The journey I am referring to is both the journey of our ancestors over thousands of years as well a journey that I took you along for the past several episodes talking about that.
Showing posts with label Upanishads. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Upanishads. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 14, 2022
Tuesday, June 7, 2022
Veda50- Let us dream, but not nightmares!
We have been discussing about Upanishadic truths and how different people view them. I personally go by the obvious meaning of the Upanishads without resorting to any mental gimmicks. I do it not just because I revere the Upanishads but also for the reason that the idea of unification as put forth by the Upanishads has a deeper implication in our lives.
Tuesday, May 31, 2022
Veda49- Don’t entangle yourself in a web of contradictions
I had a friend who believed firmly in the theory of Maya talked about by modern Advaitis. This elderly gentleman used to drive a long distance just to meet me and engage me in a lively debate. He somehow wanted to convince me that this world is an illusion and all that exists is just Atma and nothing else!
Tuesday, May 24, 2022
Veda48- Just surrender to the boss!
Advaitis who propagate the theory of illusion or Maya have a tough time explaining many mundane things they keep doing. Most of these people indulge in worship of some deity or sometimes even their own preceptors who are deified!
Tuesday, May 17, 2022
Veda47- Just bottle up the unruly genie!
One of the reasons for our confusion is our unruly mind. It obscures clarity. It keeps dragging us outward. It puts before us myriad baits and makes us forget our true nature.
Tuesday, May 10, 2022
Veda46- Worldly people vs self-aware people
A few episodes ago I was talking about this world as a drama played
by the Atma that has taken many forms. Each form has a role to play
in this drama. Some of them play a sad role and some play a happy
role. From the point of view of the drama there is nothing sad or
happy about it. Each form is just playing its role. So, no need to
worry about it.
Tuesday, May 3, 2022
Veda45- One minus one is not zero!
That definitely sounds absurd! It violates basic math and common sense. But Vedas do have such strange mathematics.
Tuesday, April 26, 2022
Veda44- Why did God create this world ?
I have been trying to portray this world as a drama played by the Atma all throughout the previous episodes. That was not my opinion but that is what logically follows from whatever is narrated in the Upanishads.
Tuesday, April 19, 2022
Veda43- Is God a sadist?
Many modern ‘intellectuals’ who proudly declare themselves to be atheists would probably find many supporters in ancient India 😉
That is because most of the ancient Indian schools of thought were inherently atheist in the core. They did not believe in a ‘creator’ God who created this world, just like our modern atheists 😉
Tuesday, April 12, 2022
Veda42- Is Jesus really God?
Many devout Christians believe so. It is a different matter though, Jesus never claimed that he is God! He almost always addressed himself as ‘son of man’ or at most as ‘son of God’ but not as ‘I am God’.
Tuesday, April 5, 2022
Veda41- Ramana and his ‘pot’ joke!
Ramana Maharshi was a great saint who lived amidst some of us till recently. He passed away in 1950. There are many people alive even today who have seen and interacted with him in a place called Arunachala in Southern India.
Tuesday, March 29, 2022
Veda40- The drama of life!
We were discussing a mind game in the previous episode where an actor
plays multiple roles ‘simultaneously’. What does this game have
to do with the Advaita and the concept of Maya that we were
discussing about in previous episodes?
Tuesday, March 22, 2022
Veda39- Let us play a mind game!
I have a smart neighboring kid who is just 2-year-old. She can hardly express herself clearly. But some of her utterances amaze me and show how shallow we, the ‘so called adults’ are!
Tuesday, March 15, 2022
Veda38- This world is like a movie show!
The analogy and explanation that I am going to discuss now apparently is first put forth by some well known Swami of Ramakrishna order, successors of Swami Vivekananda. This analogy is often used by many modern Advaita teachers to explain the concept of Maya or illusory nature of this world. The analogy is quite interesting and very close. But not quite close. Let us see how.
Tuesday, March 8, 2022
Veda37- Saying it all in just twelve sentences!
Tuesday, March 1, 2022
Veda36- There are things that cannot be inferred by reasoning!
Many of us over emphasize on logic and reasoning. Rightly so, if you are scientifically oriented person. Science does stress on logic and reasoning and discourages subjective opinions or views. Many of the scientific ‘truths’ are accepted not because some great scientist like Newton or Einstein has said so, but because they can be arrived at using logic and reasoning and of course mathematics. Even when some of their findings are yet to be proven empirically, we take it for granted that they are true since these scientists based their discoveries on sound foundation of logic and reasoning.
Tuesday, February 22, 2022
Veda35- World is not an illusion but it is real!
In the previous episode, we were talking about how the great philosopher Sankara came up with his theory of illusion or Maya in the process of explaining how the single Atma that alone exists ‘appears’ as many things.
I am not sure whether there is any basis for this
concept of illusion in any of the well-known Upanishads that Sankara
often quotes. So, obviously later opponents of Sankara criticized him
for inventing this concept. It is a different matter though that
their objection was mainly because the concept of Maya as put forth
by Sankara, did not fit in their philosophy of personified God.
Tuesday, February 15, 2022
Veda34- You need to understand the fundamentals!
Many of us often gloat over our limited knowledge. We think that we have understood everything in this world and we deem ourselves qualified to question deep philosophical truths.
Tuesday, February 8, 2022
Veda33- No amount of wealth can make you happy forever!
In the ritual parts of the Vedas the emphasis has been on performing various rituals to please the Devas and get whatever you want from them. This ‘whatever’ refers to worldly riches, good companions and children, a secure and comfortable life, protection from enemies, and may be heavenly abodes after death. But do all these make you happy forever?
Tuesday, December 14, 2021
Veda27- From mysticism to philosophizing!
No matter what modern historians would say, when one studies Samhita parts of the Rigveda one gets tempted to believe that ancient Indians were indeed in touch with divine Aliens or the Devas from other worlds.
The dialogues with the Devas are so intimate. The descriptions of the Devas, their vehicles, as well as the way they arrive at the sacrificial place, all look so real. One refuses to believe that they were all part of superstition or the beliefs of primitive men.
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