Hinduism
Session: 05-22-2005
Moderator: Somik Raha
Participants: Ajay Kshatriya, Rashmi Raghu, Raghav Kapoor, Sumeet Kaur Bhatti
(Link to Essay)
Ajay: Can we synthesize materialism with spirituality? Is one better than the other? What is the point of this essay?
Raghav: Vagabonds vs. spiritual masters. Swamiji compares so-called "vagabonds" with the priestly class, criticizes the latter and credits the former for preserving true religion. These "vagabonds" are people who have given up their lives to uphold religion.
He also reconciled dvaita and advaita. In both, knowing God is a goal. In advaita, knowing God is like being God.
Rashmi: The one idea that ... is that man must realize God even in this life.
Sumeet: In this essay, Swamiji points out hippocrisy within religion.
Raghav: And he does so, in a positive, non-cynical mnner.
Rashmi: The fact that moksha is not restricted to Brahmins or even humans was striking.
Ajay: Animal culture...
Rashmi: Animals connected better than we are. In the Tsunami disaster, very few animals died. Innate response.
Social regulations bar people from going deep toward moksha. What is passed down is rituals and not spiritual enquiry. Gives Sri Yukteshwar's example. (Rashmi, can you expand?)
Somik: There was an interesting discussion on why the world is so, why are we here. The discussion seemed to end with Ajay concluding that this was beyond the realm of reason. What struck me in this essay is Swamiji's comparison between Punjab and Bengal. He mentioned how the peasant girls in Punjab would chant "Soham, Soham" while spinning their wheel. I am hoping someone can tell us what Soham means - I think it means "I am that." While, in Bengal, there was a lot of pretention around religion in those days, and Swamiji did not hesitate to criticize it. He strongly supports the babajis who are often termed vagabonds for their itinerant lifestyle.
This essay maps out several aspects of Hinduism and finally asks what is in common to all. He mentions that the Sutras of Vyasa are what they all derive from, which deal with spirituality. Rituals come in from the Tantras and the Brahmanas.
Swamiji also mentions the importance of a sadguru.
Moderator: Somik Raha
Participants: Ajay Kshatriya, Rashmi Raghu, Raghav Kapoor, Sumeet Kaur Bhatti
(Link to Essay)
Ajay: Can we synthesize materialism with spirituality? Is one better than the other? What is the point of this essay?
Raghav: Vagabonds vs. spiritual masters. Swamiji compares so-called "vagabonds" with the priestly class, criticizes the latter and credits the former for preserving true religion. These "vagabonds" are people who have given up their lives to uphold religion.
He also reconciled dvaita and advaita. In both, knowing God is a goal. In advaita, knowing God is like being God.
Rashmi: The one idea that ... is that man must realize God even in this life.
Sumeet: In this essay, Swamiji points out hippocrisy within religion.
Raghav: And he does so, in a positive, non-cynical mnner.
Rashmi: The fact that moksha is not restricted to Brahmins or even humans was striking.
Ajay: Animal culture...
Rashmi: Animals connected better than we are. In the Tsunami disaster, very few animals died. Innate response.
Social regulations bar people from going deep toward moksha. What is passed down is rituals and not spiritual enquiry. Gives Sri Yukteshwar's example. (Rashmi, can you expand?)
Somik: There was an interesting discussion on why the world is so, why are we here. The discussion seemed to end with Ajay concluding that this was beyond the realm of reason. What struck me in this essay is Swamiji's comparison between Punjab and Bengal. He mentioned how the peasant girls in Punjab would chant "Soham, Soham" while spinning their wheel. I am hoping someone can tell us what Soham means - I think it means "I am that." While, in Bengal, there was a lot of pretention around religion in those days, and Swamiji did not hesitate to criticize it. He strongly supports the babajis who are often termed vagabonds for their itinerant lifestyle.
This essay maps out several aspects of Hinduism and finally asks what is in common to all. He mentions that the Sutras of Vyasa are what they all derive from, which deal with spirituality. Rituals come in from the Tantras and the Brahmanas.
Swamiji also mentions the importance of a sadguru.
posted by somik at 4:04 PM
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