There is a saying in the world, “Having some skin in the game.” That is, you are intimately connected to the outcomes of an endeavor, an active participant not a critic sitting on the sidelines. This spiritual journey we are on is only for those who have “skin in the game,” it is not for intellectual curiosity alone, although curiosity is a precursor to wonder, and it is not for those who simply seek comfort, even though bliss is the greatest pleasure a soul may experience. This path, this journey is only for those who have complete commitment, even unto death, death of the ego.
Where does such commitment come from? In worldly endeavors rewards sought include wealth, fame, prestige and honors. For many who join spiritual organizations there is rising up in the organizational ladder, having authority, perhaps wealth and power. But, we have no organization, grand buildings or grounds, fortune is not to be made, we operate quietly and without fanfare. So, what is the motivation for our dedication and fidelity?
The outcomes we seek are not the same as the worldly, or the even more subtle spiritual materialism that catches many an unwary soul in large organizations, but it can only come from the internal results from our practice. Mother designed it this way so that the traps of this world were, as much as possible, avoided. So, we are souls who are dedicated to spiritual advancement up the spine, not advancement up the organizational ladder, we seek out the “President of the universe,” not to become its ruler, we have no board of directors or leader of committees. In a worldly sense this path is filled with costs, few benefits. And spiritually, this path is also front loaded with costs, the cost of effort for disciplined meditation, service to your fellow man, total striving for access into higher states of consciousness; there are many costs within and without, with a promise of something greater, even if that greatness is invisible to the world.
That something greater is so much more than anything this world can offer, it is the shining city upon the hill, a new Jerusalem of divine consciousness, the eternal salvation of the soul through illumined consciousness; it is the total transformation of the individual from the human to the divine. Surely the individual can be tempted by name and fame, but those allurements get little purchase on this path.
I think of Jesus walking the road with disciples, living simply and begging for food from town to town. Yet, even being in the company with this living avatar, being handpicked by their spiritual preceptor, his disciples got into conversations with one another about who would be the greatest among them, and I am sure there may have been thoughts of when Israel found its new king in Jesus, what position they would occupy of importance? Jesus knowing these hidden, or not so hidden desires taught them, “He that is greatest among you, shall be your servant.” The servant is opposite of ruler, is not at the top of the organizational ladder, the wealthiest, or most honored. Where does the ego find a place of honor as a servant?
Yet, even competition for humility can take place. I noticed one devotee at the ashram who worked every day to be last in line for the flower ceremony. Very self consciously this devotee always took pains to be at the end, with the idea of being humble. However, the very act of trying to be humble engendered ego. You see how tricky desire nature is?
There is a magnificent quote from Krishna:
Whoso is fixed in holiness, self-ruled,
Pure-hearted, lord of senses and of self,
Lost in the common life of all which lives —
A “Yogayukt” — he is a Saint who wends
Straightway to Brahm. Such an one is not touched
By taint of deeds. “Nought of myself I do!”
Thus will he think — who holds the truth of truths —
In seeing, hearing, touching, smelling; when
He eats, or goes, or breathes; slumbers or talks,
Holds fast or loosens, opens his eyes or shuts;
Always assured “This is the sense-world plays
With senses.” He that acts in thought of Brahm,
Detaching end from act, with act content,
The world of sense can no more stain his soul
Than waters mar th’ enamelled lotus-leaf.
With life, with heart, with mind,-nay, with the help
Of all five senses — letting selfhood go —
Yogins toil ever towards their souls’ release.
Such votaries, renouncing fruit of deeds,
Gain endless peace.”
“Lost in the common life of all which lives,” “detaching end from act, with act content, the world can no more stain his soul than waters mar th’ enamelled lotus-leaf,” are just some of the statements from the above quote that deserves special note. Actually, this entire quote has long been a favorite of mine, and encapsulates such great truth–truth we can spend an entire lifetime growing into, coming to realize its beauty. If there is honor to be sought on this path, it is the “honor” of being the invisible servant of God in all whom we meet, dissolving the self into the ocean of Being, merging into the vast, beginningless, endless bliss of God, and becoming One, without a second. In this realization, how can one stand out when there is no other? Where can there be pride, when there is no longer a head upon which to place a crown?