Devotion = Direction
Gandhi said “Knowledge without devotion is like a misfire.”
As non-violent as he was, Gandhiji was right. Knowledge, in this case, is knowing how to load, cock, and shoot a gun – devotion is knowing what to aim at.
It could be devotion to a Higher Power, a spouse or science, but devotion plays a key role in our lives whether we like it or not – it gives us a sense of direction to pursue.
Consciously or even subconsciously, we attach our motivations and predications of existence on certain ideals/principles/schools of thought/religions/philosophies – a center of moral gravity, if you will.
It’s too vague to say you’re devoted to making the world a better place. Instead, you should find a cause that you believe the world needs more of, and devote yourself to that.
Holocaust survivor and psychiatrist Viktor Frankl endured so much horror and despair in Auschwitz, being the lone surviver of his family by the end of WWII. From his experience with fellow prisoners who succumbed to hopelessness (in addition to brutal torture), he devoted the rest of his life to helping people find the meaning of their life. He went so far as to create an entire psychotherapeutic practice, Logotherapy – focused on helping people discover their own form of devotion in order to not just find the meaning in life, but instead give life its meaning.
Gandhi was trained as a civil rights lawyer, but his claim to fame was leading the independence of an entire nation. It’s evident that Gandhi was devoted to Justice, but that devotion manifested itself in different ways. First as a civil rights lawyer fighting for equal treatment of Black people in South Africa in the court of law, then it was fighting for India’s independence from its colonizers – defying the entire British Government.
Justice? Love? Empathy? Understanding?
Once that center of moral gravity is established, the way in which you pursue that devotion will manifest itself in the form that is your most honest self.
For Frankl, it was helping people find meaning as a psychotherapist.
For Gandhi, it was fighting for the justice of those who were unjustly oppressed.
Final Thoughts
You don’t have to take devotion to the extreme that Frankl and Gandhi did (although it would greatly benefit humanity if you did). Rather, ask yourself “What do I wish the world had more of?” or “What is it that I wish more people would express?” or “What is it that I wish I was given more of?”. Once you have your answer, pursue it.
