Children, some people ask Amma: “Isn’t spirituality a running away from life?” In truth, spirituality is what teaches us about life in all its depth. The goal of spiritual life is to realise that the individual and the universe are one and to make one’s life beneficial to the world. Just as one studies management in order to learn how to manage external life, spirituality is a science that teaches us how to manage the mind. Running away is for cowards whereas spirituality is the path taken by the brave. Real courage is having the mental strength to face any circumstance; it is the coming together of compassion and a proper outlook on life. This is what spirituality bestows.
When a young man joins an ashram, some will ask, “Isn’t what he did unjust and unrighteous?” Instead, if he had left home and landed a job in the US, his parents would not complain, “Our son abandoned us”. This is because there is an expectation that he will make a lot of money. But if someone embraces spiritual life, his move is interpreted as escapism. Is there any meaning in saying that a sanyasi, who sees the whole world as his home and dedicates his life for the uplift of the world, is running away from life? Amma is not saying that one should forsake one’s parents or abandon one’s duty to them for spirituality. However, to construe spirituality as an escape from life is ignorance.
Spirituality is the understanding and realisation that the source of bliss is within oneself. We believe that happiness lies in objects. If that were true, shouldn’t we become totally happy when we obtain those objects? But we can see even multimillionaires in a constant state of tension and worry. While one man enjoys his cigarette, another is so put off by the smoke that he moves away, coughing. Doesn’t this show that happiness cannot be found in objects? Bliss depends on the mind. Spirituality is the means through which one can gain control over the remote control of the mind.
In a village, there lived two families in huts. One of the men went abroad and made a lot of money, with which he constructed a mansion. His neighbour became sad, thinking, “He’s built such a big house. I’m still living in this wretched hovel!” He began working tirelessly and managed to save some money. Taking a loan, he started constructing a house. He passed each day with the dreams of happily living in that. When the construction was over, he invited friends and relatives for a house-warming feast, and began living in his new home. Months passed. One day, his friend saw him looking morose. He asked, “Why are you sad again?” The man replied, “My neighbour now has a two-storey air-conditioned house. It’s a first-rate place with the floor paved in marble. Have you seen my house? It’s worthless!”
The very sight of the house that previously gave him happiness became the source of unbearable sorrow. Happiness and sorrow are not in external objects. Happiness is a state of mind. Therefore, we should bring the mind under our control. If there is no harmony between the wife and the husband, home will be hell even if it is air-conditioned and equipped with the most modern amenities. Its inhabitants will not be able to sleep even one night without sleeping pills. There are those who commit suicide in such palatial houses. In truth, it is the mind that should be air-conditioned, and this is what spirituality teaches.
For those who cannot swim, the ocean is a nightmare. But those who have learned swimming will not be terrified at all by the sea. For them, swimming in the ocean is a delightful experience. They will revel even among mighty waves. Similarly, if we assimilate the principles of spirituality, if we are able to take control of the mind, every experience will be blissful. Life will become one long celebration.
The writer is a world-renowned spiritual leader