AUM -THE CREATION OF WORLD
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
The most sacred symbol in Hindu dharma. Aum (OM) is the sound of the infinite.
Aum is said to be the essence of all mantras, the highest of all mantras or divine word (shabda), brahman (ultimate reality) itself. Aum is said to be the essence of the Vedas.
By sound and form, AUM symbolizes the infinite Brahman (ultimate reality) and the entire universe.
A stands for Creation
U stands for Preservation
M stands for Destruction or dissolution
This is representative of the Trinity of God in Hindu dharma (Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva)
The three portions of AUM relate to the states of waking, dream and deep sleep and the three gunas (rajas, satva, tamas)
The three letters also indicates three planes of existence, heaven (swarga), earth (martya) and netherworld (patala)
All the words produced by the human vocal organ can be represented by AUM. A is produced by the throat, U & M by the lips
In the Vedas, AUM is the sound of the Sun, the sound of Light. It is the sound of assent (affirmation) and ascent (it has an upwards movement and uplifts the soul, as the sound of the divine eagle or falcon.
Dharma means righteousness and good moral and ethical practices in accordance with the scriptures. Dharma includes all duties, individual, social, and religious, and adherence to the laws of the land. According to the Hindu philosophy, dharma is essential for accomplishing material and spiritual goals and for the growth of the individual and society.
Brahman represents the Supreme Reality for Hindus. Hindus believe that the Brahman, described in the Upanishads can be viewed from two aspects transcendent (impersonal) and immanent (personal). In its transcendent aspect the Supreme Reality is called Nirguna Brahman, or Brahman without attributes.
About Nirguna Brahman Taittiriya Upanishad states, “the Brahman is He whom speech cannot extress, and from whom the mind, unable to reach Him comes away baffled”.
According to Maitri Upanishad, “Brahman is immeasurable, unapproachable, beyond conception, beyond birth, beyond reasoning, and beyond thought”
The true soul or Atman is beyond the mind and does not function through thought. It envisions things but as an unfoldment of the heart, not a structure of thought.
The goal of the soul in evolution is merging into the divine of the inner Self. This brings about freedom from cycle of rebirth. To see our Self in all beings and all beings in our Self is the essence of life. Each soul has to grow for itself and must be free to gain the experiences it needs. Any soul can turn around and move to the truth.
Liberation from the world is not abandoning the world but merging into the world and beyond, becoming the all. This state has been called nirvana, kaivalya, mukti, moksha etc. .
Word Karma denotes an action that brings back results in this life or in the future life. The doctrine of karma (karmavada) is based upon the theory of cause and effect. According to this doctrine, God is not responsible for the pleasure or pain of His creatures. They suffer or enjoy owing to the consequences of their own bad or good deeds.
Stored up karmic forces from past lives is called sanchita karma. When the karmic forces mature and starts acting on the mind and body, it is called prarabdha karma. Any action done in this life or its effect is called kriyamana karma or agami karma.
Karma as a spiritual law, is not adjusted according to our various and conflicting definitions of success and failure. From an inner standpoint, the soul's happiness is often the suffering of the ego and the happiness of the ego is often the suffering of the soul.
Ultimately we must go beyond all karma, good or evil. The greatest virtue does not seek to change the world or improve us but to rest in harmony with the peace of what is.
Liberation is the highest goal of human life through which everything is accomplished. This liberation also called nirvana, kaivalya, mukti, moksha, can be brought about only through Self knowledge. All life is an experience to provide us with Self knowledge. To see ourselves in all beings and all beings in ourselves is the essence of life, hence from the highest standpoint, there is no birth and no death, no one who is born and no one who dies, there is only the unborn, perfect and infinite Self nature, beyond all limitations and possessed of all powers of Self manifestations.
Liberation is beyond all states of body and mind and not limited by them. It is everything and nothing, everyone and no one. A liberated soul possesses divine qualities such as purity, omnipresence, omnipotence, and is beyond limitations. Moksha is attained when the individual becomes liberated from the cycle of birth and death.
According to the doctrine of predestination, every event in the life of an individual has already been determined by God -everything happens only according to God's will. Individuals do not have any control over events. In the light of the doctrine of predestination the doctrine of karma cannot be accepted as a valid doctrine and vice versa.
Hindu dharma however, accepts both the doctrines as valid. The doctrine of karma is valid for a person who has the sense of agency or doership. Such a person holds himself responsible for his actions, whether good or bad. But through intense spiritual practice a spiritual aspirant's mind can be made to acquire higher and higher degree of purity. At a certain high level of mental purity the spiritual aspirant completely loses his sense of agency. He feels that he is only an instrument in the hands of God. At this high level of spirituality the doctrine of predestination becomes the only valid doctrine.
The true reincarnating entity is the causal body, wherein our karmic impressions are stored. There is not a simple correspondence of one soul or causal body or physical body. It is possible for one soul to take more than one birth at the same time, either high or low.
Less evolved souls may only experience a prolonged deep sleep between incarnations. These usually incarnate into the same location on earth and seek a similar life experience. Very advanced souls may enter into a deep meditative trance and may reincarnate quickly. Souls of intermediate development may spend much time on the different levels of the astral planes to assimilate their life experience.
"Why does a person reincarnate?" Hindu dharma says that the unfulfilled desires of departed people are primarily responsible for their rebirth. To understand this position, one should know about Hindu dharma's views on death and thereafter.
According to Hindu dharma, when a person dies, his gross physical body (physical body) is left behind and the soul with the subtle body (consisting of the mind, intellect, sense organs, motor organs, and vital energies) goes to a different plane of existence. Such a plane of existence is called "loka" in Sanskrit.
Although popular belief is that there are three lokas (svarga, martya and patala), the scriptures speak of fourteen lokas, including the earthy plane (Bhuloka).
The lokas are :
Satyaloka, Tapoloka, Maharloka, Janaloka, Svarloka, Bhuvarloka, Bhurloka, Atalaloka, Vitalaloka, Sutalaloka, Rasatalaloka, Talatalaloka, Mahatalaloka, and Patalaloka.
Among these, first six are considered the higher lokas, and the last seven are considered to be lower lokas. The adjectives higher and lower in this context are used in comparison to the conditions found in Bhuloka. In the higher lokas, in ascending order, there is more and more enjoyment or spiritual bliss compared to what is usually found on this earthy plane.
Moksha (Freedom or Salvation) from the cycle of birth and death is the ultimate goal of Hindu religious life. Moksha is called Mukti (freedom) by yogis and Nirvana by Buddhists
The individual soul (atman), in its liberated state, possesses divine qualities such as purity, omnipresence and omnipotence, and is beyond limitations. Within the individual, however, the atman is involved in the working of samsara (the cycle of birth and death in the phenomenal world), thereby subjecting itself to bondage by Law of Karma. Moksha is attainted when the individual becomes liberated from the cycle of birth and death and attains eventual union with the Supreme Being.
This union can be achieved through true knowledge (gyana or jnana), devotion (bhakti), or right work (karma). Purity, self-control, truthfulness, non-violence, and compassion toward all forms of life are the necessary pre-requisites for any spiritual path in Hindu dharma. The Hindu dharma emphasizes the importance of a true guru (spiritual master) for the attainment of true knowledge of the soul and God.
Hindu dharma proclains, “Ahimsa Paramo Dharma” or, Ahimsa is the highest form of dharma (virtue). Ahimsa means non-violence, non-injury or non-killing. In all the Hindu paths, and especially, Jain and Buddha in dharma Ahimsa is a paramount virtue.
Hindu dharma teaches that all forms of life are manifestations of the Supreme Self (Brahman). We must not be indifferent to the sufferings of others. One must consider all living beings in the image of one’s own self and thus not commit acts of violence in thought, word or deed against other living creatures.
Anger and hatred cannot coexist with ahimsa. Anger blinds reason and leads one to violence. Greed and possessiveness are two main causes of social injustice and suffering and a practitioner of ahimsa should not hoard wealth beyond needs. Compassion and austerity are essential elements of ahimsa.
Concept ahimsa extends to all living beings, and therefore, protection of environment, natural habitats and vegetarianism are natural derivatives of the concept of ahimsa.
posted by Niranjan at 6:08 AM
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