Friday

01


April , 2022
Unified Consciousness and World Civilization
23:02 pm

C.L. Gulati


Ever since the advent of mankind, progress made by civilization directly, or indirectly centres round two things: science of life and philosophy of life.

The anatomy of the body has been studied to the extent that now man can withstand diseases and live a healthier life. Millions of people are living in the world with artificial limbs in their bodies. Man put his foot on the surface of the moon on July 10, 1961 which is considered the greatest step in the history of human civilization. On July 17, 1976, there was a historical 'hand-shake' in space by the power blocks. The dead do not speak, but those who died in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 certainly have their tragic tales to tell. A tale of dismay, a tale of ill-will and a tale of irreligious act, echoing Shakespeare's concern, "O Lord, what fool these mortals be!"

Philosophy of Life

One of the greatest modern psychologists Sir Jung has described in his book 'Modern Man in Search of Soul' that among all his patients, there had not been even one whose problem in the last resort was not that of finding a religious outlook on life. Great philosopher saint Augustine of Hippo writes, "Restless are our souls, until they rest in Thee my God." On his deathbed, renowned philosopher Oscar Wilde asked, "Why has destruction such a fascination?" And he himself answered, "We are no longer captains of our souls." As we cannot think of using pen without ink within, we cannot think of world civilization without enlightenment of the soul within!

The fundamental outcome from the Rio Conference held by U.N. on February 12, 2013, for Sustainable Development, was the fact that we are heading towards a set of economic, social and environmental crisis and the only way to change things is to rethink development keeping in mind the message that "people are important, but equally important is the planet on which the prosperity of these people depends." Civilization demands that wars should always be moved from battlefields to peace-tables.

A Spiritual Issue

Population explosion, magnified power of technology and psychological attitudes becoming a way of living on earth – all these factors combined, we are behaving as if the planet is a business in liquidation. International conflict, environmental distress and religious terrorism occupy the attention of world leaders over the future of our planet. There is a collusion between our civilization and planet earth – look at the devastating hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes and corona-virus pandemic.

Leading scientists in the world are openly giving a call that we probably have short time left in which to make a dramatic change in the pattern that now represents business as usual. Yes, we can fulfil the task but we will first have to change attitudes and awareness and recognize all this as a spiritual issue, a challenge that goes to the core of who we are as human beings. This is the 21st century, if there is major progress, there are also major problems. In such a situation, awareness is important, warmth is important. With the ever growing impact of science and technology on our lives, spirituality has a game-changing role to play in reminding us of our humanity.

Arnold Toynbee, a distinguished historian studied the genesis and fall of 21 different human civilizations spanning a period of 9000 years and found that 19 of them declined and disappeared when the religious foundations that sustained them had become corrupted. He says, "Each time, the people lost faith in religion, its civilization succumbed to social disintegration. The civilization that had fallen as a result of the loss of faith had been replaced by a new civilization inspired by true religion through spiritual awakening, unifying the truth that God is one.”

The true religion based on spiritual awakening is a vehicle of spiritual enlightenment, social consciousness and cultural values which are best suited to address the problems of life in all forms of our beautiful planet earth. It was exactly this kind of religion in his mind when William Burke claimed that the religion is the foundation of the Republic of Mankind, the basis on which all true Civil Governments rest, and from which power derives its authority, laws, their efficiency and both their sanction. If it is once shaken by contempt, the whole fabric cannot be stable or lasting.

A Clarion Call

A twinge of conscience is a glimpse of God. There is a clarion call ringing for all human beings to sharpen their conscience for rejuvenation of civilization of the world. The durability of any edifice, however, magnificent at the top depends on its foundation. When the latter crumbles, the Citadel falls down. Thus, larger and higher the edifice, the wider and stronger the foundation it requires. It would thus be appreciated that the International Solidarity viz "World Civilization" needs a fabulous foundation on the doctrine of universal brotherhood of man supported by the ethical belief in the Fatherhood of God. The proposition of much needed world civilization is great indeed but the efforts needed to implement it need also be of equally great magnitude. Indeed every country, every group and every individual has to contribute to the emergence of the World Civilization for which the entire humanity is irresistibly yawning and craving.

Culture sans consciousness

Death of the body is not such a great loss as the death of conscience. The virus of this killer disease (Death of Conscience) has spread globally. After afflicting the conscience, the virus spreads to the head and heart, bringing with it greed and graft. Being infectious, the virus acquires the dimension of epidemic. Although the virus may not cause physical death, yet it causes the death of all human values and whatever is good and virtuous. Materialistic values and outlook have also weakened the fabric of society to the point where selfishness has become endemic in all walks of life. Corruption is an assault on consciousness. We cannot expect any potential of such a culture to promote unified consciousness as the bedrock of world civilization.

Persons with enlightened souls enrich and empower human life by working with dedication as an agent of God for attainment of perfection at home, in the workplace and in the society at large. The thumb rule for practical ethics is, "Desist from doing to others what you would not like to be done unto you." All this denotes that civilization is another name of humanism which is the outcome of spiritual awakening based on actual knowledge of God, it has essentially to be cosmic and global. None of us is as strong as all of us together. Therefore, Unified Consciousness, producing positive forces in unison, is the only way out to establish cherished world civilization.

Humanism is sometimes limited to one's communal group. We have heard about Hindutva (Hindu Brotherhood) Ummat (Muslim Brotherhood), Christendom (Christian Brotherhood) etc. etc. It is clear that this type of limited brotherhood based on gregarious instinct may not be truly humanistic as the people confined in one brotherhood may not have that broad level of love and feeling as they may have in case of their own communal group. (Birds of a feather flock together) Humanism based on religions, cultural and linguistic grouping may not be global in content. Therefore, no religious, cultural or linguistic cohesion or affinity can lead to the humanism worthy of the name. Someone is a Hindu, a Muslim a Sikh and a Christian; each one of them has created a separate world of his own.

God is the source of consciousness and is the cosmic being out of which consciousness has manifested. True humanism is possible when we know that myself and others are the same with natural affinity created by common Fatherhood of God. So knowledge of common sources is prerequisite for creating unified consciousness and cosmic brotherhood. Therefore, world civilization has not to be merely collective but the unified consciousness essentially born out of actual knowledge of one God for all, which results spontaneously and simultaneously in the sense of organic unity of mankind. It is like a blood relation. Humanism and humility go together. When the knowledge that everything in this universe comes from the single source (God), takes root in our consciousness, it carries a profound impact on us. It means humanity is of each other, whether you are a Christian, Jew, Muslim or a Hindu. This can wipe out the gruesome conflicts prevailing in the world today. We desperately need the feeling of cosmic kinship that inherently results from the realisation of one source, the God. To be human is to be humble and to be humble is to be divine. When human and divine means the same thing then real humanism comes into existence to give birth to world civilization.

Consciousness is a universal attribute of all life forms. The assumption that consciousness is produced by the brain is no longer viable. Underlying all is unbroken wholeness, super consciousness, which is very aptly described in the upanishads. — "Om Poornamadah ........." According to Edmoud Holmes, "The Upanishads are dominated by one paramount conception, that of the ideal oneness of the soul of man with the soul of the universe. The central theme of all the Upanisads is, "Aham Brahamasmi - I am Brahman."

Quantum Austrian Physicist Erwin Schrodinger is known for the phrase, "The total number of minds in the universe is one. In fact, consciousness is a singularity phasing within all beings", which best summarizes his philosophical outlook on the nature of Reality. The phrase implies that apparent multiplicity of minds is just an illusion and that there is only one mind or one consciousness that expresses itself in a myriad of ways." In such a world view, a separation between subject and object does not exist. In a world without the subject-object split, we are all an expression of the one. He further states that, "Consciousness cannot be accounted for in physical terms, for consciousness is absolutely fundamental". On the same point, Max Planck says, "I regard consciousness as fundamental; I regard matter as derivative from consciousness. Everything that we talk about, everything that we regard as existing, postulates consciousness." He further proclaims that consciousness is only one, singular identifiable with its universal source – Brahm (God) its temporal plurality is merely illusion.

In the absence of actual knowledge, God is different for different persons and for the same person on
different occasions. The concept of one God for all foresees the idea of one religion for all that suits the
whole human race. The Sant Nirankari Mission has succeeded in achieving this objective through a living
revelation of 'Fatherhood of God', the central seed of all religions, ruling out any question of religious
conversion. Mission asserts that God realisation is the only force, that acts as a mortar binding together
the many-shaped bricks of human society into a coherent structure. This is the distinguishing feature of
the Mission.
The religion, like the white light of heaven, stands broken into many coloured fragments by the prisms
of men. The religion which was meant to be a binding force has lost its gravity and has in-itself started
working as a dividing force, disturbing universal order and peaceful coexistence. Looking at the wide
spread virus of religious terrorism, one feels bewildered to discover that it is not divided atom but
divided mankind which is getting more difficult to deal with. The crisis that religious-terrorism has
created at global level clearly indicates that religion, degenerated into ritualism, is dying out, the moral
order is collapsing and materialistic approach also contributes to the destruction of human values and
civilization.
Breakthrough occurs when there is a breakdown. It is amidst the wreckage of a collapsing order that the
Sant Nirankari Mission, in harmony with science, has emerged with the banner of spiritual awakening
founded on the realization of "The Invisible Force". A group of top scientists recently came round to the
Intelligent Design Theory that the universe came into being not by random mutation and natural
selection as suggested by Darwin, but by an Intelligent Design. They claim that anything which has
structure and utility must have a designer who created it. At the heart of this new theory is the
explanation that life results from the action of an Invisible Force, which is referred to in verse 1:1:16 of
the Mundaka Upanisad:—
"That which is invisible, ungraspable, un-originated and attributeless,
That which has neither eyes, nor ears, nor hands, nor legs,
That is Eternal, full of manifestations, the source of all creations."
In the layman's language, the 'Invisible Force or Intelligent Designer' is none else but (God), realization
of whom is the True Religion (Spiritual Awakening), as emphasized in the scriptures and by saints and
sages down the ages. "The ideal oneness of the soul of man is oneness with the soul of universe", and,
"self of a man in a hut is as good as a person in a palace, "to achieve individual liberation and well-being
of society". "From the fullness of Brahman has come the fullness of the universe." There is, infact, no
conflict between science and religion. Both have identical aim of helping man grow individually and of
ushering in a better social order. They go hand in hand when we talk of consciousness.
There is a single intelligent Consciousness that pervades the entire Universe - the Universal Mind.

It is all knowing, all powerful, all creative and always present. As it is present everywhere at the same
time, it follows that it must also be present in you - that it is you. Your mind is part of the one Universal
Mind. This is not simply a philosophical ideal passed down to us through the ages. It is an exact scientific
truth. Know it, believe it, apply it and you will see your life transform in miraculous ways.
Albert Einstein told us that, "everything is energy"; that "a human being is a part of the whole called by
us [the] Universe". His words echoed the most ancient of spiritual and philosophical teachings and still
underpin today's cutting-edge scientific discoveries.
The Universal Mind goes by many names. In the scientific world we know of the Unified Field, in spiritual
philosophy we refer to the All or Universal Consciousness and in religion we call upon God who Himself
goes by many names - Jehovah, Allah and Brahman to mention but a few. The name is relevant only in
so far as it resonates with you.
Each and every one of us is a manifestation of this single Universal Consciousness. There is profound
truth in the ancient teaching that we are all One. We are all connected - not only to each other but also
to all of Nature and to everything in the Universe.
Her Holiness Satguru Mata Sudiksha Ji Maharaj, the Spiritual Head of the Sant Nirankari Mission, says
that "Life gets a meaning, if it is lived for others,". It combines the theory of mutual relationship through
spiritual awakening with the innate spirit of living for others. Thus, True Religion represents our love and
worship of God in direct proportion to our dealings and doings with our fellow human beings. It is in this
background we know that "Sant Nirankari Mission is an all-embracing world-wide religious, socio-
spiritual and charitable Organization which preaches the concept of one Formless God (Nirankar) and
believes that God can be realized only through the grace of the living Satguru (True Master).

The curves and contours of this definition of the Mission run harmoniously into the teachings of all the
past prophets and globally accepted scriptures. The Mission finds its roots, proving similarity and
congruency, in the vedic concept "Vasudhaiva Kutumbkam" Islamic dictum "Makhlook Sari Hai Kunba
Khuda Ka" Biblical advice "Love thy neighbour as thyself, love thy enemy too" and Mission's watchword
"Sara Sansar Ek Parivar", "World Without Walls", and (The whole world is one family), enjoined by the
bold message "Man is a Man when he is human. He is human when the entire mankind is his family.
Mankind is his family when all pervading God is his home. God can be his home when he actually knows
Him and blissfully identifies himself with Him by living up to the teachings of the True Master (Satguru).
Thus, the Sant Nirankari Mission has come to be known as the present milestone in the mainstream of
spirituality. Holding aloft the banner of "Equality through Spirituality" and for wide range distinguished
socio spiritual activities of the Mission has earned General Consultative Status from U.N.
Connect with unified consciousness (God) is normally understood as meditation. But it does not need
any meditative process. It needs getting a connect with True Master (Satguru) who reveals God in a brief
sitting. When Guru guides or directs a seeker, no spiritual technique is necessary. Arjuna did not
meditate or do any practice. He just listened and accepted whatever Lord Krishna told him, with the
combination of spoken words and practical hint of the Omnipresent God. Once we know and experience
God, His remembrance becomes spontaneous and natural process. God is a spirit, those who want to
love and worship Him, must know Him in spirit only. In Him we live, we move and exist. Our walking,
talking, eating and sleeping in God would all turn meditative in true essence. Spirituality essentially
means to "Know One, Believe in One and Become One. God is eternal, so the True Master (Satguru) who
is said to be the oldest and newest on earth like day and night which have followed each other and are
still ever new. (Athrava Veda 10:8:23).
Identifying loss of human connection with God as the genesis behind inchoate cult of violence attributed
to religion, which like the white light of heaven has split into multi-coloured sects and isms by human
prisms, Mission is transforming the broken religion into white light of Heavenly Truth. Satguru's word
(God-Knowledge) has become the house-hold word and spreading at every place for all the persons,
blossoming World Civilization in full spring! This way, Sant Nirankari Mission is making history.

-The author is the Vice-Chairman, CP &AB, SantNirankari Mandal
The opinion/s expressed in the article are that of the author’s and do not
necessarily represent or reflect the policy or position of this magazine.

 

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