By Philip Goldberg,
In the late 1960s I was an idealistic student who wanted to change the world. I directed more of my energy to the civil rights and antiwar movements than to my classwork. I was also confused, anxious, and worried about my own life. I was on a quest for answers to the Big Questions: Who am I? What is my place in society? In the cosmos? How do I find meaning and happiness?
In the midst of this turmoil, I was drawn to the books about Eastern spiritual traditions that circulated in the counterculture. This attraction seemed odd to those who knew me, because, like my parents, I proclaimed that religion was the opium of the people. But the core precepts of Hinduism and Buddhism seemed somehow rational, pragmatic, and empirical. I liked that they were meant to be applied, not believed in without the validation of personal experience. I remember a turning point. Shortly after I moved to Boston, someone suggested I go see the Temple Room in the Museum of Fine Arts. I found myself alone in a small, quiet gallery with statues of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. I walked slowly from statue to statue, transfixed by the serene, unflappable, perfectly contented expressions on the faces, and had this thought: “Whatever those guys had, I want it.”
I wanted inner peace. I wanted joy. I wanted what was promised in the Bhagavad Gita: “equanimity in gain and loss, victory and defeat, pleasure and pain.” I took up meditation. I learned other yogic practices. I studied all the mystical traditions. I still wanted to change the world, but now I was convinced that the route to social betterment would come from changing individual hearts, minds, and souls. I became a teacher of Transcendental Meditation to help facilitate that transformation. Later, I tried to do the same as a professional writer.
Now, five decades on, the world seems just as insane as it was in 1968. I’m as certain as ever that enduring social change has to be an inside job. But it’s also clear that personal transformation is not enough. The times call for engaged spiritual citizenship. I call it the Spiritual Two-Step: go within to the source of goodness, wisdom, compassion, stillness, and love; then step out better equipped to add a measure of healing to the broken world. Every contribution counts. As the Buddha said, “Even tiny drops of water in the end will fill a huge vessel.”
Philip Goldberg is an Interfaith Minister, public speaker, and author whose numerous books include the award-winning American Veda: From Emerson and the Beatles to Yoga and Meditation, How Indian Spirituality Changed the West; The Life of Yogananda: The Story of the Yogi Who Became the First Modern Guru, and his latest, Spiritual Practice for Crazy Times: Powerful Tools to Cultivate Clarity, Calm and Courage. He blogs on Elephant Journal and Spirituality & Health, cohosts the popular Spirit Matters podcast, and leads American Veda Tours to India. His website is www.PhilipGoldberg.com.
Phillip is a featured speaker this year at One Planet Peace Forum. This year’s OPPF event will take place on Zoom from 3-5 pm on September 25, 26, and 27. oneplanetpeaceforum.org
Picture of Philip by Daniel Jackson.
