Dr. Jernail S. Anand
President, International Academy of Ethics
When we have arrived on this earth, with a limited span of time, let us look upon ourselves as we look upon our Prophets. Why they were sent on the earth? Their avowed aim was to fight evil. Take the case of Lord Rama or Lord Krishna. Even the Gurus came to fight off the evil dispensation of the Mughals. I wish to emphasise that each one of us is in the role of a Prophet. It is another thing, we do not realize it. That is why, we stay away from ultimate salvation.
What a Prophet or an Avatar is expected to do? To fight evil, and to set up high standards of moral conduct, and preach goodness and sagacity to the people, who are lost in the maze of ignorance.
Actually, there is no ignorance. When man comes to this earth, he is rooted in innocence. Innocence is a state of bliss, but ignorance is a state which is imposed upon man when he is growing up by false narratives of religiosity and human conduct propagated by demi-gods and self-styled gurus. All ignorance is the result of the false teachings that these people have spread around, and it is a pity, it is so widespread that it seems it has engulfed the whole world.
From Innocence to Understanding the world, is the trek from Light to Light through the areas of darkness. The world is the dark zone through which a man has to pass, and here innocence is not enough. He needs proper understanding of the world, its processes, and how to conduct himself, in relation to himself, and in his conduct with other human beings, and God’s kind. The world calls it knowledge, but what I am talking of is ‘knowledge plus’ stage of wisdom. I am certainly not talking of worldly wisdom, which is a synonym for craft and scheming. Wisdom gives men light in which they can see what they are, how they are and how the world is connected to them.
TANTRIKS OF EXISTENCE
A growing human being who has left his innocence behind is taught the ‘tantriks’ of existence. The
ideas of struggle, and the ‘survival of the fittest’ are injected into his mind, so that, he now acquires a world view in which he must keep alive, and for this, he has to decimate others, which includes human being and the nature as well. The education that we provide succeeds in isolating him as a human being and focusing attention of personal development, at the same time, disconnecting him from the FLOW OF HUMANITY. And, men are imparted no training in the COMMONWEALTH OF COSMICITY. With the utter lack of these two perspectives, a growing up human being becomes an ISLAND OF NEGATIVE PERSPECTIVES. Focused on himself. His family. His own promotion. And for this, he has no moral compunctions if he destroys the soft network of human relations, and concepts of cosmic well- being of the entire creation.
THE RENUNCIATES
I was talking of the Prophets who came here with a purpose. On most of the occasions, it was to fight Evil and restore the Kingdom of God. It means that the great men, who hit the earth, came here with a societal mission. It had a double edge. One was to reassert the might of God, and the other was to refine and finetune the human beings for a better living among themselves, keeping themselves in constant touch with the cosmic forces. The question which I am going to ask here to the entire spiritual tradition is:
Can we think that a man who comes to this earth should renounce his social connections, his wife, his family, his duties towards his parents, the society which has created him, - has he no responsibility towards the milieu in which he is born?
Has he/she no responsibility towards the cosmic forces, the winds, the waters, the forests, the mountains, the birds, - nothing to give back to them in return for the life giving environment that has been made available to him?
When men go back after their trek on the earth, they are questioned for what they have done on the earth. Their actions? How can anyone excuse himself from his role as a social being and become a renunciate?
Guru Nanak Dev, in his debate with the Siddhas, argued that, in order to keep alive, you go to beg
from the households of the worldly people, and then, you consider yourself superior? How come? I also repeat the same question. After 700 years. How can anyone justify his life if he is not doing anything to sustain it? How can it be justified that a man, or an entire clan, is living on the offerings
from society? What are they giving back to society which feeds them? How can they come to terms
with the cosmic spread of God?
WHY PEOPLE TURN TO SPIRITUALITY?
Marx called religion an opium for the masses. Spirituality too is a bypass for men, who don’t want
to enter the city, and face its congestion. Life is a turbulent place, in which, a man, who can be considered a Prophet in his own might, has to stand on the side of truth. Truth is a dangerous trek. It brings you in conflict with the dispensation. All those who love truth, were eliminated by the Kings. So, all those of us who are alive, - are we COMPROMISERS of the worst sort? We are alive
because WE DID NOT CHALLENGE THE WRONG AND THE INJUSTICE. Does it behove a
Prophet not to stand by the Just and the Good and by those who are oppressed? Which brings me to
the conclusions that we are not even shadows of the great Prophets and how we can distort their life
messages.
Guru Nanak Dev ji, stood against the might of the Mughals. Guru Gobind Singh fought the tyranny of the Mughal kings. What they preached, love for truth, was no hot steam. They showed how they can live up to what they preach. What happened to Christ? What happened to Socrates? All those who loved truth had to suffer.
The fundamentals are very clear. If we want to escape suffering, stop hitting into the dispensation,
and start looking up. Start singing hymns of the higher powers, and don’t look straight. I have a feeling spirituality brought men succour from the oppressive condition because it offered an escape route. You need not comment on what is happening. You need not fight for justice. You need not take up the social causes. Focus yourself on yourself. Become an island in yourself. And start singing the praises of the Almighty.
Dissociate yourself from the world, its problems, and in essence, say goodbye to all your responsibilities towards this society, and this comic brotherhood. Is it right for a person to renounce this world? Renounce his responsibilities towards the earth which has given birth to him? Mahatma Buddha renounced the world, only to hit back with a great ‘Dharma’ – a duty, a responsibility, which bound man not to himself, but to the world around. How to conduct himself in this world.
The singing of hymns day in and day out is a romantic escape from the duties a man has
towards his family, his society, and the spread around. The godmen who keep millions of
followers enthralled in songs, must, like the great Guru Nanak Dev, themselves come to physical work. Preaching is a good business, which distances man from the essentials of living.
If you are returning good to the society, acting as a responsible member of the cosmic spread, here is
what Guru Nanak Dev ji said in essence: Ghal Khaye Kuch Hathon Deh, Nanak Raah Pachhaney se: It means that if you are doing your work with your own hands, and giving something to the needy out of your earnings, in other words, if you are supporting yourself [no renunciation] and if you helping the need [extending a helping hand to God’s creation] – you are on the right path.
Renunciation is a misguided proposition. God cannot be happy if men, instead of doing their
duties as human beings, are busy remembering Him all the time. What is the need? Have they
committed serious crimes that they are asking for atonement? We should remember God no doubt,
but we should rather remember our duties. It is in a duty well done that our dignity as human beings lies. And it will please God to see that his men are working well, and running His system to his satisfaction. How can a CEO react if most of his men instead of running the show, just lie drugged and singing hymns? God is also a great CEO. He does not like people who do not perform. And try to flatter him by simply sing His praises.