Here we are at the core of this Study about the secular and the sacred, our life in this world and the next, the kingdom of this world and the Kingdom of God. How shall we transform our involvement in the worldly affairs into the abiding values of the Kingdom of God? How shall we manage to combine the two in the sense that even as we are engaged in the business of living in this world, the Kingdom of God shines through our life? Jesus asked his disciples to seek after the Kingdom of God and His righteousness on a priority basis and as a result everything else, including our daily needs, would be taken care of by Providence (See Matthew, 6:33). This is no license to sit back and enjoy life doing nothing since the priority mentioned above is logical priority and not a temporal one. Logical priority stands for the priority in order of importance on a very basic level so much so that in executing a task, it does not have to be first in time. An example would be the design and plan of a building that is the first logically prepared one in constructing a building. And yet, construction activities are the first in time to achieve the end result of the design and plan in our mind. Similarly, life in the world with its manifold activities cannot wait for execution, although the Kingdom of God and His righteousness should logically precede every activity.
We see in the Word of God and sacred Scriptures of many religions ways and means to achieve harmony between our daily lives and the demands of the Kingdom of God. Liberation from the present world to the Kingdom is the underlying theme of all such instructions. For Jesus, abiding in the Truth is that which liberates us from this world. Truth is that which is the underlying reality of everything and is God Himself in the ultimate analysis. To hitch on to the Word of God is the means to be attached to God. This kind of attachment at the same time detaches us from everything else and we are liberated happy souls for eternity. Jesus himself admonishes us about the pitfalls in our daily lives that hamper our happiness. Here a distinction is vital between apparent and real happiness. Apparent happiness results from sense indulgence, but real happiness arises out of the recesses of the soul. The admonition of Jesus that we should always and everywhere watch and pray should be seen in the above perspective. What enslaves us in the world preventing the onset of the Kingdom of God in and through our lives are debauchery, drunkenness and cares of this world (See Luke, 21: 34). Let us note here that even the ordinary cares of this world that cannot be avoided could turn out to be traps to destroy our life, if we are not watchful. The whole point of this Study hinges on the ways and means to turn our life in the world into occasions for the Kingdom of God to burst forth and invade our daily life. In the Indian way of thinking , it is to "convert samsara into nirvana". This kind of transformation of life is possible since God Himself has deposited in each human being the seed that should grow up according to its internal potentialities. The Bible terms the seed as the image of God and His likeness at the creation of the first human beings (See Genesis, 1:26). It needs sustenance from outside and that has to be drawn from the world. This world has been already transformed into a potentially new creation by the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ into which each human being is already basically inserted. One has to live just according to the possibilities created by God and Jesus Christ is the best possibility for a world threatened by indignities heaped upon humanity day in and day out.
On a practical note, let us consider three steps in our daily lives that should help transformation of the secular into the sacred, which is the same as turning our life in the world into the demands of the Kingdom of God. We believe that the following steps faithfully practiced are a permanent antidote to the widespread malady of our times, namely, depression in certain cases leading even to suicides.
1. On waking up we should set aside a few minutes to recollect ourselves and go into the recesses of our mind where God is ready to speak to us. This is prayer in its best form or contemplation by means of meditation. According to the Indian tradition, the best meditation is to focus our attention on 'Sadchidananda' or God Himself. This is possible because the human beings are actually the very 'Paramatma' in 'Jivatmas'. As for the Bible,since we are created in His image it is the same as delving into the innermost depths of our nature where we are engulfed in bliss and our mind is completely calm. Now we are ready to face the world each day anew.
2. In our daily engagements with the world, we should convert all our actions into that of God Himself. This is possible, if we start our day with offering ourselves and our actions as living sacrifices to Him. Besides, all our actions should be performed unselfishly and dedicated to the honor and glory of God alone. Nothing shall be done by us to gain name and fame for ourselves so that God's role may manifest itself through us. Lastly, we shall not be bothered about the results of our actions, whether they are a success or a failure, as we expect the Will of God to be fulfilled through them. This program is in conformity with the instructions in the Bible and the Bhagavad-Gita as well as other Scriptures. St. Paul's exclamation "it is not I who live but Christ living in me" is an example of this attitude.
3. Finally, before we retire at the end of the day, an audit of our life that day has to be taken about how far we have succeeded in keeping our resolutions. It is called traditionally an examination of conscience. Whatever be the balance sheet in our audit report, we shall submit the same before God before going to sleep. (To be Cont'd).
We see in the Word of God and sacred Scriptures of many religions ways and means to achieve harmony between our daily lives and the demands of the Kingdom of God. Liberation from the present world to the Kingdom is the underlying theme of all such instructions. For Jesus, abiding in the Truth is that which liberates us from this world. Truth is that which is the underlying reality of everything and is God Himself in the ultimate analysis. To hitch on to the Word of God is the means to be attached to God. This kind of attachment at the same time detaches us from everything else and we are liberated happy souls for eternity. Jesus himself admonishes us about the pitfalls in our daily lives that hamper our happiness. Here a distinction is vital between apparent and real happiness. Apparent happiness results from sense indulgence, but real happiness arises out of the recesses of the soul. The admonition of Jesus that we should always and everywhere watch and pray should be seen in the above perspective. What enslaves us in the world preventing the onset of the Kingdom of God in and through our lives are debauchery, drunkenness and cares of this world (See Luke, 21: 34). Let us note here that even the ordinary cares of this world that cannot be avoided could turn out to be traps to destroy our life, if we are not watchful. The whole point of this Study hinges on the ways and means to turn our life in the world into occasions for the Kingdom of God to burst forth and invade our daily life. In the Indian way of thinking , it is to "convert samsara into nirvana". This kind of transformation of life is possible since God Himself has deposited in each human being the seed that should grow up according to its internal potentialities. The Bible terms the seed as the image of God and His likeness at the creation of the first human beings (See Genesis, 1:26). It needs sustenance from outside and that has to be drawn from the world. This world has been already transformed into a potentially new creation by the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ into which each human being is already basically inserted. One has to live just according to the possibilities created by God and Jesus Christ is the best possibility for a world threatened by indignities heaped upon humanity day in and day out.
On a practical note, let us consider three steps in our daily lives that should help transformation of the secular into the sacred, which is the same as turning our life in the world into the demands of the Kingdom of God. We believe that the following steps faithfully practiced are a permanent antidote to the widespread malady of our times, namely, depression in certain cases leading even to suicides.
1. On waking up we should set aside a few minutes to recollect ourselves and go into the recesses of our mind where God is ready to speak to us. This is prayer in its best form or contemplation by means of meditation. According to the Indian tradition, the best meditation is to focus our attention on 'Sadchidananda' or God Himself. This is possible because the human beings are actually the very 'Paramatma' in 'Jivatmas'. As for the Bible,since we are created in His image it is the same as delving into the innermost depths of our nature where we are engulfed in bliss and our mind is completely calm. Now we are ready to face the world each day anew.
2. In our daily engagements with the world, we should convert all our actions into that of God Himself. This is possible, if we start our day with offering ourselves and our actions as living sacrifices to Him. Besides, all our actions should be performed unselfishly and dedicated to the honor and glory of God alone. Nothing shall be done by us to gain name and fame for ourselves so that God's role may manifest itself through us. Lastly, we shall not be bothered about the results of our actions, whether they are a success or a failure, as we expect the Will of God to be fulfilled through them. This program is in conformity with the instructions in the Bible and the Bhagavad-Gita as well as other Scriptures. St. Paul's exclamation "it is not I who live but Christ living in me" is an example of this attitude.
3. Finally, before we retire at the end of the day, an audit of our life that day has to be taken about how far we have succeeded in keeping our resolutions. It is called traditionally an examination of conscience. Whatever be the balance sheet in our audit report, we shall submit the same before God before going to sleep. (To be Cont'd).
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