I have read a number of books on spirituality including Osho, Aldous Huxley and books published by the Ramakrishna Math. Here are some of the common teachings.
- All is a manifestation of the Divine. Two noteworthy Buddhist teachings are This very body the Buddha and This very mind the Buddha. These are either Mahayana or Zen teachings; I am not sure which. If you are willing to assume that these teachings are a way to seek God then the next step is responding to all that we experience with politeness, respect and reverence. All is a manifestation of the Divine and as such should be treated with reverence. If that is not possible for you then imply accept what is happening as God’s will
- A second related concept is that the Universe is an organic whole – similar to the human body. Our position is similar to that of cells within the body of the Universe. What happens to cells within the human body is of little consequence as long as the body is in a state of well being. Similarly it does not really matter what happens to us as long as the Universe survives. We are here to serve the Universe; the Universe is not here to serve us.
- And we can assume that the Universe knows what it must do to keep itself going. An individual cell with the human body may not know what must be done to keep the body going but the body as a whole does. So we need to accept that whatever is happening to us is what is required for the well being of the Universe.
What connection does this have with our being happy?
It has to do with the concept of self mortification. I have explained this concept in an earlier article on this blog. The link is below
Basically we need to stop striving to be happy and accept all that happens as God’s will. It is the striving and seeking that is making us unhappy. If we accept all as God’s will we will have a measure of contentment that does not make the situation worse.
Now you are not going to change as a person just because you have read this article on my blog. And it is natural for everybody to want to be happy. So what can we do when faced with the desire to be happy?
There are two alternatives. The first is learn some form of Buddhist meditation that will enable you to witness this yearning (to be happy) without getting caught up in it.
The second alternative is what was taught by Ramakrishna. If my memory serves me correctly he said that the yearning is a Tamasic Guna that can be used to seek God. Instead of yearning to be happy feel the yearning to experience God or salvation. In this way we make a skillful use of our Tamasic qualities in order to seek God and thus serve the Universe.
I’ll end here. Please explore this blog for more articles on Self Help, Spirituality and Politics. If you would like to contact me the link is below.
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