Why Is Aatmikta So Difficult To Comprehend For English-Educated Hindus?
“Aatmikta” is a term that is the essence of the Sanatana dharma or Hindu philosophy and is explained in detail in numerous scriptures of Sanathana Dharma. Being aware of aatmikta and staying connected with it was considered a sign of human refinement.
The term atmikta is connected with related concepts such as aatman, self-realization, and sadhana. Sanathana Hindu concept is that part of Paramatma exists in each human being as aatma. Though aatma is translated as soul in English, this article uses the original word aatma as this Sanskrit word is not translatable into English with its full meaning. Same way, realizing the aatma in themselves is called self-realization in English but the word aatmikta gives a more complete meaning.
The ignorance of the experience/knowledge of aatmikta is especially seen in English-educated Hindus. India under British rule and its 75 years of independence has developed many English-educated Indians. 34% of college graduates in India have a good command of the English language and the youth are better with English than the older adults. However, it is in this fluent English-educated Hindu population that aatmikta knowledge is mostly missing. This is despite their access to a larger pool of resources including books, websites, videos, and TV programs.
This article aims to explain why materialistic people are hindered in developing an understanding of aatmikta. But before elaborating on that, it will help to succinctly speak of dharma & aatmikta.
Dharma in summary
“Dharma” is the basic foundation of Hinduism and provides detailed knowledge about the numerous duties and ethics that apply to individuals, institutions, and societies. Compliance with dharma ensures peace, prosperity, contentment, and viability. Dharma is further segregated as saamanya dharma which encompasses the obligations applicable to every person. Visesha Dharma is applicable during non-standard situations and apadh dharma in times of disasters and tragedies. Likewise, an individual has a “svadharma” which is a goal for a certain number of years or decades – this swadharma changes in the various stages of human life.
Dharma and Aatmikta
Oftentimes, there is a fair amount of confusion among people while they endeavor to aptly understand the dharmas. It becomes rather tough to answer questions such as what is the right dharma in a given situation. It is in this context that aatmikta attains a lot of significance.
Without Aatmikta cannot be dharmik
Just like objectivity is essential to make the right decisions based on facts. Without aatmikta person cannot be dharmik. Just like objectivity is essential to make scientific decisions or proper decisions based on facts, without aatmikta cannot follow dharma. Sadhana builds aatmikta. So you can clearly understand what is right or not. Having aatmikta is not knowledge but a discipline, practice, or attitude built by regular practice which cultivates the aatmikta.
When a person cultivates aatmikta in themselves by regularly doing sadhana, they will develop the mindset to arrive at the right decisions in matters of dharma. They then have no dilemma but to develop clarity regarding the correct course of action. Dharma is not an intellectual exercise but the practice of proper conduct or sadhana. Here, one has to note that it is aatmitka developed through sadhana that guides an individual in the right direction rather than knowledge of books.
Dharma emphasizes self-discipline rather than external intervention
Dharma need not be administered by a third party, the ideal situation is when a person himself self-corrects and chooses the better path voluntarily. This is a better outcome for both the person and the society that is responsible for administering dharma. So the primary goal of dharma is cultivating self-discipline rather than relying overly on intervention by a third party.
Obstacles to gaining Aatmikta:
We now come to the section of the article where you will find answers for the primary issue highlighted above. Persons who are driven solely by a materialistic attitude towards life can never appreciate the beauty of “aatmikta” unless they look beyond materialism. Let us now focus on the corresponding points.
Logical obstacle: Materialistic individuals argue that only that which can be perceived by the five senses is reality, and there is nothing beyond that. They blindly discard concepts like aatmikta as nothing more than myths. Those who have developed some aatmikta with sadhana can see the difference it makes to their viewpoint. Even though the external environment stays the same, their approach to life makes their life much better. This can be experienced but not explained because words cannot capture the magic of that experience.
Sensual/materialistic obstacle: For materialistic persons, satisfying their desires and indulging in a sense of enjoyment are the topmost priorities. Their perception and opinion are that the pursuit of pleasures is an indispensable element of life. Here, they go in the opposite direction of a fundamental tenet of aatmikta that emphasizes self-restraint, detachment, and excessive desires. Owing to their erratic lifestyle, aatmikta always remains distant from them.
Egoistic obstacle: In the same way, materialists with strong egos vehemently reject the presence of divine forces and many of them even ridicule people doing sadhanas. As long as the person tries to gain aatmikta with an egoistic approach, they will fail to get anything more than a superficial understanding of aatmikta. Their lack of good experience is due to their attachment to their ego.
Selfish or self-centered obstacle to aatmikta: Overall, it can be said that most of the actions of materialists result from their selfish nature where they refuse to be empathetic towards others and live for themselves. But, including others along with themselves is what is seen in an aatmik person. Those connected with their aatma display aspects like service to others and compassion for fellow humans.
The above obstacles are rooted in ignorance and lack of positive experience. Those who come under the heavy influence of foreign rulers/invaders also have these materialistic tendencies.
Benefits of Aatmikta
Materialistic individuals suffer badly oscillating between pain and pleasure but are unable to come out of this trap. They seek only positive experiences and avoid negative experiences. They are scared of pain, go to great lengths to avoid pain, and get stressed by the possibility of pain. But avoiding pain is not entirely possible. The reason to opt for atmikta is steady happiness without feeling negative experiences due to the protective shield of atmikta. That sustained and steady happiness and contentment in life in good as well as bad times is the greatest loss experienced by materialistic people. But there is always hope that suddenly a person can change and get deeply attracted to aatmikta.
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