Japan – The Land of the Rising Sun

Last week, I visited Japan after a lapse of 36 years. I enjoyed pleasant nostalgic memories of my earlier trips including my orientation in Japanese language, the long technical training at Mitsubishi Electric in Kobe and later at the Japanese management training program. I found Japan has not changed much – it still remains an unique country that combines tradition and modernity.

The Japanese Emperor is revered and lives in a grand Imperial Palace. The palace has many gardens and I had the time and opportunity to visit the Eastern Gardens of the Imperial Palace. Like you see some places in India, the palace a moat around it. (see picture alongside).

The Royalty and the people of Japan love nature. You can witness this love of nature exhibited in many forms – like in art, colorful paintings, roof gardens, sculpture and others. Ikebana – the art of flower arrangement is an example. The Japanese have maintained a continuity of traditions alongwith amazing transformations of the country through technology.

The Vedas proclaim “Aham Brahmāsmi (I am the Universe). Each one us is a part of the Almighty. Like the dew on each blade of grass shines like a gem reflecting the Sun, each of us have the sparkling Jeevatma in us. So, it is in Japan – the land of the rising Sun.

Buddhism, an offshoot of Hinduism, originated in India and later spread to Japan. Vedas too got transmitted to Japan by the sea route from South India and Southeast Asia. In fact, a year ago, a delegation of 150 Vedic priests conducted a grand yagya at Mount Fuji in Japan to cleanse the environmental problems faced by Japan. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A–V8NV4eyc).

There is some similarity between Sanskrit (Samskrutam to be correct) and Japanese languages. I noticed it in some words – like we say “homa” in Sanskrit to describe the Vedic ritual fire; in Japanese they call it “goma.” The priest is called “achari” in Japanese – similar to “Acharya” (teacher) in Sanskrit.

I derive great inspiration from Japan and can go on and on with many more observations. This is just to share my immediate thoughts soon after I returned to India from Japan.

If you have any comments, please feel free to write to me. Dhanyavaadah!

Vijayadashami

I am happy to share the following blog from my good friend Sri. Guruvinder Singh
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The beauty of Indian philosophy known as ‘Sanatan Dharma’ (the eternal laws) is, that its all encompassing. It accepts that existence is about balance. Indians believe that existence and time are a circular phenomenon going from one extreme to another and then reversing in a balanced way. Day follows night, joy and sorrow come together, pure and evil coexist, etc. When the balance is disturbed, existence inevitably moves to correct it. This is the moral of one of India’s greatest annual celebrations, ‘Dussehra or Vijayadashami’.

India has always had a rich tradition of transmitting knowledge, wisdom and historical lessons through the art of story telling, both to celebrate and to reflect. To provide a guide on how to cope with different situations in life. The most frequent being how to cope with the conflict between good and bad.

It is said that the ‘Devas’ (gods, but not to be confused with God or Creation), the good guys were constantly battling the ‘Asurs’ (demons), the bad guys. Both powerful and striving for supremacy of the worlds. During one stage the demons under the leadership of Mahishasura, the bull headed Asura, had all but vanquished the Devas.

Mahishasura (see picture) represents the merging the strength of the beast with the cunning and intelligence of a human. The frightened gods were at wits end and knew not what to do. They asked the holy trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, (the three aspects of divine existence, of creator, preserver and destroyer {detachment} which is present within each human being).

They focussed their energies to generate a brilliant bolt of lightning, which produced the 10 armed beautiful goddess, ‘Ma Durga ji’ riding astride a lion. The goddess represents a powerful entity. She is complete with purity of purpose, thought and focus of action. A trait necessary for success in any venture.

The 10 arms represent power, as manifest in the multiplicity of weapons and tools she possessed and used. This provides the lesson that one must use a multiplicity of weapons and approaches as necessary to achieve an objective.

All the positive energies of the gods and creation were merged into Durga ji and placed at her disposal. Representing strength in unity, especially in adversity.

The goddess Durga ji, fought with Mahishasura for nine days and nights called ‘Navratri’ (nine nights), for battle and bloodshed is always a dark matter; This is why Indians fast, pray and moderate their lives even more on these days. This is an attempt to vanquish the demons within our own minds, and hearts. This takes time as represented by nine days and nights of effort and sincere struggle as evidenced even by the all powerful goddess Ma Durga ji.

All battles end, and on the tenth day, Ma Durga ji, destroyed Mahishasura. This is why the celebration is called ‘Dusshera’ or ‘Vijayadashami’, (the tenth day victory). Ma Durga ji is representative of the two beautiful, mysterious and contradictory aspects of beauty and power of the feminine. Gentle, nurturing and protective on one hand, and fierce and destructive on the other.
Joy and contentment are bestowed upon those who accept this fact, and sorrow and destruction befall those who fail to realise this great truth.

This one of the reasons that the female in traditional Indian culture has always been placed on a pedestal and held in high esteem.

References: The Science Behind Sanatan Dharma | Sadhguru

Distinctive Features of Sanatana Dharma

Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism) has a number of unique or distinctive features. What are those features? We share relevant excerpts from the discourses of Kanchi Mahaperiyavaa.

One of the distinctive features is called the theory of karma, though this theory is common to religions like Buddhism which are offshoots of Hinduism.

What is the karma doctrine? For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. There is a law of physics governing cause and effect, action and reaction. This law pertaining to the physical phenomena our forefathers applied to human life. The cosmos includes not only sentient beings endowed with consciousness but also countless insentient objects. Together they constitute worldly life. The laws, the dharma, proper to the first order must apply to the second also. According to the karma theory, every action of a man has an effect corresponding to it. Based on this belief our religion declares that, if a man commits a sin, he shall pay the penalty for it. Also if his act is a virtuous one, he shall reap the benefits thereof.

Our religion further asserts that one is born again and again so as to experience the consequences of one’s good and bad action. “Do good. ” “Do not do evil, ” such are the exhortations of all religions. But Hinduism (and its offshoots) alone lay stress on the cause-and -effect connection. No religion originating in countries outside India subscribes to the cause-and-effect connection, nor to the reincarnation theory as one of its articles of faith. Indeed religions originating abroad hold beliefs contrary to this theory and strongly oppose the view that man is born again and again in order to exhaust his karma. They believe that a man has only one birth, that when his soul departs on his death it dwells somewhere awaiting the day of judgment. On this day God makes an assessment of his good and bad actions and, on the basis of it, rewards him with eternal paradise or sentences him to eternal damnation.

According to our religion too, Isvara who decides our fate after death on the basis of our karma is infinitely merciful. But, at the same time, he does not plunge the world in adharma, in unrighteousness- that is not how his compassion manifests itself. What does he do then? He gives us another birth, another opportunity to reap the fruits of our good and bad action. The joys of heaven and the torments of hell truly belong to this world itself. The sorrow and happiness that are our lot in our present birth are in proportion to the virtuous and evil deeds of our past birth. Those who sinned much suffer much now and, similarly, those who did much good enjoy much happiness now. The majority is made up of people who know more sorrow than happiness and people who experience sorrow and happiness almost in equal measure. There are indeed very few blessed with total happiness. It is evident from this that most of us must have done more evil than good in our past birth.

In His mercy the Lord gives us every time a fresh opportunity to wash away our sins. The guru, the sastras, and the temples are all his gifts to wipe away our inner impurities. That Isvara, in his compassion, places his trust even in a sinner confident that he will raise himself through his own efforts and gives him a fresh opportunity in the form of another birth to advance himself inwardly- is not such a belief better than that he should dismiss a sinner as good for nothing and yet reward him with heaven? If a man sincerely believes, in a spirit of surrender, there is nothing that he can do on his own and that everything is the Lord’s doing, he will be redeemed and elevated. But it is one thing for God to bless a man who goes to him for refuge forsaking his own efforts to raise himself and quite another to bless him thinking him to be not fit to make any exertions on his own to advance inwardly. So long as we believe in such a thing as human endeavour we should think that Isvara’s supreme compassion lies in trusting a man to go forward spiritually through his own efforts. It is in this way that the Lord’s true grace is manifested.

Thoughts on Control

How to gain control?

Thoughts from my friend Gurvinder Singh – He writes lucidly. My sincere thanks to him.

The best way to gain control is, to never lose it.

In the world of science and technology it is almost always possible to maintain control so that failures are extremely rare. All it requires to be in control is an understanding of processes involved, commitment and competency to deploy and discipline to maintain.

Things are a lot more challenging when we seek control of our lives, our relationships, our surroundings, and that notoriously uncontrollable phenomenon called ‘the market place’.

Its difficult, if not impossible to maintain control over other individuals and groups, because by their very nature are erratic and hence unpredictable. Control is a very big deal for us, in terms of the impact it has in our lives. Everyone it seems is trying to control everyone and everything else. This is why different ‘isms are born, and religions distorted, each seeking to make humans identical in thought and therefore predict and control their actions.

Man always seeks excess, where as nature seeks equilibrium.

No dogma or doctrine can last for ever. It can only guide and that too only for a while, before excesses will compel nature to consume and destroy the dogma itself.

We often fail to realise that the only person we can truly control is, ourselves. Control of oneself is the first step in having any degree of control of our lives.

What is not understood cannot be controlled. Therefore understanding the self is primarily the most important thing we need to do before all else.

Our understanding of ourselves is based primarily upon opinions given to us by by others, mostly based on their biases and demands on us. That is why its a false understanding of ourselves. To get a truer understanding, quiet time with oneself to reflect is of utmost importance for peace, happiness and success.

What does control here mean? Control of our thoughts.

Stilling the mind, brings a peace which makes most things clear to us. In fact its not even control for control demands force. In that peaceful state we achieve harmony.

When one is in harmony, then why the need for control?

A warrior or worker can be at peace with oneself in the midst of chaos, while a silent priest maybe torn apart while alone in front of an altar.

Peace can come from submission, suppression and domination or cooperation.

To submit to others out of fear, is not to live at all. To suppress others one needs resources and control. This will make us live in fear of rebellion and retribution.

Both these may bring peace for a while but neither happiness nor respect.

Peace is not harmony. Peace is the lack of conflict. Harmony is the ability to live peacefully in spite of disagreement and conflict. Only mutual cooperation which comes from understanding and respect can bring harmony.

Harmony is the blending of our song with that of our world around us. That is why I gave up seeking control in favour of seeking harmony.

Why Be A Hindu?

WHAT DOES HINDUISM STAND FOR?

Excerpts from an e-book by Stephen Knapp

Hinduism is, basically, the modern name for the Vedic way of life, especially the spiritual path usually associated with India. Previously, those who followed the Vedic system were also called Aryans. It is often considered that the Vedic Aryans were a race of people. However, Aryan actually means a standard of living, an ideal. It was the Sanskrit speaking people of thousands of years ago that gave the word arya to signify a gentleman, an ideal person, someone on the path of purity. It was a term meant for those who were on the cutting edge of social evolution. Another way of interpreting the word aryan is that ar also means white or clear. Ya refers to God. Ya also refers to Yadu, or Krishna. Thus, aryan means those who have, or are developing, a clear path or a clear consciousness toward God.

In this way, we can understand that Aryanism, Vedic culture, or modern Hinduism, is a way of life. It is not a race of people or merely a sectarian creed or religion. It belongs to no particular country or race. It is a path that upholds a code of conduct which values peace and happiness and justice for all. Thus, it is a path open for all who want to be trained to be happy with simple living and high thinking, while engaged in proper conduct, a moral life, and selfless service to humanity and God. Therefore, anyone who wants to live in such a manner may be called an Aryan, a member or follower of the Vedic culture, no matter from which race or country a person may come.

So what does it mean to follow this Vedic Aryan path?

It generally means to learn the ways of a spiritually progressed person. This includes understanding one’s spiritual identity, knowing that he or she is not the temporary body but is spirit soul, that there is karma or reactions for one’s activities, and rebirth in another life after death in which one reaps the reward or punishment for his or her own good or evil thoughts, words, and deeds. By having a solid understanding of such spiritual knowledge, there is automatically a respect for all others regardless of race, sex, position, or species. This brings a moral and peaceful social behavior in everybody toward everyone. By having respect for everyone’s spiritual identity, this also brings an innate happiness in us all. We can understand that we are only visiting this planet for a short time, and that we are all in this together. In other words, my contribution to your well-being, especially spiritual well-being, will be an automatic contribution to my own existence. In this way, society at large is in a state of constant improvement. Thus, together we all work toward attaining a clean mind and a pure heart. That is the goal of the Vedic Aryan way of life, and all those who seriously follow it.

Not everyone, however, wants to reach this stage of life or follow this path. That is why the Vedic system installs rules for moral behavior and regulatory sacraments and practices beginning from the prenatal stage all the way through death. Of course, many of these moralistic rules are also quite common in other forms of religion and behavior. However, anybody who is unwilling to follow such rules for a balanced moral standard is dubbed a non-Aryan, which simply indicates one who is not so civilized. Such a person is not on the spiritual path of life, regardless of what other standards or principles of etiquette he may follow. So a person who lacks spiritual tendencies and acts on the bodily platform of existence, willing to do whatever he likes, or who thinks he is a white body, or a black body, or from this country or that, and who holds loyalty only to that conception and shows it by criticizing everyone who is not like him, is a non-Aryan. He is one who works against the standards of Hinduism, even he if calls himself a Hindu, or anything else for that matter. In this way, we can see the need to return to the Vedic standards of life through authentic spiritual education.

Therefore, the Sanskrit word Aryan means a way of life that aims at the elevation of everyone in society to a higher level of consciousness, as we find in the broadest foundation within Hinduism. It means to assist ourselves through a disciplined and godly life to understand the purpose of our existence as well as to become a spiritually realized person. It means to recognize the divinity in each of us. It means to perceive the divine energy that permeates the creation, knowing that we and all others are but manifestations of the Divine, the same Supreme Creator, Father of all. It also means that we help every other individual soul understand this, because by helping others we help ourselves. That itself is a natural state of being when we can perceive God as the Supersoul, Paramatma, within everyone. All of this is encouraged by, and increases, a natural faith in an all-pervading Supreme Being. Such faith and focus on the Supreme can elevate us to return to our real spiritual home after death, that one infinite and eternal existence, which is one of the most important goals of the Vedic lifestyle. Once we are relieved of the body, or the bodily concept of life, then there is no longer any question as to what and who we really are. Offering this opportunity to society for reaching that level of understanding is one of the most important purposes of the Vedic path. This is the essence of what Hinduism stands for.

Note: Thanks to Stephen Knapp for giving permission to reproduce a part of his e-book (Source: www.stephen-knapp.com)