Towards The Divinity

By Asmi Mukhopadhyay

We love to see the beautiful nature—blue sky, glistening sunlight, green trees, flowing rivers, captivating flowers, beautiful butterflies. But have we ever tried to be as compassionate as nature? We forget to have a broad mind as the sky, forget to glisten our heart as the sun, forget to be supportive as trees, receptive as water, selfless as flowers, and to open the wings of freedom as butterflies. Yes… we forget everything. We could not listen to the painful cry of others. We hear everything but don’t respond to the calling of the heart. ‘Value’ is now a five-lettered word, not having any relation with our life. We are baffled with the continuous conflict of brain and heart. The relentless pursuit of wealth, status, and material possessions has made us self-centred so badly that personal gain is getting prioritised over collective well-being. In each and every prospect, we are calculating the profit and somehow trying to maintain a balance. Our words are not matching with our actions, and there is a discrepancy between our outer and inner selves. We are engrossed in our own cravings, having no time to respond to the calls of other people in need. The divine sun is going on the way of setting down; apparent bright smiling is not enough to glisten the darkened heart. It subsides into darkness. We are keeping our window closed, not letting the Ray of Hope come in. Nowadays, in social media, it is very common to see some people busy in making videos or reels of others who are struggling with death. Instead, a supporting hand could have saved many lives. The proliferation of social media has created a culture of instant gratification, where individuals are more focused on their online personas than on cultivating meaningful relationships and empathy.

It is alarming to witness the degradation of our human values. 'Education makes a man perfect.' In the words of great laureate Rabindranath Tagore, “The highest education is that which does not merely give us information but makes our life in harmony with all existence.” But our present education system is devoid of its actual meaning. Intolerance is a common vile in the children. In the past, character building was an inevitable part of education, and it was valued. Nowadays, a child is evaluated in terms of scores. We are creating an unhealthy competition among our children and not giving the lessons on values and culture. Simultaneously, we are also accusing the younger generation of being selfish as they are fighting with senior citizens to occupy a seat, sending their parents to old age homes, and not taking care of them. Actually, we are not giving them the real meaning of education, though we are liable for it. Inadequate education and moral ambiguity are making individuals more susceptible to be manipulated and exploited. The decline of moral values is the utmost cause of corruption, crime, and social unrest. Once India was considered as the pioneer for its cultural values, but now it is an avid follower of others. This journey of being the pioneer to follower in terms of every aspect is very common today.

We have now learnt to see everything in terms of profit and loss. Materialism and consumerism have been infused conspiratorially into our blood. Ours liking and disliking are mostly controlled by others, by the advertisements of the profit-greedy companies or businessmen. We have learnt to pay attention to our father, mother, friends, and loving ones on the specific day of celebration—Father’s Day, Mother’s Day—without taking care of them in reality for the rest of the year. We feel comfortable looking at the mobile and giving fake ‘comments’ or ‘likes’ instead of practically helping people in need. With the advent of technology, we are becoming robots devoid of any passion. It is making us away not only from nature and loving ones but also from ourselves. Thinking of getting all the delicacies of life is enough to forget about the final calls with empty hands. Playing the different role on the big stage, we forget our own identity, never trying to get the answers to ‘Who are we? Where is our destination?’ which are still lingering in ignominious darkness; inter alia, we are staggering towards the ultimate goal, but the time has come... the time has come to reflect on.

A small stone can make lots of ripples when thrown into the water, just as a small act or selfless drive can bring a wide change and can bring mental solace. We must keep our windows, i.e., our minds and hearts, open and let the fresh air come in and be receptive. We must spend some time with ourselves to dive into the depth of heart to take out the unique pearl of spirituality, compassion, and kindness. As in the words of a great sage, “Spirituality is not just about rituals, but living a life of compassion, empathy, and selflessness.” We should be optimistic in a manner that the buzzing sound of bees seems to be a hymn. We must open our wings of mind towards spirituality and find divinity in every aspect of life. We find in the Bhagavad Gita, “Whatever action a great man performs, common men follow. And whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, all the world pursues.” In Mahatma Gandhi’s words, "Be the change you want to see in the world.".

Faith, a forgotten trait of human beings, is necessary to be restored to re-establish the ultimate truth of life. It is the base on which character and wisdom are built on, as we find in the Bhagavad Gita, “He who has faith, who is absorbed in it, and who has subdued his senses gains wisdom, and having gained wisdom, he attains quickly the Supreme Peace.” We know ruthless Ratnakar was turned into great Rishi Valmiki by realising the ultimate reality of life, in the same way we want our life to be turned by the magical touch of divinity, and we will be able to know the ultimate truth and feel the guiding spirit—Ray of Hope—for the rest of our journey of life. 

By Asmi Mukhopadhyay