Vedanta: The Upanishads and their commentaries.- Yama's Instructions to Naciketas-

This is a story about a Brahmin boy named Naciketas, whose father is performing a sacrifice to give away all of his possessions. So, Naciketas asks his father to whom will he give him away to, and his father tells him to Yama, the god of death. The words spoken during a sacrifice have great significance and he is immediately sent to Yama.

Yoga The meaning of Yoga- The term Yoga, refers to a range of practices for disciplining mind and body. The meaning behind Yoga, is to focus on developing progressively greater control over the agitations and fluctuations of mind and body in order to arrive at a state of perfect equanimity. One accomplishes this by turning the attention inward, away from the sense objects, which leads to detachment and wisdom. A person who becomes detached from external things has no basis for continued existence, and thus becomes liberated from the cycle of birth and death. Yoga is separation of one's spiritual essence from insentient matter. Beings whose spirits are associated with matter necessarily experience suffering. Talk about yogic attainments.

Yama states that, "The good is one thing, and the pleasant another, both goals which blind a person. From, the two, it is better for the person who chooses the good, the person who chooses the pleasant does not fulfill his goals. Naciketas asks Yama, "Tell me what you see beyond righteousness and unrighteousness, beyond what is done and not done, and what is beyond what was and what will be." Yama responds by saying, " I will briefly explain to you all that is taught in the Vedas, all that asceticism declares, and that which sages seek through religious practice. It is Om." This syllable is truly Brahman, it is the supreme syllable. Whoever knows it, obtains all wishes." This is the best support, this is the supreme support. Knowing this support, a person attains happiness in the world of Brahma.

Puranas and Epics/The Four Ages-Puranas and Epics are the most widely known of Hindu scriptures. They are rich in symbolism and contain a wide variety of divergent traditions; they describe the gods and explain how they should be worshipped. There are two great epics of Hinduism, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. The Ramayana-describes the story of Rama-an incarnation of Vishnu-who takes birth among humans in order to fight against evil forces and establish dharma(peace) in the world. His slays Ravana a demon, who captures his wife Sita, and brings peace in the demon's realm.

That is You- states that the atman and Brahman are one. The terms Brahman and Atman refer to That and you. Their identity is established only when they are understood in their true significance, and not in a superficial sense. Brahma might refer to God, ruler of Maya and creator of the universe. The Atman may refer to the individual soul, associated with five coverings

Some topics in this essay:
Yama Yama, Ultimate Goal-, Golden Age, Maya Ramanuja, Origin World-, Effort Liberation-, Mahabharata Ramayana-describes, Yama Tell, Brahman Atman, Instructions Naciketas-, golden age, cyclic existence, golden age age, atman refer, liberation saying, age people, father father, naciketas father, atman brahman, mind body, person chooses,