The Vedanta Way to Peace and Happiness

Swami Adiswarananda

Description

Discover how the crown jewel of Hindu teachings can enrich your life and spirituality.

Guarded for centuries by saints and ascetics in the forests and mountains of India, the universal principles of Vedanta were deemed too precious to be understood by the masses until Swami Vivekananda first introduced them in the West at the end of the nineteenth century.

Today Vedanta’s principles of self-awareness, self-knowledge and self-control are available for anyone who wants to enrich their life by following this ancient tradition. Fusing science, philosophy, meditation and contemplation, these timeless teachings encourage spiritual growth by inviting critical inquiry, encouraging honest doubt and providing realistic explanations of the mysteries of spiritual quest.

This comprehensive guide examines in detail the tenets of Vedanta, its relationship to other spiritual paths and its applications for your own spiritual journey, such as:

• Re-establishing Contact with the Ultimate Reality
• Acting in the Living Present
• Awakening Spiritual Consciousness
• Mastering the Restless Mind
• Grasping the Essentials
• Liberating the Soul
• And much more …

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Ved?nta
• Ramakrishna Order
• Vedanta
• Swami Vivekananda
• Hinduism
• Religion
• India
• Vivekananda

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 14 avril 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781594734250
• Langue: English

Extrait

Contents
Introduction
1. The Relevance of Vedanta to the World Today
2. Life and Its Meaning: The Vedanta View
3. The Human Condition
Sufferings of Life
Fear of Old Age
Fear of Death
4. Awakening of Spiritual Consciousness
5. Faith or Reason?
6. Mastering the Restless Mind
7. Self-Expression or Self-Control?
8. Grasping the Essentials
9. Four Steps toward the Goal
10. The Mood for Meditation
11. The Quest for Peace and Happiness
12. Liberation of the Soul
Notes
Glossary
Credits
List of Searchable Terms

About the Author
Copyright
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About SkyLight Paths
Introduction
V edanta is the wisdom of the Vedic sages. For thousands of years it has inspired people to find solutions to the problems of life and thus reach the highest fulfillment. As a philosophy of living, Vedanta has been tested and verified in the lives of countless seekers, saints, and prophets of India. The Vedanta way is decisive, and its practices are based upon science and reason.
For centuries the Vedanta philosophy was kept carefully guarded by saints and ascetics living in forests and mountains, and never made public. They thought that the teachings would be diluted and misunderstood by the masses, who were prone to believe not in truth but in myths and miracles. In matters of spirituality and religion, truth is often sacrificed to fiction and make-believe. A rational and realistic approach is rare. Religious texts are filled with eulogy, exaggeration, doubtful myths, and loving legends. The average person regards scriptures as infallible, forgetting that the scriptures are in fact remembered words and experiences written down by human beings.
Swami Vivekananda was the first to bring the teachings of Vedanta from the forest to the general public. He thought that because of the developments of science, the time had come to deliver the message of Vedanta to all. According to the swami, the teachings of Vedanta are worth nothing if they are not problem solving. They are useless unless they enrich our lives and lead us to peace and happiness.
Vedanta reminds us that the course of life is mysterious. It is plagued by ceaseless changes and uncertainties. Pain, suffering, illness, old age, and death are harsh realities that cannot be ignored or avoided. Vedanta maintains that problems and solutions go together; one cannot exist without the other. If nature presents a problem, it also points toward a solution. In suggesting solutions, Vedanta does not deal with the occult or the miraculous and does not cater to fads, whims, or pious imaginations. According to Vedanta, our happiness depends upon peace of mind, peace of mind on self-control, and self-control on awareness of our true Self.
This book does not compromise the orthodox views of Vedanta. It deals with such subjects as life and its meaning, mastering the restless mind, the spiritual quest, the practice of meditation, the controversy between faith and reason, and facing the problems of life. Vedanta assures us that we are not living in the final days of our destiny, that every problem has a solution, and that the human soul is not a prisoner of karma or sin. The merciless and inexorable laws of life can be countered and overcome. The book presents both the facts and the fictions of human life and assures us that regardless of background, culture, training, or religious belief, all can follow the Vedanta way to resolve the problems of life and reach the supreme goal.
Competent editors have gone through this book, and I am grateful to them for their valuable contributions. It is my fervent hope that this book will be of help to the readers in their quest for peace, happiness, and spiritual fulfillment.
Swami Adiswarananda
Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center of New York
1
The Relevance of Vedanta to the World Today
THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE
Science and technology have shaken the very foundation of life s traditional values, beliefs, and thoughts and changed the spiritual landscape of humanity. Economic interest has become the prime concern of life and acquisition of wealth the only measure of success. The sense of duty has been replaced by the rules of doing business. Spiritual values extolled by the prophets have been rejected in favor of material values that are meant to make the world an earthly paradise. Practice of any self-restraint is looked upon as inhibitive and life negating. Holy days have given way to holidays, prayers to psychotherapy, and sacraments to workshops, counseling, and consultations. Contemplation and meditation are practiced not for spiritual enlightenment but for improvement of health, efficiency in action, and management of stress.
The scientific-minded question the infallibility of the scriptures and the belief that creation began at a certain point in time. They find difficulty in accepting anything that cannot be verified by objective evidence. The scientific spirit has led to critical studies of the sacred texts and traditions of different faiths; scholars now point out that many religious beliefs have no sound historical basis.
Frustrated by a sense of crisis, many are seeking solace in new movements, such as fanaticism, atheism, pursuit of art or intellectual reflection, agnosticism, humanism, prophetism, supernaturalism, drug mysticism, occultism, universalism, new-ageism, and nature mysticism.
Fanaticism . Unable to meet the challenges of science, many are taking refuge in fanaticism. They are extremely narrow and dogmatic in their views and intolerant of all honest doubts or intelligent questions. Insecure in their faith, the fanatics seek compensation in dogmatic affirmation of what they want to believe. They often indulge in group hysteria and sentimentalism and reject all rational thinking and scientific inquiry. Out of touch with the world of reality and the march of events, they choose to remain isolated in their religious ghettos. Religious fanatics have even put men and women to death in the name of religion. Fanaticism has been the cause of endless dissension and discord, untold suffering, and bitter hatred, war, and persecution.
Atheism . The atheists reject all notions of spirituality and spiritual quest. For them, this world is all there is. All ideas of God, soul, and spirit are nothing but fanciful imagination. According to them, it is more honest to believe in the visible world than to believe in something unknown, unseen, and unproven. If what the atheists profess is true, then life would have no purpose and no meaning. Atheism is a reaction to traditional religious beliefs and it promotes hopelessness, pessimism, and loss of faith in life.
Pursuit of art or intellectual reflection . The pursuit of art or intellectual reflection as a substitute for spirituality is essentially an escape from the realities of life. Such a pursuit may lead to intellectual enjoyment but not to the peace of soul that comes from within. Followers of this way of life remain satisfied with the symbol of truth and do not seek truth itself.
Agnosticism . Agnosticism neither accepts the mysteries of God nor denies them. It holds the view that what we do not know and cannot know, we need not know. The agnostics are ambivalent and vacillating. They take delight in not being committed to any teaching. Agnosticism is a pseudo-religion of egotistic satisfaction.
Humanism . Humanists advocate doing good and being human, without telling us what is meant by the word human . Humanists forget that the word human is a counterpart of the word divine . Humanism wants us to remain an animal, but a well-dressed one. But a monkey trained to ride a bicycle, smoke a cigar, drink from a glass, and use sign language is, after all, still a monkey. Hence, humanistic endeavors are often a cover-up for the anguish of the soul. Humanists tend to identify religion with the service of humanity and equate God with the moral ideal. They believe in the self-sufficiency of the material person, and the only values that matter for them are human values. Humanism is secularized religion. It often becomes a rival to the spiritual quest, the essence of which is God-realization, not social reform.
Prophetism . Prophetism believes in the establishment of heaven on earth by a prophet. But the hopes of the prophetists are never fulfilled. While meaningful living calls for acting in the present, prophetists live in dreams of the future.
Supernaturalism . Supernaturalism believes in the existence of other worlds inhabited by supernatural beings who, when propitiated, fulfill our desires and aspirations. Supernaturalists look for miraculous solutions for our earthly problems. But solutions never come.
Drug mysticism . The view of drug mysticism is that drug intoxication frees a person from the worries of worldly life and brings spiritual exaltation. Followers of this doctrine equate psychological void and emotional frenzy with spiritual ecstasy. They believe in drugs that can bring about spiritual exaltation or states of mystic joy. Drug mysticism is false mysticism clothed in spiritual symbolism. This pseudomysticism results only in morbidity and depression, not illumination.
Occultism . Occultism, which dwells on magic and miracles, has become the spiritual preoccupation of many seekers. The followers of occultism hold that through the use of mantras, charms, spells, and the like, they can attain mastery over nature and develop powers usually regarded as superhuman. They talk in terms of clairvoyance, clairaudience, thought reading, and levitation but not about devotion, Self-realization, and longing for the Divine.
Universalism . Universalism is an anthology of teachings of different systems. Although intellectually stimulating, the teachings of universalism lack root and transforming power, both of which come from the life and message of a prophet. For this reason, universalism ends up being nothing more than a loosely knit philo