Religion, Philosophy, & Spirituality
Religion, philosophy, and spirituality – Sri Ramakrishna said that any religion will do if it is followed with sincerity and fealty.  Swami Vivekananda states, "It is good to be born in a church, but not to die in a church.”  Both statements point to the need of sadhana, spiritual discipline.

The Supreme Being can be identified via the Three Om's: Omniscient, Omnipotent, Omnipresent.

There have been systems that proceed by intense renunciation.  But authentic Tantra is not like that.  Like any good Indian philosophy, it aims to transcend the world of name and form, but it proceeds by the method of deification of name and form.

Ever since Sri Krishna taught Arjuna about the birthless, deathless Atman on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, and even before when Ramchandra taught Sita and his brothers the Advaita, India has been universal due to its nondual stance.

Conventional Religion wants you to confess that you are a sinner.  General Psychology wants you to discuss your many faults.  Modern Science wants you to believe in a utopian society, a perfect world.  In contrast, Indian Philosophy wants you to affirm the change-ridden mutability of the world in space and time, as instanced in Yoga Psychology (Yoga Sutras 3:11-16).  This takes morality, guilt, and repression out of the equation and places the "blame" on the natural flow of the creation process in conjunction with one's own individual karma.  How refreshing, this Freedom!

In the West, religion is, at best, for faith; and philosophy, unfortunately, is for fame and money via powers of argumentation.  In the East, religion must be guided by higher wisdom which has three stages: dualism, qualified nondualism, and nondualism.  Understanding these three stages and applying them to people's differing levels of understanding is extremely clarifying.

Vedanta is not really known to us in the West.  It is not Hinduism, per se, but rather the nondual philosophy/realization presented by the Rishis in the early scriptures of India.

One can look at Reality as Saguna and Nirguna Brahman, just as one likes. [Brahman with attributes ("sa-guna") which implies the personal God who is Lord and Mother of the Universe, and Brahman without attributes ("nir-guna"), Ultimate Reality that is nondual, all-pervasive, pure Consciousness.]

In Vedanta, we make a distinction between salvation and liberation.  The Great Beings, Avataras, taught beings according to the level of their understanding and spiritual growth.  Those who sought salvation (Heaven/God with form) were given salvation.  But more qualified souls seek liberation, Moksha/Mukti.  Would an Avatar keep these from attaining it?  Rather, the Avatar would open the gates to formless Reality for them.  This is called "Getting to the Father through the Son."

Use your Chosen Ideal/Savior as a doorway, not a doormat.

Svetashvatar, a great Rishi, tells us that beings approach Reality through God with Form.

You get to the Impersonal through the personal.

If you study where everything is, you will find space, but where is space?  Tucked into subtle space.

Pondering on the subtle duality of form and formlessness is the bridge that qualifies one for realization.

Religious adherents find fault with each others’ paths and war with one another, but a Seer sees the beautiful truths contained in different religions.  They operate via amelioration and concrescence.

Philosophy should never have become a matter of debate; it is a way to expose the Truth.  It should not be married to money in any way either, for that cheapens it and makes it a caricature of itself.