9. Enlightened society
During the vedic times in Bharat, the whole life, the whole society was based on enlightenment. A large percentage of the people were enlightened and the remaining were seeking, working towards enlightenment.
Arts, sciences, education, lifestyle – every sphere of life, every action was directed towards the ultimate experience of enlightenment. Classical dances like Bharatanatyam, traditional vocal and instrumental music, traditional architecture of temples and sculptures, classical paintings and art forms, the science of languages like Sanskrit, the sciences of astrology and vaastu, the unique gurukul system of education, traditional ceremonies right from birth through marriage to death –
every single activity in every dimension of life was an expression of the enlightenment of the great seers, as well as a means to get enlightened.
9.1 Bharat – the spiritual incubator
Bharat is the spiritual incubator that produces enlightened masters. For a premature baby you need an incubator where you can maintain the correct atmosphere, oxygen, food, heat, and take care of the baby until it can survive on its own.
In the same way, for an enlightened being to land on planet earth and completely express his enlightenment and share it with the world, he needs an incubator. Bharat is that spiritual incubator that nurtures the enlightened being because the very societal structure of ancient Bharat was created only for the inner science research and enlightenment.
Every sphere of life, personal or professional, was only to experience the ultimate state that is enlightenment. To this day, the society of Bharat is best suited to nourish the seeds of enlightenment and grow enlightened beings.
9.2 The ultimate energy that can stand the test of time
There can be nothing more than the enlightenment experience on planet earth. No philosophy, no system, no theory, no ideology, stands, survives, or thrives for more than one generation if it does not have an enlightened base, the base or inspiration from an enlightened being.
In ancient Bharat, there were at least 3000 kings ruling at different times. Not a single king or kingdom that was not guided by an enlightened master was able to flourish.
Even today if you go to South Hindu villages, you will see huge temples built of stone, installed by enlightened masters. But the palaces that were constructed by the same kings for themselves no longer exist.
Understand, the same king and the same architect who built the temples to hold the enlightened energy, also built the palaces for the king to stay. One might think the king would have used better material for his own palace! But today, if you see, the temples are still standing while the palaces have disappeared with time.
In my own village Tiruvannamalai in South Bharat, the village in which I was born and brought up, we have a temple that has twenty-five acres of built up area. The palace built by the same king is not there. It is just ruins. But the temple built by him is still alive because the enlightened master's energy is there.
9.3 The greatest service to mankind - keeping the science of enlightenment alive
The biggest service you can do in your life, the best use you can make of your life is to keep this science of enlightenment alive on planet earth. Planet earth is alive today in spite of all the
atomic weapons we have piled up, all the depletion of forests, minerals, and natural resources. It is so because of the presence of enlightened masters. As long as there are enlightened masters on planet earth, planet earth can never be destroyed!