“In any way that men love me, in that same way they find my love: for many are the paths of men, but they all in the end come to me (1)”.
We are all as unique as our individual biometrics, whilst nevertheless conforming to the sets of characteristics and propensities of behaviour that mark us as human. There are those who love team sports and activities and those who feel happier with individualistic pursuits such as judo, archery, or chess. Many people learn well within a formal educational setting: the classroom, instruction manuals, set exercises and so on. Others, however, need to find different ways that work for them and feel constrained within formal classroom situations. I have ever been one of these latter.
Relying on my own way doesn’t translate into my abjuring formal learning however. I am an intellectual by nature and an academic by training with a love of knowledge and a yearning to understand, to inform myself in the widest possible way using a whole spectrum of different learning media from formal books through to that best of all educators, life itself. I love my way, it feels absolutely right for me, but although superficially that might seem to be because it is unstructured and undisciplined, it does actually require a strange, different and more rigorous discipline, which has to do with commitment, and that other important requirement in life oft stressed here: taking responsibility for oneself and always being fully aware. That way, not a single moment, let alone life event, should pass you that doesn’t add grist to your personal mill; that doesn’t tell you something about the world at large and yourself as a person living within it.
How to evaluate these life experiences though? Within what framework of understanding are they to be set? And what are the general recommendable practices and disciplines that will promote the gaining of wisdoms and progress on the spiritual journey?
I have set out my general view elsewhere, that there is no single tradition, religion or spiritual movement that can save you from yourself; they all require commitment from you and a certain ability to ‘read the signs’. I see formalised religions in particular as being rather like a vehicle – a container which conveys you in the general direction of your sought after destination (here assumed to be ‘enlightenment’, sometimes understood as ‘salvation’), but, by itself, can never take you to the end. There is always a point you have to descend from the vehicle and continue on foot and alone.
One of the reasons for this is that formal religions in particular are essentially rigid frameworks formed by rules and regulations: of what constitutes Divinity, of how to understand and worship that Divinity, of the sorts of prescriptions and proscriptions in life regarding a whole range of things, which as much as anything incorporate cultural attitudes such as social and gender norms, diet, intoxicant and stimulant consumption, clothing to be worn, and the like. In the end they are also conditionings which can, in their turn, bind you, as all cultural rules and regulations can do. People do these things as they have grown up to do them, often never questioning the reason for them. In the end we stand naked before God; which essentially means that we must divest ourselves of the raiment and habits of our lives, both personal and collective.
This is not, however, a direction to live as you please and ignore your responsibility to wider society and the earth we all live on. The core and timeless truths of all religions are fundamentally similar and all serve to point us in the direction of enlightenment. Whether Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu or Buddhist, you will find these core truths articulated: the requirement to find ways to live peacefully and unselfishly, to be ‘continent’, to be loving and merciful, to be forgiving, to be truthful, and so on.
Hence, whether you feel drawn to pursuing your journey to Enlightenment within a more formal Yoga movement, ashram or monastic setting, or whether you decide this is not for you (perhaps having tried one or more as I did), the choice is always yours and needs to be made both from a place of sufficient information, as well in connection to that deeper Spirit which is the ultimate source of guidance for you.
Bhagavad Gita Ch. 4. Vs 11
Also glossed as:
“In whatever state of being a person approaches Me, ‘I reciprocate and establish a relationship with them in that mood’. In fact, everyone already has a relationship with Me, even if they are unaware of its exact nature.”
Bhagavad Gita Comes Alive
Lotus image downloaded from:
https://www.canon.com.hk/en/club/article/itemDetail.do?itemId=10346&page=1