Spiritual Direction New Age Beliefs

Vijay Kumar:
You seem to be quite worried about the Spirituality that will be followed in India in the coming years. In the present Kali Yuga phase... the practicing of pure Spirituality is at its lowest ebb... for most in the society practical Spirituality means... committing sins six days of the week and on the seventh day... expiating our sins by taking a dip in the holy Ganges river in Haridwar. Is this what Spirituality is all about? Are we really earning Punya Karma by merely wishing for something? What is the end result... is not the society becoming more and more materialistic in the present metal age (the Kali Yuga).

Practicing pure Spirituality is not the least concerned with taking a dip in the holy Ganges or following either the path of Karma Yoga or Bhakti Yoga without even ever knowing the true meaning of Karma Yoga or Bhakti Yoga. Most people in this world continue practicing Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, awakening of the kundalini, practicing Celibacy, Yoga and Meditation without even ever knowing the real meaning of this words.

The efficacy of a Mantra is best recognized and practiced only after we have understood the real meaning of the Mantra. Blindly chanting of the Mantra never leads us to the desired goal. Similarly, followers of Bhakti Yoga continue themselves practicing Bhakti always hoping for the desired results.

During one of my discourses in Pune... one elderly gentleman came to me at the end of my four-hour discourse and stated that he has been practicing the Bhakti marga path of spirituality for the last 15 years without a single break... yet he had achieved nothing out of it... for he never understood the meaning of the various chants. He further narrated that in his full 68 years of life he could not gather enough pearls of wisdom as he had obtained in a four-hour discourse. I could see happiness visible in his eyes... he was a truly happy person on that day. God bless him.

My discourses are absolutely different from the various discourses by the present day Spiritual gurus. All the discourses being conducted on TV and otherwise are a one-way mode of communication... you can only hear what is being said. What of solving the queries within you... unless the queries within a seeker get dissolved... one just cannot proceed on the path of pure Spirituality... that is for certain!

In my discourses after introducing myself... I seek extempore queries from the assembled people... those who have come hoping to get some insights into the field of Spirituality from one who had Realized God in 1993. They are not supposed to return empty-handed. By grace of God even without one person asking any query I am able to (by the telepathic mode of communication) know the queries in general. All the queries from the present mass get communicated to me in the flash of a moment.

Whenever I have asked of the community to put forward their query... most of them were hesitant... it was then I asked them if they wanted me to continue on my own... they all happily agreed. It was then an almost continuous discourse of two hours before I used to stop and then further ask for their queries... by that time most of their queries had already dissolved... it was only for the serious seekers of Spirituality that queries were put forward to me.

Having Realized God... I do not now need to refer any document whatsoever and all my speeches, lectures and discourses are extempore. This way I am not only able to dissolve the queries within every seeker... but the glow on their faces after the session is over gives a real meaning to the discourse.

Now talking about the path of spirituality which would be exactly followed in the days to come... it is only the path of Jnana Yoga that would be seriously pursued by the serious seekers of Spirituality for... the common masses is not the least concerned with the Spirituality... they are the followers of Rituals concerning various Religions... whether or not any merit is earned by them is not a worrisome factor for them. By the end of the day what matters is... by how much have the size of their cashbox increased. The wanton desires and the materialistic approach of life is killing the Spirituality within us.

The difference between Religion and Spirituality is spelt out in the Essay "Spirituality and Religion"

The serious seekers of Spirituality normally take the path of Karma Yoga and Bhakti Yoga... at a certain stage of time and at the opportune moment... while performing the Karma to the best of our capabilities... we also switch on to practicing Bhakti Yoga even while practicing Karma Yoga. While practicing Bhakti Yoga sincerely and truthfully... a day comes when we land ourselves on to the path of Jnana Yoga. This is the path that leads us towards pure Spirituality. This path is only meant for the serious seekers of Spirituality for it is not within the means of common masses to follow this path.

More on Karma Yoga one can read here

Bhakti Yoga is the most simple and commonly followed path... this path is normally followed along with the path of Karma Yoga... which means that a true Karma yogi at a certain stage in life inherently starts practicing Bhakti Yoga. By Bhakti Yoga we mean trying to approach God through the path of Prayers. Following this path alone one can never gain Self Realization but the path of Bhakti Yoga is simple to follow and gradually the serious seeker of Spirituality switches over to the path of Jnana Yoga.

Jnana Yoga is primarily the path of logistics and enquiry. Anything and everything which has a logistical basis helps one proceed towards the solution... the dialogues of Plato was nothing else but the path of logistics... "Either you convince me or I shall convince you" is the motto! The path of enquiry is the path followed by Maharishi Ramana. Both Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Maharishi Ramana followed the path of Bhakti Yoga initially, even while Ramakrishna Paramhansa continued following the path of Bhakti Yoga for a longer period of time, Maharishi Ramana switched over to the path of Jnana Yoga in very initial stages.

The process of Neti is nothing else but following one of the main tenets of the path of Jnana Yoga. The process of self enquiry, "not this not this" leads one directly to the stage of Nirvikalpa Samadhi (more on Nirvikalpa Samadhi here) and finally gaining Self Realization!

The path of Jnana Yoga in the present materialistic world is no doubt extremely difficult to follow but for people like Ramana Maharshi and Ramakrishna Paramhansa... who drank the nectar of Spirituality all the time... it was the only goal of their life... they ultimately succeeded in their attempts!

Every time I repeat the word serious... it indicates that every seeker cannot reach the stage of Nirvikalpa Samadhi because of the multitude of distractions on the path of spirituality. The tantric powers... the greed inherent within every human being leads one away from the path of spirituality. Once in millions rather billions is able to follow the path of Jnana Yoga with due diligence. In the last about 150 years only two persons have been successful in gaining Self Realization... they were Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Maharishi Ramana.

Swami Vivekananda who was more inclined towards social welfare of the community could not Realize God in his lifetime... he was only one step below the desired goal of life... so was the case of Acharya Rajneesh aka Osho... these two great Spiritual personalities will definitely gain Self Realization in their next manifestation.

The yagna approach is a thing of the past... the essence of yagna existed before the time of Lord Krishna... the moment the sermon of Lord Krishna in the battlefield of Mahabharata, " Bhagavad Gita the song supreme" came into existence... the Vedas lost their meaning. This is the precise meaning of an extract or the abstract form. Lord Krishna reduced the four Vedas to the Bhagavad Gita. One who could interpret the inner meanings of the texts contained in Bhagavad Gita... it was not necessary for one to read the Vedas. Everything contained in all the four Vedas exists in Bhagavad Gita.

Yagnas were required when the science had not yet evolved as is today... today we need not sacrifice an animal to please the gods what to say of sacrificing Human Beings! In the present cultured society we have different means available to us to approach God then were available in the times of the Vedas. The practitioners of Yagnas are totally ignorant of the rightful approach of Spirituality... they are merely following the Rituals blindly! They look forward to their name and fame in the society. They are least aware of the benefits of conducting yagna in the present age.

Conducting yagna in the present age is something totally uncalled for? Our mentally status In present times has been elevated to such an extent that we need to follow the path of pure Spirituality... the path of Jnana Yoga alone! To Realize God one need not conduct massive congregations or gatherings of religiously minded people for none would be able to achieve anything out of it. Religion primarily helps one in living comfortably the present physical life... a period of 70 to 80 years. Religion can make one become the epitome of the physical world... become rather reach the highest platform of physical manifested life... become Maryada Purushottam Rama himself. This is what Ramayana epic is all about!

To follow the path of spirituality means... diving deep into the inner consciousness... getting to know our true self... our atman the soul within! The followers of Spirituality desire to know the details of the complete path traveled by atman the soul within... they desire to know the details of 8.4 million manifestations undertaken by our atman the soul within... the total journey of 96.4 million years in the life of an atman the soul within before it reaches the stage of Liberation... immortality... the 8.4 millionth manifestation beyond which there is no life. This Atman having purified itself need not manifest again... the cycle of birth and death having coming to an end... our atman the soul within has finally regained its pristine pure form.

Kriya Yoga is an interim stage on the path of Jnana Yoga. Kriya Yoga helps one gain control over the breathing process... this is more or less following the path of pranayama... followers of Kriya Yoga one-day inherently switch over to following the path of Jnana Yoga. Yogananda Paramhansa was a follower of the path of Jnana Yoga... following Kriya Yoga was one of the interim paths to get ahead on the path of Jnana Yoga.

In a nutshell... one needs to follow the path of Jnana Yoga if we need to proceed on the path of pure Spirituality... the process of pranayama, Neti... performing yogic exercises to maintain the body... the temple for atman the soul within are but essential ingredients required to follow the path of Jnana Yoga.

Yagna, chanting of various Mantras like the Gayatri Mantra without essentially understanding the deep-rooted inner meaning is not the requirement of the day. Merely practicing Rituals In present times is just a sheer wastage in the journey of life.

The times of Mahabharata... the advent of Lord Krishna was the time when Adharma was at its peak. It was but essential for God Almighty to send an Avatar to discontinue the Kali Yuga phase present at that time. Even in the Dwaper Yuga the situations prevailing at that time were exactly similar as we are experiencing today in the Kali Yuga. After a rotation of about 3600 years time has again come for an Avatar to descend. people await with abated breath the advent of Bhagavan Kalki... the destroyer of Kali Yuga!

The ammunition with which Mahabharata was fought in the times of Lord Krishna were exactly the same as far as the results were concerned... the manufacturing technology and the shape of ammunition may have been different but the goal was the same. The Brahmastra referred in Mahabharata was a nuclear missile... the war was fought on a physical plane. Apart from the five senses and the mind we have the subconscious state and the inner consciousness that is also known as our atman the soul within.

When talking of a war to be need to keep the physical aspect of life in mind. There was nothing mental at that period of time. Lord Krishna and various other Spiritual gurus of that era had very high mental powers but it does not mean that part of the war was ever fought on the mental plane. Never... such a happening shall never be for if both the sides have a very high mental level then the need for a war shall never arise... all would be settled peacefully.

It is only when there is a mental disparity between both the sides that a war is imminent... King Duryodhana, the leader of the Kauravas was practically mentally bankrupt... he was never prone to reason of time... he was a pure dictator and did what he desired. He even many times failed to accept the dictates of his Spiritual gurus and the seniors. On other hand King Arjuna, the leader of the Pandavas finally understood the logic of the Bhagavad Gita conveyed to him by Lord Krishna. The moment he understood his folly... he fought the battle to its logical end and defeated the army of Kauravas.

Always there to clarify your queries ( send your query),

Essay by: Vijay Kumar "Atma Jnani" ... The Man who Realized God in 1993!

Full text of query: Thank you for clearing my doubts and questions. I have few more questions now, these are regarding India mainly.

Question 1 : India was a land of Spirituality. The present misrable condition of India is due to an apparant loss in Spirituality. India has to fully regain its Spiritual status in order to set itself right and also to become a guide to the rest of the world. But which approach of spiritual practice will be dominantly followed in India in the coming future or near future to regain Spirituality ?

A. A Bhakti-Marg kind of approach, somewhat in a similar spirit of Sri Chaitanya but different, if we talk of the socio-economic projects associated into it : The Swadhyay Parivaar established by Rev. Pandurang Shastri Athawale, winner of "Templeton Award for Progress in Religion" and also Raman Magsaysay Award for social leadership. Website : http://www. swadhyay. org . OR

B. The Gayatri Mantra and Yagna approach : The Gayatri Parivaar established by Acharya Sri Ram Sharma (who is said to be the Reincarnation of Sri RamKrishna Paramhansa). This Gayatri Parivaar performs Gayatri Maha-Yagna and other kinds of Yagnas at various places and preaches the Gayatri Mantra among Brahmins and all other castes alike (because caste is actually from Guna-Karma and not by virtue of Janma alone). Website : http://www.gayatri pariwar. org/ . OR

C. The Kriya Yoga approach, a more sublime one : Kriya Yoga - progagated to the world by Yogiraj Shyamacharan Lahiri with instruction from his ever-living Guru Babaji Maharaj. Websites : http://www.yogiraj.com/ http://www.Yogananda- srf. org/ http://www. Karmawhammy.com/ Self_Realization_Fellowship_Gurus.htm etc.

Question 2 : What are Divyastra-s, those referred in Mahabharata ? Are they more powerful than even Nuclear weapons ? Do they work from some other plane of consciousness ?

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