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Thread: A thought on religion and dharma

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    A thought on religion and dharma

    Namaste,

    The other day sometime back, a thought occurred to me.

    That man is told that as he gets better spiritually, his enjoyment factor in life would improve... (sins diminish, he becomes good).

    But consider this, the truly enlightened DO NOT cherish life and its enjoyments as much as a bonded soul! He cares not for the mundane offerings of life.

    Therefore, it appears to me that bonded that we mostly are, our enjoyment of life is so much better...

    A fully realized soul has no yearnings, he has no purpose on planet earth.

    It also appears to me, a certain amount of fine balance is needed between the bonded quotient and the realized quotient. The realized quotient, so that he can tread the righteous path and earn a lasting good name and fame, and all goodness to come, and the bonded quotient, so that he can enjoy life... at last!

    I'm particularly writing this to address the issue of self-denial of pleasures that is stressed in religion - we negate this and that, but to what end? At the end, we only rise up to the level where rewards are meaningless to us.

    May be, I think, that is why 'living to the moment' is a better choice. That is, instead of denying yourself or letting go of your instincts, express them. This may be a more rewarding experience and out of karma, will actually lead you faster across ascension spiritually.

    Am I being 'anti-Hindu'?

    Many thanks for reading.
    jai hanuman gyan gun sagar jai kapis tihu lok ujagar

  2. #2

    Re: A thought on religion and dharma

    Deleted and moved
    Last edited by markandeya 108 dasa; 30 October 2018 at 04:37 AM.

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    Re: A thought on religion and dharma

    Nice, MD ji. Yes, many elderly also do tough parikramas... also wondered how they keep going like that.

    Thanks for the kind reply. Although you have answered my Sholingur thread here....

    It was nice to read about some of your experiences, thanks for sharing them.
    jai hanuman gyan gun sagar jai kapis tihu lok ujagar

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    Re: A thought on religion and dharma

    *I am just taking liberty to note here that I have written a PM to Anirudh ji of this forum. Not sure if he visits / signs-in frequently here, so just notifying him through here.
    jai hanuman gyan gun sagar jai kapis tihu lok ujagar

  5. #5

    Re: A thought on religion and dharma

    Namaste Viraja Ji,

    I moved the post to the right place.

    This is a very important question and something that I think about. It may depend on what we call enjoyment it can be a loaded word and how the wise see it and what their definition of true happiness is and enjoying or being happy and satisfied in life. In B Gita not to be to much by the book , when the senses touch the objects of the sense sparsha enjoyment is born, so there is no denial that enjoyment is part of experience of life but that enjoyment soon becomes source of dukkha, dukkha is more complex than just suffering and the wisdom to overcome it is not just one of rejecting it or even wanting to being free from it whilst one still has a body, Dukkha main cause is tanha or wanting desiring and craving and Raga attachment. We have five senses and we cant escape that, we cant cut out our eyes or just eat dry bread and then be considered as transcending suffering and spiritually happy. When we want attach and crave for something it changes the quality of mind, things become more unsettled and awareness is lost, its a limitation and entrapment and not even really living in the present moment because its not allowing what can unfold to unfold as fresh and new because of attachment and desiring whats not even there.

    I think there is a far to much envy in some of the religious peoples mind, they seem to hate wealth or deny any type of human existence that makes one happy, if one is happy they can deny its just temporary, that would only ruin the moment. There is emphasis on why Dukkha exists and how sukkha also has causes and the wisdom to live with balance an understanding, true renunciation starts when one has that higher taste that is not dependant or attached to the the world, its not rejecting the world, maybe it is embracing the world more.

    I think enjoyment and being happy but also accepting the limitations and inherent nature of dukkha within life brings peace and wisdom ultimately.

    Not to disagree with you but there are a couple of things you said that is also a common misconception about the Enlightened.

    But consider this, the truly enlightened DO NOT cherish life and its enjoyments
    In one sense it is right that there is no seeking to fullfill what most people deem as the source of happiness, but I would not say that they do not Cherish life, it is the very source of life that is most Cherished and preserved for all beings at the core of the Enlightened teaching, maybe you did not mean it that way but there is the wrong type of conception in many places of what renunciation is.

    Im not debating

    Therefore, it appears to me that bonded that we mostly are, our enjoyment of life is so much better
    When the causes of dukkha are slowly removed its naturally replaced with higher states of mind, happiness and distress is all within the mind, one may seemingly be happy on the outside but inside maybe different. Just look at how many rich and famous entertainers personal lives are often a mess, but look great on the big screen.

    A fully realized soul has no yearnings, he has no purpose on planet earth
    Does desirelessness mean total inactivity and disinterests in the world, does the Enlightened have no purpose, their purpose is spontaneous, uplifting all those around them in whatever way, its automatic without effort. Also it seems that the sense of wonder increases.

    I get what your saying about a certain type of religious person and teaching that has evolved about denial of everything in this world. In Theravada tradition the one side of it is that there is only dukkha, birth, ageing and death, attachment to the world is abandoned and even seen in disgust.These teachings while they have elements of truth is rather mundane and does not reflect the spirit of early Buddhism and a lot of those type of teachings are by ascetics and belongs to their order and a good mixture Christian type Guilt mixed in to the teachings. Its in many religious teaching's and is used as a weapon to make people feel guilty or give money to improve happiness for punya, good fortune prosperity and ultimate reward at the end of life.

    In terms of practical life I think balance seems to work the best, any type of over indulgence or neglect upsets the balance and quality of life.
    Last edited by markandeya 108 dasa; 30 October 2018 at 07:28 AM.

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    Re: A thought on religion and dharma

    MD ji, great reply from you! What I gain from reading your reply is that, bondage might give us enjoyment of mundane aspects of life, but this bondage condition makes us more prone to sins and sinning... and secondly, yes, it is true what you have stated, a realized soul may have his own purposes in life which might bring him enjoyment and thirdly, that a bonded soul will feel the loss if disappointed for worldly reasons and end in a gloom of sorrow! Really, your reply enriches the thoughts I had. Thank you.
    jai hanuman gyan gun sagar jai kapis tihu lok ujagar

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