present day Kerala, Bharat. His parents, Shivaguru and Aryamba, offered their prayers to Lord Shiva, requesting the deity to bless them with a child. Lord Shiva was so pleased with them that He Himself decided to be born to them. His father named him Shankara, since he knew that his child was born due to Lord Shiva’s mercy. All the ritualistic ceremonies were devoutly performed soon after his birth. The child was so radiant that he illuminated the entire house.

He was a child prodigy and an extraordinary scholar with superhuman capabilities. At the age of two, he could fluently speak and write Sanskrit. At the age of four, he could recite all the Vedas, and at the age of twelve, he took sannyasa and left his home. Even at such a young age, he gathered disciples and started walking throughout the country to re-establish the Sanatana Dharma that had decayed due to the passage of time.

By the age of thirty-two, he left his body, but in those twenty years from the age of twelve to thirty-two, he crisscrossed the holy land of Bharat many times, from north to south and east to west, from Kerala in the south right up to Badrinath in the Himalayas, travelling everywhere in all directions. Since it would be impossible for any human being to have walked to all these places it is to be concluded that he possessed all the siddhis including the one to travel in space. In between all these travels, he produced thousands of pages of spiritual literature which revived and gave strength and health to the dharma that had deteriorated due to the passage of time. Lord Krishna had declared in the Bhagavad Gita that every time this happened, the Lord himself would take an incarnation to revive our ancient culture.

There is a lot of confusion regarding the birth-date of Shankara and different sources have proposed several different dates. The orthodox schools accept the date of his birth as 509 BC. Whatever the uncertainty regarding his biographical details, the historicity of Shankara stands on the very firm foundations of his great works which bear the unmistakable stamp of a mighty intellect. His footprints are also to be found in most of the holy places and mandirs of this ancient land where he lived, preached, renovated mandirs and contributed enormously to our holy traditions. His name and doings have become legendary, creating an indelible image on the Indian mind. Above all, his remarkable commentaries on the three source books of the Sanatana Dharma which are – the Brahma Sutras, the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita prove beyond doubt that such a person did exist.

Tradition has it that he was born on the 5th day of the bright fortnight of the month of Vaishakha. This year, 2024, it falls on Sunday, 12th May. He merged into the Supreme Brahman on the 11th day of the same month thirty-two years later. In this short time, he accomplished the unimaginable, something which can only be achieved when a person is personally empowered by the Divine.

He was born at a time when Hinduism was in a decadent state and other sects like Buddhism were holding sway over the minds of the people. His irrefutable logic overcame the arguments of all his opponents and made the doctrine of Advaita or non-duality, supreme. He tried to unite the different paths of Hinduism and to give unity to the whole country. Though he is known as a supreme jnani or man of wisdom, he was also an indefatigable Karma Yogi who strived to bring the intrinsic truths of the Vedas to the minds of the common people.

Adi Shankaracharya’s philosophy was simple and straightforward. He asserted the unity of the atman with the Brahman. The Brahman alone is real and unchanging. The atman, is nothing other than the Brahman which exists in every human being and therefore in its essence, it is also unchanging. He did not preach a new philosophy or cult but drew his inspiration from the ancient texts of this land – the Vedas and the Upanishads. Accepting the Vedas as revealed truth, he built a consistent philosophical system out of the varied and sometimes contradictory material contained in them.

Even though there are six systems of Indian philosophy, the fact is that the other five systems are but names confined to books in reference libraries, whereas Shankara’s system known as Vedanta, is still an existent and throbbing life-force, ever present before the eyes of the Hindus. Strangely enough it has been joyfully accepted by all scientific minds which become enthralled by the amazingly scientific manner in which all philosophical and religious questions have been answered by Vedanta. This school of thought founded on the Upanishads and the Brahma Sutras which are accompanied by Shankara’s brilliant commentaries, is the culmination of the genius of the human mind which has always been in search of the eternal truth.

Shankara was not only a spiritual giant, but the greatest philosopher the world has produced. Emerging thorough the misty haze of time we see the portrait of an incredible personality possessed of unbelievable physical stamina, amazing psychic powers and an incomparably incisive intellect.

Out of the vast material found in our ancient scriptures, Shankara formulated two systems. One, totally esoteric known as Nirguna Vidya or the knowledge of the formless Brahman and the truth that the atman is nothing but the Brahman. This view is supported by the great Mahavakyas of the Upanishads which are – “prajnanam Brahma” – the Brahman is pure consciousness alone, “tat twam asi” which is said by the guru to the disciple and means “That thou art,” “ayam atma cha Brahma,” “aham Brahmasmi,” I am that Brahman, which is the realisation on the part of the disciple. This is the knowledge of the supreme truth of the Brahman which is formless and without qualities and cannot be known by the human mind. It can only be experienced.

He also built the edifice of the Saguna Brahman for the general public who find it difficult to understand the abstract truth of the Nirguna Brahman and who are more interested in the worship of an image and not just meditation on the formless. Thus, we find that one of Shankara’s most important works was to synthesize the six sub-sects known as “Shanmata.” “Shanmata”, which literally translates to “six religions,” is the worship of the six supreme deities – Ganesha, Surya, Shiva, Vishnu, Shakti and Kartikeya. Shankara explained that the six supreme deities are part of that one divine power.

He established four mutts, or centres of Advaitic learning in the four directions of Bharat – Joshimutt in the north in the Himalayas, Dwaraka in the west, Jagannath Puri in the east and Sringeri in the south. In all these he placed one of his four great disciples known as Sureshwara, Padmapada, Totakacharya and Hastamalaka. The Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham in Kanchipuram declares that he himself became the 1st pontiff of the Kanchi Mutt. These monasteries founded by Shankaracharya have had a great influence in reforming Hinduism. 

We have to thank him for recognising the greatness of the Bhagavad Gita and taking it out of the Mahabharata and giving it a place amongst the greatest of the spiritual scriptures of the world. His was the first commentary on the Gita.

He is the one who took out the murti of Lord Narayana which had been thrown into the pool by the Buddhists and reinstalled it in the ancient mandir of Badrinath. He was foresighted enough to realise how essential it was to unite this holy country of Bharat which though apparently diversified, was still one unified, spiritual whole.

He arranged that the chief priest of the mandir of Badrinath would always be a Namboodiri Brahmin from Kerala. One of the Brahmins from Garhwal would be sent to Rameshwaram, the famous mandir to Shiva in the extreme south of Bharat.

Even today, the descendants of the families that he set up – traditionally, the Namboodiris – are the priests in the mandir.

He had put down the pride of various false sects which had commanded the respect of a vast number of ignorant people. More than anything he blazed the path to salvation for future generations. 

In the opening verses of his “Vivekachoodamani” Adi Shankara says,

“Durlabham trayamevaitat,
Devanugraha hetukam,

Manushyatvam, mumukshatvam,
Mahapurusha samshrayaha!”

“These three rare boons are obtained only by the grace of god. Birth as a human being, the burning desire for liberation and the great good fortune to attain a realised sage as one’s guru.”

The time is ripe to bring back the vision of Adi Shankara to the modern world. Let us all unite and ignite his spirit and build the future of this nation. Bharat has always been the spiritual guru of the world. In the course of time, this has faded a little. Now the time is ripe to re-kindle this fire that has been lit by one of the greatest sons of our wonderful country. This wisdom and this spirit has to penetrate into the hearts and minds of the modern generation of Hindus in this glorious country of Bharat and help us to create a Hindu Rashtra.

Jaya Jaya Shankara!

“Seva” is a Sanskrit word meaning “selfless service” or work performed without any thought of reward or repayment. It is very similar to Nishkama Karma or Karma Yoga which is the advice given by Lord Krishna to Arjuna in the Srimad Bhagavad Gita. He tells Arjuna about the great benefits to be got from doing things for others without any hope of personal gain. “Karmanye adhikarastu ma phaleshu kadhachana”, is what He says. “You have a right to do action but you have no right to ask for the fruits of the action.” This may seem to be a strange thing to say but the fact is that there is a law which operates in the whole of the universe which controls the effects or end product of any action. We have no control over it even though we fully believe that everything is in our control.

This is why Lord Krishna insists that we have only the right to do our duty and we have no right to demand our dues!! In any case, the dues are not in our hands but in the hands of a cosmic power which of course is extremely fair. All of us can be certain that we will get our just dues, neither more nor less, even though we may not agree that we get what we deserve. We always think we deserve more than we get! Thus “seva” is the art of blessed action in which the act is a gift to everyone involved. It helps our own spiritual growth and contributes to the welfare of the person or community for whose sake the seva has been done.

Our Puranas extol the axiom, “manava seva, Madhava seva” service of our fellow beings is equal to worship of God. Hence Lord Krishna’s advice while doing any seva or any action, is to do it as an offering to the divinity that is lodged in the person. This is the right attitude by which any seva is to be done. If done with this attitude, there will be no disappointments since our duty is only to serve the divine in the person and not to ask for anything in return. Whatever we get in return should be considered as “prasad” or something holy. “Prasad” means the remains of something which has been offered to God.

Very often we do so much for someone or for the society yet we feel that our efforts have not been given due recognition and that we deserve something better. This feeling of frustration is only caused by the fact that we have great expectations. “Consider yourself to be an instrument in the hands of God”, is another of Lord Krishna’s comments. When we do or give anything to anyone, this fact must be clearly remembered that we have come to the world with empty hands and will leave with empty hands and if at this moment we have something in our hands which we are able to give to someone, it should be given with the attitude that, “I am not the donor. Anything that I give, any service that I might render is only given to me by God. Thus, I have no right to demand or even expect any return from the other party, “NOT EVEN GRATITUDE”. Seva done with this attitude, will bear no disappointments and whatever we get will bring us only happiness.

Hinduism gives another angle to the doing of seva. We should be grateful to God for having given us an opportunity to serve others. Not everyone gets this type of opportunity. When we do something for another, we should be grateful to that person for accepting our service. They are the ones who have done a service to us and not the other way round. Both “dana” – charity and seva should be done with this attitude.

The Taittiriya Upanishad says, "Give. Give with faith. Do not give without faith. Give with sensitivity. Give with a feeling of abundance. Give with right understanding."

The Hindu world view holds that all beings are interconnected as God dwells within all beings. “Vasudeva Kudumbam”, is another great axiom in Hinduism. This means that the whole world belongs to one family and that is the family of God. If we see anyone suffering in our family, it is our duty and our job to help them without any thought of reward. Every person in our family should be given the same consideration that we give to ourselves. To see the suffering of another as something separate from oneself, or as "someone else's problem," is to move away from this great dictum. Nobody is alien to us. We are all inter-connected in some way or other to everything else in this universe. Nothing in this world is really our own. The ego is the veil that keeps us from perceiving the true nature of existence as One.

Therefore, any help you render to others is actually another way of helping ourselves to grow spiritually. Disinterested service of humanity is the greatest “puja” or worship of God. This is the spirit of seva.

Sometimes people are fired with the ambition to change the world and to make a mark on humanity through the charitable deeds that they might perform. But it is well to remember that it is virtually impossible to change the world in one fell swoop. Many avatars and many reformers and saints have come, but none of them have been able to change the whole world. This, however, need not be considered as a failure. It is far better for you to concentrate on the community around you, the town or village in which you live, the relationships you have created, and the lives of those you are able to touch. There is nothing great or small in the eyes of God. The slightest effort on our part to help anyone is seen in its true perspective by God. Even pouring water over a dried plant or giving something to a hungry animal can be considered as a great seva.

God does not ask you to do something which is of great national or international importance. All that is expected of you is to give as much as you can, as long as you can. This type of seva is a gift which serves others without even spending a thought on what we might gain from such a gift. Our only thought is for the receiver of the gift. To serve endlessly and effortlessly is the very essence of seva. Anything done with great effort and the feeling that we are doing something great, cannot be considered as seva. In order to stop us from getting too egoistic about our altruism, Lord Krishna advises us in the Bhagavad Gita to perform action for the sake of action, for the sake of the divine that is lodged in every living creature with no expectation of personal reward or recognition. Seva is to be done without grudging the amount of time or money or effort which we expend on it. Humility is the greatest of all attitudes. However wonderful your actions and however great your gifts to people, they will all be null and void in the eyes of God, if it is done with the attitude that you are indeed a great soul. Seva done with the attitude that you are only an instrument of God will bring untold benefits to all concerned; even though you may not even be aware of it. This is the highest type of seva and will purify both the donor and the receiver.

Hari Aum Tat Sat.

The wisdom of the Vedic ancients that reality is non-dual and the perceived universe is an illusion (māyā) is a very difficult concept for the mind to process because the mind functions exactly in the opposite way. Mind is dualistic and always creates a subject/object split in every perception and action. And it treats the perceived universe as a reality because it functions within its field of perception. This illusion has served us well so far in terms of evolution, scientific progress, technology etc. But now we have come to a point both in terms of culture and science where these assumptions are turning out be huge stumbling blocks and need to be transcended.

Those interested in physics know of Schrodinger’s wave equation that is a fundamental description of the quantum nature of the universe. What’s most interesting is that this fundamental equation has what’s known as the imaginary number (√-1) baked into it. There is no real square root of -1, it is an abstraction. And it turns out the universe can only be described using this imaginary abstraction and therefore, it is itself a “Giant Abstraction!” Also, it turns out that the wave function that describes the universe ‘collapses’ into what we perceive as particles and objects only when there is measurement. This is known as the quantum measurement problem —which is an unsolved mystery in physics even today.

It is no coincidence that the word māyā literally means measurement in addition to illusion. It is measurement that seems to manifest what we perceive as the universe of space and time and objects. And still, there is great resistance to this idea in our mind because it is so fundamentally against our intuition. The resistance is so great that even the greatest of physicists like Einstein reportedly wondered “Do you really think the moon doesn’t exist when nobody looks at it?”. Or even with many spiritual teachers who ascribe fundamental reality to chronological time, nature, causality etc.

The rishis of the Sanatana Dharma had declared thousands of years ago, that the mind can grasp any particular thing only by relating it to Space, Time and Causality – “Desha, Kaala and Nimitta”. This means that we can relate to any object only by asserting the place it occupies, the time in which it exists and the causal relationship we have with it. Of course this is all done in a split second so we are hardly aware of it.   

However, the time seems to have come when the collective human consciousness is slowly opening up to the possibility that truth is fundamentally beyond space, time and all perceived mental constructs. And this awakening is happening with great logical formalism and rigor in the scientific community. It is not surprising that it is so because true science (as opposed to most pseudo-sciences that pass off as research) is about critical thinking without any bias and being open to where the inquiry leads.

The seeds of this inquiry may have been laid by the discovery of quantum physics. Max Planck who is considered the father of quantum physics said, “As a man who has devoted his whole life to the most clear -headed science, to the study of matter, I can tell you as a result of my research about atoms this much: There is no matter as such. All matter originates and exists only by virtue of a force which brings the particle of an atom to vibration and holds this most minute solar system of the atom together. We must assume behind this force the existence of a conscious and intelligent spirit. This spirit is the matrix of all matter.”

This is exactly what “Advaita” says – that Reality is non-dual. The world of duality that we see is totally a concept of the mind!!  This is what they meant by saying that the world is “Maya” or a creation of the mind. Reality is pure existence, consciousness and bliss”. We will experience that Reality only by transcending the mind!!!

In the Upanishads this same question is answered by the rishi to the seeker. He asks the student to bring him the seed of a Peepul tree which is as small as a mustard seed. He then asks him to break it and see what is inside. The student shows some small particles of matter. He then asks the student to sow those particles and see if a tree can sprout from it. Of course the answer is in the negative. Then the master says, “Just as this huge, peepul tree has sprouted from the “space” inside the seed, so also this whole universe has come out of that Brahman, which is beyond space, time and causality. That Brahman is pure existence and pure consciousness.”

Now, many wonder what it means to say space, time and causality are only illusions created by the mind. It  goes totally against our experience of living. Obviously there is the inexorable march of time every moment. There is a vast space filled with forests, mountains and oceans covering a vast portion of this planet. If we jump out of a high rise building, it will cause death or severe injury. So what does it even mean to say that time, nature and causality are mere illusions?

The problem is one’s frame of reference. The one who perceives time, nature and causality is within the same frame of reference as these perceptions. And the perceiver and the perceptions are both valid within that frame. The perceiver cannot violate the laws of physics in dealing with the perceived — whether it be time, space or causality. They are all equally true BUT only within THAT frame of reference. They are totally false when we step out of that frame of reference.

This can be best understood by the analogy of VR (Virtual Reality) games and metaverses. When we step into a VR metaverse by wearing a headset, we assume the personality of a certain avatar within the metaverse. That avatar is firmly established within the linear time, space and environment of that metaverse. The avatar cannot afford to ignore any of the laws of that metaverse. If he does, he will simply not survive there. However once we remove the headset and step outside the metaverse, everything experienced within the metaverse — its narrative of time, space, environment, cause and effect as defined by the maker of the metaverse — are all seen clearly as valid only as long as we are wearing the headset. Once the VR headset is removed, none of them exist. We are back to the so called ‘real’ world and experience a different narrative of time, space, environment, laws of physics etc that correspond to this world.

What some of the latest research in  evolutionary biology point to,  is that this ‘real’ world of space and time is simply another metaverse and the VR headset for this metaverse is the mind. And the one wearing the headset is pure consciousness that is free of all content. This is exactly the insight of non-duality (advaita) in Hinduism. Hence that the rishis gave us various techniques of yoga by which we can transcend the mind and experience Reality!! Meditation is the process of dissociating from the headset called the mind. To remove the headset is to be still -free of thoughts and images. It’s important to note that this is exactly what we do during deep, dreamless sleep. We switch off the headset of the mind and become free of any sense of space, time or body. In fact we take complete rest. Without such restful sleep, we simply cannot even function effectively through the day. Of course this is done in an automatic and helpless way. If we can consciously do the same — switch off the headset of the mind when it’s not necessary — then we are free of all the mental chatter, anxieties, worries and concerns. We can then wear the headset to employ thinking in a very precise manner when necessary such as to solve technological problems, to communicate clearly, to go about the transactional needs of this metaverse called the world. And when it starts dragging us into unhelpful chatter, speculation, comparison and all the other activities which are the tricks of the metaverse to keep us addicted to the game, we are able to switch off the headset instantly and simply rest in our Being.

Our Puranas have been telling us the same thing through the method of stories and allegories! The Shiva Purana says that Shiva has three eyes. With his two normal eyes, he is able to see the world as we see it – filled with dualities and confined to the space, time, causality, frame. But when he opens his third eye in, the middle of his forehead, this world vanishes and all that remains is that ocean of “pure Existence, consciousness and bliss” that is the Brahman!

This is what is achieved in deep meditation or “samadhi” when we take off the head-set of the mind and become one with that Reality which is beyond Space, Time and Causality!

Hari Aum Tat Sat

Our lives can become perfect only if we participate in this great interchange with nature and the universe. As the Gita tells us in chapter 3, “Sahayajna praja sristwa purovacha prajapati.” - The creator created all things and instilled the idea of yajna or selfless action in them. The sun shines, the rains fall, the tree gives fruit and so on with no thought of gain. They do it as an offering to the divine that created them. In this orgy of selfless giving the human being lives, utterly selfish, with an eye to his personal comfort alone. Hence it is that the human being has such a capacity for unhappiness. This is because Nature did not mean him to live in such a way, totally unconnected with everything else. No man is an island and no one can live without any sort of dependence. There is no “me” and “mine” as we think but all things are connected in an amazing way to the energy field which in Hinduism is known as chitta. In Hinduism, “mamta and ahamta” (me and mine) have always been considered to be the two knots which alienate us from God. Any alienation from our divine foundation will bring sorrow in its wake. In this unified field there is no place for me and mine.

If you hurt others, you are actually hurting yourself even though you may not know it. “Do to others what you would have them do to you,” is a basic dictum of all religions. “As you sow so you shall reap.”

Anyone who performs actions only for himself without any care or consideration for others and for the world around him, will have to suffer. This is the law of nature. Any selfish act immediately isolates us from the world and from nature and many such acts eventually bring unhappiness, discontent, ill health and continuous bad luck which we blame on others and on our fate etc, never realizing that it is only a consequence of our own selfish actions.

So actually, speaking the quantum world deals with shadow symbols, it is a dream world but this is not the ultimate reality as the scientists themselves are willing to admit. This is exactly what the rishis meant when they called this world – “maya”. It is a shadow world and we see only the shadows of things but not their reality. The shadows appear to be the whole world and this is because of a strange phenomenon in which our minds get bound up in the cocoon of time, space and causality and we start to imagine the shadows to be real. This is the world which the Gita describes in the 7th chapter. “Bhumi, aponalo vayu, kham mano, buddhi eva cha. Ahamkaram itiyam me bhinna Prakriti ashtada.” “My lower Prakriti is eight-fold and is composed of the five elements, earth, water, fire, air, space, mind, intellect and ego. But this is my lower nature which is available to the senses and which we believe to be real.” Krishna then goes on to say “Apareyamitastwanyam Prakriti viddhi me param.” “But know this to be my lower nature. My higher nature is that spiritual being which sustains this entire universe and which is totally different from this.” Krishna continues in the 7thchapter, “These two natures form the womb of all beings. I am the origin and dissolution of the entire universe.”

Modern physics can only tell us about this lower nature. It has gone up to the chitta which is the boundary between the lower and higher but till now it is unable to tell us anything of the nature of ultimate reality. Eddington declared that the great difference between old and new physics is that, though both are dealing with shadow symbols, the new physics has been forced to accept the fact that it is indeed dealing with shadows - a set of abstract equations and not with reality itself. All the pictures that science draws of nature which can be proved, are mathematical pictures. However, it is unable to formulate the ultimate reality. Even though these physicists were able to reduce matter to its ultimate and fundamental level and put it into mathematical equations, yet to date they have not been able to reduce God into a mathematical equation. This is where Hinduism has the advantage over quantum physics.

The rishis of old as has been mentioned before also knew that this is a shadow world. But they asked the million-dollar question “If this is a shadow world then what is the Being that casts the shadow? A shadow obviously cannot exist on its own. What is it that holds all these things together? All our scriptures have given the answer. This shadow world is a “becoming” but there is a “Being” which is the cause of these shadows. This exists because THAT exists. If THAT were not to be, then “This” will cease to be. Krishna declares, “All things exist in Me but mark my mystery, I do not exist in them.” What he means to say is that God in not a sum total of all creation. Even though they are in Him, he is not in them and that is why no amount of enquiry into the shadow world can give us the truth of absolute consciousness. The fish exist in the water but the water does not exist in the fish or because of the fish. Fish cannot exist without water but water can and does exist without fish!

In another simile Krishna says, “Everything is strung on me as pearls on a string.” The necklace has a shape and value only due to the string which holds them together. If the string is broken the necklace will no longer exist. The pearls will roll around in a random fashion like negative particles.

The position of the western scientist is that of the jijnasu or enquirer on the path of truth as the Gita puts it. They are eager and anxious to know the Truth but somehow this ultimate truth seems to defy all attempts at generalizations. Hence, we see that even though we live in this highly scientific age, yet there is a great belief on the part of even educated people to believe in the occult and the miraculous. There seem to be some things in the world which defy scientific investigation. This is where Hindu spiritualism steps in to show us that some things exist which are beyond the level of the mind. They can be known only by going above the plane of the mind.

However, to give them their due, the quantum physicist did discover something novel which the ancient physicist could not accept – that the only thing which can be called real in this shadow world is the consciousness of the spectator or the experimenter. Without that consciousness even this shadow world would not exist. Everything is centered round the consciousness of the experimenter. This was a great break through. Till now the experimenter’s job was always to get out of the way of the experiment and not interfere with the purely mechanical process involved in the experiment. Now it was proved by the scientist that the individual consciousness has everything to do with the final outcome of the experiment. This consciousness stems from a phenomenon known as super-radiance which is a state of perfect coherence.

Normally quantum particles act in a haphazard fashion of chaos or disorder but when the individual consciousness is brought to bear on them, they lose their individuality and begin to act as a single unit. This coherence extends into the world. This coherence of consciousness represents the greatest form of order known to nature and can help to shape and create order in the world. In meditation and especially in the state of Samadhi (super conscious state), our brain reaches that zero- point field of the chitta which has perfect coherence. This was the method taught by the rishis to go beyond the mind and attain that state of pure knowledge in which everything else can be known. This is how they gained the vast amount of knowledge which is given in the Vedas.

This is the substructure which underlies the whole universe. It is a recording medium of everything, by which everything can communicate with everything else and by which perfect knowledge can be gained, which is undiluted by causality.

Living consciousness is not an isolated entity. It is not the personal property of one individual. This much has been discovered in the quantum field. We think that each of us has a separate atman even though our scriptures tell us that when this apparently separate atman is covered with the body, it is called the jivatma but this jivatma is the same as the Paramatma – meaning to say it is not an isolated entity. This lives on even after the body dies since it has never been isolated from the whole so there is no question of going back. It simply slips into what it ever was. Like the water in the bottle returning to the water of the pool when the bottle is broken. This consciousness of people has incredible powers. It can increase order in the world and make it as we wish it to be. If a number of individuals concentrate and wish for the same thing it has even greater force. That is why we say that communal prayer has more power. The all-absorbing topic of the day is how to control the climatic changes which are being increasingly felt all over the world. If enough people had a burning desire to change the situation, they would do far better if they got together and meditated on this topic, willing the minds of people to change and thus stop the terrible effects we have brought upon ourselves. This would be far more effective than holding conferences and reading papers.

Another great thing the quantum scientist did for Hinduism is that they found out that individual consciousness does not die with the death of the body which is what Hinduism has been saying all the time. Krishna says, in the Bhagavad Gita, “Like a man changing his old clothes, the spirit changes one body for another. But the spirit lives on so why grieve when someone dies. It is only his body, which was unreal in any case, which has passed on to the elements from which it came into existence. His reality is the atman which was never born and thus can never die.”

Scientific experiments have even proved that there may be something called a life current or energy flowing through the universe which Hinduism calls the Brahman. Science seems to have provided some sort of evidence for what mankind has had faith in, but no solid evidence, from the dawn of time. Thus, science has put an end to dualism in the final sense. They have proved in the laboratory that the dualistic world which we think we see, is a myth, a shadow cast on the wall. The only reality is that higher collective consciousness which exists for all time in all places. This is what our Hindu scriptures have been saying from time immemorial. It is high time that Hindus start educating themselves and their children on the greatness of our culture. Hindus should shake off this sense of inferiority which has been enforced on them by their western conquerors and start to take pride in their own culture and religion since indeed it is the only religion which is based on scientific facts. There are many organizations and even nations who hope that Indians will continue to feel inferior and this is the tool they use to break our country for they fear that a time will come when we will be the greatest country in the world. This is not just a probability but a very great possibility if only the Hindus unite. Many secret ideological weapons are being used to split the Hindus and thus break this holy land. Let all right- thinking people all over the world realize the glory of the Sanatana dharma which has always prayed only for the well being of the whole world – “loka samastath sukhino Bhavantu.” “May the whole world be happy.”

Hari Aum Tat Sat

In the 18th and 19th centuries, the western world considered India to be a most mysterious land crawling with snakes, tigers and naked fakirs. Hinduism was regarded as the most pathetic of all religions. The Hindus were worshippers of weird gods having hundreds of heads and hands, believers in absurd superstitions and rituals. However in the late 19th and 20th centuries many of the great scholars of Europe like Voltaire, Max Mueller and so on, discovered the Vedas and Upanishads and realized that there was much more to Hinduism than was revealed on the surface. In fact the 20th century brought about a revolution in the minds of educated people all over the world in the way they perceived the world. With the discoveries of quantum physics, scientists were astounded to see the solid, implacable character of the world they lived in, disintegrating before their very eyes! Strangely enough the opposite was the case with those who had studied the various aspects of Hindu thought about the nature of the world. All these years, westerners had laughed in scorn at the idea that the world was “maya” or illusion as the Hindus proclaimed! Surely their own five senses were the best instruments to understand this world, they thought. However, with the discoveries of quantum physics they realized that their five senses were actually giving a distorted vision of reality. Those who were capable of reflection and those who had gone deep into the wisdom of the Vedas started to realize that almost everything about the world as depicted in the ancient Indian scriptures more than ten thousand years ago made perfect sense when seen through the lens of the quantum world.

The greatest thing that quantum physics did for Hinduism was to show that the world as the senses tell us and as the Newtonian scientists had been telling us, is not a solid thing. Physicists who delved into the heart of “matter” were astounded by what they saw. Matter was not solid at all as our senses tell us but merely energy in motion. (e=mc squared). That is to say matter is not composed of hard, rubbery atoms but is made up of subatomic particles that have no design or shape and do not follow any standard order. Sometimes they behave like waves and sometimes like particles and sometimes they are both. It is a haphazard world in which we live, where nothing can be predicted with the certainty that science demands. The solid world of matter which the senses enjoyed, disintegrated into a dervish dance of protons, neutrons and energy particles. It was only now that intelligent people all over the world began to think that the maya theory of the rishis had some truth in it - the world of the senses is an illusion. The rishis had known this thousands of years ago but naturally it would have been meaningless to the common people of that time and even in this time, so they cloaked their knowledge in metaphorical words. It was only in the 20thcentury that physicists actually proved the maya theory in a scientific way! The rishis have been telling us the truth about the unreality of the world as the senses perceive it, for centuries but we, with our dependence and total belief in the theories of western science were most scornful of it. But now when the same words come out of western mouths, we are forced to believe it albeit reluctantly since our senses belie this truth. Actually, speaking Hinduism is the only religion in the world which is scientifically accurate in every single detail. All the great teachings of our saints and masters had been thrown into the dust bin, labeled “superstitious nonsense” by western scholars but every one of these was now found to be based on pure scientific facts.

The second shock to the western mind came with Einstein’s theory of relativity. Time and space had always been accepted as absolute and unchangeable facts of life by Newton but many of the scientists who came after him proved that time and space are relative. This was a shocking idea which even we, who are bound to our clocks and time schedules, find hard to accept. The Bhagavad Gita as well as all the Hindu scriptures have always declared that what binds us to wheel of samsara (transmigrational world) are the three mental conditionings known as desa, kaala and nimitta, - space, time and causality and that these are purely mental bonds which we have created ourselves! This has been said in all Hindu scriptures centuries before such a thought even occurred to the western scientists.

We have created this world of concrete objects and superimposed a false reality on them. This concrete world which we think we “see” is “maya” or an appearance. It has no permanent reality. It is only a passing show and has no permanence. Our bodies which are made of the same material – the five elements are also perishable. BUT we are not solely these bodies. Our reality is something far greater since we are actually the atman or divine spirit, which is imperishable and eternal and untouched by the changes of the body which take place in the world of Space /Time.

The Hindu scriptures reiterate that Absolute reality is beyond these three upadis (conditions), desha, kaala and nimitta or space, time and causality. The moment we demarcate ourselves as belonging to one specific place and time, that very moment we separate ourselves from our divinity (which is beyond space and time) and thus come under the law of cause and effect which in turn brings suffering in its wake. We are the creators of time and space and therefore the creators of our own unhappiness. We have been conditioned into accepting space and time and causality as the only truth. By some strange act of cognition, when we bring energy to conscious awareness, through the act of perception, we create separate objects that seem to exist in space through a measured continuum called time. By creating time and space we create our own separateness from our divine reality.

Until the last century even those people who tried to escape from the harsh facts of science by resorting to religion found themselves having to wrestle with these opposing views of life and having to defend their positions to the scientist. Now the boot seems to be on the other foot. The 20th century brought about a most profound change in the outlook of science as to the nature of the world and the nature of the human being.

Discoveries were made that proved what religion had always accepted- that the human being is far more than a collection of flesh and blood – a machine for re-producing the species with no vital role to play in the universe and no purpose or goal in life as Darwin stated.

Another important thing that the physicist discovered was that these subatomic particles had no meaning by themselves in isolation but only in relationship with everything else. At its elemental level, which is the quantum level, matter could not be chopped up into intelligible units but was completely indivisible. If we want to understand the universe, we will first of all have to understand ourselves and to see that everything is a dynamic web of interconnectedness.

We are all made up of packets of energy and float about in a field of energy like bubbles in a pond which are made up of the water they float in and which are connected to every other bubble which is floating on the water. Of course, we are also directly connected to the pond. This ever- active water of the pond in which the bubble exists is the central point of its existence. The bubble can never exist by itself. Thus, we can never be estranged from anything else in this universal pond!

Since we are totally connected with everything and every creature in this universe, for each of us to strive to better ourselves without regard to what happens to others is the most foolish thing that we could do. Human suffering stems from this very fact, that we have cut ourselves off from our roots and have condemned ourselves to a life of isolation. This was not how nature meant us to be. Modern physics has thus given us a correct evaluation of our place in the world. The human consciousness (as the Hindu scriptures have always told us) is a crucial factor in making up this universe. Sub atomic particles settle down from their constant erratic movements and take on solid shapes only when we observe them.

The zero-point field is the most fundamental state of matter and this is a heaving sea of energy – one vast quantum field. This is known as the “chitta’ in Hindu terminology. Information about all aspects of life is relayed through the interchange of information on the level of the chitta. Have you watched a flight of birds winging their way across the sky and how suddenly all of them veer to a different course as if at some hidden signal? The same phenomenon can be noticed in schools of fish. Till now it was assumed that these birds and fish had a novel method of communicating with each other by some radar or some noise signal which we cannot hear but now experiments on the quantum field proved that they are all in touch with this field and receive their orders simultaneously from it.The functions of our minds –like thinking, feeling etc draw information from the quantum field which is pulsing simultaneously through our body and brain. In fact, we resonate with the universe. Every breath we take is part of the universal breath and every breath we give out is our contribution to universal life. This prana, this life force is the same in everything and everyone and is spread everywhere simultaneously.

To be continued.

Hari Aum Tat Sat

A muhurta is a Vedic unit of time. Each day is divided into 30 muhurtas which are approximately 48 minutes long. 30 muhurtas x 48 minutes = 24 hours.

The healthy person should get up (from bed) during brahmamuhurtam, to protect his life. (Astanga Hridayam, Vol.I, 2:1)

The brahma-muhurta is a special time of day that takes place every morning before sunrise. For thousands of years, yogis and spiritual practitioners have utilized this meditation “prime time” to jump start their day and accelerate their spiritual growth.

We have always been told to get up during brahmamuhurtam in our scriptures. As we know all the scriptural injunctions of the Sanatana Dharma have a scientific source. Let us see discover this source. Ayurveda, the science of health in the Sanatana Dharma fully supports this view. Of all the times of day, this time is said to be the most conducive to spiritual practice. It is a time of transition, when your mind is most in tune with the subtle energies of nature.

There are varied opinions about exactly which hours constitute brahmamuhurtam. The Ashtanga Hridayam is one of the foundational Ayurvedic texts and it states that the hours of brahmamuhurtam are the “last three hours of the night (from 3am to 6am)”. One day in the Hindu method of reckoning time is said to be divided into 8 praharas – 4 during the day and 4 at night. The last prahara of the night is from 3 am to 6 am. And this is called brahmamuhrtam. Why is it necessary to get up at this time? This is because this is the healthiest time of the day and of your inner cycle. At that time it is as if you become Brahman and you can create yourself. You can make yourself the way you want to be.

Brahmamuhurtam is part of the 24 hour time cycle. If we overlay this 24 hour cycle over the cycle of a lifetime, we would see that childhood corresponds to morning, midlife to midday, old age to late afternoon and twilight, death to the fall of the night and the unembodied soul, to the night time or 3rd prahara of the night – which is 12 to 3am. Brahmamuhurtam corresponds to late pregnancy and birth. Many people have lifelong physical and emotional patterns and mal-adjustments due to the trauma they have suffered during birth. These can be cured by getting up and meditating during brahmamuhurtam.

The nature of the planet’s relationship with the sun and moon is such that certain physiological changes happen in the human system at this time. Medical science has discovered that even the waste material in your body, such as your urine for example, has certain qualities at that time which it does not have at any other time of the day. There is substantial research into this. The entire body is in a certain conducive atmosphere, and there is a natural production of what is called melatonin, which is a secretion of the pineal gland. We want to make use of this because the pineal gland is secreting at its maximum during brahmamuhurtam, which means you can stabilize yourself both internally and externally. This is why we are asked to get up and do our sadhana at this time.

Modern medicine sees melatonin as a mood stabiliser. Production of melatonin happens naturally during brahmamuhurtam. Ayurveda divides people into three different categories known as Vata, Pitta and Kapha. Each of these are also said to govern certain times of the day or times of life. Of the three, Vata governs all sandhis or joints, not only of our body but of the transitions from day to night and night to day, from birth to death and death to birth. Vata governs the hours from 2am to 6am, or dawn, which is the conjunction between night and day. This is brahmamuhurta. Apana, one of the five subsets of Vata, becomes particularly active around dawn. Prana, another one of the five subsets of Vata, is that mystical and practical intelligence responsible for assembling a baby’s cells, tissues and organs during pregnancy. It controls the way a body is put together and how it functions once it is assembled. The same Apana that is active during dawn is also responsible for successfully delivering the baby into the world. So we can see that the same force—Vata—is dominant during both time cycles. So brahmamuhurta also corresponds to the entry of the foetus into the world.

If the healthy functioning of Prana assures optimal organization of energy and physical matter in the developing foetus and healthy Apana delivers the complete person into the world in the best manner, then it follows that these principles apply to the period of time known as brahmamuhurtam. During the early morning hours, for example, the active Prana will organize our physical and mental pathways, as it does during pregnancy and delivery. Healthy Apana would allow us smooth entry into our day. It would also stand to reason here that the healing influences of Prana and Apana would be particularly significant during brahmamuhurtam, as they are during pregnancy and birth.

Things to avoid during brahmamuhurtam.

There are a few things that people should avoid doing during brahmamuhurtam to make the most of this spiritual time. Avoid eating or drinking, as it can disrupt the delicate balance of your Prana or life energy. Avoid engaging in intensive physical activities, as it will disrupt the meditative state of mind you are seeking to cultivate. Do not use electronic devices such as cell phones, computers, or watch television, since the light emitted from these devices can disturb your concentration and focus. Do not force yourself to stay awake if you feel tired or sleepy; instead, take a quick nap.

Additionally, it is also important to avoid loud noises and excessive talking, as it can distract you from concentrating on your goals and intentions. Avoid activating or promoting negative thoughts or feelings, as this can interfere with your meditation and peace of mind. Try to maintain a quiet and peaceful atmosphere in order to get the most out of this auspicious time.

Most modern people would shudder at the thought of getting up so early. The main reason they find it difficult is because most people go to sleep very late. All this goes against the laws that govern our system. The microcosm of our body is only a reflection of the macrocosm. The Sanatana Dharma has always understood this and has given us a way of life which moulds into the cosmic pattern. It is very necessary for us to understand this. Our body has certain rhythms that correspond with the rhythms of Nature so it is important that we make use of these times in order to put our functions in order. If we do this we will have healthier minds and bodies and will be able to live longer in a healthy state. The choice is yours.

Loka samasthath sukhino bhavanti!