Surrendering Everything

In relative terms, the human being is made up of spirit, mind and body. Absolutely, there is just spirit; Love. In what we refer to as "spirituality ", there is the seeking and investigating into realm of spirit. In the West, when the intellect and psychology (mind) become dissatisfied with organized religion, there is often begun a "search " for a "more meaningful spirituality ".

In this search for meaning, many turn to Eastern philosophies, many of which also contain an element of religion. Some "seekers " will swap a religion that has lost it's meaning for a new religion that seems to answer questions that were left "hanging " in the old belief system. But many in the West want to jettison all "belief " systems for a logic based, "scientific " view; a spirituality without spirit.

At the other extreme, we find those who put great value in "spiritual experiences ". We hear of "blue light experiences ", mysterious figures, or rising up to heaven in a kind of self styled "transfiguration ". Some of these also like to use the name "God " as if such a "sky captain " were a reality. Where is a simple seeker after Truth to go in this spiritual marketplace?

Those who advocate the logical, scientific view teach a kind of "biological/psychological" spirituality, or as I said above, a spirituality without spirit. These are the ones who see "love " as a biological process inherent in the brain. They also are the ones who engage in psychological "games " and "tricks " like "watching the mind" , "shadow work " or simply asking us to stop our minds in order to experience "awareness" without thought. (as if that were possible to do with the mind!) These are all wonderful psychological practices and are helpful in quieting the mind and finding psychological "blockages ". But they are not spiritual, they are in the mind.

And again, the "spiritual experience junkie ", with his vision's of "God ", "explosive awakenings" , or "blue light experiences " is also living in the mind, as this is where these "experiences " happen. These are the teachers who tell you to look for a particular experience; particularly one like they have had, that can be defined in a particular way. They see no problem with being able to say you must have this kind of experience, or it's not authentic. Again, this is obviously in the mind. If your "experience " is definable or describable, it is in the mind. Again, where is the simple seeker after Truth to go in this spiritual circus?

We have been given examples of spiritual masters, gurus and teachers for centuries. There have been examples in every major belief system from Buddhist, Advaita, Christian, Islam to those of no fixed or specific system. They are all different, have different approaches and have formulated, or not, methods and practices. Although they very widely in their behaviors, they have some things in common. The first being that they lived out their teaching in lives that were unique and set apart. Lives of humility, unconcerned for the conventions of the world. Buddha, Christ, Ramana Mahrashi, Nisargadatta Maharaj, all lived lives that were not only different from ours, but different from the time and people they lived among. (Of those, Nisargadatta lived the most "ordinary" life, but his earnestness, love and generosity were anything but "ordinary".)

To say that there is nothing "special " about these teachers, or spiritual masters is foolish on it's face. How many Christians live as Christ? How many Buddhists, outside the monastery, live as Buddha? How many live as Ramana Maharshi or Nisargadatta Maharaj? This is really the key. The spiritual life is a life apart; a life unique. It is a "being in the world, but not of it". It is a life worked out by oneself, following the call life gives you.

To think that you can engage the world in an "ordinary " manner, ordinary meaning in this context, living for ordinary, worldly values and aspirations, is foolish, but this is what many of the teachers of "spirituality without spirit " will tell you. On the other hand the teachers of "spiritual experience ", with their rarified awakenings, visions of "God " and all the rest of it, are separating those with "The Experience " from those who have not had "The Experience ". They will tell you of course, that you too can have this wonderful experience as well, but are sure to tell you that you have not had it yet, unless you are like them, and see it in their vision . The intellectual, "spirituality without spirit " teachers are living in, and teaching from, the mind, and the "spiritual experience " teachers are living in, and teaching from, the world of ego (also mind).

To be "in this world, but not of it " is clear in a Buddha, a Christ or a Ramana Maharshi. Why fool yourself by being a Sunday Christian or a Satsang participant who forgets all the inconvenient truths while living your daily life. When Christ told the rich young fellow to sell his possessions and follow him, the fellow went away sad. What makes you think you can follow and hang on to anything? You need to leave all behind, be it mind games of psychological "discovery " or dream visions of "The Experience", and follow the call that calls you to be yourself.

Nisargadatta's famous quote; "When I see that I am nothing, that is wisdom. When I see that I am everything, that is Love, between the two, my life continually flows." is the beginning. To live that out, without psychological self indulgence, or "experiential " spiritual pride is the beginning. To do this is to "step off the cliff " into the unknown, the unsure, and the potentially unsafe. But to the True "seeker "; the one who is called by something other than a desire for peace of mind or to relieve personal "suffering ", there is no choice. Love is calling, calling from within. You will either follow or remain in the "safe" world of the mind.

Peace

Living Accordingly - Life as "Practice"

"You cannot be half a saint. You must be a whole saint or no saint at all".

- Therese of Leisieux

When St. Therese wrote those words, she was not declaring herself a "saint", or saying that we can "become" saints, but pointing out that we must strive to reach the top of the mountain, and not be satisfied with half way up. In Spirituality there can be no half-way measures.

Therese of Leisieux knew from an early age that loving God, either thorough direct worship, or through service to "others", had to be a whole hearted endeavor. She gave her life very early to the singular worship and service to God. But it's not only Christian Saints who recognize that full devotion to the "task at hand"; the seeking, the longing for "closeness" to the source, is what is required. Similar to Paul's call in Philippians 2 to "...work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you", the Buddha said “Be a lamp unto yourself. Work out your liberation with diligence.” Diligence, like Nisargadatta Maharaj's often used word; earnestness is at the heart of the spiritual search, and a constant in the Spiritual Life.

What does earnestness in the Spiritual Life mean? What does it mean to "work out your salvation with fear and trembling? Earnestness and diligence are both words that speak of constant, serious attention. That's all. This sounds simple until you look closely at another passage from the Bible; Mark 12:

"The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. 31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these."

"All thy heart". "All thy soul". "All thy mind" "All thy strength". That's it. That's what is required for "salvation" or "liberation"; Loving "God" in "thyself" and in thy "neighbor", and consequently in all things, sentient or otherwise.

The "fear and trembling" mentioned in Paul's letter, refers to the inability of the mind to understand the workings of the heart. I go into this in another blog: Nebulous Clarity ( http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=118768064850624 ), but to put it simply, nebulous clarity refers to the state of acceptance of understanding, without the ability to articulate it to others or yourself. This "living without understanding" is the heart of sacrifice and acceptance. It is here, in the fear and trembling, that the conviction is tested. Do you live and move with the conviction that you are Love itself? Can you let the mind live in fear and trembling long enough for it to trust the heart? This is where earnestness and fearlessness come in. A single minded attention to the reality that you are is essential.

The Buddha, Nisargadatta Maharaj, and Saint Therese had many things in common, but among the foremost was their single minded attention to the "reality" that they were. They did this, not by simply meditating, or engaging in recollection or prayer, but by living a life that was an integrated whole with their "spiritual understanding". Your "spiritual life" cannot be a separate life from your "daily life". Just as Therese says "you can not be half a saint", you can't be half in and half out of the spiritual life. You are either in it or not. The lives of these three "saints" of spirituality were a living testimony to their words. They all were of different "faiths" or "paths", but they were one in devotion, "earnestness", if you will forgive me one more time!

Living a life in "non-duality" does not require leaving behind the life you have. That would be duality. What is required is "integration". No matter how "non-spiritual" your life may seem, the Absolute, "God's" Love is all around you, flows through you, is you, and is available at all times and in all things. Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, a Carmelite Monk, is described in his famous work "The Practice of the Presence of God" as having an "aversion" to kitchen work, but used his work as a way of loving the Lord:

"So, likewise, in his work in the kitchen (to which he had, at first, a great aversion), having accustomed himself to do everything there for the love of God and asking for His grace to do his work well, he had found everything easy during the fifteen years he had been employed there. He was very well pleased with the post he was now in. Yet, he was as ready to quit that as the former, since he tried to please God by doing little things for the love of Him in any work he did. With him the set times of prayer were no different from other times. He retired to pray according to the directions of his superior, but he did not need such retirement nor ask for it because his greatest labor did not divert him from God."

Living the truth; living as if we believe what the sages tell us is a great start. Nisargadatta says: "'If you trust me, believe when I tell you that you are the pure awareness that illumines consciousness and its infinite content. Realize this and live accordingly." Live accordingly! This little statement, almost tacked on at the end, contains the method, the "practice" recommended by Nisargadatta. He goes on to state that if you don't believe him, you should engage in self inquiry and the "I am". But the "live accordingly" remains. Whether you trust the Guru, or find yourself on "your own", the living out the realization, is the realization.

A life of sacrifice need not be a life of pain or suffering, although that too will come, but it is a life of rejection of "personal" wants and desires in favor of universal Love. It is living in acceptance of nebulous clarity, and constant service to the reality that is beyond your mind's conception. The courage to live "as if" you understand, "as if" you always are "ready", always in the flow, is what is required for that "understanding", and even that "courage" to happen. For the "potential energy"; Love, to flow, there must be a connection to the truth, and a means to "express" it. The truth is in the expression, as that is all that exists in reality. We must give all we have. We must disappear, as must the "other", be it God, man or world, all that matters is the expression; the loving. The living.

Celibacy, Chastity, and the Spiritual Life

When I was an Anglican Monk, one of the curious things was how many people would perceive the idea of a monk. Silence, living in poverty, silent prayer and meditation were never on the top of the list when "outside" people perceived the monk. It was celibacy that immediately came into their minds.

Monks are celibate. That was the perception. Many were surprised, shocked even, to find that TheCommunity of the Living Sacrifice had no vow of celibacy, and indeed allowed married couples to join. Even couples with children!

This celibacy thing is a sticking point for many in Spirituality. The Catholic Church has a vow of celibacy for it's clergy, and monastics. Hindu Saddus practice celibacy, as do Buddhist monks. It was a very daring thingto write a rule for a religious community that did not include celibacy. But I found no choice.

In Advaita, we understand that we are not the body/mind. The body/mind is a construct of the mind itself, and is therefor illusion; the mind itself, being nothing but a "bag of thoughts". To believe that this illusion is either "clean" or "dirty" is to give it way more attention than it needs or deserves. The thoughts in the mind are simply that; thoughts drifting through on their way to nowhere. If we do not "grab" at them, they drift on by, and are of no bother to one's peace. If, on the other hand, we dwell on the thoughts, they begin to take on a "life" of their own, and grow in importance to our "thought world". The simple division of thoughts and actions into "clean" or "dirty" becomes an entry into duality.

Sexual thoughts can be very strong. If suppressed, they can become even stronger. Our body/mind is a refection of the Absolute, as it is a part of the manifestation. Being part of the manifestation, it is the expression of God's, or Love's lilla, or play. It is a reflection of "Love in action". To discount or even despiseany natural function of the body/mind is a slap in the face to the creator. Sexual function, even beyond the reproductive function, can unite two souls into one. Sexual function can be as much of the "creator's" plan as any other. But this needs to be an action of Love, never desire, never selfish lust.

At this point it would be a good idea to look at the difference between "celibacy" and "chastity".

These two are often mistaken for each other, and are quite different.

Chastity is the purity of sexual expression. A non married man or woman who abstains from sexual

behavior would be considered chaste. A married couple who only engage in sexual behavior with each other would also be considered chaste. I, personally, would consider a couple who for whatever reason, can't be "properly" married, but who are spiritually dedicated to one another, and who engage in sexual union only with each other to be chaste.

Celibacy is a gift. Just as one's personality, or one's hair color, or place of birth is a gift. This all unfolds with the play of Love. If we attempt to force celibacy on souls who are not gifted with it, we attempt to twist God's plan for us. Those "gifted" with celibacy can not understand the gift of sex offered to others. Even the great Masters have had trouble with this. The Buddha, in order to follow the "true spirit" as he saw it, left his wife and child behind. Other spiritual people have done this also.

No doubt the Buddha, feeling he must follow the proscribed life of the sunyassi, saw celibacy as the only choice. Catholic Priests and Bishops, who are called upon to be celibate, often have difficulty taking on a false celibacy, with drastic results we read about every day.

If the Buddha had stayed with his family, he would have discovered another truth; the family can be a great training ground for spirituality. God calls many, if not most of mankind, to family life. The cleaving of man and woman in marriage, the responsibility of raising and caring for children are wonderful places to learn aboutlove, sacrifice, and renunciation. If God calls you to learn your way by raising children, and you willfully insist on celibacy, when it is not your call, you will not only not reach your goal, you have violated God's role for you.

Blessed are those who are called to celibacy. But also blessed are those called to family. You can not follow someone else's calling. To enter a "pretend" celibacy, against your call, because you will it, or some church or organization demands it, is to put it front and center in your mind. You will try to will sexual feelings away. This will "hold" that thought in your mind. If you dualisticlly regard sex as "evil" or "dirty", you will experience guilt and shame, again destroying any mindfulness of spirit.

God has made us all different, yet one. The "play of God" loves the diversity. The only way to the Truth is to follow your path. Try to force another path, and you are lost.

As, I said, even the Buddha felt compelled to follow the proscribed path that was laid down before him. He even added it to his own way, and now others, who may not be so called, try desperately to follow. As mentioned above, those who have the calling to celibacy can not understand the calling of others. Many of these, entering on the path of spirituality, will become teachers or Gurus and insist others "be like them". Also, psychology tells us that many people are celibate due to a sexual disorder caused by incest, or rape or other traumatic event. These people, who fear sex, will want to instill this fear in others, justifying their own fear.

We must remember, the most celibate fanatic, who insists others have to be celibate, came into this word viathe very thing they fear or despise. Were our parents non spiritual? Were we conceived in lust? Does the celibate monk, with his idea of renunciation, have anything on the father or mother, who sits up with a sick child, or the man or woman holding their dying spouse's hand?

So we must strive for chastity, in all things. Pure celibacy, as well as pure loving sexuality, are part of the functioning of the whole. Each to his calling. Spirituality ultimately is about SPIRIT. Chasity is important to Spirit. How we lovingly use our bodies is a temporal thing. If that use leads the "person" to the Spirit, we must not stand in judgment as to which is better. It is a matter of calling.