According to ancient Indian spiritual texts, religion is being true to oneself. So, each of us must have the freedom to explore and decide for ourselves what our true self is.
Do we really need an article on religion after all that has been said and written on the subject? I think we do because the ancient spiritual texts appear to have a uniquely compelling view of the subject.
The word for “religion” in Sanskrit1 is “dharm” (sometimes spelt “dharma”). It has multiple meanings but the ones that stand out to me are “[one’s] nature”, “essential quality”, and “that which is firm”.2 So, the aim of religion is to help me be firmly established in my core nature. Being true to myself, presumably, makes me happy and at peace with myself.
This logic centres the definition of religion on the intrinsic nature of a person and not one that is defined by someone else. This also suggests that I may look for help from religion for self-discovery. This makes religion a means to an end or something that serves a personal objective. For example, if I feel a sense of incompleteness that does not spring from poor health, then I might look to religious / spiritual teachings to see if they can help me understand myself better.
As I have written earlier, the spiritual process of self-discovery needs to be driven by scientific principles of observation and experimentation — to see what works and what does not. By logical extension, it must be accompanied by the individual freedom to select what works and reject what does not.
In conclusion, Religion is there to bring happiness and peace to me by helping me become my true self. And, I should consider doing that through experimentation and discovery – accepting what works for me and rejecting what does not. I am the best judge of what is my nature and should thus remain in control of decisions that are made during this journey.3
The best journey is the one of self-discovery
So, what might this journey of self discovery look like? And where could one start? In my understanding, this is a three-step-process.
The first step is to understand different paths available. Based on individual preferences, there are three paths:4 Action (Karma-yoga), Knowledge (Gyan-yoga), and Worship (Bhakti-yoga). The path of action is to do, in day-to-day life, what one believes are the right things. Such action should help one to get a better understanding of oneself.5 The path of knowledge involves acquiring more knowledge of oneself and using reflection and meditation to process and act on it. The path of worship uses the human emotions of love and attachment to form a connect with something that attracts one’s dedication. One then works in service of this larger entity. This subordination of the self helps a person’ self-awareness.
Each of the paths requires an immediate sacrifice. The path of action asks one to de-prioritize personal profit in favour of right action. The path of knowledge demands invested time and honest introspection. Worship requires subordination of the ego. This voluntary sacrifice of something valuable is important to kickstart self-discovery. Conversely, self-discovery is unlikely to happen if a person remains ensconced in his comfort zone.
These paths overlap. For example, the path of action morphs into service to something larger than oneself (like worship). The path of Knowledge eventually translates into actions. Path of worship entails study, reflection, and action.
The second step is to become aware of what is one’s preferred path. My nature predisposes me to instinctively revert to one path when I seek progress or shelter from the chaos of the world. A sceptical person may want to try the path of knowledge first – out of curiosity and without committing anything in terms of faith or other actions. Such a path could then lead to discovery of spiritual truths through meditation. This then leads to disenchantment from selfishness. On the other hand, an outgoing-person may be more likely to choose a path that is action-oriented. This could start small by performing some actions as a matter of service. When done well, this form of work quickly brings peace to the mind since results do not matter (and thus do not disturb) as long as one has done what he should and could. This mindset then spills into other activities. And finally, some may be predisposed to praying and worship. This is ideally followed by reflection and working in service of something larger than the self.
The third step is to start acting in the spirit of scientific discovery. Patience, objective introspection, and reflection are of immense importance.6 And, if effort brings any level of happiness or mental peace, then one is off to a good start. If it does not, one could try something else — another spiritual path, perhaps. For example, meditation is quite popular with a lot of people. It is one of the most tangible ways to prove to oneself that he does not need his senses to be gratified to be happy. He can be at peace and perfectly happy when he has quietened his mind. Even if that state is not sustained for long, its after-effect is positive and improves the level of overall happiness. However, meditation may not appeal to everyone. Some simply may not have the patience for it.
It is quite possible that a person sincerely tries but does not see the results worth his time or effort. It may be too demanding in terms of time or patience. Or, one is simply not interested. If so, he could come back to it at a later time in his life. An initial effort often lays the seeds that sprout into spiritual interest later e.g. when the need becomes more acute or when a person becomes more determined.
Footnotes
1: Sanskrit is the ancient Indian language in which most Indian spiritual literature is written. More information on it can be found here.
2: These meanings are not what usually come to mind
3: The spiritual journey is said, by ancient texts, to be anything but straight or quick. But mistakes made along the way are important for a person to learn — just as good Science learns from both failures as well as successes. All the more reason for a person to have and exercise personal freedom in this journey.
4: There is an additional path in some literatures — that of Raja Yoga or meditation. But in my view, this is part of Gyan-yoga, which includes meditation.
5: In this effort, one can also consciously observe and compare what he does and does not with what he believes would be the right thing to do. Even when he fails to do what he believes he should have done, he starts learning more about himself.
6: Spiritual activity is full of imperfections. A person needs to be able to call these out in the interest of self-discovery.
