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explorer_of_the_mind
14 December 2008, 07:55 PM
Namaste all,

I work at a local college as the school's librarian. However, I am known as the resident expert on Eastern religions, so I was asked to give a second lecture on Hinduism tomorrow morning (back by popular demand). I consider myself fairly knowledgeable about Hinduism, but I myself still have some questions, so I wanted to clarify them with this forum first:

Question 1: The ultimate goal of Hinduism is moksha, which is release from the cycle of reincarnation and union with God. But I also know that the universe goes through cycles of creation, preservation, and destruction. If a person attains moksha is he or she also attaining release from the cycles of the universe as well? Will he or she always be with God after moksha?

Question 2: What is the exact relationship between jati and varna? I tried to explain to the students in the first lecture the difference, but I don't think I clarified it properly. I know that jati is a hereditary occupation, and that varna has more to do with a person's spiritual attainment, but haven't the two over time become intertwined? I remember reading that the caste system was not hereditary in the beginning.

Question 3: The students want to know more about the Hindu Gods. Of course, it is impossible to cover them all, so what gods/goddesses do you recommend that I discuss?

I consider myself more of a specialist in Buddhism, so please forgive my ignorance. Your help in answering these questions will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

saidevo
15 December 2008, 01:38 AM
Namaste eotm,

Nice that you are in demand for speaking about Hinduism, but I wonder how you hoped to get answers to the questions you asked 'yesterday' for "tomorrow's" lecture? Anyway, here are my two cents on them:

1. MokSha is the status of unity with Brahman, of course, but it is not something external to be reached or obtained or accomplished as with a journey or mission; it is nothing more than internal realization that we as jIvas (or manifest souls) are in no way different from Atma or Brahman, the one God who is omni(-present, -scient, -potent).

And then there are different stages of mokSha, differing in their degrees of unity. About the question of re-creation of the universe after a cycle completes, even the trimUrtis (Brahma, VishNu, Rudra) are created, so why are not the souls who attained moKSha? For example, the rishis in the tapaloka continue their individual lives in each cycle, though they have realized their Self.

2. Yes, jAti became hereditory, because it was easier for the son to follow his father's profession rather than take up a new and unknown one. varNa is based on profession and jAti was initially created to identify subgroups within a profession. Spiritual attainment, specially the sAdhana of Self Realization is a legacy of all varNas and castes, as this requires intense personal efforts of meditation, rather than the knowledge of scriptures or practice of rituals.

3. As for the Hindu gods, you might perhaps discuss the family of the Trinity: Brahma-Sarasvati, VishNu-Lakshmi, Shiva-Parvati and then the second generation gods such as Ganesha-Skandha or SAstha and of course Sri Rama and Sri Krishna.

Wish you all the best.

Eastern Mind
15 December 2008, 04:01 PM
Namaste:

Who is the audience? I always ask a few questions first, if I 'lecture'. My lectures are pretty limited to invitations, or hosting university classes at our local temple. I feel it is really necessary to know where the student is coming from. For example, when the interfaith class from the Baptist college arrive, I try to focus more on the mundane..family life etc, and the beliefs that we do hold in common. An agnostic, on the other hand is probably more open to hearing about 'energy' and the like. Have fun, and best wishes on it. You can also refer curious people on to the vast resources out there. For Gods, I personally would and do start with Ganesha, as I've been taught that mystically he is the easiest to contact. Let us know how it goes.

Aum Namasivaya

satay
16 December 2008, 11:26 PM
Namaskar,
How did the lecture go ? Good I hope.

santosh
30 December 2008, 06:34 PM
Hare Krishna!

1. In general Hindu tradition, Moksha (or Mukti or liberation) from the repeated cycle of birth and death, is the ultimate goal of life.

There is this material world which undergoes repeated cycles of creation, maintenance and dissolution. Separate from the material worldis the spiritual world which is the abode of the Supreme Lord and that is eternal. Spiritual World is also called as Vaikuntha. Spiritual World is full of bliss whereas material world is full of miseries.

Mukti is of five types - 1. Sayujya, 2. Salokya, 3. Sarupya, 4. Samipya, 5. Sarshti.

1. Sayujya liberation means merging with the impersonal Brahma-jyoti wherein the soul merges with the Brahman effulgence.
2. Salokya Mukti means the soul or the living entity is transported to Vaikuntha and lives there eternally (in most cases)
3. Sarupya Mukti is where one attains similar external form of Lord Vishnu in terms of external looks, for example, Vishnudutas who are the messengers of Shri Lord Vishu, have four arms, blue complexion etc. So in Sarupya Mukti living entity gets some of the qualities of the Supreme Lord in tiny quantities. Of course, the Supreme Lord is always THE ONE WITHOUT THE SECOND and He is always the master and Supreme Controller (Param Ishvar) of all the living entities at all times.
4. Samipya Mukti gives the opportunutiy to living entity to live in proximity to Supreme Lord in the Spiritual World.
5. Sarshti Mukti is where the living entity gets different opulances of the Supreme Lord.

From Sayujya Liberation, the living entity can fall down back into the material world. There are reasons why this happens. Therefore it is not a great thing. The other four liberations are far better because, then the living entity gets the opportunity to directly associate with the Supreme Lord and serve Him which is the constitutional position of the living entity (Dharma).

In Sayujya Liberation the living entity can not associate with the Lord nor can it serve Him.

2. Varna is bonafide. Jati is just perverted, distorted implementation of the vedic varnashram social system.
There are four varnas - Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaisya, Sudra.

Lord Krishna says in Bhagwad Gita (4.11) that He has created these four varnas. These varnas are based upon Guna-Karma and not based upon Janma-Karma. So one is not a Brahman automatically becuase he/she is born in certain family, instead he/she has to develop the qualities (Guna) and engage himself/herself in Brahminical activites (Karma) only then he/she can be called as Brahmin, else not. Similarly for other varnas.

Example given in this regard is son of a high court judge is not a high court judge automatically, is father is but son is not. However son can become high court judge too by going to Law college, getting certified etc. The point is that the son will have to "earn" the qualification to become high court judge. Similarly son of a Brahmana is not Brahmana automatically.

Jati is based upon Janma (or birth) in a specific family. Jati is what the ugly caste system is and it has no roots in vedic scriptures.

3. Hindu Gods. Unfortunately, many people including Hindus think that there are many Gods. It is absurd. Hinduism or Vedic religion is strictly monoteistic. There is only One God who is the Supreme Lord of everything that exists.

There is no such thing as Hindu God, Muslim God, Christian God, there is only One God. He may be called by different names in different religious traditions but there is only One God who is the father of all living entities. In vedic tradition, He is known by name Lord Krishna. He has millions and millions of names.

In Shri Brahma Samhita, Lord Brahma says:

Ishvarah Paramah Krishna, Saccidanada Vigraha
AnadirAdih Govindam, Sarva Karana Karanam.

Lord Krishna is the cause of all causes. He is the Adi Purusha. Lord Krishna is the original Visnhu. From Lord Krishna, all other Purusha expansions manifest such as Lord Balaram, Lord Sankarshan, Lord Vasudev, Lord Anirudha, Lord Pradyumna, Lord Narayana, Lord Karanyodakshayi Vishnu, Lord Garbhodakshai Vishnu, Lord Kshirodakshai Vishnu and all the Dasha Avatars like (Matsya, Kurma, Varah, Narasimha, Vamana, Parashuram, Ram, Krishna, Budha, Kalki).

There is One God, but there are many demigods. Demigods are living entities who are far far pure and exalted compared to other ordinary living enties (that is us). The realm of the demigods (Svarga Loka) is in the material world and not the spiritual world. All demigods are devout devotees of Lord Vishnu.

Amongst the demigods, Lord Shiva has very unique and special position. He is not a living entitiy like the rest of them. Lord Shiva is Shiva Tattva. Lord Shiva and His abode of Kailash is eternal. It is not destroyed at the time of universal dissolution. Lord Shiva is the highest devotee of Lord Vishnu (Vaishnavanam Yatha Shambhu).

The demigods are controllers of different departments of this material world, for example, Lord Indra is in charge of rains. All demigods are always subordinate to Lord Vishnu.

(apologies for any typos)

satay
30 December 2008, 09:24 PM
Namaskar Santosh,

What you posted here is the ISKCON view of Hinduism. Nothing wrong with that. However, in response to the OP I think you are misleading him. In general, Hindus do not think of other manifestations of lord krishna as demi.

This issue has been discussed several times on HDF.

Welcome to HDF BTW.

explorer_of_the_mind
08 January 2009, 06:33 PM
I am pleased to report that the second lecture went well, and the students had a lot of questions. Thank you all for your assistance.

Today, one of the students who attended my lecture was looking at a copy of the Bhagavad-Gita in my library. She had some questions about the Gita, and I told her what I knew. I mentioned the Mahabharata, and she expressed an interest in reading it, but since our library did not have a copy, I referred her to one of the public libraries in the city. I asked her why she wanted to read it, and she said my lecture was the reason. So I seemed to have sparked an interest in Hinduism among some of the students!