Swami Mukundananda - Essence of Hinduism

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to my Beloved Spiritual Master, Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj, who is illuminating this world with the purest rays of divine knowledge and love.

He has taught us by his example, the importance of nurturing souls with love and care, to help them realize a glorious future. He has given us the supreme process of building a noble value system by teaching selfless divine love.

I am confident that by his blessings this book will be helpful in inspiring and elevating seekers, thereby creating a better world for all of us.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Swami Mukundananda is a world-renowned spiritual teacher from India, and is the senior disciple of Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj. He is the founder of the Yogic system called Jagadguru Kripaluji Yog.

Swamiji is a unique sanys (in the renounced order of life), who has a distinguished technical and management educational background as well. He completed B.Tech. from the world-renowned Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi. He then did MBA from the equally distinguished Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Kolkata. After that, he worked for some time with one of India's topmost industrial houses.

However, distinguished material education and a promising corporate career did not quench his thirst for knowing the Absolute Truth. The longing for God was so strong that he renounced his career and travelled throughout India as a sanys . During these travels, he got the opportunity to closely associate with many elevated Saints of India, read the writings of the great chryas of the past, and reside in many famous holy places.

Ultimately his search took him to the lotus feet of his Spiritual Master, Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj (who is lovingly called Maharajji by his devotees). He was overawed by the unfathomable scriptural knowledge and ocean of divine love that he saw manifest in his Spiritual Master.

Under the guidance of Shree Maharajji, he practiced intense sdhan while residing at the hram. He also extensively studied the Vedic scriptures, and the Indian and Western systems of philosophy.

Upon completion of his studies, his Guru entrusted him with the key task of propagating the ancient knowledge of the Eternal Truth the world over.

For the last quarter of a century, Shree Swamiji has been traveling far and wide, awakening hundreds of thousands of seekers. Wherever Swamiji goes, he attracts huge audiences. Hearing the profound secrets of the Vedas from him is a rare privilege, for he is able to explain the ancient esoteric knowledge with rigourous scientific logic, in the modern context. Using perfect logic, and a simple-yet-scientific approach, Swamiji offers new ways of understanding and applying the knowledge of the scriptures in our daily lives. The hallmark of his lectures is the ease with which he dispels various myths and misnomers associated with the various paths of God-realization, and his ability to penetrate even the toughest minds and convince them with depth of understanding and scriptural veracity.

Swamijis lectures cover the teachings of the Vedas, Upanishads, Shreemad Bhagavatam, Purnas, Bhagavad Geeta, Ramayan, and other Eastern scriptures and Western philosophies. Like the true disciple of a true Master, Swamiji masterfully quotes from the scriptures of all the great religions, to satisfy even the most discerning of knowledge-seekers. He also reveals the simple and straightforward path to God-realization that can be practiced by anyone.

Although Swamiji started preaching in India almost three decades ago, he now preaches both in India and abroad. He has inspired innumerable devotees in Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong, where his visit is always anxiously awaited. Since 2008, on the instruction of Shree Maharajji, Swamiji has increasingly begun spending more time in USA, where his educational background and command over the English language make his programs particularly charming to the intelligentsia, professionals, and academicians.

Shree Swamiji has founded many organizations in India with permanent centers and hrams, such as Jagadguru Kripaluji Yog Trust, India, Radha Govind Dham in Delhi, Radha Krishna Bhakti Mandir in Cuttack, Radha Govind Dham in Berhampur, Shyama Shyam Dham in Jajpur, Radha Govind Dham in Parla Khemundi, Radha Govind Dham in Karanjia, etc. In USA, Swamiji has inspired the formation of Jagadguru Kripaluji Yog, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. In the space of a few years, JKYog centers have opened throughout the length and breadth of USA.

Swamiji cares deeply about imparting Hindu cultural and religious values to the younger generation, especially in the West. Towards this end, he has conceived a special Personality Development program for children and young adults. This program is called The Bal-Mukund Playground for Vedic Wisdom. It includes character building, yog, meditation, devotional singing, and religious training. Many Bal-Mukund centers have been started for the benefit of children, both in USA and India.

Shree Swamiji has a God-gifted ability to keep all kinds of audiences enthralled and entertained through wisdom filled anecdotes, humorous stories and irrefutable logic. He has inspired innumerable people, of all ages, towards the path of God Realization, the world over. Swamiji's warmth and humility touch all those who have the fortune to have his association. In fact, his very presence radiates grace and bliss.

- The Editor

FOREWORD

The human form that we all have received is a tremendous opportunity provided by God to know the Absolute Truth, and to attain the perfection that our soul has been seeking since eternity. This highest goal requires the highest knowledge for its accomplishment. That pure and divine knowledge is the most powerful thing in this world, and people who get access to such uplifting knowledge receive the key to elevating their lives to sublime heights.

The Vedic scriptures are a vast treasure-house of the most resplendent divine knowledge which contains the key for bringing a divine transformation in our lives. Intuitively, seekers worldwide perceive that the heritage of India, the land of spirituality, holds in its bosom the rarest of rare secrets that they all yearn to know. That is why an inherent curiosity exists for understanding the concepts of Hinduism, reading its scriptures, and visiting the country that is the spiritual leader of the world.

However, without proper guidance, such endeavors to fathom the secrets of Hinduism, even with the best of intentions, do not meet with success. People get stumped with how to access the knowledge, comprehend its wide-spectrum of concepts and utilize them meaningfully in their lives. That is why Hinduism is an enigma for most westerners. Their clichd understandings of Hinduism as a way of life etc. cannot fathom the precious treasure of gems in its repository.