Each of us chooses where to put the comma. Why our surroundings and the forces of a consumer society pull the mind down, and how inner effort — meditation — helps us choose progress.
"Degrade never progress." Each of us chooses where to put the comma. The flow of evolution guides all living beings from imperfection to perfection. Animals, guided by instinct, do not have the ability to be aware of themselves and to make decisions. But a human being goes through a process of self-knowledge and self-determination, which gives them some control over their natural side. And the stronger this control, the more responsibility a person takes for their own life.
Only to human beings is the ability to choose given: to perform actions that lead to progress or, on the contrary, actions that lead to degradation. Every decision we make and every action we perform leaves an imprint on the mind.
Although a person makes their own choices, their decisions are strongly influenced by their surroundings, their environment.
If the environment is natural, a person moves easily in the flow of evolution. If the surroundings are toxic on the physical or mental level, one needs enormous strength to make right decisions that do not go against one's conscience. Otherwise the influence of the surroundings eats away at the mind like acid and inclines it toward negative actions and thoughts. This leads to degradation. If a person makes no additional effort aimed at elevating themselves, they become completely dependent on circumstances and lose their will.
Only 200 years ago people lived in a more natural world, closer to nature. You have probably noticed that if you spend more time in nature, your strength and inner harmony are restored. Our time offers a great variety of opportunities, but it also places an enormous responsibility on us for the decisions we make. The forces at work in the modern world constantly want to take energy away from people. They need people to work, to create prosperity for someone else, to buy things. It all comes down to two actions: work and buy. This creates a consumer society, in which everything else recedes into the background: moral and spiritual principles are not a priority, and a person's worth is determined by how much energy they can give.
The forces that now dominate the world are not benevolent toward all people; they are parasites on society, and human beings are food for these forces. Only the progress of all people will make it possible to change the situation. We must make moral and ethical principles the foundation of society and inspire everyone to follow the path of progress in all three spheres — physical, mental and spiritual. It is possible to resist the formatting of the mind by outside forces only through inner effort. This inner effort is called meditation.
If someone wants to put the comma in the right place in the phrase "Degrade never progress!", they need to make an effort for their own development. The outer world instills ideas and patterns of behavior, but a sádhaka must analyze them and discard whatever does not lead to the highest goal of human life, whatever is an obstacle on that path. The more people practice this way of thinking today, the harder it will be for these destructive forces to influence society as a whole.
In modern society any genuine morality is ridiculed; figuratively speaking, white is made black and vice versa. That is why spiritual and moral people are a significant minority today, but they need to wake up themselves and help others wake up. This is the only way out. Without spiritual practice, people's minds will continue to be directed wherever it suits the forces that feed on society.
We need to meditate in order to sense the right path, and then the comma will fall into the right place by itself: "Degrade never, progress!"
