Hinduism 01

Opening Prayer ॐ असतो मा सद्गमय तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय मृत्योर्मा अमृतं गमय ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः हरिः ॐ Asato mā sadgamaya, Tamaso mā jyotirgamaya, Mṛtyormā amṛtaṃ gamaya Hari ḥ Om Lord, lead us from the unreal to the real. Lead us from ignorance to illumination. Lead us from death to immortality. Om, peace, peace, peace be unto all. The Question of Hindu Identity There are many here. If asked whether you are a Hindu, they will say definitely yes. And further, if we ask why do you think you are a Hindu, various answers will be given: because I was born to Hindu parents, because I worship a particular Hindu deity, or I was born in a particular caste, or I believe in some scriptures, etc. Some of the answers are definitely right. Some are not. Many of the people who claim they are Hindus, accepting and claiming that they are Hindus, know very little about Hinduism. There are three main reasons why this is so. Three Reasons for Limited Understanding The first reason is that there is no centralized body, no central authority, to define, to fix and say, "this is what Hinduism is, and this is what Hinduism is not." The second reason is that Hinduism is so vast that, as I humorously mentioned many times, it is like a supermarket. You can worship any god, any name, any way you like. You can follow any particular system of yoga. You can belong to any particular school of philosophy. You can do any number of weird things and be proud that "I am a good Hindu." Part of this reason is also that until recently, until almost the 19th century, there was no such religion called Hinduism. There was only some type of practice, or practices, approved by some local guru or some insignificant scripture, etc. Yes, if you are asked, "Are you a Hindu?" you say yes. But if you are asked why you are a Hindu, and what exactly is Hinduism, and especially if the children of non-Hindus ask the so-called Hindus, "Can you tell me briefly what Hinduism is?" they are at sea. All that they can tell is, "This is what we do. I go to a temple, I break some coconuts, sometimes on the stone, sometimes on the priest's head," and that's all they know. And they think they know. Only when Swami Vivekananda came, which I will come to very shortly, did Hinduism, as a definite name of a particular religion, become popular at all. Of course, the very name itself is a misnomer, which also I will come back to very shortly. The third reason is, very surprisingly, people don't care. Hindus never care unless they are asked, unless they are confronted. "So, who are you?" "I am a Hindu." "Can you tell me what are the fundamental issues of your religion?" As one fellow said, you know, a man was asked, "Have you read Hindu scriptures?" He said, "No." "Are you a Hindu?" "Yes." "How did you know?" "My Swami told me that I am a Hindu. I also write in the certificate that I am a Hindu." "Have you read any scriptures?" "No." This applies not only to Hindus but to the followers of any religion. You ask them, "Have you really read the basic fundamental scriptures of your own religion properly?" All that they know is they go to the church or a mosque, and they are told certain things, and depending upon who is telling, the definition of their religion lies, because people really don't care what the scriptures are trying to tell. Why Study Hinduism Now? And it was not really necessary at a particular point of time. Suppose you are in India and you are following Hinduism in a remote village. There was no challenge. Nobody will challenge you, "Are you a Hindu?" Nobody will ask you, "What is Hinduism?" But the moment you are confronted with somebody else—a Christian, or you have to live with somebody who believes differently, and especially if those people with whom you are living are very inimical to you—then the question comes: "What is my identity?" Secondly, nowadays, because of intermarriage, intermixed marriages, interreligious marriages are taking place, the problem comes: "How do we raise our children? Which religion?" Either they completely ignore religion themselves—"We won't teach anything, let them learn by themselves"—or if they are very particular, they suffer severely because the husband and wife never agree with each other about what to be taught. Sometimes it's very controversial. The Prayer Controversy One of the biggest problems in the USA that has come up is in the schools. The government wanted to introduce prayer. There was a lot of controversy: "We don't believe in religion. We don't want our children to be brainwashed into these outmoded thoughts." Somehow, some people agreed that there should be a prayer. But there the progress stopped because the problem came: "Which type of prayer would you like to have? Is it a Christian prayer? Is it a Muslim prayer? Is it a Jewish prayer? Or is it a Hindu prayer?" Hindus, of course, have no problem at all, because any God is good enough. Any prayer is good enough. This particular prayer which I had uttered at the beginning of my talk is one of the most ancient and also one of the most non-controversial types of prayers. All that it says is: O Lord, lead me from the unreal to the real, from non-truth to truth. Lead me from ignorance to knowledge. Lead me from death or unhappiness to immortality or eternal happiness. It's a beautiful prayer. But if people come to know that this prayer is a translation of a Hindu Vedic prayer, immediately the problem comes. Hindus have no problem about this. Personal Motivation for This Study Another reason why I am taking up this topic is that some of our devotees have been very insistent that I should take a fairly detailed study of Hinduism. It's useful in many ways. Nowadays many Hindus are living outside India. Do you know how many Hindus are living in the UK? Almost 600,000 Hindus are there. In the USA, there are almost a million Hindus, and more will come. Now, the first generation never had this problem. But the second generation faces one big question: "Am I a Hindu?" Hinduism in Global Context Before we study what is Hinduism, briefly I would like to point out certain facts. This is the third biggest religion in the whole world. Religious Demographics The biggest religion is Christianity, with almost 2.1 billion followers. Next is Islam, with 1.5 billion followers. Of course, these figures are from sometime back; now it might be even more. So Christianity is the major religion in the sense of having the largest number of followers. Then comes Islam. Then comes Hinduism. Estimates vary, but I would say from 900 million to 1 billion—a little more than 1 billion as it stands today. What a marvelous thing it is: almost 1 billion! Other religions include: Buddhism: 376 million Confucianism: (figures vary) Sikhism: 23 million Judaism: 14 million Bahā'ī: 7 million Jainism: 4.2 million Shintoism: 4 million Zoroastrianism: 2.6 million Taoism: not exactly known, but somewhere around a few hundred thousand followers So this is the major statistics. Hinduism is the third largest religion in the whole world, with almost a billion followers. That is one of the reasons why Hinduism should be studied very well. Also, we are all following Hinduism. It's good to know what our religion is exactly teaching and what distinguishes us from the followers of other religions. Geographic Distribution of Hindus Most of the Hindus, of course, live in India. But there are also Hindus in Bangladesh, Myanmar (I don't know how many Hindus have died in this recent cyclone), Sri Lanka, Fiji, Guyana, Nepal, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Africa, Mauritius, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Canada, Netherlands, and of course our own United Kingdom. Why We Need to Discuss Hinduism I already gave you three reasons. One reason is that very few know what Hinduism is. Secondly, we need to know because we have to define ourselves; otherwise we lose our identity. The Importance of Identity Suppose you are Hindus. You know you are Hindus. Suppose you don't know anything about Hinduism. Then a time will come when you might suffer terribly. One of the biggest strengthening factors of the ego is religion—next to, I would say even higher than, nationality, language, race. These are the four major ego-strengthening bonds: Nationality Language Race Religion Just imagine a person without any nationality. Where do you think you will put him? Somehow he lands—he will be put in the airport. One fellow stayed nearly 12 years in Paris airport because the French nationals were not taking him in and he cannot go anywhere because there is no visa or anything. Secondly, if we do not identify ourselves with any particular race or culture, then who am I? Then language. We always, even though we know many languages—for example, every Indian, at least the first-generation Indians, they have two languages: their own mother tongue and also the language of the country where they are living and working. That is a very strengthening thing when you meet somebody who also speaks the same language. Somehow you feel a kind of affinity. They may not matter much at this stage, but if psychologically we are disturbed, then these are the things which will come to our aid. Unconsciously, how much we are deriving our strength from these things—that is something very wonderful. It is a whole other subject. Religion as the Strongest Bond But the most strengthening of all these bonds is the religious bond, because the religious bond just oversteps; there are no boundaries of nations or culture or anything. For example, Muslims, to whichever country they belong, whichever language they speak, whatever may be their eating habits, whatever may be the color of their skin—they all have tremendous bondage. But if it is cultivated consciously, then we have a lot to gain from it. The Birth of Hinduism as a Defined Religion Coming back now, one of the reasons I mentioned was that until the 19th century, very few people, very few Hindus I am talking about, knew very little about what Hinduism was about. Hinduism itself was born at the Chicago Parliament of Religions in the 19th century, and Swami Vivekananda was the person who founded—the founder of Hinduism, not in the sense of the basics, but in the sense of defining it, making it clear, so that we know now what Hinduism is all about. Terminology: Sanātana Dharma vs. Vedānta He had summarized this, though he didn't call it Hinduism. Swamiji and Sri Ramakrishna used to call what we call Hinduism "Sanātana Dharma." Swami Vivekananda preferred to call it Vedānta. "We are followers of Vedānta." Vedānta means everything that is the teachings of the Vedas. The teachings of the Vedas is called Vedānta. So it could be followers of dualism, followers of qualified non-dualism, followers of non-dualism. You worship Śiva, worship Viṣṇu, worship Devī (goddess)—doesn't matter whom you worship. Follow Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga, Rāja Yoga, Jñāna Yoga. Follow Bhagavad Gītā, follow Upaniṣads, follow any Purāṇa—doesn't matter to you. Vivekananda's Four-Sentence Definition He defined it, he summed it up as the essence of Vedānta in four sentences. You know what that is: Each soul is potentially divine. The goal is to manifest this divinity within by controlling nature, external and internal. Manifest this divine nature by following either through work, or worship, or through meditation, or the path of knowledge—by one, more, or all of these together—and be free. Lastly, temples, churches, books, doctrines, dogmas—all these are but secondary details. Very abstract way he had defined this thing. The Four Pillars of Hinduism But based upon his paper on Hinduism at the Chicago Parliament of Religions, we have drawn four pillars of Hinduism. Before I proceed further, I would like to place before you these four pillars, because if you don't come back to this series of talks again, you will know what Hinduism is all about if you just remember these four points. First Pillar: Mukti (Liberation) The first pillar of Hinduism is Mukti. This springs from the belief that we are all originated from divinity, from God. Therefore, our inevitable destination is again going back to God. We have come from God, so we go to God. At the moment, we have forgotten. This is called Māyā. Forgetfulness of one's own true nature, true identity, is called Māyā or Avidyā. So what is the goal? To know what one is and to realize what one is. We come to know who we are from the scriptures, and we realize it by following the teachings of the Upaniṣads or Vedānta. And ultimately, we realize who we are, and then what happens? We become free. Now we are not free. We will become free. Freedom. This freedom is called Mukti or Mokṣa. Second Pillar: Direct Experience The second pillar is that Mokṣa or Mukti—liberation—cannot be attained by proxy, by vicarious experience, but only through direct experience called Sākṣātkāra, Aparokṣa Anubhūti (direct experience). This is the second pillar. Third Pillar: Iṣṭadevatā (Chosen Deity) The third pillar is the law of the chosen deity, meaning you can worship God, think of God, pray to God in any name, in any form, with any quality. You have complete freedom to choose how you would like to think of God. This is the very special contribution of Hinduism to every other religious thought. This third principle is the law of the Iṣṭadevatā, the chosen deity. As a corollary, Hindus also believe in what we call God's incarnation—not once, but again and again and again, as many times as necessary. That is the third pillar. Fourth Pillar: The Law of Karma The fourth pillar is the law of karma. Even if you don't believe or don't understand all these three fundamental principles, one thing is very clear: the law of cause and effect. A corollary of this law of karma is that we had births before and we are going to have many more lives. How long? Until we attain Mukti or liberation. So the law of karma—this is the fourth pillar. Summary of the Four Pillars Four pillars: Liberation is the goal of life. Direct knowledge that you are divine is the only way. You can worship God (this is called spiritual practice) in any manner you like, but be free. The law of karma. And if you get lost on the way, do not worry. When you are ready, God is ready to guide you. How? He will guide you through a system, a beautiful system. In English it is called GPS. You know what it is? Guru-Śiṣya System—Guru (teacher), Śiṣya (disciple), persistent. It is a tradition: Guru-Śiṣya System, GPS, Guru Paramparā. So these are the four fundamental principles. The Antiquity of Hinduism Now coming back, I said that until the 19th century, Hinduism was flourishing. It is one of the oldest religions. How old? At least 11,000 years old. The Sarasvatī River Civilization There was a river called Sarasvatī on the northwestern borders of India. On the banks of this river Sarasvatī, what is called Hindu civilization had flourished for thousands of years, of which just a few last centuries they had dug a little bit—remnants like Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, etc. They found out that the origins of this Indian civilization go back almost to at least, without doubt, 4,000 years old. But then recently some developments had come. They had found out at some point this ocean was far away from the present landmark, and the Sarasvatī River civilization was flourishing there. Because of some natural changes, the ice started melting. Slowly the levels of the sea went up and it started eroding the lands until we now have the present situation where several wonderful cities had been inundated by the sea and lie under the sea. We also have a faith that Dvārakā was one of those victims at the end of the Dvāpara Yuga at the time of Śrī Kṛṣṇa's disappearance. So they have been finding proofs. From all these proofs we can find that Hinduism, if not older, is at least 11,000 years old. And I do not think any religion can claim that it is that old. It is one of the oldest religions. The Need for Definition And yet until last century, every Hindu knew he was a Hindu and he followed certain teachings of Hinduism but never knew what was the proper scientific way of defining or explaining Hinduism. It was given to Swami Vivekananda to define it. Sister Nivedita on Vivekananda's Contribution Here is what Sister Nivedita writes in the introduction to the complete works of Swami Vivekananda: "In the four volumes of the works of Swami Vivekananda which are to compose the present edition, we have what is not only a gospel to the world at large but also to its own children—the charter of the Hindu faith. What Hinduism needed amidst the general disintegration of the modern era was a rock where she could lie at anchor, an authority to utterance in which she might recognize herself. And this was given to her in these words and writings of Swami Vivekananda for the first time in history. As has been said elsewhere, Hinduism itself forms here the subject of generalization of a Hindu mind of the highest order. For ages to come, the Hindu man who would verify, the Hindu mother who would teach her children what was the faith of their ancestors, will turn to the pages of these books for assurance and light. Long after the English language has disappeared from India, the gift that has been here made through that language to the world will remain and bear its fruit in East and West alike. What Hinduism had needed was the organizing and consolidating of its own idea. What the world has needed was a faith that had no fear of truth. Both these are found here." Having said this, Sister Nivedita clinches the argument and says of the Swami's address before the Parliament of Religions: "It may be said that when he began to speak, it was of the religious ideas of the Hindus. But when he ended, Hinduism had been created." The Transformation So the general religious ideas of Hindus have been explained by Swami Vivekananda, but when he ended, Hinduism was born. What is the difference? The difference was a systematic, organized, well-defined, clear definition of what is Hinduism. This was the great contribution of Swami Vivekananda—if not the greatest contribution, at least for Hindus. So the idea of Hinduism, though as old as the Vedas and yet so systematically presented, was born only about 100 years back. Understanding Religion Now, before we discuss important points of Hinduism, we have to understand first: we are studying not a culture but a religion. And what is a religion? If you ask, "Do you know about religion?" people say, "Oh yes, we are religious followers." "And what do you mean by religion?" "Well, I go to the Swami's talks. Is that religion? I eat prasāda in the temple. Is that religion? I read books. Is that religion?" You can go on describing many things, but you could be as irreligious as anybody who had never done these things. We must have the right understanding of what religion is. Can We Live Without Religion? The first question is: Is it possible for us to be without any religion? If we understand what religion is properly, then no, it is not possible, because religion is a constitutional necessity of every being—not only of human beings. Does an animal have religion? So long as it is living, it has a religion. But what is the religion? That's where Swami Vivekananda's contribution is very useful for us to understand. Vivekananda's Definition of Religion So what is religion? Religion is an attempt to gain more and more freedom. This is how I will put it. Religion is an attempt to gain more and more freedom. If your eyes are able to look only a little bit and you invent spectacles and are able to see better, or you invent a telescope or microscope and are able to see better, what is it that you have gained? You have become a little more free. You have attained a little more freedom. You have limited your limitedness to that extent. Though that is not the end of religion, that is the beginning of religion. That is what Swami Vivekananda defines religion as: the attempt to go beyond the five sense organs, to go beyond the limitation of the senses. Why do we want to go? Because there is what we call in philosophical language a teleological urge—an unstoppable type of force within us which says, "I want more freedom." Anything that is restraining you, anything that is constricting you, you would like to break that in any way of speaking. Examples of Seeking Freedom Why does a man get married? A simple question. Why does a man get married? To attain more freedom. He is lonely. "I want a companion. I am not very happy." So he wants freedom from limitation, which means suffering here. Why does he get divorced? To get more freedom. This is the truth. Freedom, happiness, peace, progress—these are all synonymous words. Religion as Constitutional Necessity Religion is a constitutional necessity. Even if you tie up a dog, it will not keep quiet. It wants to be freed. What do you think it wants to do after you free it? Suppose you tied a dog and it is struggling—it doesn't want the chain. Then you remove the chain. What do you think it will do? It will be exactly there only. It doesn't want the chain, that's all. So this is what is a constitutional necessity. The Theory of Evolution Why is it a necessity? Because Swamiji had a wonderful theory. This theory is called the theory about evolution. You know what we are talking about? Evolution—this word evolution means from a lower species, slowly the species are evolving into higher and higher beings. Three Concepts of Evolution Darwin was one of the people who theorized about evolution, but Darwin was not the only person. There are three concepts about evolution: 1. Biological Concept The first concept is the biological concept. Everything has come out of nature. It is blind. So creation is an accident. Nobody had done it with any purpose. Somehow it wants to survive. Something wants to spread its species. So it's competition for a mate, competition for food, and whichever animal is successful, that animal has remained alive. If it is not successful, what happens then? Then it will evolve into higher species, mind you. Successful means, in a way of speaking, death. The cockroach was very successful, but it remained a cockroach only. Whereas so many animals in the process died, but one or two perhaps developed some extra facility, and then it passed on its genes to its offspring. Slowly a small animal became, for example, a giraffe. That is why it is said the price biological evolution pays is millions upon millions of deaths. Millions upon millions of deaths. Only after so many deaths, slowly, very slow progress into higher species. This is purely a biological explanation. But what is the goal? What is the end? All right, you have evolved into a human animal. What now? What now? Kill each other through wars, in the name of religion, in the name of God, everything? That is not a proper explanation, not a satisfactory explanation. 2. Creative Urge Theory The second idea is that there is a creative urge within each one of us. You see, you look at a bird, and a bird needs a nest for it to stay in safety. But it doesn't stop at just building a nest. It wants to build a beautiful nest. And you know, many species have got colorful feathers, beautiful beaks, etc. You think only human beings are undergoing this cosmetic surgery and all those things? Even animals also have evolved wonderful ways of attracting. Even plants also have colors, etc., to attract, perfumes, colors, shapes, etc., to attract their prey. So there is an unstoppable creative faculty within all creatures, and that is what leads one ultimately to evolving into higher and higher species. But this also is an inadequate explanation. 3. Vedāntic or Spiritual View There is a third view, which is called the Vedāntic view or the spiritual view. That is: we have come from God, and coming down from God is called involution. So now we have gone down to the rock bottom. What is the rock bottom? You have become a lump of clay, matter, lifeless. But from there, there is no further down to go. Now the only way is to come up. That's what is called in English language "evolution." But what Swamiji calls here, this evolution, is going back to our origins. So from the lowest manifestation—from what is called existence—then we develop cit (consciousness), then ultimately we end in becoming one with the infinite. So the finite trying to become one with its true nature, which is infinity, is what is called the spiritual view of evolution, and it is inevitable whether we like it or not. You can postpone it for some time, but it is inevitable because that divine nature is urging you to go up and up and up. It won't stop until you reach your true nature, which is God. This is called the spiritual view. Religion Defined So what is religion? Religion is a systematic attempt at evolving ourselves truly into our own nature. This is called religion. Therefore, it is a constitutional necessity, because you are not learning it from outside. It is this which is pushing us up and up and up. The Origins of Religion So how did religion originate? It is very important to know, because suppose after hearing my talks you would like to have a little browse, a little bit of the Vedas. And what do you see? You will open the pages of the Ṛg Veda, and then there is—it says, "O clouds, you please pour rain upon us." What is this? "This fellow is saying here, I thought I will hear something about God, and here is a prayer." Or a tree. "Oh tree, you are divinity itself." You know there were plants which were divinized in our Vedas. One of the plants' name is very interesting. It is called Somalatā. Somalatā yields Somarasa. Understanding the Structure of Scriptures We have to know: if you have to understand the scriptures, one point you have to make clear in your mind—that the whole scripture doesn't contain all the highest truths only. From the very beginnings of understanding what life is about, what religion is about, what we ought to do in life, whether we should pray, etc., until a person comes who had realized his true identity and pours forth what is called adulation—these are called Sūktas or praises: "I am the Father in heaven. I am the Deva. I am Indra. I am Varuṇa. I am Brahmā." The highest of that statement is Aham Brahmāsmi ("I am Brahman"). And even better than that is Sarvaṃ Khalvidaṃ Brahma ("Everything is that divinity itself"). "I am the ultimate reality. Everything is ultimate reality." Two Stages of Religious Growth So when you understand a little bit the beginnings of religion, very briefly, religious growth had undergone two stages. First, there are two theories about it. I better read Swami Vivekananda's, because that is what he defines: "Various attempts have been made to trace the beginnings of religion. In all the ancient religions which have come down to us at the present day, we find one claim made: that all are supernatural, that their genesis is not, as it were, in the human brain, but that they have originated somewhere outside of it." No religious scripture will ever tell you that what you call the scriptures, the religious scripture, the foundations of every religion, lies in some scriptures. Whether they believe in God or do not believe in God, every religion must have a book. Historic vs. Non-Historic Religions Before going further, I also want to clarify a few points. One is there are two types of religions: historic religions and non-historic religions. Historic Religions Historic religions like Christianity and Islam claim that their religion started in history—meaning in verifiable time, at some point of time in history, by a person who really lived here. For example, who was the founder of Christianity? Christ. Who was the founder of Islam? Muhammad. Christianity arose from Christ 2,000 years back. Islam had risen from Prophet Muhammad about 600 AD, about 1,400 years back. Non-Historic Religions But if you ask a Hindu, what does he say? He says, "Ours is a non-historic religion." What does he mean? He means Hinduism did not start. I will come back to that point. Hinduism—I said—is a misnomer. Sanātana Dharma, eternal religion, or Vedānta, whatever. It did not start at a particular point. It is a continuous development from the very beginning. Only we have gone back to some distance in the past, and then we say, "This is all we know when we find it there." It is not that it started there. The Gomukh Analogy This is like Gomukh. You know somebody goes to find the origins of Gaṅgā. Up to where do they go? Up to Gomukh. Gomukh is not the origin of Ganges. Gomukh is where Gaṅgā comes out where you can really see it in a concrete form. It originated somewhere far behind it. That is why Hinduism is a non-historic religion. What is the big deal of difference? Because if you prove that there was no such person called Christ, the very foundation of Christianity will fall down. But if you prove that Hinduism has no history, it gets more strength, because it did not originate at a particular point of time. This is one point. Ethnic vs. Missionary Religions Another point of difference: Hinduism is an ethnic religion. It used to be an ethnic religion. Now it is a missionary religion. Whereas what you call Abrahamic religions or Semitic religions—among them there are three: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Judaism remained almost until recently an ethnic religion, confined only to a small number of its followers. That means they can become Jews only by birth. Now it has changed a little bit, but it was never, even today it is not, a missionary religion. Even today Hinduism is not a missionary religion, whereas the offshoots of Hinduism like Buddhism have become terribly missionary religions. So this is another distinction that is to be made. Religion Has No Beginning In any case, even when Christians or Muslims or Jews claim that theirs is a historic religion, what we have to understand is not that there was nothing before that. Before Christ came, was there no religion? What do you mean by Christianity? It is a modification of Judaism suitable to those particular times, that's all. What is Islam? That is another modification of the earlier paganism or whatever you call it, religions existing. So religion itself has no beginning. What we have to understand is these great personalities have given it a definite shape and then also modified it in a way suitable for those particular times. That is what we should understand by the meaning of historic religions. But as I said, there are no real beginnings of religion. But we see certain longings. Two Theories on the Origin of Religion There are two theories about this. This is what Swami Vivekananda is telling: "Two theories have gained some acceptance among modern scholars. One is the spirit theory of religion, and second, the evolution of the idea of the infinite." Theory One: Ancestor Worship What does he mean? "One part maintains that ancestor worship is the beginning of religious ideas." Man wants to keep up the memory of his dead relatives and thinks they are living even when the body is dissolved, and he wants to place food for them and in a certain sense to worship them. Out of that came the growth we call religion. This is one theory. Studying the ancient religions of the Egyptians, Babylonians, Chinese, and many other races in America and elsewhere, we find very clear traces of this ancestor worship being the beginning of religion. Egyptian Example For example, with the ancient Egyptians, the first idea of the soul was that of a double. Why did they build pyramids? Because they thought the physical body has its double. The physical body is dead, but so long as it is kept intact, its counterpart there will be there. That is why they used to bury their wives, horses, chariots, gold. "He will be needing it there also." Hindu Ancestor Worship Do Hindus have that? Yes, we also worship. It is a peculiar idea. You see it many times. We call it—not only our ancestors are worshiped, they are also regarded, regardless of whether they are scoundrels, crooks, rogues. After death they will become great. They will go to a Loka called Pitṛ Loka (father's land), and there they remain forever, demanding from some people—if they are good children, then monthly worship, monthly offerings. If they are not such good children, at least annual worship. If even still more worse children, at least once after death, give some offering, whatever you can give. It is their ancestor worship. And has it disappeared? No, it hasn't disappeared. How N Continue do we know? Here is a very peculiar idea which I also don't understand. Take, for example, Śrī Ramakrishna's father. He went to Gayā. What was the purpose? He wanted to offer his worship to his ancestors. And what did he see? He saw, after all the worship was done, that all his ancestors were present in the temple. And then he had the vision of Gayā Viṣṇu, who said, "I am going to be born as your son." Now it is a very peculiar idea, I said. Why did I say that? Because according to Hindus, life is a continuous evolution. So my great-grandfather had died. Do I always want him to remain there in the same way? Or do I want him to attain Mukti and then get out of this saṃsāra? So if he had really got out of this Pitṛ Loka, maybe for some time he was there, but after some time he has to be reborn. If he is reborn, what is the meaning of my seeing him there? These are difficult ideas. But my interpretation is: it is the devotion that is more important in our minds rather than—we are not confining them there. Be careful. You know, otherwise what happens? Your children will confine you there in future! The Core Idea Behind Ancestor Worship So the idea is that ancestors must be living. What is the idea behind? There is a simple idea: that death is not an end of life itself. It is a continuation. They go to some other place and they also live there, which is very reasonable. But to confine them to a particular place or a time period—that would be our mistake. So this is one idea: worship of the ancestors. Recognizing Excellence in Others Along with this idea, there is another idea. When we open our eyes and look at the people around us, what do we see? That all people are not exactly the same. They are not machine-produced dolls. Each one is different in intelligence, in beauty, in power, in manifestation of life. Is it not? Suppose we see a person like Swami Vivekananda. Even if we are not followers of religion, do we know that Swami Vivekananda is highly admired in Russia? Highly admired. Books have been written on Swami Vivekananda. If you ask, "Do you believe in what he preached about God and soul and other things?" they say, "No. We are not admiring Swami Vivekananda because of his ideas about religion or God or soul. We admire him because of his large-heartedness, what is called socialism. He was a great socialist. He wanted everybody to have an equal share of the happiness of this world. He wanted to serve human beings." This at least was the idea of what is called socialism, and Swami Vivekananda's idea has been very brilliantly taken up. They have done research jobs. So such a person—we wish, "What is the difference between him and me? I also perhaps could have been him. So what is it that makes him so great? There must be something in him. So I would not like to let him go. So I would like to worship him." What is the idea? By following him, I would somehow become like him, and I will have more freedom, more power, more manifestation of my potential divinity. Cannibalism and Prasāda In some tribes, this peculiar idea has taken bizarre manifestations. For example, cannibalism. Suppose there is a very powerful tribal leader and he dies. Then the tribal people believe—they don't know about soul and other things—but "this man was most courageous, our chief, and he had these wonderful qualities of, you know, intelligence, organizing power, protecting power. So how can we have that power? Let us eat a little bit of him." Is it such a bizarre idea? In case you are thinking, "We are not like that," sir, whenever you eat a little bit of prasāda, don't forget: what are you eating? What is prasāda? You offer a piece of banana to Ṭhākur, and what does that piece of banana become a part of? Ṭhākur himself. So when we are partaking of it, what are we doing? We are eating Ṭhākur. But then, is it not cannibalism? No. Why, you know? Because Ṭhākur was like a light. You can light a billion—like a digital copy. Uncorruptedly you can copy any number of copies. So the light will not—the original light will not lose anything by taking help of it and lighting other lamps. So by becoming Ramakrishna, you are not going to make him less. Rather, you are also going to join him. If you become like Ramakrishna, what happens? Ramakrishna becomes a little bigger. So this is the idea. This is the idea of, you know, in the church they do it. They offer wine and bread and these things. This is ancestor worship. Two Key Points on Ancestor Worship These are the two points we have to keep in our mind. One is: we do not want to think anybody is dead. We want to think somehow they are surviving somewhere. So what is the extension of this idea? If they can survive, we can also survive. That is the idea. Supposing we come to know very definitely they can survive, but there is no hope of our surviving. Will you worship the ancestors? No. This is one. And you find traces of it in the Vedas, etc., in very many places. Theory Two: Nature Worship So the second idea: "Thus it seems, on the one hand, a very good position is made out for those who hold the theory of ancestor worship as the beginning of religion. On the other hand, there are scholars who from the ancient Aryan literature show that religion originated in nature worship." The thunderbolt, the dark clouds. If you want to know what nature is, go to India. You will see, in the rainy season—here you know, small clouds here and there. There, huge clouds. There it pours. You know how it pours? Not cats and dogs—tigers and elephants it pours! Yes, literally. You just see the cyclones, the tornadoes, the earthquakes, the huge mountains, wonderful deserts. When you see these natural phenomena, the rise of the sun, the stars, and then you wonder. Then you see: here also, why nature worship? What is worship? Worship is, as I said, one thing: the attempt to get out of the limitations of the senses or to gain more freedom, which is the same idea. Fear and Protection from Nature Now, if there is lightning, if there is thunder, my whole life is in a very precarious condition. Then who is the cause of these rains? Who is making it to do it? They did not know what nature was. Only now we think we know. We think we know. If you ask a scientist, "You know Hindus worship the sun god." If you ask a modern scientist, "What do you see there?" "It is just a burning star. It is gas burning." It is a materialistic vision. Whereas when a devout Hindu gets up early in the morning, faces the rising sun and offers prayers, he is not talking about a gas burning there. Why? Because he had a special sense, what is called intuitive sense. There have been sages who have seen the inner divinity. This is called Devatātmā. Everything is pervaded by a Devatā—not in the sense of nature worship, but in the sense of real divinity manifesting there. Primitive Understanding of Nature Anyway, our ancestors, who did not know the secrets of nature, thought, "There must be somebody." And it is absolutely true. They were right in one way. It was animated. But they were wrong in the other way: that they are not ordinary powers. They were God Himself. They wanted protection. They wanted some kind of favors for crops, etc. A Humorous Example Today I was praying. Yesterday, Saturday, no talk, and it was brilliant. Today morning, my talk is there in the afternoon, and it is very cloudy. "Oh God! So many people want to come. They are threatening to come. So if it is raining, what is going to happen to all of them?" So God seemed to have listened and said, "All right, afternoon I will make it rain-free." Whether it is coincidence or what, because they are predicting whole-day heavy rains. All is well that ends well. But the point is, being buffeted by these what is called life's forces, natural forces, man had no option but to think and say, "What can I do to make them favorable?" That is how worship of nature had started. But the essence is the same. By worshiping either ancestors or by worshiping nature, the essence is: I want more freedom. I want more happiness. I want not to suffer. I want to go beyond the limitations of the senses. That is the most important point Swamiji is trying to make here. Personification and Abstraction So in the struggle, they endow these phenomena with personal attributes, giving them souls and bodies, sometimes beautiful, sometimes transcendent. Every attempt ends by these phenomena becoming abstractions, whether personalized or not. So also it is found with the ancient Greeks. Their whole mythology is simply this abstracted nature worship. So also with the ancient Germans, the Scandinavians, and all the other Aryan races. Thus, on this side too, a very strong case has been made out that religion has its origin in the personification of the powers of nature. Understanding Vedic Worship Now, the important point we have to keep in mind is: when you go back to the study of the so-called Vedas or even Upaniṣads, you will see there plenty of instances of what you might think is worship of nature. In this, there are again two points to be understood. Two Types of Nature Worship One point is there were some who animated every tree, every mountain, every river, every cloud with some kind of spirit so that they can get protection, they can get some favors, etc., etc. But there are also others who saw the real divinity there. What is the big deal of difference between these two views? After all, both are endowing nature with spirit. Then what is the big deal of difference? Different Motivations The difference is: there are two people who are praying to God. One person is praying to God, "O Lord, give me more money, more long life, more enjoyment." What is he trying to do? Is he trying to get Mukti, or is he trying to go deeper into the bondage of saṃsāra? The other person is also praying to God. What is he saying? "O Lord, You please grant me freedom. I want to come to You. I want to get out of these limitations of Your saṃsāra. I want to become infinite." Both are praying to the same God, but the ends, the purposes are different. Those people, crude people, crude minds who are animating nature with powers—what are they doing? They want to live in this world. First of all, they don't want any suffering. Secondly, they want to live very happily in this world. That is the purpose. Whereas there are also Ṛṣis who realized God in their depths of meditation. But when they came down, they saw the manifestation of that same divinity within each and every atom of this creation. This is what we see in Śrī Ramakrishna's practice of Tantras. Every plant, every animal, every piece of dust, every speck of dust is nothing but the manifestation of the divinity. It is quite opposite. The motive, the purpose, the end is completely opposite. But we get traces of both these things in the Vedas. An Example from the Vedas I will just give you one example. "O Varuṇa, we are suffering from lack of rain. Please bestow Your grace, and may we have more rains." This belongs to the first category, where we want to live happily in this world. Whereas another Ṛṣi who realized God is praying, "I am the Varuṇa. I am the Indra. I am Pitṛ. I am Aryamā. I am Yama. I am everything—none but myself." Here he is also naming: "This is Varuṇa. This is cloud. This is water. This is Sūrya." But here he is saying, "I am Brahman." The language is the same, but the meaning is totally opposite to each other. You will see both these things side by side in our Vedāntic scriptures. Summary and Preview But the points we have discussed: religion is a constitutional necessity of every human being. The idea of religion has started in two ways. One is worship of the ancestors, worship of ghosts, etc. The other is what is called animating nature with spirit or some extra supernatural powers, etc. These two seem to be the main causes of the growth of religious idea. Reconciling the Two Theories Now, Swamiji, having enumerated this, comes and says: these are not—though seemingly they are opposed ideas—but there is no real opposition there. If we go deep into it, we see it is one expression but two manifestations. One idea, two expressions, two manifestations. He says, "I will try to reconcile with my own wonderful idea." We will see in our next class how the religious idea, the idea of the numinous, has taken over and pervaded both these ideas and how it develops further. Conclusion Having explained a little bit of that one, we will go straight into our main subject: what is Hinduism. I will not go into too deep a detail, nor will I be what is called very, very brief. I will tread the middle path where I will give sufficient explanation for us to understand, trying to make it as clear as possible. Let us all enjoy. Closing Prayer ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः Om Śānti, Śānti, Śānti. Om, peace, peace, peace be unto all.