We hear so much being talked about Spiritualism today and it has happily become fashionable to be projecting a spiritual profile. To most of us it is an image worth possessing because we expect to be perceived more seriously and with more reverence. Therefore I say that spiritualism has ‘happily’ become fashionable today because somewhere there is a realisation that just about any image will not do for us.
What, therefore, is spiritualism? Is it mastering the religious scriptures, is it shunning material pleasures, is it the regular indulgence in prescribed rituals, going to a place of worship, or is it chanting shlokas and mantras, meditation, wearing saffron/white, or what is it?
To keep ourselves engaged in all the above actions without any change to our inner selves is, obviously, the easiest thing to achieve. Spiritualism I feel is something much more intrinsic, something that ought to impact our inner selves, urge us to “live in Spirit”, in honesty. It is about returning to the purity, to the spontaneity, to the sensitive spirit that was granted to every human being by God. To be spiritual is by no means to not strive hard or to lead an easy, laid-back life. It is to go through life in a certain mental mode. A tall order this but then who ever said it was easy?
Spiritualism is about shedding the dust, the clutter that has piled on us in our mistaken endeavours to arm ourselves with the wherewithal to deal with life effectively. What, then, is this dust and clutter? It is nothing but our ego, our arrogance, our insane occupation for one up-manship, the faulty formula for success, recognition and fame. The non-ability to live and let live.
Spiritualism can never be the acquisition of certain qualities and attributes, rather, it is the shedding of the dust and clutter. If we are able to achieve that, then the glitter of honesty, humility, compassion, tolerance and acceptance, hitherto concealed under the rubble of ego, arrogance and intolerance will emerge in their glory and brilliance. We shall no longer be affected by differences, dissent, greed, envy, contradictions and ego related traumas. There shall only be harmony in our ambience, prompted by a state of EQUANIMITY that shall envelop us.
All our scriptures and sant-vani, in essence, say this. That as soon as we recognise and revel in our natural, God given attributes, all the success that is due to us, shall be ours, for keeps. Not to be taken away by income tax raids or jail sentences.
To please God, we need not sing his praise, as we are prone to doing so in our prayers or holy chants. All we need to do to be the recipients of his grace is to live the life he wants us to live, and be content with whatever grace he showers upon us, as our due, as our worth. To seek nothing from him, as, by living a life that he has prescribed for us, we will get what we deserve and also be granted the ability to be content with it. To express gratitude for what we have and also for what we do not. Seeking from God is like a State seeking more Central funds while it has millions of unutilised funds in its coffer
Jai Shri Krishna!
