Welcome to the 2014 Saraswati Puja issue of e-Sanai

 

by Sri Sandip Dasgupta

Welcome to the Saraswati Puja issue of e-Sanai. This is that time of the year, when our Master came down to this earth to shed the Light of Oneness amongst all of us, so that we could help make this a better place to live in. Blessed are we that He selected us to share his Swanubhuti.  In 1986, shortly before Saraswati Puja, I met Sri Sri Babathakur for the first time.  His statement to me was – “Try to understand the relationship between you and me”.  I walked out of this meeting wondering – What kind of crazy statement was that?  Nevertheless, I got over it and became convinced that Thakur Sri Sri Ramakrishna was a much safer bet as a Guru.

But that one statement has played in my mind several times over the years.  After twenty eight years, I have been able to marginally distinguish between the body-I and the “I-Reality” that Sri Sri Babathakur has constantly talked about.  I have been able to somewhat internalize that the difference between Him and me remained only at the body-I level.  But at the Absolute level, we are all playing on the same substratum, the same Absolute I-Reality.  Sri Sri Babathakur was constantly aware of this game and He called it – The Sportful, Sameside, Dramatic game of Self-Consciousness.  He had completely identified Himself with the Absolute I-Reality.  On the other hand, the tube-light brain of this author occasionally remembers the teachings of the Master, but simply cannot identify itself with the Absolute I-Reality, because it is still playing the world-game with the body-I.

Although Sri Sri Babathakur has categorically told us that the Light of Oneness is the only panacea of the present age, we have kept our windows closed and hence this light is unable to penetrate us and remove the darkness caused by relativity.

Having identified Himself with the Absolute I-Reality, the Master used to perform His actions with complete detachment to the physical body.  All the words spoken by Him brought us back to the Oneness that He has realized.  He practiced Oneness all the time.  He spoke of Oneness all the time.  He would bring back all conversations and ideas to the Oneness that He had realized.  Thus emerged the august saying – "All Divine, For all Time, As It Is!"

According to Him, everything in this world started with the Absolute One (you cannot have two without having One).  As Upadhis covered us, we all became different in the relative world – and we began to think of these as real.  Sri Sri Babathakur, repeatedly urged us to give up that duality in Samsar and live in Samasar, with the awareness of Oneness.  He told us – “Realization is not an object to be attained.  It is always within you.  It will be re-established when the Self is Realized.”

So, on this very auspicious occasion, can we all pledge to make an effort to move towards that goal of re-establishing ourselves in that Oneness?

Joy Babathakur! Joy Babathakur! Joy Babathakur!

 

Self Discipline

 



 by Sri P.C. Lahiri

 

I am going to present through a day-to-day incident, how I have tried to apply in life my understanding of Prajnanpurush Sri Sri Babathakur’s (hereinafter referred to as the Master) revelations. I request readers to share their own direct experiences so that we may enrich each other. Master reveals the Absolute Whole, of which we understand/accept only that part which we are able to identify with and comprehend to some extent.  We retain most of these understandings as mental-knowledge without consciously applying them in life. Some of what we apply leads to certain experiences.  Sharing of this understanding and experience through e-Sanai or any other mode enriches both the reader and the writer. It will help all of us to leave this mode of “accepting some and rejecting some”, to ultimately get out of “some” and become established in the “Whole” by accepting the “Whole” in totality.

 

On a past Sunday morning, I happened to be watching an episode of “Talks on Self-identity” delivered by the Master along with a few friends who have also had the good fortune of being in the company of, and listening to the divine talks of the Master for some years before He left His mortal coil. As soon as the program ended, a longish promo of a Music Reality Show came on TV. All of us became engrossed in the promo, enjoying the mellifluous rendition of a modern Bengali song by one of the young participants of that Reality Show. This was followed by an animated discussion on the various aspects of the quality of singers, judges, music accompaniment, present day training facilities,etc. Each of us tried to establish our expertise, although none was a trained singer or musician. Knowingly or unknowingly, most of us got easily sucked into this discussion, guided by the extreme urge of our ego to establish first its individual identity, then its knowledge of the subject, and finally its superiority over others. In this game of one-upmanship, we forgot about the highly enlightening talks of the Master. Such is the state of our mental training/discipline, and most importantly the lack of our awareness of it. Our minds tend to get seamlessly engrossed in mundane affairs appealing to the senses, inner and outer. When this matter was pointed out, most of us went into the mode of trying to find some justification for such behavior. So, in the first instance we became judgmental of something that we saw outside of us (the rendition of a song on TV along with other paraphernalia), then on getting cornered about it, we again became judgmental trying to justify our inner thoughts and consequent behavior. Master said that justification comes from ignorance.

 

What should have been the correct approach? How should we have behaved? The common answer was that we should not be egoistic and should consciously avoid being judgmental at the drop of a hat. Non-egoistic behavior should be practiced at all times. We should have discussed Master’s freshly heard teachings and try to understand that than engage in a futile exercise of criticizing others. Again we went into the mode of—this should or should not have been done. This “should” comes out of our remembrances embedded in mental-knowledge, rather than made apparent through practice of spiritual concepts in real life (as mentioned in the first paragraph of this piece). From here emanates our tendency to sermonize something that we do not practice. A truly great soul will never do that. Mind you, this was our behavior immediately after listening to the Master for half an hour. We are so very tuned and trained to a standard pattern of thoughts, actions and reactions, that a particular type of behavior automatically comes out of us in a given situation. Most of us are oblivious of it. Being partial, it varies from person to person, even under exactly identical circumstances. Varying behavior leads to differences, divisions and disputes. Chain reaction leads to disunity, and chaos starts. What we see all around is nothing but this.  The end result is only destruction.

 

The only panacea for the present day calamity is:  Accept each and everything as verily your own Self and live life with this acceptance. Haven’t we all heard this before?  Yes, of course we have. The most significant revelation of the Master for the present day world which all of us have heard/read many times, is ‘all-acceptance, all-embrace’ (mene maniye cholo). From a different angle, the same thing is revealed by the Master as ‘Acknowledge, Recognize and Realize’.  ‘Adapt/Accept, Adjust, Accommodate, Absolute’—are the four A’s that the Master has recommended for practice in life for its total culmination and supreme perfection. All the above mean the same and lead to the same end result—establishment of the practitioner in his/her True Absolute Nature. How to implement this into our daily routine given the limitations that we all have?  I share below some thoughts and experiences.

 

The first step is to be very observant about our own thoughts, actions and reactions. It is easier said than done. We are not at all used to it. We have heard the Master say that He trained/disciplined himself, not others—’Ami nijeke sashan korechi’. Most of us do just the opposite and discipline others before self-discipline. This is an extremely deep rooted and far reaching statement. Introspection of this statement shall reveal to us the secret of living life. This science has not been presented by earlier True Masters in this way. When Master was asked as to why it was not presented earlier in this way, the answer was to the effect that perhaps it was not necessary at that time. Introspecting again on this shall reveal why – in today’s day and age - it is not only necessary, but essential for one to incessantly and dedicatedly self-observe one’s own thoughts, actions and reactions, under all circumstances.  People around the globe are having lesser and lesser time to devote to conventional methods of God/Self realization. Because of strong efferent materialistic movement of the present generation, tension and restlessness is growing by leaps and bounds. An unconventional science that will lead to peace and bliss in this utter materialism and chaos, is very much needed, although the common man is unaware of it.  Does it mean that they no longer have the birthright to be established in eternal peace and bliss? It cannot be. So a science is being revealed which can be followed by one and all, without any distinction whatsoever, and also without requiring any extra time to follow it. The key factor is “no extra time needed”. It is enough to have a basic understanding of the science and start implementation from that very moment [without any conventional diksha (i.e. formal initiation by a guru), puja, dhyana or other such formality], i.e. accept all as verily your own Self/I-Consciousness. Basic understanding is needed only for our inner faculties (mind, intellect and ego), otherwise they continue asking all kinds of awkward, untimely questions owing to a lack of training in acknowledging and following a great soul.  Most of us merely claim to be acknowledgers and followers of the Master. Some of us may be a devoted soul, but rare is a dedicated soul. Dedicated efforts to practice the ‘Science of Oneness’ at every step in life shall lead us to become true followers. Who is a true follower? Master said—‘Bhagabaner bhakta bhagaban swayam’ (God’s true follower is God Himself).

 

There will be a little uneasiness in the beginning, something that is always there when we embark on an unknown path even in our daily routine. We need an experienced person to help us through the rough patches till we are able to negotiate them ourselves. We have the words of the supremely experienced Master to guide us. All differences that were till yesterday big bones of contention, shall start having a new meaning as we move on with the implementation process.  As the inner thinking pattern changes, the whole outlook starts changing. The sense and idea of differences/distinctions which is at the root of many-ness of our inner and outer world start reducing.  If this process consciously goes on for some years with awareness, total unification of the inner and outer world with our central world (Godly Nature) shall reveal from within. Time may vary from person to person.

 

Close observation of our own self is key to having long lasting success in any sphere of life. It is absolutely essential, a must for true following of the Master.

 

Our systemic malady must be identified and its ramifications clearly understood before the new habit of ‘all-acceptance, all-embrace’ can be incorporated. Awareness is the key. We may start small, but let us understand clearly that par-excellence of awareness is Supreme Awareness, i.e. Self-Realization.

 



Revealing Characteristics of Consciousness Itself

The following article is part of the 'Revealing Characteristics of Cosnciousness Itself' series of articles that were originally published in 'Sri-Sanai' (Saccidananda Society, Kolkata's quarterly journal), and feature the spiritual teachings of Sri Sri Babathakur.   

Reality of duality, which is manifested eternal part of the reality of non-duality, is the source of universal creation of world appearance of diversified names and forms. All kinds of duality, plurality and relativity have made the entire creation enriched, enjoyable to the individual lives of all categories from the gross to the subtlemost.  Reality of duality extends from the grossmost creation to the subtlemost one. That is to say, all the visible forms of all kinds with their innumerable varieties have specific characteristics of their own. Such characteristics have their charming qualities like truth, reality, beauty, goodness, attraction which have their origin in the reality of non-duality. Origin of everything always remains obscured in the background.  Hence characteristics of manifesting varieties of consciousness of both aspects, the reality of duality and non-duality, are not always intelligible and accessible, though those are however experienced in the inner nature and subtler in the central nature. Each form has a name of its own by which it is used. Name is sound/prana which originates in vak (speech).  Bhava (idea) of all kinds is subtler which originates in consciousness. Form pertains to outer nature, name to inner nature and idea to central nature. Everything of the outer nature is sensual, of the inner nature is mental and of the central nature is intellectual. The threefold nature of life—outer, inner and central—is the object of experience pertaining to reality of duality.

 

Further clarification of the subject is needed.  Hence it is stated that the threefold nature of life is verily threefold aspect, of which the first two that is the outer and inner ones are both universal and individual; while the third one, the central one, is always universal. Individual is always material and the universal is always spiritual and divine. Therefore form, name and idea—the first three aspects—from a different viewpoint are prakriti, swabhava and Swabodha respectively. Of the three aspects the first two are both universal and individual and the third one is always universal.

 

The individual is inseparable part of the universal one. Individual owes all its beings and becomings to the universal one. Differently expressed, the universal one willingly manifests into the individual life in order to transform the individual one to universal one in and through the integral process of evolution. Both the individual nature and universal nature have one and the same origin—with the reality of non-duality. The only difference that appears in their nature is quantitative and not qualitative. That means the power and knowledge of the individual are finite, conditioned and limited; while those of the universal are infinite by nature i.e., unlimited and immeasurable. Individual life has its power and knowledge greatly attached to the gross nature of life with the thought and idea of objective pursuits and their enjoyment as well. It cannot think of anything else apart from the same. Its all aims and purposes of life are worldly prosperity and sensual enjoyment which are entirely materialistic. Its spiritual approach cannot easily develop until and unless it’s matter-fed worldly life or material life gets bored and digustful. Then and then only it aspires to get rid of that and intensely needs help from others of right experience. The more it feels for that, the more it grows dispassionate and indifferent to the worldly ways of life which is the characteristic of power-nature of life called avidya maya.

 

To rise above the material concept of life and be well established in the spiritual divine ways of life it gets the right help with spiritual light from spiritually experienced guide or master. He unfolds the spiritual science, vidya, to the aspirant seeker according to his/her intensity of urge.  The individual seeker thereby gets devoted to the teachings of the master and cultivates the spiritual science, vidya, as is instructed or inculcated by the master.

 

The characteristics of avidya are always diversified and contradictory to one another which verily are experienced to be the reality of duality. Nature of reality of duality is always experienced by the individual owing to the constitutional nature of avidya. Avidya-nature of the individual seeker (life) gets thoroughly transformed into vidya-nature in and through the process of evolution of the integral nature of the individual. All kinds of approach of the individual nature towards the individual one get successful and fulfilled not by avidya but by the evolutionary process of vidya-nature. The characteristics of vidya-nature are totally opposite to those of avidya-nature. For example—differences, inequality, diversity, plurality, duality etc. pertain to avidya; while non-difference, equality, evenness, unity, non-duality, identity etc. pertain to vidya.  As the avidya nature causes the life of the individual to be more objective, materialistic and sensualist; so the vidya nature causes the life of the individual to be more subjective, spiritual, discriminative and renunciative.

 

Vidya-nature makes life spiritually divine. It constitutes the upper nature of swabhava with the traits of predominating sattva wherein rajas and tamas of lower nature remain subordinate or subservient.  Rajas and tamas are predominant in avidya-nature. That is why self-generated lower nature is avidya and self-generated upper nature is vidya.  As the lower nature avidya is the cause of bondage and sufferings of life, so the upper nature vidya is conducive to liberation and balance of life. Vidya par-excellence is Paravidya which is the predominating nature of central aspect of life. The central aspect is the abode of Kutastha Chaitanya, immutable or permanent Consciousness called Self-Divine, Ishvara, Atman. It is also called Swabodhatma of shuddha sattva (pure sattva) i.e., homogeneous by nature.  Divine Self is always homogeneous by nature. That is why the traits of rajas and tamas of trigunaprakriti or lower nature have nothing to do in the shuddha sattvic (ever pure) homogeneous nature of Swabodhatma called Paka Ami. This Swabodhatma is ever non-dual Reality permanently unified and identified with the transcendental nature which is beyond all gunas and bhavas i.e., pairs of opposites, sense of differences of duality.  Hence it is beyond the sense of in and out, subject-object, creator-creation, this or that and not this and not that etc.  Thus it is said that it is the eternally non-dual One without a second, ever ‘at-one-ment’—‘All Divine for All Time, as It Is’, symptomatizing as Paka Ami—I-Absolute.

 

Life has got two parts. One is attributeful and the other one is attributeless.  The former is spiritual and the latter is supremely divine and beyond. The spiritual one is the combined form of subject and object and the divine one is super–subject and beyond i.e., ever-Witness of the former subjective and the objective ones. Life consists of fourfold nature i.e., outer, inner, central and transcendental.  Outer nature constitutes the physical body with material elements pertaining to outer prakriti which characterizes avidya itself, inner nature constitutes the spiritual body with the light of cidabhas pertaining to inner prakriti which characterizes vidya itself and the central nature constitutes the spiritual divine body with the light of Pure Knowledge/Consciousness pertaining to central prakriti which characterizes Paravidya itself. Transcendental nature is the eternal background of all of them which is Self-Divine, ever-Witness of all the rest.  This is Paka Ami, the I-Absolute.

 

Sri Sri Babathakur

 

 

to be continued............

 

Hinduism and Modernity

 by Sri Ajit Halder

‘Hinduism’ and ‘Modernity’, the two words appearing in the title, need to be elaborated on to help the reader understand better the theme of this article.  It is acknowledged universally that Hinduism is another name for Sanatan Dharma, the eternal religion still functioning as the Hindu way of life led according to the principles of the Vedas and other major Hindu scriptures.  The ritual performed by a devout Hindu and the daily pujas offered in temples with the chanting of Vedic hymns and mantra are age old Hindu traditions that have continued to the present day. Of course, like every thing else in the world, the principle and practice of Hinduism have undergone subtle, gradual changes with time.
 
The title’s second word ‘Modernity’ has been the subject of various interpretations. This article however will be guided by the meaning of the term given in the Oxford English Dictionary.  This dictionary meaning states: ‘Modernity is departure from or repudiation of traditional ideas, doctrines and cultural values in favor of contemporary or radical values or beliefs’. This definition implies a process of an ongoing transformation that is taking place in an existing social order, practice or belief and is continuously introducing innovation into the system.  This interpretation of Modernity is relevant to Hinduism today because the Hindu faith has always been absorbing fresh ideas, thereby widening its appeal amongst its followers.
 
It is true that religious reformers through the centuries have variously interpreted the sacred doctrines of Hinduism with steady introduction of new ideas.  This means that while the Hindu faith has been absorbing new doctrines, it has never done so at the cost of losing its core – i.e. the fundamental concepts of Hinduism.   This line of reasoning will be expanded in the following paragraphs emphasizing that ‘modernity’ has transformed Hinduism in a pattern which is not new, but recurrent throughout the history of the religion. In more recent times, Hindu society has been overtly incorporating technological devices as aids to facilitate worship in homes and in temples; however the ideas of change reaches back into the tradition of the eternal faith.
 
The first major change in Hindu religious ideas was experienced by the Indian masses when Lord Buddha started preaching His gospel in a colloquial language (Pali) that was easily understood by the commoners.  His message of Peace and how to gain release from suffering (dukh) struck a chord with his followers.  This new doctrine caused a departure from the authoritarian Brahminical stronghold on Hindu religious practices, until then, carried out through the medium of Sanskrit as the Deva Bhasa (the language of the Gods).  It was Adi Shakaracharyya who rescued Hinduism from an apparent decline by promoting the principle of Advaita Vedanta - the view that Brahman, the Universal Spirit, is non-dual.  It is believed that He consolidated Hinduism over the whole of India by sanctifying the Chatur Dhama (four sacred places for worship): one in the North called Badrikashram (in the Himalayas) the second in the South called Rameswaram, the third in the East called Jagannathdham, and the fourth in the West called Dwarka. Another important transformation initiated by Sri Chaitanya in the Fifteenth Century and His successors in North and East India was the expression of a new Bhakti movement.  Sri Chaitanya refined the popular Bhakti cult of Sri Radha-Krishna through an intricate study of emotions (rasa).  Bhakti as a personalized path of development and spirituality has remained one of the theological areas of exploration of the Vaishnava school.  Within that broad religious field, Bengali Vaishnavism has produced new theoretical, cultural and social movements during the last two centuries. This trend has continued with the new Vaishnava religious movement ISKCON, popularly known as the Hare Krishna Movement started by Sri Pravupada A.C. Bhaktivedanta which has now become a global phenomenon to spread the message of Krishna consciousness.
 
Swami Vivekananda is to be credited for bringing Hinduism to the attention of the western audience through His famous speech delivered at the World Congress of Religions held in September 1893 and His other speeches on Vedanta made to audiences within the USA and UK.  Swamiji gave an added interpretation to Vedanta Philosophy in the form of Practical Vedanta.  His message is: Serving humanity with devotion is indeed the noble act of worshipping Divinity.  With this approach, Swamiji promoted the practice of religion as a kind of social welfare action, in essence adding a social dimension to the practice of Hinduism.   Swami Vivekananda gave a concrete shape to His motto by establishing the Ramakrishna Mission, a philanthropic organization engaged in community care, to perpetuate the holy name of His Guru, Sri Ramakrishna.
 
Other religious reformers appeared on the Indian scene during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.  The great religious, social and educational reformer, Ram Mohan Roy ought to be remembered for the challenges he posed to traditional Hindu culture and practices in the early nineteenth century.  He founded the Brahmo Samaj that served to influence the socio-religious reform movement all over India.  He deserves to be called The Maker of Modern India.’  Mention may be made of Dayananda Saraswati who established the Arya Samaj professing liberal Hindu views.  The Arya Samaj established institutes to spread education not only amongst men, but more notably, amongst women as well.  Mention should also be made of Prajnanpurush Sri Sri Babathakur and His satsanga discourses delivered to His devotees during a period spanning over five decades.  Lucid interpretation of the essence of spiritual knowledge offered by Sri Sri Babathakur through Saccidananda Society's many publications like ‘Knowledge of Knowledge’, ‘Nectar of Wisdom’ and other books are spiritually elevating.  Sri Sri Babathakur’s divine message is easy to comprehend, and two of His sayings are quoted here: (1) ‘Nectar of wisdom which is the essence of bliss, is Self Realization/God Realization’, and (2) ‘Swanubhuti characterizes supra-intuitional awareness – Self Realization’.  As we can see, Sri Sri Babathakur’s insights follow in a long tradition of innovation and refinement in the process of conveying the divine message of Sanatan Dharma.
 
The socio-religious group, Viswa Hindu Parishad (VHP), with branches in India, UK and other countries, presents itself as the spokesman and guardian of the Hindu faith.  This group has a social agenda to involve young Indians in club sports activities; however its main purpose is to indoctrinate the youth into Hinduism through the various instruction sessions held at its centers.  Another group, the Sangha Parivar, preaches the concept of Hindutva ( i.e. ‘Hindu’ness) with its program to establish a predominantly Hindu Rajya (state) in India.  This organization makes political noises from time to time, but the majority of the Indian populace is loyal to the principle of secularism as enshrined in the Indian constitution.  Secularism in India does not favor any particular religion or faith community but ensures freedom to every faith group to conduct religious life in its own way.  Secularism presents its own challenges and opportunities to the traditional practices of Hinduism.
 
In the area of Women Power, Hinduism does glorify the concept of Devi, the great Goddess.  Devi Durga is the possessor of the divine power, Shakti and is called Durga Mata, the Mother Goddess.  In modern times this notion of motherhood has been assigned to ‘motherland India’.  Devotion to a mother Goddess as described in Bankim Chandra’s Anandamath elevates Hindu religiosity to a nationalist political cause and may be termed “spiritual nationalism” asserting a moral relationship to Bharat Mata.  Anandamath gave the nation the famous song Bande Mataram (a song in adoration of the motherland) which inspired freedom fighters and enjoys the status of a ‘national song’ in independent India.
 
In the middle of the nineteenth century, Lord Macaulay introduced a system of education through the medium of English with the purpose of training Indians to serve as clerks in the administration of the British Raj.  This opened up a window of opportunities for the youth of India to absorb liberal western views including those associated with social equality and the principle of democracy.   Their minds were kindled with the dream to liberate India from foreign domination.  Many first-ranking leaders of India’s freedom movement were trained in western liberalism, receiving education both within India and overseas.  Indians made good use of the culture of Modernity by embracing the new opportunities made available through western-style education. The educational policy of Lord Macualay proved to be a contributory factor towards India achieving independence.
 
Hinduism is not a casualty of technological developments - rather the practice of Hinduism has benefited from the use of devices that are products of modern technology.  Many Hindu homes have installed speaking clocks that recite the Gayatri Mantra at daybreak so that residents can wake up to the recitation of Vedic hymns.  One can not expect a better way to commence daily chores than to wake up to the soothing utterance of the holy Gayatri Mantra.  Ultra modern electrical lighting devices have entered the arena of worship.  Most temples and religious shrines are decorated with multi-colored lamps and attractive displays of notices showing times of worship and information to help devotees plan their visit and make it a success.  Often video displays covering the puja activities are not only entertaining, but also making the visit a memorable experience.  The artistic decorations and holographic spectaculars that mark the puja pandals (venues of community worship) during Durga Puja are indeed crowd pullers.  True, most visitors are fun-loving sightseers; however the fact that they come to a place of worship, brings them spiritual gain.
 
Many temples use modern facilities for improved sanitation and to protect public health.  The use of clean plastic containers to distribute Prasad (offerings blessed by the temple deity) is a practice welcomed by temple visitors.  There have been changes to temple administration making it functioning more transparent to devotees and finding favor amongst religious aspirants.
 
The internet plays its part in facilitating a righteous Hindu life.  An eager Hindu can read scriptures on the internet and listen to devotional songs and recitation of verses from the holy Gita.  One can also visit Hindu places of pilgrimage virtually courtesy of the internet, and feel spiritually uplifted in the process of doing so. If a devotee for some reason cannot visit an Indian temple to make offerings to his chosen deity, he may not feel disheartened.  Provisions to offer puja at his favorite temple remotely often exist.  If that temple has a dedicated webpage, the devotee can file an online request the temple priest to perform religious sacraments on his behalf.  The devotee thus feels content about being able to discharge his/her religious duties, thanks to the universal availability of the Internet facility.
 
It is a popular belief that Modernity has led to awareness about environmental protection and animal rights, and that this is a recent happening.  Not so.  One must not forget that Hindu culture has always promoted the worship of Mother Nature and consideration of rivers as mothers, cow as mother, and trees as divine for their support of human life on earth.  Modernity in championing the cause of ecology is an acknowledgment and an assertion of the age old Hindu reverence shown towards nature and natural objects. It deserves to be recognized that Modernity through widespread publicity has made the task to improve ecology a global issue.  It is worth mentioning here that the management of the Tirupati temple in Andhra Pradesh has installed solar panels to generate 7.5 Megawatts of electricity and successfully reduced carbon emission.  Hinduism and Modernity are helping each other by making use of modern facilities, thus reaping the benefit of changes that each is undergoing.
 
In conclusion, it may be said that Hindu thought is not entrenched in tradition, but continues to responds to the conditions of social modernization which are taking place all over India and abroad today.