SPIRITUALISM MATERIAISM NAMASMARAN DR. SHRINIWAS
KASHALIKAR In the district of Satara in Maharashtra state there is a place called Gondavle (Budruk). I first visited this place; where there is a samadhi mandir (shrine) of Sadguru Shri Brahmachaitanya Gondavlekar Maharaj; about thirty years ago. I have also visited the place called Shirdi where there is a shrine of Shri Saibaba and Shegaon; where there is the shrine of Shri Gajanan Maharaj.
These are the places where millions of devotees visit with reverence; every year. I respect their feelings. However the questions that used to gnawing me were; “Why are these places full of activities responsible for the downfall of mankind? Why can’t these (and other) spiritual masters change these (and other respective) places for better; through their devotees, local administrative heads and/or the political leaders? Why are these places immune to spiritual rejuvenation and or revitalization? Why do we come across the socioeconomic and political misery? Why do we find people in pitiable life conditions in most respects?”
The answer to all these questions; is the development of the split or chasm; between the spiritualism and materialism! The saints and their shrines provide the enlightenment and empowerment; but we are intoxicated by petty selfishness to such an extent that we visit these and other places of pilgrimage in a parasitic mindset. We visit these shrines and temples with beggarly mentality. We approach these abodes merely for trivial gains for our own selves or our families. All this is because we have forgotten our DHARMA, which is different from the concept of religion. We have forgotten the concepts of pitru dharma, matru dharma, putra dharma,
acharya dharma, kula dharma, raja dharma etc. (duties or privileges assigned to father, mother, son, teacher, pedigree, ruler etc. respectively for individual and global blossoming). As a result; we are being dragged by petty, narrow, superficial, glamorous, and individualistic considerations born out of disrespect (for our ancestral traditions; wherever we belong to); and leading to; hollowness on the one hand; and we are being compelled by our insecurity to visit shrines and temples out of helplessness and meekness on the other! The split between the spiritualism and materialism is evident today in the form of lopsided materialism associated with
the cancerous growth of mercenary vested interests on the one hand and lopsided spiritualism associated with unjustifiably glorified pathetic escapism on the other! Namasmaran is the solution, which follows the answer to our questions! Namasmaran empowers, enlivens and enables us to get reoriented to and explore the dharma concept and reestablish the dynamic harmony and justice within ourselves and the society; ensuring individual and global blossoming! In nutshell, with namasmaran; we begin to understand and get inspired to rectify individual and social conditions so as to
achieve individual and global blossoming (including the places of worship). Further, it is to be noted that namasmaran lifts us up conceptually; above the dehumanizing and shackling concepts of development prevalent in socialistic and/or capitalistic ideologies and societies. With namasmaran we evolve holistic intellectual, emotional, instinctual and physical responses in the form of perspective, policy making, planning and implementation; in all the walks of life. Namasmaran helps us to live holistically; and neither lopsidedly spiritually nor lopsidedly materially!