Hinduism refers to heaven and hell as swarg and nark.
However instead of spending one's life worrying how to reach "swarg" it prescribes many ways to reach God, for eg. bhakti yog, karma yog etc. These ideas have existed since 1000s of years before they were preached by others.
"The goal of life is stated variously as the realization of one's union with God, attainment of the vision of God, attainment of perfect love of God, realization of the unity of all existence, perfect unselfishness, liberation from ignorance, attainment of perfect mental peace, or detachment from worldly desires. The goal is to have the direct experience of divinity, regardless of precisely how one may choose to define it. The experience of divinity is the only thing that can give one true peace and happiness, and salvation from suffering and ignorance. According to Hindu thought, one does not necessarily have to wait until death to attain salvation; it is possible to achieve it in this very life. One who attains salvation while living is called a jīvan-mukta."
Such is the sea of knowledge left to Hindus by the vedas. There's no need to look for answers elsewhere. Depending on one's choice and temperament several paths are prescribed for union with God.
In whatever way a Hindu might define the goal of life—and multiple definitions are allowed—there are several methods (yogas) that have been developed over the centuries for people of different tastes and temperaments. Paths one can follow to achieve the spiritual goal of life include:
1. Bhakti Yoga (the path of love and devotion),
2. Karma Yoga (the path of right action),
3. Rāja Yoga (the path of meditation) and
4. Jñāna Yoga (the path of mystical understanding).
Many relegions just copied these concepts but since they were started by mere mortals, they copied just one of these the bhakti yoga. They modified it to suit their purpose but the truth is everything stems from this basic form.
Hinduism is the only religion that prescribes Jnana Yoga for people who want to use reason and logic to question and find answers to reach God. Unlike other's there is no need to follow blindly what the priests preach you.
has been called the path of rational inquiry, and is prescribed for people to whom reason appeals more than faith.[61] The followers of jnana yoga emphasize a two-step process to help one attain salvation:
(1) viveka, the practice of discriminating between things that are impermanent (i.e., worldly pleasures) and those that are permanent (i.e. God and the soul), and
(2) vairāgya, renunciation of unhealthy attachment to things that are impermanent.[62]
"For monks (called sanyāsīs or sādhus ) and nuns (sanyāsinīs), renunciation may mean actual physical departure from worldly activities such as marriage and earning money. For the vast majority of people, however, renunciation means mental detachment from selfish desires while continuing to fulfill family and community obligations.[63] By focusing the mind on Divinity instead of the desire for selfish gain, one can maintain a healthy mental equilibrium in the face of the inevitable highs and lows of life.
It is on account of ignorance (or māyā) that humans identify themselves with their physical bodies and their egos (the sense of "I" and "mine"). These are impermanent, and thus ultimately unreal. The true "self" of every person—the only part of a person that is permanent--is the inner soul, called the atman. Further, the atman of each person is eternally connected to the atman of every other person, with God, and with all existence.
To take an analogy, each individual soul is like a wave on a shoreless ocean.[64] The ocean is the Infinite Brahman. When a person sees rightly, he comes to understand that each wave is none other than the one ocean. Similarly, the highest realization that the followers of jnana yoga strive to attain is that all living beings are essentially none other than the infinite, eternal Brahman.[65] Having this realization makes one naturally treat all people with love and compassion, since one understands that by doing good to others, one actually does good to oneself. It also removes all fear of death.
Jnana yoga is often associated with the Vedanta school of philosophy, although Hindus of the Vedanta school may incorporate elements of bhakti yoga and the other yogas into their spiritual practices as well."
When the foreign mercenaries arrived at India, hoping to preach what they thought was new, they were awe struck by the wonders of this great civilization and thats why they failed. No other country in the world survived the onslaught of these mercenaries. Iran was not a muslim nation till it was overrun by Islamic tribes. Similarly Europe had different religions before it was converted to christianity.
However despite 1000 years of rule by muslims and then 200 years by british, 800 million on these planet are still hindus. When the mercenaries realised they can't convert these people who have a history and culture they cd only dream of, they resorted to the use of deceit.
First they took as much money from India as possible. Then they targetted the weak minded. Those who were willing to be servants to the white masters. They offered lure of wealth after making the country poor. Those who were weak changed their faith. Some of them changed the faith coz the society treated them as untouchables.
Due to hindus not practising what the vedas preach and due to the mal practices of the mercenaries, the forefathers of few present day followers of other religions who were weak gave in. As they were weak minded, the progeny they made was further submissive to the white masters. For money and few words of praise they are willing to do anything for them.
However instead of spending one's life worrying how to reach "swarg" it prescribes many ways to reach God, for eg. bhakti yog, karma yog etc. These ideas have existed since 1000s of years before they were preached by others.
"The goal of life is stated variously as the realization of one's union with God, attainment of the vision of God, attainment of perfect love of God, realization of the unity of all existence, perfect unselfishness, liberation from ignorance, attainment of perfect mental peace, or detachment from worldly desires. The goal is to have the direct experience of divinity, regardless of precisely how one may choose to define it. The experience of divinity is the only thing that can give one true peace and happiness, and salvation from suffering and ignorance. According to Hindu thought, one does not necessarily have to wait until death to attain salvation; it is possible to achieve it in this very life. One who attains salvation while living is called a jīvan-mukta."
Such is the sea of knowledge left to Hindus by the vedas. There's no need to look for answers elsewhere. Depending on one's choice and temperament several paths are prescribed for union with God.
In whatever way a Hindu might define the goal of life—and multiple definitions are allowed—there are several methods (yogas) that have been developed over the centuries for people of different tastes and temperaments. Paths one can follow to achieve the spiritual goal of life include:
1. Bhakti Yoga (the path of love and devotion),
2. Karma Yoga (the path of right action),
3. Rāja Yoga (the path of meditation) and
4. Jñāna Yoga (the path of mystical understanding).
Many relegions just copied these concepts but since they were started by mere mortals, they copied just one of these the bhakti yoga. They modified it to suit their purpose but the truth is everything stems from this basic form.
Hinduism is the only religion that prescribes Jnana Yoga for people who want to use reason and logic to question and find answers to reach God. Unlike other's there is no need to follow blindly what the priests preach you.
has been called the path of rational inquiry, and is prescribed for people to whom reason appeals more than faith.[61] The followers of jnana yoga emphasize a two-step process to help one attain salvation:
(1) viveka, the practice of discriminating between things that are impermanent (i.e., worldly pleasures) and those that are permanent (i.e. God and the soul), and
(2) vairāgya, renunciation of unhealthy attachment to things that are impermanent.[62]
"For monks (called sanyāsīs or sādhus ) and nuns (sanyāsinīs), renunciation may mean actual physical departure from worldly activities such as marriage and earning money. For the vast majority of people, however, renunciation means mental detachment from selfish desires while continuing to fulfill family and community obligations.[63] By focusing the mind on Divinity instead of the desire for selfish gain, one can maintain a healthy mental equilibrium in the face of the inevitable highs and lows of life.
It is on account of ignorance (or māyā) that humans identify themselves with their physical bodies and their egos (the sense of "I" and "mine"). These are impermanent, and thus ultimately unreal. The true "self" of every person—the only part of a person that is permanent--is the inner soul, called the atman. Further, the atman of each person is eternally connected to the atman of every other person, with God, and with all existence.
To take an analogy, each individual soul is like a wave on a shoreless ocean.[64] The ocean is the Infinite Brahman. When a person sees rightly, he comes to understand that each wave is none other than the one ocean. Similarly, the highest realization that the followers of jnana yoga strive to attain is that all living beings are essentially none other than the infinite, eternal Brahman.[65] Having this realization makes one naturally treat all people with love and compassion, since one understands that by doing good to others, one actually does good to oneself. It also removes all fear of death.
Jnana yoga is often associated with the Vedanta school of philosophy, although Hindus of the Vedanta school may incorporate elements of bhakti yoga and the other yogas into their spiritual practices as well."
When the foreign mercenaries arrived at India, hoping to preach what they thought was new, they were awe struck by the wonders of this great civilization and thats why they failed. No other country in the world survived the onslaught of these mercenaries. Iran was not a muslim nation till it was overrun by Islamic tribes. Similarly Europe had different religions before it was converted to christianity.
However despite 1000 years of rule by muslims and then 200 years by british, 800 million on these planet are still hindus. When the mercenaries realised they can't convert these people who have a history and culture they cd only dream of, they resorted to the use of deceit.
First they took as much money from India as possible. Then they targetted the weak minded. Those who were willing to be servants to the white masters. They offered lure of wealth after making the country poor. Those who were weak changed their faith. Some of them changed the faith coz the society treated them as untouchables.
Due to hindus not practising what the vedas preach and due to the mal practices of the mercenaries, the forefathers of few present day followers of other religions who were weak gave in. As they were weak minded, the progeny they made was further submissive to the white masters. For money and few words of praise they are willing to do anything for them.
Comment