How to get to that so-called goal of life?...How to be enlightened?
Are spiritual practices like charities, religious vows, pilgrimages enough?
Then why doesn't everyone who is religiously ritualistic reach the Goal?
Why are even the greatest ritualists sometimes unhappy within??
Are rituals then meaningless? If not, why are they necessary even?
Pilgrimages are beautiful "journeys within". They are not spiritual holidays as understood today. The purpose is not to gather some sacred memories and freeze them in our click-click-clicks!! A pilgrimage is an opportunity to walk into the Palace of Divinity within, to unravel the mysterious planes of spiritual awakening in ourselves, to kindle in our hearts the courage to walk alone the Path that can only be walked alone. When a pilgrimage is undertaken with such an attitude, it uplifts the mind and accelerates one's climb upon the steep mountain of spirituality.
Religious vows consist of conscious decisions to withdraw from certain dependencies of the mind and/or the senses, so that one slowly gains enough self-control so as to be able to sit quietly and meditate. The greatest obstacle in meditation are our own attachments and aversions. Spiritual vows help in neutralising both of these. In fact, every seeker must attempt some sort spiritual vows at least twice a month or once a year for 30 days.
Charity is not to give away to the needy what we any way won't use. Charity is to offer something we are attached to. Charity must be hard and uneasy. When one overcomes that unsaid hesitation and gives oneself out completely to another, that is charity. Hence, we always offer $101 or $1001 in Dakshina. That extra 1 is to remind us to stretch a little more than what we are generally comfortable giving. Charity is an extremely powerful antidote of selfishness. Thus, one must perform acts of charity - not because others need the help, but because we need the cleansing.
Each of these practices is very powerful in making the mind introvert, unattached and selfless. Only such a mind can experience the Truth within. But, very often, many seekers fall into the false-notion that these practices alone are enough for liberation from sorrow, anxiety, suffering.
This cannot be. Break the myth that the darkness in the room can be removed with a broom. Break the myth that the ignorance within can be cured with any practice. It shall never happen. Ignorance has only one answer, and that is Knowledge. Knowledge of one's own Self, knowledge of the path, Knowledge of the goal - Knowledge that I am Infinite Happiness - that alone is the solution. Don't imagine getting free to be a result of religious rituals. Rituals can cleanse the mind and prepare it. But Knowledge alone will free us forever.
A seeker must never confuse the means with the goal. Practices are the means, Knowledge is the Goal. Value knowledge.
Practice: 1) Commit to Knowledge. Study & REFLECT on spiritual knowledge regularly. Consistent effort to Know Thyself is all we need.
2) Don't treat spiritual books like novels. They are not casual read or light reading material. They have hidden in them what it takes for us to experience our Highest. Take every word seriously, make copious notes, think over what is said, apply the instructions, live the Knowledge. This is not ordinary knowledge, it is Self-knowledge - that which can liberate me.
TODAY'S REFLECTION IS BASED ON BHAJA GOVINDAM VERSE 17.
Are spiritual practices like charities, religious vows, pilgrimages enough?
Then why doesn't everyone who is religiously ritualistic reach the Goal?
Why are even the greatest ritualists sometimes unhappy within??
Are rituals then meaningless? If not, why are they necessary even?
Pilgrimages are beautiful "journeys within". They are not spiritual holidays as understood today. The purpose is not to gather some sacred memories and freeze them in our click-click-clicks!! A pilgrimage is an opportunity to walk into the Palace of Divinity within, to unravel the mysterious planes of spiritual awakening in ourselves, to kindle in our hearts the courage to walk alone the Path that can only be walked alone. When a pilgrimage is undertaken with such an attitude, it uplifts the mind and accelerates one's climb upon the steep mountain of spirituality.
Religious vows consist of conscious decisions to withdraw from certain dependencies of the mind and/or the senses, so that one slowly gains enough self-control so as to be able to sit quietly and meditate. The greatest obstacle in meditation are our own attachments and aversions. Spiritual vows help in neutralising both of these. In fact, every seeker must attempt some sort spiritual vows at least twice a month or once a year for 30 days.
Charity is not to give away to the needy what we any way won't use. Charity is to offer something we are attached to. Charity must be hard and uneasy. When one overcomes that unsaid hesitation and gives oneself out completely to another, that is charity. Hence, we always offer $101 or $1001 in Dakshina. That extra 1 is to remind us to stretch a little more than what we are generally comfortable giving. Charity is an extremely powerful antidote of selfishness. Thus, one must perform acts of charity - not because others need the help, but because we need the cleansing.
Each of these practices is very powerful in making the mind introvert, unattached and selfless. Only such a mind can experience the Truth within. But, very often, many seekers fall into the false-notion that these practices alone are enough for liberation from sorrow, anxiety, suffering.
This cannot be. Break the myth that the darkness in the room can be removed with a broom. Break the myth that the ignorance within can be cured with any practice. It shall never happen. Ignorance has only one answer, and that is Knowledge. Knowledge of one's own Self, knowledge of the path, Knowledge of the goal - Knowledge that I am Infinite Happiness - that alone is the solution. Don't imagine getting free to be a result of religious rituals. Rituals can cleanse the mind and prepare it. But Knowledge alone will free us forever.
A seeker must never confuse the means with the goal. Practices are the means, Knowledge is the Goal. Value knowledge.
Practice: 1) Commit to Knowledge. Study & REFLECT on spiritual knowledge regularly. Consistent effort to Know Thyself is all we need.
2) Don't treat spiritual books like novels. They are not casual read or light reading material. They have hidden in them what it takes for us to experience our Highest. Take every word seriously, make copious notes, think over what is said, apply the instructions, live the Knowledge. This is not ordinary knowledge, it is Self-knowledge - that which can liberate me.
TODAY'S REFLECTION IS BASED ON BHAJA GOVINDAM VERSE 17.
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