Query: I have difficulty understanding "Hinduism". How does Hinduism define self
in relation to God/reality? In realtion to society? How does all of this tie
together?
Vijay
Kumar:
continued from... Understanding Hinduism Atman Self Inner Self
God
Now I shall define self as explained in Hinduism nay "Bhagavad
Gita"...
Self in Hinduism is understood for the inner self... the real self
within every human being... the core of us... our atman the soul within. In Hinduism the physical manifested
life which a human being lives, the life of 70 to 80 years spent on Mother Earth within a life span carries
no more meaning other than passing through a phase of life. Why so?
As explained in Bhagavad Gita- every human being is the result
of the evolutionary process through which every Jiva (living being) is required to pass through. None
can escape the cycle of evolution. Every Jiva (living being) passes through total phases of 8.4 million
manifestations and a total cosmic life cycle of 96.4 million years before one can gain enlightenment and
subsequently Moksha... Salvation!
Initially, the first manifestation is that of an amoeba... the single
cell formation. The next stage is that of an insect. Subsequently we manifest the shape of a plant and than
an animal and finally emerge as a human being. In the human form itself we have 11 million types of
manifestations. Does it mean that in the evolutionary process we reached the stage of a human being after
passing through 7.3 million manifestations? Yes, it is true! Human being is the last stage of manifestation
as destined by God. only as a Human Being can one achieve Salvation Moksha. Gaining emancipation directly
from the stages of single cell formation, multi-cell formation, insect life, plant life and animal life is
not permitted.
Yes, one is permitted to crossover rather jump over various stages of
manifestation. If I am passing through in this life the stage of 7.5 millionth manifestation then it is
possible that within this life span of 70 to 80 years I can jump over to 8.4 millionth manifestation (the
last in the stage of cosmic life... when life itself ends (the physical part of manifested life).
The stages of manifestations as defined in Hinduism are the means to
reach the goal of cosmic life... Liberation from the cycle of birth and death. It can be explained thus...
anyone desirous of becoming the best artist in a field of his choosing passes through various stages of life.
We may even have to work as a janitor, laundrymen or any other profession... if we have the knack we shall
one day reach the goal of life and become a wonderful actor. Passing through various manifestations as a
human being... is it not equivalent of passing the phases of life as a janitor, laundrymen only to finally
reach the cosmic goal of life... gaining emancipation and finally Salvation?
As per Hinduism the physical manifest form of life we are passing through
in a single life span is but a passing phase in the total cosmic life cycle of 8.4 million manifestations and
96.4 million years of cosmic life cycle. We are not supposed to be attached materialistically to the short
span of 70 to 80 years of life... clinging to the materialistic assets like money and different forms of
wealth... something we can not call our own is mere wishful thinking. Today it may be ours in this physical
manifest form... Tomorrow it shall belong to someone else!
The moment we leave this form and our atman the soul within takes a next
life all is lost. Whatever little we carry from the present life to the next is only the balance of Punya
Karma. In the short life span of 70 to 80 years we may have committed many sins knowingly or unknowingly and
also carried out many austerity measures which earned us positive merits. The balance of these merits (the
difference between the positive and the negative) is whatever that gets carried forward to the next life.
Nothing else!
In the next life or the present life we only reap the benefits of our Karma. We reap what we sow... nothing more or
less! Everything in the cosmic system is governed by our Karma. The balance merit from one life to another gets
carried through the chromosomes that are passed on from the parents to the child. The cosmic system is foolproof
and without demerits. It is only the ignorance by the high and mighty in society like the famous physicist Stephen
Hawking who has advocated in his book "a brief history of time" that the system of God is disordered at some
stage.
If it had been so... the moon would have crashed with Earth long ago. The
whole Cosmos would have dissolved in no time. It would have been an everyday scene observing in the sky one
star system striking the other and collapsing.
Scientists and physicists are by profession debarred from venturing into
the realm of Spirituality. They want to observe God through the telescopes they have built. They want to feel
the presence of God through their physical manifested eyes. They want to see the smell of a flower before
they can believe in it. Such a phenomenon shall never be... the ignorant fools they are! As stated in the
doctrines of Hinduism and in the Bhagavad Gita, Spirituality starts where science ends.
It is only when acting as a human being does a scientist who treads into the domain of Spirituality shall come
across truth only if one has hundred percent faith in the system of God. Faith that does not ask for physical
proofs... but lends a logical support to every query. Every Spiritual truth carries with it the seeds of a logical
answer. Nothing is without explanation! We need to see and feel with our inner eyes to understand the underlying
cosmic truth.
Knowing well that every being is on its cosmic journey, Hinduism asserts
on every human being to act as a true Karma yogi all the time... and who is a true Karma Yogi? One who is
never attached to any materialistic possession and works always like a true trustee... one who believes in
the fact that everything belongs to God and we are but the housekeeper of the belongings given to us by God.
andrew Carnegie the famous philanthropist believed in this phenomenon... when he left his mortal frame he
bequeathed everything for creating libraries for the benefit of mankind all over the United States of
America. What a truly wonderful person he was!
Napoleon hill, the author of books like think and grow rich, masters key to riches and
the famous doctrine Law of
Success believed and practiced as a true Karma Yogi. He always worked for the benefit of mankind.
He made true heroes out of a common man only that one had to have a will to succeed and reach the goal of
ones life. The book Law of
Success is more precious than the Bible itself... it far outweighs all similar doctrines contained
on Mother Earth.
It is because it gives a moral boost in the physical manifested life to a common man. When one reaches the goal of
ones life... one shall find ample time to dive deep into the Morals contained in the Bible. To pass the physical
manifested life successfully one initially needs to follow the rules contained in the book by Napoleon hill
the Law of Success ... the
bible of the physical manifested world. Thereafter one is free to follow the sacred bible... the teachings of
Jesus Christ. I quote this incidence here because whatever is contained in the teachings of Napoleon Hill is not
contrary to what is contained in Hinduism. Both the documents work for the benefit of mankind.
What is an atman the soul within, the inner self... which forms the core
of every living being! What is it made of... how come we know that it really exists? Hinduism nay Bhagavad
Gita defines inner self as the true essence of life. It says that our real self is the only truth and
everything else is Maya (ignorance)... as per the basic philosophy of Hinduism... the physical manifested
world does not carry much meaning. It is our atman the soul within that has taken the body and not vice
versa. It is like changing of the guard's at Birmingham Palace.
Our atman the soul within remaining the pivotal point... Hinduism
dictates that every step in our life must be pointed towards gaining Punya Karma for it is only the Punya
Karma that shall be carried forward to next life. In Hinduism reincarnation is not something to be discussed
upon... it is a fact of life that our soul the atman within manifests one life after another until it reaches
the 8.4 millionth manifestation.
Reincarnation is something that exists where as the physical manifest form as per Hinduism carries no entity for it
is all the work of Maya (ignorance) that makes a human being to believe that one can live forever and become
immortal. Knowing well that the maximum life of a human being In present times is but about hundred years... to
expect to become immortal (amar in Hinduism) is to befool our very existence.
Immortality is not the least related to the physical manifest form... it
is only when one gains emancipation that... atman the soul within regains its pristine pure form and that is
the stage of immortality for atman the soul within is not for the required to manifest a body.
Hinduism does not believe in the existence of a beginning less Cosmos
only. Bhagavad Gita clearly states that the total creation is the work of God Almighty... a formless source
of energy comprising of the power of all purified Atmans souls at a given point of time. One can never see
the real self with the physical manifested eyes but everyone knows that our atman, the soul within lives
within our heart. The moment this atman the soul within leaves the body... the body dies and
decays!
We can feel the presence of atman the soul within for the small sweet
inner voice that always prompts us whenever we tend to go on a wrong path is the voice of our atman the soul
within that is trying to guide us all the time. We can never see the smell of a flower yet we can always feel
the presence of a flower by its fragrance felt by us.
I hope part of your query gets dissolved. If you still have some
questions send them for clarifications? Questions related to any Religion or any topics are welcome. Having
reached the source of all cosmic wisdom... all sacred Scriptures of all Religions of the world have become
like ABCD to me... not difficult to understand and also explain the wisdom contained therein.
May God bless you!
Always there to clarify your queries ( send your query),
Essay by:
Vijay Kumar "Atma Jnani" ... The Man who Realized God in 1993!
Vijay Kumar explains concept of Atman in brief Audio (Eng) (3.1 MB) Audio Hindi (3 MB)
(all clippings take few seconds to load initially - suitable for broadband
internet connection preferably above 256 kbps)
Full text of query: Hi. I was wondering if you could answer a
question for me. I am studying World Religions, for my first exposure, and I am having difficulty
understanding "Hinduism," if I may call it that. Could you possibly answer some questions? If so, first, I
was wondering how does Hinduism define self? In relation to God/reality? In realtion to society? How does all
of this tie together?
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