Obtaining Spirituality through Materialism
A man is a pensive creature. Only on account of being pensive or full of thoughts he is called a man.
It is the thoughtfulness that gave birth to the social system and it is the social system which differentiate a man from other creatures of the universe. If the thoughtfulness and the social system had not existed, there would have been no difference between a man and an animal. To give perfection to the humanity through the social system, the Karma was divided in two categories.
1. Dut deeds worth doing or what to do
2. Sinful deeds or what not to do
Duty or Kartavya : A work that does not arouse dislike from within while being executed, is inclusive of the Purushartha or sincere efforts, is not with an intention to cause harm to others and is based on the well-being of self and others is known as duty or Kartavya. A violence committed during the course of duty or Kartavya is deemed as an act of non-violence. To cite as an example if a doctor cuts a body-part off or inflicts surgery on a patient with an intention to cure him, it can not be treated violence. Similarly, if a soldier commits violence while performing his solemn duty defend his country, it is not to be treated as an act of violence.
Sinful Deed: An act which begets a sense of remorse and utter dislike from within, is devoid of Purushartha or sincere efforts, is done with malafide intention to cause harm to others, is executed merely to further financial resources or materialistic means for the sake of self-interest can be termed as Akartavya or sinful deed for what not to do such as theft, robbery, cheating, fraud, conspiracy etc. If the money acquired through sinful deeds cited as above is put into worship of God, charity or donations it can not be virtues and all such charitable acts performed with the money acquired through immoral means come under the purview of Asatkarma or bad deeds.
Thus, if a man wants to remain a man in true sense, he has to follow Kartavya Karma or good and sincere efforts for the journey of life. This is because we can go ahead towards perfection of human life only by following Kartavya Karma. A human being should acquire materialistic objects only through Kartavya Karma or moral deeds. If we earn and acquire materialistic things by Kartavya Karma or deeds worth doing, that materialistic perception turns into spirituality. In other words, wealth earned by following Kartavya or Satkarma epitomizes religion. Many of the people must be aware of the communication between Yama and Nachiketa as contained in the Kathopanishada. It has been cited therein that spiritualism can not be achieved through materialistic means, Nitya can not be achieved through Anitya. Religion is not possible to be achieved through wealth and soul through body. ( Here meaning of all the words like materialism, Anitya, wealth, body etc. is the same and similarly, meaning of spiritualism, nitya, religion, soul etc. is alsothe one and the same). However, after this statement, Yama told Nachiketa that the Kartavya Karma, on having been done with inclusion of three fires, gives materialism acquired through Kartavya Karma a form of spiritualism. That Anitya then becomes Nitya, that wealth becomes a symbol of religion and that corporal body becomes the soul.
What are the three fires in human life ? According to the Vedic Philosophy, Fire is of two kinds ?
1. Jad Agni or non ? vibrant fire
2. Chetan Agni or Vibrant fire.
The fire produced from objects like wood, stone etc is called Jad Agni or non-vibrant fire. The fire in the form of knowledge, erudition, thoughts, wisdom and deep thinking is known as Chetan Agni or vibrant fire. Lord Sri Krishna has also stated in the Gita ? Oh Arjun, fire in the form of wisdom is able to burn all the evils of Karma. In this context, Guru Yama has spoken about three kinds of Chetan Agni or vibrant or fire. As friction of two trees or two objects produces fire, similarly, ;human life also has three major joints and in all these three joints, three fires in the form of deep thoughts of man come into being. With the help of these fires in the shape of deep thoughts a man performs his journey of life earning wealth through Kartavya Karma.
Three Joints of Human Life:
1. Joint of Adolescence and Young age: Infancy has not been brought under the system of joints on the ground that infancy is a period during which, a process of building up of those kinds of natures takes place that are attributed to parents, guru or teachers and public contact (that what he sees with his own eyes all around in the social atmosphere). But at a point when joint of Adolescence and young age becomes functional, an innovative or new kind of thought starts emerging. This is the joint-period of Adolescence and a younger age between the age of 15-25 when the first foundation of living art of the human life is laid and it is of a great help for Kartavya Karma. This joint-period plays a crucial role during whole of the life. If the first fire of the human life i.e. deep thought is in good shape and direction, the first joint of Adolescence and young age is the base of life and its perfection.
2. The joint of Young age and Adulthood :– A man enters into domestic phase of life or Grihasthashrama to lead a marital or conjugal life after getting proper education and this is must to promote the Generation-cycle. During this phase of life, he has to shoulder so many responsibilities such as producing children, getting them properly educated, earning wealth and the like. When with advancing his age, he is on the peak of his maturity equipped with all abilities and knowledge like the Sun at noon, he is called adult. This stage has more stability in thinking. He does not think only for himself and starts feeling responsibilities towards the society and the country along with his family. Then he deserves to be called as an Adult. The material changes that are perceived at the age of 40-50, belong to the second joint of life. Thoughts of this joint are to be understood as the basic ground of the family, society and the country. Whosoever is able to push the fire of thoughts in the right direction, his philosophy of life becomes spiritual, adoration of God and religion.
3. The Joint of Adulthood and Old Age:– This is the third and last joint of human life. During the ocurse of this joint, a Fire of last thoughts emerges and the person starts feeling the account of his deeds or Karma done during the entire past life. Some people often remember their past life. Some people often remember their past brevity, strength and abilities, some others dedicate themselves wholeheartedly to the public welfare, thinking that this is the law of the generation, cycle and the universe. In the ancient India, people on the verge of old age used to teach the future generation about the art of living and rich experiences gained by the, without any greed. The old age has been named as “Renouncement of the World” or Sanyas in the Indian Philosophy. Sanyas means renouncing the world. That is to say, a feeling of full sacrifice for the welfare of family, society and the country, a feeling of seeing the entire world without any discrimination, spending the money earned during young age and thereafter on own children as well as for the help of the downtrodden and other backward people of the Society, leading the life mediating the God, the holy saints and sages and the great people. The third joint of the human life is painful and irksome for some people. In spite of thoughts and wisdom even during this joint period, he succeeds in making his life all happy by devoting himself to the well-being of the people with a sense that it is the law of the Universe. The third fire of deep thoughts emerges between the age of 65 and 75. When a man equipped with the aforesaid three fires of thoughts, performs his journey of life in the right direction following his duty or Kartavya Karma, his body takes a shape of soul, his wealth is transformed into religion, his materialism changes to spiritualism and his Anitya becomes Nitya. His philosophy of life and the life-journey are then treated as adoration or worship of God.Attainment of God is possible only by Karma .
According to the Indian philosophy, a man is born to achieve Purushartha i.e. excellence in superb spiritual deeds. The first ladder to achieve the Purushartha is religion which literally means the Karma worth upholding. A human being has to perform a journey in the world with human thoughts from childhood to old age and all this requires various materialistic means and resources. It is essential in human life also to care for the journey of life of the kith and kin and not only for self. Whatever we do for this journey of life, it badly needs physical and material resources and for this, a man has to execute Karma and virtually following this with sincerity he strides forward towards the perfection. The perfection in human life is known as Salvation – a stage where there is no fear or fright, no bindings and thus, a feeling of the full contentment is the Salvage or Salvation. To reach the level of Salvation we need to pass through three ladders and the first one is Dharma (religion) or Karma.
Dharma (Religion):– In accordance with his experience and will-power, a man upholds various Karmas. As per the Vedas and the Geeta, only that upheld Karma is the religion of every creature. The religion of an engineer is to construct or manufacture, the religion of a teacher is to teach, the religion of a student is to learn or pursue studies, the religion of a soldier is to defend the country and fight a war against the enemy and the religion of a trader is to trade. As such, every person has some kind of rich experiences and skills and only that deed or Karma of the particular person becomes his own religion. Only the thing that is required is a sense of dedication, sincerity and honesty towards that Karma, a sense of succor, empathy and compassion towards other creatures. A Karma full of dedication, sincerity, servitude and sympathy becomes the religion of a man.
Artha (Wealth or resources):– The Artha follows the Dharma or Karma. For the journey of life, physical or material resources are earned or gained through physical Karma. Everybody depends on others. Nobody can create all necessary objects and resources required to lead life with his own efforts and skills. A doctor can not produce food-grains or cereals like a peasant and a peasant and a peasant is unable to cure any disease. Therefore, a peasant and a doctor are mutually dependent. In this process, the role of an intermediary is performed by the Artha (wealth) that comes through Karma.
Kaam (Lust):– The meaning of the word Kaam is will, satiation of desire or fulfillment of wishes. The physical journey of human life is full of desires. Apart from some essential desires pertaining to daily life like food, clothes and shelter, it is also necessary to focus on some other socio-human necessities like education of children, their marriages, managing household affairs, public relations etc. to fulfill all these desires one has to have money. What kind of Artha should be that. That should be as per Dharma e.g. gained through good and sincere efforts or Satkarma. When a human creature performs his life-journey with such kind of Artha or resources, we can possibly witness Salvation. According to the Geeta, the best way to attain the Salvation is to see the God in Karma. Lord Sri Krishna has unambiguously stated in the Geeta that everybody should worship the God with his duty or Karma. That is to say, everybody should have a glimpse of God in his own Karma. A sense of morality, dedication and compassion in one’s deed or Karma may be taken as attainment of God. Even if a soldier commits a murder to defend the boundaries of his country or to devastate terrorists, it is a holy worship of God. Thus, to have a glimpse of God in his duty or Karma is the best direction to reach the God. At such a stage, a man does not require to run hither in search of God or salvation. One should step ahead towards perfection of life with adoration of God through one’s Karma only. This has beautifully been summed up in the following Shloka
Swami karmana tamaphyarcha siddhim vindanti manavah
World-peace and pollution-free world possible only through Yaajna
Man, at every moment, tries to tread ahead towards supremacy. He puts in all efforts to achieve all during his life. On account of being committed to the social life, he does not go astray becoming unfair, unjust and tyrant to fulfill all he desires. Whatever is earned by a man in this world, ;should include his brevity, sincere efforts or Purushartha and inspiration of firm resolution. This is because by virtue of possessing thoughtfulness, he is known as a man. After coming into the world, he performs physical journey, a journey of life. The prime desire of the life-journey is to hoard various means of comforts for the human life. But desires never end and therefore, whatever means of comforts are needed by him to remain as a man and to perform his life and physical journey, if include a sense of pity and empathy, religion, fearlessness, brevity, words of blessings of great people, non-violence and compassion towards other people and creatures, can transform the life-journey of such a man into a Yajna. When a man is born, his basic life is full of ignorance and he starts learning just after he is born. At this stage, the first and foremost teachers are the lap of the mother and love of his father. In ancient India, education pertaining to the Pancha Yagna was essential along with other necessary education considered as useful for life. Efforts were made to protect the humanity in the world with these Panch Yajnas.
1. Paternal Yajna or Pitra Yajna: – Under this Yajna the pupils were imparted education relating to maintain a sense of service, devotion and respects towards parents. This Yajna was treated as a basic source of inspiration to keep the mother and the father at the highest place or at the place of God, in life which echoes from- Matra Devo Bhava, Pitra Devo Bhava?
2. Sage Yajna Or Rishi Yajna:– The Sage Yajna or Rishi Yajna meant to have been linked to the sages, saints and great people. What rules should be followed by humanity to march ahead towards supremacy. How should we defend the family, society and the country from the clutches of devils and demons. What kind of Constitution should be there for the social life journey of human being “How should we protect our mind” These are the questions which relate to the education based on the life-style and knowledge of saints, sages and great people. To follow their foot-prints is called as the Sage Yajna or Rishi Yajna.
3. Bhoot Yajna:- Bhoot Yajna means all human being of the world. With this Yajna, man was taught that this world does not exist for only one person. It is not only I who am excellent or respectable, but there are also others like me. Others, agonies and sorrows are mine too. This is why the human society of the entire world should think of the welfare of one another. A feeling of “this is mine” and “that is yours” is for the ignorant and unwise people. Wise men treat all human-being of the whole world as a one unit of their family.
4. Bali Vaishwa Dev Yajna:– By this Yajna people were imparted education about maintaining a sense of empathy towards animals and birds.
5. Dev Yajna:– Dev Yajna means Excellent Yajna. No a days this kind of Yajna is called as ” Hawan”. In this Yajna, ghrita or ghee and other kinds of fragrant and aromatic objects are dedicated to fire in the “Hawan Kund” by a specific method amid chanting of Ved Mantras. According to the Indian Philosophical thoughts, the seven layers responsible for running the Universe may be protected only by the Hawan Yajna. In the holy book Gita, Lord Sri Krishna has said that the Hawan Yajna is the only way to purify cereals, water and the wind.
According to Maharashi Patanjali purification of food is highly essential for the purification of heart. The three main foods of a man are ?
1. Cereals or food grains
2. Water
3. Wind
If it is deeply perceived, all the three basic foods , cereals, water and wind/air have become polluted. It is understood if the food is polluted, thinking will get polluted. On account of thinking being polluted, man has become the greatest enemy to human society. As a result, there is no peace all over the world and restlessness is bent upon galloping the whole atmosphere. Hence, it is essential to balance the entire world by the Hawan Yajna. How the Hawan purifies cereals, water and wind. `When we burn ghee and other aromatic objects by performing a special activity, ;the fragrance produced with this gets mixed in the air where it kills various viruses and bacteria. Mixing up of air and vapour purifies the vapour. On getting purified vapour-purifies the rain-water. Thus, Hawan purifies air and water. Cereals, fruits etc. sustain only on water and air and, therefore, if water and air are polluted, cereals will certainly get polluted, because act is always according to the cause. It means if cause is impure, the act can not avoid its impact and will itself become impure. If the cause is pure, the act will necessarily be pure. Thus, with the Hawan Yajna, water and air will be pollution-free and this will ensure purification of cereals, fruits etc. Lord Krishna has preached in the Gita that the God has provided mankind with cereals, water, air, fruits etc. for use in life. Therefore, it becomes the first and foremost duty of man to protect them. If these (Cereals, air, water etc.) are free of pollution, it is a boon for mankind. In view of this, it is necessary that we should not only consume these objects, but do something to protect them also. Lord Sri Krishna has said in the Gita that people who consume cereals, water, air and the like objects, but do not care for their protection are not less than ‘Thief’. (Gita-3-11,12).
In conclusion, purity of heart and purity of thinking is badly required to create an empire of love and peace all over the world. The above mentioned Yajna, particularly the Hawan Yajna can lead the humanity towards the world-fraternity.
