Indian Spirituality and Music with
Mukul Shri Goel, Ph.D.
Indian Philosophy
Hindustani Music
The true devotee has only one aspiration: to postpone liberation and love God forever.
Chapter by Chapter Outline
Chapter 1: Forming our Own
Paradigm
The book opens with the theme that there are numerous options available to the spiritual traveler in Hinduism, some of which include what God means to us, what we call him, the favorite forms of God we worship, and how we define our relationship with him. Together with some beliefs that are more or less universal within the Hindu world, these choices outline the spiritual model for a seeker – the paradigm used for finding God. The more common beliefs of karma, impression formation, and reincarnation, which are based on the eternal nature of the soul, are explained while highlighting the intricate interdependence between these beliefs. The reader is also introduced to the goals of Hindu life and the classical paths to God, including the yogas of karmic surrender, love, and knowledge. This introductory chapter concludes with the notion that God is beyond theoretical explication and this understanding should be an inherent part of our spiritual paradigm.
Chapter 2: Getting Started:
The early Impressions for Love
This chapter begins with my observations of a gathering of professional musicians in a temple, where I get inspired by how finely spirituality can be blended with routine events. The reader is introduced to the most popular God remembrance technique of chanting. Why does a saint believe that a single chant of the Divine’s name is enough for liberation? How does regular remembrance differ from the selfless remembrance needed to reach God? Based upon the principles of the Gita, how do early-stage remembrance techniques correlate with the formation of impressions in our mind? Other popular devotional techniques, including satsang (collaboration with the righteous) and community service, are discussed.
Chapter 3: Developing the
Feel for His manifestations
This chapter introduces the reader to the popular forms of God in contemporary Hinduism: Vishnu and his incarnations, Shiva, and Shakti. What are their attributes and what do people like about them? What is darshan (vision of God) and what is the feel of the devotee behind it? How does worshipping an idol develop impressions for actual transcendence? How our own desires define the form of the Mother Goddess we worship? Why do Hindu festivals revolve around the manifestations of God?
Chapter 4: Realization for
the Career Conscious
This chapter is about spiritual awakening for the professional and opens with a revision of karma and karma yoga, the path of selfless action for God. Numerous hypothetical professional-world scenarios are used to provide pointers on how karma yoga can be incorporated into modern-day settings. How can choosing the ‘appropriate’ course of study (major) in college be an advantage for our spiritual realization? Can we initiate karma yoga by engaging in a vocation that does not interest us or is labeled ‘unrighteous’ by our mind? Why ‘planning the future’ with a desire for promotion in the corporate world becomes a hurdle for karma yoga? In the later part, the chapter explains how destiny connects our instincts with our workplace and how God turns out to be the actual doer of all karma.
Chapter 5: Monitoring our
Progress
This
chapter answers why monitoring spiritual progress is important. Our levels
of adherence to non-violence and six other classical impulses, including
anger and jealousy, which are said to hold us back from our divinity, have
been presented as behavioral indicators that may be used to analyze our
progress. If we believe that we are the “real force” behind our good
actions, we may be far from being selfless. How we respond to our own good
deeds and how we feel on receiving monetary gifts can also be used to
estimate our spiritual level. Similarly, care for our environment and
participation in humanitarian global efforts also demonstrate spiritual
advancement, for such activities help us recognize the inherent oneness
among all individual souls.
Chapter 6: From Remembrance
to Love and Surrender
Focusing
more on the devotional feel in contemporary Hinduism, this chapter
illustrates the transition from simple remembrance to total surrender. It
begins with an introduction of the difference between typical remembrance
and bhakti
(selfless love of God) and a highlight of Krishna’s statements in the
Gita that have made an impact on how Hindus connect to him. How does love
of God originate in the mind? Why do saints keep asking for more and more bhakti? What are the
common moods of devotion in Hinduism? How can we use our creativity to
make our own alterations on the path of love and surrender? Does ‘love
of God’ include the path of selfless karma? What happens when love
becomes complete surrender? How is the Lord expected to reciprocate our
love?
Chapter 7: Understanding
Nature
The
chapter opens with what ‘Nature’ means in Hinduism and what is the
relationship between God, Nature and the individual soul. In the Hindu
context, interacting with nature comprises of worshipping Nature as a form
of God, forming a harmonious relationship with the environment, and
embracing her higher instinct (goodness as opposed to passion and
ignorance). The ultimate aim remains the same: development of surrender to
God so that all the modes of nature, including goodness, can be
transcended. This chapter resolves how Indian naturopathy and the creative arts
aid Hindu spirituality. The next section deals with how Nature binds us
and why interacting with family and friends selflessly is a part of achieving realization.
Chapter 8: The Last Few Days:
A Paradigm Shift
This
concluding chapter intends to explain what is so distinctive about saints.
It begins with the theme that as we approach God, whether we see oneness
with God (monism) or have completely surrendered ourselves to the Personal
God, we lose our individuality. As our spiritual paradigm is completely
transformed, we realize that all our initial spiritual selections were not
our own; they were all works of the Divine. What makes saints unique? In
spite of initial oppositions from members of the community, why do saints
opt to fully interact with us? Do
saints perceive suffering as we do? How do they spend their last moments
on earth? What happens when they reach spiritual perfection?
Appendix
A Some initial choices involved
in making a Spiritual Paradigm
Appendix
B Various Interpretations of
Karma Yoga
Appendix
C Lord Krishna’s assurance to
His Devotees in the Bhagavad Gita
Glossary
Selected Features
* The book relevantly links spiritual evolution to professional life and society.
* Makes ancient wisdom more accessible to the modern-day reader.
* Assumes no background in philosophy.
* Offers popular, contemporary Hinduism.
* Integrates ‘how Hindus adore the Divine’ with their practices, routines, and social behavior.
* Couples popular beliefs and philosophical principles from the Bhagavad Gita (and the devotional saints of India) with the writer’s personal observations and novel inferences.
* The major part of the book is not about understanding Hindu theory but on incorporating spirituality into our lives.
* Though the focus is on duality-flavored surrender-based approaches, the book leaves philosophical differences (monism vs. dualism) open-ended for readers as choices to reflect the co-existence of diverse Hindu theories.
Ordering Information
Devotional Hinduism: Creating Impressions for God
Author: Mukul Shri Goel, PhD
Religion & Spirituality/ iUniverse, Inc.
ISBN: 0-595-50524-1/ 126 Pages / 6” x 9”/ $ 13.95
Trade Paperback/ Apr-2008/ On Demand Printing
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