Query:
Which approach of spiritual practice will be dominantly followed in India in the
coming future to regain Spirituality? Bhakti-Marga, Gayatri Mantra and Yagna approach
or Kriya Yoga? What are Divyastras referred to in Mahabharata?
Vijay
Kumar:
You seem
to be quite worried about the Spirituality that will be
followed in India in the coming years. In the present Kali
Yuga phase... the practicing of pure Spirituality is at
its lowest ebb... for most in the society practical Spirituality
means... committing sins six days of the week and on the
seventh day... expiating our sins by taking a dip in the
holy Ganges river in Haridwar. Is this what Spirituality
is all about? Are we really earning Punya Karma by merely
wishing for something? What is the end result... is not
the society becoming more and more materialistic in the
present metal age (the Kali Yuga).
Practicing
pure Spirituality is not the least concerned with taking
a dip in the holy Ganges or following either the path of
Karma Yoga or Bhakti Yoga without even ever knowing the
true meaning of Karma Yoga or Bhakti Yoga. Most people in
this world continue practicing Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga,
awakening of the kundalini, practicing Celibacy, Yoga and
Meditation without even ever knowing the real meaning of
this words.
The
efficacy of a Mantra is best recognized and practiced only after we have understood
the real meaning of the Mantra. Blindly chanting of the Mantra never leads us
to the desired goal. Similarly, followers of Bhakti Yoga continue themselves practicing
Bhakti always hoping for the desired results.
During
one of my discourses in Pune... one elderly gentleman came to me at the end of
my four-hour discourse and stated that he has been practicing the Bhakti marga
path of spirituality for the last 15 years without a single break... yet he had
achieved nothing out of it... for he never understood the meaning of the various
chants. He further narrated that in his full 68 years of life he could not gather
enough pearls of wisdom as he had obtained in a four-hour discourse. I could see
happiness visible in his eyes... he was a truly happy person on that day. God
bless him.
My discourses are absolutely different from the various discourses by the present
day Spiritual gurus. All the discourses being conducted on TV and otherwise are
a one-way mode of communication... you can only hear what is being said. What
of solving the queries within you... unless the queries within a seeker get dissolved...
one just cannot proceed on the path of pure Spirituality... that is for certain!
In my discourses
after introducing myself... I seek extempore queries from the assembled people...
those who have come hoping to get some insights into the field of Spirituality
from one who had Realized God in 1993. They are not supposed to return empty-handed.
By grace of God even without one person asking any query I am able to (by the
telepathic mode of communication) know the queries in general. All the queries
from the present mass get communicated to me in the flash of a moment.
Whenever I have asked
of the community to put forward their query... most of them were hesitant... it
was then I asked them if they wanted me to continue on my own... they all happily
agreed. It was then an almost continuous discourse of two hours before I used
to stop and then further ask for their queries... by that time most of their queries
had already dissolved... it was only for the serious seekers of Spirituality that
queries were put forward to me.
Having
Realized God... I do not now need to refer any document whatsoever and all my
speeches, lectures and discourses are extempore. This way I am not only able to
dissolve the queries within every seeker... but the glow on their faces after
the session is over gives a real meaning to the discourse.
Now talking about the path of spirituality which would be exactly followed in
the days to come... it is only the path of Jnana Yoga that would be seriously
pursued by the serious seekers of Spirituality for... the common masses is not
the least concerned with the Spirituality... they are the followers of Rituals
concerning various Religions... whether or not any merit is earned by them is
not a worrisome factor for them. By the end of the day what matters is... by how
much have the size of their cashbox increased. The wanton desires and the materialistic
approach of life is killing the Spirituality within us.
The
difference between Religion and Spirituality is spelt out in the Essay
"Spirituality
and Religion"
The serious seekers of Spirituality normally take the path of Karma Yoga and Bhakti
Yoga... at a certain stage of time and at the opportune moment... while performing
the Karma to the best of our capabilities... we also switch on to practicing Bhakti
Yoga even while practicing Karma Yoga. While practicing Bhakti Yoga sincerely
and truthfully... a day comes when we land ourselves on to the path of Jnana Yoga.
This is the path that leads us towards pure Spirituality. This path is only meant
for the serious seekers of Spirituality for it is not within the means of common
masses to follow this path.
More
on Karma
Yoga one can read here
Bhakti Yoga is the
most simple and commonly followed path... this path is normally followed along
with the path of Karma Yoga... which means that a true Karma yogi at a certain
stage in life inherently starts practicing Bhakti Yoga. By Bhakti Yoga we mean
trying to approach God through the path of Prayers. Following this path alone
one can never gain Self Realization but the path of Bhakti Yoga is simple to follow
and gradually the serious seeker of Spirituality switches over to the path of
Jnana Yoga.
Jnana
Yoga is primarily the path of logistics and enquiry. Anything and everything which
has a logistical basis helps one proceed towards the solution... the dialogues
of Plato was nothing else but the path of logistics... "Either you convince me
or I shall convince you" is the motto! The path of enquiry is the path followed
by Maharishi Ramana. Both Ramakrishna
Paramhansa and Maharishi Ramana followed the path of Bhakti Yoga initially,
even while Ramakrishna Paramhansa continued following the path of Bhakti Yoga
for a longer period of time, Maharishi Ramana switched over to the path of Jnana
Yoga in very initial stages.
The process of Neti is nothing else but following one of
the main tenets of the path of Jnana Yoga. The process of
self enquiry, "not this not this" leads one directly to
the stage
of Nirvikalpa Samadhi (more on Nirvikalpa
Samadhi here) and finally gaining Self Realization!
The
path of Jnana Yoga in the present materialistic world is no doubt extremely difficult
to follow but for people like Ramana Maharishi and Ramakrishna Paramhansa... who
drank the nectar of Spirituality all the time... it was the only goal of their
life... they ultimately succeeded in their attempts!
Every time I repeat the word serious... it indicates that every seeker cannot
reach the stage of Nirvikalpa Samadhi because of the multitude of distractions
on the path of spirituality. The tantric powers... the greed inherent within every
human being leads one away from the path of spirituality. Once in millions rather
billions is able to follow the path of Jnana Yoga with due diligence. In the last
about 150 years only two persons have been successful in gaining Self Realization...
they were Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Maharishi Ramana.
Swami
Vivekananda who was more inclined towards social welfare of the community could
not Realize God in his lifetime... he was only one step below the desired goal
of life... so was the case of Acharya Rajneesh aka Osho... these two great Spiritual
personalities will definitely gain Self Realization in their next manifestation.
The yagna approach
is a thing of the past... the essence of yagna existed before the time of Lord
Krishna... the moment the sermon of Lord Krishna in the battlefield
of Mahabharata, " Bhagavad Gita the song supreme" came into existence... the Vedas
lost their meaning. This is the precise meaning of an extract or the abstract
form. Lord Krishna reduced the four Vedas to the Bhagavad Gita. One who could
interpret the inner meanings of the texts contained in Bhagavad Gita... it was
not necessary for one to read the Vedas. Everything contained in all the four
Vedas exists in Bhagavad Gita.
Yagnas
were required when the science had not yet evolved as is today... today we need
not sacrifice an animal to please the gods what to say of sacrificing Human Beings!
In the present cultured society we have different means available to us to approach
God then were available in the times of the Vedas. The practitioners of Yagnas
are totally ignorant of the rightful approach of Spirituality... they are merely
following the Rituals blindly! They look forward to their name and fame in the
society. They are least aware of the benefits of conducting yagna in the present
age.
Conducting
yagna in the present age is something totally uncalled for? Our mentally status
In present times has been elevated to such an extent that we need to follow the
path of pure Spirituality... the path of Jnana Yoga alone! To Realize God one
need not conduct massive congregations or gatherings of religiously minded people
for none would be able to achieve anything out of it. Religion primarily helps
one in living comfortably the present physical life... a period of 70 to 80 years.
Religion can make one become the epitome of the physical world... become rather
reach the highest platform of physical manifested life... become Maryada Purushottam
Rama himself. This is what Ramayana
epic is all about!
To
follow the path of spirituality means... diving deep into the inner consciousness...
getting to know our true self... our atman the soul within! The followers of Spirituality
desire to know the details of the complete path traveled by atman the soul within...
they desire to know the details of 8.4 million manifestations undertaken by our
atman the soul within... the total journey of 96.4 million years in the life of
an atman the soul within before it reaches the stage of Liberation... immortality...
the 8.4 millionth manifestation beyond which there is no life. This Atman having
purified itself need not manifest again... the cycle
of birth and death having coming to an end... our atman the soul within
has finally regained its pristine pure form.
Kriya Yoga is an interim stage on the path of Jnana Yoga. Kriya Yoga helps one
gain control over the breathing process... this is more or less following the
path of pranayama... followers of Kriya Yoga one-day inherently switch over to
following the path of Jnana Yoga. Yogananda Paramhansa was a follower of the path
of Jnana Yoga... following Kriya Yoga was one of the interim paths to get ahead
on the path of Jnana Yoga.
In
a nutshell... one needs to follow the path of Jnana Yoga if we need to proceed
on the path of pure Spirituality... the process of pranayama, Neti... performing
yogic exercises to maintain the body... the temple for atman the soul within are
but essential ingredients required to follow the path of Jnana Yoga.
Yagna, chanting of various Mantras like the Gayatri Mantra without essentially
understanding the deep-rooted inner meaning is not the requirement of the day.
Merely practicing Rituals In present times is just a sheer wastage in the journey
of life.
The times
of Mahabharata... the advent of Lord Krishna was the time when Adharma was at
its peak. It was but essential for God Almighty to send an Avatar to discontinue
the Kali Yuga phase present at that time. Even in the Dwaper Yuga the situations
prevailing at that time were exactly similar as we are experiencing today in the
Kali Yuga. After a rotation of about 3600 years time has again come for an Avatar
to descend. people await with abated breath the advent of Bhagavan
Kalki... the destroyer of Kali Yuga!
The ammunition with which Mahabharata was fought in the times of Lord Krishna
were exactly the same as far as the results were concerned... the manufacturing
technology and the shape of ammunition may have been different but the goal was
the same. The Brahmastra referred in Mahabharata was a nuclear missile... the
war was fought on a physical plane. Apart from the five senses and the mind we
have the subconscious state and the inner consciousness that is also known as
our atman the soul within.
When
talking of a war to be need to keep the physical aspect of life in mind. There
was nothing mental at that period of time. Lord Krishna and various other Spiritual
gurus of that era had very high mental powers but it does not mean that part of
the war was ever fought on the mental plane. Never... such a happening shall never
be for if both the sides have a very high mental level then the need for a war
shall never arise... all would be settled peacefully.
It is only when there is a mental disparity between both the sides that a war
is imminent... King Duryodhana, the leader of the Kauravas was practically mentally
bankrupt... he was never prone to reason of time... he was a pure dictator and
did what he desired. He even many times failed to accept the dictates of his Spiritual
gurus and the seniors. On other hand King Arjuna, the leader of the Pandavas finally
understood the logic of the Bhagavad Gita conveyed to him by Lord Krishna. The
moment he understood his folly... he fought the battle to its logical end and
defeated the army of Kauravas.
Always
there to clarify your queries (send
your query),
Full text of query:
Thank you for clearing my doubts and questions. I have few more questions now,
these are regarding India mainly.
Question
1 : India was a land of Spirituality. The present misrable condition of India
is due to an apparant loss in Spirituality. India has to fully regain its Spiritual
status in order to set itself right and also to become a guide to the rest of
the world. But which approach of spiritual practice will be dominantly followed
in India in the coming future or near future to regain Spirituality ?
A.
A Bhakti-Marg kind of approach, somewhat in a similar spirit of Sri Chaitanya
but different, if we talk of the socio-economic projects associated into it :
The Swadhyay Parivaar established by Rev. Pandurang Shastri Athawale, winner of
"Templeton Award for Progress in Religion" and also Raman Magsaysay Award for
social leadership. Website : http://www. swadhyay. org . OR
B. The Gayatri
Mantra and Yagna approach : The Gayatri Parivaar established by Acharya Sri Ram
Sharma (who is said to be the Reincarnation of Sri RamKrishna Paramhansa). This
Gayatri Parivaar performs Gayatri Maha-Yagna and other kinds of Yagnas at various
places and preaches the Gayatri Mantra among Brahmins and all other castes alike
(because caste is actually from Guna-Karma and not by virtue of Janma alone).
Website : http://www.gayatri pariwar. org/ . OR
C. The Kriya
Yoga approach, a more sublime one : Kriya Yoga - progagated to the world by Yogiraj
Shyamacharan Lahiri with instruction from his ever-living Guru Babaji Maharaj.
Websites : http://www.yogiraj.com/ http://www.Yogananda- srf. org/ http://www.
Karmawhammy.com/ Self_Realization_Fellowship_Gurus.htm etc.
Question
2 : What are Divyastra-s, those referred in Mahabharata ? Are they more powerful
than even Nuclear weapons ? Do they work from some other plane of consciousness
?
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