Can you believe in salvation by faith alone, when the only occurrence of ‘faith alone’ in the Bible (James 2:24) says that salvation is not by faith alone?"

It is entirely true that the one verse in the Bible that contains the exact phrase “faith alone” seems to argue against salvation by faith alone. James 2:24 reads, “You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone” (ESV). However, rejecting the doctrine of salvation by faith alone based on this verse has two major problems. First, the context of James 2:24 is not arguing against the doctrine of salvation by faith alone. Second, the Bible does not need to contain the precise phrase “faith alone” in order to clearly teach salvation by faith alone.

James 2:14–26, as a whole, and especially verse 24, has been the subject of some confused interpretations. The passage definitely seems to cause serious problems for the “salvation by faith alone” concept. First, we need to clear up a misconception, namely, that James means the same thing by “justified” in James 2:24 that Paul means in Romans 3:28. Paul is using the word justified to mean “declared righteous by God.” Paul is speaking of God’s legal declaration of us as righteous as Christ’s righteousness is applied to our account. James is using the word justified to mean “being demonstrated and proved.”

The 2011 NIV provides an excellent rendering of James 2:24: “You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone” (emphasis added). Similarly, the NLT translation of James 2:24 reads, “So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone” (emphasis added). The entire James 2:14–26 passage is about proving the genuineness of your faith by what you do. A genuine salvation experience by faith in Jesus Christ will inevitably result in good works (cf. Ephesians 2:10). The works are the demonstration and proof of faith (James 2:18). A faith without works is useless (James 2:20) and dead (James 2:17); in other words, it is not true faith at all. Salvation is by faith alone, but that faith will never be alone.

While James 2:24 is the only verse that contains the precise phrase “faith alone,” there are many other verses that do, in fact, teach salvation by faith alone. Any verse that ascribes salvation to faith/belief, with no other requirement mentioned, is a declaration that salvation is by faith alone. John 3:16 declares that salvation is given to “whoever believes in Him.” Acts 16:31 proclaims, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.” Ephesians 2:8 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith.” See also Romans 3:28; 4:5; 5:1; Galatians 2:16; 3:24; Ephesians 1:13; and Philippians 3:9. Many other verses could be referenced in addition to these.

In summary, James 2:24 does not argue against salvation by faith alone. Rather, it argues against a salvation that is alone, a salvation devoid of good works and obedience to God’s Word. James’s point is that we demonstrate our faith by what we do (James 2:18). Regardless of the absence of the precise phrase “faith alone,” the New Testament definitely teaches that salvation is the product of God’s grace in response to our faith. “Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? . . . On that of faith” (Romans 3:27). There is no other requirement.

Eastern thought about suffering.

According to Hinduism, physical, mental and emotional suffering arises from the duality and modifications of the mind and body. These modifications manifest in human life as pain and suffering, attraction and aversion, union and separation, desire, passion, emotion, aging, sickness, death and rebirth etc.

Accordingly, suffering is an inescapable and integral part of life. The purpose of religious practice is to resolve human suffering that arises from samsara, which means the cycle of birth and death. As long as man is caught up in the phenomenal world of transient objects and appearances and becomes attached to them, he has no escape from suffering.

The history of spiritual Hinduism is the history of man’s yearning for a lasting solution to the problem of human suffering.

The Upanishadic seers approached the problem by focusing on the hidden causes of suffering and tried to resolve it internally by cultivating purity, fortitude, sameness, equanimity, stability, balance, detachment and indifference through austerity, restraint and renunciation.

Aging, sickness and death are reminders of the nature of Samsara and our existence in it. Liberation then means freedom from suffering.

According to the Upanishads, when organs are put to selfish use, a person becomes impure. For this desires are the root cause. When engaged in selfish actions, they become vulnerable to suffering. Pleasure is not a solution to avoid pain. Pleasure and pain are caused by the same duality or pairs of opposites. Our objective should be to rise above both.

Desire comes from our attachment to sense objects. Liberation means freedom from all kinds of desires and attachment so that one is not motivated by self-interests in performing necessary actions, but rather by the pure intention to serve God and His creation. This transformation is accomplished through various spiritual practices and the path of yoga.

The battle has to be fought in the mind and body. The mind is the seat of desires and intentions and hence for a human being it is the battlefield, the Kurukshetra.

The Bhagavad Gita identifies the instability of the mind as the main cause of suffering. The root of the mental instability is desire, which arises out of the repeated contact of the senses with their sense objects. It is because of our outward going nature and our dependence upon things and objects that we suffer in this plane of duality.

Our experience suggests that enjoyment comes from having things. The scripture suggest that true enjoyment comes from not having the desire to own things and enjoy them, or at least not being attached to things and circumstances. The ideal goal should be Self realization.

The causes of suffering

Impermanence which makes life insecure,

Desires and attachment which leads to karma and bondage,

Delusion and ignorance caused by Maya,

Repeated birth and death,

Attraction and aversion to pairs of opposites,

Contact and separation from the objects of desires,

Attachment to sense objects,

The triple qualities of sattva, rajas and tamas,

The evil characteristics of lust, anger, greed and envy,

Lack of discrimination between of what is real and unreal

Hinduism acknowledges that while we may know the causes of suffering, suffering cannot be fully resolved as long as we are subject to the modification of nature (gunas). No matter what one may do, some suffering is inevitable in life. The purpose of spiritual practice is not to end suffering, which is humanly impossible, but to learn to deal with it by re-conditioning the mind and body. This is the purpose of yoga.

While working for liberation we must learn to endure suffering with detachment and acceptance, keeping faith in God and performing our actions as an offering to God.

Belief in karma is not to make us despondent, but it should make us more responsible toward self and our spiritual welfare. We need to accept suffering with a sense of detachment and the awareness that our suffering is of our own creation for which we have to take responsibility.

Suffering can be seen as the teacher as well as the solution in which our liberation is hidden.

God and Suffering

Why does God allow so much suffering in the world? 

This question has been asked throughout the ages and of all the religions, and to the philosophers of the world and we are still asking the same question today. Is there an answer to this question that can satisfy the mind?

Now let us embark on a journey of examining three segments of bible history, and see if we can come to a closer understanding of the nature of God and the reasons for suffering.

To begin, let us assume a God is, all good, loving and all powerful. And let us further assume that if God exercises all these attributes, then there should be no suffering in the world. With God being omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent, he knows what is happening and can take care of all man’s afflictions, whether physical, mental or spiritual, so why should there be suffering in the world?

Let’s see what the Bible tells us

According to Genesis 2:4-3:24

The fall of man, or the fall, is a term used in Christian teachings to describe the transition of the first man and woman from a

state of innocent obedience to God to a state of guilty disobedience. The doctrine of the fall comes from a biblical interpretation of Genesis chapter 3.

At first, Adam and Eve lived with God in the Garden of Eden, but the serpent tempted them into eating the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, which God had forbidden. After doing so, they became ashamed of their nakedness and God expelled them from the Garden to prevent them from eating from the tree of life and becoming immortal in their sin.

For many Christian denominations, the doctrine of the fall is closely related to that of original sin. They believe that the fall brought sin into the world, corrupting the entire natural world, including human nature, causing all humans to be born into original sin, a state from which they cannot attain eternal life without the grace of God.

The Eastern Orthodox Church accepts the concept of the fall but rejects the idea that the guilt of original sin is passed down through generations, based in part on the passage Ezekiel 18:20 that says a son is not guilty of the sins of his father.

What the bible tells us about Noah, in Genesis 5:32-10:1 (NIV).

Who was Noah?

Noah was a great man of faith, who didn't compromise his faith during a time in history when all others were ignoring God and carrying out extreme evil. Noah preached for 100 years during the building of the ark and God patiently waited for any person to repent. However, none believed Noah or wanted to follow God, but continued in their evil ways until they were all wiped out.

Noah and the flood around 2348 BC

Genesis 6:11- 22 (NIV) -The earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. 12- God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. 13- So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. 14 - So make yourself an ark ….  The ark is to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high. 16 - Make a roof for it, leaving below the roof an opening one cubit high all around. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks. 17- I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it.

18- But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark - you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you. 19- You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. 20 - Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. 21- You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.”

22- Noah did everything just as God commanded him.

Comment:

The people were unrighteous so God wiped them out to restore justice and order. This we may view as a just, righteous and good God. God responded to man’s sin in a holy and righteous manner, but also in a way that salvaged humankind. God wants people to life righteously. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God. 

God in Exodus

"Why was Israel cursed with forty years of wilderness wandering?"

Introduction

A seven-year famine was responsible for God’s chosen people ending up in Egypt. Initially, they flourished under the leadership of Joseph, number two in charge of the country after Pharaoh. “Then a new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power in Egypt” (Exodus 1:8), and soon, “the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites” (Exodus 1:12). For the next several centuries the Israelites were enslaved by the Egyptians who “worked them ruthlessly” (Exodus 1:13). Eventually, God heard their cries (Exodus 2:23-25) and sent Moses and Aaron to rescue them. After enduring the last of the ten plagues—the death of the firstborn males—Pharaoh finally agreed to release the Israelites.

The 40 years of wilderness wandering nearly 3,500 years ago, refers to the plight of the Israelites due to their disobedience and unbelief until the unbelieving generation died off, never stepping foot in the Promised Land.

The Events

Moses is aware of his Hebrew roots, and, one day, he kills an Egyptian who is beating an Israelite worker. Moses flees in fear to Midian, God however, is concerned for the suffering of the Israelites, and he appears to Moses in the form of a burning bush. God speaks to Moses, informing him of his plan to return the Israelites to Canaan—to “a land flowing with milk and honey” (3:8)—and to send Moses back to Egypt to accomplish this task. Moses took Aaron, with him as an aid. When Moses asks God what his name is, God replies, “I AM WHO I AM” (3:14).

Moses and Aaron return to Egypt, where Moses organizes the Israelites and confronts the Pharaoh, demanding the release of the Hebrew people. Moses performs a miracle, turning his staff into a snake, but Pharaoh is unimpressed and only increases the workload for the Israelites.

God responds by inflicting a series of ten plagues on Egypt. God turns the Nile River into blood.

Before the plague, Moses instructs the Hebrew people to cover their door posts in the blood of a sacrificed lamb as a sign for God to protect their homes from his killings. Pharaoh relents and releases the more than 600,000 Israelites who, in turn, plunder the Egyptians’ wealth.

The Israelites complain that Moses has taken them to die in the wilderness, and Moses, at God’s bidding, parts the sea for the people to cross. Pharaoh follows and Moses closes the waters back again, drowning the Egyptian army. Witnessing the miracle, the people decide to trust Moses, and they sing a song extolling God as a great but loving warrior.

Their optimism is brief, and the people soon begin to worry about the shortage of food and water. God responds by sending the people food from heaven, providing a supply of quail and a sweet bread-like substance called manna. The people are required only to obey God’s commandments to enjoy this food.

Three months after the flight from Egypt, Moses and the Israelites arrive at Mount Sinai. Moses climbs the mountain, and God gives Moses two stone tablets with Ten Commandments inscribed on them regarding general, ethical behavior as well as an extended series of laws regarding worship, sacrifices, social justice, and personal property. God explains to Moses that if the people will obey these regulations, he will keep his covenant with Israel and will go with them to retrieve from the Canaanites the land promised to Abraham.

Moses ascends to the mountain again where God gives him more instructions, this time specifying in great detail how to build a portable temple called an ark in which God’s presence will dwell among the Israelites.

 Moses comes down from the mountain after forty days, only to find that Aaron and the Israelites have now erected an idol—a golden calf that they are worshipping in revelry, in direct defiance of the Ten Commandments.

Exodus 12:48

God made His covenant with Old Testament Israel, a type of the church (Galatians 6:16 NIV). God's focus and concern were overwhelmingly on them, and He dealt with other nations only as they came in contact with Israel. Though God makes provision in His law to accept non-Israelites who wanted to join Israel and worship the true God, He nowhere commands the Israelites to go out and make disciples of other nations. Rather, His approach is to attract outsiders by the example of obedient Israel being blessed by Him.

Moses intercedes on the Israelites’ behalf, begging God to relent and to remember his covenant. Pleased with Moses, God is appeased and continues to meet with Moses face to face, “as one speaks to a friend,” in a special tent set aside for worship

God reaffirms his covenant with Moses, and, creates a new stone tablets to record his decrees, (Exodus 34, Moses gets new stone tablets. The Lord said to Moses, cut two more stone tablets like the first two, and I will write the same words on them that were on the first two stones which you broke). God declares himself to be a compassionate, loving, and patient God. At Moses’ direction, the Israelites renew their commitment to the covenant by erecting a tabernacle to God according to the exact specifications God has outlined.

 God tells Moses that his name is “I AM” (3:14). Moses’ dialogue with God enables the author to portray God in softer, human terms—as someone who listens, grieves, and is actually capable of changing his mind.

Comments:

Throughout Exodus we can see God’s guiding hand in the liberation of his people. God has shown His unconditional love, compassion and patience; even at times when His people rebelled in disbelief.

God want to have a relationship with man. As in any relationship, it must be mutual.  Mutual, means all sides can feel secure. There are four major areas of mutuality that must be present if a relationship is to succeed and grow: love, benefit, trust and support.    

What happened at Babylon?

Babylon was a “ruthless” and “dreaded” nation. This raises the question, Does God sometimes use power to accomplish His

plans? God’s purpose was to bring judgment on Judah for their idolatry. Babylon was the instrument of His judgment (Isaiah 10:5).

The people of Judah had rebelled against the principles upon which their nation had been founded and fallen from grace. Judah had turned its back upon God and rejected any attempt by those sent to her to call her back.

As promised, God withdrew His protection from her. He had warned that if His people became faithless that He would employ a pagan power to conquer them and lead them back into captivity.

He had led them from Egyptian bondage 800 years before, and now, because of their infidelity, He would allow them to return to bondage; this time in Babylon. But they had refused to believe it would ever happen to them. They found their own false prophets to tell them that everything was fine. They ridiculed Jeremiah and others who warned of the devastation to come. The Lord spoke through Jeremiah and put it this way;

"Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north...and I will send Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon...against this land and against its inhabitants...and this whole land shall be desolation and a horror, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years."

Jeremiah 1:4-5, Yahweh called Jeremiah to prophetic ministry in about 626 BC, about one year after Josiah king of Judah is said to have turned the nation toward repentance from idolatrous practices. ... In his early ministry, Jeremiah was primarily a preaching prophet, preaching throughout Israel.

Jeremiah 25:9-11 (NIV).

Indeed, history shows us that the words of Jeremiah turned into fact as they were fulfilled down to the last detail. The desolation began with the fall of Jerusalem to Babylon in 606 A.D. and the first deportation of the best of the land into slavery on foreign soil. In this number was Daniel who later would also be a prophet while a servant of Nebuchadnezzar. Further deportations followed and finally Jerusalem was destroyed, just as the prophets had warned. It was seventy years in exile before the repentant remnant of the people of God were permitted to go back home and begin to rebuild their devastated cities. It would be the Persians who allowed the rebuilding to begin by a remnant of what was left of Judah and Israel in 536 B.C.

Jeremiah 29:10-14 (NIV)

10 -This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. 11- For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 - Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 - You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14- I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you, “declares the Lord“ and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”

Jeremiah 31:1-5 (NIV)

After God performs the intents of His heart, as it says at the end of the previous chapter, and His wrath has consumed those He will consume, then peace in the relationship between Israel and God becomes possible because all of those who declared war on God through their conduct are dead. God does not believe in "peace at any price." He works toward repentance, but if there is no repentance, the only solution is to destroy those in rebellion against Him. Yet, after the destruction, He promises once again to be the God of all of Israel, and Israel will again be His people.

From these verses and the remainder of Ezekiel 5, it is evident that a great deal of violence will be done to the peoples of Israel, but when it is over, God will give them rest (Jeremiah 31:2). The people who survive the sword will find grace. God begins to demonstrate His loving kindness and to rebuild and restore Israel.

It’s in Jeremiah that we learn about God’s plan to make a new covenant with His people. His law will be on their hearts, and they will all know Him. He shall be their God, and they shall be His people. He will forgive their sin and remember it no more Jeremiah 31:31–34 (NIV).

God does have a plan for the future. God’s plan is the ultimate redemption of all creation—even Babylon. And that future is filled with hope.

Who was Jeremiah?

Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, a Levitical priest, was likely born between 650 and 645 B.C. He was from the small village of Anathoth, about three miles northeast of Jerusalem in the territory of Benjamin (Jeremiah 1:1). It was through Jeremiah’s childhood training for holy service in the priesthood that God began grooming him for his future role.

Israel’s status as the Chosen People

God’s Word affirms that the Jews are God’s chosen people: “You are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession”

(Deuteronomy 7:6).

In the books of Moses, God’s relationship with the Israelites is described as a covenant, a relationship in which promises of loyalty are given. However, the Bible describes numerous failures on the part of the people. They did not trust God, and they grumbled about what he was doing. Their pattern of distrust and disobedience is found throughout Israel’s history.

The ultimate goal of God’s choice of the Jews as His chosen people was to produce the Messiah, Jesus Christ, who would be the Savior of the world. Jesus had to come from some nation or people, and God chose Israel.

The  book  of  Deuteronomy,  more  than  the  other  four  books  of  Moses,  emphasizes  the  fact  of  Israel’s  election (Deuteronomy  4:37; 7:6-8; 10:15-16, 

While God chose Israel because of His love, there was purpose and reason to Israel’s election.

First, ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy

Nation (Exodus 19:6)

Second, Israel was to be the recipient of God’s revelation and

to record it. For this reason, Israel received the Law of Moses

(Deuteronomy 4:5-8; 6:6-9; Romans 3:1-2).

Third, Israel was to propagate the doctrine of the One God (Isaiah 43:10-12).

Fourth, Israel was to produce the Messiah (Romans 9:5;  He-brews 2:16-17; 7:13-14

The Fifth provision is keeping the law under The Mosaic Covenant. (The Mosaic Covenant is a conditional covenant made between God and the nation of Israel at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19-24).

The people lacked the power to comply with the righteous standards of God. The Mosaic Law did not provide the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (Jeremiah 31:33; Ezekiel 36:27). 

 Prophesy concerning the coming of Jesus the Christ.

Isaiah 7:14: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

Micah 5:2: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”

A few words about Jesus of Nazareth

Jesus came in a dark age. His message of the love of God and his intersession on behalf of suffering humanity was not only for that time, but for all ages to come. He reminded a world that

“God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24),

The Absolute is also a personal God, who can be appealed to in prayer and who responds as a loving Father. When we look at the nature of consciousness of a divine incarnation, it is important to understand the source and nature of consciousness that incarnates.

 Jesus spoke of his consciousness when he proclaimed:”I and my Father are one” (John 10:30), and “I am in my Father and my Father is in me” John (14:11). Those who unite their consciousness to God know both the transcendent and the immanent nature of Spirit, the uncreated Absolute.

.

To our earlier question about the goodness, love and omnipotence of God, we read:

God is omnipotent and exalted in Power

Job 37:23 (NIV) “The Almighty is beyond our reach and exalted in power; in his justice and great righteousness, he does not oppress.” God is Omnipotent in Understanding,

God is portrait as all powerful, just and forgiving.

Psalm 147:5 – “Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.”

The Bible tells us repeatedly that God is all powerful, good, and loving, but it also speaks about justice.  

Isaiah 30:18 (NIV) Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!

Isaiah 55:8 (NIV), "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD.

Psalm 136:1(NIV) Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His love endures forever.

Matthew 5:48 (NIV) Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Perfection is not in the body. Anything physical in creation is impermanent. Perfection is in the Soul of man as an individualized part of the Spirit of God.

We read in the verses, that God is good, loving and powerful,

So why do people suffer?

Suffering can fall into three simple categories: emotional, mental, and physical suffering.  But, there are a variety of causes for suffering:  morally corrupt (evil) people, disease, earthquakes, floods, famine, etc.

There are different explanations for why God allows suffering, but none of them can really satisfy. Therefore, we will simply list various reasons offered to account for suffering and evil in the world.

In the discussed scenarios, we need to be reminded, that according to legitimate scriptures of the world God is perfect, pure and none changing. He does not evolve, but as we have seen in Babylon, Genesis and Exodus, what did change, was how the people perceived God.

Here are some of the explanations put forth by man why people suffer

Free will, God has given us freedom of choice.

God uses evil to discipline people.

It is possible that human suffering (cancer, disease, etc.) can be a means that God uses to remove the person from further suffering.

God has a plan.

The Bible tells us that God disciplines those whom He loves.

It is possible that God is simply allowing evil and suffering in the world to prove that rebellion against Him brings pain and suffering.

Psalm 147:5 – “Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.”

We must be careful never to make excuses for our "trials and tribulations" if they are a result of our own wrongdoing.

A present day urging:

In all our circumstances, let us implore the spirit of truth in all our thoughts and activities. Let it be our guiding light.

What about the Spirit of truth?

The Spirit of truth, the world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you, John 14:17 (NIV).

The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit is an enumeration of seven spiritual gifts. They are: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord (wonder).

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature–have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse ” Romans 1:20, NIV).

“The wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere” (James 3:17, NIV).

God wants to fellowship and communicate with us. He talks, we listen, we talk, He listens.

Workings of the mind taken from Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras

The Yoga 196 Sutras of Patanjali are (aphorisms) on Yoga. It was the most translated ancient Indian text in the medieval era, having been translated into about forty Indian languages and two non-Indian languages: Old Javanese and Arabic. The text fell into obscurity for nearly 700 years from the 12th to 19th century, and made a comeback in late 19th century due to the efforts of Swami Vivekananda and others. It gained prominence again as a comeback classic in the 20th century

Sutras denote Threads, threads because only the absolute minimum of information is stated, to hold the ideas together. The reason for this is because people used to memorize these aphorisms

To obtain yoga, or mystical union as expressed in Christianity, one has to control the vrittis or fluctuations, the waves that ordinarily occur in the mind.

According to Patanjali the mind (chitta) is made up of manas (sense mind), buddhi (intellect) and ahamkara (ego).

Manas is the recording faculty which receives impressions gathered by the senses.

Buddhi is the discriminative faculty which classifies these impressions and responds to them.

Ahamkara is the ego which claims those impressions for its own and stores them up as individual knowledge, I know.

To most of us, the mind seems to be intelligent and conscious. Yoga philosophy teaches that it is not so. It has only a borrowed intelligence.

The Atman, Purusha, Soul or Self, is intelligence itself. It is pure consciousness. The mind merely reflects that consciousness and so appears to be conscious.

Knowledge or perception is a thought wave (vritti) in the mind. The mind is not the seer; it is only an instrument of knowledge, an object of perception.

Every perception arouses an ego sense, which says:” I know this.”

The ego sense is caused by the identification of the Self with the mind and the senses.

The Self when remaining outside of thought waves, is ever pure, enlightened and free, the only true unchanging Joy.

Man can never know his real Self as long as he is identified with thought waves and the ego sense. In order to become enlightened, he must bring his thought waves under control.

Yoga teaches ‘The End of Sorrow”.

For an analogy of a disturbed mind let’s take the Image of a Lake.

If the surface of a lake is very wavy, the water becomes muddy and we can’t see the bottom. The lake represents the mind and the bottom of the lake the Self.

Yoga states, that when the lake of the mind becomes clear and still, man knows himself as he really is, always was and always will be.

When Patanjali speaks of control of thought waves, he does not refer to a momentary control of making the mind blank, it is much more difficult then that. It means that we have to UNLEARN our identification with the ego sense, which means a renewal of the mind itself, a renewal of how we look at the world around us.

The concept of God in Yoga:

God is by definition is omnipresent. God according to Yoga is the only Reality as it is none changing. If the Reality exists, it must be everywhere present; it must be in every sentient being and in every inanimate object.

The God within is known in Sanskrit as Atman, or Purusha. It is also known as the Self.

Patanjali speaks always of the Purusha, Self (pure consciousness) as that which dwells within the body.

According to the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita, the One is present in all creatures.

Patanjali following Sankhya philosophy believed that each individual creature and object has its separate, but identical Self or Soul.

Is the mind intelligent?

The first impression is that the mind is intelligent and conscious. Yoga teaches that it is not. It has only a borrowed intelligence. The Self (pure consciousness) is intelligence itself. The mind merely reflects that consciousness and so appears to be conscious.

Abiding in our own nature

When the lake of the mind becomes clear and still, we become to know our true nature or who we are, always were and will be. We know that we are the Self.

When we are not in a state of Yoga (Union), we remain identified with the thought waves.

There are various thought waves.

A painful wave may not at first appear as painful, but this thought can bring with it ignorance, addiction, jealousy and bondage.

A not painful thought may be compassion; a thought that evokes an unselfish emotion, which loosens the bonds of egotism. We may suffer deeply when others suffer, but our compassion will teach us understanding and understanding will lead us to freedom.

The distinction between two kinds of thoughts is very important when it comes to Yoga practice.

To overcome painful thought waves, we need to think thoughts which are not painful.

Thoughts of anger, desire and delusion need to be overcome by thoughts of love, generosity and truth. When this has been done, we can proceed with stilling the mind.

Waves of the mind are controlled by means of practice and non attachment. They can be made to flow in two different directions – either toward the objective world, the will to desire, or toward true Self knowledge, the will to liberation. Therefore both practice and non attachment are necessary.

If we try to practice spiritual discipline without attempting to control the thought waves of desire, our mind will become very agitated.

If we rigidly attempt to control our thoughts without raising waves of love, compassion and devotion, we may do great damage to our psyche. Rigid mind control is very dangerous.

The Tao: ‘Heaven arms with compassion those whom it would not see destroyed’.

Is perception reality?

Correct perception leads to correct knowledge.

Our perception is correct as long as it does not contain any element of delusion. A common form of delusion is jumping to conclusions.

What we infer from direct perception is also correct, provided our perception is correct.

Scriptures are based on superconscious knowledge (beyond the ordinary) obtained by spiritual teachers while in a state of perfect yoga (union).  

Non Attachment and the exercise of discrimination

We gradually gain control over the painful or impure thought waves by asking ourselves:” Why do I really desire that”. What permanent advantage is there to be gained? In what way would it help to gain greater knowledge and freedom? Is my desire a mere restlessness of my mind?

But our non attachment is put to the test when the mind is suddenly swept by a huge wave of anger, lust or greed. In this instance, it is only a determined effort of will that can remember what our reason already knows, that this wave is only a transient and superficial energy and that it will pass.

To some of us non attachment may come slowly, but even in its early stages, we are rewarded by a new sense of freedom and peace.

When through knowledge of the Self, we cease to desire any manifestation of nature; this is the highest kind of non attachment.

To love the Self in us is to love it in everyone, and to love the Self everywhere is to go beyond nature to the Reality within nature. Such a love is difficult to understand by many people, yet it is simply an infinite deepening and expansion of the limited love we all experience.

We all can experience this great love when we purify our minds and hearts and thus make them fit for that infinitely greater love which always awaits us. This love is not restless or transient like our human love. It is eternal.  

Why does Brahman cause Prakriti or God create the world?

Another way of saying this is why does God create the worlds?

This question cannot be answered by man made philosophy, for the human intellect is in itself made of fine energy or matter.

Only a great seer while being in a state of perfect yoga may have the answer.

However, he would not be able to communicate his answer in terms of logic and language, because, there are no words to describe the experience. From an absolute standpoint, the world of matter does not even exist

The manifest world is not Reality and yet for most, it is nothing other than Reality. The seers tell us, that only that is real, which permanently exists, which is changeless but for most people lacking super conscious experience, these statements can be baffling and mysterious.

What then is the creative process that brings all things into manifestation?

According to Vedanta from time to time the universe dissolves, or apparently dissolves. It is said, to go back into undifferentiated Prakriti or Energy and remain there in potential or seed state for a certain period until it is moved to express again.

Prakriti or this Energy is said to be composed of three forces. Sattwa, rajas and tamas, which are know as the three gunas or attributes of nature. When the gunas are in equilibrium, no creation occurs and Prakriti remains in potential form. When in imbalance, creation happens. The gunas enter into a variety of combinations, all of them irregular, with one or the other guna predominating over the rest. Thus, we have a variety of physical and psychic phenomena which make up the apparent universe.

The sound current created by the gunas is perceived as Om.

When we describe the gunas individually, we can say that sattwa represents all that is pure, rajas expresses as action, motion and violence and tamas is solid, immobile, resistance and inertia. It should be understood, that all gunas are present in everything and exist on all levels, but that one guna always predominates.

The spiritual aspirant is advised to transcend the gunas by the discipline of discrimination. He is said to have transcended them when he does not hate the light of sattwa, or the creativity of rajas, or even the delusion of tamas, nor does he long for them after they have ceased. He is like one who sits undisturbed, and is fully detached.

He knows that they are the Doer of all action, and never loses this power of discrimination. He rests in the inner calm of the Self regarding happiness and suffering as one.

In summary, creation can be said to be an outward evolution from the undifferentiated into the differentiated consciousness, from mind into matter. Pure consciousness is gradually covered by successive layer of ignorance and differentiation, each layer being grosser and thicker than the one blow it, until the process ends with the outer physical surface of the visible and tangible world.

Through meditation we reverse the process. Meditation is evolution in reverse. Beginning at the surface of life, the meditative mind goes inward, seeking always the cause behind the appearance and then the cause behind the cause until the innermost reality is reached.

The goal is to be one with the One. This is moksha, Liberation.

Concentration is primary.

When we have achieved the highest degree of concentration upon a single object, we are ready to attempt the highest concentration upon consciousness itself. Accomplishing this is the perfect yoga, in which we pass from prakrity (energy), beyond all objective knowledge, into union with the Self-the undifferentiated universal consciousness.

This state of yoga can only be entered, when the thought waves are stilled and the mind has been cleared from its samskaras, both, the pure and impure.

This occurs when we see ourselves non other than the Self.

Yoga teaches us, that it is the samskaras (mental impressions) that drive us from birth to birth.

We may say that we are weary of the world with its interrelated pleasures and pains, but in fact, we are not as long as these subconscious tendencies remain. Our desire for sense experience is far greater than we realize.

It follows, that the samskaras need to be rooted out before perfect yoga is achieved.

Karma

In Sanskrit, a mental or physical act is called karma. Karma is also the word used to describe the consequences of an act. We call this fate. Fate is nothing else but the sum of consequences of our action in this or previous lives. After we have achieved liberation in yoga, our acts will cease to produce karma.

Of one who has achieved liberation, Shankara tells us:” Such actions are performed, as it were, from memory. They are like the remembered action of a dream.”

Attachment

Concentration without non attachment cannot bring liberation. Concentration on the mind or the ego is said to make us one with the forces of nature 

Concentration on the Self and surrender of ego will make us to become one with the Self.

Heaven and Hell

Yoga does not speak of heaven and hell. For the yogi heaven and hell are all within prakriti, nature. He believes in many planes of existence other than this earthly one. To these planes he goes for a while after death according to his karma. However, he shall not remain there forever.

For the yogi the desire for heaven is infinitely lower than desire for liberation.

How is true concentration attained?

True Faith according to Patanjali, is flexible, un-dogmatic, open to doubt and reason. Faith is organic, like a plant throwing forth shoots and is growing. All we require at the beginning is a seed. A seed can be in someone who is tranquil through the practice of high thinking, meditation and spiritual discipline.

Through energy

Energy is like a muscle. It grows stronger through being used. We need to put energy into our worthwhile endeavors to gain momentum to fulfill our purpose.

Faith

Momentum increases experience and results. As we obtain the results through the energy we expend, we acquire faith in our applied method. We become more focused, more goal oriented. As we do this, we become increasingly absorbed in our endeavor. This leads into insights and illumination, oneness with the object or subject contemplated. This is perfect concentration.

When contemplation, concentration and meditation flow into one, we obtain the state of samyama, Oneness.

Self Knowledge – Shankara (788-820 A.D).

Shankara taught Vedanta, also known as the concluding chapter of the Vedas. The Vedas include the Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita.

Our main focus is on the Non Dualism as taught by Shankara.

Shankar’s view on action and performing of duty:

The nature of the Atman or Soul is Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute. It is the very embodiment of Peace, Desirelessness, Perfection, Truth, Beauty, Infinity and Eternity.

On account of maya, or ignorance, man has forgotten his true nature and finds himself entangled in the relative world of good and evil, pain and pleasure, life and death and the other pairs of opposites.

From the cradle to the grave, the un-illumined soul engages in ceaseless action, striving to shun evil and realize the good.

But his activities are influenced by love and hate, attachment and aversion, and he hopes to experience, through action, infinite and external happiness in the outside world. He roams aimlessly in samsara, the world of change and becoming, rising or falling according to the result of his action.

Only gradually does he discover the impossibility of attaining happiness through works associated with I-consciousness and the desire for results. 

Infinite blessedness is not attainable through any finite action governed by the law of cause and effect.

Man must learn that for work to have a spiritual effect he must perform work as yoga that is to say, the doer must regard himself as an instrument of God, and surrender the results of his action to God and remain unruffled by love or hate.

Work performed in this spirit purifies the heart and prepares it for meditation and Self Knowledge.

The doer of the works must remains satisfied with what comes of its own accord, without feeling of attachment to the results of his action, devoting himself with heart and soul to the contemplation of his Soul, his true reality.

By the means of knowledge, or Jnana, man can realize the true nature of the soul, attain peace, and becomes liberated from the endless suffering of the world.

Then the liberated man engages in service to humanity, but his activities are quite different from those of an un-illumined person.

He is free from I consciousness and the longing for results. He never loses the knowledge of the soul.

Gunas: In his actions he recognizes the influence of the gunas, which constitute man’s physical nature; but the soul is always at peace.

Thus, though appearing to be active, he is really action-less.

He sees non action in action.

If the soul is identified with action even to the slightest degree, it has not realized its true nature.    

Non Dualistic Concept of God:

Shankara held Ultimate Reality to be beyond name and form and of the nature of pure consciousness.

He also taught that the direct realization of God or Brahman is not by worship, but through the path of knowledge, which consists in the hearing of instructions, reflecting on its meaning and meditating on Truth with single minded devotion.

Philosophical discrimination (viveka) and renunciation of the unreal constitute for Shankara the basic discipline for the realization of the Absolute.

Shankara was aware, that few aspirants are strong enough for the steep path of jnana yoga. The majority require tangible symbols of Truth, anthropomorphic or otherwise and also a human relationship with a personal God.

For them prayer and supplication form an indispensable part of worship.

Out of compassion for those, Shankara composed many hymns in praise of Shiva, Vishnu and Divine Mother.

(Vishnu and Shiva work together in the Trimurti or the

Trinity of Hinduism, Brahma. Vishnu and Shiva are the natural functioning of the universe.

On ethics: Right & Wrong.

Christianity can be rationally understood and appreciated only, when it is realized, that by hurting others one really hurts oneself; conversely, that by making others happy one brings happiness to oneself.

On ethics he states:

Without the consciousness of unity of existence, ethics becomes a mere device for makeshift adjustments among conflicting interests; and when these interests are threatened, the ethical codes break down.

Without a spiritual sanction, justice is in the interest of the strong.

The Oneness of all:

The Oneness of the Godhead is well emphasized in the statement of the Vedas:” Truth is One, but the sages call it by various names.”

We must be clear, that religion is not the goal, but only a path by which the aspirant obtains ultimate perfection.

Different religions are necessary the suit different minds at various levels of spiritual evolution. Therefore religion should emphasize harmony, unity, friendship and love.

 Its aim should be the realization of ones own divinity.

“Know ye not that ye are gods, children of the most high.”

                                                              1 Corinthian 3:16

Self knowledge is vital. All other forms of knowledge are of secondary importance; for a man’s action, feeling, reasoning and thinking are dependent on his ideas of the Self.

His view of life will be either materialistic or spiritual according to his self image.

If he regards himself as a physical being with a mind, subservient to material ends, then he is a materialist; he follows the idea of material happiness, devoting himself to the attainment of power and the enjoyment of material pleasures.

Whenever a large number of people follow such an ideal, society becomes materialistic which often leads to bloodshed, war, and destruction.

If on the other hand a man regards himself as a spiritual being and believes that his material body should be utilized to serve a spiritual end, then he is spiritual.

He then follows a path of unselfishness, love and promotes peace and happiness for all.

Self knowledge serves the practical purpose of destroying pain and suffering which are always caused by ignorance of the Self and also the positive end of helping everyone enjoy peace and blessedness here and now.

Religion and Philosophy

The purpose of philosophy is to enable the student to see the truth directly. It should not be a mere intellectual pursuit of an abstract idea.

The goal then of philosophy is truth and the goal of religion should be God. But, in the final experience, God and Truth are one and the same Reality.

Religion insists on faith, philosophy emphasizes reason.

Truth may transcend reason, but it is never illogical.

Religion without philosophy tends to become dogmatic.

Philosophy without religion degenerates into insane and dry intellectualism.

The Power of Truth

Ultimate reality is transcendental. It is not perceived by the senses or comprehended by the mind. It is however experienced. This experience is direct and immediate, and becomes possible only when the senses and the mind have been made absolutely calm.

It is the consciousness in man that experience the Universal Consciousness, the two being in reality identical.

But there are infinite possibilities of self deception. To prevent this deception, there are three criteria of truth.

These are:

A)  Scriptural Authority,

B)   Reasoning and

C)   Personal experience.

Any one of them, singly, may enable a man to realize partial truth, but when all three point to the same conclusion, he may be assured that he has realized the whole of Truth.

The proof that Truth is known when one is free from fear, sorrow and expectations which characterize the life of falsehood in the relative world.

The seers insist that the aspirant after knowledge should first, through self control and meditation, realize Ultimate Reality; only then can he know the nature of the world.

Ramakrishna said, “To know the many, without knowledge of the One, is ignorance, whereas to know the One is knowledge.”

Matthew 6:33: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and its righteousness and all things will be given unto you.”

 

Vedanta, its Theory and Practice

When we observe nature one of the things that we are always aware of is that everything changes. All animate and inanimate objects are subject to the law of change.

This is equally true of the state of mind. Happiness is followed by suffering, joy by sorrow, serenity by restlessness, courage by fear, exaltation by depression.

Of every experience subjective or objective, it may be said: ”Even this shall pass away”.

So the question becomes: is change itself the ultimate reality, or is there an unchanging essence.

Suffering too, is observed to be a universal phenomenon. No one seems to escapes it.

Buddha the Enlightened One declared, if all the tears that had flowed from human eyes from the beginning of creation were gathered together, they would exceed the waters of the ocean.

It is said, that this world is illusory, what then is this basis of illusion?

Can there be illusion without a background or substratum?

And how may one put an end to the suffering and attain peace?

What is it by knowing of which everything in the universe is known?  Ponder this!