THE IMPORTANCE OF CARYÁCARYA IN INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIAL LIFE

Human beings are neither isolated individual beings nor insignificant creatures destined to serve an abstract collectivity. Rather, each individual is a unique entity living in a dynamic social order which is progressing towards a sublime goal. Each individual has to keep physically and mentally pure and serve the society in the best possible manner. The collective psychic momenta of all the members of society makes the collective momentum of the social order strong and powerful. Hence, as an individual, one must be able to manifest and express a powerful psychic momentum. Society must not impose any restriction on the psychic and spiritual elevation of its members, nor should it allow anyone to accumulate physical wealth to the point that it is harmful to the other members of society and leads to exploitation.

Caryacarya⁽¹⁾ contains the guidelines for how an individual can best contribute his or her efforts to the collective momentum. It also provides guidelines for how the collective body shall foster each individual’s physical and psychic welfare.

Human life is an ideological flow. The human mind expresses this flow, and the physical body is the base and medium through which this flow is manifested. A pure and subtle physical body or Annamaya Kosa is the best medium for a subtle psycho-spiritual manifestation. The purity of the Annamaya Kosa depends upon the food we eat and other rules such as bathing, fasting, etc. These rules have been explicitly mentioned in Caryacarya. If a person follows these rules, he or she shall feel a change in himself or herself within three days.

Footnotes

(1) Caryacarya was written by P.R. Sarkar in April 1956. –Eds.