00:00 When a civilization evolves, do we need Sanatana Dharma?
00:06 What is the basis of the question first of all?
00:09 Why do we need civilization and why will a civilization evolve at all?
00:14 We could have as well continued to live in the jungle.
00:19 We came out of the jungle and we built these houses, these roads, these schools, these
00:24 institutions that's what we call as civilization.
00:27 And then we taught our children a few things and we said there has to be a certain way
00:32 of life, there has to be a way you address your juniors, your seniors, there has to be
00:38 a certain decorum in relationships and we said that is culture.
00:42 Why do we need civilization and culture?
00:45 We need civilization and culture because we want peace.
00:50 Otherwise the jungle is sufficient.
00:53 Jungle is our prakritic habitat.
00:57 So civilization is just an imperative of dharma.
01:05 Our dharma is to move towards liberation.
01:10 Therefore we need civilization of the kind that assists our movement towards liberation.
01:19 Civilization is not an end in itself.
01:23 Civilization is a means towards fulfilling your dharma.
01:28 We do not just need broader roads and taller buildings to amplify our ego.
01:38 If we need broader roads at all, then we need them to be relatively peaceful to engage ourselves
01:51 in deeper pursuits.
01:54 Otherwise a two-hour journey takes eight hours and all the time these eight hours you are
02:00 worrying about an impending accident.
02:05 Obviously that will not allow you to be meditative or attentive towards any deep thing in life.
02:12 Do you realize when we were in the jungle, we didn't have houses.
02:18 So there were bugs and mosquitoes pestering us all the time.
02:23 So in such a situation it became very difficult to concentrate, let alone meditate.
02:33 Can you imagine you are sitting on the ground and there are insects around and some insect
02:39 is biting on your thigh and the odd mosquito and a really big one is sitting on your nose
02:45 and you want to think about life and death.
02:48 How will you do that?
02:50 Instead of life and death you are thinking about flies and mosquitoes.
02:55 So to move from flies to life, we came to the cities and that has to be remembered.
03:06 We didn't come to the cities so that we could consume more or gratiate ourselves more.
03:14 We did not come to the cities so that we could please our ego all the more.
03:22 That was not at all the objective, though that's what we might be doing today.
03:28 The objective was to have more peace in our external space so that we can devote ourselves
03:38 to higher pursuits in life.
03:41 That's why we build these houses, these communities, these roads, these schools, these hospitals.
03:47 Otherwise how will you really think and discuss with people?
03:54 You want a company of like-minded people, of people of high consciousness and as you
04:02 are sitting with them to discuss and deliberate on something, you are also worrying about
04:11 the hyenas and the jackals and some beast growls in the distance and all your meditation
04:22 is gone.
04:23 So that's the reason why civilization is needed.
04:28 Similarly culture, we do not need culture to boast of a rich tradition as we do these
04:37 days.
04:38 We keep saying we have a rich tradition, we have a very ancient tradition.
04:42 Life itself is so small, what will you do with things ancient?
04:47 Tomorrow you too will become ancient like everybody who is gone and done and dusted.
04:55 So neither civilization nor culture carry any importance by themselves.
05:03 Their means towards the ultimate end of life and the ultimate end of life is mukti, liberation,
05:12 realization, whatever you want to call it.
05:16 So I just do not know, I am still wondering over the question how one can say that since
05:22 we are very civilized now, hence we do not need dharma.
05:26 It's like saying that since I have a Mercedes now, therefore I do not need a steering.
05:35 I mean fine, civilization is the material thing like the Mercedes.
05:40 The steering denotes the consciousness that drives the material thing.
05:45 So what will you do with the steering if you have a Mercedes?
05:50 What do I say about it?
05:57 [BLANK_AUDIO]
