09 Feb 2010 Vrindavan, India
Category: Fake
I said yesterday that some people like to show off spirituality and even religion. Why would you do that, for what? Let’s see again the example of going for shopping with your mala in your hand and while you are saying your mantras you choose something to buy and wear.
So why exactly did you take your mala? Okay, if you told me you want to pray on the way to the shop because you have to walk for half an hour to reach there, I would understand that you took your mala for praying on the way. However why don’t you put it away when you enter the shop? Is it because you want all the other people in the store to know that you are spiritual or religious? Why do you need to show that off?
I sometimes have the impression that especially the ‘spiritual tourists’ that are coming to India have the feeling that they need to show everyone that they are spiritual. However if you are really comfortable with yourself and your spirituality, you don’t need to let others know about it all the time. I anyway don’t think that you need to convince others of what you believe. It is your thing, your belief and if they ask you can talk about it but if nobody asks, if you are just going to the market to go shopping just like everybody else, it is okay if you just do it in the way that others do it, too.
Isn’t that your ego saying that you want the shopkeeper to notice that you are different, that you are devoted and connected to god? Do you think they would think better of you then? Does that make the others less spiritual because they are not praying while shopping?
Spirituality is something very personal and individual. You don’t need to connect with a sect or join a group for living your spirituality. Unfortunately you nowadays have to make this comparison of deeply felt spirituality and show-off spirituality. Be natural about your spirituality. This means that if you really have this feeling of love and devotion, then pray. Or take your time to only pray to get back into this feeling. Don’t do things by halves. Fully be in your prayer, in your meditation.
Tags:: Devotion, Love, Meditation, Religion, Ego, God, Fake, Belief, Convince, India, Iskcon, Mala, Prayer, Spiritual
2 Comments
Posted By Swami Balendu
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I agree with this post! I find it kind of funny when people have to announce their spiritual devotion. When I see Westerners in India, a lot of times they adopt every physical identification of Hinduism they can, just to show others that they are believers. But true spiritual practice is something very deep. Everyone has their own specific place inside where they connect to god, and this can't really be explained or showed to others. And spirituality isn't something to be shown off, only the ego thinks so.
Reply By Emily on October 14, 2011 03:29
Some people find joy in spiritual practice, great joy and then loose this joy or find that they can no longer enjoy it because their ego has used their wisdom to grow. Their identity becomes based on the idea that they are wise and spiritually advanced. When this happens they can no longer be spiritually advanced. The ego loves to say "I understand something that you all do not." If you wish for joy, love, peace, compassion....if you really wish for those things, they will happen. Wishing for these things so that you may be viewed as spiritual is not a genuine wish.
Reply By Dan Markey on October 23, 2010 05:15
Today was the last day of the school year 11/12. The children got their report cards, the olde...
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There are places in this world where women are beaten because religion tells their husbands and fathers that woman have to be disciplined if they are not obedient. Is religion really something you want to believe in?
SourcePlease don't live with a different identity. The creation is wonderful as it is, accept that. If you do not accept god's creation you do not accept your own soul. Stop fighting against your true self! Self-confidence can only come after self-acceptance.
SourceA love relation may only extend for a moment when your eyes meet and share a connection. A split second of realizing that you and the other one share this world. Nothing more.
SourceTry to be attached to as little as possible, leave old things, throw them out and give them to someone who needs them more than you.
SourceDon’t manipulate others and don’t let anybody manipulate you. Don’t do anything against your nature and don’t let others lure you into a religious sect under the pretense that they are only serving God, not any religion.
SourceYou can decide yourself if you want to be happy or sad. You are the one who decides to be angry, to be annoyed or to be sad. Some people decide to be in hate. But it is always you.
SourceDistance from the ex partner is necessary to keep away the feelings of jealousy!
SourceSomeone tried justifying all gender differences by saying ‘god made women different’, not realizing that it could mean that men are the ones who are different as well.
SourceYou invite others to celebrate because you want to share your happiness. It makes you happy when others celebrate your happiness together with you. If you are happy but alone, you cannot really enjoy it. When you are sad, too, and someone is there with whom you can share it, your sadness is reduced. You need closeness so that you have somebody to share your happiness and sadness.
SourceChange is normal and just a sign that you are alive and in the flow of life. We always change for the better when we make a conscious change and decide to change along with times. We are changing in every second and it is better to accept this change than to fight it.
SourceYou can often hear someone say after their first night ‘It was really a good night, I had wonderful sex’. This doesn\'t mean they did anything special. It is amazing because sex itself is such a great thing. It is not the quality of the woman and the man, it is the quality of sex itself.
SourceYou share everything with everybody and everybody shares everything with you. Just out of love. In this case the source is love, not ego. When you want to share your happiness with others and want to share other peoples’ pain, sharing is a great and positive thing.
SourceYou cannot love God purely, there will either be fear or greed. Parents install these feelings related to God. God sees if you are a bad child! Don’t lie or fight with others, God knows everything! If you want to achieve something, be good and do what God says! Parents use God for their education – either threatening with him or promising that he would reward you.
SourceDiscipline is very important in our nutrition. Eat when you are hungry. Hunger can be in the eyes and in the mind, too, not only in your belly. Learn to distinguish that.
SourceReligion is entertainment for the rich and not necessary for the poor. You have to do ceremonies, go to the temple, give donations, that all costs money. Poor people think of food, only well-off people think of religion.
SourceDoctors in India often have signs against evil energies at the main entrance door of their practices. In hospitals there are signs saying ‘We serve, he cures’. Many doctors don’t work on Thursdays, as they believe it is a bad day for people to go to the doctor – they might have to come back, because actions on Thursdays always are repeated. Superstitious people even make medicine a question of superstition!
SourceSpirituality is something very personal and individual. You don’t need to connect with a sect or join a group for living your spirituality. You need deeply felt spirituality and not show-off spirituality. Be natural about your spirituality.
SourceTurn your desire into love, on the path of devotion. Surrender yourself and you will see how desires get less. In this way desire is transformed and purified.
SourceI won’t have a problem with your god if he doesn’t think that women are less intelligent, inauspicious and less worth than men, as it is written in every religion’s books.
SourceYou have to accept your anger. It is a natural feeling, created by god. It is a negative feeling, yes, but you are not bad if you feel angry. It is there and you need to live it!
Source
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