We live in unprecedented times. The Industrial Revolution once took centuries to bring about change in human society and human behaviour, transforming it completely. However, the digital revolution has compressed change into just a few years. While technology has connected the world and increased affluence, it has also brought stress, loneliness, and disconnection with the constant overflow of accessible knowledge. Many young people today, despite thousands and millions of online followers, struggle with depression and a feeling of a lack of real connection. If progress does not lead to the welfare and happiness of people, something essential is missing.
Knowledge and realisation
Lord Krishna tells Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita 9.1 that what He is conveying to him has two aspects: jñanam (gyan) and vijñana (vigyana). Lord Krishna explains two types of knowledge: jñanam is theoretical knowledge, and vijñana is realised knowledge.
Idam tu te guhyatamam pravakshyamyanasuyave
jñanam vijñana-sahitam yaj jñatva mokshyase shubhat
Reading about a country is different from visiting it, just as reading a book on swimming is different from entering the water. Spiritual knowledge is similar. Without practice, it remains theoretical. Sadhana, or disciplined practice, transforms knowledge into realisation. Meditation is a vital part of that sadhana, enabling us to experience the truths we study.
Meditation takes many forms in the Vedic tradition: chanting mantras, silent contemplation, focusing on Om, or simply calming the mind. Its purpose is to cultivate emotional well-being, kindness, and resilience. Life inevitably brings challenges and reversals, but spiritual practice helps us face them with strength and clarity. Spirituality, enriched with practices such as meditation, enables and empowers us to face all these things in life in a positive way.
Five hundred years ago, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, a great saint who appeared in West Bengal, travelled around the country. He taught a simple yet powerful method of meditation: mantra meditation, chanting the holy names of the Lord:
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare,
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare
By chanting and hearing this sacred sound, our innate love for Lord Krishna awakens.
Understanding the divine relationship
Spiritual learning helps us realise our eternal relationship with the Supreme Being. We all have a relation with the Supreme, and we must discover, understand, appreciate, and experience it.
The divine cares deeply for us, providing the essentials of life free of cost: air, sunlight, water, and the earth itself. Consider gravity. It keeps us grounded, allowing life and order on Earth. Without it, there would be chaos. Yet, no one pays a “gravity tax”. These are not human creations. Every breath we take and every drop of water we drink are gifts from the Supreme.
Such examples remind us of the unseen care and intelligence behind creation. Understanding and appreciating these divine arrangements is the beginning of spirituality.
The light of the scriptures
The Vedic literatures are like light in a dark room. We may have the eyes to see, but without light, we remain unaware of what surrounds us.
Similarly, we can see that in the human form of life, there are spiritual realities, concepts, and truths to be understood and we have the ability to grasp them all. But if we do not have the light of the Vedic literatures, we will not be able to see, even though we can physically see. So, the scriptures illuminate spiritual truths that our senses alone cannot perceive. Through Vedic literature, we understand our eternal connection with the Supreme and learn how to realise it through experience, not just theory.
Something happens in life which is called death, when we are shifted out of this situation to another situation, leaving behind any memories and attachments from the previous situation. We believe that the relationships we experience and foster here are permanent and invest so much in them. They're not unreal. They are real, but temporary. But the illusion is that when life ends, so do those relationships.
Vedic literature states that our relationship with the Supreme is eternal and loving. And when this relationship is awakened and experienced, it is an ecstatic, exhilarating experience of an intimate relation with the Supreme Being.
Reviving this forgotten bond brings true fulfillment. Spirituality does not mean neglecting worldly duties, but actually performing them responsibly while cultivating love and awareness of the divine. As the world changes and new technologies emerge, new opportunities arise. As we explore and embrace technological developments, let us also cultivate spiritual culture, spiritual knowledge, spiritual awareness, and spiritual reality.