Value of Prayer

[Venkataramani K.]

In a message dated 5/28/02 10:03:52 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
srikrishna_ghadiyaram at YAHOO.COM writes:


> As I understand, in Islam or Christianity, God is the
> one in the Clouds. In hinduism we say God is here and
> now, and within. So, this has a more intimate
> relationship to man, provoking him to purify himself
> in actions, and thoughts. This has more direct and
> quicker (in my view) impact on human-transformation,
> if understood.
>

I would entirely agree. From my readings of the Bible and the Quran, the
impression I get is that they present God as someone beyond your
comprehension. There is very little description of who He is and what your
relationship to Him is. There is very little mention of what the path to
realization is - in fact fact, there is hardly any mention of realization
itself. Both religions are more focussed on regulating the life in this
world. The "here-after-world" is just presented as some kind of fantasy land,
where you enjoy the pleasures in amplified form.

On the contrary, Hinduism presents a very deep philosophy. If we go by the
advaita school, it presents a complete path to realizing the Brahman within.
If we follow the Bhakti tradition of Vaishnavism, the entire discussion is on
our various  relationships to Vishnu and on how to elevate ourselves to
spiritual realms. So, here religion is a lot more than mere regulation. It is
an internalized process. That is why Hinduism has survived without a
centralized figure, preceptor or organization. It is very common to come
across a Hindu who may rarely visit a temple, but perform all "sadhanas"
within the 4 walls of his home.

Regards,
K.Venkataramani
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