- WITH OR WITHOUT A CHURCH OR INSTITUTION, HINDUISM SHOWS AND ESTABLISHES THAT EVERYONE HAS A PERSONAL AND INDEPENDENT RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD, WHICH ONLY NEEDS TO BE REAWAKENED.
This is an important point. There are other religions that teach that your only connection with God is through the church, or the institution, without which you are excommunicated or eternally damned. Unlike this, the Vedic system teaches that everyone is a spiritual being, and, thus, automatically a part of a loving God with an eternal relationship with Him. This relationship only has to be reawakened, which is the purpose of the many instructions given by God in the Vedic texts. It is also the purpose of the spiritual teachers who try to help everyone revive this eternal but dormant relationship. To rejuvenate such a relationship simply depends on one's sincerity to advance by following these instructions. It is not subject to an institution or a pope who alone claims to be in touch with God and knows the ultimate truth, upon whom we all are dependent, and who can dictate restrictions as he likes. In fact, any spiritual teacher is only as good to the degree in which he is at being a representation of God's love for us, or at being a transparent medium for the spiritual instructions of God and the previous acharyas or authorities.
The church or institution also is only good to the degree in which it represents the genuine spiritual tradition, as found in the Vedic system. If there is any blockage or ulterior motive in the spiritual teacher or institution in this transference of love and knowledge, then it may actually misrepresent God's true message and mislead people in their search for God's love.
In this way, a church or establishment is meant to provide the proper facility and opportunity for people to advance and experience God's love. Without a connection to a church or organization does not mean that a person is eternally condemned or will never have a chance of revitalizing one's relationship with God. An organization is not, nor can it ever be, the controller of whether a person has a relation to God, or goes to heaven or hell. This is completely dependent on the individual soul and his or her consciousness or sincerity. The fact is that since we are all spiritual beings, everyone has a personal relationship with God, and no one else can interfere with that. It only needs to be revived, which is the purpose of the Vedic process.
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- Guest 10 years ago
Dear Sir,
There are plenty of ways to please God. Those who have money, undertake pilgrimage to far away abodes of God travelling by different modes of transport. Few others indulge in penace, keep fast, run into soltitude abandoning their families and even offer animal/human sacrifice in their own way. Probably, while some of them do so as an act of thankfulness to God, the others end-up seeking more wealth and comforts in a sense to lead a yet more enjoyable life.
Not only for an ordinary person who hardly has money, but for a wealthy person, the best way to thank HIM would be as simple as praising him for all the bounties that HE has blessed us with in the form of immense natural resources like Water, Sunshine, plenty of minerals, trees/plantation. And added to this are the animals and birds of different hues who beautify Mother Earth in their own way. It is for us to undertand how useful these resources/species of birds and animals are for us to sustain our very life. Ironically, how many amongst us thank HIM for all the bounties ?? Probably, very far and few. In our day to day mundane activities, we hardly have time to do so whereas, all this matters too much as an act of "Thankfulness" to God Almighty. May be, while to those who do not value the true worth of nature, it would appear to be an absurd feeling but for a person of real awakening, it holds too much of significance.
Let us all appreciate the godly ways of God. HE keeps giving HIS bounties un-conditionally without any error. A rather well-roganised and fool-proof system.
Godliness lies in being truthful to God and HIS creation.
Thanks.
Tilak Raj Sharma