As a young and inquisitive 14-15 year old, I took to reading Max Muller’s Fifty volume Sacred Books of the East series. The books were not available in the bookstore or library of the town. At the time, I made a little money delivering daily newspapers, and over time saved enough to visit the bookstore and order one of the books. This went on until a little after high school, but I never read all of the books. For instance, never read the Rigveda, my specialty today, until I was into my late 50’s.

Early on in life, I took to Buddhist teaching, lived my life accordingly, kind-of, and meditated. When I moved to a large city thirty years ago, many opportunities to study were available. When the Tibetan Buddhists began arriving in the city, I practiced with them. Now, there are many Tibetan monasteries around, but I no longer attend. I am no longer a Buddhist following the Hinayana or Mahayana, but kind-of a Buddhist following the Rigveda, one of the most important texts associated with Hinduism. Kind-of a weird thing, I think, but illustrates an ignorance in the religions.

Today, I am not a Buddhist, Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Muslim, but follow the Veda, the Sacred Knowledge of Heaven. The teaching is to own no property and all the religions mentioned are too materialistic. Their halls of worship can be extremely large and ornate and filled with religious symbols and idols to worship, but God does not bless statues and structures. God does not bless counties. God blesses creature’s big and little, male, female, young, old, two or four feet, tail or no tail, yes, and the teaching is to care for all. Do not kill or harm any creature. A vegetarian diet is required, and with water and the God given breath to live happy and peaceful on the earth. Yes, do not take the Sacred Breath away.

Here is a verse from the Veda that says do not take the breath away.

To become bright and lovely the rays of light dawn in with a flow of water to offer to mortals, mortals are alive because of an association with the breath, and to become divine, never hinder that for anyone.