Saturday, December 27, 2008

Notes on Buddhism

Buddhism is one of the four most popular religions in the world today alongside with Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam. These four religious organizations make up the majority of the religious faiths in the world today. There are however hundreds of religious sects that branch out from these four main religious organizations and other religious faiths that existed much earlier than the said four. Without exception, all religious teachings guide human beings to the realization of God, and its attainment, oneness with Him, or enlightenment by means of the holy writings, and purification of body and character and meditation. Every religion is founded to help man unites his lower vehicles or the material, emotional, and concrete mind to his true spiritual nature.

THE LIFE OF PRINCE SIDDARTHA GAUTAMA (THE LORD BUDDHA)

The Buddha of the present time is the Lord Gautama has took his last birth in India as Prince Siddharta Gautama about two thousand five hundred years ago, and in that incarnation finished his series of lives as Bodhisattva, and succeeded the previous Buddha Kasyapa as Head of the Second Ray in the Occult Hierarchy of our globe.

Prince Siddharta (which word means every wish fulfilled) Gautama of the Shakya clan, the Lord Gautama Buddha, The Saviour of the World, and also known as Shakyamuni, founded Buddhism after He attained enlightenment at the age of 35 years old about 2,500 years ago. He is also known as Amitabha (Amitofo which means abstract wisdom), the World Honored One, Mahavairocana (Dainichi), Vaisajyaguru (Yakushi), and The Enlightened One. In the Hindu religion, Amitabha is called Shiva; Padmapani is called Vishnu; and Manjushri is called Brama.

Prince Siddharta’s parents King Shuddhodana Gautama and Queen Maya settled in the capital at Kapila where they had great castle and ruled wisely and joyfully the kingdom. Having lost his mother soon after his birth and watching living creatures kill each other created on him spiritual wound that deepened day by day as he grew up. The suffering of human life become more and more deeply ingrained in his mind.

King Shuddhodana Gautama wanted Prince Siddharta to take over his kingdom and even had him married to a beautiful Princes Yashodhara and had a son Rahula when he reached the age of 29 years old, but Prince Siddharta remained resolved to finding solutions to the problems of life. He thought. “Some day we may be sick, we shall become aged, and from death there is no escape.” “Pride of youth, pride of health, pride of existence; - thoughtful people should cast them aside”. He decided to leave the palace and became an ascetic and led a religious life. Many tests and temptations came to him and his practice of asceticism is intense and no ascetic in the past, none in the present, and none in the future ever had practiced or ever will practice more earnestly that he did.

It was an intense and incomparable struggle. His mind was desperate and filled with confusing thoughts, dark shadows overhung his spirit, and he was beleaguered by all lures of the devils. But carefully and patiently he examined them one by one and rejected them all. It, indeed, was a hard struggle, that made his blood run thin, his flesh fall away, and his bones crack. But when the morning star appeared in the eastern sky, the struggle was over and the Prince’s mind was clear and bright as the breaking day. He had at last found the path to Enlightenment. It was December 8 when he was 35 years old that the Prince became a Buddha.

HIS EARLIER INCARNATIONS

In the book “The Masters and the Path” by C. W. Leadbeater, he mentioned that the great sacrifice of the Lord Buddha is spoken of in all sacred books of the Buddhists; but they have not understood the nature of the sacrifice, for many believe it to have been the descent of the Lord Buddha from Nirvanic levels after his illumination to teach his Law. The great sacrifice that he made was this spending of thousands of years in order to qualify himself to be the first of mankind who should help his brother-men by teaching to them the Wisdom which is life eternal*. That work was done, and nobly done. He appeared as Vyasa; he came to ancient Egypt as Hermes, the Thrice-Greatest, who was called the Father of All Wisdom; he was the first of the twenty-nine Zoroasters, the Teachers of the Religion of the Fire; still later he walked amongst the Greeks as Orpheus, and taught them by means of music and of song; and finally he took his last birth in the north of India, and wandered up and down the Ganges valley for five and forty years, preaching his Law, and the drawing round himself all those who in previous lives had been his pupils.

*I. I. Nelson in his book “The Ancient Wisdom in the Modern School” mentioned that Dr. Annie Besant offers a description of the wisdom of eternal life in five statements:

1. One eternal infinite unrecognizable real Existence.

2. From THAT the manifested God, unfolding from unity to duality, from duality to trinity.

3. From the manifested trinity, many spiritual intelligences guiding the cosmic order.

4. Man a reflection of the manifested God and therefore a trinity fundamentally, his inner and real self, being eternal, one the Self of the universe.

5. His evolution by repeated incarnations, into which he is drawn by desire, and from which he is set free by knowledge and sacrifice becoming divine in potency as he had been in latency.

THE VOW OF LORD GAUTAMA BUDDHA

In the book entitled the “Teaching of Buddha” by BDK, it was written that the Lord Gautama Buddha made four great vows: To save all people; to renounce all worldly desires; to learn all the teachings*; and to attain perfect enlightenment. These vows were manifestations of the love and compassion that are fundamental to the nature of Buddhahood.

THE FOURFOLD NOBLE TRUTHS

The world is full of suffering. Birth is suffering, old age is suffering, sickness and death are suffering. A man full of hatred is suffering, to be separated from a beloved one is suffering, to be vainly struggling to satisfy one’s needs is suffering. In fact, life that is not free from desire and passion is always involved with distress. This is the truth of suffering.

The cause of human suffering is undoubtedly found in the thirsts of the physical body and in the illusions of worldly passion. If these thirsts and illusions are traced to their source, the thirsts and illusions are rooted in the intense desires of physical instincts. Thus, desire, having a strong will-to-live at its basis, seeks that which it feels desirable, even if it is sometimes death. This is called the truth of the cause of suffering.

If desire, which lies at the root of all human passion, can be removed, then passion will die out and all human suffering will be ended. This is called the Truth of the Termination of Suffering.

In order to enter into a state where there is no desire and no suffering, one must follow a certain path. This is called the Eightfold Noble Path.

THE EIGHT-FOLD NOBLE PATH

The stages of this Noble Path are: Right View, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Behavior, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration. This is called the Truth of the Noble Path to the termination of desire.

TWO MAIN BUDDHISTS TRADITION

There are two main Buddhists tradition, the Mahayana tradition from the Northern group, and the Theravada (Hinayana) tradition from the Southern group.

1. THE THERAVADA (HINAYANA) BUDDHISM

The Southern tradition of Buddhism is represented generally by this appellation. “Thera” means elders. The Hinayana tradition and called also as “The Lower Vehicle” spread to Burma, Sri Lanka, Thailand, etc. To attain nirvana, we must follow a prescribed path: the true path, or the Four Noble Truths. According to Theravada whose practitioners seek nirvana for their own sake, the mind should be trained to exercise a will strong enough to renounce samsara. The practitioner should pursue religious ethics and simultaneously practice meditative absorption and insight so that delusion and its seeds may be purged, ultimately, never to grow again. Thus we attain nirvana. The paths to be followed are the paths of Preparation, Application, Seeing, Practice, and Fulfillment. This is the school of elders that historically was a group of conservative senior monks who advocated a strict adherence to the precepts as opposed to another group of rather freer progressive monks that is believed to have progressed into the later Mahayana group in the northern tradition. This provoked the split* into Theravada and Mahasamghika which was the fountainhead of later Mahayana tradition.

*In the book “Meeting of Minds” A dialogue on Tibetan and Chinese Buddhism, it was mentioned that on May 1^st through the 3^rd, 1998 His Holiness the 14^th Dalai Lama and Venerable Chan Master Sheng-yen presented In the Spirit of Manjushri: the Wisdom Teachings of Buddhism, at Roseland in New York City, USA. This meeting of the two highly venerated and respected Buddhists leaders was attended by some 2500 delegates from all Buddhist traditions. They agreed that the “sudden” and “gradual” approaches to enlightenment was important issue and was previously discussed and once debated by the Indian master Kamalashila and the Chinese master Hoshang around 792 in Tibet. His Holiness and Venerable Sheng-yen made it clear that there is no real contradiction between the sudden and gradual approaches. The differences lie in the dispositions of the practitioners.

2. THE MAHAYANA BUDDHISM

The Mahayana tradition of Buddhism spread to Tibet, China, Korea, Japan, etc. The term means a “Great Vehicle” which can accept all beings suffering in this world of birth and death, and can lead all without any discrimination to the state of enlightenment. In the third century AD, the Indian Sage Nagarjuna expounded the philosophy of the “Middle Way” that has become central to all schools of Mahayana Buddhism. The Middle Way teaches the “true suffering” derives from samsara, the cycle of birth and rebirth that arises from karma, the retribution for actions stemming from ignorance and delusion. “True cause” means karma and delusion, which are the true causes of suffering. “True cessation” means the complete disappearance of the two preceding conditions. The “True Path” is the one path by which we arrive at true cessation.

The followers of Mahayana tradition aim at attaining the highest stage of nirvana-buddhahood. They do this not only for themselves but also for all sentient beings. Motivated by the aspiration of Enlightenment and by compassion for all sentient beings, they follow almost the same path as the Hinayanists but they also practice other expedient means such as the Six Perfections, the six paramitas, such as charity, harmony, patience, desirelessness(or non-attachment), dauntless energy and meditation. They seek to rid themselves of delusion as well as the defilement of karmic imprints, thereby working to attain “Buddhahood”. Although the five paths are the same for both vehicles – Preparation, Application, Seeing, Practice, and Fulfillment, a qualitative difference is that Mahayana emphasizes the motivation to benefits all beings. It is said that Hinayanists who have achieved nirvana will eventually adopt such methods to attain “Buddhahood”.

CHINESE BUDDHISM

The history of Chinese Buddhism started from their acceptance of the Buddhist scriptures and translation thereof. The oldest work from the ancient time is said to be the “Ssu-shin-er-chang-ching (Sutra in Forty two sections spoken by Buddha)”. The translation was done by Kasyapamatanga and others during the Ying-ping era (58-76 AD). The corroborated opinion now give the credit to An-shih-kao who was engaged in translation at Lo-yang from about 148-171 AD. From that time on to the time of the Northern Sung Dynasty (960-1129 AD) the translation work continued for nearly one thousand years.

In the history of Buddhism in China “The one that came last” was the Zen Sect. Its founder is said to have been Sramana of the foreign country or Bodhidharma (?528AD); but the seed sown by him had seen its glorious flower only after the time of Hui Neng (638-713 AD) the 6^th Patriarch of the stream. The Zen Buddhism in China has sent out many priests of talent in succession, bringing about the prosperity of Zen for a period of several centuries. It can be seen that there was a new way of thinking in Buddhism, that was deeply rooted in the nature of the Chinese people. It was nothing other than a Buddhism colored by the Chinese way of thinking.

The history of Buddhism in Japan began in the 6^th century. In 538 AD, the King of Pochi (or Kudara, Korea) dispatched his envoy to present a Buddhist image and scroll of sutras to the Imperial Court of Emperor Kinmei and this marked the first introduction of Buddhism in Japan. The history of religion is therefore more than 1400 years old now.

According to Venerable Chan Master Sheng-yen, although Chinese Buddhism did not incorporate translations of late Indian Buddhist scriptures, it nevertheless continued the teachings on emptiness in a dynamic way, which eventually flowered into Chan (Zen) Buddhism. According to historians, Chan also had an important impact on the meditative traditions of Tibetan Buddhism.

According to His Holiness the 14^th Dalai Lama, before Buddhism arrived in Tibet, the Bon religion was widespread. Not an effective religion at first, Bon was greatly enriched by Buddhist belief and practice. Tibetan Buddhism developed independently of the later school of Indian Buddhism although it retained the foundations of the Buddha’s teachings.

QUOTATIONS FROM DIAMOND SUTRAS, SHIN SHAU AND WEI LANG (HUI NENG – 6^th Patriarch of China or 33^rd of Buddhism)

Quotations from Diamond Sutras

All phenomena are like

A dream, an illusion, a bubble and a shadow,

Like dew and lightning.

Thus should you meditate upon them

The World Honoured One (Buddha) also recited the following:

He who sees me by outward appearance

(And) seeks me in sound,

Treads the heterodox path

(And) cannot perceive the *Tathagata

*Tathagata means the suchness (That) of all Dharmas. The minds of the Tathagata speaks of are not minds, but are expediently called minds.

**Quotations from Wei Lang (Hui Neng) and Shin Shau:

By Shin Shau

Our body is the Bodhi-tree

And our mind a mirror bright.

Carefully we wipe them hour by hour,

And let no dust alight

By Hui Neng

There is no Bodhi-tree

Nor stand of a mirror bright.

Since all is void,

Where can the dust alight?

**Shin Shau has founded the “Gradual Attainment” or the Mahayana or Northern School of Buddhism; while Hui Neng is the 6^th Patriarch and was the head of the “Sudden School” of Buddhism or the Southern School, or the Nahayana tradition.

BODHISATTVA MAITREYA (OR AVALOKITESVARA WHICH MEANS MANIFESTED WISDOM -SUCCESSOR TO THE LORD GAUTAMA BUDDHA AS WORLD TEACHER)

In the Book “The Masters and the Path” written by C.W. Leadbeater, it is mentioned that the Lord Maitreya whose name means kindliness and compassion took the office of the Bodhisattva when the Lord Gautama laid it down. One of the first steps on assuming office was to take advantage of the tremendous magnetism generated in the world by the presence of the Buddha, to arrange that great teachers should simultaneously appear in many different parts of the world; so that within a short space of time we find not only the Buddha Himself, Shri Shankaracharya and Mahavira in India, but also Mithra in Persia, Laotze and Confucius in China, and Pythagoras in ancient Greece.

Lord Maitreya, the World Teacher-successor of Lord Gautama Buddha has appeared twice, firstly, as Krishna in the Indian plains; and secondly, as Christ amid the hills of Palestine. In His incarnation as Krishna the great feature was love; the Child Krishna drew round Him people who felt for him the deepest, the most intense affection. Again in his birth in Palestine, love was the central feature of his teaching. He said: “This new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another as I have loved you.” He asked that his disciples might all be one even as he was one with the Father. His closest disciple, St. John, insisted most strongly upon the same idea: “He that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love.”

What is now called Christianity was undoubtedly a magnificent conception as he originally taught it, sadly as it has fallen away from that high level in the hands of ignorant exponents since. It must not be assumed that the teaching of brotherly and neighbourly love was new in the world. St. Augustine said in his books “De Civitate Dei”: The identical thing that we now call the Christian religion existed among the ancients, and has not been lacking from the beginnings of the human race until the coming of Christ in the flesh, from which moment on the true religion, which already existed, began to be called Christian.

Readers of the Bhagavad Gita will remember the teaching of love and devotion with which it is filled. The Bodhisattva also occupied occasionally the body of Tsong-ka-pa, the great Tibetan religious reformer ( 1357-1419 Lama teacher of the Gelugpa Sect based its doctrines on the Kadampa school of Tibet established by the great Indian master Atisha 982-1054), and throughout the centuries he has sent forth a stream of his pupils, including Nagarjuna, Aryasanga, Ramanujacharya, Madhavacharya, and many others , who founded new sects or threw new light upon the mysteries of religion, and among these was one of his pupils who was sent to found the Muhammadan faith.

The sending out of the teachers is only a part of His work, which is not confined to humanity, but includes the education of all creatures on earth, and among them the Deva evolution. He is thus the head of all the faiths at present existing, and of many other which have died out in the course of time, though he is of course responsible for them only in their original form, and not in the corruption which man has naturally and inevitable introduced into all of them as the ages have rolled by. He varies the type of religion to suit the period of the world’s history at which it is put forth, and the people to whom it is given; but though the form may vary as evolution proceeds, the ethics are ever the same.

SOME FUNDAMENTAL TEACHINGS OF BUDDHISM

While it is necessary for the spiritual man to descend in the lower worlds of matter, emotion and concrete mind to experiment and gain experiences, his descent to the lower worlds will imprisoned him there and will be drawn by desire resulting to suffering.

The causes of evil and suffering inherent in human nature are greed, anger and foolishness and infatuation.

Man should free himself of attachment from the four vipers (earth, water, fire and air), its guards such as the form, feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness, and the tools of the senses such as the ear, nose, eyes, touch, etc. He should work hard to go to the other shore, the spiritual plane where his permanent abode truly is.

Dharma has two basic meanings. Dharma with an upper case “D” means the Buddhist teaching. Dharma with the lower case “d” simply refers to a thing, an object, and physical or mental phenomenon.

Make of yourself a light. Rely upon yourself: do not depend upon anyone else. Make my teachings your light! Rely upon them; do not depend upon any other teaching.

We can think of the light departing with the sun and the dark coming with the night, but we cannot so think of the mind that perceives lightness and darkness. The mind that is susceptible to lightness and darkness cannot be given back to anybody; it can only revert to a truer nature that is its fundamental nature.

Buddha aiming at his ideal, trained himself to remain free from all deception, and then by this virtuous deed he wished that all people might know the tranquility of mind that would follow in speaking the truth.

There are four truths in this world – first, all living beings rise from ignorance; second, all objects of desire are impermanent, uncertain and suffering; third, all existing things are also impermanent, uncertain, and suffering; fourth, there is nothing that can be called “ego” and there is no such thing as “mine” in all the world.

An unenlightened and bewildered life rises out of a mind that is bewildered by its world of delusion. As we learn that there is no world of delusion outside of the mind, the bewildered mind become clear; and because we cease to create impure surrounds, we attain Enlightenment.

In this way the world of life and death is created by the mind, is in bondage to the mind, is ruled by the mind; the mind is the master of every situation. The world of suffering is brought about by the deluded mind.

It is a man’s own mind, not his enemy or his foe, that lures him into evil ways.

The one who protects his mind from greed, anger, foolishness and infatuation, is the one who enjoys real and lasting peace.

To be foolish and to recognize that one is a fool is better than to be foolish and imagine that one is wise.

A man is foolish to cherish desires for privileges, promotion, profits, or honor, for such desires can never bring happiness but will bring suffering instead.

He who is influenced by his likes and dislike cannot rightly understand the significance of circumstances and tends to be overcome by them; he who is free from attachments rightly understands circumstances and to him all things become new and significant.

Do no dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.

This conception of universal oneness – that things in their essential nature have no distinguishing marks – is called- “Sunyata.” Sunyata menas non-substantiality, the unborn, has no self-nature, no duality. It is because things in themselves have no form or characteristics that we can speak of them as neither being born not being destroyed. There is nothing about the essential nature of things that can be described in terms of discrimination; that is why things are called non-substantial.

Oh my foolish, foolish mind! Thus you have led me along different paths and I have been obedient to you and docile. But now that I have heard the Buddha’s teaching, do not disturb me any more or cause me to further sufferings, but let us seek Enlightenment together, humbly and patiently.

“He abused me, he laughed at me, he struck me”. Thus one thinks and so long as one cherished such thoughts one’s anger continues. Anger will never disappear so long as thoughts of resentment are cherished in the mind. Anger will disappear just as soon as thoughts of resentment are forgotten.

When they are toiling on an up-hill road, they should think of it as the road to Enlightenment that will carry them beyond the world of delusion. When they are following an easy road, they should take advantage of its easier conditions to make greater progress toward Buddhahood.

BUDDHA’S SUBJUGATION

1. Insight into the four Noble Truth

2. Subjugation of the five senses and the mind

3. Right use of clothes; not to be delighted on

4. Indurance of cold, heat, hunger, and thirst (discipline)

5. Avoidance of danger, improper place and companion

6. Removal of evil thoughts

7. Cultivation of higher wisdom

Notes on Islam

Islam is one of the most popular religions of the world today, with the other three being Buddhism, Christianity, and Hinduism. Islam is not regarded as it should be by very many, as one of the great exponents of Divine Wisdom. As a religion, it is often unfairly attacked because it is utterly misunderstood as to the greatness of its Prophet and the nobility of his teachings to the world. There are however hundreds of religious sects that branch out from the four main religions and other religious teachings that existed much earlier than the said four. Without exception, all religious teachings guide human beings to the realization of God, and its attainment, oneness with Him, or enlightenment by means of the holy writings and purification of body, and character and meditation. Every religion is founded to help man unite his lower vehicles or the material, emotional, and the concrete mind to his true spiritual nature.

The Founder

Muhammad was born on 29^th August 570 AD in Mecca of the Quraish clan. A few weeks before his birth his father had died – his father who in the full bloom of his manhood had been given up by his own father as a human sacrifice, and whose wife was saved as it were by a miracle by the mouth of the temple priestess, who bade that the youth be spared. His widowed mother, widowed but a few weeks, gives birth to Muhammad. Within few years she too died and followed her husband to the grave. He grows up in his grandfather’s house a quiet, silent child, loving, gentle, patient, and beloved by all. A few years later, his grandfather died too and his uncle Abu Talib took him to his home where he grows up to manhood. As a young trader of 24 years old, he traveled to Syria where he saw human events and scenes around him. He traveled in Syria for a kinswoman, older than himself, named Khadija. She found Muhammad faithful, frugal, pure, trustworthy and married him, and they became man and wife. They were married for 26 years until his wife died when he reached the age of 50 years old.

After his marriage, come 15 years of thought, of quiet outer life, of terrible inward struggle. When he walks through the streets of Mecca often the children run out and cling around his knees. He has ever a tender word for the child, a caress for the little one, and is known never to break his word. They called him “Al-Amin,” “the trustworthy”. During his 15 years of terrible inward struggle, the future Prophet found himself into the desert cave in solitude, month after month, in meditation, in prayer, in bitter self-doubt and self-questioning, in wondering what is the message that he hears: “In the name of thy Lord, cry.” Who is he that he should cry? What is he to cry? Muhammad in doubt, in anguish, with self-despair of his own power, illiterate, untrained, how shall he trust the inner voice that calls him? Then one night as he lies on the ground in agony, a light shines around him from Heaven, and a glorious form stands before him: “Rise, thou art the Prophet of God; go forth and cry in the name of they Lord.” “What shall I cry?” “Cry,” the Angel says; and then he teaches him of the building of the worlds, and the making of man, teaches him of the unity of God, and of the mystery of the Angels, teaches him of the work that lies before him. He the most solitary of men, with a nation around him, he is to go forth and cry, and cry in the name of his Lord.

He rushed back home, and on the ground at home he falls, and his wife was there and asked her: “What shall I do? Who am I? What am I?” “Nay,” says the faithful wife, “thou art true and faithful, thy word is never broke, men know they character; God does not deceive the faithful; follow the voice then, obey the call.” And the voice of the faithful wife, the first disciple, gives the touch of courage to the human heart that fails before the greatness of the mission, and he stands up, now no longer simply Muhammad, but he Prophet of Arabia, the man who will turn Arabia into a settled state, a mighty power, and whose followers will carry the torch of science and re-light it in Europe where it had died, and found mighty empires, and who will be moved by a devotion to the Founder second to that felt in no other faith. His next disciples are his nearest relatives. That says something for the man. It is easy to gain disciples in a crowd, a crowd who do not know you, a crowd who see you only on the platform, a crowd who hear you only in the set speech, or in answering spoken questions. But to be a Prophet to the wife, and to the daughter, and to the son-in-law, and to the close relatives- that is to be a Prophet indeed, a triumph very very seldom if ever won by someone.

Then comes his first public sermon, preaching of the unity of God, preaching against human sacrifice, preaching against lust, and drunkenness, and foulness of life. Then some more gather round him, touched by the fire that is breathed from his inspired lips. But with the gathering of others round him, fierce persecution breaks out, and tortures horrible, unbearable almost by human flesh and blood. They tear his followers in pieces; they thrust them through with stakes; they put them on the burning sand with faces upturned to the Arabian sun, and with heavy rocks upon their chests; they bid them deny God and His Prophet; and the disciples die murmuring: “There is but one God and Muhammad is His Prophet.” The torturer asked his follower: “Would not you rather that Muhammad were in your place, and you at home?” “As God is my witness, I would not be at home with wife and children and substance, if Muhammad were for that to be pricked by a single thorn.” Such love he inspired in those who died for him.

The persecution grows more terrible and at last his disciples fly in every direction till all are gone but one, and the Prophet, who will not fly, and his uncle, Abu Talib, the Noble, who has never joined him. Abu Talib asked him to give up this hopeless cause but Muhammad the Prophet said: “Nay,” “O my uncle, if they placed the sun on my right hand and the moon on my left, to force me to renounce my work, verily I would not desist therefrom until God made manifest His cause, or I perished in the attempt.”

The Prophet tried to win few converts among traders visiting Mecca, and the one pledge taken by 6 converts in the hill of Akaba is called “The Pledge of Akaba”. The pledge says: “We will not associate anything with God; we will not steal, nor commit adultery, nor fornication; we will not kill our children; we will abstain from calumny and slander; we will obey the Prophet in everything that is right; and we will be faithful to him in weal and sorrow.” Finally, only one faithful old man, Abu Bakr, and Ali remain with the Prophet, and he resolves to fly. His enemies had cooped him up in the small house, and the assassins tried to reach him, and he escaped by a window. It is the year 622 AD, that men call Hijra, the Hegira, the leaving of Mecca, but the beginning of the Muslim Era. He went to Medina and they welcome him and the disciples begin to crowd around him, and he is made the ruler of the State.

His enemies with big band of followers followed him from Mecca to continue the mission to kill him. He has only a small band of followers to engage in the first battle of his life called “The Battle of Badr.” The Prophet cried aloud: “O Lord! If this little band were to perish, there will be none to offer unto Thee pure worship.” There was a furious struggle; blasts of bitter wind and sand seem to fight for the Muslims. The victory is won, for the forces of the divine power are with him, and he is indeed to be seen by all men as the Prophet of the Lord. The battle was Muhammad first bloodshed – repelling an attack. Now he is no longer a private individual, forgiving all wrongs done to him; he is ruler of a State, general of an army with duties to the followers who trust him.

In one won battle that followed years after, the spoils had been divided, but those who followed him longest were not given anything and there was complaint and anger among them. The Prophet explained:

“Ye Ansar. I have learnt the discourse ye hold among yourselves. When I came amongst you, you were wandering in darkness, and the Lord gave you the right direction; you were suffering, and He made you happy; at enmity among yourselves, and He has filled your hearts with brotherly love and concord. Was it not so, tell me?” “Indeed, it is even as thou sayest,” was the reply, “to the Lord and his Prophet belong benevolence and grace,” “Nay, by the Lord,” continued the Prophet, “but ye might have answered, and answered truly, for I would have testified to its truth myself: Thou camest to us reject as an impostor, and we believed in thee; thou camest as a helpless fugitive, and we assisted thee; poor and an outcast, and we gave thee an asylum: comfortless, and we solaced thee.” Ye Ansar, why disturb your hearts because of the things of this life? Are you not satisfied that others should obtain the flocks and the camels, while ye go back to your homes with me in your midst? By Him who holds my life in His Hands, I shall never abandon you. If all mankind went one way and the Ansar another, verily I would join the Ansar. The Lord be favorable unto them and bless them, and their children, children’s children,” They wept, the rough warriors, until their “tears ran down upon their beards,” says the chronicler: “Yea Prophet of God, we are well satisfied with our share.”

The Prophet continued his rule for the next ten years until June 8, 632 AD when he finally left his worn out body to watch over from a higher sphere the religion that he founded and guarded.

ESSENTIAL QUALITY OF HIS TEACHINGS

Trustworthiness

From childhood, Muhammad had shown a wonderful and admirable quality of trustworthiness as already mentioned earlier when children flock with him because of his unceasing care and love for them, and his trustworthiness as employed by a woman who eventually became his wife He is known not to have broken his word; his followers have complete confidence and trust on him and are willing to die for him.

Charity

The Prophet has a wonderful definition of charity when he says:

“Your smiling in your brothers’ face is charity; an exhortation addressed to your fellow-men to do virtuous deeds is equal to almsgiving. Putting a wanderer in the right path is charity; assisting the blind is charity; removing stones and thorns and other obstructions from the road is charity; giving water to the thirsty is charity.”

Forgiveness

He commanded to slay the infidels, but he defines the infidels as those who do not follow righteousness. There are two sets of these commands:

1. Slay the infidels

2. Slay the infidels when he attacks you and will not let you practice your religion.#

#Some say that the essence of Jihad, the holy war springs from this command. The present several conceptions of Jihad come possibly from the ignorant followers who often act wrongly, where the Prophet speak the truth. Judge then a religion by its noblest, and not by its worst, and then we shall learn to love each other as brothers, and not have each other as bigots and as fanatics. (Mystically speaking, another says that Jihad is the attempt to control and discipline the lower material selves of man by his true spiritual or higher Self.)

It has been authoritatively ruled by Muhammadan jurists that when there is an absolute and a conditioned command, the latter (the conditioned command) must be taken as defining and limiting the former.

Yet, the Prophet also encouraged forgiveness when the infidels desist from opposing Islam* so that the past can be forgiven. He says:

“Invite men unto the way of the Lord by wisdom and mild exhortation; and dispute with them in the most condescending manner, for the Lord well knoweth him who strayeth from His path, and He well knoweth those who are rightly directed. Let there be no violence in religion. If they embrace Islam* they are surely directed; but if they turn their backs, verily unto thee belongeth preaching only.”

In his first won battle, “The victory of Badr,” only two men were executed contrary to the Arab usage during his time. The prisoners were treated with greatest kindness giving them bread and only dates for themselves. The Prophet reiterated that there should be no violence in religion. He defines the infidels are unjust doers, evil actors, not those merely outside Islam, for we shall see, Islam, in the mouth of the Prophet was not identical with that of his followers. The Prophet encouraged his followers not to quarrel with other religions even though idolatrous. All will appear before God on the last day and God will explain to them their disagreement.

Righteousness

This is how he defines righteousness:

“It is not righteousness that you turn your faces in prayer towards the East or the West; but righteousness is of him who believeth in God and the Last Day and the Angels, and the Scriptures, and the Prophets; who giveth money for God’s sake unto his kindred, and unto orphans, and the needy, and the stranger, and those who ask, and for redemption of captives; who is constant at prayer, and giveth alms; and of those who perform their covenant when they have covenanted, and who behave themselves patiently in adversity, and in hardships, and in time of violence.”

Humility

One day he was talking to a rich man when a blind man cried aloud: “O Prophet of God, teach me the way to salvation.” Muhammad did not listen, for he was talking to a wealthy man. Again he cried aloud: “O Prophet of God, show me the way to salvation.” The Prophet frowned, and turned aside. On the very next morning, there came a message that for ever remains in Al Quran, as testimony of his honesty and humility. Here is how it was written:

“The Prophet frowned and turned aside because the blind man came to him; and how dost thou know whether he shall peradventure be cleansed from his sins, or whether he shall be admonished and the admonition shall profit him? The man who is wealthy thou receivest respectfully; whereas it is not be to charged on thee that he is not cleansed: but him who cometh unto thee earnestly seeking his salvation, and who feareth God, dost thou reject. By no means shouldst thou act thus.”

Devotion

The Prophet has nurtured among his followers strong devotion in God as evidenced by the petition that is still preserved.

“We adored idols; we lived in unchastity; we ate dead bodies, and spoke abominations; we disregarded every feeling of humanity, and the duties of hospitality and neighborhood; we knew no law but that of the strong; when God raised among us a Man, of whose birth, truthfulness, honesty and purity, we were aware; and he called us to the unity of God; and taught us not to associate anything with him, he forbade us the worship of idols, and enjoined us to speak the truth, to be faithful to our trusts, to be merciful, and to regard the rights of our neighbors; he forbade us to speak evil of women, or to devour the substance of orphans; he ordered us to fly from vices, and to abstain from evil, to offer prayers, and render alms, to observe the fast. We have believed in him, we have accepted his teachings.”

Faith

The Prophet’s first converts were asked to make a pledge, now known as the pledge of Akaba as the proof of their faith with God.

“We will not associate anything with God; we will not steal, nor commit adultery, nor fornication; we will not kill our children; we will abstain from calumnies and slander; we will obey the Prophet in everything that is right; and we will be faithful to him in weal and sorrow.”

PHILOSOPHICAL AND MYSTICAL TEACHINGS

Islam*

The Al Quran describes God as:

“God, there is no God but He, the living, the self-subsisting; neither slumber nor sleep seizeth Him; to Him belongeth whatsoever is in heaven and on earth. Who is he that can intercede with Him, but through His good pleasure? He knoweth that which is past, and that which is to come unto them, and they shall not comprehend anything of His knowledge, but so far as He pleaseth. His throne is extended over heaven and earth, and the preservation of both is no burden unto Him. He is the High, the Mighty.”

The Prophet often use the word Islam which means “bowing to surrender.” He often says that there is but one religion, Islam. Islam in the mouth of the Prophet means surrender to the Divine Will**of God; and he calls all holy men of old, men who lived long before his time, followers of Islam. The surrender to the Divine Will is recognized by every religionist as a duty, and Islam as used by the Prophet, has this inclusive meaning; in this sense every true faith is Islam. This is how Al Quran defines the believer of Islam:

“There is no distinction between Prophets. Every one of the Prophets believed in God, His angels and His scriptures and His apostles. We make no distinction at all between His apostles. We believe in God and that which hath been sent down unto us, and that which was sent down unto Abraham and Ismail and Isaac and Jacob and other tribes, and that which was delivered to Moses and Jesus and the Prophets from their Lord; we make no distinction between any of them. They who believed in God and His apostles and make no distinction between any of them, unto those will we give their reward, and God is gracious and merciful.”

** All ancient faiths accept that God manifest Himself through His divine Will, Love, and universal intelligence.

Oneness (Unity of God)

This is a teaching of every faith, the faith of the Arabian Prophet. He is taught the unity of God as the King, the Ruler, the Governor, the Supreme Logos. Other faith call God, Eshvara, or the Father. He begetteth not neither is He begotten; and there is not anyone like unto Him. That is the heart of the teaching; that is the supreme message; for every religion has a special word to speak and a special message to deliver. And as the great word of Hinduism is the universality of the Self, the God who is in all and all men one with Him, so the great word of Islam is the unity of God as Ruler.

In the year following the flight from Mecca, forty five (45) poor men bound themselves together to follow God and His Prophet to live as a community and to observe ascetic practices. It is the seed of Sufism, the mystic side of Islam. They teach those who listen that “all is from God.” There is nothing save God, and that the universe is but a mirror of Him. They teach that there is one perfect beauty and that all that is beautiful is only a ray from Him. They teach there is only one love, the love of God, and all other loves are only loves as they form part of that. They teach that He alone is true Being and that all else is non-being, and that man who is Himself can by illumination rise from non-being to Being and return whence he came. (To the Christian, this is a familiar story in parable about the prodigal son.)

Two poetry of Persia are quoted expressing the unity of God:

Thou are absolute Being; all else is but a phantasm

For in Thy Universe all beings are one.

Thy world-captivating Beauty, in order to display its perfections,

Appears in thousands of mirrors, but it is one.

Although Thy Beauty accompanies all the beautiful,

In truth the unique and incomparable Heart-enslaver is one.

And again:

Not-Being is the mirror of absolute Being,

Whence is apparent the reflection of God’s splendour.

When Not-Being became opposed to Being

A reflection thereof was at once produced.

That Unity was manifested through this Plurality;

One, when you enumerate it, becomes many.

Numeration though it has One for its basis,

Hath, notwithstanding, never an end.

Since Not-Being was in its essence clear,

Through it the hidden Treasure became manifest.

Repeat the tradition: “I was a hidden Treasure.”

That thou mayest plainly behold the hidden mystery.

Not-Being is the mirror, the universe is the reflection, and man

Is the personality concealed in it like the eye in the reflection.

Thou art the eye of the reflection, while He (God) is the light of the eye;

By means of that eye the Eye of God beholds itself.

The world is a man, and man is a world.

Law, Way, and Truth

Sufism teaches man the path to be trodden towards perfection. According to the Awarifu-d-ma’arif, the path is divided into three stages: Shari’at, the Law; Tarikat, the Way; Hakikat, the Truth. These are thus illustrated: A man asked a Shaikh – spiritual teacher – what were the three stages. He answered: “Go and strike each of the three men you see sitting there.” He went and struck the first; the man leapt to his feet and returned the blow. He struck the second; the man flushed up, made a motion to rise, clenched his fists, but restrained himself. He struck the third; the man took no notice. “The first,” said the Shaikh, is in the Law; the second in the Way; the third in the Truth.”

The Prophet Muhammad is recognized as the supreme authority, but to tread the Path a Shaikh is necessary, and the Murid, the disciple, must show him the most absolute devotion and submission; he must obey him in everything without reserve or hesitation.

ACCUSATIONS AGAINST ISLAM

Oftentimes, Islam is attacked on the ground that it is fanatically persecuting and not progressive; on the ground that the position of woman in Islam is not such as it should be; on the ground that it does not encourage learning, science and intellectual endeavour. These attacks are not justified by the teachings of the Prophet and are controverted by the services that Islam has rendered to the world. It is true that today Islam does not stand before the world as the exponent of high learning, of great intellectual endeavors, but that is not due to the fault of the teachings but rather to the neglecting of them. Islam has suffered, as all the religions of the world have suffered, because its followers are unworthy of its Founder.

Muhammad with 9 wives

The Prophet was accused of having 9 wives after he reached the age of 50 years when at that age passion is dying, and after being faithful for 26 years of married life to his wife until her death. It was written that he did so more to find alliance among his followers and to provide care and protection to women more sorely needed his help.

The Al Quran allows men to marry four wives

During the time of the Prophet, the people were plunged into licentiousness of the grossest kind; morality had no existence among them; to command them to observe monogamy would have been useless; only gradual reform was possible. Furthermore, many women were widowed (and less men) because of war and they needed care and protection. With few men around and the urgent need to take care of widowed women, the Prophet allowed men to marry up to 4 wives so long as the man can financially support the wives and all the protection and love needed can be given as the man is giving to his first wife. It was allowed for the reason that women needed care and protection, not to satisfy passion.

It is not monogamy where there is one legal wife, and mistresses out of sight. It is not the true marriage where one man and one woman and all else are evil. But then most men are not yet pure enough for that and in the scales of justice the polygamy guards, shelters, feeds and clothes the wives, may weigh heavier than the prostitution common on others. One religion forbids it but winks at it, provided that no legal-tie exists with more than one.

THE INFLUENCE OF ISLAM

The Prophet was an unlearned man, as the world counts learning. He calls himself illiterate Prophet but his followers regard Al Quran as a standing miracle, vindicating his claim as a divine Messenger since it is written in the most perfect Arabic. The Prophet places learning in the first rank of the things to be desired; he says:

“Acquire knowledge; for he who acquires it in the way of the Lord performs an act of piety; who speaks of knowledge, praises God; who seeks it adores God; who dispenses instruction in it bestows alms; and who imparts it to its fitting objects performs an act of devotion to God. Knowledge enables its possessor to distinguish what is forbidden from what is not; it lights the way to heaven; it is our friend in the desert, our society in solitude, our companion when bereft of friends; it guides us to happiness; it sustains us in misery; it is our ornament in the company of friends; it serves as an armour against our enemies. With knowledge, the servant of God rises to the height of goodness and to a noble position, associates with sovereigns in this world, and attains to the perfection of happiness in the next.”

Again, the Prophet declares:

“The ink of the scholar is more precious than the blood of the martyr.”

And again, the son-in-law of the Prophet, Ali likewise declares:

“The essence of science is the enlightenment of the heart; truth is its principal object; inspiration its guide; reason its acceptor; God its inspirer; the words of man its utterer.”

While this last few centuries things are rapidly changing and they honor scholars very little, the two above mentioned view of the Prophet and the view of his son-in-law Ali had led the philosophy of the Saracens, the science of the Moors reached new height especially after they learned from the Hindu and the Greeks mathematics; they discover equations of the second degree; then the quadratic; then the binomial theorem; they discover the sine and cosine in trigonometry; they make the first telescope; the study the stars; they measure the size of the earth; they make a new architecture; they discover a new music; they teach scientific agriculture; they bring manufactures to the highest pitch of excellence.

After hundred years of silent growth, all these learning were brought by the Moors to Spain and Europe, and made it possible the rebirth of learning in Christendom. Christian Europe crowds to Andalusia to learn from the Muslim teacher the elements of forgotten science; they bring astronomy, they translate the Siddhanta (Buddhism) of India and other books; they write treatises on astronomy, on chemistry, on mathematics. It was Islam which, in Arabia and Egypt in the colleges of Baghdad and Cairo took up the Neo-platonic heritage, despised and rejected by Christendom as “pagan” after the slaying of Hypatia, and saved its priceless riches to hand them on for the European use. In the middle age, when Europe was under the Christian influence, any form of science is treated as heresy and those that promote scientific studies are banned and persecuted. Science was unknown, astronomy and mathematics had vanished, chemistry had not risen from its Egyptian tomb; knowledge was brought by the conquering Moors. The expulsion of the Moors from Spain ended the long struggle and was one of the causes of the downfall of Spain from her place of pride.

Nor was all this brought to Europe only. India knows the splendid architecture of the Mughals, of whom it was justly said:

“They built like giants, and finished like jewelers.”

That is Islam, that Islam may again embrace it within its pale as it does not embrace it today. When Islam re-completes itself, it will be ready to link itself in brotherly love with other creeds. For the blessed union between the faiths of the world does not lie in the exoteric side, where forms are different and ceremonies are varied, and each suits the idiosyncracies of its people, and speaks of God in its own tongue. The union lies in the spiritual truth, lies in the philosophic ideas, and lies above all in the mysticism whereby man knows himself as God, and seeks to return to Him whence he came. No one is to give up the religion that is dear to him, that has been handed down by generations of his ancestors, that is the center round which cluster the sanctities of home. There is no need for conversion from one religion to another; each is a Ray of the Sun of Truth.

Reference: The Seven Great Religions by Dr. A. Besant

Notes on the Bhagavad Gita (A Conversation with God)

Facing a crucial and important problem in life, or when in trouble and uncertain what to do, we consult professionals skilled in the problem at hand or talk to a friend who can help us in the right direction and on the path to the correct solution. The Bhagavad Gita, is a sacred religious book of the Hindus written thousands of years ago points out important lessons in ethics, morality and more importantly, on the love of God or devotion to the divine Spiritual Being. It is a conversation of the immortal soul, Arjuna to his friend and creator, Krishna, the spirit in man or God, on ways and means so that Arjuna can control and discipline his lower mortal and perishable vehicles, the body, emotion and mental faculties. The book explains in questions and answers form the effort of the immortal soul to gain mastery and control of his lower self, the body. In religion, we are told that man is body, soul, and spirit. The body comprises the physical part of man that make up the earth, water, fire, air, and ether. The soul is the immortal part of man, gaining lessons in the world of matter for accuracy and definiteness in material detail. The spirit is the guiding principle that is the spark of the divine flame, the son of the Father, the architect of the universe.

The scene of the conversation between Arjuna and Krishna is at the Kurukshestra plane. The plane is considered by the learned and wise as the physical, emotional, and mental bodies of man. This is the battlefield acquired by the result of action or karma and the thirst for life or tanha. Some believed the place is the present Delhi where two opposing camps of the Kurus and the Pandavas are about to engage in battle. (A diagram of the relationship of the two opposing camps is attached for reference) There are many personalities mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita and the names of the persons are hard to pronounce and to remember particularly those who are not Hindus. It should not discourage those who wish to learn important lessons in life not to study the book. Just remember the two main camps, the Kurus that represents the lower vehicles of man that is the physical body, the emotional body, and the lower mental body. The Spiritual side, the Pandavas camp where Arjuna belong represents the immortal soul learning to control and discipline his lower vehicles with guidance and assistance from his Higher Spiritual Self, Krishna. It is worthy to note that the battle that happened thousands of years ago still happens now, and will continue to happen in each of us, within our own selves. The battle in our midst is the opposition from friends, and from all the habits man has acquired and also that which naturally arises from hereditary tendencies. Such will confront him and then it will depend upon how he listens to Krishna who is the Logos shinning within and speaking within whether he will succeed or fail. The book provides us a guide to learn how to be selfless and discriminate and align with the Higher Self in us, the true learner in the world of forms and matters and from the mortal and perishable lower self that is just the instruments of learning. The book also helps us to know right action consistent with our ray and temperament, poise and non-attachment to the fruit of action, and action benefiting cosmic welfare.

Let us in part select some important lessons from the conversation between Arjuna and Krishna that may be helpful to our problems at hand. More can be learned if one will study the book himself. It will certainly help quenched his spiritual thirst and enrich and elevate his total well-being to a higher state of consciousness.

I – THE DESPONDENCY OF ARJUNA

The Kurus, the material and the lower selves in man, led by Bhisma and King Dhritarashtra are preparing for battle against the Pandavas, the immortal and the spiritual nature in man. The army of Bhisma, the lower self in man is inadequate to fight against the army of Pandavas, the Higher Self or the Spiritual Self in man, where Arjuna belong, particularly so that Krishna is with them. Arjuna is unable to fight the Kurus especially after seeing that many of the fighters in the Kurus camp are his friends, relatives, uncles, cousins, tutors, sons, brothers, and bosom friends. Arjuna told Krishna that he cannot fight them even if the Kurus are willing to kill him. Arjuna told Krishna that although the Kurus are willing to fight the Pandavas, the Kurus may not be aware of the crime in killing so that they cannot be faulted for the desire for battle. Arjuna puts away his bow and arrows, his heart was overwhelmed with despondency. In other words, Arjuna, the soul is tentative or uncertain if he can control and discipline his lower self, the physical, emotional, and mental bodies. For a long long time Arjuna has been using the lower bodies to gain experiences and accuracy of details in the material world so he is uncertain of controlling or disciplining them.

II – DEVOTION THROUGH APPLICATION OF THE SPECULATIVE

DOCTRINES

Arjuna in tears, Krishna told him to stand up and abandon his unmanliness and weakness of heart. Arjuna told Krishna that it is better for him to beg for foods than to be murderer of preceptors and where his reverence to them is due. Arjuna cannot take possessions and wealth polluted with their blood. Arjuna asked Krishna for instruction since as a disciple it is his duty to obey, and he do not know whether to fight them or not.

Krishna told Arjuna not to lament and align his sentiments to those expounders of the letter of the law. The wise on spiritual things neither grieve for the dead nor for the living. Krishna said that He never was, nor he, nor all the princes of the earth; nor shall we ever hereafter cease to be. As the Lord of this mortal frame experiences infancy, youth, and old age, so in future incarnations will it meet the same. One who confirms this belief is not disturb by anything that come to pass. He endures the senses that are the producers of heat, cold, pleasure and pain. They all come and go and are brief and changeable. There is no existence that does not exist; nor non-existence that exist. Learn that He by whom all things were formed is incorruptible, and that no one is able to effect the destruction of THAT which is inexhaustible. These finite bodies, which envelope the souls inhabiting them, are said to belong to Him, the eternal, the indestructible, unprovable Spirit, who is in the body; therefore, Arjuna, resolve to fight. Death is certain to all things that are born, and rebirth to all mortals. Therefore, do not grieve that which is inevitable. The spirit can never be destroyed in the mortal frame that it inhabit, and therefore it is not worthy to be troubled by these mortals and perishable vehicles. Krishna encouraged Arjuna to perform his duty as a soldier regardless of result. If killed in battle, liberation will be his; and if successful the world is the reward. In the performance of duty, he will be free from karmic debt, or from sin.

Be steadfast and constant in all experiences in threading the spiritual path. Those who desire riches and enjoyment have not certainty of soul and least hold on meditation. The disciple must be free from the influences of the pair of opposites, seek the truth, light, or stay in sattva quality, free from worldly anxiety and the desire to preserve present possessions, free from self-centered and uncontrolled by object of mind and senses. Act because it is right, not for its result or reward. The motive of the action must be action itself, not in the event. Krishna further explained that one is on the spiritual path when he forsakes every desire that enters his heart and is happy and contented in the Self, his mind undisturbed in adversity and happy. He is stranger to anxiety, fear and anger. Krishna warns that senses and organs distract man aiming towards perfection. He told Arjuna to beware of passion, from passion anger, from anger to delusion, from delusion a loss of the memory, from the loss of memory loss of discrimination, then loss of all. He who abandons all desires, acts without covetousness, selfishness or pride, deeming himself neither actor nor possessor, attains to rest.

III – DEVOTION THROUGH THE RIGHT PERFORMANCE OF ACTION

Arjuna asked Krishna why he is being asked to fight the dreadful battle against Kurus, his lower selves. If there are many ways to engage in a fight, can Arjuna select one that is more pleasant and joyful. Krishna answered that there are those who follow the Sankhya, or speculative science, that is the exercise of reason in contemplation, the followers of the Yoga school. There are those in devotion follow the performance of action. Krishna asserted no one ever rest inactive in a moment. Every man is involuntarily urged to act by the qualities of his vehicles that spring from nature. The journey of the mortal frame cannot be accomplished by inaction. All actions performed other than as sacrifice to God make the actor bound by action or karma. Abandon all selfish motives and in action perform the duty for Him alone. If He will not act, all creatures in His world will perish. All creatures perform act according to their nature (Monadic ray). The ignorant performs the duties in life in hope for rewards, the wise performs duty to benefit mankind.

Arjuna asked Krishna why man seems to commit offenses against his will or is compelled by some secret force? Krishna answered that it is lust that instigate it resulting from the rajas quality of his nature. This rajas quality is the enemy of man in earth. As the flame is surrounded by smoke so the universe is surrounded by passion. Passion clouds discrimination and is the constant enemy of the wise man. Krishna urges Arjuna to restrain his senses to conquer sins that destroy knowledge of spiritual discernment.

IV – DEVOTION THROUGH SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE

Krishna informed Arjuna that He taught Vivaswat (sun), the Manu (reigning spirit in sensuous universe), Ikswaku (the founder of the Indian Solar Dynasty) the doctrine of yoga, the spiritual knowledge and they in turn taught royal sages of the same. Krishna like any others passed through many births knowing them all, unlike Arjuna who has yet to reach super human perfection to know too all his passed deaths and births. Krishna unborn, of changeless essence, and the Lord of all existence, yet in presiding over nature is born through His own maya (illusion), the mystic power of self-ideation, the eternal thought in the eternal mind. Krishna incarnates to rectify and establish righteousness when virtue decline and insurrection of vice and injustice prevail in the world. Action affects Him not, nor has He any expectations from the fruits of action. Krishna said that those who have spiritual discrimination are wise whose undertakings are all free from desire, for their actions are consumed in the fire of knowledge. A man is wise when he abandons the desire for reward of his action, is free, contented, and depends on nothing while engage in action. His mind and body are subdued and above enjoyment from objects and free from the influence of the pair of opposites, free from envy, and the same in success as in failure.

Krishna stated further that the sacrifice through spiritual knowledge is superior to sacrifice made with material things; every action without exception is comprehended in spiritual knowledge. Man must seek this wisdom by doing service, by strong search, by questions, and by humility. There is no purifier in this world that will equal and compared to spiritual knowledge. Even the greatest sinner when he embarks to search for spiritual knowledge will be saved. As the natural fire reduces fuel to ashes, so the fire of knowledge reduces all actions to ashes. The man who restrain the senses and organs and devote time to search for spiritual knowledge will soon reach peace and tranquility.

V - DEVOTION BY RENUNCIATION OF ACTION

Arjuna is confused since Krishna praised renunciation of action one time, and at other time, praised right performance. He asked which one of the two is better. Krishna responded that both are means to final emancipation but action is better than renunciation. Those who renounce action are free from the pair of opposites and therefore released from bonds forged by action. But to attain to true renunciation of action without devotion through action is difficult. Those devotees who engaged in the right practice of his duties approach the Supreme Spirit shorter and faster with no time wasted at all. The man of purified heart, having his body fully controlled, his senses restrained, and for whom the only self is the Self of all creatures, is not tainted although performing actions. The devotee who knows the divine truth think “I am doing nothing”, in seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, moving, sleeping, breathing; even when speaking, letting go or taking, opening or closing his eyes, he says, the senses and organs move by natural impulse to their appropriate objects. Whoever in acting dedicates his action to the Supreme Spirit and puts aside all selfish interest in their result is untouched by sin, even as the leaf of the lotus is unaffected by the waters The man who shut his placid soul away from all sense of touch, with gaze fixed between his brows; who make the breath to pass through both his nostrils with evenness alike in inspiration and expiration, whose senses and organs together with his hear and understanding are under control, and who sets his heart upon liberation and is ever free from desire and anger is emancipated from birth and death even in this life.

VI - DEVOTION BY MEANS OF SELF RESTRAINT

Krishna said that he who performed action without attachment performed right action. Such action without attachment is a step to right meditation. The man who has attained spiritual knowledge and discernment stands at the pinnacle, subdued his senses, considers gold and stone as the same is said to be devoted to his Higher Self. To purify his lower self, man should practice meditation with his mind fixed on one point, senses restraint, thought controlled, heart fixed to the Supreme, keeping his body, head, and neck firm and erect. This divine discipline is not attained by one who eat more than enough or too little, has the habit of sleeping too much, and has the habit of overwatching. When man centers his heart in the true Self and exempt from desires and attachment, he is said to have attained to yoga.

Arjuna expressed difficulty in meditation since the mind is full of agitation, turbulent, strong, obstinate and so hard to restrain. Krishna answered it is true the mind is restless and hard to restrain but it may be restrained. Practice and absence of desire are solution. The man of meditation is describe as superior to the man of penance and to the man of learning and also to the man of action. Resolve to become a man of meditation.

VII - DEVOTION BY SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT

Krishna advised Arjuna that by fixing his heart on Him in meditation, he will be able to completely know Him and knowing and learning Him, there is nothing else to be known. Earth, water, fire, air, and akasa, Manas, Buddhi, and Ahankara are the eightfold division of His nature. Yet it is inferior; that His superior nature is different and is the knower; by it the universe is sustained; learn that the whole of creation springs from this too as from a womb; He is the cause, the production and the dissolution of the whole universe. In all creatures, He is the life and the power of concentration in whose minds are on the Spirit. He is the disposition arising from the three qualities, sattva, rajas, and tamas. All that exist are in Him, but He is not in them.

VIII - THE OMNIPRESENT SPIRIT NAMED OM

Arjuna is unable to comprehend the meaning of Brahman, Adhyatma, Adhibhuta and Adhidaivata. He asked Krishna to explain and to teach him.

Krishna answered that Brahman the Supreme is the exhaustless. Adhyatma is the name of His being manifesting as the Individual Self. Karma is the emanation that causes the existence and reproduction of creatures. Karma is the action of the Supreme that is seen in manifestation throughout the evolution of the objective worlds. Adhibhuta is the Supreme Spirit dwelling in all elemental nature through the mysterious power of nature’s illusion. Adhidaivata is the Purusha, the Spiritual Person, and Adhiyajna is Krishna in this body. The man who in the hour of his death fixed in meditation on Him will go without doubt unto Him. Therefore, meditate on Him at all times. Man must meditate upon the Supreme Ruler, the smallest of the small, the Supporter of all, whose form is incomprehensible, bright as the sun beyond the darkness; with mind undeviating, united to devotion, and by the power of meditation concentrated at the hour of death, with his vital powers placed between the eyebrows, attain to the Supreme Divine Spirit.

Krishna explained further that he who close his mind in his heart, fixed his vital powers in his head, standing firm in meditation, repeating the monosyllable OM and continue while quitting the body, go to the supreme goal. All worlds up to that of Brahman are subject to rebirth again and again, but those who reach Him have no more rebirth. The collection of existing things completed, is dissolved at the approach of the night and again emanates spontaneously on the coming of the day. But there is that which is not dissolved; it is indivisible, indestructible, and of another nature from the visible called unmanifested and exhaustless named the supreme goal. Man having attained the goal never more return – it is Krishna’s supreme abode.

IX - THE KINGLY KNOWLEDGE AND THE KINGLY MYSTERY

Krishna said that all things in the universe are pervaded by Him in His invisible form. All things exist in Him, but He does not exist in them. He is the cause of things to exist and supporting them all, but dwelling not in them. Taking control of His own nature, He emanates again and again in the whole assemblage of beings, without their will, by the power of the prakriti (material) essence. These acts do not bind Him because He sits indifferent, uninterested in those work. By His supervision, nature produces the animate and inanimate universe. At the end of kalpa (duration in time), all things return unto His nature, and then again at the beginning of another kalpa, He causes them to evolve again. He is the father and the mother of the universe, the grandsire and the preserver. He is the Holy One, the object of knowledge, the mystic purifying syllable OM. He is the origin and the dissolution, the receptacle, the storehouse, and the eternal seed. Worshippers come to Him. He accepts and enjoys the offerings of the humble soul who in his worship with a pure heart offers a leaf, a flower, or fruit, or water to Him. He knows neither hate nor favor; but He said that those who serve Him with love dwell in Him and He in them.

X - THE UNIVERSAL DIVINE PERFECTIONS

Krishna told Arjuna that no one knows His divine origin, including the assemblage of Gods, Adepts, and the Adept Kings. They know Him to be the Ruler of the Universe, without birth or beginning. The subtle perception, spiritual knowledge, right judgment, patience, truth, self-mastery, pleasure and pain, prosperity and adversity, birth and death, danger and security, fear and equanimity, satisfaction, restraint of body and mind, all these various dispositions of creatures come from Him. In former days, the seven great Sages and the four Manus who are His nature were born of His mind and from Them sprang this world. Krishna is the Ego seated in the hearts of all beings; He is the beginning, the middle, and the end of all existing things. Among the senses and organs, He is the manas, creature of existence. He that knows perfectly this permanence and mystic faculty of Him is without doubt possessed with unshaken faith.

Arjuna understood Him to be the Parabrahm, the supreme abode, the great purification, the eternal presence, the Divine Being, before all other Gods, holy, primeval, all pervading without beginning. The great Sages Narada, Asita, Devala, Vyasa (the author of the Mahabharata) say the same of Krishna. He is the knowledge of the Adhyatma (the Spirit), and of the uttered sounds the human speech. Among letters He is the vowel A and of all compound words, the Dwandwa, the endless time itself, the preserver whose face is turned on all sides. Krishna established this whole universe with a single portion of Himself, and remains separate.

XI - VISION OF THE DIVINE FORM AS INCLUDING ALL FORMS

Arjuna asked Krishna if it is possible to see His divine form and His inexhaustible Self. Krishna responded saying His forms are by the hundreds and by the thousands of diverse kinds, divine, of many shapes and fashions. As Arjuna’s eyes cannot see them all, Krishna provides him with divine eyes, power and might. Able now to see Krishna, Arjuna said that he can see Him on all sides, of infinite forms, having many arms, stomachs, mouths, and eyes. He can see the crowned with a diadem and armed with mace and charkas, a mass of splendor, darting light on all sides; difficult to behold, shining in every direction with light immeasurable, like the burning fire or glowing sun. Krishna told Arjuna His time had matured, now is the time of Arjuna to do what He did, to destroy the creatures, his lower selves and none of them shall live. Fight and conquer all the enemies.

XII - DEVOTION BY MEANS OF FAITH

Arjuna asked what is the better way to worship Krishna, to worship Him in the indivisible and unmanifested, or to serve Him as it is now. Krishna said that He regard in highest esteemed those that worshipped Him with constant zeal, with the highest faith, and minds placed on Him. Men with senses and organs restrained, and rejoicing in the good of all creatures, meditate on the inexhaustible, immovable, highest, incorruptible, difficult to contemplate, invisible, omnipresent, unthinkable, the witness, undemonstrable, shall also come unto Him. Devotees can find Krishna who worshipped Him, renouncing in Him all their actions, regarding Him as the supreme goal, and meditating on Him alone. If unable to find Him after constant practice, follow Him by actions performed in His behalf and he shall attain perfection. If still unable to find Him, place all the works, failures, and successes alike, on Him, abandoning in Him the fruit of every action. For knowledge is better than constant practice, meditation is superior to knowledge, renunciation of the fruit of action to meditation; final emancipation immediately results from such renunciation.

XIII - DISCRIMINATION OF KSHETRA FROM KSHETRAJNA

Krishna explained that the perishable body is kshetra, and the kshetrajna is the immortal soul. Whenever anything, whether animate or inanimate is produced, it is due to the union of the Kshetra and Kshetrajna. Know also that prakriti or nature, and purusha the spirit, are without beginning. And the passions and the three qualities are sprung from nature. Nature or prakriti is said to be that which operated in producing cause and effect in action. Individual spirit or purusha is said to be the cause of experiencing pain and pleasure. For spirit when invested with matter or prakriti experience the qualities that proceed from prakriti; its connection with these qualities is the cause of its rebirth in good and evil wombs. The knowledge attained through the soul is a realization of both the known and the knower and is wisdom. True spiritual wisdom is free from self-esteem, hypocrisy, and injury to others. It is patience, sincerity, firmness, respect for spiritual instructors, purity, self-restraint, dispassion for objects of sense, freedom from pride and meditation upon birth, death, decay, sickness, and error. Some men by meditation, using contemplation upon the Self, behold the kshetrajna (spirit) within, others attain to that end by philosophical study with its realization, and others by means of the religion of works. The Supreme Spirit when in the body, neither act nor is it affected by action because being without beginning and devoid of attributes, it is changeless. The Spirit though present in every kind of body is not attached to action nor affected. As a single sun illuminates the whole world, so does the One Spirit illumines every body.

XIV - SEPARATION FROM THE THREE QUALITIES

Upon attaining the superhuman perfection, sages are no longer affected by the three qualities of nature and are not disturb at the time of general destruction. The three qualities of nature are sattva, light or truth; rajas, passion or desire; and tamas, indifference or darkness The sattva quality by reason of its lucidity and peacefulness entwine the soul to rebirth through attachment to knowledge that is pleasant. The rajas quality, by the nature of passion and desire entwine the soul producing thirst and propensity for it. The tamas quality imprisoned the Ego in the body through heedless folly, sleep, and idleness. The sattva quality attaches the soul through happiness and pleasure, the rajas through action, and tamas quality surrounding the power of judgment with indifference attaches the soul through heedlessness. When wisdom, the bright light, shall become evident in the body, then one may know that the sattva quality is prevalent within. The rajas is prevalent when the love of gain, activity in action and the initiating of works, restlessness and inordinate desire are produced. Tamas predominates when there is absence of illumination, the presence of idleness, heedlessness, and delusion.

The fruit of righteous acts is called pure and holy, appertaining to sattva; from rajas is gathered the fruit in pain; and the tamas produce only senselessness, ignorance and indifference. From sattva wisdom is produced, from rajas desire, from tamas ignorance, delusion and folly. Those in whom the sattva quality is established mount on high, those who are full of rajas remain in the middle sphere, the world of men; while those who are by the gloomy quality of tamas sinks below.

XV - THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE SUPREME SPIRIT

Ashwattha, the eternal sacred tree is a symbol for the universe, which, although apparently destroyed and then again renovated, is never ending for it is the same as the Evolutionary Stream. It grows with its roots above and its branches below, and the leaves are the sacred teaching, the Vedas. Its branches grow out of the three qualities of nature, the sattva, the rajas, and the tamas. The objects of the senses are the lower shoots, spread forth, some above and some below; the roots that spread below in the regions of mankind are the connecting bonds of action. The place where the roots of ashwattha tree can be found is the sought after place by those who need not return for rebirth in this world. Those who are free from pride of self and whose discrimination is perfected, who have prevailed over the fault of attachment to action, who are constantly employed in devotion to meditation upon the Supreme Spirit, who have renounced desire and are free from the influence of the opposites known as pleasure and pain are free and proceed to that place which endure forever. Neither the sun nor the moon nor the fire lighten the place, from it there is no return; it is His supreme abode.

There are two kinds of beings in the world, the one divisible, the other indivisible; the divisible is all things and the creatures, the indivisible is called Kutastha, or he who stand on high unaffected. But there is another spirit designated as the Supreme Spirit – Paramatma – that permeates and sustains the three worlds.

XVI - DISCRIMINATING BETWEEN GODLIKE AND DEMONIACAL NATURE

Fearlessnes, sincerity, devotion, generosity, piety, self restraint, alm-givings, study, mortification and rectitude, harmlessness, veracity and freedom from anger, resignation, equanimity and not speaking of the faults of others, universal compassion, modesty, mildness; patience, power, fortitude, and purity, discretion, dignity, freedom from conceit, unrevengefulness – these are the marks of man with godlike character and virtue. Those who are born with demoniacal dispositions are marked by hypocrisy, pride, anger, presumption, harshness of speech, and ignorance. The destiny of those whose attributes are godlike is final liberation, while those of demoniacal dispositions, continued bondage to mortal birth. Fast bound by the hundred chords of desire, prone to lust and anger, they seek injustice and the accumulation of wealth for the gratification of their own lusts and appetites. The gates of earth-bound soul are three – desire, anger, and covetousness. These gates destroy the soul. Being free from these gates, a man works for the salvation of his soul and proceeds to the highest spiritual path.

XVII - THE THREE KINDS OF FAITH

Krishna said that the faith of mortals is of three kinds. It is the quality of sattva, truth; raja, action; and tamas, indifference. Those who have sattva quality worship the gods; those with rajas quality worship the celestial powers; those of tamas worship elementals power and the ghosts of dead men. Furthermore, those who practice severe self-mortification not enjoined in the Scriptures are full of hypocrisy and pride, longing for what is past and desiring for more to come. These men are full of delusion, torture the powers and faculties which are in the body, and also in the innermost recesses of the heart.

Food that increases the length of days, vigor and strength, that keeps one free from sickness, maintain tranquil mind, contented, nourishing and of permanent benefit and congenial to the body are of sattva quality. The food liked by those of rajas quality is bitter, too acid, excessively salty, hot, pungent, dry and burning. It causes unpleasantness, pain, and disease. Food that was dressed a day before, tasteless or rotting, and impure are preferred by men of tamas quality.

Gentle speech that causes no anxiety, truthful and friendly, and diligence in the reading of the Scriptures are said to be austerities of speech. Serenity of mind, mildness of temper, silence, self-restraint, absolute straightforwardness of conduct are those men of sattva quality. But if man practices austerity with hypocrisy for the sake of obtaining respect for oneself, or for fame or favor, and is uncertain and belong wholly to this world, it is of rajas quality. Those austerities that are practiced merely by wounding one-self or from a false judgment or for the hurting of another are of the quality of tamas.

Gift given at the proper time to the proper person and not desirous of a return are of sattva quality. But if gift is given with the expectation of a return from the beneficiary or with a view to spiritual benefit flowing therefrom, it is of rajas quality. Gift given out of place and season and to unworthy person without proper attention is of tamas quality.

XVIII - RENUNCIATION AS FINAL LIBERATION

Arjuna wants to know from Krishna the nature of abstaining from action and the giving up of the results of action and the difference between the two. Krishna answered the questions as follow:

1. Deeds of sacrifice, of mortification, and of charity are not to be abandoned, for they are proper to be performed, and are the purifiers of the wise. Those works are to be performed after renouncing all selfish interest in them and in their fruits.

2. The work that is performed because it is necessary, obligatory and proper with all self-interest therein put aside and attachment to the action is absent is of the quality of sattva. The doer who performs necessary actions unattached to their consequences and without love or hatred is of the nature of the quality of truth – sattva. The discerning power that knows how to begin and to renounce, what should and what should not be done, what is to be feared and what not, what holds fast and sets the soul free is of the sattva quality.

3. The abstention from necessary and obligatory work is improper. Not doing them is due to delusion springing from the quality of tamas. The doer who is ignorant, foolish, undertaking actions without ability, without discrimination, with sloth, deceit, obstinacy, mischievousness is of the quality of tamas. The discriminating power that is enveloped in obscurity, mistaking wrong for right and all things contrary to their true intent and meaning is of the dark quality of tamas.

4. The refraining from works because they are painful and from the dread of annoyance arise from the quality of rajas. The doer whose actions are performed with attachment to the result, with great exertion for the gratification of his lusts and with pride, covetous, unclean, and attended to with rejoicing and grieving is of the quality of rajas. The man who does not fully know what is to be done and what should not, what should be feared and what should not, is of the passion-born rajas quality.

5. Man finds it utterly difficult to abandon actions; but if he does give up the results of action, he is a true renouncer of action.

6. The three causes that incite to action are knowledge, the thing to be known, and the knower, and the threefold also is the totality of the action in the act, the instrument, and the agent. Knowledge, the act, and the agent are also distinguished in three ways according to the three qualities as above mentioned.

7. The performance of the duties of a man’s own particular calling, although devoid of excellence is better than doing the duty of another, however well performed and he who fulfills the duties obligated by nature does not incur sin.

8. Man attains the highest perfect freedom from action through the renunciation of all works with an unfettered mind and subdued heart.

The Bhagavad Gita depicts the attempt and the struggle of the soul to discipline and to control his lower vehicles of consciousness, the physical, the emotional, and the mental bodies and unite with him to the Higher Self, the monad, God. It is the effort to reach union with the divine or to reach human perfection. Digressing from the main theme of the story, it is worthy to note that the essence of the ancient teachings of the Bhagavad Gita is similar to the essence of the Christian Bible story of the prodigal son who realizing his true spiritual being questioned himself why he is eating foods fit for the swine and resolve to go back to the kingdom of his Father. The spiritual symbols depicting the story of Christmas or the second birth of man, the realization of his true spiritual nature, the Baptism, Transfiguration, Easter, and Ascension all depict the struggle of the soul to overcome the clout and veil of matters that he may reach freedom and human perfection. The Four Noble Truths taught by Lord Buddha and the Noble Eightfold Path towards perfection are also the teachings and lessons very much the same in essence as the teachings in the Bhagavad Gita and the Christian Bible. All these spiritual teachings we can simple call “The Ancient Wisdom”, the guide to spiritual human perfection.

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