Investing in Infrastructure to Raise Human Consciousness

Societies always believed that affluence will bring wellbeing. But if you look at nations that have enjoyed long periods of affluence, such as the United States, they tell me that 70% of the adult population there is on prescription medicine. In Europe, which has enjoyed many decades of continuous affluence, 38% of the population suffers from mental illness. If you just take away a few drugs from the market, a big portion of the population will go crazy. This is not wellbeing.

The journey from poverty to affluence is a hard journey, whether it is for an individual person or for a society, nation or large populations in the world. And it is not eco-friendly. But most of the time when people get there, they cannot enjoy their affluence.

Human beings need to realise that the quality of their life is not determined by what they drive, where they live or what they wear. It is determined by how joyful and peaceful a person is. In pursuit of wellbeing, human beings have looked up and fought forever. Then they looked out and ripped the planet apart. But wellbeing will happen only when you turn inward. In is the only way out.

Investing in a spiritual possibility, a possibility beyond one’s physicality is the only ultimate answer. If you want long-term benefits, you must make long-term investments.

“If there is no infrastructure, how will you produce enlightened beings?”

A hundred years ago, if you walked into an Indian village, you had to search the whole village to get one man who could read and write in just the local language itself. But today, at least 70% of the population can read in their own mother tongue and many can speak English. The turnaround happened because someone built schoolrooms and trained teachers.

Similarly, to raise human consciousness, to transform the individual human being, the most important thing that needs to happen in the world is that we build the needed infrastructure, both human and otherwise.

In the past, there was phenomenal infrastructure in this country for inner wellbeing. For example, Krishna established over a thousand ashrams across the northern plains and central India. Gautama Buddha, after his enlightenment, was invited by kings and emperors to many cities and towns. But he said, “If you want me to come, you must build a meditation hall and a garden.” This became a standard.

This is the only society that built a lot of infrastructure for inner wellbeing. There are more places created for spiritual blossoming than anywhere else on the planet. So, it is not a coincidence nor is it an accident that every generation produced enlightened beings.

But that infrastructure is now receding, not growing. There is not much infrastructure for the making of the human being. There is infrastructure for all kinds of things. How many bars do you think exist in Mumbai or Delhi? There is enough infrastructure to get drunk but not enough infrastructure to get enlightened. That is a very lopsided way of dealing with the world. If there is no infrastructure, how will you produce enlightened beings? You will not! That is what is missing. We need to put that back.

Physical and Human Infrastructure

This is one of the commitments that Isha has for the world: we want to build infrastructure for the inner wellbeing of the human being. When I say infrastructure, I am not just talking about physical infrastructure. Physical infrastructure is just to incubate human infrastructure. The most important thing is what kind of people you generate. Without the right kind of people, you cannot transmit this science because this is a subjective science. Without the right kind of people, it will not get across to people the way it should.

When it comes to the programmes of Isha Yoga, Inner Engineering and advanced programmes, we do not allow anyone to teach these as a profession. One must hold this above his or her life, more important than their life, only then are they allowed to teach. This is given as an offering, never as a profession or a hobby.

Our intention is, without any discrimination of caste, creed, religion, gender or region, we want to offer a spiritual process to every human being on the planet. We have the necessary knowledge, energy and the competence to offer this to the modern world today. This is the time and age where we can empower every human being with the necessary tools, know-how and ability to handle their own inner wellbeing by themselves, without impeding upon any other life.

Today, for the very first time in the history of humanity, as human beings we are capable of addressing all the basic human problems on the planet – problems of nourishment, health, education, ecology and basic wellbeing. We have the necessary resource, technology and capability to do this. Only an inclusive consciousness is missing.  We as a generation are sitting on this possibility – will we translate this into reality is the big question.

If I am given an opportunity, the best thing to do would be to consecrate the whole planet because no human being deserves to live in an unconsecrated place. A consecrated space is a cared for, cultured space. That is where a human being should be if he has to blossom. Very few people have that opportunity today but it need not be so.

In my mind, in my understanding, in my experience of life, I feel giving that possibility to another being is the best thing you can do, because ultimately that is all that matters.