Introduction: 

Shantideva::

  Whatever joy there is in this world
  All comes from desiring others to be happy,
  And whatever suffering there is in this world
  All comes from desiring myself to be happy.

  Destroying pride  man becomes endearing;
  Destroying anger  man gets rid of sorrow;
  Destroying desire man acquires peace;
  Destroying greed  man achieves happiness.

Advaitic sites  Advaita, the non-dual philosophy based on vedanta, propounds a very simple way in searching for reality by starting with only one statement, 'You know you exist, but who are you ?.' Links and information on most modern advaita teachers, http://www.sentient.org/amber/story.htm. A great site. Advaitic principles are apparent in the The Secret Teachings of Tibet, http://www.dzogchen.org/ A scholarly exposition of advaita can be found in Vidya's page, http://www.advaita-vedanta.org/avhp/. This is a great page for serious advaitins. The author of the page frequently contributes to the Advaita mailing list.

Shiva, Shiva  Saiva Siddhanta.

Other Philosophy  The mystic phenomena in Buddhism, Hinduism, and Christianity are compared in Mysticism. An excellent page containing several details of Indian devotional songs, bhajans, pujas and essays on spiritual life, Shree's page. Please read the inspiring Metaphysical Quotes

Organizations  Georg Feuerstein, one of the renowed writers and one my favorite western author on yoga, has a web site at www.yrec.org Yoga Research Center. Please visit the excellent site dedicated to Ramana Maharshi and also Sat Ramana. Both the sites are very extensive and contain useful information for all advaitins. Ramana Maharshi is undoubtedly the saint/sage and seer of modern times. Thanks for SAT for linking my various pages. One of the best introductory pages on yoga Sivananda.  An exceptional site on Hinduism and Yoga Himalayan Academy. This is one of the best sites I have come across on the web. Most of the AUM gifs found in this home page has been taken from the above. Run by the GHEN, this Hinduism site is exceptional for both content and graphics Hindunet

Health and Ayurveda  www.drweil.com  www.ayur.com/  

Types of Yoga A detailed description of each of these yogas is provided in the Yoga Page and a concise but good explanation can be found in Yoga Paths.

A good collection of links and information on Indian philosophy and, Spirit-WWW.  A  concise but good explanation can be found in www.talamasca.org/avatar/yoga.html.  Data on the kundalini can be found in the aloha.net/~bpeay/kundalini/xindex.html

Bhakti yoga is the path of devotion (to the Divine). It is pure selfless love from the heart. A bhakti yogi feels that whenever he thinks of God, God thinks more of him. A relationship between a Bhakta and God can never be described in words.

Karma yoga is the path of selfless service. He does not feel that the world is an illusion, does not encounter the ego-given 'highs' of success or the 'lows' of failure. Thus a karma yogi is detached while carrying out his duties on the earth.

Jnana yoga is the path of knowledge. A jnana yogi wants to understand the transcendental truth. He wants to solve the mystery of birth, death and the purpose of life. Hindu scriptures describe a Jnani yogi as one who utters Neti, Neti meaning 'not this, not this' to differentiate between what is permanent and impermanent. He uses viveka (discernment) for moving on from avidya (ignorance) to vidya (knowledge). He discerns that the world as perceived by the senses is not real, but an illusion conjured up by the mind.

Asthanga yoga is sometimes referred to as Raja yoga . However, Asthanga yoga is more of a philosophy like basic research while raja yoga usually refers to specific techniques which are based on not only Asthanga yoga but also on various [minor] upanishhads. Asthanga (eight-step) yoga was developed by Patanjali.

Most of the saints have agreed that the culmination of the Kundalini Shakti is essential for enlightenment. Various types of raja yogas (including siddha yoga, kriya yoga, laya yoga, sahaja yoga etc) end with the activation and culmination of the kundalini shakti at the crown chakra. They may be referred to as Kundalini yoga. Kundalini is the dormant energy which lies at the base of spine. Extensive information on the kundalini, including the kundalini FAQ,can be found in the Kundalini Resource Center and the links pointed from there.

Life 

Sattvic : purity, knowledge and joy
Rajsic  : active, desire and restlessness.
Tamsic  : inaction, delusion and dullness

The second concept of devotion can be illustrated by a simple story from the book titled Tibetan book of living and dying by Sogyal Rinpoche

So it is our motivation, good or bad, that determines the fruit of our actions. Shantideva said:

  Whatever joy there is in this world
  All comes from desiring others to be happy,
  And whatever suffering there is in this world
  All comes from desiring myself to be happy.

  Destroying pride  man becomes endearing;
  Destroying anger  man gets rid of sorrow;
  Destroying desire man acquires peace;
  Destroying greed  man achieves happiness.

Pravritti (action, external activity) as a method of sublimating the instincts and impulses; Nivritti (detachment, internal quietness) as a method of subduing the thirst of the senses and of the ego;  Prapatti (surrender) as a method of utilizing the senses, the instincts and impulses, the intelligence, the emotions, for the glorification of the all-knowing, all-directing Divine.

Scriptures emphasize that a spiritual aspirant should never reveal his experience to an other, except his Guru. He can say that he had never had any such experiences if asked by anyone other than his Guru. There is no use in telling your experiences to a materialistic person, since he is not going to believe you. There is no use in telling it to someone who is not as spiritual as you are, since he may try to emulate your experience or become envious of you. There is no use in telling your experiences to a spiritually advanced being because he may have already experienced it or he has no use for it. Your Guru, since he/she knows you intimately, may be able to interpret the experience for you, but no one else can.

Besides these obstacles, one arrives at a time when one has to make decisions about his life and asks questions which are called "two-path" questions. One such question is whether we should retaliate against people who harm us? One answer is no, love them, but avoid them. The other answer is 'Turn the other cheek' [Jesus]. Yet an another answer is that we should uphold our Dharma (duty) even by fighting but not worry about the result [Krishna]. The other answer is 'Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God, the things that are God's' [Jesus]. One can give many similar examples, but no one can say what is right, apart from yourself.
 

The Hindus There are over 700 million Hindus, mainly in Bharat (India), and Nepal. Hinduism is referred to as Sanatana Dharma, the eternal faith. Hinduism is not strictly a religion. It is based on the practice of Dharma, the code of life. 

A detailed explanation of Hindu texts are found in Veda page and the links pointed to from there. Since Hinduism has no founder, anyone who practices Dharma can call himself a Hindu. He can question the authority of any scripture, or even the existence of the Divine. The following article is based on my limited understanding.

Hindu Scriptures are broadly classified into Shruti (meaning 'heard'), Smriti (meaning 'remembered') and nyaya (meaning 'logic') based on its origin not on the mode of transmission. Therefore, shruti means something which were heard (directly from the Gods) by the sages while smriti refers to what was written down and remembered. shruti is considered more authoritative than smriti because the former is believed to have been obtained directly from God by the spiritual experiences of vedic seers and has no interpretations. Vedas constitute the shruti while the rest including Itihaasa-s (epics), PuraaNa-s (moral stories), and Agamas (emanated scriptures) are known as smriti while Vedanta-sutras (vedanta aphorisms) are classified as Nyaya. smriti and Nyaya always agrees with shruti.

The Vedas 

The oldest and foremost among them are the Vedas. The vedas are called shruti and stems from the inner spiritual experience of the ancient seers. Hindus believe that Vedas are timeless and eternal. There are four vedas, namely Rig, Sama, Yajur, and Atharva veda. Each veda consists of sections namely Samhita (containing the hymns) and Brahmana ( significance of the hymns), Aranyakas (interpretations), and Vedanta (upanishhads, which are metaphysical dialogs). 

The vedangas and upavedas are texts which augment the Vedas. There are six vedangas namely Siksa, Jyotisha, Kalpa, Nirukti, Candas, and Vyakarana. Jyotisha (astrology) is the most famous among them. Kalpa explains the rituals and explain a path based on the other five. There are five upavedas namely Artha, Dhanur, Sthapatya, Gandharva, and Ayur-veda. Ayurveda which deals with health, medicine is probably the most popular of the upavedas.

Agamas are rules for the ritual, rites and the worship of Gods. There are five of them based for the worship of Ganesha, Shakti, Surya, Shiva, and Vishnu.

One can argue that the vedas show three clear paths. Karma-kanda is the path using the vedangas, Upasana-kanda is the path using Aagamas while Jnana-kanda involves the path of Upanishads to realize the Brahman.

The Vedanta 

Upanishads are called Vedanta, because they expound on the spiritual essence of Vedas and they are found at the end of the vedas. However, one should note that Upanishads are texts, while Vedanta is a philosophy. While there are numerous upanishhads (1180 to be exact), 108 of them are considered genuine. Eleven of them namely Isha, kena, kaTha, prashna, muNDaka, mANDUkya, taittirIya, aitareya, chAndogya, shvetAshvatara, bR^ihad-AraNyaka, are considered the most significant or "major" upanishhads since they have been commented upon by the major acharyas (teachers) of various traditions. Upanishhads means 'to sit down near' because they were explained to the students sitting near the feet of their teacher.

Vedanta, the basis of Hinduism, asserts that Brahman, the 'impersonal' God and the universal soul, is the Absolute Truth. Brahman has multiple roles to play: the creator, the maintainer, and the destroyer all in one. (This can be viewed as the origin of the trinity Gods namely Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, respectively). Vedanta states that the individual human soul(jiva-atman) originates and merges with the Brahman. There are three different philosophies on this concept. Advaita (non-duality) implies that there is an identity of Brahman and Jivaatman while Dvaita (duality) differs from Advaita and maintains an ultimate diversity between Brahman and Jiva-atman. Visistadvaita (qualified non-duality) maintains a crucial differentiation as well as a fundamental identity. 

An excellent treatise on the practice of dvaita Vedanta can be found here.

Six Systems 

There are six systems of Indian philosophy (ShhaDarshana). They are Jaimini's Purva Mimansa, Patanjali's yoga, Gautama's Nyaya, Kanada's Vaisheshika, Vyasa's Uttar Mimansa, and Kapila's Sankhya. All the six systems are written in aphorisms (sutras). Though each sutra is just a few lines, huge commentaries have been written on each of them.

Besides all the philosophy which expound on the cosmic attributes of the Divine, there are epics (Itihaasa-s) and stories (Puranas) written which bring into light the human attributes of the Divine.

Itihaasa-s comprises of the two epics: Ramayana and Mahabharata, which are the stories of two incarnations of Lord Vishnu, Rama and Krishna, respectively. These are by far the well read and most popular among the Hindus. Ramayana was first written by Valmiki while Mahabharata was written by Sage Vyasa. The Bhagvad-gita is the epitome of hindu philosophy and is found in the Mahabharata. Due to its content, Bhagvad-gita is sometimes considered to be a Gito-Upanishhad. Vyasa also wrote the eighteen puraaNa-s and eighteen sub-puranas. All puranas emphasize on morals and is usually a story about a hindu deity fighting for upholding these morals. There are also Kaavyas which are based on stories derived from the Itihaasa-s/puraaNas. Among them, Raghuvamsa, Meghaduta and Shakuntala are very famous.

There are also Prakarana Granthas which are considered to be primers or an introduction for spiritual studies. Among them are Atma Bodha, and my favorite, Bhaja Govindam [also known as Moha Mudhgara]. Besides the scriptures, there are stotra-s and bhajans (devotional songs and hymns) Among the numerous stotras, Sahasranamams (1008 names of each diety) are very famous.

Visit Indology home page, Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies, Veda, and  Mahabharata. There is a good introduction to Hinduism with FAQ's at introduction. One of my other home pages contains Thoughts on Hinduism and Biographies of various saints

Gods and Gitas

As seen in the hinduism section, the trinity gods are Lord Brahma (not to be confused with Brahman), Vishnu and Shiva. Brahma is not worshipped and there are very few temples in his honor due to 'mythological' reasons. Vishnu (and the incarnations of Him, Rama and Krishna), Shiva (and his various forms), their wives, are the most popular with numerous temples and followers. The wives of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva are Saraswati, Laxmi, and Parvati, respectively. Collectively, they are sometimes referred to as Divine mother (or Shakti). Two of Parvati's fierce but very powerful forms are Durga and Kali. Gods and Goddesses is a site that provides more details of all these gods and goddesses. One can view the cosmic dance of Shiva at Shiva1.

One worships all the above dieties. This is referred to as Puja. It is conducted to an idol made of gold, silver, bronze or even clay. Those who can not even afford these worship the Gods in paintings/pictures. Unfortunately, many people don't understand the significance of the puja, whether conducted daily at home or at a temple. It is true that stones are worshipped, and the elephant-God, Lord Ganesha, and the monkey-God, Hanuman are worshipped. But what is the significance ? Since God is omnipresent, then He should be present in stones, animals i.e everywhere. Isn't it beautiful that a person sees divinity in every aspect of creation whether it is animate or inanimate ? Worshippers would commit a grave error by seeing an essential distinction between the idol and the Supreme Lord, for they are one and the same.

Before the puja, one bathes to signify the outer purification. Mantras and stotras are recited for inner purification. Even a very simple puja employs flowers. What is the inner significance ? Flowers smell. This is called vaasaana. Vaasaana is also an another name for the imprints in the jiva, which constitute the flavor/smell of our personality, habits etc. Flowers are picked up with the right hand and then, the fingers are pointed downward so that the flowers fall at the feet of the idol. The five fingers signify the five senses. The senses which are normally directed outward for pleasure and now pointed downward showing that they are surrendered at His/Her Feet. Usually, the flower is placed after uttering 'namaH.' While namaH means salutation, it is also a corrupt form of 'na mama' i.e not mine. Thus, when offering flowers, one says, 'I am offering to you my senses, attributes, character but none of them are really mine. Everything is yours.' Thus, even a simple puja has a great spiritual meaning which escapes a casual observer.

 A site which contains Gita in inline sanskrit and ascii format is Gita2.  The ITRANS song book is at Song book and the following site has some nice Bhajans. 

Vedanta asserts that the universe perceived by the senses is not real. This is called Maya. Unfortunately, maya has been confused to be really illusion leading to questions like, 'Wouldn't blood flow out if I slit my wrists?.' Maya just means out that the perception of a person not 'self-realized' is not real because such a person associates himself with his emotions, and his ego. Since we are unable to perceive the world as a superimposition of the One reality (which is unchanged in time and space) and thus that all beings are inter-related, the vedantist says that the world we perceive is an illusion. Thus what the vedantist implies is that the world is not unreal like the existence of an offspring of a barren woman, but the world is unreal like the mistaking of a rope to be a snake.

Beneath this outward changing appearance lies an fundamental reality which is supreme, called Brahman. This is the 'Sat-chit-ananda (being- consciousness- bliss)' and 'the peace of god which passeth all understanding' according to the Bible. The scientist protests this contention, saying that he cannot measure this underlying reality, if any. The vedantist is not surprised, he adds that since Brahman is beyond the senses, not being able to detect an underlying reality does not prove anything. Now, we are at crossroads, we can either agree with the scientist or the Vedantist. But in order to examine the next concept carefully, we have to have to agree with the Vedantist for a moment, and come back and question him later.

The purpose of human life is to realize this underlying reality. He refers to the essential nature present in every human being as Atman (which is called God Immanent). A few vedantists differ on whether that this Atman is essentially the same as Brahman. This led to many philosophies including the three main ones, Advaita, Dvaita etc.. as mentioned in the Hinduism section. Advaita philosophy says that everything is Brahman and that only maya prevents us from seeing that. The other philosophies differ from this contention. But we will not worry about that, since all of the Vedantists seem to agree that Atman and Brahman are 'related' and the aim of the human life is realization of this. A good contention is to realize this Atman for ourselves, and investigate how the Atman is related to Brahman.

Why do we want to realize Atman ? Let us see what the majority do: get a education, get a job, make money, be beautiful, become strong, have children, and preferably, become famous. But, does one become satisfied with any of this ? Of course not, one always wants more since the desire is endless. Therefore desire can be satisified only by the infinite. But a common person does have periods of happiness and periods of sorrow. But is this really happiness or just pleasure ? Everyone would agree that sickness, death etc are suffering. Not getting what we want or getting what we don't want is also suffering. The only question is whether getting what we want and not getting what we don't want is also suffering. Actually, they are also suffering. Most of us when we get what we want don't really enjoy it. It is like eating a small ice-cream cone. One eats it hurriedly so that the ice cream won't melt and make a mess. The pleasure from these objects are so fleeting, yet the mind tries to repeat this experience and assumes it as happiness. When it so happens that we can't get this object, we experience sorrow and unhappiness.

Here is where saints like Sankara, Buddha and Jesus interject and say you can have HAPPINESS all the time if you let go of this cycle of joy and sorrow which you have by holding on to the unreal hoping that they bring you happiness. They even go on to say that desire is the root cause of suffering and unjust action leads to more action, and death brings a sudden end to all this. To pause and think about their statements seems unneccessary since down deep we seem to know that this indeed is the truth and we seem helpless. So, some take a high road and dismiss them as pessimists, and their teaching as escapism from the world.

But some of us have achieved many of the material successes, and still have an 'empty' feeling. Some others realize that all their ambitions have failed, and there seem to be no purpose to life. A few others have lost their loved ones, their valued possessions and wonder their true purpose of life. Among these people, a few of them would like to give the benefit of doubt to these prophets. He is prone to ask these masters, 'I don't entirely believe in this Atman, but let us assume this exists, how do I realize it ? and how am I to enjoy this everlasting bliss you all seem to be enjoying?'.

Pat comes the answer requesting you to quit thinking who you think you are but finding out and realizing who you really are. This sounds stupid, but they continue to say that who you really are is the Atman, and not the ego you associate yourself with. What exactly is this ego ? It is feeling that one is a separate unique individual, and shows whenever we boast our accomplishments, desire, or when we bemoan our failures, and fear the unknown. The Vedantist will say that this is an illusion and you are not separate. The scientist, to our surprise, will agree with the Vedantist that all objects are interrelated on all levels.

A simplistic person may ask whether this means that he should just stop believing he is an individual. But it ain't so easy. First, we have to overcome our possessive attitudes towards our action. This does not mean stop doing action but forgetting the fruits of the action. Thus, we have to stop taking credit for successes or bemoaning our failures, and be freed from these 'false' highs and lows. The vedantist goes on to say that you should work as a service and think of our body/mind as an instrument of the Atman.

A good question now is why does the Atman need our help and why we should work for it. Here, the vedantist is bound to give you a profound answer saying work is worship and the motive for worship is Love. Considering our normal ways of thinking about Love, we are bound to question this. But the Vedantist points out that this Love is perfect since now one is loving something which is perfect and everlasting. But, as usual, we are bound to feel somewhat unhappy with this answer. The Vedantist is advising us to Love something (which he claims to be perfect and permanent) but something we have never seen while loving your spouse seems to be more permanent, while we know it is not since death will separate the spouse.

The Vedantist here asks you to take up meditation, and stick with a practice of yoga. It is important, he adds, that one should drop any attachments which binds you more to this world. This can be achieved by judging every thought and every action from a standpoint of whether this action will help me freer, less egoistic, more aware of the Reality or would this action make me more attached to the world and would enlarge the illusion of separateness.

Here, some of us may view the Vedantist as a person who hates the world, or one who is an escapist. But in reality, only the self-realized persons are able to find the reality beneath all the appearances. The Vedantist is also able to serve the society more effectively than us since he has nothing to gain/lose from it and has no selfish motives and his love for the world is much more than an ordinary individual.

At this point, we come back to the original question whether this reality actually exists. The sage says it does, since he has experienced it but one cannot measure it. The prophet goes on to say that it is entirely up to us to believe him or not. But by following a set of procedures like Yoga, one is bound to realize it. So, he gives us a choice of following a path and experimenting it ourselves.

The messenger is as important as the message. When we look at Jesus, Ramana, Krishna, Ramakrishna, Buddha, we wonder whether these people were deluded or did they lie or whether they were speaking the truth. Reading their life histories, we seem to be inclined with the last option, but we can always follow their path and see for ourselves whether an underlying reality exists or not.

The saint becomes aware of the Atman residing within everyone. He also realizes this reality at all time, having no desires nor ego. This is called by Christians as the mystic union, while the Vedantist prefers the sanskrit word, which means the same, 'Samadhi'. Samadhi is beyond the three states of consciousness normally experienced, waking, dreaming, and deep sleep. However, no one can describe it but one has to experience it.

More thoughts

The first question is answered usually answered with a straight face, 'Ignorance'. Having been accustomed to our college degrees and our ego, we are indeed livid with anger. We have been told to our face that we are unaware of the reality because we haven't looked for it. We have been called ignorant because we reflect the society, imitate actions like a parrot, and hardly have a thought which is unique. We don't want to agree that we are unaware of this reality and concede to the sage that only ego separates us from this experiencing this reality because without the identification with our ego, we seem unable to identify ourselves.

The answer to the question what created this ego would depend on who you are asking. Buddha will tell you that this question is irrelevant since when a house is burning, you put out the fire, not enquire who started it. Christian theology may introduce the concept of original sin, and postulate the fall of man from the divine nature. Vedanta points out that the whole universe is timeless, and endless, and the concept of creation and destroying is an illusion by itself. But, knowing how and what created this ego does not really help one in attaining samadhi, in my opinion.

A person is reborn (reincarnated) in this world based on the fruits of the actions in this previous birth, or Karma. Karma, from the sanskrit word, kri, means 'to do'. In other words, Karma is an action, work, deed. It is just not physical action, but also mental action, both conscious and sub-conscious action. Hence, Karma is generated for every action, and thought we do. Every action and thought makes an impression on our mind (called samskaras), and this is repeated, form our habit, and character. Karma is of three types, sanchita (karma from our past lives), prarabdha (the fruits resulting from the past actions or the karma in motion) and akamya (karma generated due to the present action/thought). The last typifies free will, while we can not change our past actions or the fruits we enjoy because of it, we have every right to live rightly now and influence the future. At the state of samadhi there is no karma and a person who dwells in the Atman incurs no karma and no future births. If one fails to achieve samadhi in this birth, the deeds will be carried over to his next birth, and he will be born under favorable circumstances to achieve samadhi.

Karma is beginningless, and endless which seems to be weird to us, since the human mind can not comprehend this. But, the scientists and Vedantists, both agree that the universe is also beginningless and endless.

We seem to blame karma for all our material successes or failure. However, we fail to note that these successes and failure arises exactly to keep us in this cycle of samsara. We haven't taken a moment to be an observer and see whether this success has indeed made us closer to the Reality or is it in fact separating us from it. We seem to proclaim that many evil people succeed, but we somehow seem lost to the idea that the success you attribute to them is material, is impermanent, and is in fact, detaches them from the Reality and engrosses one in Maya.

Thus, to avoid karma and hence rebirth, one has to perform actions selflessly, without worrying about the fruits of the action, and doing it as a service to the Divine. Let us examine the concept of sin. The Vedantic and Christainity concept of sin are not fundamentally different but there are some differences on the surface. When a Christian talks about sin, he usually refers to an act of ingratitude or a negative act towards God, the Father. A vedantist prefers to call this God, the Father, the Reality as it appears within time and space, as Ishwara and distinguishes this from the concept of Brahman and Atman. A vedantist approach towards sin would be any act which results in alienation of the Reality within us. Both these approaches has drawbacks. The christianity approach, by heightening the enormity of sin by relating to the Father, whom we have every reason to love and obey, may lead to self-loathing and despair. The vedantist approach has a major drawback since we tend to not find the offense of doing something against the Atman, since we have not realized it. Sometimes, this leads to the attitude that since one has millions of lives ahead of them, and there is no need to hurry and be engrossed in realizing the reality. But, we realize that both the concepts agree fundamentally that the act of sin is just a separation from the reality or Ishwara.

The main advantage of this approach of looking at sin, is that we come to realize that though it may appear that unrighteous people seem to be rewarded, this reward is just material, impermanent and just separates them more from realizing the reality. Now who is sinned ? Is it better to hang on a cross with the enlightenment and non-attachment of a Christ or to suffer here in the ignorance, agony and bondage of a rich man ? Who is happier : Buddha or the richest man in your town ? This is for an individual to decide.

The Unreal Mind

As soon as one has even a glimpse of what lies beyond [actually it is Truth revealing Itself], one realizes that one is neither the mind nor the body. The difficult part is to realize this TRUTH all the time. Frequently, the mind tells you otherwise, and the realm of maya weaves itself a seemingly inescapable web. The only way to realize is to control the mind. One has to use the mind to transcend it, akin to a ladder, only to realize that the mind never did exist in Reality.

To one who perceives the illusionary mind, there are lot of ways out to defeat this illusionary opponent, but all can be classified into five D's.. Dedication, Devotion, Discipline, Discrimination coupled with Do (action). Dedication of the fruits of the action, and the discipline of senses through various techniques including yoga, coupled with right action leads to excellent Devotion and Discrimination. All japa, dhyana, and even complicated philosophy and techniques are in fact only stepping stones to shape your mind for devotion and discrimination.

Thus there are only two ways to control the mind : One is to go to the source of thoughts and investigate 'Who am I, to whom do these thoughts occur, who is the thinker and the thought'. This is called self-inquiry or atma vichara (discrimination). The second way is complete surrender of body, mind, ego to Her (devotion). [I use Her to describe Shakti, the Divine Mother, though She is beyond gender similar to the usage of him/his above for persons of both the genders].

This surrender need not be a long drawn out process at all. The surrender should be motivated by Love for the Divinity. Faith is not a blind belief but a belief that whatever happens is God-Given and She looks after your happiness {which is not neccessarily your comforts}. This is like going to a doctor and trusting the medicines he gives without engaging in prolonged conversation of the chemical nature of the drug or how the drug enters the blood stream etc.

During the wakefulness, be a good servant to Her, and try to carry out your duties to perfection, all the while dedicating the actions to Her. Like a snake the ego raises its hood and is charmed by the music of the material world until Shakti Herself by Her Grace draws Her sword and cuts off the head of the snake and the ego withers at the magnificance of Her grace. All the struggles and sadhanas are just preparatory to the extinction of the illusionary mind and killing of the ego since once it is killed, the unreal ego never arises again since The Real does not die, and the unreal never existed.

One of the commonly asked questions is what will happen to so many things one does if one ceases to be attached to them. It is with great confidence that I say 'NOTHING'. The world is in you, you are not in the world. Do an action with good intent [since intent is important than the action itself, for example, a doctor cuts a tumor to save the life of a patient, the cutting of tumor is not ahimsa (non-violence), but the intent is] and FORGET the results of the action. Try it for a week, and see how calm you are, how happy you are when this ego is a servant of Her. Somehow many people have come to feel that they are doing the action, but in reality, it is not so, it is just the prarabdha karma working itself out.

One has to carry on the worldly affairs, but with the understanding that the body-mind has appeared of itself - no one asked for it. The atman is the witness, and the mind is operating, but the mind will tempt you to believe that you are the operator and not the witness. The apparatus of mind-body which is functioning has come upon your original essence, but you are not the apparatus.

By all means, live in this material world, just surrender your ego to Her, or apply the atma vichara at every moment of your life. The true sanyas is only an renunciation of ego. There is no need to go to some place holy and settle down. Any place can be holy, if the mind is devoid of ego, and no place can be holy with an impure mind.

Shri Ramana Maharshi says:
'Surrender to Him and abide by His will whether he appears or vanishes; await His pleasure. If you ask Him to do as YOU please, it is not surrender but command to Him. You can not have Him obey you and yet think you have surrendered. He knows what is best and when to do it. Leave everything entirely to Him. His is the burden; you have no longer any cares. All your cares are His. Such is surrender. This is BHAKTI. Or, enquire to whom these questions arise. Dive deep in the Heart and remain as the Self. One of these two ways is open to the aspirant.'

Be detached, allow the karma work itself out, just be devoted to Her since you do not belong in what you think is this the world, and never has this Self being a part of it.

Non-duality

This happiness, bliss, tranquility depends on nothing and has no beginning or an end. It does not matter what you have done so far and what you have not done. All you have to do is surrender unconditionally, absolutely to your Self. The Self cannot abandon you, even if your mind rejects it, because you *are* the Self. One way to surrender is to just believe these words, or similar words from any of the saints, mystics, sages whose ever-present Grace is apparent. If you don't want to do that, you can go to the source of the thoughts of the questions you raise. To whom is this perceived unhappiness ? Who needs to be happy ? You know you exist. Start with this. Who am I ? Investigate this. This is atma vichara (self-enquiry).

Duality gives birth to the 'I' and 'non-I' concept. The seer and the seen, the seeker and the sought, the lover and the loved, the good and evil, and this endless cycle continues so long as the illusion of duality persists.

The "me" concept generates numerous misidentifications, the primary being the idea that 'I am the body/mind' and is the worst of all. In fact any identification with anything leads to a trap which creates duality and interrupts the flow of immortality. Nisargadatta puts it aptly, 'Anything that is perceived by me can not be me.' There is no escape from the dualistic world and misidentifications so long as the believer thinks he is someone else than who he really is or rather as long as one thinks he is a separate individual. Individuality is an illusion. Egoistic thoughts have to go ! All identifications with the unreal [emotions, body, mind, intellect and finally the concepts of good and evil] will have to finally cease !!

To remove this dualistic thought, one has to discard the "Me/mine" concept and when that is discarded the "other" concept will also be automatically discarded. Only in this state in which the ego and the personality associated with it completely disappears, one truly awakens to the state of the non-duality and there is no seeker apart from the sought, no seen apart from from the seer. This is the eternal Now, without the past, future. This is the state of fullness, oneness of the universal being, the state which is beyond all identities but is the identity of all beings. This is the state which is so near and but yet seems so far.

Just as you are sure that you are awake now, you should be aware that you are neither the body or the mind and thinking is not our real nature.