CONTINUED anyway, heres some ecerpt from the Upanishad booki have. I got this at barns and noble for $9.95 so it's its not expensive! From the "Brihadaranyaka upanishad" "lead me from the unreal to the Real; Lead me from darkness to light; Lead me from death to immortality." in sanskrit its : "Asatho Maa Sad Gamaya, Tamaso Maa Jyothir Gamaya Mrithyor Maa Amritham Gamaya" Sound familiar? It's from the Matrix Revolutions soundtrack ;) the song is called "Navras" in that sound track. Here's an excerpt from the "Mandukya Upanishad" AUM stands for the supreme Reality. It is a symbol for what was, what is, And what shall be. AUM represents also What lies beyond past, present, and future. Brahman is all, and the Self is Brahman. This Self has four states of consciousness. The first is called Vaishvanara, in which One lives with all the senses turned outward, Aware only of the external world. Taijasa is the name of the second, the dreaming state in which the senses, turned inward, one enacts the impressions of past deeeds and present desires. The third state is called Prajna, of deep sleep, In which one neither dreams nor desires. There is no mind in Prajna, there is no Separateness; but the sleeper is not Conscious of this. Let him become conscious in Prajna and it will open the door. to the state of abiding joy. TELL ME IN WHICH ANYOTHER RELIGION BESIDES HINDUISM, DOES IT GO SO INDEPT ABOUT THINGS LIKE THIS??? Hinduism doesn't teach you to be afraid of god, instead it reminds you HOW CAN YOU BE AFRAID OF GOD, WHEN YOU UR SELF HAVE CHARACTERISTIC REFLECTION/ ARE [OF] HIM? From "Kena Upanishad" What was all this before creation? Was there water? Only God kknows, or perhaps he knows not... From the "Katha Upanishad" Death is the mother of beauty; hence from her, Alone, shall come fulfillment to our dreams and our desires. From "Mundaka Upanishad" Action prompted by pleasure or profit cannot help anyone to cross this sea. seek a teacher who has realized the Self (Brahman) To a student whose heart is full of love, who has conquered his senses and passions, te teacher will reveal the lord of love. From Aitareya Upanishad Before the world was created, the self alone existed; nothing whatever stirred. Then the self thought: "let me create the world" (DOESNT IT SOUND LIKE THE OLD TESTAMET FROM THE BIBLE?? HMM, i wonder where christians got that from...:) Ok, there is sooo much wisdom in the upanishad and the vedas. start with upanishad then move to the vedas. when you read it, then you will understand, the difference in how hinduism is portrayed now, and how the real hinduism was! And the times during the vedas were also different. Hindus looked totally different, totally different from what the Westerners portrayed us! If you guys are interested, i can tell you that next time..give your sources and stuff.