Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-05-07


EzZ=rszI
. universal religion. which embraces ali
the special religions Of the world.
| This uniquely universal character. more
over. is sttu further emphasized by the fact
that It n not built round any particular
personality. In order to make q system of
philosophy or religion universal. the first
thing necessary Is that 1t be absolutely i'm
personal So long as there Is a founder OF
| reiig1on. SO long Is 1t limited by the per-
| sonality OF the founder, and cannot be uni
| versai: as we md in special religions like
and kindred faiths. The followers of each
| OF these great religions. forgetting the prin-
cipies. become attached to the personality
Q! the founder and refuse to recognize any
other; and this results In the discord con-
Met and persecution with which the pages
| OF religious history are filled
"vedanta Is q system of religion az well
a. . system OF philosophy. There are, 1t
II true. many systems of philosophy In
Or eece and Germany. but none Of them has
succeeded In harmonizing itself with the re-
ligious ideals Of the human mind.
Another notable feature OF vedanta is
| that it does not prescribe to all one special
path by which to reach the ultimate goal
Of every religion. Rather does 1t recognize
| the varying tendencies of different minds
| guiding each along the way best suited to
| II. 1t Classics human tendencies into four
| grand divisions and sets forth the methods
which may be helpful to every one. Each
OF these methods is called Ia Sanskrit
| 'Yoga.'
First is Karma Yoga. for the active
man, who likes to work, always ready to
help Others the busy, everyday working
man or woman. Karma Yoga teaches the
secret of work, and tells how we can
turn our daily tasks into acts of worship.
and thus reach perfection in this life
through fS
| TALLY practical and absolutely necessary
| for those who prefer an active career. for
| 1t Will teach them how TO accomplish a
maximum of labor with a minimum loss OF
energy. The larger part of the mental
| energy of the majority OF people In this
country is needlessly wasted by the con-
slant rush of their daily lives. which is
merely the result of lack of self-control.
Did they know the secret of work they
would not only avoid this waste. which is
the cause of the many nervous disorders
to which they are at present subject but
would actually lengthen their days. Karma
Yoga reveals this secret, and opens the way
to complete self-mastery.
1.-THE next method is Bhakti Yoga. 1t is
FOR such as are of an emotional nature 1t
teaches how ordinary emotions can bring
forth spiritual embodiment of the highest
kind and lead to the realization of the ulti-
mate ideal of all religions 1t explains the
nature of divine love and shows us how to
turn human love into devine, and thus fulfill
the purpose Of life both here and hereafter.
THE third is Rata Yoga-the path OF con-
centration and meditation. The field of
Raja Yoga is very vast. It covers the
whole psychic plane and describes the pro-
cesses by which the psychic powers are de-
veloped. such as thoueht-reading, clairvoy-
AZ ce, clairaudience, the evolving of finer
perceptions. the going out of the body, the
curing of diseases through mental power
and the performing of all such acts as are
called miracles
"Raja Yoga takes these psychic powers
and phenomena and makes a science out OF
them. 1t teaches the science Of breathing,
the wonderful effects of which on mind and
body. when properly performed are not
known to the mental healers of the west.
But Raja Yoga warns students that the at
tainment of these powers is not a sign
Of spirituality. 1t teaches that the exer-
else of psychic power and the making
of a profession of 1t ara great obstacles in
the path of spiritual advancement. Its
chief aim. on the contrary, Is to lead the
student through concentration and medita-
ton, to the highest state of super-con-
sciousness, where the individual soul COM
munes with the universal spirit and realizes
the unity of existence, eternal peace and
happiness.
"Jnana Yoga is the fourth method 1t is
the path of right knowledge and discrim-
ination. This Is for those who are intel
lectual. discriminative and of a philosophi
cal nature. Thus We can see in some slight
degree now universal Is the scope or We
danta. 1t also explains the fundamental
principles of spiritualsm; tells US how the
soul exists after death and under what con-
ditions; what kind of souls can communi-
cate with u.s. and what becomes of them
afterward. 1t explains the science of the
soul; and 1t expounded the law of corre-
spondences ages before Swedenborg was
born.
''Vedanta explains the basis of ethics
Why should we be moral? Not because
some one has said this or that; not because
1t is written in a certain chapter of GER
tain scripture, but because of the spiritual
oneness of the universe. If you injure an
other. you injure yourself. If you are
wicked, you not only do harm to yourself
but also to others. 1t also explains why
we should love our neighbor as ourself be-
cause in spirit We are already one with that
neighbor.
1.-The ethics of vedanta bring peace and
harmony to the religious world 1t stands
for liberation and cooperation among all
sects. student of Vedanta belongs to no
sect. creed or denomination. He may go to
church, mosque or temple. In our society
in New York we have members who are of
various denominations. / have been in
vited at various times to address represent
atives of different churches. Prof. Max
Muller, through whose scholarly labors the
western world is given access to the
beauties and truths of the Vedas. declared
after his long studies. 'Vedanta has room
for almost every religion; nay. it embraces
them ALL"
The swamis are men without worldly
goods. They possess nothing and their
teaching is beyond price. Those engaged
In this country are sent for by the students
of the philosophy. their passage to the
United States paid for them and their
necessities of life provided They are vege-
tarians. as are most Hindus. Their vege-
tarianism, however. is inspired by both
physical and moral reasons. They believe
that the eating of meat tends to make the
bodily fiber coarse and to lead to Illness
through the absorption of uric acid. They
also hold that it is immoral to kill for the