Crossroads2013
New Member
Hello, everyone! It's nice to meet you! I am at a crossroads in life, and want to know if many of you can help me with this.
I would like to get an answer for this from any religious perspective; Hindu, Christian, Islam, etc. For the past 2 years, I have been on and off attracted to the idea of becoming a vegan. Not long after that, I began to wonder, after hearing one of my favorite bands from the 60's; The Doors, had taken LSD, and I've always thought there is a certain meaning to their music, but my mom always seemed stunned when I told her I like their sound. She wasted no time in telling me that they did LSD constantly, and she couldn't quite understand why I liked the sound, but The Doors is not the primary reason I am being influenced, and I only listen to them every once in a while. Mom kind of ruined it for me. Anyway, aside from all that, for the last few weeks, I have started to question my faith, and this was after a week-long research into spirituality and psychedelic drugs (yes, which are illegal). I was reading about many stories of people doing these drugs; both bad trips and good. Since there were mixed reviews, I laid off of learning about them for a while. Then, it hit me. There was a reason I was trying to escape through a drug-induced mystical experience. I am miserable, but want to be happy. I was hit with the realization that the God, or Jehovah, of Christianity, did not want to help me; not even bless me with the feeling that he's even listening to me. I first picked up the bible when I was only 9, and haven't looked back since then, except for the past few weeks. I have always seen myself as strong, but like I said, life has not been meaningful for me. No, I am not contemplating taking my life, or doing drugs.
I have tried to explore Hinduism twice the past year, and each time I say the Hare Krishna mantra, I get this feeling of peace and serenity; like my soul is protected, like things will be alright. I am a thinker, though, and logical, and the main thing that attracted me to Hinduism is the logical viewpoint of the Rishis, or Indian "seers" who wrote the Vedas, which I believe is where all the scientific and astronomical theories originate. There are so many Sanskrit texts, that I do not know where to begin. I loved the Bhagavad Gita, but upon further inspection, the constant mention of Yoga, and what it all entails, put across to me the message that "just close your mind, see the gods, you are god, along with Brahman" kept occurring to me in my search, but it never sounded right. After all, it was Lord Krishna who stopped time itself before the war at Kurukshetra, to show Arjuna the things he needed to know when Krishna basically told him to fight all his enemies; even the ones Arjuna had grown to see as gurus and father figures his whole life. Krishna mentioned reincarnation in this text as well; a concept I have never grasped nor understood.
I have not only been learning of Hinduism, however, but also Buddhism. Basically, I take it that both sides are saying the same thing; one with Brahman, Yoga, empty your mind, transcendental meditation, etc. I have also read the Christian perspective on these religions as well, and Christianity, I always knew, insisted on its own way, and no other. This is in stark contrast to the Hindu teaching of "all roads lead to Krishna".
I recently purchased a book called Death of a Guru, and in it, a Hindu, sure he was god, along with everything else, and an avatar, converts to being a Christian, because he could never quite accept the karma, reincarnation theory, etc., especially since there is no way to know what wrong you did in a past life, therefore making it hard to "learn your lesson", "move up to the highest caste to be a Brahmin" and then to "go into nirvana". Raji, the author, needed something more; a god separate from him, and all creation, so he converted to Christianity.
One thing I found alarming, and quite interesting, about his book, is when he mentions how LSD drug trips, and any other psychoactive drug, exactly resembles the transcendental state of the yogis. That brought to mind the 1960's, and all the rebellion, which I know nothing about as I didn't live in that era. He went on to say that the devil (Satan) is the one behind all the rock music, LSD taking, and mystic experiences, whether they be from Hinduism, or drugs, and he became totally convinced that all the millions of gods of Hinduism, none of which he ever felt love from, or drawn to, were nothing but demons, sent from Satan to influence sin into mankind.
I have also done research into Yoga, and found many people to admit that yoga, as well as opening the third eye chakra, can be dangerous, since it invites devils and evil spirits into one's life.
All these concepts; veganism, eastern ways of thinking, etc., has me compelled to believe that I am being drawn to dharmic religions. Why is this? I want to make the right choice; no matter what I have to abandon, or what I have to learn to grasp. At a crossroads. Thank you.
I would like to get an answer for this from any religious perspective; Hindu, Christian, Islam, etc. For the past 2 years, I have been on and off attracted to the idea of becoming a vegan. Not long after that, I began to wonder, after hearing one of my favorite bands from the 60's; The Doors, had taken LSD, and I've always thought there is a certain meaning to their music, but my mom always seemed stunned when I told her I like their sound. She wasted no time in telling me that they did LSD constantly, and she couldn't quite understand why I liked the sound, but The Doors is not the primary reason I am being influenced, and I only listen to them every once in a while. Mom kind of ruined it for me. Anyway, aside from all that, for the last few weeks, I have started to question my faith, and this was after a week-long research into spirituality and psychedelic drugs (yes, which are illegal). I was reading about many stories of people doing these drugs; both bad trips and good. Since there were mixed reviews, I laid off of learning about them for a while. Then, it hit me. There was a reason I was trying to escape through a drug-induced mystical experience. I am miserable, but want to be happy. I was hit with the realization that the God, or Jehovah, of Christianity, did not want to help me; not even bless me with the feeling that he's even listening to me. I first picked up the bible when I was only 9, and haven't looked back since then, except for the past few weeks. I have always seen myself as strong, but like I said, life has not been meaningful for me. No, I am not contemplating taking my life, or doing drugs.
I have tried to explore Hinduism twice the past year, and each time I say the Hare Krishna mantra, I get this feeling of peace and serenity; like my soul is protected, like things will be alright. I am a thinker, though, and logical, and the main thing that attracted me to Hinduism is the logical viewpoint of the Rishis, or Indian "seers" who wrote the Vedas, which I believe is where all the scientific and astronomical theories originate. There are so many Sanskrit texts, that I do not know where to begin. I loved the Bhagavad Gita, but upon further inspection, the constant mention of Yoga, and what it all entails, put across to me the message that "just close your mind, see the gods, you are god, along with Brahman" kept occurring to me in my search, but it never sounded right. After all, it was Lord Krishna who stopped time itself before the war at Kurukshetra, to show Arjuna the things he needed to know when Krishna basically told him to fight all his enemies; even the ones Arjuna had grown to see as gurus and father figures his whole life. Krishna mentioned reincarnation in this text as well; a concept I have never grasped nor understood.
I have not only been learning of Hinduism, however, but also Buddhism. Basically, I take it that both sides are saying the same thing; one with Brahman, Yoga, empty your mind, transcendental meditation, etc. I have also read the Christian perspective on these religions as well, and Christianity, I always knew, insisted on its own way, and no other. This is in stark contrast to the Hindu teaching of "all roads lead to Krishna".
I recently purchased a book called Death of a Guru, and in it, a Hindu, sure he was god, along with everything else, and an avatar, converts to being a Christian, because he could never quite accept the karma, reincarnation theory, etc., especially since there is no way to know what wrong you did in a past life, therefore making it hard to "learn your lesson", "move up to the highest caste to be a Brahmin" and then to "go into nirvana". Raji, the author, needed something more; a god separate from him, and all creation, so he converted to Christianity.
One thing I found alarming, and quite interesting, about his book, is when he mentions how LSD drug trips, and any other psychoactive drug, exactly resembles the transcendental state of the yogis. That brought to mind the 1960's, and all the rebellion, which I know nothing about as I didn't live in that era. He went on to say that the devil (Satan) is the one behind all the rock music, LSD taking, and mystic experiences, whether they be from Hinduism, or drugs, and he became totally convinced that all the millions of gods of Hinduism, none of which he ever felt love from, or drawn to, were nothing but demons, sent from Satan to influence sin into mankind.
I have also done research into Yoga, and found many people to admit that yoga, as well as opening the third eye chakra, can be dangerous, since it invites devils and evil spirits into one's life.
All these concepts; veganism, eastern ways of thinking, etc., has me compelled to believe that I am being drawn to dharmic religions. Why is this? I want to make the right choice; no matter what I have to abandon, or what I have to learn to grasp. At a crossroads. Thank you.
Oh well.