Reading the Prema Dhama Stotram: New Translation.

  

I'm reading from the new translation of the Prema Dhama Stotram

Prema Dhama Stotram 2-3

 स्वर्ण-कोति-दर्पणाभ-देह-वर्ण-गौरवं

पद्म-पारिजात-गन्ध-वन्दिताङ्ग-सरभम् ।

कोटि-काम-मूर्च्छिताङ्घ्रि-रूप-रास-रङ्गरं

प्रेम-धाम-देवमेव नौमि गौरसुन्दरम् ॥ २

svarṇa-koti-darpaṇābha-deha-varṇa-gauravaṁ

padma-pārijāta-gandha-vanditāṅga-sarabham

koṭi-kāma-mūrcchitāṅghri-rūpa-rāsa-raṅgaraṁ

prema-dhāma-devam eva naumi gaurasundaram

2.

His aura outshines a million golden mirrors with its glow;

While His fragrance makes the Parjijata lotus pray--and Lo!

A hundred million cupids drop their bows and now they swoon

as they pray before Gauranga, Lord of love: the Golden Moon.

प्रेम-नाम-दान-जन्य-पञ्च-तत्त्वकात्मकं

साङ्ग-दिव्य-पार्षदास्त्र-वैभवावतारकम् ।

श्याम-गौर-नाम-गन-नृत्य-मत्त-नगरम्

प्रेम-धाम-देवमेव नौमि गौरसुन्दरम्  ॥ ३

prema-nāma-dāna-janya-pañca-tattvakātmakaṁ

sāṅga-divya-pārṣadāstra-vaibhavāvatārakam

śyāma-gaura-nāma-gana-nṛtya-matta-nagaram

prema-dhāma-devam eva naumi gaurasundaram

3

His five-fold Avatar gave Krishna's name in holy prem

With his sanga, saints and weapons, entourage and closest friends.

Every town and village,  dancing, singing, chanting Krishna name.

So I bow before Gauraṅga, Golden Beauty, Lord of prem.

PREMA DHAMA STOTRAM ONE

 

श्री श्री प्रेम-धाम-देव-स्तोत्रम्

Śrī Śrī Prema-dhāma-Deva-Stotram

Composed by

His Divine Grace

 Śrīla Bhakti Rakṣaka

Śrīdhar dev Goswāmī Mahārāja

 

Translation into

English poetry by

Michael Dolan,

Bhakti Vidhān Mahāyogī

 

 

देव-सिद्ध-मुक्त-युक्त-भक्त-वृन्द-वन्दितं

पाप-ताप-दाव-दाह-दग्ध-दुःख-खण्डितम् ।

कृष्ण-नाम-सीधु-धाम-धन्य-दान-सागरं

प्रेम-धाम-देवमेव नौमि गौरसुन्दरम् ॥ १

deva-siddha-mukta-yukta-bhakta-vṛnda-vanditaṁ

pāpa-tāpa-dāva-dāha-dagdha-duḥkha-khaṇḍitam

kṛṣṇa-nāma-sīdhu-dhāma-dhanya-dāna-sāgaraṁ

prema-dhāma-devam eva naumi gaurasundaram

1.

Gods and mystics, perfect yogis, gathered bhaktas sing the praise

Of the one who saves us sinners from the pains of karma’s blaze--

He’s the sea of mercy-nectar that is Krishna’s holy name:

So I bow before Gauranga, Golden Beauty, Lord of Prem.

Yoga Talk

 Entire Lecture 

on

Eightfold Yoga Path

Eightfold Path of Yoga: Meditation

 Eightfold Path 
Episode 7

Eightfold Path of Yoga explained

Eightfold Yoga Path
Episode VI

Episode V

Eightfold Yoga Path

Episode V/Yogavision 6

Yoga Vision Part IV

Yoga Vision and the Eightfold Path

La Vision

Yoga Vision en Español

Yoga Vision part III

Basic Principles of Yoga: Breathing and Mind Control

Yoga Vision en Español

Para mis amigos...

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CDWFlGXAHmB/

Yoga Vision part II: the Eightfold Yoga Path

The Eightfold Yoga path opens us to new insights about the world within and without us.

Yoga Vision: How do Yogis See?

 Here's a new series I'm working on: Yoga Vision. How do Yogis see.

 These are short videos with lots of information.

Check it out.

 

Video: Yogavision

here’s a link to a new video on instagram https://www.instagram.com/tv/CDRxyKsg-0j/?igshid=159l78rlbej13

Meaning and the Mahabharata

Madhva's Interpretation of Mahābhārata

The Mahabharata-Tattva-Nirnaya

by

Michael Dolan, Mahayogi

 

The path in and out of the Mahabharata is an extremely complex labyrinth. And yet there is a thread leads us through the labyrinth. While there are thousands of stories in the Mahabharata, its central theme, is dharma.

 

The general meaning of dharma  is duty, religion, ethics, proper spirituality. How to define dharma  is the central problem of the Mahābharata. How to do the right thing? And is doing the right thing always best? Doing the right thing means leading a proper ethical moral life, doing one's duty to the gods and country. But what happens when social duty conflicts with spiritual belief?  When social duty demands we follow a  political line, and where spiritual conscience may lead us to take another path we face conflicts.

 

The conflict between societal duty and spiritual consciousness is an age-old conflict. How do resolve the differences between proper social life and mystical spiritual revelation?  The stories in the Mahābharata present us with one conflict after the next, even showing how the karmic dilemma plays out from one life to the next. In the face of all this conlict, what is proper dharma?

 

The Mahābhārata is difficult to interpret. The story is convoluted with many sub-plots and characters. What exactly does the book teach and how are we to understand it are questions that have puzzled pundits for centuries.  If we take Mahabharata as history, is everything literally true? Then again if it is scriptural, how can I practice it? If these are merely stories and fables, then what moral point must I draw?

 

In unraveling the meaning of Mahabharata we can take help from one of its most famous commentators.   Madhva was a great teacher of the book, so much so that he is considered a direct disciple of its author, Vedavyas.

 

Madhvacharya's commentary is enlightening. His book, called the Mahabharata-Tatpara-Nirnaya attempts to clear up some of these problems. Obviously it would be impossible to write a commentary on every shloka or verse in the Mahabharata, but he looks at some of the main ideas.   Madhvacharya writes as follows in Sanskrit.  He explains that the theme of the Mahābharata from beginning to end is dharma. He teaches that the simplest way to understand the Mahabharata's theme of dharma is to keep in mind the three different ways that the book talks about dharma.

 

According to Madhva, his interpretation follows Vyāsa Himself. Vyāsadev, the author himself has divided the themes of the Mahabharata into three distinct areas for the discussion and interpretation of dharma. He calls these asthikadi, (literary) manvadi (ethical), and ūparichar (transcendental). [1]

 

Where we are following the story for example of how the Paṇḍavas are exiled, we are looking at the literary or āsthika aspect of the book. Since the core principle of the Mahābharata is the question of dharma, we can see how this principle is illustrated in the lives of heroes like Arjuna. Here we may draw our own conclusions about dharma based on all the examples and anecdotes given. Analysis of the characters and plot twists in the book follow what Madhva calls asthika.  The word asthika  means "bare-bones," or "skeletal" which is another way of saying "superficial."

 

On the other hand, there are many sections where wise men for example Jaiminiya Rishi, Agastya Muni, Atri, Bhardwaja, Gautam, Jamadagni, Vashistha and Vishvamitra, Kashyapa and Atri Rishi, Bhrigu Muni, Kapila, Dattatreya, and so on are asked to explain the principles of dharma. In these sections wise sages and brahmanas discuss  different questions of dharma, explicitly describing the qualities of devotion, knowledge, piety, and so on. Inthe Bhiṣma-Parva for example there are long sections on the proper duties of kings.

These sections explain with aphorisms and anecdotes the correct duties of men and women, the nature of work study, austerity, good conduct, meditation, the proper understanding of Vedic principles, dietary rules, auspicious astrological moments and so on. This kind of discussion  is called manvaya,making reference to the Laws o Manu or Manu-Saṁhita where very specific rules about dharma  and criterion for proper Vedic practice are established.

The Mahabharata then instructs us about dharma through moral fables as well as particular rules for practicing dharma.

 

And yet, there is a higher sense of religion which is always deferred to. This higher sense really goes beyond mere ethics. This transcendental religion is about divine love or complete surrender to God, Bhagavan, which goes beyond the rules of ordinary human behavior.  Here, the concept of good and evil is well understood, morality is taken for granted, and proper behavior for humans is well-known.

In this transcendental level of religious life, strictures such as those found in the Laws of Manu or the Biblical ten commandments are so obvious that they are considered child's play.

In grasping this idea, one may consider how and where the Mahābhārata comes to light.

The version that we know is from Suta Goswami, speaking before the gathered sages of Naimisharanya at the beginning of this present Kali-yuga or iron age of irreligion. It is a given that the sages and saints, yogis and mystics gathered there have already absorbed the primitive ethics of the ten commandments. These sages and yogis are realized. They have no interest in lying, cheating, stealing, or coveting their neighbors wives. They are interested in higher religious principles.  They want to understand religion in terms of the relation of the soul to divinity, beyond one's duty to society.

So where the Mahābhārata often concerns itself with fables where the moral conclusion is obvious, it also offers a deeper transcendental understanding for the swan-like souls. While the book has a lot to say about karma  and dharma on another level the internal meaning of the Mahābharata is about Krishna-bhakti as made clear in the Bhagavad-Gita which is really the heart and soul of the 100,000 verses of that great epic. Whatever might be discussed generally about karma, dharma, good behaviour and ethics, the proper worship of minor Vedic gods, Madhva explains that  Krishna-Bhakti  is the central thesis of the book.  Madhva calls this deeper meaning uparichara or transcendental. He explains that where dedication and surrender to Krishna is discussed this is  uparichara, which means "to walk in the sky."

The "skywalking" or mystic bhakti devotional aspect of Mahabharata is the most important thread that ties the work together in a higher transcendental or esoteric  sense according to Madhvācārya and his school of interpretation as given in his work, the Mahabharata-Tattva-Nirnaya.

So, to summarize, one may enjoy the book on a literary level as a great story of kings and princesses that has a moral tale to tell and a Hingu religious background.  Then again, one may discover the so-called "Hindu Ethic" explained in great detail in the "manvaya" sections where Rishis and Gurus outline their understanding of dharma. But on a higher level, the asthika  or "skywalking" level we will find that yoga reaches its culmination in Krishna-bhakti where the soul surrenders completely to Krishna as does Arjuna on the battlefield.

Madhva continues in his analysis where he assigns peculiar qualities to each individual in the book. Of course, it may be said that since Krishna is Divinity anyone mentioned in the Mahabharata is related to Divinity and we can neither question their actions nor imitate them. Just as even Judas had a role to play in the development of the Christ avatar, so even the villains mentioned in the Mahabharata must have been great souls indeed to have been involved in the pastimes of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. But since an interpretation of Mahābharata can follow different lines, as Madhva has shown, he takes the time to give us a hint of how the personalities there can be seen in terms of what they represent in the sense above-mentioned.

 

In his work, Mahabharata-Tattva-Nirnaya, Madhva has analysed the different characters as follows.  In the sense that the personalities in the Mahabharata "represent" something, Madhva holds that they represent the following qualities. Bheema represents devotion, knowledge along with renunciation, a quick grasp, retentiveness, fortitude, steadiness, intelligence, vitality and strength, are designated as Bheema. As the son of the wind, since Vayu the wind-god has these qualities and so Bheema also is of that nature.

Draupadi is fireborn and  is Saraswati herself, she represents all learning.[2]

 

Madhva holds that Duryodhana is said to be Kali himself who represents ignorance and envy. His brother Dussasana represents perverted knowledge. Sakuni’s stands for materialism, while the other sons of Dhritarashtra represent all other vices.

Drona’s son Asvatthama is the Avatar of Rudra the Destroyer and represents Ahankara or false egoism while Drona, Karna, and Bheeshma represent the senses. The other warriors on the battlefield represent various sins.

The warriors on the Pandava side represent good deeds and their director is Vishnu.

The entire Mahābhārata may be said to represent the adhyātma transcendental or spiritual side of of life and for this reason the book is difficult understand even for the  gods.

 

But in short, we may sat that the origin and history of the Pandavas who are great devotees of Krishna are the central story in the Mahabharata in the bare-bones external or asthika literary sense. And yet they also follow the rules with their example. The book shows us how they stand for the proper understanding of dharma  in the manvaya sense, since they closely follow the Law of Manu. Yudhisthira is called the dharma-rāja since he never deviates from dharma. Their lives teach us how to live in proper harmony with dharma. The qualities exemplified by the Pandavas are necessary for right understanding of God along with the study of the Vedas.  We discover the manvaya or "Manuvaya" sense of the book by noting how the Pandavas stick to the law even when it causes them adversity, unless it is explicitly contravened by divinity Himself in the form of Krishna. The Vedic rules are made clear by all the saints and rishis throughout the book.

And yet, the true object of Mahabharata, according to Madhva,  is transcendental. It has a higher or uparichara purposes. The "skywalking" purpose of the book is to establish the supremacy of Vishnu. Where it would be easier to simply  outline His qualities and pastimes, we truly understand the glory of Krishna through the story of His great devotees the Pandavas. Where the supremacy of Krishna is established, this is called transcendental or uparicara.

This supremacy is established since Krishna dominates every god in the epic, controlling every outcome and manifesting his Universal Form to a shocked Arjuna.

When Madhva explores the idea of what qualities each personality in the book exemplifies he points out that in  the story of the five Pandavas, Yudhistira stands for dharma, duty, righteousness and truth. Devotion is represented by the greatest of Vishnu bhaktas, Bheemasena, who is the brother of Hanuman, the greatest servant of Lord Rama.  While Arjuna attains fame by his learning and skill, he aslo had the unique honour of hearing the sacred teaching of Gita from the Lord Himself, He therefore represents learning and surrender. Nakula and Sahadeva were famous for their courtly conduct and gentlemanly behavior. Draupadi represents Sarasvathi the Goddess of learning.

 

If the Pandavas thus represent good conduct and learning,  Duryodhana and others stand for all the bad qualities. Duryodhana, the highest of them, is the Avatar of Kali himself.

 

As a metaphor for our own spiritual struggle, the battle of Kurukṣetra represents the eternal conflict which goes on in every soul between the forces of righteousness and wickedness; to the extent that righteous succeeds, the soul is said to come out victorious on its onward march towards divine freedom. Paramātma as God within guides us in this struggle in this internal struggle just as Sri Krishna guided Arjuna in the field of Kurukshetra. Only through surrender to Krishna may we find perfect harmony and divine love. Madvha explains that this the teaching contained in Srimad Bhaghavadgita, which is the essence of the Mahabharatha.

---

[1] भारतार्थस्त्रिधा प्रोक्त्ः स्वयं भगवतैव हि ।

मन्वादि केछिद् ब्रुवते ह्यास्तीकादि तथा परे ॥ २.१३९

तथोपरिछराद्यन्ये भारतं परिछक्षते ॥२.१४०

(महा. १.१.५० अस्त्)

सकृश्ह्णान् पाण्डवान् गृह्य योऽयमर्थ्ः प्रवर्तते ।

प्रातिलोम्यादिवैछित्र्यात् तमास्तीकं प्रछक्षते ॥ २.१४१

धर्मो भक्त्यादिदशक्ः श्रुतादिः शीलवैनयौ ।

सब्रह्मकास्तु ते यत्र मन्वादिं तं विदुर्बुधाः ॥ २.१४२

नारायणस्य नामानि सर्वाणि वछनानि तु ।

तत्सामर्थ्याभिधायीनि तमौपरिछरं विदुः ॥ २.१४३

 

From Mahābhārata-Tattva-Nirnaya by Madhvacārya:

bhāratārthastridhā proktḥ svayaṁ bhagavataiva hi |

manvādi kechid bruvate hyāstīkādi tathā pare || 2.139

tathoparicharādyanye bhārataṁ parichaksate ||2.140

 (mahā. 1.1.50 ast)

sakṛśhṇān pāṇḍavān gṛhya yo'yamarthḥ pravartate |

prātilomyādivaichitryāt tamāstīkaṁ prachakSate || 2.141

dharmo bhaktyādidaśakḥ śrutādiH śīlavainayau |

sabrahmakāstu te yatra manvādiṁ taṁ vidurbudhāh || 2.142

nārāyaṇasya nāmāni sarvāṇi vachanāni tu |

tatsāmarthyābhidhāyīni tamauparicharaṁ viduh || 2.143

139 - 143.

 

 

[2] भक्तिर्ज्ञानं सवैराग्यं प्रज्ञा मेधा धृतिह् स्थितिह् ।

योग्ः प्राणो बलं छैव वृकोदर इति स्मृत्ः ॥ २.१४४

२३

एतद्दशात्मको वायुस्तस्माद् भीमस्तदात्मक्ः ।

सर्वविद्या द्रौपदी तु यस्मात् सैव सरस्वती ॥ २.१४५

अज्ञानादिस्वरूपस्तु कलिर्दुर्योधन्ः स्मृत्ः ।

विपरीतं तु यज्ज्ञानं दुःशासन इतीरित्ः ॥ २.१४६

नास्तिक्यं शकुनिर्नाम सर्वदोश्हात्मकाह् परे ।

धार्तराश्ह्ट्रास्त्वहङ्कारो द्रौणी रुद्रात्मको यत्ः ॥ २.१४७

द्रोणाद्या इन्द्रियाण्येव पापान्यन्ये तु सैनिकाह् ।

पाण्डवेयाश्छ पुण्यानि तेश्हां विश्ह्णुर्नियोजक्ः ॥ २.१४८

एवमध्यात्मनिश्ह्ठं हि भारतं सर्वमुछ्यते ।

दुर्विज्ञेयमत्ः सर्वैर्भारतं तु सुरैरपि ॥ २.१४९

From the Mahabarata-Tattva-Nirnaya:

 

bhaktirjñānaṁ savairāgyaṁ prajñā medhā dhṛtih sthitih |

yogḥ prāṇo balaṁ chaiva vṛkodara iti smṛtḥ || 2.144

23

etaddaśātmako vāyustasmād bhīmastadātmakḥ |

sarvavidyā draupadī tu yasmāt saiva sarasvatī || 2.145

ajñānādisvarūpastu kalirduryodhanḥ smṛtḥ |

viparītaṁ tu yajjñānaṁ duHśāsana itīritḥ || 2.146

nāstikyaṁ śakunirnāma sarvadośhātmakāh pare |

dhārtarāśhṭrāstvahaṅkāro drauṇī rudrātmako yatḥ || 2.147

droṇādyā indriyāṇyeva pāpānyanye tu sainikāh |

pāṇḍaveyāścha puṇyāni teśhāṁ viśhṇurniyojakḥ || 2.148

evamadhyātmaniśhṭhaṁ hi bhārataṁ sarvamuchyate |

durvijñeyamatḥ sarvairbhārataṁ tu surairapi || 2.149

Guru Tattva

Recently I was asked to give some thoughts and reflections on the nature of guru for the Vedalife 2020 Festival. This year's festival was "online" as so much is these days.

Here's my talk.

Talk on Ancient Civilizations

 Here's an interview I did for the 2020 Vedalife Festival in Ukraine

Blue Skies

A happy song for a rainy day.

Action and Reaction: Karma

VEDALIFE

Vedalife 2020 interview

Simply Baroque

Un poco loco, un poco barroco

Old Mexican Song

Old Video from Chiang Mai: Talks on Guardian of Devotion Press

Rage and Love

Huapango de Moncayo desde la UG

Интервью с Махайоги

Spirituality or Religion?

 We must stop confusing religion and spirituality. 

 Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia

A friend of mine asked me to reflect on a quote from Haile Selassie. The emperor of Ethiopia gave a speech where he questioned fanaticism and called for harmony. I often hear quotes like this. I like the quote, but it raises some questions. Since my way of examining an idea is to write about it I offer the following to my friend as a response. 

In a speech on religion, Haile Selassie was trying promote harmony between sectarian religions, observing:

“The temple of the most high begins with the body which houses our life, the essence of our existence. Africans are in bondage today because they approach spirituality through religion provided by foreign invaders and conquerors. We must stop confusing religion and spirituality. Religion is a set of rules, regulations and rituals created by humans, which was suppose to help people grow spiritually. Due to human imperfection religion has become corrupt, political, divisive and a tool for power struggle. Spirituality is not theology or ideology. It is simply a way of life, pure and original as was given by the Most High of Creation. Spirituality is a network linking us to the Most High, the universe, and each other…”

Haile Selassie was the former emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974 famous for trying to modernize his  country before and after the Second World War. In an ironic twist on his above comments, Haile Sellassie is worshipped as a savior and God incarnate by the followers of the Rastafarian faith. During his reign he struggled with many conflicts, not the least of which was sectarian violence and religious intolerance, not only between Muslims and Christians, but even between Catholics and Protestants of different faiths. In his time there was an effort to merge Muslim Eritrea with Ethiopia, a nominally Christian nation.

Leaving aside the question of how this speech came to be made, the religious issues that faced Ethiopia at the time, or the questionable idea that of whether “The temple of the most high begins with the body which houses our life, the essence of our existence,” let’s take a look at what seems to be the core argument here.

Haile Selassie asserts that “We must stop confusing religion and spirituality. Religion is a set of rules, regulations and rituals created by humans, which was suppose to help people grow spiritually.” This is the kind of popular “quotable quote” that ends up on Facebook pages.  It’s a facile claim, one that is easy to make in the kind of conversation that comes up on a first date, as in “I don’t believe in religion, after all isn’t it just a bunch of rituals invented to control people?”

But let’s take a moment to analyze the language and see if it means anything at all. The key to meaning here is a good definition of “spirituality,” an understanding of what “religion” is, and the wisdom to know the difference.

Oxford tells us that “spirituality” means The quality of being concerned with the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things.

“Religion” gets a different definition: “The belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods.” These are, of course, superficial definitions.

It is interesting that both of these phenomenon, “religion” and “spirituality” are covered by the Vedic Sanskrit word dharma. Vedantic spirituality may include a number of different paths and spiritual practices in our individual journey towards liberation and self-awareness, towards the discovery of inner truth and higher consciousness.

But while dharma may be used in this universal sense, it also includes an important bifurcation. There is a dichotomy between social dharma  and “spiritual” dharma. Social dharma is the practice of piety and duty within the role assigned by society. In this sense Haile Selasie’s critique is true. The majority of rules and rituals governing how caste society plays out in India have been “a set of rules, regulations and rituals created by humans,” even while Krishna in the Bhagavad-Gita insists that varnashrama-dharma  is God-given:

चातुवर्ण्यं मया सृष्टं गुण कर्मविभागशः | तस्य कर्तारमपि मां विद्ध्यकर्तारमव्ययम् || १३ ||

cāturvarṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇakarmavibhāgaśaḥ sya kartāramapi māṁ viddhyakartāramavyayam

Speaking as Divinity, Krishna asserts “According to the three modes of material nature and the work ascribed to them, the four divisions of human society were created by Me.” The caste system and the Laws of Manu governing propery duty and human behavior are supposed to have a divine origin.  As Selassie puts, the idea  was supposed to help people grow spiritually. The idea that, as Selassie puts it,  “religion has become corrupt, political, divisive and a tool for power struggle,”  is irrefutable. There is no need to give examples. We all know the story.

But there are some important ideas at the core of his argument that need examining. If, for example, “Religion is corrupt,” then it must be rejected as the root of all the world’s present evils from war, to sex abuse to the ignorant anti-science attitude that rejects vaccines and virus treatments. But this is unfair. It is not “religion” that is corrupt, but human perversion that allows it to be so.

If spirituality is a beautiful muse, religion is her ugly sister. It is important to remember that if God exists, if the soul exists, then both spirituality and religion have their place.

Spirituality is divinely inspired; religion is an attempt to keep spirituality alive, to create a favorable environment where spirituality can go on. But sometimes the two work at cross purposes. 

Before Saint Francis was recognized as a saint, he was a thorn in the side of the Church as were Francisco Loyola and Joan of Arc who was burned as a heretic.

There is a constant conflict between “society consciousness” as seen in religion and “God consciousness” as seen in religion. Mystics and saints are concerned with God consciousness, but such saints and divines operate outside society and their behavior is often abhorrent. The poverty and simplicity of Francis ran against the idea that bishops should be rich. The ability of Saint Joan to hear angels was considered heresy and she was thought to be in league with the devil. Francisco Loyola wanted to put preaching on a war footing--the church fathers found him extreme. And so on. Mystics are heretics before they become saints because “religion” rejects “spirituality.”

On the other hand, rules, traditions, and scriptures provide us with a rich background against which to contrast the teachings of new mystics and saints. In India the tradition of guru, sadhu, and shastra is respected as a way to understand human spirituality.

Whenever spiritual adepts form a sangha, an association, a community tends to spring up. There may be a leader, a mentor, a teacher or guru who leads them. As a small community grows, they find that they can no longer live in a cave or in the forest. A group of hermits may live simply for a time as in the Vedic age, but sooner or later women and men are integrated in the group and soon there are children and a new generation.

At some point in time, ethical problems arise within our spiritual community. Is everything community property? Real spiritual adepts have no possessions. What about property? If our community is devoted to spiritual love, what about earthly love? If we are to love God and love our neighbors, what about our neighbor’s wives? Rules must come into play. Our spiritual community may invent their own rules or consult the ancients, the scriptures, the elders. As they do so, what was “spiritual” becomes “religion.”

But conflict seems to be baked into the human condition. If by dharma or religion we mean the caste system, just look at the mess that has created in India. In the Western world we’re not supposed to have a “caste system,” but practice systemic racism against those who are different from us. All of this makes a perversion of social or varna-dharma.

The attempt to codify spiritual association into a kind of religion as ashram-dharma  means that we seek to regulate human society as that society congeals into a spiritual community.  But even here, we face the same problems. It is said that it is more difficult to live with saints than to be a saint. Spiritual societies also tend to face problems over sex, money, and power. When the hermits get together and build a church, sooner or later someone needs to control the land-deeds, charters, and contracts. When a schism divides the followers they fight over the church property. Rules, regulations, courts and judges may intervene, but this is not true spirituality.

Indian philosophy contemplates the existence of paramahamsas who exist above and beyond the twin systems of social dharma and spiritual dharma. Paramahamsas or “swanlike souls” have no interest in money, sex, or power. But at the same time they are above the rules. As such, they do not offer us a practical teaching example that we can easily copy and follow.

This is why most gurus or mentors approach us on the platform of madhyama-adhikaris, or intermediate spiritual adepts. We can understand their teachings and follow their examples. A true Paramahamsa, like Nityananda or Ramananda Roy is impossible to imitate. Their spirituality is above our capacity to decode.

So the great spiritual teachers always adapt something from religion in order to be able to teach. Those who are merged in divine love are unable to teach. Those who teach need to maintain contact with the rules of this world.

This is why I say that Haile Selassie´s talk is sweet speech. He wants us to find harmony in spirituality and avoid the rules and regulations of sectarian religion even while, as Emperor of Ethiopia and the head of a government his business is to enforce rules and regulations. So he wants to have his cake and eat it too.

He explains disingenuously that spirituality is not theology or ideology. It is simply a way of life. At the same time Haile Sellassie encourages his followers to worship him as God Himself. Of course, he is right. India´s Vedanta teaches us to develop a kind of transcendental vision, or Yogic vision by which he understands a higher reality.

This sort of spirituality is described in the 5th Chapter of the Bahgavad-Gita.

A person in the divine consciousness, although engaged in seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, moving about, sleeping, and breathing, always knows within himself that he actually does nothing at all. Because while speaking, evacuating, receiving, opening or closing his eyes, he always knows that only the material senses are engaged with their objects and that he is aloof from them...The yogis, abandoning attachment, act with body, mind, intelligence, and even with the senses, only for the purpose of purification. When, however, one is enlightened with the knowledge by which nescience is destroyed, then his knowledge reveals everything, as the sun lights up everything in the daytime. The humble sage, by virtue of true knowledge, sees with equal vision a learned and gentle brahmana, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste] .

As Haile Sellassie points out, then, true spirituality transcends religion. But spirituality and religion are intertwined. Human society rejects either at its peril. My guru used to say, “Society consciousness and God consciousness are always coming in clash.” It may be that spiritual realization is an absolute consideration where society consciousness and religion are really a relative consideration. But the absolute and relative considerations are always coming in conflict. True spiritual wisdom then means discovering the proper adjustment between the two. 

The Vedas classify social classes generally as intellectuals and clergy (brahmanas), royalty and military (kshatriyas), mercantile and business classes (vaishyas) and the working class (shudras). For an elaborate discovery of how social dharma plays out in the world of brahmanas, kshatriyas, vaishas, and shudras, the important work to read is the Mahabharata, which shows how these classes interact with the law of karma over generations.  But for a better understanding of spirituality, the greatest treatise is the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, or Bhagavat Pūrana.  In the Prologue to that great treatise, Vyāsa writes about religion versus spirituality:

ŚB 1.1.2

धर्म: प्रोज्झितकैतवोऽत्र परमो निर्मत्सराणां सतां
वेद्यं वास्तवमत्र वस्तु शिवदं तापत्रयोन्मूलनम् ।
श्रीमद्भागवते महामुनिकृते किं वा परैरीश्वर:
सद्यो हृद्यवरुध्यतेऽत्र कृतिभि: शुश्रूषुभिस्तत्क्षणात् ॥ २ ॥

dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo ’tra paramo nirmatsarāṇāṁ satāṁ
vedyaṁ vāstavam atra vastu śivadaṁ tāpa-trayonmūlanam
śrīmad-bhāgavate mahā-muni-kṛte kiṁ vā parair īśvaraḥ
sadyo hṛdy avarudhyate ’tra kṛtibhiḥ śuśrūṣubhis tat-kṣaṇāt

Completely rejecting all religious activities which are materially motivated, this Bhāgavata Purāṇa propounds the highest truth, which is understandable by those devotees who are fully pure in heart. The highest truth is reality distinguished from illusion for the welfare of all. Such truth uproots the threefold miseries. This beautiful Bhāgavatam, compiled by the great sage Vyāsadeva [in his maturity], is sufficient in itself for God realization. What is the need of any other scripture? As soon as one attentively and submissively hears the message of Bhāgavatam, by this culture of knowledge the Supreme Lord is established within his heart.

Śrīla Prabhupāda points out that normal "religion" or dharma has to do with what's called dharma, artha, kama, and moksha, but the Bhagavata finds these  superficial concepts of religion to be external: 

"Religion includes four primary subjects, namely pious activities, economic development, satisfaction of the senses, and finally liberation from material bondage. Irreligious life is a barbarous condition. Indeed, human life begins when religion begins. Eating, sleeping, fearing, and mating are the four principles of animal life. These are common both to animals and to human beings. But religion is the extra function of the human being. Without religion, human life is no better than animal life. Therefore, in human societies there is some form of religion which aims at self-realization and which makes reference to man’s eternal relationship with God."

But "transcendental religion" or more broadly "spirituality" goes beyond the basic social functions of religion and rejects such a superficial approach as a kind of "cheating" or "kaitava-dharma."

In the lower stages of human civilization, there is always competition to lord it over the material nature or, in other words, there is a continuous rivalry to satisfy the senses. Driven by such consciousness, man turns to religion. He thus performs pious activities or religious functions in order to gain something material. But if such material gains are obtainable in other ways, then so-called religion is neglected. This is the situation in modern civilization. Man is thriving economically, so at present he is not very interested in religion. Churches, mosques or temples are now practically vacant. Men are more interested in factories, shops, and cinemas than in religious places which were erected by their forefathers. This practically proves that religion is performed for some economic gains. Economic gains are needed for sense gratification. Often when one is baffled in the pursuit of sense gratification, he takes to salvation and tries to become one with the Supreme Lord. Consequently, all these states are simply different types of sense gratification.

In the Vedas, the above-mentioned four activities are prescribed in the regulative way so that there will not be any undue competition for sense gratification. But Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is transcendental to all these sense gratificatory activities. It is purely transcendental literature which can be understood only by the pure devotees of the Lord who are transcendental to competitive sense gratification. In the material world there is keen competition between animal and animal, man and man, community and community, nation and nation. But the devotees of the Lord rise above such competitions. They do not compete with the materialist because they are on the path back to Godhead where life is eternal and blissful. Such transcendentalists are nonenvious and pure in heart. In the material world, everyone is envious of everyone else, and therefore there is competition. But the transcendental devotees of the Lord are not only free from material envy, but are well-wishers to everyone, and they strive to establish a competitionless society with God in the center. The contemporary socialist’s conception of a competitionless society is artificial because in the socialist state there is competition for the post of dictator. From the point of view of the Vedas or from the point of view of common human activities, sense gratification is the basis of material life. There are three paths mentioned in the Vedas. One involves fruitive activities to gain promotion to better planets. Another involves worshiping different demigods for promotion to the planets of the demigods, and another involves realizing the Absolute Truth and His impersonal feature and becoming one with Him.

The impersonal aspect of the Absolute Truth is not the highest. Above the impersonal feature is the Paramātmā feature, and above this is the personal feature of the Absolute Truth, or Bhagavān. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam gives information about the Absolute Truth in His personal feature. It is higher than impersonalist literatures and higher than the jñāna-kāṇḍa division of the Vedas. It is even higher than the karma-kāṇḍa division, and even higher than the upāsanā-kāṇḍa division, because it recommends the worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. In the karma-kāṇḍa, there is competition to reach heavenly planets for better sense gratification, and there is similar competition in the jñāna-kāṇḍa and the upāsanā-kāṇḍa. The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is superior to all of these because it aims at the Supreme Truth, which is the substance or the root of all categories.