Just as politics is the last
resort of the scoundrel, spirituality has become the last resort of the lascivious.
Just as strongly the believers in the country’s potential would add that all
politicians are not bad, the faithful’s of the cults of God would append that
all Gurus are not lewd. So why this fallacy? Why is this initial statement of fact
such a common sight in this country and yet we would be happy and positively inclined
to accept the latter opposite. Are we all blind or can’t we accept the reality?
This post is not about the
politicians but rather about the Godmen and well, things are not so plain vanilla
as they appear to be. For starters, the spiritual life is the most difficult of
choices which an individual can attempt and yet supposedly the simplest way of
living imaginable. Then, a spiritual aspirant cannot afford to fall from grace
while his path is right on the razors edge. Further, it may seem ordinary but
yet very difficult to honestly lead an ordinary spiritual life because the lure
of fame, comfort and sense gratification are too powerful to resist.
There are two issues involved.
The first is the control over one’s mind. When one choses the spiritual life,
it is meant to be a sacrifice of all sense desires. However for that one has to
be aware of one’s body, the sense organs and their objectives, the depth and
strength of the relationship between the mind and the body. To be able to keep the
mind light and free of attachments, cravings and aversions is the foundation of
the spiritual life. To ignore these aspects or to not ascribe the necessary
importance to it is akin to inviting ones doom. Sooner or later the spiritual
aspirant is bound to fall prey to the enticing mind.
The other issue is the knowledge
of one’s self. To know you is first to understand and then acknowledge, accept
the nature and character of your mind as well as intelligence and second to
work diligently within its limits towards the selected goals. The present nature
and character of the mind and intelligence is a cumulative establishment of all
previous actions and conduct through numerous life times. They cannot be easily
deciphered and the least easy to accept. Every individual is carried away by
the thought and power of present potential and therefore becomes a victim to
the past tendencies of the mind and intelligence. One has to carefully observe
the play of events around oneself to gather clues about the nature of one’s
mind, and then wield and wed it to the spiritual goals. This is never easy
because the cycle of karmic retribution has to unfold and one has to undergo
the consequences of one’s past conduct. It becomes an immensely difficult task
to balance and merge the past effects with the future aims. The level of
difficulty is similar for both the good as well as bad past effects because
they will ensure inspite of whether one wants them or not.
For those who are not careful
about these things, the Asaram Bapu kind of episodes will happen. Where was the
need to retain that girl with him in his room all alone for an hour and half?
There is a raunchy joke on this. A wife catches her husband red handed in bed
with the maid. Wife weeping: I didn’t expect you to stoop so low! Husband: Dear
please listen, this was an experiment. Even Gandhi ji used to lay naked with
his wife to test his self-control. Wife: So what did you find out? Husband: That
I am no Mahatma!
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