Hinduism/ Angela Hooper

What is the human condition?

It is my understanding that those who practice Hinduism believe that we are all God, Brahman, in different forms. We do not realize our life here on earth is maya, or an illusion, that we are all Brahman in a dream state and we must simply wake up from the dream state and realize that we are not human but we are actually God. Until we wake up from this dream state we will continue to live this cycle of life, which is actually a dream, of learning from our mistakes or learning from good behavior to try and reach the point that we become conscious of our godliness. The process of learning from our mistakes is the form of Karma which I understand makes the universe Just because all of our actions generate good or bad Karma that decides what our future reincarnated life will be like. Depending on our good or bad Karma decides what form we will be reincarnated into after each life cycle, this continues until we reach the godlike state of mind.

This confuses me a little bit because Hindus pray to Krishna or to whatever form of God they desire but it tells us that we ourselves are actually God so what is the use of any form of Godhead to pray to? Why not just pray to ourselves, which brings to mind another question that since we are all Brahman and we live this life completely for ourselves then we are fully self reliant and all the hardships we go through our only support for ourselves is in fact, ourselves? So how is it that our weak and unconscious selves, not knowing our godliness, are able to lift ourselves up out of a bad state. If the god head is suppose to be perfect, all knowing, all sufficient then how are we as god able to live imperfect lives?

What is the solution to this condition?

The solution to the condition of being unconscious of our Brahman state is to generate good karma which will allow you to be reborn into a better dream state

How do we move from problem to solution?

To move from the problem to solution is to realize that you are in fact living a dream. You reach Moksha-liberation. There is the pattern of SAT- being, existing and then CHIT- you gain consciousness of your existence then ANANDA- which is the state of bliss after realizing your state and Moksha-liberation is the end result.

How best to live the solution in our own lives.

The Hindus have said that he best way to reach the Moksha state is to practice what they call the 4 yogas which are; Bhakti, Karma, Jnana, and Raja. Each yoga is a stage or a level of consciousness that will lead you to Moksha. By mastering each yoga you will gain you godlike perspective. Jnana yoga is the level of study, where you study the belief, your state of being, all there is to know about the godlike state and what it means etc. Raja yoga is to then meditate, to focus your entire being upon what you have studied and know, creating a more conscious or spiritual level of knowing. Karma is the activity that you will then live out because you know what is right and have created a spiritual understanding of what you should do. And Bhakti yoga is the full devotion of body, mind, and life to God. Which apparently is ourselves? Therefore devoting ourselves, to ourselves?