Being a Hindu...

To understand who is a Hindu and who is not, we will have to understand what actually Hindu Dharma is.

If we go back to origins of Indian history, we will see that there was no dharma called Hindu existed till Muslims came to India. It was only Sanatan Dharma. Here,  we do not have a proper English term to mean the word “dharma” . “Religion” is a European word meaning a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith . Broadly in Europe it means to believe in God is to believe that he wrote a book; only one in all those ages, and to go to Church is the minimum of religion.  

 Whereas our Sanatan Dharma do not have any unidirectional ideology, rather it is totally based on the continuum process of evolution.  Sanatan means eternal or universal.  This dharma is and has always been democratic in nature allowing an individual to adopt any philosophy or way to self-realization.

It is not possible to dissociate Sanatan Dharma from Bharat Varsha. Because it evolved from Bharat, Brahma vidhyam tasyam ramate iti bharata- one who is always reveling in what the truth is…

Bharat is more than a geographical area, Bharat is a vision, a philosophy…so is Sanatan Dharma. The whole vision of Indian culture is to transform from samsara, bondage to Nirvana, which mean freedom.

For better understanding, please read the quotes below:

Sri Aurobindo wrote – “But what is the Hindu religion? What is this religion, which we call Sanatan, eternal? It is the Hindu religion only because the Hindu nation has kept it, because in this Peninsula it grew up in the seclusion of the sea and the Himalayas, because in this sacred and ancient land it was given as a charge to the Aryan race to preserve through the ages. But it is not circumscribed by the confines of a single country; it does not belong peculiarly and for ever to a bounded part of the world. That which we call the Hindu religion is really the eternal religion, because it is the universal religion, which embraces all others. If a religion is not universal, it cannot be eternal. A narrow religion, a sectarian religion, an exclusive religion can live only for a limited time and a limited purpose. This is the one religion that can triumph over materialism by including and anticipating the discoveries of science and the speculations of philosophy. It is the one religion, which impresses on mankind the closeness of God to us and embraces in its compass all the possible means by which man can approach God. It is the one religion which insists every moment on the truth which all religions acknowledge that He is in all men and all things and that in Him we move and have our being. It is the one religion, which enables us not only to understand and believe this truth but also to realize it with every part of our being. It is the one religion, which shows the world what the world is, that it is the Lila of Vasudeva. It is the one religion which shows us how we can best play our part in that Lila, its subtlest laws and its noblest rules. It is the one religion, which does not separate life in any smallest detail from religion, which knows what immortality is and has utterly removed from us the reality of death…”.

Now read this quote from Hinduism and the Clash of Civilizations by David Frawley : “the Eternal or Universal Dharma. Dharma means universal law, the fundamental principles behind this marvelous universe like the Law of Karma. Sanatana means perennial, referring to eternal truths that manifests in ever-new names and forms. Hinduism is the oldest religion in the world because it is based on the eternal origins of creation. But it is also the newest religion in the world because it adjusts to new names and forms to every generation and looks to living teachers not old books, as its final authority”.

Who is a Hindu?

In Merutantra, the word ‘Hindu’ has been defined as 'Hinani Gunani dushyati iti Hindu.' The one who destroys the inferior Raja-Tama components or guns is a Hindu. Thus, to be a Hindu is to follow a way of life that enhances the spiritually pure Sattva component and Sattva predominant qualities like love, humility, courage, expansiveness, etc. and overcomes the spiritually impure Raja-Tama predominant attitudes like anger, attachment, jealousy, greed, lust, pride etc.

According to Merutantra  one can be a Hindu by his actions (karma) or birth (Janma). Since to be a Hindu is an attitude, a Karma Hindu is a true Hindu. He is Hindu by action and thought, a follower of Dharma and spreads Dharma, which is a sāttvik or spiritually pure way of life. 

Following which, I would also like to add that in sanatan Dharma, no one is even Brahman, Kshytriya, Baishya or Sudra by birth! 

Atri defines brahminhood very clearly in smritis:

"By birth, every man is a Shudra (an ignorant person). Through various types of disciplines (samskaras), he becomes a dwija (twice born). Through the studies of scriptures, he becomes a vipra (or a scholar). Through realization of supreme spirit (brahmajnana), he becomes a brahmin."

A  Brahmin has to attain highest spiritual knowledge by following an  extremely difficult path of discipline of body, mind , and intellect. People irrespective of their birth or class, who dedicated to such an austere life were recognized as brahmins. A great example of this is the case of Vishwamitra, a warrior (kshatriya), who became a brahmin after attaining brahmavidya, and composed the Gayatri mantra, the most sacred hymn of the Hindus.

Thus, the very essence of Sanatan dharma lies solely on the concept of Karma. That is why the birth factor is irrelevant. The one who is on the path of self-realization, freedom from the bondage of birth-cycle is following Sanatan Dharma, and so a true Hindu by Karma.

Shiva Sutra: Activities vs Actions

The greed to become somebody and the fear of ending up as nobody, is the greatest stress of our life.

Our life is the permutation and combination of the amount of greed and fear. Buddha says that all our activities are caused by greed and fear. Both greed and fear are the symptoms of inner shallowness.

Activities provide an escape from our inner void caused by our ignorance and shallowness. The distorted perception of self create the inner void and shallowness in us. We try to justify our inner void with activities. Till the time we learn to face that inner void, we will remain involved with activities to escape...we will remain bored with life. We get involved in activities to avoid ourselves.

When Buddha asks us to face our inner void, it is called abhi mukhi, which Shiva refers to as Chaitanya Atma.Which means you learn to see yourself with awareness. When we see the self with complete awareness we also see the greed/fear that is inducing our activities.

Learning to face  the self, then identifying the greed and fear behind the activities, and facing those traits with full awareness...when we do so, our activities become actions. Actions, that are results of pure intentions of a fully aware self.

যখন কেউ ডাক শোনেনা, আমি একাই চলি...চলতেই থাকি...

Does Santa Hate Poor Kids?

They have a point though!

A Yogi friend from Tumblr had answer a certain question with such lucidity and simplicity that I wanted to share it here.

Q: there's a fine line between letting go of emotions and repressing them, but sometimes it's difficult for me to know if I'm really letting something go or just burying it deeper. Any help?

lashla

 

Letting go of an emotion, like fear, does not mean you never feel fear again. That would be repression. Instead, it means you never feel fear the same way again.
Fear occurs. Sadness occurs. Happiness, loneliness, joy, jealousy, anger, they all happen. It is part of the range of human experience. As you come toward peace, sure they may happen less. But there are plenty of stories about gurus and enlightened Beings displaying intense emotions.
So what does it really mean to let go of an emotion? It means you let go of toying with it.
You feel happiness and you have to toy with it. You try to hold onto it so it doesn’t leave. You pet it and admire it and when it changes (like all things must) you mourn it.
Similarly, you feel fear and you can’t help but toy with it. You immediately react against it with anger or pain, you feel this way or that way about it. Either way, fear becomes your focus. You keep trying to reject it and by doing so, it remains present.
Why is it that happiness departs more easily than fear? Because you reject fear but embrace happiness. You aren’t afraid to experience happiness, you open yourself to it. But you are afraid of experiencing fear, sadness, anger, or other typically repressed emotions.
When you are no longer afraid to open yourself to your experience of the moment, whatever it contains, then you stop toying with it. Whatever emotion comes, comes. When it leaves, it leaves.
This stability creates a feeling in you. You watch moods and moments transition from one to the next to the next. But You are still continuous. The feeling that such a continuity creates evades description. Most saints and yogis have simply called it Peace.
Don’t worry about the fine line, for no such line exists. Don’t worry if you’re really letting go. If you have doubts about letting go then the only thing you know for sure is that you haven’t let go of your doubts.
Silence your doubts, if only to better hear over the noise of your mind. Go inward, meditate, and find out if there’s anything actually there anyway. The buddha was quite insistent that everything was emptiness. And yet so full it seemed to krishna!
Namaste, sister. I hope this helped a bit. :)

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Source:http://lazyyogi.tumblr.com/

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The eunuchs and I, in the train to Kolkata

At times, we react in a reflex. Without actually knowing why we did so. Then after a period of time a realization and deep understanding of the situation fills us with enlightenment. That can happen anytime, without even asking for it.

Something of that sort happened today with me. The incident and my reaction took place in 2001.
When I was in the second semester of my Mass Communication master degree course. That was in the month of June, and we were supposed to go Kolkata for our summer training. All of us in the group, who had their summer training arranged in organizations in Kolkata, decided to go by train, in the second class. So, we occupied a half of a compartment and started of with high spirit.

Specially I was very excited to have my first journey without the vigilance of parents, and that too with my friends! It was something which made me feel on cloud nine.

We were singing, chatting, and having all chttar-puttar from the passing by hawkers. Time was floating faster on the wheels. I was having an experience of life time, standing at the open doors of the compartment and feeling the whip lashes of quick wind.

When we reached Jalpaiguri, it was already dusk. We came back to our seats and were chatting. As the train stopped, we heard a raw, as if some people are breaking into our compartment. Within five minutes, the compartment was dumped with heavy sacks by a couple of eunuchs (hijras). They were abusing even the TT and the railway police...with dirtiest verbal and physical expression. I was abhorring the whole situation and cursing them, as everyone else in our compartment was doing.

After a while, all in the compartment kind of accepted the situation and settled down on their seats. I was watching the eunuchs very closely, in the yellow light of the compartment. That was my first encounter with eunuchs. A few male passengers were coming to them and talking in whispers. They were buying something discreetly from those three or four eunuchs. When all those secret deals were over, the eunuchs settled down on the sacks. (By the way, those sacks were of poppy seeds, they were smuggling it from certain parts of West Bengal).

Those three were lying down on the sacks, too tired to make any sound or movement.While I was watching them intently, I felt a pain in my heart. And then tears flowed down from my eyes, and I could not control my sobs, I was sobbing uncontrollably. Thankfully the sound of the iron wheels of the train were covering up from me. I could not sleep...staring outside to the darkness of the night, I wept and wept and wept. And I did not have any clue but what I was feeling. And I did not know why I was feeling so sorry, still I was crying and crying. A friend noticed, came near and asked what was wrong. I could not explain, and I knew it would be stupid to say that something from those eunuchs hit me hard. I tried to explain, but failed. That night I cried for a long time and went to sleep without knowing when.

Next morning, they were there, still sitting on the sacks. I felt tired while looking at them. The looked at me, in my eyes. And again I felt the same pain. This time I preferred to divert my mind, knowing that broad day light would not let me hide my tears.

The journey came to an end as usual. The summer training, fun with friends, everything was there. One question kept on bothering me...what was that pain, sorrow, that made me cry? I could not find an answer to that. And I thought I would never find and answer.

Like that my days passed. 5th March, 2012, when I was cooking, suddenly I realized with clarity, what made me cry. It was the a void, hopelessness, helplessness of the lives of those three eunuchs that made me cry. I did not, but my thousands years' old soul knew, how it is like to live in the body of a eunuch in the society. Unwanted, full of struggle, hopelessness, hatred and all which are nightmares to normal us. That time, I did not know a thing about how eunuchs live, what exactly was wrong with their body. But I was feeling tremendous pain. While my mind was questioning my heart, my soul knew the answer and so it reacted to those deprived souls' pain.

At times, our heart makes us act in stupid ways. When our logical mind does not have the answer, our soul does. We need to look within for answers...and listen to what it says. I felt great, when I knew that my soul is not ignorant of the eunuch's pain. It did experience the same pain, in some past life.

That is why when we say listen to your heart, it actually means listen to your wise soul. When we were kids, we could not understand why we were getting good scoldings, cautions from our elders. But when we grow up, we realize. Likewise, after growing up, we must learn to listen to our wise souls. Our souls are eternal, so is the wisdom. We can get all answers to our question from within us. Just know that your soul knows the answer and it will guide you to the right path. Have faith on you, the eternal you.

The revelation

Love that binds us, frees us too.

The amount of expectations fulfilled does not decide the success of a love affair. But expectations are inevitable, as we are human. Our expectations and experiences bind us with prejudices, and we look at the love relationship with that prejudiced perception. As a result, we invite pain along with that love.

Expectations overpower love, bind it, and slowly kill the love. But to expect is to be human.

There exists another kind of love, which knows no reason, no worldly calculation. That love does not require expectations to be fulfilled, as there is no expectation at all. It gives completeness of being. I do not know whether the concept of soul mate is true. But without that concept, we do not find a reason behind this kind of love, that a human mind always looks for.

It feels like an end to long search, that fills you with eternal peace and faith. You know, you have nowhere to go anymore. You are complete and free. You have it all here. True love is such. Unless you are touched by that kind of love, your heart is a virgin. Your soul is thirsty. Yes it is.

It is difficult to express that love through words. But I did, with an intention to let you know that that such love exists. I wish you have your own experience that completes you. 

I will come back with new realizations....till then,

Keep the faith!