My psychiatrist cautioned me against spirituality when I last met her. She said that too much spirituality is not good if you want to lead an ordinary, conventional life and be respected by society.
I can see her point of view now. I am reading Rumi and here are a couple of quotes that – if I take seriously – will revolutionize my life. Maybe for the better or maybe not. But it will definitely turn my life upside down.
Here are the relevant quotes:
This invisible ocean has given you such abundance,
but still you call it death,
that which provides you sustenance and work.
God has allowed some magical reversal to occur,
so that you see the scorpion pit
as the object of desire,
and the beautiful expanse around it,
as dangerous and swarming with snakes.
This is how strange your fear of death
and emptiness is, and how perverse
the attachment to what you want.
And again in another chapter
Muhammad says, “I come before dawn
to chain you and drag you off.”
It is amazing and funny that you have to be
pulled away
from being tortured, pulled out
into this spring garden,
but that’s the way it is.
I was reminded of these two quotes when I was taking my walk this morning. I had decided to do walking meditation (a Buddhist practice) but out of habit, as I was walking I started brooding over the injustices that I thought I had suffered. From time to time I would become aware of what I was doing and then I would turn my attention to the meditation objects – the breath, the sounds, the physical sensations and the sights and so on.
And during the time that I was free of my brooding I found myself in an absolute wonderland of beauty. There was a mild feeling of bliss – not intense but mild. But it would not last. Inevitably I started brooding again.
If I stopped desiring the scorpion pit and embraced emptiness I have a much better chance of being happy in my day to day life. But first I must see the scorpion pit for what it is and stop desiring it.
And that requires a process of dehypnosis. I need to read the above lines by Rumi over and over.
The main reason I am attached to my family and friends is fear of emptiness (being alone with myself) and fear of death. I need to work on my mind in order to have the right perception – as per spiritual principles – of emptiness, death, the world and God.
If you are interested in how you can dehypnotize yourself read Vedanta, The Voice of Freedom by Swami Vivekananda. It is sold on Amazon and by the Ramakrishna Math. Another book that discusses the subject is The Mustard Seed by Osho.
Of course Osho is a controversial figure. But he understood spirituality and gave a lot of insights in his talks and books.
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