Americans don't like to waste time. We've got so much going on all the time. Even children have incredibly busy lives. We live in a culture where we like to get things done fast! We don't like waiting around for anything.
On the freeways, we have "fast lanes" and "carpool" lanes. In the supermarkets, we have the "express check-out lanes" and, of course, we have our famous fast-food culture where food is served seconds after you're done paying for it. To facilitate our fast-paced culture, many establishments provide drive-thru windows, so you don't even have to get out of the car. These are just a few of the many examples that are out there.
Too often, our results-oriented mood also spills over into our spiritual practices. We want to get as much as possible, as quickly as possible, from as little commitment as possible. I pick up on this after the meditation sessions I lead where people get a glimpse into how unpredictable and completely scattered their minds are. Even though everyone tries their level best to keep the mind focused, the mind escapes to a thought, a plan, a conversation, or a fantasy without the individual even realizing that it went somewhere. This experience often inspires them to ask me, "How long did it take you to control your mind?" My response every single time is, "I'm still trying."
It seems as if we have a need to accomplish something. We're always trying to reach the finish line so that we can feel a sense of completion and move on to something else. However, meditation and spirituality are never quite like that. The other day, someone wrote me a question on Facebook: "What is the fastest way for one to remove one's bad karma?" I responded by saying, "I wish there was a fast way to burn off karma. The purpose of karma is not only to give us a reaction for our positive or negative actions, but also to teach us valuable lessons about life, our character and behavior, and our interactions with others. These things in life usually can't be rushed. Otherwise, we wouldn't learn from them."
There's a beautiful passage in the Puranic texts of Hinduism that wonderfully elucidates the method by which spiritual advancement is achieved:
"The highest devotion is attained by slow degrees, by the method of constant endeavor for self-realization with the help of scriptural evidence, theistic conduct and perseverance in practice."
The first point of emphasis in this verse is that genuine spiritual advancement has to be made in "slow degrees." It's not possible to jump over or skip steps. Each and every step is meant to help us confront our inflamed egos and overcome our weaknesses. Too often, we get really fired up to engage in a certain practice and go full force for some time and then drop the practice like a hot potato. Hence, this verse is recommending a slow and steady pace.
The next step that is emphasized is "constant endeavor and perseverance in practice." Even if we feel discouraged because of what we see in our ego or lack enthusiasm toward the practice, we need to find the strength to keep pushing forward. Confronting our ego and acknowledging our shortcomings can be very difficult and too often it's easier to walk away than to proceed forward. This is where associating with other like-minded practitioners can give one the strength to keep moving forward.
Rupa Goswami, one of the most important teachers of the Vaisnava tradition, makes similar points to the verse above. He says that while one is engaging in a regulated spiritual practice, one needs to be enthusiastic, confident, and patient.
"Enthusiastic" means one needs to be eager to practice, even if the eagerness isn't always there. One needs to be confident that the goal of liberation will be achieved. If one isn't confident, then naturally one will call it quits real fast. Being in the association of other serious practitioners allows one to witness their advancement, whereby we develop faith that it is possible.
Of course, our patience will be tested over and over again, especially when we fall short of our goals and standards, or we get distracted by other ambitions. Some days will be easier while some days the mind will rebel and make it feel like you're pushing a boulder uphill. This is the real test in our spiritual life. Achieving spiritual perfection may take us multiple lifetimes.
In our "pill-popping, quick-fix, I-want-it-now" culture, patience isn't something that's valued a whole lot. While we can try to maintain that culture in our professional lives, it will be quite counterproductive if we implement it into our spiritual lives. Purifying the soul of its material conditioning -- greed, anger, envy, and pride -- has to take its own sweet time.
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1. The drinking of Madya (drinking of intoxicating liquors)
2. The eating of Mamsa (meat, particularly beef)
3. The eating of Matsya (fish) 4.
4. The eating of Mudra (parched or fried grain)
5. The performance of Maithun (sex with a woman).
Sexual intercourse is prescribed as a part of the Puja (worship). As Dr. Ambedkar, former Federal Minister of Law points out: “On reading this history a student of true religion is forced to ask: “Where is the place of morality in the Hindu religion?” Hindu scriptures say that Rishis (hermits) cohabitated with women in open space and within the sight of the public.
Good one. Tantric 'Hinduism' is not mainstream Hinduism at all.
There is no goal to liberation as we are already liberated. It is a matter of remembering this.
"Achieving spiritual perfection may take us multiple lifetimes."
What is there to achieve when perfection is at hand?
"Purifying the soul" when the soul is already pure?
No practice, no path, just this life.
But within this conditioned and time-bound existence, we awaken gradually.
Another way to look at this is beyond the idea of fast or slow, beyond the idea of "time". The truth is that negative karma can be neutralized in a single instant. Neg Karma is a matter of the lack of awareness or what is categorized as ignorance. The neutralization of this karma is all about the desire and readiness to come to a full understanding of how you created the karma in the first place (who you were), combined with a new understanding of who you are now capable of becoming. This new awareness immediately sets a new energy out to your world, neutralizing negative karma and laying the seeds for positive circumstances to begin to emerge. Therefore, it is not a matter of any preconceived notion of "time" but rather a matter of the strength and intensity of one's will to understand and see new possibilities for themselves in this moment.
All the best.
Rather than a will to understand and to see it is simply opening to that which permeates being.
No control but surrender a letting go..
I'd completely agree with you in part. That if you truly understand the reality of your past actions, hopefully as quickly as possible, then you've become a different person and thus you don't require any more lessons in that area. But more often than not we don't fully understand the consequences of our actions and thus we still need to be taught a lesson. This helps explain why when people are diagnosed with an illness due to smoking, it changes them instantly, although on the other hand sometimes that's not even enough.
Since quicker is certainly better, in general terms how would you promote doing so? Obviously your comment is one step, but it take a long time to understand that we don't have the luxury of taking a long time to fix ourselves?
The path of "quicker" as it relates to understanding comes from a strong will to understand. It comes form one who is tired of the pain born of misunderstanding. From here powerful questions of self-inquiry emerge from more of a place of "I don't know". From this open space of mind new information has a place to enter. With this new will, fear loses its power, old limiting beliefs are dropped, and new truths are embraced, thus creating new understandings, actions and conditions.
"Time" in this process is a relative term. It is a function of will, desire and faith expressed. For example in this moment, with an open mind and a true readiness, instant change is possible. When one is worried about "time" it is a part of the misunderstanding that creates the "experience" of time. A suggestion is to contemplate the truth that you have an eternity of time :)
One way to control the mind is to have the mind control the mind. I think mantras are used for this purpose. Mantras are analogous to the elephant holding the tail of the elephant in front of him. It helps keep him from running loose.
Having experienced the soul as a thing unto itself I must say I found it to be pure and free from the conditioning you write of.
Therefore I believe it is the purifying of the mind from the conditioning that you write of rather than the soul that is helpful.
The mind is a searcher for happiness and falls for the quick fix of its desires (some helpful to spiritual growth and some not so) to be fulfilled. Therefore when the mind during correct meditation experiences its more subtle levels and even a slight glimpse of the ever pure soul, it finds its greatest joy.
Then, after meditation the mind effortlessly becomes more focused or conditioned toward bliss and less so on the conditioning you write of.
And so the mind bifurcates in two thereby contradicting itself?
"Having experienced the soul as a thing unto itself "
This would imply that you are not your soul. Then what is the latter?
"Therefore when the mind . . even a slight glimpse of the ever pure soul.
Where does the mind end and the soul begin? Where is the border twixt the two?
I should have used the word direct rather than control.
The latter is 95% mind 5% soul. The mind is very large and powerful and as the soul identifies with the minds creations, it gets lost within it.
From the matrix. (Do you think that’s air you’re breathing?)
As the soul I observed the mind as a separate entity separated by space and without any point of reference I could not give an accurate distance. I can say that the mind stuff looked like a large hurricane made of fluorescent colors that rotated counter clockwise.