O Desire!

[Anand Hudli]

On Mon, 6 Mar 2000 12:11:48 -0600, Jagannathan Mahadevan
<jagan at CCWF.CC.UTEXAS.EDU> wrote:

>I would say no land is particularly pure or no land is specifically mean't
>for spiritual pursuits. Also I don't think anybody gets a free
>meal. Whether one is in India or elsewhere the efforts for survival are
>the same. Besides spiritual advancement is purely a individual issue
>rather than a collective issue. In the sense that it is not a requirement
>for the society, it is for the individual. It is another matter that
>individual well being collectively determines the society's well being.
>
>The west has also worked hard to achieve what they have. They set the
>trend in Sciences and Technology. They have shown commitment to their
>beliefs. India has had ages of leadership in spiritual studies and
>philosophy. The West has to use the advancement already made by Indians in
>philosophy and the East(atleast India) has to use the advancement already
>made by the Western society. One has no choice over this and the world has
>to come together. Swami Vivekananda had said about this in his series of
>lectures(I unable to quote right now, but shall do so soon).
>
>I think it is a global society now and is no more restricted to
>places. People will travel and explore different parts of the world if
>they can and come their own conclusions about what they want. Instead of
>hardening our beliefs by cocooning ourselves, we could carry the message
>of our rishis and our conviction to everybody. And there are so many who
>want to know it only they don't know where it is. I think this is a far
>more true picture.
>

 True, the world is more global than before. But that does not change
 anything at all as far as the core principles of dharma are concerned.
 The argument that people can follow any life-style they want and still
 achieve vairAgya leads us back to the Householder vs. sannyAsin issue
 which has been quite vigorously debated in the past on this list.
 Shankara has quite clearly stated in his VivekachUDAmaNi that one
 who strives both for material prosperity and spiritual realization
 is attempting to cross a river by catching hold of the tail of a
 crocodile! One cannot have both at the same time. One can have
 material prosperity for some time. But at some stage, he has to
 be able to say "Enough is enough. Desire can never be quenched."
 That is when he should turn to vairAgya.

 Note also, the verse from BhartR^ihari's does not talk about just foreign
 travel but about any travel one may do in search of a "comfortable life."
 That "comfortable life" often comes at a cost that is often not
 discussed in social circles. Only the glamorous aspects tend to get
 highlighted. But each individual who goes through the adventure of winning
 the "comfortable life" should know in his/her own heart that he/she is
 paying a price for this.

 Anand

--
bhava shankara deshikame sharaNam

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