Veda48- Just surrender to the boss!

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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!

My dream book

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At a time when the world is faced with an imminent world war, and nasty menace of unending religiously motivated terrorism, let us talk something positive.

Veda47- Just bottle up the unruly genie!

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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.

Veda46- Worldly people vs self-aware people

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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.

Veda45- One minus one is not zero!

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That definitely sounds absurd! It violates basic math and common sense. But Vedas do have such strange mathematics.

Veda44- Why did God create this world ?

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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.

Veda43- Is God a sadist?

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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 😉

Veda42- Is Jesus really God?

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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’.

Veda41- Ramana and his ‘pot’ joke!

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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.

Veda40- The drama of life!

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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?

Veda39- Let us play a mind game!

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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!

Veda38- This world is like a movie show!

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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.

Veda37- Saying it all in just twelve sentences!

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The world we know of is unfathomable, and infinite in dimension. There could even be worlds beyond the reach of our senses. Added to this, this world has an unfathomable past and hopefully future too. Can we describe this massive entity, at least the intelligent part of it, in just twelve sentences? One of the Upanishads namely the Mandukya Upanishad from the Atharva Veda seems to make exactly such a claim! What does it say?

Veda36- There are things that cannot be inferred by reasoning!

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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.

Veda35- World is not an illusion but it is real!

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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.

Veda34- You need to understand the fundamentals!

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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.

Veda33- No amount of wealth can make you happy forever!

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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?

Veda32- We are on a wild goose chase!

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I am not even asking – “Are we on a wild goose chase?”. Because I am sure that we are 😉 Looks like all our activities are centered around how to make money! If some activity does not make money, then it is not worth pursuing it. That seems to be our line of thinking.

Veda31- Are Vedas self contradictory?!

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Before I go further talking about the Upanishads, I thought it is essential to clear some questions. These questions may give an impression that the Vedas are self contradictory and can be seen as a bundle of incoherent things. Some of the contradictions that one recognizes immediately are

Veda30- Describing the indescribable!

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We were talking about the two questions that Gargi posed to the great scholar Yajnyavalkya. Gargi says that her two questions are like two fierce arrows that she has sent to shoot down Yajnyavalkya’s claim that he knows what God is.

Veda29- Do you know God?

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Ask this question to a staunch believer. Probably, he can’t give you a logical answer. But then faith and logic often don’t go together. Faith does not ask questions but merely accepts what is told. In the religious scenario asking questions is even forbidden. So, we just accept the existence of God even when we don’t know what that God is!

Veda28- One God or many Gods?

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During one of my early morning walks in a remote Indian village, I came across this elderly gentleman. He looked quite old with his wrinkled face betraying his age. He greeted me with a smiling face and introduced himself as a retired banker. He proudly declared himself as a person belonging to a faith that believed in a single God. Basically, he was a Muslim. I

Veda27- From mysticism to philosophizing!

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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.

Veda26- Mercy or hypocrisy?!

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In the previous episode I raised a serious issue. Is it right to kill a fellow being even if it is meant for the betterment of the entire world? 

 

Veda25- Kill, but gently?!

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In the previous episode we discussed how everything is readied for the animal sacrifice. 

 

But neither the Adhvaryu, nor the Hotr, not even the Udhgatr or the Brahma would like to kill the animal. They don’t want to taint their hands with blood! But the animal has to be killed before it can be offered to the Devas. How do they do that?

Miracle of instruction!

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There is an interesting incident described in Tipitaka – a collection of Buddha’s discourses. Once Buddha was visiting the ancient city of Nalanda in Northern India. This city hosted one of the renowned Universities in the ancient world. It was like the Stanford, MIT, or Oxford of today. Students from all parts of the world used to throng this place to pursue advanced studies. 

 

Many great visiting scholars and teachers used to give lectures in that University about whatever they propagated. Often these teachers used to embellish their speeches with mystifying ideas and baseless claims much like what some of our modern Gurus do 😉 So, one of Buddha’s admirers namely Kevatta, suggested to Buddha that he should precede his discourses by a display of psychic powers by some of his disciples to impress the audience.

Veda24- We only share and not own this earth!

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It may be true that we human beings are the most intelligent of all the creatures on this earth. But does that empower us to behave as if we are the sole owners of this earth? Many religious scriptures declare that this entire world is created for the sake of we human beings. They say that all other creatures have an existence meant for our comforts.

Veda23- Soma – the invigorating drink that lures the Devas!

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If you think that only humans are attracted to intoxicants, you are wrong. 

 

Even the Devas of the Vedas have a weakness for drinks. They come running all the way to have a taste of the great drink prepared specially for them by the sages who perform the Vedic rituals and invite them by means of fire signals!

Veda22- Why do we wear clothes?

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Probably, you think that it is a silly question. But the Vedas have an interesting explanation 😉 This explanation is given in the very beginning, just before a Vedic ritual starts.

What is the ultimate goal of Yoga?

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Many of us practice Yoga to keep fit. Yoga has almost become synonymous with body postures or Asana as they are called. You will be surprised to know that health was never the primary goal of Yoga! Even the Hatayoga, the forerunner of modern Yoga, does not have health as the primary goal. It looks at health only as a prerequisite to further practice of Yoga and not as an end in itself.