Ask A Hindu: Practicing The Law of Attraction
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I understand that the practice of the Law of Attraction/manifestation derives from Hinduism; however, from what I have heard, manifestation, in Hinduism, is not supposed to be used for personal benefit. However, for me personally, personal benefit is not a bad thing so long as it is not done at anyone’s expense. As such, I use vision boards, affirmations, visualizations, etc. and occasionally use them for things like getting a PR in a 5K or going on a fun vacation. If I do this and don’t acknowledge its roots in Hinduism, then I worry that I will be contributing to the erasure of Hinduism’s influence on American spirituality. On the other hand, if I do acknowledge its roots in Hinduism, I worry that I will misrepresent Hinduism, since my practice of the Law of Attraction does not look like the Hindu practice. How can I practice the Law of Attraction without misrepresenting Hinduism or erasing the history of Hinduism’s influence on American spirituality?
Bhagvadgeetha advises seeking to do one’s duty and leave the results up to God. As everyone knows, desire causes pain but the Divine instructs the mortal human being to do their duty and leave the results up to the Divine.
Law of Attraction is about deciding what you want, and making it happen. In this sense one must work toward what the individual needs/wants and work towards that goal. The results are left up to the Divine. When the human being conducts one’s Dharma, one may benefit personally. Leading to some satisfaction, contentment and finally Moksha; which is liberation of Paramaathma from the physical body and therefore from this earth.
Manifestation: A Tutorial from a Hindu by Mandira Gowda — Fever Dreams Magazine
The Law of Attraction, dates back nearly 4,000 years to Hindu scriptures; some include,
- “That person, who desires for objects of pleasures, by contemplating on their properties, gets born, along with his desires, among those objects of pleasures” -translation from Mundaka Upanishad, Mundakopanishad 3.2.3
- “From it the universe comes forth, in it the universe merges and in it the universe breathes. Therefore a man should meditate on Brahman with a calm mind. Now, verily, a man consists of will. As he wills in this world, so does he become when he has departed hence. Let him with this knowledge in mind form his wit” – Translation from Chandogya Upanishad
- “Whatever destinations and objects of pleasures, the man, whose mind is free from impurities, he obtains those destinations and those objects of pleasures” -Translation from Mundaka Upanishad, Mundakopanishad 3.1.10
Dharma (doing one’s duty) is a manifestation of the Divine that is asked of every living being on earth. It is a universal factor that every living being should adhere to. While doing these, Dharma manifestations of attraction will come into the picture but that should not deter someone not doing one’s Dharma.
In essence one can practice attraction/manifestation as long as one is following the prescribed Dharma anywhere in the world.
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[…] manifestation and the law of attraction are age-old concepts with origins as far back as Hindu scriptures and Buddhism, it has enjoyed a modern-day refresh since the 2006 documentary “The Secret.” Now, […]
“From it the universe comes forth, in it the universe merges and in it the universe breathes. Therefore a man should meditate on Brahman with a calm mind. Now, verily, a man consists of will. As he wills in this world, so does he become when he has departed hence. Let him with this knowledge in mind form his wit” – Translation from Chandogya Upanishad
“Whatever destinations and objects of pleasures, the man, whose mind is free from impurities, he obtains those destinations and those objects of pleasures” -Translation from Mundaka Upanishad, Mundakopanishad 3.1.10
The problem is this is Neo-Hinduism universalism at work, which requires leaving out context to make this work. The Law of Attraction as promoted by Abraham-Hicks was actually taken from books written decades earlier with just a few tweaks. But, overall, the belief is if you sit and meditate on something enough you’ll get it.
Is this what the above verses say? Not really. The second one says that one who is free of impurities will essentially be rewarded with his desires … though this is interesting as one who is free of impurities likely doesn’t want objects of desires, which create impurities, so I question the translation first. But, where in any Law of Attraction (whether Hicks or Claude M. Bristol’s 1948 version under the name of the Magic of Believing or from any other writer as the idea goes back to the early 20th century NOT “The Secret”, which is just a rip-off) does one need to purify themselves? Nowhere. I’ve read the books. This is not part of the system. So, while this verse and the LofA sound alike, they are actually different. One has you meditate on something and get rid of any doubt as to if it can happen, the other has you become a better person and thus reap your rewards. These are incredibly different, thus we cannot be honest and say the LofA is based on this verse … unless we rewrite the LofA and/or we rewrite Hinduism. This is the problem with universalism, its only good if you don’t look closely and rewrite things.
As for the first sentence above that tells us to meditate on Brahman with a calm mind, then one will achieve something “when he has departed”. Where in LofA or any previous version does it recommend meditating on god? Nowhere. Certainly not on Brahman, the source of the world. So, this isn’t the LofA. Further, this line says you’ll get the reward after death. This is not LofA either, as that promises things today, tomorrow or in a few years, but not after death. While clearly if one is getting something after death, what is that thing? Is it a new car? Is it success in a relationship? No, as those things are meaningless in Krishnaloka or whereever. Clearly this verse is talking about divine gifts of the soul. This is not what LofA talks about. LofA never says you should meditate on getting the redhead to go out with you and you’ll get her after death.
After debunking these two verses that leaves a third, but its hard to believe this line is the basis for a belief system that sprang up centuries later and never refers to this line.
This article tying LofA and Hinduism together is crap. It shows a lack of knowledge of LofA in any popular form of the 20th century, and a desire to push the religious universalism that is about deflating Hinduism by making it not very special, and shows a lack of reading skills when it comes to scripture.