���� Connect the dots�to enlighten!

���� Wow, �Fear of unknown origin�, sounds like a plan. I think it is a disease or illusion but let me�think as i am surviving another Friday evening. Yes, Its 7:00 PM and I grounded another difficult case. I did what I can do but still there is a fear on back of my mind that did I screwed more than what I think? I don�t know what that is but for now I would like to name it as, �fear of unknown origin.��My internal scorpion�had already started chanting the tunes�of denial in order to increase my level of confidence in this moment of quite. And, to distract myself from this, I started working on my Vedic learning task. I thought of searching online the relevance of Spirituality and economy.�

�������The Network of Spiritual Progressives defines spiritual people as �all those whose deepest values lead them to challenge the ethos of selfishness and materialism that has led people into a frantic search for money and power and away from a life that places love, kindness, generosity, peace, non-violence, social justice, awe and wonder at the grandeur of creation, thanksgiving, humility and joy at the center of our lives.��

���� …Philosophers learned from Kant that ethics is autonomous with respect to religion�

���� �Plato created the figure of king-philosopher, combining power and wisdom as the excellent leader. Spirituality was for Plato an intellectual and emotional search for an inner enlightenment. A physical, mental and spiritual training was needed to reach enlightenment and to become a good leader�

���� Have you felt that sometimes you are so much involved in minute details that you miss the boat? That�s what happening here. We know everything while knowing nothing and vice versa.

���� Well, let�s try to connect the dots, my fear, definition of spiritual people & quotes from Plato and Kant as well as missing the main problem has one motive which inclines me to work more and more on our ancient literature. I am thankful to Nisarg for raising the question to involve Sri Suktam in our Monday learning. We need that enlightenment in the form of our remaining spiritual training so as to become king-philosopher.

���� As per economy, ecology & spirituality: Toward a theory and practice of sustainability, there is a growing gap between rich and poor and accelerating environmental and social disintegration which offer powerful testimony to the failure of conventional development practice in countries of both South and North. This failure has given birth to a global effort to build commitment to an alternative citizen’s vision of human progress grounded in commitment to just, inclusive, and sustainable human societies. Most of the times we do things because someone told us, we heard or�read somewhere. That means someone drives your life and not you. Yes, everybody is driving someone else. Countries are landing their products and money to other country for survival. And still we are having falling stock market, rising prices, layoffs and decreasing spirituality?

���� Remember as Richard Saul Wurman well said, �Learning can be defined as the process of remembering what you are interested in.� Sri suktam brings spirituality and materialistic life together as close as anybody can get. So, what now? We need help and nobody is helping us. This situation requires self-learning and enlightenment. We think on materialistic life but forget our self and vice versa. Yes, we are so away from self that even while calling our own number from our own cell phone states , � please check the number and dial again� or � this number is busy please dial after sometime.� We have to call our self from our internal spiritual network as the outer cell phones (materialistic world) don�t connect us to our self before we leave materialistic world (die). Happiness is inside and we had to reveal and cherish that. More inclination towards the outer world causes loss of attachment of self and increasing confusions. And, that�s what the essence of Sri Suktam is.

���� So, let�s gather on the common spiritual background of Vedic learnings and try to understand the maze of life, economy and spirituality with the help of Sri Suktam.�

���� We invite your dear suggestions and warm critics.

~ Taral Sharma

-image courtesy: flickr

We as a Hindu are blessed with a cultural heritage of thousands of rituals and customs known as Aacharaas. This customs and rituals are for us to improve the productivity and life. There are no strict rules or regulations to follow. That is the reason that present survey shows we had forgotten almost every customs and rituals except couple of flexible rituals. And,now we had started getting curse of it in manner of new psychological and physical health problems. This clearly signifies that our culture and dharma is founded on scientific spiritually.

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If you go back to search in our ancient literature, it is clearly posted in Eesaavaasya Upanishad, the 40^th chapter of Yajurveda that use spiritual wisdom to attain immortality through philosophical outlook and use scientific knowledge for solving problems in our life. Spiritual is closely intermingled in each and every Hindu custom and so in every life of Hindu.

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Following Shlok defines importance of Aachaaraas:

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Aachaaraath labhathe hi ayu:

aachaaraath dhanamakshayam

aachaaraath labhathe suprajaa:

������������������������� aachaaro ahanthya lakshanam

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Aachaaraas should be followed for prosperity and wealth, strong family and social bondage. According to our dharmasaastra, it gives fine personality, dharmic outlook and vision. We need to follow it for our benefit and it is our right as well as duty to understand scientifically, rationally and logically the meaning of each and every Aachaaraas and follow them in our life systematically.

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Achaaryaath paadam aadatthe

paadam sishya swamedhayaa

paadam sa brahmachaaribhya

��������������� sesham kaala kramena cha

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Above is an important advice given in Smruthies, it means that a person gets only one quarter of knowledge from Aacharya � the teacher, another quarter from analyzing himself, one quarter from discussing with others and the last quarter by method of addition, deletion, correction and modification of already known Aachaaraas or new Aachaaraas.

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We will explain in upcoming MONDAY LEARNINGS about common Aachaaraas at our Vedic Learnings so as to help someone understand the wisdom of our ancient heritage. By doing such noble work, we are expecting to get the quarter of knowledge from discussing with others.

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Now, it is your turn, your right and your duty!!