Vedic Prachar on Attributes of Bhag on 02/22/09

Atlanta Vedic Temple on 02/22/09 (Summary provided by Mr. Vikas BaggaSummarization of Discourse delivered by Acharya Ved Shrami & Dr. Sahadeo Hariprasad at

The complete name of Gita is known as ‘Srimad-Bhagwad-Gita'


Question: Can we become ‘Bhagwan'?
Answer: Yes, if we have all of these:


Bhag
Aishwarya
Dharm
Yash
Jyaan
Shree
Vairagya


The discourse continued the further elaboration of the attributes that define ‘Bhag'. Further elaboration on Dharm was made by referencing Sage Vyas, that Dharm is what we should accept (Dhaaran) into ourselves and make it a part of our lifestyle. As we educate ourselves with true Vedic knowledge and become a practitioner of the true knowledge we start the path of driving ignorance out from our lives and becoming Dharmik. Once we become Dharmik, only then can we truly become Bhagwaan. To be Dharmik one has to follow the principles of Dharm as outlined on 02/15/09. Only if we dutifully follow these principles we will be able to avoid evil, Machiavellian thoughts that destroy our soul. We do a lot of things out of ignorance of the truth, and we need to be able to accept and imbibe activities that help strengthen our soul and character.


Yash: Is to perform acts that make you famous. A person who attains fame is - Yashasvi (famous). Why are Sri Krishna, Sri Ram, and Lord Shiva so famous even after thousangs of years of their existence? They performed acts that made them so famous, that their name and achievements surpassed their lifetime and spanned thousands of years. So perform acts that will propel you in the community, country and the globe. Again to do this you have to gain Vidya through Swadhayaya (Study of Vedic Scriptures). To cite an example, take Lord Shiva he gained spiritual knowledge that transcended the three worlds. Only through his third eye (The eye of Vidya, Jyaan) he had attained these super qualities of Bhag, by becoming a Yogi, practicing austere meditation and tapas.
Shri - is another attribute of Bhagwaan. A person who donates a partition of his earning attained through hard and honest work, for the betterment of the society is the only person truly worthy of the title of Shri. The wealth which remains after the donation, is then called Shri.
Jyaan - Jyaan is another attribute of ‘Bhagwaan'. Jyaan is to obtain knowledge through study that leads to revelation of Vidya - Vedic Spiritual Knowledge and Avidya (Worldly Knowledge). Jyaan can be obtained by study - Svadhyaya of the Vedas. Mastering the information in the Vedas will make us Jyaani about the information as God had willed and will make us a ‘Bhagwaan'
Vairagya: The Lord has said in the Gita:


Anaashritah Karmafalam Kaaryam Karma Karoti Yah
Sah Sanyaasi cha yogi chaNiragnirna Chaakriyah


He who does the prescribed deeds without looking for its fruits is a sanyasi and a yogi, and not the one who has renounced the world and given up his duties.
Bhagavad Gita, Chap.6, sh.1

It means that we have to continue to perform our duty and not be detracted by the rewards. If we start doing an act for its rewards then our mind will be influenced by evil thoughts and our actions may be not be the desired action, leading us astray from the objectives of the task. Vairgya does not ask you to renounce anything. A Vairagi is full engaged in life's activities. Vairagya is the inner state of mind and has nothing to do with the gross activities of the material world. This inner state of mind is achieved by performing selfless deeds based of the knowledge and understanding of the Vedas.



Significance of Shivratri:

The night of Shviratri is very significant for Arya Samaj. This is the Night when Mool Shankar (Swami Dayanand Saraswati) at the age of 14 was forced by his father to observe a fast during an all-night vigil at Shiva's temple on the occasion of Shivratri. Sometime after midnight, all the devotees were asleep except Mool Shankar. He wanted to gain the merit of perfect worship by staying awake. When all the other devotees were asleep, his attention was diverted by the sight of a tiny mouse jumping all over around temple's Shivalinga, a symbolic representation of Shiva. This sight shook Mool Shankar's faith. He woke his father up and started asking the kind of questions that annoyed his father. He was perturbed that how this statue that he had grown to revere could do nothing to protect from being defiled by a mere rodent. This was the night that persuaded MoolShankar to go in search of the truth.

We should be devoted to anything but with knowledge. If devotion is without the knowledge, that is called superstition. We should not be superstitious. Whatever idols we see, they have some logic behind them, there is a science behind them. We should go beyond the idol/picture and apply our mind to understand the logic behind its creation. If we are just stuck with the picture and keep offering dhoop and flowers to it, without understanding beyond just the picture that will be Andh Shraddha (Superstition).

Vedic Prachar on Dharm on Feb 15 2009

Summary of Spiritual discourse on Vedic Interpretation of Shrimad-Bhagavad-Gita At Greater Atlanta Vedic Temple on Sunday, Feb 15th 2009 By Acharya Vedshrami

As a preface/introduction to Gita, Acharya Vedshrami is elaborating on the definition of the word Bhagavd (Bhagwan) which is the core part of Gita. To that purpose, he described that anyone who has these following attributes can be a Bhagwan

Aishwary & Shri (Wealth)
Dhaarmik (Who follows the Dharma)
Yash (Fame)
Jyaan (Knowledge)
Vairaagya

To be a dhaarmik, one has to have/follow the ten attributes of Dharma as described in Shlok below:

"Dhritih kshama damo'steyam shaucham-indriya nigrahahDhir-vidya satyam-akrodho dashakam dharma lakshanam" (Manu Smriti, Ch.VI-92)
Meaning: "Patience, forgiveness, self-control, non-stealing, cleanliness and purity, restraint over the senses, wisdom, knowledge, truth and calmness are the ten attributes of dharm" peace.
To consider anyone who practices these ten features as a follower of a particular organized 'religion' would be a narrow-minded attitude. They are not confined to one sect or religion but have a universal import for all humanity. These virtues cannot be brushed aside as blind beliefs because they have been tested rationally and practically; they have proved to be eternally operating principles of noble human life. All religions, sects, prophets, saints and mahatmas have stressed the practice of these virtues for well-being of individuals, societies and humanity as a whole.

Dhriti (patience): Any work undertaken can only be accomplished with patience. Before beginning a work, a patient person thinks about its positive and negative results, and thus chooses the right method to execute it. An impatient person, on the contrary, neither thinks about the consequences of his actions nor of its worthiness. He acts haphazardly, without due planning, and so his actions remain infructuous.

Kshama (forgiveness): A person who forgives others their trespasses creates no enemies and adversaries. He thinks about the welfare of everyone in the world and obtains people's support and blessings in his endeavors. He receives love and respect wherever he goes.

Dama (control over the mind and desires): It implies reining in of erratic, wayward and unbridled mad rush of chaotic thoughts, desires and unrefined instincts. It is not possible to overcome evil with a thoughtless, vengeful approach. Fire can be extinguished by water and hostility can be ended by kind-heartiness.

Asteya (non-stealing): Here non-stealing also means integrity and honesty. An honest person does not covet what belongs to others. He practices truthfulness in thought, speech and action. Such a person acquires trust of all who come in contact with him. He lives a pious, pure, fearless and happy life.
Shaucha (cleanliness and purity): The body of a person whose mind and praña are pure remains healthy. Bodily and mental disorders or sinful activities do not invade him. He always maintains an inner and outer purity and cleanliness. He keeps himself free of mental and physical impurities. He performs altruistic acts and attains inner peace.

Indriya-nigrah (sense-control): Restraint over senses means the development of three qualities in a person: optimum food intake, judicious use of money and restrained speech. Optimum food intake protects him from diseases, judicious and wise use of money protects from poverty and indebtedness and restrained speech keeps him away from unwanted conflicts and arguments. He thus attains health and happiness. On the contrary a person who is a slave of the senses remains ever dissatisfied, discontented, unhappy and unhealthy.Dhee (wisdom): A wise person is never daunted by the gravity of any difficulty because of his wisdom. Discriminative wisdom makes him ever wakeful and fearless and engages him in righteous deeds. Hence a wise person lives a life of abiding peace and happiness. Vidya (knowledge): Vidya refers not only to school/university education but also to practical knowledge of the laws of life gained through experience. In the absence of practical knowledge a person rarely develops humility and becomes arrogant. He is not respected anywhere; people ignore him as much as they can. All his wealth and possessions become useless due to the lack of right knowledge. If an ignorant person inherits wealth, he would not be able to handle it wisely or use it for noble purposes. He suffers at every step in his life. Even in most adverse conditions, a person endowed with knowledge and wisdom would live in peace. Satya (truth): Truth means absence of falsehood or distortions in all its masks. One who worships truth does not get influenced by the masquerade of any person or object and does not try to imitate anybody or covet any object. He ever remains a seeker of truth and tries to discover the reality behind every event, person or object. The speech of the seeker of truth is straightforward and his deeds resonate with his innate integrity and honesty. Truth is the essence of life. It is impregnable armor against all evils. Akrodha (non-anger): Akrodha means refusing to be provoked to anger under all circumstances. Conquest of anger means conquest of the world. An angry person does not think about the consequences of his actions and commits unpardonable blunders. Anger stuns the reasoning and discriminative faculties and inexorably pushes a person towards self-destruction.

(Summarized with the help from www.hinducounciluk.org )


Next Sunday, we'll continue discussion on other attributes of Bhagwan which are Shri, Vairagya, Yash & Jyaan.

Vedic Prachar 08-Feb-2009

Summarization of Discourse delivered by Acharya Ved Shrami and Dr. Sahadeo Hariprasad
(Summary provided by Mr. Vikas Bagga).
Key Discussion Points were of tying up the concepts of:
Dharmik as Bhagwan
Moorat and Amoorat Brahm
Summary of Acharya Vedshrami's discourse:
Continuing on the explanation of Bhagavad (bhagwaan) of Shrimadbhagavadgita, Acharya Vedshrami mentioned that anyone who is a Dharmik is also a Bhagwan. "Vedokhilo Dharm Moolam" (Vedic knowledge is the root of Dharm) and the true meaning of Dharm is only obtained by understanding the Vedas. Another verse explaining the same thing is "Ved Pratipaadito Dharm Adharmastad Viparyaya" (Whatever is described/said by Vedas is Dharm and anything against it is Adharm). What we live with and practice in the name of Dharm is second hand source of half baked information on what Dharm is.So, the need is to understand the true meaning of Dharm and be able to adopt and practice it and to understand that true meaning, we need to gain knowledge from Vedas and apply that knowledge in our daily life to achieve the ultimate aim of life. There are three categories of people with reference to knowledge:Vidvaan – (Who is knowledgeable and uses the knowledge rightly), Ajyaani – Ignorant (Who doesn't have knowledge), and Moorkh (foolish/conceited, who has the knowledge but doesn't implement it rightly OR he has little knowledge and he thinks that he has acquired all the knowledge). Thus we need to use our Buddhi – Intellect to make good decisions that further our understanding of our mun – intelligence, thus leading us on the path of Brahm too. Here are the explanations of Vidvaan, Moorkh & Ajyaani:

• Vidvaan: One who has knowledge, but still feels that he is limited in knowledge, and is always hungry for more knowledge. It is easy to teach him. An example of a Vidvaan: He observed water and fire and went to discover locomotives for hauling heavily loaded trains.
• Avidvaan: He is the one with no or very little knowledge. He is aware of it. It is also not very difficult to educate him. Example: It is easy to teach him on how to assemble or operate locomotives earlier discovered by a Vidvaan.
• Moorkh (fool): He is the one, who says that he has all the knowledge, and knows everything, and hence does not need any more knoweldge. It is nearly impossible to educate him. An example of a moorkh is that once while looking at water and fire, he proceeded to discover Hukka (an Indian article used for smoking tobacco).

Summary of Dr. Sahadeo Hariprasad's discourse:

The concept of Brahm was reinforced. Brham is the expansion of the Inner Self. It means growth in things that are Avayakt or Amoorat, things that are not seen, but can be felt only by study (Svadhyaya) and reflection (Chintan).The Parabrahm (Almighty God) is Sut-Chit-Aanand – (Sachidanand): "Existence-consciousness-bliss". This word has reference in the Ved. This phrase has 3 components:
Sat – Truth/Existence
Chit – Consciousness and
Anand – Bliss/Peace
This is the foundation on which we can dispel notions of idol worship (Moorti Poojan). Acknowledging the existence of God is Sut, but by creating an image of God (statue or picture) is implying that there is a second God (or limiting Him to place, statue and a form)? But we understand from the Vedas, the ultimate source of knowledge, that God is Formless, Omnipresent, and All-pervading and hence not limited to a place, time, form, body or an object such as a statue. Also from Vedas, we know that God is Indivisible, Un-duplicable or Un-comparable in Chit and Aanand, which means there can never be second or one more God, by putting a second to God, it fails the test of the second part of the phrase, Chit. The image or idol does not have a consciousness and consequently cannot be a source of Aanand too. The great Tulsidas wrote in the Ramcharitmanas that God is one who walks without Feet, Hears without ears, Listens without ears, sees without eyes and speaks without a voice. Tulsidas helps dispel the concept of Moorti Poojan. Thus don't go looking all over the place for God. Stop and look within yourself. Attainment of this Bliss is all that counts and nothing else matters.Satyarth Prakash is great starting point for one to seek truth and dismemberment from falsehood around us. Satyartha Prakash is a great source of information on various topics on God, Dharm, Family relations, education and various religions including Hinduism. This book derives information from Vedas and other scriptures such as Srimad Bhagvad Gita.

Below is the summary of previous Sunday's discourse @ Vedic Temple (Summary provided by Mr. Vikas Bagga).

Key Discussion Points:
Concept of Brahm elaborated.
Recognition of the Human Form of Existence

Brahm – Anything that brings about the growth is Brahm. Example, when we take food in, it makes us grow, thus food is Brahm in this case. In the same way when we put Ghee in the Fire (Yajna), it makes it grow. The Ghee (Butter/Whey) is the Brahm, it made the fire grow.
There are 2 types of Brahm: Moort and Amoort
Moort: Is the Vyakat or what we can see and perceive. This is the easier part.
Amoort: Is the Avyakt or the Brahm we cannot see or feel by our human senses.
The examples of these are Prakriti (cosmos) Atma (soul), Parmatma (Eternal God), Budhi (Intelligence).

Having understood that anything that goes on to push our life further towards progress is Braham, we have to be able to distinguish with Abrham. Not everything helps us move forward in life. We can as easily indulge in AtmaHatya (SelfDestruction).Don't compromise your soul by underperforming on your Dharma.
Some of the things to avoid are being disrespectful, eating non-vegetarian food, causing pain to others. The Mind (Mun) has to continually seek the higher virtues and qualities such as vision, strength and rejecting undesirable aspects such as restlessness, ahankaar etc. So, Mun and Ahankaar can also be Brahm, provided their actions result in Mukti or self-realization or God-realization and if they take us on the opposite path, then they are Abrahm.
To support this point we consider Lord Krishna who is considered the ultimate example of Yogi as through the austere means of Yog he had realized Parmatma (Now Parmatma is Eternal God and not same as Lord Krishna, who developed understanding of Parmatma – see previous notes). We cannot call ourselves Brahm as yet as we have not developed the same qualities and virtues as those developed by Lord Krishna and few select other persons. We have to be able to exhibit the same behavior, qualities and thought process and have equality in all aspects of our thinking to be equated at the level of Brahm. Our Soul should be immersed with the Parameshwar through Samadhi – a process of total surrender of soul to God, by the process of which we can see God and exhibit the qualities of God. That person has achieved Brahm. He has grown his soul and become united with God.
Efforts to be made to keep the learning of the Vedic Teachings pure.
Aadi Shankaracharya has been an immense contributor to spread the true and pure meaning of the Vedic Dharma. Amongst all forms of creation of life, the Human form of birth is considered the supreme form of creation and existence. As human beings we should be aware of this and cherish the opportunity to be born as what we are. Our superior existence has three aspects to it. One of the goals is to have higher and rewarding experience during the lifetime, which may be gained by following the basic tenets of our existence:
Develop Humanity – to empathize with your fellow beings. Feel the pain and reach out to them.
Develop Vedic knowledge – Viprata
Walk the path preached in the Vedic Knowledge
Become a Vidvaan or scholar in Vedic knowledge and preach and practice it.
The second aspect of our existence is to understand the relation between the Atma and Parmatma or the relation between Soul and God. Understanding and Seeing God is possible only through the inner Soul. Unlike our various sensory organs such as nose, eyes, mouth, hand which can reach out and feel various objects, God can be touched, seen or felt only when there is the SOUL CONNECTION.The Ultimate aim of our human existence is to get Mukti (Liberation from birth & Death).

Summarization of Discourse by Acharya Ved Shrami at Atlanta Vedic Temple on 01/25/09
Key Discussion Points:
Understanding the context of the Gita.
Concept of Braham
Difference between the Creator and End Product
We are still in the process of setting the stage for The Gita. You need to grasp the pretext of the Gita, to fully comprehend the meaning of the Gita.

Brahm – Anything that brings about the growth or is grown up is Brahm. Example, when we take food in, it makes us grow, thus food is Brahm in this case. In the same way when we put Ghee in the Fire (Yajna), it makes it grow. The Ghee (Butter/Whey) is the Brahm, it made the fire grow. Almighty God, Knowledge (Ved) and Physical strength are also Brahm.

Difference between the Creator and End Product – There is a clear distinction between the Creator and the end product. For example a potter, who makes pots, the creator is the Potter and the end product is the pot. Thus the Potter cannot take the form of the Pot. Similarly, the belief that God can take the form of a human being is simply not true. God is formless and human beings can only attempt to emulate certain qualities of God. That is a key distinction between God/Parmatma and Bhag. For example, if someone is strong n courageous, we'll say that he is like a lion. Why we said this is because that person has one attribute (The physical strength/courage) of lion so we say he is like Lion but he doesn't himself becomes a lion. He is LIKE a lion. Similarly, if we have one or two attribute of Almighty God, that doesn't mean that we become almighty, but we are like almighty for those particular attributes. So, Bhagwaan should be taken into that context. If get wealth (Bhag) then we are called Bhagwan but it's different from Almighty God.

Seeking truth by just performing Artis and lighting incense in front of idols will not deliver truth. Neither will it deliver Sukh or provide deliverance from Dukh. Those are the result of the actions of your Karma. You will find truth by and implementing the message which is in the form of the scriptures such as the Satyartha Prakash, Srimad Bhagwat Gita, and the various Vedas. The pursuit of obtaining this knowledge is Braham as it will help grow your knowledge. It will help you come closer to attaining God/salvation.

There are 4 things to keep in mind while studying the scriptures:
Akanksha - Desire to learn the meaning and spirit of the scripture or text.
Yogyata - ability to understand the right meaning.
Assatti - Develop the right meaning based on the context.
Tatparya - Develop the right interpretation of the text/words.
Prescription to pursue the task of reading the Satyartha Prakash & Other Scriptures:
Develop closeness to the medium (Sameepta) by keeping these materials easily accessible to yourself and then reading/implementing them
Perform Meditation and reflection