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The religious belief that the Aryans brought to India, which formed the foundation of Hinduism, was starkly different from what Hindus practise. Just as the word ‘Hindu’ cannot be found in any of the Aryan scriptures, the gods and goddesses venerated in Hinduism are absent in the religious literature of their ancestors. For instance, Rama and Krishna, the most popular incarnations or avataras of Visnu, widely worshipped by Hindus of the modern age,
The religious belief that the Aryans brought to India, which formed the foundation of Hinduism, was starkly different from what Hindus practise. Just as the word ‘Hindu’ cannot be found in any of the Aryan scriptures, the gods and goddesses venerated in Hinduism are absent in the religious literature of their ancestors. For instance, Rama and Krishna, the most popular incarnations or avataras of Visnu, widely worshipped by Hindus of the modern age, are missing in the Vedas. The concept of the incarnation of gods cannot be found in the four Vedas. Moreover, Visnu of the Veda is not the four-handed god who preserves the universe. It is an epithet of the Sun. Similarly, the authors of the Veda were unaware of the existence of the destroyer-god Siva, though they spoke about Rudra, the divinity of thunder. Brahmā of the Veda is not the creator of the world. It is the name of the high priest of sacrificial ceremonies. The ancient Aryan gods lost their prominence with the advent of the Purānas. New gods and goddesses arrived at the scene while the ancient deities passed into oblivion. A few reappeared with new features and roles. ‘THE FORGOTTEN DEITIES OF RIG VEDA’ tells you how different the Aryan religion was from Hinduism as we know it today.
When beholding the world around you, have you ever asked yourself what are all these that I am seeing? From where did these come from and where will they go? How and with what material is this universe of celestial bodies and sentient beings created? Since ancient times philosophers and scientists have been trying to solve this puzzle of creation. While to most this world is real, to the Sunyavadi Buddhists and the Advaitin philosophers, this world is unreal.
When beholding the world around you, have you ever asked yourself what are all these that I am seeing? From where did these come from and where will they go? How and with what material is this universe of celestial bodies and sentient beings created? Since ancient times philosophers and scientists have been trying to solve this puzzle of creation. While to most this world is real, to the Sunyavadi Buddhists and the Advaitin philosophers, this world is unreal. The world-appearance is only the illusion of Maya. But what is Maya? How is it bewildering me? Is it something apart from me or is it something within or inherent in me? Furthermore, how is it not only concealing but also distorting the reality of the world as well as my reality? Mayatattva – The Reality of Maya is an attempt to understand the enigma known as Maya through the writings of Paramhangsa Soham Swami.
"A person who is your real well-wisher is incapable of following the adage - speak the pleasant truth; do not speak the unpleasant truth." India could not advance without reforming the Hindu society steeped in superstition and ignorance and rearing hatred towards non-Hindus and people of lower castes, non-vegetarians and others. Hence, the fearless Advaitin Paramahangsa Soham Swami, as a true son of his motherland and well-wisher of the Hindu race, crit
"A person who is your real well-wisher is incapable of following the adage - speak the pleasant truth; do not speak the unpleasant truth." India could not advance without reforming the Hindu society steeped in superstition and ignorance and rearing hatred towards non-Hindus and people of lower castes, non-vegetarians and others. Hence, the fearless Advaitin Paramahangsa Soham Swami, as a true son of his motherland and well-wisher of the Hindu race, critically reviewed the Aryan scriptures. He pinpointed the ignorance, dismissed the myths, and upheld the truth. From Untruth to Truth is the English translation of Śabda Pramāna (Scriptural Testimonies), a chapter of Soham Samhita, published in Bangla in 1914. Disregarding the wrath of the fanatics, the author boldly exposed the reality of the scriptures.
The subjects covered in this book include
The myth of the Vedas as a non-human or impersonal work
Falsehood and Depravity in the Vedic Age
The custom of animal sacrifice, meat-eating, and drinking inebriating drinks in Vedic rituals
How modern fundamentalists are eager to conceal the truth
How modern Hinduism is different from the Aryan religion of the Vedas
Contradictory theories of cosmology in the Hindu scriptures
Contradictory doctrines of the reality of the world in the Vedas and other Aryan scriptures
Why and how founders and followers of the various dualist schools opposed the Advaita philosophy of non-dualism
Who am I? From where have I come and where will I go? What is this consciousness that continuously generates the awareness – “I exist”. Is it a feature of my body and will I perish with the death of my body? Or am I the mind? If I am the mind then how do I exist when my mind disappears in a swoon or the deep sleep state? What is the mind? How is it born and how will it perish? Or am I the soul? What is the soul? Is there a single soul or a un
Who am I? From where have I come and where will I go? What is this consciousness that continuously generates the awareness – “I exist”. Is it a feature of my body and will I perish with the death of my body? Or am I the mind? If I am the mind then how do I exist when my mind disappears in a swoon or the deep sleep state? What is the mind? How is it born and how will it perish? Or am I the soul? What is the soul? Is there a single soul or a unique independent soul in each entity? How will I know who I am? What is my reality? – If these questions bother you, then this book is just right for you. In the concluding chapter of Soham Samhita, the Advaitin monk Soham Swami answers all these questions and more. He guides the desperate seeker of the knowledge of the Reality of Self or Atmatattva on the transcendental path that leads to the ultimate truth.
Soham Tattva describes the journey of the seeker of transcendental knowledge. The author of the book tries to share his experience and attempts to describe the transcendental state that is almost impossible to describe with the help of human language, human feelings, and human knowledge. The inexpressible state can only be attained after overcoming the numerous obstacles scattered across the path of Yoga that leads to the knowledge of Self or Atma Jnana. This
Soham Tattva describes the journey of the seeker of transcendental knowledge. The author of the book tries to share his experience and attempts to describe the transcendental state that is almost impossible to describe with the help of human language, human feelings, and human knowledge. The inexpressible state can only be attained after overcoming the numerous obstacles scattered across the path of Yoga that leads to the knowledge of Self or Atma Jnana. This book provides a glimpse of the different stages a Yogi passes through in his/her transcendental journey and how he/she should differentiate among the different phases that are usually associated with the state of a sentient being or the embodied existence of the Jeeva and reject the unreal states until he/she attains the real state of Brahma. Soham Tattva was originally written in Bengali and was first published in 1910. This is its English Edition.
I am constantly saying – my and mine, but who am I? Am I the body or the mind? What is my consciousness – the awareness of my existence that creates the feeling that “I exist”. From where did my consciousness arise? Is it a property of my body or my mind, or is it beyond my body and mind? What is my relation with this world? From where did I come and where will I depart after death? What is the need for religion, God, scripture, t
I am constantly saying – my and mine, but who am I? Am I the body or the mind? What is my consciousness – the awareness of my existence that creates the feeling that “I exist”. From where did my consciousness arise? Is it a property of my body or my mind, or is it beyond my body and mind? What is my relation with this world? From where did I come and where will I depart after death? What is the need for religion, God, scripture, temples, idols, worship, and the different modes of spiritual pursuits? Can they unravel my reality? Why do I suffer? How can I find bliss? Soham Gita provides the answers to these questions and more in a simple language in the light of Advaita Vedanta, the universal wisdom of non-duality. It dispels superstitions and challenges religious orthodoxy and fanaticism. Soham Gita is the first written work of Soham Swami. It was written in the form of poetry in the writer's native tongue Bengali. This is an English prose translation of the book.
The most popular and widely-read book that claims to contain the essence of Hindu thought is Bhagavad Gita. It is venerated by all sections of Hindus and is universally referred to as a mine of infallible knowledge for establishing the veracity of diverse sectarian beliefs in the Hindu society. Though scholars in their commentaries and glosses had often differed in their interpretations of the Gita verses and opposed each other, but none doubted its infallibility
The most popular and widely-read book that claims to contain the essence of Hindu thought is Bhagavad Gita. It is venerated by all sections of Hindus and is universally referred to as a mine of infallible knowledge for establishing the veracity of diverse sectarian beliefs in the Hindu society. Though scholars in their commentaries and glosses had often differed in their interpretations of the Gita verses and opposed each other, but none doubted its infallibility, and therefore its inviolability had never been challenged. Instead of suppressing the truth and killing doubts with imaginary fear of divine wrath, the Advaitin monk Paramhangsa Soham Swami penned Bhagavadgeetar shamolochona, a critique of Bhagavad Gita, in 1918 in his native tongue Bengali, which was published posthumously on his first death anniversary on 6th December, 1919. The English translation of the book, Critical Review of Bhagavad Gita, is being published in the centenary year. The Critical Review of Bhagavad Gita is unique because it has not only highlighted the fallacies and inconsistencies, but has also revealed how Gita has diverted from the concepts of the Vedas and Upanishads that form the real cornerstone of Hinduism.
There are no mysteries or secrets of Shiva. Shiva was originally conceived as a symbol by the enlightened sages to elucidate the concept of non-dualism as enshrined in the Vedanta. Paramhangsa Soham Swami had clarified the significance of Shiva, the truth of the symbolism based on Vedic and the post Vedic texts in the poem Shiva. Shiva is a chapter in the Bengali philosophical poem Soham Gita, first published in 1909. Shiva, a lucid concept of Vedanta, had be
There are no mysteries or secrets of Shiva. Shiva was originally conceived as a symbol by the enlightened sages to elucidate the concept of non-dualism as enshrined in the Vedanta. Paramhangsa Soham Swami had clarified the significance of Shiva, the truth of the symbolism based on Vedic and the post Vedic texts in the poem Shiva. Shiva is a chapter in the Bengali philosophical poem Soham Gita, first published in 1909. Shiva, a lucid concept of Vedanta, had been misconstrued by the Hindu devotees, historians and scholars. While the devotees emphasized on the supernatural, scholars focused on the subject of eroticism or the fertility cult based on the misinterpretation of Linga wrongly construed as the generative organ. The Truth of Shiva is a revelation that rescues the real Shiva forgotten and buried under the rubbles of false beliefs, confusions and ignorance. Discarding the mythological renderings of the Puranas and Tantric texts, this is the Shiva as it was meant to be by its original creators. Shiva is absolute bliss, the all-pervasive super-consciousness, the Brahma of the Upanishads.
In the early 1870s when a sturdy and stubborn teenager from a middle-class Bengali Hindu family joined a wrestling gymnasium in Dacca, little did his family and friends know that this young wrestler will be extolled in the distant future as the pioneer of the cult of physical strength and courage in Bengal. At the age of 23 to prove his masculinity and extraordinary fortitude and physical strength, Shyama Kanta Banerjee chose an unusual vocation – wrestling wit
In the early 1870s when a sturdy and stubborn teenager from a middle-class Bengali Hindu family joined a wrestling gymnasium in Dacca, little did his family and friends know that this young wrestler will be extolled in the distant future as the pioneer of the cult of physical strength and courage in Bengal. At the age of 23 to prove his masculinity and extraordinary fortitude and physical strength, Shyama Kanta Banerjee chose an unusual vocation – wrestling with wild tigers. For seventeen years people across Bengal were captivated by the breathtaking circus shows of Professor Banerjee, the first tiger tamer of India. At a time when revolutionary movement in Bengal was in its nascent stage, through the tiger wrestling acts, Shyama Kanta covertly spread the message of fearlessness. Wrestling with tiger was a celebration of the new physical culture movement that developed in Bengal to encourage young men to prepare themselves for a revolution to break the shackles of servitude. At the peak of his fame, at the age of 41, Shyama Kanta underwent a complete mental transformation, and renounced the material world. He became a monk, and was renamed Soham Swami by his preceptor Nabin Chandra Chakroborty alias Tibbatibaba, an advaitin ascetic. Soham Swami now started the search for the true meaning of life. His quest was finally answered through the realization of the super-consciousness or the Absolute Truth.
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