Hi there, and welcome to this, the first in a series of blogs on the topic of Vedanta, both theory and practice!
As some will know, it’s been a particularly challenging year as I deal with major health issues, and the ongoing treatment has left me with little energy for writing. The writing I have been doing mainly takes the form of answering questions people send. I’m always delighted to do that, as I find that such answers can often form the basis of interesting articles.
This is one such piece, addressing the current state of the world, the practical application of Self-knowledge, and how we can best address the challenges we face both individually and collectively. Be warned, some of what I write may be provocative. I make no apologies for bringing up the topic of Trump and conspiracy theories, because it’s a particularly pertinent issue exemplifying the level of adharma and ignorance facing us.
Age of Injustice
Question: What I am finding tough is how to apply Advaita Vedanta in everyday life in a world I see full of injustice. I’m currently relatively well off, me and my wife have enough income to pay for a house and look after our children. I try to live a life guided by dharma and to not worry about the fruit of my actions, as that is in the hands of Ishvara. However due to the system globally, for most, pursuing artha [security, wealth] is a daily struggle, let alone moksha. So how do we apply the principles of Advaita Vedanta in our lives? Do you believe we are in Kali Yuga, where dharma is at an all time low?
Rory: We are unquestionably in Kali Yuga, yes. Fortunately, dharma is still here, but it is…compromised, you could say, both individually and collectively.
Indeed, the answer to your question is rooted in dharma. Dharma ought to be our highest value: the one that informs all our other values. The pursuit of dharma ought to come before even artha, kama and moksha [security, wealth and enlightenment]. Without dharma, society disintegrates into chaos and disorder. What we see across the world is precisely that.
One of the most valuable things Hindu culture does is instils an intrinsic understanding of dharma, although the extent to which that is observed and understood in modern times may be another matter. Certainly going back to Vedic times, India was a highly dharma-based culture, in complete contrast to our prevailing modern culture (I hesitate to use the word ‘Western’, because it’s really all over the place now) which is desire-based.
The root of the problem now is that dharma has been placed secondary to our personal wants and desires. This is clear at both an individual and collective level. Our big corporations all too often run with a sociopathic mindset in which they are willing to inflict all kinds of collateral damage (right down to destroying the very planet upon which we depend) in their quest for ever more profit and perpetual growth.
Unfortunately, these materialistic values are instilled into us as children from the moment we’re able to comprehend the environment around us. We all have an inbuilt sense of dharma, of right and wrong, yet problems creep in from a very young age when we grow up seeing the fulfilment of our wants and desires as our primary objective in life.
Follow Dharma Above All Else
Above all else, however, we must seek to follow dharma in all aspects of our lives; personally, environmentally, socially and in terms of all our relationships.
This includes following universal dharmic values (honesty, non-injury) and also adhering to our own svadharma (personal dharma). We cannot single handedly save the world, but we all have our part to play, and that part is determined by our personal nature (svabhava). We’re all cogs in the great machine of life, and by playing our role with integrity and impeccable dharma, we help the world. And it is only right that we all take the appropriate action to safeguard and maintain our environment, for ourselves and for future generations.
As you know, any great bio-system operates on a principle of balance, and following universal and personal dharma is how we uphold that balance. For some people, that will take a dynamic form; they may be drawn to social or political activism and taking decisive action on certain issues. Some may play their part more subtly; they might be scholars, teachers, researchers, scientists or academics. Some of us are driven by that burning urge to seek moksha; to free the mind and to realise/actualise our true nature as awareness.
This is as vital a contribution as any. First, you’re essentially “taking one less jerk out of the world” as my teacher James put it, and secondly, when you begin relating to others and the world from a place of unity and oneness rather than division and duality, you positively influence and possibly even change the lives of those around you (depending, of course, upon their karma and capacity and openness to change).
Accept or Fight?
Question: Do you accept this is Karma just playing out or do you fight for change, like Gandhiji?
Both. As a karma yogi, you have to accept that karma is as it is. If it could have been different it would have been. But that doesn’t imply fatalism, it simply means relinquishing the burden of resistance. Resisting reality does nothing but create stress. As I said, it may be the nature of some people to actively fight for change, and the nature of others to support them. We should all do our part, however subtle it may seem, by committing to follow dharma with unwavering resolve. That’s how we all contribute to making this a better world.
At essence, the two components of karma yoga relate to right attitude and right action. Right attitude means recognising everything as the play of Isvara, and not getting too hung up on the seeming bad, as this can incapacitate the mind and prevent us from seeing and relating to the world with objectivity and effectiveness.
Right action means following dharma, and dedicating our actions to the Higher power that is Isvara (Saguna Brahman, or the Self plus form). Following dharma is essentially how we worship Isvara, because the law of dharma is Isvara running the creation.
It’s interesting to note that dharma comes naturally to all beings except we human beings. Whereas birds, fish and trees naturally express their own nature without any doubt or question, human beings are blessed/cursed by the faculty of self-reflection and free will. The problem is then that we may use our free will in service of our personal, ego-driven desires and aversions rather than in service of dharma (if, of course, our desires and aversions happen to be aligned with dharma there’s no problem). When our very culture conditions us to do just that, we’re at a disadvantage from the very start.
The problem is exacerbated by the fact that many people lose themselves in what we call pratibhasika; subjective realities created by thought and interpretation alone. Some people are particularly prone to falling for conspiracy theories and “alternative facts”—and, at worst, completely lose touch with objective reality.
This explains why Donald Trump has so many millions of supporters and devotees. In their eyes he’s some kind of messianic saviour intent on saving humanity. The sad reality is he’s a morally dubious grifter, quite happy to destroy the environment and the very fabric of society in order to maintain his power and keeping lining his own pockets. The man is so narcissistic that rather than acknowledging that he lost the election, he’s willing to destroy democracy itself. He’d quite happily see the country burn just as long as it preserves his inflated yet perilously fragile ego. Again, the fact that so many millions of people are capable of turning a blind eye to gross adharma and actually see it as dharma is quite alarming.
Discrimination is Essential
The key, then, is not only an unwavering commitment to dharma and karma yoga, but also the cultivation of Vedanta’s mental qualifications. Shankara outlines the primary qualifications as discrimination, dispassion, desire for liberation and the ability to control the mind and senses rather than blindly be controlled by them.
Dispassion means that we don’t allow life to rock us too much emotionally where we can help it, as this disturbs the mind and compromises our vision and objectivity. Additionally, the ability to control the mind and senses helps us to stay on course and to navigate our way through life guided by our highest dharmic values.
Discrimination is perhaps the most important quality in daily life. It means seeing what is there by discerning the true from the false. It requires stripping away our subjective filters and superimpositions from the objective reality. Only when we’re capable of clear vision can we properly discern the dharma of any given situation, and when we do that, we find the decision is already made for us. Dharma does the deciding, and this takes away the burden of doership that otherwise causes so many issues for the jiva struggling through samsara.
When we reduce the subjective to the objective, life becomes so much easier.
Now, no doubt Trump supporters would accuse me of being an ignorant “libtard” for my above comments. The fact is, I’m not an American, so I’m neither Democrat nor Republican. I don’t consider myself aligned with any particular political party or ideology. I simply let people’s behaviour teach me what I need to know about them. I don’t judge them personally, but I do practice discernment. Trump, for instance, is a product of all the factors that shaped his personality and behaviour. Basically, he is the way Isvara made him. I accept that. But, that said, I strongly oppose his behaviour and decisions, because he is demonstrably an adharmi whose behaviour and actions have caused a trail of chaos and jeopardy.
In his Gita commentary, Shankara said that the enlightened see everyone as the same, but they don’t treat everyone as the same. That would be foolish because although there is only one Self animating all the different bodies and minds, those jivas are capable of both dharma and adharma and must be responded to accordingly.
That’s a very long answer to a short question. For me, it’s not an “either-or” answer. I do accept that everything is karma playing out, and I also endeavour to help it play out well by supporting and undertaking dharmic action in all respects. That’s how we get the world back on track. And a key component of that is the ability to exercise discrimination; to see what is actually there and not simply what we want to be there.
Can Vedanta Free Us and the World?
Question: I guess my question is if Advaita Vedanta should ultimately prevent personal suffering for all and allow peace to flourish, and how do we apply it in this world of mithya?
Advaita Vedanta will never appeal to the masses. It’s only for highly mature and discerning souls who possess a burning desire for moksha/liberation. Even the general spiritual audience aren’t interested in it. Most of them would rather focus on things like angels, ETs and the law of attraction, and fair play to them. For those who are ready for Vedanta—and by ready, I mean have the necessary qualifications—and who follow the three stages of the teaching (hearing, reasoning and deep contemplation/assimilation), it most definitely erases personal suffering and restores to us the peace of our own deepest nature.
When samsara is removed, we are free to interact with life in a wholly different manner to the average suffering person. We live with gratitude, wonder and with a contributive mindset. We seek to give more to life than we take from it, because we already know the perfect satisfaction of Self-fulfilment and the wholeness that is our very nature. That’s one very particular way we can contribute to the ‘betterment’ of the world. However, as I said, it’s a path only available to mature and discriminating souls—to those who have already realised the zero sum nature of maya and the futility of seeking wholeness in the transient world of form and experience.
For those who aren’t ready for or interested in Vedanta, there are still vital aspects of the teaching that can be understood and applied by everyone: such as a commitment to dharma and the practise of karma yoga. Some may also be open to bhakti yoga, or upasana yoga, which means meditating upon a form of God. Those who aren’t ready to practice self-inquiry and Vedanta can still benefit enormously from some kind of devotional practice, whether it is prayer, japa/repetition of mantra, or a daily puja (devotional offering). The latter can be a hard sell in the present day, as many see themselves too ‘sophisticated’ to believe in God, not realising all forms of God to be but representations of the one, universal Self.
I hope helps answer your question.
Hari Om.
