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Brahman means different things to different people. The Upanishads reads, “All other beings are but an expression of Brahman,“ Hopfe, pg. 87). At different points of your life you may need different parts of Brahman. For instance, if you are sick you would call upon Brahman as your healer. If you are in battle, you would call for Brahman as your protector. I think the names for Brahman are just different parts of yourself. Just as there are three parts of humans — spirit, soul, and body. Maybe Brahman has these different qualities in him. ‘The Upanishads say, We are part of the great ocean of souls that make up Brahman,” (Hopfe, pg. 88). Maybe God is experiencing human life through us.
There are systems that represent the “way of knowledge.” The Sankara system acknowledges no personal gods and may be thought of as an atheistic method to life. The Yoga system teaches that one should attempt to attach or join the individual spirit to god, the Atman, to Brahman, (Hopfe, pg. 102). The most important part of yoga is meditation, (Hopfe, pg. 103). The Mimansa system is all about the prevention of re-birth. This is done by obeying the laws and performing rites. The Vaisheshkia system that there is no reality except Brahman, (Hopfe, pg. 104). The Nyaya system is all about being involved with logical analysis as a means of reaching truth about the world, (Hopfe, pg. 105). The Vedanta system holds that this world doesn’t exist, only Brahman. Human’s problem is ignorance.
Some of Hindu’s devotional practices are: worshiping at the temples, offering sacrifices, praying, and supporting priests at the temple, (Hopfe, pg.98). This means that Hindu’s give a lot of their time to their gods and goddesses and it is fundamental to them.
Three important gods in the Hindu deities are: Brahma, Shiva, and Vishnu.
Brahma is the least one acknowledged to. There are only two temples in honor of him. Shiva is the god of death, destruction, disease, and dance. Not only is he all of those things but he is also the god of vegetable, animal, and human reproduction. (Hopfe, Pg. 98). The third god is Vishnu the god of love, benevolence, and forgiveness. Vishnu has tenderness for humanity which he showed by coming to the earth in nine forms. (Hopfe, pg. 100)
They have some valid points. The idea that there is only one God makes sense. But can One God govern the universe all by himself? Maybe that is why there are angels, to be his messengers, since the appearance of angels have been seen in all cultures. Can one God be in charge of trillions of souls and still be personal and answer your prayers? I wonder if God has a quota of the day to meet of responding to human’s needs. Maybe that is why there are healing crusades, those healing evangelists are like God’s way of heaven meeting earth.
It reminds me of Bruce in Bruce Almighty. God must get billions of prayer requests a day! Does God ever have slow days? If the individual is truly unimportant and the world an illusion, what are we doing here? Why should we bother with the physical if none of it will even matter in the long run? Are we just like a game of chess, where God moves us wherever he pleases? There seems to be some sort of order in the universe and some certainties, but if the world does come to an end like major religions predict, then what’s the point? I guess Brahman or God won’t let things get too out of hand, which is why Brahman or God may have incarnated in different religious forms to get humanity back on track. Is life just a dream?
I think we are here to learn and that it is ok to enjoy physical things because after all we are in a physical body. Some of us though, lose sight of our real nature, and become too attached to the physical. People who are too physical minded may need a rude awakening to help them be less concerned about the materialistic world. I think our spirits are from God and all return to him. I wonder if Brahman knows what he is doing by sending us to earth with all of its pain. I think there is a universal plan for the earth, but people make their own choices, so that is why we have pain. If we really do forget our true nature, I think Brahman gives us glimpses of who we are, through nature, our conscience, dreams, and spiritual experiences. If life is a dream, or an illusion, or just a passing thing, I want to make the most of it.
© 2009 – 2021, Lekatt. All rights reserved.
Denying yet loving yourself
This is a paradox.
The Hindu notion that the deeper soul is opposed to the self, and true spirituality lies in denying one’s finite temporary identity to seek the Atman. The Buddha said that the true disciple becomes disgusted with form, and everything else, up to consciousness, his dissipation sets him free. It is also important to have a natural and healthy love for yourself.
When I was fed up with myself I was willing to give up my identity and become love in its fullest. I wanted love to take over me so I wouldn’t have any more negative thoughts. I wanted it more than anything in the world.
At the same time I love myself and like the fact that I am an individual who can make her own choices. God has given us a certain amount of freedom.
Jesus said to take our cross and follow him. This means we must find a cause that promotes the way of love and do anything to keep it going, whatever that means. If you have to eat one less meal a day, if you have to donate money to a charity, or spend extra hours on the phone helping others — do that.
In Hinduism it is said we are all one with the eternal one Brahman. Being separate from Brahman is our ignorance. When we choose to live on this earth we may forget who we really are. Lekatt told me, “Remember who you are.”
© 2009 – 2021, Lekatt. All rights reserved.
Fredrich Schleiermacher defined religion as something felt emotionally. Rudolph Otto described it as the tremendous mystery of the holy. The feeling of totally being awestruck. It is something one most feel, otherwise ineffable, inexpressible, and just as difficult as defining love. Nothing has the kind of eternal substance that alone can fufill our desires, obtained. In Buddhism there is the awakening or realization of one’s true nature, (Richter).
I don’t think feelings lie. My grandma said that God gives us premonitions to warn us or to help us. We should listen to them. I have felt the love of God through warmth and other sensory ways but God often times helps us in natural ways.
Feelings or emotions are what make us human. In my therapuetic school we had to say a feeling word to describe us for that day, such as happy, sad, frustrated. When someone dies it is alright to cry. If someone hurts you physically, emotionally, or mentally it is ok to feel pain. I’d rather feel something than nothing at all because then I know I am still alive.
Our feelings directly relate to our actions. We base who we choose to marry on our feelings. We base how we feel God’s presence, on if we cry, or if we get goose bumps. If we don’t feel up to do something take a day off from somewhere like work. My friend Ben’s mom said that sometimes we do things because we are feeling hungry, tired, or stressed. If we are sick we say, “I don’t feel good.” No wonder people are taking drugs to numb their pain! No wonder we like the thrill of amusement parks, or greasy pizza. We like to feel good and alive. Our whole life is one long search to fill that empty spot in our hearts. Some of us choose spirituality, others fame or money. Whatever it is only love has been proven to be the best cure.
© 2009 – 2021, Lekatt. All rights reserved.
Hi to all of you visitors of my dear friend Lekatt’s website. My name is Britney. I wrote this essay, originally inspired by a post I wrote about “The Greater Reality.” I decided to expand it and write about something that I can relate to and have a lot of experience about. I learned about reality in Philosophy but I personally like my definition better! I hope you learn that there truly is one reality that we can have no doubt in our minds about and that is that God is love and he loves us unconditionally!
What is reality anyway? According to the dictionary, it is the quality or state of being actual or true. Reality can be a person, an entity, or an event, that is actual. It can also be the totality of all things possessing actuality, existence, or essence or something which exists objectively and in fact. Reality is not black and white. Reality is different for every person and their experiences, it is an open definition, open to interpretation.
First, for some people reality isn’t based on the real world such as a schizophrenic like myself. A schizophrenic can’t tell the difference between the inside and outside world. We can become so attached to our imaginary world that we won’t even consider it as a figment of our imagination. We just can’t be convinced otherwise. A social worker might say to me, “Even if your imaginary world were real what would that mean?” I might say, “That I am not crazy.” People may think me a freak. In Gnarls Barkley’s song, he says, “I remember when I lost my mind. Does that make me crazy?”
People who have auditory or visual hallucinations are confused because no one else can hear or see what they do. They wonder how come no one can hear what they are hearing. It’s a very lonely disease. It may be even as bad as losing your memory. There is a saying, “The mind is a dangerous neighborhood. Don’t go there alone.”
Next, some of us live inside our heads. We live in fantasy. If we don’t like the world we live in, we turn to books, movies, or music. The list goes on and on. It’s easy to do this, especially, in our American culture. Natalie Bedingfield said, “Take me away, to a secret place, a great escape, take me away.” We want to feed our imagination and daydream all day in hopes that just by wishing for our dream house or dream person that it will come true. It’s nice to get lost in a book or lost in our lover’s eyes, but in the end we can’t escape life. Sooner or later the hype will go away and we will be back with our problems again. Someone said, “The feeling of being on top of the world is fleeting.” Douglas Everett said, “There are some people who live in a dream world, and there are some who face reality; and then there are those who turn one into the other.”
Also, some of us lie to ourselves so much we believe it. So our reality becomes twisted. We might tell ourselves that we are happy even though below the surface we are not. We might tell ourselves that harming others is ok as long as no one knows. After a while, lying about everything will eventually push everyone away from you. You may lie to yourself so much that no one can hit the buzzer to tell you to stop. There is a story about a man that kept lying to others that he needed help when he really didn’t; when he actually was in a situation where he was serious, no one believed him anymore. Earl Nightingale said, “Whatever we plant in our subconscious mind and nourish with repetition and emotion will one day become a reality.”
Next, for some their reality is limited because it’s all they know. There’s a verse in the Bible: “My people perish for lack of knowledge.” Someone might not know that they should have good hygiene to prevent diseases if they grew up in the jungle. A homeless man might not know there is a job opening somewhere close because no one bothers to help him. People who are Amish don’t know what the modern world is like until they leave home. People who commit crimes, but don’t understand it is a crime should be helped to understand what they have done. Someone told a story about a man who just got out of college, and had an accident; he had to go to a nursing home and has been there 30 years. While, if a person was disabled their whole life, it wouldn’t be as hard on them.
The more we know, the more we are expected to help others. It’s wrong to hoard everything for yourself. People with loads of money should consider using it to help others. There is a saying, “With great power, comes great responsibility.” People with creative minds and are inventors should use that knowledge for the good of mankind instead of making bombs or nukes.There’s a double side to power. Wouldn’t you want to leave a better reality for others?
Also, someone may have grown up in an abusive home, or grown up in extreme poverty so they never get the chance to live fully or reach what some call self-actualization. If you are abused you might see no way out. Your reality could be the four walls in your room. You might see the world as hopeless or unkind, unless someone were to show you a better way of life. You might just focus on having food, clothes, and shelter. “The perfecting of one’s self is the fundamental base of all progress and all moral development,” Confucius .
Lastly, you may feel like you are in a whole different world than your family when what you think about, believe in, and experience isn’t the same, even though you live in the same house! For instance, if you believe in Universalism, while your family don’t, but you never tell your family. If you have experienced a lot of mental illness and the rest of your family has not, you may discover that sometimes they will have no idea of what you are talking about or can even begin to understand. Reality is different to every person, so those psychiatrists should literally get a taste of their own medicine! Whoever sets the standard for what’s real, or not real, needs to get their eyes checked. Did they read the fine print that says, “What’s real is up to you to decide.”
I think the spirit world and mental world overlap. Where do you draw the line? Where does the spirit and mental world come together? We may never know and science can only tell us so much. We should let people come to their own conclusions. Reality is an open-ended subject and experienced in different forms and ways for different people. Reality is a gray area. Some people may truly hear spirits, talk to them or see them. Thomas in the Bible wouldn’t believe that Jesus appeared before the disciples unless he saw with his own eyes. There are a lot of doubting Thomas’s out there — I hope I am not one of them. There is one reality I believe is true: that God is love and he loves me unconditionally. Brian Tracy said, “Whatever you believe with feeling becomes your reality.”
© 2009 – 2021, Lekatt. All rights reserved.
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