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Rishab
19 May 2015, 09:23 PM
Hey guys, my name is Rishab. I was born in Bangalore, India but as a child i grew up in Dubai and now I'm studying in States. As a kid , all my religious experiences involved visiting various temples and the various rituals I used to witness there. Perhaps the most profound of my religious experiences were the several pilgrimages I made to Tirupathi as a child and few when I was a little over ten. I still visit temples to this very day everytime I go to India to visit my grandparents there but perhaps the only reason I do go there is because I don't want to offend my family. When I turned ten, I radically changed my views on religion in few years I went from religious, to questioning god, to agnostic to atheist to strictly anti-religious. I'm 18 right now and I'm starting to reconsider my views on religion because I feel like I've lost my way in life or a better way to put it would be I'm trying to find my way in life. I just have a few questions I would like to be answered. I have little knowledge compared to most of you on Hinduism but is it true that god isn't a supernatural being watching us from the skies but our consciousness within us?
Perhaps the biggest reason why I stopped believing in God is because I couldn't get around the idea that they're were supernatural beings in the sky watching over us. It just seemed pretty stupid to me. I believed atheists were so much smarter than everyone else but I also had a doubt in my head how some of the most intelligent people in history were religious and surely the thought must have crossed their mind too yet they still believed in God. What I want to know is, what is God? How do I connect with God? and is the Bhagvad Gita is abstract and symbolic and not true historical representation of an actual event?
and I have also been experimenting with psychedelics like lsd and shrooms in order in have a deeper connection with my consciousness but so far no luck also I have been taking only small doses. Are psychedelics okay to use in order to achieve consciousness?

srivijaya
20 May 2015, 01:26 PM
Hi Rishab,
I'm not the best person to answer but since nobody else has, I thought I'd comment. Like you I rejected god outright after a religious search. I was about 18 at the time and in hindsight what I rejected was the "angry deity in the sky" of Christianity (I'm European background but from an un-religious family). But I was still aware that this rejection did not answer the fundamental questions which were still within me. I guess it was the start of a very honest quest.
In my opinion the Gita is an amazing spiritual teaching of great profundity (it's historical accuracy is, for me at least, irrelevant). If you meditate, then the truth will manifest. If you take drugs, then any experiences you gain will be delusions and not something you can repeat or control. You will also gain no true insight via drugs. Do not pollute your temple - insight is your birthright. Seek it out.
namaste

Viraja
20 May 2015, 03:00 PM
Rishab,

You are young... please, please, please stay away from drugs... Who said drugs give you experience of inner bliss? If so, all those drug abusers and addicts must be another Ramakrishna or Ramana! Please stay away from all those drugs which have all those negative consequences including shortening of life span and a myriad of other problems. I chose to answer only to stress this point.

BTW: It is not hard, if you want, to have spiritual experiences. Just stay focused on your chosen devata and do routine spiritual practice and prayers. In a short time, you will see your deity in your dreams! And this is the one and only way to know god. Just follow all those guidelines for being a good person and do enough prayers, in due course, your sadhana will bear fruit and take you closer to god.

Wish you good luck!

Eastern Mind
20 May 2015, 04:30 PM
but is it true that god isn't a supernatural being watching us from the skies but our consciousness within us?


Vannakkam Rishab: Welcome to these forums, and yes God is inside us. We Hindus are on a different operating system than westerners.

Welcome to the forums.

Aum Namasivaya

Believer
20 May 2015, 08:06 PM
Namaste,

Welcome to the forum Rishab.

We are to be blamed for the disconnect in your life to God. We are not educated enough in the philosophical aspects of our religion to be able to guide our children. So, your rebellion is understandable. It was/is a manifestation of the frustration due to lack of any valid explanations provided to you. Hope you can forgive us and do your own search for the supreme.

At an abstract level, God runs the universe, which consists of many planetary systems. He is not a supernatural force whose only job is to hide up in the sky and be a watchman and observe your every activity. You or I are not that important for Him to spend a major portion of the day watching us go through the motions of life. At least I don't flatter myself by entertaining such thoughts. And getting high is not a way to achieve anything at all. It is a downward spiral more than anything else. So, the sooner you quit drugs, the better off you will be in the long run and also in the short run.

The Hindu holy book Bhagwad Gita is the pinnacle of Hindu wisdom. To the devout, Bhagwan Krishanji came down to earth to enlighten us about the philosophy of life through His narration of it to Arjun. You may take it any whichever way you want - just as a historical record or as an account of the actual visit by the Divine to our home, mother earth.

Go ahead and read some of the threads that interest you, ask questions, start a regular regimen of some chanting and reading of scriptures. Before you know it, you will become the biggest expert in the forum. You owe it your children in the future to be more educated than we are/were and guide them properly in spiritual matters; else you would be a failure just the way we have been to you and to countless other offsprings of born Hindus. The choice is yours. You want to be better than us to your future family, or repeat the pattern and be stupid like us and be ill prepared to guide your future family?

Pranam.

devotee
21 May 2015, 07:08 AM
Namaste Rishab,


is it true that god isn't a supernatural being watching us from the skies but our consciousness within us?

Maharishi Patanjali says that God is a supernatural being but He is described as given below in MAndukya Upanishad :

a) God is one of the states of Brahman which is the sole Reality beyond time and space. God is not a separate entity apart from Its creation. The essence of Creation or the substratum of the whole Creation is Brahman.
b) God is Mass of Consciousness and is non-dual with the Creation i.e. God is Mass of Consciousness and on that Mass of Consciousness this world appears as the waves appear on the bosom of an Ocean.
c) God is a state of Ultimate bliss. He/She/It is the origin and end of all beings and all things in the universe.
d) God and this world are due to powerful MAyA or Prakriti which is the power of Brahman. Prakriti has 8 parts : 5 MahabootAs i.e. Earth, Water, Fire, Sky and Air, and Mann (i.e. Observing Mind), Intellect and Ahamkaar or Ego by which one differentiates oneself from any other being or thing. God is the master of MAyA. MAyA or Prakriti has its own Laws within its relative plane of existence. MAyA or Prakriti has two main powers : It veils the Reality i.e. Brahman and projects this world.
e) Whatever happens in this world is due to governing Laws of Prakriti but God has power to intervene.
f) God is everywhere i.e. in all forms and even where there is no form. There is no place where God is not. So, it is quite OK to worship God in form or even without form. Moreover, He/She can be worshiped in any form chosen by the devotee.

*******************

Finally, Please STAY AWAY FROM DRUGS. The drugs will make you Tamsik in nature and will make you fall in darkness of lower realms.

OM

Rishab
21 May 2015, 11:38 PM
Thanks for replying all of you!
It really has helped me a lot and I will take your advice and stay away from drugs. I was told that it would open my mind and help me find my way in life and you guys are absolutely right. I stopped smoking a month ago because i felt I was really doing bad in school and other aspects of my life as well and now I feel better than ever but I do have a question though. If drugs are that bad, how come I've seen Sadhus smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol? I'm not trying to defend my past behavior but it is a genuine question I have.
Can someone please tell me how I can start achieving consciousness? I just find meditation absolutely impossible. I'm bipolar and I suffer from ADHD, I constantly have thoughts in my head and I can't focus on one thing enough to meditate. I'm very grateful for all your replies.

Namaste

Rishab
21 May 2015, 11:43 PM
I'm afraid neither my parents or anyone else in my family for that matter understand the true meaning of our religion. I believe they blindly go to temples and perform rituals believing it will make them have a better life but they don't really understand why they're doing it and what it truly gives. Only recently after lots of research have I changed my views on Hinduism. I now understand that its truly the best guide on how to live your life with a complex and detailed understanding of the mind and the body that I never knew existed. But I still have a lot of questions which when answered will possibly turn me into a complete believer.

Namaste.

Rishab
21 May 2015, 11:44 PM
[QUOTE=devotee;124900]
God is a state of Ultimate bliss.

How do I achieve this state? What should the first step I take?

Pranam.

Rishab
21 May 2015, 11:47 PM
My experience this past year has taught me a very important lesson. TO STAY AWAY FROM DRUGS, like you said. Everything you have stated above is true and now I'm trying to spread the message to people around me who do use drugs.

Does a chosen deity have a special significance?

Pranam.

Rishab
22 May 2015, 01:01 AM
I'm reading the Gita for the first time as we speak.
It is truly marvelous.

Pranam.

deafAncient
22 May 2015, 02:06 PM
Hi Rishab,
I'm not the best person to answer but since nobody else has, I thought I'd comment. Like you I rejected god outright after a religious search. I was about 18 at the time and in hindsight what I rejected was the "angry deity in the sky" of Christianity (I'm European background but from an un-religious family). But I was still aware that this rejection did not answer the fundamental questions which were still within me. I guess it was the start of a very honest quest.
In my opinion the Gita is an amazing spiritual teaching of great profundity (it's historical accuracy is, for me at least, irrelevant). If you meditate, then the truth will manifest. If you take drugs, then any experiences you gain will be delusions and not something you can repeat or control. You will also gain no true insight via drugs. Do not pollute your temple - insight is your birthright. Seek it out.
namaste

This was more or less my stance, except that my worldview formed as an undiagnosed deaf child, and upon introduction to religion by my nanny (my parents didn't do it), I rejected Christianity outright upon hearing "Jesus died on the cross for our sins," or something like that. I knew somehow that it wasn't true (at least for me), IMMEDIATELY. I had only learned to speak, read, and write a year before (I was already eight and a half years old at this point). I had no religion, because I couldn't accept Christianity. I also came from a non-religious European-stock family). I had known that there was something to my worldview that makes SD accessible to me. I looked at a lot of different things, like Cherokee beliefs (by the way, I found some similarities between Cherokee and SD beliefs - Cherokee council houses, where the sacred fire is kept, always has the main door/entrance facing the east, AND Cherokees traditionally sleep with the head pointing east, or south if that orientation is not available, but NEVER west - west is considered darkness or death), Paganism, and witchcraft.

I have NEVER done drugs, only alcohol, and recently decided to completely stop drinking it from a social basis (I never got in trouble with it like BOTH of my parents did). I have to second the comment on the delusional aspects of drugs. I, with my Natural Hygiene background, have always considered the sensations from drugs merely a bodily reaction against the effects of the drugs and not of significant events happening on the spiritual level. That is just the brain/mind malfunctioning while under the influence of these drugs.

I'll give you an insight, some of which you already know. I'm a member of the Counter Crusade to Unbuckle the Bible Belt, a facebook group of believers of separation of church and state, anti-dominionist, humanists, atheists, etc. They have no understanding of religion outside the Abrahamic mindset. Just yesterday, I posted a post about science within religion, and how this relationship within SD differs radically from the western perspective of religion versus science. Not one comment was posted on the post. On previous posts offering SD perspective on various issues, people either gloss over it or make the comment, "So? And...?" They clearly do not get it. What is dangerous is that this group shows no signs of acceptance of different paths and in fact denigrate religions of ALL kinds with no understanding of the difference between them, especially between Abrahamic and Indic religions.

I don't know what to do yet to help people go from Abrahamic religions to Indic religions or at least an Indic thought of civilization. Remember, Dharma is not the same as religion (mata, sampradāya, and paṇtha is).

I have not been an atheist for a long time, since I realized that I have something spiritually happening that can't be explained. Let me correct myself here. I was an atheist in a western perspective in that I reject an Abrahamic gOd, but not in the sense that scientist believe that inert matter came to together, and eventually formed consciousness. I feel that it's the other way around.

srivijaya
24 May 2015, 01:12 PM
I'm bipolar and I suffer from ADHD, I constantly have thoughts in my head and I can't focus on one thing enough to meditate.
Hi Rishab,
A friend of mine has the same condition. She found that a gentle meditation to bring her awareness to the breath has helped. Your thoughts are not your enemy, they will also become objects of awareness. Just don't cling to them or self-identify with them. Then like waves after a storm they will dissolve back into the base clarity which is your mind. It will take time but that's no problem.
Namaste

Eastern Mind
24 May 2015, 03:40 PM
Vannakkam: In my years of teaching, and dealing with students with ADHD, I honestly couldn't tell which was worse, the ADHD, or the stigma attached to ADHD. ADHD kids get told that there is something wrong (read 'bad') with them so often that they start believing it. The same stigma does not apply to other conditions like diabetes, chronic fatigue, minor autism, and more.

The entire ADHD drup debate focusses on one thing ... that drug, IN COMBINATION with another drug, is a substitute for heroin. The drug alone isn't some evil stupor inducing state, but one incredibly helpful thing when proper diagnosis is had, there is consistency in monotoring, etc.. I would go as far as to say it's prevented many suicides. Do we have the same attitudes to blood thinners, insulin, cholesterol drugs, painkillers, and tons of others?

So the attitude becomes 'we have to fight this' rather than work with it in a positive way from acceptance. ADHD means you have to work faster, things change faster, attention will wander quicker. So rather than suggesting meditation, something similar can happen in an active shortened puja. In a puja, the hands are kept busy, there is lots to do, and attention can naturally shift from one offering to the next, without the feeling of failure.

I think everyone here is an atheist to the Abrahamic God, or at least the portrayal of whatever it is by hard core evangelicals.

Sorry I went rambling there.

Best wishes.

Aum Namasivaya

devotee
24 May 2015, 11:14 PM
Dear Rishab,

Just don't label yourself as ADHD or whatever. In fact, from what I have studied, identifying the symptoms associated with children and labeling them as ADHD is not free from controversy. Yes, it may be true that you are more active / restless than many children of your age. However, slowly thing will come into your grip with practice. My own son was highly restless but now he has matured into a very responsible and studious person.

Your mind can do wonders. You become what you believe you are. Give yourself time. Try to be calm ... train yourself to enjoy one thing at a time. Refuse getting bored with whatever is around you and whatever is happening around you. Get interested in small things. My advice will be that you should try learning sketching/painting. Meditation can help you greatly. Sit in front of most attractive face of your chosen deity and focus all your attention to that face ... discard all stray thoughts and feel that you are becoming one with that deity. Slowly chant OM with a long duration.

Vipashyana

You can train your mind to be calm and peaceful by practising Vipashyana. Sit cross legged in comfortable position with your chest out and erect spine. Your eyes should be half-open as you are comfortable. Just watch your breath ... notice whether it is fast or slow ... where it touches the nostrils. Just focus on that point and keep watching the breath. If your mind wanders bring it back to breathing. Don't try to interfere in anyway the process of breathing. You have just to keep watching and do nothing else. Thoughts will keep coming and going. You should neither attach yourself with any thought process nor try to stop it or interfere with it. Don't even judge if the thoughts are good or bad. You have to focus ONLY on your breathing process. Do it for ten minutes to start with and then increase the timing upto say 20 minutes everyday. This exercise is sure to improve your concentration and it can fully rid yourself from your so-called ADHD syndrome.

*************

Don't copy all SAdhus. Yes, there are a number of SAdhus who smoke GAnjA. However, it doesn't help in meditation unless it is prescribed by a highly accomplished Yogi ... it takes them towards more and more darkness and nothing else. SAdhus who take alcohol are very few because it is permitted only in Tantra sAdhana and that is highly dangerous. Stay away from all such SAdhus who take drugs or take alcohol.

Why don't you copy SAdhus who are completely clean and take SAttvik food. Bhagwad Gita says that drugs are TAmsik in nature and if consumed will take you towards more and more TAmsik domain.

What is the first step towards "Realising God/Self". Be a good human being. Be compassionate to all beings. Maintain cleanliness and hygiene. Keep a daily routine and try to stick to it. Control your senses and nerves. ... then start reading scriptures like Bhagwad Gita and Upanishads. Do daily meditation and try to connect to God by dropping all attachment to this world.

Best of luck ...

OM

Sriram257
28 May 2015, 09:34 AM
Hi Rishab,

Initially when I read your post, I was thinking "oh just another guy with his own problems and issues" later I read your other posts and saw your enthusiasm.
As the other posts are long and some times you need patience to go through other posts, I will merely give you suggestions to go through a Canadian guy's videos on Hinduism his name is "Anekantavad"(Youtube). Also I would suggest you read the complete works of Vivekananda as well. The way Vivekananda presents the Hindu Dharma is marvellous. However I must warn you, once you get hooked onto "Anekantavad" or especially Vivekananda, you will lose interests in other aspects.

So this is my warning. I understand what you go through in this age, you will be having a lot of pressure, especially in deciding your career and all that so take care.

Aanandinii
30 May 2015, 12:10 AM
Namaskar ji,

A lot of wisdom has been given here. It is not much, but I would like to add, Rishab, it may not be worth it to "spread the message" among your friends and correct their misunderstanding too much. Certainly stating that you disagree and why when asked is good, but much more beyond that and you risk alienating your friends and peers, and becoming isolated. Of course that may not be a problem, in fact in my experience to steer clear of drugs and drink one often needs to steer clear of the communities that use them. It's not really so much fun being around a crowd of blotto and insensate people while you yourself are sober.

And then there are the ones who seem to have a knee-jerk reaction to such speech and party a little harder in a kind of defiance. I used to know people who would see an anti smoking ad anywhere and light up in direct response. And that was one of the more mild responses.

There are all kinds of anti drug campaigns and ads everywhere. Youth groups, health classes, etc. If people navigate all of this growing up and are still determined to give it a try, then you are not likely to stop them. Let them make their own choices. Make your statement initially, and then just quietly lead by your own example. That will speak much louder than any words you can say to try and convince them otherwise.

And for the record, even the greatest proponent of psychedelic stimulation for opening consciousness, Dr. Timothy Leary, recanted in the end. He was not coerced into it. He finally realized the truth that the truly wise and open have always known and stated. You can force a door open, yes, but only under the strict, controlled guidance of a master and even then it it dangerous and not advisable - every culture with a tradition of this kind of thing bears that out. There is always the controlled guidance of a strong master and a respect for the danger of the attempt. And even with the guidance and training of a strong tradition and teacher, a person may attract and open themselves to very negative things.

99% of people who say they do drugs to "open their consciousness" are deluding themselves. It's an excuse. They're not really interested in illumination, they simply want to experiment and experience. It's a dangerous ride, and not worth it.

As to ADHD, I was once diagnosed with ADD (the 'H' didn't exist yet). I agree with EMji and others, it is a poorly understood label that serves to limit more than anything else. You can indeed harness your thoughts and mind, through the advice already offered by several learned people in this post. I wish you all success and happiness!

~Pranam

Rishab
30 May 2015, 06:25 PM
Thank you all for your responses!
It really has helped me

SuryaVedanta754
29 March 2020, 12:14 PM
Science And Faith - Not A Conflict




Some Links


Summary - Some of the greatest scientists in the history of the world believed in God. The percentage of belief among the professional scientific community is just about the same as the rest of the population. It is pure myth that most scientists do not believe in God. One link for a professional study that proved that prayer works. Another link to the Vatican council on science
which includes a huge list of Noble Prize winning scientists who believe in God.

Benjamin Franklin and Isaac Newton, two of the founders of all modern math and science, both believed in God.


Nikolai Tesla believed in God and was a fan of the Hindu saint Swami Vivekananda.





This article concludes that about 50% of scientists are religious, and, additionally, many more, while not religious, believe in God.


blogs.discovermagazine.com/intersection/...


from this book:


https://www.amazon.com/Science-vs-Religion-Scientists-Really/dp/0199975000


Quoting from the article: "In the course of her research, Ecklund surveyed nearly 1,700 scientists and interviewed 275 of them. She finds that most of what we believe about the faith lives of elite scientists is wrong. Nearly 50 percent of them are religious. Many others are what she calls “spiritual entrepreneurs,” seeking creative ways to work with the tensions between science and faith outside the constraints of traditional religion…..only a small minority are actively hostile to religion."




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And here's A professional scientific study proving that prayer works:


http://www.1stholistic.com/Prayer/hol_prayer_proof.htm


"There is ample proof that prayer works. Many scientific studies have been conducted that validate this observation.


A 1993 Israeli survey following 10,000 civil servants for 26 years found that Orthodox Jews were less likely to die of cardiovascular problems than "nonbelievers." And a 1995 study from Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., monitoring 250 people after open-heart surgery concluded that those who had religious connections and social support were 12 times less likely to die than those who had none."


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the Pontifical Academy of Sciences has a long list of Noble Prize winning scientists who believe in God...


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontifical_Academy_of_Sciences


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