Vedic Philosophy for Students

Foreword Hinduism is, undoubtedly a way of life. So said our seers and prophets. For quite some time now, Hinduism as a school subject has found its way on the syllabi of both SC and HSC examinations, much to their benefit.

Hinduism is as wide as the ocean. It has been interpreted in various ways. Hence, publications dealing with its multifarious aspects which are meant for both teachers and students are always welcome. This book, corning from Siddhi-lalasa Dasi, someone belonging to the "ISKCON" family, sheds new light on the subject, while providing special information which rightly focuses on a few specific aspects of the syllabus.

The general readers can also use this book as a tool of reference. It provides pleasant reading material and comes at a time when the study of the subject is achieving more and more popularity. Therefore, it is meant essentially to cater to the needs of our students who are taking Hinduism at SC level.

I have no doubt, whoever goes through this book! will find it useful and will derive benefit from it. It definitely provides a captivating and pleasant reading. I wish to place on record my appreciation for the author's efforts since, readers will agree; it is no easy task to publish a book.

Let us sincerely hope this is only a maiden venture and the obstacles the author may have faced will not deter her in higher endeavor.

Preface Books on Hinduism are many, of course. But books that cater to the practical heeds of students of School Certificate and Geordinary level (Cambridge) are very few indeed. This publication is therefore a most welcome one and for many reasons.

The ten chapters cover a substantial part of the syllabus. Rare indeed is the book that can achieve such a work. This spares the students the trouble of seeking materials here and there. The subject area is well mapped out. This provides the student with a reliable guide to enable him or her to prepare adequately for the examination. To those who want either to broaden or deepen their knowledge, the writer has wisely given a guide to further reading as and when appropriate in the course of the book.

One of the interesting features of the book is the way the various topics are handled. Hinduism has been dealt with in a clear way and in simple language, topic by topic, which is appealing to an increasing number of students. This book makes preparation of examination a pleasant work. Philosophy is made simple and religion easy.

Siddhi-lalasa Dasi is in a privileged position to produce such a work. She has been writing on Hinduism; preaching Hinduism; and teaching Hinduism for many years. Above all, she lives Hinduism.

This work, the fruit of many years of experience, should be a very useful tool in the hands of the teachers of Hinduism. For the preacher it must prove a powerful weapon. For the seeker of knowledge in Hinduism, here is a book that helps.

Introduction A teacher of Hinduism, Mr. Sona Ruhee, approached me through ISKCON with a request. The schools in Mauritius are offering Hinduism as a subject matter for Cambridge. Unfortunately, the subject is deep and there are no adequate textbooks to teach it. "I think ISKCON can help us," said Mr. Ruhee. "Whatever we need is in Srila Prabhupada's books."

Srila Prabhupada's books, however, contain an ocean of information. What do the teachers need? I was truly bewildered where to begin and where to end. To get more focused, I decided to follow the course on Hinduism.

Soon enough, I came across most of the topics required, in Srila Prabhupada's own writings, works by his disciples, articles printed in the Back to Godhead magazines, and other ISKCON publications. Finally, I didn't have much work to do.

Everything was readily available. It was heartening to realize that people over the world are showing the same interest in Vedic philosophy and wanted to study it in a systematic way.

In Vedic Philosophy for Students, I have set the topics in such a way that the student may understand them step by step. I started by giving a description of the processes to acquire knowledge; what are the Vedic literatures; and why we should accept the Vedas as the only reliable source of information.

Chapter Two discusses Sankhya philosophy, giving a preliminary analysis of existence. What is this material universe? Who is God? Why are we? How the three are inter- related? Thereafter, Chapter Three describes the true nature of the soul and awakens us to the fact that we have fallen into the grip of material nature.

Chapters Four and Five discuss reincarnation and the law of karma respectively. We're inextricably encaged in matter and are caught in the vicious cycle of birth and death. What is the cause of this entanglement? Why are we suffering? Can we get out of it?

The fallen soul it’s conditioned to enjoy independently of the Lord, and hence suffers. Therefore, Chapter Six delineates a gradual process for the purification of the soul. This process consists of performing duties according to one's psychophysical nature in an organized society that follows the Vedic injunctions. Such a system is called vamasrama dharma. Hence, the soul gradually overcomes the desire to perform karma and finally achieves liberation.

Chapter Seven analyzes the concept of dharma, starting with a simple definition of religion as moral and ethical codes. By following varnasrama dharma, a person gradually realizes the futility of material prosperity and enjoyment and wants to achieve liberation. Even such a desire, however, is tinged with selfish motivation. Therefore, the ultimate religion is to completely give up the desire for personal enjoyment and desire only to satisfy the Supreme Lord-without motivation. Chapter Eight takes us to the pinnacle of religion-bhakti .

yoga. It gives quite a detailed though preliminary description of pure devotion to the Lord. We have given references for further study. Chapter Nine addresses the issue of whether God is personal or impersonal. Of course, Vaisnavas are persona lists; they are devotees of God and want to serve God in pure devotion. On the other hand. the impersonalizes conclude that the ultimate liberation is to merge in God and become God. They do not agree that the living entity is eternally the servant of God. This chapter succinctly analyzes the arguments from both points of view.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages