tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76300027227691935722024-02-08T03:19:29.054-08:00Advaita VedantaHari Menonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658341482990182567noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7630002722769193572.post-56655776940324255172021-05-15T13:02:00.000-07:002021-05-15T13:04:14.126-07:00Philosophical blindspots in religious drives<p> Due to the recent (last 100 years, perhaps) backlash against religion in general, a lot of interesting philosophical ideas get ignored or rejected just because they are explained in terms of religious beliefs.</p><br />In my mind a religion is a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of your existence that helps you define your way of life. We all have our beliefs and we make that a part of the life we lead. As the beliefs get shared and adopted by more and more people, then that religion starts becoming popular and slowly gets formalized into rituals and commandments. However, unless it appeals to your rational intellect in some way or form (faith / fear / logical reasoning / scientific reasoning, etc.), you will struggle to make it a part of your life.<br /><a name='more'></a><br />Most religions have a philosophical base and the ideas are expressed using simpler terminologies and contexts that people can easily relate to. The philosophical ideas themselves can be quite complex, interesting and "rational" but the expressions could get totally "irrational" over time. Some of the customs or belief systems that were popular thousands of years ago may seem quite absurd to our generation, triggering a rejection of the basic ideology itself.<div><br /></div><div>Say a mountaineer happens to experience the beauty of a full moon across a lake from atop a cliff and spreads the word on this soul calming view. People with SUVs able to handle the treacherous climb start checking it out and find it to be a good relief from the pressures of their daily lives. As the cliff turns into an attraction, the story morphs into "Your worries will disappear if you drive your SUV up the mountain, park in the North facing parking lot and enjoy the views!". Though it may get popular, most rational people will tend to disregard such a ritual. Now, does it mean that they should reject the beauty of the full-moon because they are green or can't afford to drive a Hummer up a mountain? Does it take anything away from the beauty of the sight of the full moon across a lake? Based on the core idea that a full moon is a pleasant sight, you do what your rational intellect and the situation allows you to, even if it's a quick peek at the moon out of your living room window during the television commercial break.</div><div><br />The ability to see through delivery mechanism can expose you to some interesting ideas that have withstood the test of time. Some of these ideas that form the basis of a religion could really be interesting and intellectually stimulating and can perhaps help you refine your way of life. The shortcomings of the delivery mechanism simply mean that you need to define it in your own terms, in terms of what seems rational to you, for your own life.<br /><br />Religion itself has to grow with time. The great saints and prophets explained the philosophies in a manner befitting the society of their time in order for people to be able to easily understand and accept them. Some of the concepts were presented as opinions and suggestions and some in terms of rituals and commandments. These suggestions have to evolve with time; otherwise the evolving society will reject it.<br /><br />As responsible individuals, it is upon us to understand the core values of the religion(s) along with the philosophies behind them rather than blindly following it or rebelling. And it is upon us to think and contemplate, for accepting or rejecting the ideas at face value without contemplating upon them brings about fundamentalism.<br /><br />I will, in this blog, try and put forth some of the ideas I have understood from the ancient Indian Advaita Vedanta philosophy in a way that appeals to my intellect and liking. I am in no way saying that this is the right way to look at it; this is just an explanation that helps me understand it better...<br /><br /><a href="http://vedantastudent.blogspot.com/p/advaita-vedanta.html">Advaita Vedanta</a><br /><a href="http://vedantastudent.blogspot.com/p/essence-of-advaita-vedanta.html">Essence of Advaita Vedanta</a><br /><a href="http://vedantastudent.blogspot.com/p/maya.html">Maya</a><br /><a href="http://vedantastudent.blogspot.com/p/drishti-srishti-vada-and-schrodingers.html">Drishti-Srishti Vada and Schrödinger’s Cat</a><br /><a href="http://vedantastudent.blogspot.com/p/god.html">Concept of God</a><br /><a href="http://vedantastudent.blogspot.com/p/bhakti.html">Bhakti</a><br /><a href="http://vedantastudent.blogspot.com/p/cycle-of-life-and-death.html">The cycle of life and death</a><br /><a href="http://vedantastudent.blogspot.com/p/destiny.html">Destiny</a><br /><a href="http://vedantastudent.blogspot.com/p/super-consciousness.html">Super-consciousness</a></div>Hari Menonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658341482990182567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7630002722769193572.post-77251116120945476252014-05-01T18:03:00.003-07:002014-05-05T04:45:38.617-07:00Vedantic philosophies...A very simple way to look at some of the philosophies...<br />
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<td><b>Dvaita</b>
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<td><i>I am the wave, you are the ocean.</i><br />
The body, mind and intellect is separate from the objects it perceives. This separation of the perceived from the perceiver is Dvaita. </td>
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<td><b>Vishishtadvaita</b><br />
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<td><i>I, the wave, am but a part of you the ocean.</i><br />
The body, mind and intellect are actually a part of the object it perceives. The Brahman encompasses the perceiver in the body, mind and intellect.</td>
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<td><b>Advaita</b>
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<td><i>You, the ocean and I, the wave are nothing but water, perceived.</i><br />
The body, mind and intellect and the objects it perceives are in fact all the same and unreal and a result of the projection of the one reality of Brahman, a projection caused due to the perception itself.</td>
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Hari Menonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658341482990182567noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7630002722769193572.post-63485399616260472292014-04-04T16:20:00.001-07:002014-07-14T04:28:22.784-07:00The teacher...<b>The teacher starts:</b> You experience the world the way you do because that is how it is perceived through your senses.<br />
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<b>Student inquires:</b> Then how is it that everyone describes it the same way?<br />
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<b>The teacher questioningly asks: </b>Which everyone? (implying of course that everyone else, including the teacher explaining this, is also part of that perception)<br />
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<i>The student suddenly feels completely alone...all alone in this <u>entire</u> system of existence!</i><br />
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<i></i><b>The teacher continues: </b>Of course the mechanism of sensing is also "sensed" and hence non-existent; the "you" sensing the world also become the sensed. What remains is just the pure consciousness and that is the ultimate truth.<br />
<br />Hari Menonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658341482990182567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7630002722769193572.post-40950476025121848772010-05-09T07:51:00.000-07:002014-04-02T05:38:23.596-07:00Why chase permanent bliss?Advaita says that going beyond Maya will bring you to the state of permanent bliss where you realize that all that you see in Maya is “un-real”. You can reach this state of “super-consciousness” or Nirvana by several means of merging the “I” with the “non-I” (see <a href="http://vedantastudent.blogspot.com/p/super-consciousness.html">Super-consciousness</a>) and then you truly understand the world of Maya and its triviality.<br />
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But here’s an obvious question: Why should I put in the effort to go beyond Maya? Why should I chase that state of personal bliss? Is it not a selfish act to try and escape the world of Maya to move into a state where you deem the real-world issues as trivial or “un-real”? <br />
<a name='more'></a>From the point of view of the person that has reached the state of Nirvana and has this true understanding of the universe, all the issues of poverty and hunger within our world may in fact be unreal. However from the point of view of those within Maya these issues are very much real. So why should one not channel all the energy into bringing about a change in the society rather than spending time and energy in the pursuit of one’s own permanent bliss?<br />
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I recently had a discussion with an Acharya on this subject and his answer to this concern was a set of extremely simple counter questions. First: Would you ever say that you would not want to wake up from a dream because there was need for the upliftment in that world within your dream? Second: Once woken up from your dream, would you regret waking up because you could not make a difference in the world within your dream? And third: If your hand pokes your eye by mistake, would your eye get angry at or disown your hand?<br />
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Once you truly understand that the world around you is nothing but the projection of the pure consciousness through your body, mind and intellect – that pure awareness filtered through your “I-ness” factor (i.e. your ego) – you realize that the world exists because you the seer exists. The whole universe is a reflection or projection or manifestation of that pure consciousness/awareness which is shared amongst all. And the universe exists because you see it (or rather you the pure awareness are aware of it) and without you, the seer, it would not exist at all (see <a href="http://vedantastudent.blogspot.com/p/drishti-srishti-vada-and-schrodingers.html">Drishti-Srishti vada</a>).<br />
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This universe, the world of Maya, is dictated by your ego, desires and the goal of self preservation and that is what results in the ever-lingering urge to better your self resulting in the joys and sorrows that come with it.<br />
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Achieving Nirvana and reaching the state of realization is like waking up from the waking state. Once you reach that state of super-consciousness, your life will be a life of selfless actions. You realize how the pure awareness prevails everything and your actions reflect this selflessness.Hari Menonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658341482990182567noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7630002722769193572.post-56065890884749351302010-02-14T06:31:00.000-08:002014-04-02T04:20:29.068-07:00True understandingTrying to understand the philosophical aspect of Advaita stimulates your intellect. But true understanding has to come from your Inner Self which is subtler than your intellect.<br />
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Before any idea can be truly understood, it has to pass the various aspects of your being. Your senses have to be able to first perceive and identify the idea. Then your mind has to have enough focus to start developing an interest in that idea. The idea then has to go past the gates of your rational intellect. Only once it is accepted by your intellect can you truly surrender to it and only this pure surrender can bring the idea into your inner self.<br />
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The concept of Advaita - idea that the Atman is the same as the Brahman and the implications of this idea - must first be contemplated and accepted by your intellect. Then you have to surrender to it in its entirety.<br />
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True understanding of this has to and will end in Silence.Hari Menonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658341482990182567noreply@blogger.com0