Professor Anil Kumar

Dr. O. P. Sudrania

Dearest Sai Brothers and Sisters,  Sai Ram.

Below is the text of a message that trickled in my inbox on an interview of Professor Anil Kumar, a long forty year old devotee of Swami and also His official interpreter of lectures whenever He delivered them after the passing away of Professor N. Kasturi. I have personally met and heard his lectures in Puttaparti delivered in the lecture halls on Education in Human Values (EHV).

One interesting story I remember from his experiences of Swami is as follows.

Once someone brought some cakes of “puranpollis” which are sweet pancakes made of flower and fried on a pan. They are quite tasty sweet dish. It must have been five or six of these. He is very fond of them. So he wanted to eat them alone without anybody seeing him and sharing with.

He went in his bathroom with them to eat so that nobody can even see him by chance and came out. Nobody had seen him. He subsequently went to Baba and Baba cracked a joke with him.

Baba said, “You are selfish and ate all the puranpollis alone in bathroom”. Professor Anil Kumar burst into a big laughter in embarrassment while narrating it and said to Swami, “Swami, you even go into people’s bathrooms and see them. It is not very nice”.

Such is the omnipresence of Swami. Please enjoy the following interview with Prof. Anil Kumar.

Below is the Text of a Wonderful Interview done by THE NATION, a Thailand based Newspaper with Prof. Anil Kumar during his four day visit to Thailand earlier this month.

Many Questions have been answered in this Wonderful Interview by Prof. Anil Kumar.

Have also attached with this mail the Whole Text of the Interview in
PDF and Word Format below.

Here is the Link to Interview published in the Newspaper – The Nation

Here is the interview, please enjoy it reading:

How do you explain the huge amount of cash and jewellery found in Sai Baba’s room, which was unearthed after his death, especially as the Sathya Sai Organization does not seem to have a history of soliciting funds? 

You know, [devotees], they’re  trying to hand it over to him personally. But he never

accepts. They want to give something. He rejects it openly, throws it in their face. But these people don’t give up. They send them by courier, they post it. And those that were received by mail were [left] lying there. But he had never looked at them. He never used that money. He never touched those packets. There were many cheques for huge amounts that had not been cashed, some dating back to

1993. Had he been money-minded he would have got them cashed. Many [packets] were not even opened. Because he was not at all bothered. All the money and jewels found in his room have nothing to do with him.

Why was all the money not taken away? Why was it left lying in the room? 

Because no one had access to his room. No official could go to his room. They had to wait for him downstairs. He came down and talked to them. No one knew what was lying in the room. It was news even to the officials. I, having had proximity to him for four decades, can categorically say that he never talked about money. Money was never a criterion for him for anything. Money was never a consideration for anybody to come close to him. He attached no value to it. If you take my example, I was an ordinary college lecturer, with a hand-to-mouth existence … so how could I be so close to him? I never gave him anything.

Among the jewels found in his room were gems apparently given by a king of Saudi Arabia. Can you throw some light on that? 
I’ve no knowledge of the variety of jewels collected over there or the sources they came from.  Was there any meeting with the Saudi king or his representatives? I ask this because Saudi Arabia is a puritanical Islamic state. Here I can say one thing. Sai Baba was very simple and  so is his place, Prashanthi Nilayam [in Puttaparthi town, southern India]. It doesn’t get any facelift just because VIPs or dignitaries are visiting. Prime ministers, presidents and other VIPs come but there are no special decorations. In all probability, he [the Saudi king] or his representatives must

have come. Baba may not be accepted as an incarnation or as divine by everyone, but his teachings are universal. His educational system is universal. His educational system aims at total personality development, comprehensive growth. It is a value-based education. So, no matter what the religion, everyone can follow it.

A lot has been said and written over the years about the ‘miracles’ he performed - producing ash and trinkets, gold chains, rings and watches, etc. His devotees loved it, critics hated it, skeptics were unconvinced. Scientists and para-psychologists did studies on them. Some dismissed them as  sleight of hand, others were unable to explain them. For someone who saw them at close proximity, how do you look at it? 

I’ll quote him. He called it his visiting card. Once you give a visiting card to someone you don’t have to introduce yourself again. He steps into your life as a visitor sending a visiting card through a miracle in your life. That which you think is impossible is made possible through a miracle and makes you believe in something transcendental, extra-sensual. The miracle is a bait to draw a person closer to God. He gives an example: to make a child go to school, what do you do sometimes? Give a chocolate. But it’s the schooling that is important, not the chocolate. Similarly, a miracle happens in your life, so you will turn your mind towards the divine or spiritual life.

But magicians say even they can perform some of these ‘miracles’ and you don’t need any divine powers… Magicians do it as a profession. But in Sai Baba’s case, miracles are not performed, they happen. The happening of a miracle is different from doing it. One is spiritual, the other is physical

Can you expand on that? 
A magician can perform under certain conditions. But Sai Baba, anytime, anywhere could materialize something for you. A magician will not be able to do that. He needs special conditions to perform. But  Baba, by his will, could make things happen. Sai Baba’s miracles have a higher purpose; a magician is only aiming for attraction with commercial value.  A leading Indian scientist, S Bhagvantham, who was the vice-chancellor of a university and even the director of India’s defense research organization, stayed with him and studied the miracles and became totally convinced that miracles happened in Sai Baba’s presence, at his will. One Italian doctor, who attended an international meeting of thoracic surgeons in Puttaparthi, said that though his reputation might be at risk, he would like to state that only Sai Baba could run such a sophisticated super-speciality hospital free of charge.

A BBC documentary on Sai Baba, called “Secret Swami”, blighted his reputation with accusations of sexual abuse. If the accusations were false why didn’t his organization or he defend himself or take action? 

I, personally, would have liked to deal with it differently. But the thing is, Sai Baba never encouraged anybody to counteract [the accusations], especially on his behalf. He said truth is triumphant and spotless. It doesn’t need anybody’s support.

He went one step further and said to his devotees, “you’re happy praising me, they’re happy attacking me. I want both to be happy”. He narrated a story from the Buddha’s life. When the Buddha reached a village, all the youngsters there mocked him and made fun of him for abandoning his wife and child and walking shaven-headed, wearing ochre robes. The Buddha listened patiently and said “Is it over? Are you exhausted? My disciples are on their way. If they hear the things you said, they might beat you up. I don’t want violence. So please finish whatever you want to say before they come”. That’s the compassion of the Lord. Sai Baba told us if you’re pained to hear all the criticism, you have legs to walk away. He wanted all of us to develop a state of mind that does not become elated when praised, or depressed when criticized or blamed.

A lot has been said and written about his reported clairvoyance. Apparently in 1998 he told his inner circle that the world was headed for many natural disasters and that the earth’s axis might even shift. We now know that during the Japanese earthquake/tsunami the earth’s axis did shift. Are you aware of any predictions he made which came true? 

He said long ago that Muslim nations will go through turmoil and terrorism. We’ve seen that in Afghanistan and Iraq; he predicted the unification of Germany, and long, long ago he said the Soviet Union will collapse. Then, he also predicted the decline of the US economy and the dotcom bust.

Talking about clairvoyance, he said more than once that he’d live to 96, but actually passed away at 85. How do you explain that? 
Some Hindu scholars believe that, as per the lunar calendar, he did live to 96. According to the lunar calendar, a year has 324 days. Sai Baba never said he’d live to 96 according to the solar calendar.

Two years ago, he pointed to a spot and told me, “This is going to be my Samadhi [resting place].” When I told him “please don’t say  that”, he said “why are you afraid? It’s inevitable for anybody. Death is the dress of life”.

The British architect Keith Critchlow, who was close to Prince Charles and designed the super-speciality hospital in Puttaparthi, reportedly advised Prince Charles to visit Sai Baba. And Charles was said to be keen to make the trip. There are two versions of this story: one said the British spy agency MI5 dissuaded Charles from visiting Sai Baba because of the sexual abuse allegations; another said they had a quiet meeting. Can you throw some light on that? 

It’s true that Critchlow wrote to Prince Charles [advising him] to meet Sai Baba. The

authentic version I have heard is that the airport in Puttaparthi is small and was not in a position to accommodate the kind of plane Charles would travel in. Later, I heard that Charles regretted not being able to meet  Sai Baba, and sent his respects through an emissary.

Since he encouraged everyone to practice their own religion, what kind of role did he envisage for himself? 

He saw himself more as a catalyst; as a unifying factor; he wanted synthesis, not antithesis. He has left an enormous legacy of free schools, educational institutions, free hospitals, social service organizations.

His presence obviously helped raise funds all these years. But now, will these institutions be financially sustainable? 
Right now, we’re in a state of shock. But he has left us with principles to follow, and

enough money.  The interest accrued on the principal amount  will be enough for the [Organization’s] maintenance. There will be no shortage of funds.

If you had to sum up his message in a few words, what would it be? 
Love all, serve all; the hands that serve are holier than the lips that pray.

With my humble Pranams at His Lotus Feet
OUR LIFE IS HIS MESSAGE

2 of 2 File(s)

About Sai Baba’s Life by Dr. Anil Kumar.docx

About Sai Baba’s Life by Dr. Anil Kumar.pdf

Incense is also referred to as Agarbatti by Indians

By Yogi Baba Prem Yogacharya, Veda Visharada

(CHAKRA) Of all the eastern teachings, deities, terms such as ‘OM’ and philosophies that have emanated from India few people recognize the important role that incense has played in spirituality and health in India and the west.

Of all the senses, the most powerful and primal is the sense of smell. Not only is the sense of smell associated with the 1st chakra, which aids in forming an important part of our foundation in life; of all the senses, it is our sense of smell that has a direct effect on the brain due to the olfactory bulb. The olfactory bulb allows aroma molecules to imbed and slowly pass through the bulb, directly affecting the brain, especially the frontal lobe. For this reason, pleasing or offensive aromas have a powerful effect on us mentally and emotionally. Our subtle sense of smell is so powerful that it not only determines our view of other people, it also determines our overall enjoyment of a variety of activities. As an example, if a meal is served that has strong visual appeal, but a disturbing aroma; generally one will not enjoy the meal as much as opposed to one that had a pleasing aroma. Therefore, aroma has a profound impact on our happiness and joy in life. Incense due to its very nature has an airy/etheric quality to it when burning; this is especially true as some of the oils used or naturally present within the incense are quite volatile, giving them a powerful affect on the mind and brain. The volatile nature of incense also has a powerful purification effect on the air element, creating a positive healing environment, and a sacred space in our home, office or meditation space. It would be true to say that aroma is an essential component for creating and maintaining a sacred atmosphere. Likewise, it is quite beneficial in creating a sacred state of mind while calming the mind, and aiding in turning the senses inward for meditation.

Incense has appeared in a myriad of forms ranging from indirect burning incense (powder placed on a small charcoal brick) to cones, coils, sticks, and rods. Likewise, incense is a global phenomena having appeared within a variety of cultures such as China, Japan, Middle Eastern countries, Tibet, Nepal, the Mayan civilization, and India, to name but a few.

The date when incense first appeared within the human collective conscious is not really known, but some of the oldest references appear to be within the Vedas themselves, especially the Atharva Veda, indicating that the use of incense is quite old, dating back at least 3500 years and more likely closer to 6000 to 8500 years old at a minimum. Aside from religious purposes, many people are surprised to learn that incense and the use of aroma is quite common within Yoga, Ayurveda (Indian health system), and even the use of incense plays a role in Vedic Astrology.

The common Hindu term for incense is called agarbatti. It is also common for incense to be referred to as Dhoop. It is more common to see the term dhoop used when offering incense to deities within a temple, at an individual’s alter, picture of a deity, one’s Guru, or even offered to nature. In locations such as Bali, it is common each morning to be greeted with pleasing aromas of incense even at hotels. As the Balinese commonly place offerings in banana or other large leaves that include rice, a flower and incense. These offerings are to the deities and of course to nature as well; likewise, they provide a heavenly experience when awakening in the morning. For temple worship, incense is not only an offering, but serves an important role in purifying the atmosphere by reducing microbes and purifying the astral levels as well; incense is also calming and stimulating to the minds of temple visitors to enhance their own spiritual awareness. The roll of incense in purification is quite important and it is interesting to note that 4 of the 5 elements are represented within a stick of incense. It has form, representing the earth element. There is an ember for the fire element. The smoke represents the air/ether element. The oils, resins or flower materials would represent the air element as well, though an argument could be made that the oils also represent water element at least to a degree. In this light, the incense stick is almost a complete representation of the elements itself, which is why various religions have always viewed it as a fitting offering to Divinity.

Many modern students of yoga and spirituality are surprised to learn that many of the deities within Hinduism have specific aromas associated with them: such as tulsi (Holy Basil) for Krishna and Kewra for Shiva; Lakshmi enjoys jasmine or sandalwood. Most deities are associated with several aromas of incense. Therefore, when using incense as an offering, it should be performed in a beautiful and loving way; such as lighting the incense, holding it before the image and gently pushing the smoke toward the deity, image of the Guru or other sacred item. This should be performed in a loving gentle manner with a sense of this being a sacred act and offering. Some prefer to hold the incense stick and move it in a circular motion in front of the deity or image of the Guru. This should be performed with the same loving attitude as well.

Scent and Ayurveda

The application of aroma and health is quite developed within Ayurveda. Aromas can increase or decrease ether/air (Vata), fire/oil (Pitta) and water/earth (Kapha), likewise, they can be an important addition to living a harmonious Ayurvedic lifestyle. Due to the nature of incense or essential oils, there is a certain vata increasing quality to them, but generally the aromas can be used according to one’s body type. For example, sweet aromas will increase Soma or one’s happiness; sweet aromas can also increase kapha. An example of this would be Sandalwood. While sandalwood is cooling and calming to pitta, it can increase kapha. This would be evident when one has a kapha type cold, burning sandalwood will often increase kapha resulting in increased mucous. Earth aromas such patchouli can also increase the earth energy but are generally considered pungent and warm, so patchouli can be beneficial for kapha. Pungent aromas could increase pitta such as mint or cardamom, but the cooling properties of Sandalwood are excellent for pitta. Vetivert is a root and is called Khus in India; it does have an earthy smell and increases kapha; it is good for pitta especially. Musk is pungent, stimulating and has aphrodisiac qualities, therefore, it is excellent for cultivating Bhakti or devotional qualities with the deities.

Here is a partial list of some beneficial incense or oils for each humor:
Vata: Musk, sandalwood and rose.
Pitta: Sandalwood, rose, and lavender.
Kapha: Cedar, myrrh and musk.
Brahmi Rasayana

Rejuvenation of the mind (Brahmi Rasayana) is an important quality of incense and can be a nice addition to Ayurvedic and yogic rejuvenation programs. Sandalwood is an excellent incense, as well as rose; both are considered sweet and nourishing. Vertivert or Khus is excellent for vata and pitta doshas. Jasmine is excellent for mental rejuvenation, as well as lotus. Small amounts of Camphor are very clearing to the mind. Note: camphor does produce a dark soot when burning. Lavender is excellent for stress reduction, and rosemary is excellent for memory and mental fatigue.
Incense and the chakras.

Incense and aroma have subtle connections with the chakras, as the chakras are part of the astral body. Aromas that are earthy or root based will have a connection with the 1st chakra (muladhara) at least to some degree. Jasmine will have a connection with the 2nd chakra (svadhisthana). Pungent aromas such as sage and camphor will connect with the 3rd chakra (manipura or nabhi). More volatile aromas such as rose will have more of a connection with 4th chakra (anahata) and secondary connections with the 5th (Vishuddha). Incense such as Basil or mint will connect with the 5th chakra. All incense will stimulate the 6th chakra (Ajna) due to their volatile nature to varying degrees based on their aroma.

Aroma and the Planets

All the planets within one’s Vedic chart are reflected within the internal world, just as they have their external counterparts. Therefore, just as colors, foods and herbs are connected with planetary energies so is incense and aroma. Aromas are excellent addition to a program for strengthening planetary energy. The following is a partial list of but should not be considered comprehensive:

Sun: Sage and Camphor.
Moon: Jasmine and Sandalwood.
Mars: Musk and Camphor.
Mercury: Sandalwood and Basil.
Jupiter: Lotus and Frankincense.
Venus: Nag Champa and Plumeria.
Saturn: Cedar and Myrrh.
Rahu: Sandalwood and Myrrh.
Ketu: Sage and Camphor.

Conclusion

It becomes quite clear that incense has a very dynamic role in yoga, meditative practice, various forms of worship, Ayurveda and Vedic Astrology. This is more of an introduction to the important role that incense plays within ones spiritual life. While it would not be correct to think that aromas can solve all the issues within one’s life themselves; they can be an important part of a comprehensive program of health and spiritual harmony.

Bio:

Yogi Baba Prem has written several books that are published in India. His lastest is Yogic Secrets of the Vedas. Additionally he has been published in several magazines. He is a recognized Acharya within the traditional systems of India. To read more on his work, visit www.vedicpath.com

On the death of Sathya Sai Baba, Hindu holy man and spiritual guide for millions for worldwide, the coverage was almost wholly negative. Little was mentioned of his philanthropic activities such as providing fresh clean drinking water for thousands of poverty stricken villages in India , nor the state of the art modern hi-tech hospitals where patients are treated for free. The latter is by nomeans an insignificant fact in a country like India where millions suffer from adequate health care. It would be a significant fact in America where millions of decent, ordinary hard working people lack any health cover and where the doctors are more interested in your wallet than your well-being. News media such as the BBC muckraked as much defamatory abuse that yellow journalism could muster in their coverage of Sathya Sai Baba’s death focusing on whether his miracles were real and resurrecting allegations of sexual misconduct which have not only failed to be proven but in fact been withdrawn in the star witness case.

Now contrast this with the death of Sister Agnes, the Albanian nun who for years paraded around the world under the regal title of Mother Teresa. Since the BBC’s Malcolm Muggeridge turned the spotlight on this Catholic nun she was held to be sacrosanct, a living embodiment of Jesus and god on earth. The very Church she is a part of has sanctified her as a saint because she could perform miracles none of which have been widely scrutinised. Perhaps there is sometruth in this. Agnes performed a major miracle by hoodwinking the world into believing that she was a simple old lady who cared for the poor.

“What if Sathya Sai Baba was white and born in Albania?”

In this way inconvenient questions were swept under her the carpet. In fact, if you will excuse the pun, she had a quite a few dirty habits in her closet. The myth of Mother Teresa was born when Malcolm Muggeridge filmed her work in the Kolkotta slums in 1969 for the BBC documentary, later made into a book, Something Beautiful for God. She has never claimed that her work is for conversion and the poor are merely tools to be used in the war to effect this aim for the Catholic Church, and eschewed altruism and humanism as dangers to be avoided.

In 1994,editor of the medical journal Lancet, Dr. Robin Fox, found that even themost basic medication and medical screening processes were missing, when theywould have helped the patients of her home. In fact the conditions were incredibly primitive when one considers the amount of money that has been lavished on the Albanian born missionary. Volunteer worker Mary Loudon accurately compared Teresa’s Home for the Dying to concentration camps like Belsen. Patients were not given pain killers, antibiotics, have enough drips, and the needles were being washed in cold water rather than being sterilised in the relatively simple process of using boiling water. Not only did Teresa receive lavish contributions, but she herself regularly checked into the most expensive hospitals in the West. This was the same hypocrite who told terminally ill patients that they should be grateful for their suffering, for it was Christ’sway of kissing them.

Even in western countries her other worldly approach with its contempt for society’s most vulnerable was in evidence. In the San Francisco branch, homeless inmates were again denied proper medication and instead offered prayer and sacrifice. TB is not uncommon in such places due to the unhygienic conditions. Mother Teresa encouraged the poor to bare their suffering as it was Christ’s way of kissing them. Her hospitals and clinics consisted of penalstyle unhygienic holding pens which made battery farming of hens look like the Ritz. Meanwhile Mother Teresa was treated in a private hospital owned by the very people whose religion she spent her entire life denigrating and setting out to annihilate using the old usual tactic of social service in order to ensnare the desperate and needy into her bony fingered vice trap. For Agnes abortion andeven contraception was a crime worse than that of poverty. For this she condemned millions into poverty as well as a lifetime of unwanted pregnancies with advice on matters which being a nun she would probably not have experience of.

Her concern for human suffering was a well known yet little publicised sham for siphoning millions into private bank accounts of the Sisters of Charity then sent to the Vatican. If she was so concerned for the poor why would this vile specimen of humanity speedily hasten to Bhopal in 1984 after the poisoning ofthousands by gas from the Union Carbide plant and encourage them to “forgive”.What about the western company which caused the poisoning? Why the silence? But then this disgusting loathsome evil putrid mass of walking flesh always did prefer the company of the rich and powerful. There seemed to be nothing in the conscience of this ugly Behemoth which would deter her from making a complete joke of her sheep like adoring millions. With the Union Carbide industrial calamity in Bhopal in1984, Mother Teresa arrived at the airport with the words of counsel “Forgive,forgive”. But what was there to forgive? And why should only the poor be askedto do this? For too long has Mother Teresa been immune from rational critique.

The Missionaries of Charity have never been accountable to anyone for the vast donations they have received. Robert Maxwell allowed Teresa to use his newspaper group to raise money. In the early 1980s, Charles Keating, a conservative and fundamentalist American Catholic, fleeced investors in this Savings and Loan scandal. In 1992 he was eventually brought to trial. Before this he has made generous donations of investors money toMother Teresa and given her the use of his private jet. For this reason the Catholic fundamentalist nun pleased with Judge Lance Ito to show clemency tothe Catholic fraudster. A reply sent by Paul Turley, Deputy District Attorneyfor Los Angeles , that she shouldinstead follow Jesus’ teachings and return the money, elicited no response formthe pompous missionary leader. The Teresa operation in Kolkotta is the remnant of what was once a vast empire of conquest and crusading, directly linked to European imperialism. In his 1995 book The Missionary Position, author Christopher Hitchens exposed the sham:

“As ever, the true address of the missionary is to the self-satisfaction of the sponsor and the donor, and not to the needs of the down trodden. Helpless infants, abandoned derelicts, lepers and the terminally ill are the raw material for demonstrations of compassion. They are in no position to complain,and their passivity and abjection is considered a sterling trait. It is time to recognize that the world’s leading exponent of this false consolation is herself a demagogue, and obscuranist and a servant of earthly powers.”

While claiming to be above politics, Mother Teresa backed the pro-Franco Catholic and fascist forces in Spain in their opposition to divorce, abortion and birth control legislation by the democratic government.

Teresa visited London in 1988. Ignoring the plight of the homeless, she had a private meeting with Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to discuss legislation to limit the availability of abortion. Mother Teresa praised Mengistu in order to allow her missionaries to work in Ethiopia. Mother Teresa visited Nicaraguato admonish the Sandanista regime. But she said nothing against Miguel Obando Bravo, the Cardinal Archbishop of Managuaas well as being official patron and confessor to the Contra rebels, who madeit deliberate policy to attack clinics, schools, and farms. Not a word against Guatamala’s regime for its paramilitary death squads and extirpation of the indigenous people, bust instead praise for how peaceful the country was. Agnes/Teresa praised Jean-Claude ‘Baby-Doc’ Duvalier as a president loved by his people.

In January 1981, Mother Teresa visited Haiti where she praised the Duvalier dictatorship for being so close and familiar with their impoverished and oppressed subjects. Teresa was awarded the national Légion d’honneur and appeared in the regime mouthpiece L’Assautwith the dictator’s wife Michèle Duvalier. It seemed nothing could sink any lower than a public figure projecting one of the worst dictatorships known to humanity than the Duvalier dynasty of Haiti . She did not even mind their useof Voudon ‘bogeymen’ to instil fear in the minds of millions of Haitians even if this did go against the Catholic Church in that country. Money of course was more holy than even a belief in Jesus, which to paraphrase Pope Leo X, has been a myth which has served the Papacy very well indeed. Yet she did go lower,laying a wreath at the shrine of communist despot Enver Hoxha of Albania , under whose rule she would not have even been allowed to pray to the god (and myth) which served her so well let alone don her dirty habit and become a swindler in ecclesiastical garb.

In 1990, Teresa was allowed to visit Tirana and place a wreath at the monument for Mother Albania and a bouquet of flowers on the grave of Enver Hoxha , Albania’s brutal communist leader who had suppressed all religion. The Mother Albania monument was a symbol of Greater Albania, encompassing not just Albania, but also Kosovo, and parts of Serbia, Montenegro ,and Greece . Indeed in Macedonia and Kosovo, Albanian secessionists brandish pictures of Mother Teresa.

Hitchens:

“The picture, and its context, announce Mother Teresa as what she is: a religious fundamentalist, a political operative, a primitive sermonizer and an accomplice of worldly secular powers. Her mission has always been of this kind. The irony isthat she has never been able to induce anybody to believe her.”

On balance then who is the saint and who is the sinner? The man who dedicated his life to helping the poor, deprived and under privileged despite lack of acknowledgement? Or the creepy and pathetic figure of one of humanity’s most successful swindlers? Criminals, cheats and scoundrels do not come as standard plastic models. They can be anyone. It is about time that Sathya Sai Baba’s charitable services to humanity were recognised just as it is up to that same media to disseminate the truth about the criminal apologist and dishonest human defence shield for the most vile figures in modern history, Mother Teresa.

What modern hospital did Teresa ever open? How many villages benefited from her efforts to give them running water? How many development projects did she inaugurate? How many free schools and universities did she start ? Why was this Mother Teresa creature so keen to point out povertyin India when her own Albanian homeland remains perhaps the poorest nation inEurope , joining other countries in the region in having people trafficking forthe sex trade as its main export commodity?

If she loved the poor so much why were they kept at bay during her regal funeral procession? If she thought poverty and misery were a gift from Christ why was she constantly jet-setting around the world, often by private aircraft, in a manner more be fitting a villain from James Bond? If her clinics were so good why was she treated in a India’s most prestigious and expensive hospitals? Did Teresa ever teach respect for all religions? Rhetorical question since she even supported the Church’s persecution of Galileo.

On the flip side how many lavish foreign trips did Sathya Sai Baba make? In fact he only ever went abroad once. Did he ever publicly defend criminals who thought themselves above the law? Did he pay homage and deliberately keep the company of fascist despots who crushed the aspirations of their own people, tortured them, incarcerated them, let them starve while they enjoyed a lifestyle that would be the envy of French aristocrats before the revolution of 1789? Did Sathya Sai Baba ever keep company of the Duvalier clan or Enver Hoxha? Did he interfere in people’spersonal lives to the extent of demanding loyalty when it flew in the race of all reason and rationality, as Teresa demanded abortion and contraception be stopped in countries where the demographic time bomb is ticking.

She even proudly announced he opposition to scientific achievements when they went against the teachings of her beloved imperialist dogmatic intolerant Church. Bycontrast Sathya Sai Baba embraced the modern world as evidenced by practical attempts to help India’s most poverty stricken villages or towns and the modern hi-tech hospital where he himself was treated. How many complaints of HIV infection,. TB and other nasty diseases came from this a forementioned medical centre? When did itever lack basic facilities? Sathya Sai Baba spoke of the truth in all religions, in contrast to the dogmatic, inflexible and intolerant message of Mother Teresa who hated the very culture and beliefs in the nation which had played host to her.

Teresa represented the hardcore fundamentalist inflexible wing of the Catholic Church, especially against any form of population control.

In 1979 Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize despite not actually earning it. On acceptance she inveighed against abortion and family planning. In an open air mass in Knock in Ireland , she again spoke on the same theme, hoping Ireland would outlaw both abortion and even contraception. This at a time when hundreds of innocent children were being raped and physically abused and mentally traumatised by priests and nuns in the powerful Catholic Church, which the Vatican took many pains to suppress.Teresa gave no thought to the demographic implications of her advice let alone recognise the sexual depravity being carried on right under her very nose by her very own Catholic Church.

When did Sathya Sai Baba ever compromise for fame and glory. By contrast this despicable women Teresa even threw her own anti-abortionism in the dustbin when it suited her, accepting friendship and honours from Indira Gandhi, even though the latter brutally enforced family planning through enforced sterilisation. When did Sathya Sai Baba ever seek such honours? Did Sathya Sai Baba demand respect of heads of state, especially those who specialised in slaughtering and massacring their own people? Did he siphon of billions which remain unaccounted for as Teresa did? Yet the media does not pick up on this, especially the media in India which suffers from a racial inferiority complex to the west.

There is no doubt that had Sathya Sai Baba been born in a western country such as Albania, been white, been part of some huge hatecore Christian missionary apparatus as the Catholic Church remains in India since the days of the marauding psychopath `Saint’ Francis Xavier,  that the Indian media would have fallen over themselves to eulogise him. It is perhaps the best sign that although India gained independence in 1947,the colour at the apex merely changed. Attitudes did not. Hence Mother Teresa,born Agnes Bojaxhiu in 1910 Skopje, was sent forth as yet another example of the unwanted garbage of Europe and a Church which constantly stood against democracy, liberalism and progress culminating in its collaboration with the Third Reich.

Teresa’s cosy friendship with Third World despots is part of a well trodden path. It is this which she should be remembered for, as well as being the angel of death to millions of poor who were incarcerated and infected within her centers of death, misnomered clinics.

Just as Dr. Joseph Mengele found human guinea pigs for his nauseating experiments among what the Nazis deemed as the sub-human strata of Europe , so Teresa too found her victims among the poor and helpless of Kolkotta to be the human mice which would propel her to fame and glory. One can only imagine inretrospect how she must have smiled sardonically as she saw her own miracle toturning so many normally rational and sensible human beings into gullible sheep.

The truth about this sinner, this blot on India’s landscape, this fake, this hypocrite, this abuser of humanity, manipulator of the poor, is long overdue. Nowhere is this more so than in India . While Sathya Sai Baba achieved his universal respect from the common man to the head of states through his own efforts despite the media blackout of his philanthropy but a full merciless attack on him from that same media wherever there was even a whiff of a scandal, again the aforementioned media which has been so keen to hide Sathya Sai Baba’s tremendous development projects and charity work helping millions built up the myth of Mother Teresa as a saintly meek woman, all the while ignoring her craving for very worldly power and celebrity status. It is about time both myths were demolished: that of Sathya Sai Baba asmerely yet another miracle working holy man, and that of Mother Teresa as the saviour of India. She was not and it is a scandal just how low people such as this Agnes cansink.

The word yoga is derived from the root yuj, which means to unite or to join together. A man who
seeks after this union is called a yogin or yogi. There are four manin division of yoga: Karma Yoga,
Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga and Raja Yoga. Panini, the grammarian, explains the meaning of yoga
as union with the Supreme. Patanjali, in his Yoga Sutra, defines yoga as ‘cessation of all changes
in consciousness.’ Yoga is the science and praxis of obtaining liberation (moksha) from the material
world. It not only points the way to release, but offers a practical means of arriving there. Yoga is a
practical path to self-realization, a means of attaining enlightenment by purifying the entire being,
so that the mind-body can experience the absolute reality underlying the illusions of everyday
life. It is one of the most famous of Hinduism’s philosophical traditions, now practiced by Hindus,
Christians, agnostics and atheists alike. Yoga has many meanings and comes in many forms. It is
also based on an underlying philosophy that is linked to other schools of Hindu thought. Vedantins
interpret Yoga as return of the individual atman to the Supreme. The Yoga with which most
Westerners are familiar is Hatha Yoga, consisting of bodily exercises. The Philosophy of Yoga
is called Raja Yoga, (the royal path), or Patanjala Yoga, referring to Patanjali, the reputed author
of the Yogasutras, the basic Yoga manual. Because of its close connection with the philosophical
system of Sankhya, it is also known as Sankhya-Yoga.

“This they consider Yoga: the steady holding of the senses.” – Katha-Upanishad

“Yoga is said to be the oneness of breath, mind, and senses, and the abandonment of all states of
existence.”
- Maitrî-Upanishad

“Yoga is known as the disconnection (viyoga) of the connection (samyoga) with suffering.” – The
Bhagavad Gita

“Yoga is ecstasy (samâdhi).” – Yoga-Bhâshya

“Yoga is said to be control.” – Brahmânda-Purâna

“Yoga is the control of the whirls of the mind.” – Yoga Sutra

Today, in the west, the yoga practices are termed as “New Age” practices by those who can’t see or
don’t want to see Yoga’s integral connection with Hinduism. New terms like “Christian Yoga” have
evolved and many percieve Yoga as just a physical exercise. Yoga, which is a Sanskrit term, refers
to the mental and physical unification i.e silencing of the mind and control of the physical body,
raising of one’s individual consciousness to unite with the supreme consciousness which is denoted

as Bhraman. Such a practice also involves questioning one’s own belief through a philosophical
enquiry objective in approach i.e Jnana Yoga. But in abrahamic religions any spirit of questioning
is suppressed and one has to blindy believe. In the past, christian missionaries like Max Mueller
propogated Aryan Invasion Theory and made assumptions solely based on christian beliefs. They
could not digest that anything as advanced as Vedas could have originated before Christianity and
hence declared Vedas to be written somewhere around 1500 B.C. But with scientific dating and
Vedic evidence, Mahabharata alone seems to have occured before 5500 B.C and the exact age of
RigVeda seems to be unknown. Later because of the objections of his contemporary scholars such
as Goldstucker, Whitney and Wilson, Max Muller relented and in his own book Physical religion
(1891, pg 91) wrote : “Whether the Vedic hymns were composed in 1000 or 1500 or 2000 or 3000
BC, no power on earth will ever determine”. Therefore, the terms like Christian Yoga are nothing
but mere oxymorons.

In India, yoga practices have been greatly promoted by Yoga gurus like Baba Ramdev. A common
misconception of the people is that Yoga gurus or bhramins should not take part in politics. On the
contrary, Bhramins in vedic India were known as the protectors of the society whose role was to
maintain dharma or righteousness, educate the people on science and spirituality, do Vedic research
and practice medicine (ayurveda) etc. Teaching the society about righteousness, duty and ethics
etc ( or dharma ) itself relates to societal adminstration. The famous bhramins like Chanakya and
Donacharya also involved in politics. A person who follows the path of knowledge i.e Jnana Yoga,
for the benefit of the society, may also disseminate knowledge which is only natural. Thus, when
people state that Baba Ramdev should be only concentrating on Yoga only and not politics, they
are ignorant that Yoga calls for balance in nature and society at large. Singing the divine song,
i.e Bhagvad-Geet (or Gita), Krishna teaches Arjun about the Karma Yoga (Chapter 3), Jnana
Yoga (Chapter 4), Abhyasa Yoga (Chapter 6) etc to know one’s duties and maintain dharma in the
society.

“Living souls are prisoners
of the joys and woes of existence
to liberate them from nature’s magic
the knowledge of the brahman is necessary.
It is hard to acquire, this knowledge,
but it is the only boat,
to carry one over the river of Samsara
A thousand are the paths that lead there,
Yet it is one, in truth,
knowledge, the supreme refuge!

- Yoga Upanishad

References :

http://www.hinduwisdom.info/Yoga_and_Hindu_Philosophy.htm

Max Muller, Physical Religion 1891, Pg 91 : http://www.scribd.com/doc/31564521/Physical-
religion-Max-Muller

http://www.stephen-knapp.com/death_of_the_aryan_invasion_theory.htm

http://www.portraitofindia.com/mbdating1.htm

He is never born, and he never dies. He is in Eternity: he is for evermore. Never-born and eternal, beyond times gone or to come, he does not die when the body dies…
When one sees this Eternity in things that pass away and Infinity in the finite things, then one has pure knowledge.
(Bhagavad Gita 2:20, 18:20)
 
It is on this sacred premise that Hinduism builds its conception of reality wherein the boundless chain of life there exists neither birth nor death, only endless cycles of transmutation and regeneration, culminating in the evolution of consciousness and dynamic unfolding of the Divine Intelligence in man. With a mind that thus peered eternity, the ancient Hindus, it is said, had inexorably unlocked such secrets and mysteries of existence pertaining to creation, manifestation, the universal order and human evolution, converging in the supramental vision of Sanatan Dharma- the Eternal Truth and Divine Process that has over many cycles of time revealed itself to us through the mystical life and evolutionary work of many ascended gurus, rishis, yogis, seers and avatars, all of whom have ushered in a higher world-order of love, peace, righteousness and truth, sowing within us the seeds for a greater life and a unified existence.

The intervention of these world teachers and avatars has always appeared during a planetary crisis for the restoration of Dharma, which is an ascension and expansion of all human consciousness as much as it is the external obliteration of social evil and unrighteousness, thus effecting a profound change in the material and spiritual world. Mystic-Sage Sri Aurobindo had once said that “The Divine is not only Transcendent but also Cosmic and finally Individual. Its power and force must be brought down into the world in order to effect any real transformation in the earth-consciousness.” And so it has been with the descent and manifestation of the sacred lineage and unbroken chain of the Divine Sai Consciousness that has unfolded at the outset in the physicality of Shirdi Sai Baba whose influence has initially been known to pervade all of India, successively extending itself in the form of Sathya Sai Baba whose presence has wielded a wider global influence, reaching out to and transforming millions of lives in the world and which will now continue in the extended physical form and presence of the future Prema Sai. 

This far-reaching magical web of the Sai Consciousness has indeed powerfully transmuted and effectively empowered individual souls as well as the world-soul in the last few hundred years. As incarnations of the Shiva and Shakti principles, the Sai Avatars have been dynamically and unfailingly productive and acutely conscious of their grand purpose and mission on the planet. “I have a Task,” as Sathya Sai Baba wrote in 1947, “to foster all mankind and ensure for all of them lives full of bliss (ananda). I have a Vow: to lead all who stray away from the straight path again into goodness and save them. To remove the sufferings of the poor and grant them what they lack… I will not give up my mission, nor my determination. I know I will carry them out. I treat the honor and dishonor, the fame and blame that may be the consequence, with equal equanimity. Internally, I am unconcerned. I act but in the outer world; I talk and move about for the sake of the outer world… else I have no concern even with these…I do not belong to any place; I am not attached to any name. I answer whatever the name you use. I go wherever I am taken. I act and move only for the sake of Mankind”.
True to his word and vision, and carrying forward the work of his avataric predecessor Shirdi Sai, Sathya Sai Baba has progressively uplifted millions of poor, inspired humanity and brought back into our lives the beneficence, power and truth of Sanatan Dharma. With relentless determination, unconditional love and powerful resolve Baba has continued to uphold his mission and his message even after the passing of his body, as millions around the world still continue to experience his miracles. 
 
This superhuman power of the avatarhood, according to the Hindu conception, is not a dividing element or a sign of man’s difference or separation from them but is instead a tangible precursor of the enfolded godhead inherent in every individual and a concrete expression of that same godhead awakening in the field of human consciousness. The divine manifestation of a Ram, a Krishna or a Buddha (or myriad other avatars of Vishnu, Shiva and Shakti) in external humanity is indeed a reflection of the underlying unity between the individual soul and the Supreme Soul. It is a cosmic marker of the immanent avataric power that pulses within the heart and soul of every man. “Come back into My Consciousness, which is your own true Consciousness,” as Sathya Sai Baba says, “Let your petty human self fade away as you come to Me, who am your Inner Self. You are My radiant glorious Self… not separate from Me… Merge with Me, Become Me”.
 
Prema Sai, the third in the line of this divine Sai lineage has been prophesized to incarnate somewhere in South India in the coming years. His birth and his life it is said, will complete the circle of cosmic manifestation and descent that generates a quantum leap beyond the present limitations of this Kali Yuga, ushering in a new world order that accelerates the long overdue restoration of Sanatan Dharma, the Eternal Truth of life.
However, when and how the Divine Beings and Divine Events unfold within the matrix of space and the mysterious movements of time, manifesting within creation, is considered one of the biggest puzzles and enigmas of the universe, for the Supreme Reality it is said functions with an intelligence and cosmic order of its own (unfathomable by the human mind) that shapes and organizes the universe and all its events and processes in ways that reveals itself to us only at the ‘right time’, which is in fact considered the ‘divine timing’ and grand synchronistic scheming of all the Shakti-laden forces and rhythmic currents of Nature.
 
Yet, regardless of prophesies, timelines, events, dates or their physical form, the truth, supreme secrets and mysteries of the Avatars are absorbed more through their continually unfolding work and through their message which expresses itself in their lives and in the personal realization and direct experiences of those who connect with them and their mission on a deeper level.

For of what use is it to passively admire and honour these Divine Beings if we cannot actively work towards and serve the mission for which they have come into this world? The grand mission and collective undertaking which indeed links man’s higher life-purpose to that of the Avatars themselves. Hence to rise above our ego-bound needs and petty concerns, to cognize our greater destiny in this universe, to widen our vision and embrace all of existence so that we may become the blazing sparks of that one Supreme fire, the illuminating emblems of that one Absolute reality and dynamic instruments of that one Divine Will is indeed the true fulfilment and realization of Dharma on earth.
As Sathya Sai Baba says in his own words, “I have come to give you the key of the treasure of ananda (immortal bliss), to teach you how to tap that spring, for you have forgotten the way to blessedness…You have come to get from me tinsel and trash, the petty little cures and promotions, worldly joys and comforts. Very few of you desire to get from me the thing that I have come to give you: namely, liberation itself”.
 
Considering the grand purpose for which the Sai Avatars have been appearing and the dharmic mission towards which they have been uncompromisingly dedicated, every Sai devotee bears a greater responsibility now in joining forces for upholding and carrying forward this majestic vision and world-transforming mission. “I want you in this world. I want beacons of light in the world,” said Sathya Sai Baba once to Isaac Tigrett, “the world must be purified in this age… this wonderful age that we are blessed to have been born into”.
 
Just as Ayodhya once waited eagerly for the return of its dharmic hero Lord Ram, the Sai devotees wait patiently, and through continuing dedicated work prepare the stage for the arrival of Prema Sai whose extended mission and dharmic journey will now continue in the years to come to uplift mankind in the dawning of the new golden age.
 
Though I am unborn, though I am imperishable in my self-existence, though I am the Lord of all existences, yet I stand upon my own Nature and I come into birth by my internal potency. Whenever and wherever there is a decline of righteousness and the uprising of unrighteousness, at that time I manifest personally. For the deliverance of the good and the annihilation of evil and to fully establish Dharma, I appear millennium after millennium.

(Bhagavad Gita 4.6-8)

Spiritual Enlightenment

By Gia Kerensky

The popular ‘New Age’ movement of this era is a vast network of individuals, groups, organizations, cults, foundations, etc. who expound and preach a watered-down patchwork of borrowed spiritual beliefs and rituals which present a dazzling array of luring theories and practices, yet somehow fail to capture the depth and intended essence of the esoteric truths that were originally laid down by the ancient civilizations and wisdom traditions of antiquity.

Subsequently today’s new age culture seems to be a superficial masquerade of an erratic blend of these hybrid philosophies, disinformation campaigns, pop rituals and pseudo spiritualists that have stormed the world as the new and extremely successful business ventures of the millennium. Moreover much of the Aquarian beliefs, practices and religions parading the commercial field today can be said to be an ostentatious repackaging if not a distorted rip off and blatant plagiarism of Hinduism’s ancient philosophies. From the concept of oneness to mind-body-spirit unity to Gaia (mother earth) philosophy to integral yoga and meditation to holistic health and spiritual healing to the concept of eternal reality, Karma, Nirvana and self-actualization to practices of spiritual ascension and chakra (energy centre) opening, to the much advanced science of Consciousness, all can be traced back to the early Vedic and post Vedantic literature which forms the foundation of Hinduism’s culture and worldviews.

Modern Transpersonal Psychology, Consciousness Studies, the occult religion of Theosophy, Landmark Education’s The Forum and ‘est’ seminars with more than 700,000 graduates, Filmore’s Unity School of Christianity, occult religion of Eckankar, Scientology and many thousands of new-age schools and philosophies are in fact all crude derivatives and adulterated spin-offs of a mix of ancient Hindu concepts.

More importantly, Madame Helena Blavatsky (founder of Theosophical Society) who has been considered one of the biggest pioneers and the ‘mother’ of new-age thinking has wielded a far reaching influence on occult thinkers and on Western mysticism as a whole. What is not commonly known however is that her magnum opus (book) ‘The Secret Doctrine’ that set the pulse for most of the new-age thinking was in fact inspired by Hindu theories on cosmic evolution and manifestation. She often quotes the Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita and Puranas in her works and is even said to have travelled in India and studied under Brahmin teachers. “The tree of Life and Being”, she says for instance in her book “… is said in the Bhagavad Gita to grow with its roots above and its branches below. The roots represent the Supreme Being… but one has to go beyond those roots to unite oneself with Krishna… its boughs are Hiranyagarbha (Brahma or Brahman in his highest manifestation), the highest Dhyani-Chohans or Devas. The Vedas are its leaves”.

The primary goal of this ever-growing new-age movement today, it is said, is to bring peace to the world and unite humanity under the banner of the ‘newly’ discovered one-world global consciousness or ‘oneness’ of everyone. Hinduism, which is in fact the source of all such concepts on unity and universalism has been on the contrary often isolated and portrayed as an ethnocentric religion with sectarian views that does not apply universally and thus upholding or expounding Hinduism has been considered by many so-called secular contemporaries to be a fundamentalist way of creating boundaries and limitations, which would supposedly lead to intolerance of other religions and worldviews. Many scholars who are in the lucrative business of selling the new-age beliefs have thus gone to the far extent of not only keeping the word Hindu out of their mainstream preaching and practices but completely divorcing Hinduism from its own philosophical progenies and practices such as yoga.

The popular Deepak Chopra (mind-body medicine proponent/author) Eckhart Tolle (spiritual teacher/writer) and small-time Julian Walker (LA based yoga teacher) are classic examples of some of the contemporary new-age power brokers who are living off the Hindu culture, plagiarizing Hinduism, yet failing to give credit where it is due. Julian Walker for instance employs embellished Hindu concepts in his practice, even uses Sanskrit words such as chakra and kundalini but refrains from mentioning the term Hindu. He even goes to the infantile extent of abusing and demeaning India’s most revered Hindu guru Sri Sathya Sai Baba (on his facebook status) with slanderous, malicious and unfounded remarks, while at the same time preaching transformational yoga and writing articles on “mirrors of ‘compassion’”. Eckhart Tolle on the other hand, “is quite liberal in his references to Buddhism, and throughout his book [The New Earth] reinterprets select quotations from the Bible using Advaita logic. But the word Hinduism is cited only a few times” says lawyer for Hindu American Foundation, Suhag Shukla.

In promising magical solutions to the problems of life and mind-altering nirvana, most of these individual teachers and groups today set up fancy workshops and programmes which camouflages and even distorts the ancient Hindu teachings (in the name of secularism) by jazzing it up with fancy names, flashy terminologies and charming rhetoric (an age-old business strategy of clever marketing), paving the royal road to enlightenment as they say, which really is the royal road to exploitation, capitalizing on the spiritual needs of the undiscerning masses and deceiving the less informed people into believing that they have discovered something new, the holy grail if you may, that would heal their soul, providing radical transformation and spiritual expansion, however at exorbitant rates and available exclusively through them.

Apart from yoga, they also hijack and sensationalize Hinduism’s sublime teachings of Tantra, the Science of Chakras (energy centers), Kundalini Ascension, etc. by taking it out of the context of its depth philosophy and portraying it in commercially exaggerated forms and cheap, animated ways, which renders the sellers materially successful yet spiritually and morally bankrupt. Moreover most of these new-age teachers today consider themselves as certified experts solely based on equally beguiling qualifications and diplomas such as those in crystal healing, energy cleansing, colour therapy, integral mind-body transformation or other instant enlightenment rendering sessions.

In emphasizing the importance of first being grounded in holistic Hindu philosophy in order to teach or sell Hindu concepts and practices, David Frawley, one of the very rare and authentic scholars on Vedic and Vedantic literature today, says that “some Westerners may want to create their own Yoga paths, mix Yoga with other teachings that may not be in harmony with it, or proclaim themselves as gurus without any traditional sanction. Others may want to physicalize or commercialize Yoga in order to make it more popular or profitable. A more traditional view of Yoga, and one that brings out its living religious basis, brings these efforts into question.”

India has now however rightfully made a move to patent Yoga asanas and will probably patent more of the indigenous Hindu practices in the years to come. Madan Jaira reports through the Hindustan Times that “The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has prepared patent formats of nearly 900 yoga asanas (postures), to prevent European and American companies involved in fitness-related activities from claiming them as their own”.

Using Hinduism’s concepts and practices for personal gain without using the word Hindu forms a wide-spread class of spiritual businessmen. On the other end of the spectrum however, there are so-called experts like Wendy Doniger for instance, who acknowledges Hinduism but uses Judeo-Christian frames of reference and Freudian Psychoanalysis to interpret and denigrate Hinduism thus reducing Eastern Spirituality to Western Materialism, presenting a pornographic and intensely vulgarized perception of Hinduism that is further distorted by her religious conditioning, cultural bias and narrow modes of information processing, an attitude she displays in her own words when she says “the Bhagavad Gita is a dishonest book”. A third category of offenders includes Indian scholars such as Devdutt Pattanaik who support distortionists like Wendy Doniger and dignify her prejudices and overt abuse of Hinduism and its sacred scriptures, further reinforcing the reprehensible thoughts and acts of such miscreants.

Apart from a few genuine and honest teachers who study in-depth and align their practices and teachings with the authentic source that is Hinduism, most use (misuse) it for personal gain and fame. There is nothing really ‘new’ then about the new age culture other than its plastic shamans, narcissistic, pseudo-spiritual leaders and corporate sponsors with their shallow, celebrity mystique and shrewd yet denigrated ways of deception. A large part of the new age movement is in fact more of an unrefined, consumer-driven scam, a money-making market of quackery and an entertainment industry of philosophical/spiritual misguiding.

Dr Aseem Shukla of Hindu American Foundation (HAF) throwing light on Deepak Chopra’s famed yet borrowed spirituality says “Chopra is perhaps the most prominent exponent of the art of “How to Deconstruct, Repackage and Sell Hindu Philosophy Without Calling it Hindu!” To Larry King, he has described himself as an “Advaita Vedantin”–one of the major philosophical schools of Hinduism. Yet none of the plethora of his book titles, that include several devoted to Jesus and one entire book devoted to the Buddha, even skirt the word “Hindu.” His website is devoted to selling products and literature related to yoga, meditation and ayurveda, but Hinduism, of course, bears no mention.”

Also emphasizing on the selective bias of common secular agendas Ranbir Singh of Hindu Human Rights (HHR) UK asserts that “The new age movement appears to give an eclectic mix of anti-Hindu tastes. When it comes to yoga, meditation, vegetarianism, ecological awareness, religious tolerance and even the invention of decimal numbers then it’s not Hindu. But mention sati, dowry abuse, poverty, human trafficking, communal riots and corruption in India then Hinduism suddenly becomes the lowest common denominator of blame”.

Today’s multi-million selling book and DVD  ‘The Secret’ by Rhonda Byrne is based on the concept of the ‘Law of Attraction’- that you can attract whatever you like into your life. The origin of this popular concept traces its roots back to the book “Science of Getting Rich” by Wallace Wattles who says in the preface of his book that “The monistic theory of the universe… the theory that ‘One is All, and that All is One and that one Substance manifests itself as the seeming many elements of the material world’ is of Hindu origin, and has been gradually winning its way into the thought of the western world for two hundred years. It is the foundation of all the Oriental philosophies, and of those of Descartes, Spinoza, Leibnitz, Schopenhauer, Hegel, and Emerson”.

What Wattles was essentially referring to was the fundamental Hindu concept of the ‘one indivisible supreme reality’ that organizes the universe and all its processes and manifestations in ways that are conducive to the ‘whole’. However this concept has now been filtered down to imply that since everything is connected, just by consistently desiring and positively thinking about acquiring 25 Ferraris for instance or pot loads of money will somehow make it manifest in our lives, regardless of whether it serves or acts against the balance of the whole. It also implies that if you have cancer then you “thought” it into existence and if you are a billionaire you manifested that reality with your thought power. Thus it further follows that all people who are raped or victims of terrorist attacks or natural calamities have brought it upon themselves. This is the typical case of cherry picking where Google-search yogis take a concept out of its holistic context and neatly twist it in pretty yet misleading ways that attract many consumers with unfulfilled needs.

Moreover the book and DVD ‘the secret’ uses a spiritual camouflage to encourage self-indulgence and self-centeredness which actually goes against and contradicts the original Hindu concept of the undivided reality and Hinduism’s emphasis on detachment from and transcendence of the mind and its wavering thought-currents.

In the final analysis, it has been known that for over two hundred years India’s material wealth and resources were plundered and drained during the colonial British rule where the East India Company exploited and weakened India’s indigenous industries by buying her raw materials at cheap rates and selling her the manufactured end-products at inflated prices. What is not so obvious is that this trend of well-disguised fraudulency still continues even to this day as the modern-day Robert Clives have found their way back in the guise of self-appointed yogis and scholars who now exploit India’s spiritual wealth, only to dissect it, distort it, recycle/repackage it and sell it back to her people as well as the rest of the world for their self-serving gains, without ever acknowledging the real source.

It has been said that at every turning point and every great epoch of the earth’s existence there has often been one extraordinary being standing at the leading edge of light, unravelling the consciousness in which the transcendent descends into the physical, in which the cosmic pulse of the universe converges to a point, to a singularity that is at once human with its manifested boundaries, as well as suprahuman, displaying its infinite capabilities. Both heaven and earth have collaborated in the sacred alchemy of such a creation and in the divine birth of such an extraordinary being. In the language of the Hindus, such a sacred being is referred to as the Avatar. He is the direct, super-conscious descendent of the same force that shapes the universe and renders it its harmonies and balance.  He symbolizes the unity of all existence and the pinnacle of the divine intelligence that is diffused in all things.
 
To many around the world who have experienced him, Sri Sathya Sai Baba, is the living embodiment of such a force and spiritual descent, that unifies all the planes of existence, from the cosmic to the planetary and finally to the individual, guiding humankind to the next stage of evolution, signifying the ultimate transformation and alchemy of Spirit and opening us to the possibilities of a higher dynamism, a higher principle by which we may actualize our own greatest potentials. He therein points us to our own hidden depths for the divinity of which he is an extension is immanent in every one of us. As he says himself that we all are integral parts of the same omnipresent reality in which we are all inseparably connected, from which we all emanate and to which we all return. To recognize that we are vibrations of the same sacred essence however demands a sense of freedom of perception that uplifts us from the narrow precepts of our own mind.
 
The work of Sathya Sai Baba on this planet aims at sustaining harmony and balance that transforms the earth-consciousness in more life-affirming ways. He has declared that he is here to restore India to her former spiritual glory and to spread the message and light of spirituality to the whole world. His work spans both the spiritual and physical realms providing the vehicle and the means by which satya (the truth of being) and dharma (the universal balance and cosmic order) are re-established. The evolutionary task that Sai Baba faces therein plummets his active energies right into the global eye of the storm, into the universal nexus that perpetually grinds the forces of light against the forces of darkness. Howard Murphet, an author who had deeply studied and personally witnessed the spiritual phenomenon that is Sai Baba had said in his book ‘Walking the path with Sai Baba that “there is no doubt, of course, that Sathya Sai Baba is very active and extremely dynamic in the world of men. He is not the withdrawn yogi, spending his time in meditation. He is essentially the doer, the one who joins battle with the dark forces that rise sharply against the power of light he brings”.  
 
Sathya Sai Baba’s illuminating light and selfless service has indeed reached out to and uplifted millions of people in the world. His devotees all around the world, in turn have been zealously dedicated to voluntary service towards uplifting humanity. His charitable organizations and networks have established super-speciality hospitals with state-of-the-art technology that provide all services, including open-heart surgeries for free. These hospitals have been a boon and refuge to lakhs of people from over 500 villages and poverty stricken areas in India. Baba’s social welfare programmes have constantly worked at providing free quality medical care to all. He has also established schools providing comprehensive education from kindergarten to post-graduate level, with all tuition made available for free. Every year these schools yield the finest graduates of India who excel not only in superior academic intelligence but are grounded in strong values of self-discipline, integrity and spiritual wisdom. There are also many Sathya Sai Baba schools operating in other countries and over five hundred schools in the world utilizing Baba’s ‘Education in Human Values’ curriculum.  In addition to this Sathya Sai Baba has created vast water supply systems and canals for draught-stricken areas in South India that now provides water to millions of people. These are all standing testimonies to the power of Sathya Sai Baba’s love, reinforcing his benevolent vision of making healthcare, education and water available for free to all.
 
Moreover, Baba has also brought back the ancient and illuminating wisdom of the Vedic era back into our lives as he reminds us in his own words “My love towards the Veda is equalled only by my love towards Humanity… Every human being must revere the Vedas. It is the very foundation of life. The welfare of the nation and the prosperity of the world are dependent on the Vedas… The Vedas are a means of establishing a link with the Divine”.
Sai Baba has essentially been a constant source of love, wisdom and inspiration to millions of people in the world, guiding them consciously as well as subconsciously through troubled times. Yet these are only some of the visible and tangible aspects of his selfless work, while the vaster range of his divine activities operate in transmuting the deeper regions of the world-soul.
 
Nonetheless, despite his far reaching positive influences, Sathya Sai Baba has often been criticized by rationalist organizations, cynics and others as a spurious and bogus miracle worker who capitalizes on the superstitions and blind ignorance of the masses. The blind masses that absurdly range from the common man to world famous cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar, to eminent award winning doctors like Devi Prasad Shetty and Dr. N. Rangabashyam to superlative business entrepreneurs like Noah Samara (CEO Worldspace) and Sunil Bharti Mittal (Chairman and Managing Director of Bharti Telecom) to former presidents like Francisco Flores (of El Salvadore) and A.P.J Abdul Kalam (of India) to top echelons from the world of finance like Duvvuri Subbarao (RBI Governor) and K.R. Ramamoorthy (ING VYSYA Bank Chairman) to Royal Families like that of the King and Queen of Nepal, Princess Astrid of Belgium and Raja of Venkatagiri to Former Chief Justice of India- Justice Ranganath Mishra to Civil Aviation Minister- Praful Patel to Hard Rock Cafe founder- Isaac Tigrett and many more, to name only a few, who have all (for over sixty years) been drawn from various parts of the world and from diverse backgrounds to this controversial so-called magician.
Travelling across the continents and the vast stretches of space, simply to witness a man perform magic tricks would seem rather irrational and impractical an act to expect of such eminent personalities. Moreover, most of the people who are now Baba’s devotees experienced his miracles and transformative blessings long before they even heard his name.
 
Sathya Sai Baba’s power is indeed the power of divinity and his magic is in simple words the magic of love that binds and unifies. However, the alchemical processes that Baba engages in, be it spellbinding magic, powers of materialization, unconditional love or selfless service can only be fathomed by a mind that has raised itself high enough to apprehend the mysterious workings of the Cosmic Mind. Mystic-sage Sri Aurobindo, in his understanding of the operations of a higher supreme reality affirms that “what is magic to our finite reason is the logic of the Infinite. It is a greater reason, a greater logic because it is more vast, subtle, complex in its operations: it comprehends all the data which our observation fails to seize, it deduces from them results which neither our deduction nor induction can anticipate because our conclusions and inferences have a meagre foundation… If we observe a happening, we judge and explain it from the result and from a glimpse of its most external constituents, circumstances or causes; but each happening is the outcome of a complex nexus of forces which we do not and cannot observe, because all forces are to us invisible, — but they are not invisible to spiritual vision of the Infinite”.
 
The divided mind that subsequently divides life and the world into natural and supernatural, into reason and faith, into god and creation, or spiritual and material therein takes the limits of its perception and dichotomies of its thought for the limits of life. The sharp opposition made by rationality and reason against that which it cannot accommodate into its finite vision it dismisses as the delusions of another’s mind. However, “the most glaring shortcoming of rationalists,” says author Bill Aitken, “is their habit of leaving love out of the equation. Their approach is cerebral and misses out on ordinary human emotions. The rationalists use Sai Baba to attack what is in fact their main enemy – the freedom to cherish the world of Spirit”.
 
This universe of space, time, galaxies, stars, life, mind, material objects and myriad beings can indeed be conceived of as a well contrived mathematical formula, a mechanical operation of mere physical forces and equations that can be rationally defined. But it can equally be conceived of as a divine symphony, a single magnanimous living entity, a magical phenomenon and synergy of cosmic proportions that can only be known as intimately and as inexplicably as a lover knows the rapture of love, a dancer knows the ecstasy of dance, a musician knows the power of universal harmonies or a mother knows the joy of creation, for such is the mystical nature of the power and love of Sathya Sai Baba, in the grasp of which we are indelibly and forever transformed.
 
 
“I have come to reconstruct the ancient highway to God; to instruct all in the essence of Vedas, to shower on all this precious gift; to protect Sanathana Dharma, the Ancient Wisdom and to preserve it. My Mission is to serve happiness and so I am always happy to come among you, not once but twice, thrice as often as you want me. To set right those who have taken to the wrong path and to protect the good, I will be born again and again. I have come to light the lamp of Love in your hearts, to see that it shines day by day with added lustre.” ~Sathya Sai Baba

It is an intuition ingrained in the Hindu psyche to inhabit our entire environment – celestial, physical, vegetable, animal, and human – with innumerable Gods and Goddesses. Some of these divinities are installed in temples as icons, and worshipped with well-defined rituals. Some others are worshipped as and where they are invoked. Hindu shastras, saints and sages have paid homage to many Gods and Goddesses in many sublime hymns.

The Sky which forms the firmament, and permeates the whole universe as space including the interstices in human and animal and vegetable anatomies, is a great God. It is the abode of all sounds. And it harbours in its vastnesses many other Gods such as the Sun and the Moon and the Stars, and Goddesses such as the Dawn and the Dusk. These celestial Gods and Goddesses are worshipped in their own right, particularly the Sun and the Moon and the Dawn.

The Air which fills the hollow between the sky and the earth, which rages as storm and blows as breeze, and which sustains the respiratory system in all that is alive, is also a great God. It is not visible to the eye but it manifests itself by its power to touch and turn.

The Earth which bears all burdens, which bestows boundless bounties from beneath and above its surface, and which is the symbol of forgiveness and forbearance, is also a great Goddess. The mountains which soar up till they become snow-capped are the abodes of Gods and Goddesses. So are the forests which are full of flowers and fruits and varied wealth. Some creepers and plants and trees are veritable Gods and Goddesses, harkening us to pay our homage to them.

The Water which is clustered in the clouds, which pours down as rain, which flows in rivers and springs, which gets stored up in tanks and lakes and seas and oceans, which showers itself as snow and gets settled as ice on mountain tops, is also a great God. It washes all dirt and slakes all thirst. It nourishes our field crops and our forests. It becomes the sap in all vegetables and fruits, and circulates as blood in all animals and humans. Lakes like the Mãnasarovara are specially sacred because Gods and Goddesses play their games in and around them. Rivers like the Ganga and the Godavari are themselves Goddesses.

The Fire which blazes in the sun, which heats up every hearth, and which is stored as energy in all fuels, is also a great God. It manifests itself not only as heat but also as light which shines in the stars, which reveals itself in a riot of colours, which endows everything with form, and which lends vision to every eye. It maintains every metabolism as vital heat without which nothing can remain alive. The Fire God is worshipped daily in the family hearth, is regarded as the ambassador of Gods in every sacrifice, and is a witness to the sanctity of all sacraments.
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The birds, the fishes, and the animals are the venerable vehicles of Gods and Goddesses, and are revered as much as their riders. The GaruDa is the vehicle of VishNu, the bull that of Šiva, the lion that of Durgã, the mouse that of GaNapati, the swan that of Sarasvatî, and the owl that of Lakshmî. The horse is yoked in the chariot of Indra as well as that of the Sun. The snake is nãga-devatã. And the cow is sacred above all, a Goddess par excellence.

Nearer home, the mother is a Goddess and the father a God, to be obeyed while they are in their prime and served when they grow old. They are to be remembered with reverence, and their protection is to be sought after they pass away and become pitris. The wife who looks after the family welfare, who brings up the children, and who participates in all sacraments, is a Goddess. The Guru who is the repository of wisdom and learning, is also a God to be propitiated with gifts as profuse as one can afford. The Guest who comes to our home by chance is a God deserving of our warmest hospitality. The King who protects us from evildoers and presides over the welfare of his prajã is also a God.

And so on, the roster is endless. Every family has a kula-devatã, every community a jãti-devatã, every village a grãma-devatã, every city a nagara-devatã, and every region a janapada-devatã. The Bhãratamãtã who came to be worshipped as rãshtra-devatã in more recent times, and who inspired the national song, Vande Mataram, is a projection of the same Hindu psyche which sees a God or a Goddess in everything, everywhere. It is a belief common among Hindus that the Gods and Goddesses worshipped by them add up to thirty-three crores.

The Hindu psyche has always harboured a deep sense of sanctity towards all elements and forces of Mother Nature, in all their forms and transforms. It worships these elements and forces not only outside the human body but also within it. In fact, it sees the human body as a magnificent mansion in building which all these elements and forces of Mother Nature have participated, and feels grateful towards what it greets as great Gods and Goddesses.

What is more significant, this Hindu psyche intimates that as all that is without is also within, all that is within must also be without (yathã piNDe tathã brahmãNDe). It, therefore, invests everything outside with life, with consciousness, with thought and feeling, and also with will. The inanimate thus becomes animate, the unconscious becomes conscious, the thoughtless becomes thoughtful, the insensitive becomes sensitive, and the inert becomes active.

This power of the Hindu psyche persists till long after a Hindu gets converted to Christianity or Islam, and invites frowns and fierce lectures from the missionary and the mullah. This power of the Hindu psyche is illustrated by the story of a Hindu lady in Kerala who got converted to Christianity for some reason. The missionary who had presided over the conversion paid a visit to her home one day, and found her worshipping the old Hindu Gods and Goddesses of the family. The missionary was red in the face and rebuked her in the name of the only True God. The lady smiled and said, “So what? My becoming a Christian does not mean that I have renounced my Dharma!”

It would not do for Hindu society to fight shy of this pervasive Hindu psyche which is as old as the oldest Hindu shastras, the Vedas, and perhaps much older. It would not do for Hindu society to disown this deep-seated Hindu psyche which sustains practically the whole of Hindu religion and culture. In fact, Hindu society has to go back to the source of this psyche, reawaken to the spiritual centre which gave birth to this psyche, and reaffirm an abiding faith in its reaches and ramifications.

HOSTILITY TO HINDU PSYCHE

Western sociology is trying to explain this psyche as a hangover from a primitive past when human reason was not so developed and could not discriminate between fact and fancy, or, worse still, when a “puerile priestcraft” succeeded in deceiving people for its own private profit. The Western “Science” of Comparative Religion, which is only another name for Christian theology, is trying to pooh-pooh this psyche as a vestige of primitive animism which was at best only a crude form of religious awakening.

A more serious attack on this Hindu psyche is mounted by the Christian missionary. He pronounces that Hindu psyche has been heavily “polluted” by pantheism which sees a God or Goddess “in every bug that bites, and every cockroach that crawls”. He believes that Hindus can be “cured” of this “perverse” psyche only by being baptised in the Christian Church, and by accepting Jesus Christ as the one and only saviour.

Similarly, the Muslim mullah frowns on this Hindu psyche as shirk, that is, a mixing up of the divine with the mundane. He sees no future for Hindus, either here or hereafter, unless they accept Allah as the only true god, and Muhammad as the last prophet of Allah.

And the missionary and the mullah are not mere preachers of some distinct doctrines. They are also crusaders and mujãhids who believe that Hindus should either be converted to the “true faith”, or killed and consigned to eternal hell-fire. Destruction and defilement of the images of Hindu Gods and Goddesses, demolition of Hindu temples and monasteries, desecration of Hindu places of pilgrimage, and burning of Hindu shastras are the fundamental tenets of their faiths.

What is this other psyche which is suffused with such smug self-righteousness, and which finds such satanic satisfaction in hurting the deepest sentiments of people belonging to another faith? Hindu society will have to understand this other psyche if it wants to save itself from the inroads of Christianity and Islam, both of which are eating into its vitals with the aid of international allies and resources.

THEOLOGY OF MONOTHEISM

Let us for the time being forget the Freudian analysis of Christianity and Islam, though that analysis provides an intimate peep into the psyche of these primitive creeds. Let us have a look at the philosophy underlying their doctrines, and find out if they have any share in the spiritual seeking which is intrinsic to human beings and which stands systematized in Sanãtana Dharma.

Christianity and Islam differ on many points of detail. But they share a common view of what they invoke as the creator and controller of the cosmos, as well as of the cosmic process. In the language of theology, they describe their basic dogma as Monotheism as opposed to what they denounce as Polytheism and Pantheism. It is this basic dogma which needs a philosophical probe deeper than that to which it has been subjected so far.

The term Monotheism casts such a magic spell on certain minds that they stop at its literal meaning – the concept of one God as opposed to many gods. But the literal meaning tells us little, almost nothing, about its theological inspiration or its practical implications.

In the theology of Monotheism, God is extra-cosmic. He created the cosmos out of Nothing in order to demonstrate his almightiness and, consequently, kept himself outside and above the Cosmos. There is nothing in God’s creation which can partake of God’s divinity. The elements and forces of Nature are devoid of any divinity whatsoever. The sky is empty space, and the Sun and the Moon and the Stars are only bright spots in that sky. Matter is absolutely material, and animals and birds are mere brutes unless they are domesticated when they show some improvement. Trees are timber, and the flowers embody no more than colour and fragrance. Air and water and fire and earth are what they are, and point to nothing beyond.

It is only man who is placed on a higher pedestal because the Almighty God blew His own breath into the handful of dust which He used in order to manufacture Adam, the male ancestor of the human race. Woman cannot share man’s status because Eve, the female ancestor of the human race, was carved out of Adam’s rib without the benefit of God’s breath being blown into it. Man is thus the best of God’s creation, the ashraf-ul-makhlûqãt.

But it is an unpardonable folly and a cardinal sin for man to fancy that he shares even an iota of God’s divinity. The only privilege which man enjoys as God’s best creation is to lord it over the lower creation which God has made for man’s use and benefit. Man can exploit the material resources of the earth in whatever way he pleases. Man can eat every bird and fish and animal for God has created them specifically for man’s consumption. And man can marry and divorce and keep as his concubines any number of women, at any stage of his three score and ten years. (The monogamy we find in Christianity is not prescribed by the Christian scripture. It was an institution which it borrowed from the pagan Romans.)

As man is likely to be carried away by the freedom of will which has been bestowed on him, and forget his creator, God has been sending prophets from time to time to restrain him from worship of false gods and philosophical speculation, and to turn his thoughts towards a higher purpose – obedience to God’s will as revealed through the prophets. The complete code of such do’s and dont’s has been conveyed by God in his final revelation – the New Testament according to Christianity and the Quran according to Islam – through his only son who is Jesus for Christianity or the last prophet who is Muhammad for Islam.

The supreme purpose of man’s life is to worship this extra-cosmic God with whom man cannot communicate directly, lead a life of piety according to rules laid down in the final revelation which man cannot question, and seek the intercession of the only son or the last prophet whose claims man cannot scrutinize in terms of his natural reason or normal moral sense. If man can thus bid good-bye to his critical faculty and conscience, “the seats of the Satan”, he can hope for an eternal heaven at the end of the only life God has granted to him. But if man wavers, or questions, or criticizes, or tries to understand, or judge these mysteries by using his own mind or moral sense, he becomes bound for an eternal hell from which there is no escape, and where the torment turns worse and worse with the ticking of every moment.

Whether all this applies to woman as well has been a point of dispute among Christian and Muslim theologians. Nevertheless, this much is clear that Islam at least assigns the same role to woman in heaven as she is expected to play on this earth – to serve man in servile obedience and to provide sexual pleasure to her male master. The only concession extended to woman after she enters heaven is to be spared the pains of maternity and old age. She becomes a houri endowed with eternal youth and unfading beauty. In Christianity, woman is essentially a temptress who leads man to hell. Her role in the hereafter has not been clearly defined.

An added duty of all true believers is to band together in a Church or an Ummah for propagating the only true religion, and to prop up the only son or the last prophet by all means including force and fraud. The fraternity thus formed is expected to invite all unbelievers to get converted to the only true creed, and to declare a crusade or jihãd against all those who refuse to be persuaded peacefully for saving themselves from eternal perdition and for securing an eternal heaven. The Church is expected to secure the aid of its secular arm, and the Ummah is expected to convert itself into a theocratic state in order to carry forward the struggle.

There is no limit to what these holy wars can legitimately do to the unbelievers except the limit imposed by power equations at any time. The least that the wars should do at the first available opportunity is to destroy the false gods of the unbelievers, and the unholy temples where those gods are worshipped. The holy warriors are under no obligation at all to prove that they are better human beings as compared to those they are expected to convert, or kill, or enslave, or subjugate. Their only qualification is that they believe in the only son or the last prophet, and follow the only true religion.

MONOTHEISM IS DISGUISED MATERIALISM

One may spend a lifetime searching this theology of Monotheism for a factual or rational proof of what it proclaims so pompously. But the search will be in vain. For, all the time it assumes what it wants to prove, and proves what it has already assumed. At its best, it is a syllogism of which the major as well as the minor premise are arbitrary assertions.
Is there a proof that a being called Almighty God exists, and controls the cosmos? The answer is that the only son or the last prophet has said so. Who has sent this son or appointed this prophet to tell us about God and his doings? The answer is that it is God who has proclaimed the son or the prophet. What is the proof that what the son or the prophet pronounces as a divine revelation comes from God? The answer is that the revelation says so. And so on, it is an endless exercise in casuistry with no reference to human experience or human reason at any point.

In the last analysis, God is really a superfluity in this system of thought. A time comes when God imparts his final revelation to the only son or the last prophet, and retires to a well-deserved rest after entrusting the fate of his world as well as of his creatures to the keeping of the son or the prophet. In due course, the son or the prophet also is dead and gone after bequeathing his monopoly over truth and virtue to the Church or the Ummah. The Church or the Ummah, in turn, is dominated by a single man or a clique that can control and use a mighty military machine which has been built in the meanwhile. In the final round, it all ends up as imperialist aggression against other people in which a veneer of religious verbiage is retained in order to sustain the self-righteousness of the aggressor. The idols of the conquered people are destroyed and their temples pillaged, not because their Gods have been found to be false but because an imperialist always aims at destroying the self-respect of a people upon whom he wants to secure a stranglehold. It is in the nature of imperialism to indulge in cultural genocide on the slightest pretext, or at the first favourable opportunity.

The plight of the Allah of Islam is portrayed by Shykh Muhammad Iqbal when he puts the following question to Allah in his Shikwã: “Tujhko ma’lûm hai letã thã kuî nãm tirã / Quwwat-i-bãzû-i-muslim nê kiyã kãm tirã (Do you know of anyone who bothered about you before we came forward? It was the muscle-power of the Muslim which came to your rescue).” The God of the Bible is in no better position. He has been held aloft all along by Christian bayonets or Christian bags of money.

History is witness that Christianity as well as Islam have always expanded by the power of the sword, and seldom by power of any truth contained in their scriptures. In the words of Iqbal again, “Par tire nãm pê talwãr uThãî kisnê ? Kãt kar rakh diyê kuffãr kê lashkar kisnê (But who did draw their swords in defence of your name and fame? Who was it that slaughtered the armies of the infidels for your sake?).” It is obvious that the Allah of Islam had to be thrust down people’s throats at the point of the sword. Otherwise poor Allah was a non-existent entity which no one was prepared to affirm. The same can be said of the Jehovah of Christianity, though no Christian poet has had the honesty of Iqbal to come out with the naked truth in a frank and forthright manner.

It is small wonder, therefore, that this politics of power masquerading as religion, cannot understand the language of spirituality which speaks in terms of a Divinity secret in everything, everywhere, and which enables human beings to dwell constantly in the company of Gods and Goddesses. This politics is too busy amassing wealth and power and pleasures of a material world to care for things which belong to the realm of Spirit.

Pained by the poverty of Muslims and the decay of the power of Islam, Iqbal has lamented: “Qahar tõ yêh hai ke kãfir ko milê hûr-o-qusûr/ Aur bechãrê musalmãñ kõ faqat wa’da-i hûr (The terrible tragedy is that the infidels live in palaces and make love to houris in this life, while the poor Muslim has to remain content only with the promise of houris hereafter).” This is the highest aspiration to which this venerable Allãma of Islam could ever attain. It speaks volumes about Islam as a religion. Christianity too aspires towards no goal higher than this. Only its spokesmen are not so crude (or honest) in putting forward its case.

Hindu society has not only to recover the source of its own psyche which speaks in the language of Gods and Goddesses, it has also to realize that the psyche of Christianity and Islam hides vulgar materialism and imperialist ambition under a welter of high-sounding verbiage.

The sections of the Vedas that deal with the various facets of the Supreme Consciousness is an articulation of the entire experience that the Vedic seers underwent, in their quest to realize that one supreme reality. What we are going to see below (in the Vedic hymns) is a symbolic and mystical explanation of what was experienced in the deepest of the penances by noble souls like Vishwamitra, Vamadeva, Madhuchandas, Agastya, Veda Vyas etc.

The Vedas make an extremely sincere effort to articulate the various aspects of the Supreme Brahman but they also accept the limitations of the human intellect in comprehending that one absolute reality. The Vedic seers grapple with the enormity of the exercise of attempting to understand the Supreme Consciousness and the myriad manifestations of the same.

Unlike other religious scriptures that position a named God upfront and build fables and a laundry list of dos and don’ts around that God, the Vedas try to understand the Vedic Brahman, attempt to pierce the realm of Brahman’s BEING and peep into its NON – BEING state. The seers also attempt to comprehend the passion of the one that made this universe manifest, established the ORDER that is immutable and identify it to be the ultimate TRUTH, the alpha and omega of everything.

Hymns of Creation (Nasadiya Sukta). Rig Veda 10/129/ 1 – 7

1. At first was neither Being nor Nonbeing.
There was not air nor yet sky beyond.
What was its wrapping? Where? In whose protection?
Was Water there, unfathomable and deep?

2. There was no death then, nor yet deathlessness;
Of night or day there was not any sign.
The One breathed without breath, by its own impulse.
Other than that was nothing else at all.

3. Darkness was there, all wrapped around by darkness,
And all was Water indiscriminate.
Then that which was hidden by the Void, that One, emerging,
Stirring, through power of Ardor, came to be.

4. In the beginning Love arose,
which was the primal germ cell of the mind.
The Seers, searching in their hearts with wisdom,
Discovered the connection of Being in Nonbeing.

5. A crosswise line cut Being from Nonbeing.
What was described above it, what below?
Bearers of seed there were and mighty forces,
Thrust from below and forward move above.

6. Who really knows? Who can presume to tell it?
Whence was it born? Whence issued this creation?
Even the Gods came after its emergence.
Then who can tell from whence it came to be?

7. That out of which creation has arisen,
Whether it held it firm or it did not,
He who surveys it in the highest heaven,
He surely knows or maybe He does not!

The last two hymns seen above articulate a negative assertion that establishes the limitation of understanding and conceptually communicating what NON-BEING may have been.

The Vedic God emerges from NON-BEING into BEING. The Vedic God emerges out of the cosmic ardor/ passion (Tapas), establishes the order (Rita) and personifies the truth (Satya). And it is here that space and time get established.

Rig Veda 10/190/1 – 3

1. From blazing Ardor, Cosmic Order came and Truth;
From thence was born the obscure night;
From thence the Ocean with its billowing waves.

2. From Ocean with its waves was born the year
Which marshals the succession of nights and days,
Controlling everything that blinks the eye.

3. Then, as before, did the creator fashion
The Sun and Moon, the Heaven and the Earth,
The atmosphere and the domain of light.

The Vedic seers now are trying to comprehend as to “Who is this God?” and “Who should they offer their oblation to?”.

Hiranyagarbha (Golden Embryo) Rig Veda / 10/121/ 1 -10.

These hymns throw deep insight into the symbolism, mysticism and poetic nature of the Vedas. The golden embryo is where the Divine resides before coming into BEING. This is not about a logical evolution or a step in creation. By ardor, the Supreme one sacrifices to emerge from NON-BEING into BEING. The one that emerges TO BE is the Lord of Beings, Prajapati!

1. In the beginning arose the Golden Embryo:
He was, as soon as born, the Lord of Being,
Sustainer of the Earth and of this Heaven.
What God shall we adore with our oblation?

2. He who bestows life-force and hardy vigor,
Whose ordinances even the Gods obey,
Whose shadow is immortal life–and death–
What God shall we adore with our oblation?

3. Who by his grandeur has emerged sole sovereign
Of every living thing that breathes and slumbers,
He who is Lord of man and four-legged creatures
What God shall we adore with our oblation?

4. To him of right belong, by his own power,
The snow-clad mountains, the world-stream, and the sea.
His arms are the four quarters of the sky.
What God shall we adore with our oblation?

5. Who held secure the mighty Heavens and Earth,
Who established light and sky’s vast vault above,
Who measured out the ether in mid-spheres–
What God shall we adore with our oblation?

6. Toward him, trembling, the embattled forces,
Riveted by his glory, direct their gaze.
Through him the risen sun sheds forth its light.
What God shall we adore with our oblation?

7. When came the mighty Waters, bringing with them
The universal Germ, whence sprang the Fire,
Thence leapt the God’s One Spirit into being.
What God shall we adore with our oblation?

8. This One who in his might surveyed the Waters
Pregnant with vital forces, producing sacrifice,
He is the God of Gods and none beside him.
What God shall we adore with our oblation?

9. O Father of the Earth, by fixed laws ruling,
O Father of the Heavens, pray protect us,
O Father of the great and shining Waters!
What God shall we adore with our oblation?

10. O Lord of Creatures (Prajapati), Father of all beings,
You alone pervade all that has come to birth.
Grant us our heart’s desire for which we pray.
May we become the lords of many treasures!

It is important to note that these hymns (found above) are a favorite punching bag of those involved in human harvests. They use these hymns to claim that our forefathers never received any guidance, as; they seem not to know the God to whom oblations need to be offered. But the truth is the last hymn calls out the Lord to whom the Vedic seers adore their oblations as Prajapati.

And then the Vedic God sacrifices a one fourth of Self to create animate and inanimate things in this universe. This act is what is contained in the most famous Purusha Sukta, Rig Veda /10/90.

This sukta describes the act of Supreme Consciousness where, the Supreme one, called the Purusha here, sacrifices 1/4th of Self and the remaining 3/4th of the one, oversee and perform the sacrifice. There is a kind of a triple principle at play here. The Supreme Consciousness is the object of sacrifice, the sacrifice itself and one that is executing the sacrifice.

The 1/4th Purusha is the cosmic MAN. This sukta describes the MAN to be so large that HE encompasses the entire earth, possesses thousands of eyes and limbs and it is from this Purusha that all animate and inanimate things are born. This Purusha is the divine emanation.

1. A thousand-headed is the Man
With a.thousand eyes, a thousand feet;
Encompassing the Earth all sides,
He exceeded it by ten fingers’ breadth.

2. The Man, indeed, is this All,
What has been and what is to be
The Lord of the immortal spheres
Which he surpasses by consuming food.

3. Such is the measure of his might,
And greater still than this is Man.
All beings are a fourth of him,
Three fourths are the immortal in heaven.

4. Three fourths of Man ascended high,
One fourth took birth again down here.
From this he spread in all directions
Into animate and inanimate things.

5. From him the Shining one was born;
From this Shining one Man again took birth.
As soon as born, he extended himself all
Over the Earth both behind and before.

6. Using the Man as their oblation,
The Gods performed the sacrifice.
Spring served them for the clarified butter,
Summer for the fuel, and Autumn for the offering.

7. This evolved Man, then first born,
They besprinkled on the sacred grass.
With him the Gods performed the sacrifice,
As did also the heavenly beings and seers.

8. From this sacrifice, fully accomplished,
Was gathered curd mixed with butter.
Thence came the creatures of the air,
Beasts of the forest and those of the village.

9. From this sacrifice, fully accomplished,
Were born the hymns and the melodies;
From this were born the various meters;
From this were born the sacrificial formulas.

10. From this were horses born, all creatures
Such as have teeth in either jaw;
From this were born the breeds of cattle;
From this were born sheep and goats.

11. When they divided up the Man,
Into how many parts did they divide him?
What did his mouth become? What his arms?
What are his legs called? What his feet?

12. His mouth became the brahmin;
His arms became the kshatriyas,
His legs became the vysyas
And his feet became the sudras.

13. The Moon was born from his mind;
The Sun came into being from his eye;
From his mouth came Indra and Agni,
While from his breath the Wind was born.

14. From his navel issued the Air;
From his head unfurled the Sky,
The Earth from his feet, from his ear the four directions.
Thus have the worlds been organized.

15. Seven were the sticks of the enclosure,
Thrice seven the fuel sticks were made,
When the Gods, performing the sacrifice,
Bound the Man as the victim.

16. With the sacrifice the Gods sacrificed to the sacrifice.
Those were the first established rites.
These powers ascended up to heaven
Where dwell the ancient Gods and other beings.

Again, I must add that this sukta is used to debunk the Vedas by harvesters of souls. They point to the origin of casteism in hymn #12. But unlike those that believe in a redeemer to overcome the sin of having born in a particular lineage, this sukta establishes that men are born out of Supreme Purusha. The varna system established in the Vedas is based on vocations and there is nothing in the Vedas that espouses the dogmas that the prevailing caste system sticks to. Some of the cases in point: Yajur Veda 18:48 / 20:17/ 26:2, Atharvana Veda 19:32:8 / 19:62:1.

And this sukta evolves in the Upanishads and Satpatha Brahmanas in a couple of different ways. The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (I/4/1-5) shows an evolved Purusha that is established in the self (consciousness of I) and then the fable goes on to state that the masculine Purusha created a feminine principle of Self by splitting into two. And this idea is extended to all animate things like cows, stallions, sheep etc to develop the idea of the Purusha Sukta. Again harvesters of human souls point to this Upanishad to claim that Prajapati did many asinine things!

Once the Vedic God enters the BEING mode, the Vedic seers go on to perceive the Supreme Consciousness as focal point of everything and as the cosmic pillar (Skhamba) that anchors everything in this universe, the SELF of the universe.

Atharvana Veda 10/7/ 1 – 40. I am furnishing only a few of the forty hymns to help us get a drift of the hymns.

1. In which of his limbs does Fervor dwell?
In which of his limbs is Order set?
In what part of him abides Constancy, Faith?
In which of his limbs is Truth established?

3. In which of his limbs does the earth abide?
In which of his limbs the atmosphere?
In which of his limbs is the sky affixed?
In which of his limbs the great Beyond?

8. That which of all forms the Lord of Life
Created–above, below, and in between–
With how much of himself penetrated the Support?
How long was the portion that did not enter?
[The part that did not enter, pertains to the 3/4th part of the transcendental ONE that sacrificed the 1/4th Purusha]

15. In whom, as Man, deathlessness and death combine,
To whom belong the surging ocean
And all the arteries that course within him;
Tell me of that Support–who may he be?

18. He whose head is Universal Fire,
Who has for his eyes the Angirases
And for his limbs the practitioners of sorcery–
Tell me of that Support–who may he be?

21. The branch of Nonbeing which is far-extending
Men take to be the highest one of all.
They reckon as inferior those who worship
Your other branch, the branch of Being.

22. In whom the Adityas, Rudras and Vasus,
Are held together, in whom are set firm
Worlds–that whch was and that which shall be–
Tell me of that Support–who may he be?

23. Whose treasure hoard the three and thirty Gods
Forever guard–today who knows its contents?
Tell me of that Support–who may he be?

Perhaps, the above hymn is where the Puranas draw the fable of 33 Million Devas in Indra loka, though this hymn only talks about 30 aspects/deities of the ONE.

25.Great are the Gods who were born from Nonbeing,
Yet men aver this Nonbeing to be
The single limb of the Support, the great Beyond.

Now that we have seen the way the Supreme Reality emerged from NON-BEING to BEING, the way the universe was manifested, the way life forms were created by the Supreme one, the way the Divine became the pillar of support, it becomes easier to decipher, this false belief that Vedas only espouse myriad Gods. In fact the Vedic mind, cognizant of the multifaceted nature of reality embraces the non-being and being, the manifest and unmanifest aspects of the Supreme Reality. Let us go through a few Vedic hymns.

He is one and only one, Sustains entire universe, Omnipresent, Formless, All-Powerful, Perfect, Omniscient, Unborn, Eternal and supports us always. He alone should be worshipped. Yajur Veda 40:8.

Truth is One; the wise call it by different names. Rig Veda 1:164:46

Power entered within him. He is the one, the onefold, the only one Atharvana Veda 13:4:12

All moments originated from the Purusha like lightning, no one has comprehended him, above, across, or in the center. Yajur Veda 32:2

Divine and formless is the Person; he is inside and outside, he is not begotten, is not breath or mind; utterly pure, farther than the farthest Imperishable. Mundaka Upanishad 2:1:2

However this one Supreme Reality in the Vedas is Brahman and not the ones in Abrahamic scriptures. I will deal in detail what the differences between Brahman and Jehovah and Allah are separately.

Sources:
Raimon Panikkar. The Vedic Experience
Sri Aurobindo (1956) The Secret Of The Veda

People today have a deep misconception about the scriptures like Veda and Gita. They assume that ‘Maya’ means that world is not real. Some people even think that to free oneself, one has to give up all the worldy activities and chant some mantras. But people forget often that mantras are divine incantantations to understand and rever the nature and its elements like fire (agni-dev), surya (surya-dev) etc. They are also the source of meditation and spirituality. Chanting the mantras without understanding the message is not considered either spirituality or intelligent.
 
A person cannot live without doing any action. Meditation, breathing, seeing, hearing, chanting mantras etc are all actions. Bhagvada-Gita simply teaches to control these actions and to find the truth.
 
BG 3.4: Not by merely abstaining from work can one achieve freedom from reaction, nor by renunciation alone can one attain perfection.
 
BG 3.5: Everyone is forced to act helplessly according to the qualities he has acquired from the modes of material nature; therefore no one can refrain from doing something, not even for a moment.
 
BG 3.6: One who restrains the senses of action but whose mind dwells on sense objects certainly deludes himself and is called a pretender.
 
BG 3.7: On the other hand, if a sincere person tries to control the active senses by the mind and begins karma-yoga [in Kr?s?n?a consciousness] without attachment, he is by far superior.
 
 
BG 3.15: Regulated activities are prescribed in the Vedas, and the Vedas are directly manifested from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Consequently the all-pervading Transcendence is eternally situated in acts of sacrifice.
 
BG 3.16: My dear Arjuna, one who does not follow in human life the cycle of sacrifice thus established by the Vedas certainly leads a life full of sin. Living only for the satisfaction of the senses, such a person lives in vain.
 
BG 3.17: But for one who takes pleasure in the self, whose human life is one of self-realization, and who is satisfied in the self only, fully satiated — for him there is no duty.
 
BG 3.18: A self-realized man has no purpose to fulfill in the discharge of his prescribed duties, nor has he any reason not to perform such work. Nor has he any need to depend on any other living being.
 
BG 3.19: Therefore, without being attached to the fruits of activities, one should act as a matter of duty, for by working without attachment one attains the Supreme.
 
When people are attached to their activities and senses, they are under the influence of Maya. It is this Maya that creates an illusion and ignorance. If people are attached to what they hear without analyzing it intellectually, it leads to ignorance. For e.g many people are deluded that Hinduism is divided in cast system “by birth” where people with surnames like Sharma, Chaturvedi, trivedi, Pathak etc are Brahmins. Chaturvedi simply means the knower of the four (chatur) Vedas. Trivedi refers to the knower of the three (Tri) Vedas. What Veda and GITA teach is a categorization of the society, a ‘class system’ and not ‘cast system’, based on profession or Karma and not birth. Brahmins, by its definition and in today’s modern terminology, includes scientists, researchers, teachers, doctors, engineers etc i.e those who indulge in intellectual work and knowledge to know the science and nature. Kshatriyas is the warrior class. Thus all the soldiers in Indian army are kshatriyas irrespective of their religion and surnames. Vaishyas consisted of the business class and Shudras the unskilled labourers.
 
When people get attached to what they see and how they look, it causes suffering and visual illusions. e.g A girl attached to her beauty finds it hard to accept her change to old age. Thus it is very important to control the mind which controls the five senses.
 
BG 5.17: When one’s intelligence, mind, faith and refuge are all fixed in the Supreme, then one becomes fully cleansed of misgivings through complete knowledge and thus proceeds straight on the path of liberation.
 
BG 5.18: The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle br?hman?a, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste].
 
BG 6.4: A person is said to be elevated in yoga when, having renounced all material desires, he neither acts for sense gratification nor engages in fruitive activities.
 
BG 6.5: One must deliver himself with the help of his mind, and not degrade himself. The mind is the friend of the conditioned soul, and his enemy as well.
 
BG 6.6: For him who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will remain the greatest enemy.
 
 
In upanishads, this is the “manmaya kosa” or the mental sheath. Sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste are only the objective channels to the mind and its the mind that can act very subjectively. The mind can chose to hear what it wants and ignore the rest. In a crowd, one’s mind may chose to focus and hear only to what a particular person might be saying. At that moment one might not be able to process any other person. The focus can shift though as per the directions of the mind. Thus the mind is the controller of all 5 senses from which the collected data can be put to use by one’s own intellect. Its a recursive procedure and the intellect can sharpen itself with the information it recieves.  
 
The ultimate reality is said to be unmanifested, unborn and inconcievable from which everything else, both material and spiritual, is emanating.
 
BG 9.4: By Me, in My unmanifested form, this entire universe is pervaded. All beings are in Me, but I am not in them
 
BG 12.3-4: But those who fully worship the unmanifested, that which lies beyond the perception of the senses, the all-pervading, inconceivable, unchanging, fixed and immovable — the impersonal conception of the Absolute Truth — by controlling the various senses and being equally disposed to everyone, such persons, engaged in the welfare of all, at last achieve Me.
 
BG 10.8: I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who perfectly know this engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts.
 
 
Thus Bhagvada Gita teaches directly how manifest arises from the unmanifest. On contrary to the unmanifest, the manifestations are changing, dynamic or limited. e.g Sun which a manifestation of the ultimate reality has a form, color, size etc when viewed from the earth. But are we seeing the truth? Do we think that the Sun or our appearance when we see in the mirror is static? What exactly are we seeing?
 
Physically, we are growing daily. The change is very slow as per our perception and it is unobservable. We are not the same person who existed some ten years ago. The physical image of our face, weight, shape, size, height etc have all changed. Chemically, we are losing millions of molecules per second in the form of breath (exhale), perspiration, excreta, urination, farts and intaking other molecules in the form of breath (inhale), drinking, eating etc. In brief, a person does not have the same set of molecules or atoms that he had a second ago. Mentally, our thoughts are changing too. What we were thinking a second ago is not the same. Mentally we evolve and our knowledge increases every passing second.
 
So how can we be the same even in a seconds differentiation? Are our eyes decieving us when we look into the mirror? If we get attached to our looks, then we are bound to suffer when we change or grow old. This suffering due to attachment and ignorance is the constant effect of Maya which is all around us and forever trying to control our mind.  It is only because of Maya that we are not able to understand the ultimate reality or the truth. We see the sun and we think it is the same. But the truth is that the sun is also fading out. It has spent 4 million years and only has another 4 million years to live after which it will convert into a nova or a supernova. It is releasing huge amount of hydrogen in the form of fusion reactions into helium. Therefore, chemically it is not the same any second. Physically it releases long chains of fires or the solar winds, its magnetic field keeps on changing. So again, is our perception decieving us about the shape and size of the sun? Do we think we will be the same person after 20 years with the same strength, healing rate of the cells, quickness of the mind and the body? Do we think that change is sudden that we would grow fragile with white hair and brittle bones overnight?
 
 
In Gita, this is explained via the three modes of the material nature.
 
BG 14.5: Material nature consists of three modes — goodness, passion and ignorance. When the eternal living entity comes in contact with nature, O mighty-armed Arjuna, he becomes conditioned by these modes.
 
BG 14.6: O sinless one, the mode of goodness, being purer than the others, is illuminating, and it frees one from all sinful reactions. Those situated in that mode become conditioned by a sense of happiness and knowledge.
 
BG 14.7: The mode of passion is born of unlimited desires and longings, O son of Kunt?, and because of this the embodied living entity is bound to material fruitive actions.
 
BG 14.8: O son of Bharata, know that the mode of darkness, born of ignorance, is the delusion of all embodied living entities. The results of this mode are madness, indolence and sleep, which bind the conditioned soul.
 
BG 14.9: O son of Bharata, the mode of goodness conditions one to happiness; passion conditions one to fruitive action; and ignorance, covering one’s knowledge, binds one to madness.
 
BG 14.10: Sometimes the mode of goodness becomes prominent, defeating the modes of passion and ignorance, O son of Bharata. Sometimes the mode of passion defeats goodness and ignorance, and at other times ignorance defeats goodness and passion. In this way there is always competition for supremacy.
 
BG 14.11: The manifestations of the mode of goodness can be experienced when all the gates of the body are illuminated by knowledge.
 
BG 14.12: O chief of the Bh?ratas, when there is an increase in the mode of passion the symptoms of great attachment, fruitive activity, intense endeavor, and uncontrollable desire and hankering develop.
 
BG 14.13: When there is an increase in the mode of ignorance, O son of Kuru, darkness, inertia, madness and illusion are manifested.
 
BG 14.14: When one dies in the mode of goodness, he attains to the pure higher planets of the great sages.
 
BG 14.15: When one dies in the mode of passion, he takes birth among those engaged in fruitive activities; and when one dies in the mode of ignorance, he takes birth in the animal kingdom.
 
BG 14.16: The result of pious action is pure and is said to be in the mode of goodness. But action done in the mode of passion results in misery, and action performed in the mode of ignorance results in foolishness.
 
BG 14.17: From the mode of goodness, real knowledge develops; from the mode of passion, greed develops; and from the mode of ignorance develop foolishness, madness and illusion.
 
BG 14.18: Those situated in the mode of goodness gradually go upward to the higher planets; those in the mode of passion live on the earthly planets; and those in the abominable mode of ignorance go down to the hellish worlds.
 
BG 14.19: When one properly sees that in all activities no other performer is at work than these modes of nature and he knows the Supreme Lord, who is transcendental to all these modes, he attains My spiritual nature.

References :
BhagVada Gita
http://www.hinduism.co.za/kosas.htm