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Inner
Consciousness
In Prof. Julian
Huxley's words: "We have learnt to soar high in the air like
birds, we have learnt to dive deep into the water like fishes, but
how to walk on earth like men, we have not yet learnt". Dreams
cannot become realities, unless there are means by which we can
implement them. Religion is another name for self improvement. We
may call it in ward integration. In the words of Dr. S.
Radhakrishnan: "In its essence, religion is re-integration of
human personality and redemption of human society, an essential
factor of all types of human ism". When the Hindus speak of
jnaana, or wisdom, the Buddhist, of Bodhi or enlightenment,
they are all thinking of an awareness of an inner consciousness, of
an integrated growth and personality.
It is true that a
man who is a victim of economic hardships and penury and who is
hedged in and restricted by the struggle to live, can very rarely
achieve inner consciousness of any high degree. A class that is
downtrodden and exploited can never achieve inner progress. Thus,
even for inner development, external freedom and a suitable
environment are necessary. We must realise that we have to live
together. We must have tolerance for other people's views, religious
tolerance, ideological tolerance, etc. These are things which have
become
absolutely necessary for self-preservation.
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