Did you ever wonder why most of deities reside in remote locations such as top of mountains, hills, forests, sea shore? Sriram and Srikrushn liberated just by touching someone e.g. Ahalyadevi and many such examples. According to Sanatan spirituality, ultimate aim of any Hindu is to get moksh. We go for darshan in a hope that we also will get moksh. To reach deity, sadhak has to first mentally prepare himself that he has to detach himself to get moksh and the pathway to darshan won’t be easy. During his journey, he faces extreme hunger, thirst, many difficulties. Finally, when he reaches to deity, deity will give him moksh. This involves two important aspect of spirituality.
- A thought of liberation comes in to sadhak’s mind and he does sankalp for that.
- Detachment from material pleasure, facing difficulties makes sadhak a tapasvi.
Deity’s objective to reside in remote locations is to assess these qualities in sadhak. Liberation is for those who seek it, willing to detach himself, and to do tapasya, it is not meant for all. It also implies pilgrimages are center of spirituality, not tourist spots.
Among various pathways, Srikrushn in Srimadbhagvad Gita has expounded Gnanyog as one of the pathway for liberation (Adhyay 4). This means seeking Gnan in Hinduism is linked with spirituality. If you study thinking of getting good salary job, then you are actually, instead of detachment, seeking attachment and entanglement in maya. That won’t give moksh. Detachment is karmphal tyag, means don’t expect anything out of studying. So, someone should study without expecting anything, should be willing to acquire knowledge, and must be ready to face difficulties.
Objective of STEM education is to prepare professionals who acquires mastery over techniques to exploit nature through excavating minerals and petroleum from earth, using chemical fertilizers to get maximum agriculture produce. This mayavi philosophy is rooted in modern STEM education. That’s why we have spoiled our air, water, land because our foundation is not spirituality. This materialistic education has caused great damage to humanity. This is attachment not detachment.
Patadiya Dharmesh 