We have been worshipping Maheswar, Brahma, and Vishnu from ancient times.

It has been said of Siva (Maheswar):

“Worship Mahesh whose colour is like the snowy

mountain’s,

whose forehead shines like the full moon,

whose look is as sparkling as jewels.

He alone has power to rule over all creatures.

He is gracious.

He is sitting on the skin of a tiger,

and all the gods are worshipping Him.

He is the supreme, the sound,

and it is He who removes fear from mind.”

This Maheswar whom we worship was once a living man. The ‘Rigved’ calls him Rudra, and some thirty- three hymns of the second mondal are devoted to him. “He gives us wealth and blesses our horses, cows, and sheep,” says the rishi. In the ‘Mahabharata’, ‘Puranas’, ‘White Yajurved’, and ‘Bajshanea-Sanghita’ he is called Siva. He is also the father of all creatures (Pashupati). He is also Shankar and Baba Baidyanath. In the ‘Atharvaved’ he is Mahadev. The ‘Mahabharata’ has thousands of names for him. He was supposed to be as white as snow or camphor, and Kailash (Himalayan valley) was his home. His wife’s names were Durga, Uma, and Haimabati, and she is supposed to be mother to us all. Daksha was her father. Toward the end of the month of January, on the 14th day of the waning moon, we usually observe a day for him (Maheswar or Siva). There is generally fasting that day and no sleep at night. Siva was a Mangod in our land before the Aryans came.

 

 

There is no hymn to Brahma in the ‘Rigved’. There any one who conducts the sacrificial rites is called Brahma. But the ‘Vedanga’ mentions Brahma, and in the ‘Taittariya Brahmana’ it is said, “This universe was created by Brahma.” The ‘Mundakopanishad’ declares, “Brahma was the first born among the gods, and Atharvan was his first son.” In the Sambhab Parba of the ‘Mahabharata’ it is written, “Brahma’s son is Marichi and the son of Marichi is Kashyap.” Manu called God Brahma. The ‘Kalikapurana’ says that his complexion was red and that he liked red clothing. “What we see is living and beautiful; all is Brahma,” runs our prayer.

 

It is also our habit to pray to Vishnu. From vedic times there have been stories about Vishnu. He is also called Keshaba, Narayana, Madhaba, and Govinda. The 8th, 9th, and 10th mondals of the ‘Rigved’ are about him. He is supposed to have created prithivi, antarikshya, dyulok, etc., which are names of different worlds and to have gone around the universe three times. The “Shatapathbrahmana,’Panchabingsha-brahmana’, ‘Taittiriya’, ‘Aranyak’, ‘Ramayana’, ‘Mahabharata’, and ‘Puranas’ have all mentioned Vishnu. In the Shanti Parba of the ‘Mahabharata’ he is given thousands of names. He is called a God in the Vedas. Before one becomes a god, he is a living man. Lord Chaitanya went to Gaya (Bihar) to see the print of his feet and was entranced. Perhaps those foot-prints did belong to him.

In the vedic age men worshipped and followed living Ideals. The ‘Oittariyabrahmana’ says, “Take initiation from an Ideal.” The ritwiks of that time gave men initiation or second birth, enabling them to have a spritual life. The 16th chapter of the ‘Rigved’ speaks of these ritwiks who used to teach people about their Ideals. Madhuchhanda and his father Viswamitra were rishi-ritwiks. So were Gathi and Kushik. Viswamitra took initiation from Palasti Jamdagni. Thus all these men had living ideals. When Viswamitra came to the river Satadru (Punjab) after finishing the sacrificial ceremonies for King Sudash, he found the river full and uncrossable. Then he prayed and the river became almost dry. It is an example of of the wonderful power possessed by an ideal-centric man. It is written in the Upanishads:, ‘Everywhere God is living, don’t dwindle away from truth, don’t leave religion and don’t abstain from doing good. Be brave.” We are amazed at the assurance and realization of these ancient rishis. How adhered they must have been to their ideals! And they repeatedly advise us to be so. Many of them realized ‘om’.

Ramachandra was born when the Upanishadic age was ending. His guru or Ideal was Vaisistha. It is admitted by us that he came to destroy evil and save the good. We pray to him, “I am fasting on the ninth day of the waning moon. O Lord, be gracious to me and save me from the snares of this world.” Very few knew Ramachandra as an Ideal, however, in his life time. Men did not accept him when he was alive. Only his brothers Bharat and Laksman were adhered to him. At that time the society was fortunate to have many rishis and men then generally understood that any misfortune was due to lack of adherence.

Sree Krishna was also known as an Ideal to very few men. Sishupal, Durjyodhan, Duhshashan, Karna, and Shakuni could not believe in him. Vismadev recognized him only later on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, and Arjuna admited him to be an Ideal man only after Krishna had overwhelmed him with revelations. The people of Brindabon however accepted him as their Ideal. The poet Kalidas has called Lord Krishna God in ‘Meghdut’. In the Buddhist book, ‘Lalit Bistar’, it is also written that he was God, and Patanjal declared him such as well. But few accepted him when he was living. His activities bore fruit after his death. We generally observe the eighth day of the waning moon in August as his birthday, at which time we pray, “I am fasting on the eighth day of the waning moon. O Vasudev, wash away my sins.” We worship him today, but our ancestors of his time did not.

In the age of the ‘Mahabharata’ people generally had their Ideals and maintained them, thinking them as part of the family. They liked the guru system and accepted the advice of the gurus. But toward the end of this period they became less interested, though they did not abandon the practice altogether.

When Buddha was born, we had already deviated far from the vedic culture and was practicing a very superficial religon. Buddha announced :

“In love I drank the wine;

In joy I tasted it ;

In grace I got it too

and have cut off the needless actions

by a life of purity and determination.”

Our subcontinent was then fallen from her culture. She had forgotten to drink the immortal nectar. She had no living Ideal. Buddha taught that without Ideal there was no religion. In the ‘Dhammapada’, he is reported to have said :

“Ignorance is the greatest sin.

O disciples, leave ignorance and be pure.

He who does not know him and his creation

is sinful.”

“Obey and serve him who has given you wisdom.

“Follow the four truths of Aryan culture.

Exercise astanga marga and attain salvation.”

Astanga marga is the eight stages of meditation, and Buddha had realized it. He did not depend on Vedas and Upanishads but on his own realization. That is why his religion seems new to us.  The system of Ideal worship was alive then, but there was no Ideal man alive, and he made up the deficiency. Still not many men accepted him. The story of Ramachandra and Krishna was repeated, and Buddha was largely ignored.

Many seers and prophets have been born in our land. And idealism has been practiced here ever since the Aryans first came. This idealism is our special boon to the world. Christ and Mohammed preached idealism in their lands and were tortured. Christ suffered more than any other prophet. Saint John said of him: “The word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.” And Lord Christ said: “Ye have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form. Ye search the scriptures because ye think that in them ye have eternal life. I am come in my Father’s name and ye receive me not. I am the resurrection and the life. Noone cometh to the Father but by me. I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.” In Saint Matthew’s gospel Christ is reported to have said: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law and the prophets. I am come not to destroy but to fulfil.” And Mohammed is reported to have said: “Allah has sent his man and words to preach religion. He has given us one way to follow. When men are misguided, he sends his man and his scripture to the earth. That man preaches that there is one religion and one God. O ye faithful ones, believe in God and his messenger, and follow him. Don’t refuse him …….. Men are qualified with so many resources. Let them utilize them in a better way. Follow then the name of the Lord….No prophet comes to destroy the previous ones. Rather he comes to fulfil and materialize them. The main doctrines of all countries are the same.” Mohammed, like Christ, came to save men, but they did not understand him either, and drove him from his home city of Mecca. Mohammed, Christ, Buddha, Krishna, Ramachandra, Vishnu, Brahma, and Siva all preached the same idealism.

In almost modern times Lord Chaitanya came to Nabadwip here in Bengal and preached idealism. He appeared as a spokesman for Lord Krishna. But he also had his difficulties. When he was in Benares, he said:

“I have come to sell my feelings in Benares,

but no buyer I find.

May be I shall have to take my wares back home.

They are burdensome. How can I carry them?

If I could get a cheap customer, I would unload

them all.”

Finally he succeeded in initiating Prakashananda Saraswati in Benares. Ordinary people like the big men in the society. They do not care much for Ideal. Lord Chaitanya’s disciples were not much more in number than those of other prophets. In the last century Ramakrishna of Kamarpukur followed in the line of Chaitanya and expounded both Krishna and Ramachandra. His disciples were also few.

Who is Ideal? He who has been born from a spiritual stage and comes bodily to this earth as a realized man is Ideal. Why does he come ? To teach men and make them godlike. When men are not developed spiritually, they cannot be friendly to one another and cannot bring out new things in the world. The only way they can develop spiritually is by following those who are spiritually developed. Such can show the path to God. Such realized men make relationship with ordinary men by giving them initiation or name. Their deputed men may also do this. After the Mahabharata period we became dull about Ideal, and Ideal men were not born frequently in the country. Today again we stand in need of being waked up by an Ideal. Worldly things have become our inner world, and we count progress also in terms of them.

We don’t know who realized the highest spiritual region of dayaldesh, but we know the finest vibration of that region, called Radhasoami, is the most powerful name. He who practices it can feel it. He can feel its action on life, mind, nerves, will, adherence, intelligence and character. Now is the time for all men to accept this powerful name. Midst the often dismal circumstances of this world it is a source of elation. Any holy name we chant has its vibration. But the Radhasoami will drift us to the supreme vibration. This is our belief and experience.

We like to develop our spiritual life, we want peace, and we also want our peaceful home life. When we practice Radhasoami we can have all.

We understand more or less who our Ideal will be and what he will be like. Up to the Mahabharata age we understood it very well. Later we lost our understanding, and along with it our minds and characters. If we now can accept living Ideal, all phases of our life may easily turn to good.

Idealism means to accept an Ideal, and he who is a fulfiller of previous Ideals is Ideal to us. If we accept him, everything in our life may be fulfilled.

We have seen many ‘ism’s, and still they are growing on this earth. If they have not led to success, how can we keep to them? We can guard our lives with outer guards and rules, but this will not hold water for many days. Suppression will press, and the pot will began to leak somewhere. We would like to root out the evils in our lives. But science says there is no rooting out, no destroying, that there is only possible a taking of a different form. We believe the powerful holy name Radhasoami can transform our single and collective lives and turn evil to good. It is not that idealism has suddenly come upon this earth. It always was and still is. It helps men toward God and makes heavenly world. We may not feel that now, but we are surely sons of the supreme and our time to feel is coming rapidly. Those who will immediately follow sincerely will be far out ahead of others, and they will be called pioneers in some after-time. It is better to actively accept than to stand aside and admire. They are blessed who have gone to Satsang and who have taken the banner of Radhasoami in their hands and dedicated their lives to spreading it over the country and world. They are doing the best possible service to mankind. God bless them more!