SPIRITUAL REVOLUTION

I thought this title out from my wandering mind when i was thinking about
spirituality. As i type this document my mind still wanders as to conceive the real
meaning behind the Spiritual Revolution. In my earlier thoughts on the subject i
conceived of the Spiritual revolution as a political revolution which would
eliminate the materialistic western civilization and replace it with a spiritual
society. However on further thought i found that a political revolution is of no use
as politics itself is an eyewash. As a matter of fact any human activity done
socially is maya, a delusion which never answers the fundamental questions of
life. In discussions with a fellow traveller i found that all major political
revolutions resulted in nothing. Even for that matter other human endeavours in
religion, business, science, art, literature , social service etc have done nothing
to answer the fundamental question plaguing humanity, the question which is
who am i?

Political ideologies like communism, fascism, capitalism anarchism etc are all a
form of egoism. These ideologies and viewpoints replace one form of ignorance
with another form of ignorance. The fact of the matter is that society as we live
and act in itself perpetrates various forms of ignorance. This is the reason why
the coming of Gandhi, Buddha and Jesus have not changed the way human
beings think and act. While one great person comes and tries to change
humanity, there exists a superficial interest in that person. However after the
death of that person things get back to the same position they were in.

Human society lives to escape from reality. We invent families, jobs, religions,
political parties, amusement parks, temples, churches schools, colleges, banks,
stock exchanges and even scientific research institutes to fuel our escapes. We
talk of growth rates and fashion and what not but we are not willing to look at
ourself. As a result of this escape crises after crises comes in one form or the
other and the same reaction follows to modify the situation rather than face the
problem. As a result we find that while we have made an outer world that is
magnificent, our inner world still continues to be empty and dull.

I found that most of our established institutions and ideas are very flimsy indeed.
The fundamental problem is that all these so called hallowed and noble
institutions collapse under the question why? For example we talk of the need for
education. When you ask why should there be education, the reply comes that it
makes a person civilized. When it is further questioned as to why civilization is
required, it is said that civilization makes a better human out of us. However
when it is still further told that civilized nations have fought many wars and
many times have acted in a barbaric and bestial manner, the patience wears off
and one becomes irritated or annoyed. The similar response is seen when why is
asked in many other questions.
It is therefore seen that nobody likes the question why as they are unable to
answer for it. Also the basis of human society exists on unquestioned
assumptions like the belief in hard work and performance, law and order and
following the written and unwritten norms of a system. People dislike or even
loathe a person whose behaviour or ideas question the existence of a particular
system. For example if a person is lethargic and does no work ,he is disliked not
because of his lethargy as such but because his lethargy would ruin the system
which is functioning. Similarly intellectuals who have questioned a social order
have been viewed as a threat by the establishment of the day. It is a different
fact that these intellectuals have found a new system which behaves similarly to
the old system. Discipline and law and order are similarly required for the
continuance of a system.

It is also found that the system or social setup in which we live anywhere in the
world does not give us freedom to be as we are. We have to conform to a certain
behaviour or mindset to survive in the system. In modern societies people who
don’t conform to this setup are either labelled as criminals or mentally insane
and locked up in jails and mental asylums as punishment for non-conformity. In
ancient times these people were either ex-communicated or killed as heretics
and Kafirs.

The human society also binds and moulds our thinking to suit it. Society values
those who work obediently and unquestioningly for it. Those who raise questions
or differ are dangerous for the system as a whole. Therefore we are given
education which suits the societies need and work according to the wishes of
society, whether it is communism, capitalism, Hinduism, hedonism or anything
for that matter.

Hence we live life in a jailhouse called society and our the only way of becoming
free from this is through physical death. Till then we are expected to conform to
the norms and ways of society. Whether we live in a so called free society like the
USA or a rigid and conservative society like India, we are bound by the norms of
society. The binding with the norms of society reduces our free will and we
become social puppets. Our notion of life is a reflection of our family, friends,
relatives, colleagues, gurus, celebrities and what not. We never are able to
exercise our own will as we are afraid of violating social norms.

We are taught to think that is it bad to be stupid, lazy or steal, cheat and be
pleasure loving. We are taught that to be hard working, frugal, smart, humorous,
quick witted etc is good. These are seen as social ideals. In fact they are
expected of each one of us and we are compared on that basis. This occurs in
schools by discussing marks of students and in the workplace by rating
employees on their performance. While these ideals are neither being denounced
nor being praised as their opposites, the fact remains that social norms and
ideals dominate our lives. This comes in the way of true freedom or liberation.

At the same time these ideals help the status quo maintain it’s dominance. For
example students scoring high marks help the establishment of the school.
Soldiers dying in a war help political parties gain power within or outside a
country. Employees working overtime and efficiently help the employer make
huge profits.

Therefore it is seen that social norms and ideals are made for two reasons
namely:

1) To secure the survival and existence of the system.

2) To maintain the status quo of the elite.

This occurs in every form of human system. In capitalism it is the capitalists and
in communism it is the politburo members who constitute the elite. Slogans and
lectures are made in the name of people and a few prosper at their expense. This
lie is repeated age after age and is given various names like religion, business,
politics, nationalism, science, art, literature, sports etc. Epoch after epoch leads
to the same mistakes being committed all under the hallowed name of SOCIETY.
The strangeness of the matter is this lie continues and goes on and on and on.
Great and stupendous efforts are made to continue and renew this lie.

The essence of humanity as we see it lies in the society we live in. This
institution is based and sustained on lies and fraud. These lies make us escape
from understanding ourselves. We take shelter in these lies in the belief that all
will go well. This is indeed very strange considering the fact that death and
disaster is a certainty in our life. Yet we continue with our arrogance and
pompous attitudes. We revel in backbiting, being treacherous, vain, superficial
and shrewd. Quick wittedness and cleverness is valued or innocence or
thoughtfulness, greed over being austere and flamboyance to humility.

We do these things in orderto escape from our miseries, our emptiness and dark,
horrifying secrets which lie within us. We can’t stand the truth of ourselves and
hence seek life outside ourselves. We call this seeking as religion, science,
politics, business, entertainment etc. We build our civilization out of escape and
expect everyone to escape. Those who can’t escape are labelled as misfits and
shunned by society. We believe in the virtue and immortality of society and fail
to understand that three or four Hitler’s can secure the extinction of humanity in
an age of weapons of Mass destructions. We are arrogant and conceited of our so
called economic achievements which get blown out by an economic crisis. USA
which is the most advanced nation on earth gets crippled in the face of a natural
calamity like a hurricane or tornado. Scientists try to create a Hadron collider to
find out the origin of our universe and fail to find a cure for mental depression.

In essence we want to live a lie but don’t have the wherewithal to bear it’s
consequences. We create lies and then cringe under it’s consequences.
Therefore by building society on lies we create financial and psychological
tsunamis which break out in the form of depressions, wars, famines, crime,
insanity etc. We fail to realise that our existence and our surroundings are
ephemeral and behave as if we are god ourselves. This arrogance has destroyed
many civilizations and historic figures. Unfortunately it will destroy many more as
we refuse to change and believe in the lie called SOCIETY.
There arises a conflict of interest. On the one hand we require society for our
existence and on the other hand we are made to perpetuate this lie time and
again. It presents a psychological CATCH 22 situation for us. This conflict of
interest if thought over troubles us, perplexes us and even frightens us. People
fear that they will become mad if they think of these things and therefore the lie
called SOCIETY continues. Along with the continuation of this lie occur the same
disasters and crises which have continues since time immemorial. We claim to be
happy and satisfied yet we continue to be miserable by living through this lie.

Our varied philosophies, political ideologies, religious beliefs, scientific beliefs,

discipline, work, will power, effort, entertainment and spontaneity have not been
able to make us aware of ourselves. Instead these have made us escape from
ourselves. We therefore are caught in a vicious cycle of delusion. This delusion
creates SOCIETY and along with it the infinite mental states that are a product of
pain. This pain appears as pleasure in certain occasions like parties, festivals,
celebrations etc . We get a temporary pleasure out of these escapes and
consider this experience as bliss.

Human beings therefore create a web of delusion around themselves and

continue to exist in it. This web perpetuates itself into society and those series of
relationships created in the form of schools, colleges,banks, organisations,
temples, churches, political parties, corporate sector, welfare institutions and so
on. This list is not only endless but keeps on multiplying as time passes by. This
endless stream with it’s mix of crises and booms, success and failure and so on
occupy our life.

Henceforth in society our orientation is outward and not inward. We seek

happiness and contentment through the outside world and forget that real joy
comes through our inner selves. This inner joy or contentment is what the
spiritual revolution seeks to address. The spiritual revolution is an inward
revolution and not an outward revolution. The world has had many outward
revolutions like the French Revolution and Communism. However these
revolutions have only triggered more chaos, violence and bloodshed without
addressing the problems of humanity. It is also to be noted that no mass
movements or social upheavals can achieve anything. If at all anything has to be
achieved it is to be done by addressing our inner selves. It is to be done by
knowing who we are.

This would be the first step towards the endeavour of knowing the truth. We
must be aware what we are rather than seeking solace from the outside world.
Therefore if i am a greedy or arrogant person , i must acknoweledge and notice
that fact. This i notice as i am my mind at present. My mind keeps on wandering,
focussing on various thoughts and greed or arrogance is one of them. When i am
fully aware of this function my mind ceases to exist because i am seeing myself.
When i see myself the self gets destroyed and the super consciousness emerges.
In this state there is no ‘I’ or ‘we’ or ‘me’. There is no present or future, rich or
poor, good or bad, success or failure, violence or passivity, darkness or light. It is
a state of “infinite bliss”.
It is this state called by many names as Atman, Nirvana etc that the great seers
and saints claimed to have attained. What this state is I don’t know since i still
am a wanderer in quest for it. However it is clear that detachment from society
or sanyassa is one way to attain this. The detachment from society or vairagya is
based on the elimination of mental and physical dependence on society. This
means that the economic, social, psychological, emotional and other needs are
not depended upon for from society.

For example if i am an ascetic or a sanyasi i must not expect food,clothing,

shelter or anything from the society. I must be neutral to both pain and pleasure.
If i do not receive food i must prepare to starve to death and if other amenities
like clothing, shelter etc are not provided, i must be prepared to stay without
them. This would be seen as laziness or sloth by any ordinary person. However it
is not. It is the attempt to rid oneself of desires and attachment . This can be
accomplished by minimizing and ending on all kinds of needs. At the same time
the focus on self should end the sensitivity of the mind to taunts and all forms of
physical and mental pleasures or pain.

One must be unaffected by the worst forms of physical and mental torture and
must maintain equanimity throughout. This is possible through experiencing
extreme forms of social and economic hardship. These could be in the form of
poverty, starvation, social ostracism, police brutality etc. This might sound
sadistic but it is not. The problem of the mind is the problem of pain. Humans
always try to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. In this process more pain is
created as pleasure is not guranteed in life. We try to escape from painful and
miserable situations. This increases confusion and problems creating a vicious
cycle of pain. The pain here refers to the fear of a certain situation.

Therefore in order to end this cycle we must prepare ourselves to accept pain. In
doing so gradually the we find that the pain we had was an illusion which did not
exist at all. Neither did it’s opposite pleasure. This leads to the falling of the mind
and emergence of the self. It is the final moment of truth. Here all duality ceases
to exist and everything forms a whole. This is the state where all states end and
there is complete bliss.

Therefore in conclusion we can say that the spiritual revolution is a revolution

towards understanding ourselves as we are and not as we want to be.

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