Page 269 - Complete Works of Dr. KCV Volume 1

The Goal of Sri Ramchandra's Rajayoga
Spiritual men from earliest times have assumed the goal of man to be God, or the state and plane of existence that is not of this world. This world was considered to be one of transitory being, in which one is having sojourn either out of one's will or against one's will. All life dies out after a period of being, which also is one of continuous change from one condition to another, so much so one cannot be said to be identically the same person. Life is like a stream or river which flows into nothingness or death. The assumption that every one takes rebirth after death, renewing the body after each dissolution at death, has also been an early axiom of all life. It is true that some held that on attaining freedom, one goes out at death never to return again to this kind of life. This freedom from rebirth has been one of the most cherished ideals of all spiritual effort. The frightfulness and misery of this earthly life has been brought to man's consciousness by all religious movements, and it is no wonder that religions have been known to teach pessimism about this world-life. This world life cannot be improved, perfected, or even modified except in small areas of life, and for some time only. An earthly paradise is impossible. So the Kingdom of God on Earth is a dream if not an utopia.
Modern ameliorism only tries to mitigate the misery of the world, to coat its bitterness with the sugar of love, sympathy, understanding and social justice. Though we may correct all the instincts of man, the greatest defect of the earth-consciousness would be yet there - the naturalness of death and its meaninglessness. There have been yogis who are even now trying to make man immortal by means of drugs and descent of the Mother's supramental Grace, or descent of the Supermind itself. It is wrong to conclude beforehand its failure just because there have been failures so far. The other attempt to resign ourselves to the fate of the river - riverness as one man put it - to feel, know and live for the instant that flows into another - unwept, unhonoured and unsung - this natural resignation that seeks no immortality, for that is unnatural, is equally present before us from the days of Heraclitus and Buddha down to our own days.