Everyone who walks on this planet has a body. The body can be tall or short, fat or slim, black or white, but in essence, all are similar, being composed of the same organs, bones, flesh, and skin. Not only the body is similar, but the soul inside the body is the same.
But, what if I would tell you that each of us actually has two bodies? Yes, two. That’s how the Vedas explain it.
Continue readingMany heard about Krsna, the beautiful blue boy who plays the flute. Many talk about him, but very few can understand him in truth.
Once, Lord Brahma, the architect of our Universe was notified by one of his assistants that one cowherd boy on earth was doing some amazing feats, defeating many powerful demons who were previously ravaging the universe. Some believed he was Vishnu, the Supreme Controller.
Due to his position, Brahma has a personal relationship with Lord Vishnu, who is the ultimate creator of the Universe. Vishnu creates the shell of the universe, the material elements, and finally Brahma, the first living entity, who is empowered to create the planets and stars, as well as the first living beings who populate the Universe. Brahma took his birth from a beautiful lotus flower that sprouts from Lord Vishnu’s navel. It was from Him that he received the order of performing austerities to progress in the path of self-realization and thus be able to fulfill his mission in creating the universe. Previously, when powerful demons created chaos all over the cosmos, the same Lord Vishnu descended in different incarnations to protect the universal order. Brahma knows very well how powerful Lord Vishnu is, and understands that He lives in an imperishable abode beyond the material elements that form the Universe.
This cowherd boy may be some powerful mystic, or maybe some Siddha-yogi, and thus are being able to perform such feats, but how can people claim that he is the supreme controller? I know my Lord — Brahma taught.
Continue readingIn this world, we live under the limitation of time, space, and physical laws. Time acts as an oppressive force, making us hostage to its influence. Sometimes there is not enough time, and sometimes time drags forever. It would not be nice if we could stretch and contract the time at will, getting more time to do things we want, making pleasurable moments last for an eternity, and painfully experiences pass in a moment?
Another restriction is space. We may hear about some distant place that looks particularly interesting, but we can’t go there easily: It requires money, effort, time, and patience to do the trip. In other situations, the problem is the opposite: lack of space. Most of us would like to get a bigger apartment, a bigger car and so on. We can see how both time and space are constricting forces. They seem just like inexorable forces that we can’t avoid. Right? Wrong. Actually, we can! This is another interesting subject explained in the Vedic literature.
In a time before our known history, there was a class of powerful and valorous warriors called Kshatriyas. The best among them would typically fight on chariots. These were the ancient equivalent of a tank, moving swiftly on the battlefield, shooting powerful arrows with remarkable accuracy. To put things in perspective, the modern armor-piercing rounds are basically high-velocity arrows that pierce through kinetic energy, not by an explosion. In this sense, a modern tank is not so different from an ancient armored charioteer in tactical application.
Amongst these powerful warriors, some would achieve perfection in their military skills. They would become so expert in the usage of weapons, that they would be able to fight thousands of other warriors, even if surrounded. They were called maharatis, or “great rathis”.
Arjuna, Bhisma, Karna, Drona, and Bhima, are examples of famous maharatis that performed heroic deeds during the battle of Kurukshetra as described in the Mahabharata. However, there is another maharathi that is less known. This is his story.
Continue readingWhen we speak about karma, immediately the question of free will comes to the mind. The idea of karma implies some kind of destiny. If there is destiny, then where is free will? And if there is no free will, then how one could be responsible for acts he doesn’t have control over? As you can see, this can quickly become a very complicated question, with several ramifications.
To answer it, it’s useful to understand a little about Vedic astrology and its ramifications. You may question what astrology has to do with karma, but bear with me, it’s going to be interesting.
If someone does something bad to us, our immediate reaction is frequently to want to do something similar, if not worse in response. Our first reaction is to seek revenge as a way to obtain justice for the harm it was caused to us. However, revenge is not always the best way.
In the first canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, there is a dialogue between king Pariksit and Dharma, who appeared in the form of a bull. In this dialog, there is an enigmatic passage, that I struggled to understand for a long time:
“The King said: O you, who are in the form of a bull! You know the truth of religion, and you are speaking according to the principle that the destination intended for the perpetrator of irreligious acts is also intended for one who identifies the perpetrator. You are no other than the personality of religion.” (SB 1.17.22)
At first, this passage doesn’t seem to make much sense. It appears that it implies that if someone is a victim of some crime or violence and he reports the perpetrator, asking for justice, he is entitled to receive the same punishment reserved for the criminal, like, for example, if a man stabbed with a knife would be forced to spend ten years in prison alongside the criminal that stabbed him, or a victim of rape would be sentenced to be hanged alongside the rapist. How could this be called justice?
In his famous book, “Chariots of the Gods?” Erich von Däniken raises the hypothesis that members of an advanced civilization had visited our planet in the past and supported the advancement of culture and technology in our planet.
Although some of the evidence given in the book was disproved in the following years, still his theory gained traction and found its place in the collective imagination.
What do the Vedas say about that? There are aliens out there? Have they visited our planet in the past and interfered with our civilization? In case of an affirmative, how they look and what kind of technology they possess?
Who am I? This is a question that can have multiple answers according to one’s level of consciousness. The word “Atma” in Sanskrit, which can be roughly translated as “the self” has different meanings according to the context and the listener. Atma can mean the body, it can mean the mind, or it can mean the soul, which is our true and final identity according to the Vedic literature.
The soul originates from an anti-material world that is beyond the limits of our physical universe. That world is not subjected to our physical laws, or even to the influence of time. There, everything is eternal, full of knowledge and bliss, the exact opposite of the situation in this material world. How the soul falls from this position of eternal bliss to the struggle of existence in this material world is a mystery. However, when this happens, the first covering that envelops the pure soul is the concept of false-ego or ahankara. This ahamkara creates a false sense of identity. Based on it, one starts to see himself as a product of this material world and starts to desire material objects and experiences.
The Bhagavad-Gita is possibly the most read book in the history of humanity. It was spoken by Sri Krsna to Arjuna, right before the beginning of the Kurukshetra war, 5154 years ago, and recorded by the celebrated sage Vyasadeva, who also compiled other books that comprise the Vedic literature.
Originally written on palm leaves, the Bhagavad-Gita was carefully passed generation to generation, inspiring many philosophers, sages, great thinkers, and also normal people, like you and me, helping all to find a solution for their life problems and attain transcendence.
In the Bhagavad-Gita, Krsna surprisingly tells Arjuna to fight in the battle, fulfilling his duty as a Ksatriya, by fighting for the right cause and defending the principles of dharma, instead of going to the forest and living as a beggar. We have the tendency of wanting to leave everything when things become difficult, but the Bhagavad-Gita gives us the correct perspective about what to do in difficult situations.
The Gita ends with Arjuna reinvigorated, free from doubt and determined to fight, and Sanjaya concluding that “Wherever there is Kṛṣṇa, the master of all mystics, and wherever there is Arjuna, the supreme archer, there will also certainly be opulence, victory, extraordinary power, and morality.”
But, what happened after this? What happened with the Pandavas, and the Kurus? Who won the battle? How do these events connect with known history?
According to the Vedas, Brahma, the universal architect, creates the universe, as well as the first living beings that populate it. By hearing this description, one could think that Brahma is God. Once, Narada Muni committed the same mistake, taking Brahma as the supreme controller. However, he noticed something strange: Although being the creator of this universe and the most powerful living being, Brahma was meditating and practicing austerities to satisfy someone else.
Perplexed, Narada decided to ask. Approaching Brahma in a respectful way, he glorified his activities, but firmly stated his question: being the creator of the Universe, why Brahma was practicing penances to satisfy someone else?
