110 | Spiritualizing the Secular | Swami Tattwamayananda

11th chapter: verses 29, 48, 54, 55<br /><br />29th verse: “As moths rush towards a blazing fire only to perish, so also all of us are rushing towards Your mouth only to perish.”<br /><br />32nd verse: “I am the mighty, all-consuming time. “<br /><br />To those who look upon the world as a place for sensual pleasures, the world is like a blazing fire, and they are like moths rushing towards it. But when we have a higher spiritual goal that guides our actions, then we start moving towards our true spiritual destination. Upon reaching it, we realize our immortal dimension as the Atman. We realize that the same Atman exists in all of us.<br /><br />Upon that highest realization, we see the presence of God within and outside the place of worship. We can spiritualize our everyday activities – our whole life becomes a spiritual sacrament.<br /><br />In the 41st verse of the 10th chapter, Lord Krishna says: “Wherever you find some greatness, prosperity, power or excellence – know that to be a part of My splendor.”<br /><br />Wherever we find a unique manifestation that is sublime and beautiful, it is an expression of the divine reality. In whatever profession one may be, if that person reaches a level of transcendental excellence – that perfection is a spark of the divinity within him. When the scholarship of a scholar is combined with sattvic nature such as humility, or the power of a person is combined with wisdom and maturity – then it becomes an expression of the divine.<br /><br />This divinity is immanent within us. We can manifest this divinity by practicing karma yoga, bhakti yoga or other yogas. When we do our actions with a sense of sanctity and sacredness and with an unselfish attitude, then it becomes a spiritual action. The line of demarcation between secular and spiritual vanishes.<br /><br />48th verse: “The highest truth cannot be realized just by scholarship.” Theology or philosophy is not a substitute for one's own spiritual experience and realization. When we realize the presence of the divine, a tran