The Human Potential Part 1

The "Mahakavyas" of the Upanishads talk about the 4 ways to describe the TRANSCENDENCE of human beings into the all pervasive, omni portent, omni present BRAHMAN or the supreme being.

This SUPREME Being is just a reference point, it can be "SAKAR" (With a form, in a deity) or NIRAKAR(Without a form, the holy spirit, the energy source of all that was and that will be).

Man's evolution however, forced him to change GOD from being a mystic and powerful, thunderbolt wielding one to a more complex GOD for a complex society..

There were a few however, who remembered that there existed the one, and that man had the potential to become part of the one. Remember all those stories about GOD being inside all of us, that we have a part of GOD so we mustn't do anything bad lest the GOD in us may get angry.

The story however went further, the story went on how through good deeds, and through utilizing the power of the one, it was possible for man to harness this GODFORCE in him. By harnessing and channelising this GODFORCE it is possible to create a bridge between the "self" and the "greatest self".

Frightening and blasphemous as it may sound, human potential is not only limited to worshipping a GOD, but to TRANSCEND beyond the realm of praying and being part of the one, being GOD himself. This is the state that all the religions aim to create, call it Nirvana, Evolution into Buddha or surrender of self to the supreme being.

This enlightenment is understood by the Gita to be the ultimate goal of all Beings. It is realized through the ancient and sacred practice of Yoga, which takes us beyond the limitations of mortality to a realization of the eternal, full of knowledge and blissful Self (Atman), away from attachment for the material world to an attachment to the Supreme Reservoir of Pleasure.

However, due to the perverse and corrupted nature of man, he refuses to evolve into this higher being. he wishes to remain stuck in this mad rush of cornering earthly pleasures only, when the true ability of man extends far beyond. As harsh as it may seem, man has become like the dog, who forgets that he has the ability to bark and fight for food, when he gets it simply by wagging his tail. The wagging of tail takes lesser effort and doesnt have the painful process of fighting or evolution.

Not that I have something against man fulfilling his earthly role, by all means, go ahead. But also remember that the body that you are filling this pot of gold for will only last you for so long, you have the potential to be magnificent, creators of your own creations, master of your own universes, and still be at peace and enjoy eternal life as a part of the eternal being.

Buddha abides in the infinite, the unobstructed, ultimate realm of reality, in the realm of space, in the essence of True Thusness, without birth or death, and in ultimate truth, appearing to sentient beings according to the time, sustained by past vows, without ever ceasing, not abandoning all beings, all lands, all phenomena....


How should enlightening beings see the body of Buddha? (Dharmakaya) They should see the body of Buddha in infinite places. Why? They should not see Buddha in just one thing, one phenomenon, one body, one land, one being--they should see Buddha everywhere. Just as space is omnipresent, in all places, material or immaterial, yet without either arriving or not arriving there, because space is incorporeal, in the same way Buddha is omnipresent, in all places, in all beings, in all things, in all lands, yet neither arriving nor not arriving there, because Buddha's body is incorporeal, manifesting a body for the sake of sentient beings.


Garland Sutra 37


There was something undifferentiated and yet complete, Which existed before heaven and earth.
Soundless and formless, it depends on nothing and does not change.
It operates everywhere and is free from danger.
It may be considered the mother of the universe.
I do not know its name; I call it Tao.
If forced to give it a name, I shall call it Great.
Now being great means functioning everywhere.
Functioning everywhere means far-reaching.
Being far-reaching means returning to the original point.


Tao Te Ching 25


The BRAHMA is the creator of all, man is the creator of none, the day man realizes his ability to create, that day man will become BRAHMA.


Me

Religion: The Evolution of Man!! (Part 2)

As mentioned in Part 1 of this “Prolonged” view of Human and religious evolution we may decipher that it was the logic of the select few at places like the First Council of Nicaea, that decided the fate of Humanity “And” Divinity at large.

But, we are getting a little of ourselves, there were many Gods and Kings before the 325 AD Council of Nicea. People had started building empires and praying to the “SELECT” few for redemption thousands of years ago, in Egypt, India, Babylon, Greece and then Rome.

The common link to the complexity of Deities and the Religious Systems can be best tracked in the Holy Bible. Being from a Jesuit school I had the fortune of reading the bible as a child when my mind was still not corrupted by the IDEOLOGIES of the world. And thus, I believe has fascinated me ever since.

In the Old Testament God, had simple rules, needed simple sacrifices and man was content with whatever he had.  However, as man became more “Rich”, and therefore “Corrupted” and “Violent” to retain whatever “Riches” he had acquired, God’s rules became more stringent and complex..

Wait a minute, am I reading this correctly?? The all pervasive all knowing, the Alpha & the Omega God himself did not know that man will become the “Ass” that he had become?? Did he not know that I will have to wipe the Earth clean with these mongrels by sending the GREAT FLOOD (Thank God For Noah or else..)??  Did he not know that all this will happen and man will need stricter rules??

Let me demonstrate this further.. Genesis 2:16-17, "And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."

Hmmm simple enough rule, let us fast forward to a few hundred years or maybe a few millennia and we have The Ten Commandments, which are a little more complex, But then we have the "So Called" The Commandments of Jesus that really are beyond my tiny brain’s comprehension.

The simplistic point that I am trying to make here is that as humans and their needs have evolved so have their Gods and the teachings of their Gods. 

I have taken up the example of Christianity for two simple reasons a) They are the largest thiestic religion in the world & b) It is FAR LESS Complex then my other favorites like Hinduism or Taoism.

Finally we can trace this to our modern day society where everthing from Hinduism to Devil worshipping to Murderers to Saints are all in the same category: The category of popular culture, and the select few who hold the strings to this POPULAR culture. The mad rush to be HIP and Happening has led us far - far away from what I strongly believe the motto of human life: To evolve into TRANSCEDENTAL beings, To be CREATORS rather than destroyers. More on that next time….

The Holy Bible: “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven; A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck that which is planted.”

Me: "The day Man realizes his true potential, that day, man will not be man but be the creator of his own creation."

Religion: The Evolution of Man!! (Part 1)

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when I talk about religion??

If you are in India chances are three things: 

1 Religious Places & Festivals 

2 Inter Religion tensions

3 Politics Based on Religion

Unfortunately this  has corrupted the basic concept of Religion in our hearts, our entire philosophy and understanding of the beautiful word.

Let us try and trace back where did we go wrong??

Suddenly, a few millennia ago humans realized there existed a power, the power of living in a group. Now all groups needed some control so we had one or a few people controlling the group. But, there were "Forces" beyond the understanding and control of the group and the few controlling it. Powers, which had the ability to give and take life, powers like that of the SUN therefore in all theistic religions the sun has always been a central figure.

Now, one day a great guy got an idea, lets take the knowledge of all these forces and lets teach everyone in the group on how to make use of or “INVOKE” these forces. These became the Mantras and Rituals of the modern day religions. Unfortunately, as Spiderman’s Uncle Ben would say thousands of years later: “With great power comes great responsibility” was something that humans of yester years forgot. That led to consolidation of power and the whip to consolidation was: you guessed it right “Religion”. As Adolf would say much later the unifying glue of a society is the existence of an enemy state. Since there were no enemy states the glue to hold together society was the “Fear” of God.

The entire concept of creating a God was to guide people to adore the “Forces” beyond their understanding and control, to guide them on the path of “Righteousness”, not to consolidate power into the “Elite” few, the ones that could talk to the one TRUE GOD.

In the millennia to come blood was spilt, councils were created, preachers preached and we fell into a deeper hole of decay in human evolution. Forgetting that it all started as an ode to the Omnipresent, Omnipotent “Forces” of NATURE. The nature that we were to adore was abused by us over and over again. We became fanatic in the search of the one true GOD. What we forgot was that all paths lead to the same destination. All of us breathe the same air, all of us drink the same H2O. We are all created by the same Hydrocarbons, no matter who we believe created us.

Honestly, the question I want to ask all of you is: Did God create us in his image or did we create him in our image???

In part 2 I will look at the evolution of religion further…..

Lao Tzu: Self-righteous people will be disrespected, self-centred people will be unloved. Glory seekers don't attract followers.

Me: It is in the search of PERSONAL Glory that we have forgotten our true goal in life, to lead a life as GOD, in sync with everything, everywhere!!

The "Lost" Art of Film Making

For my first post on this new blog I thought of writing something most people could associate to, and disagree and argue as I have usually been pestered about being too complicated.

It all started about 3 months back after I had walked out on 4 movies during, before or just after the interval. With the inflated prices in South Delhi Multiplexes you can imagine the effort it would have needed to achieve this un imaginable feat.

I looked to my age old movie collection and found 2 of the best, which made me ask the question: Is "Film Making" a lost art??

The first one hailed as a commercial success was GUIDE, undoubtedly the beautiful music by S D Burman  or the beautiful voice of Rafi. Not to forget the stunning Vaheeda ji and Dev Sahab. But the underlying beauty is in the story and the way it has been narrated, each character no matter how minuscule is well defined and leaves an undying impression on you.

The second one is an OBSCURE 1985 movie which most people from my generation would not have heard of called Khamosh by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. I love thrillers and horror flicks, so much so that I went to see "PHOONK 2" too by RGV (call me crazyyy but I liked Bhoot).  But nothing matches the great Hitchcock with the Psycho and Rear Window being but unbeatable. That is till I saw Khamosh a few days back. It has in it the potential to make you realise that movies are meant not only to entertain but to enthrall and surround you with their story.

Today with better EVERYTHING in film making, have we forgotten the ART of film making, overdoing each scene, slapstick comedies with dark and adult humor aimed at the front rows now being cheered from balconies too?? Creating love stories that seem more of disguised "LUST" stories than anything else. Are we really being entertained or are we just giving into the carnal desires and the "EXPENSIVE" tickets making us sit thru the horror of "Break ke Baad" (:P walked out break ke pehle).

Have we lost the appetite for GOOD films or have the film makers lost the ability to make films that leave an impression for a longggg time (even 3 hours ;) ). "Mainay pyaar kiyaa" was neither a great story or a star studded movie still moved most of us and still does. Why??? That is an open question.. Have we lost the Art & Science of Film making...