People evolve through three ways – through “coping through life”, through “meaningful work” and through “ideas”
People evolve through three ways
Most of us evolve by “coping through life”
Struggle – dealing with the vicissitudes of life – both ups and downs – result in forbearance, patience, recognition of one’s responsibilities, awareness of one’s limitations and the recognition of one’s unity at the level of human experience.
These are spiritual outcomes and are transformative in one’s consciousness. Rituals, visiting of holy places, satsang (the company of holy people), practice of serving others, etc. are the “tools” through which these spiritual outcomes are speedily realized.
This is a reactive mode of life. Life hits you and you cope. And by coping you grow.
A few of us evolve through “meaningful work”
“Nishkama Karma” – motiveless work, work done in a spirit of contribution and service results in the creation of positive outcomes in the world around us. Further, “meaningful work” means evolution in terms of one’s ideas regarding reward, contribution, expectation from others, etc. These result in a rapid expansion of one’s personality. At an even deeper level, “meaningful work” is accomplished through an attitude of “make it happen” – an actualizing mindset, that enables one to integrate one’s thoughts and one’s actions.
These are evolutionary outcomes of a double nature – spiritual in terms of the expansion of self and a “growth mindset” – material in terms of positive outcomes for the good of all.
Here, you take on trouble and take on new outcomes in the world, and thereby you grow. This is much faster than the first one.
The rarest few are those who evolve through “ideas” themselves
Evolving through ideas means recognizing, living with, sharing and personally practicing an idea – irrespective of the work context, and irrespective of the life context.
Put differently, evolving through ideas means “immersion”, “cognition” and “assimilation” of an idea and the consequent immediate transformation of one’s consciousness – followed by changes in one’s work and thereafter followed by changes in the quality of one’s struggle.
Evolving through ideas is a view that transcends the spiritual and material dichotomy of existence and represents the gradual realization of Universal Consciousness in the here and now.
