Spirituality is a journey from I to We

[Guest guest]

Spirituality is a journey from ‘I to We’.

 

The reason is this: when I just carry on my life with this feeling of I-ness, with a feeling of ‘I and mine’, there are two evil tendencies. These two reflect narrow-mindedness. They are self-interest and selfishness. So, this self-centeredness is not religious, while selfishness is irreligious.

In order to be selfless, in order to be simple and humble, in order to be benefited by the opportunities of service given to us, in order to know how to care, share and enjoy the Divine, it is a must that one travels from this ordinary ‘I’ to ‘We’. Otherwise, this ‘I’ is just a limitation; ‘I’ is just a drop, but this drop thinks it is all—something like a frog in a well. But when this drop is dropped into the ocean, the drop will realise that it is a part of the ocean, and lose its name and form.

Self-denial: that is what self-effacement is. So, drop your I-ness or ego/body identification, identification with the mind, and identification with the intellect, which is all only the science of arrogance. These things can be dropped, can be gotten rid of, only if we travel from ‘I to We’.

Once we understand that we are one among many, we will be simple, more caring, more loving, more sharing than ever before. From that state of ‘we-ness’, we travel to He. He is the Divine. So, ‘I’ is the individual, ‘we’ is the community, and He is the Divinity. So, from the individuality to the Divinity, one has to pass through the community. Community requires purity and community requires unity. Only then we can go on to He, the Divine, the Divinity.

Therefore, ‘I to We’ is absolutely necessary. There is a tendency among some people to feel, “I live for myself; after all, it is my life.†That is nonsense! It is not your life. The food you eat is not grown by you. The dress you wear is not in any way made by you. So you are no where. You are, after all, benefited by all sections of the society, by everybody, the family, the community, and the labour of many others. Then, how do you say, “I live my life� It is a sign of madness.

We have to travel from ‘I to We’. This is the famous quote of Sri Baba that I like the most, which really reflects the depth and the profundity of spirituality.

 

Jai Sai Ram