Prayers Page 3
The two systems in India are Saguna and Nirguna. Saguna means the God with qualities and form and Nirguna means God without qualities and form. Saguna system is the personification of God. The holy books write like, God ordered, God created, God spoke, God heard, God blessed, God came or went, God was annoyed, God cursed, God was happy, etc. are the qualities or properties attached to God. Most of the common people in the world including all the Indians believe in this kind of stories, wherein the God’s behavior resembles with that of human being with additional attributions to God like Omnipotent, Omniscient etc. This makes it easy for the people to guess about God. Entire theist world believes in Saguna system. Saguna is further divided in to two parts. World believes in Saguna God, but in some religions God has no image. These people pray any particular sign of God or they believe in the image of the founder of their religion to be God and call him the son of God etc. Other Saguna believers worship the image or images of God or Gods. Saguna prayers and worships are made by almost all the theists of the world irrespective of religions. This is a devotional path of praying God and this has a base of the strong emotions for God. The seekers of God have been recommended one more option called Yoga in India. Yoga is said to give direct realization of God. In the path of Yoga, one again has an option to choose between Saguna or Nirguna object. Some people select the image of God as object and some others select their Guru. Also a Mantra is given for recitation. The object for concentration could be anything. One seeker used to love a prostitute very much. He told his Guru that he was unable to concentrate his mind on any other object or the image of God; he could not give away the thoughts of his prostitute lover for a minute. Guru advised him to concentrate (Dharana) on the naval of his lover as the image of God. The disciple who had total faith in Guru, followed the instructions of Guru, and he could get the proper concentration to realize God. Yoga says that it is always better to choose anything most liked, as an object for meditation. Many a times Guru advises the disciples to concentrate on of one of the six chakras while learning Yoga. This is also a path yielding quick results. In practicing the transcendental meditation, the seeker is asked to pay heed to inhaling and exhaling or recite Mantra like Sohum or just to watch into Ajna Chakra (Center of forehead) etc. So, devotion is based on emotions and it is a Saguna way of attaining God. Yoga is based on body and mind restraints and is a Saguna as well as Nirguna way of seeking God.
Apart from Devotion and Yoga there is a third way to realize God. That is called Knowledge Path. This path does not require deliberate emotions like they are created at the time of prayer, nor this path agrees to deliberate restraints on body and mind. This is based on pure eternal knowledge. Knowledge path is a direct way to attain God. This path does not accept any form of God like in Saguna way. In this path, seeker is required to read, listen to Guru, think continuously on what is learnt and try to get experience of what is understood. This path is told to be extremely difficult and needs the guidance of Guru. This path not only gives the realization of God but makes a man Omniscient. The seeker achieves oneness with God, i.e. the seeker and God do not remain different. This path makes one liberated while living.
In very olden days, the sages knew and had realized the Nirguna God. Even today also there are number of Yogees in India, who have realized God. Since the experience of God is beyond the five senses of human being the sages very well knew that explaining the God without form and qualities to common man was a futile effort. God can’t be smelt, can’t be seen, can’t be touched, can’t be heard and can’t be tasted. Naturally, God can’t be made limited in the frame work of words. How can we describe a thing which can’t be seen, tasted, smelt, touched or heard? The words can’t describe God and hence any holy book in the world, irrespective of religion can’t describe the God. It is impossible. All the stories of God told in holy books are the human creation. This includes all the Hindu scriptures, old or recent. However, the ancient scriptures, Upanishadas, were sincere in the sense that they never attempted to describe God; instead they preferred to agree that whatever they had written about the God was not complete and sufficient. Even the most important Hindu knowledge book Bhagwat Geeta, has very clearly advised the people that they should go beyond the words to know God. The people of the world too much involved in Holy Books including Geeta, make difficult for themselves the chance of realizing God. Anything that is connected to human being by way of his five senses is regulated by the three qualities of nature that includes words. Lord Krishna advises Arjuna to go beyond the Vedas, most ancient scriptures. The Vedas only guide the mankind with a few “yes” and few “no” about the God and advices ultimately to surrender to Guru for further knowledge. Like Vedas have said, God is Aadi (has no beginning and end), Avinashi (God can’t be destroyed), Mayatita (Not regulated by nature), Anant (has no end) Aparimita (can’t be measured) etc. All this is negative description of God. Vedas have told a few positive words too, but declaring that ‘these” are not enough. Veda very honestly, admits that the words can’t describe God, and the human mind can’t reach up to God. Not only Veda, but any book on this earth can’t describe God.
The author remembers the day when he was sitting in front of his Guru, Hon. Khapti Maharaj. There was no conversation for hours together. He saw a big book of commentary on some scripture, lying on the table. Knowing very much ................
Apart from Devotion and Yoga there is a third way to realize God. That is called Knowledge Path. This path does not require deliberate emotions like they are created at the time of prayer, nor this path agrees to deliberate restraints on body and mind. This is based on pure eternal knowledge. Knowledge path is a direct way to attain God. This path does not accept any form of God like in Saguna way. In this path, seeker is required to read, listen to Guru, think continuously on what is learnt and try to get experience of what is understood. This path is told to be extremely difficult and needs the guidance of Guru. This path not only gives the realization of God but makes a man Omniscient. The seeker achieves oneness with God, i.e. the seeker and God do not remain different. This path makes one liberated while living.
In very olden days, the sages knew and had realized the Nirguna God. Even today also there are number of Yogees in India, who have realized God. Since the experience of God is beyond the five senses of human being the sages very well knew that explaining the God without form and qualities to common man was a futile effort. God can’t be smelt, can’t be seen, can’t be touched, can’t be heard and can’t be tasted. Naturally, God can’t be made limited in the frame work of words. How can we describe a thing which can’t be seen, tasted, smelt, touched or heard? The words can’t describe God and hence any holy book in the world, irrespective of religion can’t describe the God. It is impossible. All the stories of God told in holy books are the human creation. This includes all the Hindu scriptures, old or recent. However, the ancient scriptures, Upanishadas, were sincere in the sense that they never attempted to describe God; instead they preferred to agree that whatever they had written about the God was not complete and sufficient. Even the most important Hindu knowledge book Bhagwat Geeta, has very clearly advised the people that they should go beyond the words to know God. The people of the world too much involved in Holy Books including Geeta, make difficult for themselves the chance of realizing God. Anything that is connected to human being by way of his five senses is regulated by the three qualities of nature that includes words. Lord Krishna advises Arjuna to go beyond the Vedas, most ancient scriptures. The Vedas only guide the mankind with a few “yes” and few “no” about the God and advices ultimately to surrender to Guru for further knowledge. Like Vedas have said, God is Aadi (has no beginning and end), Avinashi (God can’t be destroyed), Mayatita (Not regulated by nature), Anant (has no end) Aparimita (can’t be measured) etc. All this is negative description of God. Vedas have told a few positive words too, but declaring that ‘these” are not enough. Veda very honestly, admits that the words can’t describe God, and the human mind can’t reach up to God. Not only Veda, but any book on this earth can’t describe God.
The author remembers the day when he was sitting in front of his Guru, Hon. Khapti Maharaj. There was no conversation for hours together. He saw a big book of commentary on some scripture, lying on the table. Knowing very much ................
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