RE: question for the group/how do we remember?

April 20, 2004

"...Dear Brian,

I hope others will chime in with their comments as well, but here is

my take on your question...Latha"

Dear Brian, Latha and list,

One thing I have been thinking about lately is this: there is a

tendency in every spiritual path (Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism,

Islam, etc.) for practitioners to feel guilty about

their "shortcomings". Some paths encourage this guilt and others do

not. The thing is that Ego is part of our "incarnational package".

We are born into the world with certain qualities..no one escapes

this (except, perhaps, Avadhuts). We all have minds, egos, bodies

etc. Without them, we would not be able to function as incarnated

beings. For those of us who are blessed enough to begin the

spiritual journey, there is a tendency to judge ourselves harshly

for our all too human qualities. The nature of the Ego is to

separate things...in the manner of Creation. Black doesn't exist

without white to compare it to, good without bad, etc. etc. We

talked about this a little in relation to the Vedoktam Ratri Suktam.

I have a problem with statements like that attributed to Baba Hari

Das (who I respect very much) that the mind "naturally goes towards

violence". In my experience, this is not true and labeling the mind

as inherently negative and violent only puts us in an adversarial

relationship with our own incarnated attributes.We all have minds;

calling them inherently violent is not really very helpful and, in

fact, it's incredibly judgemental...a function of Ego. I think it's

possible to do very strong sadhana without this...by having a clear

understanding that we ARE human beings...and we have certain

qualities as human beings that we have to learn to work with and,

with the help of great beings like Maa and Swamiji, come into

relationship with.

So...in a round-about way...my response to the driving in traffic

issue would be ...what is reacting to the other drivers and the

other drivers themselves is "personality", not Self. We all have to

find ways of reminding ourselves who we are. It's easy at times: at

our puja or with great beings and, at other times, it's really

challenging (traffic, for instance...a biggie for me...I can find

myself actually swearing at someone who cuts me off!!! YOW!). But

that "one" is the incarnated Sadhvi, with all her likes, dislikes,

DNA specifics, talents, samskaras, etc. THIS ONE...This particular

emmanation of God...This whole thing is quite amazing to me...that

we are BOTH..the specific, individual incarnated package

of "information" and, at the same time, we ARE that which is behind

all incarnation. I try to cut myself some slack, the incarnated

Sadhvi with all of the opinions about everything...I try to keep

opening to purification and clarity but I don't feel guilty for my

all too human failings. I try to have a sense of humor about the

really idiotic qualities that this specific "person" manifests and a

sympathy for her as well. She's trying, she's open to change.She's

willing to see that she does NOT know. It's a weird feeling, like

you are living "with" someone in your own body...YOU: the one who

KNOWS who you really are...and the other one, who seems to think

she's "someone". That's the one who strives and tries and grasps and

wants to know and wants change and wants this and wants that...but

she's also the one who is doing sadhana...so I try to be gentle!!!

best love,

sadhvi

April 20, 2004

Thank you so much for your honesty and your clarity. Jai Maa !!!

"nityashakti" <sadhvi (AT) prodigy (DOT) net>

Tue, 20 Apr 2004 13:48:32 -0000