— C.L. Gulati, President, Sant Nirankari Mandal, Delhi
Ever since the advent of mankind, progress made by the civilization directly, or indirectly centres round two things: science of life and philosophy of life.
The anatomy of body has been studied to the extent that now man can withstand diseases and live a healthier life. Millions of people are living in the world with artificial limbs in their bodies. Globe trotting is going on. Man put his small foot on the surface of moon on 10 July 1961 which is considered the greatest step in the history of human civilization. On 17 July 1976, there was a historical ‘hand-shake’ in space by the Power Blocks. The dead do not speak, but those who died in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 have certainly their tragic tales to tell. A tale of dismay, a tale of ill-will and a tale of irreligious act, echoing Shakespeare’s concern, “O Lord, what fool these mortals be!”
Philosophy of Life
One of the greatest modern psychologists Sir Jung has described in his book ‘Modern Man in Search of Soul’ that among all his patients, there had not been even one whose problem in the last resort was not that of finding a religious outlook on life. Great philosopher saint Augustine of Hippo writes, “Restless are our souls, until they rest in Thee my God”. On his death bed renowned philosopher Oscar Wilde asked, “Why has destruction such a fascination?” And he himself answered, “We are no longer captains of our souls.” As we cannot think of using pen without ink within, we cannot think of world civilization without enlightenment of soul within!
The fundamental outcome from the Rio Conference held by U.N. on 12 February 2013, for Sustainable Development, was the fact that we are heading towards a set of economic, social and environmental crisis and the only way to change things is to rethink development keeping in mind the patent message that “people are important, but equally important is the planet on which the prosperity of these people depends.” Civilization demands that wars should always be moved from battle fields to peace-tables.
A Spiritual Issue
Population explosion, magnified power of technology and psychological attitudes becoming a way of living on earth – all these factors combined, we are behaving as if the planet is a business in liquidation. International conflict, environmental distress and religious terrorism occupy the attention of world leaders over the future of our planet. There is a collusion between our civilization and planet earth – look at the devastating hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes and corona-virus pandemic said to be biggest event of our life time proving harbinger of death and destruction.
Leading scientists in the world are openly giving a call that we probably have short time left in which to make a dramatic change in the pattern that now represents business as usual. Yes, we can fulfil the task but we will first have to change attitudes and awareness and recognize all this as a spiritual issue, a challenge that goes to the core of who we are as human beings. This is the 21st century, if there is major progress, there are also major problems. In such a situation, awareness is important, warmth is important. With the ever growing impact of science and technology on our lives, spirituality has a game-changing role to play in reminding us of our humanity.
Arnold Toynbee, a distinguished historian studied the genesis and fall of 21 different human civilizations spanning a period of 9000 years and found that 19 of them declined and disappeared when the religious foundations that sustained them had become corrupted. He says, “Each time, the people lost faith in religion, its civilization succumbed to social disintegration. The civilization that had fallen as a result of the loss of faith had been replaced by a new civilization inspired by true religion through spiritual awakening, unifying the truth that God is one.
The true religion based on spiritual awakening is a vehicle of spiritual enlightenment, social consciousness and cultural values which are best suited to address the problems of life in all forms of our beautiful planet earth. It was exactly this kind of religion in his mind when William Burke claimed that the religion is the foundation of Republic of Mankind, the basis on which all true Civil Governments rest, and from which power derives its authority, laws their efficiency and both their sanction. If it is once shaken by contempt, the whole fabric cannot be stable or lasting.
A Clarion Call
A twinge of conscience is a glimpse of God. There is a clarion call ringing bell in the canopy of sky for all human beings to sharpen their conscience for rejuvenation of civilization of the world. The durability of any edifice, however, magnificent at the top depends on its foundation. When the latter crumbles, the Citadal falls down. Thus, larger and higher the edifice, the wider and stronger the foundation it requires. It would thus be appreciated that the International Solidarity viz “World Civilization” needs fabulous foundation on the doctrine of universal brotherhood of man supported by the ethical belief in the Fatherhood of God. The proposition of much needed World Civilization is great indeed but the efforts needed to implement it need also be of equally great magnitude. Indeed every country, every group and every individual has to contribute to the emergence of the World Civilization for which the entire humanity is irresistibly yawning and craving.
Culture sans consciousness
Death of body is not such a great loss as the death of conscience. The virus of this killer disease (Death of Conscience) has spread globally. After afflicting the conscience, the virus spreads to the head and heart, bringing with it greed and graft. Being infectious, the virus acquires the dimension of epidemic. Although the virus may not cause physical death, yet it causes the death of all human values and whatever is good and virtuous. Materialistic values and outlook have also weakened the fabric of society to the point where selfishness has become endemic in all walks of life. Corruption is an assault on consciousness. We cannot therefore expect any potential of such a culture to promote unified consciousness as the bedrock of world civilization.
Persons with enlightened souls enrich and empower human life for working with dedication as an agent of God for attainment of perfection at home, in the work place and in the society at large. The thumb rule for practical ethics is, “Desist from doing to others what you would not like to be done unto you.” All this denotes that civilization is another name of humanism which is the outcome of spiritual awakening based on actual knowledge of God, it has essentially to be cosmic and global. None of us is as strong as all of us together. Therefore, Unified Consciousness, producing heave in unison, is the only way out to establish cherished world civilization.
Humanism is sometimes limited to one’s communal group. We have heard about Hindutva (Hindu Brotherhood) Ummat (Muslim Brotherhood), Christendom (Christian Brotherhood) etc. etc. It is clear that this type of limited brotherhood based on gregarious instinct may not be truly humanistic as the people confined in one brotherhood may not have that broad level of love and feeling as they may have in case of their own communal group. (Birds of a feather flock together) Humanism based on religions, cultural and linguistic grouping may not be global in content. Therefore, no religious, cultural or linguistic cohesion or affinity can lead to the humanism worth the name. Someone is a Hindu, a Muslim a Sikh and a Christian; each one of them has created a separate world of his own.
God is the source of consciousness and is the cosmic being out of which consciousness has manifested. In fine, true humanism is possible when we know that myself and others are the same with natural affinity created by common Fatherhood of God. So knowledge of common source is pre-requisite for creating unfied consciousness and cosmic brotherhood. Therefore, world civilization has not to be merely collective but the unified consciousness essentially born out of actual knowledge of one God for all, which results spontaneously and simultaneously in the sense of organic unity of mankind. It is like blood relation. Humanism and humility go together. When the knowledge that everything in this universe comes from the single source (God), takes root in our consciousness, it carries a profound impact on us. It means humanity is of each other, whether you are a Christian, Jew, Muslim or a Hindu. This can wipe out the gruesome conflicts prevailing in the world today. We desperately need the feeling of cosmic kinship that inherently results from the realisation of one source, the God. To be human is to be humble and to be humble is to be divine. When human and divine means the same thing then the real humanism comes into existence to give birth to world civilization.
Consciousness is a universal attribute of all life forms. The assumption that consciousness is produced by the brain is no longer viable — Deepak Ranade. Underlying all is unbroken wholeness, super consciousness, which is very aptly described in the upanishads. — “Om Poornamadah ………” According to Edmoud Holmes, “The Upanishads are dominated by one paramount conception, that of the ideal oneness of the soul of man with the soul of the universe. The central theme of all the Upanisads is, “Aham Brahamasmi – I am Brahman.”
Quantum Austrian Physicist Erwin Schrodinger is known for the phrase, “The total number of minds in the universe is one. In fact, consciousness is a singularity phasing within all beings”, which best summarizes his philosophical outlook on the nature of Reality. The phrase implies that apparent multiplicity of minds is just an illusion and that there is only one mind or one consciousness that expresses itself in a myriad of ways.” In such a world view, a separation between subject and object does not exist. In a world without the subject-object split, we are all an expression of the one. He further states that, “Consciousness cannot be accounted for in physical terms, for consciousness is absolutely fundamental”. On the same point, Max Planck says, “I regard consciousness as fundamental, I regard matter as derivative from consciousness. Everything that we talk about, everything that we regard as existing, postulates consciousness.” He further proclaims that consciousness is only one, singular identifiable with its universal source – Brahm (God) its temporal plurality is merely illusion.
One religion for all
In the absence of actual knowledge, God is different for different persons and for the same person on different occasions. The concept of one God for all foresees the idea of one religion for all that suits the whole human race. The Sant Nirankari Mission has succeeded in achieving this objective through a living revelation of Fatherhood of God, the central seed of all religions, ruling out any question of religious conversion. Mission asserts that God realisation is the only force, that is the mortar binding together the many-shaped bricks of human society into a coherent structure. This is the distinguishing feature of the Mission.
The religion, like the white light of heavens, stands broken into many coloured fragments by the prisms of men. The religion which was meant to be a binding force has lost its gravity and has in-itself started working as a dividing force, disturbing universal order and peaceful coexistence. Looking at the wide spread virus of religious terrorism, one feels bewildered to discover that it is not divided atom but divided mankind which is getting more difficult to deal with. The crisis that religious-terrorism has created at global level clearly indicates that religion, degenerated into ritualism, is dying out, the moral order is collapsing and materialistic approach also contributes to the destruction of human values and civilization.
Breakthrough occurs when there is a breakdown. It is amidst the wreckage of a collapsing order that the Sant Nirankari Mission, in harmony with science, has emerged with the banner of spiritual awakening founded on realization of “The Invisible Force”. A group of top scientists recently came round to the Intelligent Design Theory that the universe came into being not by random mutation and natural selection as suggested by Darwin, but by an Intelligent Design. They claim that anything which has structure and utility must have a designer who created it. At the heart of this new theory is the explanation that life results from the action of an Invisible Force, which is referred to in verse 1:1:16 of the Mundaka Upanisad:—
“That which is invisible, ungraspable, un-originated and attributeless,
That which has neither eyes, nor ears, nor hands, nor legs,
That is Eternal, full of manifestations, the source of all creations.”
In the layman’s language, the ‘Invisible Force or Intelligent Designer’ is none else but (God), realization of whom is the True Religion (Spiritual Awakening), as emphasized in the scriptures and by saints and sages down the ages. “The ideal oneness of the soul of man is oneness with the soul of universe”, and, “self of a man in a hut is as good as a person in a palace, “to achieve individual liberation and well-being of society”. “From the fullness of Brahman has come the fullness of the universe.” There is, infact, no conflict between science and religion. Both have identical aim of helping man grow individually and of ushering in a better social order. They go hand in hand when we talk of consciousness.
There is a single intelligent Consciousness that pervades the entire Universe – the Universal Mind.
It is all knowing, all powerful, all creative and always present. As it is present everywhere at the same time, it follows that it must also be present in you – that it is you. Your mind is part of the one Universal Mind. This is not simply a philosophical ideal passed down to us through the ages. It is an exact scientific truth. Know it, believe it, apply it and you will see your life transform in miraculous ways.
Albert Einstein told us that, “everything is energy”; that “a human being is a part of the whole called by us [the] Universe”. His words echoed the most ancient of spiritual and philosophical teachings and still underpin today’s cutting-edge scientific discoveries.
The Universal Mind goes by many names. In the scientific world we know of the Unified Field, in spiritual philosophy we refer to The All or Universal Consciousness and in religion we call upon God who Himself goes by many names – Jehovah, Allah and Brahman to mention but a few. The name is relevant only in so far as it resonates with you.
Each and every one of us is a manifestation of this single Universal Consciousness. There is profound truth in the ancient teaching that we are all One. We are all connected – not only to each other but also to all of Nature and to everything in the Universe.
Her Holiness Satguru Mata Sudiksha Ji Maharaj, the Spiritual Head of the Sant Nirankari Mission, says that “Life gets a meaning, if it is lived for others,”. It combines the theory of mutual relationship through spiritual awakening with the innate spirit of living for others. Thus, True Religion represents our love and worship of God in direct proportion to our dealings and doings with our fellow human beings. It is in this background we know that “Sant Nirankari Mission is an all-embracing world-wide religious, socio-spiritual and charitable Organization which preaches the concept of one Formless God (Nirankar) and believes that God can be realized only through the grace of the living Satguru (True Master).
The curves and contours of this definition of the Mission run harmoniously into the teachings of all the past prophets and globally accepted scriptures. The Mission finds its roots, proving similarity and congruency, in the vedic concept “Vasudhaiva Kutumbkam” Islamic dictum “Makhlook Sari Hai Kunba Khuda Ka” Biblical advice “Love thy neighbour as thyself, love thy enemy too” and Mission’s watchword “Sara Sansar Ek Parivar”, “World Without Walls”, and (The whole world is one family), enjoined by the bold message “Man is a Man when he is human. He is human when the entire mankind is his family. Mankind is his family when all pervading God is his home. God can be his home when he actually knows Him and blissfully identifieshimself with Him by living up to the teachings of the True Master (Satguru). Thus, the Sant Nirankari Mission has come to be known as the present milestone in the mainstream of spirituality. Holding aloft the banner of “Equality through Spirituality” and for wide range distinguished socio spiritual activities of the Mission has earned General Consultative Status from U.N.
Connect with unified consciousness (God) is normally understood as meditation. But it does not need any meditative process. It needs getting a connect with True Master (Satguru) who reveals God in a brief sitting. When Guru guides or directs a seeker, no spiritual technique is necessary. Arjuna did not meditate or do any practice. He just listened and accepted whatever Lord Krishna told him, with the combination of spoken words and practical hint of the Omnipresent God. Once we know and experience God, His remembrance becomes spontaneous and natural process. God is a spirit, those who want to love and worship Him, must know Him in spirit only. In Him we live, we move and exist. Our walking, talking, eating and sleeping in God would all turn meditative in true essence. Spirituality essentially means to “Know One, Believe in One and Become One. God is eternal, so the True Master (Satguru) who is said to be the oldest and newest on earth like day and night which have followed each other and are still ever new. (Athrava Veda 10:8:23). Humanity and spirituality go cheek by jowl. Identifying loss of human connection with God as the genesis behind inchoate cult of violence attributed to religion, which like the white light of heaven has split into multi-coloured sects and isms by human prisms, Mission is transforming the broken religion into white light of Heavenly Truth. Satguru’s word (God-Knowledge) has become the house-hold word and spreading at every place for all the persons, blossoming World Civilization in full spring! This way, Sant Nirankari Mission is making history.
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