Choosing A Path of Love and Liberation
In the intricate tapestry of our spiritual journey, we are offered two exquisite paths, each adorned with its own unique blessings. It is a journey of love and liberation, and both paths beckon to us with open hearts.
“God is like the sun; its light is always shining. It’s we who decide whether to open our windows or not. When we do, we are able to enjoy the sun’s light. We should open the windows of our mind, let the light of God’s love in and decide the path we want to take.” — Amma
I was fortunate to have a deeply transformative encounter with Amma over 35 years ago in Massachusetts when she first arrived in the US. Amma, also known as The Hugging Saint, is a revered spiritual teacher known for her boundless love and compassion.
This meeting left an indelible mark on my soul, inspiring me to embark on a profound journey of Self-discovery and spiritual reflection.
In the warm embrace of Amma’s love, I found myself drawn to explore the contrasting paths of spiritual awakening – the pursuit of a spiritually-styled life and the dedicated journey toward enlightenment – eventually diving deeply and becoming devoted to the latter.
Join me as I delve into the essence of these paths, guided by the radiant light of Amma’s love and wisdom.
Path 1: Living a Lovely Spiritually-Styled Life
Imagine this path as a gentle breeze, carrying with it the whispers of wonder and beauty. It is a path that invites us to savor life’s precious moments, finding spiritual meaning in the everyday experiences, connections, and the world around us. Here, the present moment is cherished as a gift, and the heart seeks to cultivate love, compassion, and a profound connection.
Emphasis on Wonder and Beauty: Living a lovely spiritually-styled life places significant emphasis on experiencing and savoring the beauty and wonder of life’s everyday moments. It values the present moment and seeks spiritual meaning in daily experiences, relationships, and the natural world.
“Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart.” — Kahlil Gibran
Connection and Love: On this path, our priority is to cultivate love, compassion, and connection—with our inner selves, others, and the universe. Practices that promote empathy, kindness, and emotional well-being become our daily companions.
“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourSelf that you have built against it.” — Rumi
Appreciation of Beauty Living a lovely spiritual life is characterized by an appreciation of beauty in all its forms—be it in art, nature, music, or human interactions. Finding joy and gratitude in life’s simple pleasures is central to this approach.
Sharing and Talking: On this path, we believe that sharing our opinions and ideas with others is a valuable part of our spiritual evolution. Through sharing, we seek to form a consensus about what is spiritual and true for us – and about reality.
Focus on Validation: Living this style of spirituality often involves seeking validation as individuals having spiritual experiences. We yearn to be seen, heard, and known for our spiritually-styled labels and experiences.
“The ultimate lesson all of us have to learn is unconditional love, which includes not only others but ourselves as well.” — Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
Fascination with “Spiritual” Experiences: We are curious about specific and unusual spiritual phenomena, from flashes of light to connections with otherworldly beings and from conspiracy theories to doomsday paranoia. Yet, we must remember that while these experiences may be fascinating, they do not indicate spiritual advancement.
“Your visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.” — Carl Jung
Comfort and Warm Feelings Required: This path includes seeking and enjoying specific, warm feelings about ourselves and our experiences. Achieving comfort is a primary focus, as we navigate the realm of thoughts, feelings, and emotions.
“Comfort is no test of truth. Truth is often far from being comfortable.” — Swami Vivekananda
Mindfulness and Presence: Practicing mindfulness and being fully present in each moment is a core aspect of living a lovely spiritual life. It involves being aware of our thoughts, feelings, and sensations without judgment and with an open heart.
“The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it.” — Thich Nhat Hanh
Identifying With The Personality: Often, we find ourselves identifying not with the divine but with specific divine aspects of our personality. This may involve ego identification with a Self-concept that is distinct or unique compared to others.
“You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean in a drop.” — Rumi
Balanced Living: This approach seeks balance and harmony in all aspects of life, including work, relationships, and Self-care. It often encourages practices like yoga, meditation, and conscious living to maintain this balance.
“Yoga is the journey of the Self, through the Self, to the Self.” — The Bhagavad Gita
The Challenge of the Lovely Spiritual Path: On this path, the challenge lies in being focused on feelings and experiences that are inherently temporary. Additionally, there is often no presence of an enlightened master to guide us. Leaders on this path may not necessarily be more spiritually evolved than their students, leading to potential misunderstandings and missed opportunities for deeper teachings.
“In reality, the Guru is not different from the Self. It is the formless and the form. That is why when a disciple surrenders completely to the Guru, the Guru and the Self are not different. This is what is called Self-realization.” — Amma
Path 2: A Life Focused on Enlightenment
In contrast, the second path beckons us with the promise of profound Self-realization and liberation from the cycles of suffering. It is a path that calls us to transcend the ego, embrace silence, engage in intensive spiritual practices, and release attachments to embrace the boundless.
Emphasis on Self-Realization: A life focused on enlightenment places the primary emphasis on Self-realization and liberation from the cycle of suffering. The pursuit of enlightenment is viewed as the ultimate goal of existence by the ancient sages.
“Know yourSelf as the eternal, ever free, ever blissful. You are not the body. You are not the mind. Find out who you really are.” – Swami Sivananda
Transcendence of Ego: Enlightenment teachings often center on transcending the ego and realizing one’s true nature beyond labels, titles, and positions. It’s the merging with pure consciousness and oneness with the divine.
“The ego is a veil between humans and God.” – Rumi
Focus on Silence: The enjoyment of silence becomes a primary focus. It serves as a portal to Self-inquiry and inner exploration. Silence allows the soul to expand into the light.
“Silence is the language of God; all else is poor translation.” – Rumi
Releasing Everything, Including Comfort: This path encourages seekers to allow and release their emotions, attitudes, beliefs, and comforts in favor of deep clarity, Self-reliance, and the eternal truths taught by ancient masters. It emphasizes that spiritual growth is not about seeking comfort but about embracing the truth, even when it challenges us.
“The truth will set you free.” – Jesus
Gratitude for Everything: Enlightenment seekers maintain an attitude of gratitude for every life experience, whether it is perceived as good or challenging. They understand that every event and circumstance holds valuable lessons and serves as a stepping stone toward Self-realization.
“Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” – Melody Beattie
Intensive Spiritual Practices: Those on the path to enlightenment engage in rigorous spiritual practices that form the core of their journey. These practices are designed to dissolve the ego and reveal higher states of consciousness, ultimately leading to a pure embodiment of love.
Deep Meditation: Meditation is at the heart of the seeker’s daily routine. They dedicate significant time to silent meditation, focusing on going beyond the mind and ego to access the realm of pure awareness. In stillness, they seek to merge with the universal consciousness and experience the unity of all existence.
Self-Inquiry: Self-inquiry is a powerful practice that involves questioning the nature of the self. Seekers contemplate, “Who am I?” to go beyond the layers of identity and false self-concepts. This process of self-inquiry helps them recognize their true nature, which is beyond labels, titles, and positions.
“Detachment is not that you should own nothing, but that nothing should own you.” — Buddha
Release of Desires and Attachments: The journey toward enlightenment entails letting go of binding desires and attachments. Seekers work diligently to detach from worldly cravings, acknowledging that these attachments are the root cause of suffering. By releasing these attachments, they move closer to their true selves.
Sadhana: Sadhana refers to the comprehensive set of spiritual practices undertaken with discipline and dedication. It includes practices like yoga, meditation, chanting in Sanskrit, selfless service (seva), and prayer. Sadhana helps seekers purify their minds and bodies, making them receptive to higher spiritual experiences.
Study of Sacred Texts: Enlightenment seekers often immerse themselves in the study of sacred scriptures and teachings of enlightened masters. They seek to gain a profound understanding of spiritual principles and the nature of reality as described in these texts.
Eternal Truths: The seeker places great importance on eternal truths and universal principles taught by ancient masters. These truths serve as guiding lights on their path, leading them toward liberation from the illusions of the world.
“Love is an endless act of forgiveness. Forgiveness is the key to action and freedom.” — Mother Meera
Deep Forgiveness: The more we forgive ourselves and others, the more clarity we have toward embodying the divine nature of The Universe. Forgive everything. Exclude nothing.
Through these intensive spiritual practices, seekers on the path of enlightenment gradually dissolve the ego, transcend the limitations of the self, and experience profound inner transformation.
Challenges of A Life Focused on Enlightenment
This path often includes seclusion or separateness from traditional society. This path naturally leads the seeker to make choices that may not align with the conventional importance placed on family, society, and culture. As a result, those on this path may experience feelings of loneliness, isolation, and a sense of being disconnected from mainstream societal norms and expectations.
While the pursuit of enlightenment can lead to a deep understanding of the Self and the Divine, it may also create moments of deep depression, continuous crying, and a sense of alienation. These challenging emotions and experiences are part of the transformative process but can be painful to navigate.
This type of seeker may appear antisocial, self-righteous, or even arrogant to those who do not fully understand their dedication to the path of Self-realization. They might be so intent on freeing themselves from the ego and illusions that they may overlook or miss out on the beauty and joy present in everyday interactions and experiences.
I created The Shankara Oracle as a transformative spiritual tool embedded in the teachings of The Dharma and the path to liberation, which I see as missing from today’s divination tools and influencers.
Shankara serves as a guiding light for those seeking deep healing, clarity, and Self-realization. Through this powerful divination system, individuals can access ancient wisdom and clear past emotions, obsessions, and illusions that may hinder their spiritual journey. Shankara helps individuals establish a firm foundation on the path to enlightenment, offering deep healing, profound insights, the dissolution of all that is false, and guidance for their inner transformation.
“Life is beautiful when we are in touch with the divinity within us.” — Amma
