Hinduism FAQ So is the Absolute Truth Hinduism? I read some Prabhupāda and Yogananda books and liked what I read.

The British artificially created a synthetic religion, 'hinduism,' which is based on the false understanding of the Vedas given by Sankaracarya. Sankaracarya's concept of 'oneness' is bogus. You cannot show anyone who has realized this 'oneness.'

'Oneness' really means nothingness, because if there is no second, no object of consciousness, then one experiences nothingness, zero. This is actually a disguised version of the Hinayana Buddhist philosophy given by Sakyamuni, the false Buddha.

There are a real Buddism and a real Vedic religion, and there are also phony impostors that masquerade as the real thing and replace it in ordinary life. Just as there was at one time a real Christianity, but it has now been completely replaced by a false, bogus version.

Mahayana Buddism is the real theistic Buddhism given by the original Buddha; Bhakti is the original Vedic religion given by Sri Krsna; unfortunately the original version of Christianity has been totally lost. False religion gives unfortunate people something to believe in, but their belief does not really help them. Instead false religion leads them further into darkness and ignorance.

Finally, being deceived by false religion, people angrily become atheists and write their own ticket to hell. What they do not realize is that if there is a false version of religion, somewhere there must be a true version. But because they are hopeless, lazy and unfortunate, they give up the search for truth.

We cannot help such foolish, hopeless people, but we can help anyone who still feels that real religion and spiritual life exist, if they are willing to work hard enough to attain it for themselves.

Neither Prabhupāda nor Yogananda were teaching the 'hindu' religion, whatever that is; they were teaching the eternal Esoteric Teaching from different angles of vision, according to the qualification and ability of their students to receive it. We are also doing the same thing.

So if we return to the original source of the Vedic culture, the Vedic literature, we see there is an eternal current of Absolute Truth that underlies all existence and manifestation. This Absolute Truth includes all knowledge necessary for material survival and spiritual development. Knowing the Absolute Truth gives us the means to become transcendental to ordinary temporary material existence, and to attain the eternal spiritual world. This is the real solution to all the problems of life.

The Absolute Truth is extremely succinct: we have given it as the mantra, oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. You will find that by chanting this mantra, gradually everything will become revealed, just as the rising sun reveals everything in the morning.





I am Hindu and want to study the Vedic texts. Can I study here?

Apparently you have not read Srila Prabhupada's Bhagavad-gita As It Is.

"Bhagavad-gītā is also known as Gītopaniṣad. It is the essence of Vedic knowledge and one of the most important Upaniṣads in Vedic literature. Of course there are many commentaries in English on the Bhagavad-gītā, and one may question the necessity for another one. This present edition can be explained in the following way. Recently an American lady asked me to recommend an English translation of Bhagavad-gītā. Of course in America there are so many editions of Bhagavad-gītā available in English, but as far as I have seen, not only in America but also in India, none of them can be strictly said to be authoritative because in almost every one of them the commentator has expressed his own opinions without touching the spirit of Bhagavad-gītā as it is." [Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Introduction]

If you had, then you would understand that the actual identity of the soul is beyond all material religious identifications.

When Sanātana Gosvāmī asked Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu about the svarūpa of every living being, the Lord replied that the svarūpa or constitutional position of the living being is the rendering of service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If we analyze this statement of Lord Caitanya, we can easily see that every living being is constantly engaged in rendering service to another living being. A living being serves other living beings in two capacities. By doing so, the living entity enjoys life. The lower animals serve human beings as servants serve their master. A serves B master, B serves C master and C serves D master and so on. Under these circumstances, we can see that one friend serves another friend, the mother serves the son, the wife serves the husband, the husband serves the wife and so on. If we go on searching in this spirit, it will be seen that there is no exception in the society of living beings to the activity of service. The politician presents his manifesto for the public to convince them of his capacity for service. The voters therefore give the politician their valuable votes, thinking that he will render valuable service to society. The shopkeeper serves the customer, and the artisan serves the capitalist. The capitalist serves the family, and the family serves the state in the terms of the eternal capacity of the eternal living being. In this way we can see that no living being is exempt from rendering service to other living beings, and therefore we can safely conclude that service is the constant companion of the living being and that the rendering of service is the eternal religion of the living being.

"Yet man professes to belong to a particular type of faith with reference to particular time and circumstance and thus claims to be a Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist or any other sect. Such designations are non-sanātana-dharma. A Hindu may change his faith to become a Muslim, or a Muslim may change his faith to become a Hindu, or a Christian may change his faith and so on. But in all circumstances the change of religious faith does not effect the eternal occupation of rendering service to others. The Hindu, Muslim or Christian in all circumstances is servant of someone. Thus, to profess a particular type of sect is not to profess one's sanātana-dharma. The rendering of service is sanātana-dharma." [Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Introduction]
The whole idea of 'hinduism' is a compromise between Vedic and Islamic culture for the convenience of the government. It is a syncretic faith; you will not find the name 'hindu' in any Vedic scripture—in fact, the word is a Persian racial slur.

The actual eternal designation of the soul is that we are all servants of God. God Himself speaks the Bhagavad-gita, revealing Himself fully as Krsna. So if after reading Bhagavad-gita we still consider ourselves a member of some mundane religious faith, then we have not actually understood the Esoteric Teaching of Bhagavad-gita as it is.





I am very attracted to Hinduism although it seems mythic and ethnic. Is this so?

The Vedic culture is historical, not mythic. It is universal not ethnic because it is eternal, and scientific because it is solidly based on unconditional Absolute Truth. Any objective observer can confirm and verify it by experimenting on his own consciousness.

You cannot find the word 'hindu' in any Vedic scripture.
Just like from Sindhu, they have called, they have designated the inhabitants of Sindhu-deśa as "Hindu." The Muhammadans, they pronounce s as h. So from "Sindhu," it has come to "Hindu." Otherwise, this 'hindu' name is not mentioned in any Vedic literature. It is given by the... This name is given by the other foreigners. Especially the Arabian countries, they used to call this nation, Bhārata-varṣa, 'hindu.'

Actually, Hindu is not a religion. Hindu is a name given by the foreigners. The religion is, of India, varṇāśrama-dharma, following the institution of four varṇas and four āśramas. That is varṇāśrama-dharma, or sanātana-dharma. Sanātana-dharma means eternal, eternal religion. [Class, Hawaii, 1/15/74]
The so-called 'hindu' religion is not eternal, nor is it mentioned in the Vedas. The proof is that the so-called followers of 'hinduism' generally eat meat, garlic and onion, take intoxication and indulge in illicit sex. So that is not Vedic religion; that is Kali-yuga or Western religion. They want to take the name of Vedic religion, but they cannot follow. Therefore we reject this bogus 'hinduism.' That hypocrisy has no meaning.

Actually there is no 'Hinduism.' Hinduism is a phony religion created by the British for political purposes. If you doubt this, then just Google 'British created Hinduism.' The British created a false polytheistic religion where God is ultimately impersonal, the soul is ultimately nothing, and karma or fatalism is supreme. Then they picked the most atheistic sect they could find to be the titular head of their syncretic religion. The result was a religion so weak that even Christianity could easily defeat it. Which was the whole point, of course.

Then they made 'Hinduism' a required course in their schools and universities, so anyone who wanted a good job had to study and adopt it. Finally, to add insult to injury, they gave it a name that is a Persian racial slur against the Vedic people. Just like the real name of the country the British called 'India' is Bharata. It's still on their flag and currency. Hear our podcast series "Vedic History" for more information on this topic.

Unintelligent, unenlightened rulers like to make the people weak, the better to control and manipulate them. Transcendental realization makes people strong and independent. So insecure despots throughout history have conspired to hide real spiritual knowledge and replace it with phony sham religions. It happened with Buddhism: they even created a fake Buddha, Sakyamuni, to replace the original Buddha whose teachings were completely different.

It happened again when the Romans adopted Christianity as the official religion of their empire: Emperor Constantine killed off the people who knew the real teachings of Jesus and edited the Bible to suit his political needs. It happened again when the British invaded 'India' and created 'Hinduism.' Nothing new under the sun.

But when you come in contact with actual transcendental knowledge, you can feel it. To finally know what we really are and our relationship with God is liberating. You automatically become cheerful and the cares of life seem lighter. It is not a belief, but a radical change in consciousness. Self-realization is the most wonderful experience in human life.

jñānena tu tad ajñānaṁ
yeṣāṁ nāśitam ātmanaḥ
teṣām āditya-vaj jñānaṁ
prakāśayati tat param

"When, however, one is enlightened with the knowledge by which nescience is destroyed, then his knowledge reveals everything, as the sun lights up everything in the daytime." [Bhagavad-gita 5.16]








According to Hindu philosophy, the only way to reach God is via natural frequencies and one of the sourced is through mantras. I am losing my taste for the Gayatri mantra though and Hinduism is becoming more and more distasteful. What can I do?



It is interesting that when you speak of your own experience, you are in agreement with the Esoteric Teaching. But is not surprising that you would feel distressed and in difficulty. For when you speak of philosophy, you are revealing that you have been completely deceived by the politically motivated scoundrels who sabotaged the real Esoteric Teaching of Vedic culture in India, and substituted the phony synthetic teaching of 'hinduism' in its place.

Like most people, even Indians, you do not know the real history of Vedic culture. You have been deceived, but you should not feel sorry for this, since it is not your fault. When you take the Introductory Seminar, we will discuss all these things in great detail and you will understand the truth.

But for now you should at least understand that whatever is publicly known about Vedic philosophy, both in India and especially in the West, is a clever fabrication of very recent origin. It has little to do with authentic Vedic culture or real yoga practice. It takes the same words and external forms, and subtly redefines them in such a way as to spiritually disempower them. It is a very refined form of political propaganda designed to sabotage Vedic culture, and disempower and defeat anyone who tries to practice yoga.

Therefore the bogus philosophy of 'hinduism,' that we are all God, and that everything is one, and all paths are the same, is nothing but a very sophisticated weapon designed to spiritually cripple and destroy anyone who accepts it. The fact that so many people accept this nonsense does not make it right. Just because all the lemmings jump into the sea and drown, should you drown yourself also? What kind of philosophy is that?

Certainly we are living in the Kali-yuga which was clearly described over 5,000 years ago in the Esoteric Teaching:

"In Kali-yuga, wealth alone will be considered the sign of a man's good birth, proper behavior and fine qualities. The religious principles of followers of varnäsrama will be ruined. The path of the Vedas will be completely forgotten in human society, and so-called religion will be mostly atheistic. The kings will mostly be thieves, the occupations of men will be stealing, lying and needless violence, and all the social classes will be reduced to the lowest level of südras." [Bhagavat-Purana 11.2.12-16]

Does this sound familiar? Just read the daily headlines or look around you anywhere.

So do not be deceived. You will not find the real, original Vedic religion in public meetings or hear it from popular teachers. The Brotherhood of the Esoteric Teaching has waited many generations in secret, until this time of chaos and destruction to bring forth the original teachings, for now (to use a Biblical metaphor) is the time of the Call for Laborers before the Harvest. Those who heed the call will be saved by the Lord's grace, and those who do not will be ruined by the false religion of Kali-yuga.

I am sorry to hear that you are not feeling well. But this is the state of most people in these degraded times. Not only you, but everyone is suffering due to lack of scientific spiritual knowledge. Everyone needs to be connected with a bona fide spiritual representative of the Esoteric Teaching so they can be saved from the anxiety and rootlessness of Kali-yuga.

The Esoteric Teaching is the Clear Path to peace, purity and elevation. But it must be walked with a clear head and proper understanding. The standard of real Vedic knowledge is very high. Our requirements for initiation and teacher training are the strictest in the world outside of the Himalayan schools. But anyone can hear and understand this message, and practice chanting the dvadasaksara-mantra, "om namo bhagavate vasudevaya."

Just like Krsna spoke the Bhagavad-gita in the midst of the Battlefield of Kuruksetra, so that friends and foes alike could hear, this mantra can be chanted safely by anyone, whether strictly following the Vedic principles of spiritual life or not. It invokes
the potency of Vasudeva to give us spiritual victory in the battlefield of life, to overcome the forces of ignorance and to find safe shelter in the eternal service of the Supreme Lord. This mantra is real Divine mercy and compassion for the soul of a world drowning in the ocean of ignorance that is Kali-yuga.

So please carefully review all our materials on the website, download the videos and put them into practice.






I am confused, I saw an article saying that Hinduism is the third most popular religion. How can you say Hinduism doesn't exist?

A student answers:

What is the confusion? Babaji has explained quite clearly the situation. There is no such thing as "Hinduism" - it is simply a generic term for the mish-mash and hodge-podge of various atheistic and some theistic spiritual schools practiced. Nobody can lay down for you the tenets of anything called "Hinduism", because the term has never been defined because it doesn't represent anything clear - precisely for the reason that it was introduced to make things unclear. The same term is used to describe every spiritual philosophy from outright atheism to pure devotional service and everything in between. Just like the term American or Indian - what defines it? Is it relative or absolute? What is that terminology based on? What is its value?

We have nothing to do with this corrupt relative and material terminology. We have our own precise and absolute terminology as laid out in the Vedic scriptures and in the writings of the acaryas of our sampradaya. If we simply study this terminology carefully, then we can see the ridiculousness and danger of other popular and loose terminologies and the havoc they play with spiritual understanding. Our understanding is heavily influenced and limited by the terminology we use to express it.





Could you elaborate on the creation of hinduism and its effect on the Vedic culture?

Here is a speech by Lord Macaulay:

I have conversed both here and at home with men distinguished by their proficiency in the Eastern tongues. I am quite ready to take the Oriental learning at the valuation of the Orientalists themselves. I have never found one among them who could deny that a single shelf of a good European library was worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia. The intrinsic superiority of the Western literature is, indeed, fully admitted by those members of the Committee who support the Oriental plan of education.

It will hardly be disputed, I suppose, that the department of literature in which the Eastern writers stand highest is poetry. And I certainly never met with any Orientalist who ventured to maintain that the Arabic and Sanscrit poetry could be compared to that of the great European nations. But when we pass from works of imagination to works in which facts are recorded, and general principles investigated, the superiority of the Europeans becomes absolutely immeasurable. It is, I believe, no exaggeration to say, that all the historical information which has been collected from all the books written in the Sanscrit language is less valuable than what may be found in the most paltry abridgements used at preparatory schools in England. In every branch of physical or moral philosophy, the relative position of the two nations is nearly the same.

[...]We must at present do our best to form a class who may be interpreters between us and the millions whom we govern; a class of persons, Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinions, in morals, and in intellect. To that class we may leave it to refine the vernacular dialects of the country, to enrich those dialects with terms of science borrowed from the Western nomenclature, and to render them by degrees fit vehicles for conveying knowledge to the great mass of the population. [Source: Minute of 2 February 1835 on Indian Education]

So we can trace the sad state of spiritual affairs in the world today to the fact that the idiotic demons who ended up ruling (a.k.a. exploiting) half the world took the Vedic literature and made every effort to bury it, malign it and turn it into a caricature.

Not only did the British misunderstand the Vedas and deceive themselves and their Indian subjects, they embedded their warped point of view in the educational system worldwide. Every textbook on comparative religion includes their perspective by default. The Indians themselves are confused, and they cannot find unity in the shadow of 'hinduism', for the very foundation of the Vedas, the idea of a single transcendental personal Godhead, has been invalidated by impersonalism. So the British did their job only too well, and now the whole world suffers from a lack of theistic Vedic knowledge.

The remedy is to understand the correct method of interpretation of the vedic literature. Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa says in his Govinda-Bhasya commentary on Vedānta-sūtra,

“Let it be so that the Sāṅkhya-smṛti finds no scope, for otherwise other smṛtis, such as Manu and the rest, that also declare Brahman to be the universal cause and are in harmony with the teachings of Vedānta, would become useless.” Thus there is a choice of two evils: should the texts of Vedānta be interpreted in a distorted way to give scope to the Sāṅkhya-smṛti, or should they be interpreted in a natural way to give scope to Manu and the rest? Certainly the greater evil is to deny scope to Manu and the other smṛtis. Manu-smṛti and others like it establish that the Lord is the cause of the creation, sustenance and dissolution of the universe, and that the atheistic creation theory of Kapila is incorrect." [Vedānta-sūtra 2.1.1]

And I add in my comments,

We cannot interpret the meaning of the Vedānta texts by means of the Sāṅkhya-smṛti of Kapila, because then we would have to accept an extremely undesirable conclusion: that all the other smṛtis are without authority. This would establish a conclusion opposed to the unity of the sacred scriptures, the most fundamental principle of the Vedic literature. For accepting a certain text to settle the meaning of another would show clearly the whole direction and intent of the scriptures as a whole. The Saṅkhya-smṛti does not possess this authority, because its conclusion is contrary to the conclusion of the Vedas as a whole. Actually this determining role belongs to the Vedānta-sūtra and its natural commentary Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam alone, for they are the mature verdict of Kṛṣṇa-dvaipāyana Vyāsa, the authoritative compiler of the most important Vedic literatures.

The same reasoning applies to the Mayavada interpretation of Sankara; in fact Baladeva's commentary on a later sutra states that a separate refutation Sankara is not necessary, because his detailed refutations of atheistic Sankhya, Buddhism, Jainism, Saktism etc. have already refuted the doctrine of the Mayavadis. The British made the Sankarites the chief sect of Indian religion under 'hinduism', because they knew it would fatally weaken the Vedic culture. So as long as the atheistic nonsense of the impersonal misunderstanding of Sankara stands, India will continue to labor under the colonial oppression of the West.




I came across a nice Hindu story of the Viṣṇu incarnation, Kṛṣṇa. Some of it seems to contradict what is on your site. For example, the story says that Kṛṣṇa was in Mathura until the age of 28.

Thank you for posting your sentimental description of Lord Kṛṣṇa. I'm sure your intention was good. However, your post contains many factual inaccuracies and distortions. I wonder where you got some of this information. Certainly not from our school or lineage. You should become more familiar with our Vedic scriptural standards before you post something so misleading.

First of all, we students of the Vedic Esoteric Teaching do not accept the designation 'Hindu'. This is a foreign name that comes from the Persian language, coined by violent invaders of Bharata, mlecchas, enemies of sanatana-dharma, and on top of everything it is a racial slur. The British supported this 'Hindu' program to disempower the authentic followers of the Vedas by putting them under the charge of the Sankaracaryas, impersonalists who hate the very name of Kṛṣṇa. Don't you know anything about actual Vedic philosophy and history?

Kṛṣṇa is not an incarnation of Viṣṇu; it is Viṣṇu who is an expansion of Krsna. Haven't you read Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.3.28? Kṛṣṇa alone is svayam-bhagavan; all other incarnations expand from Him. You are mixing so many different philosophically incompatible concepts. We have discussed this subject thoroughly in the Preface and Introduction to our Sri Visnusahasranama, complete with quotations from the relevant sastra. On the other hand, you do not quote from sastra at all, only give your own erroneous opinions.

When you do quote from scripture, you give some unauthorized translation of the Bhagavad-gita. We do not agree at all with this nonsensical translation. We use only original translations by fully self-realized souls, the Master Teachers of the Vedic lineage directly from Kṛṣṇa Himself, especially our guru Srila Prabhupāda.

We also have serious issues with the chronology of Krsna's life that you present. Where is the evidence that Krsna was in Mathura until 28? Actually He was hardly ever with the Pandavas; Mahabharata describes that He only visited them 5 or 6 times in the whole 108 years that He played the part of a Kuru king.

Since you do not provide any scriptural references, your whole presentation is extremely weak and misleading. This is exactly how errors and distortions creep into religious teachings. You should be much more careful with your presentations of Vedic topics. We do not accept anyone's opinions as facts unless they can back them up with authoritative quotations from the original Vedic scriptures. Our Esoteric Teaching school is solidly in the disciplic succession from Lord Krsna and Lord Sri Caitanya. So unless you are properly initiated in this line and propagating the identical understanding, you have no business presenting yourself as anything but a beginning student here.



I am Indian and I think Lord Krsna was a great person; that is why I posted the story.

If one thinks, "I am Indian," then this is the bodily conception of life. And actually 'Indian' is a foreign name. What does it say on the flag and the money? Bharata. King Bharata was a great empowered incarnation of Godhead who made the earth planet bring forth great riches in terms of agricultural produce, and your country is actually named after him. You should be proud of that, not some foreign name given by people who hate the Vedas and Krsna.

But anyway, to say that "I am a material body and this body comes from such-and-such country," is illusion. What about your previous body, or your next body? Will you be born in the next life in the same country? Who can say? Therefore what is the meaning of this idea, that "I belong to India," or "I belong to this country or that country"? This concept is temporary, illusory, maya only.

And then you say, "How great Lord Krsna was." He is not like a material person who comes here for some time and then disappears, never to be seen again. Lord Krsna is eternal; He always exists in the spiritual world without beginning or end. He can be with us right now, just by chanting His Holy Name without offense.

When I was living in Bharata I saw this again and again, that the people there are proud, thinking that they are very special and spiritually advanced only on account of taking birth in a certain land, but this is not accepted in the Vedic scriptures:

yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke
sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma ijya-dhīḥ
yat-tīrtha-buddhiḥ salile na karhicij
janeṣv abhijñeṣu sa eva go-kharaḥ

“A human being who identifies this body made of three elements with his self, who considers the by-products of the body to be his kinsmen, who considers the land of birth worshipable, and who goes to a place of pilgrimage simply to take a bath rather than meet men of transcendental knowledge there, is to be considered like an ass or a cow.” [Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.84.13]

Actual spiritual advancement means to understand and realize the ontological position of the spirit soul in relation to the Supreme Personality of Godhead according to the version given in the Vedic scriptures, but I can see no evidence that you are in this position. You want to be accepted as some kind of great spiritual authority, very knowledgeable about spiritual life, but at every point you make serious mistakes. So your mood should be to inquire very humbly what is the correct understanding according to the Esoteric Teaching of the Vedic scriptures.
I was born into a Hindu family but became agnostic. Thank you for showing me the truth about God.

Thank you for your appreciation and participation in our community. But honestly, the difference between what most Indians think of as 'hinduism' and the actual Esoteric Teaching of the Vedas is just as vast as the difference between what most Americans think of as 'christianity' and the actual teachings and practices of Jesus.

External religious teachings are always influenced by materialism and politics because of their need to appeal to the masses. But an authentic esoteric school is based on quality, not quantity. A majority vote cannot make wrong into right; nor can it make self-serving dogma and empty ritual into self-realization. They are on two completely different ontological platforms.

But now because of your sincere desire for the Absolute Truth, you have come into association with Kṛṣṇa's pure devotees. So please continue to associate and serve, and you will ultimately realize all of this for yourself.
mac-cittā mad-gata-prāṇā
bodhayantaḥ parasparam
kathayantaś ca māṁ nityaṁ
tuṣyanti ca ramanti ca

"The thoughts of My pure devotees dwell in Me, their lives are surrendered to Me, and they derive great satisfaction and bliss enlightening one another and conversing about Me." [Bhagavad-gītā 10.9]




I am going through an identity crisis and no longer want to be called a Hindu. Maybe I should call myself a spiritualist?

Well you're finally making sense.Yes, 'hindu' is a false designation, a materialistic term that is not mentioned in the Vedas. So-called 'hinduism' is a compromise, a syncretic religion designed to disempower anyone who accepts it. I'm glad you have finally seen this.

But 'spiritualism' is just as empty.
Spiritualism is a religion founded in part on the writings of the Swedish mystic Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772). It is theistic, postulating a belief in God, but the distinguishing feature is belief that spirits of the dead can be contacted, either by individuals or by gifted or trained "mediums", who can provide information about the afterlife. [Wikipedia]
They talk of 'God,' but their conception of God is impersonal. Then what is the difference between spiritualism and hinduism, spiritism, vedism, new age etc.? The Esoteric Teaching of the Vedas is the only spiritual culture that has definite information of Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

So why not consider yourself a Vaiṣṇava? Have you read Śrīla Prabhupāda's Bhagavad-gītā As It Is? Of course, Vaiṣṇava is not just a cheap label; it's a totally spiritual way of life. Are you willing to follow the principles?




What do you think of the caste system in India?

The so-called caste system according to birth was introduced to Bharata by outsiders, the Muslim invaders. The actual Vedic social system is varnasrama-dharma, and it is not based on birth but on a person's quality and activities:

cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ
guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ
tasya kartāram api māṁ
viddhy akartāram avyayam

"According to the three modes of material nature and the work ascribed to them, the four divisions of human society were created by Me. And, although I am the creator of this system, you should know that I am yet the non-doer, being unchangeable." [Bhagavad-gita 4.13]

The caste system by birth is rightly criticized as rigid and unfair, and it shold be rejected; but the original varnasrama system requires skilled and intelligent brahmanas to administer the tests that determine an individual's guna-karma, or qualities of work. When brahminical culture became corrupt due to impersonalism and other misinterpretations of the Vedas, the varnasrama-dharma social system became unworkable, and it cannot be repaired without reviving the original brahminical system.

In the final analysis, Vedic culture is based on brahminical culture or the culture of transcendental devotional service described in Bhagavad-gita and similar Vedic scriptures. Therefore although Vedic culture can certainly be perverted and destroyed by political and military means, it cannot be rebuilt or propagated by those means. This is the mistake made by all so-called 'hindu' politicians. Hindu is a Persian word, and it is a racial pejorative that stands for a compromise between Vedic and Muslim culture. Real Vedic culture can be revived only if brahminical culture is re-established, and that is the business of an esoteric school, not a religion or political party.

The institutionalization of Vedic devotional service in ISKCON and Gaudiya Math has also been a failure; these organizations are not producing enlightened and self-realized teachers, but only political-minded imitators and pretentious exploiters masquerading as religious functionaries. We are therefore committed to revival of the original Upanisadic style of esoteric school, where each student has a unique, direct personal relationship with a self-realized soul, and performs devotional service according to his personalized instructions.

Sign up here for the monthly Esoteric Teaching Seminars Newsletter:

Name:
E-mail:

The Esoteric Teaching is supported by your generous donations.

All donations are tax-deductible under Article 501(c)(3) of the IRS Code.