Reply to Sue - Please open your eyes...

Submitted by Uday Thipsay (Germany), Oct 12, 2005 at 05:31

Hi Sue,

I have been reading through your posts and I thought I should enlighten you on a few concepts which were, so far, beyond your comprehension. I could have used my knowledge of Islam to brief you on the contradictions, pettiness and absurdities (sorry to use harsh words here) that this religion brings to its followers, but let's leave it for some other day.

In this post, I want to focus on elevating your thinking beyond the boundaries set by Islam. I can do this more aptly by providing you with a summarized view of Hinduism as advocated by the Vedas. Please try to comprehend and then compare with the theme stated in Islam and then let me have your opinion.

The Vedas profess God as a matured entity. An entity that is faceless, has no attributes, but above all is free from behavioral affiliations. The biggest difference between this concept and the concept advocated in Islam is that every soul is a part of the super soul called God, but with a difference of the energy level. You can view the energy levels as a measure of conscience, self awakening or self actualization. The soul's ultimate aim is to attain the same energy level of the super soul and thus achieve unification with God, called as Moksha or salvation.

There are different ways to increase the energy levels in a soul. Some of these are detailed in the Koran as well. Paying Zakat, doing good to others is but one of these ways. Since a soul will need a medium to enact actions, the concept of birth cycles was established in Vedas. By means of a bodily medium, a soul can access a medium to increase its energy levels. When the energy levels of the soul increase to the level of the super soul, the soul has no need to take birth and thus attains salvation by becoming a part of God.

The Rugveda provides an example, let me quote it here: "… And with the heat the water evaporates, in the same manner the souls that receive sufficient conscience leave the Karmic cycles never to come back again…"

In this concept, the God is not viewed as an entity that can be pleased and annoyed. Nor is He the gatekeeper of Heavens or Hell. There is no concept of the day of reckoning or Quayamat in Hinduism.

An interesting corollary to this concept is the rebirth of the soul. Vedas advocate that till the salvation is reached, the souls remain in a state of instability. There are only two zones of stability, one when the salvation is attained – this is permanent stability and the other when the soul acquires a bodily incarnation – this being a temporary stability that will be terminated by death. All the souls continue to strive for permanent stability. Interestingly, the Vedas develop this idea further to state that as the energy levels of the soul increases, there is a reduced tendency on the part of the soul to take birth. In other words, this would mean that God will never take birth, having the highest levels of energy. However, we can assume that the souls that are close to the God in terms of their energy levels, do take birth, although once in a thousands of years, do carry with them the power to change things in the mortal world. Krishna, Jesus and Mohammed, in my opinion are the examples of souls that were very close to the God.

This theory, however, has another twist. The pleasures and sorrow that we experience in our lives is the cumulative effect of our deeds and actions (loosely translated as Karma) of our past births and the present ones. It is like the money in our bank account, you can use to buy the luxuries of life. However, once the salvation is achieved, the soul is free from the pleasures or sorrows, just like the God it unites with.

Given these concepts, there was a little room for doggedness. God was worshipped in any form, including using idols as a medium, though Vedas clearly advocate that idols are just a medium of worship of the super souls that if formless but can be imagined in any form.

Sue, give a thought to this concept and you will see that this concept is way above the petty ideas of God being an entity whose only job is to derive pleasure from directing actions of the mortal beings and the mortal beings must be fearful of God.

I believe, the concepts in Hinduism are a way apart from that of Islam. It requires an open mind free of prejudice to digest these ideas and elevate one's mind above the absurd concepts devised by humans and attached to God.

Many thanks for reading this post with patience. Do share your views with me.

Cordially,

Uday Thipsay

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