The Cult : Nirvana

Last updated on: October 16, 2010 at 5:44 am by Dr. Denise Cooper-Clarke

The Cult : Nirvana 2010-10-16T05:44:16-05:00 Dr. Denise Cooper-Clarke

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They are everywhere, interspersed between you and me especially when “you” and “I” are not friends. Coming generation would be witnessing a surge in the cult called “Nirvana” to the point where it would become cancerous, more overpowering and hallucinating than marijuana or other psychedelics and addictions. Watch it now and be aware that you are not replacing all your concerns with spirituality and blind faith just to keep your mind busy with some bigger addiction when the sole goal of any spiritual practice is to get you out of mind-body-complex.

The emerging cult of customized, easy to attain, Nirvana presents a paradox. It traps the mind into deeper quagmire while trying to annihilate the grosser ones. Are you listening? Are you here? Or are you in your favorite trance? Trance reminds you of something, huh? Yes I am talking about the same “high” state that you get out of singing glory in your penchant for Gurus amidst thumping beats of drums and soothing melody of string instruments. Remove Guru, add alcohol and dress a little outrageously, it becomes a fun filled clubbing event.

Same is true for the mind numbing experience that you get when you sit for hours with your eyes closed getting disoriented from the outside world thinking “meditation” or the bliss you feel flexing and curling your body in various postures. Is that the aim of yoga or you misunderstood or they couldn’t deliver because half of them don’t know and most of them are out there running a business. Spirituality these days (like olden days) is served in palatable packages of vacation (called retreats), that promises to deliver love, peace, serenity and finally nirvana (only for the few chosen ones). Are you a good buyer? Because that, my friend, matters.

I am not discouraging masses but they can surely be mislead. When we say someone treats us badly, still the one who does, remains prosperous and enjoys treating more people badly, do we ask ourselves where they get their power from? The power of every one who is powerful in this world, and sadly that of so called “saints” over lesser mortals is derived from power given by the weak who are weak in body, weak in emotions, weak in mind, weak in the world, weak in the will power.

As the story of duality goes- power struggle /power and weak form inseparable part of each other in manifested world. Why am I writing this post you may ask? To encourage the idea of being selective in what you take from this world. According to duality theory all good things come with bad things. So next time when you are trying to sneak out looking for a new guru, new job, new love, new home, and new interest, ask yourself:

1. What am I running from?
2. Why am I running from away it?
3. What do I expect to get from this situation?
4. Is it worth the expense?
5. What could I lose- it could be money, opportunity, time, mind, and most of all “the power to be you”.

In spirituality, they say- lose your crutches- they say do not identify with them- the crutches being- money, job, home, family etc because these things are impermanent and cannot give security. But what they never put a disclaimer about is your right to be yourself, your power to know your real nature, and your power to be you.You seem to give it away too easily.

You don’t necessarily lose the crutches of “urgency of having them as your security” but often you end up losing your identity and mostly you forget years down the lane that who you really are. This is true for the ones who came running to spirituality like an addict’s wobbly hands trying to reach for drugs. This is true for those who needed love, healing and peace and depended blindly on the next spiritual grocery store they found on the street. This is true mostly for those who, by habit, give their power (not of ego but of self) away and expect epiphany to pour from Gods of heaven unto them.

Not even God’s grace can come without your preparation and preparation is tough as life is unfair and it seems so because of its dual nature. Nothing wrong with spirituality or Guru but ultimately you have to come to yourself finding peace within you. But they are just two starting points of going deeper. Don’t get stuck in good or the bad way because they cross path often- where the good becomes bad and the bad might appear good. Spirituality is just the beginning of that inner voyage.

You can get all the guidance and find all the tools and techniques.If lucky enough or persistent and serious enough in the quality of your spiritual aspiration, you can also find grace pouring on you so that eventually you can help out millions. But this is a subject beyond grasp of intellect- difficult for a guru to teach and even harder for a disciple to follow. It has added risks of confusion, delusions of great nature and hallucinations, and a possible one way trip with point of no return to the normal world until you have found your balance.

Especially the path of devotion can crush you; don’t do on it, if you are not yet ready for that kind of a trip. Stick to what feels right; don’t lose sight of yourself – even under the discipleship of great masters. What you are seeking are you. Don’t run away from yourself.

This is a world full of attributes where spirituality is supposed to show you the truth and not become clouded with materialistic tendencies but who could fight duality that springs from “Maya”? The knowledge is to be disseminated to the prepared and unprepared equally just as sun shines free of cost equally for everyone. At the same time, in doing so, many get caught in Maya, or at least appear to be so. Hence you would find, almost every Guru is blamed towards the end of his/her career as a Guru.

Not a fault on Guru’s part, but a fault on your part on many levels. It starts from why do you listen to others? What is it that they have that you don’t and why? What do you want from them? Are you fully prepared for it? Are you grasping it well or just are being mislead by them or your own limited perceptions about them or yourself (called “avidya”)? Are you getting too engulfed in their ways of spreading the knowledge either in positive or negative way (worshiping or shunning them) rather than focusing on your own growth? If it is true then you were the one to select them in first place.

You are the one to be blamed just as you chose politicians – you chose for yourself- the situations, the frauds, the good and the bad. In every atheist is a believer and in every believer there is a skeptic/non-believer. But both of them are selfish and selfishness too is an attribute or a quality. This is not what you are. Moving on and keeping your focus clear on what you want might help and knowing that everything starting from life’s lessons to the fables of fakirs are there to turn you inwards and from there onwards the journey is all alone.

We have been trained to be “attention craving” as this was our survival stunt and it worked pretty well until we grew up. But we never let go of it completely. We are grossed by life if we are not at the Center stage performing the lead role (in our definition). Have we ever thought that for God all and each one of us (with our meager or huge roles in life) is dear and that each one of us is getting God’s non-stop personal attention all the time and no matter how noble or silly the purpose of life or the character we play appears to be, it is all recycled and that it doesn’t matter? This is faith but it should come from experience and not indirectly. You are your own master and slave.

The journey to the self that you ought to finish all alone is a daunting task in which you can live every moment, courageously questioning yourself, questioning others and sticking to the inner voice and not letting it get clouded by using the available tools.

Fearlessness that comes from within and commitment resulting from will power brings in you non-attachment and dispassion. At this point one can become egotistic which can be avoided by selfless service and love for all or feeling the oneness (by experience). Nonetheless feel grateful that these days masters come to your home and are usually affordable, putting it crudely- they have become cheaper commodities to own. You do not have to go into caves of Himalayas to look for them, unless you have a deeper urgency or sheer curiosity or you are a travel freak.

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