Spiritual Culture
Tamil temples, Kerela, India
Holy River Ganges
Spiritual India
Spirituality informs all aspects of Indian culture. It permeates family and social life. For many Indians, religion is an expression of universal truth, a profound, complex outgrowth of the the soul. India’s timeless spiritual teachings have an allure that has beckoned millions: from seekers trekking high in the snowy Himalayas to austere mendicants meditating on the serene banks of the Ganges.
The vast majority of people in India are Hindus. Under the general name of Hinduism, one finds many distinct traditions: the worship of Vishnu (Vaishnavism), the worship of the Goddess (Shaktism), the worship of Shiva (Shaivism), and many minor cults and regional sects.
Sacred Texts - Vedas
“A special function of the sacred scriptures is their power to inspire. Reading religious books is an extremely efficacious discipline, for while it educates us, it also rouses our spiritual fervour. Scriptures ignite the fires of our devotion, give us the courage to step up our efforts, even make us feel closer to the Divine then and there.” — Barbara Powell University of Chicago Divinity School
In the Indian tradition, the esoteric wisdom of the universe is called Veda. This word can be traced to the Sanskrit root vid, which means “to know” or “knowledge”. The holy books of India, containing the essence of Vedic knowledge, are called the Vedas.
According to Vaishnava tradition, the Vedas emanate from the Lord Himself. Vedic knowledge is carefully passed down, from master to disciple; this is call parampara, or disciple succession. The lineages in which the Vedic message is transmitted are called sampradayas. In this way, the Vedic prophets sought to maintain the integrity of their oral tradition. The idea is that the Vedas, when properly received in disciplic succession, are devoid of impaction and interpolation, qualities invariably associate with secular literature.
The Vedic knowledge was given by the Supreme Lord to creator-god Brahma, who in turn gave it to Narada, one of his sons. Narada gave this knowledge to the sage Vyasa, who then, roughly 5,000 years ago, put it into written form for the benefit of modern man. Prior to the modern age, according to the Vedic texts, man had a superb memory and did not require the written word.
The Bhagavad Gita
“Of the sacred books of the Hindus, the Bhagavad-Gita is the most widely read and probably the most important text for the understanding of Eastern mysticism.” — R.C. Zaehner, University of Oxford
ISKCON Hong Kong offers advanced spiritual knowledge from the Bhagavad-Gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam and practices a form of devotional yoga called Krishna bhakti. This wisdom derives from the ancient Sanskrit texts of the advanced Vedic civilization, which thousands of years ago brought many gifts to the world such as yoga, meditation, animal rights, and a vision of all living things as divine parts of God.
The Bhagavad-Gita is considered to be one of the oldest, most cherished treatises on the philosophy and practice of yoga. It explains that we are all eternal spiritual beings in a temporary body made of matter. The souls have always existed and always will exist though the material bodies are doomed to die. Compelled by the reactions to our worldly actions (karma) we wander through many lives until we clearly grasp our eternal identity as souls, and our loving relationship with an infinitely beautiful, all-knowing, and ever youthful God, Krishna. The Bhagavad-Gita reveals it as the highest stage of spiritual yoga and the joyful summit of religion.
Bhakti Yoga
Unlock the secrets of yoga. A self-realized yogi can control the mind. The successful yogi's mind does not control him. A true yogi experiences real happiness. In transcendental happiness, the senses are engaged in the service to the Supreme. That is the way to bringing the senses under full control. This is the highest perfection of yoga practice. The word “yoga” comes from the Sanskrit root Yuj which means to link with, or combine. Bhakti-yoga means to connect to the Supreme by means of loving devotional service.
