Why is an Idol or a picture installed for worship?

The following is a short and succinct paragraph from the book " Super Science  of Gayatri" explaining the use and purpose of Idols and pictures in worship. The book has been authored by Shriram Sharma Acharya and the enclosed excerpt is from page 159 of the enclosed text.

Quoted Text:

"Those who believe that God is formless, pose a question why an idol or a picture should be installed to worship? Such people should know that an important part of worship is meditation and contemplation and name and form are very helpful for meditation. All the paths of Sadhana and all religions have their own symbols in order to refine their sentiments during worship.

Every nation has its own national flag. Its citizens pay due regard to the national flag and protect it from being dis-respected or defiled. Even communists who are known to be atheists offer salutation to the red flag and when they go to USSR they pay a visit to Leningrad to have a glimpse of the place where Lenin’s body has been preserved. Muslims, who do not believe in idol worship offer prayers facing the Kaba. They kiss the symbolic stone ‘Sange Asavad’ of Shah Moosa in Mecca. Arya Samaji followers  express divine faith in the letter ‘Om’ and in performing Agnihotra.

The reason is obviously  that it is convenient to concentrate the mind with the help of symbols. The work of teaching the alphabet to children becomes easy when it is done in a symbolic manner. In Hindi we teach ka- sey kabutar, kha- sey khargosh, ga-sey gadha, gha- sey ghadi, and so on. In English we teach A –is for apple, B –is for Boy and C- is for Cat and so on ….The same principle applies to installation of idols.''

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If you would like to read the book Super Science of Gayatri, please click the link below.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/104094422/8206508-THE-SUPER-SCIENCE-OF-GAYATRI-by-Shriram-Sharma-Acharya

To know more about the author Shriram Sharma Acharya, please click the link below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shriram_Sharma

                                                             

Who is God? The surprising answer behind the origin of the Universe!

This article is a contribution from the wonderful blog on Spirituality called The Spiritual Bee. ( http://www.spiritualbee.com/). 

Who is God? - It will perhaps come as a surprise to many, that the goal of both science and spirituality is to reveal the answer to this very question!For to ask the question “Who is God” is to seek the answers to our very origins: “How did the Universe come into existence? How did life originate? What makes us conscious?” The aim being to discover the one unifying force from which everything that we see – be it plants or animals, planets or galaxies – in fact our entire Universe, has manifested.

Both science and spirituality have focused on this quest, albeit at different times in human history. Modern physics has been on the hunt for this elusive unifying force, from which arises everything else, for the last 350 years.

But many thousands of years before physics began its search, in the early dawn of recorded history, the ancient Vedic sages living in the forests of India, pursued the very same goal. The only difference being that while modern physics searches for this unifying force by analyzing our outer world of inanimate matter, these ancient spiritual scientists searched for the very same truths by analyzing our inner world of consciousness.

In the higher planes of intuition and super-consciousness they witnessed profound truths, which are not only congruent with modern day scientific understanding of the Universe, but which bravely shine a light in the dark regions where science has not yet tread, in order to reveal the presence of a final absolute reality – God.

To read the rest of the article please click the Spiritual Bee link enclosed here:http://www.spiritualbee.com/posts/who-is-god/

Did you know that the Human Body carries a electrical charge of 10-16 amp.sec/cm2 ?

Enclosed here is a phenomenal excerpt that evidences the presence of the forces of bio magnetic energy in the earths core and its atmosphere. There are several studies done on astronauts and how they are impacted adversely when these fields of energy are not made available to them. The Universe is a scientifically calibrated system which was understood well by ancient sages who had harnessed these fields of bio energy present in our body and the atmosphere that surrounds us. In this fascinating book " The Astonishing Powers of Bio Physical Energy" the author Shriram Sharma Acharya brings back this knowledge and awareness to us in a readable and scientifically validated format.

Quoted Text:

"An unlimited resource of electrical energy forms the basis of Nature. The discovery of this fact and persistent efforts to utilize this immense power of Nature has been of great help in scientific and technological developments of our age. The  space  between  the  earth's  strata  and  the  Ionosphere  contains  positive potential of about 3x 105  volts while the earth's interior contains an equivalent amount of negative charge. On an average, every living organism on the earth bears a subtle electrical pressure of the order of 5 volts/meter created by the lowest layer of the ionosphere situated about 60 Km above the earth's surface. This potential generates an electric current in the human body which is a good conductor of electricity. The measurements by sophisticated instruments have shown that this current is of the magnitude of 10-16 amp.sec/cm2. At a first glance, this small quantity of current may appear to be negligible. Nevertheless, its effects are incredible because of the existence of some subtle power centers in the human-body as described below.

The scientific exposition presented here is focused on the subtle power centers in the human-body whose existence is manifested in the forms of bioelectricity and biomagnetism. The subtle bioelectrical energy provides the vital force for the body’s functioning and governs mental activities.  Human body simulates an 'ocean' consisting of infinitely many 'rivers' in the form of blood vessels and the nerves. Each respiratory cycle gives rise to high and low tides of currents in this 'Ocean' at an average rate of about 15 cycles/minute. The technique of electric power generation from the tides and cyclones in the sea water is well known today. However, very few people know that the electric ions inhaled from the surrounding atmosphere during each respiratory cycle give rise to a powerful electrical flow in our body. The ancient Indian sages (Rishis) had an in-depth knowledge about this current and its utilization for higher purposes.

Life After Death (Part 1) :Moments Of Death and What Happens to us after Death?

Dear Readers. The subject of Life after Death fascinates many of us. Concepts like :  What happens to us when we die? What do we experience when we die? Are we reborn? Where do we go from here after we die? Is our soul independent from our body? What happens to our soul?
The enclosed excerpt deals with all the above questions and answers our most basic question "What happens to us when die". Is there an Afterlife?  To know more I invite you to read the following explanation (the first of many series of articles ) from the book "Life Beyond Physical Death" authored by Shriram Sharma Acharya. 

Quoted Text:
"Life is like an eternal stream. Each of us has been living since time immemorial and would continue to do so for millions of years in future. Ignorance of the actual facts makes us believe  that  life  begins  in  the  womb  of the  mother  during  pregnancy  and  ends  with cessation of functions of the  heart and brain.

This is a limited point of view– a misleading concept. Modern medical science would make us believe that the  soul has no independent existence of its own, and that the body itself is the totality of a living entity and the being is lost forever on death of the body, But Alas ! Physical sciences themselves are even today in their  infancy.

Laws of Karma (3)- Three types of sufferings and what they imply?

The enclosed is an adapted article  from the book " The Absolute Laws Of Karma" authored by Shriram Sharma Acharya. According to  the universal Laws of Karma , there are  three types of sufferings that we can undergo in our lives . These are broadly categorised as  mental sufferings, physical sufferings  or sufferings from natural disasters. 
The enclosed article  also explains why we need to go through these sufferings and  what the experience of suffering signifies to us. It also indicates how to resolve the sufferings. The Laws of Karma  also elaborate upon the concept of individual karma, and the concept of collective karma's of societies and nations.

Quoted text: Types of Individual Pain and Suffering
"Sudden happenings of good fortune and misfortune are a part of life and there is no escape from that. Indian saint and poet Soordas has rightly stated that the effects of actions (Karma's) cannot be avoided even with the best of guidance from an enlightened and experienced person. It would not be proper to assume that misfortunes are punishments given by an angry God to chastise an erring person. Rather The Epic Ramayana (Indian spiritual text) states that each individual is himself personally responsible for his happiness and his misery . 
All beings reap the fruits of their own Karma's.They rejoice or wail, weep and suffer because of their own doings. With each living being, God has provided an unerring and intelligent mechanism, which determines the fruits of his actions. Like a fish swimming in the water or a snake moving on sand leave a trail,  we as human beings leave behind footprints of our own Karma's. These impressions are known as “Samskaras” in Indian spiritual parlance. 

Happiness and peace are the natural states of mind. Man is instinctively inclined to act in  the welfare of the self and others and this  naturally results in a state of peace and joy. In the Karma parlance- a person is known to be suffering when he or she  becomes  mentally disturbed. All human beings  dread mental turbulence, sorrow and grief. Hence in this article we will explore the causes of unhappiness, the different types of sufferings and how they are intricately  linked to our own individual Karma's. 

Medical science has two independent streams, one for promotion of health and another for treatment of diseases.  In the same way there are two branches of spiritual science – one for promoting happiness and the other for resolving or treating unhappiness. Righteous living is essential for our inner peace and happiness just as nutritional food is essential for our  health. In therapy it is necessary to first have a diagnosis and then look for treatment. The same holds true for unhappiness. By putting right  the Karma's that cause our unhappiness  we can get rid ourselves of unhappiness,  suffering and pain.

Mental Suffering:                                        

All types of sorrows, qualify as mental suffering, and are the results of  negative acts of thought committed by our mind. Mental sufferings arise out of an incorrect or less than optimal way of thought and when we overcome  this deficiency (an  improper way of thinking) we can address and reduce our mental sufferings.

Worry, anxiety, anger, humiliation, animosity, separation from a beloved one, fear, grief, etc. are overt signs of divine justice for our negative mental actions . Negative mental actions (mental sins) can be defined as  those wilful Kama's (deliberate acts) of the mind, which are carried out under the influence of strong negative emotional stimuli. We may categorise  mental sins as corrupt functions of the mind. 

Acts of  jealousy, perfidy, deception, annoyance, cruelty, etc, pollute the environment around our inner psyche. Mental sins like these   do not provide any physical gratification instead they create a circumstance  where we feel the need to escape from the situation . If we find ourselves in  a  smoke-filled room , the smoke suffocates us and we try to escape from that room- in the same way an environment created by pollutants of the mind suffocates our  soul and we then try to move away from the situation we have created.  

The soul,  being  a  portion  of  the omnipresent Divinity, is intrinsically pure. It does not like the  accumulation of sinful thoughts around itself and is always eager to push out the  pollutants in the same way  as the human body reacts to expel the presence of harmful food. The soul is meticulously careful about its purity. The moment it finds  mental sins polluting its environment, it feels uncomfortable and immediately reacts to discard the pollutants. Though our external conscious  mind  is  hardly  aware of this discomfort,  the  inner, subtle  mind  is  always  seeking  the opportunities to throw off this burden. 

Death of a beloved  person, loss in  business  and property,  public-defamation, poverty etc. are types of  mental agonies. Such situations bring out the inner pain to the surface and the aggrieved person weeps, wails and is reminded of the futility of worldly attachments and impermanence of material things. Situations creating acute mental unhappiness bring out a greater awareness of the need for righteous living. Man is motivated to refrain from committing sinful deeds in the  future and to  follow an upright path in life. While attending funerals, people are reminded of the urgency of living a purposeful life,  and when the intoxication is over the drunk begins to talk sense.

The only purpose of mental distress is to cleanse the mind of garbage of mental pollutants and overcome thoughts like jealously, ingratitude, selfishness, cruelty, heartlessness cunning, hypocrisy and egoism. Through suffering, the intelligent divine mechanism ensures removal of Samskaras created by Prarabdha Karma's (discussed later). Pain and anguish spring forth to wash out the Samskars generated by Prarabdha Karmas. While  sins like theft, burglary, robbery, adultery, kidnapping and violence are categorized as  physical sins or physical acts of crime but as these acts  are basically outer manifestation of negative mental stimuli, they  fall in the category of mental sins.

Physical Suffering:

The cause of congenital deficiencies and genetic diseases is the mis-utilisation of the corresponding organs in the previous life–cycles. After death, the soul discards the physical body but carries forward the astral body (Sookshma Shareer) to the next life. In the succeeding birth, the new body is shaped by this astral body. The astral body carries with it nuclei (seeds) of Samskaras of earlier physical existence to the next reincarnation. 
The corresponding components of physical organs, which were not correctly used in the previous life, lose their vitality in the astral body but manifest as malfunctioning organs in the physical body of the next birth. Thus it is possible for a sexually indulgent person to be born with congenital impotence or with imperfections in sexual organs in the next life. Giving exemplary punishment for over- indulgence in this manner, the divine justice also provides the being an excellent opportunity for self-upliftment.

The temporary period of non-function or malfunctions of the affected faculty serves the purpose of caution as well as rejuvenation for the next life. That is to say whichever organ of the body is recklessly misused for a sense of gratification is deemed to be engaged in a physical sin. In the next life that organ is either found missing or appears as a congenital defect. Thus congenital physical deformities or diseases are for remission of sins. (ref. Absolution –Roman Catholic Theory.) The compulsive rest rejuvenates the organ of the body and also relieves the burden of sin from the mind through repentance. When a mental sin is intermixed with a physical sin and it has not been neutralized in the present life by punishment by the state, society or by atonement, it is also carried over to the next life.

However, if the sin is basically physical with little or no input of mental sin (deliberate intention), the biological system immediately takes care of it. For instance- a man gets intoxicated upon taking drugs, or he falls sick because of dietary irregularities or dies on consuming  poison. This is a physical punishment for a physical sin. The body cleans itself of the small physical sins speedily and these are neutralized in this very life. On the other hand, as mentioned earlier, serious physical vices, which are also associated with mental stimuli, are carried over by the astral body for being worked out in the next life.

Sufferings arising out of natural calamities :

Of late, science has begun to appreciate the impact of lop-sided human activities on the global life-sustaining elements of nature. For example, indiscriminate use of chloro-flouro carbons by some developing countries is damaging the global atmosphere for entire humankind by producing the greenhouse effect. 
Reckless deforestation in certain parts of the world is creating worldwide ecological imbalances. Such examples illustrate that basic elements of nature are globally interdependent and local changes in them have universal implications. The following observations bring out this eternal truth.

“Pran”- the universal life force, is one of the vital elements of nature, which is an integral constituent of all animate beings. The entire human race is inter-connected with this all-pervasive element. Each spark of life in the individual animate being, which is known as “Atma” in spiritual parlance, is part of the omnipresence of THAT universal life force. 

The science of spirituality maintains that Karma's and Samskaras of all living beings are mutually interactive. In a social milieu these reactions are quite prominent. A criminal brings shame to himself as well as  his parents and family.The latter too  suffer  disgrace  as it could be that  they did not exert enough  influence  to make the person a  good citizen. 
The responsibility for spiritual development of the child (a virtuous Karma) lies with the parents and other adults of the family. Hence, while in the material world only the offender receives the punishment from the law enforcers and the society, in the spiritual world the souls of the parents and other family members too have to suffer partially for  dereliction of duty -which the divine jurisprudence considers to be  a sin. 

When the neighbor’s house is on fire, you cannot remain a silent spectator, because soon you may also become a  victim of the spread of that fire.  If    we are  capable  of preventing, certain sinful acts and yet we look indifferently upon  acts of theft, burglary, rape, murder etc in the hope  that social justice will take care of the same, OR if we  avoid individual responsibility OR ignore  our ability to have intervened to prevent sinful acts  and instead place the burden on the courts of justice and the framework of law- Then the Laws of divine justice do not recognise this path.

Instead,Divine law expects man to abide by time-tested moral codes of conduct and to also make the maximum possible endeavor to prevent others from violating these codes. If some country or community or race does not make an effort to prevent or dissuade others from committing wrong deeds in spite of being in a position of leadership  to do so; or it does not promote morality and ethics despite having the means to do so then the former too has to suffer the  consequences of its inaction's. Such collective   sins   of   inactivity   or   indifference   invite   combined punishment from divine justice.

Earthquakes, deluges, drought, famine, world wars are consequences of collective sins of humanity, in which Karma's for selfish vested interests were given priority and welfare of the rest of the humanity was ignored. Examples are - widespread prevalence of AIDS in certain geographies , drug abuse and alcoholism, disintegration of families, juvenile delinquency, terrorism, environmental pollution etc. Most of the developed nations today suffer from some kinds of these problems and it could be that the developed countries are suffering consequences of their smug indifference towards the welfare of the underprivileged masses in nations  elsewhere."

We are accumulating karma's at three levels. We accumulate as an individual, as a society and as a Nation. Like individuals have Karma's, societies and Nations have their Karma's too. This tells us is that not only are we individually responsible for doing good but we are also collectively responsible as societies and nations to do good and make the world a better place to live in. If we simply look around us and see the problems afflicting both the developed and under developed nations - this statement or Law of Karma seems to be telling nothing but the truth!

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References and Source to the above article:

To read the Book "The Absolute Law of Karma" please click the link below:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/56439617/The-Absolute-Law-of-Karma-by-Pandit-Shriram-Sharma-Acharya
To read more about the author Shriram Sharma Acharya, please click the link below:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shriram_Sharma
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How To Pray ( Part 1) ? Ensure Your Prayers Are Heard !

The enclosed excerpt tells us how to pray? We all pray, but many times our prayers are not heard and we face disappointments in worship. Our faith gets shaken and we wonder why our prayers were not heard.
The following quoted text explains to us how to make our prayers meaningful and effective. The enclosed passage is an excerpt from the autobiographical text  "My Life its Legacy and Message" authored by Shriram Sharma Acharya.

Quoted Text:

"The only reason which causes disappointment in the field of religious worship is to consider formal rituals as everything and to pay no attention to our inner cleansing and refinement.

What really matters is the inner vision and steadfastness of faith which acts as manure and water for nurturing the tiny seed that enables a seed to grow into a mighty tree. In fact, it is the radiant personality of the devotee that infuses life in worship, and mere performance of rituals is nothing but a pastime.

Ram of Tulsi, Hare Krishna of Soor, collective singing of devotional songs by Chaitanya, songs of Meera, Ramakrishna’s worship of Mother Kali, did not become radiantly alive for these devotees merely by their ritualistic worship.

Innumerable persons act in an absurd and mechanical manner; what they get in return is therefore nothing . When Valmiki changed the pattern of his life, he became illumined even by doing JAP (chanting of a Mantra) in an incorrect, reverse manner. Ajamil, Angulimal, Ganika and Amrapali were hardly literate but they had moulded their inner lives in conformity with spiritual ideals and achieved greatness.

It is rather a sad irony that people these days mistakenly assume that they have embarked on the path of self-realisation merely by uttering some words, performing certain rituals or making certain offerings to the Deity. They never try to transform their thoughts, character and attitudes in the light of the Indwelling Spirit which is a must for spiritual progress. I have always been cautious not to allow this falsity to enter into my way of worship (Sadhna). This path is realistic, practical and easy to be followed by and beneficial to the common mass of humanity. My way of life should be studied keeping this in view.

When righteous people act together towards righteous ends the result is bound to be good. Thus those who want to understand the nature of Spirituality of the Rishi traditions will greatly benefit from the in-depth study of my way of life. The whole of my life has been spent for this very purpose."

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To further understand the three requirements for meaningful worship, please click the article link below:
http://guidingthoughts.blogspot.com/2012/09/ritualistic-worship-is-god-really-that_12.html                                              *******

To know more about Shriram Sharma Acharya click the link below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shriram_Sharma

To read the book "My Life Its Legacy and Message" click the link below:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/101085680/54869318-My-Life-Its-Legacy-and-Message?in_collection=3569864

Who is Shriram Sharma Acharya -a brief note on his Life and his Divine mission

For all those wondering who Shriram Sharma Acharya is? Here's a short note describing his life and works along with a Wikipedia link at the end of the note .

Acharya Shriram Sharma  is the founder of "The All World Gayatri Pariwar" headquartered at Shantikunj,Hardwar (India). He was a Gayatri Sadhak, Master of The Vedas  and a spiritually "Enlightened Teacher" of the modern times. 

A  scientific spiritualist who  lived from 1911-1990 , he  voluntarily shed his physical sheath in 1990 on a predefined date  stated earlier. In his own autobiography he describes himself as having been Sant Kabir, Samarth Guru Ramadas and Ramakrishna Paramhansa in his previous lives. (Ref- My Life Its legacy and Message)

His personal life was an experiment in self discipline and self awakening. He was a spiritual scientist who mastered the science behind the Gayatri Mantra. The Gayatri Mantra as we all know is the source of knowledge, a source of RIGHTEOUS INTELLECT. It is a NON RELIGIOUS MANTRA and the Vedas are nothing but an expansion of the Gayatri Mantra.

Acharya Shriram Sharma  was a proponent of the Vedas and many Spiritual  leaders like Swami Vivekananda, have talked of his imminent birth (that is Shriram Sharma Acharya's birth ) and the purpose and glory of his mission (i.e. to revive Vedic traditions of living life ), many years prior to his actual coming.

His followers are global and come from all religions as his writings and his thoughts pertain to the humanity of religion and focus on Universal Truths that are above Individual Religious beliefs. His writings cover thoughts and ideas from religious personalities across religions, from Buddha, to Lord Mahavir, to Islam and Christ. The sources of religions are many and the destination of all sources is but ONE.

Shriram Sharma Acharya’s  knowledge and penance was so intense that for an ordinary person it was difficult to look him in the eye. He lived for over two decades on a sparse diet of butter milk and a Roti ( Indian bread) made of Jowar. This dietary routine was accompanied by intense meditation of the Gayatri Mantra for a period of two decades. This routine was  followed by him in his quest for generating tremendous amount of spiritual energy for the start and completion of the divine task that had been assigned to him, i.e....The resurgence of Vedic thinking and living, i.e. the resurgence of scientific spirituality.

He has written over 3000 books, and translated all the 4 Vedas, 108 Upanishads, Ramayana, Mahabharata and other vedic religious texts in very readable formats with a focus on extracting the practical learning's we can  incorporate  from these great texts into our modern day lives. As man's intellectual accomplishments advance , eternal truths and spiritual texts need to be re-defined and made relevant to current life styles and times. Scientific validations of spiritual practices is a pre-requiste for understanding and following by a modern day generation. That was the immense work done Acharya Shriram Sharma. 

He preferred himself to be known as a "Thought or an Idea" (rather than as an Individual) , a Thought that can rekindle feelings of empathy, love and respect for our fellow human beings and for the natural bountiful environment that God has blessed us with.His writings are aimed at reviving the Science of Spirituality and in encouraging people to go beyond just  rituals in worship and discover the true essence of Spirituality - individual reformation and re-establishment of "Divinity" in man.

He has firm belief that mankind will once again reinvent itself to survive and thrive as illumined human beings, and once gain thoughts of goodness, sharing and caring, empathy for fellow human beings, knowledge, wisdom and illumination will be benchmarks of human society and progress on a go forward basis. His movement is therefore known as the "THOUGHT TRANSFORMATION and INDIVIDUAL REFORMATION MOVEMENT".

A sample  of the depth and breadth of Acharya Shriram Sharma's easy to read   books  can be found on this blog on our "Life Transforming Books" page, located in the Menu bar.The original writing is in Hindi and all books here are translations of his original writings.
We invite you to explore his writings. You'll be glad you did!

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Additional Notes on Acharya Shriram Sharma :

Govt of India issues a Postage stamp and confers the title "Vedmurti" upon Acharya Shriram Sharma:                                          
http://guidingthoughts.blogspot.com/2012/10/1991govt-of-india-issued-postage-stamp.html

To know more about Acharya Shriram Sharma please click the following Wikipedia link :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shriram_Sharma
Visit The All World Gayatri Pariwar website : awgp.org

Is the Human body an ocean of bio magnetic currents?

The following is a well researched excerpt on how the human body creates, sustains and maintains the bio electric current present in our body. The following quoted text is an excerpt from Chapter One of the immensely popular book "The Astonishing Power of The Bio Physical Energy of the Human Body" by Shriram Sharma Acharya.

Quoted Text:

''The human  body  is  a  wonderful  creation  of  the  supreme  natural  power.  It is endowed with all the physical and conscious energy forms existing in the universe. The living system of human body can be identified as a grand magnet or as a moving electric powerhouse. The human-magnet through its vital energy can affect and get affected  by  others.  An in-depth study and controlled utilization of such effects at (bio) physical and subtle levels offers challenging and important research problems in advanced science.

The  source  of  biomagnetism  in  our  body  gains  energy  from  the  earth's gravitation similar to what the earth gains from the sun. All the universal magnetic forces affect the biomagnetism of the human body. Vital energy levels of a person vary according to the biomagnetism of his/her body.

What is Religion? What is Spirituality? Their importance in our lives!

Enclosed here is an article that explains to us the meaning of the terms Religion and Spirituality. Are religion and spirituality the same? How do religion and spirituality help us in our daily lives and how do we benefit from the same ? We also discuss here  the importance of religion and spirituality to scientific and social progress.

The below mentioned article  is an amalgamation of different excerpts from the book " What is Spirituality ?", which is an English translation of The Spiritiual Master- Acharya Shriram Sharma's  famous work in Hindi "Adhyatma Kya Tha ? Kya Ho Gaya? Kya Hona Chahiye? ".

In current times where innocent common masses are misled into communal disharmony because of the commercialization of religion and exploitation by a few people, that benefit from this commercialization our understanding of religion and spirituality takes on a new relevance and meaning.

Public opinion shapes how our leaders think and how nations draft their policies. Public opinion also forces change. If we truly understand the meaning of our individual faiths and the fact that they lead us to a common destination (being a good empathetic human being), we can then rise above petty commercialization of religion and truly make the world a better place to live in.

Quoted Text from the Book "What is Spirituality?" : (certain lines reworded for a better reading experience):

"There are five foundational pillars of human society upon which the progress of societies, nations, and the world at large rests. These five pillars also signify the "five nuclei of power" that shape both the present and future of the people of the world.

As responsible members of this world, it is our responsibility to channelize these five powerful streams effectively. These five nuclei are :1) The Government 2) Religion and Spirituality 3) The Economy 4) Knowledge and 5) Talents of the people.

In this particular article we will deal with only one of the five foundational nuclei of society :Religion and spirituality. We will start with an explanation and meaning of both these terms and also discuss how these terms have got distorted over time and and the critical importance of fixing these distortions and reflecting on their true meaning.

The real meaning of religion is - the linkage of our consciousness with nobility; implanting magnanimity and human values in people’s hearts and minds; righteous orientation of thoughts, emotions and actions.

Illusory doctrines and fundamentalist impositions in the name of religion or faith are mere offshoots of prejudiced communalism propagated by the few so-called ‘religious leaders’ or ‘extremist philosophers’ who exploit the simplicity and emotional softness of innocent people for their personal gain.

Unfortunately, since several hundred years, these distortions have overshadowed the spirit and light of religion. This sheath needs to be peeled off at the earliest so that the immense power of spirituality could be used for self-awakening and moral elevation of the masses. This can’t be achieved simply by sacraments, grand ceremonial gathering, festivals, devotional songs or prayer meetings. Dissemination of the true meaning and purpose of religion and ethics of humanity can be executed through enlightened writings, discourses, arts and culture, and altruistic deeds. Literature, performing arts, films, and above all, the media play a crucial role in molding the tendencies of the masses. 

At this point let us examine what Spirituality means? 

All religions lead us towards Spirituality. Spirituality deals with the enlightenment of one’s thoughts, emotions and intrinsic tendencies. Religions are the roads we travel on and Spirituality is the common destination of all these roads.

“In simple terms spirituality is the most evolved and comprehensive science of psychological, social and moral development of people and therefore the ultimate definition of progress. It brightens the intellect together with inculcation of sensitivity towards human beings and towards the grace of nature. 

There is no place for superstitions, fantasy or escapism in a truly spiritual life. Spiritual progress in no way blocks scientific and materialistic progress. In fact it blends scientific and material progress with altruism and directs scientific and material progress in such a way that progress will not be focused only towards an increase in luxurious living and increase in worldly profits for only a few privileged ones in society. 

Instead scientific and material progress guided by spirituality would lead towards a more holistic growth whose benefits will embrace all of humanity and will not lead to counter productive for the future of the world. 

Spirituality can and should be adopted by all of us in all fronts of our life, so as to elevate the levels of our individual happiness and to also ensure a bright future for all.”

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Source and credits : 
We invite you to visit our "Life Transforming Books" section to read many informative books on religion and spirituality. These books are above individual religious beliefs and focus on the "eternal truths" and the science of religion and spirituality that apply to all of us.

To read the book "What is Spirituality" please click the link below ( This book is a translation of the original text in Hindi and the English translation mentioned here carries some translation loss of meaning, content and grammar). http://www.scribd.com/doc/103619818/94186345-What-is-Spirituality?

To know more about The Enlightened Sage, Scientific Spiritualist and Master of Vedanta, Acharya Shriram Sharma , please click the link below: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shriram_Sharma

What is the Soul? Is it the power that fuels our mind and body?

Very often we use the term -  Mind, Body and Soul( Spirit). While the terms body and mind are easy to comprehend, we often struggle with the question - What is the Soul? Where from it comes and what does it look like? It is also said that the Soul is eternal and does not die - what does this mean?

To understand this and more we enclose here a passage from the book " Wonders Of Human Bio electricity" authored by Shriram Sharma Acharya.The passage quoted here is a condensed and modified version of Chapter 2 of the book - "The Soul as the source of Bio energy of the human body". 

This passage tells us that the Soul is the powerhouse that fuels our body and mind and is responsible for emotional and physical well being. If we can truly harness the poential of our soul we can maximize the purpose of our Lives.

Quoted Text:

"In all living beings, the  soul is the fountainhead of life energy (prana) and is responsible for all biological functions. Our brain is just an instrument of our  soul.

The potential of life energy present in us cannot to be assessed from the physical capability of the body but rather its mental and emotional capabilities. 
Though the human body is physically  smaller in size and its activities such as locomotion, lifting of a load, physical and mental exertion, are limited as compared to several members of the animal kingdom it should not be assumed that the potential of the source of bio energy in humans is of less significance as compared to animals. Quite the reverse actually.

Did you know about the effects of noise and loud sounds on our mental and physical health !

The following is a scientifically validated explanation of the effect of loud sounds on the mental health of human beings. We are all aware of teenagers playing loud music endlessly, the extra high sound decibel levels at movies, traffic noise on the road, planes taking off etc. 

Many of us are simply addicted to noise. But is noise good for you ? For all those interested in the impact of high intensity sounds on our mental well being, the enclosed article is a must read. 

Its a short excerpt, adapted  from the book " Eternity Of Sound and The science of Mantras" authored by Shriram Sharma Acharya.

The smallest level of intensity of sound that could be heard by our ears has been scaled to measure as zero decibels. The average intensity of a whisper (made by a human being) is measured on this scale as 10 to 20 decibels... and so on. The sounds of intensities more than 75 decibels are found to be harmful to the psychological and physical health of a person.  According to a report of the international symposium on environment organized in Stockholm by the UNO - ‘if a human being has to live constantly in a noisy atmosphere where the intensity of sound is more than 140 decibels then he would soon lose the normal mental balance...; and further, higher levels of intensities of this sound would result in his untimely death’.

It is found that, on an average, the intensity (measured in decibel levels) of sound produced by normal conversation is around 60, that of quarreling voice is about 80. The average intensity of the noisy sound of a motorbike measures around 100, that of a siren of a factory about 150, an aircraft about 160 decibels.  The collective impact of these disturbing sounds is found to explosively damaging and more dangerous for our ecosystem than the pollution of air and water.

Scientific Studies on Noise Pollution: Scientific investigations reveal that the stimulation created by the sound waves of intensities higher than 25-30 decibels at a continuous stretch can perturb the normal bio-electrical signal-processing of the nervous system and hence should be regarded as risky... Maintenance of silence in hospitals is therefore mandatory for the recovery process of a suffering human being.

Contemporary experimental research on guinea pigs as well as on the human subjects carried out in the acoustics, medicine and neuro-psychological research laboratories across the world  has shown significant malafide -effects of loud  intensity  sounds on  the clinical, physiological and psychological behavior of the subjects under study. The leading projects included - the experiments conducted at San Francisco medical college, California; Dr. William F. Guar’s research lab in Georgia; Keliayer Hearing and Speech Center, Texas; Dr. Lester W. Santen’s physiological research laboratory in Ohio; the field research carried out by Prof. V. Williams of the Harvard University, in the United States. The US studies were supplemented by Dr. Griffith in Australia, and the national studies of heavy industries’ physical and working environments, carried out in England, France and Russia.

Similar to the Doppler Effect, the negative effect of loud intensity sounds results in the destruction of matter in its vicinity. During the construction of a plane field near Leningrad, sometime in 1963, it was observed that the loud noise of the bulldozers had caused a sudden fall of the feathers of the hens in a nearby poultry farm. The loud ‘voice’ of super magnet fighter aircrafts had produced cracks in the historic caves of Kenyan. Many other historical monuments around the world are facing similar dangers due to the noise pollution created by the traffics or the heavy industrial operations in the areas around.

The intensity of sound has a key role to play at the cellular and molecular level of a human being as well.  Dr. Dailhastize’s research carried out at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has shown that the coagulation of the RBCs increases with the loudness of sound in the surrounding environment. This results in narrowing down of the arteries and increasing their rigidity.  Similarly results were obtained at the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, UCLA during a study of the effects of noise, the negative effects of the loudness of sound in the big cities were found to have caused liver diseases in the adults and affected the would-be-born children of the pregnant women - such infants were born with physiological and anatomical abnormalities of one kind or the other.

While the appropriate ordering and controlling of the frequency and intensity of sound in music creates a soothing effect and aids in strengthening the healthy functioning of the body and the mind, any disorderly play of sound can prove to be   harmful. For instance the electronic strain gauge tests conducted by an acoustic, Dr. John Diamond, have indicated that some combinations and tuning of the ‘Da...Da…Da in a noisy pop music can ruin about two-third of the muscle-strength of its listeners.

The sounds produced by thinking evil thoughts and sentiments like jealousy ego, anxiety, anger - generated by excessive ambitions, possessive desires or attachments - fall into the second category(there are sound vibrations created in the fields that surround our physical body and cannot be heard but are present). 

Therefore those desirous of living a happy, healthy and long life should attempt creating a noise- free atmosphere in their external and the internal world.  Silence in the surroundings and a peaceful state of mind are also crucial for the success of any kind of yoga or spiritual practice or advancement.

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Source and credits:

To read the book "The eternity of Sound and The Science of Mantras" click the link below:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/103600853/Eternity-of-Sound-and-The-Science-of-Mantras

To know more about the author Shriram Sharma Acharya, please click the link below:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shriram_Sharma

                                                       

The Laws of Karma (2): Categorising a deed as Good or Bad Karma !

To discuss 'The Laws Of Karma' further we now explore  the basis of categorizing a deed as right or wrong- or good karma v/s bad karma. 
In an earlier article on the blog ,we discussed the deity of Chitragupta (Chitragupta is defined as  the Universal life force that is present in all of us, it is an impartial deity that categories deeds as right and wrong based on the motives of the doer). To discuss The Laws Of Karma further we now explore  the basis of categorizing a deed as right or wrong. 

Here we discuss -How does Chitragupta define a deed as wrong or right /good or bad? Is it the deed that is the basis for evaluation or is it the motive and emotion behind the deed? Do circumstances behind the deed play any role in its evaluation? Under The Laws Of karma -is an illiterate peasant treated the same way as an educated millionaire? Is it more charitable to give away ten bucks or is giving away a million a greater act of charity? Does occupying a leadership position come with greater responsibility in the Theory of Karma and Divine Justice?

The following article explains all this and more and is an adapted excerpt from pages 7-11 of the immensely popular book " The Absolute Law of Karma" authored by Shriram Sharma Acharya.

Quoted Text : How is a deed or action categorised as right or wrong, good or bad?
"Let us now discuss the working of Chitragupta. Chitragupta as we already know is the inner mind/ inner conscience  that is a component of the Universal Life Force of creation and is  present in every human being. It is impartial and judges our deeds based on the motives and intent on the person. Now let us discuss why and how this deity evaluates the deeds of a person and what are the yardsticks of this evaluation?

In an earlier  discussion, the reader has been introduced to the concept that our sub-conscious mind, itself operates as the deity Chitragupta. It keeps a continuous micro-record of our good and evil deeds in a condensed form, and like the recordings on a small compact disc, the details of our virtuous and sinful deeds get registered microscopically and subtly on certain neurons on the inner chambers of mind. In this way the writings of Chitragupta could be regarded as shorthand notes taken by the divine stenographer (Chitragupta) for presentation as testimony for objective evaluation of the total span of our life.

The Laws of Karma (1) : What is Karma? Its meaning and significance?

"The Sanskrit term "Karma," is derived from the root verb "Kri," that is to act. Taken in its literal sense, therefore, Karma signifies action, and refers to all actions whether of mind or body. Wherever there is activity of any kind, it is Karma.

In this sense devotion, love, worship, meditation, concentration, discrimination are all Karma; as are also, for the same reason, eating, drinking, walking, talking, or performing any organic function.

Again, every action, as we are aware, is followed by reaction. No action can be separated from its result, as no cause can be absolutely disconnected from its effect. Consequently the secondary meaning of Karma embraces all reactions or results of actions. The chain of cause and sequence, known as the "law of causation," is also called Karma; and every action of body and mind is governed by the Law of Karma or of action and reaction. Being subject to this natural law, we have been working in this world from the beginningless past, and reaping the results of our efforts, whether pleasant or unpleasant, good or evil.

When, furthermore, we consider that the effect of each action leaves its impression on the mind-substance, which impression becomes the seed of a fresh action of a similar nature, we understand the third meaning of the term. In this sense the word Karma includes the accumulated results of past actions or rather the seed forms of future activities. Hence the character of an individual, which is the aggregate result of the works of his previous life may be called Karma. In the same way, the future life will be the sum-total of the results of the mental and physical actions of the present life."......

(The above definition of "Karma" is a quote from Swami Abhedananda's writings on Karma Yoga  . Swami Abhedananda  is  direct disciple of Ramkrishna Paramhansa and a Gurubhai of Swami Vivekananda)

In continuation of the Karma  theme , Acharya Shriram Sharma takes us through simple explanations that govern the Laws of Karma, in a fascinating book titled "The Absolute Laws of Karma". The enclosed quoted text below are from this book (refer pages 5-7) and the writings  explains to us how the good deeds and bad deeds in our lifetime get recorded, and who exactly documents these records and how these records are maintained and managed?

Quoted Text:

"A verse in the Hindu scriptures (Garura Purana) states that a suppressed conscience takes one to hell and an awakened conscience leads to heaven. This statement tries to explain the enigma of Heaven and Hell, i.e. an individual himself is responsible for creating heaven and hell in his life. 

The Hindu scripture (Garura Purana) describes this phenomenon metaphorically. It is mentioned that in the astral world (Yamlok) there lives a deity named Chitragupta, who maintains the record of good and evil deeds of a sentient being. When a living being dies and its soul enters the astral world, this deity presents the record of its good and evil deeds and, based on this account, the soul is assigned to live in either heaven or hell. Common sense would not accept the existence of a deity like Chitragupta.

The number of human beings inhabiting this earth itself is in billions. If we take into account the other living beings of millions of non-human species, the total number would be beyond mathematical calculation. It would be an impossible task for an individual to work day and night without rest for millions of years maintaining records of each moment of life of innumerable beings of the cosmos. Impracticability of maintenance of such a stupendous record puts a question mark on the very existence of Chitragupta.

However Modern Science substantiates the existence of Chitragupta .Modern science, today explains    the   reality   underlying the metaphorical descriptions given in the scriptures. Science has now established that all mental, verbal and physical activities carried out by an individual having a discriminative mind leave subtle impressions on the deeper levels of the psyche.