Living Simply

"Be plain and simple, to be identical with Nature."
  Shri Ram Chandra of Shahjahanpur, 1946.

In our modern technological world, many of us realise the need to return to simplicity, to be in tune with nature. We all recognise that human societies have destroyed and polluted our mother earth and her life forms to such an extent that unless we change radically, we will destroy our environment and ourselves in the process. Spiritual people have been giving us guidelines on how to be in harmony with each other and our environment since time immemorial, but as a species we have largely lost our way in a labyrinth of materialism, complexities and fears.

My spiritual Master, Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari, in a talk in Switzerland in 1993, said: "If you look at the age of this universe, and the age of the solar system, and the age of our own terrestrial life here… it (the universe) seems to have managed very well over a period of something like twenty billion years, which is the estimated age of the universe. And if you think of one hundred years as the life of the universe, humans got here about one and a half years ago!" It is his submission that the world did very well without us, before our arrival on the scene, and that it would continue to do very well without us should something happen overnight to obliterate the human race.

He added that when we look at what human beings have done, we realise that we have really destroyed rather than created. We only have to look at pollution, destruction of the ozone layer, and other environmental concerns to see that we have been interfering with nature. Why have we left such a trail of destruction? According to Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari, and his Master, Ram Chandra of Shahjahanpur, it is because, "We believe in doing, achieving, and changing the universe, without doing something within ourselves, achieving something within ourselves, and changing everything within ourselves." We cannot change the world, but if we change ourselves, everything around us begins to change.

So, one of the first lessons I learnt from my Master was that to "Be plain and simple to be identical with Nature," means becoming plain and simple within. Unless I am free of complexities and entanglements within myself, I will continue to see and contribute to complexities and entanglements outside myself.

There is no use in going to live in beautiful virgin bush land to be in tune with nature, if I take all my past with me--all my thoughts, fears, emotional baggage, and old behavior patterns. That is not living in tune with nature. Instead, it is spreading the process of human destruction wider and wider by sullying more and more of the earth. Why? Because the most potent pollution that we humans unleash upon our environment and ourselves is that of our thoughts. Our thoughts are the precursors to all the rest. So the first step towards living in harmony with each other and our environment is to look within and accept the need to change our selves.

How do we change ourselves? How do we clean the mind of its contents--good, bad, desirable and undesirable--so that the voice of the inner self is once again heard? We meditate. But it is hard for many of us to accept that the passive, simple process of meditation can lead to such profound inner blossoming and change. We have the tendency to think that change can only happen by actively doing something that can be observed or measured.

Meditation, practiced simply and sincerely, results in regulating the mind. Once the mind is clear, passing thoughts are seen as simply that--passing. They no longer control us. Once our minds become simple, our lives become simple--free of clutter and pulls from different directions. We become spontaneous.

If you observe nature, even though there is infinite variation, the processes are simple. When you watch a river, the water flows where it can. It doesn't complicate things by trying to go uphill. If the watercourse changes as a result of earth movements, the river does not resist the change and try to remain on its old course. It goes with the flow. It simply surrenders to the process of existence. It is spontaneous. By emptying our minds and surrendering to life itself, we become simple and identical with Nature.

Meditation means thinking about one thing continuously. So in order to reach simplicity, the object of meditation must be simple. According to my Master, the simplest object of meditation is the divine effulgence, or life force, that is within the heart of each and every one of us--the life-substance of Nature, the essence of the Ultimate. Some people call it God, some call it the Absolute Reality, and others call it the inner Self. The names don't really matter. What matters is that by meditating upon the divine effulgence within and by clearing away the layers that cover its natural expression, we become "plain and simple to be identical with Nature."

Right now, we are so entangled in the intricacies we have created for ourselves that it is beyond the capacity of most people to attain simplicity of Nature on their own. Even where it is possible, it is a very long process. It is much more effective to find a spiritual guide, or Master, who has already become "identical with Nature," and who can support and help others in the process.

Many people ask, "Why do I need a living spiritual Master? Why can't I do it on my own?" The answer is that spirituality is like most other fields of endeavour. If you want to learn to speak French, for example, you could try to learn it on your own. It would take a long time, and you may make some important mistakes that are never corrected. In short, it is not a very effective way to learn.

Alternately, you could find a teacher who is only a little more than yourself--someone with limited capacities and knowledge. You may learn more than you did on your own, but you may also be stuck with partial knowledge of the language, or worse, think that you know the language well when you are only at the kindergarten level.

If you were really serious about learning French, you would go to a native French speaker, who is also a good teacher and willing to guide you. In other words, you would find someone who has reached the goal that you want to attain, and who can help you to attain the same goal.

It is the same in spirituality. The most effective way to attain inner simplicity is to attach oneself to someone who has already, themselves, attained inner simplicity, and who is willing to help: a spiritual Master of the highest caliber.

How does one find such a person? My Master has said that if we pray for such a person to come, and if the prayer is really sincere, then they will come.

Most of us want to live simply, spontaneously, and naturally. Most of us want to see the end of destructive, fear-ridden behavior of human beings that we see in wars, in all forms of prejudice, and even in "normal" modern city living. Most of us want to see a halt to the destruction of the environment. If we are serious about these concerns, we have to act responsibly and change ourselves from within.

There is no use in pointing the finger of blame at others. We are all part of humanity, and as such, we are all responsible for what is happening. No matter what we think, we are not isolated individuals. Our thoughts pass from one to the other, our feelings affect those around us. By changing ourselves and revealing the inner simplicity that is at the core of each one of us, we give ourselves a chance to be in tune with this magnificent universe. May we all be successful in our endeavour!

Elizabeth Hakewill, PhD in biology, and director of HTC Global Services (Australia) Pty Ltd--a software development company--has been practicing Sahaj Marg since 1989.
She lives with her family in Sydney, Australia.