Spritiual spirit: April 2010

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Reciprocal lik

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Meaning: As mentioned in the Rigved 6/28/3 and Atharvaved 4/21/3 - the best donation in the world is the donation of knowledge, because a thief cannot steal it, nobody can destroy it and it provides permanent happiness to millions.
Message: Comparatively Man is rather more ignorant than knowledgeable. God has given man such a wonderful brain, given such power of understanding, thinking, concentration and contemplation that today he has produced mega-computers, has produced innumerable gadgets of comfort through discoveries and inventions, and is not stopping even at that. But the spiritual intelligence of putting knowledge to good use is only in very rare individuals. Most people are ignorant and of the few that are wise and understanding most are trapped by corrupt thinking, corrupt characters, laziness, lethargy and persistence of wicked attitudes.
The duty of the learned people is to show the truth with the knowledge of light to the society wandering in darkness. It is all-right to give money, clothes, food to the needy but its influence is momentary. the best donation is the donation of knowledge, because man gets the right direction with it. It is a permanent wealth whose benefit, the man gets throughout his life and along with it there is a qualitative increase in this wealth.
Man gets his first education in the mother's lap. Because of affection, closeness and love, the child eagerly obeys his mother's instructions. If mothers fulfill their responsinbilities properly, while imparting good thoughts to the child, they can at the same time plant the seeds of rebellion against bad and evil social customs and thus produce healthy, thoughtful and learned citizens in the country. Maharshi Arvind also laid emphasis on 5 aspects for perfection in education. These are - material, pranik (relating to the life-breath), manasik (mental), antaratmik (related to soul) and adhyatmik (i.e. spiritual). They are related to man's 5 principal activities. All these 5 aspects of education are complementary to each other and give a totality to man's personality throughout the life. Great emphasis shall be laid on these 5 aspects of education right from the childhood. With this type of knowledge, there is an increase in qualities/virtues and the arrangement for the control of thinking and action becomes permanent and it opens the doors to becoming a great man.
With knowledge, man's understanding increases. When understanding increases, man's honesty will increase. If honesty increases, then man will develop responsibility and if responsibility increases, then man will develop bravery. All the four are connected with each other. Such power will then be created in man that he will resist immorality, be ready to give up his life for the completes eradication of wicked activities, bad customs, wicked tendencies and wicked thinking, and can play a leading role in the creation of a healthy progressive society.
One who donates (imparts) knowledge for making others learned, virtuous and good in conduct is a true Brahmans.

Brahmachari (Celibates)

According to the Atharvaveda 11/5/16 - Our teachers, leaders and government authorities be Brahmachari (celibates - here it means men of sound moral character), their characters should not be corrupt, otherwise harmful antisocial elements will flourish and there will be a downfall of the nation.
Message: Whatever is the type of social organization, gradually bad thoughts, selfishness and bad activities start raising their heads. The Vedas had put that responsibility on Brahmans according to the Varna-system with the aim that they will keep the nation alert by themselves remaining alert and save it from ruin, therefore, the injunction "vayam rashtre jagruyam purohitaha".
Those running the state are teachers, leaders and government authorities. They are called rashtranayaks or national leaders. Today we can actually see the extent to which all three have taken the selfishness. Most teachers are busy running after money only and the temples of teaching have become open dens of corruption and adultery. Today in schools and colleges every type of undesirable events, bullying, gambling, and alcoholic and other intoxication, rape etc have become common place. Because the teachers lack character, the students gather useless and antisocial knowledge and are spoiling their own and the country's future.
These characterless and corrupted students, after growing up, become leaders and government servants and prove to be 'gurus' of their own gurus (teachers). They use their knowledge, science, intelligence and money only for fulfilling their selfish interest. They neither have faith in the land of their birth nor any devotion to their nation. Behind the shield of such leaders and bureaucrats, criminal and anti-social elements boldly loot the country and the public.
The ruin of the public by their indiscriminate conduct can be openly seen today. The innocent public is helpless while suffering from the wicked acts of these incapable teachers, leaders and government authorities. Corruption and characterlessness are at their zenith today. Every man tries to grab some post of authority. He dreams of looting the country under the pretext of serving the public. For such work, help is taken of many types of criminals of lower strata. They conspire to keep the innocent public under their thumb through pacification, money, bullying or by dividing it. The spiritual downfall is to such an extent that they go on creating vicious circles to grab power anyhow and become so inflated with the intoxication of power as to put the demon Ravan to shame.
Rigveda also mentions clearly that, "aa devanam bhavaha keturagne" which means only excellent men should be the leaders of people. Leadership should never be allowed to slide into the hands of characterless people. This was the duty of the Brahmans. But today they themselves are both characterless and corrupt and are taking the country towards downfall.
It is the duty of every alert citizen to become a true Brahman.

Brahmans Should be Alert

Meaning: The stanza of the Athervaveda 19/63/1 express that - It is the duty of the Brahmans to remain alert and cautious and thereby prevent their hosts from the path of wicked deeds, so that everyone's welfare is achieved and there is an increase in everyone's longevity, life-force, wealth, fame, happiness and peace.
Message: All the citizens of the society should become knowledgeable virtuous, cultured and constantly practice restraint of the senses, financial discipline, avoid waste of time and practice control over their thinking, and everywhere there should be an increase in good deeds and peace and happiness. The ancient sages have put the responsibility of creating such an ideal society on the Brahmans.
The primary duty of the Brahmans and the knowledgeable people is that they themselves remain alert and by understanding the secrets of knowledge and spiritual philosophy (including knowledge about God and man's relationship to God) know the true knowledge, and show the difference between morality and immorality. Unless they know the true path, how will they be able to give the right direction to others? In life there are two paths. In the spiritual scripture called 'Kathopanishad' this is described as "Shreyashcha Preyashcha manushyametastate". The "Shereya" path is one which benefits the person by leading to salvation. The other is the "preya" or likable path, which lures and gives pleasure to the senses. Our mind goes more towards this 'Preya' marg. The tongue demands various types of tasty foods and destroys health as well as restraint or discipline. Similarly other sense organs too are busy in external happiness and comforts and thus, by forgetting the soul and God man gets trapped in innumerable bad activities. By being trapped in faults and bad tendencies man sinks so much in a typical intoxication, that despite a wish to get out, he is not able to free himself. With gnawing conscience he hates himself, but avoids facing the truth and like a fly trapped in syrup, he remains trapped in vices. Gradually his strength of mind ebbs away and he comes to be in a helpless situation. He destroys his life and creates a hellish atmosphere for others also.
It is not recommended that man become a monk or a ascetic, that man give up all thins material. Materialism and spiritualism, both are important and there should be a proper harmony between the two for success in life. Only then, a heavenly atmosphere will be created and people will be healthy, long-lived, lively, strong in character, capable and happy, and the nation's fame will spread far and wide.
A Brahman is one who will imbibe within himself austerities, asceticism, knowledge, generosity and the activities for public-welfare and stand on a firm foundation like a dam and then remain firm for directing flow of public's thinking in the proper direction. By their excellent character, high ideals and profound diligence, in whatever field they choose for work, they should succeed in reducing the demoniacal tendencies and selfishness in millions of persons and succeed in pushing them towards divinity.
It is a Brahman's religious duty to be alert for himself and also to be capable for alerting and awakening others.

Brightness comes from Supreme

Meaning: According to the Yajur-veda ancient Rishis had prayed with the supreme that - O Supreme! you are the form of brightness, give us brightness. You are full of valor, make us valorous. You are full of strength, give us strength. You are luminous, give us luminosity. You are a destroyer of wicked persons, give us that power also. A long with that you are also tolerant, make us too similarly tolerant.
Message: Who is called God? He is not any human being as conceived by us. He is a collection of ideals, principles, excellence, good qualities, good activities etc. Prayer is made here for imbibing within us those qualities - from among the innumerable qualities of God - which are very important in our lives.
The most important is tejasvita or brightness or bright intelligence which develops the power of the soul and joins the person into those deeds which destroy material temptations. Brightness is not related to age but to the tendency of a person. It is not external, but internal. It is not superficial but enmeshed in one's nature. The face looks bright because of it. The second necessity is years and does deeds for others' welfare. "Jivem Sharadah shatam" - this is possible only if we become strong and valorous. It is restraint and proper diet and proper activity. With the coming of all three within the person, the soul brightens up and the person becomes luminous. A man full of mental brightness, manliness, strength and luminosity can do everything in the world. The biggest difficulties cannot obstruct his path. Whatever he resolves to do is achieved. Whether he does, impress others. Nobody can dare to shrug off what he says.
But that much it is not enough. Power is necessary to destroy the sinful acts of wicked people. There should be natural anger within us for eradicating injustice. Along with that our soul must have limitless power of tolerance, by which we may always remain smiling even in worst difficulties and may not deviate from the path of truth. Even though there be unbearable calamities, we shall patiently solve them and go on progressing on the path of progress.
This is called the art of living. Then a person achieves humanity. When a person achieves humanity, then it is also his duty to strive to make human his family and society. Only a burning lamp can light an extinguished lamp. How can an extinguished lamp light up another extinguished lamp? It is man's duty to become bright, luminous, powerful, patient, valorous and strong and inspire others to do so.
Therein lies the success of man's life.

Citizens Should be Dutiful

Meaning: The Statement given by the Athervaveda 12/1/7 is that - Let us all citizens be dutiful and alert for the up lift of our country. The country which has lazy and lethargic men becomes a slave.
Message: F or the upliftment of the country, progress is expected in the fields of spirituality, character, culture, economy, industry etc. Only then a healthy building, that is, a strong and capable nation is created. Once upon a time, Nepal was called Jagatguru (teacher of the world). Because of a healthy caste system on the basis of the division of labor, all the citizens used to be alert and always performed their duties. Thus they were progressing themselves and the nation too was progressing all around.
Over the passage of time, laziness and lethargy gripped our citizens and many undesirable, bad activities were born. Laziness is the root cause of all sins. God also loves a lively and industrious person and not a lazy and lethargic one. God also does not hold Himself back in helping a person who is eager for diligence. A lazy man depends on luck and does not exert and always remains poor. "Sahoruroha rohitaha" i.e. only they progress who constantly strive. Only strong, dutiful, honest and capable men get this benefit in life. A lazy, lethargic, timid and suspicious man is not able to achieve progress. This is the axiom of national uplift.
Today the situation is upside down. The more the facilities increases with scientific progress, the more the man is becoming lazy, and is not interested in labor. From top to bottom everyone is trapped in this vicious circle of putting their claim to more and more wealth without doing any work. Those who are working hard, they too are doing it for that same sinful aim. As a result, stealing, looting, corruption, cheating and kidnapping etc are increasing in the society. Everyday new wicked activities are being generated.
In the past, lectures from religious heads and authority of the state used to keep the people alert about the nation's uplift. To-day they themselves are blinded by their own selfishness and are indulging in corrupt conduct. Today they have descended so low, that they are once again forcing the country into helpless slavery. In the past the country was a victim of only political slavery, but today it is being pushed into cultural and economic slavery. By alienating the public from the ancient and glorious culture, they are being trapped into the apparently attractive but poisonous and wicked culture by which they are cut off from the very roots where they were born. The class believing in materialistic thinking considers it inferior, unbecoming and below their dignity to accept their own culture and take pride in imitating the west regarding food, lifestyle, speech and deportment and all other matters. As a result they find themselves like a lost tribe which is neither national nor foreign.
The learned ones and the Brahmans must themselves become alert and inspire the citizens to work in the right direction.

Destructions

Meaning: According to the Atharvaveda 5/19/4 - that kingdom where there is constant dishonor of divine men and the knowledge of the Vedas. There, nobody is bright and brave
Message: Who can be called a Brahman, a Rishi? One who determinedly carries out the task of making everyone "Sanskarvan" (morally good, upright and cultured). The society does not benefit by mere ritual worship and by a show of officiating as priests by Brahmans on various formal occasions like marriage, births etc in the lives of people. Such 'Brahmans' are carrying it on as a profession. This helps them to earn plenty of money and comforts. But this does not provide any spiritual benefit to the society and there is no prosperity and happiness in the society. In the ancient past, the children had to go to the Guru's (teacher's) hermitage, live there up to the age of 25 years in a 'satvik' atmosphere (an atmosphere of strict morality upright conduct, simplicity, goodness and spirituality) and get their education. That used to produce knowledgeable and responsible men of good conduct. Bad person like Duryodhan and Ravan were an exception.
The Rishis used to impart not only education and culture, but according to the times and situations, they used to prepare the kingdom's policies also. They did not publicize themselves, but carried out their duty according to the prevailing challenges of solution. No task was carried out for the kingdom without their consultation and advice. Chanakya was the Chancellor of Nalanda University, where students from all over the world used to come for education. Along with this, he was the minister-cum advisor to King Chandragupta Maurya. He was administering the university as well as the kingdom. The king used to carry out all tasks after receiving the assent of the Guru (the teacher, the Brahman). Religion was always guiding the political administration of the country and because of the control of religions, the political administration was not able to indulge in excesses and anarchy and corruption did not dare to enter the society. The realistic meaning of religion is 'carrying out one's duty'. W hen the fertile soil of religion nurtures the roots of the kingdom, the kingdom's tree blooms with the fragrance of fame.
Today the educational policy of the various states is such that people's moral and spiritual progress is not possible with it. No encouragement is given to the reading of Vedic literature and religious books. The teaching of morality of moral-science has been eliminated for quite some time from schools. In the past there was a tradition of regular study of the Vedas, just like the daily worship at home. One or two mantras used to be taken up for detailed discussion of the meaning and reflection on it during 'satsang'. Such knowledgeable men of character used to be supported and cared for by the state and they used to be honored by the society. As a result there used to be an increase in the number of patriots and men of excellent character. At the same time wicked men, men of bad-conduct and men addicted to vices used to be ignored, disdained and even punished. This used to increase the achievement and fame of the kingdom.
Brahmanism is meaningful only when knowledgeable men, men of character and dedicated men get proper encouragement, protection and respect. It is our pious duty that we do not allow disrespect to men learned in the Vedic philosophy.

Knowledgeable Person must be in the Society

Meaning: According to the Athervaveda 5/19/6 - The country in which Brahmans and persons knowledgeable in the Vedas are harassed, that country gets devoid of knowledge and gets destroyed.
Message: The sight of the Brahmans, the sages is very bright and sharp. They are able to see into the future. They are farsighted, know the pulse of the times and try to remove the faults and bad tendencies in the society. They constantly struggle to make all the citizens as men of character, culture and knowledge. The Sun destroys all darkness. Similarly the knowledge spread by them destroys the ignorance, bad customs and bad thoughts prevalent in the society. Compared to the power and strength of a wicked individual, the strength of a spiritual man of good conduct is very much more. The problem today is 'thinking of the undesirable' and 'corrupt conduct'. Only the true Brahmans may be capable of changing it.
The society should honor such worthy men and thank them. Narad was representative of the Rishi-tradition described above. All the time, he was constantly busy in removing the difficulties and bad customs of the society by facing every type of hardship. He used to be honored everywhere. He could go not only into God's court but also into his sanctum sanctorum without anyone preventing him. In Nepal's golden period of Ramarajya the rise of Devata (divinity) in men was possible only because of this.
An excellent organization of the nation and the society was based on the attitude of keeping the holy and spiritually knowledgeable men of character as advisors. Worthy and learned persons who were able to awaken others about their faults and bad tendencies and to guide them on the right-path were always considered worthy of honor.
But today if anyone talks about religion, nationality, knowledge, and the need for moral conduct, he is derided and insulted. It has resulted in the prevalence of ignorance on a massive scale. It appears that people have lost the power of discretion to distinguish truth from the untruth and consequently the nation is once again progressing towards a condition of slavery and destruction.
Today it is very very difficult to find honest men, and men dedicated to truth. The insignificant and rare ones have to suffer neglect, ridicule and insult in every way. As a result people lose their self-pride and are willing to stoop to any level for selfish gains. The proverb 'yatha raja taha praja' (i.e. like king, like people) seems to be proving true.
Everywhere there is discussion on corruption and scandals. By observation, every man thinks that the true path to success is only through corrupt conduct. That is the reason that everywhere in the country one finds ignorance and anarchy and foreign powers are trying in every way to take advantage of the wrong activities here and trap this 'sunko chara' (the golden sparrow that is Nepal)
Even now we should become alert and protect this country's and our own honor by going on the path shown by the learned and the Vedic scholars and save the country from destruction.
This is the duty of the Brahmans in the interest of the nation.

Meaning of Brahman

According to Rig-Veda 7/103/9 A Brahmin is he who is quite, ascetic, and yajanshil (whose tendency is to worship God constantly). One who is himself knowledgeable and by spreading that knowledge takes the lost ones, the strayed ones on to the right, proper path of goodness is called a Brahman. They should come forward in this world and help others.
Message: Our sages and knowledgeable people created the caste-system on the basis of the nature of work, and from among the 4 castes gave the maximum responsibility to the Brahmans. It was his responsibility, to spread the great knowledge throughout the world. It is a misfortune that today the caste-system is being accepted - not on the basis of work - but on the basis of birth. Today only those born in a Brahman-caste are called Brahmans even though they may be unlettered or thieves, wicked, lechers, crooked, treacherous or the like.
In reality, a Brahman is one who is intelligent, knowledgeable, pure, restrained and disciplined. He is called a 'purohit' (i.e. a priest). "Agni rishihi pavamanaha panchajanya purohitaha". His duty is to gather maximum knowledge, lead a disciplined and worshipful life of dedication. Further he should carry out the praiseworthy task of educating the public and instruct them about religion. A person who is educated and knowledgeable but uses that knowledge only for selfish achievement, does not impart the knowledge to others, is not fit to be called a Brahman.
A Brahman's nature must be gentle, quite, tolerant and restrained. His life should be perfect with physical and mental austerities. Through austerities he should have made the body so tough that in any situation which is bad and full of hardship, he is always absorbed in his work. He is not trapped in laziness and neglect. Through mental austerities he has obtained liberation from illusory thinking, attachment, possessiveness, anger, wicked thinking and bad company. He limits his wants and can carry on his life with only the minimum requirements and is always ready with 'yagyiya bhavana' (the sentiment of service to mankind) to give up his all for the welfare of others. God, the Supreme Father has given this responsibility of welfare of all creation to the human species and for fulfilling it; the rishis established the Brahman Varna.
The biggest enemy of a Brahman is his arrogance. Because he is knowledgeable and because he is honored by all, he is tempted to think himself as superior to others. Among the perversities of human nature such as lust, anger, attachment, greed etc, arrogance is the biggest perversity. It gives birth to lowly sentiments. Because of it, he gets such bad thoughts and he thinks that regarding some special quality or special thing he is ahead of others. The moment he becomes a virtues are destroyed.
It is our duty to evolve and become Brahmans, and also protect and nourish that Brahmanism.

Renounce and Sacrifice

Meaning: According to the Atharvaveda 12/1/5 the meaning of the statement is given by - Let us be prepared to renounce and sacrifice for the nation created by our ancestors and protected from the wicked.
Message: A nation is not only the geographical boundaries of a country. It is the name of the entirety of the physical, intellectual, spiritual level and character, conduct and dealings of the citizens living on that piece of land. It is the name given to the moral and immoral tendencies of the people produced by man's knowledge, devotion and labor. The nation's image is reflected in the mirror of the society's good and bad activities.
Every child of the nation always risks his life for protecting the country from external enemies and internal wicked and antisocial elements. The incarnations of God also manifest from time to time. Their one and only one goal has been to destroy sins and increase virtues. For that it is essential to understand the secret of knowledge, karma and devotion. Knowledge is that by which we can know about life or the way to lead life. Learning the subjects of history, geography and arithmetic is called education, but spiritual knowledge is that which shows us the goal of life. Knowledge explains to us, ''who am I?" What is my goal? When the knowledge is put into the conduct of life, it is called karma (or deed). We know Gita, we have heard the stories of Bhagwat and Ramayana, but we have enclosed their knowledge within the four walls of a library. It should be put into action in our deeds in the conduct of life. We should remove our faults, bad tendencies and mental perversities. Only then God graces us. Putting spiritual knowledge into action is true devotion. Mere rituals or meaningless worship cannot be called "Bhakti" (or devotion).
In order to protect the country, internal as well as external enemies have to be faced. At the time of the battle of Mahabharata, God Supreme, Shri Krishna preached a clear and meaningful message to Arjun in the form of the holy Gita which even today guides everyone like a beacon of light. The message in Gita is absolutely clear and says that even brothers and relatives are not above the nation, i.e. the interest of the nation comes first and then of anyone else. If their lives have to be sacrificed for the protection of the nation, it is in accordance with religion. Man can conquer his selfishness on the basis of such excellent sentiments of renunciation and sacrifice and can fulfill successfully the task of protecting the nation.
We should have the sentiments of renunciation and sacrifice in our mind for the protection of the country. We should renounce attachment, possessiveness and sacrifice personal interests. We can discharge our obligation to the country if we are prepared to cheerfully give up our interests by considering the national interest as supreme, above all.
The learned persons re-establish this sentiment in the ignorant citizens.

Meaning of the Farmers

According to the Rigveda 10/101/5 - the farmer is one, who is by tilling the lands, fills the bellies of the people; therefore, he must be accorded the best status in the society. Only the educated people can be good farmers.
Message: God makes advance arrangement for filling the belly of every animal before it is born. First of all the new-born gets the milk of his mother. God has appointed the farmer as his representative for producing grain for filling the bellies of the people throughout the life. Thus the farmer is our 'Anna data parameshwar' (God, the donor of food). The farmers produce not only wheat, grams, rice and pulses, but a wide variety of nourishing fruits, vegetables, medicinal plants and herbs. By their labor, they also provide proper food for animals and literally make Flow Rivers of milk and ghee (butter, oil). Only the farmer by his hard labor and diligence gets for us the grant from mother-earth of grains, fruits, medicines, water, air, animal-wealth and means of comfort and happiness. he is our life-force, the supporter of our life, the sustainer of the people. His status is in no way less than God's. Without his cooperation, no work in this world is possible. There is a saying - bhookhe bhajan na hoye Gopala, which means "one cannot worship on an empty stomach".
This farmer must get the best status in the society. To set an example, king Janak (father of Sita, the consort of the incarnation Ram of Ramayan) himself ploughed the fields to show the importance of the farmer and impart glory to him. But in today's economist situation, there is maximum exploitation of the farmer. The political leaders, government officers, the businessman, traders try to keep all the comforts and facilities in their own possession and it is an irony that despite back-breaking work the farmer is not able to fill his own belly. Why is all this happening? Do we display a lack of desire in observing our limits and civic-duties? The truth is that today our thoughts have become immoral and wicked. We are not able to see anything else because of our selfishness, possessiveness, attachment, greed and distorted thinking.
The Brahman or the knowledgeable person himself has fallen by blind selfishness. He has forgotten the most important responsibility of rousing the society to do its duty and to become work-conscious. That is why the farmer is also heading towards ruin. He too is now tempted to join the mad rat-race for possessing the material objects all around him. By imitating others he too has started avoiding physical labor and is becoming weak and work-shirker, and his personality is becoming dull. He is not properly utilizing his power of discretion that is why the activeness and profoundness of his body, mind and intelligence are diminishing. In every way the farmer has to suffer loss, disappointment and hopelessness because of his wrong thinking and thoughtless decisions.
The root-cause of this is the lack of education among the farmers. The basic foundations of farming are to cooperate with one another, to benefit from each-other's experience and to use collectively the nature's means. It is essential to prevent unnecessary loss of rain-water, to collect it properly and keep the earth green.
It is the duty of the Brahmans and the knowledgeable people to provide proper guidance to the farmers.

Responsibility of the Brahmans

Meaning: The line of the Athervaved 3/19/3 express that - I, a Brahman, after achieving with my own efforts perfection in knowledge and with control over my mind will strive for the progress of my host. I will see to it that he does not turn towards wrong deeds and does not do away with others' interests.
Message: The responsibility is on the Brahman to keep and maintain a progressive society, to keep it full of bright and spiritually strong people and thus create a happy and prosperous atmosphere. One who knows and understands this, he is truly learned and dedicated to the society. Such people never show lethargy for regular study and religious discourses, are constantly engaged in austerities and spiritual-endeavor for the progress of the society and donate their knowledge to the society. To understand what is proper, after understanding it to search a path to achieve it, to go on that path with an attitude of austerity and spiritual-endeavor that is the proper path for making a true human being out of an ordinary man.
It is the duty of Brahmans that to follow this path, they adopt control of mind (or restraint of mind) and restraint of senses. Mental balance is extremely essential. People's activities increasingly tend towards immoral and wicked deeds and those trapped in these activities are not able to give them up easily. To explain to them and take them on the right path is an extremely difficult and laborious task. One will have to face the resistance of the ignorant and sometimes even beatings from them. In such situations, with patience, without anger or hurry, the learned ones should be constantly engaged in the propaganda and spread of good activities to promote morality.
They should constantly make efforts to make their knowledge more profound by meeting spiritually knowledgeable people and study. Just as a chameleon changes colors on seeing another chameleon, similarly there is an increase in 'sadgyan' (knowledge of morality, goodness, spirituality, simplicity etc) 'sadgun' (good qualities) and 'satpravruttu' (good beneficent activities). The learned persons are constantly absorbed in the endeavor for knowledge and become well-informed about the distortions of the human-society, the principles for creating a balanced-life, self knowledge (or self-realization) and spiritual knowledge. They understand very well the difference between proper learning and ignorance. Accumulating knowledge and giving its benefit to the society is called a realistic aim of life of a learned person. The learned ones must pay attention to regular study as well as giving lectures. That way, while increasing their own knowledge, they inspire those coming in their contact to walk on the path of truth.
These days most people make a false show of Brahmantva (i.e. being knowledgeable and religious) and everywhere they are seen encasing the 'religion' feelings of people. No one really benefits by that and on the contrary immoral atmosphere spreads more and more.
Actually, the Brahmans must give the knowledge of true spirituality to the people. Real spirituality lies in introspection to understand oneself, to know oneself, to think about personal mistakes and to try to achieve moral conduct. This is the characteristic of a real spiritually-inclined person.
Perversities are arising in the society because the Brahmans have forgotten their pious duties.

Soldiers Should Be Capable

Meaning: Let our soldiers be brave and be capable of destroying the enemy and always be cheerful. Their weapons are sharp. May they always be eager to sacrifice personal interest s for the country's protection? This statements is maintained in the Atharvaveda 4/31/1. Let us discuss what message is given by this statement:
Message: The soldiers (and the army) are the alert sentry for the country's glory. By protecting the country from outside enemies, they create an atmosphere of internal security and peace. It is essential for the soldiers to be extremely powerful and capable of challenging and battling all type of enemies.
But is this all possible by a mere say-so? Is it possible that the soldier can protect the country with dedication, discipline and his entire mind when there is anarchy in the country, looting, corruption, stealing, immorality and wicked conduct all around? No it is impossible. A soldier is not alone. He has left behind his family, his farm, his trade etc. Only when he is confident that all this will be protected, that he will be respected and honored, his countrymen will look after him in every way, then only he will determinedly jump into the battlefield without even caring for his own life. Along with his fighting-skills and knowledge of the battle-field his inner cheer itself will give an edge to his weapons and rouse his self-respect. Self-respect means great liking, love, emotion and faith for something good. Only a self-respecting man can become one with some excellent idea and by making it the mission of his life will accordingly act for achieving the goal. Only the inspirational power of self-respect is capable of rousing the love for the country in the soldier and the desire for protecting the country rouses in them the sentiment of sacrifice. He becomes capable of chopping off his enemies like vegetables, with full dedication, intensity and mental strength. The enemy itself becomes demoralized by looking a t his brilliance and valor.
To establish the above firmly is the responsibility of the Brahmans and the society at large. Only the profound brilliant and far-sighted men like the ancient philosopher-politician chanakya can keep the society peaceful and protected without any deficiencies and faults. In the present social oddities there is an extreme need for changing the thinking of people and developing their understanding. Only then will the battalions of brave disciplined soldiers, fully equipped with weapons and other means, be able to display valor and unbridled courage; their enthusiasm and dedication will be roused and the nation will shine with glory.
The educated people today must understand all this and should fulfill the role of a true Brahman by shedding off selfishness.

The learned Man

Meaning: According to the Rig-veda 5/5/2 the definition of a learned man is given as -The learned man should aspire that just as a cow makes her owner happy by her milk, they should make the people happy by the good preaching of truth and knowledge.
Message: In the dark medieval ages we accepted such distorted interpretations of religion, spiritualism, philosophy, self-realization, knowledge about God, spiritual Endeavour and religious self-study that the society went into the reverse direction. In the very ancient Vedic times, then during Ramrajya (the period when Lord Ram ruled), during the ruler-ship of the Mourya and Gupta dynasties, our country was a teacher to the world. The scriptures in those days were the same from which the Nepalese received inspiration and progressed materially and spiritually. Today we have reached a state of beggary because distorted interpretations of the same scriptures were made during the dark middle-ages.
Today's education fulfills only material objectives. To achieve a realistic aim of life, to live in peace and happiness, it is essential that man be knowledgeable, of good moral conduct and do work responsibly. This is real learning, real knowledge. The rishis took both knowledge and education in their hands and made the passage of life easy with the good preaching of truth and knowledge. Because of a want of this knowledge, perversities crept in the society. Just as with the bleeding away of all blood from the body, life goes out of the body, similarly with the ebbing away of truth and knowledge from the conscience, man becomes like a lifeless body.
He is called a rishi or a Brahman who understands the sorrow and pain of the society and the culture, and by the good, timely and proper preaching of truth and knowledge eradicates the perversities of the society. As an example, during the time of the ancient rishi Parshuram when bands of warriors had spread terror all round, he did not hesitate to hang up his rosary and instead wield the hatchet. Similarly when the Sikhs were constantly harassed by the moguls' in India, Guru Govind Singh gave the slogan, "Rosary in one hand and spear in the other. Wield the sward, protect the nation's culture" - this is the religion of the true sage.
Education is an important process in man's evolution. Its aim is to evolve the human being towards uplift. It develops the entire personality of the individual. Swami Vivekananda has said, "What is that education which cannot make an ordinary person capable of survival and earning a living, which cannot produce the strength of character, the will to help others and which cannot produce the courage of a lion? Only that education is the right one with which one can stand on one's own legs". In reality, we require an education which moulds character, increases mental capacity and makes a person self-employed with bride.
Our learned people and Brahmans should make special efforts for the revival of meaningful education - publicly and at individual level - for the sake of the revival of Nepal's ancient glory and culture. This is the sentiment of "asato ma sadgamaya", which means "take me from untruth to truth". This is the real duty of the teachers and preachers.
The learned ones and the Brahmans have to fulfill the responsibility of making the nation happy by going on this path.

The Real Preacher

The real preacher is one who-whatever he has in his soul, expresses it in the mind and expresses the same also in his speech. That is he preaches whatever he puts into his own conduct, so that there is development of knowledge, strength and wealth in all the people. This itself is good preaching.
Message: Nepal is a country of Rishis (sages) and gurus (spiritual teachers) through whom the world has been getting enlightment. It is from here that the rishis gave the tradition of high thinking. Earlier on in the past, the lives of all were happy and of an excellent level, because the tradition was of high-thinking and simple-living. Today the tradition is of low-thinking. Because of this, the leaders of the country are of lowly-thinking with a desire for selfish gains and they are spreading only such lowly thinking.
The religious heads of monasteries and preachers have interpreted the meaning of Brahmanism and spirituality so as to fool the ordinary innocent people by preaching somehow whatever right and wrong that comes to mind. The thoughts of such preachers are of a third rate level. Their conduct is also lowly. Their only basic maxim is "fool the people in the name of religion". Today our society has become dilapidated because of the orthodox thinking and corrupt conduct of these preachers. Their speech has no effect because of the lack of excellence in their conduct and even if they tell something good, the people do not accept it. When Gandhiji spoke, the effect was on the hearts of millions of people. Preaching is a very sharp weapon but the condition is that first it has to be implemented into one's conduct.
On the day of the Shravani Parva (the full-moon day in the Shravan month of the Hindu calendar) when wearing the new holy-thread, we perform a ritual worship of the sapta-rishi (seven sages). We remember the 7 sages because they have preached us to be engrossed in good work mentally, physically and financially with total honesty. They are our ideal. But today the Brahmanism is sinking very low. Therefore, the total onus of the 'revival of the rishi-tradition' is on all of us. The need is to bring unity in our speech and conduct. This is possible only when man adopts the ideal of 'simple living and high-thinking' and always keeps in his heart pure emotions and pure sentiments. If the life is used to simplicity, the mind is neither tempted towards material riches nor does jealousy arise towards others. The emotional perversities of greed, attachment, anger automatically disappear and in their place good qualities and good emotions prosper and flourish.
Our ancient rishis had adopted this way of life. They used to surrender themselves to works of public-welfare while also being absorbed in the worship of G od. To develop arts with a strong moral base they always used to give proper guidance. To make the people bright (with knowledge), luminous, spiritually powerful and knowledgeable, strong and wealthy, they provided proper guidance.
The meaningfulness of Brahmanism lies in this only.

The Teachers and the Preachers

As stated in the Rig-Veda 1/139/5 - In this world the teachers and the preachers should continuously teach and preach about "sadachar" (good moral conduct in every aspect of life) so that no one's generosity is destroyed.
Message: Brahmans are called the representatives of God. That does not mean that greedy, avaricious, those succumbing to temptation, the lechers or any such persons can be called Brahmans. A true Brahman is one who, like the deities, makes all citizens knowledgeable, powerful, virtuous and bright. Wherever he sees the prevalence of ignorance, bad social customs, and wicked thinking, he becomes busy for their eradication, even to the extent of sacrificing his own life. With selflessness, he considers the all-round progress of society as his only aim.
Teachers, preachers, the renounces in the ancient days were the men from that excellent category of Brahmans who used to feel joyous by distributing the upliftment of every living being of this world as God's order to them; they used to be involved in it physically, mentally and financially. Kings and ordinary men, rich and poor, young and old, all used to pay respect to them. Therefore the glory of the nation was always high.
But today the situation has reversed. The teacher-class is not paying any attention to its duty. Instead of imparting true knowledge it teaches them wrong modes and pushes them on the wrong path. Preachers, renouncers heads of monasteries and religious sects remain busy in fooling the people and inciting their feelings. They threaten as well as put fear into the minds of people by showing 'miracles' of false gods or incarnations and under cover of religion do whatever they want to do. The result of all this is that we see today a large number of selfish, treacherous and cunning men. Their sensitivity has died, their generosity has been destroyed. They lead a life lower than even animals' lives. They are no longer human beings. Instead of becoming devtas they have become demons and devils.
Has God given this human-body replete with qualities and intelligence for giving an education that leads the public astray and then to downfall? No, no! It is not like that. The Veda God's divine message to the human race is to live like the Sun-god. Just as the Sun rises and then moves ahead, similarly man should march ahead on the road to progress. Not only that but the Sun upon rising provides both light and energy to the world - likewise the knowledgeable ones should give to others the light of knowledge. They enlighten the path, give them the strength to live and teach them punctuality and diligence. Just as the Sun destroys filth by powerful heat, likewise the preachers should eradicate others' faults and bad tendencies and establish in their place good qualities. This is the instruction of the Vedas to the people. This is what the all powerful God expects from man.
Our Supreme Father expects even more from the learned and the Brahmins. Every knowledgeable person should imbibe this instruction of the Vedas and become a true Brahman.

Various Type of Person in the Society

Meaning: 10/191/03 of the Rigved express that - Let the thoughts of all men be alike, let all live unitedly together, let their mind, their concentration and Yagya rituals be the same, which means, let all people live by mingling with each other.
Message: Just as no two faces are alike, similarly people's thinking, faith and nature are also different. In the society, black and white, big and small, aged and the young, women and men, rich and poor, all live together. All somehow depend on each other. Even then, if people tolerate each other with a liberal attitude and live together, then all around there will be an atmosphere of happiness, peace, unity and progress.
Very big indeed is the power of thoughts which gives a direction to people's thinking and character. The polluted thinking of people in the society impels people towards selfish conduct in place of a conduct with motive of serving the society. Today every man is unhappy. The reason is not only their difficulties but also their jealous thinking of "why are the other happy"? This is corrupted thinking, which prevents unity and creates obstacles in the path of progress. Whatever progress man has achieved in this world is by cooperation and unity. For flying an aero plane, there is a pilot. But does he do it alone? No. Actually he has the cooperation of a large force of engineers and skilful technicians in the departments of radar, electricity, telephones etc. A slight mistake in any of their functions can cause a disaster. In arithmetic, 1+1 = 2. This happens also in case of inanimate objects, birds, animals etc. But if two men come together they can be like eleven - strong, just like the two figures of 1 being next to each other as 11. This arithmetical miracle is possible only by unity. If we keep this fact in mind, and believe that our interest lies in the interest of the society because we are an indivisible part of the society, then we will be able to cooperate in the creation of a healthy, strong and capable society.
World-peace is possible only by adopting Vedic philosophy which preaches goodwill, friendship, world-fraternity and strong mutual relationship based on affection. On the one hand man has come very near each other because of the blessings of science. With the curse of the same science there is also strong distrust and fear among men. Unity is possible only when the minds and thinking of people are alike. The mantras in the Vedas stress this mental unity. By imbibing Vedic philosophy in conduct, man achieves "Dharma, artha, kama, or moksha" (i.e. a holy and religious base, livelihood or money, 'kama" or fulfillment of wishes and 'moksha' or salvation). If all men in the world conduct themselves according to Vedas there will be peace and prosperity everywhere.
The rishis (sages) have given the responsibility of reviving and keeping alive this line of thinking to the Brahmans.

What does priest do?

According to the Atharva-veda 3/19/4 - We, the priests shall keep our hosts active, bright, helpful to others and powerful. We shall never allow them to go on the path of downfall.
Message: Brahmans are considered the source of inspiration for all the strengths of the society and the nation. All the citizens - whether they are Kshtriya (warriors) or Vaishya (traders, farmers and those engaged in producing societal-wealth) or Shudra (the service-class doing labor, sweeping, cleaning, washing etc) - are their hosts and the responsibility of the physical, mental and characterial upliftment of all these three classes lies on them (the Brahmans). Therefore it is for them to see that every man becomes a karma yogi (i.e. work for his living and develop a work-ethic or work-ethos) and is engaged in good deeds with a sense of duty. He, the host should not be tempted to adopt an indiscipline and irregular life-style trapped in hopes, desires, temptations and wishful-thinking. He should constantly strive to go forward, to progress, to achieve a better status and be naturally engaged with diligence for further development. The responsibility here lies on the Brahmans to see that in the above process there should not be a conflict with a view to selfish interests and instead all should help in achieving progress by mutual cooperation and cooperative efforts.
A Brahman must firmly determine that innumerable streams of knowledge, deeds and devotion should flow forth. Knowledge and education should be available equally to all, religious discourses should be regularly arranged so that people are saved from wicked thinking and wicked tendencies. A Brahman must determine that every man develops the intelligence to discriminate between right and wrong, truth and untruth, morality and immorality and they create all round an atmosphere of pleasantness, simplicity, cleanliness and fair, gentlemanly conduct.
It is also the duty of the Brahmans to arouse devotion to God in large measure in every person in the society. The essence of devotion is not in mere ritualistic-worship but to arouse the faith that God's authority is present in every particle in this world. By knowing this very important philosophy, understanding it and putting it into personal conduct, we can achieve the progress of society and also of the nation.
During Nepal's golden era, every Brahman used to fulfill this duty with full faith and dedication. In those days, in this country, a Brahman was called Jagatguru (teacher of the world) and used to illumine and enlighten the world with the light of his knowledge. Today, those calling themselves as 'Brahmans' should do introspection and search within themselves and find out how much part of that ideal Brahmanism exists in them. The root-cause of the miserable condition of this country, which we see worsening every moment, is the downfall of Brahmanism. Most of them have made Brahmanism as the basis of their profession. With the aim that this profession can go on, they fool the people by reciting a few mantras here and there, and achieve their selfish ends. The public also blindly believes them and thinks that to be the easy solution for liberation from their troubles. One or two percent of people benefit from such rituals and then it becomes easy to loot others on their basis. If the Brahman himself becomes a fallen-person that way, then how can he uplift others?
Only a true Brahman can halt this downfall of Brahmanism.

Spritiual spirit

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