User:P.G.Damodaran Nair

WISDOM OF HINDUISM P.G.Damodaran Nair--P.G.Damodaran Nair 07:19, 1 November 2007 (UTC)

Hindusim has no founder and cannot be considered as a religion . It is a way of life and is as complex as the universe itself. A precise definition of Hinduism is not available. All schools of thoughts find a place in Hinduism. Hinduism can accommodate all Darshanas / Views / Philosophies of the world because it encompasses and surpasses all possible views of the mankind. Vedic Wisdom is the strong foundation upon which Hinduism is built up.The understanding of the Vedic Wisdom varies with the individual. Chaarvaka Siddhantha says that nothing other than what we see and hear is true. But Advaitha Siddhantha says that Brahma alone is real and all other things are unreal and the universe itself has functional existence only . A careful study of Hinduism will reveal that all darshanas right from Chaarvaka Siddhantha to Advaitha Siddhantha are various steps leading to the ultimate reality. Advaitha Darshana is considered to be the highest level of thoughts the mankind has ever made. This is an attempt to examine the cross section of the foundation of Hinduism .

BASIC TENETS OF HINDUISM

PARABRAHMAM / PARAMAATMA / PARAASAKTHI is the eternal Truth and Ultimate Reality. It is the smallest among the small ones and biggest among the big ones ( anoraneeyaan mahatho maheeyaan). Eventhough the truth is one, people call it by different names( ekam sat vipra bahudha vadanti)

The entire universe is an expression of Parabrahmam in the form of vibrations caused by its own desire just as the waves in the ocean are the expression of water caused by wind .Different ‘worlds ’ co-exist in the universe and all of them are not subjected to our senses as they have differences in the frequencies of vibrations. The variations in nature are due to variations in permutations and combinations of triguna namely, Satwam, Rajas and Thamas.The Living things have three constituent bodies; Sthoolam (Physical) Sookshmam (Astral) and Kaaranam(Causal). The latter two are described as Jeevaatma and Paramaatma respectively. Jeevaatma or Sookshmasareeram is a reflection of Paramaatma impregnated with ego (aham), intellect(buddhi), chittham and mind loaded with karmabandham. Out of these three constituents, physical body perish ,astral body with bondages (karmabandham) reincarnates, and causal body remain eternal as it is Parabrahmam in its pure form , which is described as ‘Satchitanandam’. The union of astral with physical is worldly life and that with causal is liberation or Moksham. In other words the unique experience of identifying oneness of Jeevaatma with Paramaatma is liberation or Moksham.

Each karma-word deed and thought- creates unprecedented invisibles. These invisibles are energy modules and in the nascent form they are called‘ aagaami’ or incoming energy modules. At the time of the death of an individual these invisibles remain attached to the ’ sookshmasareeram’(subtle body) in the form of ‘ sanjitham‘or acuumulated energy modules. Because of this attachment which is called ‘karmabandham’ or “Karma” the sookshmasareeram accepts another body after the death of the individual and this process is called re-birth or re-incarnation. The form of new life , place and time of re-birth depend on the quality of karmabandham. In the new life the invisible energy modules or karmabandham carried forward from previous life remain in the form of praarabdham. The meaning of the word praarabdham is that which is initiated.

The praarabdham express themselves as instincts or Vaasanas. These instincts are the driving forces of new life which lead to new karma and creation of new energy modules. One can change the effects of his/her praarabdham by controlling his/her instincts by practicing restraint or developing them by exerting conscious extra efforts. Availability of this option is a unique privilege of human life. As long as one maintains sense based materialistic individuality he/she continues in this worldly life . The development of cosmic, transcendental, spiritual individuality leads to disintegration of materialistic sense based personality and such people move to the ‘cosmic worlds’ and attain Paramapurushaartha sooner or later depending again on the quality of “ samskaara” . The time required for this transformation or evolution from primitive life form to perfect human being which is a pre-requisite to attain Paramapurushaartha varies with the individual .Hence different forms of life and among the same form different characters with varying degree of “ samskaara” are seen in this world and it is inevitable also.

The life is the experience of invisibles-good and bad- created by one’s own karma. It continues in search of purushartha viz; Dharma, Artha, Kaama and Moksha. Moksham is the ultimate reality and is called Paramapurushartha. All are destined to attain moksham-the Final Destination and Ultimate Reality. Infact, life is a journey commences from the Almighty and ends in the Almighty. But no one can attain the destination without being a Perfect Man in this world through the process of evolutions. No one can be a Perfect Man as long as he has karmabandham. The practice of any one or a combination of four yogas namely Nishkamakarma, Ashtangayoga, Bhakthiyoga and Jnanayoga are the four methods of liberating oneself from the clutches of karmabandham.All these yogas ultimately lead to Jnana or knowledge .The seeds of karma or karmabandham roasted in the fire of knowledge will not germinate. Knowledge is the most precious asset in life which enables one to liberate from the clutches of worldly life. Liberation is moksham.

The purpose of human life is attainment of Purushartha, which are four in number, namely Dharma Artha, Kaama and Moksha. Earn Artha through the practice of Dharma ; fulfill kaama without sacrificing Dharma and that will make one eligible for the attainment of Moksham which is termed as Paramapurushartha – the ultimate goal . In other words, destination of all human being is Moksham and the path proposed to this destination is that of Dharma. Non-violence, Truthfulness, Self control and Sacrifice are the four pillars of Dharma. Thus says Vedanta the essence of Hinduism.

These are the basic tenets of Hinduism and are considered eternal truths and hence Hinduism is eulogized as ‘Sanathana Dharma’.The Hindu mythology elucidate these Truths for the benefit of ordinary people.

The theory of evolution, theory of relativity, atomic theory, quantum theory ,laws of inheritance laws of motion, findings of human genome project etc are the materialistic explanations and not negation of our vedic wisdom .It encompasses and surpasses the findings of modern science.

VEDAS – THE TREASURE OF KNOWLEDGE

THE VEDA is the basis of Hinduism. A Rishi named Krishna Dwaipayanan divided Veda in to four viz ; Rig , Yajur, Saamam and Atharavam and the Rishi later known as Veda Vyasa. The meaning of the words Veda Vyasa is ‘one who divided Veda ‘ The word Veda means knowledge. Knowledge is divided into two – spiritual(paraa) and material(aparaa). Modern science seeks to find the truth through the materialistic analysis of the universe. Our scientific knowledge is confined to three states of living things viz; Swapnam (Dream), Sushupti, (Sleep) and Jaagrat (Active).Attainment of a fourth state called Thureeyam (Transcendental) is unknown / beyond the purview of modern science. Those who attained this fourth state could realize the eternal truth and these are revealed in the form of Vedas. The last part of Vedas are called Vedantha or Upanishads . Spiritual knowledge is the subject matter of Upanishads.

Eternal Truths are discussed and revealed in Upanishads .It is an embodiment of timeless wisdom, the understanding of which is limited by our level of knowledge or ‘Samskaara”. Obviously there are several schools of thoughts and many scholars have interpreted the vedic mantras in their own way. A Rishi named Chaarvaka stated that there is nothing other than what we see around. According to Chaarvaka Siddhantha the truth is one which we see around .The meaning of the word Chaarvaka is one who speaks beautiful words. According to him there is no Brahman or God or any such supernatural power. Materialistic interpretation and dialectical analysis of the universe are the recent development in that school of thoughts and can be considered as a derivative of Charvaaka Siddhantha. Other important schools of thoughts in Hinduism are Nyaya(Goutama) , Vyseshika(Kanaada) Sankhya(Kapila), Yoga(Pathanjali) , Purva meemamsa(Gaimini) & Uthara meemamsa (Badarayana).Each one of these schools of thoughts is complete in itself .Apparently they are contradicting .But a close and deep study of all these thoughts will reveal that the differences are superfluous and all darshanas are tributaries to the Advaitha Philosophy which trace back its origin in Nasadeeya Suktham in the Rigveda ., developed by Badarayana and explained by many scholars especially by Aadi Sankaraeacharya of Kaladi who is considered to be the greatest scholar the world has ever seen.

PLURALITY OF VISION AND DIVERSITY OF BELIEF

When we teach natural sciences in schools, first the student is told that the sun rises in the east. After some time he is told that the Sun is not moving but the earth is moving. When the student attains higher level he is taught that both the Sun and earth are moving. At still higher levels he learns that the sun is only a small star and there are several stars and galaxies in the universe .Later he understands that the entire universe is moving and that is why it is called jagath. Similarly a student of vedantha passes through various phases of learning . He may learn that what is seen and experienced by the senses alone is correct as stated by Chaarvaka. Paradoxically after passing through several beliefs and darshanas, later he realizes that the entire Jagath ( universe) is actually not existing but it is only a derivative of his conscience as stated by Aadi Sankara in his discourse on Advaita Vedantha . It is a process of development by acquiring knowledge. One can understand and assimilate things commensurate with his level of “ Samskaara” All darshanas or schools of thoughts lead ultimately to Advaitha darshana. Probably only those who understand Advaitha Darshana can say this because a person at higher level alone can have better vision of all. When the spirituality of individuals attain higher planes ie; when the Jeevaatma possesses higher level of “samskaara “ the differences disappears and the individual realizes the Advaitha nature of universe.

One who in darkness may misunderstand a rope as a snake , he may get frightened , he can escape from the scare only when the darkness is removed and truth is revealed. Light is necessary for reasoning in this example. Similarly the light of wisdom is necessary for the realization of eternal truth. This wisdom is very precious and is acquired through the process of innumerable experiences passing through several incarnations.

The Upanishads are the basis of “ Brahmasutra” The sum and substance of all Upanishads is discussed in Bhagavad Gita.The Upanishads, Brahmasutra and Bhagavad Gita are collectively known as “Prasthana threya”. Aadi Sankara has given scholarly interpretation to these three books and as a result he became the greatest scholar and even now he continues to be the greatest scholar the world has ever seen.

When Aadi Sankara enunciated Maaya Theory which strongly plead that the jagath (universe) has no real existence other than a functional existence people could not understand. When modern scientists described matter as a derivative of conscience people pretend to have understood the same. When Aadi Sankara said“Brahma satyam, Jagat midhya, Jeevo Brahmaiva na para” nobody could understand, but when Albert Einstein said “ nature is composed of matter and energy; and matter can be converted in to energy” our modern scientists accepted it. Energy is the ultimate reality known to modern science and it emanates from Paramaatma according to Hinduism. Hence Paramaatma is also called Parasakthi. The understandings of the vedic dictum is limited by our level of samskaara and level of knowledge.

PARABRAHMA : Brahma means big. Parabrahma means biggest of all ,which indicates the Omnipotent ,The Omnipresent, The Almighty. It is represented by the word “ AUM”. When we say that the entire universe is its own expression the universal brotherhood of all living, nonliving, visible and invisible things are proclaimed Hence a Hindu says” Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”- the entire universe is a family.

One who believes this, cannot see himself alienated from the universe - he is part of it. Therefore he wishes “ loka samastha sukhino bhavanthu”- let the entire universe be happy. His prayer is “ Aum Bhadram Karnebhi…..Aum Bhadram pasyemakshabhir…….” – let all that heard be good, let all that seen be good. This is the greatest and noblest prayer one can make to the God because all that heard and seen can be good only when the entire universe is good. This is one among the many noble, selfless prayers found in Upanishads for universal well being. All prayers in Hinduism are concluded with the words “ shanty shanty shanty”. It seeks materialistic, spiritual and godly peace.

When Hinduism says “ekam sat vipra bahudha vadanti” it accepts supreme oneness of parabrahma and at the same time it proclaims the possible plurality of vision and diversity of belief. As far as a Hindu is concerned Islam , Christianity , Saivaism, Budhism , Vaishnavaism , Jainism Zorastrianism Marxism etc are only the parts of this plurality and these do not in any way hurt or interfere with his belief. Hinduism provides maximum freedom of thoughts and belief to individuals. A Hindu respects the religion, belief, rituals etc of others because of the greatness of his own belief .It is the only religion which advocates for critical analysis of the principles and their acceptance only if found correct. The word’ correct’ means compatible in respect of self. It also proclaims that the distance traveled by each individual towards the ultimate destination and also the level of knowledge and understanding of Paramaatma( ie the quantum of Samskaara)may differ from person to person and hence the rituals belief and mode of worship are bound to vary.

These variations are tolerated in Hinduism as long as it does not intrude into the belief of another person. It does not divide people on the basis of belief. A Hindu can visit and offer prayer in a Sikh Gurudwara, Jewish Synagogue, Muslim Mosque, Christian Church and temples of any kind of worship without compromising with his own belief as a Hindu. When one fails to accept the existence of the plurality of vision and diversity of belief it amounts to negation of Hinduism. In Hinduism spirituality is purely personal. Therefore the word Hinduism can be used as a better synonym for secularism. The actual meaning of secularism is a matter of debate. The secularism as is being practiced in India appears to be a policy of negation and appeasement . But Hinduism denotes tolerance and convergence of various philosophies of the world.

For a Hindu , life is a journey commences from the Almighty and ends in the Almighty. In between we are spending time here in this mortal world in search of purushartha, undergoing evolutions , through the process of reincarnations , in most of the times, without knowing or rather forgetting our real goal or destination. In each life the Jeevaatma is acquiring more experiences and knowledge and gradually it becomes aware of its real destination. This knowledge leads him to spirituality and to Ultimate Reality or Self- Actualization. This is the process of evolution which takes one from primitive form of life to perfect manhood. The Theory of evolution enunciated by Charles Darwin is only an exploration of the tips of an ice berg. Actual evolution takes place through the process of reincarnations.

Hindus believe that all are bound to reach the Ultimate Reality. Life is a trial and error method of self seeking practiced by jeevaatma the ultimate goal being self-actualization. The materialistic development including the inventions and discoveries of modern science is the bye-product of this trial and error method of self seeking. If all the Jeevaatmas could understand its destination and path to the destination the world would have been different from its present state. Lack of knowledge of the real destination and path leading to the same is the secret behind the game. Life will be a pleasant experience to all those who practice Dharma without attachment. All sorts of maladies and sorrows associated with worldly life is the result of one’s failure to understand his/her real destination and path to it. The Jeevaatma overcome these ignorance by evolution / refinement over a period of time passing through the process of several re-incarnations. Experience of life is the price we are paying to acquire this knowledge . The Rishi or Guru is a person who experienced the truth .The Jeevaatma has the option to learn the truth from these Rishis or to gain knowledge from their own experience. One who learns from his own experience is definitely wise , but those who learn from others’ experience is wiser. The sum total of the advancement made by one towards the Ultimate Reality through the process of refinement/evolution is called Samskaara. In other words the Samskaara indicates the progress made by one in his / her evolutionary process.

A Jeevaatma can understand and assimilate truth commensurate with his / her level of samskaara only. This is the reason for restricting exposure of eternal truth to certain categories of people.This categorization was attributed to the caste system and used to deny knowledge to vast majority of the mankind. Actually knowledge is open to all. Let us broadcast the seeds of vedic knowledge through out , the seeds that fall in fertile soil will germinate grow and yield fruits. Let us not sit on judgement on other peoples’ eligibility to understand Vedas. Let the seeds of vedic wisdom be sown far and wide. Eligible people who acquired the required level of “ samskaara “ will understand and assimilate. It is just like giving a lamp into the hand of a person struggling to find out his way in darkness . The option to use or through it away is left to the person. Another argument is that the wisdom will lead to inaction and development of indifferent attitude towards worldly affairs. It is also totally incorrect. Life has its own rules to safeguard worldly interest and sustenance of the universe. A seed will have to germinate , grow , flourish , contribute to natural beauty , provide shade , food , shelter etc before it return and contribute to the soil of its origin to complete the life cycle. If it prefers a shortcut method and refuse to germinate at all or refuse to grow and prefers to disintegrate into the soil immediately after germination , there would not be a world of this kind. Similar is the case of human being. Wisdom should lead to identification of one’s own Dharma. Practice of Dharma is inevitable for attaining Paramapurushartha-the ultimate reality. Inaction or abstention from Dharma will not help attainment of Paramapurushaartha. Earn Artha through the practice of Dharma , enjoy all worldly pleasures without sacrificing Dharma , it will make one eligible for attainment of Paramapurushaartha. There are several life to live and several worlds of different frequencies of vibrations to pass through before reaching the destination. There is no short-cut to complete the cycle. Remember that Ahimsa or non violence which is a result of universal love and forgiveness, Thyagam or sacrifice wherein one remains in a state of non-attachment , Indriyanigraha or self restrains wherein one control his/her harmful instincts and Truthfulness wherein the thoughts words and deeds are in agreement with each other are the essential pre-requisites for the practice of Dharma.These are the area which demand greater attention of each and every human being.

Practice of Dharma is the mission of each individual. Each individual is accountable to himself / herself for his/ her words , deeds and thoughts. The effect of a negative energy module created by the thoughts/ words / action can be neutralized by creating another energy module with same magnitude in its opposite direction. Vedantha indicates that the process of neutralization is not possible in all cases and therefore one has to be very careful in his words thoughts and actions

Hinduism is not a negation of worldly life and its enjoyment. It places the plain truth regarding this universe before the mankind and the option to choose the way of life is left to the individuals If one chooses the correct path of Dharma he may enjoy all good things in worldly life and liberate himself / herself , in due course , without much sufferings. Otherwise he/ she will have to suffer a lot in this mortal world undergoing several incarnations in favourable and unfavourable circumstances depending on the quality of Karma. The sookshmasareeram consisting of mind buddhi (intellect) chittham and ego(ahamkaram) having karmabandham reincarnate. The mechanism of independent assortment taking place at the time of fertilization is likely to be the process by which the sookshmasareeram is inducted into the genome. The word genome and genes are derivatives of the Greek root “ Jen “ which trace back its origin to Sanskrit word Jenm .

Astrology or Jyothishastra is a derivative of Vedas. It, inter alia, deals with the relationship between form / time / place of birth and praarabdham Astrology provides basic information regarding praarabdham based on the form place and time of birth . It can be successfully used as a tool for planning and designing one’s own life. Astrological predictions on future course of life of an individual need not necessarily be correct because the human being has the exclusive options to modify the effect of his praarabdham to some extend by exerting extra efforts. The Grahanila-planetary positions - in one’s horoscope indicate the direction of the flow of “samsarasagara” in relation to the life of the individual. .Planets like Sun, Moon , Mars , Mercury, Jupiter, Venus ,Saturn, Rahu , Kethu , and Gulikan are not directly or indirectly influencing the Jeevaatma but they are definitely indicative of certain traits and qualities attributed to them. A train which keeps punctuality indicate the time to a villager who is residing near the railway track, though the train is not an instrument to measure the time. Similarly planetary positions in horoscope are indicative of many things relating to one’s “karmabandham” particularly praraabdham. though the planets are not deciding on anybody’s fate. Each Jeevaatma is the Architect of its own fate. Planetary positions in the horoscope indicate what the fate could be, depending on the time of birth, because of its reciprocal relationship with the quality of Karmabandham ( due to the fact that place, time, and form of reincarnation is decided by the quality of Karmabandham.) But the individual human being has the option to swim across……by exerting extra efforts , creating new favorable energy modules and reducing the bad effects of past karma

This kind of refinement or evolution taking place in human life, leads him / her to prosperity and perfection. Lord Krishna said : “ The seeds of karma roasted in the fire of knowledge will not germinate”. Selfless service to the mankind, sincere, heart-felt repentance for the bad karma, prayer, hard work , devotion, practice of Dharma etc may change the effects of one’s praarabdham. Followers of all religions are doing these things in one way or other for self improvement. Dharma is the keynote of Hinduism. Dharma is defined as“ Jagath sthithi kaaranam, praaninaam saakshaat abhyudaya nishreyasm hethu” –that which sustains the world and results in prosperity and happiness of all living things. Ahimsa (non-violence) Satyam(truthfulness)Thyagam (sacrifice) indriyanigraha(self control) are the four pillars of Dharma. Thus Non violence ,Truthfulness, Sacrifice, and Self Control are considered to be the most important qualities of the practitioner of Dharma.

Ahimsa or non- violence is not non killing alone. Ahimsa means not hurting any one by word deed or thought. Universal love and forgiveness are the essential pre-requisites for a practitioner of Ahimsa. Satyam or truthfulness is the practice of keeping words deed and thought alike. Thyagam or sacrifice is the state of being uninterested in all sorts of personal gains name ,fame ,wealth etc when they are within the reach. Sacrifice of one’s own ego is manifested in the form of forgiveness. Love as such is associated with ego possessiveness and selfishness. It leads to attachment and consequential problems. Practice of Love without sacrificing selfishness and ego will not take anyone to the path of Dharma. Therefore universal love and sacrifice of ego - practice of Ahimsa –gets predominance over love in Hinduism. But one cannot practice Ahimsa without passing through several phases of refinement. Therefore love for others is important

Therefore the people may start love each other, love all alike, experience the need for sacrifice, then practice sacrifices in abundance, selflessness will develop and the continuance of universal love and forgiveness will result in Ahimsa and the practitioner will naturally emerges in to the path of Dharma. Self control or indriyanigraha is necessary to curb the undesirable instincts ,It plays an important role in the evolutionary advancement to the perfection of human being and attainment of ultimate reality.

The Caste System as it is practiced in India is the result of misinterpretation of vedic tenets by vested interests Bhagavan Sri.Krishna said “ Chathurvarnyam Mayaa srushtam, gunakarma vibhagasa.” I have created four types of people based on their qualities of Karmabandham” -it is based on the permutations and combinations of trigunas.

If a person has more than 80 % of Satwa guna he is a Brahmin even if born in the family of so called dalits. If one possesses more than 80 % Rajoguna irrespective of the caste of his/her parents he/she should be treated as Kshetriya. If one possesses 40 % Thamoguna and 40 % Rajoguna it can be classified as the qualities of Vaisya. If one possesses 80 % Thamoguna he is Sudra even if he is born to Brahmin or Kshatriya or Vaisya parents.

An analysis of the cross –section of society will reveal that all the above four combinations with natural variations , are existing in all castes and creed all over the world. Those who possess excess of Thamoguna, irrespective of the man made caste system to which they belong should, strive hard to improve their qualities following the practice of Non-violence( Ahimsa) Truthfulness, (Satyam) Sacrifice ( Thyagam) and Self control ( Indriyanigraha) – path of Dharma. This will enable them to improve their samskaara in successive incarnations. This is evolution. A British Emperor who practiced apartheid centuries ago may reincarnate as a Black leader in modern democratic set up. A Hindu Emperor who kept Muslims away from him on religious ground may reincarnate as a Muslim Prince in modern world. A person who is indulging in cruelty to others may get a rebirth with permanent ailment which force him to pray for continuous help from others. The past sins-the energy modules created due to cruelty- are generally expressed in the form of illness - Remember Life is an experience of one’s own Karma. Each Jeevaatma is getting its due share without fail. But no human being has the right to condemn others on account of their past deeds .

If someone take the divine rules of nature into his/ her hand and torture the less privileged , remember that he/she is committing another mistake or sin which will definitely come back to him/her in the form of some unpalatable experience in the same or subsequent incarnations. So take the path of Dharma. Care should be taken to maintain the path of dharma throughout life. The life is a journey as depicted by many poets .The journey commences in search of happiness and without knowing the ways and means to acquire the same. Each Jeevaatma spends several , probably several thousands , incarnations in search of artha and kama from which he / she expects happiness. During this search he invents and discover many things which add to his convenience and improve his worldly conditions of life. This journey in wilderness in search of happiness is not unwarranted. It is necessary for the sustenance of the universe. But the problem is that Jeevaatma during its search for artha and kama forget about dharma. Practice of Dharma is possible only if people follow the paths of Non-violence ( Ahimsa ) , Truthfulness ( Sathyam ) , Sacrifice ( Thyagom ) and Self Control (Indriyanigraha ). Nobody can escape from this world without acquiring these qualities and practicing Dharma. The position of an individual who acquired these qualities and realized the fact that happiness is not attached to artha and kama can be compared to the position of the individual nearing his actual destination. In the next incarnation he / she may travel straightaway from the very beginning to the end of life without deviating from the path of Dharma and he / she will have all the qualities of a Perfect Human being or “Sthithaprajnan”. Lord Krishna explains the qualities of a ‘Sthithaprajnan ‘ in Chapter II of Bhagavat Gita .He is not inactive .He is aggressive in performing his duties without expecting anything in return , other than the well being of the entire universe.

“Dharmah  evam hatho hanthi,  Dharmah  Rakshathi Rakshithah:” The Dharma destroy its destroyer  and  save  the  saver. Therefore : 

Practice your dharma , do not practice another’s dharma , do not abstain from dharma , - it will give you everything required for the fulfillment of your life namely artha kaama and moksha, through the process of several incarnations - evolutions.

The word deed and thought that lead to promotion of wellbeing and sustenance of all organisms in the universe is considered as Dharma. Identification of one’s own Dharma is the most important task of each individual. Swadharmah nidhinam sreya , Paradharmah bhayavaha. Life of one who perform his/ her own destined dharma will be meaningful and that of one who deviate from own dharma is dangerous. In either case, the performer will have to meet the consequences if the performance is made with attachment. Therefore Hinduism advocates for performance of Dharma without attachment. It is called Nishkaamakarma. Mahatma Gandhi was a real Hindu. Jesus Christ, Narayana Guru, Ramana Maharshi, Sant Jnaneshwar , Aurabindo, Sri Sathya Sai Baba, Mata Amritananda Mayi Devi – all these dhanyatmans shows the Hindu way of life.

HINDUISM/ pgdnair@dataone.in