Hinduism

The elusive truth

K.S. Sivakumaran

What is truth is a philosophical question. What is true to one is not true to the other. There is no absolute “truth” as we know. Very often the ‘truth’ lies somewhere between two extremes. It all depends on each one’s interpretation. The legal luminaries are experts in interpretations. This is what a common people like us observe.

But according to the Hindu sages “Truth is the same at all times in all places but the sages express it differently”.

Students of comparative study of the ancient and modern religions unbiased and unprejudiced will no doubt find that this is fundamentally true. In other words what the sages have said. is apparently true. In fact the core of any religion is the same as the sages have said.

Naturally the mode of expression would be different to the saint. To understand a saint’s pronouncements we need an intellectual capacity higher than the one we might have.

To make us understand the nuances the Hindus evolved a system that could lead person to a higher realm step by steep. We must also recall the fact that intuition is higher than reason or instinct. We must remember that to ascertain the truth age, education, social position and the like do not count.

The first step recommended in the system is called Sarikai. An Idol is introduced to the uninitiated as God. People see wonderful things in the Idol. The Idol gives the person what he or she want. For this as gratitude the person offers poojas. Innumerable ceremonies follow.

The next step is Kriya. The Hindu is made to understand that the stone which forms the body of the Idol is only a cover to hide the God and that this invisible God is also inside him taking cover under his body.

The vast majority of the Hindus are permanently stood in the first step that is Sarikai. Some of them however succeed in reaching the second step. But invariably they fall back to the first step in time of stress or emergency. The third step is definitely of a higher standard and is termed Yogam.

Here again Yogam is not the same as Yoga which has become fashionable even in the West. Yogam means union in spiritual sense. It is the Raja Yoga only that is vital and not Karma Yoga, Bhakthi Yoga or Gnana Yoga- The latter terms were coined later.

This Raja Yoga is really mental development and it has nothing to do with work or action (Karma), love (Bhakthi) or wisdom or philosophy (Gnanam).

In this third stage (Raja Yoga) self analysis is the main concern and concentration is the key.

The God that was hiding inside the Idol in the first step has now been transferred to the heart of the man. The Idol is now only a symbol and not God as imagined earlier. Poojas are now mentally performed in this step. Heart here means not the organ that pumps blood. What is meant is the core of what we call the “I” (consciousness).

Non-priests are not allowed to walk in a temple to reach straight into the sanctum of sanctums .Likewise there are several barriers to reach the Almighty (Brahman) In the same fashion we cannot reach God inside our heart. The fourth step is reached when by a process of elimination the physical body, the mind and its functions are all discarded as non-self.

When all that we could objectify physically or mentally is not God at this stage. What remains is the feeling or consciousness that we are not all these - body, mind and the like.

This consciousness is devoid of the physical and mental coverings are perhaps the God said to have been hiding inside the heart. That is the stand a Yogi takes.

When fully realized all ignorance and superstition evaporate and the Yogi no more pays attention to the Idol. He may think poojas, ceremonies, fasting, weeping and the like are all false and meaningless.

But a Yogi does not become a Gnani yet but he never slips again into the lower standards. He is yet to reach one more step. Rather one more appendage to drop.

The feeling of “I” in the body and the sense of “Mine” are dropped. This veil drops by constant meditation. He is now a real “Gnani” To him even a Yogi with all his psychic powers is an object of contempt. What is truth at one stage becomes false in the second and so on and the realization widens to a stage when everything melts into pure consciousness. That is to say that these are not real and truths as perceived in earlier steps.

They are only partial truths revealed on the way to the stage of consciousness and do not express the whole.

The moment one tries to express Truth through words it becomes distorted. If one hundred people listen to an expression of truth there is sure to be one hundred modifications of the same truth.

God Siva himself realized this and resorted to silence. He is said to have made certain movements with his hands. Even that had led to endless debate between the two main divisions of Hinduism- the Saiva Siddantham and the Vedaantham- the Dualists and the Monists.

Those who have realized the Truth need no logic or reasoning or gymnastics either physical or verbal.

Beliefs in Hinduism

It is difficult to assign a dogmatic orthodoxy to Hinduism. Many variations have developed from Hinduism over the years, and many non-Hindu cults and religious movements gained their inspiration from Hinduism. Even in India today, the most orthodox divisions of Hinduism have changed significantly over the last three thousand years.

There is no strict orthodoxy in Hinduism. There are however, several principles that share a commonality among the various sects. Virtually all Hindus believe in: The three-in-one god known as “Brahman,” which is composed of: Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the Preserver), and Shiva (the Destroyer).

Karma

The law that good begets good, and bad begets bad. Every action, thought, or decision one makes has consequences – good or bad – that will return to each person in the present life, or in one yet to come.

Reincarnation

Also known as “transmigration of souls,” or “samsara.” This is a journey on the “circle of life,” where each person experiences as series of physical births, deaths, and rebirths. With good karma, a person can be reborn into a higher caste, or even to godhood. Bad karma can relegate one to a lower caste, or even to life as an animal in their next life.

Nirvana

This is the goal of the Hindu. Nirvana is the release of the soul from the seemingly endless cycle of rebirths.

Hinduism is both polytheistic, and pantheistic. There are three gods that compose Brahman – Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. Hindus also worship the “wives” of Shiva, such as Kali, or one of Vishnu’s ten incarnations (avatars). This is only the beginning. There are literally millions of Hindu gods and goddesses – by some counts, as many as 330 million!

At the same time, Hinduism teaches that all living things are Brahman in their core. In other words, all living things are Brahman, or god.

Enlightenment is attained by becoming tuned in to the Brahman within. Only then can one reach Nirvana. The release from the wheel of life that allows access to Nirvana is known as “moksha.”

Hindus recognize three possible paths to moksha, or salvation. The first is the way of works or karma yoga. This is a very popular way of salvation and lays emphasis on the idea that liberation may be obtained by fulfilling one’s familial and social duties thereby overcoming the weight of bad karma one has accrued.

The second way of salvation is the way of knowledge, or gnana yoga. The basic premise of the way of knowledge is that the cause of our bondage to the cycle of rebirths in this world is ignorance.

According to the predominant view among those committed to this way, our ignorance consists of the mistaken belief that we are individual selves, and not one with the ultimate divine reality – Brahman.

It is this same ignorance that gives rise to our bad actions, which result in bad karma. Salvation is achieved through attaining a state of consciousness in which we realize our identity with Brahman. This is achieved through deep meditation, often as a part of the discipline of yoga.

Personal approach

The third way of salvation is the way of devotion, or bhakti yoga. This is the way most favoured by the common people of India. It satisfies the longing for a more emotional and personal approach to religion. It involves the self-surrender to one of the many personal gods and goddesses of Hinduism.

Such devotion is expressed through acts of worship, temple rituals, and pilgrimages. Some Hindus conceive of ultimate salvation as absorption into the one divine reality, with all loss of individual existence. Others conceive of it as heavenly existence in adoration of the personal God.

Hindu Belief

Hinduism is among the most ancient of the eastern religions, and one that has had a profound influence on western civilization. Over the years, it has given birth to other cults and religious movements.

Buddhism started as an offshoot of Hinduism. Today, the New Age Movement, Transcendental Meditation, Wicca, and many forms of pagan worship are offspring of Hinduism. Hinduism is a religion of varied interpretations, practices, and doctrines. One cannot say, “This is the Hindu orthodoxy, from which there is no deviation.” There are, however, certain commonalities, which we will explore.

We present this information in an effort to explain the general beliefs of Hinduism, and contrast them with biblical Christianity. We do our best to explain some rather nebulous concepts, and may make some mild generalizations.

If you are Hindu, please understand that we bear no hatred or malice to the good people that practise this religion. We only wish to show how the Hindu religion differs from the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is our goal to present the truth with love.

Hinduism is rooted in the merging of two basic religious systems: that of the ancient civilization residing in the Indus River Valley from the third millennium B.C., and the religious beliefs brought to India by the Aryan (European) people who began moving into the Indus Valley sometime after 2000 B.C. Today, Hinduism claims over 750 million followers worldwide – that’s 1/6th of the world’s population!

Hindu Scriptures

That number does not include the followers of New Age and other religious movements that share a common bond with the Hindu religion from which they developed. The Hindu scriptures are massive, and were written between 1400 B.C. and A.D. 500.

www.buddhistnet.com

To be continued

Sithars of Sri Lanka:

Navanatha Sithar

Thilaka T. Wijeyaratnam

The Queensbury Estate is situated on the 13th mile post of the Nuwara Eliya-Kothmalai road. There came a Swamy to Queensbury. He was living in India meditating in a cave in a mountainous area called Kollimalai which was and is still supposed to be the abode of Sithars. In the same area lived one Nagan and his wife Perumal Ammai. They were devotees of this Swamy called Navanatha Swamy. He was the best of all sithars. He was able to be in so many places at the same time.

Once Perumal Ammai told Him that they wanted to build a Murugan temple in Ceylon (then) and requested Swamy to be present at the Kumba-apishekam - a sanctification ceremony. Swamy promised to be there.

So Perumal Ammaiyar and family came to the Queensbury estate. They got the temple built as planned. On the Kumba-apishekam day, there was no sign of Swamy. Worried, as they got all the items necessary for the event, they saw Swamy coming. They were overjoyed to see Swamy. When they reached the temple Swamy pointed out a place in front and on the right of the temple and told them, “This is where my Samadhi would be.”

People heard of this Swamy and came in numbers to worship Him. High ranking officers, religious people and even devotees from India came. One person who came from Salem in S. India identified Him as the Swamy who attained Samadhi in Salem. When asked the Swamy smiled and said, “Could be.”

Once when He was walking alone among the tea bushes, He saw three men who were smoking ganja. They asked Swamy to join them. Swamy refused.

They insisted. They prepared ganja using poisonous dried leaves. Swamy took a puff and blew out the smoke. The three persons who inhaled the smoke fainted. Swamy threw the stuff and walked away.

People came in search of the three and found them unconscious. They were at first taken to the Nawalapitiya Hospital and then to the Kandy Genela Hospital. People got to know how they treated Swamy. They - the relatives of the three - went to Him and with tear filled eyes worshipped and begged Him to forgive the three. Swamy said He had nothing to do with it. Even for five days the men didn’t regain consciousness. Ten the relatives came back to the Swamy and pleaded with Him to save the miscreants. Swamy relented and getting a cigarette from them lighted it and puffed it once. Then He told them to go home.

“They would be alright,” He said. The three regained consciousness at the time Swamy took a puff.

This was one of His mystical deeds. This incident earned much respect for Swamy from the estate folk. Once Perumal Ammai wanted to go on pilgrimage to Chithamparam. There she sat praying. Swamy had given her a Rudraksha prayer chain. It was missing. She was unhappy. With eyes closed she prayed thinking of Navanatha Sithar. The prayer bead chain fell into her hands. She was awed at the thought of the sithar being everywhere.

Yet on another occasion, when Swamy was in India, a devotee by the name of Guruswamy was keen on going to Kollimalai - the abode of the Sithars. Swamy asked him to go with Him at 2 a.m. The devotee was frightened to climb the hill. Swamy held his right hand firmly with His left hand and told him to close the eyes and open the eyes only when Swamy told him to. He did so. At a point Swamy told him to open the eyes.

He was surprised to see that they were on the peak of the hill. Effortlessly Swamy removed a huge rock covering a cave. Inside were about seven sithars deep in meditation.

There was one Reddy who wanted to sink a well at a temple. However deep it was dug, there was no water. He turned to Navanatha Swamy for help. Swamy drew a chakra - disc on a metal piece and put it in the well. Water sprang from the well almost filling it. These are some of the siddhus - mystical deeds of Navanatha Swamy. His Samadhi is still at Queensbury.

Of the sixteen sithars of Sri Lanka, Kadaiyitswamy’s Samadhi is in the north, Navanathaswamy’s is in the south, Periyanaicuttyswamy’s is in the west, and Chithanaicuttyswamy’s is in the east. Still devotees seek out these places to worship them.

Matale Arul Migu Muththumari Amman Temple

Chelvathamby Maniccavasagar

The Mahotsavam of Matale Arul Migu Sri Muththumari Amman will commence next week and the Board of Management of this temple has made elaborate arrangement to conduct this year’s festival too successfully as in the past.

Matale is an ancient historical town and even pilgrims from India had visited this holy Temple during the great older days and since then the chariot festival continued from generations to generation where Sri Lankans irrespective of race, religion and caste participated in large numbers.

The chariots which were made out of sandalwood were burnt during the 1983 ethnic disturbances, the Chariot festival was revived ten years later due to the tremendous efforts of the devotees of this temple and the President of the Board of Management late Dr. T. Marimuththu Chettiar.

In Hinduism the supreme Lord is represented by Maheswara and His power is represented by His concert Sakthi. Just as the husband and wife take care of this family, so also does Shiva and Sakthi look after the affairs of the universe. Sakthi is the embodiment of power and she is the supreme power by which the world is made to function.

In one of his poems T.S. Eliot has described the predicament of man who with all the progress and success he has made in science and technology finds that “endless inventions, endless experiments bring us knowledge of motion, but, not stillness, knowledge of words and not of the word Lord Shiva without Sakthi is all stillness, silence. It is Sakthi which stirs Him to motion and speech.

If Shiva symbolizes cosmic energy in its passive form, Sakthi symbolizes it is the dynamic form. Further, it is difficult to separate are from the others’ and hence the concept of “Artha Narisa” arose.

Sri Muththumari Amman at Matale has done several miraculous deeds to Her devout devotees. Several years ago a woman who lost her Thali during Ther Festival got it back with the grace of Goddess Sri Muththumari Amman. Furthermore, it is very often said that the creator of the universe Brahma resides in the Naval of Lord Vishnu. Similarly in the hearts of men reside the creative life and faith of the world. This is clearly evident from the manner the people of Matale pray to Goddess Arul Migu Sri Muththumari Amman.

During the “Pancharatha Chariot Festival” the statues of God Ganesha, Goddess Valli, Goddess Ambal, Goddess Sri Muththumari Ambal and Goddess Sri Sandeswari are decorated and illuminated and taken along the streets in chariots followed by poojas, Bhajans and Archanai.

The Chariots are pulled by ropes by thousands of devotees with no racial differences. Wherein the rich and the poor mingle shoulder to shoulder, sweating together in pulling the body politics of the Divine State, giving the Lord a chance to witness the peaceful progress that the community has made, clustering around the temple where the Goddess preside.

In the tradition of the Hindu literature, the Chariots are the replicas of the human body. The Deity on the Chariot reminds us of the truth that the God is seated in the heart of each individual. Further, the chariot which represent our body is yoked to four horses (the sense organs) wherein the individual sits dejected and despondent driven by the intellect which with the mind guides the horses. The horses represent human passions and the reins symbolize the necessity of restraining and guiding the passions. The journey of the chariot through the streets is an emblem of progress of life and the lesson is that throughout his life one should control and guide its passions with the help of the soul.

If one prays Goddess Sri Muththumari Amman of Matale with devotion will undoubtedly receive Her Blessings.

Indeed, to a world lost in error and weighed down by forces of darkness, ignorance and arrogance, conflicts and contradictions, trials and tribulations, let us worship Sri Muththumari Amman and utter Her pure name and contemplate and surrender ourselves at Her Lotus Feet for the progress and success of our lives and also for the everlasting peace and racial harmony in Sri Lanka.