Hinduism Is About Cultivating Bliss In The Body And Mind And In Society
Introduction To Hinduism
This website was initially designed to provide some quick answers for people who want to understand their Hindu coworkers and neighbours in Canada.
However, in the process of researching and getting references, I discovered there were fundamental differences between how Hinduism is presented by people who have not experienced what they are writing about vs. the understanding you get from having experiences.
This book presents Vedic knowledge in the context of my experiences from practicing various techniques for over 40 years.
I have provided many references from Vedic literature that corroborate the point of view presented. However, I am just a student of this vast ocean of knowledge. I encourage you to find your own path, have your own experiences and develop your own understanding.
A Word Of Caution:
Hinduism is part of a culture that is thousands of years old. The practices, beliefs and faith of Hindus is engrained in their daily life to the point where they don’t even see that they are practicing on faith. The objective approach I have taken here will not sit well with them.
Similarly, the scientific angle I have presented won’t be appreciated by traditional, faith oriented Hindus.
On the other hand, for those that are starting to learn about Hinduism, I think the scientific and non-faith oriented way of explaining things will make sense.
This page is meant to be read like a book – from beginning to end. Each ‘chapter’ builds on important ideas as you develop a context for understanding them. Links provide more details on topics that don’t fit with the flow of information on the main page.
I expect this ‘book’ will keep growing since I am really enjoying the process of describing my new discoveries as I grow in my pracitce and experiences. I hope you enjoy reading it.
Out of bliss these beings are born, in bliss they are sustained, and to bliss they go and merge again.
— Taittiriya Upanishad, sixth Anuvak
My Story
I have been practicing various techniques from Hinduism for over 40 years. About two and a half years ago (2013), during my morning recitations, I realized that I had no idea what Vishnu really looked like. In the past I had some connection with Shiv, Surya, Durga and Ganesh, but not Vishnu. This was surprising because I spend the most time invoking Vishnu.
One day, during my pooja, I asked Vishnu to show himself to me. Nothing happened. The next day I did the same. This time, by the time I finished the Vishnu recitations, I had a slight feeling of love. It was very delicate, like an after-glow.
I made the same request the next day. This time the feeling of love was stronger… it was definitely there. No denying it.
Over the next few weeks, the feeling of love grew and grew. I would start experiencing a feeling of universal love whenever I said the word Vishnu or thought about him.
I came to the conclusion that Vishnu had answered my prayer. Vishnu must be universal love. In fact, according to my experiences, I came to the conclusion that any time anyone experiences love, they are actually experiencing Vishnu. Very interesting.
Over the next year or so, the feeling of love grew into bliss. A beautiful, delicate feeling of love and happiness for everyone and everything. I started noticing this feeling during my recitations for all five Devatas (Gods). Very interesting.
When I took on the instruction of doing recitations for all five Devatas, my Guru said to focus on one as the main Devata, but keep in mind that they are all the same. “If you differentiate between them, you will experience sorrow”. So, it seems, since I started experiencing love and happiness from all five Devatas (Gods), the difference between them is disappearing. Very interesting.
It has been about two and a half years now. When I do my morning recitations, I find myself kind of like floating in an ocean of love and happiness for approximately two hours. That feeling stays with me throughout the day. I find that my heart overflows for everyone and everything… for no particular reason, with no particular trigger. That’s a very nice way to live.
I am finding that the feeling of being engulfed and permeated with bliss is getting stronger and stronger. What a great way to live every day of my life!
It’s About The Body, Not Beliefs
The goal of Hinduism is to merge the individual human being with God. Vedic literature states that only human beings are capable of fully uniting with God. Even the Devatas (angels?) need to be born on earth as human beings in order to fully integrate with the eternal being. All beings naturally have some level of integration, but only human beings have the ability to fully unite with God (it’s up to each individual to take advantage of this ability, or not).
So, the ability to merge with God has to do with the human body. Merging with God is not an abstract idea or belief.
Matter is perishable. The Self is immortal and imperishable.
The one God rules over the perishable and the Self.
By meditating on him, by striving toward him and in the end, by becoming one with his nature, the illusion of the world vanishes.
Shvetashvatara Upanishad, first adhyaya, verse 10:
Vedic literature describes many approaches to culturing the body so it becomes more in tune with God. Some methods focus on the gross physical body, like Yoga, wrestling and other sports and dance. Other methods cultivate the nervous system, like pranayaam, massage and herbal spa-like treatments. Still others influence different parts of the brain, like mantra chanting, various meditation techniques, music and visualization techniques.
In practice you need to use a combination of different approaches to achieve rapid growth. (My prediction: In the future doctors will prescribe specifically what approaches are suitable for you).
If you do just one or two things your progress will be slow and you may give up, thinking “this doesn’t work”. In fact, it works very well, for every human being, because this is the main “purpose” for which our human body has been designed.
In a proper program of development your whole lifestyle can be optimized so you grow into the experience of bliss consciousness 24×7.
Vedic literature covers all aspects of work, play, study and entertainment. You can live your life normally yet still implement a plan for rapid integration with God. This is the way to have a full and satisfying life.
Faith is not a requirement. In fact, what we normally refer to as ‘faith’ gets in the way of real progress. The only reason to have faith is to provide motivation to do the practices. If you are doing the ‘practices’, you don’t need to believe in anything.
The ‘practices’ for us, during this period of ‘Kaliyug’ (explained below), are very easy and enjoyable. They help you be successful in all aspects of life including career, relationships and health. As you get more and more integrated with God, all activities in life become more and more enjoyable…naturally, effortlessly.
Maharishi Patanjali in his book Yoga Sutras, described the eight
‘limbs’ of Yoga. Yoga literally means ‘unite’. In context, Yoga means
‘unite the individual with God’. The eight limbs are practical steps a person needs to take to achieve the goal: 1. Yum: [balance] codes of restraint, abstinences (2.30, 2.31)
2. Niyum: [routine] observances, self-training (2.32)
3. Asana: [exercise] meditation posture (2.46-2.48)
4. Pranayama: [harmonious breathing] expansion of breath and prana (2.49-2.53)
5. Pratyahara: [fulfilling the mind with food and sensory inputs to make it easy to go inwards] withdrawal of the senses (2.54-2.55)
6. Dharana: [attention, visualization] this is commonly considered as
concentration but that is incorrect. This is a very subtle technique of
‘picking up’ pure consciousness (3.1)
7. Dhyana: [the process of going deep within the mind] meditation (3.2)
8. Samadhi: [full integration with God] deep absorption, spontaneous total fulfillment of all desires (3.3)
You’ll notice that the first five ‘limbs’ are related to the physical body. They are often conveyed as ‘ideas’ or ‘beliefs’, but when you get down to the ‘how-to’s’ it’s about managing the well-being of the body.
Actually, It’s Not About The Body
By practicing the eight ‘limbs’ described by Patanjali, a finite person merges more and more fully with the infinite God.
Each thought, feeling and action has the backing of God’s will…because it’s actually His own thoughts, feelings and actions. Life becomes easier. Your thoughts, feelings and actions become more universal…more universally fulfilling for everything and everyone.
Increasingly, you will find that you seem to be enveloped in a field of bliss… love and happiness… all the time, in all circumstances. Even as you face the harshest conditions in life, you will feel content, fulfilled and happy.
The level of happiness keeps increasing…doubling… then doubling that…again and again. The level of bliss consciousness that can be achieved by cultivating the physiology according to Vedic principles is completely unimaginable by non-practitioners.
People who practice Hinduism would never use drugs or alcohol. In fact, drug and alcohol users quickly find that they don’t feel like using these things anymore. No one has to convince them to stop using these ‘extreme measures’ because they start feeling good all the time.
In addition to always being happy, your mind becomes sharp, more creative, fully alive. You have boundless energy all day long. You find success in all aspects of life more and more easily as you grow.
On knowing God, all fetters fall off. With suffering destroyed, birth and death cease. By meditating on him, at the dissolution of the body there arises a third state, universal lordship, which is the state of oneness, where desires are fulfilled.
Shvetashvatara Upanishad, first adhyaya, verse 11
Disclosure: It just so happens that we are in a time when all this can be achieved easily (because we are in Kaliyug). In other time periods (discussed below) you have to go through a lot of hardships to achieve progress. Ancient traditions around the world (including Hinduism) teach various ways of giving yourself hardships in order to cultivate the body for integration with God. This is not necessary in our time period.
Scientific Explanation Of God
Science has explored the depths of nature as subatomic particles. When you go smaller than the smallest particles you come upon the forces of nature. The forces of nature come out of the four basic fields that make up the universe: electromagnetism, gravitation, strong interactive force between the proton and neutron and the weak interactive force between the electron and the nucleus. Everything that exists in the universe, from matter to intelligence, comes from these four forces.
These four forces emerge from the unified field. This makes the unified field the source of all life and matter in the universe. It is where all the laws of nature come from. It always exists and is never created. It is beyond time and space. It is omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent.
That sounds like “God” to me.
Here is Dr. John Hegelin’s explanation of the Unified Field and its relationship to consciousness:
The Concept Of God In Hinduism
The two verses below explain the fundamental understanding of God in Hinduism. There are many different philosophies and expressions of Hinduism in Indian society, but, to my knowledge, no one disagrees with the ideas in these verses. Following is the background you need to understand these verses:
10. Beyond the senses are their objects; beyond the objects is the mind; but beyond the mind is the intellect; beyond the intellect is the great self.
11. Beyond the great is the unmanifest; beyond the unmanifest is Purusha; beyond Purusha there is nothing. That is the end; that is the highest goal.
Katha Upanishad, chapter 1, 3rd Valli
First, let’s look within…
Consider yourself for a second. You have a body, you have a mind and you have feelings.
When you were a small child, you had a small body, but you always knew it was you. When you grew up, you had a different body, you still knew it was you. Similarly, your thoughts keep changing, but the idea that it is you who is thinking those thoughts remains constant. Same thing with feelings. Feelings come and go, but YOU remain constant.
Whatever “YOU” are is called “atma”, in Vedic literature.
Atma exists independently of your body, your thoughts and your feelings.
Let’s think about this for a second…
If you “think” about who you are, YOU are involved with thoughts… they are YOUR thoughts. Your thoughts are not “YOU”.
No matter how hard you try YOU always end up either “thinking” or “feeling”… your identity remains constant…
“You” are not your thoughts, feelings, or body.
But if we are not our thoughts or feelings, then what are we?
There’s no way to know, because as soon as we figure something out, it is in the realm of thoughts…isn’t it?
Vedic literature talks about the independence of Atma from your body, thoughts and feelings. But it also acknowledges there is a connection between Atma and your thoughts, feelings and body.
As quoted above: “10. Beyond the senses are their objects; beyond the objects is the mind; but beyond the mind is the intellect; beyond the intellect is the great self.” Here, the “intellect” can be considered as “Prakriti”.
As quoted above: “11. Beyond the great is the unmanifest; beyond the unmanifest is Purusha; beyond Purusha there is nothing. That is the end; that is the highest goal.” Here, they are talking about Prakriti in relation to Atma. Prakriti is referred to as “the unmanifest”. Purusha is Atma.
This is discussed in more detail further in the book.
Prakriti, Maya And “Soul”
The sense of “connection” of Atma with your thoughts, feelings and body is called Prakriti.
When you take your Prakriti + thoughts, feelings and body it is called “Jeev-Atma”. Your Jeev-Atma keeps changing but your Atma remains the same. In a sense, Jeev-Atma can be considered your “soul”. It is what you are on the inside. It is not dependent on your body, but our experience is that it exists “inside” the body.
Since your thoughts, feelings and body keep emerging and disappearing but your “Atma” remains constant, the ancient wisdom is that the reality of life is “Atma”. Everything else is illusion or “Maya”.
Since Prakriti connects your Atma to the Jeev-Atma, Prakriti is considered the source of Maya… the illusion that there is something real other than the Atma.
The whole universe exists for us because we can perceive it. Perception means it only exists in our thoughts. If we stop having thoughts, the universe disappears… for us.
From this point of view, our thoughts are considered a passing illusion from the point of view of Atma (which never changes), the whole created universe is just Maya a passing illusion.
18. The conscious Self is never born, nor does he ever die. He came out of nothing and nothing has come out of him. Unborn, eternal, everlasting, ancient, he is not slain when the body is slain.
19. If the slayer thinks he slays, and if the slain thinks he is being slain, both fail to perceive the truth. He [the Self] neither slays nor is slain.
Katha Upanishad, second Valli.
Experiencing Atma
Literature from ancient philosophies around the world have referred to “Atma” as “that” or “that, the unknown”… this is because you can never really put your finger on it, but when you think about it you know you exist…but what you are, seems undefinable.
When you meet someone else who has had a clear experience of Atma, you can both understand “that” is what they are talking about, but there is no way of expressing it. The experience of Atma is beyond the senses.
Here are some quotes from Kena Upanishad chapter 1, that elaborate on the idea of the experience of Atma as “that , the unknown”.
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[Pupil:] Willed by whom, propelled by whom, does the mind take wing? Willed by whom does the breath march on, preceding all? Willed by whom do people utter speech? What radiant being engages eye and ear?
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[Teacher:} He is the ear of the ear, the mind of the mind, the speech of speech, the breath of the breath, the eye of the eye. Libertated, the wise, giving up this world, become immortal.
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There the eye goes not, speech goes not, nor the mind. We know not, we comprehend not, how anyone could teach this.
It is other than the known; it is beyond the unknown. Thus we have heard from the ancients, who have revealed it to us.
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That which is not uttered by speech, but by which speech is uttered –that alone know to be Brahman [God], not what people venerate here.
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That which is not thought by the mind, but by which, they say, thought is thought–that alone know to be Brahman, not what people venerate here.
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That which is not seen with the eye, but by which the eye sees–that alone know to be Brahman, not what people venerate here.
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That which is not heard by the ear, but by which hearing is heard–that alone know to be Brahman, not what people venerate here.
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That which is not breathed by the breath, but by which breath is breathed–that alone know to be Brahman, not what people venerate here.
Next, let’s consider some specific experiences of Atma.
The Four Stages Of Self Realization (Enlightenment)
When you start on the journey to get to know your Self, the Upanishads describe four stages in getting to know your Self:
- Ayam Atma Brahma – My Self is Brahma (God)
- Aham Brahmasmi – I am Brahma (God)
- Tat Twam Asi – That you are also (“That” refers to God as indescribable)
- Sarvam Khalu Idam Brahma – All this is Brahma (God)
These are just markers on the journey to getting to know your Self. You will have thousands of experiences along the way. These four descriptions have been highlighted in the Upanishads to show that the Self is the ultimate reality. Self is you, Self is God, Self is, in reality, everything in the universe.
Be Careful
It is important to understand that these are actual experiences. They are not beliefs. Until you have an experience it doesn’t make sense to pretend you know what that experience is like. My advice is to take all this knowledge of other people’s experiences as entertainment…it’s just interesting.
I have seen when people have these types of experiences in reality, in many cases, it is a non-event. In the beginning stages it’s not very impressive. In later stages, however, it’s actually a LOT of fun. As your experiences mature you will find they are rich and full of qualities that can’t even be described. The people who wrote the Upanishads wanted to make a point so they described a small part of the experience.
Unfortunately, some people have taken these four statements and formed whole philosophies out of them that, in my opinion, miss the mark.
For example, I once found myself in a room full of people who started chanting “I am I”, “I am God”, “I am the unified oneness”, etc. They kept going for almost 20 minutes. Then, the speaker came to the front of the room and gave them kind of a motivational talk about how great they are… the audience loved it!
My point of view is if you keep saying these kinds of things to yourself, you might hypnotize yourself into believing them, but it’s not real. For example, you could also say “I am king”, “I am king”, “I am king” over and over again and eventually you could start believing that you are a king…but you are not. When you walk out that door, you will still be you. You won’t be a king.
Bhagwad Gita ch. 2, v 42
The undiscerning who are engrossed in the letter of the Veda, O Partha, and declare that there is nothing else, speak flowery words.
Bhagwad Gita ch. 2, v 44
The resolute state of the intellect does not arise in the mind of those who are deeply attached to enjoyment and power and whose thought is captivated by those (flowery words).
Just be careful. There are a lot of misunderstandings and “beliefs” out there, spoken by people who have read the great books but they do not have the experiences to understand what the books really mean.
What I am talking about is reality. You will have thousands of experiences that you can and should verify in different ways to make sure it is real. The truth is not in the books, but in the experience of the true nature of Self…pure consciousness, the source of everything in the universe.
Stages Of Discovery / Experience Of The Real Nature Of Atma In Vedic Literature
23. This Self cannot be attained by instruction, nor by the intellect, nor yet by much learning. He is attained only by one whom he chooses. to him, this Self uncovers his own nature.
Katha Upnishad, second Valli.
Vedic literature describes four “realizations” or four stages of discovery of atma.
Most people are perpetually mired in “Maya” or the “illusion of life”. They are not able to experience Atma with any clarity because Atma cannot be perceived by thoughts or feelings.
You’ll find this is true. No matter how hard you try, you always end up “thinking” or “feeling” something, so you can never really “know” the nature of your real self, your “Atma”.
However, through various means (described later in this book) you can turn your attention away from your thoughts, feelings and everything in your environment and start to ‘experience’ “Atma”.
There are four stages of clarity as you start ‘experiencing’ Atma.
Self Discovery Stage 1
1. Ayam Atma Brahma – My Self is Brahma (God)
As your experience with “atma” grows, eventually, you get to the first stage of discovery about yourself: “My Atma is unbounded, infinite”. The Vedic literature says “Ayam atma Brahm” – “My atma is Brahm”. In Vedic literature “Brahm” means God. Brahm, is described as the infinite, indescribable, source of everything in the universe.
Self Discovery Stage 2
2. Aham Brahmasmi – I am Brahma (God)
When a person gets to the second stage of Self discovery, they come to realize “hey! I am “atma”, so I am Brahm”. Vedic literature says “Aham Brahmasmi”… “I am Brahm”.
This is a “realization”, not an understanding. You come to realize that you are not your thoughts or feelings and you are actually infinite. You “discover” that you are infinite.
As you mature in the second stage you discover that you have amazing powers… you can do miracles… you can do things that others would consider “divine” or supernatural.
Now, understand that this is only the second stage of development. You are still involved with your identity (Jeev-Atma) involving thoughts and feelings. You may experience yourself as infinite, but you are still very much involved with your ego i.e. your thoughts and feelings version of who you are.
Your ego is how you identify yourself as a non-infinite being. Your ego is a combination of your thoughts, feelings, body and all the karma that goes along with it.
In the second stage you may experience that you are actually God / Brahm / Atma, but you are actually not, since the limitations of your mind and body still apply.
Some of the world’s best and worst people have achieved this, stage 2, of Self discovery.
If you experience “I am God” and your mind, body and heart are “impure” or under the influence of your ego or destructive forces, you are likely to use your new-found powers for evil. Destructive forces are forces that emerge and disappear from time to time. Anything that exists in creation will eventually be destroyed. So, if your mind is under the influence of anything that will eventually cease to exist, it is under the influence of destructive forces.
Even if you have “realized” that you are actually Brahm / God, because your “Atma” is God, if you do destructive things, equally powerful forces of nature will come back to you, and destroy you. Destructive people or destructive forces cannot exist in the universe for very long before nature eliminates them.
Self Discovery Stage 3
3. Tat Twam Asi – That you are also (“That” refers to God as indescribable)
If you somehow make it past the second stage and up to the third stage you realize “wait a minute, if MY “Atma” is God, you have an “Atma” too, so you must be God too!”. Vedic literature describes this as “Tat twam asi”… “You are “that” also”. “That” is the indescribable “Atma”.
In stage 3 you realize that everyone around you is actually God, just like you. The only difference between you and them is you have “realized” the difference between your thoughts and atma, and everyone else is still mired in the illusion of “maya”. They have not been able to see past their own thoughts and feelings, so that’s what they think they are.
In reality, everyone is Brahm. They are all actually infinite…infinitely powerful, infinitely intelligent and capable of “miracles” and amazing things that are commonly considered “divine”.
This is a real wake-up call to the egotistical second stage of “I am God”. Most people who make it to the third stage abandon their evil ways and get more focused on developing themselves further.
People in the third stage of Self discovery are very respectful of everyone, since they know that everyone is actually God, just like themselves.
Self Discovery Stage 4
4. Sarvam Khalu Idam Brahma – All this is Brahm (God)
The final stage is when you discover “everything is God”. Vedic literature calls it “Sarvam khalu idam Brahm”…”all of this is Brahm”, “all of this is God”.
In the fourth stage you realize that not only is every person actually Brahm / God, but every animal, every stone, every planet, space…everything in creation is actually Brahm / God.
You now realize that it is all God. There is nothing that is not God. The only reason people don’t “get” it is because they are involved with the illusion created by their own mind.
Their own mind prevents them from seeing the reality of life that everything is actually Brahm / God because “Atma” is not your thoughts or feelings, and in the final analysis, “Atma” is God.
When refering to “Atma” as God, Vedic literature calls it “Parmatma”… “Param” means eternal or all encompassing. The true nature of “Atma” is Param + Atma or Parmatma. When Hindus talk about God they will often use the word Parmatma.
In the common language of Hindus, when they talk about God they will often use the word Parmatma.
Implications Of The Hindu Concept Of God
1. With the idea in mind that God or the source of all bliss is beyond thoughts, the spiritual teaching is to “give up your ego”. Give up your idea that you are a small thing in a big universe.
2. Vedic literature says you, along with everything else, are actually infinite…You are actually God, just like everything else in creation. The differentiation of creation and the infinite God are a result of the mind not being unable to perceive Atma.
3. Looking at the same idea from a different angle, Vedic texts say that everything in creation is an illusion created by the mind. Your mind prevents you from seeing the actual truth that everything is actually “Atma” or “Parm-atma”.
4. When people read this kind of thing in the literature they come to the conclusion that in order to see the reality of life (everything is God), you have to give up being involved in the world. They think, if you live a life of poverty… or if you are not involved in material life, your awareness will become open to the infinity of God. But in reality, this is not true.
4. Atma / Brahm / Self has nothing to do with what you do or don’t do. Rich, poor, smart, not so smart…these are all ideas in the mind. The nature of mind is it keeps you preoccupied so you don’t pay attention to your real nature as Atma.
5. Entire religious sects have been perpetuated based on the Vedic statement “Sarvam khalu idam Brahm”… “all this is Brahm (God)”…but all they have are ideas, not the real experience. Ideas are an illusion that prevent the pure experience of Atma.
6. People have some interesting experiences of infinity or develop some powers and they start to believe they are on the road to the full experience of “all this is Brahma” / God realization. Sometimes they become like zombies where they are totally ‘zoned-out’ from reality. The religious term for this is “avdhoot”. This state is a very incomplete experience of “Sarvam khalu idam Brahm”. In the complete experience you are the master of everything in the universe…or, all your actions are the same as made by God Himself.
Sometimes they become like zombies where they are totally ‘zoned-out’ from reality. The religious term for this is “avdhoot”. This state is a very incomplete experience of “Sarvam khalu idam Brahm”. In the complete experience you are the master of everything in the universe…or, all your actions are the same as made by God Himself.
If you are not really experiencing the fourth stage of development your ego will be involved and you are likely to become destructive.
When someone is really in that state they are perpetually full of bliss. Anything they do creates bliss and fulfillment for everyone and everything. It is impossible for them to do anything negative or destructive in the slightest way.
7. Unfortunately, the “idea” that there is material existence and non-material existence is a creation of the mind. It is part of the illusion created by the mind… “Maya” has tricked you again and taken you away from realizing the reality of “atma”.
8. People get involved with all kinds of torturous rituals to convince themselves to not be involved with material existance… but at the end of the day, they continue to be involved in the illusion of life and no further ahead in the realization of themselves as full and complete divine beings already.
9. Vedic literature describes this as a kind of “sleeping” state. You are “sleeping”… all your involvement with life / thoughts / feelings / wants / achievements/ ambitions / disappointments / living and dying is all like a dream. It is of no consequence when you consider the reality that whatever it is, is all you / atma / Parmatma… there is actually no lack of anything, there is no gain of anything… everything in creation is all you… You already have it all…Everything is Brahma…every thing is Atma…Everything is God…
So, now we know where God is. God is actually our essential nature…who we really are, in our essence.
Going Deeper
Let’s look at Atma again.
Atma is not your thoughts or feelings or body. It is indepedent of everything you would identify as yourself. When you get to the fourth stage of development, you realized that Atma is actually the source of everything in creation. It is all powerful. It is the source of all intelligence. It is the source of all love and happiness… it is everything.
Now, what is the process by which the indescribable “that” becomes more tangible? What is the process of how something that is not perceivable by your thoughts and feelings turns into something that is perceivable by our thoughts and feelings? What is the process where “nothing” turns into “something” that interacts with in a material world?
Looking at it from that point of view, there has to be a “first impulse”… there has to be something in the unmanifest Atma that has a tendency to become tangible. That “first impulse” can be considered the “mother” that gives birth to the whole universe.
Vedic literature considers the intangible source of all creation (Atma) as “male” and the first impulse towards something tangible is considered “female” (Prakriti). So far, in this process, nothing has been created yet, but just the idea that there can be something other than intangible (atma) is identified.
The next thing that is identified is there is a transition from one state to another… from the intangible to the tangible.
Still, nothing has been created, but we can identify that along with the desire that there should be “something” involves a change of state. Hold that thought for the moment…
Along with the ideat that there has to be a change, something must end and something new must begin… the intangible must end and the tangible must begin…. Still, nothing has been created, but in order for creation to happen all these things must exist.
The final thing that must exist is the idea that something will be created. Nothing has been created yet, but looking at the point of view that “Atma”, the non-created can manifest as creation gives rise to all of the above descriptions of the same thing… before anything has actually been created.
So, here’s what we have:
1. First we have the “atma” – the Self-identity that exists but it is beyond thoughts and feelings so the mind can not perceive it.
2. The first impulse must exist – there must be a “desire” that something should exist. The intangible must give up it’s intangibility and become tangible.
3. There must be a transition point from intabngible to tangible.
4. There must be a “destruction” of the intangible so that the tangible can exist.
5. There must be a “possibility” of the creation of “something”.
6. There must be a “first” something that becomes tangible instead of remaining intangible in the state of “Atma”.
If you look carefully, so far, nothing has actually been created but we have identified five characteristics of the intangible “Atma”.
Even though we have identified five characteristics, they are actually the same thing. The intangible Atma is still the intangible Atma. Nothing has changed. All five “characteristics” are all actually the same, non-created thing, so far.
For the sake of understanding what cannot be understood by thinking, Vedic literature has identified five aspects of the intangible, all powerful, all encompassing “Parmatma”.
The other thing to understand is that Atma is ‘alive’. It is the source of all life and intelligence so in the process of becoming “real” these five characteristics of Atma take form as ‘packets of pure intelligence’. They are wholly Atma, but in their role, they have a shape and associated ‘properties’.
The 5 Main Gods Of Hinduism
1. Hindus call the first impulse – Lalita – a feminine entity that “gives birth” to everything in all of creation.
2. The transition point when the intangible becomes tangible is called – Ganesh.
3. The “destruction” of the absolute state of intangibility is called – Shiv.
4. The possibility of creation is called – Brahma.
5. Finally, the first instance of the intangible becoming tangible is called Vishnu.
These are the five main “Gods” in the tangible description of God / Parmatma in Hinduism.
Everything in creation comes about as a result of these five characteristics of atma / Parmatma / God.
When each of these characteristics finally takes some sort of identifiable form, Vedic literature describes their body, their powers and their role in creation. These are the main Gods you see in the imagery of Hinduism.
In reality they are the same intangible Atma, but these characteristics must exist for creation to be there… so the Gods are not really Hindu Gods, they are the Vedic description of how the uinverse is structured.
How To End Sorrow
The instruction in the Vedas that is repeated over and over is that “these (Gods) are all the same… those who see any difference between them will know sorrow”.
What that means is the true nature of Atma is pure bliss (described in more detail later). If you are not able to see the wholeness of Atma, you are not capable of experiencing the bliss… in other words, you will experience sorrow because you have not “realized” the truth of Parmatma (ther fourth stage of development).
This idea of sorrow and bliss is discussed throughout the Vedic literature. The goal is to become free from the “bondage” of materialistic creation so that you can experience divine bliss.
Any experience of sorrow is an illusion because in the final analysis, according to the Vedas, “all this is Brahma”… All this is eternal bliss… All this is God.
The “Experience” Of Parmatma / God
Since Atma cannot be perceived with the mind there is no experience when we “experience” Atma. That doesn’t make sense, does it? People have been struggling with this throughout the ages. How can you talk about experiencing something that can not be experienced?
However, as a person becomes more and more established in the “experience” of Atma, the more it seems like “I am here” and “my thoughts are there”. There is more and more “distance” between our thoughts, feelings, body and the rest of the world.
It seems like we are watching everything. We still don’t know who “I” am. We are still not “experiencing” the atma / Parmatma, but in our experience, it is clear that we are not our thoughts or experiences or anything in the material realm.
Action Without Involvement
When you first start having the “experience” of atma / Parmatma / Self it can be very distressing and uncomfortable. But as the experience matures, we realize that there is a sense of happiness. There is a sense of “wholeness”. Regardless of what happens in life, we experience life, but somehow, we are not really involved…this is the early “experience” of Parmatma.
The Bhagwad Gita calls this “action without involvement” (nishkama karma).
If thou art unable to do even this, then refuged in devotion to Me, do thou abandon the fruits of all actions, self-controlled.
If thou canst not even be intent on doing actions for My sake as thou hast just been taught, then do thou perform actions renouncing them all in Me, and abandon the fruit of those actions.
Bhagwad Gita Ch 12, V. 11 – Bhashya by Adi Shankara translated by A Mahadev Sastri 1901
[Reference Swami Vivekanand ]
Many people try to cultivate this state by purposefully trying to give up being interested in the world. It’s an interesting idea, but all they achieve is a level of dullness or stress where they beat themselves down so much that they lose interest in living.
When the real experience or atma happens it has nothing to do with whatever is going on in the world of experience…because Atma is independent of any kind of experience.
People give up material things in order to experience Atma, but since Atma has nothing to do with material existence it is pointless to try to use experiences in the material world to gain the “experience” of Atma.
People who are vigorously involved with material existence can experience Atma just as easily as those who have taken a vow of poverty and non-involvement with material things.
Because of this tragic misunderstanding about how to open our awareness to the infinite atma / Parmatma, spiritual accomplishment has become synonymous with poverty.
In reality, what is needed is the right technique, not some symbolic materialistic gesture.
as documented by Adi Shankara, an enlightened master from the 8th century AD:
While God (Brhaman) is considered indescribable, in 8th century AD an enlightened man by the name of Sri Shankara Bhagavatpada, popularly known as Adi Shankaracharya enumerated the qualities of God as described in various Upanishads. When a person starts to experience Atma clearly, these are the characteristics they “experience”, listed below.
- One
- Full
- All encompassing
- All pervading
- Omnipresent
- Supreme
- Without end
- Without beginning
- Undivided
- Self-existent
- Self-luminous
- Imperishable
- Unchangeable
- Indestructible
- Inconceivable
- Unshakeable
- Immovable
- constant
(To the best of my understanding the quality of “Self-luminous” cannot be a quality of Self, since Self is all by itSelf, there is nothing else there. It has no qualities. If it did have a quality, it would be made up of something, and THAT would be the ultimate ‘thing’ that everything in the universe is made up of. Self is the ultimate ‘thing’ that everything in the universe is made up of. However, Self itSelf is non-existent, non-tangible. If there is a perception of luminosity when experiencing pure consciousness / Self, the light would be very, very near Self, not actually at the level of Self. When you get to Self, there is nothing else there.)
Bhagwad Gita, ch. 2, v 12-13
There never was a time when I was not, nor you, nor those rulers of men. Nor will there ever be a time when all of us shall cease to be.
As the dweller in this body passes into childhood, youth and age, so also does he pass into another body. This does not bewilder the wise.
When a person goes deep inside the mind… beyond our thoughts, all there is, is the ‘sense’ that we ‘are’ that is the ‘Self’.
Self is not intelligence or mind because you know when YOU are thinking. You know there is a difference between YOU and your thoughts. That sense of YOU is Self.
Since all your thoughts come from your Self, Self is the source of your intelligence. Intelligence is involved in the creation of every cell of your body. Therefore, your body also comes from your Self.
According to physics, the unified field is the source of all matter and intelligence. Your ‘Self’ is the source of your body (matter) and mind (intelligence). Through science we can understand that everything in the universe comes from the unified field. This means your ‘Self’ comes from the unified field. Since your ‘Self’ is the source of your thoughts and body, your ‘Self’ is the same as the unified field.
The unified field is fundamentally a field of consciousness.
The field is known as atman, meaning “pure consciousness,” or “self,” since the unified field constitutes the deepest reality and hence the true identity of everything in nature.
The term “consciousness” is clearly distinguished from the highly individualized and anthropocentric sense of the term common to everyday experience: it is used to denote a completely universal field of “pure, self-interacting” consciousness — consciousness aware of itself alone, devoid of any individualizing influence or external objects of experience.
Due to its essential nature as consciousness, Maharishi explains, the unified field has the dual characteristics of existence and intelligence. (Dr. John Hagelin, quantum physicist, p. 8-9)
The unified field is eternal. The Self is eternal. Since the unified field is the source of everything, it is everywhere all at once (omnipresent)… and so is the Self. Just as the unified field is the source of all intelligence, so is the Self (omniscient). The unified field controls everything, so the Self controls everything (omnipotent).
Just as scientists have now discovered that the unified field is actually God (they haven’t actually said that yet, but they have said everything else), the ancient Vedic masters discovered that the Self is actually God.
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi took this idea even further:
“The discovery of the field of this one basis of material existence will mark the ultimate achievement in the history of development of physical science.
This will assist in turning the world of physical science to the science of mental phenomena. Theories of mind, intellect and ego will supersede the findings of physical science. At the ultimate or the extreme limit of investigation into the nature of reality in the field of the mind will eventually be located the state of pure consciousness, the field of the transcendental nature lying beyond all the relative existence of material and mental values.
The ultimate field of Being lies beyond the field of mental phenomena and is the truth of life in all its phases, relative and absolute. The Science of Being is the transcendental science of mind. The Science of Being transcends the science of mind which, in its turn, transcends the material sciences which deal with the diversity of material existence.” (Maharishi, Science Of Being And Art Of Living, pages 212-213).
The problem is that we are so involved with our small “self” that we don’t realize that we are actually God (the same as everything else in the universe). This is why, in Vedic terms, when someone actually consciously merges with God it is called “God realization“.
All we have to do is look inside ourselves and there’s God! Well… not really, but conceptually that’s what it is.
So our job is to live our life so we can get out of the limitations of our “small self” and allow the full intelligence and power of our Self to run our life.
We need to let go of our small “self” and allow the Self or God to to be fully expressed in our life. When God runs our life everything we do is in harmony with everything else in creation. When God runs our life, our desires are always fulfilled. When God runs our life, life is always blissful.
God isn’t “somewhere else”. God is who we really are. We just don’t realize it.
That eternal should be known as dwelling in the Self.
Truly, there is nothing beyond this to be known.
By knowing the enjoyer, the enjoyed and the enjoyment, all has been taught. This is the threefold Brahman (God).
Shvetashvatara Upanishad, first adhyaya, verse 12
The reason we need to culture our body is because through our karma we have distorted our body so it can’t sustain the full power and intelligence of Self / God. As we cleanse and tone our body, and align ourselves with the deepest part of our consciousness, the source of thought, the Self / God shines through…making our life an amazing, blissful experience. (Notice the Upanishad quote above uses the word “enjoyment”…bliss)
Ancient Vedic practitioners who have gone through the process of “Self realization” have described practices we can do to “normalize” our body’s functioning so we can fulfill the purpose of human life… merge the individual with God.
When we merge completely with God we can finally live our individual life to its full potential.
In the video below, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi discusses the relationship with the unified field, Self and God. Instead of using the word “Self” he interchangeably uses the words transcendental field or transcendental consciousness since Self “transcends” or exists beyond thoughts, matter, energy or any natural forces:
The Secret That Can Not Be Told
Since the Self is beyond thoughts, you can’t do anything to get to it or experience it. Since it is beyond thoughts you can’t concentrate your way into experiencing it. In fact, ‘experience’ of Self is not possible because it is YOU who would have an experience, but when there is only YOU / Self, there can not be any kind of experience.
Historically, people have tried all kinds of things to accidentally stumble upon it. When they do have an experience of Self, they can’t define it…because they would have to use words and ideas for something that is beyond thoughts… it is the source of thoughts.
The experience is actually a ‘n0n-experience’. This is why there is no way to really know it or explain it to someone.
However, by using certain techniques you can ‘accidentally’ stumble upon the ‘experience’ of Self fairly reliably. When this happens over and over again the awareness of Self grows to the point where you can see there is a difference between your experience and YOU. You can see that there is creation, but you are not part of it. It’s impossible to describe, but you can tell there is something and nothing. Creation and non-creation. Both experiences co-exist. You know that you are the non-creation.
Initially, your mind goes ‘blank’ for a split second, then longer and longer. Gradually you get used to that. You find you still have conscious thoughts, but that ‘blankness’ is still there and you can ‘see’ there are thoughts and you are separate from them.
You have a sense that the ‘blankness’ is you. There is a sense that you are nothing…that you don’t really exist. Eventually, as the experience stabilizes, you figure out that you do exist, but as a ‘blank’, ‘nothing’… you exist and are watching everything.
At some point you will find that the sense of ‘nothingness’ is replaced with a sense of incredible happiness, love, infinity, bliss…
Now you are established in Self. The Sanskrit word for the individual uniting with Self is called Yoga.
Eventually, you are able to continue to be established in Self and perform action. That is the goal of Hinduism. Being fully established in the Self, yet be fully active in life. Being fully established in Self is the same as being fully integrated with God.
Bhagwad Gita, chapter 2, verse 48 says:
Established in Yoga, O winner of wealth, perform actions having abandoned attachment and having become balanced in success and failure, for balance of mind is called Yoga.
The key points in this quote are “established in Yoga (Self)…perform actions”. When you do that, you will be a “winner of wealth”. You will function, but creation will be separate from YOU – you are “detached” from creation, so when there is success or failure it doesn’t really matter to you since YOU are separate from everything that is going on in the world. Your mind is a perfect state of balance because all activity that happens is not part of YOU.
This is really important to understand. YOU have thoughts, so you are not your thoughts. Thoughts are involved in any kind of experience. If you are “detached” from thoughts, you are “detached” from all experiences. You know that “experiences” are not “YOU”.
Once you are fully established in the awareness of Self, ‘YOU’ are perpetually content… your mind is in a perfect state of balance no matter what happens in life. When that experience of ‘YOU’ stabilizes as bliss consciousness life is perpetually blissful…all day, all night, all the time. You become a “winner of wealth”–previous quotes from the Upanishads (above) state that when you know Self, all your desires are fulfilled. Since you are integrated with Self / God, all your desires are naturally, sponteneously nourishing to all life…everyone and everything in the universe.
Bhagwad Gita Ch. 2, v 38
Having gained equanimity in pleasure and pain, in gain and loss, in victory and defeat, then come out to fight. Thus you will not incur sin.
The Seven States Of Consciousness On The Road To Being Established In Yoga / Self:
Yoga And The Four Stages Of Life
Being established in Self (Yoga) is the starting point in Hinduism. Unfortunately, in modern times it is taught that this is the end-point in life, if you are lucky. But it is actually supposed to be the beginning point of living life in this world.
It doesn’t happen much now, but in ancient times people would study with a Guru, an enlightened spiritual master, for the first 25 years of their life. They would be solidly established in bliss consciousness by the age of 25.
Then they get married and have a career and raise their children for the next 25 years.
The following 25 years are spent in continuing your career, but contributing back to society. Contribution to society can be in the form of charitable work, teaching and consulting, participating in the administration of society, etc.
After that, the final 25 years or however long you live, is spent getting a deeper and deeper connection with Self.
These ‘old’ people are a true beacon of light for the world. As they go deeper and deeper into the experience of Self, the radiance “luminosity” of Self (as described in the Upanishads) radiates from them. In their old age, according to tradition, people spend their time with God and radiate an influence of peace, happiness and fulfillment for their family, society and the whole world.
This doesn’t happen nowadays, but if you look at the traditional culture in India, you will find that elders are ‘revered’ and given the respect of divine beings. Now, it is a traditional behavior but the true basis of the tradition is in the practice of deepening enlightenment during old age. This is why old people were gladly kept at home by their children and cared for and pampered. Elders in the home were the basis of success and happiness in life for the whole family.
How Does God Control The Universe?
There are two unborn: the knower and the nonknower, the all-powerful and the powerless.
And there is another who is unborn, connecting the enjoyer and the objects of enjoyment.
When one discovers the three to be the infinite Self, universal in form and nonactive, that is Brahman (God).
Shvetashvatara Upanishad, first adhyaya, verse 9
Verses 9 and 12 of the Shvetashvatara Upanishad (quoted above) talk about the “enjoyer, the enjoyed and the enjoyment”. Rig Veda calls them the “knower, known and the process of knowing” (rishi, devata, chhandas). The “knower” is the Self.
The Self is by itself. There is nothing there but the self. Not even the awareness of the Self. There are no thoughts, no feelings, nothing but the ‘one’ Self.
From an experiential point of view and from the view of science and Vedic literature, the source of everything in the universe is described as a ‘void’, an emptiness from which all of creation emerges — Science calls it the unified field, the Vedas call it the Self (aatma), in experience it is a ‘sense’ of nothingness that ‘watches’ everything. Since there is nothing but itSelf, there is no time, no space, nothing but a sense of “I am”… Self is not time, space, thoughts, energy, matter.
Vedic literature tries to describe it, but all they can come up with is Not this, not that… it is often referred to as “that” the unknown or the “unknowable”.
However, when you get down to it the Self / unified field is the source of all intelligence (consciousness), energy, matter, love, happiness, power… the source of everything in the universe.
The nature of Self is considered to be masculine in Vedic literature. In Vedic terminology it is called Purush or Param-aatma (eternal Self).
As described in Shvetashvatara Upanishad, first adhyaya, verse 9 (above), Purush is “nonactive”. However, it has a slight tendency or a slight desire where “it becomes aware of itself”.
When it becomes aware of itself, there is the “knower”, the “known” and the process of “knowing” itself.
As soon as the one ‘Self’ – the “knower” notices itself, we now have three instead of just one. Instead of “nothing” but the one Self, the Self has expanded into three. Eventually, the chain reaction of the Self noticing that it is noticing itself, and noticing the elements of itself, etc… results in the creation of everything in the universe.
The trigger that causes the “nonactive” Self to know itself is called Prakriti.
Prakriti is like a slight desire that is inherently a part of the Self. This desire causes a chain reaction where “nothing” becomes something.
According to the Vedas, the nature of Prakriti is feminine.
Now we have two qualities of the one Self. One quality is masculine, the other is feminine…but they are really the same thing, not two separate things.
Without Purush (the male) there is no Prakriti (female). Without Prakriti, there is no creation.
While Purush or Parmaatma doesn’t actually do anything (it is “nonactive”), Prakriti is the tendency of Purush that is responsible for all of creation.
That means the feminine aspect of Self…Mother Divine or Durga (aka thousands of other names) is the main God that creates and empowers all the other Gods, including Brahma (creator), Vishnu (sustainer), Shiv (destroyer and re-creator).
All Gods are an expression of Self. They are made up of Self, by the influence / power of Prakriti. Even though all power, intelligence, love, energy, etc. come from Purush (Self/God), the active force is Prakriti…the feminine nature of Purush.
The parts of creation that are closest to the original Purush are considered to be God in Vedic literature. Everything in creation is made up of the created components we call God. The Self expands into Gods, the Gods combine to make the rest of creation.
When pure consciousness (Self) expands into a form, the form has intelligence. It is able to think and do things. The Self doesn’t do anything. The Self is nonactive…It doesn’t think, it doesn’t care… it just exists.
This is why the Vedic literature asks you to get to know your Self directly. This is the basic mechanism for people to merge with God.
However, if you want something in the course of life, including bliss consciousness, then you need to appeal to one or more of the created Gods.
The created Gods exist somewhere between the Self and tangible creation. They exist in a zone that can still be considered intangible.
While Self is pure intelligence, the created Gods have some quality of pure intelligence that distinguishes them from just intelligence / consciousness. They have the full power and intelligence of Self, but unlike the Self, they have feelings and opinions. They can make decisions.
This is why, in Vedic literature, it is the created Gods that actually do things. The Self remains whole and complete within itself, never involved with anything, but in reality is involved with everything, because in reality it is everything.
Hindus pray to the created Gods, and never to the Self…because there is no point. The Self is neutral to everything.
These Gods create other gods and humans, plants, animals as well as planets and universes. For most intents and purposes human beings can freely interchange the term God for Purush or Brahma, Vishnu, Shiv, Ganesh or Durga. These five are the first “elements” of creation from which everything else is formed.
It is important to remember that the Gods are simply an expression of Self. They are not independent or separate from Self.
Similarly, when the Gods combine into creation, that creation is also just an expression of Self. It is not separate or different from Self.
Even though Hindus say there are 330 million Gods, in reality they realize that everything is an expression of one Self / God. The rest are like views from a different angle, of the one God.
There is only one God that manifests itself into other Gods and the rest of creation.
All of creation is Self. Since there is nothing other than Self, we can say that Self or God has absolute control over creation.
Because these ‘gods’ are so close to ‘God’, we can invoke any one of them to gain bliss consciousness.
One should know that the magic power (maya) is nature (Prakriti), and the magician is the great Lord. All this world is filled with beings that are his parts.
Shvetashvatara Upanishad, third adhyaya, verse 10
The one who presides over every birth, in whom all this world comes together and spreads out, the Lord who bestows blessings, the adorable God–by realizing him one gains transcendent peace.
Shvetashvatara Upanishad, third adhyaya, verse 11
Three Levels Of Faith
Hinduism defines three kinds of faith:
1. Vishwaas – This is the basic kind of faith that is commonly known. You decide to believe in something for no reason at all and you do your best to continue believing in it despite the challenges of reality.
2. Shraddha – This is the relationship between a child sitting comfortably in the mother’s lap. There is no “believing” going on, but the child knows his mother loves him and he loves his mother. It is an innocent relationship where there is an awareness of the mother and the feelings, but there is no conscious effort.
3. Vairaagya – This is something that ‘happens to you’. Your awareness is permeated in the unchanging Parmaatma, God. There is no ‘belief’, no ‘trust’, no ‘effort’, but there is an awareness that you are connected to the infinite.
When you recite the mantra from the level of vairaagya you will gain bliss consciousness very quickly.
Basic 3 Step Program For Cultivating Bliss Consciousness
Step 1: Get The Body And Mind Into A Deep, Settled State
- Drink 3 glasses of warm water first thing after you get out of bed in the morning. This is a great internal cleanse. Most likely, you will need to go to the washroom soon after.
- Do some light yoga, gentle stretching and light aerobics. If possible, go for a walk outside after the yoga session.
- If possible, do a quick five minute massage and then take a shower.
A shower is essential. No compromise. If you don’t take a shower before the ceremony starts, there could be negative results. - Do pranayam for a few minutes.
- Meditate.
After experimenting with several different kinds of meditation over the years, I have found that nothing takes you deeper into your mind than Transcendental Meditation and the the TM Sidhi program. This is not a religious meditation but it helps get results from doing religious rituals, no matter what religion you follow. By using this technique, in 20 minutes, your body will get ten times the deep rest you get during deep sleep.
Step 2: Balance Five Functions Of The Brain
According to Dr. Tony Nader (PhD from MIT and Research Fellow in Neurology at the Massachusetts General Hopital, Harvard Medical School), each of the five main Devatas in Vedic literature (the source of Hinduism) correspond with definable functions in the brain. When all five Devatas are invoked through Vedic systems, the whole brain becomes activated.
When all five areas of the brain are activated and balanced, a feeling of bliss is created.
The five main Devatas (aka Gods) in Hinduism are Shiv, Vishnu, Surya, Durga and Ganesh.
Vedic Sounds Awaken The Whole Brain
Dr. Nader demonstrated that specific Vedic sounds activate specific parts of the brain. It is not necessary to know the meaning of the sounds.
The Vedas and Vedic literature are written in Sanskrit. Very few Hindus know what the words mean. In fact, when the ceremony is performed, the words are spoken so fast that it is impossible to understand the meaning, even if you do understand the language.
Vedic literature says that you will get “vishwas” (level 1 faith – see below) by listening to the stories in the Puran. You should perform the ceremony with “shraddha” (level 2 faith- see below). The best results are when you perform the Pooja while you are “Ek-aagra-chitt” (level 3 faith- see below).
The two levels of faith employed in ceremonies do not require that you understand the words.
Pooja / yagya
The traditional Hindu way of balancing all five functions of the brain is to do a Pooja or Yagya (aka Yajna). A Yagya is a more complete version of Pooja. First you do a Pooja, then you do a fire ceremony. The fire ceremony is often called a Yagya. Both terms are often used interchangeably.
Pooja is the process of developing a relationship with God. It is commonly referred to as a “ritual”, but that word does not capture the feelings of the person doing a Pooja. In order for a Pooja to be effective, a person has to have the right feelings (more details in the faith section).
The term “ritual” implies “mindlessly performing actions”. There will be very little effect if a person is performing the Pooja mindlessly. In order to have the best effect, you must have the right intent. The Vedic term is “Pooja” or “Yagya”, so we’ll use those words.
The term used in the literature is “bhaav” = feeling or intent. If possible, it really enhances the effect of the Pooja when you have the right feeling and visualization (more details below).
It is this feeling that differentiates a Pooja from a ritual.
In my experience, creating the sounds is enough to produce very good results. The “feeling” (bhaav) will come as you have experiences. Just have a respectful, open attitude and let the sound do its thing. (I will post more details on another page… coming soon).
The Pooja Process:
1. Do a spiritual cleansing:
Depending on the occasion, various rituals are done to cleanse the body, mind, environment and the universe on a spiritual level. The purpose is to attract the good and positive forces and to dispel and provide protection from negative forces.
2. Commit to completing the ritual and state the purpose of the Pooja
This is where you can make a wish for anything you want. You can ask for a car or success in your business, better health… anything. You can also ask for something for someone else. If a family member is sick, you can ask for their health, etc. Many people swear this really works.
Generally speaking, unless you really need something in your life, it is better to ask for “purification” and a stronger relationship with God. When your mind and body is more pure and you have a deeper relationship with God, your thoughts and actions are more powerful. This makes it easier for you to have whatever you want in life without having to make specific requests all the time.
There’s nothing wrong with asking for things that you really want. The only caution is if you ask for material things, especially money, you are likely to become more involved in “Maya” or the illusions of life. This could cause you to move away from the spiritual path of increasing happiness and fulfillment.
3. Invite the Gods to get their blessings:
In your daily routine you should say all five mantras for at least a minute each to enliven and balance all five functions of the brain. Visualize / put your attention on each picture below when you make the offering – in your mind or in physical form. It is VERY important to get the sounds right. I have written the mantras to make it easier for you to understand how to speak them. They are normally written quite differently in English translations.
Ganesh Mantra – Om Gumn Gun-a-pata-yay Namah
Vishnu – Om Namo Bhug-a-va-tay Vaasu-day-vaa-ya Namah
Durga – Om Dum Durgaa-ya Namah
Shiv – Om Namah Shivaa-ya
Surya – Om Soor-yaa-ya Namah
The three main Gods in Hinduism are Brahma, Vishnu and Shiv. However, for various reasons Brahma is not worshiped except under special circumstances so Surya (Sun) takes his place. Ganesh is also one of the original Gods – not derived from any other. Durga is the feminine aspect of the original God and is also not a derivation of any other God.
4. Welcome the Gods
A typical ceremony involves welcoming each God with sixteen different offerings. But you can do a short five-step Pooja too. It’s not as powerful as the sixteen step Pooja, but in a busy schedule, a daily five-step Pooja is fine. Do the following for each of the 5 Devatas:
a. Offer sandalwood paste and say “gandham samar-pa-yaa-mi”
b. Offer flowers and say “push-pum samar-pa-yaa-mi”
c. Offer incense and say “su-gun-dhum samar-pa-yaa-mi”
d. Offer light of candle made from butter oil made from cow’s milk (diya) and say “dee-pum dar-sha-yaa-mi”
e. Offer food (fruits or freshly prepared food) – say “nay-vaid-yum samar-pa-yaa-mi”
You can offer these in your mind or in physical form in your daily routine. You can also substitute rice for any offering – just visualize what you are offering and use a few grains of rice if the real thing is not available or not convenient. Making offerings in physical form has a powerful effect in awakening the bliss in your brain.
5. Send the Gods back home
When you are finished the Pooja, bow respectfully, thank them for their blessings and finish off with sending the Gods back home.
6. Accept blessings from the diya, eat the food, drink the water
The Pooja process involves offering food and water. These receive the blessings of God. After the Pooja it is good to take in the positive energy as much as possible from the diya, food and water.
7. Pay respects to your elders and the Pundit
All good things come from the blessings of your elders and Brahmans. Go to to your elders to receive blessings. Give the Pundit a suitable donation and get his blessings.
Why Hindus Worship Statues
Introduction to Aganas by Swami Shivanand
Introduction
Another class of popular scriptures are the Agamas. The Agamas are theological treatises and practical manuals of divine worship. The Agamas include the Tantras, Mantras and Yantras. These are treatises explaining the external worship of God, in idols, temples, etc. All the Agamas treat of (i) Jnana or Knowledge, (ii) Yoga or Concentration, (iii) Kriya or Esoteric Ritual and (iv) Charya or Exoteric Worship. They also give elaborate details about ontology and cosmology, liberation, devotion, meditation, philosophy of Mantras, mystic diagrams, charms and spells, temple-building, image-making, domestic observances, social rules, public festivals, etc.
Divisions of the Agamas
The Agamas are divided into three sections: the Vaishnava, the Saiva and the Sakta. The three chief sects of Hinduism, viz., Vaishnavism, Saivism and Saktism, base their doctrines and dogmas on their respective Agamas. The Vaishnava Agamas or Pancharatra Agamas glorify God as Vishnu. The Saiva Agamas glorify God as Siva and have given rise to an important school of philosophy known as Saiva-Siddhanta, which prevails in South India, particularly in the districts of Tirunelveli and Madurai. The Sakta Agamas or Tantras glorify God as the Mother of the Universe, under one of the many names of Devi.
The Agamas do not derive their authority from the Vedas, but are not antagonistic to them. They are all Vedic in spirit and character. That is the reason why they are regarded as authoritative.
Vaishnava Agamas
The Vaishnava Agamas are of four kinds: the Vaikhanasa, Pancharatra, Pratishthasara and Vijnanalalita. The Brahma, Saiva, Kaumara, Vasishtha, Kapila, Gautamiya and the Naradiya are the seven groups of the Pancharatras. The Naradiya section of the Santi-Parva of the Mahabharata is the earliest source of information about the Pancharatras.
Vishnu is the Supreme Lord in the Pancharatra Agamas. The Vaishnavas regard the Pancharatra Agamas to be the most authoritative. They believe that these Agamas were revealed by Lord Vishnu Himself. Narada-Pancharatra says: "Everything from Brahman to a blade of grass is Lord Krishna." This corresponds to the Upanishadic declaration: "All this is, verily, Brahman—Sarvam Khalvidam Brahma."
There are two hundred and fifteen of these Vaishnava texts. Isvara, Ahirbudhnya, Paushkara, Parama, Sattvata, Brihad-Brahma and Jnanamritasara Samhitas are the important ones.
Saiva Agamas
The Saivas recognise twenty-eight Agamas, of which the chief is Kamika. The Agamas are also the basis of Kashmir Saivism which is called the Pratyabhijna system. The latter works of Pratyabhijna system show a distinct leaning to Advaitism. The Southern Saivism, i.e., Saiva Siddhanta, and the Kashmir Saivism, regard these Agamas as their authority, besides the Vedas. Each Agama has Upa-Agamas. Of these, only fragmentary texts of twenty are extant. Lord Siva is the central God in the Saiva Agamas. They are suitable to this age, Kali Yuga. They are open to all castes and both the sexes.
Sakta Agamas
There is another group of scriptures known as the Tantras. They belong to the Sakta cult. They glorify Sakti as the World-Mother. They dwell on the Sakti (energy) aspect of God and prescribe numerous courses of ritualistic worship of the Divine Mother in various forms. There are seventy-seven Agamas. These are very much like the Puranas in some respects. The texts are usually in the form of dialogues between Siva and Parvati. In some of these, Siva answers the questions put by Parvati, and in others, Parvati answers, Siva questioning. Mahanirvana, Kularnava, Kulasara, Prapanchasara, Tantraraja, Rudra-Yamala, Brahma-Yamala, Vishnu-Yamala and Todala Tantra are the important works. The Agamas teach several occult practices some of which confer powers, while the others bestow knowledge and freedom. Sakti is the creative power of Lord Siva. Saktism is really a supplement to Saivism.
Among the existing books on the Agamas, the most famous are the Isvara-Samhita, Ahirbudhnya-Samhita, Sanatkumara-Samhita, Narada-Pancharatra, Spanda-Pradipika and the Mahanirvana-Tantra.
Step 3: Specifically Develop The Parts Of The Brain Related To Experiencing Bliss
On a day-to-day basis you would not do the whole sixteen step process. You can do a quick five-step Pooja on your own in about five minutes. If you have the facility to do a Havan on a daily basis you will get amazing results very quickly.
Once you have done the Pooja (activated and balanced the five brain functions), it’s time to get serious about creating bliss consciousness.
Getting serious involves repeating a mantra or a set of mantras over and over again for as time as you can. I have seen people that repeat their mantra all day long, whenever they get a chance. It works.
However, for most people, you would allocate five minutes, ten minutes or more for daily mantra recitation. I recite various mantras for about an hour and a half every morning.
For most people bliss consciousness won’t happen the first time you go through the process. You need to do these things on a daily basis.
The Secret Of Kundalini
Sit on the floor on something warm, like a blanket or even a yoga mat. The reason to sit on the ground is because it is easier to keep your spine perfectly straight. A straight spine makes it easier for the kundalini to rise up through your spine to your brain.
There is a divine liquid located in an upside down pyramid type of ‘cup’ at the base of the spine. When the brain is stimulated with the proper mantra, it attracts the liquid up through the spinal column and into the pineal gland. When the kundalini reaches the seventh ventricle of the pineal gland, the gland releases a chemical. When this chemical interacts with the kundalini the whole body and mind are transformed. You are literally re-born with spiritual energy and have access to the divine like never before. You experience unimaginable bliss.
When the kundalini reaches the top of the brain you gain clear intuition and divine vision. This is often called the “third eye”.
Your body and mind are filled with God’s light. Opening the third eye is also called “enlightenment”.
This is the goal of the Yogi’s and Sanyasis – people who go full time, live in the forest, deep in the mountains to develop their consciousness and gain enlightenment. When they gain enlightenment a person is referred to as a Rishi, Maharishi or Swami.
Guidelines For Using Mantras To Awaken The Kundalini
1. Visualize one of the Gods and imagine they are blessing you and the rest of the universe while repeating the mantra of your choice.
“Feel” that they are making everything good. It doesn’t matter what problems you have in your life. “Feel” that God is blessing everyone and everything and making everything good for you and everyone else too (not just you). The idea of universally good needs to be there.
The most important thing is to be as deeply relaxed as possible when doing the recitations. You don’t need any kind of faith, just a respectful attitude is good enough.
2. If you find that your attention is focused on something or someone in a negative way and you can’t get away from it, stop reciting the mantra until that feeling goes away.
If you are going through a time where you are not able to keep bad thoughts away it is better to use the “safe” mantra ‘Raam’. Rather than risk harming yourself or others with powerful negative thoughts.
It is a good practice to recite ‘Raam, Raam, Raam’ mantra for a few minutes before you do the Mother Divine mantra routine explained below.
The Story Of Maharishi Valmiki
There is a story about a famous robber by the name of Ratnakar who was named Valmiki after he got enlightened. Ratnakar used to go around robbing people and murdering them as they passed through the forest.
One day the seven great Rishis were going through the forest and Valmiki wanted to rob them. They said they don’t have money or possessions, according to their spiritual discipline.
After some conversation they told Valmiki he would suffer a lot because of his bad karma. He asked for a way out so they told him to repeat the sound Raam, Raam, Raam all day long. Valmiki said he couldn’t do that because he was so committed to murdering people that all he could think about was death – the Sanskrit word for death is maraa.
The sages realized that maraa is actually the same as Raam but backwards, so the told him to repeat maraa, maraa, maraa all day long. When you say this fast, it sounds like Raam, Raam, Raam.
The sound of Raam purified his mind to to the point where he stopped robbing people and became famous for being a warm, loving, enlightened sage.
There is a story where he and his disciples were sitting on the porch after the morning Vedic discussions and they saw a four-headed man walking up to them. Valmiki stood up with his mouth open in total shock. This was actually Brahma, the creator coming to him live, in flesh and blood!
Brahma told Valmiki he wanted him to write the story of a great king that was going to be born with the name of Raam. He gave Valmiki the vision to see every aspect of his life. Valmiki finished the Valmiki Raamaayan six months before Raam was born.
We could say that the Raamaayan is a fictional story concocted by Valmiki, but there are many historical references that are still available, that show the events in the Valmiki Raamaayan actually happened.
The power of the sound Raam was known long before the person “Raam” was born. It has the ability to purify a person’s mind and take him / her all the way to enlightenment.
3. Recite this Mother Divine mantra to create bliss
One mother divine mantra I have found that works really well is:
“Om Shreem Hreem Shreem Cum-a-lay cum-a-laa-la-yay Praseeda Praseeda. Om Shreem Hreem Shreem Mahaa Laksh-m-yay Namah”
Repeat this over and over again, pronouncing each sound clearly for about 10 minutes every morning. It is VERY important to be clean (shower, wear fresh clothes and sit in a clean place) when you do this recitation. Reciting this mantra when you are unclean or thinking negatively can produce negative effects. Don’t mess with this mantra. Use it the way it is meant to be used.
(You can use the “Raam” mantra anywhere, anytime. It will drive out negative thoughts and circumstances).
The description in this video says this mantra is for wealth. It’s true, but it is important to understand what “wealth” means with respect to Maha Lakshmi.
Maha Lakshmi is the active aspect of the essential nature of Purush / Self / Parm-Atma. Everything flows out of Param-Atma as an expression of Maha Lakshimi.
When Vedic literature speaks of “wealth” with respect to Maha Lakshmi it is talking about the unlimited abundance of all of creation. “Wealth” in this sense means deep integration with Self such that you become all that is created and the un-created (Self). This is a state of deep integration with all of
This is a state of deep integration with all of nature. It is a state of supreme bliss and fulfillment. The goal of having a human body is to develop this level of integration. According to Vedic literature no other being in all of creation has this capability.
4. Your attention will go from one thing to another. Don’t worry about it.
The most important thing is to be totally relaxed and let the sound do its thing. The sound will awaken the mind. Visualization of getting blessings for yourself and everyone else and everything will give the energy a positive direction.
If you find you can’t visualize for long, don’t worry. Stay relaxed and let your mind wander. When you realize you are not visualizing, try to come back to the visualization, but don’t stress about it.
The mantra is a good mantra that will generate positive results on its own. The visualization adds more power by focusing the energy.
Does This Really Work?
Yes! Absolutely! Like anything, if you want more results, do more of the things described in the system.
But be careful. It is possible to overdo it. If you find yourself getting irritable or you get a headache, reduce the mantra recitations and increase the yoga and pranayaam. Make sure you are getting enough sleep. That makes a big difference in how quickly you get great results. It doesn’t take very long to see some good things happening.
Keep in mind, the mantra recitations are the main thing that will produce the blissful physiology. You will positive, happy, loving and full of energy all day long.
Friendly Warning
We live in a time when there are a lot of people who are having some really powerful experiences. They often start taking on students and developing a following. It is all from a good intent, but you can get really messed up and even turn evil by following the wrong person.
My advice is to stay away from people who do miracles, “tricks” and show off their fancy powers to impress you.
If you practice the things explained on this website you will also develop ‘powers’ and have fancy experiences. You can do a little experimentation and ‘play’ with your new found abilities, but don’t take yourself too seriously.
The real growth is internal. It is so deep that it is impossible to explain. If you find yourself speaking about your experiences or see others speaking about (or showing off) abilities, you / they have not developed enough depth to experience the real bliss inside.
It is best to keep your experiences to yourself and enjoy your growth in private. Don’t disturb the gentle, subtle field that is starting to awaken inside you by talking about it or demonstrating your ‘powers’.
The real growth happens quietly… inside. One day you will notice that you are smiling more easily…laughing louder at minor incidences. You will find that you are more willing to be helpful to people, even if there is nothing in it for you.
That slight feeling will grow into full out bliss… floating in an ocean of love and happiness… every thought, every action, every incidence triggers waves and waves of unbounded love and happiness.
You could be going through good times or bad… the bliss is continuous, endless all day, all night. This is real. Not some mood-making. It’s not something you do. It just becomes your reality. It just happens.
At the same time you will be more productive at work. You will be more creative. You will be able to solve problems more easily. You will have endless energy throughout the day.
As you mature in that inner-state of bliss you will find that people will be attracted to you. When they come to you they will be happy. You will radiate an influence of happiness wherever you go. That is the real miracle and special ‘power’ that will transform your world and make your life pure joy. You will be happy beyond words. Those you care about will also be happy and fulfilled. What more could you ask for? It is so worth it.
How To Sabotage Your Growth
1. The most important thing is to never, ever think, feel or speak negatively about people, even when you are by yourself.
When you even think negatively, the thought goes to the other person and harms them… you get bad karma coming back to you. Even if the other person doesn’t realize you are thinking negatively about them, they will subconsciously react in a negative way toward you… this is the second wave of bad karma caused by one bad thought, feeling or speech.
The techniques described on this website will make your thoughts super powerful. That means negative thoughts about people will quickly bury you with negative circumstances. Big danger. Don’t do it.
On the other hand, when you have positive thoughts, feelings or speech about people, the good in your life will quickly multiply!
2. Avoid having your attention on anything negative (not just people). This becomes increasingly important as you become more powerful. Always have your intent on “all good for everyone, always”… endless goodness, health, happiness to every one all the time…
When you are doing the mantra chanting, visualize the deity you are working with and imagine that they are blessing your body… purifying it. Imagine that the deity is loving and blessing the person or thing or circumstance that you are feeling negative about.
In reality, there is impurity within your own body that is causing the negativity. By directing your attention in this manner you will be able to avoid thinking negatively. Your pain, discomfort or anger will disappear and you will experience bliss.
If negativity is a big problem for you, spend more time on Yoga and pranayaam. Eat freshly prepared meals as often as possible. Your choice of food and eating stale food or cold food can depress the nervous system and seriously hinder your progress in experiencing bliss.
3. Don’t concentrate on anything.
The term used in Vedic literature is “Ek-aagra-chitt”. People mistake it to mean one-pointed focus.
Ek-aagra means one-pointed. Chitt means Self… the essence of who you are. Ed-aagra-chitt means “one-pointed in Self”.
Verse 5 in the Kena Upanishad describes ‘Self’ as:
“That which is not thought by the mind, but by which, they say, thought is thought”.
If you are concentrating on something you are “thinking”. You want to go beyond that, into the infinite void where there is only Self, not even the experience of Self. The experience of Self is a thought. That is not who you are. When you have only the Self, you are “one-pointed”, because nothing else is there.
If you find yourself concentrating on something or getting stuck on a thought or a feeling, just let go and relax.
Deep relaxation is the secret that people have missed for thousands of years. You can have that level of deep relaxation by following the guidelines above.
Just “let-go”.
The mind is able to be in the infinite void of Self while at the same time in the active field of thinking, with practice.
Have the intention of ‘letting go’ of anything that your mind wants to get attached to, while you are doing the recitations.
When you finish your recitations, you will feel energized, happy and your mind will be alert and full of life. Bliss will come gradually, as you mature in this experience.
4. Don’t try to ‘force’ an experience. We hear about all kinds of spiritual experiences. The religions of the world describe many experiences and teach lessons on that basis. I have found that in reality, the experiences are quite different from what you think you understand from reading or hearing about other people’s experiences.
Trying to create an experience the way you think it should be just gets in the way of the real experience. It is better to just let go and let the experience happen. After your session you can think about what happened and try to see if it fits with your understanding of the experiences others have had.
Origin Of Veda And Vedic Literature
Historians are unclear about when the Vedic literature was written down. For many years they estimated they are about six thousand years old, but new evidence evidence seems to indicate they may have been written 32,000 years ago or more.
According to the Puran’s the Vedas were written before Kaliyug. As the story goes, the rishi’s and mahrishis were worried about the coming bad times where there would be wars and famine, sickness and sorrow.
They didn’t want to have to go through that so they went to Vishnu. He sent them to a place (which we think is) deep in the Himalaya mountains called Naimisharanya. In this place people wouldn’t age, there would always be an abundance of food and everyone would always be happy.
The Rishis were happy to be there but they were worried about the people in the world who would have to go through the bad times. They decided to hold a conference of all the great sages to collaborate and write down the deepest knowledge of nature.
About 88,000 sages came to the event. The highly respected Ved Vyas was appointed the scribe to record the speeches and discussions.
The conference resulted in a total of 40 aspects of Veda and Vedic Literature covering hundreds of topics useful for eliminating problems and living a happy, healthy, fulfilling life including – engineering, mining, agriculture, home and business building construction, community planning, medicine, exercise, cooking, family values, politics, war, enlightenment and more.
Veda and Vedic literature comes from visions and experiences of enlightened masters. Sometimes the experiences were heard… they are called Shruti. Other times they were seen…they are called Darshanas. Maharishi Patanjali, the inventor of Yoga, saw the words in Sanskrit while he was meditating. (The name of his book is Patanjali Yoga Darshana)
Sanskrit is considered a language, but it is actually like the ‘molectular structure’ of the universe since all of the Vedic literature was cognized in Sanskrit. All of creation is made up of Veda (see section of concept of God in Hinduism).
Even if you don’t study Vedic literature you can gain health, happiness and fulfillment simply by listening to people reading the books out loud. Of course, there is significantly more impact on your brain and physiology if you speak the sounds. But listening also has a powerful effect in awakening the whole brain.
Here is a recording of the first and last lines of each of the forty aspects of Veda and Vedic literature in Sanskrit, the language of the Veda. If you really want to accelerate your progress, listen to this as often as possible.
How To Be A Master Of All Vedic Knowledge Quickly And Effortlessly
guru
The Four Personalities Of Time
The Law Of Karma
Three Types Of Karma
Heaven And Hell
Caste System
Coming Soon:
An Interesting Question
If this knowledge is so good, then why is not being used all over the world and especially India, the land of the Veda?
Festivals
Harvesting the fruits of each (spiritual) season