Philosophy behind OM/AUM

Consciousness is an amazing subject. Modern science with all the advancements in many areas of the body is still catching up when it comes to brain, memory, neural networks & consciousness. 

On the other side, the basic tenets of Hinduism treat this particular subject with such an awe that after studying some scriptures we may very well may come to a conclusion that everything we experience lies with consciousness. 

In this blog, let's start the analysis by taking the fundamental sound in Hinduism, OM or AUM. According to prominent gurus & even literature like Lalitha Sahasranam,  OM can be seen as 5 states of experience by consciousness.

1) Dream State (Swapnavastha): We experience dreams when we're asleep. Mind conjures so many things & shows us a movie kind of play in the dreams with several characters. Strange part is consciousness sometimes associate with one of the characters and gets so much involved in the play that it completely forgets that every character in the play is conjured by one entity and experiences emotions considering the scenarios faced by the associated characters. Modern Science logic to this strange phenomenon is that the impressions stored in the mind come out as dream & our consciousness gets involved in the play to such an extent that it affects our wakeful state in case of nightmares/strong dreams. Once we wake up from the dream, Consciousness realizes that it's all play & there is no point in emotional connect to it as it is not real

2) Wakeful State (Jagruthavastha): This is the state where we experience the world as we see with family, friends, interests, emotions etc., Consciousness experiences this state in every second & completely connects to the world, undergoes lot of emotions. In a word, it gets attached so much to this state that it becomes the most important state of the being. Fundamental reasons for such a connect are every other being experiences this state, there is memory to this state in terms of human memory, digital memory etc., There is element of relative permanence to this state. Careful study of Hinduism gives us lot of examples on how one should experience this state beautifully with umpteen festivals, bonding to nature, family, friends, celebration, decorations etc., 

3) Deep sleep State (Sushupthi): One doesn't remember exactly what happens in this state but the experience of this state is felt as we often say "I had a sound sleep with no dreams". It means that the consciousness didn't experience any dreams but it felt the over all experience of the deep sleep.

4) Turiya Avastha: This state is where the importance of being "Unattached" comes into play. Let's say there is someone who experiences all these states but is unattached internally, who is not a robot (one does fulfil their duties in righteous manner including celebrations etc.,) but at the same time is solid internal framework of mind which helps them navigate any tough situation with focus solely on Process rather than Result. It is more like an elevation of experiences by Consciousness to next level which somehow manages to do all the other states but "Unattached" to them. Hinduism believes that ones in this state are so placid & controlled inside that even when involved with emotions like anger, joy etc., Internal core doesn't change, more like Stoics but the key difference being Stoics only inside as from outside they appear like any other.

5) Sarvavastha Varjithayi namah: This is the state when one is beyond Turiya and the point where one merges with nature of Universe. This may sound theoretical but we can imagine the experience of Consciousness not only witnessing but being that one single point from where the Universe began as per Big Bang Theory. If one observes closely, one of the basic tenets of Hinduism is the belief that the causal factor for whole Universe is "Brahman" and every entity is the Effect of this & so the saying "Aham Brahmasmi", is very similar to the single point from which Universe is emerged as per Big Bang Theory. Is that single point "Brahman", time will answer & deeper analysis for another day.

Hope this gave practical insight on how Hinduism offers us guidance on how one can experience the Consciousness & benefit from it.

Science of Living

Everyone has to live on earth as per the script of Nature. Man being intelligent among others has to
understand Nature and obey the laws of Nature. In ancient India, this was followed meticulously and
Nature blessed man for such acts. Live and let others live is the philosophy of living.

In the last few hundred years, after mechanization, few people began to rob the hardship of other
humans as well as other beings. Too much selfishness and supremacy made man an enemy to Nature.

Let us see different aspects in this matter.

Food: Food is essential for any one. The food of man in deserts, hills and uncivilized areas may contain
small creatures appearing there. But after civilization and development of agriculture, the food is based on
plant products. In ancient India even plants were not harmed for their food and only dropped fruits etc.
were taken as food as no one has the right to kill others. But after so-called civilization, man started eating
every creature (in some countries more specifically) and his appetite has become unending. Is it justified?
Our intestine is suitable for vegetarian food. We should not kill any animal/bird/etc., but a naturally dead
animal may be taken if interested. The day we all become Vegetarians, Nature blesses us. Vegetarian and
limited food will boost immunity and good health.

Society:  Family is the root of society. Respect to Parents, Teachers and elders; helping the needy people
around us; helping other countries in case of severe drought etc. should be inculcated from childhood.
Good relations, ethics, transparency and accountability are four pillars of any Good society.
How best we build the pillars will make the society very happy and harmonious development can be achieved.

Government: The role of the Government is crucial for the wellness of its people. It has to provide free
education, free health services to every citizen so that all the people are well educated and healthy ones.
This is an assurance to people for happy living. In ancient India, Education, Health services and Food were
never sold and offered free. The situation was changed drastically after invasion by Moguls/British etc.
Government should ensure welfare of all the people with suitable planning.

Economy: Economics plays a key role for achieving happiness to all, which is the ultimate goal of the world.
All should be happy and respect one another for their traditions and Philosophies. Then we can reduce military
force and divert the funds to socially acceptable channels.  Certain principles may be kept in mind by all
public, Governments and Social Organizations.

Every individual should work from the age of 25/30 up to 60/65 as per his capacity and need.
He should save 25% for health / old age and pay 10 to 20% to the Government to run the Nation.
For acquiring Home & other assets, first he should save at least 30% of the value and go for loan for the
remaining. No loans for luxuries. He should work hard and be satisfied with the achievement.
Too much earning at the cost of health is not good. He should have bank balance at least for six months' livelihood
in case of unemployment and then make charities to the needy people.

Government should never give anything free to a healthy person. It should provide food and shelter to aged
people and disabled people. These beneficiaries should not participate in elections for voting.

In case of famine and situations like Covid-19 , the Government should create work for the labor. It may be
like repairs / construction of lakes / water reservoirs in the villages / towns/ forests and hill areas to procure
rain water for development of agriculture / greenery and animals stay in forests comfortably etc.
Never print currency and distribute to accelerate the economy, which will have post adverse effects and
inculcate laziness among people. Every one’s meal should be backed by some work. Charity is only for aged
and unhealthy people.

A citizen paying Income Tax for a number of years should be taken care of at his old age in case he is out of
income / wealth for any reason, as he contributed during his good days to the Government.

Every Nation has to produce the necessary products / services to the maximum possible and should be
self sufficient for general needs. It should export the surplus and can import other products to that extent.
Self sufficiency should be the goal of the Nation.

Let us take only vegetarian food and milk (obtained in a harmless way for cows & calves) for a period of
say two years and then we can see wonders in Nature. Nature blesses us with all ingredients to all beings of the
whole world and we cannot observe the terms like Covid-19. Hope the day is nearer.

Bonagiri Rama Rao.

Retired Bank Manager.

Nature of God based on Hinduism

In Hinduism, people believe in various gods Eg: Rama, Krishna, Shiva, Devi, Hanuman, Saraswathi, Ganesh, Skandam, Ayyappa etc., So, the question that comes to any sane person is,

How come there are so many gods ?
Do all of them have same powers ?
Do I have to ask them for something specific that each God has control over ?
Why is it so complicated ?

After studying/observing/listening some scriptures like Ramayana, Gita, Bhagavatham etc., I realized that there is a guiding principle for devotion towards any of the deities.

"There is no place in this Universe where God doesn't exist". 

One may ask these questions immediately, "Is god in bad people/things/happenings as well". Strangely, the answer is Yes. Because it depends on how we define the God. For many of us,  God is Infinite & Time-independent. So, if God is not there in any particular thing, God becomes Finite. So, God has to be Infinite, so God exists in everything. Period. It means that God has no specific name/sound and no specific shape/picture as God is omnipresent (many religions agree to it).

Now, the next logical question is, if God exists in bad persons (as an example), why does he indulge in bad activities.

This led me to discover something called Consciousness that exists in everything. Some realize (Eg: Some Humans like Ramana maharshi) & some don't to it's full extent (Eg: Remaining Humans, Animals, Rocks etc.,). So, this Consciousness is masked by various layers that're not permanent by the nature of the object we're talking about.

Eg: Human Consciousness - masked by attachment to relationships, money, food etc.,

So, based on some reading, I understood that as & when these layers are removed (renunciation), one realizes the god within & hence the saying "Aham Brahmasmi" (similar to Self-Actualization --> tip of Maslow's hierarchy of needs). In that state, one realizes god in oneself & also everything and experiences a state of bliss (not trance) that one is part of this eternal cosmic equation; nobody can separate the one from it (Advaita Philosophy - meaning there is no dvaitha (meaning two); Everything is in one god).

Worships of different deities are baby steps to achieve this "Aham Brahmasmi". It means that, irrespective of one's belief (multiple gods, one god or no god), if some one can actually feel the oneness with the Universe, then they actually attained Moksham (Salvation - part of God).

So, bad persons have God in them but got masked by these layers. In order to deal with this perplexity, Hinduism suggests action (karma) based on Dharma (righteous thing). Some elements of Dharma change over time & one has to perform karma based on Dharma prevailing at that time (similar to law/being legal in modern world).

Special note on interaction between Advaitha & Karma.
Hinduism supports Bhava-Advaitha meaning seeing godliness in everything (Living and Non-living). More like, connecting to oneness everywhere. This should not be mingled with Karma-Advaitha, meaning treating everything & everybody as same. Karma-Advaitha is not advocated by Hinduism as it is violates philosophy of Dharma. One should perform Karma based on what is right thing to do (Eg: Seeing Godliness in Bad person is Bhava-Advaitha, but treating Bad person as God is Karma-Advaitha, is in direct violation to Dharma. So, bad person should be punished for his bad karma based on Advaitha philosophy)

Blessed (Sthitha Pragna) is the one who does the right thing in material word based on duty and in spiritual world based on experiencing god in everything.

So, here comes our second guiding principle,

"If one does good karma, one gets good karma; If one does bad karma, one gets bad karma; it's like an infinite cycle - what goes around comes around. One should perform Karma based on prevailing Dharma at that time"

We have to note that Karma gets real confusing at times (Eg: Tiger is hungry, it ate a deer. Deer's point of view, it's bad karma for Tiger eating it; Tiger's point of view it's good karma as it's satiated it's hunger); so one has to apply Dharma (law + moral sense) to attach good/bad from one's point of view.  Irrespective of their belief towards god (multiple, one, for some one who believe the very nature is God), the above guiding principle comes into effect all the time in Hinduism.

So, next logical question is, if Karma is deciding everything, why do I require understanding of God/Self-Realization. Well, not many people want to be part of this karma cycle as it's pretty ruthless & also mundane at times and there is no stoppage from being involved in this cycle unless one realizes God within where there is no manah: only budhdhi: exists.

Essentially, based on my understanding, Hindusim is not a religion of god, it's a way of life to realize god with below guiding principles

"There is no place in this Universe where God doesn't exist" 

"If one does good karma, one gets good karma; If one does bad karma, one gets bad karma; it's like an infinite cycle - what goes around comes around. One should perform Karma based on prevailing Dharma to ultimately come out of this cycle and realize God forever"

In other terms, one can be called Hindu irrespective of the god they believe in if

"Every slightest particle (like electron) is manifestation of God - God is omnipresent (Bhava-Advaitha only & definitely not Karma-Advaitha)"

"Do Karma based on Dharma (Law + Moral sense - Righteous thing), realize God forever"



Sources:
Knowledge from Family & Friends
Ramayana: https://www.readramayana.org/
Vedanta: Lectures by Sri Garikapati Narasimha Rao garu (YouTube)
Bhagavatham: http://www.brahmasri.com/Bhagavatam
Bhagavdgita: https://www.asitis.com/

Just an important point, I tried to listen/read from these sources, applied some thought process to filter what is relevant in this context & assimilated some ideas that I thought made sense for this topic.