Yogi And The Universal Aatman Or Consciousness

Stephen Prothero’s “God Is Not One” is a survey of world religions, comprising vital information on a vast array of different sets of belief. As someone who has never studied religion before, nor belongs to a particular faith, the variability within these religions is staggering. One might be satisfied to define religion as “how a person goes about believing in God,” but soon finds that even that definition has its holes. Thankfully, “God Is Not One” does an amazing job of cluing its reader into the nuances that are sometimes forgotten about the religions it approaches.

The author Stephen Mitchell reflects on a scripture titled “Bhagavad Gita”. This scripture is a new translation based on ancient Hinduism. Throughout the scripture, it explains the teachings that can be used in an everyday life situation. Its diverse audience can learn how to face different dilemmas, and how to live in this world with happiness and peace by doings ones’ duties. It also helps the audience understand the true purpose of life. For those who go through the encounters of life educating themselves with perfection, knowledge, and intelligence, they are considered God dearest devotees. Overall, the scripture assures that God will respond to his devotees with love. Its teachings focus on those who are suffering and

“Hinduism is a collection of religious beliefs that developed slowly over a long period of time.” (World History Patterns of Interaction, 2005) Hinduism has been made up of so many different cultures and beliefs that unlike Christianity and Islam it is unable to be traced back. Hindus believe in karma and reincarnation. Karma is good and

most of the time the sacrifice was an animal like a sheep or cow or something like a cask of wine but sometimes a human would be sacrificed. the sacrifice had to be perfect and have no defects. The sacrifice was a major event. Washing and dressing in clean garments was important. Generally they wore a white or purple tunic during the sacrifice. For the sacrifice there was a strange ritual. The sacrifice would be brought to the temple by a procession led by a maiden with a jug of holy water held at the side. The sacrifice was purified by water and then was placed on the altar for the priest to sacrifice. sometimes temples were built only to sacrifice.

In the Bhagavad Gita, the fourth discourse which is composed of forty-two verses, Lord Krishna, the narrator guides Arjuna- a warrior who is finding himself pondering about the simple principles of life while he is fighting the war. In the fourth discourse Arjuna learns from Lord Krishna about faith, wisdom sacrifice, ignorance, doubts of the soul, action and inaction, selfless service, and self-realization which ultimately leads to the ultimate truth, which is the path for the spiritual soul to reach its maximum potential here on earth and the afterlife.

people who wish to have peace and joy. Their life goals is achieve enlightenment. Their believe of

Before even going into the nature and uses of scripture, van Voorst begins by pointing out the vast number of variations between scriptures of different religions. He focuses on three distinct ways that scriptures can differ between religions: literary form, number, and function. He lists in a series of bullet points a few of the ways that scripture can vary in literary form, from what style the scripture is written to the rigidity of the moral codes presented in the scripture. For example, he states that the scriptures of the three Abrahamic faiths mostly relate historical narratives, while Eastern faiths have few, if any, narratives. The way certain moral precepts are conveyed through scriptures can also vary, from direct laws to loosely

India gave birth to Hinduism which expanded quickly. This spiritual tradition focused on finding peace and eternal tranquility rather than temporary satisfaction from the worldly pleasures. In order to transmit the idea to other people and guide them through it, they came up with different writings to illustrate this. The Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads are popular writings that exemplify the beliefs and thoughts of Hinduism. The Bhagavad Gita addresses the question about how a person can be one with Brahman, the universal soul or god, while living in this world. This document is set as a dialogue between the warrior Arjuna and his guide and charioteer Krishna. Arjuna is being encouraged by Krishna to fulfill his duty as a warrior and part of the Kshatriyas, one of the higher divisions in the caste system. Arjuna has to enter this battle and fight in order to live up to his duty and consequently live free from attachments and walk in the path of finding himself as one with Brahman. On the other hand, the Upanishads guided all kinds of people regardless of

Basing one’s understanding of meditation from the terms mentioned above, one can see the resemblance and connection between meditation and the kind of mindset Yoda asks Luke Skywalker to emulate. In Star Wars, concentration is essential to the life of a Jedi Knight, because through its practice, a Jedi is able to let the force flow through them, to guide his actions, instead of suffering and failing from clinging to the notion of control. Buddhist Meditation allows for one to be fully present, to take in everything that the present moment has to offer, instead of clinging to the past that is long gone, and the future that has yet to come. Correspondingly, Jedi Knights are asked to focus on the present because every emotion that disrupts their mission to protect the galaxies, lies in clinging to emotions that surround the past and the future.

A piece of literature that has surprised and challenged me is the Bhagavad Gita, a 700 verse Hindu scripture that has been set on a battlefield where a king receives guidance from his charioteer about the ethical and moral struggles of the human life. This book has inspired people such as Gandhi, Henry David Thoreau, and Einstein. My father encouraged me to read the Bhagavad Gita when I kept asking him questions about why things are the way they are. After I read it, I was inspired me to practice selfless action, comprehend problems from a different perspective, understand people’s behaviors, control my emotions, and develop compassion for other beings. This book of literature surprised me with the answers to the various uncertainties while

Ritual is a religious ceremony that involves a series of activities performed in a particular order by those who subscribe to the religion. Sacrifice is the act of giving something to a supernatural being to please it. The word sacrifice also means the offering given to the supernatural human being. The essay is going to discuss rituals and sacrifices in Confucianism, which is one the largest religion in China.

As I stated, before that different Vedas have different writings or beliefs in them, one such

     A Sufi tries to change the state in a person, to bring him closer to God.

Yajna (sacrifice) is again the similar symbol of the life process governed by the proper combination of agni and Soma and hence there is a mention of mythical Soma sacrifice ritual. Sacrificial fire is the symbol of digestive fire to which Soma is offered as oblation to maintain its

I.The holy Quran is a Perfect book but the disbelievers always denied its perfection saying that it is was not revealed to Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him "PBUH'')and was of his own making disregarding a lot of matters which prove that the Quran is a heavenly message.