The Socio Spiritual Foundation

THE SOCIO-SPIRITUAL FOUNDATION OF THE VEDIC FRIENDS ASSOCIATION

The basic premise and foundation of the Vedic Friends Association is that true Self discovery and social harmony is not possible without including our connection with the Higher Self. God exists within each one of us as the Supreme Self or Paramatman, as explained in Vedic teachings. This understanding is the ideal basis for unity between all people. Any such unity must be beyond the distinctions of the physical body and its outer identity of age, sex, class, culture, religion, race, color or country. It is through this means by which the groundwork can be laid for true human equality and freedom.

To see that every human is my friend is a point that can develop into a truly peaceful world. But that vision cannot be acquired without a spiritual foundation. It is a consciousness that comes from perceiving that we are all children of the same Supreme Father and Mother, the same God. This must include the perception that God exists within every person and that we are spiritually parts of God. With the proper spiritual understanding, a person can view everyone with love, and all cultures and religions with appreciation. This is the transformation that all friends of the Vedic Friends Association (VFA) are encouraged to develop and to bring into their lives and in their dealings with others.

To assist people in this way, the VFA promotes the Universal Spiritual Truths of Sanatana-Dharma, the eternal tradition of Truth. Such Universal Truths are applicable for any religion, in any time in history, and anywhere in the world. Anyone can be of any religion or culture and still be able to learn and enhance one’s spiritual journey by incorporating this knowledge and information into one’s life.

The main source of inspiration for the VFA is the ancient Vedic teachings, which include the Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad-gita, Mahabharata, Ramayana, Puranas, Yoga Shastras and many more. These represent some of the greatest spiritual insights discovered by mankind. They exhibit a range of consciousness far superior to ordinary sense perception and conventional realms of thought. These texts especially explain the spiritual identity and nature of the soul beyond all bodily designations. They describe in detail the process for developing our eternal loving relationship with the Supreme.

It becomes easier when we all work together to bring about the end of ignorance through the spread of spiritual knowledge and the practice of reawakening our dormant love for God and each other. That is one of the facets in which the VFA will be working. The more we work together in this way, the more we become a community, or extended family, all helping each other make the best use of this human existence, and in improving the conditions throughout the planet. This can give any human life more meaning and fulfillment. Serving society in this way with the understanding that God exists within everyone is also a part of a progressive reform and selfless service. As stated in Bhagavad-gita, the Lord appreciates no service more than helping others understand this spiritual knowledge.

By providing information of our true spiritual identity, the VFA hopes to encourage individual and social development and reform through a holistic vision in order to bring human existence to a higher level of cooperation, meaning and fulfillment. Thus, it can help fill the emotional void that has appeared in numerous people worn down by disappointment in the material affairs of this world, or by those who have left religion or who have been betrayed or even abandoned by religions.

The VFA wants to provide the means through which everyone can reach their deepest faith and connection with the Supreme, and feel secure in the process. The Vedic system provides each person the freedom and independence of thought and action necessary to experience the Absolute Truth. The Vedic vision relates that everyone naturally has a relationship with the Divine and is a part of His nature, which does not depend on the intervention of any institution or the approval of a cleric or priest. This relationship is alive just as sure as you are alive. This relationship with God only needs to be reawakened. The Vedic system describes the authentic ways of reawakening this relationship by which a person can directly perceive this loving Supreme Divinity.

By reconnecting ourselves to God and our fellow humankind, encouraging each other to develop Self-reliance, Self-help and Self-respect, the VFA hopes to bring an enhanced quality of life to all its friends, associates and practitioners, both spiritually and materially.