Celebrating Shravan with Shiva -20

 Shiva Day Twenty

The Concept of God in Hinduism by Swami Krishnanada

1.  In the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad we are told that the Supreme Being is Pure Consciousness, in which subjects and objects merge together in a state of Universality. The Supreme Being knew only Itself as 'I-Am', inclusive of everything. As He is the Knower of all things, no one can know Him, except as 'He Is'.

‘The Principal Upanishads’ by Subhamoy Das

The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, which is generally recognized to be the most important of the Upanishads, consists of three sections ('Kandas'), the Madhu Kanda which expounds the teachings of the basic identity of the individual and the Universal Self, the Muni Kanda which provides the philosophical justification of the teaching and the Khila Kanda, which deals with certain modes of worship and meditation, ('upasana'), hearing the 'upadesha' or the teaching ('sravana'), logical reflection ('manana'), and contemplative meditation ('nididhyasana').

The main virtues that occur in the Brhadaranyaka Upanisad is self-restraint, giving, compassion, self-sacrifice, and merciful benevolence. This knowledge when followed results in the realization of Brahman. Brahman is the greatest or supreme reality beyond all the temporary and transforming realities or consciousness.  

Celebrating Shravan with Shiva -19

 Siva Day Nineteen

The Concept of God in Hinduism by Swami Krishnanada

1.  The Chhandogya Upanishad says that this entire Universe is Brahman Manifest in all its states of manifestation. It regards objects as real aspects of the one Subject known as the Vaishvanara-Atman. It also holds that the Supreme Being is the Infinite, or Bhuma, in which one sees nothing else, hears nothing else and understands nothing else except the Self as the only, existence.

‘The Principal Upanishads’ by Subhamoy Das

The Chandogya Upanishad is the Upanishad that belongs to the followers of the Sama Veda. It is actually the last eight chapters of the ten-chapter Chandogya Brahmana, and it emphasizes the importance of chanting the sacred Aum and recommends a religious life, which constitutes sacrifice, austerity, charity, and the study of the Vedas while living in the house of a guru. This Upanishad contains the doctrine of reincarnation as an ethical consequence of karma. It also lists and explains the value of human attributes like speech, will be thought, meditation, understanding, strength, memory, and hope.

Celebrating Shravan with Shiva -18

 Shiva Day Eighteen

The Concept of God in Hinduism by Swami Krishnanada

1.  The Aitareya Upanishad states that the Supreme Atman has manifested itself as the objective Universe from the one side and the subjective individuals on the other side, in which process, factors which are effects of God's creation become causes of individual's perception, by a reversal of the process.

‘The Principal Upanishads’ by Subhamoy Das

The Aitareya Upanishad belongs to the Rig Veda. It is the purpose of this Upanishad to lead the mind of the sacrificer away from the outer ceremonial to its inner meaning. It deals with the genesis of the universe and the creation of life, the senses, the organs, and the organisms. It also tries to delve into the identity of the intelligence that allows us to see, speak, smell, hear, and know.

From an academic perspective, the Aitareya Upanishad is useful to understand the development of the early Vedic ideas of rebirth, reincarnation, Brahman, and liberation. The source of the Upanishad is an Aranyaka from the Rigveda. Hence, it was primarily meant to serve the forest dwellers (vanaprasthas) as a guide for contemplation. It presents Brahman as supreme intelligence and thereby emphasizes the importance of cultivating intelligence and mental purity as part of one’s spiritual practice.

 

Celebrating Shravan with Shiva -17

Shiva Day Seventeen

The Concept of God in Hinduism by Swami Krishnanada

1.  The Taittiriya Upanishad regards Reality as the Atman, or the Self, beyond the physical, vital, mental, intellectual, and causal aspects(sheaths) of the personality. It also identifies this Atman with the Supreme Absolute or Brahman.

‘The Principal Upanishads’ by Subhamoy Das

The Taittiriya Upanishad is also part of the Yajur Veda. It is divided into three sections: The first deals with the science of phonetics and pronunciation, the second and the third deal with the knowledge of the Supreme Self ('Paramatmajnana'). Once again, here, Aum is emphasized as peace of the soul, and the prayers end with Aum and the chanting of peace ('Shanti') thrice, often preceded by the thought, "May we never hate." There is a debate regarding the relative importance of seeking the truth, going through austerity, and studying the Vedas. One teacher says truth is first, another austerity, and a third claims that the study and teaching of the Veda are first because it includes austerity and discipline. Finally, it says that the highest goal is to know the Brahman, for that is the truth.

 

Hindus believe in the existence of the soul, which is eternal, invisible, imperishable, unchanging, and exists beyond the grasp of the mind and the senses. Hindus call it Atma or Atman. According to Hinduism, a person is evolved or self-aware to the extent he is aware of the true nature of his Self. It is this awareness that distinguishes an ignorant person from the self-realized one.

Celebrating Shravan with Shiva -16

 Shiva Day Sixteen

The Concept of God in Hinduism by Swami Krishnanada

1   The Mandukya Upanishad regards the Supreme Being as the Turiya, or the Transcendent Consciousness, beyond the stales of waking, dreaming and deep sleep.

‘The Principal Upanishads’ by Subhamoy Das

The Mandukya Upanishad belongs to the Atharva Veda and is an exposition of the principle of Aum as consisting of three elements, a, u, m, which may be used to experience the soul itself. It contains twelve verses that delineate four levels of consciousness: waking, dreaming, deep sleep, and a fourth mystical state of being one with the soul. This Upanishad by itself, it is said, is enough to lead one to liberation.

Celebrating Shravan with Shiva -15

 Shiva Day Fifteen

The Concept of God in Hinduism by Swami Krishnanada

1.  The Mundaka Upanishad gives the image of the Supreme Being as the One Ocean into which all the rivers of individual existence enter and with which they become one, as their final goal. 

‘The Principal Upanishads’ by Subhamoy Das

The Mundaka Upanishad belongs to the Atharva Veda and has three chapters, each of which has two sections. The name is derived from the root 'mund' (to shave) as he that comprehends the teaching of the Upanishad is shaved or liberated from error and ignorance.

 The Upanishad clearly states the distinction between the higher knowledge of the Supreme Brahman and the lower knowledge of the empirical world — the six 'Vedangas' of phonetics, ritual, grammar, definition, metrics, and astrology. It is by this higher wisdom and not by sacrifices or worship, which are here considered 'unsafe boats', that one can reach the Brahman. Like the Katha, the Mundaka Upanishad warns against "the ignorance of thinking oneself learned and going around deluded like the blind leading the blind". Only an ascetic ('sanyasi') who has given up everything can obtain the highest knowledge.

The Mundaka Upanishad teaches meditation and spiritual knowledge regarding the true nature of Brahman and the Self (Atman). Brahman is a key concept found in the Vedas and the Upanishads. The Vedas conceptualize Brahman as the Cosmic Principle.

Celebrating Shravan with Shiva -14

 Shiva Day Fourteen

The Concept of God in Hinduism by Swami Krishnanada

1.  The Prasna Upanishad says that God is the Supreme Prajapati our Creator, in whom are blended both the matter and energy of the Universe. God is symbolized in Pranava or Omkara.

‘The Principal Upanishads’ by Subhamoy Das

The Prashna Upanishad belongs to the Atharva Veda and has six sections dealing with six questions or 'Prashna' put to a sage by his disciples. The questions are: From where are all the creatures born? How many angels support and illumine a creature and which is supreme? What is the relationship between the life breath and the soul? What are sleep, waking, and dreams? What is the result of meditating on the word Aum? What are the sixteen parts of the Spirit? This Upanishad answers all these six vital questions.

In the Upanishad, we learn that an enlightened master would not reveal the secrets of higher knowledge unless he was satisfied that the recipients were qualified and disciplined.

Note: the concept of a creator with matter, energy, and AUM is introduced.

Celebrating Shravan with Shiva -13

 Shiva Day Thirteen

The Concept of God in Hinduism by Swami Krishnanada

1.  The Kathopanishad has it that God is the Root of this Tree of world existence. The realization of God is regarded as the Supreme blessedness or Shreyas, as apart from Preyas or temporal experience of satisfaction.

‘The Principal Upanishads’ by Subhamoy Das

Kathopanishad, which belongs to the Yajur Veda, consists of two chapters, each of which has three sections. It employs an ancient story from the Rig Veda about a father who gives his son to death (Yama) while bringing out some of the highest teachings of mystical spirituality. There are some passages common to the Gita and Katha Upanishad.

 Psychology is explained here by using the analogy of a chariot. The soul is the lord of the chariot, which is the body; the intuition is the chariot-driver, the mind the reins, the senses the horses, and the objects of the senses the paths. Those whose minds are undisciplined never reach their goal and go on to reincarnate. The wise and the disciplined, it says, obtain their goal and are freed from the cycle of rebirth.

Do you know that the Katha Upanishad tells you the story behind life and death? It must be read by the one who thinks about life, death, and immortality. Kathopanishad introduces the concept of death and the caretaker of the soul Yama, the Lord of Death.

Note

The Katha Upanishad is an important conversation between Naciketas, a young man, and Yama, the Lord of Death. According to the Upanishad, Naciketas was sacrificed by his father Vajasravas in a fit of anger, and upon dying; he went to the world of Yama and waited there for three days. When Lord Yama came to know about this, he felt greatly concerned as he made a pious Brahmana boy, pure and innocent, wait in his house for three days without receiving the honors due to a house guest

Celebrating Shravan with Shiva -12

Shiva Day Twelve

The Concept of God in Hinduism by Swami Krishnanada

1.  The Kena Upanishad says that the Supreme Reality is beyond the perception of the senses and the mind because the senses and the mind can visualize and conceive only the objects, while Reality is the Supreme Subject, the very precondition of all sensation, thinking, understanding, etc. No one can behold God because He is the beholder of all things.

‘The Principal Upanishads’ by Subhamoy Das

The Kena Upanishad derives its name from the word 'Kena', meaning 'by whom'. It has four sections, the first two in verse and the other two in prose. The metrical portion deals with the Supreme Unqualified Brahman, the absolute principle underlying the world of phenomenon, and the prose part deals with the Supreme as God, 'Isvara'. The Kena Upanishad concludes, as Sandersen Beck puts it, that austerity, restraint, and work are the foundation of the mystical doctrine; the Vedas are its limbs, and the truth is its home. The one who knows it strikes off evil and becomes established in the most excellent, infinite, heavenly world.

Many Hindus believe in Brahman as the ultimate reality – one 'Supreme Spirit' in many forms. Brahman is male, female, and even animal. Brahman is also commonly understood as the Trimurti - three gods with three key functions

Note:

God is described as Brahman or Consciousness in the Upanishad, the eternal and infinite subject; it cannot be made an object of the material and finite senses.

Brahman, in the Upanishads is the supreme existence or absolute reality. Though a variety of views are expressed in the Upanishads, they concur in the definition of Brahman as eternal, conscious, irreducible, infinite, omnipresent, and the spiritual core of the universe of finiteness and change.

Brahman is mentioned repeatedly in the Bhagavad Gita. Krishna is Brahman, but it has different understandings depending on context. ... Brahman essentially means spiritual, and Krishna is certainly spiritual. 

Celebrating Shravan with Shiva -11

 Shiva Day Eleven

The Upanishads are a collection of texts of religious and philosophical nature, written in India probably between c. 800 BCE and c. 500 BCE, during a time when Indian society started to question the traditional Vedic religious order. The Concept of God in Hinduism by Swami Krishnanada describes some relevant Upanishads and the concept of God associated with it and will follow. We would also follow the ‘The Principal Upanishads’ for more insight, https://www.learnreligions.com/the-principal-upanishads-1770572#svetasvatara-upanishad

The Concept of God in Hinduism by Swami Krishnanada

1.  The Isavasya Upanishad says that the whole Universe is pervaded by Isvara or God, who is both within and without it. He is moving and the unmoving, He is far and near, He is within all these and without all these. 

‘The Principal Upanishads’ by Subhamoy Das

The Isavasya Upanishad derives its name from the opening word of the text 'Isavasya' or 'Isa', meaning 'Lord' that encloses all that moves in the world. Greatly revered, this short Upanishad is often put at the beginning of the Upanishads and marks the trend toward monotheism in the Upanishads. Its main purpose is to teach the essential unity of God and the world, being and becoming. It is interested not so much in the Absolute in itself ('Parabrahman') as in the Absolute in relation to the world ('Paramesvara'). It says that renouncing the world and not coveting the possessions of others can bring joy. The Isha Upanishad concludes with a prayer to Surya (sun) and Agni (fire).

Isvara is the lord of the universe. The Upanishads describe him as the witness consciousness (saksi chaitanyam), who controls maya (the power of illusion), wakes up the latent causes that are asleep in Nature, casts the net of illusion upon the mortal world, and subjects them to duality and delusion.  Isvara is thus the weaver of the fabric of time and space and its bearer.

Note;

What are the Vedas and Upanishads?

Originating in ancient India, the Vedas are an ancient and comprehensive collection of teachings from the gurus of the Vedic period. The Vedas themselves predate Hinduism. They contain the mantras, chants, and lessons of the Vedic order.

And the Upanishads are an important part of that order. In fact, they contain some of the most influential philosophical teachings of the age. They discuss things such as meditation, philosophy, a higher state of being, and the nature of our maker. But what’s fascinating about the Upanishads is that even though its teachings are now thousands of years old, they are just as relevant today as they were back then.

So we’re going to dive into the Upanishads to show you what they’re all about and what 5 key lessons we can learn from these ancient, mystical texts today:

·       Samsara

·       Karma

·       Dharma

·       Moksha

·       Atman

Celebrating Shravan with Shiva -10

 Shiva Day Ten

The Concept of God in Hinduism by Swami Krishnanada

The Satarudriya or Rudra-Adhyaya of the Yajur-Veda identifies all things, the high and the low, the moving and the unmoving, the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly, nay, every conceivable thing, with the all-pervading Siva or Rudra as the Supreme God.

This entire month is dedicated to Lord Shiva and worshipping him during this month is said to bring the most auspicious results and blessings of Lord Shiva. Rudra is considered as all in one god. He represents creation, existence, and destruction to complement the ever-changing universe.

Rudra is another name of Lord Shiva. As per the Vedic scriptures, there are a total of 11 Rudras. Of them, a prominent one is Shiva. The other 10 Rudras are considered as his expansions. 

Celebrating Shravan with Shiva -9

Shiva Day Nine

The Concept of God in Hinduism by Swami Krishnanada

The Hiranyagarbha-Sukta of the Rig-Veda declares that God manifested Himself in the beginning as the Creator of the Universe, encompassing all things, including everything within Him, the collective totality, as it were, of the whole of creation, animating it as the Supreme Intelligence.

You have a choice to make when you meditate on the theory of creation. The first concept of life on earth was associated with Birth and death, Hindus elected to worship creation with a creator. This creator was again given the supreme states as God.

With the 15 000 thousand histories of Hinduism, it is my conclusion that creation was first worshiped by observing the surrounding nature where all organic life had a common relation to birth. For any birth, a male and a female sperms were a prerequisite for life to be created and thus physical representation was described by a Yoni and a Lingam. On mating, the sperms are fertilized and life is on the run in a protective surrounding described as a womb. Hindus reasoned the physical aspect of creation and worshiped creation idealizing a Yoni and a Lingam as divine and that also iconized creation. It was accepted that supreme power was in charge of all these creations and the cosmos was created in a similar manner.

Note;

·       Hiranyagarbha is a Sanskrit word, which means the golden womb is the source of the creation of the whole Universe or cosmos in Hindu philosophy. Rig Veda defined it well. There are several shlokas describing the creation and became customary for Hindus to worship creation

·       According to Science, the entire universe was just one singularity existing in a very hot dense state which gradually cooled down as the universe expanded itself. Similar to this, the Hiranyagarbha Sukta and the Vishnu Puran say that the universe existed in form of singularity/one golden embryo called the Hiranyagarbha, and the entire universe in raw state existed inside it. Slowly, it started expanding and developed itself into this observable universe.

  

Celebrating Shravan with Shiva -8

 Shiva Day Eight

The Concept of God in Hinduism by Swami Krishnanada

The Narayana-Sukta (Yajur-Veda) exclaims that whatever is anywhere, visible or invisible; all this is pervaded by Narayana within and without.

Ekam Sat-Viprah Bahudha—"that which exists is one: sages call it by various names.” Meditating on this shloka one would realize that Hindus worship Narayan is the one that exists and it is customary to worship Narayana as the God sustains the existence of life on this planet earth.

Note

·       Narayana (Sanskrit: नारायण,)is known as one who is in yogic slumber on the celestial waters, referring to Lord Vishnu. He is also known as "The Purusha" and is considered Supreme in the Vaishnava Tradition.

·       Nara-Narayana (Sanskrit: नर-नारायण; nara-nārāyaṇa) is a Hindu deity pair. Nara-Narayana is the twin-brother avatar of the God Vishnu on earth, working for the preservation of dharma or righteousness. In the concept of Nara-Narayana, the human soul Nara is the eternal companion of the Divine Narayana.

·       Vedas. Vishnu is a Vedic deity, but not a prominent one when compared to Indra, Agni, and others. Just 5 out of 1028 hymns of the Rigveda, a 2nd millennium BCE Hindu text, are dedicated to Vishnu, and he finds minor mention in the other hymns. ... His distinguishing characteristic in Vedas is his association with light.

Celebrating Shravan with Shiva -7

 Shiva Day Seven

The Concept of God in Hinduism by Swami Krishnanada

1.  The Purusha-Sukta (Rig-Veda) proclaims that this entire universe is God as the Supreme Person – the Purusha with thousands of heads, thousands of eyes, thousands of limbs in His Cosmic Body. He envelops the whole cosmos and transcends it to infinity.

This is the first concept that idealizes God as a Supreme Person – the Purusha. It has become a norm to imagine god as a humanoid and that we humans can communicate with the supreme on the same level.

The Chapter 11 of the Bhagavad Gita stimulates your audio-visual senses to understand the cosmic image of Krishna.

Chapter 15,  stimulates your intellect to understand the conscious working of the Universe where Krishna is identified as consciousness; the supreme personality of God Head or Purna Purushottam or grand Self or Brahman in the domain of the cosmos. 

Celebrating Shravan with Shiva -6

 Shiva Day Six

Why have I chosen consciousness as the main theme of my argument?

It must first be established who created the organic life on earth? Secondly, it must be accepted that time only exists with birth and ends with death otherwise time is an illusion and so is space. Space cannot be defined and is also an illusion with science and historical myths always giving information that change with each observation and so Matter, Energy and Consciousness is the only entity that will describe the living cosmos.

Matter and energy are convertibles where each can change positions as required by the surrounding or designed parameters. That is when energy can be described as matter and vice versa. Turning light into the matter may soon be possible. Einstein's famous equation E=mc2 has proved, mass can get converted into energy and vice versa.

That leaves me with consciousness as the only independent variable. I personally think that consciousness is misinterpreted with activated and stimulated Intelligence.

Consciousness is consciousness. There is no higher or lower state. All other words while describing consciousness are expanded names to describe an artificial position or an imaginary state that consciousness seems to hold. (I.e. Cosmic consciousness, human consciousness, super-Consciousness or Universal Consciousness and so on……etc.)

I would call the human consciousness as activated intelligence. It can only be described when any entity has life in it. So a human is conscious only when the intelligence is activated in the fine matter or ether. Here the word conscious is to describe living or dead or it is the stimulator of intelligence. In the absence of the stimulator there is no intelligence hence no human consciousness or broadly to say organic consciousness.

Yes! Intelligence is also intelligence. All living entities have intelligence in their fine matter or ether when created as a self-replicating life on earth. This intelligence has designed principles rules and laws that govern its existence for a designed life cycle. It remains dormant for that time but the intelligence of human beings is activated to reason. Hence we call it the higher life forms. Intelligence can only exist on a platform of matter and energy. There is no intelligence in the absence of matter and energy. So what happens to that intelligence?

This brings me to understand life on earth. Life on planet earth is biological excellence, terraforming a lonely planet to the designed parameters of a creator that produced self-replicating creations. The human life is created in its image hence it represents the creator's objective to obtain a desired purpose with the activated intelligence. Time and space become an illusion for an observer monitoring energy in the absence of matter. Then light (particles, and or waves having photons of no mass) is the only entity that would exist as a measure of life with death but in the absence of energy and matter while intelligence having no platform to exist will get diffused into the consciousness.

                                        

The only parameter which ends with death is energy. The energy of the living has been refined when given birth and finds another good host to transfer the refined energy for advanced use in the creation cycle.

These are the indications that alien life with more than two strands of DNA is on planet earth with direct knowledge of the cosmos and with all information. In the Vedic times, these aliens were called Gods

 The condition is to have more than 2 strands of DNA!

·       8 strand DNA would be in harmony with the Fibonacci the sequence “The Fibonacci Sequence is Nature’s Code “and it was possible that there was life on earth with 8 strands of DNA who are our creators and communicates with consciousness.

·       DNA has a memory media that carry information in matter linked with a motherboard (consciousness) independent of matter and energy.

Hence my conclusion is that intelligence is one entity which is the designed attributes of our creator for a self-replicating entity and consciousness is the sole contributor to these designed attributes with or without matter and energy in a close domain called time and space.

All self-replicating entities are a function of consciousness but consciousness is not dependent on any of them or is a part of them. The stars, dark matter and the organic life on earth are self-replicating with consciousness as its creator.

I conclude that all self-replicating life forms are organic or dependent on the matter with media to stimulate intelligence and energy to sustain its existence. It is suggested in the Vedic scriptures that Maharishis in their spiritual trance believed to have 8 strands of DNA compared to 2 strands of DNA of a normal Human, which broadened their sense spectrums. However, our brain can register much information but cannot convert it to intelligent reasoning.

 

Celebrating Shravan with Shiva -5

 Shiva Day Five

Swami Krishnanada has written an excellent article on Hinduism and the concept of god. The Concept of God in Hinduism https://www.swamikrishnananda.org/disc/disc_14.html

The earliest statement of the Nature of Reality occurs in the first book of the Rig-Veda: Ekam Sat-Viprah Bahudha Vadanti. "The ONE BEING, the wise diversely speak of."

The tenth book of the Rig-Veda regards the highest conception of God both as the Impersonal and the Personal: The Nasadiya Sukta states that the Supreme Being is the Un-manifest and the Manifest, Existence as well Non-existence, the Supreme Indeterminable.

Note:

The soul of Hinduism is not the same as the soul of the Abrahamic religions. The former is indistinguishable from one another since it has no qualities or attributes. Hence, it is generally called the Self (Atman) rather than the soul.

A self-realized yogi, inspired by Sanatan Hindu Vedic Dharma, would conclude from various thoughts that God is consciousness (Brahaman) which resides inside all of us, which becomes the final realization when truth dominates the untruth

Celebrating Shravan with Shiva -4

Shiva Day Four

SANATAN DHARMA

Francois Gautier has revised the concept of SANATAN DHARMA in an easy to understand explanation as a democratic ideology using your freedom of choice.

SANATAN DHARMA IS FREEDOM OF FAITH 

https://www.facebook.com/WorldwideHinduTemples/.../sanatan-dharma-is...francois-ga...

1) Believe in God! – Aastik – Accepted

2) Don’t believe in God! – You’re accepted as Nastik

3) You want to worship idols – please go ahead. You are a murti pujak.

4) You don't want to worship idols – no problem. You can focus on Nirguna Brahman.

5) You want to criticize something in our religion. Come forward. We are logical. Nyaya, Tarka, etc. are core Hindu schools.

6) You want to accept beliefs as it is. Most welcome. Please go ahead with it.

7) You want to start your journey by reading Bhagavad Gita – Sure!

8) You want to start your journey by reading Upanishads – Go ahead.

9) You want to start your journey by reading Purana – Be my guest.

10) You just don’t like reading Puranas or other books. No problem my dear. Go by Bhakti tradition. (Bhakti- devotion)

11) You don’t like the idea of Bhakti! No problem. Do your Karma. Be a karma yogi.

12) You want to enjoy life. Very good. No problem at all. This is Charvaka Philosophy.

13) You want to abstain from all the enjoyment of life & find God – Jai ho! Be a Sadhu, an ascetic!

14) You don’t like the concept of God. You believe in Nature only – Welcome. (Trees are our friends and Prakriti or nature is worthy of worship).

15) You believe in one God or Supreme Energy. Superb! Follow Advaita philosophy

16) You want a Guru. Go ahead. Receive gyaan.

17) You don’t want a Guru. Help yourself! Meditate, Study!

18) You believe in Female energy! Shakti is worshipped.

19) You believe that every human being is equal. Yeah! You’re awesome, come on let’s celebrate Hinduism! “Vasudhaiva kutumbakam” (the world is a family)

20) You don’t have time to celebrate the festival. Don’t worry. One more festival is coming! There are multiple festivals every single day of the year.

21) You are a working person. Don’t have time for religion. It’s okay. You will still, be a Hindu.

22) You like to go to temples. Devotion is loved.

23) You don’t like to go to temples – no problem. You are still a Hindu!

24) You know that Hinduism is a way of life, with considerable freedom.

25) You believe that everything has God in it. So you worship your mother, father, guru, tree, River, Prani-matra, Earth, and Universe!

26) And if you don’t believe that everything has GOD in it – No problems. Respect your viewpoint.

27) “Sarve Jana sukhino bhavantu ” (May you all live happily)

This is exactly the essence of Hinduism, all-inclusive. That is why it has withstood the test of time after all the repeated onslaught both from within and outside, and integrated every good aspect from everything. That is why it is eternal.

The Vedas are a collection of hymns and other ancient religious texts written in India between about 1500 and 1000 BCE. The origin and the authors of the Vedas are unknown but Vyasa is the compiler of the Vedas, who arranged the four kinds of mantras into four Samhitas (Collections). There are four Vedas: the Rigveda, the Yajurveda, the Samaveda and the Atharvaveda. The Vedic hymns were skilfully created by many Rishis (sages) . The Rigveda is known to be the oldest.

In this month of Shravan, compile your thoughts and average it out with rituals, traditions, festivities, celebrations, and all those acts that make you happy with divine inspiration. Think Sanatan Dharma!

 

Celebrating Shravan with Shiva -3

 Shiva Day Three

There are many Gods in the Vedas. These are some mentioned first in Rigveda?

Hymn 1.1 is addressed to Agni, and his name is the first word of the Rigveda. The remaining hymns are mainly addressed to Agni and Indra, as well as Varuna, Mitra, the Ashvins, the Maruts, Usas, Surya, Rbhus, Rudra, Vayu, Brhaspati, Visnu, Heaven and Earth, and all the Gods.

Your soul (Atma) is attracted to one or some of the divine attributes of the Vedic Gods and I am going to help you choose the one that stimulates your intellect, remembering that you are given an activated intelligence by your creator which can reason.

Note

In Hinduism, God is known as Brahman, Isvara, Paramatman, or Supreme Self. He is also often addressed as Bhagavan, Parabrahman, Siva, Vishnu, and Yaksha.

The soul is known as Atma or Self or the individual self. The Self and Supreme Self are the two eternal entities of creation.

There is no distinction or duality between God and the soul except in our perception. God and the souls are one and the same.