Wisdom-nuggets for reflection: 1) Understanding idea of the long-term good 2) Can we objectify and measure nothing?

1) Long-term vision is the foundational wisdom of India: What are your plans for today? next 3-months, 1-year, 5-10-50 years? It is commonsense that higher & loftier our vision, better our decisions are likely to be!

Without knowing, teaching, conviction in our forefather’s wisdom of “dharma-artha-kama-moksha”, modern society, sciences, governance, educational systems are in a state of perpetual purposelessness!

Typical example: by hook or crook: ‘You/I must get high marks’; ‘you/I must get elected for 5 years – and all our plans are how to get re-elected again, after 5 years. Result: All-around pollution, damage to nature, etc.

Without holistic Vedantic worldview, we think that any means are okay and at best we decide not to harm anybody directly. But unless we understand why we shouldn’t harm others, we are bound to adopt wrong means to fulfill our immediate desires. Vedanta shows us that as self, atman, we are all one interconnected whole; we just cannot prosper by harming others. Vivekananda explains practical Vedanta when he says, ‘Each soul is potentially divine’.

Rishis, saints, prophets, and god-men, are the realised souls who manifest much more of their divinity and people follow their lives and teachings spontaneously.

To the extent we strive and are able to experience and manifest our divine potential to that extent we feel ‘oneness, apanapan’ with more and more; achieve excellence; are good and noble; exhibit virtues of care and concern, of empathy, of fulfillment of duties; etc.

And the srestha, elite, mentors are those who are more fully manifesting their potential, whether they are rich or poor, literate or illiterate, occupying the highest or lowest status in society. Those who so strive to become role models of society.

The best teachers and leaders are those mentors who can inspire and guide us towards the higher dimensions of life – Modern society has yet to learn how to make/identify mentors and give only them, authority over us!

As Vivekananda says, “All glory, power and purity are in the self already…All admit the power is there – potential or manifest, it is there – and the sooner you believe that the better for you”.

“It is not for the sake of the husband that the wife loves the husband, but for the sake of the self, atman, that she loves the husband, because she loves the Self. None loves the wife for the sake of the wife, but it is because he loves the self that he loves his wife… None loves wealth on account of the wealth; but because one loves the self, therefore one loves wealth. None loves a thing for that thing’s sake; but it is for the self that one loves it. This self, therefore, is to be heard, reasoned about, and meditated upon”.

Now that GOI has introduced the idea of governmet servants as Karma Yogi and G20 Global vision of the Whole world as our Family and Future, it is up to us the educated, to understand, appreciate and scatter broadcast this wisdom to the young and old in mainstream systems.

2) Can we objectify and measure nothing?

What do we mean by ‘nothing’? Strange is the relationship between the “body-mind” enlivened be “conscious-self (soul)”! Though we (body & soul) stay together throughout life, we are never introduced to each other!

Doctors open up bodies; we find all kinds of parts and things, but never find any soul, life, consciousness, within. We accept death, but can we feel, touch, measure life! Does it mean there’s no such thing called life because it is not perceivable; what is the difference between the living and non-living.

We break open a fruit; we see tiny seeds. We break open the seed. But we see nothing; no-thing. Then from where comes the plant and trees from the same seed! Can we not infer that seed has the potential to become not just a tree but a whole forest!  Where is the tree in the seed? A Seed has within itself, the infinite Power.

Similarly, we have infinite potential! Where is our potential! It can’t be in ‘body, mind’ that is but inert matter! It must be in “self” aka Life, consciousness that enlivens us and makes a walking-talking, conscious individual, living-being, jiva-atman?

Just as a seed is in the process of becoming a tree, given its nourishment, In the same way, a jivatman, man, is in the process of becoming ‘perfect’, (salvation, nirvana, moksha) and this perfection is conceptualised by the word ‘divine’, ‘god’, ‘perfect’, ‘ananda’, heaven.

Vivekananda says, ‘Each soul is potentially divine’. The goal is to manifest the divinity within, by controlling our mind thru’: i) ‘Work as worship of god in man (karma yoga)’; ‘Devotion to our respective god ideal’; ‘meditation etc.’ & ‘knowledge of our self. This is practical Vedanta and simply thru’ righteous fulfilment of our duties, i.e. practical karma yoga; we progress towards this highest ideal of realisation!

The Biblical statement also says, ‘Kingdom of god is within you’. Why can’t science and spirituality learn to come together as academia and why can’t we all agree that this “subtle essence”, which we term as “nothing”, which we don’t perceive, may be “no” “thing” of length, breadth, density, stuff, etc. that can be perceived by the senses but it must be the ‘conscious principle’ aka soul, atman, life, etc. and its swabhava, is ananda that we seek.

As humans we’re always seeking perpetual joy, happiness, bliss and infinite bliss alone can fulfill us! From childhood, sciences must teach us that there cannot be lasting joy in the finite.