Cultivating the Human Spirit for God Realization
Human life is distinct from animal life because of the capacity for spiritual inquiry. Civilization, Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes, is not meant for increasing material necessities but for the "cultivation of the human spirit." This process involves a deliberate restructuring of society and individual habits to favor self-realization, ultimately leading to the understanding of one's eternal relationship with the Supreme Lord.
Goal of Human Life
The primary objective of all great spiritual authorities has been to enlighten humanity about their spiritual nature. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the divisions of society and the stages of life are not arbitrary; they are designed to guide the individual toward the ultimate goal of God realization.
- The ultimate goal of cultivating the human spirit is God realization and surrender unto God with a full sense of His all-pervasive nature.
- All great sages of the world - like Lord Krishna, Lord Buddha, Lord Christ, Hazrat Mohammed, Acarya Sankara, Acarya Ramanuja, Lord Caitanya - all lived for enlightening men in this culture of human spirit.
- As already explained, the four divisions of society - namely the intelligent class of men, the ruling class, the mercantile class, and the laboring class - are meant to achieve one goal in life: self-realization, or cultivation of the human spirit.
Prerequisites for Spiritual Culture
To cultivate the human spirit, society requires a foundation of goodness. Specific conditions—such as the protection of cows and the intake of milk—are highlighted by Śrīla Prabhupāda as necessary to develop the brain tissues required for understanding spiritual subjects. Without these elements, society degrades into violence and ignorance.
- The killing of cows by human society is one of the grossest suicidal policies, and those who are anxious to cultivate the human spirit must turn their attention first toward the question of cow protection.
- If we really want to cultivate the human spirit in society we must have first-class intelligent men to guide the society, and to develop the finer tissues of our brains we must assimilate vitamin values from milk.
- All these (the varnas and the asramas) anomalies of the present social system can be reformed only by cultivation of the human spirit in the devotional service of the Lord.
Overcoming Material Illusion
The result of proper spiritual culture is the dissolution of the false ego. As one advances, the attraction to material matter dries up, and the illusion of bodily identification is replaced by the reality of spiritual existence. Conversely, Śrīla Prabhupāda warns that heavy industrial development hinders this progress by binding people to hard labor and lustful desires.
- This false identification (of spirit soul with the body) and attraction for matter gradually dry up and fade away by success in the cultivation of the human spirit. That is the effect of such higher cultivation.
- The development of hard and difficult industrial undertakings always hinders the progressive cultivation of the human spirit. Asuric leaders of society never retire from such lustful undertakings unless killed by the laws of nature.
- Progress in cultivating the human spirit entails the gradual disappearance of the materialistic ego. Covered by ignorance, passion, and so-called goodness, the spirit soul thinks himself all in all and is covered by a false sense of ego.
Retirement and Renunciation
Regarding this culture, Śrīla Prabhupāda notes one more point: the timely retirement from family and economic life. Unlike the modern trend of working until death, a person in the mode of goodness should retire at age fifty to dedicate their remaining years to introspection and spiritual preparation for the next life.
- Business offices close at a fixed hour no matter what balance of work remains. Similarly, after the age of fifty one must retire from the active, external life and devote oneself to the introspective cultivation of the human spirit.
- Men in the mode of goodness have an introspective mind, and after a regulative struggle for existence they retire at a ripe old age and engage their time in cultivating the human spirit.
- Unfortunately, for want of sufficient culture of the human spirit, no one wants to give up the householder life, even though it is full of pinpricks and mud.
Conclusion
The cultivation of the human spirit, Śrīla Prabhupāda asserts, is the only remedy for the miseries of material existence. It is not a superficial adjustment but a fundamental reorientation of life toward the Absolute Truth. By following the path laid out by the great ācāryas, engaging in devotional service, and relinquishing false possessiveness, human beings can achieve the highest status of eternal enjoyment in personal contact with the Supreme Lord.
Dive Deeper into Śrīla Prabhupāda's Vani
Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category Human Spirit. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.