A new look at perfection

Earlier approaches to perfection are based on differentiation. There is no single approach to perfection. There are many...and some contradict with each other. In each the priorities are different from the others. Hence, we need a new approach that is based on the unity of paths.

Some of the attributes that are essential to attaining perfection are:

1) Non-attachment to results of actions
2) Dispassion (viewing opposites of success & failure, happiness & sadness etc) equally
3) Control over the body, mind and senses
4) Being directed from within (not by external circumstances or factors) - by creativity and inspiration
5) Living in moderation (abstaining from excesses of any kind)
6) Prioritizing realized knowledge over mental, sensory, speculative or bookish knowledge
7) Knowing that the universe is in the self, and accepting all living beings as part of oneself.

If able to live out these all at once (in unity and not one at the expense of the other), one can attain perfection quickly.

Hindu gods - powerless to flattery

If you read a bit about Hindu mythology, you will see that most of the troubles to humanity have been due to misuse of power granted by the gods or gurus to undeservers who pleased and worshipped the gods. God is supreme, but can be troubled only by relinquishing his supreme status by sharing his power with worshippers (flatterers). Today, we do not need Gods who are powerless to flattery. We need a god who can establish the principles of life without bowing down to pressure by worshippers who are nothing but flatterers.

Irrelevance of Bhakti Yoga

The Bhagavad Gita is the form of a song. It is to be understood as art, and not verbatim. The actual physical existance of the beings Krishna and Arjuna is not relevant to this art. Even if Krishna is just a mythological figure, the bhagavad gita is relevant, for it expounds the universal wisdom of action that is applicable even today - Karma Yoga, it is based on the fact that we all perform actions all the time, and if we are attached to the outcomes, we will remain bound.

The path of Bhakti Yoga was relevant to Arjuna because Krishna was living, and he was Arjuna's friend, well known to Arjuna. The same path of Bhakti is not relevant to people who do not know Krishna personally in the same form as known by Arjuna. It is foolish to go around chanting words such as 'Hare Krishna' by people who do not know Krishna. They might as well chant any other word and it would make absolutely no difference.