The Need for A Spiritual Pursuit

30.04.1990

In the modern living, we are with all kinds of problems and

materialistic progress of man has not solved any of them. The human
society is faced with the threatened dangers which are consequences of
hatred, unscrupulous and extreme selfishness of an individual or a Nation.
A brief analysis of our living standards may be useful in setting us thinking
about a solution.

There are three kinds of activities in our daily life. Most of us are
making our livelihood and where livelihood is already earned, seek a
surplus of wealth and power. This is the first activity. The next one is our
preservation of our body and possessions including our kin. The third
activity of ours consists of a not so compelling but instinctive volitional
activities like finding social service activity etc.

In the first, seeking of surplus of the needless comes out of greed and
an assumed continuance of ourselves in future and an attachment to our
progeny whose future is sought to be taken care of. Even when power is
sought, it is often aimed at making use of it for selfish ends.

In the second activity preservation of our possessions is born out of

possessive instinct and a selfish love of our kin. In the third, the pursuit
could be beyond selfish ends like fine arts, social service, scientific or
philosophical investigation, or taking to a spiritual activity.

The first two kinds of activities are common place in men and are
known as ‘Materialism’. This could extend beyond limits of safety of one’s
self or the safety of others. This crossing of limits is termed as ‘Ignorance’
which is ‘Tamoguna’ resulting in lethargy, ignorance of propriety and
flouting of moral codes even if known. The dynamic or active principle in
man is ‘Rajoguna’ giving him qualities like perseverance etc. ‘Satvaguna is
cessation of ignorant pursuits, contentment and a peaceful inactivity, free
from the element of laziness.

In the first two conditions, the man is often spending himself out with no
relaxation till the end. He has no time to pursue and evaluate himself and
his activity. On the other hand, if his pursuits do not meet with success as
conceived by him, he gets de-moralized. This could lead to further
degradation of moral values in pursuit of success alone in his materialistic
desires irrespective of the means.

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 Repeated failures can destroy a man to the point of self-
condemnation or turning a cynic. He is useless to the society and to
himself. This can be case of even those, who pursue self sufficiency and yet
full. While the success, if there be in the case of pursuits beyond one’s
needs is equally useless, if not harmful, to the society as well as to himself.
Egged on by avarice, greed and absolutely no concern for others in society
pursuit of wealth and power, if attended by success, is positively harmful to
the society and to oneself. All those phenomena come under materialism,
which is ignoble and risky in failure, if it is selfish. If it is not selfish and
even if it is motivated by service to Nation or pursuit of arts, the secret of it
is that it pleases one’s ego. It does not always help a man’s evolution or
stoicism in adversity.

This activity is due to Satvic and Rajasik qualities together in men

and may give punya or noble deeds, which yield fruit in Nature. Even this,
is material activity which is of no lasting value or benefit to the individual.
A further examination of the nature of our activities, which are considered
to be unselfish, would put them into the field of materialism only, the
religious activity included in a general sense.

Religions are known to have prescribed activity particularly

identifiable and widely differing in their content and form from each other.
Those religions, therefore, have become a particular way of life with each
section of humanity. They are however based on belief of the common men
in the definition and assertions of a few and have grown deep roots in
humanity, thus vertically dividing the society with irreconcilable differences
in pattern. This again is gross materialism. We now have to define
spirituality as totally different from materialism and examine its relevance
to daily life.

Material sciences are investigating the laws of the Universe, the laws by
which, life as well as matter is governed. By and large, this examination
has been fragmentary and defines the properties of various forces that go to
make the Universe, a system. The future course of planets, the paths of
comets and various such phenomena are precisely known to us. That itself
does not take us very far. All this information leaves us with a dry
knowledge of the phenomenal Universe while not taking us to the original
cause and purpose of our existence which alone can form the basis of
finding a solution to the human misery. The knowledge of Upanishads has
given us a conceptual solution to the mysteries of the Universe in a brief
way and the riddle of human life in a detailed way!

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 Although various laws of Universe seen to be mechanical, rigid and
unintelligent in the sense that they are not apparently governed by any
discretion, the sum total of all such laws already known and yet to be
discovered will make an intelligent singular entity. This intelligence
together with a totality of consciousness pervading all phenomenal worlds
with the sentient human being at its center for our purposes makes it
incumbent upon us to have certain guiding principles in living our life here
with a conceived goal.

It therefore behooves us to eschew a goalless materialism at a point

and start living a much more discrete life with a perspective that is
strikingly different from all that we have known and lived in without peace
or safety. This perspective can be termed as spiritualism.

Whatever be the message or definition of Vedanta about the ultimate

goal of human life, it is to be accepted that all human beings have to make
their material existence here more peacefully than plentiful, while directing
a materialistic activity to make the needy sections of society self sufficient.
This demands contentment about one’s own self-sufficiency, and paying his
greater attention to spirituality as discussed earlier. This does not really
mean cessation of any materialistic activity but acting with a different goal
of unselfishness where there is no change of frustration and disappointed
greed. Such a life has outward attention on the social good with a constant
attention on one’s own higher non-materialistic fulfillment.

This fulfillment is not for the pleasure of it, but with a serious goal of
redemption from bondage that is said to be responsible for a man’s birth. It
behooves all thinking and self-sufficient men to follow a path of self
inwardly and selfless activity outwardly. This obviously includes the
common principles of love, sacrifice, non-violence, compassion etc., which
are all the time spoken of and written about in every religion, but hardly
found in practice. In such spirituality, we can find a ‘culmination’ and
transcendence of all religions, making their forms redundant. To speak of
unity of religions is either hypocritical or merely theological. In spirituality
alone which seeks to fulfill the purposes of human life in a totally non-
materialistic perspective, the destiny of human society can be stalled!

No doubt, this kind of spirituality can be practiced by the more intelligent

and privileged sections of the society which is quite enough for the good of
all humanity by and large. This is a possible solution to the misery of the
humanity, whose safety is at stake, in spite of all its technical
advancements and faithful, if not dogmatic, adherence to various religions.

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If better counsel prevails in all thinking men, the society can become one on
this globe with the elders following a spiritual life not excluding the
apparently materialistic activity. All activity which has a materialistic result
to be enjoyed by oneself or others can be by attitude sacrificed by being
directed, dedicated to the one truth that pervades universe.

Yatkaroshi Yadarmasi Yajju Hoshi

Dada Siyat Yattapasyasi Kaunteya
Tatkurushya Madarpanam

(What you do, what you eat,

What you sacrifice, what you live,
Whatever austerity yourself engage in,
Offer it all to me!)

This is spiritual living; spiritual living should be taken inward journey

towards lasting peace for one’s own self unaffected by the surrounding
misery. It follows that a way of life has to be devised with an undercurrent
attention to this goal, accompanied by an outward action of any kind meant
to discharge one’s human responsibility towards the surroundings!