I think knowing about oneself and one’s interrelation with
whatever exists in the known or unknown universe is spirituality. Whether there
is a beginning and an end or there is a continuation of life; and, how
important such questions are for us for living in this world is not exactly
known to us. Our forefathers pondered over such questions in an environment
that was granted to the man by the nature. Today, when we contemplate about our
lives we do it in an environment that the man has built with his physical and
intellectual labour over and above the natural environment. That must be one of
the prime reasons why we may be dealing with much of confusion, mysticism and
myths about our lives.
The world has changed and so have the conditions in which the
human intellect operates. No doubt, the survival instinct that all living
beings naturally have is applicable to human beings also, but, the forms of
threats mankind faces today have undergone a sea change from all previous times
and, they are continually changing. The human perception of threats to his life
has also changed completely. It is not easy to comprehend how differently the
ancient man reacted while sighting a ferocious animal from a man who faced a
total ruin of his thriving business.
The nature and extent of human desires, greed and fears are
dependent on one’s environment; this fact cannot be overlooked. They cloud the
human mind and obstruct the process of right thinking, exploration of the
realities and developing the right type of faith in the right amount. This also
can be understood that human desires and greed create much confusion in human
mind while differentiating between needs and wants, which compound the problem
of perpetual discontent in the man. All these problems get hugely compounded if
changes in the man’s environment occur very fast.
When the man’s mind and intellect develop such deficiencies
that hinder the process of viewing things in the right perspective he becomes
without any direction and tries to seek meaning from the things that cannot provide
it. The man wanders with his mind fully occupied with purposes that neither
have any meaning nor are they the source of contentment and mental peace. This
state of mind of the man is not conducive to contemplating deeply about the
issues pertaining to the essence of human life.
Compassion is the quality most human beings possess, at
least, to some extent. This quality of the man can be used to help him in
adopting the process of viewing the things correctly and thinking rightly. Of
course, it is a long drawn process demanding rigorous practice and a strong
will to change oneself. Man’s conduct nurtures his thoughts. One who sticks to
doing good to those who desperately need help and support, may internally
influence his mind to think rightly. Thoughts and conduct are highly
interdependent. For example, it is a common knowledge that a right thinking man
can lose his capacity to think rightly if he is made to conduct inappropriately
for a reasonably long duration. Also, it has always been found that right
thoughts wither away unless put into constant practice.
There are many in this world who would gladly serve humanity
if their interests are taken care of. But, taking good care of those who serve
humanity is not an economically viable proposition because serving humanity
does not generate income for those who are involved in the service to humanity.
The minimum that is expected from the one who serves humanity is some sacrifice
of his physical comfort. The extent of sacrifices to be made for serving
humanity keeps on increasing for the one who is committed to serve those who
need to be served. Ultimately, it amounts to serving selflessly that is without
any considerations of the outcome or the fruits of one’s actions. One who
dedicates himself to selfless service of the humanity comes face to face with
the realities, where there is nothing hidden, artificial or mystical. He gets
an opportunity of understanding life coming very close to the natural processes
of life.
The penance of serving the humanity selflessly enables one to
explore the source of faith within him that makes him fearless. This faith in
some unknown concept or entity is not protective; it is always active behind
each of the selfless actions to serve humanity. This faith does not make one
dependent on anything, know or unknown, it makes him free.
A free mind can explore the realities of life and the truth
in things, known or unknown. Man is enabled to find out the meaning of life;
and, the courage gained from his new found freedom helps him lead his life with
a purpose.
There is nothing great about my concept of ‘Live Spiritual
Processes’. It is only about committing oneself to positive selfless action;
and, in the course of such action courageously facing the falsehood that
pervades the world, and then, working internally as well as externally to weed
out whatever is untrue, pretentious and misleading in life. Having born on this
earth we cannot start by making
detachment a target of our life. If detachment
is a natural consequence of living meaningfully and purposefully, it will
happen; one does not have to work for it.
This is true that the multiplicity of the man has inflicted
much pain to the individual man. This has continued for long. It is the man,
himself that has to relieve the man from his pain. The man, himself has caused
such complex deficiencies of the human mind and intellect in the man that his vision
is no longer clear. Humanity, in its most restricted meaning is relieving the
man from his pain. Selfless service to humanity is nothing but a compassionate
action with utmost precaution not to cause further harm. One can give a piece
of bread to a hungry old man that was stolen by him (the giver) to satisfy his
own hunger; that would be a compassionate act, but it would not be a selfless
service. One has to earn a piece of bread with honest efforts to feed the
hungry and also inspire him (the hungry old man) to do whatever he can do to
earn his bread but with honesty; that would be selfless service to humanity.
Humanity is not limited to serving human beings only, but doing all that is
essential for peace and happiness of the human race, which includes taking care
of the nature with all that is living and nonliving therein.
Selfless service is not an emotional action that delivers
well, it is a thoughtful action that delivers well to others and elevates
continually the one who serves. It is the outcome of decisive intellect, self
restraint and capacity to bear for the benefit of others. It is a conduct that
nurtures the thought of Advait (Oneness of all that exists). This
is the realization of one’s spiritual self that is an insignificant part but a
perpetually live and important participant of the timeless infinite continuum
of the universe.
PROMOD KUMAR SHARMA
[Author of “Mahatma: A Scientist of the Intuitively Obvious”]
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