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one's dharma (duty) keeps one on the path that leads to the liberation of the soul from the recurring cycles of life and death. Through the practice of all these Hindu (Vedic) disciplines, an individual can move toward the awakening of the true self and the realization that the internal essence or soul is part of the Supreme Creative Force. |
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Within this vast body of Vedic wisdom, four essential theories put forth in the Upanisads, the concluding wisdom that ends each of the sacred Vedas, are pivotal to the understanding of Hinduism and these disciplines: |
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1. the law of nature creates an undeniable order and harmony in the universe; |
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2. everything that exists (meaning all universal phenomena) is animated; |
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3. all existence is interconnected; |
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4. the essence of everything is part of Thatthe Supreme Creative Force. |
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This last point touches on one of the central truths explained in the great Vedic texts: Tat Tram Asi, or Thou Art That; "That" being a part of the indefinable, unfathomable Supreme Creative Force, however you choose to define it. The Supreme Creative Force lies not just beyond the body and beyond the scope of our limited vision: The Supreme Creative Force lies within us. The individual essence held within the bodyand the body is merely matter that is born and decaysis part of the unseen Supreme Creative Force. |
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This powerful theory that arrives at Tat Tvam Asi is echoed in all the Hindu disciplines from vastu and yoga to classical Indian music and ayurveda. Aldous Huxley in his introduction to the important Hindu epic, Bhagavad-Gita, describes this Vedic theory as "one of the clearest and most comprehensive summaries of the Perennial Philosophy ever to have been made. Hence its enduring value, not only for Indians, but for all mankind."3 |
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3 Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher lsherwood, trans. The Song of God: Bhagavad-Gita, Aldous Huxley, intro. (New York: New American Library, July 1993). |
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