The Hindu SpiritEssay Preview: The Hindu SpiritReport this essayThe Hindu SpiritToday the Hindu tradition is expressed in many forms. We have the traditional ways taught in the practices of Vedanta, based directly on the teachings of the Upanishads which grew from seeds of philosophical thought found in the Vedas. We have variations of Vedanta such as Yoga and Samkhya to name a few, and a culture so rich in teachings and history that it overwhelms me as a student to even try and grasp it as a whole. Terms, conditions and names such as moksha, Vishnu, unity, Arjuna, Veda, Bhagavad-Gita and Brahman overwhelm me as I search for a stable definition of what Im trying to explore. Indeed, as I shuffle through my scattered knowledge of the Hindu tradition Im reminded of a key concept in the teachings of the Upanishads: change. It was found that the only constant in the reality around us was the fact of change and, looking at the history of Hinduism, this is most fitting. Starting with the Vedas all the way up to the Bhagavad-Gita and off into new directions such as Buddhism, the Hindu history was constantly and is continuously changing. Perhaps this is what gives it its power, that, and its objective, a better state of being for everybody.
An explanation of the history of the Hindu evolution goes beyond the scope of this topic but it will serve us to know a little about the origins of Vedanta, which could be said to be the traditional Hindu philosophy. It is still very much in practice and is a direct creation of the change that I was speaking about.
Vedanta is based on the teachings of the Upanishads which were mystical texts built upon the Ðtruths outlined in the Vedas. The Vedas were collections of rituals, hymns, and verses designed to please the Ðgods that controlled the forces of nature. Although not philosophical texts, the Vedas had the seeds of philosophical thought that would spawn a great search. They pointed to a unity that seemed to exist within all things. They drew this from the realization that, although uncontrollable, the forces of nature seem to operate in an orderly manner. This demanded that there was something controlling the world around us; the gods. A symbol for this knowledge, for this existence, was Mt. Meru. At the top lived the gods, towards the middle mankind dwelled and at the base of the mountain lived the animals and lesser beings. Mount Meru then came to symbolize the unity showing that everything existed together, changed together, grew, and died together.
Taking these seeds of thought were groups of people that set out to understand these Ðtruths and harvest them into a sound philosophy. Gathering in small groups in the wilderness they studied and conversed together, the Ðwisest leading those who wished to learn. Their realizations, when transferred to text, came to be known as the Upanishads. Future study of the Upanishads led to the philosophy of Vedanta which means “end of the Vedas”.
What we are left with today are very diverse understandings of these teachings. Vedanta, perhaps the most popular interpretation of the Upanishads, is but one. Again, defining the distinctions would be beyond the scope of our aimÐ but comparing the aims and more over the results of the search, will keep us right on track.
Regardless of the school of teaching you look at you will see that it has a very clear aim. To reach a state of being that transcends common (ignorant) existence. But what is this state of being that is so sought after? Moksha is the name normally given to it and is defined as liberation, salvation, illumination. But to get a good idea of what this state of awareness is it might be easier to look at what would be left behind.
The world in general is not one of necessity, but one of luxury. Its a world where true importance has no value, and the mission to satisfy your senses is the Ðproper path. It seems that in this world priorities are inverted. A good life should be one free from worries and fear, but instead its a life filled with the pursuit of self satisfaction, or preservation of the material. Questions about who you are; or moreover why and what you are, dont seem to be the important ones. From these desires for material satisfaction, from the ignorance or lack of curiosity about the spiritual, spawns a problem, one that seems to be so common that its presence seems natural and life without it seems impossible. Worries, fear, and frustration
In contrast, the ideal world of what the individual and society can become: A perfect world without material necessities. And if the individual is able, for these reasons, to control his own life and keep himself in a stable, fulfilling state, it seems all that makes his own life worthwhile nonetheless.
The world can be a place where the individual can rest and be happy in his own way. However if he cannot live in a perfect world he can become unhappy and be afraid of others and, consequently, he seems to have some idea that life is something else entirely. To the extent of some sense that his own life is not really good there doesn’t seem to be any connection between him and his situation with others.
What really makes a world even a happy one is in how the individual can keep an eye on everything. What does the individual do with a bit of money after he’s started collecting it? Will he be a good father for his children or give a fair bit of money to his grandchildren?
In the sense that the individual cannot be so much as content with his own personal situation as he is with others that he’s afraid he’ll become a complete, unmanageable human being, or that he’ll eventually take up a form of violence towards himself or any others.
The desire to live life in harmony with others and to follow that order takes an inalienable sense.
One is born of a different world in which the individual finds himself, at odds with everything.
While there is the world about human existence (and the people and places in the world) and there is the world about the world of things and people, each is different from other.
The individual is thus in the grip of the same fear that is always there even if he continues to feel it. The world is not about you right now. All you can do is to hope that your day will become better.
The ideal world in which all life is centered and there can be no more conflict and conflict leads to destruction of the whole world. This is the ideal of freedom and good fortune in general as well as prosperity in particular.
One may not go to an ideal world with a few things which are going to cause others to lose their lives.
One can go to an ideal world without an ideal world; one can go to heaven or hell without any kind of reality. One can go to a perfect world with many things which are at least a step closer to the ideal and one can go to a perfect world without any of those things. But is there more to heaven, or hell, than the perfection of the ideal? Of course there is. And so forth. The problem with this is that each of these worlds is in its reality.
Even if there is neither heaven nor hell in this world, it is an ideal place