The Many Existence

 

The Many Existence 

Ishvara shines out on Prakriti and makes it fall into shapes, the first Forms that appear are those of the Trimurtih, the three Aspects of Ishvara, manifested to cause a HSn“¥, Brahmaijdam, literally an Egg of Brahma, a universe, or orderly system of worlds 

The Aspect of Ishvara in which He creates the worlds is named Brahma; Brahma is the Creator. The Aspect of Ishvara in which He preserves, takes care of and maintains the worlds is named Vishnu ; Vishnu is the Preserver. The aspect of Ishvara in which He dissolves the worlds when they are worn out and of no further use, is named Shiva, or Mahadeva ; Shiva is the Dissolver of the worlds. These are the first manifestations of Ishvara, His Supreme Forms, His Three Aspects, or Faces. The One, the Saguija Brahman or the Supreme ishvara, appears as Three. 

Brahma, the Creator, shapes matter into seven ytgiN, Tattvani, Elements as they have been called.^ Different names are given to the first two ; we may use the names Mah'at-Buddhi, Pure Reason, and Ahamkara, the principle of separation, breaking up matter into tiny particles, called atoms. Then come the remaining five Tattvas : 

Akasha, Ether ; Vayu, Air ; Agni, Fire ; Apa, Water ; Prithivi, Earth. This is called the creation of the 

I The western chemist uses the word in a different sense, but the old meaning is the one we are concerned with. 

Bhutadi, Elements, and out of these all things are partly made. There is more of Tamo-guna than of Rajo-guija and of Sattva-guna showing itself in these elements, and so the things composed of them chiefly are dull and inert ; the inner life, the Jiva, cannot shew its powers, for the coat of matter is so thick and heavy. 

Next after the Elements the ten Indriyas are created; these were at first only ideas in the mind of Brahma, and later were clothed in the Elements ; they are the five centres of the senses : smell, taste, sight, touch, hearing, the organs of which are the nose, tongue, eyes, skin and ears ; and the five centres of action, the organs of which are : hands, feet, and those of speech, generation 

and excretion. There is more of Rajo-guria than of Tamo-guna and of Sattva-guoa shewing itself in these Indriyas, so they are very active, and the inner life, the Jiva, can shew more of its powers in them. 

After the Indriyas, Brahma created in His mind the Devas who are connected with the senses, and also Manas, the mind, which is sometimes called the sixth Indriya, when the first five are spoken of, and the eleventh, when the ten are taken ; because it draws into itself and arranges and thinks over all the sensations collected by the Indriyas from the outer world. There is more of Sattva-guna than of Tamo-guna and of Rajo- guna shewing itself in these Deities and Manas. 

The student must remember that these guijas are never separated, but one gu^a may be more dominant than another in any particular being. When Tamo-guna dominates, the being is called tamasic; when Rajo-guna dominates, the being is called r&jasic ; when Sattva-gutja dominates, the being is called sftttvic. All things may be divided under these three heads of Sattvic, Rajasic, and Tflmasic.* 

Brahma nest created in His mind the hosts of Devas, who carry out, administer, the laws of Ishvara, and see to the proper management of all the worlds. 

Ishvara is the King, the One Lord, and the Devas are His ministers, like the ministers and officials of an earthly king. The student must never confuse the Devas with the Supreme ishvara, with Brahman. 

They are His higher officials for the Bi;ahmanda, as wc men are His lower officials for this one particular world. 

The Devas, sometimes called Suras, see that each man gets what he has earned by his karma.® They give success and failure in worldly things, according to what a man deserves ; they help men in manj' ways, when men try to serve them ; and much of the bad weather, and sickness, and famine, and other national troubles come from men entirely neglecting the duties they owe to the Devas. The Devas are a vast multitude, divided under their five Rulers, Indra, Vayu, Agni, Varuija and Kubera. Indra has to .do with the Ether; Vayu with the air; Agni with the fire; Varuiia with the water ; Kubera with the earth. The Devas under, each have different names, as we see in the Puranas and the Itihasa. The student may remember, for instance, how Bhima fought with the Yakshas, who were the servants of Kubera. 

I Sec Shag. Gita xiv, xvii and xviii. • 

s Karma is explained in Chap IV. 

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In these Devas the Rajo-guna dominates: Manu says that their “nature is action.” 

The Asuras, the enemies of the Devas, embody the resistance, or inertia, of matter, and in them the Tamo-guna is predominant. 

Brahma then created in His mind minerals, plants, animals and men, thus completing the picture of the worlds wherein the unfolding of the powers of the Jiva— what is now called Evolution— was to take place. In Samskrit this world-evolution, or world- process, is called Samsara, and it is compared to a wheel, constantly turning, on which all Jivas are bound. 

Thus Brahma completed His share of the great task of a universe, but the forms needed to be clothed in ph3'sical matter, to be made active beings; this was the work of Vislmu, the All-Pervader, the Maintainer and Preserver of the worlds. He breathed His Life into all these forms, and as a Purana says, became Prana in all forms and gave them consciousness. 

Then all the Brahmanda “ became full of life and consciousness.” But even this was not enough, when man came upon the scene. Two Aspects of Ishvara had given Their Life, but the third Aspect remained, the One who dissolves forms and thus liberates the Jivas, calling them to union and bliss. The life of Maha- deva must be poured out to complete the triple Jiva of man, that he might be the perfect -reflexion of the triple Ishvara. This was done, and the human Jiva began his long evolution, having already passed through, evolved through, the mineral, vegetable and animal kingdoms in previous kalpas. A very beauti- 

ful description of the evolution through plants and animals to men, until “in man Atma is manifest,” and “by the mortal he desires the immortal," may be read by elder students in the Aitarcydraiiyaka} and will be found in the advanced Text Book. 

The special manifestations of Vishiju, called Ava- taras, must not be forgotten. The word means One who descends, from iri passing over, the prefix "ava" giving the significance of descending. It is applied to Divine manifestations of a peculiar kind, in which the Deity incarnates in some form to bring about some special result. When things are going badly with the world, and special help is needed to keep the world on the road of right evolution, then Vishiju comes down in some appropriate form, and puts things 

right. 

Ten of His Avataras are regarded as more important than the others, and are often spoken of as “ the Ten Avataras.” 

I. Matsya (The Fish)- Vaivasvata Manu once saw a little fish, gasping for water, and put it into a bowl ; it grew, and He placed it in a larger pot ; then again in a larger, and then in a tank, a pond, a river, the sea, and ever the Fish grew and filled its receptacle. Then the Manu knew that this Fish was connected with His own -life-work, and when the time came for Him to save the seeds of life from a great flood, and He entered a ship with the ^ishis and the necessar}' lifC' seeds, the great Fish appeared, and drew the vessel to the world where lay the Mann's work. With the coming of the Fish began the great evolution of animal life in the world. 

2. Kurma (The Tortoise)- As the Tortoise, Vishnu supported the whirling mountain, which churned the great sea of matter, that it might give forth the necessary forms. The Tortoise is the type of the next great step in evolution. 

3. VarAha, the Boar. The earth was sunk be- low the waters, and Vishnu raised it up, giving, in the Boar, the type of the great mammalian kingdom, which was to flourish on the dry land. 

Modern Science recognises these three great stages of evolution, each marked in Hinduism by an AvatSra. 

4. Narasijiha, the Man-Lion, This was the Ava- lara that came to free the earth from the tyranny of the Daiiyas, Into this race a child, Prahlada, was 

born, who from earliest childhood was devoted to Vishriu, despite the threats and the cruelties of his Daitya father. Over and over again the father tried to slay the son, but ever VisliRU intervened to save him j at last He burst from a pillar in the form of a Man-Lion, and slew the Daitya king. 

5. VAMANA, the Dwarf. At last He came as man, to aid the evolution of the human race, and gained from Bali the right to all He could cover in three steps ; one step covered the earth, and thus He won for man. the field of his evolution.

6. Parashurama, Rama of the Axe, This Avatara came to punish such of the Kshattriyas as were oppressing the people, and to teach bad rulers the 

danger of using power to t3Tannise, instead of to help. 

7. Rama, usually called Ramachandra, the son of Dasharatha. He, with his three brothers, came as the ideal Kshattri^-a, the model king, and He serves as an example of a perfect human life. An obedient and loving son, a tender husband, an affectionate brother, a gallant warrior, a wise ruler, a diligent protector ol His people. He is emphatically The Perfect Man. His splendid stor\' is told in Valmiki's Ramdyaiia, and the lovety version of Tulsi Das is known in every northern Indian home. 

8 Krishxa, the manifestation of Divine Love and Wisdom, worshipped by myriads with intense devotion. As the marvellous child of Vraja and Vrindavana, as the friend of Arjuna, as the speaker of the Bhagavad Gita, as the wise counsellor of the Pandavas, as the adored of Bhishma— what Indian boy does not know 

His stor3'? He is the central Figure- of the Mahabh&rata, and His Life is traced in several Puranas. 

9. Buddha, the gentle prince who gave up throne and luxury to become a travelling mendicant, Teacher of the Truth. He is known as ShSkyamuni, as Gotama, as Siddhartha, and is the founder of a mighty faith, followed by millions of the human race. In Him Vishnu teaches vast multitudes of non-Aryan peoples. 

10. Kalki, the Avatira who shall close the Kali Vuga, and whose coming is yet in the future. When He comes the Sat^-a Yuga will return to earth, a new cycle will begin. 

The developement and perfection of the l uman type is indicated by these AvalSras. 

^ ^ HT^rr TI^cTSJt^JTTr^ 

cEft fErf^miSJ^Ef II ■ 

“Within Thy Form, O God, the Gods I see. 

All grades of beings with distinctive marks ; BrahmS, the Lord, upon His lotus-throne, 

The ^ishis all, and Serpents, the Divine. 

Rudras, Vasus, Sadh^ms and Adityas, 

Vishvas, the Ashvins, Maruts, Ushmapas, 

Gandharvas, Yakshas, Siddhas, Asuras, 

In wondering multitudes beholding Thee.” 

*3;?s ef^sTT ^^:ir ^ Hrar?:sg[r5iJTTi:il ^ 

_ “ Indra, Mitra, Varuija, Agni, they call Him, and He is golden-feathered Garutmin. Of Him who is One sages speak as manifold ; they call Him Agni, Yama, . Matarishva. ” 

1 Bhagttvad Gild. xi. 15 aad 22. 

2 J^igveda. I. cixiv. 46. 

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“ All the Gods (arc) even the Self : all rests on the Self. ” 

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" Some eall Him Agni, others Manu, (others) Prajapati, some Indra, others Life-Breath, others the eternal 

Brahman.” 

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“ As from a blazing fire sparks, all similar to eaeh other, spring forth in thousands, so from the Indesiruetible, O beloved, various types of beings are 

born, and they also return thither... 

“From That are born Breath, Mind, and all the Senses, Ether, Air, Fire, Water, and Earth, the support of all 

I Mawtsnitiii, xii. 119. 

2 Ibia. 123. 3 Mundakop, II. i, i, , 7. 

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“ From that in various ways are born, the Gods. Sadh 3 'as, Men, Beasts, Birds. 

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“From Sattva wisdom is born, and greed from Rajas; negligence and delusion are of Tamas, and also unwisdom. 

“They rise upwards who are settled in Sattva; the Rajasic dwell in the midmost place. The Tamasit; go downwards, enveloped in the vilest qualities.” 

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“Sattva attacheth to bliss, Rajas to action, O Bharata. Tamas, verily, having shrouded wisdom, attacheth on the contrary, to negligence. 

j Bhagavttd Gila. xiv. 17, iS. ’ 

a Ibid, xiv, 9—13. 

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(Now) Sattva ariseth, overcoming Rajas and Tamas, O BhSrata ; (now) Tamas, (overcoming) Rajas and Sattva ; and (again) Rajas (prevailing over) 

Tamas and Sattva. 

“ When the wisdom-light streameth forth from all the gates of the body, then it may be known that Sattva is increasing. 

" Greed, outgoing energy, undertaking of actions ; restlessness, desire — these are born of the increase of Rajas, O best of the Bhiratas. 

‘‘Darkness, stagnation and negligence, and also delu- sion— these are bom of the increase of Tamas, O joy of the Kurus.” 

^ ii^ 

“ When dharma decays, when adharma is exalted, then I Myself come forth ; 

For the protection of the good, for the destruction of the evil, for the firm establishment of dharma, I am bom from age to age.” 

X Bhagavad Gita. iv. 7, 8.

VEDANTA: ITS THEORY AND PRACTICE

 21 VEDANTA: ITS THEORY AND PRACTICE 

1. Materialism says, the voice of freedom is a delusion. Idealism says, the voice that tells of bondage is delusion. Vedanta says, you are free and not free at the same time; never free on the earthly plane, but ever free on the spiritual,

2. This philosophy is very, very ancient; it is the outcome of that mass of ancient Aryan literature known by the name of the Vedas. It is, as it were, the very flower of all the speculations and experiences and analyses, embodied in that mass of literature-collected and culled through centuries. This Vedanta philosophy has certain peculiarities. In the first place, it is perfectly impersonal; it does not owe its origin to any person or prophet; it does not build itself around one man as a center. Yet it has nothing to say against philosophies, which do build themselves around certain persons. 

3. The Vedanta Philosophy, as it is generally called at the present day, really comprises all the various sects that now exist in India. Thus there have been various interpretations, and to my mind they have been progressive, beginning with the Dualistic or Dvaita and ending with the non- dualistic or Advaita. 

4. Vedanta and modern science both posit a self-evolving Cause. In Itself are all the causes. Take for example, the potter shaping a pot. The potter is the primal cause, the clay the material cause, and the wheel the instrumental cause; but the Atman is all three. Atman is cause and manifestation too. The Vedantist says, the universe is not real, it is only apparent. Nature is God seen through nescience. The Pantheists say, God has become nature or this world; the Advaitists affirm that God is appearing as this world, but He is not this world. 

5. The Vedanta claims that man is divine, that all this which we see around us is the out' come of that consciousness of the divine. Every' thing that is strong, and good and powerful in human nature is the outcome of that divinity, and though potential in many, there is no difference between man and man essentially, all being alike divine. There is, as it were, an infinite ocean behind, and you and I are so many waves, coming out of that infinite ocean; and each one of us is trying our best to manifest that infinite outside. 

6. Another peculiar idea of the Vedanta is that we must allow this infinite variation in religious thought, and not try to bring everybody to the same opinion, because the goal is the same, as the Vedantist says in his poetical language: "As so many rivers, having their source in different mountains, roll down, crooked or straight, and at last come into the ocean-so, all these various creeds and religions, taking their start from different standpoints and running through crooked or straight courses, at last come into Thee." 

7. Vedanta does not take the position that this world is only a miserable one. That would be untrue. At the same time, it is a mistake to say that this world is full of happiness and blessings. So it is useless to tell children that this world is all good, all flowers, and milk and honey. That is what we have all dreamt. At the same time it is erroneous to think, because one man has suffered more than another, that all is evil. It is this duality, this play of good and evil that makes our world of experiences. At the same time the Vedanta says, "Do not think that good and evil are two, are two separate essences, for they are one and the same thing appearing in different degrees and in different guises and producing differences of feeling in the same mind." 

8. The Vedanta system begins with tremendous pessimism, and ends with real optimism. We deny the sense optimism but assert the real optimism of the Supersensuous. That real happiness is not in the senses but above the senses; and it is in every man. The sort of optimism which we see in the world is what will lead to ruin through the senses. 

9. "The theme of the Vedanta is to see the Lord in everything, to see things in their real nature, not as they appear to be. 

10. The Vedanta says that you are pure and perfect, and that there is a state beyond good and evil, and that is your own nature. It is higher than good. Good is only a lesser differentiation than evil. We have no theory of evil. We call it ignorance. 

11, Vedanta declares that religion is here and now, because the question of this life and that life, of life and death, this world and that world, is merely one of superstition and prejudice. There is no break in time beyond what we make. What difference is there between ten and twelve o'clock except what we make by certain changes in nature? Time flows on the same. So what is meant by this life or that life? It is only a question of time, and what is lost in time may be made up by speed in work. So, says the Vedanta, religion is to be realised now. And for you to become religious means that you will start without any religion, work your way up and realise things, see things for yourself; and when you have done that, then, and then alone, you have religion. Before that you are no better than atheists, or worse, because the atheist is sincere; he stands up and says, "I do not know about these things', while those others do not know but go about the world saying, "We are very religious peopled 

12. Materialism prevails in Europe today. You may pray for the salvation of the modern sceptics, but they do not yield, they want reason. The salvation of Europe depends on a rationalistic religion, and Advaita-the non-duality, the Oneness, the idea of the impersonal God-is the only religion that can have any hold on any intellectual people. It comes whenever religion seems to disappear, and irreligion seems to prevail, and that is why it has taken ground in Europe and America. 

13. I make bold to say that the only religion which agrees with, and even goes a little further than modern researches, both on physical and moral lines, is the Advaita, and that is why it appeals to modern scientists so much. They find that the old dualistic theses are not enough for them, do not satisfy their necessities. 

14. Another peculiarity of the Advaita system is that from its very start it is nondestructive. This is another glory, the boldness to preach; "Do not disturb the faith of any, even of those who through ignorance have attached themselves to lower forms of worship." That is what it says, do cot disturb, but help everyone to get higher and higher; include all humanity. 

15. The Dualists all the world over naturally believe in a Personal God who is purely anthropomorphic, who like a great potentate in this world, is pleased with some and displeased with others. He is arbitrarily pleased with some people or races and showers blessing upon them. Naturally the Dualist comes to the conclusion that God has favourites, and he hopes to be one of them. You will find that in almost every religion is the idea, "We are the favourites of our God, and only by behoving as we do, can you be taken into favour with Him. Some Dualists are so narrow as to insist that only the few that have been predestined to the favour of God can be saved; the rest may try ever so hard, but they cannot be accepted. I challenge you to show me one Dualistic religion which has not more or less of this exclusiveness. And, therefore, in the nature of things Dualistic religions are bound to fight and quarrel with each other, and this they have ever been doing. 

16. This idea of reincarnation runs parallel with the other doctrine of the eternity of the human soul. Nothing which end? at one point can be without a beginning and nothing that begins at one point can. be without an end. We cannot believe in such a monstrous impossibility as the beginning of the human soul. The doctrine of reincarnation asserts the freedom of the soul. 

17. Those that come out of zero will certainly have to go back to zero. Neither you, nor I, nor anyone present, has come out of zero, nor will go back to zero. We have been existing eternally, and will exist, and there is no power under the sun, or above the sun, which can undo your or my existence, or send us back to zero. Now this idea of reincarnation is not only not a frightening idea, but is most essential for the moral wellbeing of the human race. It is the only logical conclusion that thoughtful men can arrive at. If you are going to exist in eternity hereafter, it must be that you have existed through eternity in the past: it cannot be otherwise. 

18. The Atman never comes nor goes, is never born nor dies. It is nature moving before the Atman, and the reflection of this motion is on the Atman and the Atman ignorantly thinks it is moving, and not nature. When the Atman thinks that, it is bondage, but when it comes to find it never moves, that it is omnipresent, then freedom comes. The Atman in bondage is called jiva. Thus you see that when it is said that the Atman comes and goes, it is said only for facility of understanding, just as for convenience, in studying astronomy you are asked to suppose that the sun moves round the earth, though such is not the case. So the Jiva, the soul, comes to higher or lower states. This is the well-known law of reincarnation, and this law binds all creation. 

19. The aim and end in this life for the Jnana-Yogi is to become this Jivanmukta, "livingfree". He is Jivanmukta who can live in this world without being attached. He is like the lotus leaves in water, which are never wetted by the water. He is the highest of human beings, nay, the highest of all beings, for he has realised his identity with the Absolute, he has realised that he is one with God. 20. So, what is left attached to the man who has reached the Self and seen the truth, is the remnant of the good impressions of past life, the good momentum. Even if he lives in the body and works incessantly, he works only to do good; his lips speak only benediction to all; his hands do only good works; his mind can only think good thoughts; his presence is a blessing wherever he goes. 

21. There are some who do not understand Advaitism and make a travesty of its teaching. They say, what is Shuddha and Ashuddha, what is the difference between virtue and viceit is all human superstitions-and observe no normal restraint in their actions. It is downright roguery, and any amount of harm is done by the preaching of such things. This body is made up of two sorts of Karma consisting of virtue and vice-injurious vice and non-injurious virtue. A thorn is pricking my body, and I take another thorn to take it out and then throw both away. A man desiring to be perfect takes a thorn of virtue and with it takes off the thorn of vice. He still lives, and virtue alone being left, the momentum of action left to him must be of virtue. A bit of holiness is left to the jivanmukta and he lives, but everything he does must be holy. 

22. If I teach you, therefore, that your nature is evil. that you should go home and sit in sackcloth and ashes and weep your eyes out because you took certain false steps, it will not help you, but will weaken you all the more, and I shall be showing you the road to more evil than good. If this room is full of darkness for thousands of years and you come in and begin to weep and wail, "Oh the darkness" will the darkness vanish? Strike a match and light comes m a moment. What good will it do you to think all your lives, "Oh, I have done evil, I have made many mistakes"? It requires no ghost to tell us that. Bring in the light and the evil goes in a moment. Build up your character, and manifest your real nature, the Effulgent, the Resplendent, the Ever-Pure, and call it up in everyone that you see. I wish that everyone of us had come to such a state that even in the vilest of human beings we could see the Real Self within, and instead of condemning them, say, ^Rise thou effulgent one, rise thou who art always pure, rise thou births and deathless, rise almighty, and manifest thy true nature- These little manifestations do not befit thee." This is the highest prayer that the Advaita teaches. This is the one prayer, to remember our true nature, the God who is always within us, thinking of it always as infinite, almighty, ever-good, ever-beneficent, selfless, bereft of all limitations. And because that nature is selfless, it is strong and fearless; for only to selfishness comes fear. He who has nothing to desire for himself, whom does he fear, and what can frighten him? What fear has death for him? What fear has evil for him? So if we are Advaitists, we must think from this moment that our old self is dead and gone. The old Mr., Mrs., and Miss So-andso are gone, they were mere superstitions, and what remains is the ever-pure, the everstrong, the almighty, the all-knowing:- that alone remains for us, and then all fear vanishes from us. Who can injure us, the omnipresent? All weakness has vanished from us, and our only work is to arouse this knowledge in our fellow-beings. We see that they too are the same pure self, only they do not know it; we must teach them, we must help them to rouse up their infinite nature. This is what I feel to he absolutely necessary all over the world. These doctrines are old, older than many mountains possibly. All truth is eternal. Truth is nobody's property; no race, no individual can lay any exclusive claim to it. Truth is the nature of all souls. Who can lay any special claim to it? But it has to be made practical, to he made simple for the highest truths are always simple, so that it may penetrate every pore of human society, and become the property of the highest intellects and the commonest minds, of the man, woman, and child at the same time. All these ratiocinations of logic, all these bundles of metaphysics, all these theologies and ceremonies may have been good in their own time, but let us try to make things simpler and bring about the golden days when every man will be a worshipper, and the Reality in every man will be the object of worship. 

23. The Vedanta says that not only can this be realised in the depths of forests or caves, but by men in all possible conditions of life. We have seen that the people who discovered these truths were neither living in caves nor forests, nor following the ordinary vocations of life, but men who, we have every reason to believe, led the busiest of lives, men who had to command armies, to sit on thrones, and look to the welfare of millions-and all these, in the days of absolute monarchy, and not as in these days when a king is to a great extent a mere figure-head. Yet they could find time to think out all these thoughts, to realise them, and to teach them to humanity. How much more then should it be practical for us whose lives, compared with theirs, are lives of leisure? That we cannot realise them is a shame to us, seeing that we are comparatively free all the time, having very little to do. My requirements are as nothing compared with those of an ancient absolute monarch. My wants are as nothing compared with the demands of Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, commanding a huge army; and yet he could find time in the midst of the din and turmoil of battle to talk the highest philosophy and to carry it into his life also. Surely we ought to be able to do as much in this life of ours-comparatively free, easy, and comfortable. Most of us here have more time than we think we have, if we really want to use it for good. With the amount of freedom we have we can attain to two hundred ideals in this life, if we will, but we must not degrade the ideal to the actual. One of the most insinuating things comes to us in the shape of persons who apologise for our mistakes and teach us how to make special excuses for all our foolish wants and foolish desires; and we think that their ideal is the only ideal we need have. But it is not so. The Vedanta teaches no such thing. The actual should be reconciled to the ideal, the present life should he made to coincide with life eternal 

24. We want to worship a living God. I have seen nothing but God all my life, nor have you. To see this chair you first see God, and then the chair in and through Him. He is everywhere saying, "I am". The moment you feel "I am", you are conscious of Existence. Where shall we go to find God if we cannot see Him in our own hearts and in every living being? "Thou art the man. Thou art the woman. Thou art the girl, and Thou art the boy. Thou art the old man tottering with a stick. Thou art the young man walking in the pride of strength. Thou art all dial exists, a wonderful living God who is the only fact in the universe. This seems to many to be a terrible contradiction to the traditional God who lives behind a veil somewhere and whom nobody ever sees. The priests only give us an assurance that if we follow them, listen to their admonitions, and walk m the way they mark out for us-then when we die, they will give us a passport to enable us to see the face of God? What are all these heaven ideas but simply modifications of this nonsensical priestcraft? Of course the Impersonal idea is very destructive; it takes away all trade from the priests, churches, and temples. In India there is a famine now, but there are temples in each one of which there are jewels worth a king's ransom! If the priests taught this Impersonal idea to the people, their occupation would be gone. Yet we have to teach it unselfishly, without priestcraft. You are God and so am 1; who obeys whom? Who "worships whom? You are the highest temple of God, I would rather worship you than any temple, image, or Bible... .But what is more practical than worshipping here, worshipping you? I see you, feel you, and I know you are God. The Mohammedan says, there is no God but Allah. The Vedanta says, there is nothing that is not God. 

25. Vedanta teaches the God that is in everyone, has become everyone and everything.... The kingdom of heaven went from Vedanta hundreds of years ago. Vedanta is concerned only with spirituality. ... God is spirit and He should be worshipped in spirit and in truth. 26. These are what Vedanta has not to give. No book. No man to be singled out from the rest of mankind-you are worms, and we are the Lord God!"-none of that. If you are the Lord God, I also am the Lord God. So Vedanta knows no sin. There are mistakes but no sin; and in the long run everything is going to be all right. No Satan-none of this nonsense. Vedanta believes in only one sin, only one in the world, and it is this: the moment you think you are a sinner or anybody is a sinner, that is sin. From that follows every other mistake or what is usually called sin. There have been many mistakes in our lives. But we are going on. Glory be unto us that we have made mistakes! Take a long look at your past life. If your present condition is good, it has been caused by all the past mistakes as well as successes. Glory be unto success! Glory be unto mistakes I . .. You see, Vedanta proposes no sin nor sinner. No God to be afraid of. He is the one being of whom we shall never be afraid, because He is our own Self. There is only one being of whom you cannot possibly be afraid; He is that. Then isn't it really the most superstitious person who has fear of God? There may be someone who is afraid of his shadow; but even he is not afraid of himself. God is man's very Self. He is the one being whom you can never possibly fear. What is all this nonsense, the fear of the Lord entering into a man, making him tremble and so on? Lord bless us that we are not all in the lunatic asylum! But if most of us are not lunatics, why should we invent such ideas as fear of God? Lord Buddha said that the whole human race is lunatic, more or less. It is perfectly true, it seems. No book, no person, no Personal God. All these must go. Again, the senses must go. We cannot be bound to the senses. At present we are tied down-like persons dying of cold in the glaciers. They feel such a strong desire to sleep, and when their friends try to wake them, warning them of death, they say, "Let me die, I want to sleep". We all cling to the little things of the senses, even if we are ruined thereby; we forget there are much greater things. 27. What does Vedanta teach us? In the first place, it teaches that you need not even go out of yourself to know the truth. All the past and all the future are here in the present. No man ever saw the past. Did any one of you see the past? When you think you are knowing the past, you only imagine the past in the present moment. To see the future, you would have to bring it down to the present, which is the only reality-the rest is imagination. This present is all that is. There is only the One. All is here right now. One moment in infinite time is quite as complete and all-inclusive as every other moment. All that is and was and will be is here in the present. Let anybody try to imagine anything outside of it-he will not succeed. 28. Therefore the Vedanta formulates, not a universal brotherhood, but universal oneness. I am the same as any other man, as any other animal-good, bad, anything. It is one body, one mind, one soul throughout. Spirit never dies. There is no death anywhere, not even for the body. Not even the mind dies. How can even the body die? One leaf may fall-does the tree die? The universe is my body. See how it continues. All minds are mine. With all feet I walk. Through all mouths I speak. In everybody I reside.

Hinduism-The One Existence.

The One Existence. 

There is one Infinite, Eternal, Changeless Existence, 

the All. 

From That all comes forth ; to That all returns. 

“ One only', without a second.” * 

That includes within Itself all that ever has been, is, and can be. As a wave rises in the ocean, a universe rises in the All. As the wave sinks again into the ocean, a universe sinks again: into the All. As the ocean is water, and the wave a form or manifestation of the water, so is there one Existence, and the universe a form, or manifestation, of the Existence. 

“All This verily [is] Brahman.” 

This is the primary truth of Religion. Men have given to the All many different names. The name in the Sanatana Dharma is Brahman. English-speaking people use the name God, adding, to make the meaning clear, “God, in His own Nature." Sometimes the Hindu speaks of the All as Nirguna Brahman, the Brahman without attributes, or the unconditioned Brahman. This is to distinguish the unmanifested state of Brahman, the All, from the manifested state, in which Brahman is called the Saguna Brahman, the Brahman with attributes, or the conditioned Brahman, the Supreme Ishvara with His universe. 

These are called “ the two states of Brahman ’ the subject is very difficult, and it is enough for a boy to understand that the Saguna Brahman is Brahman revealed— not " a second ”, but Brahman shining forth as The One, the Great Lord of Being, Thought and Bliss, He is the self-existent One, the Root and Cause of all beings. He is also sometimes called Purushottama, the Supreme Spirit, The Self. With Himself as Spirit He reveals the other side of the All, which is named MQlaprakriti, the Root of Matter. Prakriti, Matter, is that which takes form, and so can give bodies of all sorts and shapes and kinds ; all that we can touch, taste, smell, see, and hear, is Matter, and a great deal more besides, which our five senses are not yet developed enough to perceive. The solids, liquids and gases of the chemist are made of Matter; all the things around us, stones, trees, animals, men, are made of Matter. But the whole of them is not Matter; inaudible, invisible, un-smellable, un-tastable, intangible, the Spirit is in each, an Amshah, a portion, of Ishvara. We call the Matter part a Shariram, body, or a kosah, sheath, or an Upadhih, vehicle ; that which embodies, clothes or carries the Spirit. Thus Ishvara is in everything, and it is He who gives life to all things. He is  Atma, the Self, the Immortal, the Inner Ruler, dwelling in all objects, and there is nothing that can exist apart from Him. An amhsa(portion) of Him in a body of Matter, is called a Jiva, or a Jivatman, a separated Self. 

There are some very important differences between Spirit and Matter, as well as the differences just spoken of, that the senses, when completely developed, can perceive Matter, while they cannot perceive Spirit, and that Matter takes form while Spirit is formless. It is the Spirit that is life, and that thinks, and feels, and observes, that is the “ I "in each of us. And the Spirit is one and the same in everybody and in every- thing. But Matter cannot think, or feel, or observe ; it is Jadam, without consciousness. And it has also the tendency to be constantly dividing itself into many forms and to become many. So that Spirit and Matter are said to be the opposites, one of the other ; Spirit is called the knower, the one that knows, while Matter is called the object of knowledge, that which is known. 

Students should try to understand these differences, and must never confuse Spirit and Matter ; they are opposites, the first “ pair of opposites,” out of which a universe is built up. 

Just as Spirit has three qualities —सत ,चित ,आनंदनम - Sat, Chit, Anandanam-Being, Thought-Power and Bliss, so has Matter three qualities,सम:,रज:,सतवं , Tamah, Rajah, Sattvam — Inertia, Motion, Rhythm. Inertia gives resistance and stability to Matter;Motion keeps Matter active, moving about ; Rhythm makes the movements regular. You may say, " A stone does not move of itself.” But science tells you that every particle in that stone — ^particles too small for you to see — is moving rapidly and regularly to and fro, is vibrating, to use the scientific name. The शक्तिः, Shaktih, or the Divine Power of Ishvara, which makes Matter begin to take form, is called माया,Maya, and sometimes दैवीप्रकृतिः, Daiviprakritih, the Divine Prakriti. Shri Krishna speaks of "My Divine Prakriti " as " My other Prakriti, the higher, the life- element, by which the universe is upheld.” ^ 

The student may think of the great pair of opposites, Ishvara and Molaprakriti, standing, as it were, face to face, and the Divine Power of Ishvara shining out on Molaprakriti and making the qualities, called Guna,acts on each other, so that many forms begin to appear. This Divine Power is Maya, and so ishvara is called the Lord of Miya, 

Even young students 'must try to remember these names, and what they mean, for they cannot otherwise understand the teaching of the Bhagavad-Gita which every Hindu boy must try to understand. It may be good to say that the word Prakriti is generally used instead of Molaprakriti,the prefix Mola,Root,being usually left out. 

शेयं  यततं प्रवशायामि  यज्ज्ञातवामृतमश्नुते  

“I will declare that which is to be known, that which being known immortality is gained — the beginningless supreme Brahman, called neither Being nor Not- 

being. 

'‘Everywhere That has hands and feet, everywhere eyes, heads and mouths, all-hearing He dwell in the world, enveloping all. 

"Shining with all sense-faculties, without any senses ; unattached, supporting everything ; and free from properties, enjoying properties. 

"Without and within all beings, immovable and also movable ; from his subtlety indistinguishable ; at 'hand and far away is That. 

"Not divided amid beings and yet seated distributively. That is to be known as the supporter of beings ; 

He devours and He generates. That the Light of all Lights is said to be beyond darkness; .wisdom, the wisdom to be gained, the end of wisdom, seated in the hearts of all." 

This was in the form of Darkness, unknown without marks [ or homogeneous ], unattainable by reasoning, unknowable, wholly, as it were, in sleep. 

“ Then the Self-Existent, the Lord, un manifest, (but) making manifest This— the great elements and the rest— appeared with mighty power. Dispeller of Darkness. 

“ He who can be grasped by that which is beyond the senses, subtle, un manifest, ancient, containing all beings, inconceivable, even He Himself shone forth.

“ I, 0 Gudakesha, am the Self, seated in the heart of all beings ; I am the beginning, the middle, and also the end of all beings.” 

‘‘There arc two Purushas in this world, one destructible and one indestructible ; the destructible is all beings, the indestructible is called the unchanging. 

“The highest Purusha is verily another, declared as the Supreme Self; He who pervade and sustain-the three worlds, the indestructible Ishvara. 

"Since I excel the destructible, and am more excellent also than the indestructible, in the world and in the Veda I am proclaimed Purushottama." 

"An eternal portion of myself, in the world of life a living being, draw round itself the senses, of which Manas is the sixth, placed in Prakriti." 

" Seated equally in all beings, the supreme Ishvara, indestructible within the destructible; he who thus seeth, he seeth. 

"When he perceive that the varied natures of beings are rooted in Oxe and proceed from It, then he reaches the Brahman. 

*‘As this one sun illuminate the whole earth, so the Lord of the field illuminate the whole field, O Bharata." 

“ Earth, water, fire, air, ether, Manas and Buddhi also and Ahamkra — these are the eight-fold divisions of my Prakriti. 

*‘This the inferior. Know my other Prakriti, the higher,the life-element, O mighty armed, by which the universe is upheld." 

“Sattva, Rajas, Tamas, these are the Gunas, born of Prakriti, O great-armed one ; they bind fast in the body the indestructible dweller in the body." 

Sanatana Dharma(Hinduism)-An introduction

ॐ 

 INTRODUCTION

   Sanatana Dharma means the Eternal Religion, the Ancient Law, and it is based on the Vedas, sacred books given to men many long ages ago. This Religion has also been called the Aryan Religion, because it is the Religion that was given to the first nation of the Aryan race ; Arya means noble, and the name was given to a great race, much finer in character and appearance than the races which went before it in the world’s history. The first families of these people settled in the northern part of the land now called India, and that part in which they first settled was named Aryavarta, because these Aryans lived in it. “[The land] from the eastern ocean to the western ocean, between the two mountains [Himavat and Vindhya], the wise call Aryavarta." 

      In later days the Religion was called the Hindu Religion, and this is the name by which -it is now usually known. It is the oldest of living Religions, and no other Religion has produced so many great men — great teachers, great writers, great sages, great saints,’ great kings, great warriors, great statesmen, great benefactors, great patriots, The more you know of it, the more you will honour and love it, and the more thankful you will be that you were born into it. But unless you grow up worthy of it, this great and holy Religion will do you no good. 

The Basis of Sanatana Dharma. 

   The ancient Religion is based on one strong foundation on which are erected the walls of its structure. 

The foundation is called श्रुतिः Shrutih, " that which has been heard”; the walls are called स्मृतिः Smritih, ” that which has been remembered”. 

The Shruti has been given through very wise men, who heard it and received it from Devas ; these sacred teachings were not written down till comparatively modern times, but were learned by heart, and constantly repeated, The teacher sang them to his pupils, and the pupils sang them after him, a few words at a time, over and over again, till they knew them thoroughly. Boys still learn the Shruti in the same way as their forefathers learned it in very ancient day's and you may hear them chanting it in any Vaidik Pathshala at the present time. 

The Shruti consists of the चतुर्वेदः Four Vedah, 'Vedas. Veda means knowledge, that which is known ; and the knowledge which is the foundation of Religion is given to man in the Four Vedas. They are named: ऋग्वेद; Rigveda;सामवेद Samaveda;यजुर्वेद Yajurveda ; and अथर्ववेद Atharvaveda, 

Each Veda is divided into three pans : — 

1. मंत्र Mantrah ; or संहिता Samhita, collection. 

2. ब्राह्मणं;, Brahmanam. 

3 -उपनिषद्;, Upanishad. 

The Mantra portion consists of Mantras, or sentences in which the order of sounds has a particular power, producing certain effects. These are in the form of hymns to the Devas— whose relations to mcn we shall study presently — and when they are properly chanted by propcrl}' instructed persons, certain results follow. These are used in religious ceremonies, and the value of the ceremony depends chiefly upon their proper repetition. 

The Brahmanam portion of the Vedas consists of directions about ritual and explains how to perform the ceremonies in which were used the Mantras given in the first part ; and further,stories connected with them. 

The Upanishad portion consists of deep philosophical teachings on the nature of Brahman, on the Supreme and the separated Self, on man and the universe, on bondage and liberation. It is the foundation of all philosophy, and when you are men, you may study it and delight in it. Only highly educated men can study it ; it is too difficult for others. 

There was a fourth part of the Veda in the ancient days, sometimes called the Upavedah, or Tantram; this consisted of science, and of practical instructions based on the science ; but very little of the true ancient Tantra remains, as the Rishis took them away as unsuitable for times in which people were less spiritual. Some Tantrika forms of ritual are, however, used in worship, along with, or instead of, the current Vaidika forms. The books now extant under the name of Tantras are generally not regarded as part of the Veda. 

That which is found in the Shruti is of supreme authority and is accepted by every faithful follower of the Sanatana Dharma as final. All the sects, all the philosophical systems, appeal to the Shruti as the final authority, determining every dispute. 

The Smriti, or Dharma Shastra, is founded on, and stands next in authority to, the Shruti, and consists of four great works, written by sages, the chief contents of which are laws and regulations for the carrying on of individual, family, social and national life. 

Hindu Society is founded on, and governed by, these 

laws. They are:— 

1. मनुस्मृति Manu Smriti, or मानवधर्मशास्त्रं Manava Dharma Shastra. The Institutes of Manu 

2 .यजनावल्क्य स्मृति  Yajnavalkya Smriti. 

3 . Shankha and Likhita Smriti. 

4 . Parashara Smriti. 

    The first of these is the chief compendium of Aryan law, Manu being the great Law-giver of the race. Hindu chronology divides the history of a world into seven great periods or cycles of time, each of which is begun and is ended by a Manu, and is therefore called a Manvantara, Manu-antara, “ between [two] Manus." 

   “Six other Manus, very great minded and of great splendour, belonging to the race of this Manu, the descendant of Svayambhu, have each produced beings." This shows that we are in the fourth Manvantara, under the rule of the Manu who is, the next shloka tells us, the son of Vivasvata. Some of his laws are handed down in the Manu Smriti. 

   The Yajnavalkya Smriti follows the same general lines as the Manu Smriti and is next in importance to it. The other two are not now much studied or referred to. 

While the Shruti and the Smriti are the foundation and the walls of the Sanatana Dharma, there are two other important supports like buttresses : the Puranas and the Itihasah, (History).. 

The Puranas consist of histories and stories and allegories, composed for the use of the less learned part of the nation, especially for those who could not study the Vedas. They are very interesting to read, and are full of information of all kinds. Some of the allegories are difficult to understand, and require the help of a teacher. 

The Itihasa comprises two great poems : 

1. The Ramayanam the history of Shri Ramachandra, the son of king Dasharatha, and of His wife Sita, and of his brothers, a most interesting and delightful story, as you all know. 

2. The Mahabharatam, the history of the Kurus, a royal family of Northern India, which split into two parties, the Kurus and the Pandavas, between whom a great war broke out. It contains an immense number of beautiful stories, noble moral teachings, and useful lessons of all kinds. 

   These two books, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, tell us most of what we know about ancient India, about her people, and her customs, and her ways of living, and her arts, and her manufactures. If you read these, you will learn how great India once was, and you will also learn how you must behave to make her great once more. 

The Science and Philosophy of Sanatana Dharma. 

   While the Shruti and the Smriti, the Puranas and the Itihasa, make the edifice of Hindu Religion, we find that the Religion itself has given birth to a splendid literature of Science and Philosophy. 

Science was divided into the Shadangani, the Six Angas, literally Limbs ; and these six Limbs, or Branches, comprised what would now be called secular knowledge. In the old days religious and secular knowledge were not divided. They included Grammar, Philology, Astrology, Poetry, together with sixty-four sciences and arts, and the method by which study should be carried on, so that any one who mastered the six angas was a man of varied and deep learning. 

   The Philosophy also had six divisions, the Shaddarshanani, the six Darshanas, or ways of seeing things, usually called the Six Systems. They all have 

one object : the putting an end to pain by enabling the separated human selves to reunite with the Supreme Self ; and they all have one method — the development of Wisdom. The methods employed are different, to suit the different mental constitutions of men, so that thc3' are like six different roads, all leading to one town. 

As to what is contained in the six systems of philosophy*, it will be enough for boys to know this : — 

The Nydya and the Vaisheshika arrange all the things of the world into a certain number of kinds ; then point out that a man knows all things by means of his senses, or by inference and analogy, or by the testimony 

.of other (wise and experienced) men ; and then they explain how God has made all this material world out of atoms and molecules ; final]}' they show how the highest and most useful knowledge is the knowledge of God, who is also the inmost Spirit of man, and how this knowledge is obtained in various ways. 

The Sahkhya explains in more detail and in new ways the nature of 5^1 Purushah, spirit, and of Prakfitih, matter, and the relation of the two to each other. 

The Yoga says that as there are now, generally known five senses and five organs of action, so there are other subtler senses and organs; and explains more fully how they may be developed by men who are seeking to know God, who is their own true inmost Spirit. 

The Mimansa explains what Karma is, i. e. action, both religious and worldly, and what are its consequences, causes and effects, and how it binds man to 

this world or to another. 

The Vedanta finally tells fully what is the exact and true nature of God, or AtmS, and shows that the Jiva of man is in essence the same as this Inmost God, and explains how man may live so that Karma shall not tie him ; and finally, by understanding what the Maya Shakti of God is, by which all this world comes forth and appears and disappears, how he may (after practice of Yoga) merge himself into and become one with God and so gain Moksha.