KNOWLEDGE

       ‘Knowledge is of two kinds’, said Sage Angiras to Shaunaka who asked:

        “Sir, what is that, knowing which everything in the world becomes known?”[Mundakopanoshad].

     Mundakopanishad belongs to Atharva Veda wherein Brahma, the creator and the protector himself imparted this science of the Spirit, the basis of all sciences to Atharvan, his eldest son. From Atharvan to Angiras, and from Angiras to Bharadwaj, and to Satyavaha, and he in turn to Angiras, this knowledge of the perishable and the imperishable has been imparted since time immemorial.

        All knowledge including the Vedas and the Upanishads and the science belong to the lower or ‘Apara Vidya’ leads to the attainment of the worldly success (the perishable) and, the higher knowledge or the ‘Para Vidya’ leads to the attainment of the ‘imperishable’. The latter lies beyond the ability of the senses and the Mind to grasp and remains outside the grasp of the humans. It is the knowledge of the ‘Absolute’, the knowledge of the Self, the knowledge of the Finite and it is the Subject. As such, it lies outside the purview of the ordinary senses that always look outward, towards the objective world. The subjective world cannot be perceived by theMind and the senses, the objects; and, all humans are the objects of the Creator. It is only an inward journey, a journey to the world of Spirit, by the earnest and the sincere seeker that can delve into the secrets of the Unknown. Still the Unknown remains knowable but never becomes known!

         Thus, it is all about the ‘endless quest’. It is about the mysteries about the universe, the mysteries of life, of death and after death; about the mysteries of man; his problems of life. It is about emancipation. It is about freedom, liberation, and eternal bliss and happiness. It is about the goal of life. It is about the meaning of life. It is about the proper understanding of the problems of life as also to equip oneself to face life as it comes. It is about experience of life in its full. It is about salvation, or ‘mukti’, i.e., the purification of the mind. ‘Moksha’ is burning of all desires of impure mind and to ‘dwell in Him’, attaining the’ Supreme Bliss’. This does not mean abandoning the great opportunity given to man to live and enjoy on this earth; even the Devas are jealous of this great opportunity of living as humans.

       In a way, it is about the Vedantic views and ways of life, not of abandonment, but of fulflllment! This book will shed light on the evolution of mankind, and the goal and purpose of life. The Vedas make it explicitly clear that one can take to asceticism (the Aranyakas) or to the Grihastashram  (householders), as explicitly given in the Brahmanas. Both have different roles to play and well-defined rules have been laid down. But, ultimately, it is the Realisation of the Brahman, the Absolute, Self that is the goal. This is the Para Vidya, knowledge of the immortal. All other knowledge is of no conesquence in attaining the Self.

        There is no doubt that this life is for enjoyment. Enjoy life and enjoy it so well that you will not hanker after it any more, taking repeated births. Enjoy your life so well that you feel happy and contented. Enjoy your life so well that it leaves no desires for further fulfillment in the next birth. There is a Vedic prayer for the Grace of the Lord to enjoy good health and good life. But, the most important thing is to realize ones’ own Self by a deeper understanding of the Self, the Soul, and the Spirit within.  A number of techniques derived from Indian ancient scriptures are given in this book that will help to understand the meaning of life and lead a happy and successful life.

      There is need for a clear understanding of the Ancient Indian or the Hindu way of life, the Sanatana Dharma, the Vedantic way, the spiritual way. It is a life of peace, prosperity, and universal brotherhood. It is several millennia-old. All the ancient Sages have experienced the trauma of life and have found out the way of getting out of the misery of this life, i.e., emancipation. This book explains the meaning of Vedic hymns, dhyana, contemplation, meditation and the mantras that help us to realize the Self in us. It helps us to understand our ‘Manas’, the Mind and ways and means of controlling the mind. A number of seminal thoughts are given at the end for purpose of contemplation. This will be very useful in controlling the mind through ‘awareness’.                           

        This book deals with the Vedic expositions regarding the origin of the universe, evolution of life and evolution of mankind, the need for living in peace with the other life-forms; it helps to solve the problems of modern day hectic life and identifies the root-cause of our misery, unhappiness, failures, physical and mental stress, tension, sickness, ailments, and disappointments and frustrations. In fact, it is this ageing, sickness and death that prompted Gautama Buddha to seek for an answer that finally ended in his enlightenment.

Need for the Scriptures

        When in doubt, consult the scriptures.  There is a wealth of information about everything found in this world in Rig Veda. The Upanishads constitute the sum and substance of all the four Vedas, viz Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veada and the Atharva Veda. Besides, there are the Puranas, the Bhagavatha, the Bhagavad-Gita that enshrine the guidelines for a happy and succesful life. One can know about the proper way of life, the sensible way of living from these ancient Indian scriptures and avoid the miseries and disappointments in life.

         But, we have come a long way from the Vedic Age and it may seem impossible to live that sort of ascetic life in the modern scientific and technological age. But as Paul Deussen states, if we remember where we came from and that naturally reminds us of where we have to go back. The tension and pressure of modern life further makes it imperative to think of going back to nature. Life is becoming more frustrating and meaningless today.

         We have heard of many a young and promising boys and girls, even the successful professional men and women, committing suicide under frustration, anxiety and tension. Many film stars and scientists of repute have commited suicide. We read these instances in newspapers. But, there is no need to get frightened and run away from life. In fact, this life is not for the cowards; only a ‘dhira’ can live a successful life as advocated in ‘Bhagavad- Gita’. Success or failure in life is a very serious matter. Most of us do not know what is success or failure. Failing to make grade may be a great disppointment for a young boy or girl and losing money in business may be a great disappointment for a yong businessman. Loss of reputation may be a matter of shame to some. Some fail in love and some in getting a job. Some cannot adjust in marriage and get frustrated and end life. But all these are not the real problems!

        Some persons think that renunciation would solve all the problems of life. They feel that only ‘sanyas’ will help to attain spiritual salvation. It is true that anybody with a determination can take to sanyas and realize his Self. But that is not the only way! There are sixty thousand ways to salvation and each can find his own way by intuition, divine will, and Grace of the Lord. Some take to Bhakti marg and some to Karma marg; some persons take to Jnyana marg and others to Kriya marg. It is easy for one to take to ascetic life under the initiation of a ‘guru’. But, it is very difficult to get a true ‘guru’; under these circumstances, there is a fear that one may take to spiritual practices reading books, and it is very dangerous.

        There are warnings not to plunge into the unknown ‘Spiritual’ world without a proper preparation. May be it is marriage leading to householder’s life, or ‘sanyas’, leading to spiritual life, both are full of dangers. None can assure instant happiness and success in life. It is the proper understanding of the meaning and purpose of life alone that can help. ‘Jnyana’ and ‘bhakti’ are essential requirements to cross the ocean of life. What is the golden mean? One must learn the art, science and technique of living.

        The question often asked is ‘whether any body is happy in this world? If the answer is in the negative, why is this world created? The answer to these two questions seems like a riddle of the Spinx. Everyone wants to be happy, and the world has been created for him to be happy. If any person is not happy with this world, it is because he does not know what is happiness and how to live happily in this world; and, may be, he is seeking his illusory happiness where it is not available. After all, happiness comes from within, from contentment, one’s own satisfaction; it is a state of mind and the feeling of happiness come from within oneself. Try to remember an occasion on which you felt immensely happy and joyful.

         A child is very happy and its needs are very few and simple. As the child grows it absorbs everything that is seen and heard and develops an insatiable hunger and thirst for all sorts of things, needed or not needed, and finally gets them only to discard them; not only that, it cries for more! A grown-up man is like a grown-up child, and he goes on struggling throughout life to acquire things, whether these things really give him happiness or not, and finally he feels disappointed. He goes on blaming this world for his mistakes and for his inability to understand the meaning of life. Some are over-confident and try to bulldoze everything that comes their way; and some are afraid of facing life and take recourse to cut it short. Fear is one of the inherent weaknesses of man. 

      Ignorance brings fear and knowledge gives power. When one knows the reality of nature, he becomes one with it and there is no fear of ‘the other’. When one knows the realities of life there is no expectations from the other, and hence, not any disappointment.  A number of Mantras are given for contemplation and ‘dhyan’. Repetition of these Mantras will give immense strength and power. Concentration will produce extra-ordinary success in life. It is important that each and every word is potent and pregnant with meaning and, contemplation on that serves as an unfailing support to life. Since mind always wants some support it clings even to fear or some obsession of some imaginary memory. Hence, it is absolutely essential to give some support to this mind. People take to games that ultimately end up in gambling; some take to drugs for fun that turns him into an intractable addict. Some indulge in sex promiscuously, in a state of inebriation. Some fall in love with every girl he meets and some commit the folly of indulging in all sorts of undesirable means to acquire power, wealth, social status and even resort to crime. Some revel in a state of ego and look down with contempt everybody including the Lord Almighty. They have no respect or value for anybody or anything. Ultimately, for a wise man this world appears like a lunatic asylum where all are busy searching for something that does not exist there. It is like ‘searching for a black cat in a dark room which is not there’.                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

           Life is a journey to be accomplished with single-minded devotion, dedication, steadfastness, and un-wavering mind; it is, as if, an offering to the Lord Almighty who created us with a purpose. Finally, it is a total merger with ‘That’. It is all contemplation, mind tuned towards sublime bliss; the mind turned away from the gross, mundane, sensate world. There is no more hankering after the sensual desires once the ‘Reality’ is felt ‘within’. The mind is under the supervision of the consciousness, ‘Sakshi’ the inner eye that perceives the fickle and irrational behavior. ‘Buddhi’ keeps the mind under control; the mind that puts the senses under its command to irrational errands will thus be checked.

          Swami Shivananda of Rishikesh says that, “a knowledge of the ways and habits of the mind, and its operations, the laws of the mind and the method of mental control and mental discipline, is very necessary if you want to enjoy real happiness and peace of an unruffled and abiding nature. You cannot expect everlasting happiness and perennial joy in the world of sense around us. The mischievous monkey- mind plays havoc in a variety of ways and causes and cares, worries and anxieties. Money, property, women and children do not give permanent satisfaction.  This is the experience of all people”.                   

        The sooner one gets a glimpse of the truth behind the human mind’s mischievous play offering false notions of happiness, promising escape routes to drudgery of life and thus getting trapped, better it is. Realize the nature of mind; watch its behavior in a sense of ‘choice-less awareness’.  Rest-less mind stops to rest for a while; continue to remain in that state as long as possible; by continuous practice one can continue to be in this state of blessedness. This is the true path from wretchedness of the mundane sensate world to blessedness of the heavenly world.                                            

         After all, it is Manas, the ‘mind’ that matters. If one is fully aware of his mind and moods, one can easily cross the hurdles of life. Life is what one makes out of it. It is wisely said, that it is in the ‘becoming’ that is more important from what is ‘being’. Not only the ancient wisdom but modern science too is explored here in order to understand the mysteries of modern man. In spite all the progress made in science, the life of man still remains vain, unfulfilled, wanting, and keeps one in constant search of the real meaning and purpose of life. Thus, a number of questions are raised and answered in this book. 

        Modern life is full of stress. At every step, man is not sure of himself and anxiety kills him. Mind management is, in fact, very useful in combating illness and diseases emanating from stress. Now it is found that the much- dreaded cancer and heart attack are due to stress and these can be prevented by the technique of mind control. Unknowingly tension and stress accumulates leading to illness. One has to be cautious of his pursuits in life if he wants to enjoy it in peace. It is observed that psychosomatic problems are better solved by ‘placebo effect’ through mind management!

       It is in the ‘Bhagavad-Gita’, that the word ‘Maya’ is used in the sense almost of ‘magical’ power; and God, the Great Magician, is declared to ‘cause the spirit host to resolve as by the power of His divine magic’. (Bhagavad Gita Ch. XVIII: Verse 61). ‘The living beings in the world are declared to be resorting to the demoniacal sort of life when God robs them of their wisdom by His power’ (Ch.VII.Verse 15). Upanishads also refer to this world as ‘illusion’ or dream; and as such, the problems of such a world should have magical solutions. And, each ‘Mantra’ in the Vedas and Upanishads is a formula. Hence, the techniques of mind control, ‘manoniyantran’ are called the ‘magic formulae’ here.

          Manas (Mind) makes the 'manav', the man; and his Manas makes his world. Manas (Mind) is the world. Manas (Sansk.) i.e., the mind, is an amazing thing!  Mind works always with the past as memories, or the future as hope.  With this powerful tool we can change the memories of the past or create the future. Positive thinking, creative visualization, neuro-linguistic programming, and emotional intelligence all use some form of mental programming and restructuring to achieve amazing results. This will help us to release ourselves from the shackles of fatalistic and self-defeating concepts of fate and luck. We can control our destinies by programming our mind to achieve our goals. The power of the human mind is enormous and limitless. We can overcome defeatist tendencies and remove the stumbling blocks that are coming in the way of realizing our dreams. Although we cannot change our past, at least, we can re-program our mind and thereby change our experiences, and our memories of the past. By this way, we can erase all our painful traumatic experiences, sad memories, disappointments and negative feelings that are stored in our subconscious mind. 

        It is amazing that our subconscious mind is literal and trusting. It believes whatever the conscious mind tells it. It cannot differentiate the real and imagined situations. This is the secret of the mind and we can use it to change our lives and need not curse our destiny and fate anymore. Even under extreme situations that drives one to commit suicide such as failure in love, or inability to cope with a situation, the state of mind or the attitude can be changed to one’s advantage and life can be made more lively. ‘Failure is the stepping stone of success’, they say. This is the Mind management technique.

        Vedanta shows the way as to how to understand the mind. It provides the technique of gaining not only spiritual wealth but also material wealth that the ‘Vasundhara’ or ‘Dharitri’–the Earth offers. This technique of gaining material prosperity through Vedanta is by practising particular methods of action. It explains scientifically how we could exercise our optimum capacity for efficient and productive action. Personality development experts are suggesting the use of both sides of the brain in order to harness the full potential of the human brain. But it is certain that, due to lack of mental concentration we are not able to use our capacity to optimum, let alone harness our potentialities. Our ramblings into the past and dabbling anxiously about our future kill our present.  Brooding over memories of past actions and expectations of fruits of work swing back and forth not allowing the mind to dwell on the present. This is a fundamental quality of the mind.

        ‘Vendanta’ provides ways and means of controlling the mind. It helps us to live in the present and concentrate on the work on hand. It helps us to channelise all our energy, ‘chitta ekagrata’ (concentration of mind) into present activity. It helps us to save the dissipating energy thereby making us more efficient, our efforts more fruitful and productive. Vedanta provides many more avenues to peace and prosperity. Vedanta provides a blue print for efficiency, productivity and prosperity. Vedanta expounds various methods of successful and practical living. It provides a very positive approach to life and presents the highest knowledge of life and practical living. If we get this knowledge, we will have power- both spiritual and material. We will gain peace and dynamism in one stretch. We will not have worry or anxiety, stress or strain, and life becomes an experience without which we are lost in wilderness.

      This work on Manas (‘Mind’) blends the modern with the ancient, scientific and the spiritual, old and the new, and the oriental and the occidental methods and thus, paves way for a happy, successful, and contented life; and, this book is the product of a long-sustained effort to understand this world, the meaning of life, the goal and purpose of life, the secret behind the success and failure, joy and sorrow, the future of mankind and such other problems. At first it may seem very difficult for laymen to evince keen interest in this work; also, it may be difficult to understand this work bordering science, philosophy, religion, morals and ethics; gradually, he will find it very interesting touching his personal life and create a hunger for the Divine.

        There is mention of many Hindu Gods here, and the names mentioned like Sri Krishna, or Sri Vishnu, or Sri Hari Narayana, are all figurative. In a sense, the moment you give a name to God Almighty, you become the father or mother of the God for it is the Parents who give name to children. God has no name and form. The prefix ‘Sri’ or ‘Shree’ stands for beauty and bounty; similarly, God Vishnu stands for the ‘All-pervading’, ‘Vish’ meaning, ‘ to pervade’. Similarly, Hari means the ‘flow’, the cosmic flow of energy, Prana, the ‘life- sustaining force’. It also means ‘the sword that cuts ignorance’. Also ‘Narayana’ means a person who had ‘nara’, water as his abode. It alo means ‘journey (yana) of man (nara) in space’. Similarly, ‘Achyuta’ and ‘Krishna’ mean one who has no death or decay. ‘Chuyti’ means death and,‘Krish’ means, ‘to wear out’, decay. Hence, where is the mention of names of Hindu Gods in all these? These are the Sanskrit words conveying certain meaning. In Sanskrit, Sri Hari means ‘sweetness’. It is always very sweet to utter Lord’s name; it is pleasant to hear (‘Karnamruta’). Everybody wants to hear His name. One is not tired of hearing his name repeatedly. It brings joy, happiness to repeat His name. God is the Lord Almighty who has no name or form. We may imagine him in our own form since it is ‘ He’ who has created us as a microcosm of Himself. Man is a microcosm, replica of the macrocosm. His power and glory made us to give Him several hands and heads and worship Him. This Veda!

        It is the beauty of the Sanskrit language that the words are pregnant with meaning. Take for example, ‘Prapancha’ (world). Here,‘Pra’and ‘pancha’ mean that ‘objective world that comes within the grip of of the five senses’, in other words, the ‘sensate world’. So also, the syllable ‘ka’ which stands for ‘kana’ (anu), meaning the microcosm; the syllable ‘Kha’, on the other hand, stands for ‘Akhand’ meaning the macrocosm. The one-syllable word ‘Om’ includes the whole of the cosmic entity, the Cosmogony. Unlike other languages that are written and read from right to left, or from top to bottom, Sanskrit is directly piercing the heart with out entering the mind; it is considered the language of the Gods (Devanagari), the language of the soul, the spirit. The words and images are formed with the very origin of the universe with the word ‘AUM’ or ‘Om’, the sound that reverberated with the Big Bang. The word reaches, rather pierces, the heart and the meaning of the word come out of the heart. AUM is Atman=Unite=Manas, or the Absolute=Unite=Man. or AUM, the Akhand (the Whole) Unites Micro (the Anu). These are some simple formulae to understand the mysteries of this universe

         In Veda, each word has got inherent intrinsic power and a person with austerity and deep meditation can use them as ‘mantra’ and gain enormous power. For example, the letter ‘Ja’ in ‘Japa’ stands for annihilation of cycle of births and deaths and, ‘Pa’ stands for eradication of sins (papa). Some words can cure diseases, while others console and soothen the distressed mind. Some words energise and others dampen the spirit. The syllable “Ka’ stands for joy whereas  “Kha’ stands for supreme Bliss. A slight change in the expression makes a world of difference; often the same word contains both (opposite) meanings. A slight variation in the expression of the word ‘Amruta’ can make a lot of difference in the meaning; ‘ Amruta’, what is ‘elixir’ that produces immortality, becomes ‘mruta’ the dead by just suppressing “a’ in it.  While Sanskrit language has got this strength, other languages simply float the meaning and no words of other languages come nearer to, or equivalent to, some Sanskrit words. Hence, Sanskrit words are used in the text here along with their English equivalents. Glossory given at the end of the Text will be of some help.

       It is the Lord Almighty to whom we use the terms ‘He’ and ‘Him’, or the ‘Divine Force’ referred to as ‘That’. ‘He’ who resides in every creature as ‘soul’ is the real God and He is common to all the six-and-odd billion people as well as the plants and animals of this Planet Earth; and, ‘He’ has no name and form! If you so desire, you can give a name and form to ‘Him’ and worship ‘Him’. All these five or six Millennia, we have been doing only this.

     Jesus Christ, Sri Krishna, Sri Rama, Gautama Buddha and Mahavira are the avatars, incarnations of the Lord. In a way, these are the persons who have purified their mind and soul, raised their level of consciousness to unite with the Supreme Consciousness and thereby developed their inner strength to become so powerful that they ‘swayed the world’ and have ultimately become the hope and faith of millions of people. Many spiritual leaders like Shri Ramana Maharishi, Shri Ramakrishna, have developed their inner strength, attained purity of mind, heart and soul, and they too have become the hope and aspirations of their followers. That way, everybody can attain this spiritual height by mere sadhana, practice of Sama, Dama, Dharana, Dhyan, Meditation and Samadhi.

        ‘Manoniyantrana Tantra’, techniques of mind control, deals with Yoga. The panacea for all worldly disappointments and misery is Meditation, according to Vedanta. Meditation a few minutes every day will restore the cool of the mind and ensure all success in day-to-day life. A doctor who follows the guidelines given in this book will achieve extraordinary success in his profession for he will realize the play of the hidden hand in saving lives of patients and reducing their pains. Similarly, an engineer will realize the extraordinary meaning and depth of his profession and gains insight into the working of machines. The yogic powers are such that one can identify the faults in a machine by mere touch, sounds and vibrations, without even opening it up. All sorts of professionals can gain success and happiness from the study of this small book. The bloated ego of man makes him an imaginary giant, who can destroy this world by his wickedness but cannot sustain it by his humility, love, piety, compassion, and fellowship.

        The Hindu philosophy of life believes in Karma and Metempsychosis. Except for Charvaka, all other doctrines are united on this. It is only Charvaka, who is a materialist and secular, who does not offer any reason or theory to support his version of evolution of man and a reasoned theory of man and the universe. Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Sankhya and Yoga believe in the authenticity of the Vedas and accept dualism or Vishishta Dvaitism. Purva mimamsa, and Uttara Mimansa advocate ‘Advaitism’. 

         Samkhya philosophy considers that Prakruti and Purusha account for everything. Purusha is the individual soul, of which there is an unlimited number. Primordial Prakruti is matter consisting of the twenty-four principles ranging from the three gunas-the tamas, rajas and sattvic, down to the gross earth.  By the joinder of Purusha and Prakruti, spirit and matter, samsara is the result. Their divorce is the goal to be reached! Both are real entities that get on without any controlling force or power.

    At every corner of the road there is a new vista and a new road. Pause for a while, take a view at the vista point, gaze at the horizon, look to your inner voice for guidance and move on and take a fresh journey to success and happiness. Never be disheartened by failures or stumbling blocks or hurdles; these are the testing stones. There is always light at the end of the tunnel. If you do not want to travel this way again, turn to God. Make an earnest prayer to put an end to all this drama! Make your self fit to get His Divine Grace by your pure thoughts, action and total submission. He will redeem you. Realise your Self yourself. This is the Vedic view and way of life, redeeming oneself from the grip of Maya!

    The Vedic way of life is a thrilling one. It is no doubt difficult to practise the spiritual way of life. But soon one can gain enormous mystic powers and enjoy the bliss. Revelations come in dreams. Mystic powers appear very early in sadhana to prove that one is on the right path. Those who have surrendered to Him have enjoyed the Supreme Bliss. Faith is all that is required. ‘No faith, no life’ is the rule of spiritual life!  Indian life, the Hindu ‘way of life’, i.e., the Vedic or Spiritual Life is very important. The Hindu Philosophy and Hindu Religion are the oldest in the world like the Chinese Philosophy and religion. It is almost four million years old or may be more than that. During these millennia* (see Time in Glossory), there has been a thorough degeneration, deterioration in the quality of human life; values have changed and it is a bad sign! The quality of human life has been declining since the Krita Yuga, called the Golden Age.

         In the Krita Yuga, an age of illumination and harmony, it was all a transparent life of ‘Ritam’ (Order) and ‘Satyam’ (Truth). People could see through and through others and could see and understand the minds! In Treta Yuga, called the Silver Age, it was all ‘Virtues’, values of life; come what may, Sri Ram stood for values in life. Values started declining. Sattva guna declined giving place to prepondering Rajas. And, in the Dvapara Yuga, called the Copper Age, it was all ‘Dharma’ and Shri Krishna stands for ‘Consciousness’. Values had declined further over the ages and we see the behaviour of Duryodhana and Shakuni in Maha Bharat. Sri Krishna took birth to kill Kamsa and restore Dharma. He has been striving for establishment of ‘Dharma’, righteousness, values in life, as we can see it in Maha Bharat. Sri Krishna says, “I will take repeated births to re-establish Dharma, (Dharma Samsthapanarthaya … sambhavami yuge yuge”). In Kali Yuga, called the Iron Age, it is total devastation of values and spirituality. It is pre-ponderance of Tamas, loss of values of life-‘Ritam’,‘Satyam’ and ‘Dharma’.

      Today, life has become senseless, wayward, aimless, goal-less and nobody knows what he wants; it is all confusion and complexes. Ego rules the roost. Everybody wants freedom, liberty, and independence without knowing the meaning, without understanding what it means to be free, independent. And, the result is that they are ‘neither here, nor there’. They are a confused lot.

       In these days of competition, there is tension and children face lots of problems in their lives due to conflicting values, languages, cultures, and life styles of their parents. It is here that a sense of purpose, a sense of direction or goal is needed to make life more meaningful, make it more fruitful. Having got the human life form, it is an evolutionary process to make life more divine, spiritual, and thereby enable one self to enjoy the ‘Bliss’, eternal happiness- “Sat (Truth), Chit Knowledge), Anand (Bliss)”.

          There is thus, no doubt that this ‘make-believe’ sensate world of glimmicks is the play (‘Leela’) of the Lord! Children have a tendency to believe every thing they see or hear as true and as such should not get lost in this maze of this make-believe world! They should not lose sight of the ancient wisdom of the Saints and Sages. There are the warnings given in the Vedas and Upanishads about the pitfalls. It is appropriate that the Knowledge and wisdom of the age-old scriptures come handy to open our eyes to Reality of life. This book strives to bring home the fact that what all we see, hear, and know is not real. Lord’s Grace alone can guide us in these days of strife and threats of war, intolerance and aggressive nature of people.