Question:

Can a liar meditate?

Answer:

Buddha said that morality [Sheel] is more important than anything else.

• • If your morals are loose, you will not be able to meditate.
  • If you cannot meditate, inner wisdom will not arise.
  • If inner wisdom does not arise, you will NEVER attain the TRUTH.

That’s why Sheel was the first priority in Buddha’s time.

If you have been very loose with your mind until now, its time to pull the reins. Remember, it is the mind that tends to lie, cheat, manipulate, steal, harm or relish in another person’s misfortune, etc. The SELF does NOT indulge in UNWHOLESOME acts. You are not the mind. You only have a tool called the mind. You will have to let the mind lose some battles if YOU want to finally win.

Buddhas simple vows were – I will NOT lie / NOT steal / NOT manipulate / NOT harm / NOT even tell the TRUTH is a manner that it hurts / NOT relish in negative thoughts / NOT indulge in gossip / NOT cause restlessness in another’s mind/heart, etc. Breaking these vows was not looked upon well for a meditator because that directly affects your own meditation.

How?

For e.g. If you utter something through your lips in the pretext that ‘I am only saying the truth’, but very well knowing that it will definitely cause turbulence in some mind and restlessness in some heart, then;

• • There is a pinch/pang of guilt in your own consciousness.

• • This pinch/pang in your own consciousness does not let you rest and brings up the bhava of guilt even if the Ego suppresses the thoughts of guilt with intellectual justification.

• • This bhava causes unrest in the quiet lake of your mind; just like a single tiny pebble can ruffle an entire still lake of water.

• • From experience, you know that these ruffles do NOT go away soon. They remain for a LONG time.

• • For meditators on the spiritual path, whose entire effort is targeted on silencing the mind so as to reveal the SUPREME TRUTH, a single pebble’s ruffles are sufficient for pushing that silence away.

Nobody else is responsible for our ignorance. We ourselves are!

Wake up to this extremely subtle mechanics of Karma and become stronger from now on; take this vow and stick to it at any cost – I will not be the reason for spoiling my own chances to SILENCE my own mind, at any cost.

What is the meaning of ‘at any cost’?

• • Attaining the highest TRUTH is attaining GOD and GOD cannot reside in an impure environment.
  • For every meditator, a time comes where he must choose between a petty materialistic pleasure and his own inner purity, what would you choose?

If GOD / TRUTH is more important to you, clean those inner chambers with the soap of spiritual wisdom so that there is not even a single pang of anything…… just a clear sparkly blue lake of Stillness and LOVE!