Enlightenment is no small thing. Most everyone reading this likely believes they know that. But do they? Do they really?
Great saints have attained their sainthood by steadfastly overcoming incredible obstacles… one after another, after another. Quite simply, they were willing to endure whatever it took to attain enlightenment… year after year of relentless one-pointed devotion.
When you look at most people, even ‘spiritually aware’ individuals, it is quite a different story. They may feel a little purification (as roughness) at a long meditation retreat and decide they will never do that again. They may see that they do not really have many friends going to a particular class, so they decide not to go. They may have a little conflict with someone and therefore decide to ‘throw in the towel’. Maybe the bathroom accommodations were not quite to their liking. Maybe Starbucks is just a little too far away from the monastery for their liking!
So I ask again… Do you have the right stuff? What are you devoted to… really?
Someone once said that they did not want to do the Ashram Program because they wanted to stay in ‘the real world’. I responded by asking them if they really believed that the pinball machine they lived in was ‘the real world’. It is not. It is merely the illusion that keeps you hooked… lifetime after lifetime… chasing that mirage, that dangling carrot, like a dog chasing its tail.
Time is running out. Re-evaluate your priorities. Bliss awaits you, but you must do what it takes to become free of your addictions.
At such a meditation retreat if you give your all is it possible to get fully enlightend there?
I love this blog because it challenges people to move forward, and to be great. I have been in the Ashram Program for almost 3 years now, and I am very excited about the “Bliss Course” this summer. It is such a amazing opportunity that Brahmarshi is offering, and I am curious to see who shows up. Will it be my good friends that I see at retreats and classes? Will it be some new faces? Maybe a bit of both…
One thing I am certain of is that many people are going to find reasons why not to come. These reasons will probably include timing, finances, work, family, etc. The interesting thing to me, is that people always give good, practical reasons, and at the same time they often feel intellectual, conditioned and/or fear based. Deep down, I know that many people really want to come, but they just can’t let themselves do it.
I can’t help thinking, why not? Why not find a reason to come instead of a reason not to? Why not treat yourself to something deeply meaningful. There will certainly be challenges along the way, but there are no words to describe what the poeple who make it to Mount Soma gain. It is not instant enlightenment, but it is gradually awakening to the bliss that dwells deep within our souls.
Brahmarshi thank you so much for all that you have given us and the world.
Jai Guru Dev!
Dave,
Very Beautiful
Eri,
Of course it is possible. At the same time, enlightenment is a much rarer thing than the marketplace leads people to believe.
Indeed Dave, why not find a reason to come? Thank you for that question. I found some of the reasons not to come and am now looking at the cosmic treat in living at Mount Soma and being with our guru. I have been working probably for lifetimes on deserving this.
Time IS running out…I can feel it. It agitates me every day…there are so many reasons so not move forward, but none are real, though they feel that way. I am constantly challenged to move beyond the mirage we call life and success to find the reality of life and success. Time IS running out. The time to act is now….so much easier said and thought then acted upon. That is my challenge….
Shippee!!!
Drive to a gas station, fill ‘er up, point the car towards Mount Soma, and hit the accelerator!
Doug’s comment made me smile.
Shippee, it is not what you say… it is what you do that counts.
Though in this case overstated, Benjamin Franklin’s quote comes to mind, “The path to hell is paved with good intentions.”
🙂
Well Shippee, if you take that as a prodding you would be correct.
I remember coming in for breakfast during a class a year and a half ago. Brahmarshi looked at me and said, “Joy Anna, you should join the ashram program.” Before I could think, I blurted out: “I know!” Immediately after that, of course I thought of financial and logistical hurdles between where I was and where I wanted to be. But my heart had revealed itself clearly, and I knew I would not rest unless I set my course to plod through those steps. Don’t get lost in asking “How.” Ask only “What” then take it one step at a time in that direction. Most of the time, we can only take one step at a time anyway! The path always reveals itself. Let your heart be at peace.
Even the process of wrapping up and stepping out of various commitments, communities, etc. has been like a journey of healing. It is collecting various parts of myself I have invested in different places to meet different needs, desires, and dreams. Getting both my feet in the same boat has allowed me a sense of wholeness, rather than feeling split between different commitments, values, and priorities. Now there is a clearer unifying priority in my life, and as I slowly hold up every little thing to its light, it becomes clearer what to do with it. Scary! But slowly, slowly, I feel this force pulling me back together towards a wholeness I have longed for.
I am grateful to Brahmarshi’s leadership and voice of truth calling, and I am grateful to that quiet part of me that has the courage to take little steps in the right direction, even when other parts of me want to (or do) scramble desperately in all other directions. 🙂
Jai Guru Dev
Jai Guru Dev.
Prod accepted, asked for and deeply appreciated….must have been why I couldn’t sleep last night as I prepare to step on yet another flight to NY….
I really do miss Mount Soma, I hope to be back Soon!
What are y ‘all belly-aching about ? Just do it for God sake. Act on your time. The “you” we’re all caught up in, only lives once the way I see it. Nobody knows what is lined up for us when time runs out, but we sure make some blind risky bets on it… This might be a good time to truly look at the bets we’re hedging…