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Flavio
28 November 2007, 06:49 AM
Namaste
I have a question that is buzzing me for a long time.
I believe in reincarnation and karma and I am a devout of Lord Ganesha,but I'm not a hindu by birth and for the moment,it's impossible for me to know a guru or find a temple.
What I mean it's that I hope that in the next life I will be reborn as a hindu,and that Sanathana Dharma is universal.
I hope to have explained me well,I mean that it doesn't matter if someone is 100% hindu to believe in Sanathana Dharma.I also believe that there is a reason if I was born in Italy but I feel attracted to Lord Ganesha,maybe this life is a test for me,maybe karma wanted me to search for Lord Ganesha instead of being born into a hindu family.

yajvan
28 November 2007, 01:12 PM
Hari Om
~~~~~~



I have a question that is buzzing me for a long time.
I believe in reincarnation and karma and I am a devout of Lord Ganesha,but I'm not a hindu by birth and for the moment,it's impossible for me to know a guru or find a temple. What I mean it's that I hope that in the next life I will be reborn as a hindu, and that Sanathana Dharma is universal. I hope to have explained me well, I mean that it doesn't matter if someone is 100% hindu to believe in Sanathana Dharma.I also believe that there is a reason if I was born in Italy but I feel attracted to Lord Ganesha,maybe this life is a test for me,maybe karma wanted me to search for Lord Ganesha instead of being born into a hindu family.


Namaste Flavio

Om sumukhya svaha
Om ekadantaya svaha
Om gajakarnikya svaha

You mention 'no need to be 100% hindu to believe in Sanathana Dharma.'
Let me see if I can perhaps offer a view that compliments your thinking here.

Sanatana Dharma is eternal... it is Arsa Dharma (|rsha) dharma i.e. that of the risi's.
We are blessed to have Bharata (India) be the home and the guiding light for this truth (satyam), yet it is universal. Just as the Atman is universal so it Sanatana Dharma.
We cannot say that since the rishi's of India via their insights and ritam discovered the methods to Atman, that Atman then is Hindu or Indian by nature, correct?

Thomas Edison is attributed with discovering DC current i.e. electricity... Yet I think there is a good argument for Luigi Galvani & Alessandro Volta from your neck of the woods co-claiming this discovery. That said, is electricity then considered 'American' since Edison is acclaimed to be the inventor?

Like that, this knowledge of Sanatana Dharma is universal and applies to all... there are specific laws in the universe that apply to all of us. This is what the risi's cognized in their consciousness [ Ritambhara prajana - that which only knows the Truth].

So it does not matter if one believes or dis-believes in a law of nature it happens. I can choose to not believe in gravity, yet I still fall down.

Lets assume one does not believe in re-incarnation ( in fact I am completely against this... let me explain in a second), that does not infer one will not come pack to finish out any uncompleted works i.e.~ karma.

I said I am against re-incarnation. Why so? I do not want to come back, plain and simple. I am against it, and am trying to do what I can in this life-time, this opportunity to realize ones SELF, Brahma Sakshtkara ( Self Realization) or turiyatit chetana (sustained turya). This is my intent, my resolve. Yet I am still bound by the laws of nature, of samskaras and the vasanas that reside in me.

The grace of God resides everywhere... this whole galaxy is but one atom at most in this Divine Infinite Being. You are a spark, visphulinga, of this Being. It does not matter where you are from to realize this. There is no 'fine print' on a contract that says only Hindu's need apply.

Being attracted to Ganesha is a blessing... you are in good company.

pranams,

ardhanari
28 November 2007, 02:01 PM
Namaste
I have a question that is buzzing me for a long time.
I believe in reincarnation and karma and I am a devout of Lord Ganesha,but I'm not a hindu by birth and for the moment,it's impossible for me to know a guru or find a temple.
What I mean it's that I hope that in the next life I will be reborn as a hindu,and that Sanathana Dharma is universal.
I hope to have explained me well,I mean that it doesn't matter if someone is 100% hindu to believe in Sanathana Dharma.I also believe that there is a reason if I was born in Italy but I feel attracted to Lord Ganesha,maybe this life is a test for me,maybe karma wanted me to search for Lord Ganesha instead of being born into a hindu family.

Namaste,
Flavio!

In my understanding, only Smartist Hindus do not see people 'becoming' Hindu, but one must be born into the religion.

But most peoples from both Shaivism and Vaishnavism allow for conversion, although in reality the only true religion is Hinduism and everyone practices a variant of it. In Southeast Asia, Hinduism is quite native or ingrained in the population.

It is practiced in places like the the island of Bali, as well as ideas, Sanskrit-derived words and statues of deities are found in the Philippines, a predominantly Christian nation.

You should not fret on whether you are Hindu or not... I believe that anyone who believes in the Vedas (I'm in the middle of reading them) and tries to practice Vedic Dharma in daily life, is a Hindu, regardless of anything else. My practice of Gaudiya (Chaitanya) Vaishnavism, aside from those Hare Krishnas, is inherently Hindu.

Although I was born a Christian, and came upon many religions, I have felt firm that I am a Hindu at heart, regardless of the multitude of denominations. I believe in dharma, karma, yoga, and moksha, and the Vedas. And I'm a Filipino-Canadian!

And even people who were born in a Hindu family go an practice other religions, forgetting about Vaidika Dharma. So no worries; just live the best you Dharmically can! ;)


Jaya Radhe,
Ardhanari.

vcindiana
28 November 2007, 02:46 PM
Hari Om
~~~~~~
Namaste Flavio


Lets assume one does not believe in re-incarnation ( in fact I am completely against this... let me explain in a second), that does not infer one will not come pack to finish out any uncompleted works i.e.~ karma.


I said I am against re-incarnation. Why so? I do not want to come back, plain and simple. I am against it, and am trying to do what I can in this life-time, this opportunity to realize ones SELF, Brahma Sakshtkara ( Self Realization) or turiyatit chetana (sustained turya). This is my intent, my resolve. Yet I am still bound by the laws of nature, of samskaras and the vasanas that reside in me.

pranams,

Dear Yajvan: Sorry, for getting in the middle of this thread. You may answer to me in the thread "Where is God'

I was surprised that you mentioned 1. You do not believe in reincarnation 2. If there is something, you are trying to do avoid in this life.
My questions to you: 1. Is it not Hindu philosophy very much grounded in the concept of incarnation? 2. How good is good enough to avoid the cycle of reincarnation.

Also you say you have an intent (to reach that), does it not amount to "desire" which is the very thing Geeta says to avoid. I find myself impossible to avoid desire, there will always be even an atom of attachment or desire.

Love.........................VC

Flavio
28 November 2007, 04:50 PM
Thank you very much for the answers,you actually understood what I was meaning,even in my broken english :)
I liked very much the comparison of the laws of nature,I now understand better the concept of universality of Sanathana Dharma!

yajvan
28 November 2007, 07:32 PM
Hari Om
~~~~~

Dear Yajvan: Sorry, for getting in the middle of this thread. You may answer to me in the thread "Where is God'

I was surprised that you mentioned 1. You do not believe in reincarnation 2. If there is something, you are trying to do avoid in this life.
My questions to you: 1. Is it not Hindu philosophy very much grounded in the concept of incarnation? 2. How good is good enough to avoid the cycle of reincarnation.

Also you say you have an intent (to reach that), does it not amount to "desire" which is the very thing Geeta says to avoid. I find myself impossible to avoid desire, there will always be even an atom of attachment or desire.

Namaste VC,

I hope that Flavio is ok with taking some of this post space to answer your questions... let me address them:

1. You do not believe in reincarnation
I knew this would get many people's attention. I answered the same way my teacher did when asked the same.
What is meant here VS is we are bound by cause and effect and we will come back as needed. I believe this whole heartedly, yet I am doing what I can to stop the cycle of re-birth. My intent is Moksha , so I needn't comeback. Yes, I believe re-incaration is a rule , it's real and I am bound by these rules, yet want to leave cause-and-effect now, today, the next millisecond by His Grace.

2. If there is something, you are trying to do avoid in this life.
Yes, sustain turiya, the 4th. A liberating level of Being, that one is no longer is bound by cause and effect... that is, realize SELF, Brahma Sakshtkara ( Self Realization) or turiyatit chetana (sustained turya). This is my intent, my resolve.
I practice my sadhana, study, all that. I will not bore you nor give the [my] ego a chance to inflate. Yet the notion is kriya, actions that will liberate.

3. Is it not Hindu philosophy very much grounded in the concept of incarnation? Yes it is, and I subscribe to it, just don't want it any morehttp://www.hindudharmaforums.com/images/icons/icon7.gif. That is why I said I am against it... doesn't mean it is not and bound by it. I am against taxes, yet still pay !


4. How good is good enough to avoid the cycle of reincarnation?
A very wise question... As I have been taught, sustained turiya is needed to avoid the cycle of rebirth.
Now another view , which is delightful, is that of Swami Laksmanjoo, he says the following:
If one realizes that state of supreme God Consciousness for only the fraction of the time it takes to blink one's eyes [ a nimesha ] then from that very moment, he is said to be completely liberated and will not come again to this world. He is quoting from the Netra Tantra 8.8. __I have heard the same from Paramahamsa Nithyananda.

Now this does not come by happenstance. One's practice& way of life (yama and niyama, sadhana, transcending, all that) is a stimulus. It provides the 'runway' for this to happen.

What is the implication? that this experience is so profound that even if lost, when one leaves the body, then one is no longer obligated to return and moves on. That experience of God Consciousness becomes the liberator.

The conversation now becomes more esoteric after this, but it gives one the motivation to keep to their practice.

This is also why my teacher has told us 'save the breath' - you never know when this experience may occur, so its best to be here <earth> as long as one is afforded the opportunity in this body.

hope this helps...

pranams,

bhargavsai
07 January 2008, 10:39 AM
Sir, Sanatana Dharama is not a religion according to me. It is just a set of different beliefs and ways of living. When you apply ash on your forehead you become a Shaiva. When you apply Namam then you are a Vaishnava. When you perform austerities you are a Vedantin.

Sanatana Dharma is not someone's property, it is just a way of living. It is everyone's property.

A person like you who has so much faith and good qualities is the real practitioner of Sanatana Dharma, it is in your blood this is the reason why you know something.

If you have any doubt whether you are Sanatana Dharmic or not ask Ganesha who dwells in your heart and he will answer.

May Greatest Lord Ganesha always be with you.

Flavio
16 January 2008, 06:01 AM
Thank you very much bhargavsai,your words were beautiful and helpful.

Bob G
16 January 2008, 04:14 PM
My view,

That which is free - is free in all worlds, times and places or in no times or places. Freedom will never come in the future... via a projected reincarnation or lack of one.

Om

TatTvamAsi
21 January 2008, 03:46 PM
Flavio,

Reincarnation and all principles in Sanathana Dharma are universal. As the 'name' suggests, "Sanathana Dharma" or Timelss Order, just describes the nature of reality. It is analagous to Physics and its application to all 'things' in this universe. One will still be affected by the laws of Physics whether they 'believe' in it (or understand it) or not. Such is the case with Sanathana Dharma and consequently reincarnation among other things.

Subham.

yajvan
21 January 2008, 04:12 PM
Hari Om
~~~~~~



Sanatana Dharma is not someone's property, it is just a way of living. It is everyone's property.

May Greatest Lord Ganesha always be with you.

Namaste bhargavsai,

nicely said...
I see this sanatana dharma as asārṣa jñāna - the knowledge of the rishis, the seers that cognized the truth (satyam), Reality.

pranams