SPIRITUAL GROWTH: SEEK ANSWERS OR IGNORANTLY PERISH

FROM HERE AND THERE

Seek Answers or ignorantly Perish

Humans live in two dimensions. One is to survive comfortably if possible and the other to seek spiritual growth, which more often than not is mixed up with religion. When we attain the first goal of our life that is, the attainment of basic needs like food, water and shelter and with a long term security of these, we turn to social needs. Thereafter we think of inner ‘Self Respect’ and finally ‘Self Actualization’. These are five, in that order called as the needs pyramid. Then we stop growing.

I find that a majority of us humans live life as an analysis of cause and effect. Putting it simply, before we act intellectually and physically, we study would be results of our inputs first, rather than the input itself. We study these very deeply. All this is done at a subconscious level.  What will a human examine subconsciously? Are the results of my actions going to cause me harm in any way, physically, intellectually or emotionally. Does the result of my actions or thoughts fit into my religious, social and cultural binding. What is the gain for me as a result of my action, is my needs pyramid satisfied and a myriad of other things before we execute our action or input. Except for a few chapters from the Geeta, all of our scriptures, starting from the Vedas to present day writings, address our life in this manner alone. We then control our inputs or our actions to achieve the ideal results we seek, meaning those results which fit into our well defined brackets. We are then called as intelligent, mature and exemplary humans. These human beings put together are then said to be  a society of greatly advanced culture and an ideal civilization, examples of which are replete in history.

Most of the brilliant scholars in the field of Psychology, have based their work on the results of human actions or behaviors. These “should be” results are very clearly and amply defined from the advent of our civilization. There upon, individuals and their actions have been graded, as the good, the bad and the ugly. Unfortunately these are based on fixed human assumptions which have always had the limitations of having been generated from our limited intellect and our earthly experiences alone. 

If we sit back and think we do realize, that oftentimes we did not carry out certain actions, though prompted from within, because the results of these actions did not fit into our well defined norms. We also experienced, that this had resulted in an inner unhappiness and a loss of joy for us as individuals. Yet we continue in this manner even today.

My quest is the why? Cannot we, at least some of us grow out of it? If one traces back these behavior patterns, possibly it may dawn on us that a greater part is learned, and we automatically respond or act on different inputs accordingly. Somewhere it was referred to, as being domesticated! It is like a pet dog being trained not to do its toilet in the house. However there is definitely something more. I believe that there is a continuously evolving genetic program within us, which is trying to guide us to move in a certain direction, to act in a certain way, which we have become adept at ignoring. To the extent that we have ceased to even recognize this inner voice. Unfortunately we label this phenomenon of not recognizing the inner voice, and not acting accordingly, as obtaining intellectual and emotional maturity. 

I feel that acting according to this genetic program which is our inner direction, is spiritual growth, or whatever one might choose to call it, rather than acting on the dictates of the thinking mind which directs our actions within its learned parameters/personality or for required results.

Dr. Edward Bach : "The Flower remedies act as catalysts which help to reestablish contact between the Soul and Personality"

Dr. Edward Bach the British physician realized this somewhere during his quest for natural healing. While explaining the effects of his flower remedies, he said that “The Flower remedies act as catalysts which help to reestablish contact between the Soul and Personality. The personality caught up in the confusion and restriction that is only human, finds a way out again, back to the soul qualities that gives meaning to our existence on this planet and brings universal harmony.” 

These flower remedies are used by millions today to heal themselves by effecting behavioral changes. This leads to healing of physical illnesses too, since a majority of these illnesses are psychosomatic in nature. It was very unfortunate that Dr. Bach died very early after creating The Bach Flower Remedies bringing health, joy and happiness in people’s lives. He was one of the very few who was aware of and totally lived by the directions of his soul. I am sure if he had  lived a bit more he could have given us the meaning of life and provided an insight and answers to many  questions.

I interpret the soul as some genes/DNA which was put in place by our designers, which direct our lives towards some objective, which I or to that matter nobody yet knows. It could have been a normal hum drum objective of making us slaves to these techno designers, or it could be a greater objective of exploring the universe and mapping habitable planets? What I suggest is based on anthropological and physical evidence, interpreted in a different manner. Plodding further into the unknown, these genes/strands of DNA then could be said “to be immortal” like the soul described in our scriptures, as they are perpetuated from generation to generation. These genes affect each generation differently as they are passed on, because the environment in which the individual is born and brought up dictates the personality. Latest research on Spindle cells makes interesting reading at this point. These genes or the inner voice, or the soul’s voice, therefore affect individual people possibly by conflicting with their learned behavior patterns. Suffice to say that a conflict as described by Dr. Bach results. Dealing in the realms of the unknown, possibly at some stage these particular genes are no longer passed on. Is it the liberation of our souls as the ancients put it? There are many questions with a very few answers.

We do understand at least one objective that is, the continuation of our species, which our human system designers put in place. These system designers were possibly intelligent beings, when we observe  the unexplained jumps in evolution and the sudden full stops in anthropological history. There are very pertinent evolutionary facts discarded by scientists as they do not fit into their well established theories, which may be true for every species in the universe. The latter is another story in itself. I do not for one moment believe that we, a marvel of system engineering, are the products of evolution alone. Speculatively there must be data about our past locked up somewhere in our genetic structure which may form part of our memory system. There must be some DNA (only 10 percent of the DNA makes sense at the present day level of knowledge) which is passed on uninterrupted to ensure this. Possibly we do not have the key to unlock it yet. Perhaps we may have a built in communication system which will become active only on attainment of universal harmony. 

It means we have to grow inwards to such an extent that we learn to recognize and live by the directions emanating from within us. Possibly thereafter we may learn our mission and the meaning of the Universe itself. If  for example, we look at, read and interpret the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, the Popul Vuh of the Mayas, or the Bible (specially the book of the Prophet Ezekiel, for therein it is easy to grasp the significance) with a changed perspective, then one sees from chapter to chapter and verse to verse how much sense it makes even to our limited extent of knowledge and understanding. If one really keeps an open mind while reading and studying the remains of our distant past, then a glimmer of comprehension lights up, soon progressing really, to a light of a thousand suns.

I personally feel that at least some if not all of us, should start the search for our inner self. We must discard every learned behavior, social or religious bindings or domestication, we must discard restrictions of any sort on our personality and we should start living only by the dictates of the inner self. There may be various ways of doing this, but as I understand from my experience, the start is to disregard outside inputs, sit quietly and do nothing. This doing nothing can be 20 minutes at a time, may be 4 or 5 times a day. Slowly the inner self will start taking over our being as the restriction of our thoughts is removed. Let your thoughts come and go, do not get involve in them and at some stage they will cease. Once they stop our true self will take over from within us. For our thoughts are the products of our domestication, our taught and learned behaviors. 

This may take 6 months, 2 years or 15 years I do not know. From my personal experience the inner self taking over for a few minutes every day, has created a profound change within me. Sharing just one example: Things, people, circumstances which were once very important to me, I would say were the meaning of my existence, have receded into nothingness from my thinking mind. Yet the joy of still having them with me remains. It is like having a thing but not possessing it, so there is never a sadness of loss but always joy even in letting go. This has resulted in a new awakening of awareness and self realization though at a very elementary level. I am sure at some stage the inner directive from our genes will take over and the concerned individual will know  from that point on, exactly what is required to be done.   It will take time to remove our internal blocks but it will happen one day. Further the act of letting our senses and our domesticated being, free from our real time control for some time every day, will in itself be, an act of rejuvenation and joy, possibly the finding of our true self. Those who do so, I think will grow beyond the limits of imagination. Grow to be really free of all bindings, intellectual, emotional or physical, yet with a seeping in of the joy of life and the discovery of our true self and its mission.

..continuation of our species is not just reproduction alone.

The earth cannot sustain this civilization in perpetuity. One of our internal programs is the continuation of our species, it does not mean by reproduction alone. It also means a search for places to survive beyond our solar system, beyond the milky-way and to go where no man has gone before. To that end we have to seek answers from within us. To seek the data our genes may have stored for us, to unlock it and to find the meaning of our existence and possibly individual objectives, and also possibly the collective objectives for which our species was designed for. One thing I am very sure about, our mission statement and the data of our origins resides within us. Once that is clear we will not need to grope about the vast universe but will know precisely and with clarity as to where we have come from, where and how we have to go and what we have to achieve. It is very sad to see that with the present state of this earth’s civilization, we are not even near the start line of this awareness. Soon this human species is likely to extinguish itself in its own ignorance and the blatant misuse of its five sense organs which probably were designed for some greater achievements.

Have a wonderful day my friends.

Ajay