Busting Myths About Spirituality

The Myth of Spirituality

First of all, the definitions that pre-exist in the mind must be cleared. Spirituality has nothing to do with religious customs, religious observations, or anything that pertains to a sect, a cult, a particular path, a particular group of people, a particular book, or a particular person.

Spirituality is simply the search for Truth. And it is very rigorous in the sense that in the language of spirituality, Truth is that which is not only unchanging within time, but is actually beyond time.

Spirituality is an honest, brutally honest search for the Truth. Kindly do not think that it precludes science. To go beyond something is not the same as rejecting it. Spirituality is deeply scientific and so very scientific that it transcends science.

The Myth of Positive Thinking

What do you mean by a positive thought? And what do you mean by a negative thought?

Negative thoughts exist only because you want to sustain the positive ones. Negative thoughts cannot have a life of their own unless you stop giving energy to the so-called positive thoughts.

People have told us about the power of positive thinking and those idiots do not understand that wherever there is positive thinking, negative thought will come as a shadow.'

But they will say, "Be positive, think positive!" You cannot think positive without simultaneously bringing in its dual opposite. That is the law of the mind - the inviolable law. You cannot have hope - which you call as a positive thought, don't you? - without at the same time being afraid of the hope not being fulfilled. So along with hope comes fear.

The Myth of Karma

We often think that a particular action can bring the mind to awareness. We pit action against action. We think that there are good actions and bad actions, meaningful actions and meaningless actions.

Actions do nothing to the quality of the mind. It is the quality of the mind in which action is done; and that is the real thing.

You may be riding a bike to reach a thousand different destinations, and for a thousand different purposes. So how can the action of riding the bike be of any consequence?

I am not saying "Do not watch actions" Do watch actions!

But actions by themselves are meaningless. So when you watch actions, watch…to go and find out the source of the action, not the action itself.

Find out the source.

From where is this action coming from? Is it coming from the real center? My empty source? Or is it coming from the center of ego? Is it spontaneous, or is it arising from some identity?

Remember that the same action can come from both the places (ego-center or real-center).

The Myth of Meditation

What is the final point that one wants to reach in meditation? What you want is peace, right? What you want is peace. Now peace cannot be the outcome of a ten minute or forty minute daily process, because the process is decided by you and adhered to by you. So you are bigger than the process. And peace is bigger than you.

When you adopt a method of meditation, what you are saying is "I will reach peace using my methods."

You are saying "I am smart enough to reach the Truth using my own road"

You are not willing to surrender. You are not saying "Let the Truth decide, how I will reach the Truth. I will just surrender."

Do you understand the arrogance contained in methods of meditation? You are saying "I am choosing this method" even if on the advice of somebody. You are saying "I am choosing this particular method, and this method will take me to peace and Truth"

Your methods cannot take you to peace and Truth. The Truth comes first; and the Truth is eternal.

You think that just sitting still for ten minutes is meditation? No! One has to be still for twenty-four hours - that is meditation. And if you have to be still for twenty four hours, then you have to be surrendered to the Truth for twenty four hours.

This twenty four hours' surrender is meditation.

(The writer is a Vedanta teacher & founder of Prashant Advait Foundation.)