Worldly & spiritual life has common virtues but different objectives & attributes
Worldly or secular life refers to living in this manifested world comprising of one’s individual self & the world of names & forms bound in time & space, whereas spiritual life refers to seeking the unmanifested true Self beneath the individual & universal appearance (referred to as Atman or Brahman), which is devoid of names & forms & is beyond time & space. Both are complementary & not opposed to each other. One supports the other & vice versa. Hence both worldly & spiritual life entail common virtues like aspiration, truth, ahimsa discrimination, faith , sincerity , reflection, concentration & meditation etc. But the objectives & attributes associated with these virtues are opposite to each other.
Aspiration in worldly life results in asserting one’s self leading to urge for eminence, continuity of personal & social life, possession & domination etc. whereas aspiration in spiritual life results in renouncing one’s self in psycho physical frame & resultant bond of fellowship, spirit of harmony & mutual help.
Truth in worldly life aims at unraveling objective reality in terms of physical, chemical, biological, engineering & medical sciences which can be called as relative or phenomenal truth that change with time with advancement in knowledge. Whereas truth in spiritual life refers to the reality of the subject perceiving the object & can be called unchanging or absolute truth which Mahatma Gandhi described as God & the ultimate revelation.
Ahimsa in worldly life refers to checking conflicts, violence & cruelty to bring social order & movements like prevention of cruelty to animals even for well directed cause of drug research & promoting biodiversity, whereas ahimsa in spiritual life leads to expansion of self to embrace the humanity & love for all beings & objects.
Faith in worldly life makes one more exploring & innovative whereas faith in spiritual life makes one accept the world as it is & follow the tradition. Discrimination in worldly life makes distinction in names & forms and makes one possessive and exclusive whereas discrimination in spiritual life makes one dispassionate & attain equal vision by giving up the names & forms.
Sincerely & hard work in worldly life refers to application & expansion of body, mind & intellect (BMI) equipment to attain the requisite goals. Whereas sincerity & sadhana (practice) in spiritual life leads to withdrawal of and detachment to of BMI equipment so that it becomes the right medium for reflecting the subtler reality. All perceptions & reflection in worldly life drives one to finite activity centered on I and mine, whereas they yield wisdom & spontaneous selfless activity encompassing one & all in spiritual life. Concentration & meditation in worldly life makes one extrovert & focused on perceived goals, whereas concentration & meditation in spiritual life makes one introvert & centered on one’s essential nature (self) that is described as Sat-Chit-Ananda-absolute consciousness, absolute knowledge & absolute bliss.
One can find the substratum behind the appearance only just like water behind the wave. One can reach to the ultimate truth by proper analysis of the phenomenon truth and neither ignoring or clinging to the same. One can find, formless reality (sat) behind the names & forms, attributeless knowledge (chit) behind the instinctive knowledge & unalloyed bliss (ananda) behind the happiness of the world. This is the true meaning of unity in diversity.
Dr.Jayant B.Dave
Contact No. 09825035323
Email : drjbdave@gmail.com
The author is a professor in pharmaceutical sciences & member of the board of management The Divine Life Society, Rishikesh.
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