VEDIC DHARMA

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Thu, 24 Feb 2005 10:52:23 -0000

"rx_rajeev" rx_rajeev

jayamma69

Fwd: Vedic Dharma

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, Rajeev <rx_rajeev> wrote:

 

 

 

Hare Krishna. Pranam to all Vaishnavas,

 

Vedic Dharma

 

Sanatana Dharma (Righteousness for ever `of' that which has no

beginning or

end), is a truthful way of life. It basically started with

Sruti "that which is heard". The master of vedic age called Rishis,

heard eternal truths in their heart and they taught their disciples

orally, by transfer of thoughts which were later compiled as

Scriptures. Saint Chadrasekhara Saraswati (former Sankaracharya of

Kanchi Mutt) had cured the chronic ailment of a rich devotee, just by

making him distribute free of cost several copies of scriptures like

Bhagavatam and Ramayanam to poor devotees.

 

Vedic rituals

 

For performing vedic rituals (with a high fidelity to scriptural

injection and tradition, and with deep devotion , earnestness and

application), `satwic' persons with vast knowledge and deep devotion

are required. The Scriptures have entrusted Brahmanas, with this duty.

 

Bhagavan Krishna says in Gita, chapter 17, sloka 23 & 24 :

 

" It is said that om, tat and sat are the three words used to

indicate brahma, the

Supreme Absolute Reality. Brahmanas, the Vedas and Yajnas were

originally

created from these three words. Therefore, dedicated followers of the

Vedas

always commence the performance of sacrifices, charities, austerities

and

activities prescribed in scriptures by uttering the sacred syllable

om. "

 

Sri Krishna defines `Brahmanas' in Gita, chapter 18, sloka 42 :

 

" Control of the mind and senses, penance, purity, tolerance,

simplicity, knowledge of the self and of bhajana and firm faith and

realization in sastra, are the characteristic qualities and duties

(karma) of the brahmanas born of their own natures " .

 

The fact that Brahmanas have helped immensely the task of protecting

the vedic dharma as the upholders and preachers of it has to be

admitted by all .

 

Unfortunately in this difficult age 'Kali Yuga', even virtuous

persons are tempted by materialism to deviate from their `prescribed

duties'. The widespread disrespect of Brahmanas has forced many of

them to give up vedic path and look for other avenues. This

phenomenon has gradually deteriorated vedic faith thereby

depriving `divine grace ` to it's followers. Saint Chandrasekharara

Sarasvathi strongly advised the believers of `Santana Dharma' to

fulfil their obligations towards `Devtas' by offering the required

vedic rituals (to be performed by Brahmanas) without fail . He

confirmed that a devotee who makes such an offering gets it's benefit

regardless of correctness on the part of the Priest.

 

Bhagavan Krishna says in Gita , Chapter 3, Slokas 11,12 &13 :

 

"May you please the devatas by this yajna, and may they please you in

turn by granting your desired fruits. Satisfying one another in this

way you will attain the supreme auspicious goal. Being pleased by

your yajna, the devatas will award you your desired goals. Therefore

a person who enjoys the ingredients given by the devatas, without

first offering them to the devatas, is certainly a thief. Saintly

persons who accept the remnants of yajna become free from sin, but

those who cook grains and other foodstuffs for their own sake are

sinful, and certainly partake of sin."

 

The above logic is also applicable to religious practices like

marriages. Such functions strengthen human relations and help

distribution of wealth in the society, by way of direct and

indirect assistance to several needy people.

 

Spiritual Enlightenment

 

At the time of death, the body dies but the soul never dies. The soul

passes from one body to another after the death, like a body changes

clothes, the soul goes on taking endless number of bodies; until it

pays off all the karmas attached to the soul. The path the soul takes

is decided by the past actions, popularly known as "Karmas". After

death the soul seeks an ideal body to be born again. So if one is

born rich or poor - it is because of his actions in previous life.

Thus a man continues the journey of life and death with karmas

attached to it from one life to another by undergoing pain or

pleasure. The different methods of god realization provide an easy

way to put an end to the drama. Then the individual soul, which is

called "Jeeva" (a finite form of the supreme), will realize the

Supreme Godhead. This `self realization' is called Enlightenment.

 

Bhagavan Krishna confirms in Gita , Chapter 18, Slokas 65 & 66 :

 

"Offer your mind to Me ; become My bhakta by hearing and chanting,

etc, about My names, forms, qualities and pastimes ; worship Me and

offer obeisances to Me. In this way, you will certainly come to Me. I

promise you this truthfully because you are very dear to Me.

Completely abandoning all bodily and mental dharma, such as varna and

asrama, fully surrender to Me alone. I shall liberate you from all

reactions to your sins. Do not grieve."

 

In order to reach enlightenment, a human being could adopt different

methods of God realization which are as follows -

 

Karma Yoga – It is a system of attaining freedom through selfless

actions. The word "Karma" means "to do", thus Karma means work. The

Karmas which we do dictate our past, present and future. An

individual should engage himself in good karmas.

Jnana Yoga – It is a system of reaching enlightenment by adopting the

path of knowledge. Bhakti Yoga – Bhakti Yoga comes from the

word "Bhaj" which means "to be attached to". Through this the devotee

goes for total surrender to the supreme God and in this process a

total dissolution of "I" or "Ego" takes place.

 

Conclusion

 

`Eternal truths' of `Sanatana Dharma' can not be compromised to

accommodate those hypocritical "liberal views" of modern, `man-made'

religions. All vedic followers must be aware of the following decree

of Lord Krishna , ( Gita, Chapter 4, Sloka 40) :

 

ajnas casraddadhanas ca / samsayatma vinasyati

nayam loko 'sti na paro / na sukham samsayatmanah

 

( Those who are ignorant, faithless and of a doubting nature are

ruined. For the doubting person, there is happiness neither in this

world nor in the next. )

 

 

 

OM NAMO BHAGAVATE VASUDEVAYA!!!

 

SriKrishnaDasa Rajeev

 

----

--

 

Original Message :

Kalpana Subramanian <kalpana_arvind1> wrote:

 

Has anyone in the group done any research on the origin of the sect -

 

brahmins? Obviously in the beginning of the world, people were not

 

born brahmins.. The scholars were considered the brahmins, the

 

kings/warriors kshatriyas, the merchants vaishyas and the other

 

menial workers who really did the majority of the hard physical work

 

were considered (unfairly) as the 'low-caste'.. So how did this

 

become so deep-rooted that all these sub-sects have to become their

 

own factions, and keep up all the millions of rituals and try to be

 

different in some way from every other sub-group?? How is this kind

 

of partitioned system going to promote unity among the people..??

 

 

 

One of my colleagues at work in the US asked me- if the caste system

 

were really based on trade/skill, does a learned low-caste man get

 

promoted to 'brahminism'?? Logical question, and I felt ridiculous to

 

say that was no reason enough to 'become' a brahmin and actually

 

there was no way anyone could really be converted into brahminism..

 

which really boils down to the fact that there is really nothing that

 

dilineates a brahmin from the rest of the world..one has to lead a

 

good life and follow good values and principles irrespective of which

 

club one belongs to.. I suppose in the old ages, brahmins were noted

 

for their knowledge of the scriptures/sanskrit, wisdom, soft-nature

 

and orthodoxy/vegetarianism.. Today there is really no such quality

 

that truly sets a brahmin apart from the rest.. many modern brahmins

 

are non-vegetarians (bengali brahmins have always been non-

 

vegetarians, so I wonder what the big deal is with the rest of the

 

brahmins not eating meat.. anyways..) Today brahmins

 

do business, and are in the army, there are good ones and corrupt

 

ones like in any other religion.... so should we not re-visit the

 

very basis of our existence or rather, the existence of the group

 

called 'brahmins'.. exactly who are we??

 

 

 

Any further thoughts on this would be helpful..

 

Also, I personally feel there is no need to form groups specially for

 

iyers/iyengars/nadars or whatever.. the kinds of messages in such

grps

 

that I read seem to be very generic and mostly applicable to anyone..

 

What's the purpose - to become more narrow-minded and know only what

brahims do??

 

Why not learn abt how other people across the world do things very

 

well?? Think outside the box..I personally think we should get away

 

from such factions and clannish thinking and be more open to other

 

races/cultures/'so-called religions.. we need to remember that in the

 

beginning there was only one man and one woman on the earth who

 

produced all the generations that came later.. and no-one knows if

 

that person was hindu/muslim/iyer or whatever..

 

 

 

Down the ages, we have conveniently kept some traditions and

 

forgotten some other basic ones.. if we want to celebrate a wedding

 

as if we lived abt 300 years ago (jaanavasam on the road/kaasi

 

yathrai, and invite the whole town to the wedding, etc.) we need to

 

go back and ride in bullock carts instead and forget about air-

 

conditioning, etc... why get modern only for some conveniences??

 

 

 

anyways, there is no end to this line of thought, so I will stop

 

here. But the thought really irks me that we constantly complain

 

about the lack of unity in our country and yet we promote our own

 

rules and dogmas so staunchly and rigidly within each and every sub-

 

sect as if it were the only one that ever existed!!

 

 

 

My argument is on a different plane and I am questioning the

 

fact that the peoples of the world are so divided and narrowly

 

focused on their own little worlds that they have lost focus of the

 

whole picture.. If you think about it, the attititude should be that

 

the whole world is one family..

 

 

 

/Kalpana

 

 

 

 

 

ALL-NEW Messenger - all new features - even more fun!

--- End forwarded message ---

[Guest guest]

Vedic Dharma

Sanatana Dharma (Righteousness for ever `of' that which has no beginning or

end), is a truthful way of life. It basically started with Sruti "that which is

heard". The master of vedic age called Rishis, heard eternal truths in their

heart and they taught their disciples orally, by transfer of thoughts which

were later compiled as Scriptures. Saint Chadrasekhara Saraswati (former

Sankaracharya of Kanchi Mutt) had cured the chronic ailment of a rich devotee,

just bymaking him distribute free of cost several copies of scriptures like

Bhagavatam and Ramayanam to poor devotees.Vedic ritualsFor performing vedic

rituals (with a high fidelity to scriptural injection and tradition, and with

deep devotion , earnestness and application), `satwic' persons with vast

knowledge and deep devotion are required. The Scriptures have entrusted

Brahmanas, with this duty.Bhagavan Krishna says in Gita, chapter

17, sloka 23 & 24 :" It is said that om, tat and sat are the three words used

to indicate brahma, the Supreme Absolute Reality. Brahmanas, the Vedas and

Yajnas were originally created from these three words. Therefore, dedicated

followers of the Vedas always commence the performance of sacrifices,

charities, austerities and activities prescribed in scriptures by uttering the

sacred syllable om. "Sri Krishna defines `Brahmanas' in Gita, chapter 18,

sloka 42 :" Control of the mind and senses, penance, purity, tolerance,

simplicity, knowledge of the self and of bhajana and firm faith and realization

in sastra, are the characteristic qualities and duties (karma) of the brahmanas

born of their own natures " . The fact that Brahmanas have helped immensely the

task of protecting the vedic dharma as the upholders and preachers of it has to

be admitted by all .Unfortunately in this difficult age

'Kali Yuga', even virtuous persons are tempted by materialism to deviate from

their `prescribed duties'. The widespread disrespect of Brahmanas has forced

many of them to give up vedic path and look for other avenues. This phenomenon

has gradually deteriorated vedic faith thereby depriving `divine grace ` to

it's followers. Saint handrasekhararaSarasvathi strongly advised the believers

of `Santana Dharma' to fulfil their obligations towards `Devtas' by offering

the required vedic rituals (to be performed by Brahmanas) without fail .

Heconfirmed that a devotee who makes such an offering gets it's benefit

regardless of correctness on the part of the Priest.Bhagavan Krishna says in

Gita , Chapter 3, Slokas 11,12 &13 :"May you please the devatas by this yajna,

and may they please you in turn by granting your desired fruits. Satisfying one

another in this way you will attain the supreme auspicious goal. Being pleased

by

your yajna, the devatas will award you your desired goals. Thereforea person who

enjoys the ingredients given by the devatas, without first offering them to the

devatas, is certainly a thief. Saintly persons who accept the remnants of yajna

become free from sin, but those who cook grains and other foodstuffs for their

own sake are sinful, and certainly partake of sin."The above logic is also

applicable to religious practices like marriages. Such functions strengthen

human relations and help distribution of wealth in the society, by way of

direct andindirect assistance to several needy people.Spiritual EnlightenmentAt

the time of death, the body dies but the soul never dies. The soul passes from

one body to another after the death, like a body changes clothes, the soul goes

on taking endless number of bodies; until it pays off all the karmas attached to

the soul. The path the soul takesis decided by the past

actions, popularly known as "Karmas". After death the soul seeks an ideal body

to be born again. So if one is born rich or poor - it is because of his actions

in previous life. Thus a man continues the journey of life and death with

karmas attached to it from one life to another by undergoing pain or pleasure.

The different methods of god realization provide an easy way to put an end to

the drama. Then the individual soul, which is called "Jeeva" (a finite form of

the supreme), will realize the Supreme Godhead. This `self realization' is

called Enlightenment.Bhagavan Krishna confirms in Gita , Chapter 18, Slokas 65

& 66 :"Offer your mind to Me ; become My bhakta by hearing and chanting, etc,

about My names, forms, qualities and pastimes ; worship Me and offer obeisances

to Me. In this way, you will certainly come to Me. I promise you this truthfully

because you are very dear to Me. Completely abandoning all bodily and

mental dharma, such as varna and asrama, fully surrender to Me alone. I shall

liberate you from all reactions to your sins. Do not grieve."In order to reach

enlightenment, a human being could adopt different methods of God realization

which are as follows -Karma Yoga – It is a system of attaining freedom through

selfless actions. The word "Karma" means "to do", thus Karma means work. The

Karmas which we do dictate our past, present and future. An individual should

engage himself in good karmas. Jnana Yoga – It is a system of reaching

enlightenment by adopting the path of knowledge.

Bhakti Yoga – Bhakti Yoga comes from the word "Bhaj" which means "to be attached

to". Through this the devotee goes for total surrender to the supreme God and in

this process atotal dissolution of "I" or "Ego" takes place.Conclusion`Eternal

truths' of `Sanatana Dharma' can not be compromised to accommodate those

hypocritical "liberal views" of modern, `man-made' religions. All vedic

followers must be aware of the following decree of Lord Krishna , ( Gita,

Chapter 4, Sloka 40) :

ajnas casraddadhanas ca / samsayatma vinasyatinayam loko 'sti na paro / na

sukham samsayatmanah( Those who are ignorant, faithless and of a doubting

nature areruined. For the doubting person, there is happiness neither in

thisworld nor in the next. )OM NAMO BHAGAVATE VASUDEVAYA!!!

SriKrishnaDasa

Rajeev---------------------------Original

Message :Kalpana Subramanian <kalpana_arvind1> wrote:Has anyone in the

group done any research on the origin of the sect -brahmins? Obviously in the

beginning of the world, people were notborn brahmins.. The scholars were

considered the brahmins, thekings/warriors kshatriyas, the merchants vaishyas

and the othermenial workers who really did the majority of the hard physical

workwere considered (unfairly) as the 'low-caste'.. So how did thisbecome so

deep-rooted that all these sub-sects have to become theirown factions, and keep

up all the millions of rituals and try to bedifferent in some way from every

other sub-group?? How is this kindof partitioned system going to promote unity

among the

people..??One of my colleagues at work in the US asked me- if the caste

systemwere really based on trade/skill, does a learned low-caste man

getpromoted to 'brahminism'?? Logical question, and I felt ridiculous tosay

that was no reason enough to 'become' a brahmin and actuallythere was no way

anyone could really be converted into brahminism..which really boils down to

the fact that there is really nothing thatdilineates a brahmin from the rest of

the world..one has to lead agood life and follow good values and principles

irrespective of whichclub one belongs to.. I suppose in the old ages, brahmins

were notedfor their knowledge of the scriptures/sanskrit, wisdom,

soft-natureand orthodoxy/vegetarianism.. Today there is really no such

qualitythat truly sets a brahmin apart from the rest.. many modern brahminsare

non-vegetarians (bengali brahmins have always been

non-vegetarians, so I wonder what the big deal is with the rest of thebrahmins

not eating meat.. anyways..) Today brahminsdo business, and are in the army,

there are good ones and corruptones like in any other religion.... so should we

not re-visit thevery basis of our existence or rather, the existence of the

groupcalled 'brahmins'.. exactly who are we??Any further thoughts on this would

be helpful..Also, I personally feel there is no need to form groups specially

foriyers/iyengars/nadars or whatever.. the kinds of messages in suchgrpsthat I

read seem to be very generic and mostly applicable to anyone..What's the

purpose - to become more narrow-minded and know only whatbrahims do??Why not

learn abt how other people across the world do things verywell?? Think outside

the box..I personally think we should get awayfrom such factions and clannish

thinking and

be more open to otherraces/cultures/'so-called religions.. we need to remember

that in thebeginning there was only one man and one woman on the earth

whoproduced all the generations that came later.. and no-one knows ifthat

person was hindu/muslim/iyer or whatever..Down the ages, we have conveniently

kept some traditions andforgotten some other basic ones.. if we want to

celebrate a weddingas if we lived abt 300 years ago (jaanavasam on the

road/kaasiyathrai, and invite the whole town to the wedding, etc.) we need togo

back and ride in bullock carts instead and forget about air-conditioning, etc...

why get modern only for some conveniences??anyways, there is no end to this line

of thought, so I will stophere. But the thought really irks me that we

constantly complainabout the lack of unity in our country and yet we promote

our ownrules and dogmas so

staunchly and rigidly within each and every sub-sect as if it were the only one

that ever existed!!My argument is on a different plane and I am questioning

thefact that the peoples of the world are so divided and narrowlyfocused on

their own little worlds that they have lost focus of thewhole picture.. If you

think about it, the attititude should be thatthe whole world is one

family../KalpanaDo You

?