Chapter 1

The Spiritual and The Material – What Lies Ahead?

There are many predictions about our future. From achieving scientific immortality to too unsuitable to be of any good, such predictions cover a lot of possibilities. I however feel, no prediction takes into account the rather transient nature of human race in comparison with the rest of life. I also feel, effectively, our fleeting nature is a direct result of the differing grip, the spiritual and the material stands to have at any instant.

Before attempting to answer this, we need to understand clearly, in what condition are we, now. Is our present state, a stable one? Isn’t it a transient one, and all that we do is to reach a destination?

Human life, unlike all the other ones, is a duality consisting of a spiritual element and a material one. But, from whatever we have been able to gather, our foray into the life of other beings being the prime facilitator, we are quite similar to each of the other ones. Like, close examination of human body and its parts have shown no signs of any element other than the ones that is present in all other forms of life. Also, we have been successful in transplanting body parts belonging to others, to ourselves.  If so, how did this duality come to be? What direction will it take?

What is Driving Changes?

I think, to help us to find the paths, the spiritual and the material may take in the future, it is necessary to understand, how those concepts came to be, and with what momentum. To put in brief, material denotes all that one can sense, and spiritual, all that one can feel. I am sure, nobody will disagree, it is rather easy to feel, while it may take some efforts, to sense, and hell of a lot more to derive from it, something worth. So, we all started to feel things, much before we could attain the capability and the wherewithal to sense any of it. Slowly knowledge started to come out, where we acquired the ability to link the two. But, our inability in linking would have been overshadowing those few instances, given our long and dark past. Consequently, our world was, more or less completely, a spiritual one, perhaps for quite some time, and there was nothing that can give a momentum.

Over the ages, while we learned more about everything, we also acquired the ability to manipulate and use to our advantage, all that we sense.  Naturally, the material started to carve an independent and important space for itself, mainly due to the fact that all the elements and concepts of the material world was better linked to reality. And as a consequence, the material started to gain a momentum, and all the pillars of the spiritual edifice continue to get dismantled, to be progressively replaced by material elements.

Hoe Does it Happen?

Before looking at what is ahead, let me try to understand clearly, whatever are the salient features of the current scenario, as far as these things go. Where do the spiritual stand, and what matters about the material?

One can say, the material is fairly clear now. All our interactions shall follow a rather predictable path, which we all take at our pleasure and convenience. But, it wasn’t so in the early days. We learned about it through a lot of trial and error. Great many among us were ready to spend their time, resources, and energy in support of a journey to such unknown vistas, even at the risk of fierce opposition. So, now we are progressively becoming more at ease, and clued-up, about the material. And, all are always ready to act on the issues that may arise, as and when it happens.

Things that Go Well

I think, the primary reason for such a welcome state is that there is no room for subjectivity. Every element of the material displaying an aura of consistency, both in its appearance, and in the responses to external actions, the populace is fully at home, anywhere in the material world. In fact, this convenience and comfort is constantly taking the material world to greater heights. Thus, the results we constantly see, make the future look bright.

Hiccups?

Whereas, now, we are not at all clear about the spiritual, or we are becoming more and more unclear about the spiritual, as time goes by. And, instead of admitting it, all of us shout at the top of our voice that the spiritual is beyond ourselves, and is under the command and control of someone wielding unlimited power.

But, it wasn’t so in the early days. Spiritual topics were linked to objects that were clearly visible and easily discernible. Each such object was also known to exercise its power and influence over certain chosen areas. (In fact, slowly and steadily, these ‘chosen areas’ were being usurped by the material. Perhaps, some of our forefathers sensed a big danger. The material may consume one day, all those ‘chosen’ areas. Thereafter, they seem to have made a smart move of replacing such incremental distribution of power of control in such areas with the idea of something abstract wielding unlimited power. So, omnipotence was introduced to make the abstract remain perpetually evergreen?)

But, there is an issue. These things do not happen without hiccups, since we are yet to accept it as a necessity, or think of it as another natural event. For example, we are all quite at home with the concepts and theories of modern astronomy, though it varies a lot from the ancient ideas. But, we are not at all so, about moral questions, where even a small change that accompanies a modern outlook stands to face violent opposition. Even when a change is accepted, it is more likely to be a watered-down version. It looks like, one cannot be sure that the future will be without any issues.

The Arena

As mentioned above, spiritual matters were arising out of whatever we currently feel or desirous of. And all objects, whether animate or not, could easily become a part of such matters, leaving nothing unexplained. With the growth of the material, our feelings, and also all that is spiritual, needed to be kept optimized to accommodate seamlessly, fresh material insights. Rather than optimizing, perhaps our forefathers didn’t have a clue of such an activity, they just hid those. It continued thus, and also is becoming even more hidden, as time goes by. We can’t be sure about the future of the spiritual, as we won’t know what path, it will take. And still, we won’t venture into the spiritual, though, particularly, nothing is there to make the future look bright.

The Punches

Look, quite pragmatical are we, when approaching the material. The desire is to mold it into a shape of our choice. But, we are approaching the spiritual with a desire to mold ourselves into the random shape, the spirit may happen to take at any instant.

Why is there such a dichotomy? Since we are not able to come up with a specific reason for it to be so, isn’t there a need to revise our ideas about the spirit?

Spiritual comes from spirit, and, spiritual will head to where spirit heads. So, let us see where does spirit come from and what path it will take.

I think, the material occurred to us as an identifiable faculty, when we started appreciating the reality on its own merit. But, when and how did we start to sense the spirit? What role does it play in our appreciation of the reality?

A little reflection tells me, as far as reality goes, spirit is, what we first sense, appreciate, desire, or learn. For example, a child names and recognizes all that catches its attention using words, phrases, or expression that depict the impact, each article will be giving rise to. Such an impact will be dependent on an amalgam of contextual needs and desires, much of which even could be from external prompts. The identity or name of things and beings become the notable effect, each can make on the child. Like, a pet becomes a ‘bow-bow’, or ‘miaow’, and a car may become, a ‘pom-pom’. And, even in our later life, spirit will be performing such a function or role, with, of course, the words or phrases changing appropriately.

The Bout

But, we make it a point to spoon-feed it with grammatically correct names or expressions, and take efforts to instill it, everywhere. As a result, the child picks up a lot of data or other stuff for which it has no natural taste, and goes on to become a master of an edifice. Nothing much will be there, binding the child, either as one, or as a grown-up, to such an edifice, other than the appreciation, or other temporal benefits, it stands to get. We identify this edifice as the material world, where the child may be partly fitting in, if at all. (Otherwise, the child would have learned all this and much more, but, after taking time for picking up the bricks and the mortar on its own. But, then, it would have been completely at home with whatever may be the resulting edifice, just like all other varieties of life.)

The Effects

For the spiritual, and the material, let us see, what all could lie ahead.

So far, the spiritual and the material have not been moving at the same speed. Naturally, there will always be a lack of cohesion. Since long, this is hurting our society, leading to a permanent state of strife. The more the society grows, the wider, the chasm. What should we do about it?

For answering this, firstly we need to ask ourselves, why there is a spiritual world? What is it?

In fact, spiritual world is a set of contexts and circumstances when all that one sees, feels, or experiences can be made to appear the way it pleases one. Naturally, such a world will have a lot of relevance where much of what we need to do for a living result in a not-so-pleasurable experience, as it was in the early days. Also, in the present times, we should be able to make a journey to this world, whenever we are not in full contentment. Yes, in our life, discontent is not at all an uncommon, and, spiritual elements take a prime position.

Spirits led to Religion and conquered The Human?

Having taken a prime slot, spiritual elements have been dictating the fortunes of human race. Presently, these elements are thought to be an offshoot of religions, which came to install itself as the earliest medicine we found to battle the fear that used to engulf us. Now, much of the fear is turning to the abstract, and also making us continue with the same battle, even where the original fear exists no more. (As time passes, things become more and more clear to all) What I could gather about the prevailing outlook is, as long as we continue to entertain some real or abstract elements that can trigger its reappearance, religion shall stay put.

No, Religion is Outsourced Spirit

I differ. I think, religion came as a result of outsourcing spirituality. The early generations would have had to face fast changing scenarios of implements and its spirit, and keeping an account would have involved very many cumbersome steps. But, at the same time, such steps would have been putting a spoke in their daily living. Or, spirit is as much old and complex to understand, and also as amenable to exploration and study, as matter is. In the earliest of times, both matter and spirit would have been equally vague to us. And, spirit would have been attracting the attention of all, since it did not call for dedicated instruments, processes, or procedures, while being more responsive to manipulation. But, as time passed, we picked up necessary talents, know-how, and wherewithal to handle matter with relative ease. Many of us became well versed on the material aspects of matter that could add convenience, comfort, and new vistas of deriving pleasure from life. Spirit proved to be a tougher nut to crack, as it was imagination intensive. And those who took interest in these affairs found themselves shouldering the burden on behalf of much of the crowd. Naturally, over time, they turned into an esteemed lot.

Conquer The Material

As time went on, things became better, and we kept learning, how to learn better. But, the few who happened to choose the spiritual were free, rather encouraged, to let their imagination run riot. This is leading to a disconnect with the material, and the spiritual gaining new vistas. The more it went on like this, the less useful became, what we all learned. So, unless we explore the spiritual life and make it less imagination intensive, our life will not come to full use.

I think, nobody shall disagree, establishing a fanciful spiritual domain is the best move, ever made by our forefathers. Look, at a time when the ability to create an ambience of comfort was not at all existing, and when the weather and the wilderness were serious threats, the opportunity to derive pleasure at will would have been a boon.

Then Comes A Divide

But, in the present times, spiritual world is not all that simple, easy, and accommodating. I think, presently we do not need the help from the spiritual world for deriving pleasure. Our foray into the material world is yielding remarkable results and ample opportunities of merry making. But, we do not want to let go of all that fancy notions that we attributed to the spiritual. So, firstly, we derive displeasure. Like belittling material advancements that add comfort, or disdaining the ones that seek such avenues. Then we prescribe composite steps to counterbalance it. One will have to agree, this is an unnatural approach, and unimaginable complexities will be associated with it. Yes, it is so, and it takes a lion’s share of our efforts to keep ourselves away from the harm that can originate from there. Why are we so? How did we reach this state?

As I suggested above, spiritual priorities are a part of whatever we do. We need to probe this a bit more, and see for ourselves, what really takes place. What do spiritual priorities do? How do these manifest, say, in our professional lives? In this light, let me examine what I used to do for a living.

Examples of a Harmless Divide

My primary job was to maintain aircraft and make it available to fly. Among the many challenges I used to face, defects or malfunction of various parts of aircraft were of substantial nature. To be well within the time constraints, we used to introduce certain contextual changes to our working style. Let me narrate a couple of examples.

Take one occasion when we were trying to solve an issue of the RADAR indicator going blank intermittently, for short duration. About six of us would have assembled, each a specialist in a finer aspect of the installed system. After a brief foray into the maintenance manuals, circuit diagrams, and other records, we would have shortlisted a few areas to be inspected and studied in depth. Since each such activity might involve a couple of hours of work, and to finish this job in the shortest period, we would like to start with the one that is definitely going to yield a non-conformity. With a deadline that is always closer, we resort to a trick from the past. We ask the maintenance 'diviner', one among us, whose past suggestions would have been of great help, to choose an area that could be hiding the fault. Sometimes the choice works, which we celebrate with abandon, and many a time it doesn't, which we overlook.

Take another occasion, when the aircraft engines fail to develop sufficient power. Here also, the assembled experts would have shortlisted the culprits. Like, a blockage in the fuel system, maladjustment of control components, air passage not being free, or incorrect telemetry. As, executing work in each of these areas would involve considerable time and effort, we would want to begin with the area that houses the culprit. Naturally, our sight would be falling on a diviner, before making a choice.

The Divide Deepens

Now, think of the olden days. People would have been facing various issues. Like, life-threatening ones of the weather and the wilderness, or incessant struggles for meeting the needs of life. Moreover, having no records of previous experiences, each issue would have been appearing as a fresh threat. Surely, they all might have been on the lookout for someone who can ease their woes. And a few might have been earning their name by providing advices and suggestions that are helpful.

However, changes were taking place all over the world. As time went by, people started to have a better understanding about the physical reality and much more. Initially, much of its exponents were from the spiritual stream itself, but, as time went by, the physical reality started to carve an independent space for itself. As can be expected, since more of those engrossed in intellectual transactions would have been spiritual enthusiasts, many of the initial exponents of the physical reality that turned into science would have been the spiritual leaders themselves. But, when these transactions started to result in concepts that threatened the exclusivity of the spiritual, the physical and the spiritual parted ways.

Over time, these harmless 'diviners' or 'soothsayers' metamorphosed into an esteemed lot, thanks mainly to the fact that it was the only ray of hope, those days. Over some more time, and in a few more generations, they would go on to become a powerful part of our society as spiritual leaders.

The Divide Remains Tranquil

Then, as time went by, another issue cropped up. The material world, though easily identifiable and relate-able with what we see and experience, was turning out to be a difficult chore. One needed to be in possession of certain intellectual ability and of an accommodating disposition, even to make sense of it. And, for deriving a benefit, it called for certain infrastructure, compounding the difficulty. Whereas, spiritual world was there for the asking, all that one can derive from it being fully within one's personal preferences.

Naturally, spiritual priorities take the cake. People choose the material, only where it is impossible not to do so. And as a consequence, both spiritual and the material flourished differently. The material, as much as we equipped and enabled it to flourish, and the spiritual, as long as we did not stop it from flourishing further. Obviously, the spiritual world moved forward at a very high rate. The practitioners would have been adding new constituents limited only by imagination. So, we happen to have been blessed with a large array of divine entities that possess every capability necessary to subjugate the material capabilities of the times, any time.

The Singularity of Omnipotence

But, when we added a constituent that happened to be of omnipotent nature, the situation changed. Further growth came to a stop, since, this component itself can do all that any future component would have done. Hereafter, the material flourished, as before, but the spiritual stayed, where it was.

(Suppose we did not add an omnipotent entity. Both the material and the spiritual would have been moving forward, with hardly any clash. Every advancement in the material would have been easily countered by the spiritual, which needed no support other than imagination.)

Now, logically, the material world should have taken the cake, and the spiritual one should have retired to the background. Like a diviner or soothsayer that we saw earlier, it could have turned into an accompaniment. Since nothing of that sort is taking place, the spiritual is neither retiring nor letting the cake go. Neither can the material, bloom, nor will the spiritual, subside. And the associated commotion will keep the whole world on toes. We need to let the material world take full possession of the cake, if necessary, making the spiritual, take rest in its new place.

What Next – Let The Material Conquer the Rest

All this is not difficult. We only need to 'embed' the spiritual in all that we do, just as it used to be ages back. If it happens in a manner that does not conflict with the priorities, we entertain at every moment, the cake will finally go to the material.

Even that is easy.

Look, when we see and feel the power in a hurricane, we generally miss its humble origins, say, in the untimely flapping of its wings by a butterfly. In the same way, we have been overlooking the feeble presence of the spiritual in whatever we do, when we have been looking at the spiritual as something greater than life. But, when we stop overlooking those feeble things, spiritual will get back to its old place, and the material will shape itself to accommodate the embedded spirit and attain its deserving glory.