The religious creed and worship of different devi devatas in India has been much misunderstood due to lack of proper study of relevant literature(shastra) and guidance from good teachers. Everybody laughs at Hindu culture and civilization, as if, the Indians are fools who worship thousand of Gods, follow different teachers and philosophies, unlike the Western people. Many pseudo intellectuals go to the extent of investigating the miracle men (siddhi purusha) who have gained supernatural powers by constant contemplation, dharana. People who do not take to yoga, attain siddhi in transcendental meditation and realize the inner forces at work should not talk about the intuition knowledge and extra-sensorial perceptions (ESP). Just because we cannot see does it mean it is not there?
It is true 'Man creates Gods' since the Hindu festivals like the ganesh (to ward of evil), nag devata (for virility) or durga (for strength and power) puja are celebrated by actually making the idols and worship them! What is wrong in these? The idols are worshiped after infusing life-force with Veda mantra (prana pratishthapana) and our soul reverberates with the energy that is present in the material god we create! Little do ordinary people understand that this subtle energy vibrates, reverberates bringing the results, fulfilling our dreams, giving us peace, good health and resources to eke out living. These do not come in science or rational thinking. These are divine forces that are present in the sky (parame vyoman) as electrical charges in clouds. Little do the so called rationalists know that the entire creation is based on one principle only and the divine plan of creation is replicated at the brahmanda (universe or macro level, pindanda level of meso level and the andanda level, cell or micro levels. All the fourteen realms of existence (realms or lokas) are within as The jiva runs its errands as long as this energy sustains its body and the jiva becomes inert with the deterioration and decay of the physical entity.
There is one significant aspect in all these that makes humans supreme. It is the mind of man and its capacity to create, diligently work in such a way that the jiva can discriminate, discern, disseminate, discretely analyze, discover or even invent! However, all these are limited by time space and causality and, this makes the difference between divine forces and the humans. The saints and sadhus who roam about in the mountains, many of them naked and unaware of their existence are not fools. They have attained the highest level of unity consciousness where everything is abstract. Ordinary people live in material world that is concrete and rational; however, this material objective world is also created by the sublime, extremely subtle forces like electromagnetism, light, electricity, sound and its vibration, etc. Now particle physics, quantum mechanics, wave theory and genetic engineering and DNA studies are opening up new fields of investigation. These are at best human observations and cannot go beyond mind (manas), intellect (buddhi) and nobody know the true power and strength of the Soul, Atman, that is omniscient (knows all).
Thus, our own mind, manobhava or disposition create the world we like. This is very important. Think of no evil, do good, worship devi devata to get the grace and live happily. Our life is entirely dependent on the divine disposition, anugraha, f the Lord. It is He who breathes, thinks, acts. The idea we get, the dreams, the aspirations, the resolves and actions are all His Will. Lord Shree Krishna tells Arjuna thus,
It is I and I only who exist. I am Kapila Muni, I am the Dhananjaya, I am the Veda Vyasa and what all you see is My Self. There is nothing besides Me" Whoever understands this will be happy. His final words are: "Surrender to Me; I shall take care of you and redeem you from this samsara". What we need is faith. No faith, no life is the doctrine.
Hence, we should be very careful while talking about our religious faith and belief system. We have a very ancient culture unlike the four or five century old modern Western one. We are not talking about the ancient Egyptian, Mexican, Spanish, Greek or Chinese civilizations here. We have to study them. Our ability to understand the metaphysical aspects is very limited. We have to become mature and think in larger interests and expand our consciousness to that of universal consciousness. That is the meaning of attaining nirvana or the Buddha state.
The wise man will adhere to his and will not try to disturb others faith. Krishna says, "Follow your dharma and do not ape the others; it is dangerous to tread the path of others"!
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