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 landed a job in the US and left home, his parents will not complain, “My son abandoned me and left for the US”. This is because there is an expectation that he will make a lot of money there, and therefore no one considers it escapism. 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 whole life to working 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 in the name of 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 multi-millionaires who own jets and yachts, in a constant state of tension and worry. While one man is enjoying his puff on the cigarette, another is so put off by the smoke that he moves away, coughing. Doesn’t this show that happiness cannot be found in an object? 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 staying side by side in huts. One of the men there went abroad to work and made a lot of money, with which he constructed a mansion. His neighbour became very 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 bank loan, he started building a new house. When the construction was over, he was overjoyed. He invited his 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 husband, home will be hell even if it is air-conditioned and equipped with the most modern amenities. 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. 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 and humanitarian