Freedom of Humanity

Blooming Stars - Swami (Dr) Snehanand Jyoti

(Autocracy, Rituals, and Spirituality – 1)

For our psychological, mental, and spiritual growth, it is of paramount importance to examine autocracy, rituals, and spirituality. We need to look at civil societies, religions, and religious institutions for the all-round development of the human being.  God or the Supreme Intelligence created humans with full freedom. Whether one believes in God or theistic or atheistic evolution, freedom is the most distinguishing characteristic of all humans.  From freedom flows  informed choice and consent that only humans can make. The quality of one’s decision to choose a certain course of action is determined by the degree of freedom one has. The merit of one’s action as well as responsibility for it is also judged on the extent of one’s freedom. Purest action is characterized by purest intention. As pure intention can only be exercised in a milieu of unfettered freedom, complete freedom also constitutes the best and the purest action. In short, the basic premise is that autocracy diminishes humanity.  Spirit holds the primary position in humans composed of spirit, mind, and body.  Body and mind serve the spirit. Therefore autocracy also markedly diminishes spirituality. Moreover, an autocratic climate does not foster higher levels of human consciousness. Rituals are important observances or behaviors that humanity in general and certain communities or societies in particular employ to convey a certain meaning or attitude. Rituals may be used in human and cultural transactions or religious worship. While certain rituals can help, others do harm as most rituals are devised by prior generations of human beings in their specific context of their living.  Subsequent generations may consider these rituals to be sacrosanct, and are likely to automatically repeat them  rendering them utterly meaningless.  Most people also do not know the origin of certain rituals. For instance, let us take a simple ritual like a handshake. Originally at a time when most men were generally armed long ago, one’s extending one’s right hand to another person meant that his hand was not going to be on his sword. Therefore there was no hostility. There was friendship, at least truce. Now we think of a handshake as a gesture (ritual) of friendship or welcome. The kind of handshake also might indicate the extent of warmth or cordiality.  Traditions invariably comprise of rituals that, while at one time had a certain meaning, may be irrelevant in this day and age.

Humanity went through phases of human trafficking, serfdom, slavery, caste system, indentured labor practice, feudalism, colonialism, monarchy, imperialism, aristocracy, dictatorship, and autocracy that were and still are oppressive and evil in varying degrees. Humanity suffered immensely under all of them. All these systems of controlling and managing humans and their relationships by brute might and weaponry suffocated them, and were a sheer affront to human dignity in one form or another. The simple, self-evident truth is that all human beings are created equal; they are all subjects; no human can be or should be an object to another human.  No human can be a commercial or consumptive good that can be enjoyed at another’s whim. Human trafficking, slavery, and caste system are universally declared to be illegal. There are still great pockets and remnants of monarchy and dictatorships in the global scene. They need to be ethically and legally outlawed and abolished from the face of the earth for the freedom and development of all humanity. (To be continued).

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