An Inquiry into some fundamental truths of Sanaathana Dharma

[Guest guest]

adiYen would like to share some thoughts with all

regarding two fundamental pillars of our religion [our

religion has been dubbed as "Hinduism" but truly

should be called Sanaathana Dharma (Eternal

religion)].

 

adiYen would like to pose to adiYen a question:

 

Question:

--------

Why should adiYen do good, be good (exhibit kindness,

charity, etc.) and not commit sin (like not killing

others, stealing, etc.)?

 

Answer:

------

Our Aachaaryaas repeatedly stress the following two

tenets of Sanaathana Dharma:

 

1. Law of Karma - "what goes around comes around"

2. Rebirth - "life after death of the body, and

reincarnation of the Jeevaathma or soul"

 

Either: (i) adiYen should believe in the above two

pillars of Sanaathana Dharma implicitly, without any

reservations or doubts whatsoever - because adiYen's

Aachaaryaas have said so (a course of action that

adiYen finds to be the easiest of all) - this may be

called the Path of Faith

 

OR

 

(ii) adiYen should find out if the above two are true

by adiYen's own efforts and analysis - this may be

called the Path of Self Inquiry

 

There cannot be a third alternative - either adiYen

believes without question, or adiYen is prepared to

undertake efforts to verify the veracity of the two

cornerstones of Sanaathana Dharma.

 

Path of Faith:

=============

adiYen lives by faith day in and day out:

(i) when adiYen goes to sleep at night, the faith is

that adiYen will wake up the next morning

(ii) when adiYen takes to the road, the faith is that

adiYen will not be targeted by any other motorist and

killed

(iii) when adiYen travels in a taxi, ship, train, or

aeroplane, adiYen trusts the drivers/pilots

implicitly, and believes that these strangers, some of

whom adiYen will sometimes not even see (in a plane,

for example) will safely pilot adiYen to adiYen's

destination

(iv) when adiYen has to see a medical doctor, adiYen

trusts the doctor implicitly to cure (and not

exacerbate) adiYen's illness

 

And so on. Hence adiYen finds that the Path of Faith

is the easiest of all.

 

Assumption in the Path of Faith:

-------------------------------

The caveat for the Path of Faith is:

 

One should believe in our true well-wishers - like our

Aachaaryaas, and not in "godmen" and other charlatans

who offer temporary relief, and long-term suffering.

Where spirituality is concerned, adiYen feels that one

should opt for strategic initiatives in preference to

tactical options.

 

Path of Self Inquiry:

====================

 

This Path is strenuous - involves arduous efforts, has

many pitfalls, and may not be suitable for all.

 

Examination of the tenet of Rebirth:

--

 

In the Path of Self Inquiry, if adiYen had to verify

the Rebirth principle, adiYen could approach it in the

following way:

 

If adiYen could somehow dissociate or separate

adiYen's essence (Sookshma Shareera) from adiYen's

gross body (Sthoola Shareera), then adiYen would know

for CERTAIN that adiYen would continue to exist, even

after adiYen's gross body perished - this would

naturally lead to the conclusion that if adiYen could

occupy adiYen's gross body in this birth, then later

on, adiYen could occupy another gross body - and thus

the principle of Rebirth would be verified.

 

The experience noted in the above paragraph is what

some would call an out-of-body travel experience. It

is said that the Great Aadi Shankaraachaarya left his

body in the safe-keeping of his Shishyaas, and

occupied the body of a king to experience (Kooduvittu

KoodupAidhal), by proxy, Grihasthaashrama.

 

Out-of-body travel also leads to other conclusions by

extension such as: till the "spirit" (one's essence)

occupies another body, it lives in a "spirit-world";

there are embodied and disembodied spirits - meaning

that we are embodied spirits, and other disembodied

spirits could try to enter our body and take control,

just as we entered this current body of ours; there

are good and bad spirits, etc.

 

The dangers associated with out-of-body travel (as

outlined by some Experts) are:

 

(i) One could misuse the gift and invite serious

trouble - it could completely take one off the Path,

and onto a dangerous sidetrack of pain and suffering

(ii) When traveling out-of-body, before one comes back

to one's current body, evil spirits could enter one's

current body

(iii)If not well-versed in out-of-body travel, one may

not be able to come back and occupy one's current body

at all.

 

All said and done, if one does have an out-of-body

experience, one need not fear death, because one would

know for CERTAIN that what dies is the body, and not

the self (Jeevaathma) - we need to realize the truth

of the Rebirth principle and lose our fear of death,

either by direct experience, or by complete Faith in

our Aachaaryaas.

 

Examination of the tenet of Law of Karma:

-------

 

In the Path of Self Inquiry, the Law of Karma may be

verified either by direct experience or by inference.

 

For direct experience, one should develop the power of

intuition (subtle levels of thinking, feeling and

knowing) to be able to link causes and effects in

one's own life - the learned say that meditation of

the right kind will help in this regard. Pitfalls

include pseudo-intuition, sophistical reasoning, etc.

 

The Path of Self Inquiry is thus dangerous for most

people, the Experts say, because most people do not

qualify themselves BEFORE treading this Path.

Qualification would include things like Yama, Niyama,

Shamam, Dhamam, celibacy, etc.

 

For verification of the Law of Karma by inference one

simply has to correlate causes and effects in the

lives of other people. For example:

 

(i) Jesus Christ/Adolf Hitler (cause and effect)

(ii) Vaali in the Raamaayana (cause) and the hunter

who shot an arrow at Lord Krishna towards the end of

the Dwaapara Yuga (effect)

(iii)Parikshith insulting a Rishi (cause) and his

death after a week (effect)

(iv) Mother Seetha insulting LakshmaNa and disobeying

his requests not to cross the lines he had drawn on

the ground (cause) and Her abduction by RaavaNa and

subsequent Agni Pariksha (effect)

 

And so on.

 

---------

 

adiYen,

 

Ashok K

 

 

 

The New Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo.

http://search.

[Guest guest]

One would strongly recommend, if at all you are absolutely serious about

this whole business,

you should do some preliminary reading of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.

 

The Great author could have an answer to some if not all of your

doubts/queries. To give a glimpse: Most of us - 99.99% of mortals lead a

casual, thougtless living and we call this life etc.

 

There are few exceptions - the balance 0.01% - who apart from Bhakti,

intense interest and devoution and more importantly, sustained long term

practice of some of the Yogic principles come to stage where they are

poised for self-enquiry.

 

Critical to the part of the sustained long term practice is :Pranayama

which is a bridge between the outer and inner or (Antaranga) Yoga. The

deeper areas of Yoga are Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana.

 

As one becomes proficient in Pranayama, one slowly starts discriminating

i.e. called Viveka Khyati.

 

Please do not ask discriminate what/when/who? but it is simply discriminate

what is and what is not. In most of these cases, at this stage most of the

issues/questions/doubts you have raised will get perhaps resolved in such a

manner that the question/doubt itself might seem irrelevant.

 

The extraordinary Patanjli has very very scientifically and logically laid

down the entire picture devoid of subjective references. Nothing

mysterious.

 

If you are more serious, maybe you should go through Iswarakrishna's Sankya

Karika which is the Sankhya philosophy which forms the basis for the Yoga

Sutras.

 

The key to getting appropriate answers to your questions/doubts is :

Action. Your daily life has to be critically reviewed by you constantly.

You have to be vigilant always. Each smallest act, talk, thought has to be

evaluated to ensure that they are compliant with the strict standards of

Yama, Niyama and so on.

 

Does this mean the writer is confirming that all answers can be found in

the books/texts/works of Patanjli and Samkya Karika? No. The preliminary

reading will perhaps serve as a guidepost. You have to put things in

practice without expecting any results and wait and watch

 

The only other alternative you have is the path of faith, which also

incidentally is covered grandly by the Yoga Sutras.

The topic of karma, re-birth etc. are all dealt and tied up logically in

the Sutras.

 

As regards your primary query :why should you not steal, do bad things etc.

is it a enquiry or are you seeking permission from these fora? All one can

say in keeping with the sacred Sayings of the great Patanjali Sutras

"follow the Guru" (your acharaya).

 

If HE asks you to steal, please go ahead.

 

Lastly, one humble request. Pardon this writer, if he has misunderstood.

But one hopes you are doing the Nitya Karma without let? If yes you are at

least eligible to harbour such doubts/questions as above, if not your

questions/doubts are mere intellectual churnings of a mind filled with

limited knowledge. No hurt or insult intended honestly

 

Om tat Sat

Tat tvam asi

 

 

 

 

 

Ashok

Krishnamurthy

Srirangasri,

<akrishna_24@yah Oppiliappan

oo.com> cc:

An Inquiry

into some fundamental

05/11/03 11:01 truths of Sanaathana Dharma

AM

 

 

 

 

 

 

adiYen would like to share some thoughts with all

regarding two fundamental pillars of our religion [our

religion has been dubbed as "Hinduism" but truly

should be called Sanaathana Dharma (Eternal

religion)].

 

adiYen would like to pose to adiYen a question:

 

Question:

--------

Why should adiYen do good, be good (exhibit kindness,

charity, etc.) and not commit sin (like not killing

others, stealing, etc.)?

 

Answer:

------

Our Aachaaryaas repeatedly stress the following two

tenets of Sanaathana Dharma:

 

1. Law of Karma - "what goes around comes around"

2. Rebirth - "life after death of the body, and

reincarnation of the Jeevaathma or soul"

 

Either: (i) adiYen should believe in the above two

pillars of Sanaathana Dharma implicitly, without any

reservations or doubts whatsoever - because adiYen's

Aachaaryaas have said so (a course of action that

adiYen finds to be the easiest of all) - this may be

called the Path of Faith

 

OR

 

(ii) adiYen should find out if the above two are true

by adiYen's own efforts and analysis - this may be

called the Path of Self Inquiry

 

There cannot be a third alternative - either adiYen

believes without question, or adiYen is prepared to

undertake efforts to verify the veracity of the two

cornerstones of Sanaathana Dharma.

 

Path of Faith:

=============

adiYen lives by faith day in and day out:

(i) when adiYen goes to sleep at night, the faith is

that adiYen will wake up the next morning

(ii) when adiYen takes to the road, the faith is that

adiYen will not be targeted by any other motorist and

killed

(iii) when adiYen travels in a taxi, ship, train, or

aeroplane, adiYen trusts the drivers/pilots

implicitly, and believes that these strangers, some of

whom adiYen will sometimes not even see (in a plane,

for example) will safely pilot adiYen to adiYen's

destination

(iv) when adiYen has to see a medical doctor, adiYen

trusts the doctor implicitly to cure (and not

exacerbate) adiYen's illness

 

And so on. Hence adiYen finds that the Path of Faith

is the easiest of all.

 

Assumption in the Path of Faith:

-------------------------------

The caveat for the Path of Faith is:

 

One should believe in our true well-wishers - like our

Aachaaryaas, and not in "godmen" and other charlatans

who offer temporary relief, and long-term suffering.

Where spirituality is concerned, adiYen feels that one

should opt for strategic initiatives in preference to

tactical options.

 

Path of Self Inquiry:

====================

 

This Path is strenuous - involves arduous efforts, has

many pitfalls, and may not be suitable for all.

 

Examination of the tenet of Rebirth:

--

 

In the Path of Self Inquiry, if adiYen had to verify

the Rebirth principle, adiYen could approach it in the

following way:

 

If adiYen could somehow dissociate or separate

adiYen's essence (Sookshma Shareera) from adiYen's

gross body (Sthoola Shareera), then adiYen would know

for CERTAIN that adiYen would continue to exist, even

after adiYen's gross body perished - this would

naturally lead to the conclusion that if adiYen could

occupy adiYen's gross body in this birth, then later

on, adiYen could occupy another gross body - and thus

the principle of Rebirth would be verified.

 

The experience noted in the above paragraph is what

some would call an out-of-body travel experience. It

is said that the Great Aadi Shankaraachaarya left his

body in the safe-keeping of his Shishyaas, and

occupied the body of a king to experience (Kooduvittu

KoodupAidhal), by proxy, Grihasthaashrama.

 

Out-of-body travel also leads to other conclusions by

extension such as: till the "spirit" (one's essence)

occupies another body, it lives in a "spirit-world";

there are embodied and disembodied spirits - meaning

that we are embodied spirits, and other disembodied

spirits could try to enter our body and take control,

just as we entered this current body of ours; there

are good and bad spirits, etc.

 

The dangers associated with out-of-body travel (as

outlined by some Experts) are:

 

(i) One could misuse the gift and invite serious

trouble - it could completely take one off the Path,

and onto a dangerous sidetrack of pain and suffering

(ii) When traveling out-of-body, before one comes back

to one's current body, evil spirits could enter one's

current body

(iii)If not well-versed in out-of-body travel, one may

not be able to come back and occupy one's current body

at all.

 

All said and done, if one does have an out-of-body

experience, one need not fear death, because one would

know for CERTAIN that what dies is the body, and not

the self (Jeevaathma) - we need to realize the truth

of the Rebirth principle and lose our fear of death,

either by direct experience, or by complete Faith in

our Aachaaryaas.

 

Examination of the tenet of Law of Karma:

-------

 

In the Path of Self Inquiry, the Law of Karma may be

verified either by direct experience or by inference.

 

For direct experience, one should develop the power of

intuition (subtle levels of thinking, feeling and

knowing) to be able to link causes and effects in

one's own life - the learned say that meditation of

the right kind will help in this regard. Pitfalls

include pseudo-intuition, sophistical reasoning, etc.

 

The Path of Self Inquiry is thus dangerous for most

people, the Experts say, because most people do not

qualify themselves BEFORE treading this Path.

Qualification would include things like Yama, Niyama,

Shamam, Dhamam, celibacy, etc.

 

For verification of the Law of Karma by inference one

simply has to correlate causes and effects in the

lives of other people. For example:

 

(i) Jesus Christ/Adolf Hitler (cause and effect)

(ii) Vaali in the Raamaayana (cause) and the hunter

who shot an arrow at Lord Krishna towards the end of

the Dwaapara Yuga (effect)

(iii)Parikshith insulting a Rishi (cause) and his

death after a week (effect)

(iv) Mother Seetha insulting LakshmaNa and disobeying

his requests not to cross the lines he had drawn on

the ground (cause) and Her abduction by RaavaNa and

subsequent Agni Pariksha (effect)

 

And so on.

 

---------

 

adiYen,

 

Ashok K

 

 

 

The New Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo.

http://search.

 

 

 

 

Srirangasri-

 

 

 

Your use of is subject to

[Guest guest]

Dear Sir,

 

adiYen bows down to your superior wisdom, especially

with regard to Patanjali's Yoga Sootraas.

 

adiYen has read all of your articles to date (and have

them ALL on file on the local desktop) and gleaned a

lot of wisdom from them. adiYen is IMMENSELY grateful

to you for the same.

 

After reading this article, these are the thoughts

that occur to adiYen:

 

1. You seem to concur with adiYen's views that for

most of us (perhaps excluding people such as

yourself), the Path of Faith is probably the easiest

to follow, since the Path of Self Inquiry is for those

serious-minded few that lead a "non-casual, thougtful"

life

 

2. The last two paragraphs, though, seem entirely out

of character, given the spiritual stature of the

person writing the same:

 

>As regards your primary query :why should you not

> steal, do bad things etc.

> is it a enquiry or are you seeking permission from

> these fora?

 

The intended purpose of such a question (which really

needs no answer in such an erudite forum as this) was

to point out the fact that the Law of Karma acts as a

deterrent to deviant behavior in society, and is one

of the fundamental principles of the Sanaathana Dharma

 

>All one can

> say in keeping with the sacred Sayings of the great

> Patanjali Sutras

> "follow the Guru" (your acharaya).

>

> If HE asks you to steal, please go ahead.

>

 

adiYen has heard the learned say that one should not

commit bad acts even if one's Aacharyaa says it: the

SikshavaLLi (first Prashnam of the Thaithireeya

Upanishad) says at first:

 

"Maathru Devo Bhava; Pithru Devo Bhava; Aacharya

Devo Bhava; Athithi Devo Bhava; Yaanyanavadhyaani

karmaNi; thaani sEvithavyaani; no itharaNi" but soon

thereafter follows it with the caution: "yaan

yasmaakagum SUCHARITHAANI;thaani tvayopaasyaani; no

itharaNi"

 

adiYen does not believe that stealing comes under the

category of behavior that can be called

"SUCHARITHAANI"

 

> Lastly, one humble request. Pardon this writer, if

> he has misunderstood.

> But one hopes you are doing the Nitya Karma without

> let? If yes you are at

> least eligible to harbour such doubts/questions as

> above, if not your

> questions/doubts are mere intellectual churnings of

> a mind filled with

> limited knowledge. No hurt or insult intended

> honestly

 

This question is kind of personal in nature and is not

fit to be addressed or even asked of anyone, in a

public forum such as this. By the way, is this

question/comment "compliant with the strict standards

of Yama, Niyama and so on" ?

 

3. One needs to read between the lines, and develop a

sense and understanding of what the author is REALLY

trying to convey, when reading any article.

 

4. Lastly, while adiYen is painfully aware of how

small adiYen is in comparison to the giants in

spirituality of this forum (such as yourself), adiYen

has one more article to publish (just one more - if

the editors of this journal are willing to publish it

- adiYen promises that there will be no more articles

from "a mind filled with limited knowledge"), that

adiYen would like to share with you all (it will be

titled "Vaishnavism and Occultism").

-----

 

AN AMERICAN INDIAN Prayer:

 

O' GREAT SPIRIT,

Whose voice I hear in the winds,

And whose breath gives life to all the world,

Hear me! I am small and weak.

I need your strength and wisdom.

Let Me Walk In Beauty,and make my eyes

ever behold the red and purple sunset.

Make My Hands respect the things you have made

and my ears sharp to hear your voice.

Make Me Wise so that I may understand the things

you have taught my people.

Let Me Learn the lessons you have hidden in

every leaf and rock.

I Seek Strength, not to be greater than my brother,

but to fight the greatest enemy -- my self.

Make Me Always Ready to come to you with clean hands

and straight eyes.

So When Life Fades, as the fading sunset,

my spirit may come to you without shame.

----

adiYen,

 

Ashok K.

 

--- s.ramachandran wrote:

>

>

>

>

>

> One would strongly recommend, if at all you are

> absolutely serious about

> this whole business,

> you should do some preliminary reading of the Yoga

> Sutras of Patanjali.

>

> The Great author could have an answer to some if not

> all of your

> doubts/queries. To give a glimpse: Most of us -

> 99.99% of mortals lead a

> casual, thougtless living and we call this life etc.

>

> There are few exceptions - the balance 0.01% - who

> apart from Bhakti,

> intense interest and devoution and more importantly,

> sustained long term

> practice of some of the Yogic principles come to

> stage where they are

> poised for self-enquiry.

>

> Critical to the part of the sustained long term

> practice is :Pranayama

> which is a bridge between the outer and inner or

> (Antaranga) Yoga. The

> deeper areas of Yoga are Pratyahara, Dharana,

> Dhyana.

>

> As one becomes proficient in Pranayama, one slowly

> starts discriminating

> i.e. called Viveka Khyati.

>

> Please do not ask discriminate what/when/who? but it

> is simply discriminate

> what is and what is not. In most of these cases, at

> this stage most of the

> issues/questions/doubts you have raised will get

> perhaps resolved in such a

> manner that the question/doubt itself might seem

> irrelevant.

>

> The extraordinary Patanjli has very very

> scientifically and logically laid

> down the entire picture devoid of subjective

> references. Nothing

> mysterious.

>

> If you are more serious, maybe you should go through

> Iswarakrishna's Sankya

> Karika which is the Sankhya philosophy which forms

> the basis for the Yoga

> Sutras.

>

> The key to getting appropriate answers to your

> questions/doubts is :

> Action. Your daily life has to be critically

> reviewed by you constantly.

> You have to be vigilant always. Each smallest act,

> talk, thought has to be

> evaluated to ensure that they are compliant with the

> strict standards of

> Yama, Niyama and so on.

>

> Does this mean the writer is confirming that all

> answers can be found in

> the books/texts/works of Patanjli and Samkya Karika?

> No. The preliminary

> reading will perhaps serve as a guidepost. You have

> to put things in

> practice without expecting any results and wait and

> watch

>

> The only other alternative you have is the path of

> faith, which also

> incidentally is covered grandly by the Yoga Sutras.

> The topic of karma, re-birth etc. are all dealt and

> tied up logically in

> the Sutras.

>

> As regards your primary query :why should you not

> steal, do bad things etc.

> is it a enquiry or are you seeking permission from

> these fora? All one can

> say in keeping with the sacred Sayings of the great

> Patanjali Sutras

> "follow the Guru" (your acharaya).

>

> If HE asks you to steal, please go ahead.

>

> Lastly, one humble request. Pardon this writer, if

> he has misunderstood.

> But one hopes you are doing the Nitya Karma without

> let? If yes you are at

> least eligible to harbour such doubts/questions as

> above, if not your

> questions/doubts are mere intellectual churnings of

> a mind filled with

> limited knowledge. No hurt or insult intended

> honestly

>

> Om tat Sat

> Tat tvam asi

>

Ashok

>

>

> Krishnamurthy To:

> Srirangasri,

>

> <akrishna_24@yah

> Oppiliappan

>

> oo.com> cc:

>

>

>

> An Inquiry into some

> fundamental

> 05/11/03 11:01

> truths of Sanaathana Dharma

>

> AM

>

>

>

>

>

>

adiYen would like to share some thoughts with all

> regarding two fundamental pillars of our religion

> [our

> religion has been dubbed as "Hinduism" but truly

> should be called Sanaathana Dharma (Eternal

> religion)].

>

> adiYen would like to pose to adiYen a question:

>

> Question:

> --------

> Why should adiYen do good, be good (exhibit

> kindness,

> charity, etc.) and not commit sin (like not killing

> others, stealing, etc.)?

>

> Answer:

> ------

> Our Aachaaryaas repeatedly stress the following two

> tenets of Sanaathana Dharma:

>

> 1. Law of Karma - "what goes around comes around"

> 2. Rebirth - "life after death of the body,

> and

> reincarnation of the Jeevaathma or soul"

>

> Either: (i) adiYen should believe in the above two

> pillars of Sanaathana Dharma implicitly, without any

> reservations or doubts whatsoever - because adiYen's

> Aachaaryaas have said so (a course of action that

> adiYen finds to be the easiest of all) - this may be

> called the Path of Faith

>

> OR

>

> (ii) adiYen should find out if the above two are

> true

> by adiYen's own efforts and analysis - this may be

> called the Path of Self Inquiry

>

> There cannot be a third alternative - either adiYen

> believes without question, or adiYen is prepared to

> undertake efforts to verify the veracity of the two

> cornerstones of Sanaathana Dharma.

>

> Path of Faith:

> =============

> adiYen lives by faith day in and day out:

> (i) when adiYen goes to sleep at night, the faith

> is

> that adiYen will wake up the next morning

> (ii) when adiYen takes to the road, the faith is

> that

> adiYen will not be targeted by any other motorist

> and

> killed

> (iii) when adiYen travels in a taxi, ship, train, or

>

=== message truncated ===

 

 

 

 

The New Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo.

http://search.

[Guest guest]

Shrimathey Nigamaantha Maha Deshikaaya Namaha

Dear Bhagavatas,

Pl. correct me if I am wrong but I think that Swami Desika has condemned the

Sankhya philosophy as well as Patanjali. Any views on this would be appreciated.

Adiyen Ramanuja Dasan.

 

s.ramachandran wrote:

 

 

 

 

 

One would strongly recommend, if at all you are absolutely serious about

this whole business,

you should do some preliminary reading of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.

 

The Great author could have an answer to some if not all of your

doubts/queries. To give a glimpse: Most of us - 99.99% of mortals lead a

casual, thougtless living and we call this life etc.

 

There are few exceptions - the balance 0.01% - who apart from Bhakti,

intense interest and devoution and more importantly, sustained long term

practice of some of the Yogic principles come to stage where they are

poised for self-enquiry.

 

Critical to the part of the sustained long term practice is :Pranayama

which is a bridge between the outer and inner or (Antaranga) Yoga. The

deeper areas of Yoga are Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana.

 

As one becomes proficient in Pranayama, one slowly starts discriminating

i.e. called Viveka Khyati.

 

Please do not ask discriminate what/when/who? but it is simply discriminate

what is and what is not. In most of these cases, at this stage most of the

issues/questions/doubts you have raised will get perhaps resolved in such a

manner that the question/doubt itself might seem irrelevant.

 

The extraordinary Patanjli has very very scientifically and logically laid

down the entire picture devoid of subjective references. Nothing

mysterious.

 

If you are more serious, maybe you should go through Iswarakrishna's Sankya

Karika which is the Sankhya philosophy which forms the basis for the Yoga

Sutras.

 

The key to getting appropriate answers to your questions/doubts is :

Action. Your daily life has to be critically reviewed by you constantly.

You have to be vigilant always. Each smallest act, talk, thought has to be

evaluated to ensure that they are compliant with the strict standards of

Yama, Niyama and so on.

 

Does this mean the writer is confirming that all answers can be found in

the books/texts/works of Patanjli and Samkya Karika? No. The preliminary

reading will perhaps serve as a guidepost. You have to put things in

practice without expecting any results and wait and watch

 

The only other alternative you have is the path of faith, which also

incidentally is covered grandly by the Yoga Sutras.

The topic of karma, re-birth etc. are all dealt and tied up logically in

the Sutras.

 

As regards your primary query :why should you not steal, do bad things etc.

is it a enquiry or are you seeking permission from these fora? All one can

say in keeping with the sacred Sayings of the great Patanjali Sutras

"follow the Guru" (your acharaya).

 

If HE asks you to steal, please go ahead.

 

Lastly, one humble request. Pardon this writer, if he has misunderstood.

But one hopes you are doing the Nitya Karma without let? If yes you are at

least eligible to harbour such doubts/questions as above, if not your

questions/doubts are mere intellectual churnings of a mind filled with

limited knowledge. No hurt or insult intended honestly

 

Om tat Sat

Tat tvam asi

 

 

 

 

 

Ashok

Krishnamurthy

Srirangasri,

<akrishna_24@yah Oppiliappan

oo.com> cc:

An Inquiry

into some fundamental

05/11/03 11:01 truths of Sanaathana Dharma

AM

 

 

 

 

 

 

adiYen would like to share some thoughts with all

regarding two fundamental pillars of our religion [our

religion has been dubbed as "Hinduism" but truly

should be called Sanaathana Dharma (Eternal

religion)].

 

adiYen would like to pose to adiYen a question:

 

Question:

--------

Why should adiYen do good, be good (exhibit kindness,

charity, etc.) and not commit sin (like not killing

others, stealing, etc.)?

 

Answer:

------

Our Aachaaryaas repeatedly stress the following two

tenets of Sanaathana Dharma:

 

1. Law of Karma - "what goes around comes around"

2. Rebirth - "life after death of the body, and

reincarnation of the Jeevaathma or soul"

 

Either: (i) adiYen should believe in the above two

pillars of Sanaathana Dharma implicitly, without any

reservations or doubts whatsoever - because adiYen's

Aachaaryaas have said so (a course of action that

adiYen finds to be the easiest of all) - this may be

called the Path of Faith

 

OR

 

(ii) adiYen should find out if the above two are true

by adiYen's own efforts and analysis - this may be

called the Path of Self Inquiry

 

There cannot be a third alternative - either adiYen

believes without question, or adiYen is prepared to

undertake efforts to verify the veracity of the two

cornerstones of Sanaathana Dharma.

 

Path of Faith:

=============

adiYen lives by faith day in and day out:

(i) when adiYen goes to sleep at night, the faith is

that adiYen will wake up the next morning

(ii) when adiYen takes to the road, the faith is that

adiYen will not be targeted by any other motorist and

killed

(iii) when adiYen travels in a taxi, ship, train, or

aeroplane, adiYen trusts the drivers/pilots

implicitly, and believes that these strangers, some of

whom adiYen will sometimes not even see (in a plane,

for example) will safely pilot adiYen to adiYen's

destination

(iv) when adiYen has to see a medical doctor, adiYen

trusts the doctor implicitly to cure (and not

exacerbate) adiYen's illness

 

And so on. Hence adiYen finds that the Path of Faith

is the easiest of all.

 

Assumption in the Path of Faith:

-------------------------------

The caveat for the Path of Faith is:

 

One should believe in our true well-wishers - like our

Aachaaryaas, and not in "godmen" and other charlatans

who offer temporary relief, and long-term suffering.

Where spirituality is concerned, adiYen feels that one

should opt for strategic initiatives in preference to

tactical options.

 

Path of Self Inquiry:

====================

 

This Path is strenuous - involves arduous efforts, has

many pitfalls, and may not be suitable for all.

 

Examination of the tenet of Rebirth:

--

 

In the Path of Self Inquiry, if adiYen had to verify

the Rebirth principle, adiYen could approach it in the

following way:

 

If adiYen could somehow dissociate or separate

adiYen's essence (Sookshma Shareera) from adiYen's

gross body (Sthoola Shareera), then adiYen would know

for CERTAIN that adiYen would continue to exist, even

after adiYen's gross body perished - this would

naturally lead to the conclusion that if adiYen could

occupy adiYen's gross body in this birth, then later

on, adiYen could occupy another gross body - and thus

the principle of Rebirth would be verified.

 

The experience noted in the above paragraph is what

some would call an out-of-body travel experience. It

is said that the Great Aadi Shankaraachaarya left his

body in the safe-keeping of his Shishyaas, and

occupied the body of a king to experience (Kooduvittu

KoodupAidhal), by proxy, Grihasthaashrama.

 

Out-of-body travel also leads to other conclusions by

extension such as: till the "spirit" (one's essence)

occupies another body, it lives in a "spirit-world";

there are embodied and disembodied spirits - meaning

that we are embodied spirits, and other disembodied

spirits could try to enter our body and take control,

just as we entered this current body of ours; there

are good and bad spirits, etc.

 

The dangers associated with out-of-body travel (as

outlined by some Experts) are:

 

(i) One could misuse the gift and invite serious

trouble - it could completely take one off the Path,

and onto a dangerous sidetrack of pain and suffering

(ii) When traveling out-of-body, before one comes back

to one's current body, evil spirits could enter one's

current body

(iii)If not well-versed in out-of-body travel, one may

not be able to come back and occupy one's current body

at all.

 

All said and done, if one does have an out-of-body

experience, one need not fear death, because one would

know for CERTAIN that what dies is the body, and not

the self (Jeevaathma) - we need to realize the truth

of the Rebirth principle and lose our fear of death,

either by direct experience, or by complete Faith in

our Aachaaryaas.

 

Examination of the tenet of Law of Karma:

-------

 

In the Path of Self Inquiry, the Law of Karma may be

verified either by direct experience or by inference.

 

For direct experience, one should develop the power of

intuition (subtle levels of thinking, feeling and

knowing) to be able to link causes and effects in

one's own life - the learned say that meditation of

the right kind will help in this regard. Pitfalls

include pseudo-intuition, sophistical reasoning, etc.

 

The Path of Self Inquiry is thus dangerous for most

people, the Experts say, because most people do not

qualify themselves BEFORE treading this Path.

Qualification would include things like Yama, Niyama,

Shamam, Dhamam, celibacy, etc.

 

For verification of the Law of Karma by inference one

simply has to correlate causes and effects in the

lives of other people. For example:

 

(i) Jesus Christ/Adolf Hitler (cause and effect)

(ii) Vaali in the Raamaayana (cause) and the hunter

who shot an arrow at Lord Krishna towards the end of

the Dwaapara Yuga (effect)

(iii)Parikshith insulting a Rishi (cause) and his

death after a week (effect)

(iv) Mother Seetha insulting LakshmaNa and disobeying

his requests not to cross the lines he had drawn on

the ground (cause) and Her abduction by RaavaNa and

subsequent Agni Pariksha (effect)

 

And so on.

 

---------

 

adiYen,

 

Ashok K

 

 

 

The New Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo.

http://search.

 

 

 

 

Srirangasri-

 

 

 

Your use of is subject to

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sponsor

var lrec_target="_blank";var lrec_URL = new Array();lrec_URL[1] =

"http://rd./M=253924.3294213.4590844.1261774/D=egroupweb/S=1705077013:H\

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Srirangasri-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The New Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo.

 

 

[Guest guest]

Respected devoutees:

 

 

One is really surprised. This is indeed news. Maybe the writer has missed

this somewhere, but can you please give

 

precise details as to where, in which text or discussion etc. the Patanjali

Sutras have been condemned ?

 

The query of the writer assumes significance more so because Patanjali is

none other than the incarnation of

 

Adi Seshan and was expressly designated by Maha Vishnu HIMSELF to go down

to the earth to relieve mankind's woes by :

 

a. teaching grammer / proper speech

 

b. teach medicine for health/healing - ayurveda

 

c. teach Yoga for the mind

 

Yoga existed much much before Patanjali except that HE came down and

formally codified it in the form of Sutras for future generations to

follow.

 

It is possible Sankya could have been refuted but this too would be more in

the nature of scholarly discourse rather than an outright rejection of a

system. Both Sankya and Yoga, which is derived from Sankya do not talk of

GOD as such and also do not name any diety, person,entity.

 

Om Tat Sat

Tat tvam asi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vasudevan VK

<vasuchak (AT) (DOT)

s.ramachandran, Ashok Krishnamurthy

com> <akrishna_24

cc:

Srirangasri

05/14/03 11:10 Re: An

Inquiry into some fundamental

AM truths of Sanaathana Dharma

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shrimathey Nigamaantha Maha Deshikaaya Namaha

Dear Bhagavatas,

Pl. correct me if I am wrong but I think that Swami Desika has condemned

the Sankhya philosophy as well as Patanjali. Any views on this would be

appreciated.

Adiyen Ramanuja Dasan.

 

s.ramachandran wrote:

 

 

 

One would strongly recommend, if at all you are absolutely serious about

this whole business,

you should do some preliminary reading of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.

 

The Great author could have an answer to some if not all of your

doubts/queries.  To give a glimpse: Most of us - 99.99% of mortals lead a

casual, thougtless living and we call this life etc.

 

There are few exceptions - the balance 0.01% - who apart from Bhakti,

intense interest and devoution and more importantly, sustained long term

practice of some of the Yogic principles  come to stage where they are

poised for self-enquiry.

 

Critical to the part of the sustained long term practice is :Pranayama

which is a bridge between the outer and inner or (Antaranga) Yoga. The

deeper areas of Yoga are Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana.

 

As one becomes proficient in Pranayama, one slowly starts discriminating

i.e. called Viveka Khyati.

 

Please do not ask discriminate what/when/who? but it is simply discriminate

what is and what is not. In most of these cases, at this stage most of the

issues/questions/doubts you have raised will get perhaps resolved in such a

manner that the question/doubt itself might seem irrelevant.

 

The extraordinary Patanjli has very very scientifically and logically laid

down the entire picture devoid of subjective references.  Nothing

mysterious.

 

If you are more serious, maybe you should go through Iswarakrishna's Sankya

Karika which is the Sankhya philosophy which forms the basis for the Yoga

Sutras.

 

The key to getting appropriate answers to your questions/doubts is :

Action.  Your daily life has to be critically reviewed by you constantly.

You have to be vigilant always.  Each smallest act, talk, thought has to be

evaluated to ensure that they are compliant with the strict standards of

Yama, Niyama and so on.

 

Does this mean the writer is confirming that all answers can be found in

the books/texts/works of Patanjli and Samkya Karika? No.  The preliminary

reading will perhaps serve as a guidepost. You have to put things in

practice without expecting any results and wait and watch

 

The only other alternative you have is the path of faith, which also

incidentally is covered grandly by the Yoga Sutras.

The topic of karma, re-birth etc. are all dealt and tied up logically in

the Sutras.

 

As regards your primary query :why should you not steal, do bad things etc.

is it a enquiry or are you seeking permission from these fora?  All one can

say in keeping with the sacred Sayings of the great Patanjali Sutras

"follow the Guru" (your acharaya).

 

If HE asks you to steal, please go ahead.

 

Lastly, one humble request. Pardon this writer, if he has misunderstood.

But one hopes you are doing the Nitya Karma without let? If yes you are at

least eligible to harbour such doubts/questions as above, if not your

questions/doubts are mere intellectual churnings of a mind filled with

limited knowledge. No hurt or insult intended honestly

 

Om tat Sat

Tat tvam asi

 

 

 

 

 

Ashok                                                                           \

    

 

                      Krishnamurthy            To:

Srirangasri,

                      <akrishna_24@yah

Oppiliappan

                      oo.com>

cc:

                                               An

Inquiry into some fundamental

                      05/11/03 11:01           truths of Sanaathana

Dharma

 

AM                                                                              \

    

 

 

 

 

 

adiYen would like to share some thoughts with all

regarding two fundamental pillars of our religion [our

religion has been dubbed as "Hinduism" but truly

should be called Sanaathana Dharma (Eternal

religion)].

 

adiYen would like to pose to adiYen a question:

 

Question:

--------

Why should adiYen do good, be good (exhibit kindness,

charity, etc.) and not commit sin (like not killing

others, stealing, etc.)?

 

Answer:

------

Our Aachaaryaas repeatedly stress the following two

tenets of Sanaathana Dharma:

 

1.  Law of Karma - "what goes around comes around"

2.  Rebirth      - "life after death of the body, and

reincarnation of the Jeevaathma or soul"

 

Either: (i) adiYen should believe in the above two

pillars of Sanaathana Dharma implicitly, without any

reservations or doubts whatsoever - because adiYen's

Aachaaryaas have said so (a course of action that

adiYen finds to be the easiest of all) - this may be

called the Path of Faith

 

    OR

 

(ii) adiYen should find out if the above two are true

by adiYen's own efforts and analysis - this may be

called the Path of Self Inquiry

 

There cannot be a third alternative - either adiYen

believes without question, or adiYen is prepared to

undertake efforts to verify the veracity of the two

cornerstones of Sanaathana Dharma.

 

Path of Faith:

=============

adiYen lives by faith day in and day out:

(i)  when adiYen goes to sleep at night, the faith is

that adiYen will wake up the next morning

(ii) when adiYen takes to the road, the faith is that

adiYen will not be targeted by any other motorist and

killed

(iii) when adiYen travels in a taxi, ship, train, or

aeroplane, adiYen trusts the drivers/pilots

implicitly, and believes that these strangers, some of

whom adiYen will sometimes not even see (in a plane,

for example) will safely pilot adiYen to adiYen's

destination

(iv) when adiYen has to see a medical doctor, adiYen

trusts the doctor implicitly to cure (and not

exacerbate) adiYen's illness

 

And so on.  Hence adiYen finds that the Path of Faith

is the easiest of all.

 

Assumption in the Path of Faith:

-------------------------------

The caveat for the Path of Faith is:

 

One should believe in our true well-wishers - like our

Aachaaryaas, and not in "godmen" and other charlatans

who offer temporary relief, and long-term suffering.

Where spirituality is concerned, adiYen feels that one

should opt for strategic initiatives in preference to

tactical options.

 

Path of Self Inquiry:

====================

 

This Path is strenuous - involves arduous efforts, has

many pitfalls, and may not be suitable for all.

 

Examination of the tenet of Rebirth:

--

 

In the Path of Self Inquiry, if adiYen had to verify

the Rebirth principle, adiYen could approach it in the

following way:

 

If adiYen could somehow dissociate or separate

adiYen's essence (Sookshma Shareera) from adiYen's

gross body (Sthoola Shareera), then adiYen would know

for CERTAIN that adiYen would continue to exist, even

after adiYen's gross body perished - this would

naturally lead to the conclusion that if adiYen could

occupy adiYen's gross body in this birth, then later

on, adiYen could occupy another gross body - and thus

the principle of Rebirth would be verified.

 

The experience noted in the above paragraph is what

some would call an out-of-body travel experience.  It

is said that the Great Aadi Shankaraachaarya left his

body in the safe-keeping of his Shishyaas, and

occupied the body of a king to experience (Kooduvittu

KoodupAidhal), by proxy, Grihasthaashrama.

 

Out-of-body travel also leads to other conclusions by

extension such as: till the "spirit" (one's essence)

occupies another body, it lives in a "spirit-world";

there are embodied and disembodied spirits - meaning

that we are embodied spirits, and other disembodied

spirits could try to enter our body and take control,

just as we entered this current body of ours; there

are good and bad spirits, etc.

 

The dangers associated with out-of-body travel (as

outlined by some Experts) are:

 

(i)  One could misuse the gift and invite serious

trouble - it could completely take one off the Path,

and onto a dangerous sidetrack of pain and suffering

(ii) When traveling out-of-body, before one comes back

to one's current body, evil spirits could enter one's

current body

(iii)If not well-versed in out-of-body travel, one may

not be able to come back and occupy one's current body

at all.

 

All said and done, if one does have an out-of-body

experience, one need not fear death, because one would

know for CERTAIN that what dies is the body, and not

the self (Jeevaathma) - we need to realize the truth

of the Rebirth principle and lose our fear of death,

either by direct experience, or by complete Faith in

our Aachaaryaas.

 

Examination of the tenet of Law of Karma:

-------

 

In the Path of Self Inquiry, the Law of Karma may be

verified either by direct experience or by inference.

 

For direct experience, one should develop the power of

intuition (subtle levels of thinking, feeling and

knowing) to be able to link causes and effects in

one's own life - the learned say that meditation of

the right kind will help in this regard.  Pitfalls

include pseudo-intuition, sophistical reasoning, etc.

 

The Path of Self Inquiry is thus dangerous for most

people, the Experts say, because most people do not

qualify themselves BEFORE treading this Path.

Qualification would include things like Yama, Niyama,

Shamam, Dhamam, celibacy, etc.

 

For verification of the Law of Karma by inference one

simply has to correlate causes and effects in the

lives of other people.  For example:

 

(i)  Jesus Christ/Adolf Hitler (cause and effect)

(ii) Vaali in the Raamaayana (cause) and the hunter

who shot an arrow at Lord Krishna towards the end of

the Dwaapara Yuga (effect)

(iii)Parikshith insulting a Rishi (cause) and his

death after a week (effect)

(iv) Mother Seetha insulting LakshmaNa and disobeying

his requests not to cross the lines he had drawn on

the ground (cause) and Her abduction by RaavaNa and

subsequent Agni Pariksha (effect)

 

And so on.

 

---------

 

adiYen,

 

Ashok K

 

 

 

The New Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo.

http://search.

 

 

 

 

Srirangasri-

 

 

 

Your use of is subject to

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sponsor

 

 

 

 

 

 

[iMAGE]

 

 

 

 

Srirangasri-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The New Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo.

[Guest guest]

, s.ramachandran@h... wrote:

>

>

> It is possible Sankya could have been refuted but this too would

be more in

> the nature of scholarly discourse rather than an outright

rejection of a

> system. Both Sankya and Yoga, which is derived from Sankya do not

talk of

> GOD as such and also do not name any diety, person,entity.

 

 

 

While there are more detailed and systematic refutation of Sankhya

system elsewhere, Swami Sri Desikan devotes two verses in Para-Mada-

Bhangam prabhandham (#36 and #37) to severely criticize it.

Swami says in #36,

 

"pakkaNa veeNar pazham pakattai pazhudhAkkuvamE"

 

Here, Swami compares Sankhya-vAdam to the babble coming out the

foolish and uneducated. He concludes verse #36 with a grand

declaration that he will trash their (SankhyavAdees) gaudy

boastfulness.

 

In verse #37 Swami says only utter ruin awaits those who

to the Sankhya view, which we roundly reject.

 

"nAsam aladu ilai kANum .... nAm isaiyA sAnkiyatthai nAduvArkkE"

 

-- Dileepan

[Guest guest]

JAI RAMANUJA,

PATANJALI'S sutras do talk about of GOD in the sutra ISHVARA

PRANIDHANAAT(SURRENDER TO LORD).

DASAN

 

On Wed, 14 May 2003 s.ramachandran wrote :

>

>

>

>

>

>Respected devoutees:

>

>

>One is really surprised. This is indeed news. Maybe the writer

>has missed

>this somewhere, but can you please give

>

>precise details as to where, in which text or discussion etc. the

>Patanjali

>Sutras have been condemned ?

>

>The query of the writer assumes significance more so because

>Patanjali is

>none other than the incarnation of

>

>Adi Seshan and was expressly designated by Maha Vishnu HIMSELF to

>go down

>to the earth to relieve mankind's woes by :

>

>a. teaching grammer / proper speech

>

>b. teach medicine for health/healing - ayurveda

>

>c. teach Yoga for the mind

>

>Yoga existed much much before Patanjali except that HE came down

>and

>formally codified it in the form of Sutras for future generations

>to

>follow.

>

>It is possible Sankya could have been refuted but this too would

>be more in

>the nature of scholarly discourse rather than an outright

>rejection of a

>system. Both Sankya and Yoga, which is derived from Sankya do

>not talk of

>GOD as such and also do not name any diety, person,entity.

>

>Om Tat Sat

>Tat tvam asi

>

>

>

Vasudevan VK

> <vasuchak (AT) (DOT) To:

>s.ramachandran, Ashok Krishnamurthy

> com>

><akrishna_24

> cc:

>Srirangasri

> 05/14/03 11:10 Re:

> An Inquiry into some fundamental

> AM truths of

>Sanaathana Dharma

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>Shrimathey Nigamaantha Maha Deshikaaya Namaha

>Dear Bhagavatas,

>Pl. correct me if I am wrong but I think that Swami Desika has

>condemned

>the Sankhya philosophy as well as Patanjali. Any views on this

>would be

>appreciated.

>Adiyen Ramanuja Dasan.

>

>s.ramachandran wrote:

>

>

>

>One would strongly recommend, if at all you are absolutely

>serious about

>this whole business,

>you should do some preliminary reading of the Yoga Sutras of

>Patanjali.

>

>The Great author could have an answer to some if not all of

>your

>doubts/queries.  To give a glimpse: Most of us - 99.99% of

>mortals lead a

>casual, thougtless living and we call this life etc.

>

>There are few exceptions - the balance 0.01% - who apart from

>Bhakti,

>intense interest and devoution and more importantly, sustained

>long term

>practice of some of the Yogic principles  come to stage where

>they are

>poised for self-enquiry.

>

>Critical to the part of the sustained long term practice is

>:Pranayama

>which is a bridge between the outer and inner or (Antaranga)

>Yoga. The

>deeper areas of Yoga are Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana.

>

>As one becomes proficient in Pranayama, one slowly starts

>discriminating

>i.e. called Viveka Khyati.

>

>Please do not ask discriminate what/when/who? but it is simply

>discriminate

>what is and what is not. In most of these cases, at this stage

>most of the

>issues/questions/doubts you have raised will get perhaps resolved

>in such a

>manner that the question/doubt itself might seem irrelevant.

>

>The extraordinary Patanjli has very very scientifically and

>logically laid

>down the entire picture devoid of subjective references. 

>Nothing

>mysterious.

>

>If you are more serious, maybe you should go through

>Iswarakrishna's Sankya

>Karika which is the Sankhya philosophy which forms the basis for

>the Yoga

>Sutras.

>

>The key to getting appropriate answers to your questions/doubts

>is :

>Action.  Your daily life has to be critically reviewed by you

>constantly.

>You have to be vigilant always.  Each smallest act, talk, thought

>has to be

>evaluated to ensure that they are compliant with the strict

>standards of

>Yama, Niyama and so on.

>

>Does this mean the writer is confirming that all answers can be

>found in

>the books/texts/works of Patanjli and Samkya Karika? No.  The

>preliminary

>reading will perhaps serve as a guidepost. You have to put things

>in

>practice without expecting any results and wait and watch

>

>The only other alternative you have is the path of faith, which

>also

>incidentally is covered grandly by the Yoga Sutras.

>The topic of karma, re-birth etc. are all dealt and tied up

>logically in

>the Sutras.

>

>As regards your primary query :why should you not steal, do bad

>things etc.

>is it a enquiry or are you seeking permission from these fora? 

>All one can

>say in keeping with the sacred Sayings of the great Patanjali

>Sutras

>"follow the Guru" (your acharaya).

>

>If HE asks you to steal, please go ahead.

>

>Lastly, one humble request. Pardon this writer, if he has

>misunderstood.

>But one hopes you are doing the Nitya Karma without let? If yes

>you are at

>least eligible to harbour such doubts/questions as above, if not

>your

>questions/doubts are mere intellectual churnings of a mind filled

>with

>limited knowledge. No hurt or insult intended honestly

>

>Om tat Sat

>Tat tvam asi

>

>

>

>

>

>Ashok

>

>                       Krishnamurthy            To:

>Srirangasri,

>                       <akrishna_24@yah

>Oppiliappan

>                       oo.com>

>cc:

>                                                Subject:

> An

>Inquiry into some fundamental

>                       05/11/03 11:01           truths of

>Sanaathana

>Dharma

>

>AM

>

>

>

>

>

>adiYen would like to share some thoughts with all

>regarding two fundamental pillars of our religion [our

>religion has been dubbed as "Hinduism" but truly

>should be called Sanaathana Dharma (Eternal

>religion)].

>

>adiYen would like to pose to adiYen a question:

>

>Question:

>--------

>Why should adiYen do good, be good (exhibit kindness,

>charity, etc.) and not commit sin (like not killing

>others, stealing, etc.)?

>

>Answer:

>------

>Our Aachaaryaas repeatedly stress the following two

>tenets of Sanaathana Dharma:

>

>1.  Law of Karma - "what goes around comes around"

>2.  Rebirth      - "life after death of the body, and

>reincarnation of the Jeevaathma or soul"

>

>Either: (i) adiYen should believe in the above two

>pillars of Sanaathana Dharma implicitly, without any

>reservations or doubts whatsoever - because adiYen's

>Aachaaryaas have said so (a course of action that

>adiYen finds to be the easiest of all) - this may be

>called the Path of Faith

>

>     OR

>

>(ii) adiYen should find out if the above two are true

>by adiYen's own efforts and analysis - this may be

>called the Path of Self Inquiry

>

>There cannot be a third alternative - either adiYen

>believes without question, or adiYen is prepared to

>undertake efforts to verify the veracity of the two

>cornerstones of Sanaathana Dharma.

>

>Path of Faith:

>=============

>adiYen lives by faith day in and day out:

>(i)  when adiYen goes to sleep at night, the faith is

>that adiYen will wake up the next morning

>(ii) when adiYen takes to the road, the faith is that

>adiYen will not be targeted by any other motorist and

>killed

>(iii) when adiYen travels in a taxi, ship, train, or

>aeroplane, adiYen trusts the drivers/pilots

>implicitly, and believes that these strangers, some of

>whom adiYen will sometimes not even see (in a plane,

>for example) will safely pilot adiYen to adiYen's

>destination

>(iv) when adiYen has to see a medical doctor, adiYen

>trusts the doctor implicitly to cure (and not

>exacerbate) adiYen's illness

>

>And so on.  Hence adiYen finds that the Path of Faith

>is the easiest of all.

>

>Assumption in the Path of Faith:

>-------------------------------

>The caveat for the Path of Faith is:

>

>One should believe in our true well-wishers - like our

>Aachaaryaas, and not in "godmen" and other charlatans

>who offer temporary relief, and long-term suffering.

>Where spirituality is concerned, adiYen feels that one

>should opt for strategic initiatives in preference to

>tactical options.

>

>Path of Self Inquiry:

>====================

>

>This Path is strenuous - involves arduous efforts, has

>many pitfalls, and may not be suitable for all.

>

>Examination of the tenet of Rebirth:

>--

>

>In the Path of Self Inquiry, if adiYen had to verify

>the Rebirth principle, adiYen could approach it in the

>following way:

>

>If adiYen could somehow dissociate or separate

>adiYen's essence (Sookshma Shareera) from adiYen's

>gross body (Sthoola Shareera), then adiYen would know

>for CERTAIN that adiYen would continue to exist, even

>after adiYen's gross body perished - this would

>naturally lead to the conclusion that if adiYen could

>occupy adiYen's gross body in this birth, then later

>on, adiYen could occupy another gross body - and thus

>the principle of Rebirth would be verified.

>

>The experience noted in the above paragraph is what

>some would call an out-of-body travel experience.  It

>is said that the Great Aadi Shankaraachaarya left his

>body in the safe-keeping of his Shishyaas, and

>occupied the body of a king to experience (Kooduvittu

>KoodupAidhal), by proxy, Grihasthaashrama.

>

>Out-of-body travel also leads to other conclusions by

>extension such as: till the "spirit" (one's essence)

>occupies another body, it lives in a "spirit-world";

>there are embodied and disembodied spirits - meaning

>that we are embodied spirits, and other disembodied

>spirits could try to enter our body and take control,

>just as we entered this current body of ours; there

>are good and bad spirits, etc.

>

>The dangers associated with out-of-body travel (as

>outlined by some Experts) are:

>

>(i)  One could misuse the gift and invite serious

>trouble - it could completely take one off the Path,

>and onto a dangerous sidetrack of pain and suffering

>(ii) When traveling out-of-body, before one comes back

>to one's current body, evil spirits could enter one's

>current body

>(iii)If not well-versed in out-of-body travel, one may

>not be able to come back and occupy one's current body

>at all.

>

>All said and done, if one does have an out-of-body

>experience, one need not fear death, because one would

>know for CERTAIN that what dies is the body, and not

>the self (Jeevaathma) - we need to realize the truth

>of the Rebirth principle and lose our fear of death,

>either by direct experience, or by complete Faith in

>our Aachaaryaas.

>

>Examination of the tenet of Law of Karma:

>-------

>

>In the Path of Self Inquiry, the Law of Karma may be

>verified either by direct experience or by inference.

>

>For direct experience, one should develop the power of

>intuition (subtle levels of thinking, feeling and

>knowing) to be able to link causes and effects in

>one's own life - the learned say that meditation of

>the right kind will help in this regard.  Pitfalls

>include pseudo-intuition, sophistical reasoning, etc.

>

>The Path of Self Inquiry is thus dangerous for most

>people, the Experts say, because most people do not

>qualify themselves BEFORE treading this Path.

>Qualification would include things like Yama, Niyama,

>Shamam, Dhamam, celibacy, etc.

>

>For verification of the Law of Karma by inference one

>simply has to correlate causes and effects in the

>lives of other people.  For example:

>

>(i)  Jesus Christ/Adolf Hitler (cause and effect)

>(ii) Vaali in the Raamaayana (cause) and the hunter

>who shot an arrow at Lord Krishna towards the end of

>the Dwaapara Yuga (effect)

>(iii)Parikshith insulting a Rishi (cause) and his

>death after a week (effect)

>(iv) Mother Seetha insulting LakshmaNa and disobeying

>his requests not to cross the lines he had drawn on

>the ground (cause) and Her abduction by RaavaNa and

>subsequent Agni Pariksha (effect)

>

>And so on.

>

>---------

>

>adiYen,

>

>Ashok K

>

>

>

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