Tag: nothing

Enrollment alone will not help us progress to perfection

Many of us are enrolled in various programs… the program is designed to help us progress… but most of those enrolled don’t make any progress. Is enrollment alone sufficient to make progress?

My dear reader… consider this… suppose a student enrolls in a course of study at a prestigious university… Everywhere our student friend goes, they advertise… “I’m a student of such-and-such-course in so-and-so university”. Our student friend is met with pats on the back, and nods of approval… “yes”, everyone seems to say “that is a fantastic program at a great university”, and our student friend is quite pleased at this.

That’s it, our student friend is content with enrollment. Post-enrollment, apart from the bragging about the program they are enrolled in, we find that our student does not do anything else…

  • Attends no classes
  • Reads no textbooks
  • Does no research
  • Submits no assignments
  • Works on no projects
  • Does no practical work
  • Learns nothing about what they’re supposed to learn in that program
  • …

Now, my dear reader, would you expect our student friend to graduate, or even be allowed to stay on in the program?

Not at all! At minimum, our friend the student would forfeit their fees, potentially be kicked out of the program, and most definitely not get to see graduation!

We all would agree that this kind of enrollment in a program with no work done is of no real benefit.

And yet, the world is full of such students, enrolled in various Universities…

  • Hinduism
  • Christianity
  • Islam
  • Judaism
  • Buddhism
  • Jainism
  • Sikhism
  • this-ism
  • that-ism
  • …

Yes, my dear reader, all of these are universities… meant to teach us most important things:

  1. Who we are, Be who we are
  2. Know God, Love God
  3. Know that everything and everyone is God’s, to love, cherish, and engage in the service of God

Each of these “universities” was created to cater to a particular set of persons, in a particular time, place, and circumstance.

And yet, there are so many who are “enrolled”, but are not doing any of the work needed to actually graduate.

What is graduation? Graduation means spiritual perfection, which is an eternally ever-increasing thing, there is no limit to perfection. Perfection is a journey.

yasmin vijñāte sarvam evaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavati (Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.3)

According to this Vedic injunction, simply by understanding Kṛṣṇa one understands Brahman, Paramātmā, prakṛti, the illusory energy, the spiritual energy and everything else. Everything will be revealed.

https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/6/16/53-54/

Such a person who has graduated from their “university” manifests love and compassion at every moment and acts for the benefit of the whole world.

What is that ultimate benefit?

तव कथामृतं तप्तजीवनं
कविभिरीडितं कल्मषापहम् ।
श्रवणमङ्गलं श्रीमदाततं
भुवि गृणन्ति ये भूरिदा जना: ॥ ९ ॥

tava kathāmṛtaṁ tapta-jīvanaṁ
kavibhir īḍitaṁ kalmaṣāpaham
śravaṇa-maṅgalaṁ śrīmad ātataṁ
bhuvi gṛṇanti ye bhūri-dā janāḥ

The nectar of Your words and the descriptions of Your activities are the life and soul of those suffering in this material world. These narrations, transmitted by learned sages, eradicate one’s sinful reactions and bestow good fortune upon whoever hears them. These narrations are broadcast all over the world and are filled with spiritual power. Certainly those who spread the message of Godhead are most munificent.

https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/10/31/9/

Alas, despite the world being filled with people professing all kinds of faith, there are so few who broadcast the glories of the Lord in this way.

We see persons of all kinds of faith lacking the basic qualities that their tradition aims to inculcate… persons of “faith” but without compassion, without tolerance, without understanding, without knowledge, without purity, without simplicity, without love, without care, without human qualities even!

So what is to be done, my dear reader?

Go deep, deep, deeper into the University you are enrolled in.

In general, you may find you are at one of these levels:

  • Atheism – the school of blind faith regarding God
  • Agnosticism – the school of blind doubt
  • Gnosticism – the school of unclear knowledge about God
  • Impersonalism – the school of detailed knowledge, mixed with envy of God
  • Fear of God – where God is known, and feared, out of ignorance
  • Fruitive Religion – Where God is treated as an Order Supplier
  • Dutiful Religion – Where God is adored and worshipped out of Duty
  • Pure Love of God – Where God is Loved and Served in Loving Devotion

Different “Universities” cater to different profiles of students… you have the ones for really bright students, the ones where you can get a sports scholarship, ones where the standards aren’t that high, the ones meant for rich people, and so on… ultimately, you need to decide how far your University can take you.

If you find that your institution is a vocational college and not really very deep in terms of giving you full spiritual perfection, then, search out that deeper place, where all the information about God is fully available, and you get the pure unadulterated knowledge… and you get theory, practice, and examples of role models actually practicing perfection.

But, coming back to the original point, simply labeling yourself as a Hindu, Muslim, Christian, or any other “ism” is not sufficient. You need to actually go deep into your tradition and learn everything there is to learn, experience everything there is to experience, serve in every possible way, and strive for spiritual advancement at every step. You cannot afford to be complacent, because human life is rare, and human life is short.

Here are some humble suggestions from this servant of the servant of God…

  • Know that Religion, singular, is one… Religions, plural, is another name for politics
  • Read your scripture
  • Understand it deeply by discussion, don’t be lazy about it
  • Follow your religious tenets carefully, pragmatically, not fanatically
  • Read scriptures from other traditions
  • Observe the principles, don’t get hung up on the details of the differences
  • Be tolerant, patient, enthusiastic, and compassionate to others
  • Practice your faith, every moment, every day
  • Try and understand other traditions by principles
  • Focus on the common denominator in spiritual life
  • Know that God is the God of all creatures, not just people, not just your faith tradition
  • Proof of the pudding? Do you love God? Do you love all that is God’s?

Are you just enrolled, or are you on your way to graduating?

Hare Krishna!

God – Some Common Myths and Misconceptions

There are many misconceptions about God, many myths too! Looking into some of these…

Over several decades of pursuing deeper spiritual understanding, I have encountered several variations of these myths…

Myth #1: God does not exist, there is no plan, everything happens by accident

This is raw atheism, at its simplest, but randomness is a myth.

Myth #2: Actually nothing exists, you are imagining your existence, all is VOID

This is another form of slightly more subtle atheism, but nothingness is also a myth.

Myth #3: I don’t know if God exists, so I’m on the fence

This is a legitimate stance for someone starting out on their spiritual journey, but if one doesn’t go past this stage, then likely one is not too serious about the spiritual quest.
Myth #4: I know God exists, but God can’t possibly be a person, because persons have imperfections, so God is a “Perfect Impersonal Force”
Myth #5: God is “everything”, I am God, you are God, we are all God

These myths, #4 and #5 are complex and sophisticated, and deserve their own posts, though books upon books have been written on this subject.

Myth #6: I am God, so you all follow Me!

Beware of these charlatans. Stay away from them!

Myth #7: Your God is a false God, my God is the real One…

Yes, even though there have been and will be many many false gods (see myth #6 above), for the most part this is the cause of much strife in the world, with one sectarian religion fighting another sectarian religion. There are extremist Muslims, extremist Christians, Extremist Jews, Extremist Hindus, Extremist Bahai’s, Extremist Buddhists… and Extremist Sikhs… the list goes on and on. The unfortunate truth is that all these extremists are, even with the definitions of their own scriptures, atheists in disguise – materialism divides, spirituality unites. As long as we can’t rise to see the one grain of truth in other traditions, so long should we tolerate them. If my spiritual tradition doesn’t teach me that wherever there is life, there is the presence of God’s potency, and doesn’t teach me to see with equal vision all beings, it is likely I may be following one such sectarian religion!

All of these myths above are one form or another form of atheism. I have been at various times in my life, been tripped up with one or more of these myths. So now, I am very careful to avoid any variants of these.

असत्यमप्रतिष्ठं ते जगदाहुरनीश्वरम् ।
अपरस्परसंभूतं किमन्यत्कामहैतुकम् ॥ १६.८ ॥
asatyam apratiṣṭhaṁ te
jagad āhur anīśvaram
aparaspara-sambhūtaṁ
kim anyat kāma-haitukam
 
They say that this world is unreal, with no foundation, no God in control. They say it is produced of sex desire and has no cause other than lust. BG 16.8 https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/16/8/
TEXT BG 16.9:
Following such conclusions, the demoniac, who are lost to themselves and who have no intelligence, engage in unbeneficial, horrible works meant to destroy the world.
TEXT BG 16.10:
Taking shelter of insatiable lust and absorbed in the conceit of pride and false prestige, the demoniac, thus illusioned, are always sworn to unclean work, attracted by the impermanent.
TEXTS BG 16.11-12:
They believe that to gratify the senses is the prime necessity of human civilization. Thus until the end of life their anxiety is immeasurable. Bound by a network of hundreds of thousands of desires and absorbed in lust and anger, they secure money by illegal means for sense gratification.
TEXTS BG 16.13-15:
The demoniac person thinks: “So much wealth do I have today, and I will gain more according to my schemes. So much is mine now, and it will increase in the future, more and more. He is my enemy, and I have killed him, and my other enemies will also be killed. I am the lord of everything. I am the enjoyer. I am perfect, powerful and happy. I am the richest man, surrounded by aristocratic relatives. There is none so powerful and happy as I am. I shall perform sacrifices, I shall give some charity, and thus I shall rejoice.” In this way, such persons are deluded by ignorance.
TEXT BG 9.11:
Fools deride Me when I descend in the human form. They do not know My transcendental nature as the Supreme Lord of all that be.
TEXT BG 9.12:
Those who are thus bewildered are attracted by demonic and atheistic views. In that deluded condition, their hopes for liberation, their fruitive activities, and their culture of knowledge are all defeated.
 
वदन्ति तत्तत्त्वविदस्तत्त्वं यज्ज्ञानमद्वयम्
ब्रह्मेति परमात्मेति भगवानिति शब्द्यते ॥ १.२.११ ॥
vadanti tat tattva-vidas
tattvaṁ yaj jñānam advayam
brahmeti paramātmeti
bhagavān iti śabdyate
Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this nondual substance Brahman, Paramātmā or Bhagavān. https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/1/2/11/

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Nothingness does not exist

We’re supposed to believe that everything originally came from nothing. Nothing existed before, and suddenly for no reason whatsoever there was an explosion, or “singularity”, and out of this nothingness, all of everything came. In other words, we’re all just a “random” meaningless accident. BTW, randomness does not exist also, but that’s topic for another day.

As if this absurdity from the scientific community wasn’t enough, certain pseudo-spiritual traditions even attempt to focus their efforts on dissolving into nothingness.

But actually nothingness does not exist. Let’s say we had empty space with no molecules or light or radiation of any sort in it… what would we have, nothing, right? Wrong! Space still exists, and cannot be created by any material means. Space cannot be taken for granted. In space, everything material happens, physical phenomena, chemical reactions, biological interactions, electromagnetic radiation, everything happens in space, and no material scientist has ever created space or shown it being created materially. So where does space come from? No periodic table of elements even lists space as a material element! Actually the periodic table of material elements is sorely incomplete, but again, topic for another day.

Let’s examine “nothingness” as a concept. Yes, the concept of nothingness exists, it is something, but by its very existence, it negates the reality of nothingness. So even the existence of the concept of nothingness means that nothingness does not actually exist.

Nothingness has never existed, and never shall exist.

Let’s leave these absurdities like nothingness aside and focus on matters of substance, total substance, perfectly substantial, the Supreme Substantial Whole, showing nothingness as paltry, as it should be for all of us.

oṁ pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇam idaṁ
pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate
pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya
pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate

“The Personality of Godhead is perfect and complete, and because He is completely perfect, all emanations from Him, such as this phenomenal world, are perfectly equipped as complete wholes. Whatever is produced of the Complete Whole is also complete in itself. Because He is the Complete Whole, even though so many complete units emanate from Him, He remains the complete balance.” https://vedabase.io/en/library/iso/invocation/

…The completeness of human life can be realized only when one engages in the service of the Complete Whole. All services in this world – whether social, political, communal, international or even interplanetary – will remain incomplete until they are dovetailed with the Complete Whole. When everything is dovetailed with the Complete Whole, the attached parts and parcels also become complete in themselves.

eko ‘py asau racayituṁ jagad-aṇḍa-koṭiṁ
yac-chaktir asti jagad-aṇḍa-cayā yad-antaḥ
aṇḍāntara-stha-paramāṇu-cayāntara-stham-
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi

He is an undifferentiated entity as there is no distinction between potency and the possessor thereof. In His work of creation of millions of worlds, His potency remains inseparable. All the universes exist in Him and He is present in His fullness in every one of the atoms that are scattered throughout the universe, at one and the same time. Such is the primeval Lord whom I adore. https://www.vedabase.com/en/bs/5/35

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