...However, such a spiritual community required a full community of born servants (the Shudras) to serve it. The Shudra are supposed to serve the Brahmans because of their fault of being born in an impure and powerless Varna due to faulty accumulated Karmas of their past lives. The Shudras are supposed to provide them with the same material comforts in which they are supposed to be disinterested in. A strange kind of spirituality prevails here. They needed all the land grants in the world for such otherworldly purpose. They needed all the plum administrative and judicial jobs to maintain their spiritual needs. This otherworldliness circulates around them and raises them to a higher level from where they can watch people committing atrocities on their behalf without sharing a bit of responsibility; it is all for the cause of dharma; they have nothing to do with it. They have to have all the top jobs with the kings. They have to be their guides. You see how astoundingly unworldly it is to be the guides of kings, have all the land grants and enjoy the facility of Niyoga. They are provided all these jobs and facilities through non-materialistic scriptures. The king who upholds dharma has to be secondary to them. Like all true materialists they do not believe in jobs giving them pittance. All the powerful jobs are reserved for them. Like all power hungry people they want indirect power through dharma and kings and of course through built up of tradition in their favor. But after all this they maintain their unquestionable spirituality. The impure lower strata do not have a right to question these pure, pious, honest, truthful, simple and spiritual people. These ancient lawmakers through their birth right would not hesitate in classifying their land and power jobs as being essential to upholding of dharma and hence spiritual. There is the real magic; everything is fair under the cover of dharma. And mutilating justice is also spiritual because it helps in upholding the dharma. Thus all the material things can be endowed with spirituality if they help in maintenance of divinely ordained social, religious, political and economic power structure. It is like crime committed by a Brahman is not a crime, so no punishment. But the same crime committed by a Shudra is a ghastly crime. It is just incidentally that they are forced to use all these materialistic things for the cause of dharma. This combination of spirituality and materialism was hard to beat. The now much hated materialism, was much endearing to Brahmanas, as is evident in land grants to them, in their control over sacred, money guzzeling temples, the power they yielded in the society and an army of born servants to serve them. Many temples had become richer than the richest Vaisya and even small kings. At the same time they accuse the Western society as being materialistic. The spiritual Brahmans were as near to crass materialism as a scavenger is near to garbage dump. One of the underlying assumptions behind criticism of Western (modern West) exploitative materialism is that they give a very humanistic treatment to Shudras and untouchables. However, it was a case of permanent exploitation of the lowest two strata. The masters of hatred could not do anything else. How much maximum humanistic one can be toward people whom he hates and despises? The answer is near to Nullity. And it is supposed to move in southward direction from that point and progress further down without break until sustenance level of Shudras and untouchables is reached. Remember these people were forced sometimes to eat the grain cleaned out of cow dung and bread made out of fodder...
Showing posts with label insensitive Spirituality. Show all posts
Showing posts with label insensitive Spirituality. Show all posts
Monday, January 5, 2009
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Spirituality 12
...Further the Vedas are certainly fallible since they contain imperfect knowledge as evident in Purusha sukta. And divinity certainly cannot be said to possess imperfect knowledge. So the Rig Veda along with Purusha sukta has to be a handiwork of mortal men; it is totally artificial and there is nothing divine about along with other three Vedas. And certainly there is no reason to believe the fantasy of Purusha sukta. The imagination of Rig Vedic people was fertile but it was that only - fertile.
The concept of Bruhm is also imaginary, as nobody has come forward in thousands of years to show any evidence about it. Of course the truth depends on permanency. If the Bruhm exists then the proofs for its existence must exist. Simply the biggest entity cannot hide itself. The existence of Bruhm is axiomatic with unsearchable proofs that are supposed to exist. The theory of Karma is also without any substance. No propagator of this theory has been able to produce any evidences in favor of rebirth with any reliable statistics; barring some delusional people who claim to have taken rebirth. Exactly linking the specified rewards of this birth with the specified and confirmed deeds of last birth for a correctly identified soul has also not taken place. The speculative and deemed final results are axiomatic so one has to believe in the existence of evidences or proofs that nobody has been able to establish for thousands of years. They might not be verifiable. All the proofs are missing for thousands of years. One has to take the words of Vedas, Rishis and spiritualists as proofs for the existence of anything they say. However, this fertile piece of imagination of shifting of rewards to next life is a reality of Hindu psyche and has played havoc with the lives of uncountable people all through the Indian history. Actually this is a separation of rewards being reaped by higher Varnas from their actions in this life.
A Brahman is a man who can endlessly argue about the existence of non-existence (Bruhm) and the non-existence of existence (the world) and unification of soul with Bruhm and also about Karma theory. And through such evolved process he acquires spiritual knowledge sitting at the feet of his gurus. The greatest achievement here is the unification of non-existent (soul) with the non-existent (Bruhm). Second is the holding the victims responsible for their oppression through Karma theory. This spiritual development strengthens their social base where everybody acknowledges his superior and divine knowledge about the world and divinity. More was his spiritual authority more was his control over the society and its resources....
The concept of Bruhm is also imaginary, as nobody has come forward in thousands of years to show any evidence about it. Of course the truth depends on permanency. If the Bruhm exists then the proofs for its existence must exist. Simply the biggest entity cannot hide itself. The existence of Bruhm is axiomatic with unsearchable proofs that are supposed to exist. The theory of Karma is also without any substance. No propagator of this theory has been able to produce any evidences in favor of rebirth with any reliable statistics; barring some delusional people who claim to have taken rebirth. Exactly linking the specified rewards of this birth with the specified and confirmed deeds of last birth for a correctly identified soul has also not taken place. The speculative and deemed final results are axiomatic so one has to believe in the existence of evidences or proofs that nobody has been able to establish for thousands of years. They might not be verifiable. All the proofs are missing for thousands of years. One has to take the words of Vedas, Rishis and spiritualists as proofs for the existence of anything they say. However, this fertile piece of imagination of shifting of rewards to next life is a reality of Hindu psyche and has played havoc with the lives of uncountable people all through the Indian history. Actually this is a separation of rewards being reaped by higher Varnas from their actions in this life.
A Brahman is a man who can endlessly argue about the existence of non-existence (Bruhm) and the non-existence of existence (the world) and unification of soul with Bruhm and also about Karma theory. And through such evolved process he acquires spiritual knowledge sitting at the feet of his gurus. The greatest achievement here is the unification of non-existent (soul) with the non-existent (Bruhm). Second is the holding the victims responsible for their oppression through Karma theory. This spiritual development strengthens their social base where everybody acknowledges his superior and divine knowledge about the world and divinity. More was his spiritual authority more was his control over the society and its resources....
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Spirituality 11
Maximization of profit leads to neglect of spiritual side and values. In maximization of profits a man forgets his fellow human beings and maximizes the profit at others’ cost. Actually Hindu society is far ahead; it permanently neglects human beings. The higher Varnas maximize their gains at the cost of Shudras and untouchables who form the majority. The cruel, inhuman and permanent exploitation of Shudras and untouchables is a standing feature Hindu society. They do it eternally on eternal basis. Anything below permanent exploitation is below their dignity. They have a mixed standing army of forever servants on heredity basis. Since these servants come on the basis of heredity; the Hindu society never runs short of manual and still lower level servants. The more will come from where they came from. It simply takes a group of families of a servant jati to perpetuate itself to serve the dharma and higher Varnas without really getting anything in return.
In Rig Veda it is said that “Ekam Sat Vipra Bahuda Vadanti”. It means that there is only one truth (God) or Sat but wise men call him by different names. Or there is only one Absolute called by many names by knowledgeable men. However the same Absolute created a born servanthood in India and the same Absolute created brotherhood in West. These two Absolutes cannot be the same since a man created in West is essentially the same as created in East. This difference implies either a difference in men or a difference in Gods. According to scriptures of Hindu society the Varnas were created by the God with their inherent functions, which translates into inherent inequalities. Thus there have to be two Gods. If there is only one God then the differences in Varna dharma are created by man. Thus Hindu dharma has no divine origin and it is totally artificial creation of its lawmakers with scant regard to any kind of God. The God is falsely invoked to justify the Varna dharma. However, if the religion in West is artificial and the true religion of the world is Vedic dharma then the God is fascist. It is a difficult choice; take your pick or make and/or create another choice. An atheist would like to ignore the issue altogether. The Rig Vedic statement about only one God is more like a pretension to better understanding of the concept of God or a compromise between different sects. The exact nature of God is not told, neither the exact way of functioning of God. It was simply because the Rig Vedic people themselves did not know it...
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Spirituality - 10
...There are three major points in development of spiritual philosophy. One is the separation of soul from body , the second is the separation of rewards of this life from the efforts of this life or the sufferings in this life from the deeds in this life (through Karma theory) and the third point is the identification of soul with God and their ultimate unification. The separation of soul from body allows the concept of rebirth and reincarnation. The concept of rebirth makes room for Karma theory. The concept of reincarnation allows for appropriation of others’ deities as the deities of Sanatana dharma thus leaving others a little room to play. Others lose their gods also. This allows maximum room for Sanatana dharma. The appropriation of a Buddha as a reincarnation of Vishnu is a fine example. Thus Sanatana dharma becomes all encompassing. The unification of soul with God, which is supposed to be the ultimate aim of Santana dharma, allows for the shifting of dreams and desires to next world. The ambition of Moksha is so high that it can only be achieved in next world. Thus the general population need not be ambitious in this life. The real world and its wealth could be left to twice-born while the born servants can go around doing the extremely necessary job of serving the people born to rule. The born to be dishonored can go around respecting the people born to be honored. The separation of rewards of this life from efforts of this life led to justification of permanent exploitation in the name of Karma. The theory Karma shifts the causation on to victims and their previous lives thus absolving the oppressors. This enabled the Brahmanas to righteously enjoy power and comforts at the expense of impure Shudras and polluting untouchables. Actually it is their heredity function or right. The Karma theory successfully prevents creation of any sympathy for the untouchables and their divinely ordained wretched lives. The untouchables do not have to de to visit the hell; it is created for them here only; this life is a veritable hell for them. In terms of current life the Karma theory amounts to reward without work (Karma) for Brahmans and punishment without crime for lower two strata. The Hindus regard the modern civilization as Western civilization with its roots in materialism. The materialism with its pursuit of maximum profit is regarded as dehumanizing in which the fellow human beings are seen as instruments of furthering one’s own material interests. Spiritualism is supposed to be superior to materialism with its emphasis on spiritual side and inherent absence exploitation. Hindu society with its spiritual development is supposed to be superior to dehumanizing materialism of West. Actually many defenders of Varna dharma regard the West and its modern ideas of equality and liberty as a contaminating source which have actually polluted this grand, ancient, sacred, pure, pious, innocent, spiritual, and divinely ordained civilization. However even the modern Western ideas were unable to reign in the vicious animals of dharma and untouchability....
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Spirituality - 9
...Further the Vedas are certainly fallible since they contain imperfect knowledge as evident in Purusha sukta. And divinity certainly cannot be said to possess imperfect knowledge. So the Rig Veda along with Purusha sukta has to be a handiwork of mortal men; it is totally artificial and there is nothing divine about along with other three Vedas. And certainly there is no reason to believe the fantasy of Purusha sukta. The imagination of Rig Vedic people was fertile but it was that only - fertile.
The concept of Bruhm is also imaginary, as nobody has come forward in thousands of years to show any evidence about it. Of course the truth depends on permanency. If the Bruhm exists then the proofs for its existence must exist. Simply the biggest entity cannot hide itself. The existence of Bruhm is axiomatic with unsearchable proofs that are supposed to exist. The theory of Karma is also without any substance. No propagator of this theory has been able to produce any evidences in favor of rebirth with any reliable statistics; barring some delusional people who claim to have taken rebirth. Exactly linking the specified rewards of this birth with the specified and confirmed deeds of last birth for a correctly identified soul has also not taken place. The speculative and deemed final results are axiomatic so one has to believe in the existence of evidences or proofs that nobody has been able to establish for thousands of years. They might not be verifiable. All the proofs are missing for thousands of years. One has to take the words of Vedas, Rishis and spiritualists as proofs for the existence of anything they say. However, this fertile piece of imagination of shifting of rewards to next life is a reality of Hindu psyche and has played havoc with the lives of uncountable people all through the Indian history. Actually this is a separation of rewards being reaped by higher Varnas from their actions in this life.
A Brahman is a man who can endlessly argue about the existence of non-existence (Bruhm) and the non-existence of existence (the world) and unification of soul with Bruhm and also about Karma theory. And through such evolved process he acquires spiritual knowledge sitting at the feet of his gurus. The greatest achievement here is the unification of non-existent (soul) with the non-existent (Bruhm). Second is the holding the victims responsible for their oppression through Karma theory. This spiritual development strengthens their social base where everybody acknowledges his superior and divine knowledge about the world and divinity. More was his spiritual authority more was his control over the society and its resources...
The concept of Bruhm is also imaginary, as nobody has come forward in thousands of years to show any evidence about it. Of course the truth depends on permanency. If the Bruhm exists then the proofs for its existence must exist. Simply the biggest entity cannot hide itself. The existence of Bruhm is axiomatic with unsearchable proofs that are supposed to exist. The theory of Karma is also without any substance. No propagator of this theory has been able to produce any evidences in favor of rebirth with any reliable statistics; barring some delusional people who claim to have taken rebirth. Exactly linking the specified rewards of this birth with the specified and confirmed deeds of last birth for a correctly identified soul has also not taken place. The speculative and deemed final results are axiomatic so one has to believe in the existence of evidences or proofs that nobody has been able to establish for thousands of years. They might not be verifiable. All the proofs are missing for thousands of years. One has to take the words of Vedas, Rishis and spiritualists as proofs for the existence of anything they say. However, this fertile piece of imagination of shifting of rewards to next life is a reality of Hindu psyche and has played havoc with the lives of uncountable people all through the Indian history. Actually this is a separation of rewards being reaped by higher Varnas from their actions in this life.
A Brahman is a man who can endlessly argue about the existence of non-existence (Bruhm) and the non-existence of existence (the world) and unification of soul with Bruhm and also about Karma theory. And through such evolved process he acquires spiritual knowledge sitting at the feet of his gurus. The greatest achievement here is the unification of non-existent (soul) with the non-existent (Bruhm). Second is the holding the victims responsible for their oppression through Karma theory. This spiritual development strengthens their social base where everybody acknowledges his superior and divine knowledge about the world and divinity. More was his spiritual authority more was his control over the society and its resources...
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Spirituality - 8
The Hindus regard the modern civilization as Western civilization with its roots in materialism. The materialism with its pursuit of maximum profit is regarded as dehumanizing in which the fellow human beings are seen as instruments of furthering one’s own material interests. Spiritualism is supposed to be superior to materialism with its emphasis on spiritual side and inherent absence exploitation. Hindu society with its spiritual development is supposed to be superior to dehumanizing materialism of West. Actually many defenders of Varna dharma regard the West and its modern ideas of equality and liberty as a contaminating source which have actually polluted this grand, ancient, sacred, pure, pious, innocent, spiritual, and divinely ordained civilization. However even the modern Western ideas were unable to reign in the vicious animals of Varna dharma and untouchability.
However the Hindu society is supposed to be highly spiritual and non-exploitative. The Hindu thinkers say that amassing so much wealth is not good for society. It also alienates a man from God. Actually finding God should be his true goal. A materialist man deviates from his true path. In addition such man is also exploitative or indulges in anti-human practices; you see it is all adharmic.
Maximization of profit leads to neglect of spiritual side and values. In maximization of profits a man forgets his fellow human beings and maximizes the profit at others’ cost. Actually Hindu society is far ahead; it permanently neglects human beings. The higher Varnas maximize their gains at the cost of Shudras and untouchables who form the majority. The cruel, inhuman and permanent exploitation of Shudras and untouchables is a standing feature Hindu society. They do it eternally on eternal basis. Anything below permanent exploitation is below their dignity. They have a mixed standing army of forever servants on heredity basis. Since these servants come on the basis of heredity; the Hindu society never runs short of manual and still lower level servants. The more will come from where they came from. It simply takes a group of families of a servant jati to perpetuate itself to serve the dharma and higher Varnas without really getting anything in return.
In Rig Veda it is said that “Ekam Sat Vipra Bahuda Vadanti”. It means that there is only one truth (God) or Sat but wise men call him by different names. Or there is only one Absolute called by many names by knowledgeable men. However the same Absolute created a born servanthood in India and the same Absolute created brotherhood in West. These two Absolutes cannot be the same since a man created in West is essentially the same as created in East. This difference implies either a difference in men or a difference in Gods. According to scriptures of Hindu society the Varnas were created by the God with their inherent functions, which translates into inherent inequalities. Thus there have to be two Gods. If there is only one God then the differences in Varna dharma are created by man. Thus Hindu dharma has no divine origin and it is totally artificial creation of its lawmakers with scant regard to any kind of God. The God is falsely invoked to justify the Varna dharma. However, if the religion in West is artificial and the true religion of the world is Vedic dharma then the God is fascist. It is a difficult choice; take your pick or make and/or create another choice. An atheist would like to ignore the issue altogether. The Rig Vedic statement about only one God is more like a pretension to better understanding of the concept of God or a compromise between different sects. The exact nature of God is not told, neither the exact way of functioning of God. It was simply because the Rig Vedic people themselves did not know it.
However the Hindu society is supposed to be highly spiritual and non-exploitative. The Hindu thinkers say that amassing so much wealth is not good for society. It also alienates a man from God. Actually finding God should be his true goal. A materialist man deviates from his true path. In addition such man is also exploitative or indulges in anti-human practices; you see it is all adharmic.
Maximization of profit leads to neglect of spiritual side and values. In maximization of profits a man forgets his fellow human beings and maximizes the profit at others’ cost. Actually Hindu society is far ahead; it permanently neglects human beings. The higher Varnas maximize their gains at the cost of Shudras and untouchables who form the majority. The cruel, inhuman and permanent exploitation of Shudras and untouchables is a standing feature Hindu society. They do it eternally on eternal basis. Anything below permanent exploitation is below their dignity. They have a mixed standing army of forever servants on heredity basis. Since these servants come on the basis of heredity; the Hindu society never runs short of manual and still lower level servants. The more will come from where they came from. It simply takes a group of families of a servant jati to perpetuate itself to serve the dharma and higher Varnas without really getting anything in return.
In Rig Veda it is said that “Ekam Sat Vipra Bahuda Vadanti”. It means that there is only one truth (God) or Sat but wise men call him by different names. Or there is only one Absolute called by many names by knowledgeable men. However the same Absolute created a born servanthood in India and the same Absolute created brotherhood in West. These two Absolutes cannot be the same since a man created in West is essentially the same as created in East. This difference implies either a difference in men or a difference in Gods. According to scriptures of Hindu society the Varnas were created by the God with their inherent functions, which translates into inherent inequalities. Thus there have to be two Gods. If there is only one God then the differences in Varna dharma are created by man. Thus Hindu dharma has no divine origin and it is totally artificial creation of its lawmakers with scant regard to any kind of God. The God is falsely invoked to justify the Varna dharma. However, if the religion in West is artificial and the true religion of the world is Vedic dharma then the God is fascist. It is a difficult choice; take your pick or make and/or create another choice. An atheist would like to ignore the issue altogether. The Rig Vedic statement about only one God is more like a pretension to better understanding of the concept of God or a compromise between different sects. The exact nature of God is not told, neither the exact way of functioning of God. It was simply because the Rig Vedic people themselves did not know it.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Spirituality - 7
There are three major points in development of spiritual philosophy. One is the separation of soul from body , the second is the separation of rewards of this life from the efforts of this life or the sufferings in this life from the deeds in this life (through Karma theory) and the third point is the identification of soul with God and their ultimate unification.
The separation of soul from body allows the concept of rebirth and reincarnation. The concept of rebirth makes room for Karma theory. The concept of reincarnation allows for appropriation of others’ deities as the deities of Sanatana dharma thus leaving others a little room to play. Others lose their gods also. This allows maximum room for Sanatana dharma. The appropriation of a Buddha as a reincarnation of Vishnu is a fine example. Thus Sanatana dharma becomes all encompassing.
The unification of soul with God, which is supposed to be the ultimate aim of Santana dharma, allows for the shifting of dreams and desires to next world. The ambition of Moksha is so high that it can only be achieved in next world. Thus the general population need not be ambitious in this life. The real world and its wealth could be left to twice-born while the born servants can go around doing the extremely necessary job of serving the people born to rule. The born to be dishonored can go around respecting the people born to be honored.
The separation of rewards of this life from efforts of this life led to justification of permanent exploitation in the name of Karma. The theory Karma shifts the causation on to victims and their previous lives thus absolving the oppressors. This enabled the Brahmanas to righteously enjoy power and comforts at the expense of impure Shudras and polluting untouchables. Actually it is their heredity function or right. The Karma theory successfully prevents creation of any sympathy for the untouchables and their divinely ordained wretched lives. The untouchables do not have to de to visit the hell; it is created for them here only; this life is a veritable hell for them. In terms of current life the Karma theory amounts to reward without work (Karma) for Brahmans and punishment without crime for lower two strata.
previous
The separation of soul from body allows the concept of rebirth and reincarnation. The concept of rebirth makes room for Karma theory. The concept of reincarnation allows for appropriation of others’ deities as the deities of Sanatana dharma thus leaving others a little room to play. Others lose their gods also. This allows maximum room for Sanatana dharma. The appropriation of a Buddha as a reincarnation of Vishnu is a fine example. Thus Sanatana dharma becomes all encompassing.
The unification of soul with God, which is supposed to be the ultimate aim of Santana dharma, allows for the shifting of dreams and desires to next world. The ambition of Moksha is so high that it can only be achieved in next world. Thus the general population need not be ambitious in this life. The real world and its wealth could be left to twice-born while the born servants can go around doing the extremely necessary job of serving the people born to rule. The born to be dishonored can go around respecting the people born to be honored.
The separation of rewards of this life from efforts of this life led to justification of permanent exploitation in the name of Karma. The theory Karma shifts the causation on to victims and their previous lives thus absolving the oppressors. This enabled the Brahmanas to righteously enjoy power and comforts at the expense of impure Shudras and polluting untouchables. Actually it is their heredity function or right. The Karma theory successfully prevents creation of any sympathy for the untouchables and their divinely ordained wretched lives. The untouchables do not have to de to visit the hell; it is created for them here only; this life is a veritable hell for them. In terms of current life the Karma theory amounts to reward without work (Karma) for Brahmans and punishment without crime for lower two strata.
previous
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Spirituality - 6
...There three specific ways prescribed to attain Moksha, Gyan Marg, Karma Marg and Bhakti Marg.
In Gyan Marg which is the knowledge path to salvation, a man can achieve Moksha by gaining the knowledge that the soul and Nirguna Bruhm are non-different to each other as told in non-dualism or Advaitvad. There is no need to die to achieve Moksha and there will be no next birth. This kind of Moksha is available only to Bruhm Gyanis who can only belong to three threaded Varnas. Shudras are not eligible for achieving Moksha in this way.
In Karma Marg (or path of action) which is propagated in world renowned Gita, a man can achieve Moksha by following the Karma related to his Varna which is known there as Swa-dharma. Here all the Varnas are eligible for achieving Moksha provided they follow swa-dharma. The untouchables are not included. Here somebody is allowed Moksha because following Swa-Varna-dharma-Karma is following divinely ordained order of the society. Therefore anybody following God’s desired social order is helping the God in his work. This makes him eligible to attain Moksha. However a Shudra who is desirous of raising his standard of living by leaving his Varna dharma and following the dharma of higher Varna is not eligible for Moksha. For example a potter cannot achieve Moksha by studying Vedas; only a Brahman can achieve Moksha by studying Vedas. All the Shudras have to stick to their heredity profession.
In Bhakti Marg or path of devotion to attain Moksha, a devotee is eligible to attain Moksha through intense devotion. This follows from Saguna Bruhm School. Lord Vishnu represents Saguna Bruhm in this world and can grant Moksha to a devotee if pleased with his devotion. The Bhakti movement had Gurus from various castes. Incidentally the followers of each Guru usually came from the caste equivalent to him or from the castes lower down the scale. It is difficult to find the followers of a Guru who belong to higher Varna than him. It would have been totally adharmic subordination that goes contrary to Varna dharma. Varna dharma appears everywhere. None of the untouchable saints of Bhakti movement were eligible to enter any of the temples; the practice of untouchability continued with the spread of spirituality....
previous next
In Gyan Marg which is the knowledge path to salvation, a man can achieve Moksha by gaining the knowledge that the soul and Nirguna Bruhm are non-different to each other as told in non-dualism or Advaitvad. There is no need to die to achieve Moksha and there will be no next birth. This kind of Moksha is available only to Bruhm Gyanis who can only belong to three threaded Varnas. Shudras are not eligible for achieving Moksha in this way.
In Karma Marg (or path of action) which is propagated in world renowned Gita, a man can achieve Moksha by following the Karma related to his Varna which is known there as Swa-dharma. Here all the Varnas are eligible for achieving Moksha provided they follow swa-dharma. The untouchables are not included. Here somebody is allowed Moksha because following Swa-Varna-dharma-Karma is following divinely ordained order of the society. Therefore anybody following God’s desired social order is helping the God in his work. This makes him eligible to attain Moksha. However a Shudra who is desirous of raising his standard of living by leaving his Varna dharma and following the dharma of higher Varna is not eligible for Moksha. For example a potter cannot achieve Moksha by studying Vedas; only a Brahman can achieve Moksha by studying Vedas. All the Shudras have to stick to their heredity profession.
In Bhakti Marg or path of devotion to attain Moksha, a devotee is eligible to attain Moksha through intense devotion. This follows from Saguna Bruhm School. Lord Vishnu represents Saguna Bruhm in this world and can grant Moksha to a devotee if pleased with his devotion. The Bhakti movement had Gurus from various castes. Incidentally the followers of each Guru usually came from the caste equivalent to him or from the castes lower down the scale. It is difficult to find the followers of a Guru who belong to higher Varna than him. It would have been totally adharmic subordination that goes contrary to Varna dharma. Varna dharma appears everywhere. None of the untouchable saints of Bhakti movement were eligible to enter any of the temples; the practice of untouchability continued with the spread of spirituality....
previous next
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Spirituality - 5
....However we have to see that why Moksha is necessary? Basic to Hindu society are scriptures, caste system, and concept of soul, the Absolute God, the Karma theory and Hindu pantheon. An eternal cycle of birth and death and rebirth goes on and on in this world. The indestructible soul keeps on moving from one body to another with each rebirth. And in between two births it keeps on wondering in this universe. The problem is created by the sufferings in this physical world. Anybody who enters this world has to suffer from body and mental pains. This world and the lives are overflowing with pain and sorrow. The pain of not having enough to eat., the worry of safety to body, the pain of losing one’s relatives and near and dear ones, the pain of sickness, the pain of wound, the accidents, the death etc. And the final pain is the pain and fear of one’s own death. It is a never ending chain of pain and sorrow. And basically everybody wants to live a painless, sorrowless and comfortable life. Everybody is bound by Karma so he has to suffer from his share of sorrow and pain. Secondly if everybody tried to find out the solution to his sufferings in this life then this will result in corruption of dharma. The social order or Varna dharma will break down. Now a man is in search of peace or getting rid of all his sufferings and sorrows; it is quite reasonable also. The theory of Karma implies that a man would never get peace in his lifetime. So the only way to get rid of the pain is to get out of the cycle of birth and rebirth. Again rebirth means another round of sorrows and pains. If rebirth could be avoided then all the pain could be avoided. This is possible only when soul loses its existence. The only way to have peaceful existence is to not to have any existence at all. How could something indestructible lose its existence? According to Hindu spiritual thought a soul can lose its existence only by merging with the Absolute or Bruhm. To a lay Hindu it is a permanent visit to Vaikunthdham, the abode of Lord Vishnu who represents Bruhm in this world. It is a one way ticket. This unification of soul with Bruhm is called Moksha or salvation. After this unification the soul leaves the painful cycle of birth and rebirth and lives eternally in eternal bliss in Bruhm or Bruhmlok. The mere thought that his soul will keep on wondering in this painful world forever can be quite unsettling to a devout Hindu and then he aims to achieve Moksha. It is a thoughtful way of keeping a Hindu man bound with his Varna dharma and still be hopeful. The hope is grandly deferred to next life or to unseen future of somebody else. In Hindu scriptures everybody is asked to follow properly his Varna dharma to improve his next birth; there is always hope but shifted to next birth. This hope is actually never available to anybody; this is real mirage. It is a result of fantastic thinking of Vedantic seers....
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Spirituality - 4
...Here one thing is not clear that who performs the deeds. Surely an individual performs the deeds. Does the body or the soul perform them? The deeds are performed either by the body or by the soul. Let us consider the case where the deeds are performed by the body. In this case the body should be punished for the deeds performed by it in the past life. The body in each birth is new; it is unrelated to previous birth. Both the bodies are separated by time. In such a situation the body is punished for the crimes committed by a different body. Thus the present body has not committed the crimes it is being punished for. The previous life’s crimes were committed by an already extinct body. Thus the divine punishment according to theory of Karma is wrong. You cannot punish a body for the crimes it never committed. Forget about crimes the new body has yet to produce any karma.
Let us consider the second case where the crimes are committed by the soul, the indestructible one. It can only perform any action through body but that is also not possible since soul is not brain. A soul which has left the body cannot perform any action. It can keep wondering about in the world until it acquires a body to perform some action. However let us assume the soul has performed the crimes through a body in previous life. So by taking birth in painful life the soul is punished. But the soul by its nature cannot be punished. There is no way in which it can be punished. The soul is indestructible so it cannot be destroyed. It cannot be hurt so hurting does not imply punishing it. It cannot be burnt, cut or killed. It is immune to everything, including pain and pleasure. So actually by punishing soul nobody is really punished. Actually it is the body which gets punished and which never committed the past deeds. Thus the divine justice system enshrined in Karma theory does not really punish the really real guilty. It gets its victims in Varna dharma; at its bottom. It is a concept devised to absolve the lawmakers, the Brahmans, of their sins. If it holds good which it is supposed to then it absolves the Brahmans of their crimes and the atrocities that have been committed under their eternal guidance. It also absolves them of crime of practicing untouchability. Simultaneously it absolves the Muslim invaders of the atrocities committed on the Hindus. The Hindus suffered under Muslim rulers due to their bad Karmas. Similarly any oppressor can be absolved of his sins since the victims suffered due to their Karmas of past lives. Therefore Genghis Khan stands absolved. It is all in the Karma; the individuals do not matter, the soul does. The Karma theory also grandly fails in the case of genocide of Jews in Second World War. If it is not applicable there then it does not have general applicability...
Let us consider the second case where the crimes are committed by the soul, the indestructible one. It can only perform any action through body but that is also not possible since soul is not brain. A soul which has left the body cannot perform any action. It can keep wondering about in the world until it acquires a body to perform some action. However let us assume the soul has performed the crimes through a body in previous life. So by taking birth in painful life the soul is punished. But the soul by its nature cannot be punished. There is no way in which it can be punished. The soul is indestructible so it cannot be destroyed. It cannot be hurt so hurting does not imply punishing it. It cannot be burnt, cut or killed. It is immune to everything, including pain and pleasure. So actually by punishing soul nobody is really punished. Actually it is the body which gets punished and which never committed the past deeds. Thus the divine justice system enshrined in Karma theory does not really punish the really real guilty. It gets its victims in Varna dharma; at its bottom. It is a concept devised to absolve the lawmakers, the Brahmans, of their sins. If it holds good which it is supposed to then it absolves the Brahmans of their crimes and the atrocities that have been committed under their eternal guidance. It also absolves them of crime of practicing untouchability. Simultaneously it absolves the Muslim invaders of the atrocities committed on the Hindus. The Hindus suffered under Muslim rulers due to their bad Karmas. Similarly any oppressor can be absolved of his sins since the victims suffered due to their Karmas of past lives. Therefore Genghis Khan stands absolved. It is all in the Karma; the individuals do not matter, the soul does. The Karma theory also grandly fails in the case of genocide of Jews in Second World War. If it is not applicable there then it does not have general applicability...
Monday, June 30, 2008
Spirituality - 3
........However, according to Hindu way of life the ultimate aim of life is to attain Moksha, Mukti or salvation. Moksha is a state where the soul of a man gets unified or merged with the Bruhm. It combines with Bruhm to never to return to cycle of life and death. It is released from Karmik life cycle.
It is claimed that the soul is subtle in nature therefore the modern science is not able to find its existence. However, it is not known that what the subtlety means in this context.
The soul is indestructible in nature. The indestructibility of soul is axiomatic in nature. So far nobody has explained that why it is indestructible. It cannot be born. It cannot die. It cannot be burnt. It cannot be cut. On death it leaves one body and acquires a new body. The soul cannot be disintegrated further. The fire cannot burn it. The sword cannot cut it. It is never born because it never dies. It is neither organic and nor inorganic because in both the cases it would be destructible. It is always preexisting to a body and also postexisting. It has a separate existence than a body. The real thing is soul and not body because body is temporary in nature. It exists as long as soul exists in it. The moment, a soul lives the body, it is dead. The body is only a temporary abode for the soul. However, it is not known that why should the heart stop beating when the soul leaves the body. A soul may change an infinite number of bodies during Karmic cycle on its way to merger with Bruhm. The soul cannot be divided because in such case it has to be degraded to biological level. Only higher level things are considered here; not biological or materialstical. It is Hindu spiritual world. However, the soul can be hurt as is clear from the statement “I am hurt”. It can die also as is clear from the statement “I am dying”. It can be hungry also as is clear from the statement “I am hungry”. And so on. In short it can have all the biological properties as “I” can feel or desire or complain about etc. The description of soul in Gita seems to be a bundle of contradictory wrongs. For the soul to be indestructible; it necessary to show that “I” in “Who am I?” is different than “I” in “I am dying”. However, a soul being a higher level entity cannot have lower level biological functions and processes allotted to it. It is getting convoluted; the logic may stand on its head but the spiritualists are not bothered about it; you see these are higher level things and normal logic cannot be applied to it. It is convoluted means it is convoluted. Nobody should expect to find an iota of logic in Hindu spiritual logic. It is a logicless spirituality. The existence of a soul and Bruhm can only be realized or felt through higher level unknown faculties of higher level people not amenable to the laws of science. Of course if somebody is under peer pressure or social pressure then one can just nod, nod and nod - and long live the non-understandable and unidentifiable Bruhm......
It is claimed that the soul is subtle in nature therefore the modern science is not able to find its existence. However, it is not known that what the subtlety means in this context.
The soul is indestructible in nature. The indestructibility of soul is axiomatic in nature. So far nobody has explained that why it is indestructible. It cannot be born. It cannot die. It cannot be burnt. It cannot be cut. On death it leaves one body and acquires a new body. The soul cannot be disintegrated further. The fire cannot burn it. The sword cannot cut it. It is never born because it never dies. It is neither organic and nor inorganic because in both the cases it would be destructible. It is always preexisting to a body and also postexisting. It has a separate existence than a body. The real thing is soul and not body because body is temporary in nature. It exists as long as soul exists in it. The moment, a soul lives the body, it is dead. The body is only a temporary abode for the soul. However, it is not known that why should the heart stop beating when the soul leaves the body. A soul may change an infinite number of bodies during Karmic cycle on its way to merger with Bruhm. The soul cannot be divided because in such case it has to be degraded to biological level. Only higher level things are considered here; not biological or materialstical. It is Hindu spiritual world. However, the soul can be hurt as is clear from the statement “I am hurt”. It can die also as is clear from the statement “I am dying”. It can be hungry also as is clear from the statement “I am hungry”. And so on. In short it can have all the biological properties as “I” can feel or desire or complain about etc. The description of soul in Gita seems to be a bundle of contradictory wrongs. For the soul to be indestructible; it necessary to show that “I” in “Who am I?” is different than “I” in “I am dying”. However, a soul being a higher level entity cannot have lower level biological functions and processes allotted to it. It is getting convoluted; the logic may stand on its head but the spiritualists are not bothered about it; you see these are higher level things and normal logic cannot be applied to it. It is convoluted means it is convoluted. Nobody should expect to find an iota of logic in Hindu spiritual logic. It is a logicless spirituality. The existence of a soul and Bruhm can only be realized or felt through higher level unknown faculties of higher level people not amenable to the laws of science. Of course if somebody is under peer pressure or social pressure then one can just nod, nod and nod - and long live the non-understandable and unidentifiable Bruhm......
Friday, June 20, 2008
Spirituality - 2
...So we got a pairing of body with soul, world with Bruhm and soul with Bruhm. Here the impermanent body and world belong to lower level and soul to higher level and Bruhm to still higher level. If one still wants to raise his level then he should know that there is no difference between soul and Bruhm. And this grand spiritual knowledge is not supposed to reach to Shudras and untouchables. One needs to go into deep meditation to realize Bruhm - the fantasy in the air.
Now we are told that the Bruhm is superior to gods and they are its manifestations only; so we discuss the things which belong to higher level then the gods; still raising the level higher. However there are said to be two kinds of Bruhms. One Bruhm is called Saguna Bruhm, which has physical form and this entire world is his body. The representative of Saguna Bruhm is Lord Vishnu in this universe. The soul is small and subtle but different than Bruhm. This is also known as dualism or Dvaitvad. The soul or jiva ultimately gets merged with the Ultimate, the Bruhm. This also connects Bruhm with gods and idol worship and temples. This can convert polytheism in Hindu religion into monotheism. There is another Bruhm known as Nirguna Bruhm. This is formless and indefinable God in any sense of dimensions or power or anything else; it is truly indefinable. It is attributeless Absolute. It is all pervading; nothing pervades it. However most of the experts agree that the Nirguna Bruhm is the final thing and Saguna Bruhm is to enable layman to worship it. The soul and Nirguna Bruhm are not different from each other. This is known as non-dualism or Advaitvad.
The quest for soul is the quest for “I”. This “I” is not considered as pronoun but an entity in itself; like in the sentence “Who am I?” This soul (Aatmaa or Jiva) is separate from body and is indestructible. The life in a body exists because of existence of soul in it. The life is not the basic property of live bodies. The life is due to soul. When this soul is combined with the permanent absolute soul (the Bruhm) then the Hindu spiritual theory is complete; salvation or Moksha is achieved. One may add Karma theory to explain the sufferings in this world.
However, it would be difficult to quest for the identity of “my” in “my soul” and for the identity of “you” in “your soul”. These pronouns can acquire entirely new meanings in Hindu spiritual discourse. It may be akin to saying that you are not you but something else. Or your soul is not your soul but something else. However, this kind of supposedly higher level logic helps in maintaining the supremacy of Brahmans and who destroyed the life of the fifth stratum
However, this sense of spirituality never gets offended by the inhuman practice of untouchability of thousands of years. The overwhelming pride in the purity of Varnas enforces the separation between society and the people doing unclean jobs. These untouchables would like to have a society of their own but they are not traditionally and dharmically permitted to have any means of sustenance. Thus they have to live insulted lives at the bottom of the heap of the society and live through their hard labor doing despicable jobs...
Now we are told that the Bruhm is superior to gods and they are its manifestations only; so we discuss the things which belong to higher level then the gods; still raising the level higher. However there are said to be two kinds of Bruhms. One Bruhm is called Saguna Bruhm, which has physical form and this entire world is his body. The representative of Saguna Bruhm is Lord Vishnu in this universe. The soul is small and subtle but different than Bruhm. This is also known as dualism or Dvaitvad. The soul or jiva ultimately gets merged with the Ultimate, the Bruhm. This also connects Bruhm with gods and idol worship and temples. This can convert polytheism in Hindu religion into monotheism. There is another Bruhm known as Nirguna Bruhm. This is formless and indefinable God in any sense of dimensions or power or anything else; it is truly indefinable. It is attributeless Absolute. It is all pervading; nothing pervades it. However most of the experts agree that the Nirguna Bruhm is the final thing and Saguna Bruhm is to enable layman to worship it. The soul and Nirguna Bruhm are not different from each other. This is known as non-dualism or Advaitvad.
The quest for soul is the quest for “I”. This “I” is not considered as pronoun but an entity in itself; like in the sentence “Who am I?” This soul (Aatmaa or Jiva) is separate from body and is indestructible. The life in a body exists because of existence of soul in it. The life is not the basic property of live bodies. The life is due to soul. When this soul is combined with the permanent absolute soul (the Bruhm) then the Hindu spiritual theory is complete; salvation or Moksha is achieved. One may add Karma theory to explain the sufferings in this world.
However, it would be difficult to quest for the identity of “my” in “my soul” and for the identity of “you” in “your soul”. These pronouns can acquire entirely new meanings in Hindu spiritual discourse. It may be akin to saying that you are not you but something else. Or your soul is not your soul but something else. However, this kind of supposedly higher level logic helps in maintaining the supremacy of Brahmans and who destroyed the life of the fifth stratum
However, this sense of spirituality never gets offended by the inhuman practice of untouchability of thousands of years. The overwhelming pride in the purity of Varnas enforces the separation between society and the people doing unclean jobs. These untouchables would like to have a society of their own but they are not traditionally and dharmically permitted to have any means of sustenance. Thus they have to live insulted lives at the bottom of the heap of the society and live through their hard labor doing despicable jobs...
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Spirituality - 1
...Santana dharma or Hindu dharma is very spiritual religion. It contains deep discussions on the nature of soul (self or jiva), world and Absolute or Bruhm. The soul in Hindu spiritualism is immortal; it was never born; it can never die; it cannot be cut; it cannot be burnt. It changes the bodies as a body changes its clothes. So it is superior to body as the body is superior to clothes. Thus if one wants to talk of higher level things in Hindu religion then he should talk about soul; its existence and its immortality and superiority. If one still wants talk to at still higher level then one can talk about the Bruhm.
What is soul is to body the Bruhm is to universe and more than that. Anybody talking about Bruhm with authority surely qualifies to be a Guru. Of course, the lower strata are not supposed to talk about these higher level things and especially not about the Bruhm which is the sole prerogative of Brahmans. As soul is preexisting to a body the Bruhm is always preexisting to any universe. There might have been many universes and Bruhm is always preexisting to them. As soul is always post-existing to a body, the Bruhm is always post-existing to any universe. A soul sees the birth and death of many bodies; the Bruhm also sees birth and death of many universes. All the gods are physical manifestation of the Bruhm including famous trinity of Hindu pantheon, Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh. However, there are many souls but only one and only one Bruhm. A soul is never born and never dies; the Bruhm is also never born and never dies. Both of them have permanent existences. The ultimate aim of a soul is to unite or merge with Bruhm. That is Moksha or salvation. The Bruhm is the substratum of this entire world, solar system and galaxies, past, future and present. Everything has come out of Bruhm and will finally merge into it. Anything, which exists, is due to Bruhm. Anything that existed in the past existed due to Bruhm. Anything, which will exist in future, will exist due to Bruhm. The Bruhm is eternal like eternal Sanatana dharma. However, it is not clear that how the Bruhm manifests itself as this world. There is an utter silence about this process. There is a creation. There is creator. But there is no process of creation. Anyway, it is all fantasy in the air. It explains nothing.
In Hindu spirituality the truth is defined by the permanency of an object. So falsity is defined by impermanency of an object. Here the talker can claim to be talking about still higher level thing or things at a still subtler level. And has better knowledge about the truth or permanent things. The sun will not exist forever therefore it is false. So is this earth. The life is not permanent so it is also false. The word “Sat” gets translated into English as “really real” but the true meaning is truth. So the only thing which is “Sat” or really real or permanent is Bruhm. Everything else is impermanent or a mirage or temporary. If one can claim to understand this concept based on the permanency of an object then one can claim to be real knower of truth; the knower of the Ultimate; the Bruhm. Thus the talker belongs to highest level of higher things. That is the way it works out to be. In this way all the scientists will never catch up with the level attained by the ancient Rishis who possessed the knowledge about the Ultimate. However if the truth cannot be identified with the permanency then the claim about Rishis falls flat on its face...
What is soul is to body the Bruhm is to universe and more than that. Anybody talking about Bruhm with authority surely qualifies to be a Guru. Of course, the lower strata are not supposed to talk about these higher level things and especially not about the Bruhm which is the sole prerogative of Brahmans. As soul is preexisting to a body the Bruhm is always preexisting to any universe. There might have been many universes and Bruhm is always preexisting to them. As soul is always post-existing to a body, the Bruhm is always post-existing to any universe. A soul sees the birth and death of many bodies; the Bruhm also sees birth and death of many universes. All the gods are physical manifestation of the Bruhm including famous trinity of Hindu pantheon, Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh. However, there are many souls but only one and only one Bruhm. A soul is never born and never dies; the Bruhm is also never born and never dies. Both of them have permanent existences. The ultimate aim of a soul is to unite or merge with Bruhm. That is Moksha or salvation. The Bruhm is the substratum of this entire world, solar system and galaxies, past, future and present. Everything has come out of Bruhm and will finally merge into it. Anything, which exists, is due to Bruhm. Anything that existed in the past existed due to Bruhm. Anything, which will exist in future, will exist due to Bruhm. The Bruhm is eternal like eternal Sanatana dharma. However, it is not clear that how the Bruhm manifests itself as this world. There is an utter silence about this process. There is a creation. There is creator. But there is no process of creation. Anyway, it is all fantasy in the air. It explains nothing.
In Hindu spirituality the truth is defined by the permanency of an object. So falsity is defined by impermanency of an object. Here the talker can claim to be talking about still higher level thing or things at a still subtler level. And has better knowledge about the truth or permanent things. The sun will not exist forever therefore it is false. So is this earth. The life is not permanent so it is also false. The word “Sat” gets translated into English as “really real” but the true meaning is truth. So the only thing which is “Sat” or really real or permanent is Bruhm. Everything else is impermanent or a mirage or temporary. If one can claim to understand this concept based on the permanency of an object then one can claim to be real knower of truth; the knower of the Ultimate; the Bruhm. Thus the talker belongs to highest level of higher things. That is the way it works out to be. In this way all the scientists will never catch up with the level attained by the ancient Rishis who possessed the knowledge about the Ultimate. However if the truth cannot be identified with the permanency then the claim about Rishis falls flat on its face...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
