Devdutt Pattanaik: End of Enlightenment?

IllustrationDevdutt PattanaikA WISE man is calm in fortune and misfortune He does not separate good times and bad times He lets go of sukkha the feeling of joy and dukkha the feeling of sorrowrsquo These lines on equanimity sthithapragnya attributed to various sages is often spoken in times of sorrow when there is a death in the family when exam results are not quite what we hoped for when we donrsquot get that job or that admission But we rarely mouth these in times of joy when there is a birth in the family when we get the results job and admission we want These are lines to be spoken at a divorce not at a marriageThe spiritual side of religion has always been used as a coping skill to be used in times of suffering The occult side of religion mdash rituals that seek to influence the future mdash has simultaneously been used to ensure that we get what we want So people flock to astrologers and geomancers who become the refuge of the aspirational of all those who find that logic hard work and merit donrsquot seem to be taking them far In fact many sages double up as sorcerers Gurus are not just people with wise comforting words they also have lsquoaurarsquo and lsquopowerrsquo and lsquoradiationrsquoWith the rise of scientific thinking and material philosophies like Capitalism and Communism the educated man was expected to reject religion spirituality and occult in pursuit of the rational So what does a failure a person in bad times without money and power do The atheistscientistrationalist warns him against chasing fantasies such as God manipulative words of sages and tricks of occultists All you are allowed to do is work hard and fight for what you want Revolt Never prayBut what do we do when revolutions fail and we grow tired of martyrs and desires donrsquot wane and frustration festers Do we go back to the wise words of the sages Do we listen to the oracles and augursLife does not take a predictable course Just as nature is not as predictable as we would want it to be Yes summer follows winters but we cannot predict how hot this summer will be or how cold this winter will be And we cannot predict those forest fires and thunderstorms We have to live with uncertainty Rationality cannot give solace to the fear that rises when things get unpredictable You need the soothing balm of the sage the opium of religion the apparitions of the sorcerers The mystical music makes mundane tragedies bearableWe thought nation states and democratically elected governments will create a world of rational leaders We find ourselves surrounded by alphamaleleaders who use rhetoric more than content to acquire power We have not been able to tame the world with science We have to submit helplessly to the unpredictable waves of fortune and misfortune as leaders fail and martyrs become boresAll our knowledge gyana and effort karma needs to be balanced with faith bhakti The West will see these times we live in as the End of Enlightenment The Jains will say it is avasarpini the downward move of the serpent of time before the upswing Hindus will say it is a wave what goes down comes up and vice versa Just have faith shraddha and patience saburi Fortune will eventually come As does misfortuneThe author writes and lectures on the relevance of mythology in modern times Reach him at devduttdevduttcom