Religion is Arbitrarily Inherited

[renuka]

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Yes, yes, and Yes.

Give me a better concept.
My concept of Brahman is similar to Infinity.
So if you ask me to give up Infinity, show me a better concept.
Again, if you ask me to give up Earth, show me something better.
I gave up Indian Citizenship and acquired US citizenship. That was tough, but it had its advantages.

None of us can have an original thought as everything is Brahman.

But following a religion for 98% of the population is not a matter of choice, they arbitrarily inherited it.
What is more is that they do not realize it nor accept it.


I always kid my American friends that they are the US citizen by birth and they did not have any choice. Whereas I had a choice and I passed the citizenship test, that many of the Native born American would not pass.

Hinduism allows me the liberty of choosing my belief system.

If Hinduism.gives.the liberty of choosing your belief system then one should allow others to relate to God or religion in the way they want..whether tru rituals or tru begging from God or tru a transaction or tru meditation or tru anyway.
You sound very much like my dad..he too is into " i believe in Brahman" but wont give that up and would feel other modes of relating to God is " wrong".

 

[prasad1]

If Hinduism.gives.the liberty of choosing your belief system then one should allow others to relate to God or religion in the way they want..whether tru rituals or tru begging from God or tru a transaction or tru meditation or tru anyway.
You sound very much like my dad..he too is into " i believe in Brahman" but wont give that up and would feel other modes of relating to God is " wrong".

I am not a preacher, nor I proclaim to know it all. I do not want or need followers. My opinions are strictly personal opinion.
I do not think it is superior or inferior to any other opinion. If your opinion satisfies your quest so be it. I do not ask others to change their opinion.
Of course, who am I to argue with YOUR dad, that too when he is right. :rockon:

 

[Vaagmi]

Yes, yes, and Yes.

1. Give me a better concept.
2. My concept of Brahman is similar to Infinity.
So if you ask me to give up Infinity, show me a better concept.
3. Again, if you ask me to give up Earth, show me something better.
4. I gave up Indian Citizenship and acquired US citizenship. That was tough, but it had its advantages.

5. None of us can have an original thought as everything is Brahman.

1. Just accept that others may also have as good a concept as you have. That is enough and that is what Hinduism tells.

2. Again by asking for a better concept you try to usurp the role of an arbitrator. People may not agree to give you that role. Yours may not be better in the first place than what they have. So your starting point is itself flawed.

3.You do not have all the earth. Accept that others also have their earth. If you know something better than your earth ask for it.

4. There are people here who did not give up their Indian citizenship despite attractions and nudges and pulls. And that too is tough. They too enjoy the advantages that flew from their decisions. It is just a convenience. Nothing more.

5. It is just your view for the present. Your will grow further. Time is a great alchemist.

Best wishes.

 

[prasad1]

1. Just accept that others may also have as good a concept as you have. That is enough and that is what Hinduism tells.

2. Again by asking for a better concept you try to usurp the role of an arbitrator. People may not agree to give you that role. Yours may not be better in the first place than what they have. So your starting point is itself flawed.

3.You do not have all the earth. Accept that others also have their earth. If you know something better than your earth ask for it.

4. There are people here who did not give up their Indian citizenship despite attractions and nudges and pulls. And that too is tough. They too enjoy the advantages that flew from their decisions. It is just a convenience. Nothing more.

5. It is just your view for the present. Your will grow further. Time is a great alchemist.

Best wishes.

Of course, you have to insert yourself into a discussion. LOL

My opinion is BEST for MYSELF and no one else. So your point is totally off base (as usual).


Rest of the post is totally irrelevant.

3.You do not have all the earth. Accept that others also have their earth. If you know something better than your earth ask for it.

I can always give up living in a place, I do not have to own it. I can give up living in Chennai and go live in Delhi.
That does not mean I am asking others to give up living in Chennai.

When I said I can give up living on earth it does not mean I am donating Earth. Try to Understand the context.
You might be the Medhavi (according to you), but it does not mean others are stupid. Have some humility or pretend to have it.

I never said earth belongs to me? Where do you get such Ideas?
If I wanted to leave earth and go to another colony (created by Elon Musk), I do not need your permission
I do not boast about my knowledge, and my ego is not as big as yours.
I do not have to claim as all knower like you always do.
What I do not know I find the answers, by searching.

When you do not understand the context, please ask, or else there is absolutely no need to interject yourself.


As in your case you are a Gyani so even wishing you best wishes is useless.


By writing in a tone that cannot be labeled as a personal attack, you might escape the Administrators wrath, but your intention is clear to me.

 

[renuka]

[h=4]Significance of Ekaadashii[/h][h=6]Posted on: 24 Sep 2018[/h][h=6]O Learned and Devoted Servants of God,[/h][FONT=&quot]Shri Ajay asked:- Phani told me that You have explained about the seven divine gates of God long back while sitting in the chair in the north side on the early morning of the festival day of Lord Vishnu. That was excellent. Please repeat the message given on that day by You regarding the seven gates since that message was not recorded.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Swami replied:- On that day, I was made to sit on the chair placed in the north side gate of the house and devotees prostrated to My feet with the faith that the North facing gates are opened on that pious day of Ekaadashii. Devotees worshipped Me with full faith and hence, God Datta revealed the real inner meaning of that traditional custom in the following way:- The seven gates indicate seven concepts through which the devotee has to pass on. The first three are related to Pravrutti controlled by Jaya and the other four are controlled by Vijaya, who are said to be the gate keepers.

Jaya indicates success with normal efforts and Vijaya indicates success with more strenuous efforts. The first three gates related to Pravrutti are:-[/FONT][FONT=&quot]i) Resistance to Kaama or illegal sex,[/FONT][FONT=&quot]ii) Resistance to violence or Krodha and[/FONT][FONT=&quot]iii) Resistance to greediness or Lobha.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]These three are the main gates of hell as said in the Gita (Kaamah Krodhastathaa Lobhah). Here, you have to resist something, which is trying to enter your mind and there is nothing to be attained by special efforts. The other four gates are related to Nivrutti, which are to be attained through special efforts. Rejecting something requires normal effort only and attaining something, which is not possessed by you requires special effort. Jaya means normal success and Vijaya means special success since the prefix ‘Vi’ means something special. The four special gates through which one has to pass on to reach God are:-[/FONT][FONT=&quot]i) Attaining spiritual knowledge (Jnaana)[/FONT][FONT=&quot]ii) attaining devotion (Bhakti)[/FONT][FONT=&quot]iii) attaining service to God (Karma) and[/FONT][FONT=&quot]iv) attaining sacrifice (Tyaaga).[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Service means sacrifice of work or Karma Samnyaasa and sacrifice means sacrifice of fruit of work.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Since the foremost three gates of Pravrutti are self-explanatory, I shall explain about the latter four gates of Nivrutti.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]1) In the first gate, you have to attain the spiritual knowledge, which is about yourself, about the true path and about the goal or God. About yourself, you must realize that you are not the God and you are the true servant of God only forever. About God, you shall know that the unimaginable God or Parabrahman is charging the first energetic form created by Him to become God Datta or Father of heaven, who further charges certain selected energetic forms and human forms to become energetic incarnations and human incarnations respectively. The human incarnation is most relevant to the humanity. The path is to worship God as incarnation through true devotion or love.


The main aspect of true love shall be worshipping the Lord without aspiring any fruit in return from Him. This aspect is very clearly seen while worshipping your issues and hence, love on issues alone is the true love. If you aspire practical fruits from God for your theoretical worship like singing prayers, reading books etc., such love is worst like the false love of a prostitute, who collects money from the visitors by showing theoretical love only through loving words and love songs. If practical worship (karma samnyaasa and karmaphala tyaaga) is done to get practical fruits from God, it is worse love (better than the above love) called as business devotion in which matter (items) is exchanged for matter (money). The best and true love exists only in the issue devotion in which both service and sacrifice are done without aspiration for any fruit in return. Even if the issues hate you, you will not fail in doing this practical devotion because your love to them is very very true. If you attain this true knowledge frankly without any hesitation and reservation, overcoming all your inconvenience, you have attained the true spiritual knowledge, which is the special victory in the first gate.


[/FONT][FONT=&quot]2) In the second gate, you have to attain this true theoretical devotion (love) to God. This means that you have to sing the prayers without aspiration for any fruit in return. Avoiding the prostitute devotion (aspiring practical fruits for theoretical love) is victory in this second gate.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

3) In the third gate, you have to attain the interest in doing service to God without aspiring any fruit in return.Work is a form of energy and sacrifice of energy in the form of work or service is the background concept. This is called as karma samnyaasa. The word samnyaasa means sainthood. This is meant for the saints, who can do this sacrifice only since they beg society even for their food. This is like doing job without taking salary as we find in the case of some political leaders having some positions linked with salaries! But, these people earn a lot indirectly and hence, such free sacrifice of work is cheating the public only![/FONT][FONT=&quot]

4) In this fourth ultimate gate you have to sacrifice your wealth earned by hard work to God without aspiring any fruit in return. The Veda said that sacrifice of wealth is the only path to attain God (Dhanena tyaagena ekena...). The Gita made this concept more serious by saying that sacrifice of wealth earned by hard work is the final and there is nothing further beyond this (Tyaagaat Shaantiranantaram). Here, the word Shaanti means full stop of the effort. The reason is the attachment to wealth earned by hard work is the highest. Sacrifice of highest bond is highest sacrifice. The householders are expected to do this along with sacrifice of work also. Work is energy and matter is condensed form of energy. Wealth is matter or condensed form of energy. Condensed form of energy is far far higher than pure energy or work. Based on this, the employee sacrificing energy or work in exchange with matter (salary) respects very much the employer. A person exchanging material item for material money with a shop keeper doesn’t respect him so much.


If this highest form of sacrifice is done without aspiring any type of fruit in return, that is the end of the spiritual effort. God tested Saktuprastha in this sacrifice of material (food) only in a severe drought. The performer of the ritual (Yajna) doing both types of sacrifice alone gets the total fruit of that ritual (like going to heaven) and not the priests, who perform the ritual through theoretical worship.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]All these three aspects (1. Sacrifice of work like bathing, dressing your children, 2. Sacrifice of wealth through will in the end and 3. Doing both these types of sacrifice without aspiring any fruit in return) are fully seen in the issue devotion only and there is no second example for this in this entire world. This means that any human being is having real love towards his/her issues only and there is no second thought about this. Keeping this issue devotion as the standard scale, one can estimate the truth of his own devotion to God in his own mind itself! In the theoretical prayers and devotional songs, we say that we keep God in the highest position of our love!!


This means that we are doing double sin by telling lies everyday to God!!! This analysis applies to a very great lot of humanity leaving very few devotees as exceptional cases. Hence, the Gita says that only one in millions realizes the truth regarding God (Kashchit maam vetti tattvatah). That one person also attains God after millions of births by practically crossing these seven gates (Bahuunaam janmanaamante). Most of the people are standing before the first gate itself![/FONT][FONT=&quot]

People want that God should be attained very easily by all the people! If you realize the value of God, such wish is impossible. If you ask that the Kohinoor diamond shall be available to every human being for purchase, how it looks? But, one need not be discouraged if he/she is in constant effort to cross these seven gates. An ordinary householder trapped in the net of worldly bonds also can reach God if constant effort is put like the Tortoise walking slowly reaching the goal.

Even a saint may not reach the goal on withdrawing from the effort like a rabbit sleeping on the way with overconfidence. This concept is very very inconvenient to almost all the humanity to implement in practice. But, let the devotee accept this true spiritual knowledge at least theoretically so that an idea is fixed in the brain that continues with the soul in the form of convinced concept (sasmskaara) following the soul through several births so that in one fortunate birth the soul start effort and succeeds to implement it and reaches God. Whenever the climax of difficulty is expressed, it is a normal saying to say “is it as difficult as spiritual knowledge (Brahma Vidyaa)?”

Here, this means that all the difficulty lies in the implementation of the concept and not in understanding the simple concept. Several people, unable to implement this most inconvenient concept, sidetrack the issue towards theoretical side and say that Brahma Vidyaa is very difficult to understand and hence, they are unable to implement the unknowable concept!


http://www.universal-spirituality.o...hkDlsS__gipdfMOmHLxt4lLikgAPihJsOrxGJW-SfKyPs[/FONT]

 

[renuka]

[h=4]Is There One God or Many?[/h][h=6]Posted on: 13 Dec 2018[/h][h=6]O Learned and Devoted Servants of God,[/h][FONT=&quot]

Shri P.V.N.M. Sharma asked: Why are there different Gods in Hinduism whereas there is only one God in other religions in this world?[/FONT][FONT=&quot]


Swami replied: Hinduism, a micro-world that represents this macro-world. This is because, Hinduism itself is made of several sub-religions, which resemble the different religions in the world. This macro-world is one unit created by God. Within it, Hinduism is one sub-unit followed by some people. So, you cannot look at the world and Hinduism as separate units. After all, Hinduism, other religions and the whole world are created by only one single Entity called God.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

The original absolute God is unimaginable since He is beyond space and time. He constitutes the unimaginable domain. For the sake of understanding, it can be said that the unimaginable domain includes the unimaginable God and His unimaginable power. But in reality, both the unimaginable God and His unimaginable power are one and the same. This is because, once we say that an item is beyond our imagination, we cannot say whether it is one or two. So, even if we speak of many unimaginable items, they all refer to the single unimaginable item or domain, which is God. When the Veda declares the monism of God. i.e. when it says that there is only one God, and when it rejects the plurality of God, it is referring to this single unimaginable domain. Statements like “Ekamevaadvitiiyam Brahma” and “Neha Naanaasti Kimchana” are examples of the above.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

The unimaginable God and His unimaginable power (maayaa) are one and the same, whereas God’s imaginable power is different from Him. It has undergone modification to become creation (prakruti) or it appears to be creation. How the unimaginable God possesses an imaginable power, which is different from Him, is unimaginable. Such a wonder is possible only due to His unimaginable power! Our logical analysis and entire knowledge are limited only to this creation, which is the imaginable domain. Hence, it is a waste of time to think about any aspect of the unimaginable domain.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

This world, which is the imaginable domain, has plurality. The plurality supplies different media for the unimaginable God for His expression. It enables Him to enter into various selected human devotees in order to become Human Incarnations of God. The human devotee becomes a medium for the entry of the unimaginable God. Thus, God has incarnated in this world in different regions in different times to establish the different religions in the world. Of course, the unimaginable God does not directly enter any medium.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

At the very beginning of creation, the unimaginable God first created subtle energy or space. He created the first form or body out of that subtle energy and entered into it to become the first Energetic Incarnation. This first energetic form became the first medium of God. This first mediated form of God or the first Energetic Incarnation is called as Datta or Īśvara in Hinduism and Father of heaven in other religions. There is no trace of difference between the unimaginable God and the first Energetic Incarnation, except that the former is unimaginable while the latter is imaginable. The energetic form of Datta is visible to energetic beings in the upper worlds. For humans on earth, Datta is invisible but still imaginable. The first Energetic Incarnation, Datta, is also eternal like the unimaginable God; i.e. both have no end. The only difference is that Datta had a beginning from the point of view of His energetic medium, while the unimaginable God has no beginning. It is this Datta that enters a selected human devotee to become a Human Incarnation. The unimaginable God is permanently present in the energetic medium of Datta. That Datta, containing the unimaginable God, enters into the physical medium of a human devotee. Thus, the unimaginable God is equally present in the Human Incarnation.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

God incarnates in human form on earth in every human generation. The human media into which God Datta enters each time is different as a result of the plurality that is inherent in the imaginable domain. In other words, one Incarnation looks different from another Incarnation. One Incarnation may appear in a place where people follow say Hinduism, while another Incarnation may appear in a place where people follow a different religion. The Incarnation’s external dress, language, and manners will naturally be according to the culture of the place where He has appeared. This enables Him to mix freely with the people He has come to preach and uplift. But these differences are only external.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

From the point of view of the first Energetic Incarnation, Datta or Father of heaven, present in each of them, all Incarnations are one and same. From the point of view of the unimaginable God present in all the Incarnations too, they are one and the same. Thus, all these different mediated Gods are actually one in essence. If you look at the medium, which is part of the imaginable domain, there is plurality. If you look at the internal God Datta or the unimaginable God present in all of them, then there is only one. This truth applies equally to the sub-religions within Hinduism or the different world religions. This analysis is the fundamental basis for bringing unity among the sub-religions of Hinduism and among the various
religions in the world.

http://www.universal-spirituality.o...536564&masterId=49d206e48e4f7e4f&lc=&rating=3[/FONT]

 

[Vaagmi]

Of course, you have to insert yourself into a discussion. LOL

My opinion is BEST for MYSELF and no one else. So your point is totally off base (as usual).


Rest of the post is totally irrelevant.



I can always give up living in a place, I do not have to own it. I can give up living in Chennai and go live in Delhi.
That does not mean I am asking others to give up living in Chennai.

When I said I can give up living on earth it does not mean I am donating Earth. Try to Understand the context.
You might be the Medhavi (according to you), but it does not mean others are stupid. Have some humility or pretend to have it.

I never said earth belongs to me? Where do you get such Ideas?
If I wanted to leave earth and go to another colony (created by Elon Musk), I do not need your permission
I do not boast about my knowledge, and my ego is not as big as yours.
I do not have to claim as all knower like you always do.
What I do not know I find the answers, by searching.

When you do not understand the context, please ask, or else there is absolutely no need to interject yourself.


As in your case you are a Gyani so even wishing you best wishes is useless.


By writing in a tone that cannot be labeled as a personal attack, you might escape the Administrators wrath, but your intention is clear to me.

I am amused. LOL.

The more personal you get the more clownish the post becomes.

This is not the first time.

Thanks. I had a hearty laugh. US is indeed a boiling pot and some immigrant oldie clowns too float. Goodwishes.

Please refer this post and get me banned if that will make you happy. You have a terrible sense of inadequacy and hurt. God bless you.

 

[prasad1]

As humans we are saddled with a constant persistence to know our life’s meaning, purpose and destiny. As James Baldwin himself put it: “People are trapped in history and history is trapped in them.” Essentially, habits are developed through frequent repetition and reinforcement.

Most habits are shaped during our formative years and are passed down from others. Like all behaviors, we programmed these habits through observation and modeling those around us. Our habits largely attribute to our personality and experience in the universe. People are guided by habits based largely on the way others have programed us. However, if we look beneath many of our habitual beliefs we find that they are deeply rooted in a distorted reality. For example, we inherited a belief that there are 365 days in each year. This was decided by some authority back in history, just as the concept of 24 hour-long segments we divide each day. By default, we’ve accepted this preprogramming through habit and belief in truth set by others.

It’s a reasonable question to ask: How much are we shutting out of our experience in the universe because we’ve been programmed to process only so little and believe in only so much as others have validated for us? To fully understand our habits and beliefs, we have to go far deeper than what others can validate. This habit of accepting inherited beliefs will always stand between us and our authentic selves and distract us from being fully present and engaged in life in a meaningful way.

Owning the truth of others as your own negates any purpose of having our own mind. Nowhere is this more profound than when it comes to our religious beliefs. The Bible is the most revered book in America, but it’s also the most misquoted. Preachers, presidents and politicians routinely quote passages that actually aren’t written anyplace in the Bible. Dogmatic passages include: “God helps those who help themselves,” “Spare the rod, spoil the child” and several others. Even the oft-cited biblical story of Satan tempting Eve to eat the forbidden apple in the Garden of Eden. None of those passages appear in the Bible but are readily accepted as such.

However, because biblical ignorance is so pervasive, people rarely challenge them. People prefer knowing biblical passages that reinforce their inherited beliefs. Many who profess a deep love of the Bible have never actually read the book, but instead rely on parts of text they’ve memorized from what others purported to them. “Spare the rod, spoil the child” is a popular verse — and was painful for many of us as kids. However, the popular saying is a distillation of Proverbs 13:24: “The one who withholds [or spares] the rod is one who hates his son.” Those details seem minor, but through our inherited belief habits, this story is repeatedly hailed as factual in the Bible.

Most people inherited the version of Satan being disguised as a serpent in the Garden of Eden who tempts Eve to pick a forbidden apple from the Tree of Life. But the actual story, according to scholars, the book of Genesis, only mentions a serpent and never places Satan in the Garden of Eden at all. The very idea of Satan as a devilish tempter postdates the composition of the Garden of Eden story by at least 500 years, scholars agree.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/aaron-anson/the-habit-of-inherited-beliefs_b_2080407.html

 

[prasad1]

Most of our beliefs are inherited since we are born not knowing anything, and inherit the language and beliefs from others. Many of whom are no longer even on the planet. It is no easy task to undo years and years of programming and inherited beliefs. The longer we’ve done something, the longer it takes to unlearn these habits.

However, just as smoking and overeating can be overcome through conscious awareness, so can inherited beliefs and habits we cling to without logical reasoning. The ultimate reprogramming process is about each of us creating new and empowering habits to replace old disempowering and limiting beliefs we inherited from others.


https://www.huffingtonpost.com/aaron-anson/the-habit-of-inherited-beliefs_b_2080407.html

 

[prasad1]

Throughout the world, the overwhelming majority of people who believe in, or otherwise feel emotionally linked to, a particular religion are those who have been born into it. This fact has crucial implications for how most ‘believers’ come to develop notions of what they regard as ‘true’ and, conversely, ‘false’, religion.

For almost all people, their religious faith is something they inherit from their immediate families. From infancy itself, they are carefully socialized by their parents and other close relatives into accepting the religious doctrines, beliefs and rituals of their families. At this stage in their lives, children are most susceptible to the influence of their parents. Unable to think for themselves about matters such as religion, they naturally accept whatever is taught to them by their parents, whom they implicitly trust. Being wholly dependent—psychologically, emotionally and materially—on their parents, they automatically imbibe the religious beliefs and prejudices of the latter. This is how blind, unquestioning belief in the religion that they inherit at birth becomes so deeply-rooted in most people as to make it almost impossible for to shake off at a later stage in life. Along with this, in many cases children are also socialized by their parents into believing that their religion alone is true and that all others are false, impure or deviant. Naturally, all these religious prejudices—about the supposed superiority of their own religion and the putative falsity of all other religions—that they inherit at this impressionable age remain with many people deep into adulthood and last till they die.

The fact of the matter, then, is that what almost all ‘believers’ —irrespective of religion—passionately regard as ultimate religious truth is simply the collection of religious beliefs, rituals and prejudices that they unthinkingly inherit from their parents, and which, through very effective indoctrination, they are trained into blindly believing as Absolute Truth. This means that the vast majority of the world’s Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, Sikhs, ‘pagans’ and so on are such only because they happened to have been born into families linked to the particular religion that they grew up to believe in. If almost all ‘believers’ regard their respective religions as the best among all or as the truest or as most fully manifesting the Ultimate Truth, it is almost inevitably only because this is what they have been reared into believing by their parents from a very young age itself. Such faith in the superiority of their inherited religion is rarely, if ever, based on a careful, objective, unbiased and neutral examination of all religious, including their own.

https://www.countercurrents.org/sikand030412.htm

 

[prasad1]

Quite simply, it indicates that for the vast majority of us, what we fervently regard as ‘true religion’ (which a very great many of us spend our entire lives ardently believing in, defending, and passionately seeking to convert ‘non-believers’ into accepting, through persuasion or even, sometimes, coercion) is simply the bundle of religious beliefs, rituals, traditions and prejudices of the families we happen to have been born into and which, through no fault of our own, we have been made to believe represents Absolute Truth—even if it really doesn’t!

That most people simply inherit from their families their understandings of what they regard as Ultimate Truth indicates another key aspect of their religiosity: a fundamental inability or unwillingness to search, think and experience the Truth for themselves.


Being effectively drilled into accepting the religious beliefs of their families as representing the Ultimate Truth, they see no reason to search for such Truth, for, so they think, they already possess it! So effective is this indoctrination in most cases that to even contemplate such a search and to think of going beyond their inherited religion comes to be regarded as a dangerous lack of faith that supposedly merits Divine wrath. Little wonder, then, that relatively few people are able to escape the totalitarian religious brainwashing that they are subjected to as children, and relatively fewer are courageous enough to even question if their inherited religion is truly the perfect embodiment of Ultimate Truth or the Divine Will that its unthinking votaries insist it is.

https://www.countercurrents.org/sikand030412.htm

 

[prasad1]

[FONT=&quot]No man should follow blindly his ancestors and forefathers. Nay, each must see with his own eyes, hear with his own ears and investigate independently in order that he may find the truth. The religion of forefathers and ancestors is based upon blind imitation. Man should investigate reality. – [/FONT]Abdu’l-Baha[FONT=&quot], [/FONT]Divine Philosophy.

True religion is the source of love and agreement amongst men, the cause of the development of praiseworthy qualities; but the people are holding to the counterfeit and imitation, negligent of the reality which unifies; so they are bereft and deprived of the radiance of religion. They follow superstitions inherited from their fathers and ancestors. To such an extent has this prevailed that they have taken away the heavenly light of divine truth and sit in the darkness of imitations and imaginations. – Abdu’l-Baha, Foundations of World Unity,

 

[renuka]

Quite simply, it indicates that for the vast majority of us, what we fervently regard as ‘true religion’ (which a very great many of us spend our entire lives ardently believing in, defending, and passionately seeking to convert ‘non-believers’ into accepting, through persuasion or even, sometimes, coercion) is simply the bundle of religious beliefs, rituals, traditions and prejudices of the families we happen to have been born into and which, through no fault of our own, we have been made to believe represents Absolute Truth—even if it really doesn’t!

That most people simply inherit from their families their understandings of what they regard as Ultimate Truth indicates another key aspect of their religiosity: a fundamental inability or unwillingness to search, think and experience the Truth for themselves.


Being effectively drilled into accepting the religious beliefs of their families as representing the Ultimate Truth, they see no reason to search for such Truth, for, so they think, they already possess it! So effective is this indoctrination in most cases that to even contemplate such a search and to think of going beyond their inherited religion comes to be regarded as a dangerous lack of faith that supposedly merits Divine wrath. Little wonder, then, that relatively few people are able to escape the totalitarian religious brainwashing that they are subjected to as children, and relatively fewer are courageous enough to even question if their inherited religion is truly the perfect embodiment of Ultimate Truth or the Divine Will that its unthinking votaries insist it is.

https://www.countercurrents.org/sikand030412.htm

What if one finally chooses a religion that one didnt inherit?
How would you view such a person?

 

[a-TB]

Is There One God or Many?

Posted on: 13 Dec 2018

O Learned and Devoted Servants of God,



Shri P.V.N.M. Sharma asked: Why are there different Gods in Hinduism whereas there is only one God in other religions in this world?


Swami replied: Hinduism, a micro-world that represents this macro-world. This is because, Hinduism itself is made of several sub-religions, which resemble the different religions in the world. This macro-world is one unit created by God. Within it, Hinduism is one sub-unit followed by some people. So, you cannot look at the world and Hinduism as separate units. After all, Hinduism, other religions and the whole world are created by only one single Entity called God.

The original absolute God is unimaginable since He is beyond space and time. He constitutes the unimaginable domain. For the sake of understanding, it can be said that the unimaginable domain includes the unimaginable God and His unimaginable power. But in reality, both the unimaginable God and His unimaginable power are one and the same. This is because, once we say that an item is beyond our imagination, we cannot say whether it is one or two. So, even if we speak of many unimaginable items, they all refer to the single unimaginable item or domain, which is God. When the Veda declares the monism of God. i.e. when it says that there is only one God, and when it rejects the plurality of God, it is referring to this single unimaginable domain. Statements like “Ekamevaadvitiiyam Brahma” and “Neha Naanaasti Kimchana” are examples of the above.

The unimaginable God and His unimaginable power (maayaa) are one and the same, whereas God’s imaginable power is different from Him. It has undergone modification to become creation (prakruti) or it appears to be creation. How the unimaginable God possesses an imaginable power, which is different from Him, is unimaginable. Such a wonder is possible only due to His unimaginable power! Our logical analysis and entire knowledge are limited only to this creation, which is the imaginable domain. Hence, it is a waste of time to think about any aspect of the unimaginable domain.

This world, which is the imaginable domain, has plurality. The plurality supplies different media for the unimaginable God for His expression. It enables Him to enter into various selected human devotees in order to become Human Incarnations of God. The human devotee becomes a medium for the entry of the unimaginable God. Thus, God has incarnated in this world in different regions in different times to establish the different religions in the world. Of course, the unimaginable God does not directly enter any medium.

At the very beginning of creation, the unimaginable God first created subtle energy or space. He created the first form or body out of that subtle energy and entered into it to become the first Energetic Incarnation. This first energetic form became the first medium of God. This first mediated form of God or the first Energetic Incarnation is called as Datta or Īśvara in Hinduism and Father of heaven in other religions. There is no trace of difference between the unimaginable God and the first Energetic Incarnation, except that the former is unimaginable while the latter is imaginable. The energetic form of Datta is visible to energetic beings in the upper worlds. For humans on earth, Datta is invisible but still imaginable. The first Energetic Incarnation, Datta, is also eternal like the unimaginable God; i.e. both have no end. The only difference is that Datta had a beginning from the point of view of His energetic medium, while the unimaginable God has no beginning. It is this Datta that enters a selected human devotee to become a Human Incarnation. The unimaginable God is permanently present in the energetic medium of Datta. That Datta, containing the unimaginable God, enters into the physical medium of a human devotee. Thus, the unimaginable God is equally present in the Human Incarnation.

God incarnates in human form on earth in every human generation. The human media into which God Datta enters each time is different as a result of the plurality that is inherent in the imaginable domain. In other words, one Incarnation looks different from another Incarnation. One Incarnation may appear in a place where people follow say Hinduism, while another Incarnation may appear in a place where people follow a different religion. The Incarnation’s external dress, language, and manners will naturally be according to the culture of the place where He has appeared. This enables Him to mix freely with the people He has come to preach and uplift. But these differences are only external.

From the point of view of the first Energetic Incarnation, Datta or Father of heaven, present in each of them, all Incarnations are one and same. From the point of view of the unimaginable God present in all the Incarnations too, they are one and the same. Thus, all these different mediated Gods are actually one in essence. If you look at the medium, which is part of the imaginable domain, there is plurality. If you look at the internal God Datta or the unimaginable God present in all of them, then there is only one. This truth applies equally to the sub-religions within Hinduism or the different world religions. This analysis is the fundamental basis for bringing unity among the sub-religions of Hinduism and among the various
religions in the world.

http://www.universal-spirituality.o...536564&masterId=49d206e48e4f7e4f&lc=&rating=3

This swami may seem accomplished but his responses are not reasonable.

"How the unimaginable God possesses an imaginable power, which is different from Him, is unimaginable." -
In other words he does not know what this God is but claims that this god has imaginable power though God is unimaginable and why He has this power is unimaginable,

He does not know anything but there is a lot of word play.

The Swami may be a sincere believer of his ideas but they are just as bad as any other unreasonable beliefs. I looked up the reference to know more about this Swami and I cannot take his responses for other questions seriously as well .

 

[prasad1]

What if one finally chooses a religion that one didnt inherit?
How would you view such a person?

Please refer to the quoted text.

 

[Jaykay767]

Some points to add -

Scientific view is is that the universe is random and nature has evolved many scientific principles operating randomly,

Our ancient view is that there is a god design that permeates and operates through our the universe. So this design has a higher purpose and all of us are traversing the universe for now in the human form.

even when it comes to religion, ethnicity, and counties, there are concepts of soul clusters that are born together and traverse the universe together, so inheriting a religion may not be arbitrary as it seems,

my view - I have considered both the possibilities for long and I am more inclined to the religious views of our ancients. The reason being the more you investigate their claims critically, you find that it is true. Some of you can refer my earlier posts on this.

As I said, I will write on Brahman, atma in a separate thread and give my interpretation of our scriptures.