India - A Spiritual Mall

Vasan Sri
Is there a place or country where you can follow your
own religion , without censure, any kind of worship and
any type of religious rituals or tuck up in a cave like
grotto and meditate on the Infinite ? Yes---INDIA is
that country as countless millions have found and also
thousands of foreigners --of all religions ---find
every year.
[This article is aminly for western readers--to inform
and illustrate--though young Indian readers may also
find much useful information.]
It does not matter if you worship One God or several
gods, use a lamp or fire for worship or graven images
made of clay or white marble or black granite, does not
matter whether you silently meditate in a semi-dark
room or jump and dance in frenzy with drums and


flute--all are possible and go on in this vast country
of devout men and women.
A Bit of History
Let us roll back in history. When the Temple of Solomon
in Judea was burnt, several Jews dispersed; one branch
of that diaspora ended in some beaches about 100 miles
south of Mumbai. They could settle there in peace. Much
later ,they moved to Cochin, a sea port town and then
to Bombay [Mumbai], a growing city under British rule.
They prospered in both the places with peaceful and
respectful environment ,continuing with their exclusive
religious rites . They built beautiful synagogues which
are places of tourist attractions today. In 1948, most
of the Jews left India for the newly created Israel. A
few families remain in these places. But wait, many
Jews , particularly young ones, are regularly visiting
India for peaceful vacation or to learn vibrant
spirituality and there is even a 'Chabad House ' in
Mumbai. Ask any Jewish historian--he would attest to


the statement that India was the only country where
Jews were not persecuted but respected throughout the
past 2000 years of Jewish wanderings. May be, in the
next few decades, several Jewish families would settle
in India and build synagogues along with their
businesses, now that the trade [especially defense
hardware] is increasing between Israel and India.

Consider again the exodus of Persians,
sometime in 7th century BC ,driven out of
Iran, where they worshiped Zarathustra with
'fire temples'. The Zorashtrians or Parsees
as they are called in India, landed in
Kutch coasts and then moved slowly to the
financial magnet, Bombay city. They mingled
easily with the British and adopted western


ways. They became great traders and
terribly rich. They were also best
financiers,[dubashi] bankers and lawyers.
Gentle and sophisticated, fair skinned and
nicely dressed, they not only had firm
roots in India,they contributed so much to
their adopted country. They own today large
business empires [Tata and Godrej, to
mention only two of them] and respected for
their business acumen . They worship in
their own 'fire temples' and dispose of
their dead bodies in "Towers of Silence" to
be eaten by vultures, thus returning the
bodies to the eco-system and contribute to
the food chain. They are , by their own


choice, religious conservatives and do not
intermarry. Their population, of just about
50000, is dwindling . They also suffer from
many genetic disorders because of
inbreeding. Things are changing though.
Many Parsees marry Hindus or Muslims though
they would be excommunicated from their
religion. But the fact remains that India
offered them not only safe sanctuaries but
a country of great opportunities, from 7th
century. Will the Parsees get extinct like
endangered species? --Only time will tell.
It is for their leaders to ponder and make
reforms.
A Spiritual Cauldron


India has been a spiritual cauldron,
mixing different rituals, habits and
practices over the last 2500 years. You
have soups of different ingredients and
flavors for the devout. There is no 'pure
Hinduism', pure Islam or Pure Christianity,
in India. There had been mingling of
different cultures , customs and even
festivals, borrowing and adopting from
other religions .
Many Hindus visit and offer worship or
takes vows at the darga's [mausoleum] of
Sufi saints who came to India after 7th
century; For instance they offer prayers at
Nagoor Andavar darga near Cuddalore, Tamil


Nadu; Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti at Ajmer [one
of the famous shrines ]or Baba Budhan Giri
near Chikmagalur ,Karnataka state [who also
brought Coffee plants from Arabia to
India]among others. Though there are
several horror stories of forced
conversion by Mughal rulers and later
sultans, yet Hindus are ready to worship
these saintly Sufi masters. There are many
Christians who have adopted Hindu habits,
like fixing 'tilak' dots on the forehead
and wearing 'mangala sutra' [neck band]
after marriage , and singing Hindu hymns.
Christians visit several Hindu temples, for
instance , in Thirussur temples.


[But there are certain Hindu temples in
which non-Hindus are not permitted to enter
the inner corridors or sanctum sanctorum :
Guruvayoor temple in Kerala, Jagannath
temple in Puri, Meenakshi temple, Madurai.
This is based on the custom imposed by
local temple Boards of trustees or
Pontiffs.]
The religious mingling, besides
inter-religious marriages which are
numerous in modern times,takes on the form
of worship too. Mother Mary dressed in
saree and wearing jewels may be carrying
Infant Jesus in her arms in a Cathedral.
The cathedrals of interest are Infant


Jesus church in Vinayak nagar, Bangaluru
and Mahim Cathedral in Mumbai, ---all noted
for healing miracles even today. Thousands
of Hindus throng these churches but remain
Hindus!.
Miracles and healings
Let us discuss about the miracles
associated with certain basilicas or
cathedral of Catholic church which are
frequented by Hindus . The most famous is
the basilica, approved by the Vatican, of
Mother Mary, Mother of Health, which is
considered as "Lourdes of India", in
Velankanni [Vailankanni] in Nagapattinam
district of Tamil Nadu. Millions of Hindus


go regularly to this Basilica for vows of
healing and take part in the religious
procession. One Christian priest
interpreted that these Hindus are Hindus
externally but Christians at heart! The
same priest added that while as a
Christian, he believed that Jesus Christ is
the only way for salvation, many Hindu
worshipers accepted Jesus Christ as 'one of
the ways ' to reach salvation. [ I shall
return to this theme later which is of
importance in Hindu-Christian dialogue of
recent times.]
Some churches , like that of Father Bede
Griffiths, within Roman Catholic fold,have


adopted certain Vedantic concepts and
practices in their daily prayers and
routines. His mentor, Abhishiktananda, a
Catholic priest who turned to Hindu
monkhood, was the one who developed
"Christian Vedanta". Their church is at
Shantivana, Kulithalai, near Trichy in
Tamil Nadu. How far these are accepted by
main stream Christian clergy is a moot
point. But these pioneers in religious
thinking have had a considerable following
throughout the world. India offered them
the nursery to grow their spiritual
saplings. [Perhaps the USA is another
country where they could have experimented


with such concepts.] You must bear in mind
that these men are not dry philosophers or
academic professors attempting synthesis of
religions or studying comparative religion,
but men of faith practizing in the real
world. They were at once tuned to Jesus
Christ and the abstract "Brahman" of the
Hindu faith.
Austere Ashrams and Retreats
India is full of ashrams and meditation
centers of different traditions and
religious concepts. These are started by
rishies or gurus or pontiffs of mutts
[monasteries with seminaries].
Be careful in choosing the right one for


you.
Beware of charlatans--modern day con men
--self styled prophets, messiahs,
maharishis and ' Paramahansas'--with a
smattering of Vedanta knowledge but making
tall claims and trying to fleece you with
money. If they advertise through bill
boards and TV, you can be almost certain
they are charlatans or bogus ,fake gurus.
Stay away from them.
There are modern ashrams with all modern
amenities and nice rooms like 3 star
hotels--for instance ,Amma's ashram in
Amritapuri, near Kollam, Kerala--- with lot
of bhajans and food courts everywhere ,


besides Amma's hugging sessions when Amma
is present in the head-quarters. Such
ashrams provide very little space for
contemplation or meditation or even for
serious studies. They are usually noisy
places with people strutting about all the
time.
Let us consider austere ashrams of great
vintage--heritage or lineage. These are
meant for those who wish to meditate ,take
part in some daily pujas or rituals , but
for the most part take care of themselves.
These ashrams may expound particular flavor
of philosophy [Hindu/Vedanta,sufi,
christian or their admixture] based on


their tradition/ lineage, but people of all
persuasions are welcome in those places.
[This is the greatness of Hindu religious
philosophers who were always inclusive in
their approach.] Some may be devoted more
to chanting and bhajans than rituals.
These ashrams are havens for spiritual
seekers and one would spend at least a few
days to imbibe the spirit and climate of
these places. The ashrams may have strict
time-schedules and would offer vegetarian
meals , at little or no expense. The chief
Pontiff or Abbot may deliver short lectures
every day. The free and contemplative
atmosphere of these ashrams have


contributed much to the continuity of
spiritual/religious lore of India.
I have in mind such ashrams as the
following:
Sri Ramana Asramam - Thiruvannamalai, Tamil
Nadu;
Ananda Ashram, Kanhangad, Kerala [between
Mangalore and Calicut]
Sivananda ashram -, Nayyar Dam, near
Thiruvananda puram, Kerala
Sivananda Ashram, Divine Life society,
Rishikesh;
Shantivana Ashram ,Kulithalai, near Trichy,
Tamil Nadu;
Hamsa Ashramam, Anusoni, near Hosur, Tamil


nadu [the ashram of Swami Virajeshwar.]
Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Puducherry.
among others.
I have been a frequent visitor of these
ashrams for several years and know them to
be genuine centers of spiritual retreat.
But the facilities and accommodation are
rather limited in these ashrams that prior
reservation would be required. These
ashrams do not charge any fees at all--in a
true Hindu tradition of ashrams. These are
, indeed, spiritual sanctuaries of India;
but they may not suit all spiritual
seekers--especially those who want to be
physically close to a guru and wish to get


some instruction through lectures and
courses.
Christianity in India
Christianity came to India with the arrival
of St Thomas in the east coast near
Chennai. Whether he was one of the 12
apostles of Jesus or a later day St
Thomas--- we are not sure. He was martyred
at a place called St Thomas Mount and
interred in a church in Mylapore.
Over the centuries, hundreds of
missionaries have come to India. Almost all
of them were warmly welcomed by the Kings,
including the Mughal emperor Jehangir who
officially welcomed Jesuit priests. Many


of them reaching Malabar coast or east
coast near Tanjore were allowed to build
their churches and run their ministries.
Many catholic priests studied local
languages like Tamil and would preach
effectively. But somewhere along the line,
the Christian missionaries were misguided
or misconstrued in their mission as one of
purely proselytisation and converting
Hindus into Christian faith. This lead to
long term distrust and animosity between
christian clergy and the Hindu population.
This mistrust has not been completely
eliminated , even though conversion
activities are declared illegal by the


secular government of India. Though efforts
to convert Hindus into Christianity had
substantially subsided, there are several
instances even today which is reported in
newspapers.
I must add that christian missionaries
have done excellent work regarding
education and health care. Some of the best
colleges in India were built by Scottish
missions or Jesuit fathers. My father
studied in a college run by Irish
missionaries in Chennai at the beginning of
19th century. Leading hospitals and small
ones were built by them in numerous
cities--big and small. They also received


much support from British government during
colonial rule in terms of land and building
funds. [They also received vast lands from
Hindu princes and friends for seminaries
and churches, as I know personally in
Bangalore.] Their service to society was
lauded by everyone.
But the question remains: "Why only 2% of
the current population of India are
Christians?"
[They are more concentrated in larger
percentages in North-east provinces and
certain tribal districts.]
It is also true that Christian missionaries
tried to convert large groups of dalits or


out-castes from the Hindu-fold. These
groups suffered lot of discrimination and
hardship in the Hindu society.
One should recall that after the Sepoy
Mutiny in 1857, when the British crown took
over Indian colonies from East India
company, Queen Victoria declared that the
British government would not interfere in
religious matters with Indian population.
The small percentage of Christian
population may be the result of several
factors. While this is an intricate and
loaded subject, I give a few points in
terms of 'logical' explanation for
consideration:


1 The Hindus could not accept Jesus Christ
as the 'only way' for salvation. Many of
them would concede that Jesus was 'one of
the many prophets' to teach humanity.
2 The concept of final judgement with
eternal damnation for some sinners
was too harsh a punishment for humans, that
would be given by a loving, forgiving
God.[Though some sects among Hindus have a
similar concept of heaven and hell.]
3 Jesus died a martyr--yes; but 'he died
for humanity that we may be saved' was too
much to accept. Hindus believed that each
one should pay for his or her sins through
bad karma; karma overrides our merit and


punishment in this life and in future
lives. As we know, there were many martyrs
in religious history of many nations.
4 The personal conduct and behavior of many
clergymen did not attract the devout,
though they preached compassion and love.
5 Social reformers starting from Raja Ram
Mohan Roy in Bengal introduced many
reforms among Hindus that the religion had
a renewed vigor and reformed look. At the
same time the eternal message from Vedanta
[from 'Upanishads'] was strengthening the
metaphysical framework of Hinduism, thanks
to Ramakrishna-Vivekananda movement.
There could be other reasons too.


As a result ,Christianity remained a
minority religion with limited impact in
India.
Buddhism and Jainism
Both these religions grew in India. Lord
Gautama Buddha took many concepts from the
Upanishads and gave more emphasis for
meditation and contemplation. He took away
the ascetic life style for a moderate
middle path. He went about preaching for
many ,many years. Emperor Ashoka gave the
religion a practical base through his
edicts and his own life. He sent his
daughter to preach in Sri Lanka [Ceylon]
while his sons would preach in South Asia.


The practice of non-violence had its roots
in Buddhism. Buddhism removed the gruesome
habit of animal sacrifices in temples.
Slowly many sects among Hindus became
vegetarians too. Buddhism spread among
south-asian countries; but it withered
away after 7th century in India--the land
of its birth.
The religious toleration that was evident
in earlier centuries was gone by this time.
Saivites [Shiva worshipers among the
Hindus] persecuted many Buddhists . The
Buddhist monks fled to Sri Lanka and other
south asian countries. Buddhism was almost
wiped out of India. Buddhism could make a


come-back in India in the next few
decades.We have to watch.
Mahaveer developed Jainism --another
reformist religion and had a large
following in India. Jainism emphasized
extreme form of austere life and
non-violence. They were also persecuted in
Tamil Nadu around 8th century and later.
The Jain population was restricted to
certain parts of Karnataka, Gujarat and
Rajasthan. Around 11th century, again
Jainism disappeared from Karnataka.
But Jains had deeper roots in India and
thrived well in later centuries. They
became prosperous and great business


leaders,especially in jewelry business.
Jains are known for their charitable works
throughout India. They did not face the
same opposition as the Buddhists. Even
though Jains are small in number,[about
0.4% of India's population] their role and
influence in normal life is very great.
We are left with exquisite marble Jain
temples [Dilwara] in Mount Abu, Rajasthan,
and in Moodbidri near Mangalore.[ They are
excellent tourist spots today.]
I must add that the persecution of
Buddhists and Jains at the hands of certain
sects of the Hindus is indeed a deplorable
bad mark on Hinduism. It speaks less of the


proverbial religious tolerance of Hindus.
For the most part, such persecution stories
are swept under the carpet by Indian
historians.
The extreme asceticism of Jain monks and
nuns may be attractive for some persons.
But the bizarre and often gruesome customs
of Jain monks/nuns are repugnant. The sect
of "digambars" have monks and pontiffs who
walk naked and even give sermons sitting on
wooden pallets with exposed genitals. The
customs leading to initiation for monks/
nuns are again extreme. They even take out
processions in streets when Jain monks walk
naked ,flanked by nuns who are clothed. One


can see such processions in crowded Mumbai
streets!. Such bizarre customs are allowed
because of the respect for Jains to follow
their own customs. The Jains rarely
intermarry. Their diet is also of special
vegetarian without root vegetables like
potatoes and onions.
The Jains are respected in Mumbai and
other cities because of their business
skills and charitable activities. They are
a small minority but may grow in numbers.
They have contributed a lot to education
and health care by running several colleges
and hospitals.
Sikhism--the antidote to Mughal Power


Sikhism started as a militant sect of
Hinduism to resist the onslaught of Mughal
rulers on Hindu population. Guru Nanak
[1469-1539], the first Sikh guru started
the religion with one important framework,
ONE abstract god that can be invoked by
singing hymns. He was a great poet. The God
is in the name of Truth or SAT
['sat-nam'].He emphasized two more tenets:
1 All human beings can have direct access
to God without the need for priests and
rituals. 2 All are equal--he rejected the
caste system.
He and the other Gurus-- ten of them---
developed the religion along the basic


structure of social service and equality
without caste restrictions. The last, 10th
Guru, Gobind Singh gave shape to the Holy
text, Guru Granth Sahib, which will take
the place of a guru. From then on, a copy
of the book is venerated, worshiped with
procession on a palanquin , waved with
feather-fan and even put to sleep at night.
The book consists of great verses and
hymns, taken from many sources including
those of Hindu saints.
Sikhs are easily identified by their
turbans and top-knot or tuft. Some sport a
beard but there are sikhs without beard. As
mark of their warrior -class background


they are supposed to carry a small knife or
'kirpan' in place of a regular sword and
should not cut their hair.
They were persecuted a lot during the
Mogul rule and many gurus were martyred.
Only during the reign of Akbar, they had a
respite from tyranny. It is this historical
development that made Sikhs highly
militant. The fair name of Sikhs was
,however, spoiled recently when a
separatist group took to violence for an
independent state of "Khalistan" in the
early 1980's.
Their main shrine is in Amritsar, the holy
city with the Golden temple, set at the


center of a large pool. They practize
communal service both within and without
the temple. Their communal kitchen or
'langar' where volunteers prepare food and
serve thousands of pilgrims of all ages and
castes on a common floor, is their answer
to the puritanical Brahmin (Hindu) custom
of upper castes cooking and eating
separately. Part of the temple [Akal Takht]
was damaged during a shoot out in 1984
during the conflict that erupted inside
the temple , demanding a separate state.
The Indian Army tanks rolled into the
corridors of the temple leading to much
bloodshed and destruction.[ This led to


animosity between Hindus and Sikhs and that
also led to the then Prime Minister Indira
Gandhi being killed by her guard who was a
sikh. After this, there were anti-sikh
riots ,mainly in Delhi, when thousands of
sikhs were killed by Hindu population
supported by Indira Gandhi followers.]
Sikhs are found in large numbers in
defense forces of India and also as traders
and business men ,particularly in the
automobile sector, though their population
in India is only 1.9%.

Of course, hardworking as they are, they
are largely found as taxi drivers in


London, New York and elsewhere. They also
worked in lumbar trade in Canada and USA.
The contribution of Sikh religion to
Indian religious and cultural make up is
immense. They taught the Hindus how to
develop a casteless society. They also took
many lessons from Sufi masters of Islam.
They intermarry with the Hindus and
therefore their population did not dwindle
like Parsees or Jews in India.
While discussing Sikhism, I have to
mention the "nirankari sect" with Sant
Nirankari Mission, which stresses the
formless God and rejects all forms of idol
worship and rituals. Nirankaris focus on


contemplation on the name of God; they do
however, accept the need for a living human
guru to lead---which was rejected by
orthodox Sikhs for whom Guru Gobind Singh
was the last of living gurus.
Arya Samaj
Arya Samaj is a major Hindu reformist
movement. It was established [as a society]
by Dayananda Saraswathi in the year 1875 in
Mumbai. The basic tenet is that the Vedic
sources should be used and fire worship
[havans or homas] should be the main form
of worship. Dayananda rejected the
mythological stories of 'puranas'. He was
also against caste system which had


corroded the Hindu society. He denounced
idol worship, animal sacrifice and child
marriages .
He spoke mostly in Hindi instead of
Sanskrit. He also had a ceremony to
reconvert persons from Muslim or Christian
faith back to Hinduism. He, along with his
follower Lekh Ram, became controversial.
Arya Samaj gained strength but both
Dayananda Saraswathi and Lekh Ram had
unnatural deaths; Dayananda was poisoned
when he was a guest of Maharaja of Jodhpur,
while Lekhram was brutally killed by an
assassin. Arya Samajists contributed a lot
towards setting up schools and colleges


and a Gurukul university near Haridwar.
Many followers of Dayananda Saraswathi
became militant freedom fighters before
Mahatma Gandhi came on the scene,
approximately before Jalianwala Bagh
massacre in 1919.
Arya Samaj is still a major force in the
North, especially for their style of
weddings.
There were several other reform movements
within the Hindu fold to cleanse the
society of rigid caste system and to uplift
the dalits ['untouchables']. A major one in
conservative Kerala was that of Narayana
Guru [SNDT YOGAM] to bring the Ezhava


community into the main stream.
Spiritual Masala-- Yoga, Vedanta,Advaita
curries
In late 19th century and mid 20th century,
several yogis and gurus established
organizations with a set of monks to
revive the learning of Vedanta [mainly the
Gita and the Upanishads] and some mixture
of hatha yoga [asanas and pranayama] and a
bit of social service in the style of
Christian missionaries. The foremost was
Swami Sivananda and his 'Divine Life
Society' with its head quarters in
Rishikesh [The valley of sages] near
Haridwar. His greatness can be roughly


measured from his disciples who spread out
in various parts of the world and taught
Vedanta, along with hatha yoga, to
literally thousands of earnest seekers and
established ashrams/yoga institutes: Swami
Vishnudevananda[ Sivananda Yoga
Centers],Swami Satyananda [Bihar School of
Yoga], Swamini Sivananda Radha, Swami
Venkatesananda, Swami Satchidananda
{Yogaville] among others.
The foremost was, of course, Swami
Chinmayananda with his own mission , with
main center at Powai, in Mumbai. I have had
the good fortune to listen to the lucid
lectures of Chinmayananda on the Gita in my


younger days.
The spiritual market place in India and
elsewhere had been built largely by the
monks of Chinmaya Mission and the older
Vedanta Societies affiliated to Sri
Ramakrishna Mission, started by Swami
Vivekananda and his brother monks at the
turn of 20th century. These centers had
been too much on the philosophical
underpinning of Hinduism based on Vedanta
studies and have been with limited members.
Then the spiritual mall was littered with
meditation groups, starting from Mahesh
yogi's TM [transcendental meditation], Hare
Krishna movement [with the chanting of


Krishna's name and bhakti cult], Yogi
Bhajan's 'Kundalini Yoga'--all during the
Hippie generation in the 1960's---my
student days. Many of them grew into
financial empires, corporate style, only to
crumble down with various scandals.
The reason for their growth was simple:
'Stress reduction through meditation" -- a
powerful tool marketed by Mahesh Yogi. It
clicked.
Several clones brought out their own brands
flavored with a little mixture of sexually
oriented practices-- call it 'tantric
methods 'if you will--concealed with
Yoga-Vedanta stuffing. The most flamboyant


empire was that of Rajneesh [ a Jain
philosopher and not a Hindu] who amassed
wealth with 90 plus Rolls Royce cars and
who was driven out of USA on criminal
charges and ended up in Pune with his
bunch of 'sexually liberated ' chelas and
chelis. This was the scene in late 1960's
through 1990's....All these have fallen
into disrepute, with some 'techniques' left
for weekend retreats and parlor -coffee
table talks.
Meanwhile the real spiritual mall in India
seemed to have recovered with solid
foundation in Yoga : " Hatha Yoga", B K S
Iyengar-Pattabhi Jois style, Vipassana


meditation [ S N Goenka]and traditional, if
mundane, Vedanta sytle teachings from
Chinmaya Mission and its offshoots and
smaller ashrams with individual swamis.
The present day gurus and charlatans ,
with bill-board advertising and TV shows
are poor in yoga or Vedanta knowledge but
top-notch in marketing with franchises for
their courses ,training and certification.
Avoid those who promise instant 'nirvana'
or mass awakenings or 21 day courses..these
are the easy- to spot charlatans. It is
better to avoid them , like contageous
diseases.
The Advaita Rash


Advaita philosophy is the basis for 'Jnana
yoga ' or the path of knowledge,mainly
through contemplation while leading an
ascetic life. It is also called
'non-duality' path. This path is difficult
to follow. The path is attractive because
it is basically intellectual and given to
reasoning.
But pure, distilled Advaita practice does
not obtain anywhere, even in India. Indian
sages or rishis have always mixed it with
some amount of devotional practices called
'upasana' such as simple pooja,chanting of
mantras and singing hymns. The extent of
devotional practice or Bhakti yoga would


very from one tradition to another.
Therefore proper traditions set by lineage
of gurus become important in Advaita.
There had been very few self-realized
Advaita masters in our times. Bhagwan
Ramana Maharshi of Thiruvannamalai
[Thiru,for short] was one. He attained
mahasamadhi in 1950. After him, the
foremost advaita master was Nisarghadatta
Maharaj in Mumbai.[See "I am That" - a book
of his conversations compiled by Maurice
Frydman.] Nisargha used to do some poojas
everyday because his guru told him to do
so. [Incidentally my father was an ardent
devotee of Ramana and I frequent Sri


Ramanasramam in Thiru often.] Note that
these asramam's are repository of holy
knowledge with serene atmosphere; but
formal instruction is not provided, for
there are no masters now.
A kind of Advaita was preached and taught
by H W L Poonja[1913-1997] in Lucknow. He
was an early student of Bhagavan Ramana,
though I would hardly consider Poonja or
'Papaji' as a master of Advaita in Ramana
'lineage'. He had a large influence on many
westerners who looked for a teacher /guru
after Nisargha passed on and Rajneesh or
Osho had already gone. Many learned a
diluted form of Advaita from Pooja and


started teaching in the West. This led to
the 'neo-advaita ' movement,[or "advaita
rash"] as it is called today. Most teachers
of this genre have had only a few months of
stay in India and to talk of 'lineage' is
a kind of joke. They teach new forms of
Advaita with a picture of Ramana on the
wall.
Note that it is easy to find teachers or
preachers of Advaita 'philosophy' who hold
satsangha or seminar like lectures [with or
without fees]. Some train monks in Advaita
tradition in India. One can get a
rudimentary knowledge of Advaita at these
places and sat sangha sessions---that is


all. [One can easily find such 'teaching
shops' or short courses on Advaita in
Thiru, Chennai , Mumbai, Rishikesh and
elsewhere.] But "advaita practice " under
an enlightened master is a different thing.
This would require a great search with
humility and certain luck or 'grace' from
above to get. There is the famous statement
in India--a comforting thought: " When a
disciple is ready, the master will appear".
I have seen dozens of Advaita teachers,
Indians and westerners,who teach Advaita in
their own style, sometimes mixing up with
Zen teachings. Many would quote from Adi
Shankara's texts and classical Upanishads.


They invariably fail to hit the mark
because of lack of sincerity, little or no
training and above all, lack of
self-discipline and mental culture. How
often they have fallen into 'sexual abuse'
traps? Often times, they rise and fall
like meteors. In this situation, it is
indeed difficult to find a true Advaita
master in India's spiritual mall. You can
shop around for one; meanwhile keep praying
for a master!

Devotional Fairs
India is land of devotion and piety.Some
may consider this as a crude form of


worship instead of meditating on a
formless, single God or Brahman or pure
'monotheism'; but a personal God with
attributes appeals to many human minds and
the devotees can relate to God in human
terms. They can inwardly pray and ask for
forgiveness and direction or 'grace'.
Tennyson wrote :" More things are wrought
by prayer than this world dreams of". How
true!
One can learn much about the devotional
approach in India as a 'practical
religion'. It is not just worship in large
temples with ornate, stylised forms of
pujas; one finds a householder stopping by


a road side shrine, offers some flowers,
wears sandal paste and says a few words of
prayer or chants some hymn and closes his
eyes, with his palms pressed in 'namaste'
posture,prays for smooth functioning or
success in his daily work and if
emotionally charged, sheds a few drops of
tears. He may pray only for 10 to 20
seconds; but during that brief moment, he
seems to connect to the Divine Spirit in
human terms. He receives holy ash or kum
kum powder from the priest and walks away
with a sense of peace that cannot be
measured in modern psychological units.
These devotional exercises,done almost


everyday, form the bed rock of his
spiritual structure.
Family altar: The small altar or shrine at
home occupies a special place. It may be a
small room, 4feet x4feet , just space to
sit or not even that. The altar may be a
set of pictures of favorite gods on the
wall, with a small wooden shelf below. On
the shelf, he/she keeps a small oil lamp,
an incense stick holder,a small bell , a
tray to keep flowers and a few books of
hymns.
Daily he would go the altar after bath,put
some flowers, light the lamp and offer some
fruit or sweet cookies , wave the incense


stick and say a few prayers or sing a
hymn.[The song may be even a movie song
with devotional content.] He asks God for
support and success in many things: his
project, his exam or job interview or
successful medical treatment or marriage of
his daughter. In about 10 to 20 seconds, he
pours out his heart. He may seek guidance
or ask for forgiveness. Then he picks up
his brief case and lunch box, and goes for
work. Such is the daily devotions at the
family altar. The altar becomes a sacred
spot, much like the Visvanath temple in
Varanasi or Jagannath temple in Puri.
These practices have provided the solid


foundation for spiritual efforts of
millions of Indians.[Nisarga datta, the
great Advaitin, was known to do similar
worship for the pictures on the wall in his
tiny room in Mumbai.]
Often times it is the Goddess worship
that takes the main space. Men and women
worship deity in the form of goddess who
rules the world ['Bhuvaneswari'] or one who
rules the Universe ": Akhilandeswari".
Goddess worship becomes easier to picture
the deity as one's own mother. Such
worship makes one humble all the time and
takes his thoughts to sublime heights.
Most Indians would begin their work--big


and small--after a short prayer and
invoking their favorite god.[Ishta devata].
Taxi drivers turn on their ignition key
after a short prayer and after placing some
flowers near the holy picture on the dash
board. The picture may that of Lord Ganesha
, the remover of obstacles or other gods or
Shirdi Sai Baba or Mother Mary with infant
Jesus. Shop keepers do their small puja
before reaching their cash box after
lifting the shutters of the shop.
Office workers say short prayers before
they open their desk drawers. Such little
acts of devotion constantly remind us of
the Supreme Force or God who acts


throughout the Universe in mysterious ways.
Lord Ganesha [with elephant face ] is
always invoked at the beginning of a task
because his main attribute is to 'remove
obstacles' towards successful execution of
any work. The birthday of Lord Ganesha is
worshiped with great fervor throughout
India. Likewise festival for Goddess Durga
is the main festival in Bengal and Assam.

Many temples have maths [mutts] where one
can sing hymns and chant mantras and stay
peacefully. They offer free food to all the
inmates. Institutions like mathas served
the pilgrims and poor destitues over the


centuries. They received royal patronages
in former times. Now these mathas make more
money by building wedding halls .
Mantras to tune in:
In Hindu spirituality,as well as in
Buddhism, mantras play a large part. A
mantra is a set of syllables or a group of
words which is cryptic but loaded in
meaning. You repeat the mantra you are
initiated with , by your guru or teacher
several times,usually in multiples of 108.
Most mantras are simple ones derived from
the name of god or deity, with 'om'
attached at the front: for example:
OM NAMA SIVAYA NAMAH


OM NARAYANA NAMAH
You can also chant 'HARE RAMA, HARE
KRISHNA'.
We shall not go into esoteric meaning of
mantras but simply state that chanting of
mantras help to control the mind and also
to get peace of mind...try chanting these
mantras at least for 15 minutes at a
session.!
The most famous mantra in Hindu religion is
the 'Gayatri' mantra derived from the
Vedas; the most famous one in Buddhism is
"Om Mani Padmehum" --invoking the goddess
at the manipura chakra or the navel
chakra.[Some would say heart chakra!.]


Mantras are used to invoke particular
deities and also one of the seven major
chakras along the spinal cord. Chakras are
nerve nodes which can store energy or prana
and transmit to nearby organs.
The traditional approach is to seek a
teacher who will select a mantra for you
after some testing and have initiation
ceremony called "mantra diksha". In modern
times, diksha for mantra has become a minor
money spinning industry for charlatan
gurus. Beware of them before you part with
say $1000 or more. In traditional homes,
boys are invested with sacred thread and
then told to repeat 'gayatri mantra." Now


mantras are given to all ,in many flavors.
One charlatan guru even gives mantras to
prosper --to get millions of dollars. It is
naive to believe in these bogus gurus.
It is safe to chant a mantra derived from
the name of a god: "Om Sri Ram" for
instance.
Temples Galore!!
There are several great temples , big and
small ,in every town or village in India.
The temple culture is still strong with
several new temples being built and
consecrated every year. I have witnessed
the consecration of several Shirdi Sai Baba
temples in the last 20 years--at least 15


of them.
Ancient temples,like the ones in Tamil
Nadu or Bhubaneshwar city in Orissa were
built around 10th century or later. The
famous Meenakshi temple in Madurai is
impressive because of large temple towers
or Gopurams on four sides. Another famous
temple with nine towers is the Siva temple
in Thiry vannamalai. Another large temple
is Tanjore's big temple built by the Chola
king, Raja Raja Cholan in 11th century. The
famous temple of Vishnu in Sri Rangam is
also very ancient one. There are several
large temples in the temple-city of
Kancheepuram, near Chennai.


Each temple had one or two water tanks,
nearby. The inner tank would be for the
needs of the temple for rituals. The outer
tank could be used by the village folk and
pilgrims.
The temples had inner sanctum sanctorum,
a rectangular structure with four large
corridors. There would be smaller shrines
inside for other gods. There would be a
large hall with several pillars [sometimes
1000 pillars] mainly for music concerts and
dance performances in those days.
You may find a row of images of great
saints or acharyas on the right side
corridor.


You will also find a 'dwaja stamba' or
flag mast permanently erected, with brass
emblems .This would be decorated during the
start of annual festivals. In some temples,
you will find a circular stone slab ['bali
peetam'] which was used for animal
sacrifice, right in front of the main
shrine.
The main temple tower [over the inner
temple] would have brass or golden pots or
kumbas which are symbolic crown pieces.
These kumbams are purified once in 12 years
or 6 years, to bring in cosmic power to the
deity. This is usually an elaborate ritual,
extending over several days.


Temples always had a small pantry to
prepare food that is offered to the deity
in a ceremonial manner and then distributed
to devotees as sacramental food or
prasadam.
Each temple has a music troupe paid every
month; this troupe would sing hymns or play
instruments when a procession of the deity
is taken out. The procession of the bronze
icon may be on the four streets
surrounding the temple or only within the
four corridors inside the temple.
Many temples had small halls on the side to
perform fire ceremonies or homas to various
deities.


Temples are adorned with exquisite
sculptures in stone--on the walls, on
pillars and clay figures on the towers.
Besides you may find halls ,mandapams, with
hundreds of pillars ,with sculptures. In
those halls, some pillars could be 'musical
pillars',thin reed like pillars that ring
some tone when struck by hand.
The temple walls usually have chiseled
accounts of exploits of kings, their
dynastic details, hymns and more secular
matter like endowments, land transactions
and gift of land/villages by kings to
special groups--brahmins or artisans.



The temple culture had been essential to
keep up the devotional aspects of Hindu
faith as a living religion, practized by
millions. Temples derived their merit
because of visits by great saints down the
ages.
As a matter of history, stone cut temples
with granite blocks were built for the most
part from 10th century onwards.
Temples had large endowments mainly due to
local kings and land lords. These permanent
assets, mostly lands ,have been regularly
plundered by unscrupulous elements with the
support of local politicians in the last 60
years !


Many temples become rich and then become
centers of corrupt practices, often due to
corrupt officials appointed by the state
governments. Traditional trustees have very
little voice these days due to government
legislations.
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