Twenty first century is remarkable for a persistent search for positives, a quest for meaning that could impart some pattern to the chaotic flux of life. Man must exceed himself and grasp this real world with the combined powers of sense, soul and mind. Life is always more than life. It contains a transcendental function. In no other period in the history of English and American literature have the writers embarked on a quest for values with such dogged determination as in the present age. The process that balances and integrates various orders and dimensions into a harmonious and convergent whole may be called spiritual health. It implies harmony with all. Just as the colours of rainbow remain just what they were, just as distinct and just as beautiful, so spiritual health has been with us all the time, in some shape or the other. Faith is not a phenomenon beside others but the central phenomenon in man's personal life, manifest and hidden at the same time. There is value in every form of creative activity in which the self can engage. Man, however, must strive for and realize certain intrinsic and ultimate values that can not be suppressed without suppressing humanness. Men are always corrupting the old symbols, drifting away from the old truths. But while some are losing their faith, others are achieving new spiritual insights. And that is how most of us play our role in the reshaping of our society's value.
Former Professor, Department of English, Vinoba Bhave University, Hazaribagh (Jharkhand)
