Rabindra Raja Shahi
In the present day time, people at home, in the school, on the job, and almost everywhere are increasingly becoming the virtual slaves of their schedules. The consequence of this fast-paced, scheduled life is that they have no peace of mind, no relaxed moments, no fulfilling existence and no rhythm of everyday life. It has deadened our life and its beauty.
People are always tensed, always stressed, and always harassed because of which many more of them have turned victims to mental malaises like depression, paranoia, schizophrenia and other mental problems. People are buffeted by an unbroken wave of and an untrammelled series of excruciating psycho- mental stress and strain. These mortals direly need –for their sound health- some kind of medicare and treatment and tension relief.
Modernization has ruined our family values, and encouraged and emboldened our youngsters towards individualism, which has often times resulted in the parents being left unattended, uncared for and sorely neglected in their old age; such parents are in derelict condition- sans filial comfort and support, sans companionship, sans social security and healthcare, eventually end up getting dumped- as if a garbage- in ‘Old Age Home’, and thus suffering from stark hopelessness and helplessness of every sort. The gut-wrenchingly shocking news of a son killing his father and vice versa more often pops up in mass media, a politician is always found to have been only after his personal aggrandizement at the very expense of the nation and nationals, a civil servant is inclined to lookout for an opportunity to take bribes and kickbacks, a businessman seeks to always indulge in black-marketeering. Kidnapping, murder, rape, extortion- all these have turned common occurrences nowadays.
Many people have common misconception that one can find happiness in materialism and that they think that money is everything and hence do everything moral-immoral just for the sake of money. There is consequently an ever growing tendency of anyhow earning fast buck by fair means or foul. This individualistic approach of consumerism, materialism and commercialization has upset the ethics and values of the society, diminished the warmth and love of the family, and jeopardized the beauty of co-living and co-existence. Besides, the post-modern man is more concerned with his rights than with his duty, more concerned with his pleasure and self-centric motive, and instead less and less concerned with bounden duties and noble virtues. Almost all the humans –no matter whether men or women, whether young or old, whether educated or uneducated – are losing their moorings, and are adrift and astray, blind and blindfolded with clouds of ill wills and diabolical malevolence. Thus, man has become man’s worst enemy.
Human world is, in this age, plagued by such detrimental factors as aggression, ego, anger, disgust, hatred, hostility, jealousy, dislike, dissatisfaction, barbarism, cynicism, conflicts and misunderstanding which are at their all time worst. No country whatsoever is safe from the talons of violence and wars. The peace of the world has been upset and derailed not by birds, not even by ferocious animals, nor by aquatic creatures-it is owing to the man himself. They are not being able to breathe the breath of peace and smile the disarming and infectious smile!
The question naturally crops up: why is all this nonsense happening? Why is there the climate of decadence and degeneration in the world? Why are there utter hopelessness, frustration and anxiety in the air globally? It is against the background that spirituality is pretty much wanted and warranted. There were only three of the types of health, these being physical, mental, and social health. The World Health Organization (WHO) had not yet included spirituality in its definition of health, but the WHO Executive Board proposed amending the definition of health to include a fourth domain of health, spirituality. The proposed definition would read, “Health is a dynamic state of complete physical, mental, spiritual, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” Thank God, at the very initiative of Nepal, the UNO, for the first time in its history, consented to declare 21st December every year as a ‘World Meditation Day’. It comes as a matter of happiness and an unforgettable moment of pride to all Nepali citizenry. As a matter of fact, Nepal is the pious and holy land of gods and goddesses, of saints and sages, of penance and meditation, of Buddha and Vyas.
Of course, spiritual health is an important element of health and that it is a state of being where a person can realize their full potential and purpose in life. Spiritual health can be achieved through self-evolution, self-actualization and transcendence. It can also be achieved by developing a connection to Supreme Being as is omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient. Humans have the two worlds: physical outer world and a deeper, inner spiritual world. What we should realise is that for the sake of embracing spirituality, one doesn’t have to give up one’s job, spouse, children, business; one doesn’t necessarily have to put on forehead mark; nor does one have to go on a fast; nor one has to exercise celibacy or practice abstinence from certain foods and drinks. Without ever forsaking one’s usual work, without any obstructions to one’s profession or livelihood-one can yet be spiritual even when he is scientific or for the matter into material development. Spiritualism never stands as a barrier to the material pursuit of life, rather it helps individuals of all ages find true happiness and inner bliss and peace which money can’t buy in any way, resulting in our happy, peaceful and prosperous life at the end of the day which is the core aim of every single human being.
It teaches us to proceed with meditation and it has to be done all by ourselves individually as no one comes to help us in the process of meditation which is a state of complete thoughtlessness, timelessness and egolessness by turning inward to experience the inner bliss and peace, the divine light and self-awareness. It has to be metamorphosed into a constant, habitual practice. The meditation washes away all our mental and emotional dirt just in a way as a soap removes all our bodily grimes off, it shines our mind and heart just as the polish shines our shoes, and one feels completely relaxed and lively and cool in mind after being done with it. There are, above all, no other ways to experience the ever presence of God than meditation. In fact, it is the short-cut to the realization of God and His existence, to the self-exploration, self-reflection, self-realization and self-awareness. It is the way to ‘know yourself’ as stated by Socrates millennia ago. It is an endeavor toward being a lamp unto ourselves- ‘Appo-dipo-bhava’. It is also to comprehend the fact “Brahma Satyam, Jagan Mithya” meaning that God is true, the world is false.
Spirituality is indispensable for man. It provides mental peace, relieves us of tension and worry, develops positive thinking, assists in focusing our attention, boosts up our confidence level, fetches improvement in our physical condition, paves a way for self-realization, enhances sense of discipline in life, reinforces our morale, enables to address our psychological problems, and last but not in the least, it ratchets up the flow of positive energy into our heart. On the whole, it is good and helpful in creating ever-springing freshness of life, crushing human ego and vanity, giving rise to psychological and spiritual renewal, establishing peace and harmony among human beings as well as among divergent religions of the world in the form of ‘Basudhaiva Kutumbakam’-a situation where there is complete absence of discord and division, disharmony and disintegration all because in it we find a universalistic, holistic, humanistic, rationalistic, realistic and catholic outlook quite useful for the better future of humanity. Spirituality, according to Swami Vivekananda, is the greatest motive power for realizing that infinite energy which is the birth-right and nature of every man. To him, the mainspring of the strength of every race lies in its spirituality, and the death of that race begins the day that spirituality wanes and materialism gains ground.
We can’t be only materialistic nor can we be spiritualistic alone in our approach and dealing. Gautam Buddha was wrong in merely following a strictly ascetic path and so was Zorba who embraced and thrived on sheer materialism, discarding spiritualism. Today’s postmodern humans should maintain reconciliation between both philosophies for their happiness, peace and prosperity. So, if we are to discover the path of ultimate happiness and peace, let us all try to live a ‘life of spiritual health’ in this grossly materialistic world! If we wish to maintain and foster social cohesion and universal brotherhood, let us all try to set up ‘the ecosystem of spirituality’ with an abiding trust in God. It is, therefore, always better for all individuals to try to learn the unique art of spirituality so as to lead the best ever possible life. Well before wrapping up my write-up, let me quote John Milton who in his sonnet “On His Blindness” in a vein of merging the physical fact with the spiritual implications pithily remarked:
“They also serve who only stand and wait.”
(Rabindra Raja Shahi is an Associate Professor at Triyuga Janata Multiple Campus, Gaighat, Udayapur)