Query:
I have
difficulty understanding "Hinduism". How does Hinduism define self in relation
to God/reality? In realtion to society? How does all of this tie together?
Vijay Kumar:
It is only once in a while
that I receive queries of the nature sent by you. Lovely... I truly appreciate
the contents of the query... simple and sharp!
I
shall elaborate the basic fundamentals not only of Hinduism
but the mankind at large so that you are able to understand the relationship between
one and another.
It
was around 3600 years ago Lord
Krishna the Avatar
(the supreme almighty god
manifesting himself) descended on Mother Earth... Lord Krishna
is considered as an Avatar because at the age of five years he had powers which
no human
being can ever possess... everything was within his control... it can
only be possible when all the positive powers of the cosmos unite at one point.
Bhagwan
Mahavira, Gautama
Buddha, Jesus
Christ and prophet
Mohammed who came later are all man
gods. The meaning of man gods I shall define later.
At
the time of Lord Krishna it was total anarchy that existed in the society. The
law and order had broken down and it was the time of "might is right". Lord Krishna
the Avatar had descended to set the things in order. This resulted in the war
of Dharma
between the two mightiest powers of the time... the Pandavas and Kauravas. The
Pandavas were the rightful claimant of the throne but it was usurped by the Kauravas...
their cousins.
The
Pandavas tried all fair means within their right to get the throne but all in
vain. The Kauravas were in no mood to surrender. They literally banished the Pandavas
from the kingdom for a full 14 years of life in the jungles (dense forests). After
the completion of 14 years when the Pandavas enquired of the Kauravas to relinquish
the throne in their favor... they refused. Lord Krishna who was related to both
the sides interfered. He tried his best to persuade the Kauravas but failed.
Eventually the events
led to a war of Dharma...
a fight to the finish between the right and the wrong. The truth had to be established
at any cost... this was the prime motive of Lord Krishna, the Avatar. There was
no reason for his failure... he was to succeed and the Pandavas succeeded in the
end but they had to pay a heavy price. Both the teams lost the best of their men
yet truth prevailed.
Even before
the war had started, King Arjuna in whose command the whole Pandava Kingdom rested
refused to fight with his opponents... the cause that all his opponents mostly
consisted of his relatives and friends. His maternal grandfather, most of his
cousins, elders were standing in the army of the Kauravas... he felt it worthwhile
not to fight and surrender. Lord Krishna tried to persuade him by all means that
he is the true representative of the whole community and not his relatives and
friends alone. He was supposed to fight as a King and not as an individual. Still,
the logic allured him... he did not find any reason for such killings.
In the end, Lord Krishna
the Avatar preached Gita, the Sacred Bhagavad
Gita to King Arjuna. The contents of the Sacred Bhagavad
Gita are the true words of God...
the total essence of mankind nay the whole humanity lay in the Bhagavad Gita.
This is one document existing on Mother Earth the contents of which cannot be
disputed by any human being ever. No human being other than the enlightened
one or one who has realized
god can ever understand the inner
meaning of the words contained in Bhagavad Gita... having known Bhagavad
Gita one comes to understand the total essence of life.
Having reached this stage... one is but required to take Salvation
Moksha
for the journey of the Jiva
living being... cosmic journey of 8.4 million manifestations and the total cosmic
life cycle of 96.4 million years gets completed. Our soul
the atman within gets liberated from the cycle of birth
and death forever. No further manifestations... Vow!
One
gains emancipation... becomes a live man god... one gains the status of a Bhagwan
Mahavira, Gautama Buddha, Jesus Christ, prophet Mohammed or Ramakrishna
Paramhansa and Maharishi
Ramana of the present times. Having crossed the threshold of cosmic
life... the dross within having removed forever... our soul the Atman
within shines in its cosmic glory having attained full purity. Our soul the atman
within is liberated forever! There shall not be any more manifestation for this
atman the soul within.
After
the advent of Lord Krishna... about a thousand years later came Bhagwan Mahavira...
He preached the essence of life we call today Jainism.
Jainism is not a Religion...
it is a
way of life!
About 77 years later came Gautama Buddha... his teachings are known as the middle
path... somewhat similar to those of Bhagwan Mahavira he was considered a contemporary
of Bhagwan Mahavira.
About
423 years later came Jesus Christ. He was a normal human being born in the west
and who ventured to India at the age of 13 years. His few years of stay in India
in the region presently known as Bihar state where existed the world-famous Nalanda
and Taxila universities of those times brought him laurels. He could learn the
intrinsic truths of the cosmic system... the basic essence of life... the meaning
of Atman (the inner soul) itself. Everything what Jesus Christ came to know was
made possible during his stay at the Nalanda and Taxila universities. Everything
was an eye-opener for nothing of the sort existed in the west.
Nalanda
and Taxila universities have no parallel in the mankind. In present times the
Oxford, Cambridge and other famous universities stand nowhere near the potential
the Nalanda and the Taxila universities carried during those times. All the saints
and philosophers gained their knowledge and wisdom from these universities. People
from all corners of the world came here to study the fundamentals of life, the
truth of atman the soul within. It was only after one realized the cosmic truth
that one gained emancipation... Liberation forever from the cycle
of birth and death!
In the west Jesus Christ is considered as the son of God himself. How can that
be! The existence
of god, the Almighty Creator is not a physical form... it is a Nirakaar
form (formless) and to say that Jesus Christ is a son of God is a misnomer. Talk
to any Indian and he would be able to explain the essence of Bhagavad Gita. Jesus
Christ no doubt gained emancipation and finally Salvation but to consider him
a direct descendant of God Almighty is wrong.
In Christianity
the eternal truth governing the whole cosmic system is considered as Trinity,
which consists of God Almighty, an energy source and Mother Mary. Contrary to
this Hinduism
that descended from the times of Lord Krishna and before considers the presence
of one and only one God Almighty... the omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent
power of the cosmos.
There
is no duality in the system
of God... the duality exists only in the physical manifested system.
This is only to maintain the cosmic system. At any given point of time the total
sum of the whole Cosmos must remain zero. If we have fire... we also have water.
We have a day... we also have night. We have a plus... and also a minus.
continued to...
Understanding Hinduism
May
God bless you!
Always
there to clarify your queries (send
your query),
Vijay
Kumar explains concept of Atman in brief Audio
(Eng) (3.1 MB) Audio
Hindi (3 MB)
(all clippings take few
seconds to load initially - suitable for broadband internet connection preferably
above 256 kbps)
Full text of query:
Hi. I was wondering if you could answer a question for me. I am studying World
Religions, for my first exposure, and I am having difficulty understanding "Hinduism,"
if I may call it that. Could you possibly answer some questions? If so, first,
I was wondering how does Hinduism define self? In relation to God/reality? In
realtion to society? How does all of this tie together?
