S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 3 - 1 S p r i n g 2 0 1 7 3 7 Swami Veda Bharati 1 Why A Positive Approach? There is excessive ungentleness in the world, and display of pride and arrogance. We speak looking down upon the “lesser ones”, sometimes gently but that also patronizingly. We do so towards “lower castes” towards “have-nots”, towards children, towards “employees”, towards people of other nations, religions, skin colors, cultures, languages – but we expect these “lesser ones” to practice humility towards us. This continues till they rebel and we quash the rebellions equally insensitively and arrogantly because, well, “we are the senior ones”! We shout slogans against nuclear wars without controlling and pacifying our personal angers in daily life – how would we then prevent wars without individual peace in each mind? At the same time we are always in denial about our individual violence, ungentleness, harshness, personal anger, pride and arrogance. Let someone say, “you are being ungentle”, we immediately blurt our defensiveness: “What? I am so gentle! I am so humble!”; “there is no ego in me!”; “angry? who? me? you are imagining!”; “you are always unfairly criticizing me!”, etc. In case of organizations with a spiritual mission, it is good to remember that the employees or volunteers are not doing just a management or administration. They are practicing sādhanā of self-pacification, self-purification, and finally self-perfection. The acts of “management” and “administration” are steps on that spiritual path. Change has to begin somewhere; even at a snail’s pace. Just as one keeps one’s spirituality private when interacting with daily routines of business, government and employment situations, but maintains it as a well-guarded treasure, so also one may apply the principles suggested here slowly in the outside world, examining where they may be acceptable without excessive resistance from others. If one would make the experimentation, one would be surprised at the positive results one would obtain in one’s company, offices, with the “employees” and at home with the family. It is sad and painful to see harshness, ungentleness, arrogance in the surrounding environment. On the other hand, someone so deeply involved in solving world problems at such a high level in the very practical life, former Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan (2012) says: “Sometimes you don’t have to fight to get your way. You don’t have to pick a fight to get them to change their mind, or get them to see things your way. You really don’t.” This is from a person of such eminence who could not have reached his high station without being extremely practical. When I saw him speaking in the conference of the World Congress of Spiritual Leaders in the hall of the United Nations general Assembly, what impressed me was his inner stillness and stability derived from deep spiritual values of African traditions. Kofi Annan’s statement confirms the results of my own experiments in daily life and communications in my own smaller sphere. The principles suggested in this article are very practical and easy to apply in one’s family life, among one’s friends, and, for the most part, in the management and relationships within any spiritual association. About the author Swami Veda Bharati (1933–2015) was a Sanskrit scholar, an Indian sannyasin, and a founder and spiritual guide of the Association of the Himalayan Yoga Meditation Societies International (AHYMSIN). Having never attended any school, he received a BA degree from the University of London, an MA from the University of London, and a D. Litt. from the University of Utrecht. Between 1966 and 1973, he served as Professor of South Asian Studies at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, MN. In 1973, he retired from his academic career and fully committed himself to spiritual practice and service. In 1992, he was initiated into sannyasa by his spiritual master Swami Rama and received the name Swami Veda. In 1999, he was honored by the swamis of India with the title of Mahamandaleshwar of the Niranjani Akhada and placed among the top thirty swamis of India.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MzgxMzI=