Oneness mirrored in Hindu Advaita Vedanta

Oneness mirrored in Hindu Advaita Vedanta

The swan is an important motif in Advaita. The swan symbolises the ability to discern Satya (Real, Eternal) from Mithya (Unreal, Changing), just like the mythical swan Paramahamsa discerns milk from water. – Wikipedia
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Does just ‘being’ alive make you feel good? Does just being alive expand your consciousness and sometimes tip you into bliss? Don’t just wake up and smell the coffee. We need the change of waking up more deeply?

We must wake up to the perfume of all the Prophet-Founders, such as Krishna, Buddha, Moses, Christ, Mohammad and Baha’u’llah. They teach us how to deal with life’s challenges of change to focus on that which is of eternal value.

What is the key passage in Hindu teachings that offers core Hindu spiritual insights? Perhaps it’s this;

‘Like two birds of golden plumage, inseparable companions, the individual self and the immortal Self are perched on the branches of the self same tree. The former tastes of the sweet and bitter fruits of the tree; the latter, tasting of neither, calmly observes.

The individual self, deluded by forgetfulness of his identity with the divine Self, bewildered by his ego, grieves and is sad.

But when he recognizes the worshipful Lord as his own true Self, and beholds his glory, he grieves no more.’

Baha’u’llah in His ‘Book of Certitude’, revealed in two days and two nights in 1862, explains; ‘It is clear and evident to thee that all the Prophets are the Temples of the Cause of God, …… If thou wilt observe with discriminating eyes, thou wilt behold them all ….. soaring in the same heaven, seated upon the same throne, uttering the same speech, and proclaiming the same Faith….’ Should any of them say; “I am the return of all the Prophets,” He verily speaketh the truth. In like manner, in every subsequent Revelation, the return of the former Revelation is a fact …..’

We are united, if we will it, by the reality of One God, One Holy Spirit, a series of Messengers, and our One human family.

But there are also the teachers who receive love and light from the Revelations of the Prophet-Founder’s Revelations and go on, in turn, to reflect that love and light in their lives. They walk the talk. That’s you and me if we will it.

In the desert of materialism there are many wells of sweet water – from both the Messengers, and their true reflectors, who can quench our spiritual thirst.

That sweet water is now more accessible than ever before in history; “Peerless is this Day, for it is as the eye to past ages and centuries, and as a light unto the darkness of the times.”

Why is it that the vast majority of discoveries and inventions have appeared since the middle of the 19thC? Might it be because of the energies released by the most recent Messenger – Baha’u’llah?

Take a look at the 1970 book Future Shock by American futurist Alvin Toffler and Adelaide Farrell. They defined Future Shock as "too much change in too short a period of time" – information overload.

The overload now is not just such things as evermore technologies such carbon dating, DNA, genomic analysis and myriad other developments. It is because our human and spiritual side hasn’t equaled our technical capabilities. We are lopsided, not balanced.

We now can gain insights and inspiration as never before.

Here we cherish, in particular, inspiration from the Hindu Advaita Vedanta teachings. We also ask if there are co-responding teachings in Baha’i teachings – including in Baha’u’llah’s The Hidden Words.

The Hindu teachings, as with all of the great religions help us transform into our best and true self. Mantras, or similar practices, can pave the way to transformative insights.

The earliest mantras were composed in Vedic Sanskrit in India. They are at least 3500 years old. The word ॐ (Aum, Om) serves as a mantra. It is believed that aum was the first sound on earth and chanting Aum creates a reverberation in the body which helps the body and mind to be calm. In more sophisticated forms, mantras are melodic phrases with spiritual interpretations such as a human longing for truth, reality, light, immortality, peace, love, knowledge, and action. Some mantras without literal meaning are musically uplifting and spiritually moving.

Below are two symbols. On the left, is from the Hindu teachings and the right-hand one is from the Baha’i Revelation;