God is One

There are said to be 330,000,000 or 330 Million (33 Crore) Gods & Goddesses in Hinduism. To me the only explanation for such a huge numbers may be like that all the residents of some "Godly Planet" are called Gods or Goddesses. In other words 330 Million (33 Crore) is the population of that "Godly Planet" on which all these Godly people live. Anyway, on this our own earth, people follow different religions & have different faiths in regard to God. Different religions of the world depict God in different forms. In Hinduism God is depicted as Rama, Krishna, Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma, Durga, Kali, Lakshmi, Saraswati etc. while in some sects of Hinduism, God is depicted as formless God too. In Christianity God is depicted as Jesus Christ who is said to be the Son of God. Sikhism & Muslim sects mostly believe in a formless God. So different minded people of the world see the God in different forms or formless God too.



In reality "God is One" who but appears in different forms. All these Gods & Goddesses are manifestation of one Supreme God only. It can be understood very easily like this:

"There is a potter who makes different forms of Gods & Goddesses from clay of the ground. Clay is basically the same in all the forms but out of same clay different Gods & Goddesses appear to us. In the same way there is only One God but it appears in different forms. Similarly if you see that Gold for making different ornaments is same but with this gold various types, shapes of ornaments are made & are given different names. Similarly God is One but He is worshipped in different cultures, countries in different ways, forms & with different names. There are different paths in this world to reach that same One God."

In Bhagwat Gita Chapter Ten, Lord Krishna is himself saying that He is the source of all beings & gods. Not even that, as per Lord Krishna, all these universes & creations spring from but a spark of His splendor only. As per Him, He is seated in the hearts of all living entities. He Himself is Lord Vishnu, Lord Shiva & Lord Brahma. He Himself is Sun, Moon, Wind & Fire. He Himself is Rama God too. He Himself is Lord of wealth - Kubera. He Himself is Spiritual word Om. He Himself is river Ganges. Among women He Himself is manifested as Goddess of fortune (Lakshmi), Goddess of wisdom (Saraswati) & other Goddesses of fame, memory, intelligence, steadfastness and patience. As per Lord Krishna His opulence is limitless.

Hindus likewise believe in only one God. They glorify and praise His thousands of qualities. For example when God is love, He is symbolically represented by Lord Krishna, God as virtue is represented by lord Rama, God as power is represented by Lord Hanuman, God as wisdom is represented by Goddess Saraswati etc. etc. So these different aspects of Gods represent spirituality, purity, power etc. of the Ultimate One who is endless truth and bliss.

If there are many "Pots filled with water" & if these pots are put under the Sun then Reflection of the Sun can be seen in all these pots. It appears that individual Sun is appearing in each pot. Not only that, water of each pot gets heated equally when Sun is reflected in the water pots. Now just as the Sun may be reflected in numerous pots of water, so the same one God is reflected in everything. Similarly there is one True Universal Self or One God who is appearing in different forms.

Below are some verses from Bhagwat Gita which explain about the Oneness of Supreme God:

"yac chapi sarva-bhutanam
bijam tad aham arjuna
na tad asti vina yat syan
maya bhutam characharam" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Ten verse 39)
"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, I am the generating seed of all existences. There is no being—moving or nonmoving—that can exist without Me."
"aham atma gudakesha
sarva-bhutasaya-sthitah
aham adis cha madhyam cha
bhutanam anta eva cha" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Ten verse 20)
"Sri Krishna said: I am the Super Soul, O Arjuna, seated in the hearts of all living entities. I am the beginning, the middle and the end of all beings."

"yad yad vibhutimat sattvam
srimad urjitam eva va
tat tad evavagaccha tvam
mama tejo-’msa-sambhavam" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Ten verse 41)
"Sri Krishna said: Know that all opulent, beautiful and glorious creations spring from but a spark of My splendor."
So let's see one God in all different forms. Let people not fight on the basis of religion. There is only one God & He is called by different names by his lovers, devotees in affection. Sri Ram, Sri Krishn, Gobind, Waheguru, Allah, Jesus are all the same. So let's all have wisdom to respect each others faith & let's all realize that One God in all the different forms.

Jai Shri Krishna

River Worship - "Ganga Aarti"

The Ganga ( गंगा Gaṅgā) or Ganges River is a major river of the Indian subcontinent. It is associated with mythology, as well as, reality with the people of India. It is a very sacred river to all the Hindus. In Hinduism it is personified as a Goddess & it is an integral part of Hindu religion. It is believed by all the Hindus that bathing in the Ganges river, generally or on certain occasions causes the remission of sins and facilitates the attainment of salvation (Moksha). So Hindus travel from distant places to take a holy dip in it's waters. Hindus also immerse the ashes of their kin in the sacred waters of the Ganges. Such rituals normally take place at Haridwar, Varanasi (Kashi or Banaras) and Allahabad.

Recently I visited Varanasi which is also called Kashi or Banaras. Varanasi is situated on the bank of Ganges River in Uttar Pradesh state of India. It is considered to be the oldest city on earth. It is also called the city of "Lord Shiva". "Kashi Vishwnath temple" over here is a Shiva temple which is there in the city since time immemorial. For me visiting over here was really a spiritual experience. A spiritual aura pervades through whole of the city & a special peace comes to mind sitting on the banks of Ganges River. The greatest experience was participating in the "Evening Ganga Aarti" (Evening prayers to the Ganges River) at it's bank. It was not less than a cultural festival which happens daily on it's bank. Thousands of people (Indian, as well as, foreigners) take part in this "Evening Ganga Aarti" daily. The devotion of the people is unparalleled at that time of evening prayers. Here below are some pictures of the Ganges River & the ritual of Ganga Aarti, taken by me at Varanasi. Hope you would like it.

In Bhagwat Gita, Lord Krishna himself declares that among all the rivers, God himself is there as "River Ganga ( गंगा Gaṅgā)" on this earth. So River Ganga is a form of living Goddess only. Below verse of Bhagwat Gita explains that only.

"pavanah pavatam asmi
ramah shastra-bhrtam aham
jhasanam makaras chasmi
srotasam asmi jahnavi" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Ten verse 31)
"Sri Krishna said to Arjuna: Of all the purifiers I am the wind; of the wielders of weapons I am Rama; of fishes I am the shark; and of all the flowing rivers I am the River Ganges."

Spirituality & Religion

Spirituality concerns itself with matters of the spirit. It is quite different from the dogmas of a particular religion. Spirituality is basically what is taught in Bhagwat Gita. The great teachings of Bhagwat Gita are beyond any religion. A particular religion of this world teaches us about the practices to be followed in a particular religion. But spirituality is personal, subjective dimension of religion, particularly that which pertains to liberation or salvation of an individual soul. Spirituality is a state of being incorporeal. Spirituality is basically one's character or quality that makes one transcend the barriers of worldliness, caste, creed and sensuality; and realize one's connection with the Truth.

In contrast a religion is a set of stories, symbols, beliefs and practices that a person believes in or inherits. Religions are many in this world & so are it's different symbols, faiths & beliefs.

As per one report "More and ‘more Indians taking to spirituality", an increasing number of Indians are moving away from conventional religion and embracing spirituality.

As per spiritual leader Sri Samadarshini "Spirituality alone can help at times of crisis. It is beyond religion. Circumstances are never under our control but spirituality helps you give yourself an opportunity amid crisis and come out of it, Therefore a number of people are actually moving away from conventional religion.”

“Not just the corporate sector, people from all fields are now coming forward to learn about spirituality in order to learn how to handle stress,” said Samadarshini.

In Bhagwat Gita also Lord Krishna tells Arjuna to leave all religions & take shelter in Him . God is teaching spirituality only through the discourse of Bhagwat Gita to Arjuna. So Bhagwat Gita is really beyond any religion & is in reality teaching spiritualism. Bhagwat Gita teaches us about the truth of the Spirit rather than any dogmas of religion.

"sarva-dharman parityajya
mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
mokshayisyami ma suchah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Eighteen verse 66)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear."

Yoga

Yoga, a most popular concept of different body positions, postures, poses, pranayamas, mudras etc. is well renowned nowadays in the world. All these physical practices fall under the doctrine of "Hatha Yoga" (हठयोग). But the actual meaning of Yoga is very different.


Actual meaning of "Yoga" is the "Union of the self (Individual Soul or Atma) with the Ultimate reality (Paramatma or God)".

Yoga is also the final goal of the followers of the "Bhagwat Gita". There are many types of Yogas explained in Hindu mythology, like "Gyan-Yoga" (doctrine of the way of knowledge) , "Karma-Yoga" (doctrine of the way of action) or "Bhakti-yoga" (doctrine of the way of devotion) etc. Each doctrine shows the way to reach God in it's own aspect. All these different types of Yogas are explained in different religious books of Hindu religion but all doctrine are scattered in different books.

But in "Bhagwat Gita" there is reconciliation of all these different doctrines at one place. There are different chapters in Bhagwat Gita which are dedicated to each of these doctrines. So it is called that if a person wants to get all the different knowledge of Vedas & Puranas, then he/she can get all these in one place at Bhagwat Gita. So it is good for a person to read all these doctrines in Bhagwat Gita than searching for it in different books.