Please help me find God and Hinduism(Krishna, Swaminarayan) - Very urgent and scared!

Hare Krishna!

Dear Joshua G,

Many thanks for your kind and beautiful post and for the wonderful quotes from Sri Shankaracharya.

Love and best wishes,

SM

Hare OM!

Originally Posted by storymaker

It is also very nice to know about Shriram Sharma Acharya. I knew about Swami Vivekananda and Rabinranath but, honestly, never heard of Shriram Sharma Acharya. When I get back to India I shall try and visit to touch His feet.

Being in the presence of an enlightened soul is a great blessing, of a great benefit, let alone touching one's feet. Touching the feet of a true Master is good to subdue one's ego. The presence of an enlightened soul have a benefit which I cannot put in words.

You may also want to visit Sivananda Ashram in Sivanada Nagar, just North of Rishikesh. The times I've been there were great blessings for me. Actually, my major realization happened there.

Should you be there, I'm sure you'll enjoy the many temples in Haridaware, especially the Ganga Puja which is being held there every evening, towards sunset.

P.S.,
Wikepadia says that Shriram Sharma Acharya is no longer blessing the planet with his presence: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shriram_Sharma .

Hare Krishna!

Dear Joshua G,

Many thanks for your kind posts, I totally agree with what you have said about being in close contact with a true Sadhu. It is so sad to know that Shriram Sharma Acharya is no more. However, I shall try best to visit His ashram.

It is so nice and pleasing to know that you have been to Hardwaar and Hrishikesh. I have been there, in fact last summer only I was there. I have seen that beautiful Gangapuja at sunset. I have not been to Swami Shivananda's ashram but while staying at a place called Sialsore I met one Baba Bhuthnath from the same lineage. That was a wonderful experience !

Love,

SM

Originally Posted by storymaker

Hare Krishna!

From SpiritualBee....

"Dear Friend,
I understand where you are coming from. I too am from a science background (I have advanced degrees in Physics and Mathematics), so I sympathize with your fears of charlatan gurus and your desire to find a scientific and rational basis to Hindu spirituality.

Luckily you do not have to look far. My personal approach has been to find tried and tested teachers in the not too distant past. There are 3 such teachers who are not only the pillars of Indian spirituality but in whose profound works you will find everything that is pure, rational and scientific.

1. Rabindranath Tagore - It is a little known fact that Tagore was one of India's greatest spiritual teachers who did great work bringing Indian spirituality to the West. His best works to read include:

SADHANA - THE REALISATION OF LIFE: This book is one of the best books to understand Hindu and Vedanta philosophy. Some profound questions Tagore answers include: Who is God? How many Gods are there? Why does evil exist? Does Love have a purpose?

GLIMPSES OF BENGAL - A selection of enchanting letters of Tagore

THE RELIGION OF MAN - Another amazing book

2. Swami Vivekananda - He has written some of the most profound literature in the world! In his works you will find all the answers you are looking for: Who is God? Why did he create this world? Do we have a soul? Here are 3 of his books I recommend. Read them in the order I post coz they go from low to high complexity. All books are available for free on the internet since their copyright has expired.
FROM COLOMBO TO ALMORA - Seventeen Lectures of Swami Vivekananda. (Each lecture has a prelude - a speech given by someone else introducing Vivekananda to the audience - you can skip that and just read his lectures).

SPEECHES AND WRITINGS of Swami Vivekananda - An amazing, amazing book! He describes in scientific detail who God really is. What is karma? What is the soul like?

VEDANTA PHILOSOPHY - RAJA AND BHAKTI YOGA - by Swami Vivekananda


3. Shriram Sharma Acharya - He is a Guru on the scale of Ramakrishna Paramhamsa. A towering figure! I have no words to express how amazing he and his his work is. Here you will find answers to even deeper questions - Did Ram and Krishna exist? (yes they did), how the satyug will unfold after 2012, what happens when we die etc. All his literature is available for free at:
awgp.org (All World Gayatri Parivar)
This is a CLEAN organization, based out of Haridwar, India. They take no money, all literature is freely available.

4. Lastly I invite you to visit my website dedicated to rational, practical and scientific spirituality - The Spiritual Bee (spiritualbee.com)

Hope these teachers end your quest, and their work leads you to new beginnings full of hope and joy as they did for me,
PM
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>

Dear SpiritualBee,

Thanks for your beautiful post.

It is also very nice to know about Shriram Sharma Acharya. I knew about Swami Vivekananda and Rabinranath but, honestly, never heard of Shriram Sharma Acharya. When I get back to India I shall try and visit to touch His feet.

As I see that you are interested in books, the following may be of interest and help to you :

The Story of A Soul - An Autobiography of Saint Therese of Lisieux (The Little Flower of Jesus)
Yogi Sri Krishnaprem-By Sri Dilip K. Roy
Pilgrims of The Stars -By Sri Dilip K. Roy
Autobiography of A Yogi- Swami Yogananda
The Rounding Off-By Sri Dilip K. Roy
The Gospels of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa- By Sri M.
The Life Divine-By Sri Aurobindo
Savitri-By Sri Aurobindo

These books are all gems and the aspirants would do well to read them, if they like reading, and advance rapidly on the paths of their quests.

Love and best wishes,

SM

Thank you to both of you for posting these book titles.

Knowing Self ... is knowing and following Hinduism ..... Without knowing self following ANYTHING is useless Gesture ...... After knowing self ..... there will be no conflict in different religions and opinions of science.

OM NAMAHA SHIVAYA