The third vital leg

The third vital leg
Renuka Khandekar

Much has been said about the Himachal Pradesh government arranging spiritualdiscourses and meditation/yoga workshops for its employees. Perhaps we needto look again at the validity of such an effort. Suppose we consider itfirst from the individual angle. No one can deny that life is hard. Nobody'sspan on this planet is completely without grief or disappointment. Some ofus may cry on damask pillowcases or down a single malt instead of tharra,but these little comforts merely dull the edge. They do not take away thepain of realising that the heart wants more than life can give. After a fewknocks, it begins to dawn on most people that it's a tripod that supportsthe human experience. Mind, Body and Spirit. The last leg of this tripod isusually the least understood and therefore the most mocked and feared.

Proponents of inner peace are reviled as soul-traders. But if the world isone big bazaar, if you pay a doctor to heal your body or a psychiatrist toheal your mind, why shouldn't you pay to attend a spiritual workshop by ateacher you are drawn to? If you come away from that experience feeling moreat peace with yourself and with the world, if the positive energy you imbibeenables you to be a gentler, more tolerant person, is that then not a goodthing?

While many of us feel revolted by organised religion for all the violence ithas unleashed, there is a good side too. Satsang can offer tremendouscleansing and comfort. And these days satsangs are usually about universaltruths, they are rarely cultist. Good vibrations are sent forth throughgroup chanting or singing. People feel positively connected. Atransformative process begins, that works on each person according to howmuch he wants to listen.

People usually talk to God for two reasons: to say thanks or to beg forhelp. Spiritual workshops help us to develop the neglected habit of sayingthanks. The very act of finding something to thank God for can empower youwith energy. As Kabir gently rebukes us, "Dukh mein sumiran sab karein, sukhmein karein na koi; Jo sukh mein sumiran karein, to dukh kahe ko hoi?"

Perhaps because the Spirit is such an unquantified area, this sort ofactivity seems to provoke sneers and gibes from the disbelieving. But whynot look at it in perspective? We, especially those who are trapped in thefiendish convenience of the English language, are quite schizoid, are wenot? Our functional upper layer is influenced by our `rational' westerneducation. But tugging insistently within us is the undertow of the East, along, luminous leg-acy from those ancient days when the universe ofdiscourse was bounded by Egypt to the west and China to the east, while the`rational' west was wearing woad and crawling about in caves.

Our recognition of the Tripod was warped by our horrible history. But Ithink it is truly commendable that whether in Tihar Jail or in the sarkariechelons of Himachal, our administrators and pollies are waking up to theneed to equip our people with the third leg. Our frontliners certainly needinner strength: soldiers in J&K are cracking under the strain of constantvigilance against a greedy, vengeful neighbour. Yoga, meditation andpravachan are methods native to our soil, they offer us very high comfortlevels. Only good can come of such efforts, if they are sincere.

So here's one taxpayer who doesn't mind treating the babus to a spot of soulsearch. But I want results and I want them, well, soon-ish.