jabdakhata

I have often wondered that if our ancient chronicles are true then how can there be such a wide divergence between Vedas and Puranas as per the interpretation of Western savants and their desi followers, esp. if the chronicler of both are Veda Vyasa. Then either all our ancient texts are false or fundamental interpretations are grossly incorrect. Vedas are mostly considered to be nature worship by a group of marauding invaders who thrust upon an alien culture on a native population whom they labelled as Dasyus or Dasas and themselves as Arya or noble. Puranas and Mahabharata Ramayana are largely considered to be mythologies though off late there are some scholars who grudgingly admits that after all "some portions" of these stories may be true though largely they are figments of imaginations of wonderfully fertile brains. After a careful deliberation and study I would like to contend that there is no discontinuity from Vedas to Puranas, and the divergences among the scrip...

On a lighter vain, this is a good piece of article from Washington Post.  I have often wondered through my interaction with Americans as to how much self centred a Nation can be. The ignorance of most of the Americans about affairs in other parts of the world is appalling. Most of them are totally ignorant about world history. One supposedly educated American once asked me which came to India first - Hinduism or Buddhism. So it is no wonder that American media and its followers British and European media would exaggerate every other incident occurring in the rest of the world and downplay the incidents in their own turf. They would still like to view the world with the attitude of "I am holier than thou", forgetting that most of the ills plaguing the world today were creations of an erstwhile imperial Europe and its ruthless exploitation of the world's riches for its own selfish gains. Americans have their world view through the prism of their own media and hence of...

A team which performs well consistently has two ingredients which are absolutely critical - love and respect for each other. Respect is the highest quality and most essential for success on a long term. However love and respect does not come easily. It is rare to find a team where every team member is bound to every other by these twin bonds. There may be few members who share mutual affections, but others may not. In a large and complex team, esp. one which is spread over diverse locations rather than collocated, the lack of these ingredients are palpable. This is because over longer distances and among many members, it is very difficult to develop trust, let alone respect and love. However in smaller teams which are collocated, it is easier to develop respect and trust and through social interactions some bonds of love as well. It is to be noted that the love and respect shared by even most intimate friends are not selfless, but there are some selfish interests. So shared goal fo...

Swami Vivekananda was quite impressed with one quality of the West - the power of organization. He saw that much of West's material progress and success is driven by this power. An organization run efficiently can bring in much more progress than that can happen when there are only individual entrepreneurs. He saw that Indian history is full of individual successes, esp. in trade and commerce. Vaniks or Vaishyas have been able to lead trade initiatives individually, but there were no organized, monolithic trade blocks or entities which could employ a large number of people in a sustainable venture. However one person had truly understood the power of organization in ancient times and had developed an organization which was vastly superior - Lord Buddha and his sangha. But after Buddha, the spirit of organization was lost and Swamiji wanted to revitalize that. He jokingly remarked to Ms. Lyon in America that he had one of his greatest "temptations" in America. When being...

The twin pillars of Selfless work and renunciation are further elaborated in subsequent chapters. In the 6th chapter called dhyana yoga the point of equality of the two paths of yoga and renunciation are further emphasized as Gita claims that true sannyas or renunciation is renunciation of false ego in the form of fruits of work. Work one must, but one should give up false senses of ownership and fruits thereof. The greatest peace is derived from work where no sense of ownership is attached as attachment and aversion are causes of all miseries in this world. Therefore a true Yogi and a sannyasin never takes to inaction, nor does he resort to attachment to the action. Then this chapter leads an aspirant step by step to that highest goal and also assures them that even if they fail in achieving the highest aim, all is not lost, because good work is always rewarded and one normally strives for perfection over many births. Each successive birth and attempt towards perfection propels one ...

Coming back to battle of 10 kings - according to Rik Vedic hymns this battle took place between king Sudas and Ikshakus on one side and an array of 10 different tribes - Yadus or Yakhshus, Anus, Turvasus, Purus, Jamadgnyas, Shivis, Matsya, Bhrigus, Parshus, Parthavas and several other smaller tribes. All of these names are familar to are who had studied Mahabharata carefully. Bhrigu was the father of Chyavana and his clan had been embroiled in several wars with Kshatriyas. Jamadagni belonged to Bhrigu clan and Parashurama was the most illustrious among them. They were related to Viswamitras as Kushik's son Gadhi, king of Kanyakubja was the father of Viswamitra. On the other hand Richika, the son of Bhrigu was the father of Jamadagni and married Satyavati, the daughter of Gadhi according to Mahabharata.  Vasistha's clan was the Kulapurahit or priest of the Ikshakus. Sudas was the king of Panchala. Initially with the help of Viswamitra, Sudas crossed Sindhu and did a huge y...

The earliest history of India never appears in history books owing some biases on the part of historians, notably Indian ones who follow their foreign masters and stick to the colonial baggage of disparaging their own legacy and jewels. Our Vedas, Ramayana, Mahabharata have many consistent historical anecdotes, and yet they are never considered as a historical evidence by our scholars, simply because they do not contain dates and that these are dubbed as mythology. While it is true that there are poetic exaggerations in these scriptures (Puranas are the least reliable of all these, however they are also most rich and varied), if we study them carefully and analyze them after discriminating between sand and sugar in Sri Ramakrishna's language, we shall see that there are beautiful consistencies in different narratives on the genealogy side. Atleast they should have been subjects of serious research. Atleast many scholars have now considered Mahabharata as a largely authentic sourc...

Gita rests upon two pillars - of sacrifice and renunciation. As stated by Sri Ramakrishna, Gita is the word Tagi (or Tyagi - one who has renounced - according to Sanskrit grammer both the words are same) repeated 10 times.  The word sacrifice is of great significance. It first appears as the word "Yajna" in the 3rd Chapter - Yoga of Action. According to Gita, every action in this world can be construed as a sacrifice and an action devoid of the spirit of sacrifice is no action at all - it is vikarma or adverse action. The 3rd chapter talks about the procreation and the ecological cycle as a grand sacrifice and also proclaims that the ideal action is one which is done in the selfless spirit of sacrifice as that does not cause any bondage. Action driven by impulses of anger and desire are born out of ignorance and thereby cause bondage, but inaction is not a way to gain knowledge for those who have not renounced action and are still ignorant of the Self. In 4th Chapter this...

In professional life, many women, who are at the helm, or in important positions, can shine through the selfless work that was the cornerstone of Holy Mother’s life. By working not for name, fame or position, but solely for the greater common good, by naturally loving and displaying genuine concern for others, a woman can be in much higher position of respect than she can by merely being aggressive or ambitious. That she is no inferior intellectually to men is a proven fact. Her assertion for superiority and demand for respect today probably stems from the centuries of indignity that she had to bear. However she needs to rise above such petty competition of genders and inferiority complex and assert her superiority through her core strength – universal motherhood. She is the mother of all, therefore she is inherently above all. This is once again proven as a fact in Holy Mother’s life. The Mother did not need to be aggressive or to unjustly assert herself. She was naturally above eve...

Women play a pivotal role in maintaining family. Today’s nuclear family lives are becoming increasingly complicated because of the intolerance of the partners towards each other. Relationships based on mutual respect and love, which found its pinnacle in the relationship between Sri Ramakrishna and the Holy Mother, are lacking. Although both men and women are equal partners in a successful marriage, it is women who play a key role in terms of guiding and harmonizing, being naturally more compassionate, kind and loving of the two. The relationship, as is proven in the life of many devotees, can improve dramatically if one or both the partners take refuge in vidya maya, i.e. rise above ego, jealousy, possessiveness and intolerance by taking a cue from the life of the Holy Mother. That relationship should be based on sacrifices and respect, like the ideals shown by the living Gods themselves. Competitiveness, vying for each other’s attention, possessive attachment, intolerance and egoti...

In today’s world we are seeing a great transformation. Interconnectedness, esp. through the digital world has opened up many new opportunities through mass education and awareness. The success of materialism in promoting a better life for all has brought in its wake the evils of manifold desires, dissatisfaction with status quo, disenchantment and general lack of peace and harmony. Perhaps these are all outcomes of the quality of rajas, or intense activity, accompanied by intense passion. Rajas is necessary for material prosperity, but it needs to be controlled by Sattva or the quality of peace and tranquility. Else we would see preponderance of misery and actions led by desires leading to many unintended consequences as we see in our society today – corruption, crime, atrocities, struggle for supremacy, rage and untold miseries. As Swami Vivekananda pointed out, even in the rank atheist we see an urge, to love and to be loved, to find peace and happiness. People do not know where ...

In some of her teachings we see the grand fusion of ideals of Vedanta with everyday life and these are relevant for all people of all ages. She said – “There is no greater wealth than contentment (with what we possess) and no greater quality than forbearance.” “Forget your individuality and try to understand your real nature”. “One who regularly thinks about the divine, how can he/she be ever in trouble?” “When one never expects anything from anybody, then only one can have equal love towards all. Love mired with desire and expectation is no love.” [i] Her last statement was that to have a lasting peace one should never look into the faults of others, but rather find one’s own faults, in a bid to improve oneself and transcend one’s nature. She stated the purpose of life as realization of the divinity and emphasized on taking refuge in God through renunciation of selfish desires. One should always take resort in truth and do good for the sake of doing good, by depending on God, as ...

The whole life of Holy Mother is an illustration of how one can reach perfection through tireless and selfless work, how one can forget and forfeit all egos in working for others, how one can shoulder great responsibilities without slightest display of power, through complete detachment. She is a shining example of chastity and boundless love for all and sundry – pavitrata swarupini. Her love for the great master is probably a demonstration of that divine love which Sri Radha possessed for her beloved God, or the love which mother Mary possessed for infant Jesus. She did all her material duties with a grace that is incomparable and yet, devoted her life for the spiritual welfare of her innumerable sons. She had the intellect and ability to be the God mother of one of the greatest philanthropic and spiritual organizations of the world, directed it in times of great crises, and yet, she never once displayed her superiority. It was love and only love that endeared her to people who came...

Bhagavat Gita, in its essence, talks about two ideals of human life – a complete renunciation of actions or Karma Sannyas, and being in action but renouncing the fruits of action – karma phala tyaga. Sri Krishna advises us, who are in the world, who needs to work, to sacrifice the fruits and in the end surrender to Him completely. Through complete and total surrender comes total renunciation. There are others, great teachers, holy men and saints, who do not need to work. They are the sthita prajnyas, one who is established in Self. Sri Ramakrishna adds in the Gospel that even a person who does not need to work, one who has renounced actions completely, sometimes work for the welfare of all, out of compassion for ignorant mankind, to dispel ignorance and to bring light to masses. It seems Sri Ramakrishna, the avatar varistha, the greatest among all such teachers, belonged to the first type. He had renounced all actions, took external sannyas, and yet, came down to live in the material...

Sister Nivedita had said about the Holy Mother that Sarada Devi is the final word of Sri Ramakrishna as to the idealism of Indian womanhood. [1] Then she puts forward a question herself, as to whether she (Sarada Devi) is the culmination of an old ideal or the beginning of a new ideal? Miss Josephine McLeod had said that Sarada Devi is the ideal which Indian women will have to reach in the next three thousand years. To understand the Holy Mother and her contribution to womanhood in general and Indian womanhood in particular, these two comments are extremely important, as they both come from extremely learned, erudite, well respected Western devotees whose culture and upbringings were vastly different from that of traditional Indian culture. The two remarks are actually complementary. Together they help in unraveling one of the greatest personalities of all ages, an ideal so vast that it would probably take many more centuries to understand her and emulate her life. Swami Vivek...

If the entire world converts into one religion will all the problems of fanaticism stop? The answer is no, although some of the Semitic religion proponents would claim that if the world converts to their religion, the world will be at peace. If we look into major religions we find that they are not strictly united in the truest sense of terms. They are divided into many sects which are also fighting with each other, apart from fighting other religions. This is because if we look into the anatomy of fanaticism, we'll find that fanatics are not driven by religious ideals, they are driven purely by their own monumental egos which force them to denounce others who are not in consonance with them. The hatred lies within themselves and it will always find an expression to come out. So even if people belong to the same religion they fight with each other by dividing into sects, people within the same sect fight with each other dividing themselves into principles, ideals and even dog...

If we read carefully Swamiji, we'll realize that he has infinite compassion for all, even the worst sinner. The reason being, he says, sin is nothing but a covering of the soul owing to ignorance. However he also says the same thing about virtue, though one is an iron chain while the other is a golden chain. There are two coverings on soul - Thin blanket like covering through ages of bad work which had brought miseries and sufferings in its wake, and a thick veil like covering which had been made through ages of good work which brought joy and happiness. To uncover the soul, we need to transcend both coverings. Its not enough to remove the thick blanket as the thin veil will also hide the Atman, although its glow is probably faintly visible, and the uncovering of the thick one enables us to know that something is hidden there. Once we remove the thin veil the Self becomes visible in its full glory. The thin covering is the covering of ego of goodness. As Gita says, Sattva binds a...

On this auspicious period of Navaratri and Durag Puja, when India worships the divine mother as Shakti, the universal feminine principle that creates, sustains and destroys the universe as nature or Prakriti and which even transcends nature, which permeates the entire universe as the cosmic energy and yet acts as the container of that very energy, it is probably fit to pay our tributes that eternal feminine. Why is the eternal feminine worshiped as Shakti? When did the worship of Shakti start? Why is nature called mother and not father? What is this elusive entity called Shakti? These are some of the questions that have haunted the scholars since time immemorial. However these are the very questions that are conveniently answered by the so called great teachers and mystics. Very few cared to listen to them and those who did had all their problems and doubts resolved. Who is mother? Mother is one who procreates, nourishes and nurtures and takes care or protects. It is true...

Why is then Vedanta, despite its extremely logical construction, an anathema with scientific world? The answer is not far to seek. Just as religions are characterized by dogmas, science also has its own dogma. That dogma prevents scientific world from acknowledging anything remotely connected with spirituality as scientific, even if it is perfectly logical and rational. Science inhabits in the realm of nature. Vedanta, asks us to transcend nature and go beyond. The perceptions are Vedanta are outside sensory perceptions while science deals purely with the world of senses, proofs and tangible evidences. Unless there is any evidence, science considers an explanation as a hypothesis, i.e. acceptable subjected to testing. Now the question is, can Vedantic assertions be ever tested. The answer is a resounding Yes. Vedanta had been and tested and proved even though it is beyond the sense world. The Vedic Rishis, who were actually scientists, did not accept anything without tangible evi...

Science, even though based on law of cause an effect, cannot explain the following questions easily - a) How are people born to different circumstances, some in misery while others in prosperity b) Why are some people deformed by birth, afflicted with disease at a very tender age, probably just a few months after birth, die very young c) Why do some people suffer more than others d) Why are some people stronger and healthier than others e) Why are there much evil tendencies among some people and good among others f) In general if the world is entirely materialistic and if there is no motivation for doing good, why should we be good and selfless? Why should not we all become selfish and maximize our gains at the expense of others? Why do we not live happily by killing others? What is the need for peace and charity? Why should we rather kill the weak and ensure that the resources are enjoyed by the strong? If one gives the excuse of ethics, morality etc. why should there be...

While Science acknowledges nature and natural laws, it classifies nature as devoid of intelligence. However it fails to recognize that one that is devoid of intelligence cannot frame or evolve laws. Laws can only be set by an intelligent entity, in other words, one having consciousness. Science does not accept consciousness as it is not perceptible through senses. One for instance cannot see or hear consciousness. However, the faculty of seeing or hearing is a by product of consciousness and therefore by definition cannot know it. An object of knowledge cannot know the one which is studying it. It is always the other way round, i.e. it is consciousness that knows what is the object of hearing and what is the object of seeing. It is the one which is controlling the senses, not the other way round. Vedanta, very scientifically explains that neither eyes by themselves see, nor ears by themselves hear. They are only instruments. The perception carried by them are interpreted in nerve cen...

Vedanta and science, unlike religion and science in the Western concept, are not miles apart. Rather they stand very near to each other. In ancient India there was no major distinction made between science and metaphysics. In fact one was considered as a subset of the other. Mundaka Upanishad talks about Para Vidya and Apara Vidya, the first one deals with realization and experience of supreme knowledge while the latter one with conventional knowledge. Science belongs to the realm of Apara Vidya. However Vijnan or special knowledge also refers to spiritual science or the knowledge of supreme. Gita's 7th Chapter is named as Jnana Vijnana Yoga, pointing to a close relationship between the two. The thoughts of Indian sages were never at odds with modern scientific thoughts. In fact they were very much scientists themselves. They never conjectured or theorized anything, never relied on dogmas, but rather on practices and direct realization. They were like the modern day scientists wo...

Courtesy Sanjeeb Maharaj - Swami Dheyananda of Ramakrishna Mission Students' Home Belgharia  Excerpt from the lecture Practical Vedanta -Part I V delivered by Swami Vivekananda in London My idea is to show that the highest ideal of morality and unselfishness goes hand in hand with the highest metaphysical conception, and that you need not lower your conception to get ethics and morality, but, on the other hand, to reach a real basis of morality and ethics you must have the highest philosophical and scientific conceptions. Human knowledge is not antagonistic to human well-being. On the contrary, it is knowledge alone that will save us in every department of life -- in knowledge is worship. The more we know the better for us. The Vedantist says, the cause of all that is apparently evil is the limitation of the unlimited. The love which gets limited into little channels and seems to be evil eventually comes out at the other end and manifests itself as God. The Vedanta also sa...