Sustaining the Cosmic Wheel of Creation: Journey from Consumer to Contributor

Abstract

The sorry plight of contemporary world is that we are too preoccupied in the relentless pursuit of changing everything in the external world except ourselves. Gandhi once said, “Our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world as being able to remake ourselves.” (Eknath Easwaran, The Compassionate Universe: The Power of the Individual to Heal the Environment (California: Nilgiri Press, 1989), 20.) When the spiritual dimension of our being is underdeveloped, we turn into pleasure-seeking automatons, plundering the planet in a mindless race called progress. This makes us self-centered and greedy for material wealth which leads to social disharmony and over-exploitation of natural resources, ignoring a vital fact that unlimited growth on a finite planet cannot be possible. When we live a life of greater self-awareness, we tend to consume less and, more so, less mindlessly. With this understanding comes the liberating realization that there is no sustainability without spirituality. The central thesis of this chapter is that in order for sustainability to be sustainable, it must help us transition from being a consumer to becoming a contributor. To facilitate this transition, the chapter will present some contemporary applications of the concept of Cosmic Wheel of Creation as conceived by the Bhagavad Gītā, the Indian wisdom text. Since all wars are fought first in the mind, this chapter will also suggest that the starting point for safeguarding the sustainability of our planet is purging our mind of the toxic emotions. It will present some strategies for managing excessive desire, anger, and greed that rob our peace of mind and in turn disturb the peace of the planet. In addressing these vital issues, a symbiotic and dialectic approach will be followed applying the key tenets of Advaita Vedānta and Buddhist Psychology.