Bhakti-yoga

From original by Peter Akkermans via Wikipedia

Bhakti-yoga is the dharma (sacred duty) of pure devotion and surrender to God as understood in Hinduism. It may involve the use of images depicting a favored deity, believed to be a manifestation of a unified Godhead. Some Hindus say this is the highest path in yoga, while others maintain that jnana-yoga is supreme.

From Wikipedia:

The Bhagavad Gita, Bhagavata Purana and Puranas^[2] are important scriptures which expound the philosophy of Bhakti.^[3] Hindu movements in which bhakti is the main practice are called bhakti movements—the major schools are Shaivism, Vaishnavism, and Shaktism.

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Cyclops

Odysseus and his men blinding the cyclops Polyphemus. Detail of the “Eleusis amphora”, a proto-attic work, c. 650 BC, museum of Eleusis, Inv. 2630. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Cyclops [Greek cyclops: round-eyed] – In Greek mythology, the Cyclopes are one-eyed giants, often employed as smiths and associated with volcanoes.

The cyclops appear in several ancient literature sources. In Homer‘s Odyssey, the Cyclops Polyphemus is tricked and eventually blinded by Odysseus. In anger Polyphemus tries to destroy Odysseus’ crew by tossing huge rocks at their ship during their narrow escape.

Although they have one eye, the cyclops should not be confused with the Asian idea of the “third eye” or, for that matter, with the Christian idea of the “single eye.”¹ Not to say that these ideas are identical. They’re not. The Hindu Siva, for example, burns his enemies to ashes with a heat ray that emanates from this third eye.²  By way of contrast, Jesus Christ never advocates this kind of violence. Even if they’re not the same, these two images of the single eye, Hindu and Christian, do share the connotation of some kind of privileged spiritual perspective.

By way of contrast, Wikipedia says this about the cyclops:

They were giants with a single eye in the middle of their forehead and a foul disposition. According to Hesiod, they were strong, stubborn, and “abrupt of emotion”. Collectively they eventually became synonyms for brute strength and power, and their name was invoked in connection with massive masonry.³

This clearly isn’t about spiritual insight. However, the cyclops do fashion thunderbolts (as weapons) for Zeus’ purposes. But they’re just the tool makers. It’s Zeus who decides how his thunderbolts should be used in the cosmic battleground.

¹ http://bible.cc/luke/11-34.htm

² Many Hindus, of course, would argue that Siva’s death ray is only aimed at the inferior deities, these symbolizing the inferior aspects of the self.  An excellent book about Siva in Hindu mythology is Siva: The Erotic Ascetic by Wendy Doniger O’Flaherty http://books.google.ca/books/about/Siva.html?id=dnfZ_MBErlQC&redir_esc=y

³ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclops

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Durga

Dancer of Sri Devi Nrithyalaya depicting Durga: the right hands holding the trident, while the left hand’s 3 fingers’ mudra represents the head of the trident. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Durga is a Hindu goddess with both maternal and terrible aspects. Often depicted with eight or ten arms, Durga has been worshipped throughout India since at least 400 CE. As the consort of Shiva, some sacred scriptures called the Veda depict her as riding the back of a lion, symbolizing her immense power to confer grace on sincere seekers of God, and conversely, punishment on the ignorant and demon-deluded.

Prior to the annual fall celebration of Durga puja, a Hindu priest may conscript local youngsters to canvass for donations in order to construct an effigy of the goddess. For several days the life-size doll is promulgated throughout cites and towns on a cart, often accompanied with Hindi pop music blaring from a portable sound system. This event epitomizes India’s unique synthesis of the ancient, the sacred and the contemporary.

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Dharma

Ideas machine (Photo credit: yesyesnono)

Dharma is the idea of sacred duty in Hinduism. The concept originates from India’s ancient legal texts, so it’s not surprising that “doing the right thing” within this belief system is usually bound up within specific caste and gender biases, which many today would see as hopelessly backward.

The Buddhist equivalent is dhamma but this differs in that the Buddha rejected many of the older Hindu ideas from which the new religion of Buddhism emerged.

As a Hindu ideal, dharma is doing one’s divine duty in an apparently impersonal manner. In essence, the mind is said to be fixed on God while correct action is performed without care for the personal “fruit” of those actions.

The belief that one’s actions may be entirely untainted by personal biases and desires seems questionable. And this is no scholarly quibble. Orthodox Hinduism, for instance, advocates killing as the appropriate dharma for members of the kshatriya caste. And in domestic affairs, the dharma of the wife is often marked by servitude to her husband and family, a position widely held to be sexist.¹

The idea of surrendering to God is nothing new but each religion tends to define the notion of appropriate surrender differently. Despite the obvious problems with the idea of dharma, recent social movements within India are compelling the middle classes, especially, to become increasingly aware of the often conflicting distinction between the idea of universal human rights and this ancient view of religious duty.

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¹ India, where 80.5 % of the population say they’re Hindu, has recently been labelled the worst place to be a woman, with Canada being the best. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/13/us-g20-women-idUSBRE85C00420120613

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Deva

Bonten (Skt., Brahman) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Deva is a Pali and Sankrit term denoting a ‘heavenly being’ or ‘shining one.’

In Buddhism the devas inhabit the heavens but are subject to the law reincarnation and are not eternal, like all other sentient beings. They are opposed to asuras, which are essentially evil spirits.

In Hinduism the devas may refer to

1. The absolute (Brahman) in the form of a personal god
2. Mortal beings inhabiting a realm higher than the human sphere
3. A name attached to human beings who have realized God and attained enlightenment

Regarding the third instance, whether or not individuals actually attain perfection or merely become subsumed by the power of a deva is a point of debate sparked by the traditional Catholic view of discernment along with C. G. Jung‘s archetypal psychology. Catholic mystics would probably see anyone claiming to be perfect as a victim of a Satanic influence, whereas C. G. Jung would likely frame the issue in terms of the ego over-identifying with an archetyapl power.

In the New Age movement the word deva is adapted to refer to nature spirits, spiritual forces behind visible creation, or spiritual forces behind a species—i.e. a group soul.

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Guru

Swami Kriyananda offering sweetmeats to Yogananda via Wikipedia

In Hinduism a guru is an esoteric spiritual teacher. It is believed that the guru instructs and purifies disciples with the help of God’s grace and other spiritual elements.

In many cases, the mechanism of purification is said to be karma transfer, where the karmic impurities of the disciple apparently fly from the disciple to the teacher, who then spiritually ‘cleanses’ him or herself through intense devotion or meditation. A similar, although certainly not identical, mechanism is described among Catholic saints when they speak of spiritual intercession and the taking of sins.

Critics of the guru system often claim that gurus try to transform disciples into a carbon copy of the guru—or perhaps into mindlessly accepting the type of spiritual powers mediated by the guru, which arguably are not suitable for everyone (or perhaps only suitable for a certain period in an individual’s lifelong journey of becoming).

Moreover, Rabbi Allen Maller argues that spiritual experience and practice should bring one back to one’s social, interpersonal and personal duties with enhanced spirituality instead of creating recluses and ascetics, as we often find with Hindu gurus. This view of ‘genuine’ spirituality being intimately wedded to worldly action may, however, be critiqued from both Christian monastic and Hindu meditative perspectives.

As politically incorrect as this might seem today, both C. G. Jung and Joseph Campbell suggested that Westerners might lose their unique sense of individuality under the influence of an Eastern guru. Along these lines, some gurus have been accused of brainwashing and manipulating their disciples, usually by concerned family members of the disciples who don’t share guru’s religious beliefs

According to Bishop Kallistos Ware:

There are many false guides. There is no automatic way of discovering a true guide, but there are certain criteria. First, the spiritual father, if genuine, does not automatically impose himself. He doesn’t necessarily hide, but he waits for the others to come. The true spiritual father helps us to develop our own freedom. He does not impose his way on us, but helps us to discover our own way. The true spiritual guide does not promise instant success. In the spiritual life there are occasionally shortcuts, but ones provided by God. In general, what is asked of us is fidelity and the willingness to go deep. Those spiritual teachers who claim to offer us the higher gifts of contemplation through a few simple exercises should be treated with great caution.¹

In religions like Sikhism, the term guru may refer to a great spiritual figure recognized by everyone within that tradition, such as Guru Nanak.

—

¹ “Image and Likeness: Interview with Bishop Kallistos Ware” in Lorraine Kisly (ed.), The Inner Journey: Views from the Christian Tradition, Parabola Anthology Series, Sandpoint ID: Morning Light Press, 2006. p. 160.

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Hanuman

Rama and Hanuman fighting Ravana, an album painting on paper, c1820 via Wikipedia

In the Hindu Ramayana, Hanuman is a Monkey-God and a great friend of humanity—at least, that part of humanity concerned to see justice and goodness overcome the forces of evil.

Hanuman accomplishes many heroic deeds. His main feat is to help Rama rescue Sita from the evil demon king, Ravana. Hanuman is also a manifestation of dharma (Skt. = right duty) and of the godhead itself.

Like the ancient Egyptians, Hindus often symbolize God and God’s ethics in animal form.

To this CrippLeD SaM adds:

Though is a Monkey-God, Hanuman is not the Chief of the Monkeys, this is Sugreev. He is Sugreev’s Minister, and some say he is the 11th Avatar of Shiva. As he saved the Life of Ramas Brother Laxman, people call him “Sankatamochana”, the one who takes away catastrophe. Helping him, he teared out the whole Mountain. So he is also the God of strength. If you are interested in Hanuman Pictures, Hanuman Music (Hanuman Chalisa Mp3), Texts and more, you can visit: http://hanumanji.wordpress.com. » Source

A 17th century painting depicting Hanuman worshiping Lord Rama and his wife Sita. Lakshmana is also seen in this painting from Smithsonian Institution collection via Wikipedia

Depending on one’s perspective, representing God as a monkey is either progressive or misguided.

Those who see it as progressive would likely embrace shamanistic cultures where animals are taken as sacred.

Those seeing it as misguided would likely be adherents of the type of monotheism where One God can never be anything less than ultimate (e.g. Islam, Judaism, Sikhism), or they could be believers in the Christian idea of Trinitarian monotheism, where One God exists as three persons in The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit.

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Jiva

Hindus believe the self or soul (atman) repeatedly takes on a physical body via Wikipedia

In Hinduism the jiva (Sanskrit: “to live”) refers to the individual soul living in a mortal body, subject to the laws of karma.

In contrast to the atman, which has the potential to fully join with the brahman (i.e. ultimate reality), the jiva makes distinctions between subject and object. Because of its dualistic perspective, the jiva is often likened to the psychoanalytic concept of the ego.

In Jainism the jiva is simply a living substance, inherent to all organisms, that carries on after physical death.

On this point, however, Ninian Smart notes that in

Jainism there is a fundamental distinction between life-monads (jivas) and non-living, material world (ajiva)—the latter incl. human and other organic bodies.¹

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¹ See A Dictionary of Comparative Religion, ed. S. G. F. Brandon (1971), p. 376.

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Jnana yoga

Bhagavad Gita, a 19th century manuscript. North India via Wikipedia

In Hinduism, jnana yoga [Sanskrit jnana: the path of spiritual knowledge] is the yoga of knowledge. But this isn’t just bookish, conceptual or intellectual knowledge. Instead, the goal of jnana yoga is to know the true self and, for believers in this path, its identity with the Godhead.

Not to say that Jnana yoga never involves erudition, or intellectual and conceptual knowledge. It certainly can. But these are seen as tools to achieve illumination instead of ends in themselves.

The dharma (sacred duty) of jnana yoga is about overcoming ignorance [Sanskrit: avidya] and clearing the path for true spiritual knowledge. And for believers, this kind of knowledge is nothing less than realizing that this changing world (and all the desires that go with it) are illusory. It also means realizing that the personal ego is not the true self.

When the aspirant reaches this stage of awareness, he or she may be confused and even wonder if they’ve gone insane (as did Sri Ramakrishna on occasion). But a healthy transition means that the seeker eventually understands that the atman and brahman are one and the same.

Diagrammatic representation of absolute and manifestation in Jnana Yoga by Swami Vivekananda - Nvineeth via Wikipedia

In the Bhagavad Gita, the Hindu deity Krishna says that jnana yoga is the most difficult of the four central yogas, but also the path dearest to him.

Traditionally associated with the Brahmin caste, the meaning of jnana-yoga would be closer to wisdom instead of erudition. But prominent figures like Sri Aurobindo and Swami Ramacharaka are both quite learned and (allegedly) illuminated.

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Kalki

Stone plaque of Kalki from the 18th century via Wikipedia

Kalki is the tenth and final avatar in Hinduism which believers say is yet to come.

Popular images depict him riding a white horse with wings known as Devadatta (God-given.) In these images, Kalki is brandishing a sword in his left hand and is intent on eradicating the corrupt destitution and debauchery of Kali Yuga.¹

Modern interpreters of the Kalki story tell of various prophecies, often linked with their own particular religious beliefs. But probably nobody knows just what this old Puranic prophecy means, and whether or not it contains more than a mythic significance.

—

¹ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalki

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