First written on June 24, 2002 Revised and Updated Friday, April 03, 2009 7 Irrefutable facts of life all individuals should know Human beings have to undergo sufferings in this world and there is no exception. According to the great Vedic epic "Ramayana" written by Sage Valmiki nearly 7500 years ago, the following 7 contribute to them Adhering to wrong principles and values  Attachment to wealth, wine and women  Knowledge and Skills put to misuse  Unearthly desires  Work without an end  Confused and a demented mind  False ego, pride and prestige (Translated from Sanskrit language from Sundarakhand, Chapter 15; Canto: 31 & 32 and interpreted in English by Madhavan T Gopalachary) When you see the modern day society's problems, each one of them will be covered by one of the facts covered above.  Note for Western and Non Sanskrit knowing readers: Sage Valmiki is the composer and writer of the first Vedic epic 'Ramayana". This epic is the story of the most perfect man, Lord Rama, his perfect wife, Sita and their lives. He is the human incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Valmiki was a wayside robber and led a gang of robbers, killers and thieves in his younger days. He was a thug by profession. The English word thug has its origin from Sanskrit where it is known as 'thuggi'. He had killed, robbed and plundered in his early life. He was a very big sinner. He obtained enlightenment from Sage Narada, who is considered as the principle Sage of the Angels and Demi-Gods. He is the adopted son of Lord Brahma. He is considered next only to Lord Brahma in the Vedic line of succession of disciples. He was given a unique boon by Lord Vishnu. He can appear anywhere in the Universe at his thought and will. Valmiki became a Saint and wrote this epic. This is the reason our Vedas, formally composed by Sage Veda Vyasa about 5500 years ago says, every saint has a past and every sinner a future. Nobody is born bad or good. It is the society that makes a man good or bad. There are four branches of Vedas. There is no subject in the world that has not been covered in them. No literature in any subject can ever match them in their correctness or completeness. No language can have a more perfect grammar. No human being can ever challenge what is said them. Traditionally they are in the form of hymns called "Shlokas" and passed on orally by teachers to pupils in schools. However, later day savants and scholars, realizing that these hymns would be lost forever, wrote them down on Papyrus leaves. Unfortunately, due to ravages of time, invasions by barbarians called "Scythes" pronounced "Skuthes", other historical reasons like the Moguls destroying entire Universities and finally due to the fact that Sanskrit is a dead language, it is not spoken anymore, most of the records have been destroyed and/or lost. Any language which is not spoken is considered dead, even though we may have many people able to read and write it. Sage Veda Vyasa is Lord Vishnu incarnate himself in human and literary form. He is also the writer of the second most revered Vedic epic "Mahabharata" which contains the holiest hymns "Bhagvat Gita" which was spoken by God himself - Lord Krishna - and Sage Veda Vyasa recorded it for posterity. No human being, beast or insect or any living thing can be born without the act of coitus. Only Lord Krishna was born without such an act to Devaki and Vasudeva as Lord Jesus Christ to Virgin Mary and Joseph, because even God needs a mother and father while he is on earth. Only God can be born without the act of coitus. The only difference is Lord Jesus Christ is called the Son of God. The Christians have the holy trinity - God, Son and the Holy Spirit. The Vedic people have their trinity - Creator - Brahma, Protector - Vishnu and Destroyer - Shiva. Lord Krishna is the Father and Creator of them all. They are all his plenary portions. Lord Krishna and Lord Vishnu are often mixed up by many, as if they are one. It is not so. Lord Krishna is the only God. Lord Vishnu is his plenary portion having 93% powers of Lord Krishna. Lord Krishna delegates the act of clearing up the mess in the universe to Lord Vishnu. The only time he came down was as Lord Krishna himself about 5500 years ago. In modern management parlance, Lord Krishna is the CEO and Lord Vishnu is the COO. Lord Vishnu is assisted by the various Demi-Gods and Angels in his assignments. There is an erroneous belief that Vedas encourage worship of multiple gods. There is only one God. Vedic people call him Krishna. Muslims call him Allah. Christians call him God. Lord Buddha is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. All incarnations emanate from Lord Vishnu. He is next only to Lord Krishna in the Vedic pecking order. Other religious sects have different names for the Almighty. Every religion acknowledges that there is only one God. God did not create or make any religion. He is beyond any religion. It is man made. All other innumerable gods are angels or demi-gods created by him for a purpose. The management principle of Delegation and Empowerment starts here. If people start worshipping the angels and/or demi-gods, it is not the fault of the Vedas which contains the absolute truth and nothing but the truth. The problem was that the original Vedas was not written down. It was passed on orally from generation to generation. The practitioners started prescribing many rituals claiming that it had the authenticity and backing of the Vedas. People started misusing the corrupted knowledge for their own benefit. Sage Veda Vyasa appeared to correct them and summarized the Vedas into four branches. For the first time it was written down by him. The supreme Lord Krishna also appeared in the world at the same time to give his message through the Bhagvat Gita. Things did not improve. Lord Buddha appeared about 2600 years ago to spread his concept of 'ahimsa' which means non violence and non cruelty to animals. Unfortunately, the degeneration of society continues unabated. Lord Krishna said in the Bhagvat Gita that he will appear personally whenever gross injustice prevails in this world. "Yadha Yadha hi Dharmasya, Glanirbhava Bharata Paritranaya Sadhumnam, Vinashaya cha Dhrushkutam Dharma Samstapanartyaya, Sambhavami Yuge Yuge" - Lord Krishna in the Bhagvat Gita - The Song of God Om Tath Sath Written by Madhavan T Gopalachary References "The Bhagvat Gita as it is" and "Srimad Bhagavatham" - Tenth Canto both written by His Holiness Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder of ISKCON.  Pundit Pavan Sharma, Founder of the Kenyan Hindu Society, Nairobi, Kenya Appreciation from a reader:  ----- Original Message ----- From: "SOMANATHAN Nagarajan" To: "'Information & Public Relations  Sent: Monday, June 24, 2002 9:29 AM Subject: RE: 7-Irrefutable facts of Life Dear Mr. Madhavan, I wish to thank you for sending me your illumining articles on various subjects, including this one. The absence of EHV (Education in Human Values) results in this suffering for many especially, the younger generation. Your service is a noble one and I appreciate your efforts to inculcate these values to humanity. N. Somanathan Our reply: Thank you very much Sir.  Madhavan Note: As a policy, e-mail IDs of our clients, subscribers and members are never revealed by us. The names are real. The gentleman, from whom the above email was received, is a VP in a Giant US MNC. Written  by Madhavan T Gopalachary The views, opinions and interpretations are personal. Sponsorship does not mean that the sponsors endorse them. © Copyright, Apr-09 . MMG Communications. Without prejudice. All rights reserved