Q. WHAT ARE THE SCRIPTURES OF HINDUS?
A. The very foundations of Hinduism lie on the four pillars, known as the Vedas. Veda is the sanskrit word for "knowledge".
They are the following:-
1) Rig-veda
2) Yajur-veda
3) Sam-veda
4) Atharva-Veda
Within the Vedas, four Purusharths (human pursuits/goals) are spoken of.
They are:-
1) kAmam - desires
2) Artham - securities
3) Dharmam - ethics
4) Moksham - liberation ( THIS is the pursuit we are concerned with)
The portions of the Vedas that give the teachings of Moksham are also called Vedanta. Bhagavad Gita too is considered Vedanta, because Krishna bhagwan himself says in the Gita, that all that he teaches is present in the Vedas
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Then we have the Itihasas (historical epics)
1) The Ramayana
2) The Mahabharata
These epics assimilate the teachings of the last two Purusharths (Dharmam and Moksham), and are full of morals and values, for adults and children alike.
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Next come the 'Puranas'. They may have some truth basis to them, but often go into mythology.
Just as Aesop's fables or Panchatantra are stories with good morals, but we all know that the animals don't really talk ! Similarly, one can extract good morals out of the Puranas, but please do not take them literally, their purpose is purely allegorical, not historical.
They are good for chitta shuddhi (mental purity), and are fine as long as one doesn't take them too literally.
So there you have it, the classification of our scriptures. One thing to note is, every single scripture attempts either to clarify, or expand on the teachings of Vedas, but anything that is contradictory to the Vedas must be rejected.
Q. WHO IS A GURU?
A. Guru comes from the two sanskrit roots
'Gu', which means darkness
'Ru', which means 'the remover of'
Here darkness signifies ignorance. The Guru gives us knowledge.
Q. DO WE NEED A GURU TO LEARN THESE TEACHINGS?
YES ! - 99.999% of us do need a Guru. Under the rare case that you find someone extraordinary who gains moksham on his own without learning the scriptures under the guidance of a Guru, he has probably had a Guru in his previous birth and completed most of his teachings.
Such individuals are few and rare, and I can assure you that most of us are not in that league, so certainly, find a qualified Guru. No task is perfectly learnt without a Guru, especially not Vedanta.
Q. HOW TO FIND A GURU?
A. This depends on two things.
1) Your free will - the effort you put into finding one
2) Your past karma- which will determine whether or not you are supposed to find one
Both of these work hand in hand, and can speed up or slow down your process. So while your past karma isn't in your hands, at least take the necessary efforts to prepare yourself, and approach a Guru
Q. HOW TO KNOW IF THE GURU IS RIGHT FOR ME
A. Simply put, one who makes you "see", is a Guru. If somebody is saying something, and no matter how well respected or famous he is, if it does NOT make sense to you, he is not a Guru for you, and you must look elsewhere
If the person, instead of removing your confusion just adds to your confusion, and talks in a mysterious language and expects you to understand, he is NOT a Guru for you.
If the person says he will put his hand on your head and get you enlightened, he is NOT the right Guru for you
If someone says he will teach you Vedas for a fee, he is NOT a Guru...
So who would make a right Guru? If what a person says makes absolute sense to you, if you are less confused after talking to him, than you were before you approached him, if he connects well with you, if what he says seems rational, if he is speaking in a clear language that you can understand, then that person is fit to be your Guru
If you still have difficulty finding a Guru who fits your criteria, I can tell you who mine are, and you can take a look at their teachings and judge for yourself. Entirely up to you.
Swami Dayananda Saraswati ji (of Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, *not* the Arya Samaj one)
Swami Paramarthananda ji
Swami Viditatmananda ji
Swami Tattvavidananda ji
Swami Pratyagbodhananda ji
here is a website with their teachings
Click on any of their pictures and you will find a plethora of online resources on various topics
Q. HOW TO BE A GOOD STUDENT?
Now that you (hopefully) picked a right Guru for you, having absolute faith in Dev (God), Guru (teacher), Shastra (scripture) is a must.
For the gain of knowledge, four graces are a must
God's grace
Guru's grace
Scripture's grace
Self grace
God's grace is always flowing, Guru's grace will flow once you find one, scriptural grace will be there as long as you respect knowledge, books, etc, and Self grace will be there as long as you are motivated to seek the ultimate end, which is Moksha.
Not having Self grace, is like being in possession of a Ferrari, but not pressing your foot down on the accelerator.
Q. WHO AM I?
I am the AtmA. AtmA iis sat chit ananda bramhan
SAT =
a) Does not change in time
b) Is independent of anything else for existence, but everything is dependent on it
c) Can never be negated. You can negate anything in the world, close your eyes, and you can say the sun and clouds don't exist, but try saying "I do not exist", and you will realize it is impossible, because even to say that I have to exist.
d) Cannot be objectified. Everything else is an object of your knowledge. You, the AtmA, are the sole witness, and nothing can objectify you
CHIT = Awareness, consciousness, chEtana, sAkshi, jnAtA, observer, witness... all of these words mean the same thing...
ANANDA = limitlessness (most people wrongly interpret it as 'bliss' or 'happiness'... ananda actually means limitlessness. AtmA has no limitations of space or time, as space and time too are dependent on Atma.
I know this answer is a little heavy, and if it doesn't make sense right now it is fine, it is not supposed to, for that you will have to do additional reading
The answer given here is too short
Please read my blog, I have transcribed Swamijis lectures in almost 45-50 pages over here, on "Who am I?"
WHAT IS THIS UNIVERSE?
The creator, the act of creation, and the created, is one and the same. This universe is simply a manifestation of bramhan, which is nothing but you.
Some of you might be in disbelief, and that is exactly why we need the right teacher to teach us the right things :)
Most of us have been brought up to believe you are a "part" of God, or a "seed" of God, when in reality you, the AtmA, are the self of all beings in this universe. Just as space present in 10 pots are not separate from one another, but the pots just appear to separate them, same way, AtmA, the consciousness, is non-separate, non-dual.
Again, for this, please go through the blog I gave the link to above, not enough space to explain it all here
Q. WHAT IS GOD?
G= Generator
O= Operator
D- DDistroyer
Compare God to the ocean
Compare the individual to the wave
and Compare the self, the AtmA, to the water
The very content of the wave (water), is also the content of the ocean (water)...
You, the self, manifest as jeev (individual), jagat (universe), and ishvara (God)
Imagine, in a dream the dream floor, the dream sky, the dream people, the dream mountain etc, they are all manifested from you alone, and yet inside the dream they appear to be outside of you, when in reality they are all within you, a projection of your mind.
This entire universe is a projection of the self.
Again, this will not be digested by many of you, and might be considered as blasphemy, but these are the teachings of the Vedas, and here is the evidence :)
Sarvam khalvidam brahman- All that there is, is brahman (chAndogya Upanishad, chapter 6 verse 2, from the Sama Veda)
Ayam AtmA Brahman - This self (AtmA) is brahman (Mandukya Upanishad 1.2 of the Atharva Veda)
Prajnanam Brahman - Consciousness is brahman ((Aitareya Upanishad 3.3 of the Rig Veda)
Tat tvam asi - You (the self) are that (brahman)...Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7 of the Sama Veda)
Aham Brahman Asmi - I am brahman (Brhadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.10 of the Yajur Veda)
Q. WHAT IS BONDAGE?
A cowherd had two cows, he took them grazing and returned back. When he was about to tie them up he saw one rope was missing. A sadhu was passing by, he asked him what he should do, the sadhu said that tie the first cow, and pretend to tie the second cow up. So the cowherd does that, and goes to sleep...
Next morning, both cows are still there. Then he unties the first one to go grazing, but the seoncd one doesnt follow, again the sadhu was meditating there, so now he says "pretend to untie the second cow", so he does that, and then the cow follows.
We aren't bonded, we have simply been programmed by society, by our own ignorance, that we are tied down and "require to be freed"... you are ever free, you are the omniscient, omnipresent bramhan
Q. WHAT IS LIBERATION?
A. Freedom from limitations. AtmA is asangha (untouched), mukta (free), shuddha (pure), akhanda (whole), purnam (complete)
I am ever liberated, I just need to accept it :)
A. WHAT IS THE MEANS TO LIBERATION?
A. Remove the ignorance that "i am not free", don't be like the cow who thinks he is tied down... remove this ignorance through vedanta, with the guidance of a proper Guru.
Q. AN EXCELLENT IDEA FOR CHARITY?
A. Any charity earns punia (goodwill/ merit), and all punia comes to us in the form of joy, when the time is right to fructify
Here are some ideas
Donate your organs upon death. You are not going to use them, why not allow a deprived individual to have access to your eyes, or kidneys, or a heart, or a liver? The amount of punia, you and your family will earn from this is enormous.
Do consider donating your organs, even if you don't, it is fine, but it is always a nice thing to do :)
Also think of donating blood if you don't feel too weak from it, it could help save a life, one never knows...
Donate money to orphans. By providing food, clothing, shelter and education to orphans, you are paving their way into a world in which they will grow, prosper and always be thankful for. It goes without saying that.
These are reliable places, where your funds go directly to the orphans, nothing is lost in between, if you know what I mean.
Donate to old age homes, abandoned fathers and mothers, or those whose children have passed away, NEED your help, as they have no one else to look after them. Just as orphans are children, these old people are orphans of one kind. It is up to people like us to make a difference towards the end of their lives
Donate to Veda Pathshalas, where they teach the chanting of the Vedas to children, who carry forward our uninterrupted tradition. It takes 12 years for the best of students to master one branch of Vedic chanting, and a lifetime to understand it. Support them in their commendable pursuit, help them preserve our tradition, and donate for their livelihood
These are some of the most potent ways to donate one's excess wealth.
One's wealth is measured by how many lives he positively touches, not his bank balance.
Q. WHAT IS THE BEST COMMENTARY ON THE GITA, THAT ONE CAN READ?
A. The best version of the Gita is one that correctly preserves the message of the Vedas, and does not contradict it by even a tiny bit.
So far I have found flaws in almost all of them. I find
'Bhagavad Gita Home Study' by Swami Dayananda (of Arsha Vidya Gurukulam) to be the most reliable commentary on the Gita that exists today. It is a book complied by his devotees based on 363 fantastic lectures on the Gita that he delivered in the 1980s. It is over 2000+ pages, and is the best version.
This book is not available for free download online, so the next best thing I can think of, is reading
'The Holy Geeta' by Swami Chinmayananda
Here you can find a free copy, there is also a download button to store it on your computer
*I do not recommend* reading Srila Prabhupada's Bhagavad Gita 'As it is', because truth be told, it is not "as it is', and has a lot of interpolations, and is not loyal to the message of the Gita, or the Vedas. Forgive me for saying so.
Q. IS VISHNU GREATER THAN SHIVA? OR IS SHIVA GREATER THAN VISHNU?
A. No. There is no greater or lesser comparison here. Ishvara is Ishvara, and he comes to the devotee in whichever form the devotee wishes to invoke.
These are meaningless quarrels that people pick up. Krishna Bhagwan says in the Gita "pray to God with any name, with any form, and your prayers will go through"
I wish not to go into further details here, if you have doubts feel free to send me a message
Q. CAN BHAKTI ALONE GIVE MOKSHA?
A. No. Bhakti is an action.
An action is a karma.
A karma bears a positive result or a negative result.
Bhakti bears a positive result.
Every result is limited.
Moksha is a limitless/infinite gain, and once it is achieved there is no turning back.
A limited action cannot give a limitless result, and hence moksha can only come through self knowledge, by learning the teachings of the Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita.
Chanting will help purify one's mind, it will prepare one to gain knowledge, it will make you ready to understand what are learning, and it will give you positive results in the way of finding a proper guru, giving birth in a family that supports your learning, to be born in the right place, and so on. Bhakti will give you all that you to get you ready for knowledge, but it is knowledge alone, and its firm assimilation, that will give moksha to you.
If you are searching for your car keys, and you keep on and on praying for them, God will send you a person (a Guru) to tell you
Hey child, your car keys are in your pocket. Then this knowledge will help you achieve that which is already yours
Moksh is called praptasya praptihih. It is already there, you just need the right knowledge to understand it, the right effort to assimilate it.
Bhakti will aid in this, but on its own, without knowledge, bhakti cannot give moksh.
To know more about prayers, please read my blog 'Purpose of Prayer', where I have transcribed Swamijis lectures for us, and again, message me for more details.
The topic of 'Gurus' is still full of misconceptions, so amongst other things I would like to clarify some more here
Q. DOES A GURU HAVE TO BE A LIVING ONE?
A. Yes, a Guru MUST be alive, in order to be called one. A dead Guru cannot clear your doubts, can he? No matter how great a Guru he might have been during his times, sadly you need someone today, in front of you, to take your questions one by one, and clear them.
The message or the intention of a great human being in the past can only reveal so much, but beyond a point you still have the need to clear matters with a person who you can interact with.
Ramana Maharishi, Swami Vivekanananda, Ramakrishna Paramhansa etc may have been good for their times, but simply relying on their books is not going to help.
This might come across as a bit strong, but it is the absolute truth. Even in our historical epics, everyone had a Guru '"in flesh". Arjuna had Krishna, Rama and his brothers had Sage Vashishta, and even your Guru will have a Guru, who will have a Guru, and so on. The tradition continues uninterrupted, this is called the Guru-shishya parampara, which is one of the most beautiful things in our culture.
So my suggestion is not to pick up books by random authors this way. Find someone to clear your doubts, I cannot stress it enough :)
Q. CAN I FIND ANSWERS TO VEDANTA ON WIKIPEDIA OR BY GOOGLING?
A. No way. Our of thousands of unreliable websites, only a handful are good, and it takes a lot of discriminative prowess to even be able to know which is good and which isn't.
www.avgsatsang.org is one such fantastic website where you can learn.
Q. CAN ONE BECOME A JEEVAN-MUKTA (AN ENLIGHTENED BEING) JUST BY MEDITATION?
A. No, you need to remove self ignorance in the form of knowledge.
Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 4, verse 38 says there is nothing more purifying than knowledge.
Gyanam (knowledge) alone gives Moksha. Bhakti and karma help attain Gyanam.
Q. BUT LORD KRISHNA SAYS THAT IN KALYUG BHAKTI IS THE EASIEST WAY TO ACHIEVE MOKSHA.
A. He doesn't. This is a misconception that has been passed on for generations now. Bhakti helps in the acquisition of knowledge, but only chanting the Lords name day and night will not be enough.
The gain of knowledge is a must, the Gita is extremely clear about this.
Q. DO ALL RELIGIONS LEAD TO THE SAME GOAL?
A. Never. Every religion prescribes a different goal for their followers.
Sometimes even though the name of the goal may be the same, the description of that goal will differ
For example, in Hinduism and Jainism, the goal is moksha, but the definition and consequences of moksha are worlds apart, so the goal is not the same here, though the word seems to be the same one.
Then in Islam, Christianity and Judaism, the goal is attainment of heaven, which as Hindus, we consider a very temporary and useless goal for several reasons
Western religions believe heaven and hell are permanent states, law of karma very easily establishes that heaven and hell are results of paap and punia (demerit and merit), and no result is permanent. Hence heaven and hell are temporary stages.
Secondly, heaven is not absolute, and does not put an end to helplessness completely. No state of birth sets you free from limitations, moksha alone achieves that.
So no, all religions lead to different goals.
Q. WHAT IS SUPERIOR? KARMA YOGA, UPASANA YOGA OR GYAN YOGA?
A. All three are equally important. Karma yoga is basically doing the right actions with the right mental attitude. Bhakti too is a karma (as prayer is an action)
Upasana yoga is meditation, mental cleansing, focus, concentration and other such tasks.
Gyan yoga is the pursuit of knowledge, more specifically self knowledge
karma yoga is like the first rung of the ladder, which leads to the second rung called upAsana yoga, which leads to the third rung called gyAn yoga.
karma and upAsana lead to gyAn, and once gyAnam is firmly assimilated, that gives moksha.
So you cannot skip karma and upAsana, one MUST perform the right actions with the right attitude, and work towards mental purity, in order to gain self knowledge and get moksha
Q. IF I SPEND MY LIFETIME STUDYING SCRIPTURES, BUT I DIE BEFORE I GAIN MOKSHA, WILL IT BE WASTED?
A. No, Lord Krishna promises that every effort put toward self upliftment, will never go wasted.
The fruits of your results will carry forward to the next birth. You may have seen there are some children who grasp this knowledge very quickly for no apparent reason, even despite their parents not being very well aware.
If you have put enough effort in this life, knowledge will come flowing readily to you in the next life, if by chance you dont attain moksha towards the end of your previous life, so dont worry, your efforts aren't wasted.
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Q. I HAVE HEARD ONE MUST NOT STUDY THE MAHABHARATA AS IT LEADS TO QUARRELS IN THE FAMILY
A. Nonsense :)
This is pure superstition, one who understands the mAhAbhArata well, will actually refrain from getting into petty quarrels, because he will have learnt from the wisdom and mistakes of all the characters in the epic.
Do yourself a favour and study the mAhAbhArata from start to finish, it is my guarantee your family will not fight with you :)
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Q. IS EATING MEAT WRONG?
A. Any form of violence is wrong. Animals feel tremendous pains, due to their developed nervous system.
They have pain receptors, which plants lack. Hence when you kill a goat, or a chicken, or any other sentient animal, the injury and pain caused to them will come back to you.
One of the Upanishads define food only as "plants".
If you wish to eat meat, go ahead, it is your personal choice, but especially if you are learning the scriptures, it is strongly recommended to be a vegetarian, but again it is up to you. No arm twisting involved here.
In any case, take a look at this video and decide for yourself.
Q. DO DEVAS IN HEAVEN LIVE FOREVER?
A. No, they have a limited lifespan, just like any of us. Yes they may live many years longer, much longer, but still not permanently.
Devas such as Indra etc, are actually titles, not names. Just as we have Prime Ministers and Presidents, Indra is the title for the King of the heavenly realm. It is a position, and different people can inhabit it
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Q. WHAT IS A HIGHER GOAL, HEAVEN OR MOKSHA?
A. Moksha, definitely. Heaven is temporary, moksha is eternal
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jivAtma is *not* the same as jiva...
Atma = self
...
jivatma = The Atma perceived on a micro (individual level)
paramatma = The very same Atma, perceived on a macro (universal level)
jivA = Mind+body complex enlivened by the Atma....
Hence the verse in kenopanishad "kenshitam patati preshitam manah"
In the presence of what entity does the mind move towards its sense objects
and the rest of the upanishad answers this question elaborately, as the self (non dual) of all beings.
how else do you explain the following verses from the vedAs and upanishads?
sarvam khalvidam brahman - All that there is, is brahman (sAma veda, chAndogyopanishad ch 6, verse 2)
Ayam AtmA brahman - this self is brahman (mAndukyopanishad atharva veda)
ekam advityam brahman - one non dual brahman alone
aham brahman asmi - I am brahman Br. upanishad, yajur veda)
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Q. SOME SAY IDOL WORSHIP IS BAD, IS THAT TRUE?
A. No, that isn't true. Every means of worship is different. Some worship God through an idol, others worship God as the forces of nature, or as the residing entity of every living being. The best type of worship is a state of advaita, where you know that there is no separation between Self and God. Sometimes it is not possible to achieve this, especially when we are not in the best frames of mind, and idol worship is a highly effective bridge.
((( Here the "self" he is speaking of is the one we used in common parlance. If I ask you to... perform a task, I am obviously asking you, as an individual, a jivA, to perform it, as the AtmA cannot drink water, or file my paperwork. So whenever we come across a conflicting statement like this, we must know whether it is the vAkyArtha (direct meaning) or lakshy Artha (implied meaning).
When you are asked to worship, this "you" is the mind-body complex, enlivened by the AtmA, also known as the jivA
It is the jivA that performs karma, and also acquires the results of the karma. The AtmA is simply the knowledge principle, the consciousness, in the presence of which all things happen, and yet it is not the doer. )))
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""" From where has the jiva come"""
((( jivA existed since beginingless time. For this one needs to know the cosmic model as explained in the vedAs.
kaliyuga = 432,000 years
dvApara yuga = 2 X kaliyuga
treta yuga = 3 X kaliyuga
satya yuga = 4 X kaliyuga
kaliyuga + dvApara yuga + treta yuga + satya yuga = kaliyuga (1+2+3+4) = 10 kaliyuga = 10 (432,000) = 4,320,000 years
This period is called one mAhAyuga... like this there are several manvantras... Long story short, one day+night cycle of brahmA ji (not the same as brahman) lasts for 17.28 billion years
This is about the time of the "big bang". The universe manifested, with its countless jivAs. Like this there have been countless universes, and even after our universe ends, there will be countless more. The jivAs are present in seed form even before the big bang, ready to fructify in the universe, and born in conditions determined by their karma.
""" If all of us have the same atman then why are we asked the way of Devotion to higher ? So after attaining salvation do we losse our Individuality in the form of Jivatma?"""
((( It is the jivA who is asked to be devoted. However I believe you have read ISKCON's version of the Gita, if im not mistaken?
Anyway, salvation is a very christian concept. As Hindus we dont believe in salvation, we believe in moksha which is very different. Moksha is freedom from limitations.
The self is satyam jnanan anantam. Existence, awareness, limitlessness (not infinite, that is a wrong translation)
Moksha is simply owning up to the true nature of the self. Imagine ten pots. The space inside the 10 pots is NOT different from the space outside of them. The pots do not divide the space, and yet the pots seem to create an apparent division. When the pots break does the space "merge" with the outside space? No, merger is not required, it was never divided in the first place. Same way, the AtmA is only apparently divided between different bodies, but it is non dual and whole
hence it is called purnam, and akhanda.
Hope this answers your question :)
