India did not need religion to sustain itself. Our ancestors
believed that the man had an existence beyond his physical existence. They
believed that if the man attached necessary importance to non-physical aspects
of his life, he would be able to experience the absolute oneness to which he actually
belongs. Such sense of belonging would help him recognize his true nature that
would bind him with a sacred bond of dutiful interdependence with others. They
were sure that the above referred sacred bond would be willingly accepted by
the mankind as almost indelible code of human conduct giving a purpose to human
life.
The belief (awareness) of absolute oneness gave meaning to
the life. The sacred bond of dutiful interdependence attached a purpose to it.
The thought of absolute Oneness helped the man to depend on the infinite source
of energy; and the dutiful bond of absolute interdependence with others gave
the man every opportunity to use his body-mind complex for his own welfare.
Ancient India philosophy, perhaps, never told the man ‘what he must look at’;
instead he was told how to view the truth of the things. He, the man, was never
instructed by ancient Indian philosophers ‘what he must think about and how
must he conduct himself’; instead he was told ‘how to think rightly and how to
conduct righteously’.
It is not possible to comment on how the man of today views the
traditional ways of thinking about life and moulding his conduct accordingly.
It appears that historical realities pushed the man away from the traditional
ways of thinking about the truth and realities of life. Many would not like me
saying that traditional ways of thinking and conducting, perhaps, did not help
the man in dealing with his historical realities. I feel it is not enough to
know how the man thinks and conducts traditionally; perhaps, it is equally
important to know whether the man has a tradition of making appropriate use of
his body, mind, emotions, intellect and egoistic compulsions. We need to know
as to what is the appropriate use of the tools of thinking, experiencing,
feeling, conducting and communicating, possessed by the man. Further, once we
know it, we need to know how to deal with changing times and circumstances. One
way that has been suggested traditionally is, being in the company of the
people who give importance to what is right and righteous, and maintaining
constant interactions with them. This is called Satsang (the company of
the truth and the followers of the truth). What if such company is not easily
available?
It will be incorrect to say that truth has all disappeared in
modern times. We can only say that the truth is sparingly available; and, if
and when it is found, it is found much entwined with the untruth. In such a
situation, it becomes necessary that people with a strong urge to explore the
practical truths in modern times and circumstances, develop calmness and
equanimity of mind. If any Satsang is needed, it is more needed for
developing urge for exploration of truth and developing equanimity of mind, not
as much for attaining internal peace, as for exploring the truth for the
benefit of many. The tradition of creating the knowledge of truth having been
forgotten, the revival of the old tradition of creating truth for the welfare
of the mankind, or creating and establishing a new tradition of re-identification
or reaffirmation of truth for the benefit of many has become necessary.
PROMOD KUMAR SHARMA
[The writer of this blog is also the author of “Mahatma A
Scientist of the Intuitively Obvious” and “In Search of Our Wonderful Words”.]
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