Dear Je
I am not interested in religion. I dislike its methods and fake emotional content. Religious people tend to be traditional and essentially regressive. But I am doing meditation. I have been practicing meditation at a Vipasana center, but my mind is leaning towards Hindu practices. I oppose the practice of ‘Guru worship’ and any associated rituals. Is there a place where I can conduct my practice? Or do you think I am confusing religion and meditation with each other?
Jeyaram
Once actor Kamal Hasan said, “I am an atheist, but when I hear Radha-Krishna Bhakti songs, I feel emotional. It is ingrained in my subconscious; I cannot let it go. If I lose it, I will be unable to appreciate any Indian art or music.”
We can call it spiritualism without religion. The sentimentality and traditionalism of popular religion are too much for a modern mind to handle, but we need religion’s core elements for three purposes. They are art and literature, cultural practices, and spiritual practices.
For centuries, religion has collected the archetypes and images that form our culture. They are the basic materials for art and literature. Long history has shaped our society. Every society adheres to a multitude of customs and practices that uphold its rules and beliefs. We must adopt and practice death rituals and marriage rituals.
Finally, we all need a spiritual base. We can define spiritualism as ‘a holistic understanding of life and the universe, and living on that understanding.’ Every thinking person must engage in this inner journey; otherwise, they may end up with unanswered questions and cynicism. I firmly believe that cynicism is detrimental to any intelligent person.
Cynicism stems from a rotten ego, which destroys all harmony with nature and the society around us. It plunders every human being’s potential happiness. To escape from the devouring cynicism, every one of us must have a spiritual base. We must find our own answers and ways to put them into practice in our lives. I found mine and am practicing it.
Many of us discover the essence of spiritualism in our later years and gradually transition towards religion. However, some individuals still maintain a distance from religion. They believe that spiritualism, independent of religion, is essential. I believe it is the most important intellectual quest today and will become more intense in the future.
We can’t create ‘new’ archetypes and images for spirituality. Because they have no history, they do not naturally come to us through language. We ‘understand’ them through ‘knowledge’. If we can understand something, it is not an image. Therefore, we have to adopt ancient archetypes and images from religion.
But we can change it according to our needs. We can’t do it through our intellectual processes; we only have to do it through our dreams. Literature and art are the ways to do it. They have the ability to transform traditional images into contemporary ones. They can easily install them in our subconscious.
The idol of Christ we hold in our minds was not created by Christian religion. Great writers like Tolstoy and Pär Lagerkvist, along with outstanding artists like Michelangelo and Rafale, created this humanistic idol of Christ. They renarrated Christ as an embodyment of wisdom and compassion, which is more dear to a man living in a democratic society. We can create our own Krishna and Siva. We can create our own myths.
To achieve this, I wrote novels like Kottavai, Vishnupuram, and Kumarithuraivi. Personally, I think they are books of meditation. I created them during my spiritual journey. In my deep dreams, I reenacted the traditional images.
Reinvent tradition through literature and art; reimagine your spiritual journey and meditation accordingly. Find a fraternity for that practice. That is the only way.You can join Siva and Krishna in the realm of art and literature, and they will recognize you. Engage in a dance with them, whether it’s a rock and roll or a break. I know Kamal Hasan for a long time, he is a great dancer indeed.
Jeyamohan
