My dear reader… consider this… suppose a student enrolls in a course of study at a prestigious university… Everywhere our student friend goes, they advertise… “I’m a student of such-and-such-course in so-and-so university”. Our student friend is met with pats on the back, and nods of approval… “yes”, everyone seems to say “that is a fantastic program at a great university”, and our student friend is quite pleased at this.
That’s it, our student friend is content with enrollment. Post-enrollment, apart from the bragging about the program they are enrolled in, we find that our student does not do anything else…
- Attends no classes
- Reads no textbooks
- Does no research
- Submits no assignments
- Works on no projects
- Does no practical work
- Learns nothing about what they’re supposed to learn in that program
- …
Now, my dear reader, would you expect our student friend to graduate, or even be allowed to stay on in the program?
Not at all! At minimum, our friend the student would forfeit their fees, potentially be kicked out of the program, and most definitely not get to see graduation!
We all would agree that this kind of enrollment in a program with no work done is of no real benefit.
And yet, the world is full of such students, enrolled in various Universities…
- Hinduism
- Christianity
- Islam
- Judaism
- Buddhism
- Jainism
- Sikhism
- this-ism
- that-ism
- …
Yes, my dear reader, all of these are universities… meant to teach us most important things:
- Who we are, Be who we are
- Know God, Love God
- Know that everything and everyone is God’s, to love, cherish, and engage in the service of God
Each of these “universities” was created to cater to a particular set of persons, in a particular time, place, and circumstance.
And yet, there are so many who are “enrolled”, but are not doing any of the work needed to actually graduate.
What is graduation? Graduation means spiritual perfection, which is an eternally ever-increasing thing, there is no limit to perfection. Perfection is a journey.
yasmin vijñāte sarvam evaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavati (Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.3)
According to this Vedic injunction, simply by understanding Kṛṣṇa one understands Brahman, Paramātmā, prakṛti, the illusory energy, the spiritual energy and everything else. Everything will be revealed.
Such a person who has graduated from their “university” manifests love and compassion at every moment and acts for the benefit of the whole world.
What is that ultimate benefit?
तव कथामृतं तप्तजीवनं
कविभिरीडितं कल्मषापहम् ।
श्रवणमङ्गलं श्रीमदाततं
भुवि गृणन्ति ये भूरिदा जना: ॥ ९ ॥tava kathāmṛtaṁ tapta-jīvanaṁ
kavibhir īḍitaṁ kalmaṣāpaham
śravaṇa-maṅgalaṁ śrīmad ātataṁ
bhuvi gṛṇanti ye bhūri-dā janāḥThe nectar of Your words and the descriptions of Your activities are the life and soul of those suffering in this material world. These narrations, transmitted by learned sages, eradicate one’s sinful reactions and bestow good fortune upon whoever hears them. These narrations are broadcast all over the world and are filled with spiritual power. Certainly those who spread the message of Godhead are most munificent.
Alas, despite the world being filled with people professing all kinds of faith, there are so few who broadcast the glories of the Lord in this way.
We see persons of all kinds of faith lacking the basic qualities that their tradition aims to inculcate… persons of “faith” but without compassion, without tolerance, without understanding, without knowledge, without purity, without simplicity, without love, without care, without human qualities even!
So what is to be done, my dear reader?
Go deep, deep, deeper into the University you are enrolled in.
In general, you may find you are at one of these levels:
- Atheism – the school of blind faith regarding God
- Agnosticism – the school of blind doubt
- Gnosticism – the school of unclear knowledge about God
- Impersonalism – the school of detailed knowledge, mixed with envy of God
- Fear of God – where God is known, and feared, out of ignorance
- Fruitive Religion – Where God is treated as an Order Supplier
- Dutiful Religion – Where God is adored and worshipped out of Duty
- Pure Love of God – Where God is Loved and Served in Loving Devotion
Different “Universities” cater to different profiles of students… you have the ones for really bright students, the ones where you can get a sports scholarship, ones where the standards aren’t that high, the ones meant for rich people, and so on… ultimately, you need to decide how far your University can take you.
If you find that your institution is a vocational college and not really very deep in terms of giving you full spiritual perfection, then, search out that deeper place, where all the information about God is fully available, and you get the pure unadulterated knowledge… and you get theory, practice, and examples of role models actually practicing perfection.
But, coming back to the original point, simply labeling yourself as a Hindu, Muslim, Christian, or any other “ism” is not sufficient. You need to actually go deep into your tradition and learn everything there is to learn, experience everything there is to experience, serve in every possible way, and strive for spiritual advancement at every step. You cannot afford to be complacent, because human life is rare, and human life is short.
Here are some humble suggestions from this servant of the servant of God…
- Know that Religion, singular, is one… Religions, plural, is another name for politics
- Read your scripture
- Understand it deeply by discussion, don’t be lazy about it
- Follow your religious tenets carefully, pragmatically, not fanatically
- Read scriptures from other traditions
- Observe the principles, don’t get hung up on the details of the differences
- Be tolerant, patient, enthusiastic, and compassionate to others
- Practice your faith, every moment, every day
- Try and understand other traditions by principles
- Focus on the common denominator in spiritual life
- Know that God is the God of all creatures, not just people, not just your faith tradition
- Proof of the pudding? Do you love God? Do you love all that is God’s?
Are you just enrolled, or are you on your way to graduating?
Hare Krishna!
Freedom through Genuine Spiritual Progress 