Please ... stop hiding
by Sarojini
I am greatly saddened by the teachings and folklore which fill the halls of spirituality with tales of unrealistic transcendence which is not only false, but wholly unattainable and completely unsustainable. In the past when I was emotionally, mentally or physically burdened I would retreat to a soft, warm bed with the hopes of drifting into a deep sleep. In this state of unconsciousness, my problems and I did not exist; the body and mind were finally free to relax and disappear, if only for a little while. However, I inevitably had to awaken and, upon doing so, those challenges I had temporarily escaped from were present once again. Disappointed that they had not gone anywhere, I was equally dismayed that neither had I. The truth was that for a time I had been able to withdraw into the safety of no self or world awareness, yet reality was always stronger than my ability to close my eyes permanently to it. And so it is with transcendence.
This is in line with the rampant dissatisfaction that many are voicing with the half teachings of true Advaita by the Neo-Advaitan crowds. In these circles of ‘dualistic Non-Duality’, the aspirants and teachers have merely traded in one half of duality (the transient world) for the other half (the Absolute). I can certainly understand the desire to do so, as not only did I attempt in various ways to disconnect with the world and its problems (which included my own) throughout my life before the search for Truth began; but I too fell head first into holding solely onto the Absolute point of view. This one sided posture, in my case anyway, seemed to give me permission to deny the world and anything uncomfortable that I may have come upon. It is one thing to discover that there is a Greater Reality which is the ground for all of life that we see and experience; yet, it is another thing entirely to take that Greater Reality to be separate from that same life which we see and experience.
Life is difficult. It can be harsh. Raw. It is extremely troublesome to see not only the pain within the world, but the pain within ourselves. Often we begin this worthy search for Truth in the hopes that there is someone or something which can transform this ugliness into beauty; this hell into heaven. We hear of amazing tales that promise us life is perfect and so are we. Love is said to be everywhere; though, we secretly continue to feel unworthy. We look out through those borrowed glasses of hope, yet the rose colored lenses do not diminish our struggle. Eventually, when we are ready, we turn and look within our very selves.
Article continued here on the Silent Stillness Blog.
