Spiritual Revolution

If the history of political and social revolutions staged across the world is anything to go by, there is hardly any reason to be optimistic about ours. This is because we have been putting the indispensability of “the revolution within us” on the back burner. Although the “revolution within” may sound a bit abstract at first glance, it is actually quite lucid and perceivable—if only we are humble enough to give it some thought. 

Afterwards, it becomes contagious. It spreads effortlessly through society, as nobody feels the need to be critical of anybody or anything. Each of us will accept that we are the architects of our own destiny. A Chinese adage feels very relevant here: “When you blame others, you have a long way to go in your journey. When you blame yourself, you are halfway there. When you blame no one, you have arrived.”

The revolution that changes our perspectives and personal paradigms can be considered an inner revolution, or revolution within. It is a spiritual journey at the personal level. If we include it in our school education—not as part of the ECA programme in the form of yoga, as adopted by many private schools, but as a dedicated academic discipline contributing to the overall assessment and grade of a pupil—it could change the face of humanity for the better. The contemporary world has tried everything else, but without success.

This will surely go a long way towards addressing the world’s maladies, because we would then be reaching the root of the problem, rather than staging one revolution after another. The oxymoronic idea of fighting a war to bring peace has never met its objective, has it? What we have been content with is a semblance of peace—not a lasting one.

People often mistake spirituality for religion. Spirituality is inherently within us, whereas religion is man-made. Spirituality draws upon our inner resources, while religion is built upon the foundations of fear, ignorance, and manipulation. Spirituality enables us to exercise restraint effortlessly, whereas religion may render us defensive, armed with all possible tools—logic, coercion, and belligerence.

With spirituality infused into our education system, the sense of competition will fade, and pupils will begin to foster a sense of amity. There will be no “unsuccessful” pupil—those we now call non-graded—because every student will be channeling their potential into something useful for society and humanity at large. 

A truly spiritual person ends up excelling and thriving in the material world as well. To attest to this, the SEE and Grade 12 results of students at Shree Ved Vedyank Sanskrit Vidhyapith, a Vedic school run by Galeshwor Aashram at Devghat, Tanahun, speak volumes. This year, all the students passed, securing grades of A+ or A. 

Beyond that, the students are models of decorum. The practice of spirituality enlightens people in such a way that no real evil force can rise, because everyone is busy fulfilling their duties and helping others move forward. A society that aims to attain nirvana can never remain entangled in inner turmoil.