Russell's Revolution

“Spiritual revolution”; the latest catchphrase on Britain’s lips, thanks to amost colourful catalysis by comedian Russell Brand over the last couple of weeks. Brand himself admits he is neither a political genius nor a spiritual exemplar, however amidst all the hype and hypocrisy, no doubt he has raised the reality of these issues to the forefront of people’s minds.

Revolution is the natural conclusion of the intelligent person who sees that superficial shuffles within the current structure are not bringing about the change we need. There have been many instances of such drastic upheavals in history, however it is hard to see one that has resulted in success.

A new system must be based on unity for it to sustain, and this is where the spiritual aspect of Russell’s Revolution becomes crucial. As he points out: “We are all connected”. This is a deep realisation that transcends the platforms of prejudice and power struggles in this world based on nationality, religion, money or skin colour.

Whether we call it our life-force, our consciousness or our soul, there is something that connects us not just to our fellow humanity, but to everything. The root of all our political, social and personal problems is down to the covering of such consciousness in the forms of selfishness, greed and anger.

However if we become attuned to the source of this binding thread, an Absolute Love in our relative world of duality, people will be selfless and satisfied and these problems will naturally dissolve.

But how to make this consciousness a reality for everyone?

This is what Brand fails to provide in his presentation. His plan of action:

Meditate, direct our love indiscriminately and our condemnation exclusively at those with power. Revolt in whatever way we want, with the spontaneity of the London rioters, with the certainty and willingness to die of religious fundamentalists or with the twinkling mischief of the trickster. We should include everyone, judging no one, without harming anyone.

It sounds good, but we don’t need more of the same artfully ambiguous rhetoric we hear from the politicians. We need practical alternatives. We need a plan. A plan based on unifying knowledge that transcends all our material diversity and leads us to a common goal; without such directionwhere are the leaders leading and what is driving our energies forward?

The yoga knowledge offers such pragmatic spiritual knowledge and purpose. Far from being another dogmatic religion or airy fairy philosophy, the Vedic paradigm stretches back at least 5,000 years and is legitimised through anauthorised succession of pure teachers.

The tendency of our society (especially revolutionaries) is to reject any kind of authority (especially spiritual) due to mistrust of those they have been misled or mistreated by. That is why the Vedas reject sentimental notions of belief or blind faith, and offer a scientific process by which a person can tangibly experience its validity in their own consciousness.

We don’t need an external revolution, but internal evolution; a revolution of consciousness. The root of all the worlds problems lies in the impurity of people’s hearts. No matter who is in power, or by what system that person gains power, if they are not pure then there is bound to be injustice.

So again, how to bring about that change?

In the famous words of Mahatma Gandhi: Be the change you want to see in the world. We cannot force anyone else to change, everyone has their free will, but we can inspire change through our actions.

You may think: “Isn’t it selfish to focus on myself as the world spins madlyon and people are suffering?” When we study the methodology of the spiritual science offered in bhakti yoga (the yoga of love and devotion), we see that external change is inextricably linked with internal change.

Each individual freely making that choice is our only power and the only solution. It’s certainly a lot easier to point our fingers and parade our pitchforks than it is to sacrifice our comfort zone or surrender to a cause, however noble.

So the only real questioning remaining is: Do we dare to change ourselvesand our lives in order to change the world?

 

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