Question:

I struggle between the need for objects of meditation (music, chanting) and just being in pure nothingness. Sometimes I am here, sometimes there. I want to reach the ultimate spiritual goal. Have I reached this confusion after a lot of tapas or am I going back to square one? Do I just stop? Am I being too hard on myself? I am confused and would appreciate your advice and insight.

Answer:

First of all, we need to fully comprehend the types of spirituality paths. To understand the same, we must understand that the spiritual path is not different from the material path where progression style is concerned.

There are steps on the material path, namely:

• • school,
  • college,
  • university,
  • internship/apprenticeship,
  • temporary position,
  • permanent position,
  • subordinate level position
  • team lead position
  • lower management position,
  • middle management position,
  • higher management position,
  • head of the company.

There are similar steps on the spiritual path, namely:

• • religion
  • religious spirituality
  • feel-good spirituality
  • psychological spirituality
  • pure spirituality

You know the material path progression steps already through your own experience. Let’s look at the spiritual path progression steps:

1] Religion:

The first exposure to religion happens when one is born in a particular family with certain cultural and religious values. This religious/cultural conditioning is a package deal included with birth. Some of us grow in religion while some others grow out of it.

2] Religious Spirituality:

Because few of us, grow out of our childhood conditioning of religion, some religious organizations choose to wear a false garb of spirituality in order to trap the innocent minds. They may outwardly portray as all-inclusive, purely spiritual, having nothing to do with just one particular section of society. But at the core, they are completely religious with restrictive beliefs/concepts/ideas that are clearly not all-inclusive. The so-called Gurus/Masters/Teachers/Priests/Heads of such organizations are clearly religious leaders hiding under the false mask of a Spiritual Master. Many innocent young minds fall prey to this kind of ‘religious spirituality’ thinking that this is ‘true spirituality’.

Many spiritual seekers have to pass through this step of religious spirituality to be able to learn the skill of filtering out religion from pure spirituality. The use of religious sounds, religious objects, religious prayers, religious uniforms, religious texts, religious beliefs/concepts/ideas, religious rites & rituals is the sure give-away sign of a religious path hiding under the garb of spirituality.

Don’t fret about it if you recognize that you are at this stage. One must take it as a learning step similar to a school on the material path. Learn, mature, graduate and move-on…

P.S. I am not against any religion, but a religion hiding under the false mask of spirituality to trap the innocent mind is a clear betrayal of human trust.

3] Feel-good Spirituality:

Some of us get trapped in the feel-good aspect of the esoteric, enigmatic, out-of-the-real world, even paranormal and chemically-provoked experiences offered out there. The innocence of the spiritual seeker makes him believe that spirituality is about always ‘feeling good’, ‘feeling happy’, ‘feeling loved even if it is a hallucination’, always experiencing a ‘high’ irrespective of the method incorporated to achieve it.

Many innocent ones fall prey to the clutches of ‘feel-good’ spirituality. It is again another lesson to learn the skill of filtering out ‘actual spirituality’ from the false masks. The use of external feel-good objects as opposed to internal awareness is the sure give-away sign of a feel-good path hiding under the mask of spirituality.

Don’t fret about it if you recognize that you are at this stage. One must take it as a learning step similar to a school on the material path. Learn, mature, graduate and move-on…

P.S. I am not against ‘feel-good’ methods, they might be beneficial from time to time. But falsely trapping the innocent mind under the pretext of spirituality is a breach of human ethics.

4] Psychological Spirituality:

Overwhelmed by trials and tribulations of life, looking for a ‘quick solution’, the innocent one stumbles upon psychological spirituality that only calms the superficial level of the mind. Superficial calming techniques give him a momentary sense of peace. This is sufficient for him to chug on with the current tribulation. But the deep-rooted habit patterns that have led him to this misery are missed.

Innocent ones, mistaken that sound [words, music, human voice] can help them get enlightened, get duped by psychological calming. They finally learn the lesson sooner or later that quietness only can help fathom deep-seated patterns of the mind with one’s own awareness and not by any external support. The use of sound/words/music/human voice as opposed to silence/solitude/diving into one’s own inner-awareness is a sure give-away sign of psychology disguised as spirituality.

Don’t fret about it if you recognize that you are at this stage. One must take it as a learning step similar to a school on the material path. Learn, mature, graduate and move-on…

P.S. I am not against ‘psychological techniques’, they might be beneficial from time to time. But claiming ‘Mind Management’ as spirituality is a manipulation of moral code.

5] Pure Spirituality:

Pure Spirituality is a rare find; just like finding a diamond in the dust for the following reasons:

1. 1. 1. The truly Enlightened one has overcome ‘craving’. No money, no power, no politics, no fame, no material temptation can buy his wisdom.
      2. The truly Awakened one has attained the rarest quality of ‘wanting your benefit in exchange for nothing for himself’. Exchanging money for peace is not his quality at all.
      3. The truly Enlightened one has attained ‘Pure Speech’ and can never utter harsh/condemning/untrue words/political/diplomatic words. He is always direct and leaves no room for guessing.
      4. The truly Awakened one has attained ‘Pure Action’ and refrains from fakeness, wrongness, pompousness, etc.
      5. The truly Enlightened one never makes you spiritually dependent on himself; he does not want you to go to him again and again. He intends to make your spiritually independent.
      6. The truly Awakened one will never discourage you from Enlightenment. He will simplify it and make you feel it’s attainable for you.
      7. Lastly, the truly Enlightened one will emphasize awareness in every talk, every day, in every way so that it seeps into the thick-skulled sincere seeker. Awareness is the sole key to Awakening.

If you find these 7 qualities on your chosen path, then bravo! You have found the diamond.

If not, wisdom urges you to keep looking. Don’t stop the search too easily. May you find your Kohinoor. One who seeks shall find!