Query:
Leaving my family Faith and following the possibility of knowing God directly and
absolutely?
Vijay Kumar:
Before we indulge into the topic of Christianity and Hinduism beliefs...
we need to understand the basics of the cosmic system built by God
Almighty.
We also need to understand at this stage that Jesus Christ came about
2000 years before from now compared to Hinduism that has its roots from the beginning of mankind. The prime
reason why Hinduism is also known as Sanatana Dharma (existing since times immemorial)!
If we look at the facts from an open mind... we not only find smaller
anomalies in the teachings of Christianity but the distorted interpretation of the teachings of Jesus Christ
(put forward by the degraded thinking of priests of today) has put a question mark on the complete teachings
of Jesus Christ as envisaged in the Bible.
We also need to understand that heaven (swarga in Hinduism) is merely an
interim stage wherein every soul (Atman in Hinduism) resides until it gets a new body. For every soul to
manifest a body we must have matching parents existing on Mother Earth. If they are not available then the
soul has to either remain in heaven or hell (Naraka in Hinduism). This is totally dependent upon the doctrine
of Karma. As is the resultant Karma... so shall be the end result.
It is only on the basis of Karma that every soul (Atman in Hinduism) gets
to live either in heaven or hell (in the absence of proper matching parents available on Mother Earth). To
believe in the fact that God lives in heaven (swarga in Hinduism) is a total misnomer. Until we continue
believing in this fact that heaven is the abode of God... we shall inadvertently be keeping the doors closed
on the true Spirituality in our life.
The prime fallacy in Christianity that God resides in heaven is the
biggest anomaly that can exist in Christianity. And as has been stated in Bhagavad Gita and all sacred
Scriptures of Hinduism collectively... the body of a human being enjoys much higher privileges than living in
heaven or hell. For it is only in form of a human being that any soul (Atman in Hinduism) can gain
enlightenment... never otherwise. Does it mean that even while remaining in heaven or hell one can gain
enlightenment? Never... so is not the system of God Almighty.
The manifest body of a human being is the highest stage in evolution
every soul reaches. For it is only in this stage (and that to as a man alone) that one can gain
enlightenment. Such a privilege is not available to ladies because of the manifest feeling of motherhood
inherently imbibed in each and every lady. The deep sense of belonging and the affection every lady has for
Human life in general makes it implicitly difficult for a lady to gain enlightenment (Kaivalya Jnana in
Hinduism) directly.
In the total history of mankind and Hinduism in general there had been
only two ladies who gained enlightenment (moksha in Hinduism) and they are Gargi and Maitreyi. The Gargi and
Maitreyi colleges in New Delhi, India are reminiscent of the importance imparted on these two ladies in
Hinduism.
The distortion in concept of heaven as practiced in Christianity has been
created by vested interests so that the total priestly community keeps a hold on the general masses and also
to keep the Humanity mesmerized by keeping a hope burning within for a longing for reaching the heaven, the
abode of God at the earliest. In Hinduism so is not the case.
The serious seekers of Spirituality in Hinduism do not seek heaven (swarga in Hinduism). They are only after
gaining emancipation forever from the cycle of birth and death... and finally gaining
salvation (moksha in Hinduism). Having reached this last stage in the manifested life as a human being... there is
nothing else for the soul to achieve in the total cosmic life span.
As explicitly detailed in Bhagavad Gita... the most Sacred Scripture of
Hinduism... this stage is reached after having lived through a maximum of 8.4 million manifestations and the
total earthly journey of 96.4 million years. A long journey indeed! And what gain do we envisage trying entry
into the portals of heaven in the ephemeral phase of 70 to 80 years of life as a human being... in the vast
cosmic journey of 96.4 million earthly years?
Furthermore Jesus Christ was an ordinary Human being like you and me. And
similarly were Bhagwan Mahavira, Gautama Buddha and Prophet Mohammed. They were all man gods who gained enlightenment (Kaivalya Jnana in
Hinduism) within their lifetime and reached the stage of salvation moksha forever.
As advocated by Bhagwan Mahavira in the Scriptures of Jainism... every Human being has the might to become a
Mahavira and similarly every Christian has the right and the might to become a Jesus Christ. The moment one reaches
the stage of salvation all is over with him. Nothing else to achieve one reaches the abode of God Almighty
(Vaikuntha in Hinduism). And unless and until every Christian agrees with this fact... there is no end to the
miseries in life. We have to agree that every Human being can become a Jesus Christ.
Until now we have discussed upon-
1. The concept of heaven and hell as existing in Christianity and Hinduism.
2. The importance of manifesting the body of a human being and that to of a man.
3. The abode of God lies not in heaven (swarga in Hinduism) but in Vaikuntha
4. The ultimate goal of every soul is gaining liberation forever from cycle of birth and death.
5. Every human being has the potential of becoming a Mahavira, Buddha or Jesus Christ.
6. The moment one reaches stage of enlightenment... one becomes a man God.
7. Karma is the deciding factor whether one gets heaven or hell in absence of matching parents.
8. Heaven and hell are interim stages for the soul in the cosmic life cycle.
9. Two ladies who ever achieved enlightenment in total mankind were Gargi and Maitreyi.
Once it is clear that every Human being has been imbibed with power to become a Jesus Christ himself... it is but
not possible that one is required to atone for his sins by unfailing faith in Jesus Christ. This also confirms the
fact that Jesus Christ proceeded on the journey of gaining enlightenment and finally salvation not for the sake of
Humanity but for his own self. Having achieved this status it is but for one to follow him or not. Every
enlightenment person has reached the end part of his life of his own goodwill and not because of the desire that
the total Humanity must follow him blindly.
For human beings the bondage does not exist. Everyone is free to follow
the religion one feels attracted to. Stated in simple words if I desire to go to New Delhi from New York then
there are primarily two paths. Either I take the eastern path via Japan or the Western route via Europe. None
is bound by the rules of regulation. If I choose to fly Air India then the most likely route would be the
European route. And in case one flies by an Eastern Airways then the most likely route would be via
Japan.
If I need to go from New York to Washington... then devoid of enough
funds I may embark on the journey on foot (the path of Christianity). Having gone quite some distance... a
bicycle rider who happens to be a friend of mine passes by. He offers for a free ride. The free ride takes me
faster and in the process I may learn of the pearls of wisdom contained in Koran for my friend is a Muslim
(belonging to Islamic faith).
After some time the conductor of a bus picks me up for a free ride, as the conductor happened to be my neighbor in
the village. Belonging to Parsee faith I am able to gather the wisdom of the Parsees. Finally I may land catching a
flight owned by one of my friend's father. A free ride indeed but containing those vital ingredients of wisdom that
would not have been available otherwise! This friend of mine is a devout Hindu and in the process I am able to
learn of the vital elements of Hinduism.
Whatever faith we abhor... whatever doctrine we faith in... Whatever
religion we practice... whichever Scriptures we study and follow... whatever dogmas and faith we support and
believe in are totally immaterial as long else we try to seek the fundamentals of Spirituality with an
unbiased and a serious attitude.
Whatever be our mode of transport (the religion we follow)... we must
only be concerned with reaching our destination. Having reached the destination (gained enlightenment)... it
is but for us to gain liberation forever from cycle of birth and death forever. To reach our goal should be
our concern always and ever for God Almighty never condemns one.
Having being born in Christianity religion... it is but not possible that we cannot indulge in learning the pearls
of wisdom contained in the Bhagavad Gita and Hinduism at large. No man God has ever stated contrary to this. Having
reached stage of enlightenment... all become one for the man God. Unable to distinguish between various religions,
dogmas and creeds... the enlightened soul regains its pristine primordial purity never to manifest a body
again.
Our parents... our teachers are our moral guides and pillars in the
journey of life. They are not supposed to confront us if we take a path different than the customary.
Similarly, the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Maharishi Ramana give us all that one
is supposed to know as a serious seeker of Spirituality. In the past 150 years only two persons have realized
God and they are Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Maharishi Ramana. Their teachings give vital clues which are
otherwise not available anywhere else.
The path of Neti (not this, not this) as advocated and preached by
Maharishi Ramana has no parallel in mankind. It is only while proceeding on the path of pure Spirituality and
practicing Neti that one reaches the portals of God Almighty. To cut across the shackles of religion we are
born in... We need to logistically practice Neti (not this, not this) and arrive at the right conclusions for
ourselves.
As was the case with Plato... he never dictated or preached anything but always indulged in dialogues on the
surmise that either I convince you or you convince me and the winner was one who had the most convincing answer.
The dialogues of Plato are famous only because of the logistical approach taken by Plato. In the field of
Spirituality nothing can be imposed upon any Human being. So is not the system of God... anything done otherwise
would not fetch the desired results.
If one desires to have a permanent communion with God on one-to-one
basis... one needs to realize God in the present life and for this we need to establish absolute control over
our senses and finally the mind and having done that we need to proceed on the path of jnana yoga while
practicing Neti all the time. We also need to practice absolute Celibacy Brahmacharya
Vrata for a continuous period of minimum 12 years at a go before one reaches the stage of
Nirvikalpa Samadhi.
reaching the stage of Nirvikalpa Samadhi all is over for one... for while
remaining in Nirvikalpa Samadhi we can have a darshan of God Almighty all the time. The Nirvikalpa Samadhi
culminates in one gaining enlightenment and finally liberation forever from cycle of birth and death!
reaching the stage of attaining enlightenment (Kaivalya Jnana in Hinduism)... salvation (moksha in Hinduism)
is not far off. One reaches the end part of the cosmic life... the 8.4 millionth manifestation.
A lovely way to reach God Almighty! Bhagavad Gita... the doctrine put
forward by Lord Krishna contains everything one is required to know to
remain in communion with God all the time. It is only by following the dictates prescribed in Bhagavad Gita
that one reaches the end of the cosmic life itself. One becomes a man God finally.
A to Z of Oneness Doctrine explained in words everyone can easily understand and
fathom. More on becoming one with god can be found at : http://www.vijaykumar.org/Spiritual-Journey/... Vijay Kumar - 13 June 2010.
Full text of query: I was brought up in a Christian home in
England . Having had an sincere interest in meditation from late teens I have looked for guidance in this
respect . However , I still experience what I can only classify as guilt in relation to looking outside of
the faith that I was introduced to through my parents and up-bringing .
Are you able to comment on the mix of emotions that appears to stem from
this sense of being unfaithful to the Christian faith premise that it is only through belief in the atoning
blood of the Lord Jesus that one may enter into heaven - unity with God ? If someone died in order that I
should live , is it not gross disobedience and neglect on my part not to accept this gift to me ?
Although I am not a scholar of eastern teaching I have read some of the
written teaching of Ramana Maharshi and others and am greatly moved by what I seem to intuitively grasp from
these writings . I do not claim to understand everything that is written in these essays but would value a
response to this constant dilemma concerning what appears to be leaving my family faith and following the
possibility of knowing God directly and absolutely . Thank-you very much . Due to the volume of e.mail you
may recieve I recognise that it may not be physically possible to reply . Simply externalising part of this
inner conflict by expressing it in writing probably has its' own intrinsic benefit.