There is NOT ONE SINGLE mantra in entire Vedas that prohibit Yajna for women.

 http://agniveer.com/woman-foundation-of-knowledge/  (with quotes from Vedas )

EXTRACT:

Rigveda 1.146.3: The Yajamaan (performer of Yajna) and his wife are two cows and the fire of Yajna is the calf.

Rigveda 1.72.5: Scholars perform Yajna with their wives and achieve bliss.

Rigveda 2.6.5: If mother and sister perform Yajna together, that brings bliss.

Rigveda 7.1.6: The young woman approaches the fire with Havi

Atharvaveda 3.28.6: O wife, you have entered the world of Yajna.

Atharvaveda 3.30.6: All the members of family should perform Yajna.

Atharvaveda 14.2.18: O woman, you should perform Yajna in Grihastha Ashram.

Atharvaveda 14.2.25: O woman, perform Yajna with bliss.

Further, there is NOT ONE SINGLE mantra in entire Vedas that prohibit Yajna for women.

Please note that Yajna here does not mean merely Agnihotra or Havan, but all kinds of noble deeds. Vedas simply do not differentiate on basis of gender or birth for conduct of any noble deed.

And when women can do Yajna, what stops her from reciting Vedic Mantras!

The restriction of women from Vedas or Yajna is an innovation of medieval age whose only contribution to our society has been disaster and slavery. It is a matter of shame that many revered representatives of Hinduism still justify such perverted beliefs. But thanks to legends like Swami Dayanand Saraswati who gave right interpretations of Vedas, we hear Gayatri Mantra sung by women even in temples!

The enlightening personality, that is Lord Krishna

Lord Krishna – an enlightening personality

Feb 20, 2013 | by Dr. Satyapal Singh, The Police Commissioner, Mumbai
Extract:
Shrikrishna is the only greatest personality whose character encompasses together all these diverse ideals. Dear readers, devotees of Krishna, let us take a pledge today, let us make a resolution that we will not allow even advertently any blemish to defame the noble life of that spotless, innocent, virtuous and realized soul. Let us follow the footsteps of the ideals of great people. Following are the words of Krishna

yad yad aacarati shresthas tat tad tad evetaro janah
sa yat pramanam kurute lokas tad anuvartate

Radha and Gopis

Some poets from rhetoric school and bhakticult accepted Lord Shrikrishna as a God, worshiped him, adorned him as blind devotees and followers on one hand, and on the other the Western scholars and their self esteemed, the so called Indian scholars, following their footsteps merely depicted him in various ways with low level intentions and sensual impulses. Shrikrishna to them was one who played in the group of Gopis under the sacred name Rasalila, as one stealing the garments of the women, the one engaged and indulging in youthful activities with the damsel by name Radha, making uncourteous hideous gestures with dwarfed maiden Kubja.

The rhetoric school poets wanted to hide their sensual impulses and writings from the indignation of common people in the society. The blind and self titled devotees wanted to escape themselves from the scornful attitude of common man towards them, their selfish and voluptuous behavior or actions and their luxurious and lavish life style made under the pretext of divine justification and conformation. The Western scholars and others belonging to different religions than that of Hindus, and not to speak of other pseudo scholars wanted to devaluate and bring down the supreme Indian culture and Indian religion – a sort of burning example for all. Thus they mutilated the very noble character of Lord Krishna into an ignoble and scandalous one.

In the whole of Mahabharata, there is no mention even of the name Radha. We first get glimpses of her, in Gita Govinda of Jayadeva, ……..

Bankimchandra Chattopadyaya, the author of “Anand math” who carried out research on Mahabharata continuously for about 36 years and also composed thereafter the biography of Shrikrishna, states that according to Mahabharata Shrikrishna had only one wife namely Rukhmini – neither two nor four and of course not at all 16000. According to Mahabharata immediately after getting married both Rukhmini and Shrikrishna went to Badrikashrama and led a pious life there for 12 years. They used to sleep on ground, ate only roots, tubers and fruits and observed strict celibacy. Thereafter Rukhmini gave birth to the first child named Pradhumna. (Reference: Mahabharata, Book 10 (Sauptika Parva), Chapter 12, Verses 29 & 30 – Editor) It is sheerly disgusting to stigmatize this noble character shown indulging in love-affairs with and in romance with Radha and Gopis. 

Extract from the article Vedic Theism - http://aryasamajvvpuram.org/articles/vedic-theism/

God – the Supreme Spirit is the most subtle topic of philosophy. Faith in Supreme Power seems almost universal and encompassing the human life from time immemorial. But unfortunately the concept of God has been blurred by the fog of numerous wrong, perverse and sectarian notions. Consequently, today we come across a variety of pictures, images and descriptions of God, which are highly conflicting with each other and finally lead people towards sectarian narrow-mindedness, bigotry, dogmas, superstitions, prejudice, skepticism, atheism, frictions, wars, terrorism, dense materialism and a host of similar other vicious and inhuman traits. That is why we also find among us many persons lost in some sort of spiritual confusion and many of them have already turned into either atheists or skeptics.

Just to harbour a faith in any so-called theistic notion is obviously an easy task. Sometimes it may be merely an intelligent recognition. But the most difficult venture is to divinize one’s whole being according to the right principles of spiritual science. A true spiritual person should desperately seek to know the ultimate truth of life and set out for the realization of the Supreme as the ultimate destination of his life. The true theistic attitude of a person needs to get fully manifested through his way of life. There could be no doubt about the omni-presence of God, but the question is that whether we are conscious of His presence or not. Unless we have a reasoned faith in His presence, unless we are sincere in our endeavor and unless our convictions are intense and grounded in truth, we cannot say that our theism is genuine and rewarding. The true theism confers on us joy, happiness, satisfaction, fearlessness and other divine powers; a perfect sense to the spiritual dimension of our being. Moreover, it also provides us sustenance, strength, solace and comfort in the moments of great distresses, failures and disappointment, which occur almost to everybody when one struggles to resolve the tangles plaguing one in the course of one’s daily life.

Generally it is believed that to define is to limit, and God being the most mysterious entity it is beyond the human capacity to define Him or fully express Him in any human language. Even the most consistent intelligent speculation or hypothesis may not be in a position to guarantee the realization of God. God can be realized only with the help of True knowledge, True actions and True meditation – the practice of Yoga with total surrender. Hence mere logical propositions or linguistic symbols could not be of much help in this matter. But this does not mean that the existence of God is to be regarded merely based on any sort of speculation. The speculations leading one towards theism should essentially be based on some definite observations, thoughts, logic and wisdom.

In Vedic philosophy, liberation from the worldly or material bondage and realization of the all pervading Divine spirit has been regarded as the ultimate goal of the human efforts. The Vedas proclaim that God is such a reality which can be apprehended and realized in the depth of our inner being. The Vedic wisdom demands that the Reason and Spirituality are to be well coordinated and well integrated. A true religion or philosophy of life must necessarily address these two fundamental aspects: (i) Worldly prosperity aiming for happy today, and (ii) Spiritual progress aiming for the happier tomorrow. Nevertheless, for the second purpose one has to transcend this vast visible and invisible world, this grand and wonderful manifestation of the matter, and reach to the Universal Spirit under whose will and wisdom the creation is made.

The Vedas teach us that the primordial root of all true knowledge, and the objects made known by the true knowledge is the Supreme God. Maharshi Dayananda Saraswati (1824-1883), the founder of the Arya Samaj has rendered a great service to humanity by restating the Vedic concept of God in the nineteenth century. He tried to emphasize that God has a personality but His personality is not physical or human, it is spiritual and divine. He is a spirit of spirit, the Spirit Supreme. Dayananda endeavored to present an image of God which is not only consistent with the philosophy of the Vedas and the spiritual vision of the Vedic seers, but it is also based on analytical reasoning. The hymns of the Vedas unequivocally express the conception of one Supreme Being. The Vedas being the Divine Revelation and the oldest record available with the mankind have universal appeal for the people of all countries and all times. On account of their universal character, the Vedic concept of God also must be secular and acceptable and adoptable as a sure guideline for the all thinking people of the world.

God being the Transcendental Reality, the Innermost and Cosmic Being, any discussion related to Him deserves paramount importance. In Satyarth-Prakash (Light of Truth), the world famous book authored by Dayananda, the concept of Vedic theism has been beautifully described in the most sensible way. Its seventh, eighth and ninth chapters embody a systematic and comprehensive discussion on three highly philosophical topics: God, Creation and Emancipation. The significance of true theism has been explained there in a very straight forward fashion. A careful reading of these three chapters of the Satyarth-Prakash make one fully convinced of the fact that the Vedic concept of God is not a casual creed, rather it is highly comprehensive in its application to human life; and is much subtler and deeper spiritual as well as scientific content than the sects and cults ordinarily known as monotheism and polytheism.

MEDITATION - SEARCH FOR INNER SELF

Mundakopanishad – Swami Nikhilananda Saraswati 5th April, 2013 – Chinmaya Mission Delhi.

Source: Two birds on the same Tree 

There are two birds on the same tree. One bird eats fruits and another bird just looks at the other bird, he does not eat fruits. This beautiful picture is of our own personality. Our body is like tree and Jiva is one bird and Ishvara is another bird. In fact there is only one bird but appearing like two, just as when we stand in front of the mirror, we appear like two. One is the real person and another is his image. Jiva has misunderstanding and he considers himself as the doer, performs various types of actions and experiences the different types of fruits of actions. Once in a while, by the grace of God, by the Satsang when Jiva sit silently and looks within, he comes to see that his own higher Self is free from all bondage. His higher Self is supremely peaceful, pure and when he sees his inner Self, he also becomes free from all sorrows and pain. This happens in the state of meditation. 

We have to follow the path shown by the scriptures. First we have to purify our mind, make ourselves fit with proper knowledge and then meditate and recognize our own higher Self. What we think of ourselves now is not the real Self. It is just a false notion created by thoughts and emotions. Jiva is just and image but we have identified with that image so much that we feel we are that image. Through meditation we have to recognize our own real Self. Just like the river dissolves in the ocean, the little self has to dissolve in the higher Self. 

प्रणो ह्येष यः सर्वभूतैर्विभाति विजानन् विद्वान् भवते नातिवादी ।
आत्मक्रीड आत्मरतिः क्रियावा- नेष ब्रह्मविदां वरिष्ठः ॥४॥

All pervading Brahman is indicated here as Prana - life, that resides in all beings. Supreme Reality is not confined to any place but it is all pervading. It is subtler than the subtlest and existing everywhere. Everything is Brahman alone but appearing like something else. Brahman is present everywhere as life, consciousness, existence everywhere. Wise seeker recognises Brahman as his own Self by following the right path shown by teacher. 

Have you seen people under hypnotism? They can do anything that they are told to do when they are hypnotized. They can be told to become a child and cry and they cry like babies. That is the power of our mind. Our mind is very powerful. It makes us experience that which is not real. We experience all sorts of illusions, delusions, confusions because of mind. We have to transcend this power through our Sadhana. We have to overcome this power. Our mind is expression of mighty power of Supreme Reality’s Maya. At the cosmic level Maya is creating illusion of this world and at the individual level same Maya is like our mind creating various types of illusions. We can overcome illusion through Sadhana. We have to surrender to our higher Self in meditation to overcome Maya. We transcend our own mind and come to know ourselves as we are. 

When a wise person comes to know his higher Self, thereafter he becomes silent. The lesser knowledge we have, the more argument we have. We argue with ourselves, with others. It is like a fifth grade child argues with Albert Einstein. Albert Einstein cannot explain theory of relativity to a child completely. He will have to use the language which will be understood by that child. Similarly, there are foolish people who talk too much and argue. When we come to recognize our higher Self, we become silent. There is nothing to say much. Bhagvan Ramana Maharshi used to say that a person, who is diving deep in the well to retrieve some object, should keep his mouth shut once he is in water. If he opens his mouth, he will get drowned. Similarly, one who comes to realize one’s own higher Self, becomes silent. There is no need to argue. Whatever one says, it is okay. Great Masters reveal the secret of Supreme Truth only to a ripe and sincere student otherwise they remain silent.

Someone asked Gautam Buddha, ‘what is the nature of God?’ Gautam Buddha remained silent. 

These great Masters, enlightened beings constantly revel in themselves. They play in their own Self. At the same time they are also very active in expressing their love, sharing knowledge with the world around. Tapovanji Maharaj was active; Pujya Gurudev was also very active in their own ways. Shankaracharyaji was active and was spreading the message to the whole world. At the same time revel in their own Self, which is the Self of all beings. Scriptures say that such Masters are the greatest among the knower of Brahman. 

We gain the theoretical knowledge about Self but only when we meditate, we come to recognize our own Self as we are, directly. It is like food, one can gain lot of knowledge about food through cook-books. All the knowledge of cooking gained from the book is useful when one actually cooks and prepares delicious food shown in the book. Similarly, all the theoretical knowledge given in scriptures about Self should culminate in realizing our own Self through Sadhana. 

सत्येन लभ्यस्तपसा ह्येष आत्मा सम्यग्ज्ञानेन ब्रह्मचर्येण नित्यम् ।
अन्तःशरीरे ज्योतिर्मयो हि शुभ्रो यं पश्यन्ति यतयः क्षीणदोषाः ॥५॥

Four important Sadhana are mentioned here – Satya – truthfulness, Tapas – austerity, Samyak Gyana – proper knowledge, Brahmacharyena – self-control.
Another important word is Nityam – constant practice.

Satya – truthfulness. We have to be truthful at the level of our speech, actions, emotions, thinking, relationships. We have to be truthful at every level. When we are truthful, our body, mind, senses and intellect get integrated. It becomes easy for us to meditate when they are integrated. When we lie, our personality gets split. Mind, senses, intellect are not integrated in a person who does not speak truth. If they are not tuned then it is not possible to proceed in our Sadhana at all. Satya is very important. One should speak the truth, one should speak it pleasantly and one should it for the welfare of everyone. The essence of Dharma is Satya. The essence of Ramayana is ‘Prana Jai Par Vachana Na Jai, Raghukula Rit Sada Chali Ayi.’ Whatever we have spoken, we have to respect our word and follow it. If Satyam goes away from our life then relations get spoiled. If there is no truth in our speech then it loses its power. Our thinking and feelings are useless if there is not reality in it. 

Truthfulness should be followed Nityam – always.

When we meditate, our own mind and intellect guide us. We listen to the instructions of our own intellect when we meditate. We will not listen to the instructions if the intellect is not truthful. 

Atman is my own Self but as though it is lost because of my ignorance and delusion and distractions of mind. It is like a person who has his spects on his head and looking for it everywhere. 

Tapas – various types of austerities are mentioned in our scriptures but the highest austerity is in concentration. Focus, concentration of our mind and intellect on one point is called Tapas. To be able to focus our attention on point is called Tapas. Even when we chant the name of Lord, not only we should chant but our feelings and thoughts are also engaged in chanting Lord’s name. Valmiki Rishi chanted name of Lord Rama intensely and with great focus and concentration, he did not realize that ants made a big anthill around his body. That focus is called Tapas. There is small opening in our heart and we have to enter through that opening through meditation. 

Samyak Gyana – Proper knowledge. We should learn about our own Self and about its nature from the scriptures. Scriptures give us indicators about the Self. They give us proper knowledge and we can gain proper understanding. This is subtle subject and requires thorough study. Shravan – listening, Manana – constantly contemplating and ascertaining about our own Self. It takes long time. Scriptures are like mirror. If we want to see our face, we have to take help of mirror. However good eyes you may have but without mirror you can’t see your face. Proper wisdom helps us to recognize our own Self.

Brahmacharya – Self-control. Brahmacharya is to restrain our senses from over indulgence. 

With this four-fold practice, one will be able to proceed on the path and recognize supreme Self.

Self is seen by those great seekers who put forth efforts in right direction. They come to realize their own Self, which is self-luminous, extremely pure, deep within their own heart. If we follow the four-fold path of Satya, Tapas, Samyak Gyana and Brahmacharya, we will also be able to recognize our own Self deep within the heart.

सत्यमेव जयते नानृतं सत्येन पन्था विततो देवयानः ।
येनाऽऽक्रमन्त्यृषयो ह्याप्तकामा यत्र तत् सत्यस्य परमं निधानम् ॥६॥

Satyameva Jayate – this is very famous line. Satya alone wins, falsehood does not win. Even when we see falsehood winning, it is winning in the name of Satya. Even when a person lies, he has to say that he is telling the truth. 

Truthfulness is associated with Ahimsa. Patanjali Rishi made it more clear by mentioning Ahimsa before Satyam. Satyam is completely truthful when it is associated with Ahimsa and welfare of everyone. 

We will be able to attain our goal when we walk on this path with truthfulness deeply engraved in our heart. 

This is cosmic law. It may appear that we are getting something out of nothing but we are losing somewhere else. There are no free lunches available in this world. We have to pay for it. Nothing comes free in this world, you have to pay. If gross is not paid for what we take then something subtler is taken away. 

This path towards Supreme is laid down by Satyam. One cannot be a liar, cannot have a disintegrated personality and then follow this path. All other values become fruitful, complete based on Satyam. Goodness, kindness, generosity, service all these values should have truthfulness as the base. Every value becomes valuable when it is based on truthfulness. All good values are derived from ultimate Reality. It is natural that as our mind becomes more Sattvic, good values rise in us. Negative values are seen in a Tamasic mind. 

As we drop Tamoguna and Rajoguna rises then our values become slightly better. As we move towards Sattvaguna, good values start rising more and more. Goodness is the very nature of the Self. Good values come out in its full glory when they are not blocked by Rajoguna and Tamoguna. In the same way, if we proactively, sincerely cultivate good values, we move towards our own Self. 

The great Rishis have walked on this path of truthfulness; they were free of all their desires. Supreme abode of Satya is attained by Rishis who walked on the path of Satya. Following goodness, we attain the abode of goodness, who is God. 

बृहच्च तद् दिव्यमचिन्त्यरूपं सूक्ष्माच्च तत् सूक्ष्मतरं विभाति ।
दूरात् सुदूरे तदिहान्तिके च पश्यन्त्विहैव निहितं गुहायाम् ॥७॥

Supreme Brahman is vast, all pervading. It is divine. Brahman is most difficult to comprehend. Our intellect and mind is so small that it cannot grasp vast Brahman. It is in different dimension altogether. For example, we see a small sapling which will grow into a big tree and bear many fruits. But looking at the sapling you cannot imagine how big it will grow and how many fruits it will bear. We can be the Self but we cannot comprehend Brahman. In the state of meditation, intellect and mind becomes silent and in that silence we come to recognize ourselves as we are. 

Someone ask Ramana Maharshi that I want to know God. Maharshi said, you be still and know that you are God. 

Self is subtler than the subtlest. Shankaracharyaji writes in his commentary that Brahman is subtler than Akash. Space is in everything. But Brhman is there inside space also. It is very subtle but appears like everything. 

For example, ink has tremendous potential. You can write volumes of scriptures with ink. You can crate characters, drama action with the ink but you will not find any character or drama or action in the ink filled in bottle. One ink appears in many different forms. Similarly, one Brahman appears like many. 

Brahman is further than the farthest. Shankaracharaji writes that those who are not qualified and those who have not purified their minds, Brahman is far away for them. It is very difficult for them to attain. Those who are ready and fit, Brahman is nearer than the nearest. It is very close. It is our own Self. There can nothing be closer than our own Self. Everything other than Self is far away. 

Self resides in hearts of all the living beings as their own Self. 

न चक्षुषा गृह्यते नापि वाचा नान्यैर्देवैस्तपसा कर्मण वा ।
ज्ञानप्रसादेन विशुद्धसत्त्वस्ततस्तु तं पश्यते निष्कलं ध्यायमानः ॥८||

We cannot grasp Self with our eyes. One who is seeing through eyes is the Self. We can’t see the Self with eyes. The very fact that we can see, it proves that there is seer. That seer is the Self. Self cannot be described by our speech, it can only be indicated. It cannot be defined. Speech cannot express it. It cannot be grasped by other senses. Just by concentration alone, we cannot recognize the Self. We cannot attain Self by performing different types of actions of the world. 

How can we know the Self?

That Self which is free from all divisions, which is complete, that pure Self one can see, recognize by meditation. But that meditation should be presided by extremely pure chitta. Chitta should be pure by the grace of knowledge. Pure mind means mind that is free from all negative qualities like anger, jealousy, greed, passion. It also means that mind should be absolutely silent but alert and awake.

Mind has different layers. The deepest layer is called Chitta. As the mind starts becoming more and more pure, the purity descends and chitta becomes pure. The topmost layer of mind can become pure through action done with proper attitude. The inner layer is purified with love, Bhakti. Deeper layer is purified with knowledge. Contemplation on the knowledge given in scriptures about Self purifies Chitta at deeper level. 

There is no greater purifier in this world than knowledge. Right understanding of our Self with conviction is the right knowledge. Knowledge should be complete and with conviction. 

For example, before taking up the journey to moon, scientists draw the entire journey on paper clearly and then they put it in action. We can understand the nature of Self by studying the scriptures and we will be convinced about it. The more convinced we are, the mind becomes more pure. 

Mind is impure because it is searching for Self. It is like a child is looking for mother. He gets lost in the party and looks for mother. Then suddenly he notices mother sitting in a corner so he is now convinced. Though he has not reached to his mother but he is convinced that she is there and becomes quiet. 

Similarly, our mind is in search of happiness and peace. We are searching our own Self. Through scriptures we come to know that what we are looking for is within. When mind becomes silent then meditation becomes easy. What we are looking for is HERE. What we are looking for is NOW. Then the mind becomes silent. When I am happy HERE and NOW then nobody can disturb me. Realized Master is happy HERE and NOW. 

Meditation happens in completely pure Chitta and purity comes with grace of 

Quotes to help us row the boat of our life in the turbulent of River of Time:

Rowing the boat of our life in the River of Time

Marianne Williamson in: A Course in Miracles

Quoted in the film Akeela

*~*

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most.

*~*

We ask ourselves:

'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and famous?’

Actually, who are you not to be?

*~*

You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world.

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking

so that people won't feel insecure around you.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.

It's not just in some of us; it's in all of us.

And when we let our own light shine,

we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our own fear, 

our presence automatically liberates others.   

*~*

You are but the product of your thoughts;
What you think, you become.      

yath bhavam tath bhavati

You shall be, what you will to be.

*~*

What is the process?

Start believing in yourself.

A musician must make music,

an artist must paint,

a poet must write;

What you can be, you must be.

*~*

Begin doing what you want to do NOW.

Remember, we are not living in eternity; we have only this moment,

sparkling like a star in our hand and melting like a snowflake.

*~*

Cultivate the 'Beginner's Mind':

Ask yourself --

How can I be a beginner in each moment --

even in situations where I am doing

what I have done before many times?

*~*

We do not, what we ought,
What we ought not - we do; 

And lean upon the thought that chance will bring us through. 

But our own acts, for good or ill, are mightier power

*~*

The will is free.

Strong is the soul, and wise, and beautiful.

The seeds of god-like power are in us still;

Gods are we, Bards, saints, heroes,if we will !

*~*

The mark of your ignorance is the depth of your belief
in injustice and tragedy. 

What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, 

The master calls a butterfly.

*~*

No one can make you feel inferior

without your consent.

*~*

The past should be a springboard,

not a hammock.

*~*

In the confrontation

between the stream and the rock,

the stream always wins,

not through strength,

but through perseverance.

*~*

There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands.
You seek problems because you need their gifts. 

*~*

"Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear

--not absence of fear." -- Mark Twain 

*~*

"A man with outward courage may dare to die;
but the one with inward courage dares to live."    --  Lao-tzu

GOD AND EVIL by C.E.M. JOAD  

Extract:

'The thing a man does practically lay to heart and know for certain, concerning his vital relations to this mysterious universe and his duty and destiny there, that is in all cases the primary thing for him and creatively determines all the rest. That is his religion.' - carlyle

A book which takes religion for its subject ought manifestly has to begin with a definition of its subject. Numbers are available, yet none, I feel, is sufficiently authoritative to justify its adoption; for no one of these definitions, that is to say, can it be claimed that it embraces all of what is meant by people when they use the word religion, and that it embraces only what is meant. In the circumstances, the prudent course seems to be to abandon the attempt to frame a definition which is both objective and authoritative, and to take the easier way of indicating what I personally have in mind when I use the word. People have used the word religion to cover many different things; what follows is no more than an indication of those of them which I take to be important and am proposing to discuss in the following pages.

The Propositions of Religion.

First, then, I take religion to consist of a set of propositions to which those who 'believe in' religion would assent. The proposi­tions relate, in the first place, to the nature and purpose of the universe. They are to the effect that the world of solid, everyday things extended in space is not the only world, is not even the real world; for, they assert, there is another world, a world of spirit which is real in some sense in which the familiar world is illusory, and which is eternal as contrasted with the familiar world which is transitory. By many, this spiritual world is regarded as a universal consciousness which expresses itself in our partial consciousnesses or rather which is the essential core or reality of our partial consciousnesses. This essential core of the human being, which is his true self, is thus, by virtue of its participation in the reality of the universal consciousness, immortal. We are, then, immortal souls, and it follows that by virtue of our possession of, or rather, by virtue of our being immortal souls, we are here and now members of the real spiritual world, although by virtue of our bodies we are also and at the same time members of the familiar world of physical things.

If we live aright we can, even while we are in the body upon earth, partially realize our real nature as participators in the spiritual world and prepare ourselves to enter upon our full spiritual inheritance when our souls leave their bodies at death.

The universal consciousness which is the fundamental reality of the universe can be further defined, and by many, perhaps most, religions is further denned, as being of the nature of a Person. This Person is God.

Now we can only conceive of the personality of God in terms of our own personalities; we can, in other words, only conceive of Him anthropomorphically. To do so is no doubt to conceive Him falsely, since God is not after all a man, is not even a perfect man. Nevertheless, we are in a position to make certain state­ments about His attributes, as, for example, that He is all wise, all good, and all powerful; that He created us, created, that is to say, our souls, and that He cares for us and wishes us well; also that He created the familiar world of visible things and, therefore, our bodies which are members of that world. God, then, is the author of our being and it is to Him that we owe the gift of eternal life.

It is possible by practising certain disciplines, which are sum­med up in the words contemplation, meditation and prayer, and by living a good life to enter into direct intercourse with God. Such intercourse has been vouchsafed to the mystics who speak of it in the language of a revealed vision. The mystics are excep­tional men; ordinary men can, however, communicate with God in prayer and, if they.^pray with faith and (what is important) pray for the right things, God will listen to their prayers and grant their requests.

Apart from the direct vision of the mystics, God has revealed Himself in indirect ways to man. There are certain values, the values, namely, of moral goodness, of truth and of beauty, which constitute the permanent objects of human aspiration and the goals of human effort. These values may be conceived as

attributes of God. They are, that is to say, the ways in which God reveals  Himself to man. God has further vouchsafed to man the gift of freedom, so that, although he is free to live a good life, to persue the values and to love God, he is also free to do the reverse of these things.

I do not claim that these propositions cover the whole ground rf religious belief; they do not even constitute the highest com­mon factor of the beliefs of all the great religions. The Buddhists, for example, do not believe in the immortality of the individual soul: the Hindus, that there was first a universal spirit or consciousness which created the world—before God, they claim, there was non-existence from which God Himself sprang—or the Zoroas-nians that God is all-powerful—co-equal with God there is, they hold, another Being who is evil as God is good, who is God's antagonist and fights with Him for the control of the universe and the soul of man. I am conscious, too, that the circumstance of my having been born in a Western civilization and having in­herited a Christian culture and tradition has permitted the beliefs maintained by the Christian religion to colour, many would say to bias, my statement of the propositions common to most religions. If I had been born in India or China, I should no doubt have stated them differently. Nevertheless they do, I think, constitute the essential part of what most people, who at different times in the history of mankind have 'believed in' religion, would be understood to mean when they said that ,they so believed.

The Religious Faculty.

Secondly, there is a question of faculty. I have stated the above propositions as if their truth could be known in the same way as the truths of algebra; but religious truth is not exclusively a matter of intellectual knowledge, nor is the intellect the only faculty which is involved. What other faculties are involved, it is difficult to say. Most religions have, however, consistently maintained, and maintained as a part of the religion, as, that is to say, an article of faith, that mankind cannot live by knowledge alone. To know the truths which religions have affirmed is also to feel the truth of what one knows, so that it no longer remains something outside oneself, but is taken up into and incorporated with one's whole being. The heart, in short, is involved no less than the brain. Hence 'experience' is perhaps a better word than 'knowledge', an experience which is of the whole man; whereas the intellect knows algebra, the heart human love, the emotions fear, it is the whole man, the whole man as thinking, as feeling, as striving and as loving, that knows or experiences the truth of religion.

The Ends of Religion.

The question of faculty raises the question of ends. If there are truths which are beyond the realm of reason or of reason operating alone, it will follow that the knowledge of such truths will exhibit important differences from the kind of knowledge obtained by reason, or by reason operating alone. The characteristic feature of knowledge in the ordinary sense of the term, when we use it to describe the knowledge of the things of this world, is that the knower is separate from what is known. If I know that I hold a pen and sit at a desk, my knowledge does not make me one with the pen or the desk. Indeed, it would be said that I do indeed know them only because I am other than what I know. But the knowledge that is religious knowledge, just because it is more than knowledge, leaps across the gulf which separates knower from known, so that in the last resort, when the soul truly knows God, the soul ceases to be separate from God, ceases, that is to say, to be individual and becomes one with what it knows. This condition of oneness can be achieved while the soul is still in the flesh in the mystical vision, when the true self realises its oneness with the God it knows and loves; it may also be achieved, and permanently achieved, after death, since it is in part the body which separates the soul from God. 'Our spirit,' says St. Catherine of Genoa, 'is ever longing to be free from all bodily sensations so as to be able to unite itself to God through love.'

Even before this stage is reached, however, since the soul cannot know God however imperfectly without loving and revering what it knows, and since in the experience of earthly love the soul of the lover approaches and enters into communion with the soul of the beloved, we may say that the relation of the mind to religious truth is never purely intellectual and other, but is always and from the beginning in part intuitive and akin.

Religious Practice.

Thirdly, there is the question of practice. Since knowledge is not enough, since to know is also to love, to reverence and to strive after, the peculiar kind of knowledge which religion gives carries with it certain obligations, carries in particular the obligation to live in such a way as to commend oneself to Him whom one loves, to humble oneself before Him for whom one feels reverence, to draw nearer to Him after whom one strives. Religion, in other words, enjoins a way of life. It does so for three reasons. First, because such a way of life is seen in the light of revealed truth to be good in itself; secondly, because it is pleasing to God; thirdly, because it is a preparation of the soul for the fuller life to be lived hereafter.

The first and the second motives entail one another. It is good because it pleases God, and it pleases God because it is good. Yet each motive is separately authoritative. It is enough for one who recognizes the value of goodness that the way of life should be good in itself; it is enough for one who loves and fears God that it should be pleasing to Him. The third motive is particularly liable to perversion, since the suggestion that one should live in such and such a way in order to prepare oneself by so living for eternal bliss can be represented as an invitation to take out a long-term insurance policy whose benefits will be drawn in the next world; it can, in other words, be represented as an incentive to the exercise of far-sighted selfishness. In fact, however, this motive follows directly from the recognition of the necessary limitations of the life of the soul in the body, and a consequent determination to achieve a fuller and more blessed life hereafter.

From all these motives, there follows the obligation to live in a certain way. That way has been pointed out to us by the teachers of the great religions. There are important differences in their teachings, but through them there run a number of threads which are fairly clear and fairly consistent: to be kind, gentle, compassionate and just; not to be self-seeking; to discipline, even in some cases to suppress the bodily passions; not to set over much store by the things of this world; to respect the rights of others, treating them as not less important than oneself; to love them so far as one can, and to love and fear God.

These and similar injunctions constitute common elements in the practical teaching of most of the great religions.

But the way of life which the religions enjoin cannot be lived without assistance. Though the spirit is willing, though, that is to say, the true self desires only what is good and to be good, the flesh is weak and the body, which is the source or the vehicle of all manner of evil desires, deflects the true self from its objectives, or so blinds it that it cannot perceive them. Hence arises temptation, which is a conflict between two motives, a good and a bad, often resulting in a yielding to the bad. Because men are by nature sinful, we cannot always resist temptation; we cannot, therefore, lead the life which the religions enjoin, unless God helps us to do so. If, however, we pray to Him for help it will be given. Thus it is only through the assistance of Divine Grace, as it is called, that man can succeed in living aright. 'I clearly recognize,' says St. Catherine of Genoa, 'that all good is in God alone, and that in me, without Divine Grace, there is nothing but deficiency.' 'The one sole thing in myself,' she continues, ' in which I glory, is that I see in myself nothing in which I can glory.'

I am not suggesting that the foregoing constitutes a definition of religion. It is obvious that it does not; but it does convey broadly what I understand by the content and the claims of religion. To an elucidation of this content and an examination of the claims that are made for it, the following pages are devoted.

Freedom from the burden of the Past

 Memory of the past, if vivid and ever-present, 

is like a non-existent ghost which haunts us with our consent.
It becomes an obstacle to freely conduct life in Time which flows only one way.
It is wise to learn the core lesson from the past for guidance;
the wise extract the essence right, and update/use it appropriately.
Otherwise, the past becomes a burden which needs to be dropped at the earliest time.

Else, mired in the past-land, we shall miss the future.

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Leaving no foot-prints behind - Swami Chidananda

"I am" , without qualifications, is the constant assertion of the wise; they are always in the present –– not living in time, but transcending time. Freedom from movement of thought into the past or future and an alertness in which the illusory coordinates of time are not given any place are the characteristics of the Wise.

Pure knowledge has no past, no future; it just is, unqualified by anything. Birds do not leave any mark as they glide gracefully in the air; fishes do not leave a mark when they swim in the ocean. 

Neither haunted by the past nor taunted by the future, the Wise live a blissful life, leaving no footprints behind. They seem to be walking along a path; but if you observe carefully there are no footprints.

Leaving no footprints in their mind as they act dynamically and selflessly in the present, and living their lives without fear, free from pride or regret, empty, totally selfless and pure in oneself, with no grudge, at ease with themselves and with all of God’s creation, subject to no pulls or pushes, the Wise are ever blissful and are always in the present.

Is it any wonder that the most beautiful actions come out of such divine persons?
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Quote from J.K:
You cannot escape from experiences, 
but they need not take root in the soil of the mind.
These roots give rise to problems, conflicts and constant struggle.
There is no way out of this but to die each day to every yesterday;
And live eternally in the present. -- J Krishnamurti

OLD AGE DEMENTIA - ALZHIEMER'S

A Singular Life, an All Too Common End

By PAULA SPAN¶

http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/09/a-singular-life-an-all-too-common-end/#h[PSiPSi] 

The long list of roles Margaret Thatcher played during her 87 years — potent politician, free-market evangelist, labor antagonist, dominant global leader — includes the one she never publicly discussed: person with dementia.

The stroke that killed her on Monday was not her first. Mrs. Thatcher suffered several small strokes more than a decade earlier, canceled all her speaking engagements in 2003 and largely withdrew from public life. Even before the strokes, her daughter, Carol, wrote in a 2008 memoir, she was losing cognitive ground, repeating questions and showing other signs of confusion.

Heart-breakingly, she often forgot that her beloved husband, Denis, had died of cancer in 2003. “I had to keep giving her the bad news over and over again,” her daughter wrote. “Every time it finally sank in that she had lost her husband of more than 50 years, she’d look at me sadly and say, ‘Oh’, as I struggled to compose myself. ‘Were we all there?’ she’d ask softly.”

At the time, members of her mother’s political circle and other British commentators denounced Carol Thatcher for invading her mother’s privacy and, supposedly, diminishing her dignity. The criticism arose again in some quarters last year, when Meryl Streep won an Oscar for her portrayal of Mrs. Thatcher’s dementia in “The Iron Lady.”

The contrast with her fellow conservative and staunch supporter Ronald Reagan perhaps says something about American openness versus British reserve. Or maybe his movie-star past made him more at ease in the public eye.

Mr. Reagan chose to disclose his Alzheimer’s disease in a handwritten open letter in 1994, accompanied by an explanatory letter from his doctors. He, too, had experienced memory loss for a couple of years, and once he got the Alzheimer’s diagnosis, he and Nancy Reagan considered how much to say.

“In opening our hearts, we hope this might promote greater awareness of this condition,” his letter said. “Perhaps it will encourage a clearer understanding of the individuals and families affected by it.”

Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, to this day, carry a stigma that most other diseases — heart failure, for example — do not. To my mind, Mr. Reagan’s public disclosure showed courage, as Betty Ford’s candor about her breast cancer and her substance abuse did 20 years before.

Mrs. Thatcher’s family, on the other hand, has never discussed her diagnosis — whether she had vascular dementia from the earlier strokes or some other form of the disease. Perhaps she forbade her children to offer details about her illness, or perhaps by the time her condition was clear she was no longer able to make such decisions. We may never know.

But we do know that dementia will become an increasingly common condition in coming years, that it’s a terminal disease which doesn’t respect the public stature or intellectual accomplishments of its victims, that it can cause families to grieve for the people they’ve lost long before they die.

Paula Span is the author of “When the Time Comes: Families With Aging Parents Share Their Struggles and Solutions.”