| Enquiry
and Self-Discovery – Essence of Hinduism |
 |
By Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha
Very
often I find the Hindus, both in India and abroad, wondering
as to what is the basic tenet of Hinduism, what practices
constitute the fundamentals of the Hindu way of living. This
is a question which arises in their own minds. Often, the
question is not pursued consistently by the questioners,
either independently or in the presence of those who are
quite well-versed in the Hindu lore. In fact, the
consistent pursuit of religious and philosophical
questioning is itself the basis as well as the finale of
the Hindu life and saadhana.
There
is no wonder in the Hindu minds raising such a question. For
Hinduism is so vast, complex and multifarious in its
structure and expressions that the normal man and woman find
it extremely hard to gain a precise knowledge of what
it is exactly. At the same time, vast, complex and
multifaceted character is what has made the Hindus and their
thoughts an immortal religion
and philosophy of his entire mankind. If one tries to assail
Hinduism in one aspect of its expression and pursuit, it
will reassert itself in another form and expression with
redoubled force and enthusiasm. The practices of the Hindus
are as various as human beings and their individual natures.
Again, they are as complex as Nature Herself, manifest in
the endless universe before us. In spite of their variety,
multiplicity of expression, they no doubt carry their own
unique and intrinsic oneness,
as for instance, do the humans and Nature when closely
studied.
It
is no doubt that today you find in India a number of
temples, which is a landmark of the Hindus, their religious
culture and wisdom. But it is a fact that these temples were
not there a few thousands of years ago. Yet the Hindus were
quite the same and their attainments were greater and more
common among their numbers.
Look
at the Vedic literature which is the first evolved religious
wealth of the Hindus, of the whole mankind as well. The
Vedas began their contents with a reference to a number of
super human deities, caked devatas. These are bit the gods and goddesses presently known to us
and worshipped. They were not idolized and installed in any
temple. If at all, their seat and abode were the minds if
the Vedic religionists themselves. As a means of offer
of gratitude to those deities were evolved, not the
practices you find today in the temples of our country but
the ceremonies in the form of sacrifice and Yajnas. Even these sacrifices had to be dispensed with at one stage,
in the advent of old age and the attendant troubles, Hence,
an innovation or substitute was called for. The staunch
religionists. The votaries of Vedic thought and culture,
took to the practice of meditation done all alone, sitting
still in a place, casting aside all involvements in external
rituals and sacrifices.
Greater
depth probed
The
meditative disciplines and practices, taken to as a result
at that time, were the ones that blossomed into the
spiritual and philosophical questions, which became almost
the inevitable beginning of a new phase of religious life.
When these questions compelled what became a dedicate
pursuit of the heart and the intelligence, engaging them
both in a deep and penetrating probe, then emerged the
zenith and fruition of the whole religious life of the
Hindus. The Upanishadic declarations, the revelations
setting forth the immortal and all-comprehending nature of
the soul of man, were the direct and ultimate result.
You
find the Vedic culture culminating in these Upanishadic
discoveries and the way of life based upon them. Also the
religious life is led to its destined goal and ideal,
thereby fulfilling itself in every understandable way; the assertive
and ambitious human nature standing face to face with peace, harmony and
wisdom, realizing finally that there remains nothing else
before it to enquire into and know in the religious and
spiritual spheres of living and that the ultimate truths
have already been discovered and sported with.
So
the destination for the Hindus is very clear. It is the
discovery of the Supreme Truth about themselves, about the
world in which they live, about the Creator of the universe from
whom arise the promptings for all quests and discoveries.
The whole of the Hindu religious and secular ways of living
are aimed at leading every man and woman to this ultimate
and, this finale, which one may picture in any manner, using
any terminology.
The
question you must ask now is: What in essence will be the
factor which will lead toward the phase of questioning and
answering? In other words, what should be the cardinals, the
pursuit of which will take man to a state of thinking or
mental evolution, wherein he will find himself compelled and
inspired to seek, to enquire into and to know for himself
the Supreme Truth about himself, about the world and about
its Creator?
The
cardinals, whatever one may argue, cannot be too much
divergent. The modes of approaching them may, however, be
different. The recipes may be different. They can be made to suit the ones who eat
and their divergent tastes. But the one common factor,
evidently, is that the items prepared must be edible and
acceptable to those who eat. And on eating them, the eaters
must beget pleasure, have appeasement of their hunger and
get nourished as well.
Apply
this principle to the religious
recipes, their intake and the benefits produced thereby.
Then you will find your questions answered.
The
external modes of religious living may be anything. Today,
they are mostly temple worship in India. To the better
section, it the worship offered individually in their own
homes and pooja
rooms. To a yet rarer few, it is the practices like Yoga-aasans, praanayama etc. To some it is the discipline and
refinement to their actions and the way their minds accept
the results brought in by what they do from time to time –
invariably uniform results can never be had.
Some
are prone to regular japa
(chanting) of a mantra.
Some may recite hymns and slokas.
Some supplement their pursuits with periodical fasting,
study of religious texts etc. Some take to the exclusive
worship of the Guru and his behests, taking special care to
serve him and cater to the needs of his personal life and
the work he does.
Reforming
Personality
The
list can be extended to cover one and all other practices
and ways as well. Thus, the Hindu recognizes all practices
as handy and fruitful towards man’s religious evolution,
provided the practitioner pins his faith and remains
watchful about himself and what he does. The practices are
by which he tries to reform
his personality and cultivate introspection. As is a
vehicle helpful in reaching one’s destination while
traveling, so is the practice a vehicle in taking the human
inwardly to where he wants.
Obviously,
therefore, the practices have to bear this fruit. Their
roles must be such as to take the personality of the
practitioner in all its aspects, and then process
it in such a way that everything in him gets reformed and
tuned to what he intends to achieve in the end.
Among
Hindus, there were and there can be, those who believe in
God as well as those who do not. It is not the literal
recognition of God that matters any time. Like many other
things, at best this can only be a belief.
What
does such a belief of non-belief mean to the believer or
non-believer is the prime consideration for the true Hindu.
If one believes in God, but does not take the trouble of
thinking, talking and acting in the way that his belief and
devotion to God would expect of him, then not much purpose
will be served by his claiming to be a believer and devotee.
In the same way, if a non-believer chooses to be so for his
own reasons and has equally some sound principle of living
and looking at his mind and the world, which principles can
be quite philosophical, spiritual and or yogic,
then he will be able to hit at peace and freedom for
himself, which the former is yet unable to achieve despite
his pet belief.
Here
come, thus, two distinct considerations: the belief or
non-belief which is the object and then the believer or the
non-believer, as the case may be, the subject. Between the
two, the object and the subject, the subject is what truly
counts. If for reforming and improving your nature and
insight you
feel it desirable to foster belief in God, well and good. If
for the same end, you find some other course preferable,
that too is equally good.
With
this kind of a sense, look at the thousands, that go to
worship in temples, churches and mosques. For all of them the
place of worship is the same, be it the temple, the
church or the mosque. The deity or God installed or
represented there in one way or another, is the same. Being
so, do all get the
same progress and purity, or eve the attainment of what
they aim at? Not at all. Each worshipper has his own story
of devotion and its fulfillment to narrate. If the pursuit
of devotion and its fulfillment depended upon the place of
worship, i.e. a temple etc., and the Deity or God
represented there, why this difference for the devotees?
The
only answer is that the practice
of devotion solely rests upon the devotee himself. And
the devotee, this is true of every man, devotee or not, and
that too in any walk of life, is no other than what his
personality and its expressions are. The knowledge one has
gained, the attitudes in general and in particular, the
actions and their ends for which he lives and pursues, these
are what precisely represent him in the world. If all these
are not in tune with what poses to be in is devotion and
piety, then of what practical importance is his devotion?
The
confusion between the subject and the object, taking one for
the other and thereby getting lost to the importance of the
former, is congenial for all humans. When I say it is not so
much belief in something that really matters, but the
believer himself or herself, many of you will not take
the statement with the gravity it deserves for the meaning
it contains!
Looking
at the subjective devotee or seeker and his personality, you
cannot overlook the ultimate factor of all religious and
spiritual living.
Knowledge
Sine Qua Non
Right
knowledge cannot be divested from any pursuit of man. This
is so in respect of his religious and spiritual or yogic
pursuits as well. What is the pursuit, what does it propose
to gain for him, is he getting nearer that end, are the
qualifications required for achieving his end present more
and more etc., these are very vital questions. Whatever you
may say on the ground of faith and its merits, you cannot
oust these considerations. Even faith, closely viewed, is
the refined form of an ultimate knowledge and its
acceptance.
How
can this quest for knowledge be met except by taking the
knowledge pursuit itself as an independent item of
dedication? To gain knowledge, in any field whatever, the
only course available is to approach it in all earnestness.
The approach is through questioning and introspection.
Unless you put the why before a thing, the knowledge about
that thing will never be revealed to you. Ask any question
you like: Why morals and morality? Why dharma or restraint?
Why God? And His realization? What is Yoga? Why should it be
sought? What is the soul and where does it reign? What is
its relationship with the body? Why should the soul be
considered at all in the context of 1ife?
Where
lies the secret source of all powers, external and internal,
we find manifest in the world? How many such sources are
there? Are they one, indeed, as the religions and scriptures
declare? if so, is not the source of all my powers, of all
other things including those of the sun and the moon? If
this be the case, the search for it and its discovery and
its direct apprehension, is rather easy, practicable in any
way.
In
this way. there can be dozens of questions. One or more of
them can be quite delightful and gripping to any one. Every
one should take those which interest his mind most and
pursue them. That will mark the true beginning of the
religious and devotion evolution for him. In fact, this kind
of enquiry and the pursuit of it ever thereafter is the last
stage of religious life. The Upanishads, enjoined at the
end of the Vedas, are an immortal proof for it. So too, the
various stories, dealing with the enquiries and searches
contained in all other scriptures, devotional, yogic or
otherwise, are an equal proof.
For
the devotees too the same is the course, none different. I
am reminded of what Sri Krishna’s parents, Vasudeva and
Devaki, one day asked of the sage Narada, when he visited
Dwaraka in the course of his wanderings. Seating him with
honour, they enquired of the Sage: “What are the
characteristics of the true devotee of the Lord by which the
Lord himself would be propitiated and pleased, and by the
pursuit of which they can evolve themselves and be absorbed
into the immortal being of the supreme lord?”
Is
this not an enquiry? In answer, Sage Narada, repeated
exactly what transpired between the None Sages of yore and
the Emperor Nimi, who too enquired of the former in
precisely the same way as did Vasudeva and Devaki. The whole
conversation, which consisted of questions and answers, was
reproduced by Sage Narada to Sri Krishna’s parents.
That
is how I say that enquiry and introspection become the final
constituent of any valid pursuit of Hinduism. By enquiry
alone your inner being can be made
to rise and reach the heights you want to. By
introspection alone can you rate yourself as to where you
are, what you are now and how and where you should be.
Hinduism becomes Hinduism
only when this enquiry and introspection form a vital part.
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