Meditations on Transcendence

Everywhere 'Avatar' buzz is doing the rounds. Nowadays you will not find a single primetime channel which does not have slot reserved for something about 'avatar'. According to initial reports, Avatar seems like a technological leap interms of cinema making and breathtaking experience. There seems also a hidden message in the movie related to global warming. The exploitative nature of human beings is brought out. The society of Navi depicted in Avatar seems like close to description of Vedic society. Living in harmony with nature, in close alignment and worship of their diety. In the movie, a human being is transplanted to the Navi community using DNA transformation. The human becomes like a Navi with 10ft in height and blue skinned(Sri Krishna's color???) physique. According to the movie, an avatar will mean entering a alien society adopting the foreign physical features. Lets explore what 'Avatar' means in the Vedic texts.

We integrate into another when we take up the cause of the other. This is called yoga which means union. When we shed all our independence and will and take up the pleasure of the supreme person as the only purpose of existance, then we unite into the supreme. We enter samadhi. The only way to enter the higher existance of the supreme person is by embracing his cause, his will, his desire as the purpose of life. How do I know what pleases him or what is his will, desire at every moment? The will is not like the dead person's will or power of attorney. It is a dynamic will which can change at every moment. So what is the medium thru which I can know the will of the supreme consciousness.

All of us have the experience of being in love. When in love, one wants to hear about our beloved(Sravanam), remember them(smaranam) or speak about beloved's qualities with our confidants(kirtanam). Almost everyday I come back from work, I ask my wife to narrate my daughter's activities for the day. Daughters are very dear to the Fathers and they take pleasure even in the trivia. In love, trivia brings in so much ananda. Even when I was in Munich on a business trip, I would get my daily dosage of my daughter's activities...........

The Lord appears in multiple forms - in all kinds of wordly elements. Worldly elements i mean - plants, animals, Human being, sound, water etc. Regarding plants, tulasi is the manifestation of divinity. By properly worshipping and caring of the Tulasi plant, one can get the desire for attaining Bhagavan and also increase the probability of meeting Sri Bhagavan's own men wandering in this planet in disguise. Cow is also an emblem of divinity. Go-seva is very prominent as a method for cleansing consciousness in Braj mandal (Mathura-Vrindavan). Be caring for the cow and showering affection, ones lost love for Sri Krishna can be awakened. The seven holy rivers of India have immense potential to cleanse our inner being and arouse the urge to get out of this miserable world. 'Gangeca, yamune caiva, Godavari Saraswati, narmade sindhu cauvery Jale smin sannidhim kuru' goes a famous sanskrit verse. By bathing in these holy rivers one can have immense benefit. It is better to plan on...

105 dead consuming spurious liquor in Ahmedabad. Liquor intoxicates us and makes us numb about the reality in the world. Why do humans prefer intoxicating beverages like tea, coffee, alcohol etc? Intoxication acts on the nervous system and releases certain chemicals in the brain which give a sense of euphoria. This helps us to tolerate the reality of hard labor in this world. Everyone is subjected to hard labor in one form or the other. To sustain this body one needs to serve by working hard. Most of us desire life full of fun frolic and we work hard to escape hardwork infuture. Many financial magazines have this article of how to makeup for a second income equivalent to your first income by intelligent investing. But hardly anyone is successful in evading hardwork, stress and tension to makeup for sustenence and maintenance. The universal law is - to sustain ones existance one cannot skip hard work. So intoxicants are a short cut patch solution to make our nerves numb to the impact o...

Over the last month in all major newspapers and news channels we have been hearing of poor monsoons this year in India. The northwest India including the states of Punjab and Haryana are most affected by this. Are we in control of rains? Can we with all the pride in science control monsoons or are we still at nature's mercy? The latter is the unfortunate answer. The phenomenon of how rains are caused is understood but when special causes of variation disturb this cycle, Humanity is not able to fix them. Do we lack a wholistic understanding of the whole universe as a system of interconnected components and phenomenon? Science understanding of the universe and allopathy's understanding of human body is very similar. Allopathy is aplying havoc in the human body just like Industrial revolution has played havoc with natural systems in the universe. An example of allopathy's follies is that when one takes antibiotics for curing bacterial infection, it destoys the positive bacteri...

Riots in china - think the muslim insurgency is taking a strong hold in china also. Is the iron willed communistic rule shaken? The communist rule in contrast to democracy does not give much freedom for raising individual voice. Opinions in opposition to governmental stance will be dealt with force. It is a monololy of a single party - the communist party. The vices of kaliyuga is curtailed by democracy where single decision making and monopoly is discouraged. Satva guna is very rare in Kaliyuga. Under the influence of Rajas and Tamas, selfishness dominates every individual's mindset. People don’t find satisfaction in service but use positions of authority for self aggrandizement. Satisfaction of service is superior to satisfaction obtained by refined gratification of senses. Democracy is the best of the worst arrangement to counteract the effects of rajas and tamas. The hope is that collective decision making and management will keep in check the excessive aggrandizement of selfis...