Doctor Who?

“Why don’t you get a job?” – that was the immediate question an elderly Indian man in Loughborough asked me last week as I hurried through the town centre clad in my saffron robes. I could sense a feeling of disapproval mixed with amazement, but I tried to empathise with him instead of becoming defensive. Anyone from an Indian background will know about the family pressures to graduate and become a doctor, accountant, or at the very least settled in some professional career. After all, the prestige of the family rests upon it.

The Bhagavad-gita explains how every civilisation functions around four powers: labour, economic, military and educational. Although divisions and classes have become synonymous with discrimination and exploitation, practically every society exists with such classification in one form or another. In reality, an organized society needs different people to do different things. If they interact in appreciation and cooperation then society will flourish, but if there is competition, exploitation and criticism then there will be chaos.

No doubt, every society needs doctors, lawyers and accountants. However, a healthy society also needs spiritual teachers - people who will dedicate their time, energy and personal comfort to remind people that in the midst of their worldly duties and responsibilities, there is a deeper purpose that shouldn't be neglected. That is also a valid and important contribution to society. All occupations have a unique function and importance, and a mature person can recognize and appreciate that. The ultimate success of life is when we develop the spiritual understanding that all the roles and occupations we are currently playing are temporary, and that our real identity is a spiritual one. In the words of Shakespeare “All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts”

Read more »

Disaster Zone

The catastrophic earthquake in Haiti has dominated our thoughts. I recently came across some statistics which got me thinking about global disasters. Disraeli once said that there were three kinds of lies in this world - lies, damned lies and statistics! I agree in many cases, but I was satisfied by the integrity of this source and the relevance of the figures so I'll go ahead and post them anyway. We are 25 days into 2010 and so far this year...

- 74,000 people have committed suicide
- 505,000 people have died from cancer
- 84,000 people have died in a road accident
- 42,000 mothers have died while giving birth
- 210,000 people have died of hunger

(www.worldometers.info, Realtime Statistics Project)

If we broaden our vision (beyond simply what the media decides to cover as the 'issue of the day') we may find that we are actually living in one huge disaster zone. When they asked Srila Prabhupada why the death rate was so high in India, he replied with the greatest of clarity - "the death rate is the same everywhere - 100%." Nobody makes it out of this world alive.

The Haiti disaster reminds us of the cruel realities of this world and the pain of seeing people suffer. Maybe that's something we could reflect upon every day. The Haiti disaster impels us to come out of our comfort zone, make some sacrifice (time, money, resources) for the upliftment of others. Maybe that's a sentiment we could consider cultivating everyday. Truth be told, this entire world is a disaster zone. The Vedic scriptures define a real spiritualist - one who is unable to tolerate the sufferings of others. We pray the victims of the Haiti earthquake find peace. We also the pray the millions of other suffering souls in this world will find the same.

Read more »

The brighter side of life...

If you ever meet a Hare Krishna devotee on the street you may want to brace yourself. It’s likely that within the first 5 minutes of conversation topics such as suffering, old age, disease and the futility of material enjoyment will surface. I was once giving a Sunday lecture at the temple and could see some uncomfortable faces when I started speaking about the reality of death. I guess they had come along with their kids for a casual afternoon at the temple. They probably weren’t expecting some guy to start talking about such deep and depressing matters. It all may seem a little pessimistic, especially if that’s all you hear before you decide to leave. Surely there must be a brighter side to life.

When it comes to the harsh realities of life we try not to turn a blind eye. Flick through the newspaper, turn on the TV, click onto the web and the stories speak for themselves. I always found it amazing how we can see such suffering and then automatically put it to the back of our mind and get on with life without a second thought. How can it be pessimistic to talk about what is actually happening in front of our eyes? These things are real, and the spiritualist faces them head on without any fear or inhibition.

Someone once said, a pessimist sees problems in every opportunity, whereas an optimist sees opportunities in every problem. The spiritualist doesn’t have to dodge and ignore the acute sufferings of this world out of fear that it will launch him into some depressive state. Why? Because in the midst of all the problems that we face in this world, the spiritualist is seeing an amazing opportunity. Through enthusiastic and determined spiritual practice one can actually elevate the consciousness to a level where they are living and functioning in this world, but experiencing something far beyond. One can achieve lasting peace, happiness and real fulfilment – but only on the spiritual plane. Thus, a spiritualist could be described as simultaneously an optimist and a pessimist; pessimistic about the opportunities for happiness from material externals, but optimistic about the power of spirituality to awaken the deeper happiness within.

Read more »