Mythological stories are a myth. Whatever is based on myth is merely a superstition. Mythology was introduced in the past for the ignorant masses. It has to be discarded as one progresses in his spiritual advancement.
Mythology breeds superstition, blind belief, senseless rituals, and most irrational and gives them a divine outlook. The real God is stolen by ignorance and people worship ignorance as God because the religion propagated false God as the real God.
Swami Vivekananda: ~ “The masses in India cry to sixty million Gods, and still die like dogs. Where are these Gods? (In San Francisco, on May 28, 1900, of Swami Vivekananda/volume 1)
Religion breeds superstition because religion is based on blind belief. Whatever is based on blind belief is superstition.
God in truth is not a belief. One must know God in truth. Without knowing what God is supposed to be in actuality worshipping God based on blind belief is superstition. Worshipping superstitious Gods barred by Vedas. Know what God is supposed to be according to the Vedas Upanishads Bhagavad Gita and Bible.
Bible says: ~ “God is a Spirit, and they that worship God must worship God in Spirit and in Truth. (John 4:24)”,
The Spirit is the root element of the universe. The Spirit is present in the form of the Soul, the innermost Self. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. From the Spirit, the universe comes into existence. In the Spirit, the universe resides. And into the Spirit, the universe is dissolved. The Spirit is the parent of all that is there
Swami Vivekananda: ~ “If superstition enters, the brain is gone. Superstition is our great enemy, but bigotry is worse.
Chandogya Upanishad Chapter: ~”ekam evaditiyam- God is only one without a second. (6- Section- 2- Verse- 1)
Swethaswethara Upanishad:~ “Na casya kasuj janita na cadhipah- which means of him of Almighty God, there are no parents they have got no lord. Almighty God has no true father, he has no true mother, he has no true superior. (Chapter-6- Verse -9)
Swethaswethara Upanishad: ~ “Na Tasya Pratima Asti- of that God there is no Pratima, there is no likeness, there is no image, there is no picture, there is no photograph, there is no sculpture, there is no statue. (Chapter -4- Verse- 19)
Swethaswethara Upanishad:~ “No one can see the Almighty God. (Chapter -4, Verse -20)
Even Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: ~ Brahman (God) is in the form of the Athma, and it is indeed Athma itself.
Sage Sankara’s Supreme Brahman (God) is impersonal, Nirguna (without Gunas or attributes), Nirakara (formless), Nirvisesha (without special characteristics), immutable, eternal, and Akarta (non-agent). The Nirguna Brahman of Sage Sankara is impersonal.
There is a clear-cut idea of God in the Vedas, Upanishad, and Bhagavad Gita. And also there is a clear-cut idea of what not to worship as God in place of real God.
The Vedas confirm God is Atman (spirit), the Self.
Yajurveda – chapter- 32:~ God is Supreme Spirit has no ‘Pratima’ (idol) or material shape. God cannot be seen directly by anyone. God pervades all beings and all directions.
Thus, Idolatry does not find any support from the Vedas.
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: ~ Brahman (God in truth) is in the form of the Athma, and it is indeed Athma itself.
People, who worship the belief in God, are hallucinating that they become one with such God.
Vedas itself says: May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman? Thus, to know the real God Self-realization is necessary. Self-realization is God-realization. Self-realization itself is real worship.
Rig Veda: ~ The Atman is the cause; Atman is the support of all that exists in this universe. May ye never turn away from the Atman, the Self. May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman?" (10:48, 5)
How can you worship God? That implies two ~ the worshipper and the worshiped, whereas God is non-dual. One can worship his idea of God only or realize his unity with it when he can’t worship it as a part.
When the Upanishads and Vedas declare that, “God is in the form of the Athma, and God is indeed Athma itself” then why accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman.
God is the Supreme Being the One eternal homogeneous essence, indivisible consciousness, and intelligence, which is beyond form, time, and space. To which the Sages describe in a variety of ways through diverse words.
Bhagavad Gita: ~ ‘All those whose intelligence has been stolen by material desires, they worship many Gods. (7- Verse -20)
That is why Sage Sankara said:~ Talk as much philosophy as you like, worship as many gods as you please, observe ceremonies, and sing devotional hymns, but liberation will never come, even after a hundred aeons, without realizing the Oneness.
Vedas and Upanishads confirm the Soul, the Self, is present in the form of the Spirit or consciousness.
Only through deeper self-search, do beginners and intermediates gradually become aware ‘what is what’. Only after they have realized the fact that the ‘Self’ is not ‘I’ but the ‘Self’ is the Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness, they are ready for the inner journey towards reality, which is beyond the form, time, and space.
Upanishad:~ ‘They alone in this world are endowed with the highest wisdom who are firm in their conviction of the sameness and birthlessness of Atman. The ordinary man does not understand his way. (Chapter IV — Alatasanti Prakarana 95-P-188 in Upanishads by Nikilanada)
If you are seeking truth you have to realize the ‘Self’ is not you but the ‘Self’ is Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.
Sage Sankara gave religious, ritual, and dogmatic instruction to the ignorant populace but Advaitic wisdom only to the few who could rise to it. Hence the interpretation of his writings by commentators is often confusing because they mix up the two viewpoints. Thus they may assert that ritual is a means of realizing Brahman, which is absurd.
All the religious rituals, worship, and prayers based on the mythical Gods will not yield any fruits because God in truth is Atman.
Religious rituals and ceremonies are a hindrance in the path of wisdom. People blindly follow and indulge in rituals because they think it is
Superstation, dogmas, beliefs, rituals and ceremonies, and astrology belongs to religion, it is nothing to do with spirituality.
Religion and its idea of God and worship and rituals become a prison for the Soul, the Self, which is present in the form of consciousness.
If the seeker sticks to religious scriptures, religious gurus, and religious ideas of God and dogmas, he will never be able to achieve ‘Self-realization which is his prime goal.
Instead of performing religious ceremonies and rituals mechanically as age-old traditions and customs, one must know what God is supposed to be in actuality.
No amount of rites, rituals, ceremonies, worship, meditation, or penance helps to get rid of ignorance. Without getting rid of ignorance Self-realization is an impossibility.
There is a clear-cut idea of God in the Vedas, Upanishad, and Bhagavad Gita. And also there is a clear-cut idea of what not to worship as God in place of real God.
That is why Sage Sankara said:~ Talk as much philosophy as you like, worship as many gods as you please, observe ceremonies, and sing devotional hymns, but liberation will never come, even after a hundred aeons, without realizing the Oneness.
Sage Sankara says:~ ‘The scriptures dealing with rituals, and rewards are therefore addressed to an ignorant person.
Sage Sankara:~ (11) As regards the rituals, Sage Sankara says, the person who performs rituals and aspires for rewards will view himself in terms of the caste into which he is born, his age, the stage of his life, his standing in society, etc. In addition, he is required to perform rituals all through his life. However, the 'Self' has none of those attributes or tags. Hence, the person who superimposes all those attributes on the changeless, eternal Self and identifies the Self with the body is confusing one for the other; and is, therefore, an ignorant person. The scriptures dealing with rituals, rewards, etc. are therefore addressed to an ignorant person.
The seeker has to discard religion and its worship of religious Gods and rituals by realizing how they become an obstacle to realizing God in truth. : ~Santthosh Kumaar
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.