Self-Culture in The Light of The Ancient Wisdom

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In this book, the author expounds the philosophy and science of Self-Culture based on a profound understanding of man's relationship with the universe and his ultimate destiny. He explains the application of the natural laws governing the universe in their totality to the prob- lem of human evolution. He also deals with the problems of Self-Discipline and Self-Culture which are involved in pre- paring the vehicles of the aspirant to embark on the voyage of self-exploration and self-realization.

Dr I. K. TAIMNI (1898-1978) was Professor of Chemistry at the University of Allahabad in India, and was a distinguished member of the Theosophical Society. His deep interest in the yogic path resulted in the publication of The Science of Yoga, which has elicited worldwide appreciation. He also provided expositions of the fundamental teachings of the Kashmir Śaiva philosophy.

He was awarded the Subba Row Medal for his con- tribution to Theosophical literature. His books have run into many editions and been translated into various languages.

MANY books have been written on the important subject of Self-Culture. Some of these books have been written by people whose outlook on life is coloured definitely either by materialism or religious orthodoxy, but practically all of them are based on the tacit assumption that we have to live only one life on this earth and should adopt such measures for self- improvement as will enable us to achieve whatever success or happiness is possible under the natural limitations of human life. Even those writers who discuss the subject against a moral or spiritual background leave the vital issues of life untouched and confine themselves generally to the small and restricted interests of one single life. No attempt is made to correlate man with the universe in which he lives or to indicate the nature of his ultimate destiny.

A narrow conception of human life such as this can hardly provide a satisfactory basis for a real science of Self-Culture. If we are to live on this earth only one isolated life of a few years, if the future of man after death is a dark or at best a nebulous thing, if there are no definite laws working in the realms of mind and emotions, if there is no definite goal which every human being can and must reach, then self-culture in the larger sense of the term becomes a meaningless and futile effort of man to reach a vague and unattainable ideal. What chance has the average man of today, burdened with his weaknesses and responsibilities, to rise to the high stature of perfect manhood exemplified in the lives of the truly great men of the world? And even in the case of those who are placed in the most favourable circumstances for reaching this high ideal, what certainty is there that they will be able to reach it amidst the uncertainties of life? And if there is no certainty of achievement, if life in the case of the vast majority of aspirants is doomed to be cut short in the midst of the struggle to reach the goal, what is the use of striving for the ideal? The vague promise of reward offered by the orthodox religions of the day in some kind of post-mortem existence may be sufficient to induce ordinary people to live a virtuous life but it cannot give them the tremendous urge and determination which is neces- sary for treading the long and arduous path to perfection.