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Swami Suddhananda |
It was a simple statement from a very simple person. The occasion
was a question and answer session. The participants were asking
different questions on various aspects of Self-Knowledge, general
religious traditions and some were Hinduism specific. And this
gentleman suddenly made a statement – he believes that there will be
no Hinduism if one removes astrology or a few rituals as they are
popularly practiced! His whole concept of Hinduism revolved around
these simple beliefs.
It was like saying that there shall be no Indian music in case
you remove the popular movie songs in Hindi or any other language!
When a child has grown up exposed only to those popular movie songs,
he cannot think of any other possibility in the name Indian music.
Such a person is not aware that the whole music field is too vast
and there are hundreds of nuances of the music as a branch of
knowledge on a field of experience.
Hinduism, too, has so many different aspects – the
popular, the mysterious, the mainstream, the secretive, the open and
what not! Different people are exposed to different aspects and they
get obsessed with one idea or the other. Nobody is completely wrong
when they overemphasise, uphold or attempt to denounce a standpoint.
Each one has some points to be defended, but there can be only one
person who sees the ‘whole’ picture and can be always right,
whichever standpoint he takes.
It is like a person who sees the planet earth as
a whole and sees ‘the earth’ in every inch of the planet. Yet, there
are some who consider that part of the ‘world’ as ‘the earth’, where
‘they’ are living. For some, the home is the world. For some, it is
the village, the city, the state, the country or the continent that
is equated with ‘the earth’. The people who thus hold on to the
‘home’ or the ‘continent’ as the earth with various shades or
dimensions of the earth in between, will have a conflict with one
another as they are all comparable dimensions and somebody is bigger
or smaller than the other in their conceptualisation.
But the one for whom the name ‘earth’ means the
whole planet that includes every inch, will have no conflict with
anybody whomsoever. He can see the Truth in the limited perceptions
of the others, but others cannot see his limitless perception! When
others will have immediately contradicting ideas and will feel
threatened by each other’s concept, the one with the vision of the
Totality will have no fear of contradiction, negation,
exclusiveness, isolation or conflict. He is comfortable with
everybody even if others will feel awed by his vision.
In fact, the vision of the Totality, the Earth as
a whole is the simplest dimension. It is the effortless dimension
and is easy to be seen or reminded of. Similarly, the Hindu
tradition, with its infinitely beautiful blossoming in Upanishadic
wisdom, shares a vision of the Totality, a wholesomeness where
nothing stands apart or isolated. It reveals the all-inclusiveness
which is so charmingly exclusive that it is like the beauty or
elegance of Silence. There is no exclusiveness about it and it does
not resent any sound existing within it. It is also effortless
unlike the sounds. The sounds are to be produced and depending upon
the effort, the sounds can be loud or soft.
There are different ranges, too, in the varieties
of the sounds. Silence has no range, no decibels, no limits of any
kind. But the sound of silence and the silence in the sounds are one
and the same. This is similar to the Absolute Truth, the Atman or
the Self or the Brahman as revealed in the Upanishads.
Truth is effortless and all inclusive. But not
many are familiar with that. As even the sounds of many kinds are
more popular than Silence, where there is no division, so also forms
and names of various kinds are more popular than the Nameless,
Formless Self. The body is so tangible, so immediate and seems so
imposing that the intangible bodiless Awareness seems to be
non-existent, in comparison. Hence, the whole society has built up
many a religious customs and social practices around the physical
body.
God, as the Formless, does not have an immediate
recognition. The forms are celebrated. The quiet, meditative
celebration of the Timeless Presence is rarely taken into account.
The Vedas talk about the dimensions. The forms are as much
celebrated as even the Formless Reality. The body of the person is
as much celebrated as even the bodiless Awareness. But the average
person does not take cognisance of that fact. The body orientation
is immediate, imposing and seemingly universal.
Hence, people accept that dominant practice as a
normal, natural behaviour and are afraid that any distancing from
that popular practice will mean that the tradition will be lost in
the oblivion. It is like a person thinking that Indian music will
die if movie songs disappear. The absence of a particular genre in
style of songs will not wipe out the whole art of music as such.
Similarly, customs, traditions and practices of
various kinds prevalent in the name of Hindu Vedic vision will not
wipe out the Source in case certain practices are discontinued. The
main source, the Vision of the Totality, must be kept alive. People
must be aware of the ‘Reality’ that they are, while making use of
all the different roles or possessions that they have. There are a
few customs or behaviour that may revolve around a particular
conclusion about their identities in relation to the things, the
body, the senses, the thoughts, the faiths or the memories that they
have. But all that they ‘have’ are different from the ‘Reality’ that
one is and all are!
Hence, it is important that the people are
provided with a full picture – a vision of the Totality where
nothing stands apart. This is the beauty of the Vedas where all the
dimensions are taken into account and nothing is left untouched. The
Creation, the man, the body, the senses, the memories, the ‘I’, the
Self, the God are taken into account as these are seen as a part of
the one unified whole, where all these names are redundant for
anything to exist. We can enjoy our home, our little village, our
city or continent and still be aware of the Earth, the Totality,
which contains them all.
Swami Suddhananda
Samvit Sagar Trust
Tiruvannamalai
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