Yoga breathing

When the Vedic people witnessed the burning of a dead body they supposed that the eye of the man went to the sun, his breath to the wind, his speech to the fire, his limbs to the different parts of the universe. They also believed as we have already seen in the recompense of good and bad actions in worlds other than our own, and though we hear of such things as the passage of the human soul into trees, etc., the tendency towards transmigration had but little developed at the time. Read more »

asceticism, charitable deeds, dark half, doctrine of transmigration, good deeds, recompense, sun moon, upanishads, vedic, way of the gods, womb

On all sides of us we may see this constant and steady urge and pressure behind living forces, and inorganic forms as well–always a manifestation of Energy and Power. And all this Power is in the Will–and the Will is but the manifestation of the All-Power–the Absolute. Remember this. Read more »

Creative Will, Energy and Power, mental energy, Psychic Phenomena

In our last lesson we led you by successive steps from the beginnings of Life in living forms up to the creatures closely resembling the family of vertebrates–the highest family of living forms on this planet. In this present lesson we take up the story of the “Ascent of Man” from the lowly vertebrate forms. Read more »

evolving of wings, lower forms of life, placenta, skeleton, vertebrates

In considering the Ascent of Man (physical) from the lowly forms of the Monera, etc., up to his present high position, the student is struck with the continuity of the ascent, development and unfoldment. While there are many “missing-links,” owing to the disappearance of the forms which formed the connection, still there is sufficient proof left in the existing forms to satisfy the fair-minded inquirer. The facts of embryology alone are sufficient proof of the ascent of Man from the lowly forms. Each and every man today has passed through all the forms of the ascent within a few months, from single cell to the new-born, fully formed infant. Read more »

ascent of man, continuity, embryology, high position, missing links

There are ten (or, in the case of Sudras, nine) purificatory ceremonies, or “sacraments,” called samskaras, which are done to aid and purify the jiva in the important events of his life. These are jivasheka, also called garbhadhana-rtu-samskara, performed after menstruation, with the object of insuring and sanctifying conception. The garbhadhana ceremony takes place in the daytime on the fifth day and qualifies for the real garbhadhana at night-that is, the placing of the seed in the womb. Read more »

eighth month of pregnancy, fertilization, foetus, growth and development, jiva, mahanirvana tantra, menstruation, ovum, rtu, sacraments, samskara, sudras

Those who accept the theory of heredity deny the existence of the human soul as an entity separable from the gross physical organism. Consequently they do not discuss the question whether the individual soul existed in the past or will continue to exist after the death of the body. This kind of question does not disturb their minds. They generally maintain that the individual soul is inseparable from the body or the brain or nervous system; consequently what we call soul or the conscious entity or the thinker is produced along with the birth of the organism or brain, lasts as long as the body lasts and dies when the organism is dissolved into its elements. Read more »

agnostics, conscious entity, greek philosophers, heredity, human soul, live after death, peculiar nature, reincarnation, vedanta

The amazing achievements of modern science have been opening every day new gates of wisdom and slowly bringing human minds nearer and nearer to the ultimate reality of the universe. The fire of knowledge kindled by science has already burnt down many dogmas and beliefs, held sacred by the superstition of the past, which stood in the way of truth-seeking minds. In the first place science has disproved the theory of the creation of the universe out of nothing by the action of some supernatural power. Read more »

amazing achievements, creation of the universe, innumerable changes, lower animals, progressive development, relative complexity, sun moon stars, supernatural power, theory of evolution