Invited by Brahma Kumari Om Shanti Centre at Manesar to share my thoughts on a topic as important as Spiritual Wisdom for Better Living. I thought that today, more than ever before, it is important for us to share our thoughts on the wisdom we have inherited from our Dadda Dadi, Nana Nani, and from our great Gurus and Spiritual leaders. Our generation was lucky to have the advantage of Spiritual Wisdom being handed down from one generation to another and from time immemorial. Much of this wisdom is preserved and practiced from generation to generation here in our great Spiritual Civilization, of which we are so proud.
But the new generation, especially those born after the era of globalization and liberalization of the Indian economy from 1991 onwards, has been less and less connected to this spiritual wisdom that defined India, the Bharatvarsha of great spiritual heritage. It is not the fault of the new generation, as they are in an era where family culture is shrinking to nuclear families, alienation from the age-old societal connection with Aatmiyata that our generation and earlier generations have been a part of. Today, Mom and Dad have little time to spend with their children; society has a disconnect with individuals, except on social media and other technology platforms and portals.
The teacher-student relationship is also more professional than the caring and compassionate learning environment where teachers were able to connect with their students like their parents and nurture in them values and character skills that were part of the great Spiritual Society that India, the Bharat, was.
It is therefore all the more important to connect with our students and those around us in the campuses or workplace and share the Spiritual Wisdom that was for better living and a fulfilled life.
But first, we need to describe what this Spiritual Wisdom for Better Living is.
During my interactions before the formal conference session and thereafter in my address to the participants, largely from educational institutions at the BK Om Shanti Centre, I shared the following as the Spiritual Wisdom that we received from our grandparents, Dada Dadi, Mom, and Dad.
The first and foremost was the realization that Human Life is the most precious gift of God Almighty and has a limited span; hence, we need to utilize this existence to live a life full of divinity and fulfillment.
The second important part of Spiritual Wisdom was the conviction that heaven and hell are both here on Planet Mother Earth, and we, the humans, are ordained to contribute with responsibility our share for nurturing a heaven on earth and refrain from creating hell here. This required being on the side of goodness and righteousness. Satyamev Jayate was to be practiced in Mann, Vani, as well as in Karma to live a life full of delight and goodness all around.
The Spiritual Wisdom also convinced us that we are not individuals, but rather a human society ordained with great responsibility to cultivate goodness all around. Today, the call for responsible global citizenship is in line with this age-old Spiritual Wisdom that invoked in us an abiding faith in the Vedic Sanatan Wisdom of ‘Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam‘.
The Spiritual Wisdom that our grandparents told us was also that the entrance gates of Hell from outside glitter like gold and provide all attractions to move into the inner layers of hellish life that, from outside, looks glamorous. Today’s liquor shops on highways and in urban localities are a burning example of the glittering entrance gates of hell, and if ventured into, they, along with drugs, are a recipe for destruction for the young and old alike. It is not enough to write that drinking and driving are not to be mixed or that drinking and smoking are injurious to health while making these shops glitter like jewelry stores and lure young India toward them. Advanced nations have already applied brakes in this regard. It is time for India to act decisively.
The last and final part of the Spiritual Wisdom was that we shall repay for our Karma here and also hereafter in the next life; as such, we need to engage in Karma with righteous intent and use righteous means to achieve our goals in life.
In practice, the Spiritual Wisdom for Better Living invited us to nurture in us SQ, the Spirituality Quotient, which stands for Seva, service without selfishness; Daan, the spirit of giving with the realization that it is not mine (idam na mam), as the Vedic havan says for each aahuti, the offering; and to connect with Aatmiyata, with the realization that we all, irrespective of religion or race, are children of God Almighty and hence One Family.
I thought I had shared some jewels of Spiritual Wisdom for Better Living, as the conference had expected from a person like me, so deeply devoted throughout my life to the cause of higher education for man-making and research for development with sustainability and inclusivity.
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The author Prof PB Sharma is an eminent academician, renowned thought leader, deep rooted in Science and Spirituality, has been founder Vice Chancellor of DTU, and RGPV, past President of AIU and currently Vice Chancellor of Amity University, Manesar. The views expressed are the personal views of the author.
