Survival of the Tolerant—Hinduism

Hinduism has always fascinated people across the world, only religion whose date of origin is absolutely open for anyones guess, some theologists dated the origin of Hinduism as about 3400BC, some say it dates more then 5000 BC, astonishing as such an old religion still thriving and more and more people in the world are being attracted towards it.

The reason behind the success of the Hinduism lies in its ethos of acceptance of every kind or nature of person, it values all the philosophies and forces none.

Here is my Summarisation of the essence hinduism:

1. Believe in God ! – Aastik – Accepted.
2. Don’t believe in God ! – you are Accepted as a Nastik.
3. You want to worship idols- please go ahead you are a Murti Pujak.
4. You don’t want to worship idols – no problem you can focus on Nirguna Brahmin
5. You want to criticise some thing in our religion, come forward, we are logical, Nyaya, Tarka etc are core elements of Hindu schools.
6. You want to accept beliefs as it is, most welcome please go ahead with it.
7. You want to start your journey by reading Bhagwat Gita – Sure!
8. You want to start your journey by reading Upanishads – Go ahead.
9. You want to start your journey by reading Purana- Be my guest.
10. You just don’t like reading Puranas or other books, no problem my dear, go by Bhakti tradition.
11. You don’t like the idea of Bhakti ! No Problem do your karma, be a karma yogi.
12. You want to enjoy life, very good, no problem at all, this is Charvaka Philosophy.
13. You want to abstain from all the enjoyment of life and find God, Jai Ho! be an ascetic.
14. You don’t like the concept of God, you believe in nature only- Welcome (Prakriti or nature is worthy of worship).
15. You believe in one God or supreme energy Superb! follow Advait philosophy.
16. You want a guru go ahead obtain Gyaan.
17. You don’t want a guru …Help yourself! meditate, study!
18. You Believe in Female energy! Shakti is worshipped.
19. You believe every human being is equal, you are awesome, come on lets celebrate Hinduism “Vasudev Kutumbakam” (the world is a family).
20. You don’t have time to celebrate a festival, don’t worry, one more festival is coming, there are multiple festivals every single day of the year.
21. You are a working person, don’t have time for religion, its ok you will still be a Hindu.
22.  You like to go to temples, devotion is loved.
23. You don’t like to go to temples, no problem you are still a Hindu.
24. You know that Hinduism is a way of life with considerable freedoms.
25. You believe that evert thing has god in it, so you worship your mother, father, guru, tree, river, Prani-Matra, Earth, Universe!
26. And if you don’t believe everything has GOD in it – No Problem we respect your view point.
27. “Sarv Jana Sukhino Bhavantu” (May you all happily).

This is exactly the essence of Hinduism, all inclusive, that is why it has withstood the test of time inspite of repeated onslaught both from within and outside, and assimilated every good aspect from everything. That is why it is eternal! There is a shloka in Rigveda, the first book ever known to mankind which depicts the Hindu Philosophy in a nutshell “Ano bhadrah krathavo yanthu vishwathah” let the knowledge come to us from every direction.

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Your Choice

There was a man named Thomas, every evening he would come drunk, stinking and bleeding from the wounds he got from the bouts he started,  he was unemployable, had no friends, unfortunately he had a wife Jenny (Unfortunate for her) and 4 kids, his wife would work as domestic help in the city, she would earn meagre wages that could barely feed her and her kids, she would hide the money from her husband.

Every evening her nightmare begins as Thomas walks in and started beating his kids and then his wife, he would succeed in snatching the money from his wife, he would often leave them crying and go to a wine shop and would drink till he is completely out of his senses.

One day when Thomas was lying unconscious under a tree, a sage who was passing by, saw him, the sage had supernatural powers, he placed his palm on the forehead of the man and closed his eyes, the sage could see his entire life under his closed eyelids.

The sage pressed his palm on Thomas’s forehead, but with force this time, a shock went through Thomas’s body, as if some one lifted him high in the air and then smashed him back on the ground, he was awake, probably after many years, and saw the sage standing in front of him, he got up abruptly he was shocked to see his body still lying under the tree, “Am I dead” he asked “no, but you will, very soon, let me show you what you did in your life, and where you will go from here” the sage waved his hand and Thomas saw his life started unfolding in front of him like a movie, he saw his parents, they were so happy when he was born, his first day at school, the first time he tested alcohol with his friends, how he was thrown out of his school, his father tried so hard to make him quit drinking, but he chose to run away instead, only to came back few days later, his marriage, death of his father and mother few years later, he saw his first child being born, he was so happy, that day he decided to quit drinking, but he could only control the urge for couple of days, he saw his kids crying, his wife working so hard and taking care of the house and the kids, tears started flowing from his eyes, but it was all past, and then the story came to the present time.

He saw himself getting up, he faltered his way back to his house, he saw how his family is scared to see him, his wife was in tears and begged him not to ask for money as there youngest child was not well, and has to be shown to a doctor, but he didn’t budged, he started yelling and shouting again, he pushed his wife and snatched her purse, opened it and took all the money inside it, he then left the house walking towards the wine shop, he could barely walk but he was walking anyway, as he reached the crossroad, he heard a screeching sound, he turned around and saw an uncontrolled truck rushing towards him, he was scared and heavily intoxicated, he couldn’t move an inch and the truck smashed his frail body, seconds later he was dead.

His neighbours rushed to inform her wife about the accident, instead of sorrow, he saw a sense of relief on her face, his kids were silent they were too young to react, but he could sense that they were not going to miss him either, a moment later the wife regained her composure and said “Sir my child is not well, I can’t leave him, can you please inform the municipal corporation officials to arrange for his cremation, as I don’t have money to cremate him, her neighbour knew what kind of a person her husband was, they nodded and left the family alone.

His family was relieved as there tormentor was no more, “this will be your future if you follow the current course of action, “Choice is Yours”, said the sage, Thomas was awestruck, he looked at his right, in the direction of the voice, but there was no one, the sage had disappeared.

He woke up, still intoxicated, he sat under the tree, his whole body was aching in pain, he waited for hours under the tree, he cried for hours and then mustered courage to get up on his feet and started walking towards his home, as he reached his home he knocked the doors softly, Jenny opened the door and surprised to see Thomas, as he would usually bang the doors while abusing her, she was surprised to see a calm Thomas, still stinking and dirty but calm, his eyes lowered as if burdened by guilt, after silence of a few moments, he looked at Jenny and asked “how is Samantha” there youngest daughter, Jenny couldn’t believe her eyes, for the first time in many years, Thomas as asked for his kids, Jenny started sobbing and said “she is burning in fever” I am taking her to a doctor”, she said in a very heavy voice, Thomas was controlling his tears as he know now that what he saw wasn’t a dream, “give me a moment, I am coming with you” he said and rushed to the bathroom, he cleaned himself, changed his clothes and was at the door in 10 minutes.

Jenny couldn’t believe what she was seeing, they went to a doctor and brought medicines for Samantha, to their relief she was suffering from seasonal throat infection and she will be fine in couple of days. As they came back, Jenny and kids were still in a state of awe to see Thomas’s transformation, they had a quiet dinner and all of them except Thomas slept peacefully.

Next morning, when Jenny woke up, she saw Thomas sitting besides her with a cup of coffee and cookies, she wanted to ask Thomas the reason for his transformation, but she didn’t had the courage, it was like a dream come true for her, as she sipped coffee, Thomas said “Jenny what I did to you and to our kids, is beyond repentance, I will stay at house and won’t go out for next 30 days, I think I will be able to quit drinking if I control my self for a month, and then I will work while you will stay at home and look after the kids. Jenny couldn’t believe what she was hearing, her eyes filled with tears of Joy, she nodded.

This time Thomas did what he committed Jenny, it was very painful for him especially the first 7 days, he would read Bible for hours, and after a month he was a transformed man, he knew tailoring, so he joined a tailor shop as assistant, he worked very hard and earned respect from his employer who offered him a pay raise, Jenny and the kids were never happier, in the evening Thomas would take his kids and Jenny to the park and he would cook on Sundays, few years lated Thomas bought a shop and started his own tailoring business, he also bought a bigger house for him self and his family.

One day when he was working in his shop all alone, on a new catalogue of designs, he sensed a presence, he was surprised to see the sage standing in front of him, he got up from his chair and ran towards the sage and hugged him, tears flowing from his eyes, uttering only one word “thank you” he then bend on his knees, but the sage lifted him, and looked at him smiling at him, “I still don’t understand what really happened that day, please tell what really happened” he bagged the sage “Thomas all I can tell you is that a I showed you the possible outcome of your current course of journey, it was you who opted a different course, you chose this future” said the sage smiling “always remember Thomas Choice is yours to make” the sage left.

Near death experience can alter the course of life, but is it really essential to have a near death experience to check the course of life and correct it? while all we have to do is sit back and contemplate on our life, basic things like who are we treating our family and our own body.

We have the ability to choose the correct course of action, all we have to do is to muster our inner strength and opt for it, remember “Choice is Ours to make”.

The Path

When I was a kid, my grandfather was the sun of our solar system, followed by my father, he was the most important person in and of our family, every one would look up to him for every important decision to be made, few years later he passed the baton to my father, and he assumed a rather supporting role, as the time passed he started detaching him self from all the responsibilities he use to carry, and one day he was no more with us, he became a memory in our hearts and minds, my father is now the head of the family.

Isn’t this  life cycle or phenomenon is supremely common every where in the world, and the same is being followed for generations, for centuries; point is what can we learn from it?

I think some of the facts are noteworthy:

• Each one of us is mortal, we walk the planet for a finite span of time, and the day of our departure although is most certain, nobody knows when exactly will it happen.
• The day of our departure could be today or it could be a day next year or decade, no body knows when and how he or she will have to pack up and leave.
• Now if in the end we all have to leave the show, then the question is what part should we choose to play till the time we are on stage.
• I have seen a lot of people who spend there entire life Judging others, dominating others, offending and being offended, they make there lives and the lives of people around them miserable, in the end there story is one full of regrets, and then I have seen few who live there life in full, they are filled with bliss, they focus on them self, they respect there life and the lives of others, they are so busy in self upliftment that they don’t have time to bother others, there life becomes a beautiful song, sung by many even after they are gone.

Now the question is what should be our priorities and is it possible to choose the correct path, which comes down to the very question, what is the correct path and how to ascertain one for ourself?  There are some very simple ways to follow the path:

Do not Impose your will: First of all for realising our infinite potential, one must avoid the urge to somehow control the lives of others, these others include siblings, spouse, children, friends, cousins etc, now what I mean by not trying to control there lives is that we must advice them as to what according to us is best for them, but we should happily accept and respect there decision even if its contrary to our advice, we must allow them to chart there on course of life as they are responsible for the decisions they’ve made and the outcomes of those decisions.

Attitude of Gratitude : This is the key to a happy and blissful life, please try this out, every day before going to sleep take a minute and thank God for all the things you have, health, house, spouse, kids etc, and see the magic it brings in your life.

Be a constant learner: the single most important trait that led to the evolution of Human mind and civilisation is Curiocity , learn at least one thing new every day and if possible write it somewhere.

Know The Trickster: Our mind does something very peculiar with us, it keep swinging us between past and future like a pendulum, it keep reminding us of the mistakes, unpleasant events or failures of our past which make us feel guilty and then it swings us to the future, basically it tries to scare us by painting a picture of a bleak future, this trick of our mind depletes our ability to create and do the best for ourself, how to control it? the best way to control it by occupying your self with a lot of work which you really love to do, when ever your mind tries to trick you, take a deep breath, hold it for six seconds and then release it slowly. Truest me this simple technique works like a charm!!.

Child is the father of man: Ever thought why a child a baby is always so happy, that’s because he lives in the present moment!

 

 

 

 

Loss…

True meaning of losing is when you are unable to retrieve what you have lost. Lost time and people who have gone forever are the biggest losses in life. 

If you ever come across situations when you lose every bit of what you have built, you lose everything that you have accumulated and you are left with nothing, remember, things can be built, wealth can be gained but  lost moment and lost lives cannot. You can never reverse time to enjoy those moments that are lost nor you can bring back those people you are holding a grudge against. These loses are irreparable. Spend beautiful moments with those you love leaving aside your ego and arrogance. Disagreements may happen but choose to move on without the feeling of resentment.

Always try your best you make the best use of your time so you can spend best moments with those you love. Only the time you spend creating beautiful memories is worthwhile, time lost in grudges is only a waste.

Evolution and me…

Millions of years ago, the first human walked the planet, they lived like other animals, started hunting in packs like wolves, later they started farming, started living in villages, few centuries later, they started building cities and civilisations, created cultures and religions, discovered and invented millions of things, started flying and sailing across the oceans, started looking for life in the other parts of the universe, we evolved….

Have we?????

If we give our lives a deeper evaluation, we will realise that we aren’t that different from the animals!!

Look at the average day we spend, consider the similarities with the animals:

Like them we work to eat, try to keep a safe place for themselves and their children, day begins with the run to hunt and ends with nothing, entire life revolving around fulfilling basic needs and lusts, marred with fear of loosing life and livelihood, summery of life is a book of unfulfilled desires and a realisation of a wasted life.

For the entire course of civilisation we have reaped the fruits sowed by a select few, there ingenuity has benefitted the entire mankind, we the rest of us have only followed our natural instincts filled with fear and lust and consumed them, embellished our lives making it Comfortable or as we assume it is.

How can we get over our monotonous lives and truly evolve?

Is there a simple way of achieving the higher purpose? Then the next question would be what exactly is the higher purpose of life.

Let me give you a very simple explanation of the higher purpose of your life:

Every one has a different purpose of life and its very easy to find out,

IT’s the Thing that makes you truly satisfied, just go for it, Do it, work for it, Live with it, Live every moment of your life for it. And most important thing, don’t give a damm to what others think about you.

Trust me when you do that, every thing else in your life will be taken care of, the real purpose of our lives is to dream and live for it, give it all you’ve got just play it hard, pursue it, love and live every moment of your life.

Be ware of the dreams, trust me they are alive, if you let them die, they will rot and fill the life with dismay and disappointment, don’t let them die, love them, live them, they will guarantee you one thing:

A smile when when its time to meet the master🙂