Tuesday, June 10, 2008

More on Mahavisnu, Lord Brahma, the Individual Soul and More

I previously posted a question about the nature and activities of Lord Brahma here. I discussed in general terms the nature of not only Lord Brahma but also of Maha Visnu and the path of liberation for the Soul. I have received and replied to a follow-up question and will present it here now. Both posts can be found at this blog or on my SriJagannatha web site: http://www.srijagannatha.com/brahma.html


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

    QUESTION: Great answer but still I am not clear in these questions

    Can a brahma retire by voluntry?
    If human wants to break and come out of this life death life death cycle what can he do?
    or is it something like people can never come out?
    if it is so how do a person got into this trap???

My reply:

Hi Ananth,

The question is based on an inaccurate premise. Gods don't "retire."

Lord Brahma's service is his reason for being. He IS Brahma. This is his nature. Does HaShem, God as presented in the Bible retire? Does Allah retire? Does Ahura Mazada retire?

No, God does not need vacations, retirements, etc. Spiritual beings are not under the limited constrictions of material beings. God is more, always more.

As I explained in my initial reply: As for the jiva getting out of material existence, this is the process of the various yoga systems. According to the system (sadhana) one practices one can gradually be elevated and leave the material multiverses and return Home to the spiritual realms of existence.

To go a bit farther with this, there are many such spiritual disciplines including the following. "Yoga" means "to link" so yoga systems are how we "link" with the Spirit:

Bhakti yoga: Devotion: Through devotion to God the soul is elevated and accepted by the Beloved. This is the path followed by many Hindus, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Sikhs and so on. In my opinion, this is the highest and most effective yoga system. Of this system Sri Krsna says:

Bhagavad Gita 12:1: Arjuna asked [Sri Krsna]: Who is the most knowledgeable in yoga [ie in linking with God and spiritual Truth], those who are thus always yoked to You through devotion, or those who are yoked to the transcendent Unmanifested [ie as prescribed in the works of Sri Sankara, the Buddhists and others]?
12:2: The Blessed One replied: Those who fix their minds upon Me [ie God] and are always yoked to My worship with faith, being so transcendentally endowed, they are the most knowledgeable in yoga in My opinion
(Source: my translation: http://srijagannatha.com/gita/gita12.html)

Bhakti Yoga is manifested in countless ways, some are esoteric, some are Tantric, some are more servant based, etc.

Karma Yoga: Through deliberately practiced action. This popular system seeks to avoid all negative and positive karma (action/reactions) in order to achieve a karmic equilibrium wherein one stops accumulating Karma. This is usually done in conjunction with Bhakti Yoga.

Jnana Yoga: Through the acquiring of knowledge. This is the essential intellectual disciplines.

Dhyana Yoga: Through deep meditation techniques the yogi seeks to achieve Nirvana or Samadhi and thereby "transcend" material existence.

Hatha Yoga: Through disciplining the body once seek to transcend it.

Etc.

There are countless yoga systems and most people combine various disciplines rather than strictly following one.

The result of the various systems are described in various ways. Hinduism is VERY diverse. Some believe the soul merges with the totality of existence (in nir-guna brahman) and individual existence ceases. Others believe the individual soul transcends the material existence (sa-guna brahman) and attains spiritual existence as described by the scriptures as Goloka Vrndavana and other spiritual realms/planets. These are non-material realms where samsara (rebirth) and dukkha (all suffering) ceases to exist. This realm transcends our abilities to fully understand but are described in some detail in the various Indian scriptures and treaties as elsewhere.

According to many Hindu masters, the "Heaven" of the Christians is actually known in the Vedic Scriptures as Brahma Loka (the planet/realm of Lord Brahma). This is said to be the highest, most elevated of all material existences. After a life on Brahma Loka the jiva almost surely proceeds to the eternal realms of the Spirit (nir-guna brahman).

This state of be-ing is described by Hindu sage Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu as acintya bheda-abheda, the state of being simultaneously, inconceivably, one with and distinct from acintya bheda-abheda tattva (the Person of God, who is simultaneously, inconceivably, one with and distinct from existence. This of course is but a very basic overview of this material.

However most Hindus are not as concerned about leaving the material realms as they are about properly existing in this one. This is because of the belief, as taught by Master Y'shua (ie Jesus of Nazareth) that "the Kingdom of God is within." For one who attains oneness with Spirit liberation is already achieved. Hence many sadhus (teachers) encourage us to "be here now," to live fully in this moment and this place as though we had already attained Spiritual Oneness. Consciousness is a vital key to all Hindu systems.

Hence the material realms (our planet/realm is called Bhuva Loka) are not "traps," they are more like schools or proving grounds in which we develop spiritual consciousness (if we take advantage of the opportunities provided in the human form of life).

The details of how this works varies with the school of thought.

But again, as the Gita tells us:

9:8: Supported by My material nature, I dispatch the multitude of beings again and again. All these act instinctively in material nature as if by constraint.
9:9: O conqueror of riches, I am not bound by these activities; as if indifferent, I am sitting unattached to them all.
9:10: Due to My presiding over material nature, both the moving and the unmoving come forth, O child of Kunti, and by reason of this the world continues to revolve.
9:11, 12: Fools deride Me when I resort in human form, not knowing My superior nature as the Great Lord of all beings.
Their hopes, actions and knowledge are all fruitless, they are senseless, demonic and unholy, indeed, they are stupefied by material nature.
9:13: On the other hand, O child of Partha, great souls resort unto the divine nature and worship with an undeviated mind, knowing Me to be the immutable source of all beings.
9:14: Always chanting My glories and pursuing Me, with discipline prostrating [themselves] before Me, always resolute in devotion, [the great souls] worship Me.
9:15: Others sacrifice with the sacrifice of knowledge, worshiping Me in oneness, duality, in diversity and in the universal form.
9:16-19: I am the ritual, I am the sacrifice, I am the oblation to the ancestors, I am the medicinal herb, I am the sacred chant, I am the ghee, I am the fire and I am the offering.
I am the father of this universe, the mother, the preserver, the grandfather, the object of knowledge, the purifier, the sacred syllable OM, the Rig Veda, the Sama Veda, and the Yajur Veda.
I am the goal, the sustainer, the lord, the witness, the abode, the refuge, the friend, the origin, the dissolution, the foundation, the receptacle and the imperishable seed.
I give heat, I send forth and withhold the rains, I am immortality as well as death; I am, O Arjuna, both being and non-being.
9:20, 21: Those who know the three Vedas, who drink the soma, whose sins are purified by sacrificial worship of Me, and who pray for passage to the heavenly planets, such holy people attain the planet of Lord Indra and there enjoy the celestial pleasures of the devas in heaven.
After enjoying the vast heavenly planets, their pious merits being well spent, they again enter this mortal world. Thus following the laws of the three Vedas, they go and return due to their desire to desire.
9:22: But those who worship Me with undeviated intent, who have no other object and who are are always yoked in devotion, upon them I confer happiness and carry them through.
9:23, 24: Also those who are devotees of other gods, and who worship them, endowed with faith, they actually worship Me alone, O son of Kunti, but by a lesser method.
I indeed am the Enjoyer and God of all sacrifices, but not knowing Me in truth they fall down.
9:25: Those who worship the gods go to the gods, those who worship the ancestors go to the ancestors, those who worship ghosts go to the ghosts, but those who worship Me go to Me.
9:26: If one offers Me a leaf, a flower, a fruit or some water with devotion I will accept it. I accept what is offered by one whose mind is pure.
9:27: Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer (in sacrifice), whatever you give away (in charity), whatever austerities you perform, O child of Kunti, do it all as an offering unto Me.
9:28: Thus freed from auspicious and inauspicious fruitive reactions, you will be liberated from the bondage of karma [action]. With the mind firmly established in the yoga of renunciation, you will be liberated and come to Me.
9:29: I am equitable towards all beings; none are hateful and none are dear to Me. But those who worship Me with devotion are in Me and I am in them.
9:30, 31: Even if one's actions are abominable, if such a one worships Me with exclusive devotion that person should be considered virtuous due to that integral determination.
Such a person soon becomes a righteous soul and attains eternal peace. O child of Kunti, boldly declare that My devotee shall never perish!
(source: http://srijagannatha.com/gita/gita9.html)

"God is One,

    The Sages use different names."

Hope this clarifies matters,

    ~ John of AllFaith
    ~ Jagannatha Prakasa


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Jai Jagannatha!
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