Spiritual Thinking is a great way to Restore Normalcy.

Spiritual Thinking is a great way to Restore Normalcy.

There are many ups and downs in our everyday lives. We become vulnerable during these times because changes in our health, mental stability, and even beliefs thrust on us by immediate friends and relatives shake our beliefs. Spiritual Thinking, by affirming truths and synchronizing our human thoughts with the Divine Mind inside each of us, will restore our normalcy in health and mental fitness.

Spiritual Thinking explains idol worship in a simple way.

In many Indian religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, idols (murti) symbolize the absolute, not the Absolute. They are icons of spiritual ideas or the embodiment of the divine. Idols are a means of focusing one’s religious pursuits and worship (bhakti).

In the Rig Veda, idol worship is mentioned in a hymn only once. Otherwise, the entire Vedas do not mention idol worship.

The Maitreya Upanishad recommends that the truly spiritual man should not worship idols: Worshiping idols made of stone, metal, clay, or precious stones causes a man who seeks freedom to undergo repeated births.

Bhagwad Gita does not condemn or promote idol worship. It simply says that God can be worshipped and realized through various means, such as meditation, Prayer, devotion, and action.

Thus, it becomes evident that Idol worship has developed more recently than in the Vedic period. Let us analyze why this method may have been developed.

There is ample evidence that Egyptian pharaohs, Greeks, and followers of several other religions worshiped idols. These must have had significance and reason, and Spiritual Thinking can help us understand idol worship.

Spiritual Thinking involves synchronizing our human thoughts with the Divine Mind, Brahman inside each of us, driving the engine of Life from birth until our last breath—the Brahman. God enters our material body as soon as the umbilical cord is cut when He activates all the material organs and five senses, develops all human emotions, etc. Until the baby’s umbilical cord is cut, the mother is bestowed with the Fetus’ growth and development. This is a fundamental truth, and we infringe on this God’s bestowed power to the mother. God takes over from the mother when the Baby is independent and guided by God as the Divine Mind. While it is the fundamental Truth that God, Brahman, inside us, is the only power on earth and all its cause and effect, it is hard for any doubters to see the God inside. One of the disciples of Jesus, Thomas, referred to as doubting Thomas, asked Jesus after the resurrection how he could believe that it was Jesus and wanted to see the crucifixion marks on Jesus’ hand. When Thomas was satisfied, Jesus remarked,” You think after you see the marks, but multitude believe without seeing.” The point I am making is that millions and billions of people will not be ready to believe in a God they cannot see to all of them. The temple deity and idols suit their beliefs very well. So why change?
We know that the temples and Murthi worship started after 5oo BC after Buddha’s time. It is reasonable to assume that depicting God in sculptures, paintings, and dietic forms leaves a more robust visual image on the devotees’ minds than an abstract concept such as no form depiction of God as Brahman, the Divine Mind. Given that the Bible is introduced to children through visual cartoons and videos, Children can understand the bible stories better. If that was the intention of the early promotion of temple deities, it is understandable and makes sense. The problem is that even after becoming an adult, he misses the generosity of God’s power and might; God’s Omnipresent, Omnipotent, and omniscient nature cannot be appreciated if we can imagine God to be like other human forms. This happens with the temple deities; we get fixated on that image. This is similar to people thinking that mathematics is just addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division because they cannot comprehend anything beyond. Clearly, with all the algorithms we employ, computing and artificial intelligence are developing so fast that superficial knowledge of arithmetic as a complete representation of mathematics will seem ridiculous. However, if we fully understand there is much more in Mathematics than just Arithmetic, that will be a good start. Likewise, suppose we follow the temple Deities as the starting point of knowing God through Devotion and Practice through meditation and focused Prayers. The mantras and the slokas clearly emphasize that we see the Deity in a convenient form of the true Supreme, OM, or AUM. In that case, we will slowly climb the steps to Spiritual Understanding. Just as there is no end to learning, so are the climbing steps to Spiritual Thinking, and as the devotion turns to Gnana, the formless concept of God, Brahman, and Infinite Mind will become more transparent and precise. In Bhagwad Gita, Lord Krishna refers to this in Chapter 3, and in Chapter 3, verses 17-19, he alludes to the man who has attained the Self Renunciation Stage, and for him, there is no Karma or other rituals to perform. This is stated below:

Mundaka Upanishad 3.2. 9
Moksha is Jnana. One who knows Brahman becomes Brahman (Mundaka Upanishad 3.2. 9). Moksha is nothing but realizing what is one’s true self. Therefore, there is nothing more to be done for Moksha than to know that one’s essential nature (Swaroopa) is Brahman.

Krishna Teaching Arjuna on Bhagwad Gita

Bhagwad Gita: Chapter 3: 17-19.
17
But a man who rejoices only in the Self is satisfied with and concerned with the Self—for him, there is no duty to perform.
18
For him, there is no concern here at all with acting, nor any concern with non-performance. Moreover, for him, there is no dependence on any object to serve any purpose.
19
Therefore, remaining unattached always performs the obligatory duty, for a person attains the Highest ( Salvation ) by performing one’s task without attachment.

Idol worship is just the beginning of getting to know God while you go through the birth and death cycles. But for salvation through Moksha, you need to develop and practice Gnana to attain Moksha or Salvation.

Thus, Spiritual Thinking explains idol worship in a simple way. However, it points to things beyond Salvation or Moksha.

Spiritual Thinking resolves mental conflicts.

1 John 4:1
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

1 Peter 5:8
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.

2 Timothy 1:7
God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity but power, love, and self-discipline.

1 Corinthians 14:33.
“For God is not a God of disorder but of peace—as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people.”

Bhagwad Gita:
Arjuna, a skilled warrior and battle commander, suddenly struggles with moral and emotional issues. He may fight his war-opposing family, friends, and teachers. He struggles between his military duty (dharma) and his love for his family. This inner struggle causes sadness and bewilderment.
Krishna explains to Arjuna that, as the chief warrior, he is fighting a war for Justice, and that obligates him not to be concerned about the Physical bodies of his friends and relatives that he was opposing as enemies, knowing that the Soul is eternal. He cannot destroy their souls anyway. So, he has to fight the war for Justice.
Krishna Advises Artjuna The Bhagwad Gita:

Every Soldier fighting in wars or battlefields will face this conflict, and each one has to resolve this conflict on his terms of justification. That is the reason there are rules to be followed in modern warfare, though very seldom followed, such as the current war between Russia and Ukraine and the Middle East war between Israel and Hamas. The boundary of decency has been crossed many times in both wars, and the Global community cannot resolve these easily.
At a personal level, we frequently face mental conflicts of different kinds. Let us consider a few examples.
This is a frequent example we encounter while driving, especially when we did not have GPS guidance a few years ago and had to decide on a course of action through Spiritual Thinking. I mentioned the first one in an earlier post. Nearly forty years ago, I left a high-level job in a Fortune 100 Corporation for ethical reasons and was blocked in every direction to find employment since I had an excellent reputation for honesty and integrity. I will not compromise my integrity or lie. I took on a limousine job driving executives to the airport. We were living in Connecticut at that time, and I had to do anything to support my sick wife. The limousine company asked me to drive a group of about 20-25 Germans who had come to the US for some sales training. The trip to the JFK airport was about 45-50 miles. I had to drive a big bus I had never driven before. I have experience driving cars and stretch limousines. The limousine company gave me half an hour to practice driving the Bus. Since we had two and a half hours to get to the JFK Airport, I accepted the job. As we got started and entered Interstate 95, after traveling about 10 miles, the traffic slowed and finally came to a halt since a Tractor- Trailer Truck had jack-knifed 15 miles ahead in New York state and had flipped on the side, covering all three lanes of the Highway. So, we were allowed to drive slowly to the next exit. Since I-95 was the only highway that allowed trucks and buses, I had to deliberately choose to drive on Parallel Hutchinson Parkway, which was meant only for cars because of the low clearances of the underpasses. I got on it anyway and would exit and enter again at all intersections to avoid the low clearances. I had never traveled this way before and have practiced spiritual thinking since about 10-12. I left myself entirely at the mercy of God, The Divine Mind, and Brahman inside me and kept heading in the general direction of JFK airport. The Germans perceived the problems and were yelling, cursing, and worried. Since I knew tiny German, I was not distracted and kept focused. I went through the Throgs-neck Bridge towards Long Island and JFK airport. To my surprise, I suddenly found a clear and Bold white lettered Sign on a Green background, saying “ JFK Airport- Next Exit.” I took that exit, followed the signs to the Airport, and reached the Air Terminal twenty minutes before the Plane’s departure. Since there were no security checks for other clearances, the airlines, when I explained, were receptive and let all Germans aboard quickly. And we were all relieved. This is a clear example of how God, the Divine mind, leads us by the hand to our destination.
The second example was around the same time when we had no home, and a friend was gracious enough to let us rent a small separate unit in their house. My teenage daughter, Sheila, was a violinist performing in a Symphony Orchestra. We headed home on a rural road after the performance at about 10 pm when the old car overheated and stalled. I left the hood up and signaled passing cars to stop, but no one did. A German shepherd finally appeared and kept crossing the road back and forth, forcing a vehicle to stop and ask us what happened. I explained, and they had a can of anti-freeze that they gladly helped with. The car started. I thanked them and turned around to thank the Dog, but he was nowhere to be found. The only thing I knew was that God, Divine Mind, helped us in the form of a dog.
The third example happened while we were in Madison, Wisconsin. Since my younger daughter was going to UW-Wisconsin, I worked in a local bank until she finished her undergraduate studies. When applying for graduate schools, she was considered for a prestigious scholarship, the Jacob Javits Fellowship in Religious Studies. She had a perfect 4.0 GPA and was invited to attend an interview at Ann Arbor, Michigan. I rented a car on Friday evening, drove to Ann Arbour, Michigan, a seven-hour trip on Friday evening, and stayed at a motel for a Saturday afternoon interview. The meeting went well, and we were headed back to Madison, Wisconsin, in the evening after an early dinner. We had heard on the news that a Snowstorm was headed east that night and thought we would beat it. But two hours into the trip, we were caught in a Snow Blizzard with no visibility. We decided to pull into a Motel for the night. As we got off the Exit ramp, we were almost stuck on a foot of snow in mid-January, forcing us to get back on the Highway and face the consequences. We slowly inched our way behind a snow plow for almost ten miles until we entered the State of Indiana, where not only the snow had stopped and turned into slight rain, but the roads were prominent. After another twenty miles, the weather was clear, and we could speed through the Highway, reaching Madison around 1:00 AM. This was an example of when Divine Mind forced an error correction and continued the trip.
History is filled with such examples. Moses was led to strike a rock with his stick, and water flowed in plenty for the Israelites to quench their thirsts. Again, Manna fell from the sky when the Israelites needed Food.
Moses Strikes the Rock for water:

Manna Falls From The Sky:
Thus, when faced with fear and confusion, Spiritual Thinking, by synchronizing our human mind with the all-knowing Divine Mind inside each of us, will clear our thoughts and hand-hold us to safety during these mental conflicts.

Spiritual thinking is an excellent way to maintain good health.

Proverbs 4:20-22
The Wisdom of Scripture Brings Health.

Proverbs 14:30
Peace & Contentment Bring Life

Jeremiah 30:17
The Lord Restores Us To Health

1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Our Bodies Belong To God, We Should Honor Him with It.

God, Divine Mind, Brahman, dwells inside us 24/7 and is the engine of life from birth until death. It is the only cause and effect of everything happening in this Universe. Divine Mind is the ever-present stabilizer in the human body as long as the person is alive and stabilizes every abnormality, whether it is emotional warfare, disease, addiction, or any psychosis. For the stabilization to work all the time, we need to practice Spiritual Thinking. Spiritual Thinking is the synchronization of our human brain-derived thoughts with the Divine Mind by constant affirmation of the Truth that God, the Divine Mind, is the only power operating in our life, is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient, followed by meditation and prayer. This is similar to swimming, where we gently push the water aside to propel us forward. The same thing happens in jet propulsion. Meditation and prayer push away other humanly distracting thoughts that impede our spiritual focus. Every distracting human thought sways our attention from calmness, peace, and tranquility. The more the focus of our human mind on the truth, the easier it can synchronize our human thoughts with the Divine Mind inside us and enjoy absolute harmony, followed by eliminating all discordant feelings. As we reach this peaceful state, we eliminate all false manifestations in our body, such as fever, sickness, or any other abnormality, and enjoy perfect health.

Mary Baker Eddy, the founder and discoverer of Christian Science Church, in her midlife, had skidded off on the ice and was injured badly. The Doctors had given up hope for her survival. All the relatives and friends had gathered at her home in New Hampshire for her imminent death while leaving her alone in the upstairs bedroom. May was recollecting all of Jesus Christ’s healing, contemplating how he could do it, primarily how he had raised his friend Lazarus from the dead. Suddely. Mary felt energized, got up from bed, dressed, and came downstairs. She wondered why all her friends and relatives had gathered; smilingly, she greeted them. From that moment came the birth of Christian Science, a Christian denomination globally dedicated to healing people from Sin and Disease. She then wrote the first edition of her book, “ Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures” first published in 1875 and then published in all languages. She then Founded the metaphysical college of healing in Boston. She started the Christian Science in Boston, known as “The First Church of Christ Scientist]]. Since then, the church has developed branches worldwide and stands as a monument to Mary Baer Eddy, who is living and growing steadily worldwide and dedicated to healing humanity of sin and disease.

We had discussed realities ( Truth) and unrealities ( Illusions) in one of the early posts:

Reality (Truth) and Unreality (Illusion)

We experience a lot of unrealities, such as disease and illnesses, because we are made to believe in them by the system consisting of doctors, insurance companies, the pharmaceutical industry, and the media constantly bombarding us with imagined diseases, miracle drugs to cure them, etc. All these false manifestations, including the pandemic, force us to believe in them. In the post following the above, how we can transcend these illusions through Spiritual Thinking by synchronization of our human brain-derived thoughts with the Divine Mind, God, and Brahman present in each of us 24/7:

Transcending Unrealty and manifesting Truth

As we start affirming the truth of Omnipotent, Omnipresent, and Omniscient God, the Divine Mind is the only power in the universe and is the cause and effect of every event in this Universe, followed by Meditations and Prayer, we begin to hear God’s words of wisdom and all the false manifestations melt away Thus by constant practice of Spiritual Thinking we are always far above worldly illusions, enjoy peace, harmony and good health all the time. Thus, spiritual thinking is an excellent way to maintain good health all the time.

Spiritual Thinking is the ultimate way to restore Justice.

Jeremiah 30:17:
“But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds.
Leviticus 19:1
Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.
Psalm 33
The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is whole of his unfailing love.
Proverbs 31:8-9
Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.
Isaiah 42:3-4
A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness, he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth.
Micah 6:8
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Matthew 5:9
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Luke 4:18-19
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me because He has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Bhagwad Gita 4-8:
BG 4.8: To protect the righteous, to annihilate the wicked, and to reestablish the principles of dharma, I appear on this earth, age after age

Throughout history, good people and saints have suffered at the hands of oppressors, most often not because of their deeds or wrongs but because of discrimination, racism, and oppressive thoughts from others. This may be due to miscommunication, misunderstanding, unjust policies, or wickedness.
When Rama had to spend 14 years in the forest, Pandavas had to spend 13 years in exile, and Harishchandra had to turn over the kingdom to Sage Viswamitra. Were these all because they were wrong, or were they sinners? History is full of instances when good people had to endure hardships because of foul play by others deliberately. This kind of thing happens more these days because crooks climb the ladder of politics to high places, which is why false manifestations, such as the pandemic, happen. Since God designs these false manifestations because of evil thinking while protecting good people, these false manifestations do not get anywhere near Spiritual Thinkers. That is God’s way of educating the masses on good vs evil.
‘In each of the above instances, Rama, Pandavas, and King Harishchandra had nothing to do with the cause of the suffering, though they had to endure the hardships. Rama went to spend 14 years in exile to keep his father” ‘s word to one of his wives, Kaikeyi, because she wanted her son Bharatha to ascend the throne instead of Rama. Pandavas had to go into exile because their eldest was defeated in a dice game by cheating. King Harishchandra had to turn over the kingdom to sage Viswamitra, who had a bet with sage Vasjishta to force Harishchandra to lie. Despite all hardships, Harish Chandra never uttered a lie and had to be restored to his kingdom. My family and I have endured forty years of hardships because of one lying and cheating boss out of pure jealousy.
Another shining example of suffering due to others’ schemes and succeeding is that of Joseph in the Bible.

Let us take the story of Joseph. He was the favorite son of the patriarch Jacob. His brothers were so jealous of him that they sold him as a slave to the Egyptians and lied to their father that Joseph was killed. Once in Egypt, while he was working with Potipher, Potifer’s wife tried to nudge Joseph to sleep with her. When Joseph ran away from her, she grabbed his robe and accused Joseph of attempting to Seduce her. When Joseph was thrown in jail, he could interpret Pharoah’s dreams and correctly predict a famine lasting for seven years. He advised Pharoah to hoard enough grains and more during the famine. Pharoah was so impressed with Joseph that he made Joseph second to himself.

History is replenished with such stories and is particularly relevant now since politicians spread all falsehoods to win elections.

Let us conclude with Swami Sivananda’s Universal Prayer:

You can read more in the author’s book: Think Spiritually – Spiritual Thinking For Life. Available at Amazon.com

https://www.amazon.com/author/sivaraman_raghu/

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