India has many hues, but its ancient civilization and heritage of knowledge handed over to successive generation through a tradition of teacher and the disciple is unique and perhaps the most striking. The religion of many Indians is often confused as Hinduism. This is not so. A lot of people of Indian origin follow a religious way of life, which is rooted in sanatan dharma. Sanatan means continuous or endless, which in essence encompasses all. Pursuit of a religion is an individual's choice, and religion in India is a way of life, having a deep impact on all aspects of life. Sanatan dharma is the quintessential Indian spirituality.
Indian spirituality is about discovery of oneself. It's a journey where traveller merges with the destination. It is an acknowledgement of the gift of human life bestowed with intellect and capability of meditation. I will try to bring out the practical aspects of Indian spirituality in this blog. We all know through scientific discovery that we use a very small portion of the capability of the human mind. It is the most powerful of nature's creations and almost each living being is blessed with one. Brain and mind are two different things. A brain with life is a mind, without life is a piece of meat. The power of mind is supreme, only if we know who controls whom. Do we control our mind or does our mind control us? Is there really a distinction between my mind and me? If yes, who am I?
If you have asked this question, you are on the right path. I have not yet found the answer, but I am blessed with the access to someone who is the learned one, and I am in serious pursuit of myself. There is no large mountain with a giant yogi sitting in a charming posture, or a large ocean of milk, home to a relaxing deity. These are but the cat on the ledge which is so convincingly told to every child, for him to behave. It is done by parents who are definitely concerned for their child, and are very sure that the child will outgrow his fear with age, but the concept today helps them guide the child in a path they think is right for him. Similarly the grown up children embark on a journey of discovery of self rather late in life, and by that time they have already nurtured a burden of a matured ego, and perception of the world. In such a scenario, the spiritual guru uses the cat on the ledge to guide you along a path. Hence the temples, and attractive statues of deities, and the faith that these deities are capable of blessing you.
Actual knowledge is a mathematical truth. Infinity. Difficult to explain. When we mention infinity in mathematics, we simply accept the concept, whereas entire scientific pursuit is based on empirical evidence of things and perceptions. This acceptance of the concept of infinity in mathematics is termed as the creator in spirituality, and the acceptance of infinity in mathematics is termed as faith in spirituality. It is a subject matter of experience. The capability of physical form and its senses is extremely limited for this experience. Hence these capabilities are required to be enhanced and the first step towards this is Yoga, which leads to meditation. It is in the exalted state of deep meditation that one can experience the truth. I am not competent to comment on this aspect beyond what I have said above, as I have just embarked on this path myself, and am yet to begin the travel.
In the following sections I discuss about Dhyan, which is the essence of all spirituality as human beings know.
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