It is hard for mankind to get away from the idea of God and Soul. It is hard for mankind to give up their belief in rites and ceremonies.
It is hard for mankind to give up their belief on the spiritual view of Karma, they hold.
It is hard for mankind to give up their belief in immortality of the soul –the self, the Atma, as an independent entity, that does exist and does survive after death.
Mankind is entangled on narcissism and takes delight and pleasure in it. It is hard for mankind to accept and practice righteousness overriding self interest.
The world of consciousness has been considered the spiritual world. In all contexts, the spiritual world is considered the world of Gods.
The fallacy of God prevails naturally as man endowed with instinct and intellect, is not able to comprehend or control the phenomena to which he is subservient.
Being insecure against natural forces and fate being encountered, the idea of God evolved.
Beyond comprehension, man sensed something transcendence in nature, which is universal, eternal and independent of finite nature, that is present in us but independent of us. Man designated that being as God.
Vedas and Upanishads say the scope of outer consciousness is limited to the reality of object.
Beyond the limit of outer consciousness begins the world of subjectivity, the world of God.
In Hindu Dharma, there is God for every field of merit. That is why the number of God is immensely large. There is a God for every positive thought and action.
God exists in every object, even if the object is inanimate.
Gods are the embodiment of merit fields they represent and all Gods inspire and motivates for right action.
With the idea of God, there came the idea of heaven and hell.
Heaven is considered the best state of mind while hell the worst state of mind.
In Hindu Dharma, the concept of God proliferated from the central concept of immutable Shiva and Shakti -the Matter and Energy.
Shiva is Supreme Being and Shakti is Shiva's energy.
Shakti is the Cosmic Energy of Shiva.
It is with Shakti everything emerges from Shiva and into Shiva everything goes back and dissolves.
Shakti is both positive or constructive, and negative or destructive.
Shakti is uncreated and original which pervades and sustains, both created and uncreated.
Shakti accomplishes the purpose of Cosmic Design.
Shakti activates the Shiva’s desire to create, sustain and dissolve back to Shiva.
In Hindu Dharma Gods are many but Vedas and Upanishads have bundled up the multitude of Gods into one uniting concept of transcendental awareness. Further the Vedas and Upanishads say; “Pray for endurance to bear all calamities and patience and perseverance to overcome all obstacles. Do not pray to God for removal of your sufferings.”
Kabir (1440-1518 AD) in his conviction says there is only one God. All men and women of the world are his divine forms.
Vedas, Puranas and Upanishads unfold the core concept of God which revolves around values, positive attitudes and behaviours.
Man, always wishes to get rid of suffering. It is possible to him who recognizes oneself, his own true nature. But, man is unable to recognise his true nature due to illusion created by his own Ego.
The cosmic illusion created by our Ego is real. That is ignorance.
Being ignorant of the true nature of oneself we continue to suffer in Samsara.
Being born in human realm, we have two choices: (i) Be free from Maya -the cosmic illusion, by being awakened with cosmic wisdom to attain Moktsa –freedom, or (ii) Continue with endless suffering of rounds of birth and death, being ignorant and attached to Samsara.
Swami Vivekananda says, “Every religion has three aspects: (1) Philosophy, which contains core values and ethics, (2) Mythology, with which mysticism is intertwined, and (3) Rituals and ceremonies.
Some focus on philosophy, some on mythology and some on rituals and ceremonies. All three are valid paths provided mythology, and rituals and ceremonies do not overshadow or obliterate the philosophy.
It is when we move away from core values, religions become different and divergent.”
Vedas and Upanishads have conceptualised God, both in form, as personal God and without form, as impersonal universal spiritual being.
At the highest level, God is impersonal, absolute, ever-transcending reality and one.
Sufi Junaid says: “Love for God is of two kinds. Some love God for God’s bounty; others love God for God’s perfect beauty irrespective of his bounty.
The former love increases according to the bounty received, but the latter, which is the direct result of contemplation of God’s perfect attribute remains constant even in tribulations.”
Whatever we seek put us in wanting mode. Love alone puts us in fulfilling mode. Love is the only energy which makes us feel fulfilled.
True love is experienced when we accept other beings as they are and motivate them to realize their potential.
Love makes us enjoy our relation and our work, and build trust.
Love gives power to direct our perception on God transcending all pre-dispositions or preconditions of likes and dislikes, and see things as they are.
Hindu Dharma has projected three aspects of God: Personal aspect, Param Atma aspect and Brahmn Aspect.
Personal aspect of God
The personal aspect of God represents the Gross Body concept of God.
Personal God is one who personifies perfection and par excellence.
One who is par excellence and virtues is God.
A person who possesses such qualities of par excellence and guides humanity to right path is the Avatar -incarnation, of God.
Many great personalities, being born in human realm, have attained perfection. They have demonstrated the way of purity, righteousness and virtue. They have imparted spiritual knowledge to humanity.
It is easier to approach God in his personal form in gross body.
In Hindu Dharma, Ram and Krishna are personal Gods. They are the Avatar of God.
Sage Viswamitra wrote the biography of Ram, the Ramayana. The Ramayana in all its eminence demonstrates the Art of Living.
Sage Ved Vyas wrote Srimad Bhagvad Puran, the biography of Krishna. It contains the most astounding teaching of Krishna, the Srimad Bhagvad Gita.
In its entirety, the Srimad Bhagvad Puran demonstrates the Art of Dying.
Param Atma aspect of God
Parma-Atma is the subtle body concept of God.
Maitri Upanishad says; “There is something beyond our intellect, which abides in silence within us. It is a supreme mystery beyond thought.”
Svetasvatara Upanishad says; “Pure consciousness is pure Atma. The pure Atma is Param Atma,
Dwelling in all beings, pure Atma is the perceiver.
Pure Atma is aware at all time. It is awareness, free from attributes
Being aware, pure Atma is witness, watching over all actions.”
Vedas and Upanishads perceived God in the form of pure consciousness –the Parma Atma.
God is pure consciousness and pervades in all animate and inanimate beings.
Pure consciousness devoid of negative thought and emotion is God.
Shankaracarya (788-820 AD) says; “Atma is the elemental lower self and Param Atma is the higher self.
Neither Atma nor Param Atma can independently exist. They are one but at different state of being.”
Param Atma has been perceived in the pursuit to deliver Atma from Samsara.
The Ashtavakra Gita says; “If you wish to be free, know you are Param Atma.
Go to the deepest depth of consciousness to find God.
At the deepest level of consciousness there resides undifferentiated pure consciousness. Know it as Param Atma, the God.
Be aware and witness every thought and action of yours. Set your body aside and be in pure awareness.
It is within oneself one discovers God, which is pure consciousness, the absolute, beyond all duality.”
Within us, the Param Atma is seated. It is unborn, undifferentiated, inactive, pure and eternal. It is simply pure and aware.
Our consciousness in its purest form is Param Atma. It is God, and it is in us.
Atma as it exists in us is in union with matter, just as pure water in the mud.
With birth Atma comes into existence and with death of our mortal body, Atma returns to its source from where it had come.
Atma does not die with the death of the body.
Atma travels back and forth to the Samsara carrying Karma created by itself in association with body, intellect and Ego.
In human birth, we have the opportunity to purify Atma and realise Param Atma and attain Moktsa –liberation from Samsara. This is why human life is precious.
Atma and Param Atma becomes one when the Ahangkar –the Ego is destroyed.
Ego has the energy to determine our state of being and it can ruin our life for generations to come.
But the good thing about Ego is; it can be destroyed by changing our perception.
In phenomenal material existence, what we call it life, Ego is born out of mind and creates bond between senses and sense objects.
Ahangkar ties Atma to Samsara with the rope of Maya.
Vedas and Upanishads say; “Atma is the conscious knowing principle while mind is intellect. They are two different things.
Mind creates thoughts and it must be controlled. Mind must not be allowed to create bonds between senses and the sense objects.”
Atma, Param Atma and Ahangkar; all three are consciousness, but at different state of being.
The consciousness is Param Atma when it is free from Ahangkar -Ego. The consciousness as Param Atma is pure, positive and permanent.
The consciousness is Atma when it is misguided by Ahangkar -Ego, and deluded by Maya-illusion created by Ahangkar.
The same consciousness is Ahangkar -Ego.
Ahangkar is I-consciousness, the mortal aspect of our consciousness.
Ahangkar is the consciousness in the mode of sensual desire which is not permanent.
Bhagvad Gita says; “Do not let mind -the intellect, to be deluded by Ahangkar, the material consciousness, and do not let arise the thought and feeling of lust, greed, anger, hatred, jealousy, distress, fear, and worry.
Use the energy derived by being devoted to Param Atma to destroy Ahangkar.”
The teaching of Lord Buddha when transcended seems to accept the existence of Atma –self, but as transitory manifestation of worldly personality and not in terms of any eternal principle.
Atma -self present in us is an illusion and therefore it is not real in any ultimate sense.
Lord Buddha considered Atma -self and Ahangkar -Ego, as one and the same thing.
Lord Buddha did not consider Atma as projection or a deluded state of Parma Atma but established that Atma and Ahangkar -Ego, the I-consciousness, as one.
Lord Buddha dismissed Atma as projection of Param Atma on the ground that Atma and Ahangkar are one and the same thing which arises with birth and dies with death of the body.
Lord Buddha says; “Ahangkar –material consciousness, deludes our mind –the intellect, and ties us to Samsara. It must be destroyed to be free from suffering.
Destroy what is not Atma –self, and discover true nature, the Buddha Swabhav -the Buddha Nature, inherently present within. This is the sublime message of Buddha.”
Lord Buddha unfolded the philosophy of Anatta -not Atma, not self.
To explain philosophy of Anatta -not Atma, Lord Buddha adopted via-negativa approach, which systematically rules out what is not Atma.
The philosophy of Anatta -not Atma is a great contribution of Lord Buddha towards further advancing the philosophy of Vedas and Upanishads on Atma.
The philosophy of Anatta -not Atma provided clarity on understanding as what is not Atma.
Lord Buddha replaced the Param Atma with Buddha Nature.
But uniquely, both, Parma Atma and Buddha Nature, are the heart concept of pure consciousness, higher universal being; the pure inner consciousness.
Param Atma is realised by purifying material consciousness, designated as Atma by Vedas and Upanishads.
In Anguttara Sutra Lord Buddha says; “He who has attained enlightenment has utterly destroyed the fetters of becoming. In him, who is emancipated by perfect wisdom, the thought does not arise that anyone is better than I or equal to me or less than I.”
Destroying Ahangkar -Ego is the practical way to realise Buddha Nature and attain enlightenment.
The divine message of Lord Buddha is: “Rise from your heart, control your mind, destroy Ahangkar and realize Buddha Nature, inherently present in your heart.”
Brahman aspect of God
Brahmn is the Causal Body aspect of God.
Brahmn is the cosmos of consciousness and oneness of all beings in existence.
Brahmn is the inclusive principle of universal oneness.
Brahmn is the universal concept of oneness, the inductive principle of ultimate reality.
Ved Vyas in his Brahma Sutra says; “Nothing really exists except Brahmn.
Atma, Param Atma and Ahangkar, are elements of the complex of consciousness. First two, Atma and Param Atma are permanent while Ahangkar is impermanent.
Atma –deluded individual outer consciousness and Param Atma –pure universal inner consciousness, are one but at different state of being.
Ahangkar –Ego is also an aspect of the cosmos of consciousness but it is material consciousness that creates affinity between senses and sense objects.
Brahmn is the cause of all causes but itself has no cause to be Brahmn.”
Brahmn is all pervading ubiquitous, formless and shapeless, and unbound by time and space.
Brahmn is nowhere and everywhere. Brahmn resides in our heart and in every being. Brahmn is the reason and cause of creation, maintenance and destruction of all that we see.
Vedas and Upanishads have presented two aspects of Brahmn: (i) Saguna -the aspect with attribute, the manifested form and (ii) Nirguna -the aspect without attribute; the un-manifested and formless aspect.
Within each of us there exists the Nirguna Brahmn, in the form of eternal consciousness, the Param-Atma.
Vedas and Upanishads have affirmed that nothing is permanent except Brahmn and nothing actually exist independent of Brahmn.
Brahmn is the sum total of all and remain constant.
Brahmn is the sum total of all that exist and permeates all living and non-living beings.
Brahmn is the universal soul.
Brahman is in all and, all are in Brahmn. This is the central doctrine of Vedas and Upanishads.
Brahman is the antecedent primeval ontological substance from where all phenomenal existence proceeds.
Brahmn creates from the reality of its own being.
Brahmn is both what is manifested and not-manifested, what exists and does not exist, determinable and undeterminable, both good and bad.
Brahman cannot exist, as an entity, as itself is the whole of existence and itself constitutes the essential building material of all reality.
The infinite numbers of Gods in Hindu Dharma represent nothing but multitudes of manifestation of merit fields of Brahmn.
Kena Upanishad says; “Supreme reality is beyond perception of mind and senses.
Mind -intellect and senses can visualise and conceive only the objects, while the reality is the supreme subject, the precondition of all sensation, thinking and understanding.
Rouse to behold the divinity in you. Wake up from inertia and dullness, only then the being in you wakes up and thereafter the divinity in you becomes evident.”
Brahmn is God and God is Brahmn.
Vedas and Upanishads conceive that: “Brahmn is space in which everything exists, from which everything comes to existence and into which everything dissolves.
The space around us is filled with energy. That space is divinity. It is everywhere, inside us and outside of us.
Brahman is beyond space and time. It is neither male nor female. It is changeless and transcends all empirical thoughts, objects and dualities.
Brahmn is Shiva, the cosmic soul.
The cosmic soul is truly the whole universe, the immortal eternal source of creation and action.
Whoever discovers cosmic soul, hidden deep within, destroys ignorance and attains Moktsa -liberation, eternal purity and happiness during one’s life here on earth.
Brahmn is the ultimate refuge.
Brahmn is Shakti, the cosmic energy.
Brahmn is the union of Shiva and Shakti.
Brahman is both immanent and personal.
Brahmn is Advaita, non-dual.
Brahmn is the Supreme Being and oneness of all that exist.”
In Bhagvad Gita Krishna says: “Brahmn is the all-pervading consciousness which is the basis of all animate and inanimate entities and materials.”
Vedas and Upanishads say: “When you know what you are, all the sorrows disappear.
If one is seeking truth, he has to know his Atma is not physical but consciousness.
Consciousness is what we are. It is in us but nowhere in us.
When one reaches the source of consciousness, Ahangkar -Ego, the I-consciousness, gets dissolved.
Mind is the seat of thought but not the source of thought.
The source of thought is consciousness.
Consciousness is a function of mind but not the mind per se.
Thought arises from consciousness as waking or dreaming, and subsides as deep sleep.”
Krishna in Bhagvad Gita says, “Renounce all Dharma (thought, volition and action) and take refuge in Me –the inner pure consciousness. I –the inner pure consciousness shall liberate you from sins and grant you Moktsa –liberation.”
To understand this verse one needs to understand the meaning of Dharma and who Krishna of Bhagvad Gita really is.
Krishna is pure consciousness, the inner consciousness.
Krishna is Brahmn, the pure spirit residing deep in us which is uncreated, unborn, incorruptible and ever pure and universal.
Dharma means doing dutiful action ought to be done selflessly with renounced state of mind.
Dharma does not only mean to attain a union of self with the supreme reality but also to live a righteous life here on earth.
Practicing Dharma means attaining highest ideal of righteous life here and now on earth, and make life disciplined.
Sage Kanda founded Vaisesika -the philosophy of pluralistic realism. In Vaisesika Sutra Sage Kanda says Dharma embraces actions that liberates from ignorance as well as provide prosperity which eventually ensures Moktsa –liberation from Samsara.
Krishna, the embodiment of pure consciousness says; "If you are ignorant of transcendental knowledge and cannot perform dutiful action selflessly or renounce Ego, simply take refuge in Me.
With faith, love and devotion who ever take refuge in Me –the pure consciousness, is sure to be liberated, and whoever is subservient to Ahangkar -Ego, the outer consciousness, and work for it is certain to doom."
