A CLEAR PICTURE OF THE 4 LEGS OF TRUE RELIGION

[Guest guest]

Dear ALL,

Namaste.

 

Human life is bound by inner duties and external responsibilities. In order

that human greatness proliferates in both these areas culture and

civilizations have come into being which lay down the ‘do’s and don’ts’ of

thinking and character carving. Culture is internal, Civility is external,

Spirituality is internal and Ethics is external. Spiritual aims are attained

via its philosophy and a disciplined character helps in adherence of ethics.

The peripheries of all religious precepts that influence human glory in a

big way are limited to these 2 aspects. It has already been said that the

inner core of religion is spirituality and its outer shell is wholesome

social behavior laced with ethical activities. These are the 4 pillars of

religion. If anyone requires more clarity on these the following paragraphs

can do the needful.

 

1) SPIRITUALITY: True spirituality exists where the psyche oozes with sacred

beliefs, faiths, aspirations, sentiments, zest and habits. The fount or root

source of man’s personality and character lies here. It is that inspiration

which gives direction to the mind’s thinking process. If prejudices exist

they result in imaginations, arguments and logical proof. These in turn help

the intellect to take informed decisions. The brain obeys commands emanating

from the deep recesses of our psyche. It finds ways of fulfilling that which

is pleasurable, it finds solutions for various problems and thus commands

the body to act as per the directions of the inner psyche.

 

In a nutshell we can say that this inner designing of the psyche decides

man’s past history, endeavors of the present and destiny of future times.

This designing helps us measure man’s inner stature. It is as a reaction of

this area that other individuals approach us as foes or friends. This is the

focal point that decides the direction of man’s life. On its basis man

experiences a downfall or otherwise, joy or sorrow and success or failure.

Spiritual philosophy came into existence solely for the purpose of

overcoming demonic tendencies of the psyche from their very roots and

replacing them with sacred qualities like divine wisdom etc.

 

Spiritual philosophy is the foundation stone of attaining spiritual

grandeur/greatness. The gigantic mould of Brahma Vidya (Divine Wisdom) has

been cast so as to attain this divine glory. The fundamental aim of precepts

that talk of God, soul, demigods, other world, heaven, reincarnation, fruits

of ones actions, salvation, hell, liberation, emancipation, devotion,

spiritual practices, Sidhis (Divine Powers) etc. is to dissuade man from

imbibing lowly aspirations and instead aspire for higher peaks of human

glory. For this various religions ordain mankind to absorb sacred thinking

and act ethically in their day to day worldly transactions.

 

The fundamental basis of spirituality is refined faith. True faith is

certainly not the figment of ones wayward imagination. It should not be

labeled as ‘doubt’. Hence spiritual precepts are given a sound footing by

giving proof in the form of various scriptural injunctions, great speech of

Rishis, saints etc, divine inspirations, God’s commands, discourses and

mythology. It is left to Spiritual Philosophy to prove all this via logic,

precepts and sound arguments.

 

 

2) ETHICS AND APPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR: Wholesome behavior encompasses

observations of ethics, integrity etc in ones professional and social life.

The chief aim of all religious scriptures is to make laws based on ethics,

ideals etc. Smritis (Indian scriptures) have detailed man’s inner and

external (social) duties and responsibilities. It can be said to be a vow or

resolve of imbibing sacred actions and duties. Duty is emphasized upon and

rights are said to be secondary. Further mankind is urged to ignore worries

related to enticements, fear, pressures etc and instead focus one pointedly

on an ethical and righteous way of living.

 

Ethics based scriptures (Neeti Shastra) urges world humanity to imbibe

oneness of soul with all living beings, gentlemanliness, sacred character,

self control and simple living-high thinking. We must celebrate birthdays of

great people of the world who renounced their all for the sake of great

ideals. Hence sermons and discourses that describe the lives of such great

souls are given so that man too gets inspired to follow in their footsteps.

In this manner the layman’s self control can be nourished and he will

willingly imbibe a sacred way of living. An important point to be noted is

that when man vows to lead an ethical life hardships do come his way. At

such times material lures and enticements have to be curbed via self control

(Sanyam). This control is called Laya sadhana. Why is a man of true

austerities very powerful mentally? The answer is that he gives up desires

for selfish gains and instead channels his energy in the direction of world

welfare. In this manner he himself attains soul fulfillment, respect from

the world, love and cooperation and divine grace without even having an

inkling of such desires in his mind. Meaning all this comes his way, unasked

and unsolicited. Ethics can be nurtured only when greatness enters every

pore of our mental character, actions and inner qualities. In this manner

our character and personality touch heights of human grandeur and glory.

 

Ethics and ideals have been classified and described from many standpoints.

Manu Smriti describes 10 characteristics of ethics. Almost all these have

been elucidated in the Yama-Niyama aphorisms of Raja Yoga. In other

religious texts all this has been covered albeit with minor variations here

and there. It is these common principles of ethics in various religions that

makes us say that fundamentally all religions are one. Of course the mode of

application and methods of imbibing these ethics in day to day living do

vary amongst various religions. The outer shells of tradition in various

religions have come to being depending on the circumstances prevailing in

those times when a particular religion was established. These traditions

change when times and external circumstances change. It is but natural that

when these traditions become worn with age distortions and taints enter

them. Under such circumstances it becomes imperative that they be

transformed and reformed in a wholesome manner. Despite this the fact

remains that the principles of ethics that urge mankind to live a life of

human greatness remains intact. It is hence in this context that we proclaim

that all religions are eternal in nature.

............. to be continued ................

 

 

Author : Pt shriram Sharma Acharya

 

--

Thank you & Have a Fulfilling Day

 

Venkat Koppaka