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Michael Turner |
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Finding Spiritual Purity in Our Daily Lives |
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FINDING SPIRITUAL PURITY
IN OUR DAILY LIVES
- by Michael Turner
(Note: the following is based upon a transcription from a talk I gave
on January 28, 1998, following a reading of the chapter, =A1=A7Purity=A1=A8=
in
Paul Twitchell=A1=A6s =A1=A7Stranger by the River.=A1=A8 It has been revis=
ed and
updated in 2008 to reflect some contemporary conditions. Michael)
Purity is an interesting subject, because we have so many images of
what =A1=A7purity=A1=A8 means. The first thing I want to touch on tonight,=
just
because it=A1=A6s on everybody=A1=A6s mind, is the current political situat=
ion
in Washington, D.C. There is national debate about the =A1=A7purity,=A1=A8=
or
perhaps I should say, the =A1=A7moral purity=A1=A8 of a president. There a=
re
people who say, =A1=A7It matters=A1=A8; and there are people who say, =A1=
=A7It
doesn=A1=A6t matter. It=A1=A6s his private life=A1=A8.
One thing I know about the pursuit of politics and power is that it is
frequently, if not most of the time, linked to the lower chakras, the
impulses for survival, sexuality, ego expression. It is very
outward. It is very social. People who are very successful in these
arenas usually have really big egos that need to be satisfied, and
also a strong drive to please other people. This does not always find
itself in harmony with what is considered in most religious cultures
to be =A1=A7moral purity.=A1=A8 That is why, throughout history, we have h=
ad
priests for religious leadership, and kings for political leadership.
We have very rarely had priestly kings, except in theocracies; and
then you have to really worry, because you have kings who say they=A1=A6re
divinely inspired and can therefore do whatever they please.
So when you look at this secular field, you have to look at the whole
ball of wax and realize that it=A1=A6s consistent with politics to have a
high libido, or to be willing to say different things at different
times to please people. Believe it or not, politicians actually do
this. It=A1=A6s called =A1=A7making promises to get elected=A1=A8. Every =
political
party does it, and people who are too honest or too straightforward
usually end up falling flat on their faces. Two examples of this in
20th Century presidential politics were George McGovern and Barry
Goldwater. They basically spoke their minds, and were crushed in two
of the biggest landslides in American history.
Beyond that, it=A1=A6s really up to people=A1=A6s own sense of society and
culture, and their moral values, to decide what they expect from their
local, state and national leaders. When are people fed up to the
point where they say, =A1=A7Enough=A1=A6s enough=A1=A8? Or what, for that =
matter,
constitutes =A1=A7enough?=A1=A8 That is something that has been running th=
rough
my mind for a while. We=A1=A6re not electing a priest-king. We=A1=A6re
electing somebody who feels the same way about certain things that we
do. And I=A1=A6ve always believed in forgiveness, and in understanding
that nobody=A1=A6s perfect.
Having said that, I do want to make one point. I do think it is
important when choosing political leaders to take into consideration
their overall judgment. While every person makes mistakes, including
in their marital relationships, when they lack good relationship sense
while running for office (e.g., having an affair while running, or
offering their wife up as a stripper for a biker rally) this may
reflect a lack of good judgment on a larger scale. This must be
weighed carefully during elections, particularly presidential
elections.
Now moving beyond politics, let us discuss purity in spirituality,
because people are looking for this rather amorphous image that is
known as =A1=A7spiritual purity.=A1=A8 It=A1=A6s right there with terms li=
ke
=A1=A7enlightenment,=A1=A8 =A1=A7realization=A1=A8 and =A1=A7heaven=A1=A8. =
We all have a vague
feeling for what it is, and a sense that it is good. We know that
much. At the risk of sounding like Martha Stewart, it=A1=A6s a good
thing. Heaven is good. Purity is good. Love is good. Compassion is
good. But the challenge we face is, =A1=A7How do we achieve it? How do we
express it? How do we live it? How do we find somebody in whom it is
manifested?=A1=A8
Now this goes back to the discussion about spiritual teachers. One of
the great challenges implicit in the principle of contemporary living
masters is that it forces us to look at the human element of
spirituality and God-realization. Because it is, here and now,
staring you right in the face. When we rely upon masters who have
come in the past, or who live in different dimensions of existence,
what we have is somebody upon whom we can project our own
preconceptions and ideals of spirituality, enlightenment and purity.
When we think about Jesus, as an example (because we=A1=A6re predominantly
a Judeo-Christian culture), we have certain images and they go along
with what we read in the Bible: you know, walking on water, performing
miracles and all that. And then there=A1=A6s the image of Jesus portrayed
in many movies. He is very stately, almost gliding through crowds in
his flowing robes, like a human hovercraft, humming along being very
solemn and profound all the time, saying, =A1=A7thee=A1=A8 and =A1=A7thou=
=A1=A8 and things
like that, moving slowly like a Tai Chi master at all times, as if his
entire existence was like that.
It=A1=A6s a very nice image. It=A1=A6s a very uplifting image. It=A1=A6s =
a very
beautiful image. And it=A1=A6s basically how we function as soul. In your
soul body, you are a being who glides, who is, who loves, who flows.
But in the human form, it=A1=A6s a different thing. Masters who have come
in the past, who we all love and respect, are our spiritual
forefathers and foremothers. It=A1=A6s easier to trust in them and put our
attention on them because our expectations are not going to be
confounded. They are not going to be challenged. We are not going to
have somebody in the flesh giving us direct feedback, telling us we=A1=A6re
doing good things, or bad things. We have priests and such who can do
that; but we can always say, =A1=A7Well, they=A1=A6re just a priest. They=
=A1=A6re
not God.=A1=A8 And so we can write off their admonishments and guidance if
we want to.
But a real living human being who is God-realized, that=A1=A6s a different
story, and much more challenging. When we start on the spiritual path,
or just start looking at spirituality and searching for a true
teacher, it is very easy to find fault with them. Because no matter
where you look, you=A1=A6re going to find a human being (give or take a few
possible space aliens walking around =A1V just kidding).
I guarantee you, every master you meet on this planet, if you place
them in an uncontrolled (as opposed to controlled), unscripted
environment, you will find out that they are very human. By
=A1=A7controlled=A1=A8 I mean when you=A1=A6re sitting in an auditorium, an=
d the
teacher enters the room from a distance, and gives a talk. The
attendees become an audience listening to the master and everybody is
properly blissed-out. At the end of the talk, the master gets up,
maybe shakes your hand, and then leaves the room. At no time is there
any real human interaction. You are in a controlled environment and
can project all of your hopes and dreams and expectations on this
person. They are an unblemished mirror for which all you aspire to
be, and you can say: =A1=A7Oh! Isn=A1=A6t this amazing? This person is so
wise, so funny, beautifully dressed, etc. He/She must be an
enlightened being.=A1=A8 But if you hang out with them, one-on-one, you
find out that they are fully human, and have their own likes,
dislikes, idiosyncrasies and even human frailties.
I=A1=A6ve met so many people since I=A1=A6ve started teaching who keep look=
ing
around for a teacher, a real spiritual teacher, =A1=A7But none of them is
as good as Jesus,=A1=A8 because we know what Jesus was like, right? Or
Buddha, or Saint Germaine, or Rumi, or Nanak, or Kuthumi or Ashtar.
And so, because we base our search for a living teacher on
preconceptions we hold about teachers who have come in the past, we
look around and don=A1=A6t see a =A1=A7real=A1=A8 teacher (by =A1=A7real=A1=
=A8 I mean somebody
who fits into our expectations). So we keep looking. You can walk by
a living saint walking down the street and not know it, because he or
she will probably be dressed just like you, unless they=A1=A6re visiting
from another country. If they=A1=A6re from a different country or
different culture, they will probably dress differently. If they are
from some place in Africa, they might well dress in the traditional
garb of their region. If they are from India, with a Sikh background,
they will likely wear a white turban, dress in white and have a beard
and not cut their hair. If they=A1=A6re from more of an Islamic background
they might wear a fez. If they come from a Greek Orthodox background,
they will likely wear the robes and headdress of that particular
faith.
I find it amazing, and somewhat funny, how we will look at other
cultures (e.g., India) and find them more spiritual than ours. Of
course they appear more spiritual than we are; we don=A1=A6t have to live
with them. It=A1=A6s like talking to your best friend when you were a kid
and saying, =A1=A7Your parents are so cool! They=A1=A6re way cooler than m=
y
folks!=A1=A8 Then you go visit them for the night and you find out that
they don=A1=A6t cook food like your mom does. In the same way, things from
a distance can look really rosy. So people look at India and say,
=A1=A7Oh, if I dress like this, it=A1=A6s =A1=A5spiritual=A1=A6. If I foll=
ow this diet,
it=A1=A6s =A1=A5spiritual=A1=A6. I can find a real spiritual being by look=
ing for
somebody who dresses like this, who eats like this, who walks like
this, who talks like this.=A1=A8 So you keep looking until you find
someone who fits these expectations. But, if you get too close, you
will find that he or she is another human being too, and you might
say, =A1=A7Well, they are not pure. They don=A1=A6t walk on water. They d=
on=A1=A6t
glide. They=A1=A6re a human being just like me. They go to the bathroom
and do all the things human beings do.=A1=A8 This can naturally be a bit
disheartening. And I=A1=A6ll clue in on a little secret. They most likely
have times when they=A1=A6re in a good mood and times when they=A1=A6re kin=
d of
irritated. So how then do you define what =A1=A7purity=A1=A8 is?
You could take an orthodox Christian line and say, =A1=A7Well, the only
true Master was Jesus. That was it! Bingo! Case closed. Two
thousand years ago God came, one time only. Prime time attraction.
If you didn=A1=A6t catch it, you missed it. Sorry.=A1=A8 You know? And t=
hey
could be right.
I=A1=A6m inclined to believe that the purity we look at, and look for, is a
spiritual one. It=A1=A6s an inner one. It starts with sincerity,
sincerity and devotion to the path to God, to be willing to do what it
takes to find God and communicate God, willing to take chances,
willing to fail.
I can=A1=A6t speak for anybody else except myself. But I know that I have
good days, and I have bad days. I know there are talks that I give
that are more uplifting and open, and somewhere I feel like, =A1=A7What am
I doing here?=A1=A8 I know there are times I=A1=A6m available on the telep=
hone,
and times that I=A1=A6m not. And that=A1=A6s part of me being me. There a=
re
many times that I look at myself in the mirror and wonder what the
heck I=A1=A6m doing, and if I really have anything of value to offer. And
then Spirit taps me on the shoulder and tells me to relax, take a deep
breath, meditate, and take another step.
I try to make no personal pretense of being some sort of =A1=A7embodiment
of all purity=A1=A8 in terms of my own life. I=A1=A6m not always in harmon=
y.
But I give it my best shot. And, in the physical body I think that=A1=A6s
all that we can do, give it our best shot. There are people who
revere Paul Twitchell, and people who say he was just an offshoot from
Kirpal Singh. And there are people who absolutely worship Kirpal
Singh, and others who say he was a =A1=A5schismatic=A1=A6 split from Radha =
Soami
Satsang Beas. There are people who will love you, and there are
people who will not love you. This is just part of living.
And so it=A1=A6s really a question of how each of us relates to ourselves,
and to the Divine. It=A1=A6s really one and the same. Your spiritual life
and your social life are not different. Your spiritual life and your
marital life, or your relationship life, are not different. It is all
part of a continuity =A1V school, work, shopping, socializing. It is all
the same thing, because it is you living your life. And each of us
has our own life we=A1=A6re living. We have our own conditions we have
come from, our own karmas, our own lessons we need to learn, our own
challenges we face as we are purified by the tumbling stones of God.
And just like, as we used to say, you can=A1=A6t just be a Sunday or Easter
or Christmas Christian - (Lenny Bruce had a field day with that stuff
thirty years ago) - so too you cannot just be a Wednesday night
devotee. Nor can you just be a seminar devotee, where you go to a
great seminar and feel uplifted one day, and are then stuck back in
the grunge of work and life the next. Spirituality demands
consistency. It demands integrity. It demands continuity.
And so I will say to you, if you are looking for a spiritual teacher
and trying to discern outward expressions of their spiritual purity, I
would suggest that you see if they are consistent between their daily
life, their human life, and their spiritual life. See if the way they
speak is consistent and the way they write is consistent.
It=A1=A6s not about trying to appear =A1=A7spiritual,=A1=A8 or adopting the=
=A1=A7right=A1=A8
words, or finding the right hook that makes a person =A1=A7spiritual.=A1=A8
It=A1=A6s simply about harmonizing your attention with the Spiritual
Current, harmonizing your attention with the Holy Spirit. You=A1=A6ve got
to be dedicated. You have to be willing to do whatever it takes. It=A1=A6s
like the old story about how it took Thomas Edison ten thousand tries
to develop the light bulb. If you get up on the balance beam of
harmony with your meditation, and you fall off 1,000 times, drag your
self up and get back on 1,001, 1,002, or 10,015.
We spend our entire lives, and many lives before this, learning our
passions, learning how to be out of balance, how to be drawn outside
by our senses. We don=A1=A6t unlearn that overnight, or even in a year, or
five years. We have to know that there is something that is eternal.
There is something that is absolutely pure, and that is the Holy
Spirit, the Shabda, the Eck. There is a God. You can call Him Sugmad
or Anami or Radhasoami or The Lord. There is a God, the Ocean of Love
and Mercy. It is a place of all beingness, all love, all peace and
all bliss. By properly focusing the attention, anybody can go There
and be There, and It can be in them.
The key in our daily lives is to make sure we are sure we keep doing
our meditations. And not just the formal one we do at the same time
every day. We also need to bring the repetition of the mantra of the
Holy Name into our lives throughout the day. What happens is that the
Holy Spirit starts bathing us. It starts flowing through us in a
river of pure love that is Light and Sound. It is like a giant
cleansing action with these scrubbing bubbles of the cosmos that get
inside us and saturate us in their essence. And very, very, very
gradually they purify us. It is done gradually so we don=A1=A6t fall out
of balance, go out of tune, so that we don=A1=A6t look to our friends and
relatives and peers like suddenly we joined some weird trip and we=A1=A6ve
gone off the deep end. We=A1=A6re just same, only better. In fact you
become more you, because the real you is soul.
As we do this, we simply learn to be the Holy Spirit, and we learn how
to identify when we are in tune. When we sing the Hu, It is our
tuning fork of God. It is an absolute harmonic. And when we sing it
enough times, we start noticing when we are sharp and when we are
flat. We very gradually fine tune over time. In the process, our
lives gradually become a little more ethical, kinder and gentler.
This is different from the high you get from an inspirational
weekend. I mean, anybody who=A1=A6s gone to anything that=A1=A6s really
inspiring (I used to get this when I went to Eckankar seminars), you
leave on a cloud. You=A1=A6ve spent a weekend with a crowd of people in
the presence of an inspirational, awakened being. You feel like
you=A1=A6ve been in the presence of God ItSelf. And everybody=A1=A6s just
glowing and radiating love and vibrating at a higher frequency. And
you think, =A1=A7Ahhhhhh, this is great. This is wonderful. I=A1=A6m goin=
g to
take this to work. I hate work, but I=A1=A6m going to take this wave of
divine love to work with me, and it=A1=A6s going to charge the place and
everything=A1=A6s going to be blissful.=A1=A8
But likely as not (usually =A1=A7as not=A1=A8), you get to work and you jus=
t
have the Monday of all Mondays. You get a dozen Mondays rolled into
one on your first day back, and it=A1=A6s a diametrical contrast to the
bliss you felt just 24 hours before. Part of it is Spirit testing
you, checking to see if the love and bliss and wisdom you felt was a
transitory thing (because you were hanging out with a bunch of people
who agree with you, so you=A1=A6re all slapping each other on the back
saying, =A1=A7Yay God!=A1=A8). And in addition, you are dealing with a rea=
lity
that is not synchronous with your spiritual focus. And the test is,
in the midst of duality are you still able to be in harmony with
Spirit and with God.
And then the next test is, if you=A1=A6re really working on it, do you walk
up to people you work with and, instead of saying, =A1=A7Hey Joe, how=A1=A6=
s it
going?=A1=A8 you piously and sanctimoniously say, =A1=A7Brother, I know tha=
t you
are out of balance because you do not know the Lord. But I will pray
for you.=A1=A8
Now the latter response is, generally speaking, not the most optimal
one, although I give you all permission to do it once. Give it a try
and see how it plays in Peoria. (I mean, as Keith Moon told Jimmy
Page when Jimmy said he was going to start a band called =A1=A7The New
Yardbirds=A1=A8, =A1=A7Oh yeah, Jimmy. That=A1=A6ll float like a lead zepp=
elin.=A1=A8)
People just get really weird around folks who are overtly pious. So
either you stay pious and really irritate people, or you realize that
it doesn=A1=A6t work as a way of social being, which brings you back to the
question of: =A1=A7So then, how do I live a spiritual life?=A1=A8
Obviously you don=A1=A6t want to go preaching at people. Of course most
folks here will try preaching at some point. There may be a day, an
hour, a couple of months, when you really want to become a Shabda
evangelist. But you realize after a while that people are getting
really quiet around you, and a lot fewer people are hanging out with
you, and they get a little weird and start backing off. They start
back-peddling and trying to flee tactfully. You begin to realize that
banging them over the head with the =A1=A7Shariyat ki Sugmad=A1=A8 or =A1=
=A7Sar
Bachan,=A1=A8 or Paul Twitchell or Kirpal Singh, or any of the Eckankar or
Radhasoami teachings might not be such a good idea. You might as well
be throwing one of those little ultra-right Christian cartoon tracts
at them, like the one with the devil watching =A1=A7Bewitched=A1=A8 and cac=
kling
because he=A1=A6s infiltrating the American households. I saw one of those
once; it was great. Really funny. Satan in hell watching =A1=A7Bewitched=
=A1=A8
because it was this big giant subversive thing. Too funny.
And we don=A1=A6t want to do that. Let=A1=A6s not go there, okay? What yo=
u
want to do instead is, when you=A1=A6re at work or with your family or
friends, ask yourself, =A1=A7How do I maintain my spirituality around
people who are not doing this practice?=A1=A8
I learned my lesson of bringing spirituality into the workplace a few
years back when I was reading spiritual books and had some great
pictures my teachers, most of which had quotes on the bottom of them.
I wanted a picture of one of my teachers on my desk at work, and all I
had were these pictures with quotes on them. So I thought, =A1=A7What the
heck. I=A1=A6ll put one on my desk=A1=A8 Now I don=A1=A6t believe in - to
paraphrase a Pat Benatar song - using God as a weapon. But I put this
one picture up on the bulletin board by my desk because I liked
looking at it.
The very next Monday, people came by my desk - and the picture was
right up at about eye height, right above my computer - and would not
look up. They would look down at my desk with the papers they were
giving me, look at me a little bit, and then look back down at the
desk and then turn around and hurry away. And the first time this
happened I thought, =A1=A7Well, this is fascinating.=A1=A8 I thought I=A1=
=A6d try
that a few more times to make sure it was consistent. Sure enough,
for the next couple of days, they were just staring at my desk, doing
a little pivot and then walking away really fast. Even though I
wasn=A1=A6t dressing or acting different (no turbans or robes or anything
like that), people were still uncomfortable.
So I finally took the picture down and found another one to replace it
with. The new picture was a simple one of my teacher with no quotes
or anything overtly =A1=A7spiritual=A1=A8 about it. And my coworkers had a=
n
easier time dealing with that. It seems that as long as you don=A1=A6t
mention the big =A1=A7G=A1=A8 word =A1V the =A1=A7God=A1=A8 word =A1V or ov=
ertly evangelizing,
people are more relaxed around you and receptive to the spiritual
current flowing through you, and you=A1=A6re probably doing okay.
So this is a test of spiritual purity. In ordinary situations, what
do you do? What does it mean to be =A1=A7pure=A1=A8 and =A1=A7spiritual?=
=A1=A8 To me, it
does not mean throwing a book at somebody, or lecturing them, or
wagging your finger. What it simply means is just you being you.
Each of us has our interests. We all have hobbies. We all have
social interests. Hopefully we all vote, on some level at least. I
don=A1=A6t care who you vote for; but you should be registered to vote and
vote every time an election comes up. It=A1=A6s a really important part of
being a citizen.
We all have things we like. Maybe we watch TV; maybe we don=A1=A6t. If we
watch TV, we probably have different favorite programs. We all have
things we like, and things we like to talk about. You can talk about
the things you always like to talk about, and simply by being immersed
in the Spiritual Current, It flows through you and charges your
words. You can talk about the weather. You can say, =A1=A7Hey, how about
them Mets.=A1=A8 You can commiserate about the Packers, if you=A1=A6re a G=
reen
Bay fan. You can talk about golf. You can talk to people about
gardening, or the environment, or anything. In my case, my attention
has largely been on raising my son and learning new cooking recipes.
And if you are doing your meditation and regularly immersing yourself
in the Spiritual Sound Current, regardless of what your topic of
conversation, your words will have spiritual charge. They will simply
vibrate at a different frequency. As you become more immersed and
saturated in Spirit, you will become more calm, and your speech will
be more calm. Your energy will be calming and uplifting. You will
smile more. Your eyes will sparkle. You won=A1=A6t have to try to zap
anybody with your spirituality. You will simply be you, like you=A1=A6ve
always been. You don=A1=A6t drop all your old affiliations with your
friends. You don=A1=A6t drop all your old interests. You simply do them
from the perspective of soul.
In a sense, that=A1=A6s what my teacher meant when He said, =A1=A7Don=A1=A6=
t leave
your church to come to me.=A1=A8 Because, really, what is your church?
Your church is your temple. What is your temple? Your temple is your
body. This is the living temple of God right here. You don=A1=A6t neglect
your body. You don=A1=A6t neglect your life. You don=A1=A6t neglect your
family to find God. You simply merge the two together. And people
who are just hanging out around you will feel it. You don=A1=A6t have to
say or do anything. In fact the best thing you can do as far as God
goes is get out of the way. It=A1=A6s like Tai Chi or Aikido. You just
almost cease to be.
At work I can go get a cup of coffee and say, =A1=A7Hey. How=A1=A6s it goi=
ng?=A1=A8
Sometimes I just smile and say nothing at all, and let the Spiritual
Current flow through my heart, my smile and my eyes, and touch other
people=A1=A6s hearts in a silent way.
That=A1=A6s where the purity comes in. And the test is how do you bring it
into expression? That=A1=A6s what Rebazar Tarzs is telling Paul Twitchell
in =A1=A7Stranger by the River.=A1=A8 If you keep it all up here in your h=
ead
as theory, it doesn't do you (or anybody else) any good. It=83=ADs all
about how you live your life. If you really try to learn how to treat
people with kindness and respect and love, you will listen as much as
you talk. You will be receptive to the God within each person you
meet. Because we are all children of Light, and children of Song.
The LightSong of the Eternal resonates in each and every one of us.
It=83=ADs an incredibly beautiful thing.
Most of us have so many veils around us, we don't see the Light of
Spirit, we don't hear It=A1=A6s radiant musical Song. We're not aware of
It. So the Master Power, at Its own pace, takes off these lampshades
and sound buffers, one at a time, and gets you more accustomed to
ItSelf. If you have a hard time with meditation, just do what you
can. If you can't actively give people love, at least have sympathy
for them. People who are uptight or angry or hung up on power trips
are usually unhappy, and in some sort of pain. It's like the story of
the lion with the thorn in its paw. When you pull out the thorn,
people usually relax.
So just open up to the LightSong of the Eternal, and be love and let
love and forgiveness flow through you. In doing so, you will begin to
find inner, and outer, purity.
Thank you . . . with love,
Michael
alt.meditation.shabda
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SFS
(c) 1998, 2008, by Gregory Michael Turner =A1V All Rights Reserved
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| Topic: |
Finding Spiritual Purity in Our Daily Lives |
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| Message: |
Author |
Date |
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*Message 1* |
Michael Turner |
Thu, 28 Aug 2008, 1:30 pm |
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