Religious observation of breathing

To understand life the yogis concentrate on the breath.  The observation of the breath is the only way to god, apparently.  When we go about our daily chores, we forget that we are always breathing. Only when we meditate the breath becomes  prominent.  The exchange of the universe and the self happens mainly by this means. A constant exchange. When the breathing stops, its all over.  No wonder Hindu yogis pay so much attention to it.

The unique nature of Hinduism

I am liking some aspects of Hinduism very much.  Travel and meditation is integrated  in to the Hindu faith.  Everyone knows travel educates and meditation revealed truths to prophets.  Travel and meditation  are so useful that the keepers of the Hindu faith asked everyone to do the same. This sharing of what is holy to the masses is what makes India such a spiritual place. Moreover, to make some places like Kedarnath holy not because it has some historic value but because God resides there currently is wonderful.  For the Hindus God is attained by paying attention to themselves like doing yoga and listening to their breath.  And yes even their gods live  on earth in the Himalayas.

The seeker

After coming to the conclusion that no god of any religion is really my god, I still am seeking something in the religions of the world. I realize that it is not god that I seek in religions but humanity.  The epitome of goodness of humanity is present in every religion.  It is unfortunate that even religion is exploited to do  inhumane things.

The grand purpose of life

“The Answer to the Great Question... Of Life, the Universe and Everything... Is... Forty-two,' said Deep Thought (a computer), with infinite majesty and calm.” ― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I would say it is zero. In my understanding there is no purpose of life but to exist. People want to hear some exciting stories of heaven and what not. Unfortunately, the answer is zero.

My take on creation

I think life happened just like a hurricane happens. Under certain conditions life happens. It gathers storm and tries to sustain itself. All morals and practices of any living species is to keep life going. The life force does not like anything that diminishes it like for example suicide is a big no no. So then will life end? May be not because of the multiplication law. You multiply everything that exists and hence life can go on forever. A little like the Mandelbrot set (or other fractals).

When I found out there was no creator .......

The search for a creator lead many to god. Osho explains that if we believe no one created God then there is no reason for a creator for creation. Science had a huge problem with the creator and so do spiritual people. But you feel good when you visit a place of worship. Just because there is no creator, it is not necessary to do away with worship. Everyone is not capable of meditation or touching the common consciousness. Going to a place of worship may be his or her way of reaching out to something beyond the mundane. As we begin to understand how transient life is, we will allow anything that feels good happen. There is no need to fight culture that has come to existence with so much effort. One may as well enjoy it.

Understanding death

Everyone knows we will all die. A loved one dies and we understand how transient life is. But the mystics understand death in a deeper way. Death does not mean only the pain of losing loved ones. When a Guru laughs at your problems and says you will die one day and so do not worry, you simply do not understand. It appears as a very macabre approach to dealing with life. But, when I visited Varanasi and meditated on the Manikarnika Ghat I understood that everyone will die. I did not have to look at a corpse to feel death, any more. Every living person standing in front of me will die. And later, when I did Isha Kriya, I understood I will die too. It is not something that may happen in the distant future but it is the ultimate truth. I will die leaving my mind, my body, and my karma behind. I came from nothing and I will return to nothing. This knowledge shakes your very core. For some time you think life is meaningless. But then, you begin to live, even better than you did yesterday. If you look at a rose, the rose is more beautiful, because you know it will die. You want to capture the rose when it is alive as much as you can. Once you understand death, life is like that beautiful rose. You do not want to miss a single moment of it. You live more fully. Two things in my opinion makes you a guru - understanding death and the common consciousness. Only after understanding this can you understand what it means to be alive.