As part of the enlightening series of discourses on Divine Knowledge of Vedas and Vedic Scriptures organized by Neelu Sharma at the Sarva Dev Mandir in Oxford, MA, Siddeshvari Devi Ji discussed Learning from Ancient Traditions and What It Means To Be A Hindu.

Learning From Ancient Traditions

We are living in materialistically advanced times.  Technology is moving forward at a dizzying pace.  Many of you must remember what life was like in the B.C. era.  Before Computer era, when a mouse was just a rodent; windows were something no one liked cleaning; virus was the flu; hard drive was a long trip on the road; a CD was a bank account; a mouse pad was where a mouse lived; cut-and-paste was something you did with scissors and glue; a keyboard was a piano and a program was just a TV show.

This is also a time of paradoxes.  Cell phones are being used more and more to send text messages and to have conversations, but sad to say, communication within the family is breaking down.  People are living in big homes, but they have no space to accommodate their own elderly parents.  There are many time-saving gadgets being used, but there seems to be no time to discover the true meaning of life.  Children have more toys and entertaining games than their parents and grandparents, yet they complain of boredom.  The world has become very small due to affordable and efficient air travel.  People are travelling thousands of miles away from home and making friends in other countries, yet they have no idea who their neighbour is.  So many are living and dying in isolation.  If a man living alone were to breathe his last in his apartment his neighbours would not even notice him missing until the stench of the decaying body becomes noticeable.  Though they are living a life of privilege, there is rampant use of drugs and alcohol, both of which are used to escape reality.  Something is terribly wrong.  It seems we have paid a high cost for material advancement.  The price is spiritual progress.

To go forward we need to take a look back at how our ancestors lived, for they can teach us valuable lessons about life and living.  What they understood in the past is that to live a life of harmony you must strike a balance between body and soul.   

What It Means To Be A Hindu

Most people equate Hinduism with fancy rites, rituals and ceremonies.  To them, being a Hindu means fasting on certain days and doing puja at certain times. 

Being a Hindu means the following:

1.    Full faith in the Vedas.  Understanding the Vedas to be eternal and divine, a Hindu has full faith in the teachings of the Vedas and Vedic scriptures.

2.    Belief in one God.  The Vedas say there is one God, but with countless names and forms. 

3.    Knowledge that God is with name and form as well as without name and form.  According to the Vedas, God is impersonal (without name and form) as well as personal (with name and form.) 

4.    Reincarnation.  Vedic scriptures make a clear-cut distinction between body and soul.  Body is subject to destruction, whereas the soul is eternal.  In the Geeta, Shri Krishna says, “As an individual casts off old and worn out clothing in favour of new garments, in the same way the soul discards one body in favour of another.”  (2.22)

The last lecture in this series is on Path of Devotion on Friday April 19, 2008 at 7:00 pm.

Siddheshvari Devi Ji (Didi Ji) was born in India and spent her formative years in Canada, graduating from York University in Toronto with a degree in languages.  From early childhood, Didi Ji had been questioning the purpose of life.  Internally guided by God, she felt strongly that life had a much higher purpose than merely eating, sleeping and accumulating wealth.  The promise of a financially-rewarding career did not hold any appeal for her. 

Upon graduation, Didi Ji’s spiritual quest led her to her Spiritual Master, Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj, who has been proclaimed by Kashi Vidvat Parishad as the fifth authentic Jagadguru in India, preceded in history by Jagadguru Shankarcharya, Jagadguru Nimbarkacharya, Jagadguru Ramanujacharya and Jagadguru Madhvacharya.  Didi Ji spent two years in the Ashram and learned directly from her Gurudev the intricate mysteries of the Vedas and the Shastras.

Didi Ji has founded Radha Madhav Society, a non-profit charitable organization in Canada and America, functioning under the auspices of Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat.  She is continuously striving to spread the deep spiritual teachings of Hinduism and dispel the myths and misconceptions related to it.  An eloquent speaker, her mission is to simplify the eternal message of the Vedas and Shastras and awaken love for God within the hearts of seeking souls.  Didi Ji’s preaching is concentrated in the US, Canada, the West Indies, Singapore and Malaysia.  Equally proficient in English and Hindi, she has inspired and transformed the lives of thousands. 

Didi Ji’s talks are designed to answer the numerous questions that arise on spirituality, clarify doubts about the path to God-realization and show how we can practically apply Vedic Knowledge to improve our daily life. 

Siddheshavari Devi Ji can be contacted at s_didi@radhamadhavsociety.org
Visit www.radhamadhavsociety.org for more information.

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