Amrit Vani

Awakening of Manīṣā
Can Transform Humanity

(Translation of a discourse by
Pandit Shriram Sharma Acharya
on “Yug Manīṣā Jāge, To Krānti Ho” )

Let us begin with the collective chanting of the Gayatri Mantra:

Om bhūrbhuvaḥ svaḥ tatsaviturvareṇyaṁ
bhargo devasya dhīmahi dhiyo yo naḥ prachodayāt ll

Sisters and Brothers,

As the president of the USA, Abraham Lincoln once introduced a tiny woman before the Parliament and acclaimed that this lady had made his dream come true. Several years back, he had pledged in the name of God and his soul to wipe out the curse of the inhuman tradition of bonded labor from his land. Those days the blacks (the Negros) in America were kept as bonded labors and were treated like animals by many of the rich and mighty whites. By and large the laws those days were biased in favor of the whites and used to protect their vested interests.

Harriet Stowe, an ordinary middle-class housewife felt the agony of the blacks through her heart and penned it in a touching novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”. Her words, her lively narrations carried such a vivid force, that it churned millions of minds and as many hearts. It not only made the readers cry but also propelled their zeal to protest against the blind laws and oppressors of the blacks. In his acknowledgment before the parliament, President Lincoln was pointing at this impact of manīṣā1 that was so naturally expressed in Mrs. Stowe’s novel, which triggered historic changes in the American continent.

Was this revolutionary liberation achieved after a battle between the Negros and their oppressors? No, certainly not. The slaves did not have any weapons or power to fight against the resourceful whites. They only had tears and sufferings, which, conveyed through Harriet Stowe’s manīṣā in the novel, had fueled the outrage of the White Americans. This consequently gave rise to a civil war among the whites – between the south and north of America, which almost uprooted apartheid and bonded labor from America and helped the blacks get justice and rights.

The call of awakened conscience of a physically short and economically weak woman was so powerful that it not only moved the Americans but also touched and inspired the hearts of readers across the globe. It awakened the human sentiment and sparked immense courage in the masses to fight against the demonic tortures of the tyrants. Abraham Lincoln had vowed to remove apartheid but he was the head of the ‘government of the whites for the whites’, he had no law, not enough support to provide due justice to the blacks in his country. Harriet Stowe’s book helped achieve what he had dreamt and pledged for the sake of humanity.

Did the print or contents of the book set off the revolution? No, it was the ideology, the sentiment of humanity, the sensitivity conveyed through it that sparked off radical changes in the society. I am not talking about intellectual brilliance, literary talent, scholarship, creative skills, etc. I am talking of the ideology, the depth of compassionate heart, of virtuous spirit. This is what makes manīṣā superior to any other skills, talents, or intellectual potentials. Manīṣā is that joint faculty of an illumined mind and compassionate heart, which can revolutionize people’s thinking and alter the prevailing trends of any society. It is the mother (origin, creator) of history-making ideology.

That way, so many thoughts are published every now and then in the newspapers, novels, and other books. So many thoughts keep popping up in one’s mind throughout the day! For example, one minute you are thinking of your work/business, the other moment some thoughts of food, family, friends, entertainment, jealously, revenge, love and what not? For some time your thoughts may revolve around one theme, moments later your agile mind might get busy thinking of something altogether different. Illusory impressions, imaginations and thoughts do not constitute any ideology. Ideology is not even simply an expression of some deeper or focused thoughts. It, in fact, pertains to the inner-self. It can revolutionize the course of time; can drive the entire society in its direction. Ideology of a person is most crucial component of his/her culture, society and, also of his/her own life.

Once (sometime in the 1960s) while I was touring Shilong, Dibrugarh in Northeast region of our country as part of our mission’s programs, I felt like visiting Nagaland. I wanted to see and meet the Nagas. Those days, many of their separatist tribal leaders were engaged in riots and destructive activities like breaking the railway lines; it was quite a task for the army to control them, as they used to throw sharp arrows hiding in the thick forests. So it was not risk-free to visit that land. However, one of our mission’s local members in the Northeast, who was familiar with their language and culture, helped me out. He took me there in his jeep and also assisted me as an interpreter for my communication with the Nagas.

We went to one village where this friend made me sit on a stone-platform under a big tree. About hundred villagers sat around it. My friend introduced me saying – “He is my spiritual guru; he is a saint; he can bless you. So if you have any difficulty, worries, or any wish, then tell him”. They looked at me with curiosity. For few minutes they discussed among themselves. Then some of them replied that they have no difficulties, no worries. “We have the skins of dead animals to wear and protect our bodies. We have the huts made up of dry grass and wood where we rest and sleep. We grow enough rice and get meat and other things from the forest to eat. We don’t need anything else. We all live together and enjoy. We are all quite happy, they said; all the others nodded their heads in affirmation. One old man got up and told my friend — ‘Ask your swamiji if he required any help from us. If you people are hungry (due to journey) please eat some rice, but don’t return empty-stomach from our land. We can also offer some animal skins to wear. We have no scarcity; in fact we have abundant resources to help others’. So, it appeared that their ideology was to live happily with whatever resources are available. I could see that they sincerely followed this ideology, their culture, which had bound them together and formed their Nagaland.

Every society, every culture has some ideology at its foundation. Ideology carves a culture and shapes the way of life. The most precious distinction of the (true) Indian Culture is its ideology, which is aimed at awakening the divinity indwelling human Inner Self. It is this ideology that has produced so many divine incarnations, rishis (saints, seers, sages), and great personalities. This ideology has potential that can refine, transform and carve one’s character in an ideal mold.

It is not our wealth, materialistic status, climate, or, anything else, it is the heritage of our ideology that is splendid. This ideology, preciously adopted by our ancestors had endowed ancient India with so many divine personalities that this country used to be glorified as the land of gods. It was also likened with heaven. What is the ‘definition’ of heaven? It is supposedly a celestial paradise where gods reside. It is regarded as created by gods. Well, I do not know where that paradise exists, but I am confident that there can be heaven on the earth; elevated souls (enlightened personalities) can erect heaven on the earth. As saint Emerson said, to different minds, the same world is a hell, or a heaven. He also used to say that if he were sent to the hell, he would create heaven there. This attitude is indeed an example of the ideology of an enlightened mind.

But, what can be said about the status of life and our outlook towards it, today? Today we have adopted a narrow, small, and lowly view and approach to life. Our attitude, our way of thinking has become so mindless, haphazard and inferior that it seems to have ruined our own power of thoughts. We have spoiled the invaluable jewel of human life. We have made this precious life a parasite, astray, and thrown it in the mire of absurdity, infirmity, delusions, blemishes, and vices, in one way or the other. Why did it happen? The cause is only one — ignorance and lack of the guiding light of ideology.

Today’s civilization appears to be flourishing with a weak, adulterated and opportunistic approach in place of any ideology as such. Or may be, by and large, this is what has become the ideology of today’s world. There is no dearth of comforts and (worldly) things for today’s man. Sometimes I wonder, whether people would ever be able to eat and digest (consume or use) what all they have gathered or grabbed today! Because of a corrupt and delusive outlook, today’s man is greedy and remains eager to accumulate more, despite possessing in abundance. He seems to always feel deprived of something or the other and therefore wants to have some more. It looks like scarcity and deprivation have embraced him forever. Because of his shallow ideology he has no strength to face the challenges. It appears as though adverse circumstances, poverty, and infirmity have grabbed him from multiple directions.

It looks as if the outlook, the aim, the ‘ideology’ of the entire society has gone wrong. This appears to have driven the whole world into darkness to decline and fall. In one form or the other, corruption, cruelty and negativity are spread widely in every walk of life. The wrongs, the viciousness, need to be eliminated. But how? And how many? As we all know, germs of infection need to be destroyed to maintain healthy atmosphere. But this is not possible without removing the cause of their spread. More important, practical and effective measures to prevent an epidemic are to remove and check the filth in which the germs grow. For example, instead of killing or catching each and every mosquito entering your house, you should better prevent them by keeping your surroundings disinfected, clean and dry. Similarly, in order to eliminate viciousness, you need to uproot the very source of vices instead of attempting to eliminate every vicious person. Even if suppose you succeed in eliminating all the vicious persons today, newer ones will crop up and grow if the root-cause continues to exist and expand.

So what is the solution? How to get rid of the wrongs, of the giant problems faced by humanity today? For this, you will have to first ponder over to identify the origin, the root-cause(s) of the problems. You will find that the root of all adversities lies in evil mentality. Let us, for example, look at the problems associated with rural development. Fine, suppose that the national planners, the policy makers, chalk out grand schemes to construct new dams and canals, roads, and they encourage and support expansion of cottage industries, launch financial programs to strengthen the economic conditions of rural population, accelerate literacy and healthcare programs, etc. Do you think these will be completed in full swing and bear the envisaged outcomes if even a fraction of people associated with transactions and implementation of these plans are corrupt or inefficient?

Just ‘dissect’ and analyze the situation and you will see that no amount of resources and efforts would help sustainable improvement of any system or resolution of any problem, if the mentality, thoughts, attitude, intentions, or in short, the ‘ideology’ of concerned people is not righteous. A matchstick itself burns and ignites other inflammable things coming in its contact. Today’s man is similar to it. He is himself burning (in the flames of his vices) and also charring (harming, deluding, adversely influencing) all those who interact with him. Today, the lives of many of us are burning and spreading the flames to fume others’ lives too.

Want to see how are you doing it? Just recall, how you behave with your family members, how well and willingly you are fulfilling your duties towards them — especially your dependents? What about your sincerity and efficiency at work place, and your responsibilities, as citizens, towards the nation? Everything appears to be burning in the flames of ego, cheating, vested interests, corruption, cowardice, idleness or some other evils or weaknesses. Everybody is burning. The entire nation is burning in this fire. The source of this fire is, as I told you, destruction of the ideology that cultivates and nurtures human values. Most people even ignore the necessity of ideology and regard it as a hindrance to progress. Wherever there is some respect for it, there too, it is practiced only superficially or in a deformed and incomplete form. Where are the thinkers, the masters who could provide the guiding light of motivating positive thoughts and give righteous directions to mankind?

Notes:

1. Manīṣā : An evolved faculty of illumined mind and compassionate heart.

(To be concluded in the next issue)

that is a separator

You have to dream before your dreams can come true. - Abdul Kalam

All truth is eternal. Truth is nobody’s property; no race, no individual can lay any exclusive claim to it. Truth is the nature of all souls. - Vivekananda

All communication problems are because we don’t listen to understand; we listen to reply what’s already pre-conceived in our mind. - Unknown

Dream as if you’ll live forever, live as if you’ll die today. - James Dean

You see things; and you say, ‘Why?’
But I dream things that never were; and I say, ‘Why not?’
- George Bernard Shaw

F-E-A-R” has two meanings:
1. Forget Everything And Run…
2. Face Everything And Rejoice..!
Choice is ours..!!

An egoist is a kind of a maniac. He overlooks others’ benevolence and contributions. Even for a work which he has not done, he stakes claims on its success. This further increases insolence. All the people who contributed to the success directly or indirectly feel unhappy and alienated. And the egoist then has to pay a heavy toll when bitterness arises among his colleagues and associates – Pt Shriram Sharma Acharya

Divine powers were travelling through the sky. They saw a man on the way who bore a lot of bitterness for his family members. He had animosity for his neighbours as well. Once he had a bitter argument with all, and in anger he left them, took sannyas and began to live with monks. Divine powers were curious, so they trailed him. They saw that this man could not live in peace even there and began to fight with other sannyasis also. Then, after a few days he left this group too and began to live alone in the jungle. Owing to his acrimonious nature, here also he would sit in the jungle and throw stones at the wild animals and make their life difficult. The divine forces from the sky smiled and said, “What an idiot! He does not know that peace actually lives within his mind itself. By changing external environment it is not possible to attain peace. If he had changed his way of thinking, he would have attained peace everywhere.”