Namaste,
We all tend to read some scriptures, subscribe to and read general religion oriented periodicals/publications, go to a temple when possible, do some puja and meditation at home, and listen to devotional music. The purpose of all these activities is to try to be better human beings, to elevate ourselves spiritually. Our aim should be to rise to a spiritual level, where people who have not seen God would be able to see Him through us. But we seem to fall short on that by a mile. What happens in reality is that after reading all the good things, we forget to apply them in real life. We forget that the purpose of all the acquired knowledge is to use it so that we can see a better "I" in the mirror. We start preaching instead to reveal the "truth" to others, or get into debates to "set the record straight".
There are endless debates about whether Krishna worshiped Shiva, or Shiva worshiped Krishna; and about the relative merits of Advaita and Dvaita (and Tri-vaita and Quad-vaita) philosophies. In the grand scheme of things, does it matter as to which Hindu path is better, when we are not really going to walk the path? If the entire purpose of reading the scriptures (most times through their adultrated translations) is to terrorize people through endless debates, is it not a waste of a lifetime? Are we really better off having memorized some stuff and then merely regurgitating it, than not having read anything at all?
Sometimes our heads get to be too big and we start thinking of ourselves as God’s gift to humanity. Our entire focus turns towards doing intellectual gymnastics so as to win debates. When I feel that I am contracting this disease, I go back to the following link to recalibrate myself.
http://hindudharmaforums.com/showpos...84&postcount=1
Pranam.
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