Should We Change the World, or Change Ourselves?

Veganism, alter-globalization, ecology, social justice… Many dream of changing the world, each in their own way, sometimes to the point of radically opposing one another. But the world, as it is usually understood, does not really exist: what exists is Creation, and what shapes it are human beings. So, is the purpose of your incarnation to change the world — or to change your perspective on it?

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Veganism, alter-globalization, ecology, social justice… Many dream of changing the world, each in their own way, sometimes to the point of radically opposing one another. But the world, as it is usually understood, does not really exist: what exists is Creation, and what shapes it are human beings. So, is the purpose of your incarnation to change the world — or to change your perspective on it?

Watching the way of the world, many feel it should be changed. Some commit their lives to this end, for better or worse — for the idea of what needs changing is not the same for everyone. Others remain at the level of observation and intention, caught up in other daily urgencies.

Some people commit to veganism, as in politics, to fight speciesism — the idea that the human species can do as it pleases with animals. Others are anti-globalists, seeking to change the economic and human paradigm.

Nationalists, too, want to change the world, but not in the way anti-globalists do. Some are woke, LGBTQIA+ activists, indigenists, neo-feminists.

There are even people who kill others so that sharia may become the law of the world — the same aspiration to change the world can lead to radically opposite acts.

For the devotee, however, "animals and plants are the work of God" (Bhaktimàrga, 164) — a respect that does not arise from an autonomous morality, but from the recognition of a Creation that surpasses us. This is the whole stake of this diversity of commitments: everyone believes they are changing the world, but who defines the world that is to be changed?

The World Does Not Exist

As you can see, the idea of changing the world is varied and is nothing new. But the world, as it is usually understood, does not exist. What exists is the Creation of God. Human societies also exist — but who makes human societies? Human beings do.

So what needs to change is the human species. Not in its form, its organism — but in what it does with its existence and with the world, in its consciousness. It is by changing human consciousness, one human being at a time, that we can hope to change humanity.

Is the purpose of incarnation, then, to change the world, or to change oneself? When a human being incarnates, does it come to change the world? The world, and our own incarnation, are temporary things: only eternity truly matters. And to change the consciousness of Man, we would first need to agree on what consciousness is.

Fighting for a better world is worthwhile. Caring for nature is worthwhile. Pursuing these struggles is worthwhile. But, in truth, I must tell you: the purpose of the human being, of their incarnation, is not to change the world.

An Individual Purpose, a Collective Destiny

The purpose of each human being is individual, even though the destiny of humanity is collective. The human being, their soul, incarnates for a precise reason: there is something it has to do during this incarnation, which is neither to improve the world, nor simply to enjoy life.

"Seek the beginning; where it is found, there the goal is found" (Bhaktimàrga, 202). That said, life is often beautiful, and it is not foolish to work toward improving the world, the relationships between species, ecology, justice, peace. Simply, this is not the purpose of life. You may do these things, if you have a taste for them — but there is one thing to accomplish first, or at the same time, and in any case never to neglect: fulfilling the reason for your coming.

Duty and Spiritual Purpose: Two Distinct Planes

Some will say: "everyone has a different purpose, that's freedom" — of course, there are as many purposes as there are individuals. Some have no purpose other than not dying, feeding and sheltering themselves; others aim to provide for their family; others still, to be musicians.

Beyond these individual reasons for living, human life has a reason for being. There is the spiritual level and the level of duties — that of the soul, and that of the mind. Duty, for the Spiritual Path, consists of your sacred duties toward others, toward society, and toward yourself — toward your own health. And, separately, there is the domain of the soul.

Both domains must be honored and pursued together. "The sage fulfills their duties by their very nature, without being compelled to" (Tao Te Ching, 1:27).

"Fulfill your duties, without seeking to escape them, and without being bound either by success or by failure. Strive to act while relinquishing the fruits of your actions, and do not believe yourself to be the cause of their consequences" (Bhagavadgitopanishad, 16).

Individual purposes, the desire to change the world, belong to the realm of duty — the social, collective realm. The reason for your coming to Earth belongs to the spiritual realm. Duty can be lived collectively, if you are socially engaged. But the purpose of your coming into the world, its spiritual purpose, can only be lived individually.

Changing How You See

To put it simply, let us say that the spiritual purpose of life is the deepening of your consciousness. This is the whole purpose of the Spiritual Path: to give you the technical means to do this. These means are gathered in everything that makes up its practice, the sadhana.

In the meantime, if you find the world ugly, if you despair of changing it — change how you see it. By changing the way you look at the world, you change the world for yourself, and you change your life at the same time. This is precisely what the Spiritual Path can help you do, if you ask it to.

If you have any questions, please write here:

madhyama.marga@gmail.com