Hinduism 02

A Discourse on the Origins and Nature of Hinduism

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.

What is Hinduism?

In this context, we have been discussing that there are two views on how religions originate. Swami Vivekananda himself has been dealing with this subject. I will just quote from him.

Two Views on the Origin of Religion

These two views seem to be prevalent. What was the one view? That religion started with what is called personification or deifying of nature. The second view is worship of the ancestors. I also mentioned that if we study the beginnings of our scriptures called the Vedas, even today you will find evidences for both these things together.

Nature Worship in Hindu Tradition

Hindus are the greatest ritualists in the world, and you will see they worship everything—tree, stone, an animal, a bird, anything that moves or doesn't move, a mountain, a river, everything they worship. What is the idea behind this? The idea is that this nature is horrifying and frightening, but it is also benevolent. It sustains us, but it also destroys us. We want to be sustained and protected, but we do not wish to get destroyed.

What is it? What is this force within this nature which overwhelms us, which tries to dominate us, which limits us? Is there any way to overcome it? There must be somebody there, something inside that. What could it be? There must be something called a spirit greater than all of us put together. If I can somehow propitiate it, then maybe by its grace my freedom can extend. So this is one view.

Ancestor Worship

The second view is that people started worshipping ancestors. In that context, we discussed that first of all, we all wish none of our relatives should die. So by implication, if they do not die, we also do not die. The second implication is that somehow by the very fact of death, they go beyond this body, and maybe they acquire extensive power and extensive knowledge. Evidences of these are also seen, as I mentioned in my last class, even today among Hindus. This is how we also extend our worship of ghosts, spirits, demigods, and innumerable things like that.

An Example from Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Life

Let me give an example from Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's life itself. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was practicing intense spiritual disciplines at Dakshineswar, and it so appeared that he became mad. His mother got worried and she called him back, recalled him back to Kamarpukur. What was she doing? What did she do? She invited some Magicians and mantrikas who had control of some demigods and asked, "What is wrong with my son?" And it is not mumbo-jumbo really—it worked.

So they invoked the gods and the demigods, and they came and they said there is nothing wrong. They had correct knowledge that your son is a very spiritual person. It is not derangement of the brain.

How do we know that they are real? Because they also pointed out, "O Gadai" (addressing Rāmakṛṣṇa by his first name), "why do you chew betel nuts so much? Don't you know it produces more desires in you? You must have control." This was true because nobody knew about it—Rāmakṛṣṇa knew. So immediately he reduced his quota of betel nuts.

The Reality of Spiritual Phenomena

So even today we invite so many ghosts and other things. In fact, one of the most blockbuster films was made on this concept. What am I talking about? The Exorcist.

In case there are some of you who think you are very rational, in case you think that these are all figments of the human brain, do not forget that in Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's life there are several evidences. Just to remind you, when Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa visited Gopaler ma's house, he saw some spirits there. Swami Vivekananda, Swami Brahmananda, many direct disciples had seen them. Even Swami Vireshwarananda had seen them.

Now the point I am trying to make is not merely the establishment of ghosts. That is one of the factors. Why is it important for us? Because it shows life doesn't end with this sixty years of our living here. It extends beyond. By extension, by implication, it also means that we are also immortal somehow. The fall of this body is only a change of state and nothing more than that.

The Concept of Power

The second factor is even more interesting, because somehow we believe these ghosts have more power than us, and we want power. What is the concept of power? Why do we want power? There is a negative reason for that, and there is a positive reason also.

What is the negative reason? Somehow we want to overcome the limitations of our sense organs. Perhaps a ghost could tell me what my enemy is doing. Perhaps a ghost could tell me how the stock market is going to behave the day after tomorrow. This is extending my limited powers.

The second reason is: I want to be happy. Maybe these gods have more power. They can bestow upon me some boons—you know, the popular stories of genies and all those things. Maybe they can grant me what I cannot ordinarily get by myself.

The Common Purpose of Both Paths

This way, on the one side, worship of animated nature, deifying it, and on the other side, worship of the ancestors also went on side by side. Both these views have a common purpose. What is the purpose? As I quoted from Swami Vivekananda in the last class: religion is an attempt to go beyond the limitations of the senses.

So we have got two struggles in life. One struggle is we want to continue our life. The second limitation is we want to be happier than what we are. So these are the two purposes for either we worship nature or we worship ancestors.

The Proliferation of Deities in Hinduism

Now, while worshipping nature, we deify them. So Hindus excel in all these things. They go to the sky—there is no limit. There is a rain god, there is a sun god, there is a moon god, there is a wind god, there is a god for everything. So the question arose.

Religion as a Growing Organism

You see, religion is like an organism. It's like a growing organism. All the time it goes on growing. So that means religious ideas are our understanding of what religion truly is. As we grow, as time passes, we grow in this understanding. So that's what happened in every religion, but unfortunately in some religions the growth has been put sternly aside. It has been stopped. That is for another reason. When the occasion comes, I shall mention it. But Hinduism had gone to the furthest limit, beyond which one cannot go.

The Question of Which God to Worship

What is the next idea? There is a wind god, there is a sun god, there is a rain god, there is an earth goddess, there is a god or goddess for everything we see. Now the problem comes: which god should we worship? You know Hindus worship so many gods and goddesses. It's wonderful because you have the freedom to choose whom you like. If you don't like somebody, you can even blackmail them, you know. You can blackmail them saying, "Look, if you are not favorable to me, I am going to change my party."

Actually, this had happened in the life of Holy Mother. I'm going to spice up my talks a little bit. This happened, you know. These goddesses had come. They had been worshipped by Holy Mother's mother, Śyāmasundarī Devī, and she was very happy. She wanted to continue the worship the next year also. Then Holy Mother objected. "Now who is going to go to all that trouble?" So once you worship, that is fine.

That night, these goddesses appeared in Holy Mother's dream and said, "If so, shall I go to the other house? They are calling me." Meaning: don't think I am not in demand. I am very much in demand. If you don't want to worship me, I will go there. And Holy Mother immediately said, "No, no, I didn't mean it. You stay here. I will worship you every year," and so the worship is continuing.

Tribal Warfare and Divine Power

Anyway, fun aside, the question comes: whom should we worship? This question is not an academic question, because in those days—mind you, at the beginning of what we call organized human societies before they really came into their own—people were living in a type of tribal societies. Now between these tribal societies there used to be conflicts, wars for mates, for better food, etc., various advantages.

Now, how do they decide which tribe is stronger? How do they decide? So each tribe has got its own god or goddess. So there would be a fight between these two tribes, and whichever tribe wins somehow attributes their winning the war to the blessing of the god or goddess that they are worshipping. Naturally, the tribe which had lost immediately said, "Our god or goddess is useless, so it is better that I accept the other goddess." You know, that is what happens in politics. When a party has lost, immediately some people in India just shift over.

The Development of Monotheism

So this is how this question came: whom should we worship? That means, who is the most powerful one? But here the search has gone inside, and then they found out: what we are calling different gods and goddesses, perhaps they are not different at all, but manifestations—maybe—of this one and the same power. So this is how every religion, sooner or later, came to the idea which is called the monotheistic idea: one God, not many gods, but one God.

The Hindu Approach vs. Other Religions

But there is an interesting point here which Swami Vivekananda points out to us. Whereas in other religions, one after the other, the gods have been taken up, have been tested, and then discarded, ultimately one god stood up, which is called the monotheistic idea: "Thou shalt worship no other god excepting God." All the other forms which have been worshipped have been discarded.

Now, Hindu religion also started with the same idea, one after the other. Here is Indra—Indra is the most supreme god. Then Varuṇa—he is the supreme god. But what is the difference between the Hindu approach and other approaches is that a most wonderful idea, perhaps 11,000 years back, has appeared. That idea is what specializes Hinduism even till today and was confirmed by Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa.

Ekam Sat Viprāḥ Bahudhā Vadanti

What was that idea? Truth is one, but sages call it by various names. Somehow this most marvelous idea had come into existence, or was intuitively felt: truth is one, but different people call it by different names, couch it in different terms, dress it in different ways, worship in different forms, different names, different qualities.

Now, what is the difference this made? Predominantly it made two differences. One difference was none of the older gods had been discarded. All of them have been included there, and it was said: you worship Gaṇeśa, you worship Kārttikeya, you worship Rāma, you worship Kṛṣṇa, you worship your own mother, you worship your own guru. So it doesn't matter whom you worship, but you have to attribute that this is the supreme reality. That is the idea.

The Concept of Symbolization

This is called symbolization. A human form, a piece of stone, a picture, an icon—these stand as symbols. A symbol always has the purpose of pointing to something beyond itself. Have you ever seen an arrow sign? What does the arrow sign mean? It says, "Go beyond this, go this way. That is the right way." That is the idea. A symbol—Indra, Chandra, Varuṇa, Rāma, Kṛṣṇa, Jesus, Buddha—these are all symbols. They are all symbolic of the supreme reality.

Now, here is another point. Why should these be considered as symbols? Because we find in them excellences, especially in the so-called incarnations of God. If at all we have any idea of God, the highest concept of God can come only by studying through these great personalities. What power! Two thousand years back Jesus Christ was born. Even now, what power! In his name people are moved, they renounce, they give up everything. They are even ready to give up their lives. So also in Islam, so also in Hinduism. They may not commit suicide, but they are prepared to give up everything, go to a solitary place, and spend their whole life in austerity. Somehow they move the hearts of the people, and they have exhibited tremendous power. They could change personalities. They could, of course, bestow boons. They could give freedom. We all believe in it.

Summary of the Two Paths

So this is the idea that ekam sat viprāḥ bahudhā vadanti. So mainly, religion proceeded through these two paths. One is divinization of what we see around us, which is nature worship. Second is worship of the ancestors. The difference is nature is visible to us, whereas ancestors or dead ancestors are invisible to us. So through one we want more and more power, less and less limitation. Through the other, somehow we want to have more knowledge, and we also want to be immortal.

The Essence: Freedom

What is the essence of these two views? I want to live forever. I want to know more, and I want to be happy. All these three ideas are compressed, as it were, into one idea. What is that? Freedom. I want to be free from death. I want to be free from ignorance. I want to be free from limitations.

Asato mā sadgamaya, tamaso mā jyotirgamaya, mṛtyormā amṛtaṅgamaya—the prayer just now I have uttered: "Lead me from the unreal to the real, from ignorance to illumination, from death to immortality." That is the idea.

All these three ideas have been compressed into one form which is called freedom, the struggle for freedom, or the attempt to go beyond the limitations of the senses. That is what the beginnings of religion are. And Swamiji goes further: every living creature, by its very life, is struggling.

Why do you breathe? Because you want to be free from death. Why do you observe things through your eyes, through your ears? Because you want to know what is going on around you. What do you do from morning till evening? When you are cooking a nice meal, adding some nice masala, spice, what are you doing? You want to be more happy. When you are conveying some important information, adding your own masala to it, what are you trying to do? Make it very palatable, pleasant. What is your advertisement? Truth plus heavy masala. This is called advertisement.

Swami Vivekananda on the Struggle to Transcend

Okay, so now I read from Swami Vivekananda:

"These two views—that is to say, worship of the ancestors and deifying of nature—though they seem to be contradictory, can be reconciled on a third basis, which to my mind is the real germ of religion, and that I propose to call the struggle to transcend the limitations of the senses. Either man goes to seek for the spirits of his ancestors, the spirits of the dead—that is, he wants to get a glimpse of what there is after the body is dissolved—or he desires to understand the power working behind the stupendous phenomena of nature. Whichever of these is the case, one thing is certain: that he tries to transcend the limitations of the senses. He cannot remain satisfied with his senses. He wants to go beyond them."

The Role of Dreams in Religious Understanding

"To me it seems very natural that the first glimpse of religion should come through dreams." Here is a most marvelous idea. We never thought about it, I never thought about it—dreams.

So what do the dreams do? I will read Swami Vivekananda: "The first idea of immortality man may well get through dreams. Is that not a most wonderful state? Think of it. Is it not a wonderful state? A student who failed, goes to the college and finds out he has failed his examination, goes to sleep and dreams that he has passed first class. As long as the dream lasts, what a marvelous state it is! Even during the sleep state, when the body is apparently dead, the mind goes on with all its intricate workings. What wonder that men will at once come to the conclusion that when this body is dissolved forever, the same working will go on. This, to my mind, would be a more natural explanation of the supernatural, and through this dream idea the human mind rises to higher and higher conceptions."

Different Types of Dreams

Mind you, Swamiji didn't stop there. We see so many weird things in our dreams. Most of them we know are ideal fantasies, imaginations, nothing more than that. But I would not stop with that, neither would Swami Vivekananda.

Dreams can be of varieties. Most of our dreams are what is called ideal thoughts, concretized or pictured. There are also dreams which are foretellers of what is going to happen in the future. There are also dreams where one can have visions of higher realities. So there are also dreams not only of higher realities, but even revealing some of the scientific or literary truths.

One example is, I think the chemical composition of benzene was discovered through a dream of the scientist (I forget his name), that a snake trying to swallow its own tail gave him the idea of what the chemical composition is. Another is, I think it was Robert Louis Stevenson who had this—Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde—that entire story had come in his dream, as though it just was waiting. All that he said was, "I have to take up paper and pencil," and the story wrote itself out.

And interestingly, there was a great sage in India called Śrī Aurobindo, and he had done a lot of experimentation with what you call automatic writing. So as though from the deep unconscious, some wonderful things have come, and then he himself was surprised that such marvelous things could come out of his unconscious mind. Yes, so many things will come out.

The Mind as the Key

The whole point is, dreams are facts that happen in our mind. So mind is the instrument. Dreams you leave aside. What is important is: if such wonderful truths can be experienced in dreams, and if this is done by the mind, maybe the mind holds the key to the secrets we are seeking, which is freedom—maybe our freedom.

And is it not a fact? Tell me what your thoughts are, and I can tell you who you are. We are what our thoughts are. Is it not a fact?

So this is the simple truth, and if you say that is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa puts in a very simple way, he says: "The wretch who goes on saying 'I am weak, I am a sinner,' he becomes more wretched, and even if he was not a sinner, very soon he will become a sinner." In psychological language, this is what you call phobia and what is called being accident-prone. A fellow goes on thinking, "I will meet an accident, I will meet an accident," and he fulfills his own thought very soon.

So our mind holds the tremendous secret. So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says: the person who says "I am divine," very soon what happens? He feels he is divine. He is free. Everything lies in the mind.

The Sanskrit Teaching on Mind

This was the great truth that has been expressed so beautifully in Sanskrit language: Mana eva manuṣyāṇāṃ kāraṇaṃ bandha-mokṣayoḥ—"Mind alone is the cause of both bondage and freedom," which is absolutely true. You are as happy as you think you are happy, or as unhappy as you think you are unhappy. This is the truth.

The Inward Turn of Religious Inquiry

Anyway, so this state of things we find in all the organized religions of the world, called either ecstasy or inspiration. Swami Vivekananda says, you know, very soon people came to realize the dreams are just idle fancies, but by the time the search has begun, a tremendous turn has taken place. What is that turn? Instead of searching outside, now the search has become inward. That is the greatest change that has taken place.

All the while people have been searching: "Is it in the tree? Is it in the dead ancestor? Is the freedom somewhere else on the Himalayas?" Then suddenly they found: maybe it is right here, right within me. By this time the search had begun, and the search was inward.

Ecstasy and Inspiration

"And man continued inquiring more deeply into the different stages of the mind and discovered higher states than either the waking or the dreaming. This state of things we find in all the organized religions of the world, called either ecstasy or inspiration. In all organized religions, their founders, prophets, and messengers are declared to have gone into states of mind that were neither waking nor sleeping, in which they came face to face with a new series of facts relating to what is called the spiritual kingdom. They realized things there much more intensely than we realize facts around us in our waking state."

The Supersensuous Experience

"Thus a tremendous statement is made by all religions: that the human mind at certain moments transcends not only the limitations of the senses but also the power of reasoning. It then comes face to face with facts which it could never have sensed, could never have reasoned out. These facts are the basis of all the religions of the world."

How do we know? You see, it looks like what a beautiful study by Swami Vivekananda. See, he made a statement: these are the origin of every religion. What is it? There are certain states beyond body, beyond the mind. Mind has the power to get out of itself, to transcend itself, and then something happens.

Scriptures as Foundation

All the religions, all the prophets, they claim one thing. You know what they claim? That the supersensuous experience is beyond the mind, and their recorded experiences are what we call scriptures of the world—Vedas, Bibles, the Quran, and the Tripiṭaka, whatever. What are these scriptures? These are the very basis, the foundation as it were, of every religion. Take away the scripture, what remains? Empty shell, nothing. There will be no religion. We will come to that point later on.

Three Key Discoveries

So what happened? First of all, the search has gone from the outer to the inner. It has become inward. Secondly, they discovered that there are tremendous powers of the mind. The mind has tremendous powers, and the highest of that power is it can go beyond itself.

But even from the point of view of knowledge and power, you know, you say a person is very intelligent, very intelligent—I understand. Where is that intelligence? Is it outside him or inside him? Where is it? It is in his mind. Don't mistake, don't make any mistake. It is not in the brain. The brain is only an instrument. It is in the mind. That is one fact.

The Power of Abstraction

Then there is the third factor. It's the most wonderful factor. You know what this fact is? The further inward they went, the more generalized the ideas have become, the more abstract they become. You see, God is not a person, because if he is a person, he has a name, he has a form, and as a form he can only occupy a particular space. But God is everywhere, is it not? God is for all times, is it not? Is it an abstract idea or is it a concrete idea?

So the third factor came in: the more abstract an idea, the more powerful it is, and the more subtler it is, and the more longer lasting it is. And of course, the highest peak of all abstractions is what in simple terms we call God. We will come to that point.

Abstraction in Religion

"So we find one characteristic common to all religions: they are all abstractions, as contrasted with the concrete discoveries of physics—abstraction either in the form of an abstracted presence or as an omnipresent being, as an abstract personality called God, as a moral law, or in the form of the abstract essence underlying every existence."

The Hindu Approach to Divinity

I will give one instance again from Hindu religion. Hindus worship many, many gods and goddesses. In fact, Hindus manufacture gods and goddesses. Who is great? The Manufactured or the manufacturer? Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was not a god before 1836. Was he a god? Nobody knew about him. He was born only in 1836, and then he was born and then he was recognized, and then he became—now, see, millions and millions worship him. See, we made him God!

Sat-Cit-Ānanda

The second idea that we get is that this most wonderful idea of the abstraction—the more it is abstracted, the subtler it becomes, because it is just the diametrically opposite of what is concrete, and the more lasting it becomes, immortal it becomes.

So that is how, if all the power, all the knowledge—this is what we call Sat-Cit-Ānanda. Sat means absolute existence. Say, for example, here is a book. It has an existence, but it's very limited existence. It didn't exist five minutes earlier. It is existing now. Maybe after five minutes it will go out of existence. But what is absolute existence? Where does it go? From where it has come, it will go. That from which everything originates, that in which it continues to live, that unto which again it returns back, that is called absolute existence: Sat.

Understanding Knowledge

Then the other idea is we have to understand knowledge. We use the word "knowledge" all the time. What is knowledge? Knowledge is a limited piece of consciousness. See, we have got consciousness. For example, you are sitting out in the garden and you are not doing anything, just looking at it. There is no idea in the mind excepting that you are enjoying yourself. Suddenly a bird flies. Immediately you say, "Oh, this is a bird."

What happened? That abstracted consciousness of yours which was not projecting anything suddenly became concentrated, as it were, on a particular small object which is called a bird, and you got the knowledge: "This is a bird. I am seeing a bird." But where—there are infinite numbers of objects in this world. How much knowledge can you get? Very little, because you don't have time, your instruments are very limited.

The Knowledge of Everything

But is there any way of having the knowledge of everything? Is it possible? Yes, it is possible. How is it possible? Not in its particularity but in its essence or generality. How does this work? I will give an example. A beautiful example, you know. See, Rāmakṛṣṇa has given this example.

Supposing you want to cook rice. You put a pot full of rice, and after twenty minutes you want to know whether the rice is cooked properly or not. What do you need to do? Do you need to press every grain there, or do you only press one grain and you will know about the entire rice?

So this is the simple and beautiful example given by Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, following the teachings of the Upaniṣads. One thing I have to tell you before I proceed: every teaching of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa stems from the Upaniṣadic teachings.

The Gold Analogy

So the Upaniṣads tell us: "My dear, if you wanted to know what is the nature of this ornament, for example a necklace, what is the nature of that ornament, for example a ring, then there is no way you can get the knowledge about everything. But if these ornaments are made out of gold, if you have knowledge about gold, then you have knowledge about all the ornaments which have been made since the beginning of creation, which are there now, which will be made in future until the end of creation. You will have knowledge."

Physics and Consciousness

Now I will come to physics. You see, here is a man, here is a tree, here is a bird, here is wood, a piece of wood. How many pieces of knowledge are you going to get? Go to their origin. From where did they originate? Let us say from the physics point of view: atoms, right? So what is the origin of atoms? Split the atoms, go to their basic material. What is it? Particles or waves, or ultimately we use a simple word: matter. Everything has come out of matter. If you have knowledge of matter, do you have knowledge of everything in this world or not?

But Vedānta goes further and says even matter is only a modification of consciousness. Therefore, if you have knowledge of consciousness, then you have knowledge of everything else in this world.

The Ganges Example

This wonderful truth he has put in another way. You see, if you want to touch the Gaṅgā, the Ganges, what do you need to do? Do you have to go on touching it from the Himalayas until Gaṅgā Sāgara, or at any point you touch the Ganges, you have touched the Ganges?

That means if you know that basic material from which the whole universe is nothing but different manifestations, then you know all the knowledge that is to be known about that particular thing, right? And what is the essence of everything? It is nothing but what they called Brahman, Cit, Sat and Cit.

The Quest for Happiness

What is our endeavor? What are we struggling for? Worshipping ancestors, worshipping nature, worshipping images of gods and goddesses—what is the purpose? I want to live happily eternally, infinite eternal happiness, and God is of that nature.

Where is that happiness? So you ask, instead of asking "Where is that happiness?" ask "Where is the unhappiness?" Where is the unhappiness? "I don't have that thing." So you have that. "I don't have the other thing." So you don't have that. "So get it." Then how many things can you get? No. Then what should you do? You become everything. You become the infinite.

Then what happens? You are everything. Everything is you. There is nothing aside from you. This idea of pūrṇatva or perfection, or what Swami Vivekananda calls infinity. Then you are free from unhappiness. That means you are ānanda-svarūpa, that is the nature of bliss, because there is no desire, there is no imperfection, therefore there is no seeking, there is no effort, there is no fear, there is no suppression.

Sat-Cit-Ānanda as the Goal

This marvelous truth has been given in three words, comprised in three words: Sat, Cit, Ānanda. So the search is for Saccidānanda. So that is what he says—Swami Vivekananda says here:

"Thus we are always struggling to raise ourselves up to that ideal. Every human being, whosoever and wheresoever he may be, has an ideal of infinite power. Every human being has an ideal of infinite pleasure."

The Turn Toward Renunciation

Then comes a marvelous turn, another turn in religion. What is called religion? What is it? That if you want infinity, any amount of finite things put together cannot bring infinity. Only infinity can have infinity.

As an American cliché says, you know, "Yes, you can buy the whole supermarket. Where will you put it?" So let it be there. So all that you need to think is: "This is mine." You see, suppose you have enough money—say an Arab, rich Arab, oil-rich Arab—has billions of dollars and he purchases, let us say, Marks and Spencer, all the food that is there in Marks and Spencer. Will he be able to eat it? So let it be there. All that you need to do is say, "Yes, this is mine." That's it.

Is it possible? Yes, it's possible. How? You identify yourself and say, "The owner of this Marks and Spencer is none other than my own self." Finished. That is called religion.

The Ultimate Perfection

The ultimate point of perfection of religion is nothing but, through various spiritual disciplines, slowly you rid yourself of this limitation—first body, then sense organs, then mind, then ultimately the egotism—and then what remains? You become one with everything. This is true religion.

So then he says: one thing they found out, you know, that if you want religion, then you have to give up, because the understanding comes that through finite means the infinity cannot be seen. That is called vairāgya, turning away, nivṛtti. This is called renunciation. So that is what makes it.

Priests and Intermediaries

Now we have covered the essential points, excepting I want to mention two other points with regard to this. He said origins of religions began with the worship of nature, worship of the ancestors. Now, human beings are always—there are clever human beings—they want power. They interpose themselves in between ordinary human beings and these so-called higher powers and say, "Look, we somehow have a hotline, we have somehow a communication, and why do you want to go to so much trouble? You pay me a little bit of fee and I will do your work for you." That is, all that I need is a little bit of payment. These are called magicians, you know.

Modern Equivalents

Even today, if you think the idea of a magicians has gone out of order, forget about it. Faith healers and there are, you know, any number of these. And suppose, you know, some student, the son of a devotee, tomorrow examination is there—what do you think? Today they will bring rasa-gullās to me. I say, "You never fed rasa-gullās in the past to me. Suddenly why this so much devotion?" And immediately I come to know: "Swamiji, tomorrow my son is appearing for the exam. Will you please pray to God?" I say, "Certainly I will pray to God." I never said he is going to pass or fail. I say, "I am going to pray,

I will pray." But the result depends upon your son's efforts and also God's grace.

The Development of Priesthood

So these middlemen—in Hindu religion also these middlemen came. They are called, at the beginning, purohitas. Purohita means "he who stands between me and the gods." And the best of these, what we call in English language, priests, is in the form of Agni, fire.

Fire. So fire is the—everything is put in the fire. You put money, you put fruits. Even now we do homas. You put so many things, valuable things. What is the idea? The idea is the fire carries it. You put it in the fire, which is invisible, and the fire reduces it to its essence, and fire carries it to the gods. And the gods, they send the gifts, whatever they want to give you, and that will come back again to you in a visible form.

Example from the Rāmāyaṇa

See the whole Rāmāyaṇa. What did Daśaratha do when he wanted children? He performed the Agni, what you call sacrifice, fire sacrifice, and this devatā came and gave this in a cup, what we call rice pudding, and "You give it to your wife and she will bear children." This is what we also do. We all accept the prasāda, sacramental food, with great reverence.

Shamans and Priests

So this is one idea: priests. Priesthood and Magicians or shamans are closely interrelated. So what they do is, they claim they have special powers. But then what they say is, "This is not my power. My power comes from worshipping a particular demon or ghost or god or goddess. So you pay me the proper fees. I will contact my boss, and my boss, I can assure you, will give you the promotion or whatever it is." We have not lost that idea. These are all stages in the religious growth we have to accept.

So the first idea is a musician or shaman, and these Magicians or shamans have become, in a way of speaking in the history of religious development, a kind of what is called separated beings outside society. They don't fall into any category. They are feared, more feared than respected. But gradually, as people became accustomed to it, then these Magicians slowly assumed a regular post. They have become—what was their temporary post has become confirmed as permanent post, and they assumed the name of a priest.

So these are some of the ideas that have come.

Three Stages of Religious Development

Now, every religion has undergone through these three stages, but some religions have stopped at the second stage of the growth, never went further. Swami Vivekananda explains it. What are these three stages?

Stage One: Polytheism

The first stage is that there are many gods—means many powers, many goddesses, many spirits, etc. This is called polytheism.

Stage Two: Monotheism

As man's understanding became greater, then he developed into: there are not many powers, but it is one particular power, one infinite source of power manifesting in different ways. As I compare it to a credit card. You see, with a credit card you can buy food, you can buy clothes, you can buy an aeroplane ticket, and you can buy a bomb, or you can commit suicide. You can do whatever you like. It can take any form. So one particular—this is called monotheism.

This is the second, and many religions have stopped with the growth of that. Though I would not say they completely stopped, but what I meant is that the priests who have meanwhile assumed a very powerful position did not want people to go any further to that abstract principle called the impersonal being or the ultimate reality. Because if people go to that idea of the ultimate reality, they don't need your particular interference. You can get that power for yourself.

Monopolizing Access to God

If everybody is getting water—suppose it's constantly raining, first-class water—then who needs Thames Water Company? Many assiduous—"No, God is only our God, and you can only access him through us. There is no other way."

Stage Three: The Impersonal Brahman

But Hindus have gone further and said, "However personal, however wonderful a god is, this is not what we want, because even he limits my freedom. Who the hell is he to boss over me and say 'I will create you, I will destroy you'?" Therefore they went further, and then they came to this marvelous idea that it is Brahman.

Brahman means "he is everywhere." Even to say "he" is wrong—"it" is everywhere, whatever word you say. He is everywhere, he is everywhere—means what? Don't have the dualistic idea that in the ocean there is water. There is a land which is depressed in a vast way, and in that vast depression it is filled with vast amounts of water—not like that. "He is everywhere" means "he is everything." If he is everything, what am I? I am also that same supreme reality.

Hindu Contributions to World Religious Thought

So that is what the Hindu ṛṣis have discovered, and these are the two principles which have special contribution to make to the world's religious thought. Hindus—two important religious ideals.

First Ideal: The Impersonal Reality

One is the highest ultimate reality is impersonal. From it everything has come. It is formless, it is nameless, it is qualityless. Nirākāra, nirguṇa, nirviśeṣa—called simply Brahman. From Brahman came Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara, whatever other names you call.

Second Ideal: Unity in Diversity

The second idea is: it is that one supreme reality we are all worshipping in different names, different forms, and different qualities, attributing different qualities.

I will give you one example. You see, different names: Rāma, Kṛṣṇa, Śiva, Jesus, Allah, Buddha. These are different names, but it is the same principle. Different forms: Kṛṣṇa is one form, Rāma is another form, Divine Mother is another form, and Jesus is another form, etc. And different qualities. What are those qualities?

Choosing a Deity Based on Needs

Suppose you want power, whom do you worship? Either you worship Kālī, Mother Kālī, or you worship Lord Gaṇeśa or Kārttikeya. Kārttikeya is the god of success. If you want to pass examinations, whom will you worship? If you want wealth or happiness, whom do you worship? Lakṣmī. And if you want realization of God, then whom do you worship? Guru, your particular guru.

So you see, this is the very special thing. No other religion teaches this. Why can't they teach? Because they have stopped accessing that highest, going to the highest concept.

Suppression of Mysticism in Other Religions

I am not saying nobody has gone, but they have actively suppressed some mystics who have experienced that highest truth and then wanted to preach it. They have been suppressed. Their books have been banned.

Examples from Christianity

For example, in Christianity, Meister Eckhart's books. He has been oppressed. His books have been banned from the 12th century until the 19th century. Only in the last—after the 18th and 19th centuries—his books have become more popular now.

Examples from Islam

If you look at Islam, then you see there is a section called Sufism, mystics called Sufis, and they have been tortured, they have been killed, they have been burnt, and their books have never been—not only at that time, even till today in orthodox Muslim countries these Sufis are taboo, period. Now, no way. They can only practice it in countries like India or in UK or in USA. Sufi mystics even today.

Freedom in Hindu Culture

But in India nobody was—even an atheist, if a rank atheist comes to a Hindu temple or Vārāṇasī and says "God is superstition, religion is opium of the masses," etc., etc., the people will clap him and say, "Well said, now go and have a good dinner." And then what do they do? They straight proceed to the temple, offer their worship, heartfelt, and then go away. They give tremendous freedom.

Freedom is the condition of growth. That is why in India religion grew, whereas it suppressed the society. That is why society became constricted. In the West, society has been given complete freedom and so it grew, but religion has been completely suppressed, even today. That's why it did not grow at all.

Who is a Hindu?

So these are the two ideas. But one question that comes is: who is a Hindu? How do I know what is Hinduism? It is a very, very complex religion. But how do I know that I am a Hindu? Who am I?

There are certain principles by which we know that we are Hindus.

Belief in the Vedas

Every Hindu, whoever believes in the Vedas, he is a Hindu. If he says, "I believe in God but I don't believe in the Vedas," he is an āstika—a peculiar concept. Why? Because it is through the Vedas that you come to know there is a God and a correct conception of God. This is the idea.

So it is through the Vedas we know that God can reveal himself in any form, in any name, with any name, with any quality, anywhere in this world, in the past, in the present, and in the future.

Core Hindu Beliefs

It is only a Hindu who says, "We are all divine." Each soul is divine. Everything is divine. Soul means not only living beings—every non-living being, the whole creation is divine.

It is only a Hindu who believes everybody will go to God. Nobody is going to be damned.

It is only a Hindu who says, "I believe in God incarnating in every age."

It is only a Hindu who says, "Respect every religion, respect every scripture, respect every prophet, every sage."

It is only a Hindu who says the supreme values of life are four: righteous living (dharma), then enjoy this world through proper ways of earning the instruments or money (artha), and enjoy this world in a regulated way (kāma), but ultimately liberation or mokṣa is the highest goal of life.

It is only a Hindu who believes that God can incarnate any number of times.

Conclusion

These are some of the most important things. I will put it systematically. I will get it next time and I will do it.

ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः

Om Śānti, Śānti, Śānti.

Om, peace, peace, peace be unto all.