 |
| The Vedas - Sacred Scriptures of Hinduism |
Veda comes from the Sanskrit root vid, meaning “to know”,
which ultimately is to have knowledge of truth; God-given truth that is. Yoga
is not just a form of exercise, but it is a way of spiritual practice or a
method of training designed to lead to integration or union with god. The
Vedas consist of four collections with the Rig Veda being one of the four Vedas
that contain ancient suktas (hymns) that is dedicated to the Aryan Gods.
In Bresnan chapter two, it focuses on the Vedas, the multitude
of gods and goddesses, and their responsibilities. In the video Hindu
Spiritual Pathway, it focuses on the four pathways to God.
Bresnan mentioned that, "The
Vedas provided the Brahmin priests with all the sacred verses they needed to
properly conduct the great rituals of the Vedic sacrifice." (Bresnan, p.
21). The Brahmins recited out loud the hymns in the Rig Veda in order to link
to the gods. Whereas, Hindu Spiritual Pathway mentioned the
four pathways of yoga one can take to find god. Both sources have
similarities in that their main emphasis is to have a connection to god.
However, the difference between the two sources is their way to connect to god.
 |
| Worshiping God |
 |
| The Four Paths of Yoga |
The four pathways of yoga are karma, jnana, bhakti, and raja, which all take different route to god. I've always thought that I only needed to have a spiritual connectivity with a higher power, but never had the knowledge that there's a specific pathway one would need to take in order to reach God. I've always thought that as long as I'm a good person, god will see the good in me, thus bringing good karma to me. Therefore, I was very amazed of learning about the four pathways of yoga.
Of the four pathways, I’m not sure which pathway I will take yet, but for now, I can definitely say that I’m not raja. My mind is too busy to remain still, which will prevent me from controlling my body and mind. I believe my parents are taking the bhakti pathway because they listen to Christian music and read the bible daily. In the video Hindu Spiritual Pathway, it stated that the path of devotion or bhakti "involves worship and adoration of a personal form through reading scriptures, singing, and praying." (6:59-7:04) Whenever my mom hears a verse from a Christian song that really speaks to her, she would dissect the verse and explain its meaning to me.
In Hindu Spiritual Pathway, they asked which pathway is the best, and
Meera perfectly stated “You can’t choose which is the best, but you can choose
which one is the best for yourself.” (13:22-13:25) I agree with Meera because
everyone is different. Hopefully we will all be able to choose the best pathway
for us to find god.
Bresnan, Patrick. "Chapter 2." Awakening: an Introduction to the History of Eastern Thought. 5th ed., Pearson, 2013, pp. 21.
Bresnan, Patrick. "Chapter 2." Awakening: an Introduction to the History of Eastern Thought. 5th ed., Pearson, 2013, pp. 21.
Hindu Spiritual Pathways. 2006.
Painuly, Ashish. “4Paths of Yoga – Karma, Jnana, Bhakti, & Raja Yoga.” Fitsri, 2 May 2019. https://fitsri.com/yoga/4-paths-of-yoga
T: I enjoyed how you connected the four vedas to both Bresnan and the Hindu Spiritual Pathways video!
ReplyDeleteA: Do you think you will ever take on one of the yoga paths?
G: Enjoyed the detail in the writing... add the same under the pictures to explain them, other than that i loved this blog!