Hinduism and India's Decline

[sarabhanga]

Namaste Bob (and all others),

Hindu dharma absolutely depends on the dharma cakram.

There is one main reason for my involvement with the internet. And that reason is the promotion of sanAtana dharma. Perhaps my single-minded effort to turn the wheel of dharma here on HDF has crushed a few toes along the way, but I am quite sure that the direction is true and that in the end the benefits (to all) should outweigh any trivial costs.

I began harping on the same theme 10 years ago, and (after endless interruption and circular discussion on the HinduNet forums) when Satay established this new forum I transferred my internet alliance to HDF, where the effort to inspire and correctly inform has continued.

Now, after two years of similar discussion (and similar objections) here on HDF, the momentum of my focus, which sees only the destination, makes it difficult to avoid occasional offense as unnecessary obstacles suddenly appear in the way. And sometimes I am compelled to overly dramatic language or apparently harsh words, as a teacher or a parent must sometimes scold an unruly child, or as a coachman at speed must sometimes simply yell “Get out of the way!”.

I may seem at times like “a man on a mission”, and that is indeed what I am. But I honestly mean no personal offence. And I trust that my strenuous objection to the idea (often repeated by those who understand very little of sanAtana dharma) that the varNAshrama system should be scrapped, is now understandable to all.

Here are just a few posts that follow this obsession from the very beginning of HDF until now:

dharmacakram

dharmacakram

nArIcakram

cakram

pañcakram

svacakram

SaTcakram

cakramAtRkA

sahasrAracakram

aSTAÑgacakram

kAshI

bhairava

yama

saMyama

turIyAtIta

turIyAtIta

dharmabhRtyA

varNAshramadharmacakram

[atanu]

Namaste All,

Om Namah Narayana

http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/sho...hlight=hridaya

A Vedic Consecration to the Spiritual Heart

By Vamadeva

Published in the Mountain Path
The heart (hridaya) is the seat of the Self or Atman in Vedantic thought. Realization of the Self in the heart is the main Vedantic formulation of Moksha or liberation. The Upanishads laud the Self in the heart in many verses and make it the object of many vidyas (ways of knowledge). -------

Yet the heart is not just the seat of the Self; as such, it is also the source of all the main aspects and faculties of our entire nature as embodied souls. It is the seat of the mind (chitta) as the Yoga Sutras indicate. By this is meant not the outer mind but the inner, core or source mind, the source of all our karmas and samskaras. The heart is similarly the source of Prana or our life energy, the force that animates our various bodies from birth to birth, not merely as the breath but as the power behind all that we can do or think. The heart is also the ultimate source of speech and when we speak truly we speak from the heart.

The heart is the source of our entire being. All our different faculties are like different rays branching out from the central light of the heart which is like the Sun. All our energies are conduits of the energy of the heart, however far they may wander from it. In deep sleep we return to this inner light for peace and renewal, showing that we cannot remain apart from it even for a day.

Yet the heart is not just the source of our individual existence. It is also our place of unity and connection with the cosmic existence (Brahman). It spreads not just through our entire individual beingness but throughout the entire universe. In the heart resides our main connection with the Devatas, the great cosmic powers, the Gods and Goddesses which rule the universe, its evolution and its different planes of existence. Each one of our individual faculties arising from the heart has its corresponding cosmic Deva ruling a corresponding power of nature and the greater universe. The sun, the moon, the stars, the earth and all aspects of the cosmic creative force dwell within the heart.

This heart or hridaya is obviously not the mere physical organ. Nor is it simply the heart center, the anahata chakra of the subtle body, though it is closely related to it. This heart is the core of our being, which is the core of Being itself. The heart is where we experience our own self-being and through it contact the nature of all things. This hridaya could be better called the ‘spiritual heart’ in distinction to the physical and subtle heart centers.

The following is a beautiful prayer of consecration to heart from the Krishna Yajur Veda (Taittiriya Brahmana). It is still commonly chanted in ashrams and temples today, though not everyone contemplates its true meaning. It is often included in the greater Rudram chant sacred to Lord Shiva. It consists of a consecration of all of our faculties, along with their cosmic counterparts, into the heart and the Supreme Being within that. In this way, this heart prayer reconstructs the Cosmic Person (Purusha), the universal Self that is our true Being and is the Brahman, the being of the entire universe. Only when we place the cosmic powers into our individual faculties can we return them to our true heart that is universal.

Such a consecration in the heart is true Pratyahara in the Yogic sense, withdrawing all our faculties for the highest meditation. It is the reintegration of our scattered energy and attention into the Supreme Self, which is the supreme Yoga, the Yoga of the spiritual heart. It can be performed as preliminary to or along with Self-inquiry in order to make it more effective. It can be done along with any other Yoga practices as well.

1.May fire (Agni) be placed in my speech (Vak), my speech in the heart (hridaya), the heart in me (mayi), the I (aham) in the immortal (amritam), the immortal in Brahman.

2.May the Wind (Vayu) be placed in my breath (Prana), my breath in the heart, the heart in me, the I in the immortal, the immortal in Brahman.

3.May the Sun be placed in my eye, my eye in the heart, the heart in me, the I in the immortal, the immortal in Brahman.

4.May the Moon be placed in my mind, my mind in the heart, the heart in me, the I in the immortal, the immortal in Brahman.

5.May the Directions be placed in my hearing, my hearing in the heart, the heart in me, the I in the immortal, the immortal in Brahman.

6.May the Waters be placed in my generative fluid, my generative fluid in the heart, the heart in me, the I in the immortal, the immortal in Brahman.

7.May the Earth be placed in my body, my body in the heart, the heart in me, the I in the immortal, the immortal in Brahman.

8.May herbs and trees be placed in my hair, my hair in the heart, the heart in me, the I in the immortal, the immortal in Brahman.

9.May Indra be placed in my strength, my strength in the heart, the heart in me, the I in the immortal, the immortal in Brahman.

10.May Parjanya be placed in my head, my head in the heart, the heart in me, the I in the immortal, the immortal in Brahman.

11.May Rudra be placed in my spirit, my spirit in the heart, the heart in me, the I in the immortal, the immortal in Brahman.

12.May my self be placed in the Self, the Self in the heart, the heart in me, the I in the immortal, the immortal in Brahman.
-----

Lord Rudra is the first born and the last to go into Himself. Dwelling in brain chakra is dwelling in Soma and in Maya creation. From Hridaya, which is Self, sprouts the awareness I and then the mind "I am this". The pure I, the immortal (self) and Brahman are one. "I am this" is a created artefact -- a thought.


Atman/Brahman is atiasrami and so is pure I. And so is a Jnani. Terming a Jnani as belonging to an Asrama is fatally flawed. Sannayasi is not one who merely lives in a forest or who has taken a Diksha but a Sannyasi is one who has renounced everything (and everything is included in Aham). A true Sannyasi (a Jnani) cannot have alliances.

Regards to all.

Om Shanti Om.

Om Namah Shivaya

[sm78]

Terming a Jnani as belonging to an Asrama is fatally flawed

As long a jnani lives in the world his purpose (for serving of the rest) is best served in a particular ashrama (as a vedic sannyasi or tantric kulavadhoota)

[atanu]

As long a jnani lives in the world his purpose (for serving of the rest) is best served in a particular ashrama (as a vedic sannyasi or tantric kulavadhoota)

Namaste SM,

Sure. i do not deny it, since i am an asrami.

Asrama is from the view of Asrami. Jnani being ALL, is atiasrami. Jnani is a form of Rudra -- who is the Self as well as the Guru.

RV Book 10 HYMN XCII. Visvedevas.

9 With humble adoration show this day your song of praise to mighty Rudra, Ruler of the brave: With whom, the Eager Ones, going their ordered course, he comes from heaven Self-bright, auspicious, strong to guard.
----------------

Jnani is a form of Guru who is not two and who is not different from Shivoadvaita atman. (And the Jiva and then jivas are also not different from Shivoadvaita atman.)

If we go by the Karma Kanda, it is obligatory for a Brahmana (or Khatrya) to perform various Yagnas. Who is performing Soma Yajna today and who can? Who is doing Asvamedha and who can? Shankaracharya and Lord Krishna have taught that there is nothing more purifying than Jnana and the Pratyahara into the Self is the highest Yajna, since it is Yajna of the small self into the Self. And all activities: breathing, eating, reading scripture etc. all these are yagnas for one who knows these activities to be so.


Om Namah Shivaya

[sarabhanga]

Namaste Atanu,

A jñAnI is a knower of brahman, the perfect brAhmaNa.

A jñAnI is (by definition) a brAhmaNa.

And such a brAhmaNa must have renounced all attachment.

And such a renunciate is (by definition) a saMnyAsI.

And a perfect saMnyAsI is an avadhUta.

And an avadhUta is a veritable rudrA, with absolute alliance to the one rudra.

But the perfect avadhUta is beyond physical incarnation, and any saMnyAsI still in possession of a mortal body is not yet relieved of responsibility to dharma.

The avadhUta, who is inspired and informed only by rudra, wanders as bhairava himself, inspiring and informing both the saMnyAsI and the shUdra.

The saMnyAsI has no varNa and no Ashrama.

The vAnaprastha is certainly of dvija varNa and (yet retaining attachment to place) certainly remains in isolated hermitage (i.e. in vAnaprasthAshrama).

Every RSi is vAnaprastha, but NOT a saMnyAsI.

Every RSi is forever associated with manifest eternity (generally as a sacred mountain).

And ramaNa is synonymous with aruNa (the solar charioteer, the fiery mount). So the rAmaNa RSi is the eternal guardian of aruNAcala, who is surely vAnaprastha, but without the dIkshA of saMnyAsa.

A saMnyAsI has no fixed Ashrama (except during the monsoon), freely moving from place to place, for any attachment to physical location has been renounced, and there is only one last item to discard. And, for so long as the immortal soul remains yoked to a mortal carriage, the vow of yama and rule of dharma still apply.

Every saMnyAsI was so named by a saMnyAsI, who was named by another, and another, and another, back to the very first example. And that naming can ONLY be done by a living saMnyAsI guru.

Anyone can name themselves anything they like, but a true name can only be given by another. And not even lord rudra has the authority to name himself! Likewise, anyone can proclaim themselves “Hindu”, but until a Hindu guru names the aspirant as a Hindu the name has no proper authority. The whole idea of “self-naming” is an ultimate vanity, which is fatally flawed and without any basis in dharma!

And pratyAhAra is NOT the “highest yajña”. The ultimate yajña occurs only in samAdhi.

[Bob G]

Hello Sarabhanga,

When you state, "as unnecessary obstacles suddenly appear in the way"

I tend to wonder about the help of Lord Ganesha, ...which is the Hindu teaching that I've heard given regarding such matters. I'm not qualified to give advice along such lines since I'm looking at the religious aspects of Hindusim from the outside, whereas your peers are looking at it from the pov of being inside of it.

Anyway, I wonder how Lord Ganesha Himself handles the anguish and or frustration you speak of since He has been with and part of the Dharma teachings for a very, very long time! Does He as a key Mahadeva of Hinduism step "on toes" as needed so to speak? What is His example and how does He instruct human beings to deal with these issues?
I have not met Him but I have heard that many have direct connection with Him - that is more than only beliefs or hopes, although beliefs and hopes are also part of the way.

Om

[sarabhanga]

the anguish and or frustration you speak of

Namaste Bob,

What anguish and/or frustration have I mentioned?

I have only spoken of “unnecessary obstacles”, and changing course around them or occasionally rolling over them if they don’t heed an initial warning to get out of the way.

And similarly, shrI gaNesha would most likely give a clear warning before simply sweeping the obstacle away.

[atanu]

Namaste Sarabhanga Ji,

The spiritual definitions:

divyam jnanam yato dadyat kuryat papasya sanksayam
tasmad dikseti sa prokta desikais tattva-kovidaih

"The process that bestows divyam jnanam (transcendental, spiritual knowledge) and destroys papa, the seed of sin and ignorance, is called diksha by the spiritual persons who have seen the Truth (desikais tattva-kovidaih)."

From Gita (Chapter 18)

Arjuna Uvaacha:
Sannyaasasya mahaabaaho tattwamicchaami veditum;
Tyaagasya cha hrisheekesha prithak keshinishoodana.

Arjuna said:
1. I desire to know severally, O mighty-armed, the essence or truth of renunciation, O Hrishikesa, as also of abandonment, O slayer of Kesi!

Sri Bhagavaan Uvaacha:
Kaamyaanaam karmanaam nyaasam sannyaasam kavayoviduh;
Sarvakarmaphalatyaagam praahustyaagam vichakshanaah.

The Blessed Lord said:
2. The sages understand Sannyas to be the renunciation of action with desire; the wise declare the abandonment of the fruits of all actions as Tyaga.
------------------------------------

Namaste Atanu,
---Every RSi is forever associated with manifest eternity (generally as a sacred mountain).

So the rAmaNa RSi is the eternal guardian of aruNAcala, who is surely vAnaprastha, but without the dIkshA of saMnyAsa.
----

Very well said. May be the eternity is attained without Jnana? And possibly Rudro Maharishi, the eternal seer, may not be Jnani?

Shiva directly is the Guru of such eternal Giri. It is no use assuming that what we see of a guru in our life is all that there is. Sat Guru is not a self coined title but it was bestowed by hundreds of sannyasins, including Shankaracharya of Kanchi. And thousands and thousands of Sannyasins have worshipped Arunachala as Shiva himself.

Anyone can name themselves anything they like, ----The whole idea of “self-naming” is an ultimate vanity, which is fatally flawed and without any basis in dharma!

I agree whole heartedly. It is the ultimate vanity. We see many people calling themselves Guru, Avadhuta etc. It has no basis in dharma. I agree.

And pratyAhAra is NOT the “highest yajña”. The ultimate yajña occurs only in samAdhi.

No problems, though I wonder, in Samadhi, what can be sacrificed, by whom, and to whom ?
-----------------------------

I do not say that Guru Diksha is not absolutely essential. It is absolutely essential. But a mortal like me can hardly comprehend how a Guru received His own Diksha. Then Dattatreya himself had no living Guru but the whole world as the Guru. Shiva is the true living Guru. And Diksha can be by touch, by sight, or by thought.


I sincerely wish that we desist from judging the ashrama status of Hindu Gurus, since there is no end to such judgements and no way to prove anything.

Regards

Om Namah Shivaya

[Bob G]

Hello Sarabhanga,

Your post #21 (and certain others) sounded like your shared and or given reflections related to personal anguish and or frustrations, (?) at least to me.

Anyway, is there some fairly easy to see or well known evidence that Lord Ganesha does "crush toes" in the ways you allude to? ...In other words with His power and vast abilities why hasn't he crushed a whole bunch of the enemies of Hinduism that are out there right now?

Om

[Nuno Matos]

Namaste Bob and Friends

Lord Ganesha doesn't crush Hinduism enemy's as he is the united underworld i.e. the friend of the Self in the Being as he works for the prosperity of all sadhakas . I think Ganesha is or at least for me is a personal deity.
To have such a Ganesha capable of destroying Hinduism enemy's is like having a hounded elephant on the battle field and Ganesha must be inverted with all Dharmic purity lost.

Putting apart recent western nationalist and hegemonic ideas that have infected Hinduism. All Dharma religions are historically know for not creating many animosity's.