PRACTICAL LESSONS IN SPIRITUALITY

Events of the recent past indicate that India is gradually becoming unmanageable. It is not just about the chaos at Panchkula, or mob lynching or even violent attacks on the media. There are many incidents indicating weakening of the state apparatus. The media, that was earlier looking over the other side, has started reflecting popular perception about the crumbling state machinery. But against this backdrop, the one silver lining has been the conviction of the so-called Godman, Gurmeet Ram Rahim, by the unassuming CBI judge, Jagdeep Singh, who delivered that reassuring blow to restore faith of the populace in the system. What is the moral of this sordid story of the misdeeds of Ram Rahim? No matter how powerful or highly connected one is, nemesis will catch up and the misdeeds will have to be paid for. Looking at the Ram Rahim story rather incisively, we will come to an interesting conclusion. Evil has a limited life and ultimately gets trounced at the hands of the good.

Someone very sportingly gave credit to a team of 11 who were the face of the fight that was an unequal battle by all counts, but for the fact that dharma was on the side of this team. Looking at the team first: Two strong willed youngsadhvis decide to call a spade a spade and had the gumption to pursue with their war of attrition for 15 long and torturous years. Every moment they were risking their lives. But they persisted. And won. Then there was this upright CBI judge with a spine that is so very rare these days. Anything could have been his for asking. Yet he fought all risks and allurements for his duty that was his cause. Then there were those four lawyers who fought the case pro bono. Money then did not matter. Then the CBI DSP and the DIG who held their ground along with the team. The kind of pressures that they must have faced from the high and mighty can well be imagined.

They did not succumb. And then there was the spirit of the assassinated journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati, who had the courage to bring out the poora sach and of course his son Anshuman who kept flying high the legacy of his deceased father. These 11 noble souls and the goodwill of a large number of people could make this herculean task possible. The triumph of the good over evil does take place, but only when the righteous choose to stand up for being counted. And there are those who do it. But there is a question —what was the big thing that these people did? They only did what they were supposed to do. They followed their duties conscientiously. The problem of our country is that people are not doing what they are required to do. Satyamev Jayate, the famous Munduka Upanishad dictum that forms the core of our values system, is not an impossibility. But we need to do our duties. This cardinal truth was picturesquely brought out in the famous Bollywood blockbuster, Nayak. The central theme of this Anil Kapoor starrer was the simple statement made by the lead character, the one-day Chief Minister, “I did nothing big. All I did was what I was supposed to do.” The greatest spiritual question that we need to ask is — “Are we doing what we are supposed to do?” That is spirituality in practice.