Science of the Mystical

SCIENCE OF THE MYSTICAL

An Eye Opener to the Scientific Substratum in Spirituality

Dr. Sree Ranjani Sudhakar

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Contents

Publisher’s Note....

About the Author

INTRODUCTION

MANTRAS

MEDITATION

LAW OF KARMA

SCIENCE OF KUNDALINI

GOD IS LIGHT

IMPERCEPTIBLE VEILED MASTERS

GURU VANDANAM

MIRACLES

OUR UNIVERSE

THE MOON

DEVOTION

SALVATION

THE COLOSSAL SCIENCE OF HINDUISM

Sanskrit Shloka

Publisher’s Note....

Hinduism has perhaps the oldest tradition of mysticism. In Hindu philosophy, and particularly in the metaphysical system the self or atman in a person is identified with the supreme self,

or Brahman, of the universe. Hence traditions of Hinduism are interested in, and develop, keen senses of inwardness that lay stress upon a direct understanding or experience of transcendence. We have a style of mysticism that emphasizes a realisation or awakening in the world, usually accompanied by a monistic metaphysics.

Historically, the higher aspects of Hinduism and mystic Hinduism were reserved for a few qualified practitioners. The scripture state that the deeper secrets of the Hinduism should be revealed only to the most qualified people and even that should be done by adept gurus at their discretion and according to the spiritual progress of their disciples. But, in this book, the author who is also a medical practioner, has revealed many secrets of Hindu mysticism in a manner understandable to most.

We at GIRI are extremely happy to publish this treatise and hope that the book is received well by all.

GIRI

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About the Author

"Dr. Sree Ranjani Sudhakar graduated in MBBS from Government Medical College, Bellary. She did her Diploma in Anaesthesia from MGM Medical College in Navi Mumbai, followed by Diplomate in National Board from Apollo Hospitals in Chennai and went on to do a Fellowship in interventional pain management from German affiliated Aesculap Academy - Daradia at Kolkatta in which she was the batch topper.

Her research papers presented at various conferences– National as well as Zonal; have won the best paper awards. Her medical research papers have been published in reputed international and national medical journals. Winner of the prestigious Kops Award, She has been the recipient of Best doctor award in her speciality. She has authored a book Hand Book of Pain Management in Practice.

Having seen untold human misery and suffering, she realised that the present day scientific knowledge is insufficient to either provide answers or to mitigate all this suffering and felt compelled to explore the spiritual realm. What unfolded were not only answers to the questions that racked her mind, but also the science behind spirituality and an approach to life from a totally new perspective."

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INTRODUCTION

As I began to delve deep in to the enigmatic recesses of the human mind and mulled on human behaviour, misery and death; I realised that the present day scientific knowledge is insufficient to either provide answers or to mitigate all this suffering; though it is making strides in this direction. The world seems and in reality, is much more complicated than what can be explained by present day knowledge of science alone. Can life be because of a series of biochemical reactions that took place as a matter of coincidence or accident? Definitely not!! So the cosmos would not have happened just like that. Then also consider the universe around you. Earth rotates once at 24hrs – making it a day; revolves round the earth once in 365 days – making it a year, seasons change in precision, consider the water cycle and so on. There is so much order and fine tuning in the universe. What is the need and how is it possible?

Mysticism and estorism has always intrigued me.I felt compelled to explore the spiritual realm, which perhaps holds the key to these mysteries. The wonders, the why and how – the conundrum of creation all implies that there exists a dimension much beyond our ordinary level of awareness that ‘other’ dimension, higher; that what we term as mysticism or estorism- the spiritual realm! A superior power at play – that power, which we term as GOD!! Thus perhaps we are reduced to mere instruments in the hands of that superior power.

Now if there indeed is another dimension, is it possible to go beyond the ordinary level of awareness, and is it to be inferred that if we reach that higher dimension all these mysteries are unravelled? Perhaps Yes. When I started my quest, I thought that I may have to transgress the frontiers of Science and technology to foray in to what might be blind beliefs and superstitions; but instead many startling facts were thrown up to me and it slowly dawned that Spirituality is also Science!! But this science has gone so far ahead, that we are yet to reach up to that level of advancement. I only thought it right on my behalf to compile and share the knowledge with as many people as possible and provide modest answers to the similar turmoil and doubts plaguing them.

I was reared since childhood, learning the tenets of Hinduism and a follower of the same; thereby the ease of accessibility to its texts and an understanding of its principles. But never the less, my utmost respects to all other religions in the world; be it Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Zoroastrianism etc; for without an iota of doubt, they all in essence preach the stellar values of righteous living and universal brotherhood.

India is a spiritually rich country. Through all these thousands of years, many great spiritual saints have trodden this sanctified land and each has advocated their path to attaining the supreme. Hence we are left with innumerable philosophies, manifold paths, countless rites and rituals; enough to send a person in to a daze. Worst still, - the umpteen number of Gods to contend with, each seemingly fighting over the other for supremacy!! To the ignorant mind; the concept is unintelligible. Therefore unsure and unable to walk this path successfully, they label it as blind and superstitious. Thus unfortunately, Hinduism is totally a miSunderstood and misrepresented religion.

But the beauty lies in this very same fact. The fact that the philosophies may be innumerable, varied, paths different, but invariably all these lead to the same goal. This goal is a single reality called Brahman. A person can choose the philosophy or the path that appeals to them the most. Similarly, the many ‘Gods’ refer to the concept of a personal God. Absolute Brahman – the single reality is a boundless cosmic consciousness, which being abstract; cannot be effectively conceptualised, given the limitations of the human mind. Having our own personal God becomes a conduit to reach that supreme reality.

Some people may refute the very existence of God – atheists we call them and some others are unsure, like may be there or may not be there. They are the fence sitters – the agnostics. During the course of my interaction with people, I have met many atheists and agnostics; more so amongst the medical fraternity; who seem to reason everything with a scientific temper and are unable to and also refuse to look beyond the limits of their intellect and capabilities of their senses. Thus they denounce the very presence of another superior dimension and further look down upon those who do. Life cannot be a one time accident as claimed by the atheists.

In the present day, there is a wide chasm between science and spirituality. What we call as science is a systematic study of the physical world around us by using our senses. Our sense organs are outwardly bound, focussed on the exterior world. But our senses are imperfect. For example we can see only up to a certain distance, hear only certain range of frequencies and so on. So obviously the information collected is also imperfect and incomplete. Thus, altogether relying on our imperfect senses to reason and judge life as a whole can only result in a distorted perception of reality. But on turning our mind inwards, there opens a whole new dimension.

There are anecdotes, as well as documented evidence of these seers and sages; all human beings like us with the same set of imperfect senses; who have an ability to read others thoughts, predict future events, heal people and so on; perhaps, because of their uncanny ability to reach the higher dimension or higher levels of consciousness. All of these are paranormal events which common man terms as ‘miracles’. These ascetics and seers (the genuine ones though), will have noticeably resplendent faces beaming with lustre; enough to fill our minds with an admixture of awe, respect, devotion and even a certain fear. Besides, the centres of prayer reverberate with divinity and are alluring enough to anybody with a thirst for divine and estoric knowledge. In spite of this we largely tend to either ignore or disparage the spiritual dimension.

Physicist and Theologian Russell once noted that religion is incapable of making its moral claims persuasive or its spiritual comfort effective, unless its cognitive claims are credible. When I used to visit some spiritual congregations, each an enlightening session by itself on the philosophy and spiritual path they followed, they also spoke about many miracles and paranormal events closely woven around their practise. These eye witness accounts also stimulated the quizzical instinct; which perhaps has nudged and persuaded me; to explore these frontiers myself and offer rational and scientific explanations wherever possible to events beyond normal human comprehension. It can be seen, as partly an attempt at pampering the sceptic in us.

Over the next couple of pages, I will try to unravel some mystical phenomena. It reveals the strong scientific substratum underlying the concepts, rites and rituals of Hinduism; thus surmounting the contempt and ridicule faced from some quarters as being baseless and superstitious. I consider this task that I have undertaken myself, as a divine injunction; an endeavour which is part of my own spiritual quest.

The Swedish Diplomat, economist, Author and second Secretary General of the United Nations – Dag Hammarskjold once quoted:

"The longest journey is the journey inwards; of him,

who has chosen his destiny and

started upon the quest for the source of his being."

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MANTRAS

When we visit a temple we would have observed the priest chanting what is called a ‘mantra’. Our Hindu scriptures give a lot of importance to Mantra chanting. This is called Mantra Japa. Mantra is a group of words or syllables, linked together in a certain manner phonetically in the divine language Sanskrit. Man means ‘manas’ or mind and tra means tool. Thus ‘mantra’ is a tool for the mind or instrument for thought. Ignorant people disparage mantras as nonsensical jargon but in reality, mantra chanting is a science by itself.

Our human body is made up of cells and each cell is made up of atoms.