Stages of Consciousness

Since consciousness is the basis of all reality, any shift in consciousness changes every aspect of our reality. Reality is created by consciousness differentiating into cognition, moods, emotions, perceptions, behaviour, speech, social interactions, environment, interaction with the forces of nature, and biology. As consciousness evolves, these different aspects of consciousness also change.

Although every spiritual tradition speaks of higher states of consciousness it is especially in Vedanta that we find such a structured map of these stages of development. The average person only experiences three states of consciousness in an entire lifetime. These are deep sleep, dreams, and waking state of consciousness. The brain functions measurably different in each of these states. Brain biology and brain waves show precise and different characteristics between sleep, dream, and waking states of consciousness.

1) Deep sleep: Deep sleep you also have a certain reality. If I scream at you, you will react. You have a degree of awareness, if your child is crying and you are the mother you will immediately respond. Spirit is in state of surveillance even in deep sleep and spirit creates a physiology for that moment.

2) Dreams: Repertoire of experience. Stories are being weaved by the Karmic software and when we are dreaming it is very real. No one can convince us that is was not real. It is only when we wake up we realize that it is not real and it was only a dream. The insight that is not a dream happens only when we wake up from the dream.

3) Vedanta says when you wake up from that dream you enter another dream that is what is called the waking state of consciousness. Presumably you are in that right now. You are in the waking state of consciousness you are participating in it without knowing that it is ephemeral or transitory. That is why you get caught up in the melodrama and the hysteria and the anxiety of the dream . You will remain in it until you wake up from it and get insight that aha! it was an amazing state.

Spiritual practice or sadhana begins the process by which an individual transforms his or her consciousness from these three common states of consciousness into " higher states" of consciousness.

You wake up from the “waking state” and when you have the first glimpse of the soul. Walt Whitman said I must not be awake as everything looks to me as it never did before. Else I am awake now and all that occurred before was just a dream. Gautam Buddha said “the lifestyle of ours is as transient as the autumn clouds. To watch the birth and death of beings is like looking at the movement of a dance a lifetime is like the flash of lightning in the sky rushing by like a torrent from the steep mountain. Now I am awake (meaning of the word Buddha), waking up from the insubstantial reality and glimpsing into the soul. You can glimpse into the soul. Example turn your attention to who is listening, there is a presence there and it is not your mind. The ever present witnessing awareness is the soul. As you peel the layers even in dreams and even in wakefulness, you see a body out there you can witness it. You can witness it now without experiencing death.

Through of any of the four primary yoga practices (the yogas of being, feeling, thinking, doing) the mind is led past its conditioned states to its pure unconditioned state. Beyond the first 3 states of consciousness are the following four states: Soul consciousness, Cosmic consciousness, Divine consciousness and Unity consciousness. As each state of consciousness unfolds within us, it opens us into a newer more expanded reality. Let's discuss each of these in turn:

1) Soul consciousness is the state we experience when our internal reference point shifts from body, mind, and ego, to the observer of body, mind, and ego. We experience and cultivate Soul consciousness when we meditate. This observer is referred to as the witnessing awareness. During meditation, a person begins to identify with this aspect of the Self which is beyond thinking and feeling, (the silent witness), and then he or she begins to feel more calm, centered and intuitive in daily life. As the authentic core of oneself solidifies, there is less emotional drama in their lives. Relationships are more loving and compassionate and one finds a deeper more caring relationship with the environment and nature. With the experience of the silent witness, the biology will also reflect greater balance and the activation of homeostatic mechanisms. Meditation has been shown to lead to the reduction of stress markers, slower heart rate, lower blood pressure, enhanced immune function, and orderly and precise self-repair mechanisms. Those who practice meditation are less prone to sickness.

2) Cosmic consciousness is the state when soul consciousness gets stabilized and the witnessing awareness is present all the time in waking, dreaming, and sleeping states. This state of consciousness is sometimes described in traditions as being both local and non-local simultaneously. The silent witness Self is unbounded, but the body and the conditioned mind is localized. In the Christian tradition the phrase "to be in the world and not of it," describes this flavor of Cosmic consciousness. In this state, even during deep sleep, the witnessing awareness is fully awake and there is the realization that one is not the mind/body, which is in the field of change, but rather an eternal spirit that transcends space and time. The most remarkable aspect of this state of consciousness is the knowledge of one's nature as timeless and therefore no fear of death. Although Cosmic consciousness is not the pinnacle of enlightenment, nevertheless it marks the critical transition from an identity bound to a conditioned life, to a life of freedom in self-knowledge.

3) Divine consciousness is the expansion of cosmic consciousness where the ever-present witnessing awareness is experienced not only in the silence of the Self, but also in the most abstract qualities of nature and the mind. Dormant potentials such as the awakening of the nonlocal senses (referred to in Sanskrit as tanmatras) begin to be experienced. As the individual mind starts to access these unused realms of the psyche, they will activate extraordinary spiritual abilities previously thought to be unattainable. These include experiences such as knowledge of past and future, clairvoyance, refined sense of taste, smell, sight, touch and hearing, control over bodily functions, heart rate, and autonomic functions. In other words, objects are experienced simultaneously on a gross sensory level and subtle more abstract level. Appreciation of life from this more refined perspective represents the real engagement of the heart and love as the engine of spiritual growth at this stage. By experiencing the patterns and deeper connections that underlie external diversity, we find our soul is stirred by a profound sense of beauty, awe, compassion, gratitude and love. The integrating power of these qualities brings together the polarized world of Cosmic consciousness which is divided between the Self and non-Self. In Divine Consciousness this harmonizing and synthesizing power is felt as the presence of Divinity in our heart. Wherever one goes one feels the presence of the Divine. The Vedic seers would say in Divine consciousness, God is not difficult to find, but impossible to avoid. At this stage, there is an even greater conviction of the immortality of existence, not only as nonlocal consciousness, but also in the knowledge that you are that enduring presence of divine love. Divine consciousness also brings a deeper experience of liberation, as the external sensory world is no longer seen as a kind of spiritual exile which the soul must endure, but rather the world is a manifestation of the beauty, and love of one's consciousness and therefore integral to one's spirituality.

4) Unity consciousness is also referred to as Brahman consciousness. It is a state of consciousness where the ever-present witness is not just recognized as the core Self of one's existence, it is now perceived as the primary reality of every experience. You, as the observer, are that pure consciousness. The process of observation is also that consciousness. And the object of observation is that same pure consciousness. The culmination of enlightenment is the knowledge that consciousness alone exists, that is all there is , was, or ever will be. That oneness, or unity, dominates awareness even as one engages in the same mundane details of life as before. One ceases to identify with an individual body-mind apparatus and sees the whole universe as one's physical body. Of course, there is a personal body and there is a material universe, experienced through the senses, but they are now cognized to be incorporated in that one single reality of consciousness.

Dormant potentials previously mentioned are now fully operative. There is the ability to heal and transform others and everything is experienced as miraculous. A flower is seen as a flower but is also experienced as rainbows and sunshine and earth and water and wind and air and the infinite void and the whole history of the universe swirling and transiently manifesting as the flower. In other worlds every object is seen as the total universe transiently manifesting as a particular object. And behind the scenes one can feel the presence of the same ever-present witnessing awareness that is now in both subject and object. Unity consciousness is the ultimate level of freedom from fear. It is characterized by an abiding sense of joy and peace. There is no "other" outside of oneself to be afraid of, and the constant dance of unity masquerading as diversity is seen as the blissful nature of life itself. All of creation is seen as the play of consciousness or leela.

This state of enlightenment is sometimes compared to the drop of water that is experiencing itself as the ocean, knowing that it was the ocean the whole time. You and God are now one because there is no you left any more. Sometimes when people try to conceptualize this by projecting their current sense of self into Unity consciousness they are afraid that in losing their old identity they will lose their existence, memories and individual perspective. But the enlightened person doesn't' see it that way. They understand that personal identity was an illusion to begin with. They realize that nothing real or valuable is ever lost on the path to enlightenment. They are experiencing their original identity but only now recognizing it in its completeness and its full glory. This state is of course described in the Vedantic tradition but is beautifully captured in the following verses from T.S. Elliot:

We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.

This brief outline of higher states of consciousness is only intended to give a general sense of the unfolding of human potential. It is important to emphasize that spiritual development is not fundamentally an intellectual or a faith-driven enterprise. Enlightenment is not attained by reading and studying, nor by fervent belief in something outside yourself. The development of higher states of consciousness primarily comes down to regularly and systematically experiencing deeper values of the Self and then integrating that into one's daily life. The specific experiences an individual has on this journey, will necessarily vary, based on the spiritual tradition and practice one follows, but also based upon your own personal history and tendencies.

Reference: Deepak Chopra's texts

Summary of Vedanta - excerpt from Deepak Chopra's video

In this blog I would like to highlight the Vedantic perspective and provide a summary of the key Vedantic philosophies. Some of the material is from Deepak Chopra's video on God and Buddha.

Vedanta is the great wisdom tradition of India that goes back to at least 1500 BC. Authors are the great rishis who spent several eras of time thinking about various questions and developed sophisticated philosophies to explain the meaning of life.

During the 1st millennium of common era the people in the Indian subcontinent began to discard the simple teachings and stories of Gods and miraculous mythologies and the first level of God. Survival became easy and relatively more organized. Decided that the human being need not fear reality but was at a point where he was able to understand and question reality.

Veda means knowledge and Vedanta literally means the end of knowledge. Vedanta says that there are 5 reasons why human beings suffer, these are called Kleshas in Sanskrit.

1. Not knowing the true nature of reality.
   
2. Clinging to or grasping or holding to that which is ephemeral transitory or not real.
   
3. Aversion to, revulsion to, running away from, fear of that which is insubstantial transitory, ephemeral or not real.
   
4. Identification with a false and constricted and habitual self i.e. ego
   Fear of death.
   

All other causes of suffering can be somehow related to these five.

And all of these 5 causes of suffering are contained in the first one i.e. not knowing the true nature of reality.

The only cause of suffering is not knowing the true nature of reality.

Essence of Buddhism is the alleviation of suffering and not the abstractions of reincarnation. Buddhism is a practical religion and doesn’t delve into abstractions. Buddhism answers the question "What is the cause of human suffering and what is the way out of it ?"

The true nature of reality: The true nature of reality is Brahman. If you ask someone to describe it, he/she can’t. He/She would refer to it as “that”, or in Sanskrit “Thath”. Vedanta says I am that you are that and that is ... That is infinite, eternal, dynamic, ineffable, silent, infinite intelligence, infinite dynamism.

And this Brahman projects itself as the physical universe (including you and me) through the power of Maya. Maya technically means measurement, although translated sometimes referred to as illusion. Because you are trying to measure is the infinite. Through the measurement of infinite you give birth to the concept of time. Maya, meter, time, measurement, music, matter refer to the womb of creation.

The unbounded womb of creation which projects itself through the concept of Maya to the realm of space time and causation. It does so through the web of karma. Karma is the result of our past actions on an individual level, a collective level and also on a deeper more mythical level. The remnants of Karma, our past actions are like seeds in our consciousness. And these remnants of Karma constantly actualize into our consciousness into our subjective experience. They are just the seeds of the past experience. They are not memories themselves but they are virtual memories, just like you have virtual protons and virtual particles. They are not part of our brain, but are part of the software of our soul.

A person who wrote Reagan’s biography stated one incident, apparently Mr. Reagan came from a therapy session. Someone had left a toy white house. Mr. Reagan tried to clutch onto a toy white house. When asked he said “I don’t know what it is but I think it is something to do with me”.

In Sanskrit it is called Samskara, or potential memory or the remnant of Karma. We all have spiritual alzheimers. We have this faint memory that somewhere there is a soul here, we know it has something to do with me but we don’t know what it is. Bible states “ what good does it do a man to find the whole world but to lose one’s soul”.

Losing the soul we begin to have the experience of suffering.

The karmic software which is actualizing into our consciousness it appears as our thoughts, our own memories, desires, feelings and emotions. During the daytime, rational mind, it weaves stories around the Karmic software, it does so quite logically at least to the rational mind and we live out these stories we call them “everyday reality”. Same thing happens at night but the rational mind is asleep, so there is not a consistent logic to these stories at night and we call them dreams. Vedanta says the mechanics of the dream and the waking state of consciousness is the same.

One is being given a rationalization and other is not. It is just the karmic software that is appearing in your consciousness and is making stories out of them and you are living these stories out and you get so caught up in the melodrama and the hysteria of the stories that you forget who you are.

It is like going to a good movie and getting lost in the movie. The only way to come out of the tangled hierarchy, the seer loses itself in the scenery, the lover loses himself/herself in the beloved, the knower in knowledge and so forth. Never remembering that there is a timeless factor in the midst of the experience. All experience is time bound, a beginning a middle and an ending. In the midst of all this there is a timeless factor it is the experiencer. The Experiencer is the eye inside. Not the personal eye but the collective eye and the universal eye.

There are six stages of Awareness or consciousness. All of reality is a projection of which state of consciousness you are in. Depending on which state of consciousness you are in you project a certain state of reality. If I peel beneath the layers of my soul I will go beyond my constricted fabrication, the constricted self identity that I have and will realize who I really am. And this is the essence of Vedanta.

Vedanta says there are 4 ways to do it

1) Karma yoga: Be always reminding yourself that no matter what you are doing you are not doing it. It is God, God does everything and this is the machinery through which the divine intelligence is working. The essence of Karma yoga is to be established in being and perform action. Yogasth Gurukarma Karmaniyasth as Lord Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita.
2) Through love or the experience of love. This is bhakti yoga or devotion. It is the simplest and the most enjoyable but it gets you to the same place. Love is the ultimate reality and the ultimate truth in the heart of creation. We are all the same being but in different disguises. Once we realize that it becomes impossible to hurt or be hurt. What the Buddha refers to as compassion is really the experiential knowledge of love as the ultimate truth at the heart of creation.
3) Raja Yoga i.e. meditation and its allied disciplines. Different types of ways to dive between the gaps of our thoughts, or go beyond the secret passages and the dark alleys of our minds and find the part of ourselves that does not die.
4) Nyaana Yoga: Intellectual approach, razor’s edge i.e. to use the intellect to go beyond the intellect. That itself is a paradox but it is possible. To go beyond the rational mind.

That is the summary of Vedanta and all the 112 Upanishads talk about these few principles.

If one has gotten close to the event horizon which is called enlightenment then that experiential knowledge of immortality solves all suffering. Because you find out who you really are. As the Sufi poet Rumi said in one of his poems “By God when you see beauty you will be idol of yourself”.

Why I am a Hindu and not Christian

When I was a graduate student some years ago at a university known for its Theological school, I was faced with several attempts to convince me to convert to Christianity.

I have a deep respect for Christian traditions and customs and among the three western religions Christianity might be regarded as the most secular.

However I don't believe in conversion, neither did M.K. Gandhi who had studied the Bible.

In this post I would like to highlight the reasons that Theologians highlight when converting one to Christianity

The key beliefs of the Christian tradition are as follows

1. The sin of Adam and Eve applies to all of mankind since we are descendants of Adam and Eve.
2. Jesus Christ is the son of God. He performed miracles and he was resurrected after death. By following Jesus, i.e. through the process of baptism and communion, one can redeem him/her from the sin and join Jesus in heaven. Also this is the only path to heaven else one shall suffer a life in hell. These are the words of Christ himself.
3. Since he was innocent and did not commit any crime, by dying on the cross, He relieved all of mankind of this sin.
4. Several Christians have personal experiences in which they have seen Christ and have had life changing experiences.

Let me address each one of these one at a time

1. The sin of Adam and Eve applies to all of mankind since we are descendants of Adam and Eve.

As was stated in my blog on the Introduction to Western Religion, according to the three western religions God created the world about 5768 years ago according to the Jewish Calendar. (See note below) And God created Adam on the sixth day, and then created Eve using one of ribs and so forth.

Even if one does not believe in evolution, one can argue using multiple sources of evidence such as the fossils of the dinosaurs, carbon dating of plants and other animals that have been found to exist much before, sometimes even millions of years before this date. Hence for all practical purposes there was no Adam and Eve.

Secondly for Adam and Eve to grow to a population of 6 billion in 5768 years it seems like an enormous undertaking. According to one theologian the book of the Genesis is actually metaphorical and it doesn't translate to actual events.

In any case, if we say that Adam and Eve did not actuall exist and hence we can deduce that the original sin was never committed and hence we are not affected by it.



2. Jesus Christ is the son of God. He performed miracles and he was resurrected after death. By following Jesus one can redeem him/her from the sin and join Jesus in heaven. Also this is the only path to heaven else one shall suffer a life in hell. These are the words of Christ himself.

It maybe true that Jesus was a historical figure. One cannot confirm the fact that he performed miracles also whether he was actually resurrected.

Coupled with the fact that this occurred over 2000 years ago in a time when the Egyptians and the Greeks would use the laws of physics to perform "miracles" to attract followers to the temples. It is possible that these can be overstated and one cannot use spoken word as evidence.

Even if I were to accept that Jesus actually did perform these miraculous acts, here is a counter argument to that.

In India towards the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, there was an individual who is worshipped by the name of Sai Baba. Baba performed several miracles and there is a lot of stories regarding these. Considering that Baba's stories are far more recent than of Jesus which was over 2000 years ago, one can say that maybe Jesus wasn't the only one.
Also there is substantially more historical evidence on the existence of Sai Baba such as actual photographs.

Also here I haven't stated other historical miraculous stories that have been told in India. There are also individuals such as the Buddha who offered a totally different path where the ultimate purpose is not Heaven but the freedom from birth and death.

Although Jesus maybe a path to Heaven if that is one's purpose in life, that is not the only path that is available. If Jesus said "follow me" as the only path to Heaven, Baba said "there is only one God. It doesn't matter how you worship Him."

Hence to say that the path of Jesus is the only path is not be true. This might something that the Church invented to instill a fear of God and make people follow their ideals.

3. Since he was innocent and did not commit any crime, by dying on the cross, He relieved all of mankind of this sin.

OK Jesus may have been innocent and didn't deserve to die on the cross. But a lot of people in the Roman times were crucified on the cross. Some of them may have been innocent. Were they all "Sons of God". ?

4. Several Christians have personal experiences in which they have seen Christ and have had life changing experiences.

There are also similar stories in India on how people's lives were changed when they visited Sai Baba temple in Shirdi for example. Each person has their own personal experiences and one cannot use these as a basis for converting others to his/her faith.



Finally what about the sins one commits in his own life.

Shouldn't each person be responsible for his/her own actions and is aptly rewarded or punished based on his/her actions and not based on the actions of his/her ancestors (Adam, Eve or who ever) or faith or religion ?

I personally believe is that all religions have good and bad. Each religion has evolved to address the issues of the particular culture and the people. One shouldn't use religion as a basis to discriminate other people nor should one feel the need to convert others without understanding the other person's point of view.

Note: (Unlike its civil counterpart, Judaism's calendar starts with a far more universalistic perspective from the birth of mankind. Jews are now in the eighth century of the sixth millennium (the year 2007 will correspond to the years 5767-5768). The Jewish calendar doesn't start from the time the Jews became a nation, but rather from the creation of the world.

Introduction to Hinduism

Hinduism is probably one of the oldest religions that is still practiced by over 800 million people in India. The term Hindu was coined by the moslems to refer to the people from the Indus valley.

Study of Hinduism is often very complicated since new ideas evolved without discarding the older ideas that are not relevant or had been discarded. As one author on Hinduism put it, "Hinduism can be best related to a collector who keeps collecting things without discarding the old."

There are two significant works of Hindu literature that I use as my source for describing Hinduism, viz. the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita.

Basic beliefs:

All of us are composed of a material or a physical form or the outer body and an indestructible form the Atman. All living organisms have Atman and they are connected together in a universal soul or Brahman. Atman is indestructible and is recycled, that is when we are born the Atman acquires a new body and when we die the Atman leaves the body to take on a new form. The form acquired would depend on the nature of actions. If one were involved in good actions s/he would be born in a higher level in the food chain and correspondingly if one is involved in bad actions s/he would be born in a lesser form. This is the law of Karma and we are all bound by the endless cycle of rebirth.

Although older works of literature do indicate the concept of heaven and hell, everything is only temporary. That is according to Hinduism all the creatures in the three worlds (earth, heaven and hell) are bound by Rita or the laws of nature. Even Gods such as Indra are subject to birth and death. There are only two eternal Gods, Shiva and Vishnu.

Vishnu is the preserver of Dharma in society. Mankind goes through four stages each stage increasing evil. Ultimately in the final stage Vishnu will take human or animal form, or an avatar to free mankind of the evil and establish law in society. Also the king is highly regarded, Rama being the noblest of all the kings.

"Choose a king before you choose a wife or start earning wealth, for without a king who will protect your wife and wealth"

Shiva is associated with the destroyer, the cleanser of the worlds after destruction and Brahma is the creator. In the beginning, Brahma emerges from Vishnu, and creates the three worlds. Saivites, worship the Linga or the phallus. Lingas were originally found in Harappa and Mohenjodaro indicating the worship of Shiva that predates the Aryan Hindu period.

There are two goals one can have depending on his/her motivation.

1) Dharma: Dharma means to do what you are meant to do. Perform your worldly duties which is to be part of the economy, have a family and children and be responsible for them. If one performs his/her duties well and serves the world, he/she shall be rewarded in the current life and the next.

By worshipping Vishnu or his Avataras (viz. Rama and Krishna) one can have a good life and a good afterlife. Bhagavad Gita would serve as the text for someone seeking the path of the Dharma.

To achieve salvation one must perform activities without expecting a result
The four ways (Yogas) of achieving salvation are
a) KarmaYoga: By performing ones duties without an end result which can be a reward. By excelling in our work and striving for the very best without expecting a reward, one can achieve Moksha.

b) Nyaana Yoga or Knowledge: By having a desire for knowledge and putting it into good use. By acquiring knowledge and putting it into good use, it will mature into wisdom or Bhakti. One must be humble regardless of what he/she knows or understands and be willing to divulge information to help others as needed.

c) Bhakti Yoga: By devoting oneself to a God or by becoming totally immersed in the worship of a God without expecting anything in return, one can achieve moksha. There are no rules on what God and the form of worship. Educated individuals typically choose a God and worship idols merely as points of concentration. The objective is to focus on one point and experience peace and a higher state of mind.

d) Raja Yoga: This involves living a life that is pure. Followers of Jainism follow these principles. The objective is to live and let live. By not harming other organisms and by living a life that is pure one can lead an ideal life and achieve salvation and be rewarded in the next life.

2) Moksha: This is a harder path and the ultimate result is to be free from the endless cycle of birth and death. The philosophy here is that all the souls are united in a universal soul or Brahman. By following the harder path one can achieve moksha and be forever free from rebirth and become one with Brahman or the universal soul.

"All of us are united like the honey in the honeycomb, you don't see the flowers you only see all of the honey as uniform. By achieving moksha we will see us as being part of the honey comb and not the flowers which are distinct." Human desire is the cause of suffering and everything that we experience. To be free from desire is the ultimate salvation from suffering.

Buddhist concept of Nirvana is also the same as the Hindu Moksha. According to some when one achieves Moksha he/she will have a sustained level of a higher energy state. Others describe Moksha as just a state where you cease to exist in any form. In either case you are free from the endless cycle of birth and death. To achieve Moksha one must live a life of renunciation and austerity.

There are other forms of worship such as Tantric, which involves the use of drugs and sex to achieve this higher state. These are not part of the original Hindu practice and Hinduism forbids the use of drugs or sex to achieve the higher state. One should only achieve a higher state by sustained levels of meditation and performing different Yogic practices to help in this endeavor.

I would like to devote this section to debunk a few popular misconceptions about Hinduism.

Westerners typically associate several negative connotations when it comes to Hinduism such as a pagan society that believes in multiple deities, a religion that enforces caste system, etc. However the western society often ignores the often complex yet highly developed philosophies that Hindu scholars developed.

Hinduism is a monotheistic religion and believes in one God which comprises of the universal soul Brahman. Brahman can either be worshipped as Vishnu or Shiva depending on one's objectives in life and the after life. By worshipping Vishnu one accepts the role of dharma and rebirth. And one's objective is to have a good life and a good after life. By worshipping Shiva, one's objective is freedom from the constant rebirth and achieve Moksha. Hinduism neither encourages nor discourages idol worship. For an advanced practitioner, the idols are meant purely as a point to help one concentrate during the worship. For a lower practitioner the idol may represent an actual God.

Although western religion such as Christianity, Islam and Judaism may feel that they are a superior religion due to the lack of idol worship and monotheistic culture, when it comes to philosophy Hinduism is far advanced than any religion and that explains why it has survived for over 3000 years.

You may or may not believe in a God, you may or may not worship idols. Unlike western religions there are no rules for following Hinduism.

Hinduism offers intellectual freedom, the ability to question and the flexibility to adapt to cultural changes.

There are some religions meant for intellectuals and some that are meant for the masses. While Christianity and Islam offer good solutions for the mass guided practitioners, Hinduism is meant for the independent intellectual who is interested in the pursuit of the truth.

An introduction to western religion for the eastern audience

There are three major groups of religions that qualify as western religion Judaism, Christianity and Islam. I call them groups because each one of these religions started out as a single message but has since split into different branches such as Catholic, Protestant, Sunni, Shia, Sufi, etc.

A message that is mentioned with a sense of pride, the fact that they are a Monotheistic religion, the belief in one God, which makes them superior to other religions. Other religions that do not fit in this framework are given terms such as pagan, cult, pantheistic, etc.

Judaism is the oldest of the three religions is a religion followed by several people around the world who call themselves Jews.

Each religion has a book that serves as a source that explains everything including the story of creation, philosophy and the first part of the history of human beings from the first human to walk on this planet (Adam). Also each part is totally integrated so much into the other that questioning or denying any one part e.g. the story of creation would almost mean denying everything and the whole religious belief. More on this later.

The Jewish Torah, Christian Bible and the Islamic Quran share the concept of creation and first part of the story of human beings on this world. All three religions believe that the world was created by a supreme, powerful, intelligent being, also referred to as God in a period of seven days. According to the Jewish calendar which begins the day the world was created, this date translates to approximately 4000 to 5000 B.C.E.

On the seventh day God created the first human, Adam, in his own image. Then God created Eve from one of his ribs. They lived in paradise, but they were innocent and not conscious of themselves and they roamed about naked without being ashamed of the fact that they were naked. They could do everything, except eat fruit from a tree. (Commonly associated with an apple, however the actual fruit is not mentioned)

A few days later, a serpent (also referred to as a form of the ultimate devil, Satan) made Eve eat a fruit from a forbidden tree, and later Eve made Adam eat the fruit. This made them realize the fact and hence they covered themselves with clothes. This angered the God and hence he cursed both Adam and Eve and their progeny.

Adam (and all men) was made to work on the fields to feed the family, Eve (and all women) were made to undergo the pain of childbirth, menstrual cycles and so forth.

Note: Christians often refer to the fruit eating incident as the original sin and as descendants we all suffer from the consequences. More on this later.

Next the book goes to explain the first sinner, the creation of different races etc.

The next major incident that takes place is Abraham’s sacrifice of his son on a sacred rock (which is still disputed over) and God stopped him from making the sacrifice. This is also a split between Judaism and Islam. Jews believe it was Isaac (who is also the father of all Jews) and Moslems believe it was Ishmael (father of all Moslems).

Next the book explains how Jacob one of Isaac’s sons was sold as a slave to Egypt. Jacob makes it to a high position in the Egyptian court. Later he forgives his brothers who also make it to Egypt. The Egyptian pharaoh however makes them work as slaves to build pyramids that we see today.

One of the descendants of Jacob, Moses, doesn’t know his own identity in the beginning and is mistaken to be a member of the Egyptian royal family. Later as he realizes his own identity, initially escapes to be a shepherd, and later after hearing the word of God understands his purpose. He returns to Egypt, and with the assistance of God is able to free his community from Egypt to the “promised land”, also known as Israel. Also he achieves this feat, with the assistance of several of God’s fantastic miracles, from the transformation of his staff into a snake, to the parting of the Red sea to allow his fellow Jews to escape while the Emperor’s men drown behind them.

After this he goes to Mount Sinai to return with God’s Commandments, which have been written with the hand of God Himself. The Ten Commandments were then conferred to his fellow Jews. The first commandment is submission to the God that saved the Jews from Egyptian persecution and no idol worship. Although Jews believe that this only refers to their community, since they have a personal God who doesn’t tolerate idolatry or the worship of other Gods, this commandment is often referred to as the reason why idol worship is forbidden in all three religions. Also Jews believe that they are especially required to follow these commandments with faith and adherence since God personally delivered this message to them through Prophet Moses.

The rest of the first book concerns with other such stories that demonstrate miracles from God and other morals such as courage and caring for your (Jewish) community.

These stories are not told as mere stories, (also referred to as Mythology when referred to other religions such as Hinduism and Greek religion) they are referred to with a remarkable attention to details. The book was probably written by someone or a group of professionals with a remarkable knowledge of documenting and recording historical facts. Also the timing is good especially for some of the later incidents which are known historical facts such as the pyramids being built, the Persian and the Greek empire. One would also argue that the book went over several versions to correct the previous books that summarized the earlier descriptions of the story of the Jewish tribe.

Christianity: Christians believe in the first part of the book described above. Christians go on to expand the book with the story of Jesus, also referred to as the New Testament (the first part regarded as the Old Testament). According to Christians, Jesus, the son of God and Mary, was born among a Jewish tribe in Nazareth, Israel. The events happen around the 1st century common era. Note B.C. used to refer to Before Christ and A.D. Anno Domini or after the birth of Christ. The newer notation uses B.C.E or Before Common Era and the current period is referred to as the Common era.

In the remarkable story of Christ, Christ performs several miracles to assist the needy, and delivers sermons. The divine miracles served as reason for a huge following and he is supposed to have mentioned the fact that he is son of God and the miracles serve as an explanation. He creates his own religion and promises deliverance to people who follow him.

The Jewish priests in the meantime realizing their power waning, decide to complain to the Roman authorities who crucify him, in other words he is executed by being nailed to a wooden cross. Jesus resurrects from the dead to deliver the final sermon and ascends to heaven. Jesus’ followers also known as apostles serve to spread the word of Jesus Christ to other communities beyond Israel.
The message was simple, believe in Christ and convert to Christianity to obtain deliverance in the after life. All of mankind suffers due to the sin committed by Adam and Eve. By suffering on the cross, Jesus has relieved all of humanity from this eternal sin that all human beings have to undergo.
Two important concepts in the Christian philosophy is the concept of baptism and communion. Baptism refers to the act of a submerging one’s head in a pool of water (usually done by a priest) and then bringing it up. This metaphorically refers to the concept of giving up one’s life to enter a new life given by Christ. The second is the concept of communion. Communion refers to becoming one with the body and blood of Christ. The Christ is supposed to have handed a piece of bread to his apostles during the last supper to signify the body of Christ and a glass of wine to refer to his blood.

The first Christian churches viz. the Orthodox and the Catholic churches, the baptism and communion was conducted by a clergy or a priest of the church. Communion is conducted at Sunday masses in these churches. Protestants offer baptism but not communion.

Also another difference is in the concept of confession. Although crucifixion covers the original sin, the sins one commits in his life are not covered by the act. Catholic and Orthodox churches believe that the followers need to confess their sins to a clergy of the church to relieve themselves of the sin. Protestants do not believe in confessing to a clergy man but to God Himself.

The concept is referred to as the holy Trinity. Father, the son and the holy spirit. First stage is the age of the father when God spoke his word using a mediator like Moses. In the next stage, God sends his son (Jesus) as the lamb meant to die and resurrect in the cross to deliver all of humanity. Finally the Holy Spirit refers to the current stage, where following God implies faith or belief in God and the word of the Bible, the fact that Jesus is the son of God and by submitting to Jesus one can relieve himself of the original sin and also the sins committed in his life.

Also following Jesus is the only path offered to human beings for deliverance. By not following Jesus, one would risk burning in hell forever.

Islam: Islam believes that the final word of God was delivered to Prophet Muhammad, which has been summarized in the Holy Koran. The Koran borrows from the old testament and several Jewish rituals and practices such as circumcision, the process of animal slaughter (Halaal) and not worshipping idols. Koran also describes Jesus as a Prophet, and does not believe in crucifixion and that Jesus was the son of God.
In addition there are five other rules referred to as the five pillars that a Moslem has to abide strictly such as praying five times a day and visiting holy places Mecca at least once in his life. The Moslem prayer states that God is great and Muhammad is His Prophet.

Moslems regard non Moslems to be infidels or less than perfect individuals. In older days, these people needed to be converted to Islam, put to death or a huge tax known as Jizya would need to be imposed to have them continue their way of life. Also Moslems do not believe in following leadership, laws or a government run by non-Moslems.


Although each religion above follows very similar set of principles, each group identifies themselves as the true religion and denies claims by other religious groups.


Conversion:

All western religions actively pursue conversions except for Judaism that typically focuses on the welfare of the Jewish community and following the ten commandments of Moses in their own life. Although Judaism does accept conversion to their faith, a Jew usually doesn’t concern himself with the welfare of other communities or bringing all of humanity to his or her faith. This might be different now than it used to be in the past; however there is little historical evidence.

Would be Christian missionaries typically enroll in a Theological school, where they learn more about their faith and marketing their faith to others. They are taught several different mechanisms such as arguments and holding conversations to profess their faith to others. Also Christian churches, usually Protestant hold youth programs to keep in touch with the current generation and provide the message to the current audience. In developing countries Christianity offers monetary incentives for would-be converts. The funding for these activities is usually from western churches. Although some communities accept Christianity easily, others do primarily for economic remuneration


Conversion to Islam: In the initial period of Islam, the spread was not based on people accepting the ideology, but through conquest of non-Islamic territories. For a non-Moslem the options available were death, conversion to Islam (preferred) or to stay with their original faith with payment of Jizya (a fee for avoiding conversion). The extent to which a non-Moslem could practice his/her faith often depended on the ruler. For example in India, Hindus had more freedom to practice their religion under Akbar than under Aurangzeb, who is considered a tyrant by many scholars. Today however Islam has become relatively tolerant and secular compared to the earlier periods.

A significant number of Moslems can be found in secular countries such as the United States and India practicing their faith. A few non-Moslems can be found in countries where Islam is the dominant faith, such as the Coptic Christians in Egypt, Orthodox Christians in Syria, Zoroastrians in Iran and Hindus and Sikhs in Pakistan. Most of these communities tend to be remnants of the indigenous people who continued to practice their faith despite the persecution and ethnic cleansing that was typical of earlier Islamic occupations.

Although Moslems exercise their rights to practice and communicating their faith in secular countries, the reverse doesn’t hold true. In recent years there have been several instances of some radical Islamic groups profess ethnic cleansing in some secular territories with Islamic majority where non-Moslems reside. Also several terrorist organizations have used Islam as an explanation for their actions.


Summary: Together the three faiths have helped shape the course of history on this planet and will determine the shape of things to come.

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