Perfection of our circumstances

We can see the perfection of our circumstances, whatever they be, if we see that one thing leads to another. Whatever we may be experiencing, it is the effect of a cause. That a precise cause leads to a precise effect is the perfection in our circumstances. For example, if we cut our hands with a razor blade, we would bleed. There cannot be an exception to this rule - the causal circumstances being the same, the effectual circumstances would also be the same, regardless of time and location.

Our problem of course is that we are unable to accept any effect if it is uncomfortable to us. We have to learn to de-condition ourselves from our inability to accept circumstances after the cause has been affected. We no doubt have the option of ensuring that we do not cause anything that would be uncomfortable to us in the future. But oftimes, causes are not within our control. Thus, perfection being the law of existence, we have to harmonize our minds to the reality and experience the perfect life that all of us are already living.

There is naught but life

Life continues after death because death is only a change of form of life. Life was neither created nor will it ever cease to be. There is naught else but life, in various forms.

Not One God but the oneness of existence

Originally Posted by Charzhino
... in comparison to the Hindus who had been led far astray from their original Vedantic teachings of One God.
A small correction. Vedanta does not teach of One God, but of the oneness of existence.

Scale of Grandeur

Puranic literature is full of metaphor and imagery. Events are drawn on gigantic canvas to keep the spirit of the times alive for generations to come and they have succeeded because even today the recounting of the events of the puranic times is a matter of wonderous emotional and spiritual journey and it unfailingly inspires us to rise beyond our petty self to the greater glory of living. To put puranic literature through the rigours of a scientific theory is akin to limiting poetry to the literature of traffic rules.

Spiritual retardation

Various aspects of Islam continue to embarass Muslims of various hues. Over the centuries many Muslims have realised that the hadiths or sayings about Mohammad and Sunnah or sayings by Mohammad have uncivilized aspects to it, what with its call to put to death apostates, support of female genital mutilation etc. So much so that Muslims have called for a "Quran only" Islam. However, the vast majority of Muslims continue to hold on to the hadiths as much as the Quran. Horrendous as the hadiths and sunna may be, though, Islam would continue to inherit spiritual retardation through the Quran even after the hadiths have been cleansed off Islam. This is because Islam would still believe the following, held sacred in the Quran:

1. That Islam is the only true religion (and fail to understand that truth can be expressed in various ways).

2. That Islam makes it mandatory its believers say by rote that they have witnessed there is only one God and Mohammad is His final prophet though no one has witnessed anything of that sort. Moreover, one-God-concept makes God a countable object, as opposed to the oneness-of-existence-concept which makes existence beyond any objectifying and hence any limitation)

3. That Quran says Allah created life. If so, during the period when there was no life, Allah would not have existed. This is ridiculous. Quran misses that all existence is life and is forever.

4. Quran says the goal of human life is to be perfect slaves of Allah. This would eventually be seen to be embarassing when seen in the light of the wisdom of the Vedas that the goal of human life is to realise its divinity.

The perfect world

The world is already perfect. For those who believe in God, it ought to be a maxim that the world is perfect. Otherwise we would be accusing God of imperfection, for did he not create the world? Did he not create the world perfectly? From perfection, only perfection can come. Understanding that we and our circumstances have been, is and ever will be perfect is the true teaching of religion and living in such a state of perfection is what spirituality is all about.

There is nothing stopping anyone from living happily except his own imaginary sense of lack. Worse, our mind becomes fragmented because of this sense of lack - when we try to fulfill this sense of lack by a variety of material ways. We and our circumstances are perfect - this is the teaching we must first come upon.

Education towards Universal Mind

So many religions are simply so many ways to God or to realizing the ultimate potential of man. Many think it would be wonderful if there was only one religion (let that religion be my religion!) for all mankind. But I think rather than strive for a single universal religion (maybe by smothering all who disagree) we should, through our educational system, seek to create Man with a universal mind - a mind which would accept and celebrate all the varieties of man's ingenuity. In other words, we should stress on a liberal education.