Christian BORN AGAIN concept is similar to the Hindu word DWIJA ( Twice Born ) and Hindu the sacred Upanayam ceremony ...... ____________________________________________________________ Upanayam also represents a SPIRITUAL REBIRTH and henceforth it is called “Dwija” or “twice born” ritual. Upa means “next” and Nayanam means “eye”; hence the Upanayanam symbolizes the opening of the third eye or the eye of knowledge in the child. ____________________________________________________________ BORN AGAIN ceremony & Upanayam ceremony associated with DWIJA concept are not mere rituals .Those Rituals have deeper meanings. ____________________________________________________________ What Jesus Christ and Hindu Rishis said are one and the same. Unless there is a complete change of consciousness from MATERIAL to SPIRITUAL, nobody can attain SELF REALIZATION. ____________________________________________________________ Well, now let us study deeply about BORN AGAIN QUESTION. ____________________________________________________________ Long, Long ago, the Christian term Born-again was exclusively used within the church as an important part of the churchs phraseology. Now it is widely used even in commercials, just like the word Guru. The actual word in the Greek version of the New Testament is Anothen meaning Born From the Above or Born of God. ____________________________________________________________ Jesus said, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God ( St. John 3-3) and Jesus added : Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again. ( St. John 3-7). ____________________________________________________________ The closest word in Hinduism to what Jesus said is Dwija. The actual meaning of Dwija is Twice Born. ____________________________________________________________ Who is a Dwija (Twice Born)? .....A Brahmin. Who is a TRUE Brahmin? He or she who realizes Brahman. What is Brahman? That which is infinite...God ____________________________________________________________ So in a nutshell, He who realizes God is a “twice born” and He who is a “twice born” will automatically realize God. ____________________________________________________________ What Jesus Christ and Hindu Rishis said are one and the same. Unless there is a complete change of consciousness from MATERIAL to SPIRITUAL, nobody can attain SELF REALIZATION. ____________________________________________________________ BORN AGAIN is NOT a ritual..................It is much more than that. Without complete change of consciousness, it is impossible to attain SELF REALIZATION. ____________________________________________________________ So, it is to be assumed that Jesus Christ was referring to a complete change of consciousness rather than any ritualistic and symbolic gestures. ____________________________________________________________ BORN AGAIN CONCEPT is universal. No religion can proclaim monopoly on that. A person who is “Born again” is indeed a realized person ____________________________________________________________ What is “ twice born” ritual in Hinduism? “Twice Born” ritual in Hinduism is known as “Upanayanam”. Upanayanam is the ceremonial rite of giving a young boy [now a days only Brahmins do this but once upon a time all upper castes conducted Upanayanam] a scared thread with an initiation into the Gayatri, the most popular and holiest of all Hindu mantras. ____________________________________________________________ Thread symbolizes --- connection between material worlds to spiritual world. First a thread is made of nine fine (thin) threads, then three such threads are connected by a knot. These three threads represent Satva, Raajas and Taamasa gunas, Rig, Yajur, Saama Vedas, Gayatri, Savitri and Saraswati concepts. ____________________________________________________________ Gayatri Mantra symbolizes--- the conveyance by which he will travel from material world to the spiritual world. ____________________________________________________________ After the Uapnayanam ceremony, boy becomes a DWIJA – TWICE BORN. That means he has just started his journey into the spiritual world through the sacred thread and Gayatri Mantra. Ceremony also signifies the boys entry into the Brahmacharya ashram. [ the period of celibacy ] . After the Upanayanam, the boy is eligible to study the Vedas. ____________________________________________________________ Am I A Hindu? is an international Best Seller about Hindu Culture. It is a very lively discussion between a 14 year old American born Indian teenager and his middle aged father about every aspect of Hinduism in very simple question and answer format in 90 chapters. Highly recommended for all libraries by LIBRARY JOURNAL and BOOKLIST magazines in USA….This book is used in many universities in USA and Canada in their world religion classes. boloji/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=1781
Posted on: Sat, 25 Jan 2014 14:41:49 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015