Sunday, December 12, 2010

Hinduism

THE SPIRITUALITY OF HINDUISM

Hinduism traces its origin to the beliefs of people who came to India during the second millenium before Christ. The beliefs of these Aryan tribes(Indo-European ) then became modified with the customs and beliefs of the local people. “ Hinduism is indeed a complex and rich religion. No founder’s initiative, no dogma, no reforms have imposed restrictions on its domain; on the contrary, the contributions of the centuries have been superimposed without ever wearing out the previous layers of development.”

Major Sacred Texts of Hinduism:

The Rig Veda: This is the oldest of the sacred books. It contains hymns addressed to the gods. Most of the texts were composed with a view toward sacrifices. Sacrifice was at the center of the Vedic religion.

The Upanishads:

These works began to appear around 5th C.B.C. There are 112 Upanishads. The composers of the Upanishads were thinkers and poets. These texts explain that ATMAN(the individual soul) is identical with the BRAHMAN(the Universal soul). Their message is that God must not be sought as something far away, separate from us, but rather as the higher self in us: “ That Thou Art.”

We find in them more inspiration than teaching.

Epics: The Mahabharata and the Ramayana: These epics contain poems , stories and characters who have molded the moral beliefs of the followers of Hinduism. The Bhagavad Gita is included in the Mahabharata. The Mahabharata describes the battle between two forces to establish their supremacy over India. The members of the forces belong to the same royal dynasty. The leader of one of the sides ,Arjuna becomes disheartened when he sees ranged against him his own teachers, uncles and cousins. Hence he asks Krishna the incarnation of the Supreme for advice. It is his advice that is known as the Song of God or Bhagavad Gita. This is in fact about the spiritual warfare that is taking place between good and evil in the heart of man.

A spiritual reader of the Gita will find in it the great spiritual struggle of the human soul.The essence of the Gita is the vision of God in all things and of all things in God. Its emphasis is on the absence of desires and on self-control.Man can find peace in the Infinite, not in the finite. “ Even as all the waters flow into the ocean, but the ocean never overflows, even so the sage feels desire, but he is ever one in his infinite peace.”

When describing the state of the man who has found joy in God, the Gita says: “ When in recollection he withdraws all his senses from the attractions of the pleasures of sense, even as a tortoise withdraws all its limbs, then his is a serene wisdom.” Juan Mascaro notes that St. Teresa uses the same image when she describes the prayer of recollection. St. Teresa: “ I think I read somewhere that the soul is then like a tortoise or sea-urchin which retreats into itself. Whoever said this no doubt understood what he was talking about.”

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Self-harmony or self-control is praised again and again in the Gita.All perfection in action is a form of self-control, and this sense of perfection is the essence of the Karma Yoga of the Gita.

The artist must have self-control in the moment of creation, and the work well done requires self-control; but the Gita wants us to transform our whole life into an act of creation.Only self-control makes it possible for us to live in harmony with other people.

Many are the themes of the symphony of the Bhagavad Gita, but the central ones are three: Light, Love and Life(Jnana,Bhakti and Karma).

Karma , work or action is often contrasted in Gita with Jnana or contemplation.; external ritual is set in contrast with inner spiritual life. … All life is action , but every little finite action should be a surrender to the Infinite, even as breathing in seems to be the receiving of the gift of life, and the breathing out a surrender into the infinite Life.

The Song of God

The Bhagavad Gita

Some notable sayings:

If any man thinks he slays , and if another thinks he is slain, neither knows the ways of truth.The Eternal in man cannot kill;the Eternal in man cannot die.

Beyond the power of sword and fire,beyond the powers of waters and winds, the Spirit is everlasting, omnipresent, never-changing, never-moving, ever One.

The Spirit that is in all beings is immortal in them all:for the death of what cannot die , cease thou to sorrow.

Think thou also of thy duty and do not waver. There is no greater good for a warrior to fight in a righteous war.

Prepare for war with peace in thy soul. Be in peace in pleasure and pain, in gain and in loss, in victory or in the loss of a battle.

Set thy heart upon thy work, but never on its reward.Work not for a reward; but never cease to do thy work.

When a man surrenders all desires that come to the heart and by the grace of God finds the joy of God , then his soul has indeed peace.

He whose mind is untroubled by sorrows, and for pleasures he has no longings, beyond passion and fear and anger, he is the sage of the unwavering mind.

Who everywhere is free from all ties , who neither rejoices nor sorrows if fortune is good or ill, his is a serene wisdom.

The restless violence of the senses impetuously carries away the mind of even a wise man striving towards perfection.

For the man who forsakes all desires and abandons all pride of possession and of self reaches the goal of peace supreme.

Action is greater than inaction: perform therefore thy task in life.

Let thy actions be pure , free from the bonds of desire.

Offer to me all thy works and rest thy mind on the Supreme.Be free from vain hopes and selfish thoughts, and with inner peace fight thou thy fight.

It is greedy desire and wrath, born of passion , the great evil, the sum of destruction: this is the enemy of the soul. …Set then, therefore, thy senses in harmony, and then slay thy sinful desire, the destroyer of vision and wisdom.

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Know Him therefore who is above reason; and let his peace give thee peace. Be a warrior and kill desire, the powerful enemy of the soul.

In any way that men love me, in the same way, they find my love: for many are the paths of men, but they all in the end come to me.

No work stains a man who is pure, who is in harmony, who is master of his life, whose soul is one with the soul of all.

This man of harmony surrenders the reward of his work and thus attains final peace: the man of disharmony , urged by desire, is attached to his reward and remains in bondage.

The mind is indeed restless…: it is indeed hard to train. But by constant practice and by freedom from passions the mind in truth can be trained.

I am the Way, and the Master who watches in silence; thy friend and thy shelter and thy abode of peace. I am the beginning and the middle and the end of all things: their seed of Eternity, their treasure supreme.

Set thy heart on me alone, and give to me thy understanding: thou shalt in truth live in me hereafter. …If thou are not able to practice concentration, consecrate all thy work to me . By merely doing actions in my service thou shalt attain perfection.

The man whose love is the same for his enemies or his friends, whose soul is the same in honor or disgrace, who is beyond heat or cold or pleasure or pain, who is free from the chains of attachments;

Who is balanced in blame and in praise, whose soul is silent, who is happy with whatever he has, whose home is not in this world, and who has love—this man is dear to me.

Freedom from fear, purity of heart, constancy in sacred learning and contemplation, generosity , self-harmony….non –violence , truth. Freedom from anger, renunciation , …sympathy for all beings…forgiveness, purity, freedom from pride—these are the treasures of the man who is born for heaven.

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