Today the world is seeking a more practical religion, a religion that they can apply in their daily lives and not a mystical religion without purpose and meaning. The world desires a religion that must not be divorced from all facets of daily living. In fact, it does not seek a religion that covers only one aspect of our daily living and neglects the others. From the profile of global wisdom, Vedanta has been proclaimed as a practical religion that can be applied to all aspects of our daily life.
Vedanta is a religion for the active not the lazy; not for the one sitting on the edge and the one with an indifferent attitude. It is duty and work which are the real goals of Vedanta, a duty to the highest calling and working in the spirit of selflessness for the betterment of the world and for providing a better way of life for all. Swami Vivekananda says that work is worship, therefore work and duty are never done with a mind of disinterest, a disturbed mind, an indifferent mind, an inconsistent mind or a mind intent for pride and egoity. It is performed against the backdrop of eternal peace and with a spirit of tranquility and inward urgency. Vedanta insists that we work and carry out our spiritual duties with mental calmness, steadfastness and with love, undisturbed by any obstacle but a mind that is fixed on the highest spiritual goal.
Vedanta advocates the spiritual ideals of religion and does not draw down these ideals to create a religion of convenience. Spiritual evolution is integral to spiritual practice and if such evolution is not occurring then we are practising a false path or we are not practising our religion correctly. Spiritual evolution takes us to the highest spiritual goal. It is our material desire and craving for self enjoyment and selfishness which is driven by passion, greed, envy, pride, egoism and power that gets us to draw the spiritual ideals to suit our whims and fancies. Spiritual ideals are not unachievable and we must not cloud the truth of the possibility to achieve them. The saints and sages are examples and role models that demonstrate to us the practical possibility for spiritual evolution towards our ideals. It is the lazy, the atheist and the materialist that hide in the name of convenience and in denial of these ideals. The pure hearted express unbelievable faith in striving towards these ideals.
What keeps us away from the real goals of religion are superstition and ignorance. It is this superstition and ignorance which are unfounded in spiritual experience and which are based on irrationality that grips the minds of the weak and those that seek to use religion for mere convenience. Such superstition and ignorance denies us the true understanding of ourselves and enslaves our mental attitude to blind mechanical practices. By identifying with the spiritual ideal and remembering your eternal nature, you will transcend all superstition, ignorance, weakness and enslavement.
The Katha Upanishad states 'Utishthata Jaagrata', 'arise, awake!', and we must awake to the clarion call of our true self. Vedanta insists that the spiritual ideals are not meant for a special group of people or for an exclusive religion, sect, organisation or denomination, these spiritual ideals are universal and are meant for the whole world, irrespective of race, religion, sect, creed, gender, sexual orientation or religious affiliation of the individual. Ignorance is not part of our nature or make up, we must shed it with right knowledge.
The Bhagavad Gita says, ‘raise yourself by your own efforts’, (6:5). This is a very powerful message of Vedanta. Vedanta does not aim to keep you dependent on doctrine, dogma, ceremony, ritual, organisation or leader. The message of Vedanta is to shed ignorance and superstition, and to seek the inherent strength within your self, raising yourself towards the highest spiritual goals.
Vedanta declares that each living entity is an embodiment of the Divine, therefore it recognises no person as being condemned with eternal sin, or born as a sinner. Vedanta is resolute that we recognise and constantly remember our spiritual nature instead of degrading ourselves as sinners.
Vedanta gives us the message that we can only be saved by our own efforts from the world of ignorance and superstition and not through some promised Saviour. The more you think that you are born a sinner, the more you deny yourself the glory of realising and experiencing your Divine Spiritual nature. Vedanta is persistent that we keep the company of the pure, the positive minded and the enlightened, for the blind following the blind will only lead one into further blindness.
Vedanta denies the differential nature of existence and proclaims the message of Oneness for the universe. The message of Oneness is rooted in the mantra ‘vasudaiva kutumbakam’, which means that ‘the whole world is a family’. Human beings must become aware of this Oneness and give up all sense of false identification viz. Religious, political, nationalistic classification, etc. These are sources of conflict, confrontation and unhappiness and they breed violence, terrorism, extremism and false theology.
Vedanta is firm on the point that Oneness implies the organic unity of the human, vegetative and animal worlds and has defined a moral and spiritual duty for humans toward the world and the environment. Vedanta is opposed to any philosophy or theology that advocates the superiority of man over the natural world and man's Divine right to exploit and dominate the natural world for his benefit. Vedanta advocates a philosophy that sees the natural world as sacred and worthy of spiritual reverence.
Vedanta is opposed to promoting a spirituality that gets you to put faith in external things. Those who put their faith in leaders, organisations, books and blind rituals experience a deep sense of disappointment and disillusionment. Faith in external things is blind faith, born out of ignorance and superstition and is designed for the weak and not the strong at heart. Vedanta insists that in exercising faith one must put faith in oneself first.
For us to transcend sin, weakness, ignorance, superstition and to evolve towards the highest ideal we need to have faith in ourselves. We can see the difference between people who put faith in themselves and who are able to raise themselves and those who put faith in external things are for ever dissatisfied.
The spirit of Vedanta is the spirit that must dominate the consciousness of humanity because it carries a message of strength. This age we need a mind of steel to raise ourselves from the degrading experiences of material existence. The spirit of Vedanta will bring to the world genuine unity, harmony, love and spiritual cohesion.
Long live the Spirit of Vedanta.
