#311 Four Hindu ways to Enrich the New Year

Pujya Swami Dayananda ji, eloquently spoke about the vision of Hinduism –

‘There is no one God or many Gods. There is only God’

This Hindu vision of life – All that is here is Ishvara, is alive in our hearts.

Why? Because there is a way of life.

This way of life is neither new nor old. It is Sanatana, eternal and so it is both, new and old.

The way of life of Sanatana Dharma is the container for the vision of life. 

And the vision of life guides the way of life.

Our way of life of Sanatana Dharma includes our language, music, dance, attitude towards elders, partner, children, attitude towards money, success and oneself which are closely related to one’s vision of life.

Yes, at the threshold of the new year we may finetune our life priorities, set goals and make plans. And also we ask – 

How can our new year uphold the Hindu way of life? How can we fortify ourselves with spiritual strength such that we face all of life? 

How can we preserve Sanatana Dharma in our day to day living pursuits of Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha? 

When asked about renunciation, Bhagavan Sri Krishna speaks of the karma that is to be done and not given up.

यज्ञदानतपःकर्म न त्याज्यं कार्यमेव तत्।
यज्ञो दानं तपश्चैव पावनानि मनीषिणाम्।।18.5।।

An action that is a ritual, charity or religious discipline is not to be given up; that is indeed to be done. Ritual, charity, and religious discipline are indeed purifying for those who are discriminative.

YAJNAS are literally fire ritual offerings to different devatas invoked in Agni (fire)conducted for different purposes such as wealth, wedding, a place in svarga, freedom from obstacles, getting a child and so on.

Through yajnas we honor our connections to the Devatas, make our offerings and express gratitude who shower us with blessings every moment. Vayu devata ensures that the air we breathe continues to flow. Surya Devata continues to shine the light on us. We can go on and on.  

We can extend the meaning of yajnas to include performing pujas at home.

Pujas at home – Just like you do a loving act of care for a loved one, we also do a loving act towards Bhagavan strengthening our connection. Ensuring that you make the time to do a short puja which takes a few minutes or a more elaborate puja sets the tone for the day.

Flowers, Mantras, Incense, Water, and fresh cooked food or fruits are offered to deities enshrined in home altars. We still chant the Vedas and different shlokas (devotional verses in Sanskrit) chanted thousands of years ago which carry the power of the Devatas, the power of the Rishis and the power of our ancestors who passed on these to us..

Japa – Chant of a mantra.  Mantras are the word forms of different deities. Just like your name stands for you the person, so too the divine name of Bhagavan is inseparable from Bhagavan himself. By just chanting the name, we connect to the deity, its presence and blessings. Recitation of chants purifies the mind and also steadies the mind (antah-karana shuddhi and antah-karana naischalyam). We ensure consistency and regularity in our mantra sadhana.

Shlokas and Bhajans – Prayers chanted at different times of the day sprinkle the blessings of sacredness in all areas of life. This was covered in more detail in How rituals are necessary for our spiritual growth?

Bhagavan Sri Krishna lists about 11 yajnas in the Gita whereby every day actions such as eating, breathing, engaging with the world, self-mastery, giving, disciplined habits can all be converted into a yajna for spiritual growth.

The practice of asana, pranayama and yoga also become yajnas as we learn to master the body-mind as well as one’s prana.

These every day actions are converted into a yajna by offering these unto Ishvara.  

He concludes saying that of all the yajnas, jnana yajna is the most superior.

श्रेयान्द्रव्यमयाद्यज्ञाज्ज्ञानयज्ञः परन्तप।
सर्वं कर्माखिलं पार्थ ज्ञाने परिसमाप्यते।।4.33।।

Arjuna, the scorcher of foes! This discipline of knowledge is superior to religious disciplines performed with materials. Pärtha (Arjuna)! All actions in its entirety get resolved in knowledge.

Knowledge swallows the doer – Any ritual implies a karta, a doer, as well as various materials, and it is therefore, an initiator of results, whereas jnana-yajna is a swallower of all results. The pursuit of knowledge itself is the yajna – jnanam eva yajna.

Because jnana-yajna swallows the karta, the doer, it does not further perpetuate the samsara; a life of becoming. Jnana-yajna does not initiate any result, because it devours the notion that you are the doer and the experiencer.

Karma-phalas can give you only limited happiness, sukha, whereas knowledge gives you absolute happiness, paramananda. In parama-ananda, even the little ‘happinesses’ are included, which is why Bhagavan Krishna says that karma resolves in knowledge, jnane parisamapyate.

For the new year-

• Ensure that you enrol and attend a Bhagavad Gita course with a traditional Guru. Yes, work pressures, medical emergencies, travel and festivals will keep happening. But we commit to jnana-yajna and show up as often as we can.

• Plan to perform yajnas for Dharma, Artha and Kama pursuits in the new year to bless us and keep Sanatana Dharma alive.

• Schedule a time in the annual calendar to visit your kula devata/kula devi to seek blessings and express our gratitude.

• Do schedule time to visit a few of our temples which are punya-kshetras.

• Do join the movement to free our temples from government control.

• You can also start a prayer group which meets weekly online or offline where your collective prayers of Vishnu or any other Devta become the carrier of blessings for strengthening Sanatana Dharma. Pray for others.

DAANAM, Giving to people who are less fortunate to us is not easy. It requires us to step out of ourselves and step into someone else’s world for a few moments.

The Shaastra says – Give one-tenth of one’s earnings to charity, but keep in mind the needs of one’s family. He should have enough savings to provide for his family’s needs for a reasonable length of time- Manu Smriti.

दातव्यमिति यद्दानं दीयतेऽनुपकारिणे।
देशे काले च पात्रे च तद्दानं सात्त्विकं स्मृतम्।। Gita – 17.20।।

That charity which is given to one from whom one does not expect a return, in the proper place, at the proper time, and to a worthy receipient, thinking, ‘It is to be given’, is considered sattvika charity.

Besides the obvious result of helping the receiver, the giver is blessed manifold.

Manu Smriti mentions the punya gained.

वारिदस्तृप्तिमाप्नोति सुखमक्षय्यमन्नदः ।  अक्षयम्

तिलप्रदः प्रजामिष्टां दीपदश्चक्षुरुत्तमम् ॥ ४.२२९॥

One who gives water achieves contentment.

One who gives food gets boundless happiness

One who does shraddha karma by offering Til, sesame seeds gets a desired child.

One who gives light gets good eyesight.

भूमिदो भूमिमाप्नोति दीर्घमायुर्हिरण्यदः ।

गृहदोऽग्र्याणि वेश्मानि रूप्यदो रूपमुत्तमम् ॥ ४.२३०॥

One who gives land gains governance of a region.

One who gives gold attains longevity

One who gives a house gets domestic happiness

One who gives silver gets physical beauty

One who gives clothes reaches chandraloka

One who gives a horse attains the world of Ashvinidevas

One who gives bulls gets prosperity

One who gives cows reaches suryaloka

For the new year,

• You can plan how often you will give, to which cause, and its frequency ensuring the flow of blessings for both the giver and the receiver.

• Just like we budget for a vacation, budget for what you would like to give on your birthday, anniversary or a special event.

• Contribution is more important if not as important as consumption and celebration.

By looking after our Hindus we will help to reduce forced religious conversions to other religions. If we don’t look after our own people, who will?

TAPAS, Religious Disciplines – Tapas is kind of prayerful discipline involving denial undertaken for the sake of discipline. Tapas is not just any discipline; it is prayerful discipline so that we may push the boundaries of our body and mind to eventually know that we are much more than the body and mind. Walking and intermittent fasting are good disciplines as some denial of comfort is involved but they become yajnas only when it becomes prayerful. Some people, for example, take a vow of not eating on Ekadashi, the eleventh day of the moon, each month and spend the day in prayer.

Why is tapas important? We are drawn to and almost obsessed what gives us pleasure and comfort be it, your comfort food, walking with footwear, using a lot of our time for mindless entertainment. And so to neutralise our raga, binding desire towards comforts, we deliberately fast for a length of time or walk barefoot or long distances like on a tirthyatra or use the time deliberately for japa.

Vrata-s are fasts associated with a particular day in the month or a festival as a part of worship of the devata. If one spends too much time thinking of food and planning for the feasting that comes after the fasting, then it may not be tapas.

Our understanding of tapas expands when we hear what Bhagavan Sri Krishna speaks of tapas. Bhagavan in the 17^th chapter of the Gita, speaks of tapas or religious disciplines at the level of the body, speech and the mind.  

देवद्विजगुरुप्राज्ञपूजनं शौचमार्जवम्।
ब्रह्मचर्यमहिंसा च शारीरं तप उच्यते।।17.14।।

Worshipping deities, brahmanas, teachers and wise people, external cleanliness, straightforwardness, self-discipline and not physically hurting are (collectively) called discipline of the physical body or shariram tapas.

अनुद्वेगकरं वाक्यं सत्यं प्रियहितं च यत्।
स्वाध्यायाभ्यसनं चैव वाङ्मयं तप उच्यते।।17.15।।

Speech, which does not cause agitation, which is true, pleasing and beneficial, and daily repetition of one’s own Veda, are collectively called discipline of speech or vak tapas.

मनःप्रसादः सौम्यत्वं मौनमात्मविनिग्रहः।
भावसंशुद्धिरित्येतत्तपो मानसमुच्यते।।17.16।।

Mental cheerfulness, cheerfulness in expression, absence of pressure to talk, mastery over the mind, clean intent – these together are called mental discipline or manasam tapas.

Our understanding of tapas has surely been expanded by these verses. Please don’t be daunted by them. 

For the new year,

Make a commitment to slowly and steadily working on some aspects of sharira, vak and maanasam tapas in the new year.  

Review with a buddy or a fellow seeker and encourage each other to continue your sadhana.

Thus, the new year is enriched through our way of life of yajna, daanam and tapas.

Our living becomes a vessel of meaning, continuity, and help us to live our Dharma as Hindus.

And finally, be a Sanatani/Dharmi by walking the path of DHARMA –

What upholds the order of the world is Dharma- universal ethics and principles.

What upholds Dharma is Dharmi – the one in whose heart, Dharma lives and comes alive in his/her actions.  

वेदोऽखिलो धर्ममूलं स्मृतिशीले च तद्विदाम् ।

आचारश्चैव साधूनामात्मनस्तुष्टिरेव च ॥

The root of the dharma is the entire Veda, and (then) the tradition and practice of those who know (the Veda), and the conduct of virtuous people, and what is satisfactory to oneself.

— Manusmriti 2.6

Dharma cannot be practiced without the Dharmi practicing values of ahimsa, non hurting, daya, compassion, satyam, truthfulness,   

Any person you look up to, be it a sportsperson, an entrepreneur, a scientist, an author or even a guru, is because of some exemplary qualities you see in them, which are values within the ambit of Dharma.

You want to wake up at 5 am in the morning to learn. You want to practise Ekagrata – focus without distraction. This is a subset of Dharma.

You are trying to invest at least 30 % of your income before expenses take over. You want to provide for your family and so as a part of your svadharma, you are practicing samadhanam by ensuring financial security and independence.  This is a subset of Dharma.

You are trying to be more kind and non-hurting in your expressions with family rather than bottling it all up. You are upholding ahimsa and self-expression, a subset of Dharma.

Any action you take it is because you see the value of that value which becomes valuable to you.

You value Dharma, the universal framework of values and ethics

If you are confused about your Dharma, in any situation, just ask yourself, what is the most appropriate thing to do which will contribute to the happiness, growth and well being of all the people involved?

You will get your answer or you can discuss the above question with the people involved and you will come up with the right answer.

And so, we can resolve to make Dharma the centre of our lives. Then we can truly have it all – Artha, wealth, Kama, pleasure and Moksha, liberation.

Dharma is the cosmic order that upholds everything.

Only Dharmika or Ethical people create happy families.

Only Dharmika or Ethical professionals build lasting products, services and companies.

Only Dharmika or Ethical people build societies of peace, productivity and prosperity.

Let us enrich the new year by planning the kind of yajna, daanam, tapas that we undertake to bless our people and to keep Sanatana Dharma at the centre of our lives.

We uphold the Hindu vision of life when we uphold the Hindu way of life.

We owe it to the Devatas. We owe it to the Rishis. We owe it to the Pitrs, Ancestors.

We owe it to ourselves.

Happy New Year!