Practical philosophy

Philosophy is often considered too esoteric. The fact is that all great philosophical thoughts are indeed profundity concealing immense practical wisdom. While the ultimate aim of all philosophy is to orient the human intellect towards the higher verities of life and nudge man into embarking upon this quest for seeking these higher truths and thereby enrich and ennoble himself, there is much also for those who may not be able to elevate their thinking. All great philosophers have employed the most common everyday examples and occurrences to show that even in the midst of mundane life, it is possible to seek enlightenment and raise one’s level of thinking. Indian philosophy is no exception to this.

When a student asked Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa what he meant when he said that the love for God should be like an uncontrollable urge to breathe when suffocated, the Guru asked the student to accompany him to the river the next morning for ablutions. Holding his nose, Sri Ramakrishna went underwater, rose and repeated the cycle. Indicating the student to do the same, Sri Ramakrishna suddenly caught hold of the student’s hair and forcibly prevented him from coming up. When he was released after a few seconds, the gasping student questioned the Guru about this. Sri Ramakrishna replied “that gasping for breath, that uncontrollable urge to save yourself, that is exactly how your urge to attain the divine should be”.

In his celebrated work ‘Shivanandalahari’, Adi Shankaracharya touches upon the subject of irrational faith and superstition. “People mistake the shining surface of an oyster shell for the pearl, they think a piece of shining glass is a gem, a mixture of flour and water is thought to be milk, a mirage is taken to be a water body. Ignorant people live under such illusions... They know not that all their faculties are to be directed towards their inner selves where the truth resides”. As Bhagawan Ramana Maharishi said, “Religion is for purifying the mind, philosophy is for elevating the mind”.