Hinduism Under Siege in Kerala

The planned and combined attack against Modi, BJP and RSS including Hindu sanyasis by fundamentalists from Muslim, Christian, Communist groups and the Media controlled by them give a clear message, i.e. Hindus as well as Hinduism can no longer feel safe in Kerala. Their beliefs, their leaders and their institutions are ridiculed and attacked more and more, which speaks a lot about the demographic changes and the socio-cultural consequences that bring in.

Hindus believe that the cow is a sacred animal. The Cow has an auspicious status in the ashrams of rishis and sages of India from very ancient time. The famous story of the heavenly cow Kamadhenu and Nandini, the cow of Rishi Vasisht is famous. A cow gives us nourishment in the form of milk, ghee, curds and other valuable milk products that are also used in the preparation of medicines. So a cow is called Gomata in India. Cows were dear to Sri Krishna also. Sri Krishna is called Gopala Krishna, the protector of cows. He is always seen along with cows. So the reverence for cows is an important element of faith in Hinduism. When a Hindu buys a cow and brings her home, she is ceremoniously welcomed with lighted lamp. How should we honour such a benefactor of mankind? Clearly it does not deserve cruelty if not any honour. But the people of Kerala openly attacked this faith of Hindus and cruelly cut calves in the open in defiance of Hindu beliefs and conducted beef festival in Kerala. Luckily, it did not lead to a communal flare up because Hindus are a minority in Kerala, their real population may be in the range of twenty percent. About eighty percent of Kerala is Christian and Muslim (50-55%), Communists and Atheists (25-30).

There are many other aspects of Hindu culture that are being openly attacked in Kerala. Indian culture respects chastity of women. And these groups conducted Kiss Contest in Kerala. Young unmarried men and women openly kissed to defy this noble culture in the name of freedom. Should freedom be to hurt others’ faith? Not only that there are the incidents of dishonour to the national anthem, national flag and other patriotic symbols which the people of India, especially the majority Hindus hold in high reverence. Hindus consider the mother and the mother land greater than heaven. (Janani Janma Bhumischa Swargatapi Gariyasi). There are people here who oppose and insult the patriotic spirit of Hindus in the name of religious faith, because Muslims worship only Allah, not the motherland. They even ridicule yogic exercises because it is somehow connected with Indian culture and Hinduism. So is it that the religious faith of a particular community is to be protected, while that of the other is to be opposed.

Another thing that confounds me is the allegation that Hindus are communal, persecute minorities and divide Indians on the basis of religion. What has happened during the Muslim rule of India is well known. Hindus were forced to convert and accept Islam or face death; their temples were razed to the ground and masjids built in their place. Hindus were forced to pay a special tax in order to remain a citizen of India. In contrast, compare what Hindus have done to the early Parsi, Jew, Christian and Muslim settlers. The Hindu rulers always assisted them to establish their prayer houses and gave freedom to practice their faith. Hindu civilisation is alien to any exclusive view of God; it gives freedom to have different views on God. Then how and when did Hindus become communal?

After independence the Muslims wanted an exclusive nation for them, so the country was cut into two with the cruel massacre of millions of people. What is happening now in Kashmir, which has remained an inalienable part of India for time immemorial? There Muslim fundamentalists are fighting for an Islamic state separate from India. They do not want to remain with a secular democratic India but want to join Pakistan or create another nation for themselves all in the name of Islam. Very recently another Muslim leader said that Muslims want another partition. Muslim leaders like Owaisi spit venom on Hindus and say the population of Muslims has become 25 crores and now they can take on Hindus. Political Islam cannot accept democratic and secular rule as its allegiance is only to Allah and Sharia. So once they have the number, the demand for a separation nation arises. No need to blame them, because it is the inherent nature of Islam. That is why the Muslim leaders in India oppose Indian constitution when it comes to the question of uniform civil code and other laws that affect Muslim customs and beliefs. So India even though it is a secular democratic country is unable to implement Uniform Civil Code or pass laws related to Triple Talaq etc.

So who is Communal? Hindus? No. It is making a goat a wolf. Hindus are not communal. Their religion teaches them only to be liberal and tolerant to other faiths. But does it mean that the faith of Hindus should be ridiculed and attacked in their motherland? Such a negative and intolerant attitude on the part of religious minorities and leftists group have given rise to Hindutva. Communalism of one leads to the communalism of the other. Intolerance generates intolerance. Hatred generates hatred. Hatred can be overcome only through love and accommodation. That is the culture the great rishis of India taught. And their teachings is the soul of India.

Now when a tragedy has struck Kerala, even this calamity is used to attack Prime Minister Modi and BJP. It shows the consequences of increasing population shift of Muslims and Christians who have an upper hand in Kerala politics. In addition, there is the Communists who are ever in conflict with Hindu groups. The Communists are mostly from backward Hindu communities who are aggrieved by the caste system of brahmins, although caste system has ended long ago constitutionally. The Communists have become a good tool in the hands of minority groups to resist Hinduism. Peace and progress can be achieved only when the faith of all people including Hindus are respected. Religious freedom and religious rights should not be tilted towards only the minorities, who are in majority in some states of India. Otherwise it can lead to a terrible communal holocaust unpleasant than the floods now. Also, it is time for a great reformation of Hinduism. Faith in the Only One God as well as the idea of One People is absolutely essential in this age.

Mukundan P.R.

Note: The above is my personal view. It has nothing to do with the tenets of Santhigiri Ashram, where I serve. Santhigiri Ashram is above all isms, caste and religious boundaries and teaches mankind a unifying path of spirituality.

Why Hinduism Has to Evolve?

We have only one religion – the Religion of Liberation’, said Navajyotisri Karunakara Guru (1927-1999), the founder of Santhigiri Guru Parampara about the path of Dharma he founded. Guru Dharma deals with principles related to the spiritual scheme of time cycles (Yuga Dharma), wisdom transmission (Guru Dharma) and the laws concerning soul’s transmigratory journey for the fulfilling experience of non-dual consciousness. Guru revealed the way for experiencing the pure vision of non-dual Truth living in the duality of phenomenal existence.

We might take time cycles i.e. Yugas, Manvantaras, and Kalpa as some obscure concepts from an unknown past. Just like time in the form of day and night as well as year and season is bound to human destiny, Yugas and Manvantaras are the measurements of infinite time, related to the origin and evolution of life and consciousness in the solar system. The solar system has come into being with such matchless perfection by the Will of Brahman, the Transcendental Light (Brahma Prakasham).

How can the Absolute Nondual Truth create a world of plurality is a question that continues to perplex man.  Existence cannot come into being from non-existence, declare the Upanishads (Chandogya Upanishad, VI.II.1). Although the Divine Light is non-dual primordial consciousness and also the basis for phenomenal existence, it creates the world of plurality with names, forms, qualities and different potencies by launching itself through a primordial kinetic urge (Adi Sankalpam).

Adi Sankalpam means the first thought or the Word of God as reflected in the Upanishads as ‘May I Be Many’, ‘May I Create the World’. (Chandogya Upanishad, VI.II.3, Aitareya Upanishad, I, Taitiriya Upanishad, II.vi.i). This primordial urge, the spontaneous self-expression of the nondual Truth creates the boundaries of time and space as well as the whole phenomena of existence, the cosmic plan.  

Some religions are against anthropomorphizing God, as they argue that the Absolute Truth is arupi, i.e. formless. Advaita Vedanta even deny that the creation is only a mirage, an illusion.  However, the argument is only partially true.

Navajyotisri Karunakara Guru said:

‘Although God is arupi (formless), there is swarupam (form). When we say the love of God, we should imagine a ‘swarupam’ (an embodiment) for God in mind, because God indeed is a ‘swarupam’. Saying that God is omnipresent and interpret in some other way, we would never be able to understand God’.

The pure absolute consciousness has to first transform itself into an entity for the purpose of creation, the scriptures reveal. The Brihadaranya Upanishad mentions: ‘In the beginning, this was but the Self in a form similar to that of a Man’. (Rig Veda, 10.90.2, Yajurveda 31:18, Aiteraya Upanishad, 1:1:3).

This progenitor is known as Manu in Indian cosmology. He is the first born of God, the Purusha or the Hiranyagarbha of the Vedas and Upanishads and the Logos in western theology. The Indian rishis calculated the age of the universe in terms of Manvantara after the name of Manu, the archetypal Guru, the primordial Purusha, through whose volition (sankalpa) every solar system comes into existence. Man has lost the awareness about this archetypal heavenly father. Therefore, Indian rishis calculated the age of the universe in terms of Manvantara, the age of a Manu.

Navajyotisri Karunakara Guru said:

‘Manu Parampara (lineage) is to provide God’s dharma to the world. It is a long time now since we have reached to this helpless state of not knowing about Manvantara, Chaturyuga, how many chaturyugas constitute a Manvantara…’

Nine heavenly bodies revolve around the sun creating the conditions for the origin, sustenance, and evolution of human life. The Rishis revealed that a Manvantara has seventy-one age-quartets or Chaturyugas (306,720,000 human years) consisting of Satya, Treta, Dwapara, and Kali, which cyclically evolve to a pre-determined goal of perfection. Then another solar system begins with the next Manu. Fourteen such archetypal Manus appear in an episode of creation called Kalpa.

‘When we talk about the origin of the universe, the yuga-cycles and dissolutions happen with such a long age. Manvantara comes at the transition to another yuga-cycle after dissolution’ (Navajyotisri Karunakara Guru).

This process of creation goes on infinitely, without a beginning and end, which explains the theory of an expanding universe with its billions of galaxies and the possible existence of countless solar systems. Therefore, the Indian name for God is Brahman, which means that which expands.

‘There is a measure of Brahma Prakasham (Divine Light) for the movement of the solar system’ said Navajyotisri Karunakara Guru. The universe moves on the wheel of time, therefore, the human race cannot move forward without the proper awareness of time. Time is the synonym for change. Navajyotisri Karunakara Guru said about it as avastha bhedam (change of nature or stage).

‘Evolving through each age, developing through centuries, we are crossing stages. When we say ‘avastha bhedam’, the stage from a base entity to a Deva is a unique stage (avastha) of ours’ (Navajyotisri Karunakara Guru).

When Darvin’s theory of evolution is taken further to ethereal planes (mandalas), the soul of man further evolves into the status of greater luminous bodies of a deva, Rishi, sanyasi and other higher levels of manifestation. The soul goes through ten spiritual stages of transformation, according to the Guru. The worlds mentioned in the Bhagavata Purana and other texts relate to these stages of soul evolution.

After the age of Kali, the Chaturyuga cycle again begins with Satya, Treta, Dwapara, and Kali. Satya Yuga is the age of perfection, when God realization is direct, according to the Rishis. While the perfected souls in Satya Yuga adorn the heavens as radiant entities and merge with Brahman (the absolute nondual state) at the end of a Kalpa, souls in the various states of evolution such as an animal, human, deva or a rishi also have to go through the long process of evolution through the cycle of ages. The soul might go down in the process of evolution when righteous dharma and karma are violated.

The present age is the Kali Yuga of 28th Chaturyuga, with 43 Chaturyugas to go, to complete this Manu cycle. Kali Yuga is a period of spiritual perfection. The spiritual order of Kali yuga requires that man attains necessary soul luminance to qualify for the all perfect Satya Yuga, rectifying the mistakes that might have happened in the karma and dharma of previous yuga cycles dwapara and treta.  Sanatana Dharma is related to this eternal spiritual order.

However, the mediums of revelation, as well as the modes of application, change from time to time because of socio-environmental changes and human errors that trigger periodical civilizational changes. This change is continuous. Spiritual guides appear for various durations such as 1000, 2000, 3500 or 5000 in a yuga cycle.

‘When the Treta Yuga is completely traversed in the order of Yuga Dharma, an ideology cannot remain more than 5000 or 10000 years. With the passage of time, many failings come in those ideologies’ (Navajyotisri Karunakara Guru).

In view of the above, Yuga Dharma embodies the concept of age-specific renewal of the Dharmic order.

Karunakara Guru said: ‘Yuga Dharma is not only for any particular caste, religion or person. Yuga Dharma is for the whole world… we should know what is Yuga Dharma. There is no use taking up all the four without following what is to be followed in each Yuga. But, we have a tradition that has taken up all the four’.

The ways of worship and social laws of bygone ages (Treta and Dwapara) are practiced in Kali Yuga against the age-specific spiritual order of Sanatana Dharma. The regime of Mahatmas and their spiritual guidance pertaining to Kali Yuga according to the concept of yuga dharma are ignored. Sri Ram, the guru of Treta and Sri Krishna, the guru of Dwapara, whose spiritual incumbency belonged to their respective ages, as well as the rituals and the sacred chants of those yugas are followed in the Kali Yuga. The rights and wrongs of the past yugas are repeated arresting the age-related spiritual evolvement.

While the Vedic tradition portrayed Kali Yuga as an age of ruin, Navajyotisri Karunakara Guru said that Kali is the best age after Satya Yuga since it is an age of spiritual evolvement. The revelations of Navajyoti Sri Karunakara Guru regarding the Dharmic order of Kali Yuga deserve serious attention:

*. We should make changes according to the time. Time will not step aside for us. Since this is the age of Kali, what is required is the propagation of Dharma suitable to Kali Yuga.

*. If the time of Deva in the Treta and Dwapara had been fulfilled through mantra and tantra, it has to be fulfilled through austerities and knowledge (tapas and jnana) in the age of Kali.

* Most jnanis have not been able to understand what the Dharmic order of Kali Yuga is.

* In order to implement Kali Yuga Dharma, a correction and a new path is required. The new path is to develop a good character among the people.

The effort for the transition to Kali Yuga Dharma had begun from Sri Krishna. After Sri Krishna, the Upanishad Rishis, Sri Buddha, Mahavir and other Mahatmas tried to rejuvenate the jnana tradition of India. However, their efforts remain unfulfilled because of spiritual distortions.

Navajyotisri Karunakara Guru referred to it as ‘the error that denied Guru Dharma in the name of Vedic dharma’. Guru said that there would be a change only when we accept the path opened by the Mahatmas:

‘What is required first is the removal of ignorance. That only will lead to victory. What is required for that? We should understand the vision of Mahatmas; should think about it and then try to actualize it. Thus, if we strive step by step, we can reach the desired shore…. Our destined karma is to knock at the door and find out the self-sacrifice of every great soul, that they did for our sake…Mahatmas are the means to love truth and to know the karma with discrimination.’

But the Mahatmas did not get the desired status in India. The Rishi tradition gave way to the Vedic tradition which tried to cement the Trimurti tradition, the worship of trinity gods (Siva, Vishnu and Goddess) and their large family of gods, divinities and gurus under it. The Hindus of India are thus divided into many sects and caste groups leading to their spiritual disunity.  Therefore, the efforts to unite Hindus have always failed.

 Navajyotisri Karunakara Guru said:

‘An effort has taken place to unite us through Vaishnava, Shaiva and Sakteya traditions. But people would not be united in that way because these three had come in three different ways. What is required for unifying is some awareness.’

The mistake prevailing in the world now is that the dharma of the fourth epoch (Kali Yuga) has not been implemented here. Navajyotisri Karunakara Guru said that the worship of One Almighty God has to be perfected in Kali Yuga. The doctrine of One Absolute God was put forward by India first. However, for the last few millenniums, Vedic tradition functioned without giving respect to the jnana tradition; therefore, Yuga dharma could not be established here.

The idea of One God worship was propagated by prophets such as Moses, Jesus, and Mohammad in West Asia, which has spread throughout the world. But in the prophetic religions, there is no clear concept about cosmic time order – about the Yugas and Manvantaras. They also do not accept the theory of spiritual evolution, reincarnation, etc.

Nature has an inherent character to evolve the soul to its Absolute status through a series of evolutionary incarnations. There exists, also a divine intervention that creates or directs this rhythmic evolution. The uniqueness of Indian spirituality is this idea of a divine intervention, in the form of a spiritual embodiment that exists as the ‘witnessing authority of all actions and knowledge (Karma-Dharma-Saakshi, i.e. Guru Incarnation). Indian spirituality considers the relationship between an enlightened Guru - who is the embodiment of absolute realization- and the souls who are struggling to attain freedom from the chains of imperfection as the fundamental dharma for the evolvement and fulfilment of all living beings. 

The path of Navajyoti Sri Karunakara Guru is the hope for the whole human race to unite spiritually. It is an opportunity for Hinduism and India to evolve with universal acceptance.

Mukundan P.R.

The Theory of Evolution Basic to Indian Thought

The riddle behind the origin of universe, its sustenance and transformation has always vexed human intelligence and imagination. Nevertheless, the vigour of man’s search to discover the unknown has never weakened. That there is an ‘Invisible Idea’ behind Creation is fundamental in spirituality. This fundamental ‘plan’ or idea is behind the origin of life-energy (soul or jeeva), its manifestation and transformation through a physical medium.

Indian spiritual thought is related to this perception regarding the successive evolvement of soul and body through the conduit of time (in the form of Yugas and Manvantaras). A person who tries to know Indian philosophy in depth could discern this fact. In that way, we can see this nature as a perfect setting inherent with different shades of life-potencies for evolvement of individual life forms.

The soul in its infinitesimal form should evolve to its Absolute nature, which necessitates an evolutionary scheme.  Nature has an inherent character to evolve the jeeva to its Absolute status through a series of evolutionary incarnations. There is the process of moulding the physical setting according to the nature and quality of evolution presupposing an inter-relationship between spirit’s evolutionary status and physical attributes.

There exists, also a divine intervention that creates or directs this rhythmic evolution. The uniqueness of Indian spirituality is this idea of a divine intervention, in the form of a spiritual embodiment that exists as the ‘witnessing authority of all actions and knowledge (Karma-Dharma-Saakshi, i.e. Guru Incarnation) in the evolutionary process of soul and body. In the practical plane, this concept existed in India in the form of Guru-Disciple spirituality in the scheme of Sanatana Dharma.

     

Since the evolutionary process is successive, the manifestation of ‘Karma-Dharma- Saakshi’ (the Guru Incarnation) is also successive in terms of humanity’s spiritual progression. This process has been ordained in a manner of ‘karma and dharma’ according to the age, which is referred as Yuga Dharma.

Yuga Dharma is the dharmic orientation of life in accordance with the evolving cycles of time for the soul and body to evolve from its imperfect state to its Absolute status or from the state of nescience to absolute enlightenment. Indian spirituality considers the relationship between an enlightened Guru - who is the embodiment of absolute realization- and the souls who are struggling to attain freedom from the chains of imperfection as the fundamental dharma for the evolvement and fulfilment of all living beings.

There is a revelatory knowledge, which gives the information about such Guru Incarnations who help the imperfect souls to reach the path of perfection. We were not able to comprehend the history of revelations about such great souls and about the prophesies made by them about the incarnations that are to come in succession.

We should realize that beyond the wondrous feats and occult performances, there is this path of spiritual evolvement for the soul and body in accordance with a perennial law in nature. There should be a correction to our ignorance on this subject, as it is not good to wait yet.

(From the Introduction to the book ‘The Riddle of Manu, Manvantara Avatars and World Teacher Prophecies’ published by Santhigiri Ashram, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala)

What is the basis of the Dharmic Order of India?

Why Hinduism continues to hit roadblocks despite its unparalleled rich spiritual history? The reason is the distortions, dilutions and interpolations the scriptures have undergone in the hands of some greedy Vaidikas. Let us first see what is the basis of the Dharmic Order of India? Is it based on Trimurty tradition or Manu tradition? First this should be decided. In the Trimurti tradition (Hinduism), Brahma, Vishnu, Siva and several other deities are mentioned as authorities of creation in the puranas, which are written down to satisfy various sects in India. But in Sanatana Dharma or Manu Dharma, Manu is the creator, not Brahma. 

Who is this Manu? Everything originates from Manu. For this reason, Manu is called the progenitor of mankind and the cosmic time cycles are calculated in terms of Manvantara after the name of Manu. The concept of Adam has originated from Manu. Manu and Satarupa were the first man and woman God created, it is written in the Upanishads and Puranas. But the Vedic scribes distorted the original Manu Dharma in order to promote temple-centric Trimurti spiritual order in which brahmin is also made a god (brahmana devo bhava). The history of Manu was omitted except the mention of his name in scriptures. The texts mentioning the history of Manu are lost.

Sanatana Dharma does not promote devi-deva worship, but the worship of Brahman alone through the medium of an enlightened spiritual master. This is what the Upanishads and sacred texts like Bhagavad Gita and Guru Gita teach. Sanatana Dharma is Ashram-centric or Guru-centric spiritual culture, whereas Trimurti tradition or the present day Hinduism is temple-centric or priest centric religious culture. It has caste laws attached to it. Caste laws are written down in the puranas, epics and smritis like Manu Smriti. These texts are not authoritative. They have undergone several distortions in the hands of Vedic scholars during the course of several ages. Rishis have advised to weed out these interpolations just like we separate pebbles etc. from grains bought from shops.One should accept only the original teachings of rishis. Caste system alienates people from each other as it arbitrarily makes people high and low by birth.

There is no caste system in Sanatana Dharma, whereas Hinduism advocates and practises caste system which has done immense damage to Hinduism (Sanatana Dharma) and Hindu unity. Unless this spiritual distortion brought about by selfish Vaidikas is corrected, Hinduism will continue to face its challenges and existential crisis.

If one has to understand Sanatana Dharma, Manu Dharma is to be understood. Manu Dharma is the cosmic order of spiritual evolution through the Manvantara time cycles. This spiritual evolution is presided over by an enlightened Guru in every yuga, such as Sri Ram in Treta Yuga, Sri Krishna in Dwapara Yuga. There will be gurus for shorter periods, 1500 years, 2000 years, etc. under the Supreme Guru of a Yuga. After that those religious movements get degenerated and another spiritual guide appears by the Will of God for further spiritual guidance of mankind. This is the Dharmic Order in the universe and the Rishis called it rightly as Sanatana Dharma, i.e. God's Eternal Spiritual Order. The basis of India's tolerance towards other religions rests on this concept of spiritual evolution over ascending ages lasting up to Satya Yuga, the all perfect age.

Trimurti gods Brahma, Vishnu, Siva and great gurus like Sri Ram, Sri Krishna were spiritual masters of bygone ages. The spiritual tenure of these masters does not work in Kali Yuga, because Kali Yuga has its own Supreme Guru and a Dharma of its own. It is known as Yuga Dharma. So concepts such as 'The Only Messenger of God' or 'The Final Messenger of God' are blind and irrational beliefs negating the eternal spiritual order of Almighty God. It is against God's spiritual scheme of evolution.

Now all the world religions are on the brink of a collapse as they have outlived their spiritual tenure more or less. Now this is the time for another spiritual renewal through a great Master. There are many prophecies about the arrival of such a Guru. There is the prophecy about  a Maitreya Buddha (Mettayya) in Buddhism, the Son of Man in Christianity, the Mahdi Imam in Islam and several others.  In recent times, Sri Aravind Ghosh had seen in vision the arrival of a Supramental Light on the earth plane accompanied by Sri Krishna. The great Guru in the prophecies has taken birth in India, in the southern most State of Kerala - Gods' Own Country. That supreme spiritual Master is none other than Navajyoti Sri Karunakara Guru, who came to re-establish Sanatana Dharma, the eternal spiritual order. Hinduism can regain its stature as the World Guru by recognising and following the footsteps of the Guru. This is a rare opportunity given by God Almighty to remove all the pollution in Sanatana Dharma.

Why Hinduism Has to Evolve?

We have only one religion – the Religion of Liberation’, said Navajyotisri Karunakara Guru (1927-1999), the founder of Santhigiri Guru Parampara about the path of Dharma he founded. Guru Dharma deals with principles related to the spiritual scheme of time cycles (Yuga Dharma), wisdom transmission (Guru Dharma) and the laws concerning soul’s transmigratory journey for the fulfilling experience of non-dual consciousness. Guru revealed the way for experiencing the pure vision of non-dual Truth living in the duality of phenomenal existence.

We might take time cycles i.e. Yugas, Manvantaras, and Kalpa as some obscure concepts from an unknown past. Just like time in the form of day and night as well as year and season is bound to human destiny, Yugas and Manvantaras are the measurements of infinite time, related to the origin and evolution of life and consciousness in the solar system. The solar system has come into being with such matchless perfection by the Will of Brahman, the Transcendental Light (Brahma Prakasham).

How can the Absolute Nondual Truth create a world of plurality is a question that continues to perplex man.  Existence cannot come into being from non-existence, declare the Upanishads (Chandogya Upanishad, VI.II.1). Although the Divine Light is non-dual primordial consciousness and also the basis for phenomenal existence, it creates the world of plurality with names, forms, qualities and different potencies by launching itself through a primordial kinetic urge (Adi Sankalpam).

Adi Sankalpam means the first thought or the Word of God as reflected in the Upanishads as ‘May I Be Many’, ‘May I Create the World’. (Chandogya Upanishad, VI.II.3, Aitareya Upanishad, I, Taitiriya Upanishad, II.vi.i). This primordial urge, the spontaneous self-expression of the nondual Truth creates the boundaries of time and space as well as the whole phenomena of existence, the cosmic plan.  

Some religions are against anthropomorphizing God, as they argue that the Absolute Truth is arupi, i.e. formless. Advaita Vedanta even deny that the creation is only a mirage, an illusion.  However, the argument is only partially true.

Navajyotisri Karunakara Guru said:

‘Although God is arupi (formless), there is swarupam (form). When we say the love of God, we should imagine a ‘swarupam’ (an embodiment) for God in mind, because God indeed is a ‘swarupam’. Saying that God is omnipresent and interpret in some other way, we would never be able to understand God’.

The pure absolute consciousness has to first transform itself into an entity for the purpose of creation, the scriptures reveal. The Brihadaranya Upanishad mentions: ‘In the beginning, this was but the Self in a form similar to that of a Man’. (Rig Veda, 10.90.2, Yajurveda 31:18, Aiteraya Upanishad, 1:1:3).

This progenitor is known as Manu in Indian cosmology. He is the first born of God, the Purusha or the Hiranyagarbha of the Vedas and Upanishads and the Logos in western theology. The Indian rishis calculated the age of the universe in terms of Manvantara after the name of Manu, the archetypal Guru, the primordial Purusha, through whose volition (sankalpa) every solar system comes into existence. Man has lost the awareness about this archetypal heavenly father. Therefore, Indian rishis calculated the age of the universe in terms of Manvantara, the age of a Manu.

Navajyotisri Karunakara Guru said:

‘Manu Parampara (lineage) is to provide God’s dharma to the world. It is a long time now since we have reached to this helpless state of not knowing about Manvantara, Chaturyuga, how many chaturyugas constitute a Manvantara…’

Nine heavenly bodies revolve around the sun creating the conditions for the origin, sustenance, and evolution of human life. The Rishis revealed that a Manvantara has seventy-one age-quartets or Chaturyugas (306,720,000 human years) consisting of Satya, Treta, Dwapara, and Kali, which cyclically evolve to a pre-determined goal of perfection. Then another solar system begins with the next Manu. Fourteen such archetypal Manus appear in an episode of creation called Kalpa.

‘When we talk about the origin of the universe, the yuga-cycles and dissolutions happen with such a long age. Manvantara comes at the transition to another yuga-cycle after dissolution’ (Navajyotisri Karunakara Guru).

This process of creation goes on infinitely, without a beginning and end, which explains the theory of an expanding universe with its billions of galaxies and the possible existence of countless solar systems. Therefore, the Indian name for God is Brahman, which means that which expands.

‘There is a measure of Brahma Prakasham (Divine Light) for the movement of the solar system’ said Navajyotisri Karunakara Guru. The universe moves on the wheel of time, therefore, the human race cannot move forward without the proper awareness of time. Time is the synonym for change. Navajyotisri Karunakara Guru said about it as avastha bhedam (change of nature or stage).

‘Evolving through each age, developing through centuries, we are crossing stages. When we say ‘avastha bhedam’, the stage from a base entity to a Deva is a unique stage (avastha) of ours’ (Navajyotisri Karunakara Guru).

When Darvin’s theory of evolution is taken further to ethereal planes (mandalas), the soul of man further evolves into the status of greater luminous bodies of a deva, Rishi, sanyasi and other higher levels of manifestation. The soul goes through ten spiritual stages of transformation, according to the Guru. The worlds mentioned in the Bhagavata Purana and other texts relate to these stages of soul evolution.

After the age of Kali, the Chaturyuga cycle again begins with Satya, Treta, Dwapara, and Kali. Satya Yuga is the age of perfection, when God realization is direct, according to the Rishis. While the perfected souls in Satya Yuga adorn the heavens as radiant entities and merge with Brahman (the absolute nondual state) at the end of a Kalpa, souls in the various states of evolution such as an animal, human, deva or a rishi also have to go through the long process of evolution through the cycle of ages. The soul might go down in the process of evolution when righteous dharma and karma are violated.

The present age is the Kali Yuga of 28th Chaturyuga, with 43 Chaturyugas to go, to complete this Manu cycle. Kali Yuga is a period of spiritual perfection. The spiritual order of Kali yuga requires that man attains necessary soul luminance to qualify for the all perfect Satya Yuga, rectifying the mistakes that might have happened in the karma and dharma of previous yuga cycles dwapara and treta.  Sanatana Dharma is related to this eternal spiritual order.

However, the mediums of revelation, as well as the modes of application, change from time to time because of socio-environmental changes and human errors that trigger periodical civilizational changes. This change is continuous. Spiritual guides appear for various durations such as 1000, 2000, 3500 or 5000 in a yuga cycle.

‘When the Treta Yuga is completely traversed in the order of Yuga Dharma, an ideology cannot remain more than 5000 or 10000 years. With the passage of time, many failings come in those ideologies’ (Navajyotisri Karunakara Guru).

In view of the above, Yuga Dharma embodies the concept of age-specific renewal of the Dharmic order.

Karunakara Guru said: ‘Yuga Dharma is not only for any particular caste, religion or person. Yuga Dharma is for the whole world… we should know what is Yuga Dharma. There is no use taking up all the four without following what is to be followed in each Yuga. But, we have a tradition that has taken up all the four’.

The ways of worship and social laws of bygone ages (Treta and Dwapara) are practiced in Kali Yuga against the age-specific spiritual order of Sanatana Dharma. The regime of Mahatmas and their spiritual guidance pertaining to Kali Yuga according to the concept of yuga dharma are ignored. Sri Ram, the guru of Treta and Sri Krishna, the guru of Dwapara, whose spiritual incumbency belonged to their respective ages, as well as the rituals and the sacred chants of those yugas are followed in the Kali Yuga. The rights and wrongs of the past yugas are repeated arresting the age-related spiritual evolvement.

While the Vedic tradition portrayed Kali Yuga as an age of ruin, Navajyotisri Karunakara Guru said that Kali is the best age after Satya Yuga since it is an age of spiritual evolvement. The revelations of Navajyoti Sri Karunakara Guru regarding the Dharmic order of Kali Yuga deserve serious attention:

*. We should make changes according to the time. Time will not step aside for us. Since this is the age of Kali, what is required is the propagation of Dharma suitable to Kali Yuga.

*. If the time of Deva in the Treta and Dwapara had been fulfilled through mantra and tantra, it has to be fulfilled through austerities and knowledge (tapas and jnana) in the age of Kali.

* Most jnanis have not been able to understand what the Dharmic order of Kali Yuga is.

* In order to implement Kali Yuga Dharma, a correction and a new path is required. The new path is to develop a good character among the people.

The effort for the transition to Kali Yuga Dharma had begun from Sri Krishna. After Sri Krishna, the Upanishad Rishis, Sri Buddha, Mahavir and other Mahatmas tried to rejuvenate the jnana tradition of India. However, their efforts remain unfulfilled because of spiritual distortions.

Navajyotisri Karunakara Guru referred to it as ‘the error that denied Guru Dharma in the name of Vedic dharma’. Guru said that there would be a change only when we accept the path opened by the Mahatmas:

‘What is required first is the removal of ignorance. That only will lead to victory. What is required for that? We should understand the vision of Mahatmas; should think about it and then try to actualize it. Thus, if we strive step by step, we can reach the desired shore…. Our destined karma is to knock at the door and find out the self-sacrifice of every great soul, that they did for our sake…Mahatmas are the means to love truth and to know the karma with discrimination.’

But the Mahatmas did not get the desired status in India. The Rishi tradition gave way to the Vedic tradition which tried to cement the Trimurti tradition, the worship of trinity gods (Siva, Vishnu and Goddess) and their large family of gods, divinities and gurus under it. The Hindus of India are thus divided into many sects and caste groups leading to their spiritual disunity.  Therefore, the efforts to unite Hindus have always failed.

 Navajyotisri Karunakara Guru said:

‘An effort has taken place to unite us through Vaishnava, Shaiva and Sakteya traditions. But people would not be united in that way because these three had come in three different ways. What is required for unifying is some awareness.’

The mistake prevailing in the world now is that the dharma of the fourth epoch (Kali Yuga) has not been implemented here. Navajyotisri Karunakara Guru said that the worship of One Almighty God has to be perfected in Kali Yuga. The doctrine of One Absolute God was put forward by India first. However, for the last few millenniums, Vedic tradition functioned without giving respect to the jnana tradition; therefore, Yuga dharma could not be established here.

The idea of One God worship was propagated by prophets such as Moses, Jesus, and Mohammad in West Asia, which has spread throughout the world. But in the prophetic religions, there is no clear concept about cosmic time order – about the Yugas and Manvantaras. They also do not accept the theory of spiritual evolution, reincarnation, etc.

Nature has an inherent character to evolve the soul to its Absolute status through a series of evolutionary incarnations. There exists, also a divine intervention that creates or directs this rhythmic evolution. The uniqueness of Indian spirituality is this idea of a divine intervention, in the form of a spiritual embodiment that exists as the ‘witnessing authority of all actions and knowledge (Karma-Dharma-Saakshi, i.e. Guru Incarnation). Indian spirituality considers the relationship between an enlightened Guru - who is the embodiment of absolute realization- and the souls who are struggling to attain freedom from the chains of imperfection as the fundamental dharma for the evolvement and fulfilment of all living beings. 

The path of Navajyoti Sri Karunakara Guru is the hope for the whole human race to unite spiritually. It is an opportunity for Hinduism and India to evolve with universal acceptance.

Mukundan P.R.

Senior Coordinator, 

Santhigiri Social Research Institute

Thiruvananthapuram

Reference:

Navajyoti Sri Karunakara Guru, A Dialogue on Human Prospect, Santhigiri Publications

Mukundan P.R., The Riddle of Manu, Manvantara Avatars and World Teacher Prophecies, Santhigiri Publications

Navajyoti Sri Karunakara Guru, The Liberating Dharma, Santhigiri Publications

Sanatana Dharma Will Rule the World

“Islam and Christianity are prophetic religions which do not have a long history. Besides, there is a deviation from the time of Moses. Also these two religions have more or less performed their functions, in their respective paths. The changes brought about by the Christian and Islamic presence in India were considerable. The Christian British bettered the lot of the lower castes and educated them. They started getting sufficient to improve their physique. Some from among these sections identified themselves with the occupying suzerain and became part of the new religious and educational institutions. They soon participated in the governance and outstripped the Brahmins in cleverness. Those who embraced Islam practiced it as a rigorous discipline. They relied on physical aggression at times and expanded the areas of their influence. Still, the majority of them are disadvantaged as they came from these Hindu communities which were uncultivated in the finer graces of religious culture. However elevated these religious groups might have become through education and affluence and however long they might have stayed close to political power, there is something lacking. The refinement of Sanatana Dharma is that it comes with a virtuous way of life combining cleanliness, tidiness and humility envisaged in the Hindu way of life.
 
The Sanatana law has come to mean a mixing of myths and legends of the ancient past and more recent stories up to the propounder of the Gita. All these are put together with an eagerness to establish Advaita. Those who spout this Advaita, non-duality, are often unsympathetic to neighbors and even to their own brothers and sisters. We are talking all the time. Vedanta degenerates into pedantry. That is why a correction is difficult in this path. As far as Islam and Christianity are concerned conflicts and consequent divisions occurred within them even as they were coming up. This divisive tendency had led to disasters. It is not yet time for another coming (of a prophet or great soul), bringing peace and rejuvenating these faiths. Besides, other paramparas have not been able to go deep into spirituality as the Sanatana or perennial law of the Manvantara system. It is a matter of divine intervention. Such depth of spirituality as this is difficult to find elsewhere. And so is such extensive history and religious culture. Still more significantly, the responsibility of working for the remaining time period of this Manuparampara is vested in the Dharma of the Hindus.
The Manuparampara is the means to impart the Law of the Supreme to the world. Therefore the essence of all religions inheres in this system. An alternative to this way cannot evolve easily in the world.

India is a land of great wisdoms and great civilizations grown over vast periods of time. It should, therefore, strive to establish the perfect culture willed by the Almighty. Not only Christians or Muslims alone, all religions ought to heed this. Though each world religion is essentially part of a totality, each has been separately ennobled by many great men from time to time with their self-sacrifice and effort which have given rise to different customs and traditions. Many such traditions are visible in Hinduism itself. It is doubtful if any other religion is enriched to this extent. In order to mold life in keeping with this Age -the Kali, theologians and all believers of various religions should assess this Kali and its composite culture – the samkara mentioned in the Gita. This is a process to be achieved by the present and future generations…

A reorganization of our society, of our country, is required. All of us, believers, should free ourselves from the destructive effects of the caste system. We should overcome ethnic and religious differences. All children of this land should come together in humility and in devotion to God. That is the way to reorganize. This will give us the strength of mind, and power. The community that could contribute greatly towards this reorganization is the Brahmin community. In them intelligence, skill, ability and shrewdness blend as it were. They should give up their varnasrama caste trappings completely and lay the foundation of a composite—samkara—culture, the culture that is meant for Kali, indicated by the author of the Bhagavad Gita. They should unite with others to build a complete society, totally free from caste or class. They should not be distracted by the differences seen today. The pattern of having one mode of worship for themselves and other modes for the rest should change first. Instead of securing tantric rites people should be firm in the experiential worship of the Divine. Those who strive wholeheartedly for this should lead others who lack awareness. If we do not do this, the births of great souls would be diverted elsewhere away from our ethnic stream. The focus of redemption will move away and we will be left in a complex of Karma…” (Quoted from the book ‘A Dialogue on Human Prospects’ by Navajyoti Sri Karunakara Guru, published by Santhigiri Ashram) 

Navajyoti Sri Karunakara Guru (1927-1999) is the Founder Guru of Santhigiri Ashram at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala

The Riddle Called Guru

Unshakeable Devotion and Love of Disciple that leads to the Riddle called Guru.
(By Her Holiness Sishyapoojita Amrita Jnana Tapaswini)

O’ Guru, innumerable are the shades of emotion that I saw in the glimmer of your graceful look. I am merging in you, the immense and eternal figure of cosmic manifestations, melting unaware even to a speck of life. O’ Guru, You exist in the border-less cosmic expanse of love, as the Truth that could be experienced by anyone. Brightly present in me are the hymns of your praise and its sweet reminiscences.

The disciple who examines your whole birth cycles sees the great glory of Light. That is an experiential aspect, which remains as the greatly profound and greatly silent principle. Everyone can know that truth discreetly only through their self-experience. They are fortunate who are capable to take that type of discretion bowing down. They are people who have seen innumerable ‘visions’ before.

When seen about you, it could be seen that you go beyond kalpas and the plains of kalantara gurus. In those pathways, in the long and sweet memories, innumerable clusters of beautiful shapes are seen gathering in you. The magnitude of the sacrifices that remain powerfully in you is a riddle that is inexhaustibly uncountable and inexpressible. O Lord! Do the others know even a little about the greatness of the radiant stream of love that exists in you infinitely?

Once, your Guru locked you up inside an abattoir in its pools of blood. You had known for what it was. Those were the pages of life afire with sacrifice that had been arranged for passing the myriad ridges of mystic experiences related to spiritual planes. Who else can know about this type of punya? Only you could have gained it absorbing the complete character of numerous visionary aspects.

You were a disciple who became the synonym for patience, suffering whatever sacrifice. You had known that the disciple who absorbs this sacrifice crosses over big phases of life. You understood how a disciple should live honouring the wish of Guru and how to accept the decisions of Guru beyond any room for doubt. Through this, you taught the world that it is the unshakeable devotion and love of the disciple that leads to the riddle called Guru.

That saturating attainment is the absoluteness that cannot be shared or gained by anyone in the world now. It is the tatvamasi - the blissful union of soul that cannot be retrieved from anywhere. Praying that everyone should be able to be unified with your boundless, affectionate and ambrosial love!

(Translated from the original Malayalam by Mukundan P.R.)