{"id":24863,"date":"2013-08-08T20:27:27","date_gmt":"2013-08-09T01:27:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/drishtikone\/?p=24863"},"modified":"2013-08-08T20:47:55","modified_gmt":"2013-08-09T01:47:55","slug":"society-and-spirituality-the-3-paradigms-of-interaction-with-the-society-in-hinduism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/drishtikone\/2013\/08\/society-and-spirituality-the-3-paradigms-of-interaction-with-the-society-in-hinduism\/","title":{"rendered":"Society and Spirituality: The 3 Paradigms of Interaction with the society in Hinduism"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Most religious people, specially those who are part-time Spiritual students, are always confused about how to interact with the world and the society. \u00a0In absence of any clarity, asceticism has been held as extremely important in Spiritual pursuits. \u00a0The more hard core the level of one\u2019s asceticism, the more \u201cSpiritual\u201d s\/he is supposed to be by default in people\u2019s eyes. \u00a0In this respect, therefore, it is important to know Buddha\u2019s story of enlightenment here to get a perspective before we delve into the 3 paradigms of dealing with the society.<\/p>\n

Buddha, in his search for Truth, went from one school to another, doing very hard penance. \u00a0In the end, he had come to a point where he would eat just a few grains of rice to get by for many days. \u00a0As he was crossing a small stream, he was being washed away \u2013 so bodily weak he had become. \u00a0He somehow caught hold of a tree branch and came ashore. \u00a0As he stood there, he realized that in his attempts to know the Truth, he had lost the ability to survive in this world and gotten nowhere in \u201cthat\u201d world either. \u00a0So that evening, he sat under a tree vowing to not get up unless he had known the Truth. \u00a0Until then, in that state, he had gained a large number of followers who would follow this rather hard core ascetic around with the hope that he will deliver them as well. \u00a0That night, when Gautama had lost all hope from this world, and hung in the middle \u2013 he attained to his Highest nature. \u00a0He was Enlightened. \u00a0It is said that the first thing he did was to enjoy a hearty meal. \u00a0Much to the disgust of his followers. \u00a0Who immediately left him thinking he had turned insane! \u00a0When he could have really delivered them, they left him. \u00a0Not because He had done something wrong, but because of this completely nonsensical relationship that has been popularized between asceticism and Spirituality.<\/p>\n

The Three Paradigms<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

J. Krishnamurti said:\u00a0It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.<\/em><\/p>\n

He was right and he was wrong as well. \u00a0Society\u2019s health or ill-health is of no consequence to someone firmly entrenched in Truth. \u00a0You could be in any relationship with a society and yet find your way to the highest peak of Human Realization.<\/p>\n

I find the examples from lives of Ram, Krishna and Shiva as illustrations of three ways one can interact with the society and be the highest.<\/p>\n

Ram, the Maryada Purshottam (Highest way of living within Societal Norms)<\/strong> and \u201cLiving Within the Society as per the Societal Norms without questioning\u201d<\/em><\/strong>: \u00a0Ram was an interesting being. \u00a0If one reads and \u201cmeets\u201d him in Yoga Vasistha \u2013 one of the most profound treatise the writer has ever read in Spiritual realm \u2013 then one knows that Ram was Enlightened and Realized. \u00a0Yet, he lived a very dutiful life. \u00a0As a son, husband, ruler, and whatever he was asked, he would do without any questions. \u00a0At times, one of his roles would over-shadow the other role. \u00a0Nevertheless, he never did what he thought was the best for him and someone else in that situation. \u00a0His actions were dictated by the duties that were aligned to the roles he was living. \u00a0As a son, he left for the forest without questioning. \u00a0His wife was determined to follow him, despite his thoughts that she shouldn\u2019t, he went ahead. \u00a0He helped people in situations, he may not have otherwise, but because he had promised them, he kept his promises no matter what.<\/p>\n

This way of life, where what a Realized Being could often see with clarity but still did as per the Societal Norms \u2013 was very unusual. \u00a0It showed his incredible patience and intellect to see through the uselessness of one\u2019s own volition vs society\u2019s dictates. \u00a0It doesn\u2019t matter which way you work. \u00a0As long as you can do everything with complete equanimity and without regret then it still works Spiritually.<\/p>\n

Krishna, the Sampoorna Avatar (Complete Being)<\/strong> and \u201cLiving Within the Society but Working Around every Societal Norm\u201d<\/em><\/strong>: Krishna is considered to be the most complete Human Being that walked this planet. \u00a0I would agree. \u00a0Never before and never after has a Human Being been so complete in his life. \u00a0He was also living within the society and its institutions. \u00a0But he never followed the established norms of his times. \u00a0From creating new festivals to celebrate folk life to unleashing celebration of life in dancing with the women in an unbridled way, to fighting the enemy absolutely ruthlessly and yet being the highest compassion that anyone came across \u2013 he did everything that seemed at odds with his time and those around him.<\/p>\n

Krishna, therefore, lived in the society but mocked at the Societal norms for being totally useless! \u00a0He perceived everything with complete clarity and he stuck with it. \u00a0Completely different from Ram in his ways of handling the Societal Norms \u2013 although living within the society \u2013 and having the same high consciousness.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Shiva, The Mahadeva (The Greatest Dev or God\/Great Being)<\/strong> and \u201cLiving outside the society, completely shunning it\u201d<\/em><\/strong>: Shiva was never interested in the society. \u00a0Everything that the society held as \u201cGood\u201d and \u201cPure\u201d he mocked as much as he could. \u00a0And, that which society held as the most filthy, impure or bad, he embraced proudly.<\/p>\n

In only two circumstances he chose to interact with the society. \u00a0One<\/strong>, when he met with complete Unconditional Love of Parvati\/Shakti. \u00a0And Two<\/strong>, when was met with Supreme Devotion of relentless students in terms of the Sapta-rishis.<\/p>\n

With the rest, he didn\u2019t care who came to ask what of him. \u00a0He would see if the person had gone through the steps and he would get that because of being in presence of Shiva.<\/p>\n

Shiva showed how to live at the peak without engaging with the society while treating things that have certain connotations in completely different ways!<\/p>\n

Society and its Norms aren\u2019t existential in nature, Life is<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

What these three examples show is that it doesn\u2019t matter whether you choose to live within or outside of the society; whether you live by the norms, work around them or mock them completely. \u00a0What really matters is how you hold yourself in your own being in any situation.<\/p>\n

Equanimity and Balance is what matters.<\/p>\n

If you understand that Life in its most existential terms is primary and Society and its norms have no existential reality \u2013 but mere colors that change \u2013 then one can touch the core of Life in very deep ways. \u00a0Life is abound in every atom and cell. \u00a0It knows no society and no norms.<\/p>\n

The Life that throbs in the President of United States also throbs as beautifully and as wonderfully in the bacteria somehow living in the remotest galaxy of this Universe, where society and its norms are meaningless! \u00a0Life, in its abundance and beauty, however, is common and Central!<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Image Credits:<\/em> Featured Image Dancing Shiva<\/a>\/Par\u00e9e<\/a>\u00a0and Shiva dreaming<\/a> \/\u00a0Cornelia Kopp<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Enhanced<\/a><\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Most religious people, specially those who are part-time Spiritual students, are always confused about how to interact with the world and the society. \u00a0In absence of any clarity, asceticism has been held as extremely important in Spiritual pursuits. \u00a0The more hard core the level of one\u2019s asceticism, the more \u201cSpiritual\u201d s\/he is supposed to be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1517,"featured_media":24865,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[3833,1340,1964,3836,3149,3835,3556,3834],"class_list":["post-24863","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spirituality","tag-asceticism","tag-gautama-buddha","tag-krishna","tag-norm-social","tag-shiva","tag-societal-norm","tag-united-states","tag-yoga-vasistha"],"yoast_head":"\nSociety and Spirituality: The 3 Paradigms of Interaction with the society in 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