Vision Religion

H H Maa Purnananda
Founder Chairperson
Sree Guru Swami Chinmayananda Sewa Nidhi ®

“Spirituality? Religion? Oh no, I am yet too young. These days are not intended for spiritual pursuits. There will be enough time for all that when I grow old. I can take to religion at a later stage. It is too early at present.” Most of the people even at the age of 50 & 60 years will be heard saying this. Immersed in worldly activities, man generally toils day & night somehow trying to remain in the social circle by some means. He goes through the ordeals of ups & downs, frantically trying to make himself & his family happy. He more or less manages to earn & spend in the fast changing world where time anyways never stops for anyone. And one fine day he suddenly is taken aback to observe the failing sense faculties, no more responding as earlier. On the day when he is to fast, he will feel more hungry & when he is served with delicious sumptuous food, he will hardly be able to eat it as his digestive system would have become sluggish. When he is to keep awake on a Janmashtami or a Shivaratri, he will get sleepy even at 9.00 p.m., though usually found complaining of less sleep! His mind would have become more restless than ever and hence there will be absolutely no guarantee that he can think clearly and remember distinctly in his old age. At the fag end of his life, he will be compelled to think ultimately-“what have I gained in this precious life? Have I utilized the opportunities provided by the Lord in a proper manner? What is the sum total of my life?”

There will be many of this kind who have not been able to resort to spiritual exercises at an earlier age that would have led them to a harmonious and peaceful life full of happiness and success.

Our forefathers who had been following religious traditions and the great lineage of our Rishis and Saints, who had been steeped in spiritual pursuits, have left for posterity the legacy of such methods and means that can secure Divine Grace. According to them the mind should be kept absolutely calm and tranquil, free from worldly distractions. That meant that the physical body, the senses of perception and action and the mind-intellect equipment ought to be utilized to be in tune with the Divine, to utter His name and to offer services to Him.

Understanding the inevitable handicaps of the older age, the wise men have given genuine advice that younger age is more conducive to develop devotion to be worthy of services to the Lord and His Creation. It is the youth, with intellectual strength and the heroic heart who will be able to follow the teachings of the scriptures. When he is yet physically fit, when his words flow without faltering, when his mind-intellect equipment is able to take quick and rational decisions and when his eyesight is sharp, a person should think of that Supreme Power and should strive hard to adopt measures that would lead him to Lord’s vicinity. Such a single-pointed focus upon the Supreme should arise at a young age, not from suggestions made by others, but by one’s own volition as an outcome of his pure and virtuous tendencies of course with the touch of the Grace.

In this context, the Lord in the Bhagawad Geeta declares “Let a man lift himself by his own Self alone, and let him not lower himself; for, this Self alone is the friend of oneself and this Self alone is the enemy of oneself.” Mind under different circumstances is both a friend and a foe to the individual. It is a friend to the one who has full control of self & and enemy when he has not checked its wanderings. The Divine in him alone is man’s permanent companion and true friend. So what one should consider as an achievement of human life is not to merely accumulate wealth or earn fame power and position, but to meditate on the Divine, offer worship to Him, utter His name, serve Him with sincerity and thereby obtain His Divine Grace. This should be the sum total of a worthy human birth.