Researching Hindu belief systems
 

The spiritual life (adhyatma-jivana), the religious life (dharma-jivana) and the ordinary human life of which morality is a part are three quite different things and one must know which one desires and not confuse the three together.

The ordinary life is that of the average human consciousness separated from its own true self and from the Divine and led by the common habits of the mind, life and body which are the laws of the Ignorance.

The religious life is a movement of the same ignorant human consciousness, turning or trying to turn away from the earth towards the Divine, but as yet without knowledge and led by the dogmatic tenets and rules of some sect or creed which claims to have found the way out of the bonds of the earth-consciousness into some beatific Beyond. The religious life may be the first approach to the spiritual, but very often it is only a turning about in a round of rites, ceremonies and practices or set ideas and forms without any issue.

The spiritual life, on the contrary, proceeds directly by a change of consciousness, a change from the ordinary consciousness, ignorant and separated from its true self and from God, to a greater consciousness in which one finds one's true being and comes first into direct and living contact and then into union with the Divine. For the spiritual seeker this change of consciousness is the one thing he seeks and nothing else matters.

― Śrī Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga, Vol 1

Words from ANANDAMAYI MA

https://www.inner-quest.org/Ma_Words.htm

'Therefore, since there is no world and no body, there can be no action either; this stands to reason.'

That's right, my sister! Tell it! :wink:

research
 

To research Hinduism , u need to broadly understand 4 Vedas , Epics Ramayana and Mahabharat , Smritis / Upanishads (Bhagad Gita - main among them). Of course this has not been possible for main stream Hindus also so far.

Some of the practices and interpretations in last millennium do not truly reflect it .I have not seen the link fully but from what i read initial few paras , i feel it is passivity oriented interpretation/outlook of life which is not exactly the outlook of original Hinduism.

There are quite good internet resources aurobindo / Vivekanand for more close / real / authentic view of Hinduism.
Further on this forum lot of links being posted from Maharshi Ramana , Sarvandandpriya . That too looks pretty close / authentic.

Though I would re-post here the link to the complete work of Sri Aurobindo available in free PDF format:

https://www.sriaurobindoashram.org/s...o/writings.php

Good!
I'm sure pixiedust could use the help! :smile:

One of my own practices (mantra) is highlighted there.

"29. By your japa [repetition of the Lord’s name] and meditation those who are close to you will also benefit through the helpful influence of your presence."

Ramana Maharshi said that the Light projects the brain (soul, whatever) and the impressions in the brain (soul, whatever) manifest as the world and the body.

The nature of the world and the body is not well understood. I discovered this during dream observation and came to the same conclusion as Ramana and Milarepa in that way.