REASON AND FAITH.

When there is quarrel between religion and religion, one is sure to find out, if one observes closely, that the feud ensures, not because of religion, but because the people have become irreligious--they have forgotten the essential truths of their religion or at best they have not the ardour and the intensity to follow them in practice. When the whole mind is bent upon realising the truths of any religion, - and without that religion can hardly be brought into our life - we cannot have the surplus energy to look into the affairs of others and not to speak of, to have the readiness to fight with them, because they are on the false track. No religion is so bad but gives an ample opportunity to make one's life better to help one--to go Godward and thereby kill the hunger of the world for wars and battle, feuds and quarrels, national or international, directly or indirectly. So the religious quarrel is an expression which contradicts itself. We must seek the cause elsewhere.

As between religion and religion, similar strife arises within a religion when it is in a downward way towards degradation. Within a short time of the passing away of Buddha, his religion split up, till at last we find so many schools of Buddhism at the present day, which differ as widely from each other, as two different religions, and who knows if in the debris, the real words of the Master have not been well-nigh lost.

Christ was one individual who gave out his message to the world, for the regeneration of humanity, but now we find so many hundreds of sects in Christianity, so many interpretations and interpolation about the words of the great Master, while somebody will have the impudence enough to doubt the historicity of the Saviour himself. The fact is, in order to understand a man or a prophet, we must be one like him. The farther we fall off from him, the greater the difference and the keener the strife on that. When the sun is up high in the sky, it exposes and burns up many of the impurities of the earth which gather again in the darkness of the night. Nearer religion we live, the less animosity between different sects and religions, but after some time we oust religion altogether and plunge into internecine struggle in the sacred name of God and term it our religious zeal. No religion requires any external protection, if its internal life is all right and without that religion will defeat the real purpose for which it stands.

It is interesting to see how religion declines and how gradually we fall away from religion without our notice. Religion demands that we must have faith because it goes much farther than reason can approach. In religion, to solve the problems of that unexplored land we have to tread the ground, where the light of reason is too faint to illumine our path, where only faith can sustain us. This has been the shelter for all credulity in the world and all mischiefs that are done in the name of religion. This has been the point, where every man that raises any questions or doubts can easily be thwarted or any man can be attempted to swallow any pill that any miracle or mystery-monger likes. Nobody denies that the ways of God are mysterious, but every mystery is not the work of God. We forget that we are to pass through the sea of intellectual doubt, before we can reach the safe shore of faith, which will be its own security. 'If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, "Remove hence to yonder place"; and it shall be removed'. How true the words are! But how few are those, who can have that tremendous faith? The result is many simply waver between doubt and credulity and run the risk of either being scorched for life, or falling into a quagmire, from which there is no rise again. We forget that only after a long struggle, we can have that reason which can be trusted or that faith which is true,--and that not before our lower self has altogether been burnt. Till then, there is no shame in having recourse to either--very often to put our faith into the anvil of reason or to let our reason be winged with faith. For both faith which is in fear of reason, and reason, which has no strength for action, come to nought. But blessed are those persons, who come in contact with men, whom to obey means to go forward, to trust means to be strong, to love means to be invincible. The pity is such persons, though not scarce are very rare in the world. So the rest of humanity have to plod through chimerian darkness in land, where for a long time there is no trusted guide or safe light, excepting his sincerity of the struggle. 

Without due balance between reason and faith, we cannot very often understand the spirit of the Scriptures and words of sages and prophets, and so we fight with the letter and write hundred of useless commentaries on a simple piece of advice that dropped from the lips of a master but went straight into the heart of his disciple without the help of a linguist. Sometimes our heart is torn away to give up a custom, which had some use in one time, but no longer serves any purpose because it has become a part and parcel of a religion due to the sanction of time. All these happen because we have not a reason, which can penetrate into the nature of things or a faith which can get over the weakness of mind. Possessed of child-like faith, any chance is sufficient for us, because that itself has got a flow of life, which breaks down all opposition, but without that faith turns into bigotry and meaningless superstition, as rationalism very often ends in a theism. Both are sources of great danger to the society as well as religion itself. 
From theory, when we go to practice, we meet with greater difficulties, internal as well as external. A false sense of religion sometimes makes us weak in mind and spirit, curbs our activity and unconsciously we hug into our bosom a sort of 'pious imbecility' in the name of religion and shamelessly go to the extent of even gloating over it. When we really feel even to a slight extent that 'we are He' or a 'part of He' we find a strength within, which defies the whole universe and once we leap up to an ethereal height, where even joy cannot reach us, not to speak of woes. Far behind we leave this world with its daily round of deceitful pleasure and heartbreaking pains and when we come back, we are altogether fresh beings, bathed in a new shore, and talk things, which others understand not but gapingly wonder at.
We make the same mistake about prayer. Prayer does not mean imploring to a tyrant Jupiter, who at any moment is ready to throw the thunderbolt upon us, prayer does not signify to beg for drops of Manna, to be dropped from heaven, it does not indicate to vie with one another how to be more and more sleepish, how to make a more and more parade of our weakness and sins, real or assumed, but true prayer means the assertion of our rights as inheritors of Immortal Bliss, as sons and daughters of an affectionate father or a loving mother. If we have strayed away, it is a maya. The more we forget that, the better for us. So a healthy form of prayer proceeds not so much from weakness, as from strength--it is not a piteous cry to escape from the clutches of Satan to whom we are eternal victims, but a bold attempt to defy and suppress him...
And when we fail even in action and practice, religion to us becomes a bundle of superstition and creeping fears. We miss to keep a healthy outlook over life. We spend our whole energy to find out what is auspicious or inauspicious, whether our destiny is ruled by a Zeus in the star or a man in the moon, whether we should bow before God or prostrate before Him--we feel that we are inviting the deadliest wrath of heaven by a single instance of oversight in the observance of the minutest detail of an unimportant religious formula--all these because our heart is away, our love for God is not so strong that it can drown all petty considerations that make us falter at every step; because we have not the vigour enough to rise up and knock at the gate till it is opened and so with vengeance we dip into the stinking ditch, there to wallow and roll and spread the contagion on all sides. When the mind is weak we swallow everything that is given in the name of religion, we become easy prey to charlatans and cheats, we bind down society with all sorts of fetters and make a frantic effort to preserve the form where the substance is gone, to make a show of the crust where the kernel is dried up and every religion says it is the best in the world.
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A MORAL GYMNASIUM.

Getting Into a Gym: 'Exercise!' 'Please exercise daily'. 'Exercise is what you need'.

This is the most frequently and widely 'prescribed' advice given by medical practitioners to deal with life-style diseases caused by sedentary habits, overeating and stress. More and more studies conducted by researchers substantiate the need for this advice. Doing physical exercises is thus getting widely accepted as a necessity for the present day life-style, and not just for the youth who do it for building their muscles and biceps. No wonder in most public places, especially in big cities and towns, such as parks, roadside pavements, beaches and so on, one sees, in mornings and evenings, people dressed in sportswear, in groups or individually, often with an earphone attached to an MP3 player or mobile.

Those who do not find going to open spaces feasible or for other reasons, often become members of local gymnasium. 'Gyming' is what they call their act of exercising their bodies there - using various equipments and special techniques.

While setting up or becoming a member of a gym requires some space, expenditure and planning, there is another kind of gym which is much more easily accessible but is rarely recognised as such. This 'gym' is the world we live in - with all its complexities, challenges and experiences. Swami Vivekananda called this a 'moral gymnasium'. In his nine-volume Complete Works, Swamiji refers to it in various contexts and ways such as:

1. We only help ourselves in this gymnasium of the world. (CW, 1.106).
2. The world is a grand moral gymnasium wherein we have all to take exercise so as to become stronger and stronger spiritually. (CW, 1.80).
3. The world is neither good nor evil. It is the Lord's world. It is beyond both good and evil, perfect in itself. His will is going on, showing all these different pictures; and it will go on without beginning and without end. It is a great gymnasium in which you and I, and millions of souls must come and get exercises, and make ourselves strong and perfect. This is what it is for. (CW, 4.207).
4. God has not fallen into a ditch for you and me to help Him out by building a hospital or something of that sort. He allows you to work. He allows you to exercise your muscles in this great gymnasium, not in order to help Him but that you may help yourself. Do you think even an ant will die for want of your help? Most errant blasphemy! (CW, 5.245).
5. This world is the great gymnasium where we come to make ourselves strong. (CW, 5.410).
6. Work of your free will, not from duty. We have no duty. This world is just a gymnasium in which we play; our life is an eternal holiday. (CW, 7.49).
7. Thank God for giving me this world as a moral gymnasium to help your development, but never imagine you can help the world. Be grateful to him who curses you, for he gives you a mirror to show what cursing is, also a chance to practice self-restraint; so bless him and be glad. Without exercise, power cannot come out; without the mirror, we cannot see ourselves. (CW, 7.69).
8. This universe is simply a gymnasium in which the soul is taking exercise; and after these exercises we become gods. (CW, 5.308).

In other words, we are all gyming! Not in a man-made gymnasium to cure or manage a life-style disease but in God'd gymnasium -- thus the very act of living is a kind of exercise. We are all born in a gym! And whole life is an exercise to regain our lost sense of true identity and eternity.

What Happens In a Gym?--Anyone who has been to a gym knows one thing for sure -- it is place to exercise. And generally every gym will have equipments such as dumb-bells, weights, skipping ropes, and so on. Now-a-days, the concept of multi-gym is catching up. A multi-gym is a fairly large-sized machine on which one can do several different fitness exercises, or a room in which several different exercise machines can be used.
Swami Vivekananda himself believed in doing physical exercises. The visitors to Swamiji's room in Belur Math can see the dumb-bells, generally covered with a piece of cloth, which Swamiji would use. A firm believer in developing physical strength, Swamiji urged everyone to be strong:
What I want is muscles of iron and nerves of steel, inside which dwells a mind of the same material as that of which the thunderbolt is made. (CW, 5.117).
And especially to the youth, he thundered them to be strong! He said,
We speak of many parrot-like, but never do them; speaking and not doing has become a habit with us. What is the cause of that? Physical weakness. This sort of weak brain is not able to do anything; we must strengthen it. First of all, our young men must be strong. Religion will come afterwards. Be strong, my young friends; that is my advice to you. You will be nearer to Heaven through football than through the study of the Gita. These are bold words; but I have to say them, for I love you. I know where the shoe pinches. (CW, 3.242).
But the nature of strength is not only physical but something deeper; one needs moral and spiritual strength without which one remains incomplete as a human being. As Swamiji explains:
We also know that the greatest power is lodged in the fine, not the course. We see a man take up a huge weight, we see his muscles swell, and all over his body we see signs of exertion, and we think the muscles are powerful things. But it is the thin thread-like things, the nerves, which bring power to the muscles; the amount one of these threads is cut off from reaching the muscles, they are not able to work at all. These tiny nerves bring the power from something still finer, and that again in its turn brings it from something finer still - thought, and so on. (CW, 2.16).
How does one develop moral and spiritual strength? By doing moral and spiritual exercises. All through our lives, we make certain choices which represent our moral and spiritual inclinations and the result of these choices is what we call our lives.
Now let us look at a gym. In a gym, one uses the equipments and machinery in order to 'bring out' the physical strength and shape up the muscles. When we use the dumb-bells, we become strong, and not the dumb-bells that become strong. They remain what they are--just dumb-bells. So also, the world--or life experiences that we undergo--is a gym 'in which the soul is taking exercise; and after these exercises we become gods'. This is the purpose of life's journey--to 'become gods'.
Godliness is what man essentially seeks in life. By 'godliness' is meant the manifestation of the inner potential which is essentially divine by nature. It is not material but divine. Hence it is not subject to what matter is subjected to--decay, death and destruction. We are not matter but Pure Consciousness presently intertwined with matter.
To rediscover his lost divine entity, that is the purpose of human life. Man is born, suffers and dies. But if he has learnt his lessons he will not return. What are the lessons? That this world is only a gymnasium for the soul to exercise and manifest its real nature. Says Swami Vivekananda,
It (this world) is like chronic rheumatism: you drive it from the head, and it goes to the body; you drive it from there, and it goes to the feet. Reformers arise and preach that learning, wealth and culture should not be in the hands of a select few; and they do their best to make them accessible to all. These may bring more happiness to some, but, perhaps as culture comes, physical happiness lessens. The knowledge of happiness brings the knowledge of unhappiness. Which way then shall we go? The least amount of material prosperity that we enjoy is causing the same amount of misery elsewhere. This is the law. The young, perhaps, do not see it clearly, but those who have lived long enough and those who have struggled enough will understand it. And this is Maya. These things are going on, day and night, and to find a solution of this problem is impossible. Why should it be so? It is impossible to answer this, because the question cannot be logically formulated. There is neither how nor why in fact; we only know that it is and that we cannot help it. (CW, 2.94).
Doing good to the world is very good. But can we do much good to the world? Have we done much good these hundreds of years that we have been struggling--have we increased the sum total of the happiness in the world? Thousands of means have been created every day to conduce to the happiness of the world, and this has been going on for hundreds and thousands of years...Is the sum total of the happiness in the world today more than what it was a century ago? It cannot be. Each wave that rises in the ocean must be at the expense of a hollow somewhere. If one nation becomes rich and powerful, it must be at the expense of another nation somewhere. (CW, 4.205).
Look at the sum total of good and evil in this world. Has it changed? Ages have passed, and practical religion has worked for ages. The world thought that each time the problem would be solved. It is always the same problem. At best it changes its form...It trades consumption and nerve-disease for twenty thousand shops. ...A hundred years ago man walked on foot or bought horses. Now he is happy because he rides the railroad; but he is unhappy because he has to work more and earn more. Every machine that saves labour puts more stress upon labour. (CW, 4.241).
So, what is the purpose of work? 'The work against evil is more educational than actual, however big we may talk'. (CW, 3.214). When we work for others, they may or may not benefit but we are surely benefitted--spiritually speaking. By all the works and experiences that we undergo we get more educated and wiser as to real nature of the Self and of the world. 'Gymnasium' remains what it is. We become strong which is what leads to Self-knowledge. 'This Self cannot be attained by the weak', says the Mundaka Upanishad. We become strong but the gymnasium of life continues to exist and function for others to come, exercise and become free.
Spirituality lies in understanding this and spiritual life is the art of putting this understanding into practice. The nearer we reach the goal of this 'exercising', the more we develop detachment, calmness, purity, generosity and love. And when one is done with one's gyming, one knows 'what needs to be known', the ever fulfilled and blissful Atman within. That state beyond death and sorrow is our state or being, the Eternal Essence of Existence, the Atman.
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C.S. Chakravarthy
H. No. 12-13-302, St. No. 9,
Lane. No. 1, Flat. No. 203,
Satya Classic Apartments,
Tarnaka, Secunderabad- 500 017,
Telangana State, India.
E-mail: chakkuresearchscholar13@gmail.com
Cell: 09985732397.
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RUN WOMAN RUN.

Many women have been active athletes in school and college. They may have played kho kho, throw ball, volley ball or basket ball. Some may have played tennis, karate or swimming. If nothing else, they surely would have cycled to school, tutions or dance class. But once out of college and into marriage and children, they become sedentary. Health and fitness takes a back seat.

In the earlier days, taking care of children and doing household chores kept the women active and healthy. But in the modern world, the opportunities to stay fit has reduced drastically. And for working women, between packing lunches and preparing presentations, there is just no time  to exercise. As a result, there is an increasing occurrence of conditions like osteoporosis, obesity, high blood pressure, diabetics, coronary heart diseases and certain cancers. WHO has issued a warning that a sedentary lifestyle could very well be among the ten leading causes of death and disability in the world.

It is important therefore to take control of our own health in order to be there for our loved ones. And running is one way of doing it. It is a simple and efficient form of exercise for women. Jogging can be a great stress buster and also burns a lot of calories. Other spin offs are healthier diets and sleep patterns and a tremendous feel-good factor. Anyone who is reasonably healthy can start running. There is no expressive equipment needed.

All that you require is a decent pair of shoes and suitable clothes. And it always works if you would find other women to form a running group. Having peers will help you stay committed and focussed on your new fitness regimen. It is time to be bold and take charge of your life and put your best foot forward.

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SREYAS AND PREYAS.

The paths of Sreyas and Preyas clearly point to the goals they lead to, namely moksha and worldly aspirations respectively. Vedanta teaches the way to distinguish the real from the unreal by explaining the truth about the Absolute Brahman as that which always exists and hence is not subject to change. But the world, with its infinite variety and charms and attractions, enthrals the jivatmas easily into believing these as real and wishing to possess these. Vidhura blends such Vedanta truths with the tenets of Dharma Sastra to make Dhritarashtra realise his own failings that have deprived him of any peace of mind.

The Isa Vasya Upanishad states that the entire creation and the universe belong to God. "In the heart of all things, of whatever there is in the universe, dwells the Lord. He alone is the reality. Wherefore, renouncing vain appearances, rejoice in Him. Covet no man's wealth". What better explicit advice for individual happiness than to internalise this mantra as an inner experience and realise that whatever one thinks is his possession is actually sourced from God?

If whatever exists is the wealth of God, it automatically is not any individual's possession - neither yours nor the belonging of others. There is no higher principle than the Lord and the existences in the world are held together by Him even as the gems are by the string. A flower garland is supported by the thread which is hidden. God is behind the entire creation as the material and efficient cause of the world. He is the abiding force in every aspect of creation. Vidhura states: "Taking the wealth of others, covering another's wife and forgetting the good deeds of others are the causes for mental unrest in a person".

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RITES, PENANCE, CHARITY.

Lord Krishna tells Arjuna that even when doing what is prescribed by the Vedas, the three qualities of sattva, rajas and tamas come into play. A man may resort to performance of rites, penance or charity. In each of these spheres of action the three qualities operate and Krishna explains how this happens.
He begins by talking about food. The  Chandogya Upanishad says that when one eats pure food, one gets a good memory and a clear mind. Eating an excess of spicy food will result in one acquiring rajasic qualities like anger and impatience. Eating spoilt food or eating that which is not offered to God will result in a person acquiring tamasic qualities.
Regarding rites, a sattvic rite is done to please God. Performing rites to show off one's wealth or status or in a competitive spirit is a rajasic performance of rites. To perform rites without any belief in them, or without honouring those who help in the performance of the rites.
Penance too is of three types. Sattvic penance can be mental, oral or physical. Mental penance would be dhyana; oral would be chanting His names; physical would be to go pilgrimages or to prostrate before one's preceptor. Shortening a penance and seeking benefits through penance would make it rajasic.
Doing penance that is beyond one's means or doing it as a challenge to soemone is tamasic. Charity done at the right place and time and without expecting anything in return is sattvic. Rajasic charity is giving without enthusiasm.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------C.S. Chakravarthy
H. No. 12-13-302, St. No. 9,
Lane. No. 1, Flat. No. 203,
Satya Classic Apartments,
Tarnaka, Secunderabad- 500 017
Telangana State, India.
E-mail: chakkuresearchscholar13@gmail.com
Cell: 09985732397.
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PARIS UNDER ATTACK - A CRY FOR PEACE.

Once again terrorism has reared its ugly head, this time in Paris. As usual, it is innocent people who die - they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. And as the whole world is plunged in grief, one wonder why these things happen. 

On deep introspection, one comes to the understanding that there are things which are beyond human understanding. As we wonder, why would God, whom we understand to be love, compassion, kindness and forgiveness, allow such dastardly and violent acts? Some might even wonder if there is a God at all, or whether what we have been told about God is true.

When most of the problems of the world can be solved easily with love and compassion, it seems that a set of people have lost their faith in these divine qualities, and have sunk lower in the scale of consciousness, and have taken to hate and violence.

History tells us that hatred and violence never made anyone benefit, but love has healing powers. Whether we look at the lives of Jesus, Moses, Krishna, Buddha or Zarathustra, we realise that they did not become who they were, or have such a huge following, by being violent. They became who they were because of their unconditional love, for their wisdom, for their forgiveness, for their kindness and compassion, which are qualities totally lacking in those resorting to violence and terror.

In terms of the level of consciousness, it must be said that somewhere the world has lost its balance and we desperately need to restore balance and harmony...beginning with ourselves. Every thought of hate or anger or violence that we think, every negative thought that every human being has, on a day-to-day basis, adds to the collective universal consciousness. If we predominantly think love, and act out of love, we will see love. But it looks like too many of us are in the grip of negative emotions - fear, anger, apathy, guilt, desire, nursing, grudges, insecurity - and this has affected the collective consciousness in such a way that hate and violence is the energy signature coming out of the objective consciousness.

Each and every one of us needs to think, speak and act with love and only love, and this will enable collective consciousness to work for common benefit. We live in a vibrational universe, one that responds to our vibrations, and if were to believe the law of attraction, and we see acts of violence, it must be true that at some level the world is vibrating with negative emotions, and we are unknowingly inviting these things into our consciousness. 

It has been often said that even one evolved, compassionate soul is equal to a thousand unawakened souls. If this is so, then it is our duty to rise in love, and act with love. This will fill universal consciousness with so much love that there would be no place left any longer for hate and violence.

Apart from grieving and condemning acts of violence, and then going to make a conscious decision today, to be more loving, kinder, more forgiving, more compassionate, as this will go a long way in bringing about world peace and harmony.

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SANCTUARIES OF LOVE.

"The family that prays together, stays together", Mother Teresa used to often remind people. In a fast moving world, oriented towards maximum comfort and pleasure, where most things are treated as disposable, the very concept of traditional family is facing an unprecedented challenge. While the situation is knotty in Western countries, it is slowly beginning to affect the middle classes in India too.

The theme of the World Meeting of Families held in 2015 was, "Love is Our Mission: The Family Fully Alive". The motto of this Congress was 'called together from all over the world in celebration of the family, the sanctuary of love and life". For Christians, this sanctuary of love is inseparable from one's faith. Pope Francis, who presided over the concluding ceremony of this world meeting in Philadelphia on 27th September, 2015 said in October 2013 that: "the family which experiences the joy of faith communicates it naturally...family is the salt of the earth and the light of the world, it is the haven of society..." Mother Teresa, therefore, insisted on that faith being expressed through daily prayers in families to strengthen the bond of love.

All this does not mean that Christian families do not experience problems and that faith automatically brings in love to end conflict between family members.

What it means is that while it is completely human to have conflicts on the inter-personal relationship front, faith and love provide a broader and deeper dimension. While these conflicts, caused by deep personal hurt and pain, could appear enormous on their own, seen in the light of faith and love they are actually trivial.

Faith can certainly bring alive the words of Jesus to forgive the other 'not seven times but up to seventy times seven'.

His example of showing love in forgiving the enemies who crucified him by praying even as he breathed his last - "...forgive them for they know not what they are doing" - can be practiced in one's life only with firm faith. I never forget what I once heard in my theology class forty years ago: "How insignificant many of these conflicts appear when you contemplate them in view of eternal life". How true indeed!

A family is, indeed, "the sanctuary of love". It is there that we learn our first lesson about love without boundaries that love overcomes all inadequacies and, literally, turns us 'blind' to the faults of our loved ones. When love is allowed to grow and prosper, it produces the joy which cannot be bought for any price in a supermarket of disposable commodities. In love, according to Jesus, "one is ready to lay down one's life for one's friend".

For, as the Bible teaches, "God is love" and, therefore, like God it is eternal, unbreakable by any human agency, especially in a family.---Father Dominic Emmanuel, a founder member of Parliament of Religion, can be contacted at frdominic@gmail.com

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C.S. Chakravarthy 

H. No. 12-13-302, St. No. 9,

Lane. No. 1, Flat. No. 203,

Satya Classic Apartments,

Tarnaka, Secunderabad- 500 017

Telangana State, India.

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