WE NEED A VOICE OF AUTHORITY

WE NEED A VOICE OF AUTHORITY 

Today we need an authoritative voice that can dictate enlightened direction to the world. The last such was Swami Vivekananda. When he spoke, the world listened. In mute wonder they marvelled at the depth of his utterances. His words penetrated the depths of their being and transported them unto a higher realm whence they could perceive life's deeper significance. Swamiji did not plead; he commanded. In the days of the Christ the people said, "He spoke not as the scribes do but as one that spoke with authority." So did the Buddha and so did Swamiji. It is this power of personality that carried course when these spiritual giants spoke. Ordinary preachers plead almost apologetically or with double talk allowing them avenue for escape in case they are confronted on their specific affirmations. Never so these enlightened ones. These men of light and love have nothing to gain from this earth but have only a message to deliver and they do so without compromise till it tingles in the lifeblood of humanity. Theirs is a visitation on earth to rectify the evolutionary course of man en route to absolute liberation.

The question arises -- what is the source of this superhuman authority which these seminal beings seem to possess which makes them invincible in the world of men, not through arms and army but by the word or the wish or the mere touch? What is that invisible force that delivers their message in the very heart-centre of humanity and initiates the process of human regeneration? In one word -- spirituality. But this word encompasses so much more, quite a world of thought that must be gradually apprehended before we can even remotely understand the workings of these wondrous men.

First of all we have to contend with innate abilities. Some are born great. This greatness may be attributed to tendencies acquired in past lives which in their age-specific refined adjustment in this life bore magnificent results. Else, it is impossible to trace the causes of the extraordinary abilities that are almost without habitual prior preparation manifest in child prodigies like the boy Shankaracharya or the baby Mozart. Such a fund of spiritual power must be present in these 'Adhikaarik Purushes' (personalities of endowed with divine authority) right from birth which gather force and direction as they blossom to maturity.

Now how is force gathered as these souls mature? What is the process? That process is called 'yoga', not the Hathayoga of physical exercises alone but the Raja Yoga, the Jnana Yoga, the Karma Yoga and the Bhakti Yoga. To perform these yogas the prerequisite is purity, not the diluted version half-mired in material pursuits while leading a more or less moral life but absolute continence, the unbroken brahmacharya following our scriptural injunctions. That overtime builds personality, develops power, sanctions authority to address the multitude and alter  the course of history. Such a person becomes a conduit of the Absolute Spirit, the Voice of God, has the Divine Commission to teach the masses and remains for millenia a lighthouse for directionless humanity to steer its course amidst the tempest of terrestrial life.

It is the life that inspires life, the live flame in one that kindles the fire dormant in another. This is key to communication in the world of the Spirit even as language connects overlapping souls.

Written by Sugata Bose