The Path

by Ram Singh

It was in the month of March 1975 that a close friend of ours visited our home in the morning when we were taking tea. He told us that he had good news for us. He had discovered a cure for my wife's ailment. She had been suffering since early childhood from a severe headache which doctors diagnosed as migraine, notwithstanding prolonged treatment under eminent doctors. It was, indeed, good news for all of us. My wife, though anxious to know about this remedy, did not show much enthusiasm, because she had almost reconciled herself to the agony which all treatment had failed to alleviate.

However, when our friend disclosed that the remedy was nothing but Sri Goenkaji's Vipassana camp which was soon to be held at the stadium in Jaipur, our enthusiasm totally vanished. We would never attend such camps. At that time I was working as Home Secretary of the Government of Rajasthan, and I knew something of the spiritual camps that were organized then, and even now. A Vipassana camp was new to me. I had never heard the name Vipassana either. We politely declined the offer of our friend.

The friend met us again and explained in great detail how he himself had benefited, and he felt confident that my wife would come out of her suffering. He insisted that we could at least make a trial. Goenkaji's camp was quite a different camp, and considering the lifelong suffering to which my wife had been subjected, ten days could be spared.

After a good deal of discussion, my wife agreed to attend the camp on the condition that I also attend with her. This was an impossible proposition. The entire idea of my joining the camp looked fantastic, deeply skeptical as I was. But I had to agree ultimately, due to the preconditions that my wife imposed. Getting ten days' leave was difficult because of the law and order situation prevailing then. The Chief Secretary and the Chief Minister, when I talked to them about the problem, showed great sympathy and agreed to give leave on the condition of recall at any moment if considered necessary.

So both of us attended the camp, most reluctantly, cursing the friend for pushing us into the venture; but we decided to give it a fair trial.

Ten days' stay in the camp was, indeed, an experience. Starting from observation of our own respiration, we were asked to observe all our bodily and mental phenomena, develop awareness and maintain equanimity. No mantra was to be recited, no picture was to be observed, and no ritual was to be performed. All concepts of visualization and imagination were to be discarded and were, in fact, prohibited. The student in a Vipassana camp is asked to see things as they are from moment to moment. The entire practice is to establish oneself in s²la (morality); sam±dhi (control of mind); and paññ± (wisdom). The technique provides a practical training for self-development, leading ultimately to purification of the mind.

I felt amazed at the result that the camp brought about within a period of ten days. We returned home with great happiness and cheer. My wife's face beamed with joy and new hope. She had benefited greatly. But the benefit to me was immense. I had never realized that in such a short period one could learn a technique which had unlimited possibilities for self-improvement. I rushed to my friend's house and thanked him profusely. Our gratitude to him for showing us the way is abiding.

From my early childhood, due to my mother's interest in spiritual matters, I had developed interest in reading scriptures. We had regular recitation of the R±mayana and Shrimad Bh±gwat at our home. For a number of years, I continued reading the G²t± as a morning ritual. This interest continued throughout my education and official career. I read translations of the Ved±s and the Upanishads, as well as the writings of Dayanand Saraswati, Vivekananda, Aurobindo, and Gandhi. Nanak and Kabir inspired me deeply. I made a special study of the classics of communism, my interest in which landed me in great difficulty in the early fifties! I escaped a formal inquiry due to the sympathetic Chief Minister. When I passed through the Vipassana experience, I realized that mere knowledge of things spiritual and sublime does not help. Intellectual pursuits cannot bring a change in attitude or behaviour.

I discovered that Vipassana can provide a solution to many of the problems which afflict man today. Despite great opportunities, the progress of science and technology has unleashed strain and strife, and mad competition between individuals, social groups and nations. The envy, hatred and animosity which this competition generates; the greed and lust for supremacy which are concealed in the phrase enlightened self interest; and the ever-widening gulf between example and precept add to the ever-growing tension in the human mind and lead to continuous misery.

The basic objective of Vipassana is purification of the mind. All human problems are mind-based; and if by some measure, purification of the mind can be achieved, most of the complex problems which confront man can be resolved. I realized that the golden period of Indian history under the Ashokan dispensation, which continued for a few centuries, was not just an accidental phenomenon and could not have been achieved by sheer might of arms. Nor could it have been achieved by exhortation of pious words or sermons, or intellectual debate. Rather, it was achieved by hard and sustained work done by individuals playing key roles in society and established in real Dhamma, in Vipassana.

In the area of education and training, an exploration is going on all over the world to devise techniques which can bring about changes in attitude. Instruments for imparting information, knowledge and skills have been greatly refined, but no reliable method has been found which can transform the human mind and human behaviour.

The organized religious establishments, relying completely on merely preaching moral ideas, depending on rites and rituals, and advocating blind beliefs, have enslaved man. As a result of this we see so much strife and conflict and so much exploitation perpetuated in the name of religion. The recurring communal troubles in our country are a bitter reminder of the utter inadequacy and futility of these systems. I realized that a major impact could be made through Vipassana in the area of attitude change. Vipassana could further serve as an instrument for change and reform in all areas which are vital for the progress and happiness of man. I found that Vipassana could clear the darkness of ignorance which is the root cause of human misery.

On the last day of the camp I discussed with Goenkaji the possibility of Vipassana courses for government officials so that the process of reform could be initiated in the government. He said that this was a strong possibility and pointed out that in Burma, Sayagyi U Ba Khin (his teacher of Vipassana, the then Accountant General of Burma), successfully used the Vipassana technique for reform in goverment departments. Pursuant to these discussions, I took up the matter with the goverment of the state of Rajasthan, and it was decided that an experiment be made.

Two Vipassana camps were organized in the Jaipur central jail. In each camp, over one hundred prisoners convicted of heinous crimes and sentenced to life imprisonment (including a few condemned prisoners) participated. Some jail officials also joined the camps. Vipassana had a profound impact on the participants. They felt greatly relieved of tensions. There were perceptible changes in their behaviour. Some of the prisoners who were prone to commit petty offences in jail became disciplined; crimes in jail were reduced by a considerable extent; and jail officers who participated in the camps became more sensitive towards their duty and responsibility. The condemned prisoners showed much improvement in their behaviour, having developed calmness and equanimity. A study of the impact of Vipassana was made by Professor Unnithan of Rajasthan University (who is now its Vice Chancellor). The study confirmed the positive impact.

Encouraged by the result of this experiment in the Central Jail, a decision was made to organize a Vipassana camp for police officials. The course was organized in the Police Academy at Jaipur in which police officers of all ranks participated. A study was also made of this camp by the Rajasthan University. The experience had a great effect on the behaviour pattern of the officers. The participants got a clear perception of their functions and roles and developed greater awareness of their duty towards society. Some of the participants addicted to drinking gave it up on their own. They emerged as almost new men, their outlook changed.

Internal reforms were introduced in the Home Department of the Government of Rajasthan in which many procedural changes of far-reaching importance were carried out. Paperwork was reduced by a considerable extent. Decision-making processes became quicker, and pending work which had accumulated over many years got cleared. All this was done with full, close and active participation of all cadres working in the Home Department.

Simultaneously, substantial reforms were carried out in the functioning of the Department of Jails and Prisons. Improvements were effected in the working of the Police Department, and the training of police personnel was reorganized. A new level of efficiency was achieved in the functioning of these departments. In the process of these reforms, officers who participated in Vipassana camps played a key role.

These experiments, though carried out in a small segment of governmental activity, indicate the possibility of a major step towards change and reform in the government through Vipassana. The characters of all governments have an impact on the people they govern, but in India it is much more so because of its ancient heritage in which persons who ruled were the real pace-setters in society. The factor of under-development is also a major phenomenon in which involvement of government is all-pervasive in the life of its citizens. Therefore, good government seems to be a prerequisite for orderly and harmonious development of society.

But how to get good government? Democracy provides a good framework for government. Government is made up of people. If we have good people, we have good government. Vipassana provides a reliable instrument for making people good. And good people are needed everywhere - in education, trade and industry and in all segments of public life.

The message of Vipassana is universal. It transcends all boundaries - national, racial, communal and sectarian. Thousands of people from all walks of public life in India and abroad have benefited from Vipassana. Vipassana courses are open to all and provide a forum where people belonging to different nationalities and faiths - Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Jains, Buddhists, leaders of various religious orders, monks and nuns - join in a common endeavour to learn the technique of Vipassana with the objective of purification of the mind. These camps provide an ideal setting where one finds full expression of secularism and international brotherhood, and wherein an individual engages himself for self-improvement and comes out successful. The results are here and now.

In bringing Vipassana from Burma back to India, the home of its origin, Goenkaji has set the wheel of Dhamma in motion once again. He has kindled the light of real Dhamma. The light dispels the darkness, the darkness of ignorance, the root cause of misery, the root cause of suffering. The light shows the path. In the course of teaching Vipassana, Goenkaji expounds the essence of Dhamma with a clarity and precision so rare as to be found nowhere in any philosophical treatise on Dhamma. He conveys the message of Vipassana in a language that is simple and clear, at once understandable and practical for one and all. This is the process of making a new man that India needs, that the world needs - the process of making the good man.

For me, the first Vipassana camp marked a turning point in life. The path is clear, no more searching now, the destination is found. The destination is the path.