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SADVICHAR (Thoughts for
Contemplation)
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Materialism & Spirituality: Two ways of living
(from Akhand Jyoti 2003)
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There are two
aspects of human life: one that relates to the physical body – materialism; and
the other that relates to the inner self (the soul) – spirituality.
Materialism means an inclination towards acquiring material possessions and
comforts; in short, it is a tendency to lead a life in which pleasures of the
body are given preference above anything else. Spirituality means, “centred and established on the soul”, that is, activities
in life are decided keeping in mind the awakening of the soul.
Normally a person’s needs are fulfilled with limited materials such as food
to satisfy hunger, few clothes to cover the body, a bed for rest, a house for
shelter, etc.; anything over and above the basic needs either remains unused
or is misused. For example, if a person who can eat four chapattis for lunch
were given eight chapattis, it would be beyond his capacity to eat the extra
four chapattis. Considering this, a few hours work is sufficient to satisfy
body’s requirements. The same is true for senses also. There are five
physical senses: touch, smell, taste, hearing and vision. No matter how beautiful
a view may be, the eyes will tire of seeing it after a few minutes. The ears
will not be able to listen to melodious music indefinitely. Thus the senses
have limited requirements, beyond which they become saturated. But senses are
never satisfied – they always crave for more.
The mind is considered to be the sixth sense. Its attributes are greed,
attachment (moha) towards worldly objects and
people, and egoism. The mind experiences joy when these three attributes are
attended to. Man generally engages his time and effort in satisfying the
requirements of the body and the mind.
The mind is different from the rest of the senses in that it is always
unsatisfied and ambitious. New hopes and ambitions arise once the old ones
are fulfilled. Therefore greed and attachment are attractive only until they
are fulfilled.
Egoism also follows a similar principle. A secretary in a company feels his
job status is low and aims for a higher status so that he can elevate his
standing in the society. It is possible that several persons within the
company may be trying for the same position. Therefore he becomes an enemy
for them, since now he is an extra competitor in the race. His ego thus
becomes his own dangerous adversary.
Greed, attachment and egoism can never be satisfied. They function as mirages
– they project nice dreams in front of a person and then disappear. The
person then remains busy in fulfilling the dreams. This is the lifestyle of
people today. In the end people realize that they have not achieved anything
worthwhile in life.
The other aspect of life is the inner self or the soul, called antaratma in spiritual terms. Looking after the soul
results in eternal peace, satisfaction, bliss and the acquisition of both
material and spiritual benefits. Here, priority is given to the soul compared
to the body. Therefore bodily requirements are kept to a minimum and the
principle of “simple life, high thinking” is adopted. This means, a person
who takes care of his soul has to practise
restraint over the senses and remain satisfied with minimum resources. If,
for example, the food intake is kept low, it has the double benefit of
longevity and protection from diseases. On the other hand the consumption of
too much sugar, salt and fat can lead to diabetes, high blood pressure and
arteriosclerosis respectively. An excess usage of other senses also causes
problems. For example, watching too much television or too much exposure to
computers damages the eyesight. Youngsters today listen to loud pop music,
which severely affects their hearing ability. Overindulgence in sexual
activities decreases the vitality of a person.
Wearing simple clothes serves the purpose of covering the body. In the eyes
of wise people, wearing fashionable clothes decreases the value of a person.
Why? Because fashionable clothes are expensive, so in their view it would be
a waste of money to possess them. A person who cannot afford such clothes and
yet wears them means he is fashion and status conscious, and that he would
have purchased them on credit. It should be understood that if fashionable,
expensive clothes determined the status of a person, no one would have
listened to Mahatma Gandhi, who wore only one piece of cloth over his body.
People who practice restraint never experience financial crisis or remain in
debt. They maintain a healthy body and healthy mind. They are called people
of character; they receive respect from the society.
If one wishes to develop attachment (moha), why not
consider the whole world as his family, i.e. adopt the principle of vasudhaiva kutumbakam? Why
spend valuable time and efforts for the sake of a few family members only?
When the feeling of vasudhaiva kutumbakam
develops, a person exhibits love and compassion towards everyone and offers
his services for the welfare of humanity.
A comparison of the lives of great personalities (who adopted the soul as
their true guide in life) with ordinary people (who remained focused on their
body) shows that real joy and happiness lie in looking after the soul. Although
it is necessary to look after the body for survival, the point being made
here is that one should not get engrossed too much in satisfying the bodily
requirements. Giving priority to bodily requirements causes frustration.
Conversely, taking care of the soul primarily and also meeting the minimum
needs of the body results in permanent joy. It is this joy that the people
are after today but seldom succeed in finding.
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UPAKHYAN (Anecdote):
Once
upon a time there lived an uncompromising atheist and a devout theist in the
same village. The villagers were puzzled by the conflicting arguments of the
duo. Whenever the atheist would present his case, people would be carried
away by his piercing arguments. But then at some other times the theist would
marshal such convincing points, forceful counter arguments, examples, etc in
favor of his faith in Divinity that they would begin to feel that God was the
only all –pervading Reality; even a leaf could not quiver without His
consent. Vexed by this confusion, the villagers arranged a face-to-face
debate between the two one evening. The trenchant contest continued for the
whole night – with eloquent logic, arguments, counter-arguments, from both
for and against theism and atheism. It was simply impossible to judge who
among the two debaters had the upper hand. The result of this verbal marathon
was truly interesting. Impressed by the evidential arguments of the opponent,
the atheist had become a strong believer in God while the theist had turned
into an atheist by the next morning. But the confusion of the villagers
remained unresolved; they were baffled as before, unable to decide “whether
God IS or IS NOT” – like most of us in this world.
Conclusion: Those having discerning wisdom do not get entrapped in such fruitless
arguments and rather engage themselves in ennobling, creative thoughts and
constructive altruistic activities.
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SADVAKYA (Thought of the
week):
He alone lives a worthwhile life who
has a cool head , warm blood, a loving heart and zest for life.
- Pt. Shriram Sharma Acharya
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SAMPARK (Contacts):
Yug Shakti Gayatri Kendra
16/2, 1st Floor, 3rd cross, 3rd Main Road,
Prakash Nagar, Bangalore 560021
Phone: 91-80-23526694
Mobile: 9844503818 / 9880679755
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